There’s just over a week to go until one of the biggest dates on the West Country beer calendar, the Celtic Beer Festival at St Austell Brewery.
The festival, on Saturday, 30th November, does more than just bring people together through a shared love of beer. It’s primary purpose is to raise funds for the St Austell Brewery Charitable Trust.
Since its launch in 2003, the Charitable Trust has raised more than £1,000,000 to give back to its communities. In 2023, the trust donated more than £80,793 to important causes in the region.
“The Celtic Beer Festival is one of the highlights in our calendar, where we all get together to celebrate every wonderful style of beer out there, from porters to sours, double IPAs to Belgian dubbels,” said St Austell brewing director, Georgina Young (pictured below).
“There’s something for everyone, and what’s more it’s all for a great cause, with the money raised for the festival going back to brilliant causes across the South West, such as youth mental health services, the air ambulance, and local families in need of equipment or support.”
The Celtic Beer Festival will see a jam-packed line-up of musicians throughout the day, along with an impressive beer list showcasing more than 100 tipples from brewers across the UK.
Alongside guest beers from other breweries, such as Gipsy Hill, St Ives Brewery, and Palmers, St Austell Brewery is putting on 27 of their own beers brewed just for the beer festival.
A hibiscus-infused kettle sour, a blood orange Belgian wheat beer, a passionfruit and tangerine saison, and a chilli stout are just a few of the inventive beers the brewing teams have created.
The festival will also feature 12 special guest beers from St Austell Brewery’s small batch programme, as well as a dedicated bar from Harbour Brewing Co.
The festival gets under way at 11am on 30th November. There will be tickets on the door.
Among the small-batch brews will be Kelp!, a 4.5% ABV, made by beer writer of the year, David Jesudason, and St Austell Brewery press officer Charlotte Turner, (pictured above with Georgina Young), who also sits on the board of the British Guild of Beer Writers.
A rich mahogany beer, it has been brewed with crystal malts, giving it rich raisin and toffee notes, as well as dark fruits from Bramling Cross and Target hops. A kilogram of flaked Cornish seaweed was added into the four-barrel kit along with Cornish sea salt, to give it a rounded, saline finish.
“The brew day was great fun and a brilliant way to celebrate our wins and also St Austell Brewery’s Cornish roots by using natural ingredients sourced in the county,” said Georgina.
The beer will be on tap the upcoming British Guild of Beer Writer Awards, on 27th November. A cask is also being made available at David’s local, The Shirkers Rest in New Cross, London, where he will be on hand to pull a pint or two on 6th December.
