The Driftwood Spars, St Agnes, has announced the return of its The Light, The Dark, and The Saison festival this March, after a year’s absence.
Driftwood Spars head brewer, Mike Mason
From 4th-6th March, there will be beer tastings, live music, and great pub food, inside and out. On the Saturday, St Piran’s Day will be celebrated, with the Stuns’ls shanty group singing and taking part in the Trelawney Shout.
Landlady, Louise Treseder, said: “We’ve really missed hosting events like this, and, unless anything drastic changes, a physical event will go ahead this year, with some sensible precautions in place.
“We’re looking forward to sharing our love and knowledge with lots of new faces eager to find out what hand-crafted beer is really about, as well as reuniting with old friends we haven’t seen since the start of the pandemic.”
As the title suggests, a wide range of beer styles will be available to try in a selection curated by Louise and Mike Mason, head brewer at The Driftwood Spars Brewery.
As well as the award-winning in-house range, there will be at least ten guest beers from across the UK.
Mike and Louise have chosen some of their current favourite beers made elsewhere in Cornwall and further afield. Breweries involved include Old Sawley Brewing Co, Wild Beer Co, Gates Brewery, St Austell, Bluntrock, and Fallen Acorn.
There will be informal tasting sessions scheduled over the three days, and an opportunity to meet guest brewers. But most of all the event is a chance for people to simply enjoy good beer, music, and food as a community again.
Mike said: “It has been two years since we’ve even been able to imagine an event like this, and during that time a lot of people have discovered our brewery — or had their eyes opened to the world of beer — for the first time.
“This is a chance to come out from behind our Zoom backgrounds and from under those beer subscription boxes and get back to enjoying beer as it was intended — together.”
Louise added: “The last two years have been extremely tough for pubs and breweries, so we’re keen to support others out there in the brewing industry and get a bit of a buzz going again, especially around cask beer which obviously took a huge hit during the various lockdowns.”
In fact, the event will also mark the annual release of a very special batch of cask beer. Pete’s Mild is made every March to commemorate founding brewer, Pete Martin, who passed away in 2020.
