Beer lovers in Gloucestershire are gearing up for one of their favourite weekends of the year – the Cotswold Beer Festival.

The festival, which begins on 20th July, will showcase a broad range of beer, cider and perry at the stunning Postlip Hall, which lies equidistant between Cheltenham and Winchcombe. Now in its 42nd year, the Cotswold Beer Festival has built a reputation as one of the best celebrations of small-scale breweries in the country. John Barrett, who has been involved with the festival since the first event back in 1977, is looking forward to another year of sampling the very best ales. He said: “We’ll be welcoming brewers from Gloucestershire and further afield who will be bringing their best ales and ciders. Visitors can expect a fantastic selection of quality beer, cider and perry provided by over 40 visiting breweries. The festival has become a regular fixture in the calendar of so many Gloucestershire residents, it’s great to welcome back so many familiar faces year after year.

“It’s good to support some of the smaller breweries. We tend to stay clear of the more well-known, national breweries, and focus more on the up-and-coming smaller scale breweries who produce some fantastic ales and ciders.”

As well as the chance to sample alcoholic beverages, visitors to the Cotswold Beer Festival will also be entertained by live music. John said: “Saturday lunchtime is very much a family event. People can bring picnics and relax in the grounds. We have our regular and popular bands playing in the Tithe Barn. On Saturday lunchtime Tewkesbury Town Band will be playing a wide range of popular and classic tunes, while traditional jazz band Liberty Street Stompers will entertain us towards the end of the day. On all three days of the festival there will be a BBQ so people will be able to be well fed as well as enjoying all the fantastic drinks on offer.

The inspiration behind the Cotswold Beer Festival came in the 1970s. John explained: “Shortly after CAMRA Gloucestershire came into being in 1975, we started looking for a suitable site to hold a beer festival. We considered various venues, including both the Town Hall and the racecourse in Cheltenham, but everything seemed either impracticable or too expensive. Then we heard about the Postlip Community. After some initial discussions we agreed to go ahead with a festival in Postlip Tithe Barn in July 1977. In 2016 we celebrated our 40th Festival, making ours one of the longest running CAMRA beer festivals, and probably the only one to have been held in the same location for as many consecutive years.”