Festival-goers down a Magna of real ale!
By: JimOldfield
March 8th, 2012
Real ale lovers literally supped Rotherham’s “Baa’s of Steel” Real Ale and Music Festival dry last week… leaving fewer than a dozen of the 480 barrels delivered, unquaffed!
A record 11,000 beer lovers poured through the doors at the four-day event – the largest festival of its kind in the north of England – at the town’s Magna Science Adventure Centre.
The gate for the 20th Rotherham festival was up by 1,000 on the previous year’s attendance, as visitors drank their way through a staggering 236 varieties of real ale, cider, wine and perries.
They did so to an accompanying array of local music – from barber-shop quartets in the corridors, to some of the hottest bands and tribute acts on the stages. The event ended with an on-stage spectacular, led by the Great Pretender – hailed as the most realistic Freddie Mercury tribute in the UK
And the CAMRA-organised event scored another first, when the Hand-Pumped website chose it for our official UK launch!
A delighted festival spokesman said: “Almost every beer was supped dry this time… which is the aim of every beer festival, but which is a terrific result, considering the size and scale of our festival”.
Such has been the success of Baa’s of Steel, that the organisers have announced plans to ensure that even more charities than ever before will be able to benefit from the record amount of money raised during the popular four day event
The amounts raised are still being calculated, but early indications suggest that it will be a record year for the event.
Organisers are in discussions with Voluntary Action Rotherham to create a new fund, to support small local charities in the borough, ensuring that even more local good causes are able to benefit from the proceeds of the charity festival.
Proceeds from this year’s event will support the work of The Rotherham Hospice, Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, Weston Park Cancer Centre, and The Magna Trust, in addition to the new trust.
Opening this year’s festival was Labour’s former pubs Minister, John Healey… who also opened his account with CAMRA by signing up with the real ale champions.
Chatting exclusively with Hand-Pumped, the Labour MP said: “I’ve been meaning to sign up for years – I have supported them and enjoyed real ale for a long time. I’ve finally done it tonight!”.
Mr Healey was accompanied in the opening ceremony by Rotherham Mayor, Coun Shaun Wright, pulled the first pint of the festival’s champion beer – Abbeydale Brewery’s Moonshine.
Delighted festival organiser Stephen Burns said: ““The atmosphere inside Magna was electric. Early indications suggest that this year has been a record for the festival”.
He added: “We’re very much dependent upon the army of volunteers that have staffed the bars, giving up their spare time to help make the event work and I’d like to thank everyone who has helped to make this year’s event happen – without people giving up their spare time to make the event work, it would be impossible to happen.
“I think this has our best festival to date, and sets a very high standard for us to try and better next year!”
