There was only one goal in this game… quaffing real ale!
By: JimOldfield
November 13th, 2012
It was the highlight of the drinking season in a South Yorkshire town… Rotherham’s first-ever CAMRA ale festival, featuring the launch of the town’s first new brewery in decades – and all staged in the town’s brand new, £20m soccer stadium. And as a sell-out crowd enjoyed a single goal – to sample a selection of great beers – the Hand-Pumped team was onside to cheers them on!
When the rumour, that Rotherham CAMRA was finally running its first ever beer festival, was confirmed with a ping in the Hand-Pumped inbox, the dates were instantly red-circled on the calendar as unmissable.
And a wise move that was… for the event was a complete sell-out – with the rush for tickets beginning before its planning was even finished!
Key members of Rotherham CAMRA are among the driving force behind the annual Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival – the phenomenally successful and enormous beer and music mecca now held at Magna, the giant steelworks-turned-science museum.
So the first CAMRA-run festival in the town was hardly ever going to be left in the hands of the inexperienced. But even the old-hand organisers were left stunned by what can happen when you put a new ale festival, a new brewery, and a flash new soccer stadium together.
Said CAMRA chairman, and Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival organiser, Steve Burns: “When we very first decided we were going to stage a branch festival and word got out, we were receiving calls within the hour from people saying ‘if you’re holding a beer festival, then we’ll take 50 tickets!’
“We sold 200 tickets before we’d even started planning it.”
Given their Magna pedigree (last February’s fest drew in 12,000 drinkers and raised over £40,000 for charity), the branch had no argument from CAMRA head office in agreeing their budget – indeed they suggested the Rotherham branch DOUBLE their original ticket sales estimates.
Steve added: “CAMRA HQ did limit us to three pints per drinker – which is what research shows the average beer festival visitor consumes. But it went so well that we began to run out of beer on Saturday lunchtime, and had to order in extra supplies!
“It just shows there is a real appetite for real ale in Rotherham, however.”
In all, some 1,600 flocked to The Millers’ executive suite on Friday evening, November 9, and again from noon on the Saturday – rocked by five-piece “zydefolk & roll” band, Buffalo Skinners, who sent the crowd wild on the terraces after being spotted while busking, and booked on the spot by a festival organiser!
The crowd sampled some 50 ales from across Yorkshire and Derbyshire, including four from Wentworth, plus a dozen each of ciders, wines and bottled beers. But the taste on everyone’s lips was the very first ale from Rotherham’s new Chantry Brewery – the fittingly-named New York Pale, seen below, being served by the brewery’s team.
Ironically, it ended up being an “away” brew, made by the Chantry team… in Cheshire! Chantry’s new 20BBL brewery was not quite up and running in time for the festival.
The brainchild of bank manager Sean Page and steelworker brothers Michael and Kevin Warburton is based in an industrial unit in nearby Parkgate.
The trio have spent over two years planning their ale venture, and finally launched their first beer at the festival.
Although neighbouring Sheffield has at least 10 breweries, Chantry now joins Wentworth Brewery – brewed on the Wentworth Woodhouse Estate – as the only breweries in the entire Rotherham borough.
Co-director Kevin said the response from drinkers had been excellent and that many were “really excited” about having a beer brewed in Rotherham town.
He added the brewery was on course to sell out of beer over the festival weekend, as drinkers had already downed nine out of 16 firkins brewed for the event by Saturday lunchtime.
Hand-Pumped link:
Rotherham CAMRA
Chantry Brewery
Magna Ale Festival
