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Durham Beer Festival History
The Durham Beer Festival began at Fowlers Yard, Durham City in 1976. After
three festivals the event moved to Dunelm House in 1979 where it remained for
18 years with only one absence in 1996 when the festival moved temporarily to
the Catholic Chapliancy in Old Elvet.
In its heyday the Durham Beer Festival was considered the premier event of its
type in the North East and one of the best nationally, with visitors from all
over the country and even foreign tourists.
The main reason the event folded is a common one. As regular helpers drifted
away the volunteer replacements were not forthcoming and regular long-time
staff began to feel the graft of setting up and dismantling was outweighing
the enjoyment of the event. Between the final festival and the present there
have been a number of small festivals in County pubs, namely the Penny Gill in
Spennymoor and the Woodman in the City. The Wear Valley sub-branch also run an
annual festival in Bishop Auckland Town Hall and a smaller event in
conjunction with the Ship Inn at Middlestone Village.
The Durham Winter Beer Festival started in 1987 at Fowlers Yard after Micro and regional brewers began reviving the old practice of brewing stronger darker winter ales which would not be available for the main summer event. Like its larger counterpart the Winter Festival soon became very popular and well-known but unlike the main festival, the winter event had no permanent home. Dunelm House, because of the student term was unavailable during the winter months and was too large anyway for the smaller Winter Festival. No less than six sites were used for the Durham Winter Beer festival until the last City event at the Catholic Chapliancy in 1998. The reason for the festival folding was the same as those of the main summer event.
24th Durham Beer Festival 2nd - 4th September 2004
Although this festival was a financial success and hard work as usual, Many
people who turned up on Saturday afternoon were disappointed to find that
there was no drinkable beer left. The Durham Branch of CAMRA apologises to
these customers without excuse. There were factors involving beer selection,
bar management and restricted stillage which all contributed to the early
finish and which have been - and are still being - discussed at meetings.
Next Year we hope to have two separate bars each with 40 beers and improved
bar management. We will definitely have a selection of beers for our Saturday
customers so if you do prefer attending the festival on a Saturday, please do
not be put off by this year's experience. In the meantime the festival
organisers would like to thank all those people who helped set up the event
and the staff who gave their time when the festival was open. Please come back
next year.
The views expressed on this website are not necessarily those of the National CAMRA Ltd