Cheers to Astwood Bank Carnival's seventh annual beer festival! (From Redditch Advertiser)

Cheers to Astwood Bank Carnival's seventh annual beer festival!

8:40am Monday 8th October 2012 in Local

ASTWOOD Bank Carnival will be hosting its seventh beer festival on Friday and Saturday, October 12 and 13.

The Oktoberfest will take place at the Oddfellows Arms in Astwood Bank between noon and 11pm on both days.

The festival programme features a fantastic selection of 18 real ales. There will be various session beers including Adnam’s Lighthouse and Summer Wine’s Zenith Pale Ale.

For those who like something different there’s Blue Monkey’s BG Sips and Potbelly’s Pigs Do Fly!!! For those with a stronger thirst the festival includes Anglo Dutch’s Tabatha the Knackered and Exmoor Beast.

There will also be four ciders on sale from local cider makers. The ciders are made from traditional English varieties of apples to make a clear delicate pale cider with refined character that rarely fails to delight the palate.

Hot food will be available in the evenings.

On Saturday, there will be a stream of live music. The afternoon will feature local Morris dance sides Alvechurch and the all female side Aelfgythe, and belly dancers Belly Fusion Dance Collective. The evening will feature the festival’s rhythm and blues band, local folk/acoustic band No Stomp in Sunshine.

All the proceeds from the beer festival will go to local charities and organisations. Since its beginnings Astwood Bank Carnival has raised more than £200,000 for local charities including Scouts and Guides, Macmillan Cancer Support and Young at Heart.

For more information on the festival, visit the carnival website www.astwoodbankcarnival.co.uk.