St. Lawrence Church will host the 2023 York CAMRA Beer Festival

This year’s event has been scaled down from the traditional circuit as the Knavesmire host additional races, but the festival is very close to all of our hearts.

This afternoon was just traditional trading, where brewers, publicans and other hospitality professionals could meet and share stories.

Among them were Mark Ellwood and Dan Druce from the Rook And Gaskell public house, just around the corner from the church.

READ MORE:

Mark said the pair were looking for beers to serve at their popular pub.

“There are some we’ve never seen before,” he said, looking up at the barrels piled up around the church.

Dan said he enjoyed a Kinetic from Atom Brewery and they both agreed the church venue was fantastic.

Wayne Smith, co-founder of Brew York, has just started but said he enjoys the different beers.

“It’s an impressive building,” he said of the historic church.

Wayne was looking forward to meeting other breweries and restaurateurs.

“It’s going to be a fun week, helped by good access to the city center. “I think it’s a great festival,” he added.

Brew York’s other co-founder, Lee Grabham, described the new venue as “a stunning setting”.

“It is well organized. The beers are lovely and cool. I enjoy making contacts and getting to know people. There are still a few that I haven’t seen since the pandemic. I saw some of them today,” he said.

Patrick Hall, owner of the newly opened Trig Brewery near York, said this was the brewery’s first event.

“Our first brew is being poured now,” he told the press.

“It’s going to be a great festival and it’s in a wonderful setting, it’s beautiful.”

The team from Malton Brewery Brass Castle enjoyed networking, including drinks with Ian Loftus from House of Trembling Madness.

Ian was disappointed that the festival was smaller than previous years as he believed a large festival showcased York for its beers and pubs.

However, he welcomed the church venue’s proximity to the city center and added that many pubs hosted festival fringe events.

Ian hoped people would also go downtown and enjoy the joys.

The Blue Bell in Fossgate is one of the pubs hosting events this week such as: B. Tours of the cellar start at 5pm and the pub stays open until midnight.

Landlord John Pybus agreed the surroundings were wonderful and added that York CAMRA should be proud of the result.

York CAMRA Chairman Chris Tregellis added that the festival was off to a great start, the beer was flowing and ready to be enjoyed!

The festival runs until Saturday.