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Since its inception back in 2023, it has been held at the grounds of St. Mary’s Church, markedly the oldest building in Hemel Hempstead, dating from the 12th century. This festival is co- organised between Mid Chilterns CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) and St Mary’s Church, since it’s a non-for-profit event the proceeds are split between the two organisations with any surplus money going towards the upkeep of the church building and local pubs.
Festival selection is via our nominated festival committee Beer Orderer Alex Baker (former cellar manager of a Pub of the Year award winner within our branch), so understandably there were a number of beers from the brewer on selection, from core-brand fixtures like Mansion Mild (3.7%), seasonal specials in the form of the gloriously drinkable Summer ale Fanny Ebbs (3.9%) to the festival exclusive Colley’s Glory (6.2%), a blend of their ruby-coloured ESB, Colley’s Dog (5.2%), with the barley wine Death or Glory (7.2%).
The main festival bar was located in the church building itself, there were over 30 cask ales on offer, mainly from local breweries located in the Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire region like Tring, Vale, Rebellion and Mad Squirrel respectively, but with a decent representation from breweries across the UK as well.
Despite the relatively small number of beers, the bar was split into two, with the larger John Lomax bar offering bitters, pales, golden ales, IPA’s and strong ales, while the smaller Dave Lewin Bar was dedicated to dark ales, offering a small yet decent selection of porters, stouts and milds. This kind of arrangement is unusual for a beer festival, but it ensured that all drinkers were catered for.
Many of the beers on offer were sponsored by local businesses and individuals, among the highlights of the beer selection were classics like Bass (4.4%), Pale Rider (5.2%), Wobbly Bob (6%) and Boddington’s Bitter (4.4%), a Mancunian icon which was relaunched on cask last Autumn by J.W. Lees, a traditional amber-gold bitter, it was a flavoursome display of gentle bitterness blended with grassy hops and bready malt.
There were also a number of local regional favourites like Wychert (3.9%) and Roasted Nuts (4.6%) and the very local Jupiter Heights (4.2%) from the nearby Hop Tap micropub, even Champion Beer of Britain 2026, Independence (4.6%) from Bristol Beer Factory made an appearance.
Over on the darker end of the EBC scale, there were a mixture of popular icons like Landlord Dark (4.3%) and the eminently light-bodied yet malt-forward Gravedigger’s Mild (3.8%) with its distinct chocolate and coffee notes, also on offer was a special collaboration beer in the form of Old Toby (5%) developed in conjunction between Vale and ABC breweries, a smoked porter which lived up to its name, giving a smoky counterpoint to the bittersweet chocolate and coffee flavours engineered by the use of heritage malt variety Chevalier.
There were even some pastry stouts on the roster including Cherry Tonkoto (5.5%) to the ridiculously sweet Double Trouble Birthday Cake Stout (5%) which surely holds the title for the best titled beer at the festival. To cater for a wide range of drinkers, in the adjacent church hall building, the organisers also set up a cider and perry bar, also holding the fort was a small keg bar primarily dominated by Tring Brewery, and a prosecco bar for the wine drinkers.
On the cider/ perry front there were around 15 examples on display, there were well-known classics like Devon Red (4.5%) to cider and perry blends in the form of Gardenia (4.8%) made with Conference pears and elderflowers, there was even the likes of Kingston Black (6.5%) a rare dark cider that takes its name from the apple variety it uses, which gives off a distinct copper-red hue.
While the traditional cider/perry growing regions from Devonshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire were well represented there were some examples from further afield like Whisky Cask Cider (6.9%) from Thistly Cross based near the east Lothian coast of Scotland, where the cider is matured in casks from Glen Moray distillery, giving a distinct Scottish take on cider.
Moreover, there was also a healthy number of fruit ciders available like Dance Commander Sour Cherry (3.9%), Cloudy Strawberry Cider (4.8%) and Berry Lime Blitz (3.4%), if there was such a thing as craft cider, then assuredly this would be a reasonable interpretation.
Despite the relatively small number of beers, ciders and perries on offer, the festival was eminently popular with hundreds of punters flooding the venue, while most of the visitors were sprawled over the surrounding grounds soaking in the summer sun, a good deal took shelter inside the main-building and church hall.
Although limited by the number of drinks, the organisers have managed to spread out the selection evenly to cater for enough people, yet there were some downsides to take into account.
To address the beer first, naturally our aim is to have as little wastage as possible by the close of our last day, as any unsold stock would eat into our non-profit surplus. This is where my connection to Tring Brewery comes into play - I personally source more beer and cider from our brewery coldstore if needed, there is no chance or reliance on external factors. We have upped our beer purchasing year-on-year based on forecasting AND reserve the option of a restock run via myself - in the interest of maximum surplus and minimal wastage.
Although at its heart it is a small-scale festival catering for the local community, it offers a unique microcosm of larger festivals, giving both seasoned real-ale drinkers and newcomers the opportune insight in the wonderful world that cask beer, cider and perry has to offer.
