Lottery to pick brewers at Sheffield independent beer festival

BeerX, a national trade show and beer festival, takes place between March 16 and 19 and has been organised by The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).

For the first time the event will feature 20 different brewery bars run by the breweries themselves and featuring two independent craft keg beers, plus bottles and cans. Demand was so high amongst SIBA’s 850 brewery members that a lottery-style draw was introduced to select the breweries to be given a place.

Among those chosen were Bradford Brewery, Leeds Brewery and Thornbridge in Bakewell, Derbyshire.

Nick Stafford, SIBA’s Commercial Director, said: “BeerX’s Festival of Beer is all about showcasing the very best in British brewing across cask, keg, bottle and can, and with the addition of our new Brewers Village and brewery bars we are allowing beer drinkers to speak to and have beers poured by the brewers themselves.

“We think this is a great way to get people engaged with beer and also allows our members to get direct feedback at the point of sale.

“The addition of the new bar space will more than double the size of the public ‘Festival of Beer’ with hundreds of beers being showcased, many of which are being judged in SIBA’s National Beer competition, held at BeerX. However the brewery bars won’t be limited to serving beers from the competition,

“The great thing about the brewery bars is they allow brewers to choose the beers they are most proud of.”