THIS IS A SPONSORED FEATURE
This weekend’s Ventnor Winter Gardens Beer & Cider Festival is shaping up to be a big event for the town, with over 100 beers and ciders available. Entry is free and drinks tokens can be purchased at the door.
Award-winning ales
Most of the beers brewed on the Island will be represented with Goddards, Yates and Island Ales products being there to try, including Goddards 6.5% Quarr Abbey Ale, Yates’ Undercliff Experience and Island Ales’ Yachtsman’s Ale. Of course Ventnor’s Botanical Ale, brewed from hops grown at Ventnor Botanic Gardens, can be tasted, celebrating the time in the 19th century when the Island was a major hop growing region.
Off-Island beers available at the Festival include the award winning Gold Spice from Keystone Brewery in Salisbury, Bell Ringer from Abbey Ales in Bath, Isle of Purbeck Brewer’s Force Four and Pigs Do Fly from the Potbelly Brewery in Kettering.
Try beetroot or chilli cider
Ten cider producers from the South and South West of England will be represented, with nearly 50 ciders from growers such as Lilley’s in Somerset, Weston’s in Herefordshire and New Forest Cider from Burley.
Traditional and flavoured ciders will be available – flavours including beetroot, ginger chilli, plum and strawberry.
Rum cocktails
To add variety, wines from Island vineyards will be on hand alongside rums from St Vincent Distillers including Sunset Rum Cocktails, as well as some tasty foods including Isle of Wight sausages and burgers, cheeses, homemade pies and snacks – in short anything you might like to enjoy with a pint.
Free live music
Every session will have live music from local artists including Jules Nelson and Blues band The Moonshiners on Friday, Juke Box Jazz and The Dropouts on Saturday and Sunday’s music from Amber Lilly.
The music performances are included in the free entry.
Rugby World Cup games will be shown on the big screen.
Not just for aficionados
There’s no need to be a beer or cider aficionado, programmes with tasting notes will be available to guide your choices, and there will be staff and volunteers on hand to serve and advise.
Raising money for charity
As well as providing a great time for festival goers, the event will also be raising money for St. Catherine’s School in Ventnor, a worthwhile charity providing education for children with speech, communication and language needs locally, as five pence from every pint will be donated.
It promises to be a great weekend for enjoying a drink and admiring one of the best views on the Island from the Winter Gardens Terrace.
The doors open at 11am this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the iconic 1930’s building in Pier Street, Ventnor.
Friday 12noon – 11pm
Saturday 11am – 11pm
Sunday 11am – 5pm
Our thanks to The Winter Gardens for sponsoring this feature. They and other businesses taking paid promotion enables you to continue reading OnTheWight for free
