Great British Beer Festival, Winter - Magna, 12-15 Feb 2025

[Andy C]

Following the long running Rotherham Real Ale & Music Festival coming to an end this year, CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival winter edition is relocating from Burton on Trent to Magna, on the Sheffield/Rotherham border near Meadowhall (bus X3 Sheffield-Doncaster goes there).

 

Website winter.gbbf.org.uk

 

Features

- Huge range of cask real ales from Yorkshire and further afield

- other craft beers from around the UK on tap

- brewery bars

- range of imported beers from around the world

- traditional cider & perry made from freshly pressed juice, not concentrate

- champion winter beer of Britain judged here with all the competition entries on a dedicated bar (categories include stouts, porters, old ales and barley wines!)

- learn & discover bar selling themed tasting flights

- table top games and tombola

- tutored tasting sessions with themes including champion ales, beers brewed on the Thornbridge Union, beer & cheese pairing and beer & music matching

- live music

- food available

 

Tickets

- individual entry £10 (or £8 for CAMRA members), buy online or on the door

- group deal, 5 for £40, buy online

- season ticket, includes all sessions from Wednesday to Saturday, £30, buy online.

- tutored tastings are an optional extra, book online

 

Opening hours

- Wednesday 5pm to 11pm

- Thursday to Saturday midday to 11pm.

 

Buying drinks

- all the bars will accept contactless card payment

- alternatively you can buy beer tokens from desks around the venue to spend at the bar

 

What's On

Wednesday 6:30pm – Tutored tasting: Champion Winter Beer of Britain with Roger Protz (£12)

Wednesday 6:30pm – Live music: Bone Broke Kings – Blues rock band (included in entry)

Wednesday 7:45pm – Live music: Lightning Threads – Blues rock power trio (included in entry)

Wednesday 9pm – Live music: The Fargo Railroad Co – Southern rock (included in entry)

Thursday 2pm – Tutored tasting: Champion Winter Beer of Britain with Roger Protz (£12)

Thursday 6pm – Tutored tasting: Brewed on the Union with Roger Protz and the Thornbridge brewers (£12)

Thursday 7pm – Live music: Floodhounds – indie, garage rock, blues and grunge! (included in entry)

Thursday 8:30pm – Live music: Northern Citizens – 5 piece classic rock covers band (included in entry)

Friday 1pm – Live music: Daniel Horsham – solo acoustic covers (included in entry)

Friday 2pm – Tutored tasting: Beer & Cheese pairing with Annabel Smith (£16)

Friday 3:30pm – Live music: Eboney Jayne O’Brien – vocalist (included in entry)

Friday 5pm – Live music: Kiziah and the Kings – Eclectic fusion band, reggae funk-tock ska to soul (included in entry)

Friday 6pm – Tutored tasting: Beer & Music matching with Pete Brown (£12)

Friday 6:30pm – Live music: Soul Battalion – soul and Motown band (included in entry)

Friday 8:30pm – Live music: The Leptons – three-piece party band (included in entry)

Saturday 1pm – Live music: Jack T Harper – solo acoustic covers (included in entry)

Saturday 3pm – Live music: Maltby Miners Welfare Band – three section brass band (included in entry)

Saturday 5:30pm – Live music: Matilda Shakes – indie rock and rollers (included in entry)

Saturday 7pm – Live music: Republic – high energy five piece covers band (included in entry)

Saturday 8:30pm – Live music: Handsome Dan and the Mavericks – attractive ska gunslingers (included in entry)

[Longcol]

Not been to a beer festival since Sheffield CAMRA used to hold them in the Lower Refec of University Students Union late 70's / early 80's.  

 

Seeing as it's not long before my 70th birthday and we usually visit England sometime between Xmas and Easter I may be tempted. Or not as the number of IPA's / craft beers available from French supermarkets has increased  no end in the last 2 or 3 years,

[Andy C]

Brewery bars confirmed so far..

Brew York 

Abbeydale 

Chantry

Thornbridge 

Radio City Beer Works 

 

These bars are separate from the main festival bars and will usually be staffed by folk from the brewery that are able to answer questions about the beer!

[Andy C]

Two more brewery bars confirmed - Wantsum and Theakstons.

 

Also a special shuttle bus will run to Magna from Meadowhall and Rotherham from 4pm each day the festival is open, fare £2.50. The normal local First bus X3 also goes past the pedestrian entrance to Magna from Sheffield, Meadowhall and Rotherham on which normal tickets/passes apply.