A plea to support local breweries has been made before the weekend when the Oxford Beer and Cider Festival was due to be held.

The festival at Oxford Town Hall– which attracted around 3,000 people over the same weekend last year – had to be cancelled due to Covid-19, and Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) members have no idea if or when it will be held again.

More than 20 local breweries – out of 90 from all over the country – sent beers to last year’s festival.

Oxford Mail:

The Oxford Beer and Cider Festival in 2018

CAMRA is backing up calls to support them by publishing a full list with weblinks on the new website of its magazine, the Oxford Drinker oxforddrinker.camra.org.uk.

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Dave Richardson, editor of the website and spokesman for Oxford CAMRA, said: “Thousands of people will miss their annual treat at the Town Hall this weekend, but they can still support local breweries.

“If there is one positive outcome for beer drinkers due to the crisis, it is that most of these brewers now offer collection or delivery services which not all did before.

“Much has rightly being made of the huge challenges faced by pubs at the moment, but the problems facing breweries are less well understood. While many are ticking over with collections and deliveries, they haven’t been able to benefit from the same financial support as some businesses, while pubs are selling less of their beer.

Oxford Mail:

"Small brewers face the additional challenge of proposed changes to their tax regime, which could make some of them unviable.

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“People seeing the list of local breweries on the Oxford Drinker website might be surprised to see how many there are – more than 20 in Oxfordshire alone. They brew beers in all kinds of styles, so there’s something for everyone.”

The Oxford Drinker, previously a bi-monthly magazine, was launched online as pubs no longer want to stock printed material due to virus transmission fears.

The website has all the features of the magazine including news and views from the local pubs and brewing scene, guest writers, and the popular Down Memory Lane section.

Oxford Mail:

Unlike the magazine, it can now be updated constantly.

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Last year at the town hall about 20 of the 90 breweries at the festival were from Oxfordshire, ranging from larger and long-established names such as Wychwood and Hook Norton, to micro-breweries in Bicester and Wantage that normally only supply their own pubs.

Coming to the festival for the first time was Amwell Springs from Cholsey, a new micro-brewery that opened last year.

Other breweries sending their beers to Oxford were based as far away as St Ives in Cornwall, Middlesbrough in the north and Bridgend in Wales. Mr Richardson added: “As well as supporting breweries it would be good if people could support local pubs this weekend by calling in for a pint and a meal.

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Oxford Mail:

Oxford CAMRA’s Pete Flynn with Kealey Hitchings, right and Bryony Lang of the Broad Face in Abingdon

"Pubs and breweries are going through a difficult time after pubs were forced to close for months because of the lockdown. Landlords would welcome support from customers while the remain open - the situation is changing quickly with the tiered lockdowns.”