CAMRA Bristol Beer & Cider Festival will resume as soon as is possible.

The Bristol & District branch of CAMRA was regrettably not able to proceed with plans to hold the Bristol Beer & Cider Festival at City Hall in November 2025. This was because an incoming contractor, Restaurant Associates, took over event management for Bristol City Council (including control of City Hall) and initially was not able to confirm prices and key terms and conditions in the necessary time frame.

The branch kept in contact with the new event manager and it was looking hopeful that we could hold our festival there in March 2026. However, once the new terms of hiring City Hall were confirmed, it became clear that there are too many challenges for it to be viable.

Aside from an increase in the cost of hiring the venue, under the new contractor we would no longer be able to access the kitchen that adjoins the hall. Running a beer and cider festival with no easy access to a sink or clean water presents significant challenges. Further, there would be significant restrictions in the provision of food, including not allowing external food vendors and stopping festival attendees from bringing in any food of their own.

Clearly this is disappointing news, but the branch will continue investigating alternative venue options with a view to holding a festival later in 2026.

Some key requirements for any new venue are:

• Capacity of at least 500 people
• An accessible location with good public transport links
• Available to hire for a whole week

An issue we have previously encountered when looking at venues is that some advertise a capacity based on all attendees standing or being seated in rows theatre style. Unfortunately this figure can drop significantly when the venue is laid out for a beer festival. Also, some venues have a business model that expects to generate revenue from running their own bar at events, so when approached they are not interested in hosting a CAMRA beer festival.

If you have any suggestions for a suitable beer festival venue in Bristol please email: ku.gro.lotsirbarmac@drahcir