What's on in Derbyshire

CAMRA Summer Beer Festival

Jul 2009 (annual)

Cost: CAMRA card carriers get in free or at reduced rates

Hours: 11am-3pm & 6.30pm-11pm

Derby is the Real Ale capital of England, so it's no surprise that local producers come out in force for the annual Summer Beer Festival. The Assembly Rooms are mobbed by beer-lovers eager to sample the 120 real ales on offer.

CAMRA stands for Campaign for Real Ale and is a non-profit, consumer association that champions the right of any drinker to be able to choose in a pub between traditionally-brewed real ales made by individuals and the well-known brands produced by the large-scale brewers.

Since its foundation in 1971, CAMRA has been extremely successful in promoting quality, choice and value for money and preventing the takeover of small breweries. No new ale breweries were set up in the UK for the 50 years before CAMRA was founded and there are now around 300 new brewers producing real ale, part of a massive real ale revival.

With a membership of 50,000, you can be sure as many of them as possible will be in Derby for this annual shindig. If you care about a good pint, you'd better be there too!

Assembly Rooms & Guildhall Theatre