The next few weeks and months are awash with beer festivals up, down and across the country.

Increasingly, these events step beyond the wonderful world of beer and seek to offer more than just rows of beer taps (as if that's not enough!).

Whether it's bouncy castles, art shows, bands, DJs, food shows, cocktail counters, beer festivals nowadays are as much about the festival as they are the beer, and a fair few make a virtue out of being family friendly.  

We're also seeing wave after wave of smaller, local beer festivals, from Montrose (March 3-5) to East Kilbride (March 19-20), Forres (May) to Giffnock (August 27). These are often organised by a local brewery, bar or business, and usually feature several other beer and cider makers.

They’re a brilliant way to meet the people behind the beers, as well as experience some ridiculously innovative brews. Ginger and Lime Saison anyone? 

 

Five great Beer Festivals
 

NorthHops
Edinburgh (March 5); Aberdeen (April 30 to May 1); Glasgow (June 18 to19); Highlands (tbc)
THIS touring beer festival kicks off in Edinburgh next month. Hip, funky and a wee bit arty, they’ve heaps of different types of food stalls, breweries such as Windswept, Williams and Six Degrees North and newcomer Up Front Brewing – and a couple of bars serving cocktails and craft gins, rums and wine.


Great Scottish Beer Celebration
March 10 to 12
NEXT month, the Great Scottish Beer Celebration returns to the Barras Art and Design Centre in Glasgow after smashing expectations at last year’s inaugural event. Organised by specialist Hippo Beers, the line-up includes cracking breweries such as Alechemy, Tempest and Fallen. Expect food from Burger meets Bun and Bo Cantina.


Edinburgh Beer Festival
April 16
THESE days more and more breweries are hosting events on site, with Edinburgh brewery Stewart launching their own craft beer festival in the grounds of their brewery. While there’s a generous offering of music and food, the focus here is on innovative beers and top-notch breweries, and Stewart’s head brewer Bruce Smith will be launching a wild imperial stout as well as a number of collaboration brews made with Hawkshead, Fallen and Oregon’s Crux Fermentation Project.


Paisley Beer Festival
April 20 to 23
SCOTLAND’S biggest beer festival will be celebrating its 29th birthday. A stalwart of good beer, and organised by Camra, the PBF is a gargantuan affair, with hundreds of beers on offer and thousands of people expected through the doors. A big deal for breweries, with quite a few awards handed out at the end of the four day bash. Currently recruiting for volunteers.


FyneFest
June 10 to 12
A BELTER of a weekend, and one of the best beer festivals around, especially if the sun’s shining and the midges are behaving … which does happen. Why so great? FyneFest offers about 150 different beers from about 40 breweries from the UK and abroad, as well as a couple of campsites (most folk stay over), umpteen food stalls and two stages of music – all in the beautiful surroundings of Glen Fyne.

 

See AleselA's Beer Festival Calendar for more info.