Carlton Town Fans

With interest both locally and from further afield, all eyes were on the festival organisers to see what temptations they could put up for our consumption on Friday, Saturday and Sunday - and it's fair to say they've come up trumps.

There are 23 ales and five ciders on offer from a total of 11 breweries and even a quick glance at the tasting notes reveals that there is something for everyone - and perhaps everything for someone.

The current issue of the award winning Nottingham Drinker magazine, produced by the local branch of CAMRA and widely regarded as the premier such production in the country, showcased, quite rightly, the emergence of five new breweries in Nottingham and area during 2012. Well, beers from two of those breweries will be available at the Carlton Town beer festival a full three months before they will appear at the Nottingham beer festival in October. This of course presents a fantastic opportunity to see at first hand what all the fuss is about.

These are the Navigation Brewery, Nottingham, who have six ales available, and the Lincoln Green brewery, Mansfield, who have three of their ales available.

Also present will be Flipside (Colwick), Magpie (Nottingham), Shardlow (Derbyshire), Spire (Chesterfield) and Maulden's (Suffolk).

The real ciders come from further afield, with Orchard Pig (Somerset), Gwynt Y Ddraig (Wales), Millwhites (Hemel Hempstead) and Original Cider Company (Bristol) sharing with us their wares.

The beers available, as would be expected, cover the full range of styles and strengths, from 3.8% session beers to Golden ales, IPAs and more complex stronger ales.

The ciders, as is usually the case, pack somewhat more punch than most of the beers, with the ABVs in the 6-7.5% bracket.

Don't rely on my descriptions though - the official tasting notes can be found on the Supporters tab or, if you'd rather, just click here.

The festival begins at 5.00pm on Friday 13 July and continues on Saturday and Sunday, both from 12 noon. Entertainment is provided throughout, with live music for all sessions apart from 12-3pm on Saturday, when those prefering a quieter drinking environment will be catered for. Food will be available throughout, and of course soft drinks and hot beverages will also be available.

Entry is just £5 and includes a commemorative glass and a voucher for one drink. CAMRA members will get a second voucher on production of a current membership card. And best of all, the entry price entitles you to entry for the whole weekend, so if you can't get through all 28 on Friday, you can finish them off on Saturday and/or Sunday!

It promises to be a memorable weekend, and it would be fantastic to see as many people here as possible.

For those who haven't been here before, the ground is on Stoke Lane in Gedling, Nottinghamshire. There is a regular bus service (100) from Nottingham City Centre to Southwell (and back) which takes about 20 minutes to get here. Directions to the ground, including information about public transport, can be found here.