Farnham Beer Exhibition, usually but informally known as Farnham Beerex (or just Beerex), is the longest established

beer festival A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales. Asia China *Qingdao International Beer Fes ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to be held annually on the same premises. Held in

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, the first Beerex took place in 1977, and serves as a charity fundraiser for the Lions Club of Farnham.

History

Held in

, the first Beerex took place in 1977, three years after

CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, real cider, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founde ...

had been established, as a means of promoting traditional cask-conditioned beers from British breweries in line with CAMRA's aims, whilst raising money for charity. The concept was the idea of two CAMRA members who were also members of the Farnham Lions Club. These two, Paul Blowfield and Ralph Carter, were inspired by CAMRA's Covent Garden Beer Festival (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) of 1975. They took the idea to their two organisations, who then joined with the Farnham Maltings Association to organise the first event, which pre-dated the first CAMRA

Great British Beer Festival The Great British Beer Festival (sometimes abbreviated as GBBF) is an annual beer festival organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). It presents a selection of cask ales, and the Champion Beer of Britain awards, and is held in August of ...

by some months. The event attracted more attendees than anticipated necessitating additional supplies of beer and glasses. Originally planned as a one-off event, it has taken place every year since at the

Farnham Maltings Farnham Maltings is a creative arts centre in the heart of the market town of Farnham in Surrey, England History Farnham Maltings was bought by the community, currently led by its town council A town council, city council or municipal coun ...

in late April or early May, still organised by the same three organisations. The 2018 event will be the 42nd and once again take place at the Farnham Maltings April 12–14.

Organisation

It is organised and staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers. Admission is by advance ticket only, which generally sell-out within hours of release, some months before the event.Farnham Herald reports, 1978 to 2017 The event has raised in excess of £900,000 for mainly local charities and good causes through the Lions Club of Farnham, and has been instrumental in raising awareness of traditional beers in the Farnham area which can now boast a number of independent breweries including the longer-established

Hogs Back Brewery Hogs Back Brewery is a hops-growing brewery in Tongham, Surrey, United Kingdom. The company was founded in November 1991 by Tony Stanton-Precious and brothers Martin and John Hunt. The brewery, in Tongham, Surrey, is based in a barn that dates f ...

. Special half-pint glasses have been issued each year, and limited edition pint glasses for the 10th and 21st Exhibitions; these are very collectable and some reach high values. Since 1978 the

Souvenir Programme A programme or program (see spelling differences) is a booklet available for patrons attending a live event such as theatre performances, concerts, fêtes, sports events, etc. It is a printed leaflet outlining the parts of the event scheduled t ...

has carried a front-cover cartoon by

Bill Tidy William Edward Tidy, MBE (9 October 1933 – 11 March 2023) was a British cartoonist, writer and television personality, known chiefly for his comic strips. He was noted for his charitable work, particularly for the Lord's Taverners, which h ...

and a booklet of these cartoons was published in 2006.

References

{{reflist

External links

farnhamlions.org.uk
Festivals in Surrey Beer festivals in the United Kingdom Lions Clubs International Beer gardens Farnham