Bent N Bongs Beer Bash

The ‘B n B’ celebrated its 25^th anniversary this year, so it was about time I paid a visit to help them celebrate :)
Even though we arrived an hour before the doors opened (on the advice from friends who went last year) there was already a lengthy queue. As we waited in the chilly air the mobile tea & coffee booth was a welcome help for some of the gang. The line of eager beer drinkers continued to grow until it was well back into the car park behind the Hall, an obvious testament to how popular the Bash was.
When the doors opened the queue actually went down rather quickly as there were plenty of volunteers taking entry fees and handing out beer glasses and programs.
The large main hall had beer pumps down either side with a stage at the end for the live entertainment. You paid for your beer tokens at a booth near the stage. The cask ales, ciders and food options were based in a separate side room.
The place filled quickly and for a time I personally felt as though there were too many people in there, having to allow folks to squeeze by us and tap on shoulders to get past people on our way to the bars. The feeling over overcrowding did improve though and once the beer had been flowing for an hour the atmosphere in there was fantastic. The aforementioned entertainment interspersed Lancashire folk music with blue humour, they were one of the highlights of the event IMO.
After several hours of beer sampling (and discovering a couple of fantastic ales — ‘Nightfall’ and ‘Zenith’ from Cross Bay brewery in Morecambe — where some of my family hail from) we left in high spirits and looked forward to returning in 2015.
Tip: there’s a cloak room available — donations made to charity.

This is just our favourite beer festival of the area. And we’re clearly not the only ones to think that way seeing as people queue outside, braving the cold and rain way over an hour before the doors open.
It’s got everything you want from a local beer fest: great selection of quality ales (not had one I didn’t like) as well as belgium, german and other foreign beers, ciders etc…
The band who play every year are putting on a great show, great cover songs of the classics, with intermittent dirty jokes. Never seen a fight in 3 years I’ve been, every body has got a big smile on their face.
4 hours of sheer fun with your mates. See you next year !