The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival

If the regular Carling/​Carlsberg/​Stella-​style options at your local bar are boring your palette, don’t hesitate to head to The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival, the Campaign For Real Ale’s flagship annual three-​day drinking fest in Wales. Always rolling out a list of barrelled British ales as long as your arm, with understandable emphasis on Welsh brewers, plus many German beers, every year brings a handful of comedic names — try ordering past example Pheasant Plucker after a couple of pints without accidentally insulting the serving staff. The cider and perry options are plentiful and strong, too. The festivalgoers vary from 14-​pint-​a-​night rugby fan types to stereotypical beardy real ale enthusiasts and though admission is charged that does get you freebies (at the 2010 festival, for example, it was a fiver in with a free beer glass, and under 26s got complimentary beer tokens). The earlier you get there, the better the availability — arrive late on the last day and chances are stocks of most popular drinks will have been drained already. The downsides: the food choices could do with improving, although live entertainment/​music will take your mind off any rumbling stomachs. And the venue, Cardiff International Arena, is somewhat grim and lit like a school assembly hall; you’ll certainly be left wishing they had an outdoor beer garden. For anybody in doubt over the middling mark: the beer, ciders and perry ranges are as imaginative as such tipples come, it’s just the venue makes it more likely that alcohol’s depressing qualities will win out if you spend too much time there — and running for 12 hours every day, a serious drinking session is certainly on the cards for those who can last the pace.