15963GAZETTE & HERALD: Local brewers proved a hot favourite at Chippenham's 14th annual Beer Festival over the weekend.

The Box Steam Brewery's beer Tunnel Vision was the first to sell out and locally brewed Ramsbury Gold and Westbury Midnight Mash also proved very popular.

Organised by the North West Wiltshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), the Chippenham Beer Festival took place at the Olympiad on Friday and Saturday.

This year the festival was more popular than ever, with tickets selling out on both Friday and Saturday nights, and around 300 people turning up for the Saturday lunchtime session.

Branch secretary Ed Spearey said: "It went very well indeed, despite the poor weather and the fact that so few trains are running through Chippenham at the weekends."

Around 800 gallons of real ale were downed over the course of the weekend, and hundreds of real ale fans seized the opportunity to try some brews they had never tasted before.

By the end of the weekend only 30 beers were left which is just how they aim to do it, according to Mr Spearey.

Around 1,000 people enjoyed the Friday night session, with music laid on by the rock group the Outhouse Critics and around 500 people attended on Saturday night, to drink beer and listen to some groovy jazz sounds from the Celebration Jazz Band.

Some 80 different varieties of beer were on offer, with real ales coming from the Orkney Islands in the north and Cornwall in the south.

Many of the micro-brewery offerings have idiosyncratic names, including Granny Wouldn't Like It and Buffy's Norwegian Blue.

As much a part of English culture as cricket, real ale is enjoyed cool but not chilled and it isn't fizzy.

About 12 different beers and perries were also available.

"The local beers all sold extremely well, but all the varieties had their admirers," said Mr Spearey.

"It was a lot of work tidying up we had 88 sticky taps to be washed on Sunday."

He said they were very pleased with the success of the event and had no trouble from any over intoxicated festival goers.

The Mayor of Chippenham Coun Ross Henning called by for an official opening ceremony on Saturday lunchtime, and four of the five parliamentary candidates dropped by, wearing their rosettes and hoping to win a vote or two among the drinkers.

Next year's event is already in the pipeline and is scheduled for April 28 and 29.