THE day ale lovers have been waiting for all year has finally arrived as the biggest selection of beers in Europe comes to Nottingham.
The Robin Hood Beer Festival officially opens at 6pm tonight and will showcase a whopping 1,250 beers daily.
Up to 30,000 people are expected to have flocked to Nottingham Castle by the time the last pint is poured on Saturday night – pumping £1.5 million into the local economy.
Steve Westby, chairman of the Campaign for Real Ale in Nottingham and organiser of the event, said final preparations were going well.
"Hopefully we will get some decent weather and get people outside because there's such a nice area to enjoy the beer," he said.
"There's a buzz around the castle; there are a lot of volunteers on site really enjoying the camaraderie of putting on such a large event. A tremendous effort goes into it – hopefully it will all be rewarded. We'll be ready."
Pre-sale tickets for Friday and Saturday have sold out but tickets for tonight and tomorrow are still available and a number of tickets will be on the door every day.
This year's festival will be bigger than ever before with a record-breaking number of beers and a new area, The Village, where people will be able to sit undercover behind the bandstand.
John Lenihan, assistant manager at the Hand and Heart pub in Derby Road, is expecting a significant increase in trade.
He said: "It does bring a good amount of trade in for us as well. It's exciting, particularly that cask ale is starting to grow and grow locally. It's happening across the city and people are taking more of an interest in what they drink all the time. It's the crest of a wave and it's continuing to grow with micro-brewers all over the place. It's great to see."
Pre-sale tickets from www.beerfestival.nottinghamcamra.org
