Beer Festivals

Southern Hampshire CAMRA has been running Southampton Beer Festival in its current format since 1997. The first 20 events were at Southampton Guildhall and in 2017 Southampton Beer Festival moved to St Mary's Stadium.

In 2010 we added to this by organising an Autumn Festival, in Woolston, appropriately called Woolston Beer Festival. We repeated this the next year and it has become annual event.

In 2011 we held Winchester Real Ale and Cider Festival at the end of March, returning a CAMRA beer festival to Winchester Guildhall after a gap of 28 years. This was another big success and remained so up until 2020 when it was the last CAMRA beer festival before the Covid lockdown. Since then we have been unable to return to the Guildhall but 2024 is looking good for a new venue 7th & 8th June, more details soon.

All the staff at our beer festivals are volunteers. Many members of Southern Hampshire CAMRA also volunteer their time to work at the Great British Beer Festival each year.

Some of our aims in running beer festivals are:

  • To serve customers quality cask conditioned real ale.
  • To promote real ale to the local community, therefore increasing its popularity.
  • To promote membership of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.

If you'd like us to email you and let you know when we're holding beer festivals then join our "beerfests" mailing list and we'll keep you informed!

Listing policy

For CAMRA beer festivals we list those within 50 miles of our branch area. Please check the individual websites for details. We to research non-CAMRA festivals as best we can and list those within 25 miles of our branch area. Inevitably we will miss a few, some aren't well publicized, so if you know of more please drop us an email and let us know. In any case you should check with the venue for any last minute changes before attending.

CAMRA Beer Festivals

  • 37th Swindon Beer Festival – 23rd, 24th & 25th October 2025
    Steam Museum, Fire Fly Ave, Swindon SN2 2EY
    Thursday 18:00 – 23:00; Friday 11:00 – 16:00 & 18:00 – 23:00; Saturday 11:00 - 19:00. Tickets on door for Thursday £8, Friday £10 per session and Saturday £5, or free if you've been to an earlier session and saved your glass. Run by Swindon & North Wiltshire CAMRA.
     
  • 27th Worthing Beer Festival – 24th & 25th October 2025
    Guildbourne Centre, Ann Street, Worthing BN11 1LZ
    11:00 – 16:00 & 17:00 – 22:30 Friday, 11:00 – 21:30 Saturday. Tickets £8, £10 & £8 respectively. £3 entrance after 17:00 Saturday. Run by Arun & Adur CAMRA.
     
  • 19th Redhill Beer Festival – 30th, 31st October & 1st November 2025
    Merstham Village Hall, Station Road North, Merstham, RH1 3ED
    12:00 – 23:00 Thursday & Friday; 12:00 – 18:00 Saturday. Tickets £4 Thursday & Friday, and free entrance Saturday. Run by East & Mid Surrey CAMRA.
     
  • 15th Woolston Beer Festival – 31st October & 1st November 2025
    Pear Tree Church Hall, Woolston, Southampton SO19 2HA
    Up to 28 cask beers, ciders, craft beer, bottled beers & food. Open Fri 11:30 – 16:00 (Quiet Session) & 18:00 – 22:30 (The Henrys); Sat 11:30 – 16:00 (Quiz / Quiet Session) & 18:00 – 22:30 (Plaitford Common). Tickets £7 (incl. glass & programme) now on sale, but Friday evening and Saturday afternoon sessions are sold out. Entertainment both evenings. £3 of free tokens for CAMRA members. All details on woolstonbeerfestival.camra.org.uk. Run by Southern Hampshire CAMRA.
     
  • 26th Poole Beer Festival – 31st October & 1st November 2025
    St Aldhelms Centre, Poole Road, Branksome BH12 1AD
    11:00 – 15:30 & 18:30 – 23:00 both days. Tickets £10 advance only – includes glass, programme & 2 x ½ pints beer. Tickets on sale 1st September. Run by East Dorset CAMRA.
     
  • Gosport Winterfest XXXII – 27th & 28th February 2026
    Thorngate Halls, Bury Road, Gosport PO12 3PX
    Planning under-way, but expect: Three sessions: Fri 12:00 – 16:00 'quiet' session, tickets £5; Fri 18:00 – 23:00, tickets £10 & Sat 12:00 – 20:00, tickets £10. Run by Portsmouth & South East Hampshire CAMRA.
     

For CAMRA festivals over the whole of the UK see the main CAMRA website
 

Non-CAMRA Beer Festivals

Many beer festivals take place in our branch area, or nearby, that are not CAMRA beer festivals. Despite being unable to endorse these events, we believe that any beer festival that sells quality cask-conditioned real ales should be supported (see you there!). The information given here is purely for the benefit of readers, and is accurate to the best of our knowledge.
To get your beer festival listed here send an email to beerfestivals@shantscamra.org.uk

    Wed 01/10/2025
       – Sun 12/10/2025
Wetherspoon Autumn Real Ale Festival 2025
Wetherspoon pubs
Autumn real ale festival. A range of 30 real ales, including five from international brewers, will be available during the 12-day beer festival. See the Wetherspoon website – www.jdwetherspoon.com/news/autumn-beer-festival
    Fri 10/10/2025
       – Sat 11/10/2025
Hoptoberfest 2025
Staggeringly Good Brewery, Unit 10 St George's Ind Estate, Southsea PO4 8SS
Friday 18:00 – 23:00, Saturday 12:00 – 17:00 & 18:00 – 23:00. A 'traditional Munich beer hall experience at your local neighbourhood brewery'. Tickets £19.50 Friday; £19.94 for either Saturday Session including a limited edition stein glass, and your first drink. Early Bird discounts available. See website www.staggeringlygood.com/event/hoptoberfest
    Fri 10/10/2025
       – Sat 11/10/2025
Salisbury Oktoberfest
Salisbury Arts Centre, Bedwin Street, Salisbury SP1 3UT
The notice on Wiltshire Creative has disappeared, so this event may be cancelled, or sold out and no longer advertised. Last month we said: From 18:00 Friday, and 12:00 & 18:00 Saturday, so we assume two Saturday sessions; closing times for sessions not advertised. Tickets £25 + minimum £1 booking fees. Bavarian style festival. Details on www.wiltshirecreative.co.uk/events/oktoberfest
    Fri 10/10/2025
       – Sun 12/10/2025
Ryde Independent Beer Festival
The Railway, The Star Coffee & Ale House, The Castle Inn, The King Lud, Harry's Bar, The Solent Inn & The Simeon Arms, Ryde, Isle of Wight
The Ryde Independent Pubs and Bars Beer Festival beginning 12:00 Friday. The Magnificent 7 - pubs all working together to bring you a great real ale pub crawl. Each venue will have their own beer list, live music or events during this festival, and special commemorate badges are up for grabs for anyone managing to get their Wightrider brochure fully stamped. Details on this poster - www.wightwash.org.uk/documents/rbf.pdf
    Sat 11/10/2025
       – Sun 12/10/2025
Isle of Wight Steam Railway Beer & Steam Festival
The Railway Station, Havenstreet, Isle of Wight PO33 4DS
A good selection of real ales plus a few ciders. 11:00 – 17:00 each day. Free entrance, though steam train rides are extra, normally with a day ticket but for this event, return tickets between Wootton or Smallbrook to & from Havenstreet are available for £10 per adult, ideal for bus or Island Line train connections. See iwsteamrailway.co.uk/event/beer-steam for details.
    Fri 17/10/2025
       – Sun 19/10/2025
Prince of Wales, Farnborough
184 Rectory Road, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 8AL
Annual autumn beer festival. 70 cask ales, 10 ciders, 10 craft ales. No ticket required, buy a glass and tokens at the entrance. See their Facebook posts for more... www.facebook.com/103417023064697
    Fri 24/10/2025
       – Sat 25/10/2025
Oktoberfest Southampton
Guildhall Square, Southampton SO14 7FP
A German style Oktoberfest event in Guildhall Square (we assume in a tent) with oompah bands, sausages, schnitzels & pretzels, and beer - which we expect to be all keg. Friday 18:30 – 23:00, Saturday 12:30 – 17:30 and 18:30 – 23:00. 'Standing' and 'seating' tickets available at various prices - see www.oktoberfestsoton.com. There is a Facebook event - www.facebook.com/events/1183491746667134
    Fri 24/10/2025
       – Sat 25/10/2025
Romsey Round Table Beer Festival
Crosfield Hall, Broadwater Road, Romsey SO51 8GL
The 7th Romsey Round Table Beer Festival. 30+ beers & ciders, food including pizzas, plus live music. Open 18:30 – 23:00 each evening, tickets advance only £13.90. Proceeds go to support charities and good causes in Romsey and Chandler's Ford. See website www.romseybeerfestival.co.uk or Romsey Round table's Facebook event www.facebook.com/events/1763084314567928
    Fri 24/10/2025
       – Sun 26/10/2025
Junction Tavern Autumn Real Ale and Cider Festival
Junction Tavern, 1 Leesland Road, Gosport PO12 3ND
Usually about 15 beers on pumps and stillage with more in the cellar for back up. Keep an eye on www.junctiontaverngosport.co.uk for details or you may find some information on their Facebook www.facebook.com/TheJunctionTavern
    Sat 01/11/2025 25th Denmead Beer Festival
Denmead Community Centre, School Lane, Denmead, PO7 6LU
One session 19:00 – 23:30, tickets £12.50 on sale now. Ticket includes glass, programme & a drinks token. 20+ beers, 8+ ciders, wine and a barbecue. Live music from Mama Belle. Over 18s only. See denmeadcc.uk/page/posts/34 for full details. Tickets available from the office weekdays, Parkers DIY, and Forest of Bere pub in the village. The Community Centre's Facebook is www.facebook.com/DenmeadCommunityCentre
    Fri 07/11/2025
       – Sat 08/11/2025
Oktoberfest Portsmouth
Guildhall Square, Portsmouth PO1 2AB
In a big tent on Guildhall Square. Friday 18:00 – 23:00 & Saturday 12:00 – 17:00 & 18:00 – 23:00. Tickets from £18.45. ID required. A Bavarian style beer festival so expect sausages, pretzels & keg beer. See www.oktoberfestportsmouth.co.uk for all details.
    Fri 09/01/2026
       – Sat 10/01/2026
Westy Beer Festival
West End Centre, 48 Queens Road, Aldershot, GU11 3JD
Friday 18:00 – 22:00; Saturday 12:00 – 16:00 & 18:00 – 22:00. Usually over 50 beers and ciders plus live music. Tickets £10 per session, or £15 for reserved seats. Advance tickets have been needed for previous events; Saturday evening session is reserved seating only, £15. See www.westendcentre.co.uk/event/westy-beer-festival-2026 for more details.
   

If you know of any more non-CAMRA beer festivals in our branch area then please email the details to us.