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
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20th Redhill Beer
Festival – 29th, 30th & 31st October 2026
Merstham Village Hall, Station Road
North, Merstham, RH1 3ED
12:00 – 22:30 Thursday & Friday; 12:00 – 18:00 Saturday. Tickets
£4 for Thursday & Friday sessions, Saturday free until stocks run out. Run by East & Mid Surrey CAMRA.
-
16th Woolston
Beer Festival – 30th & 31st October 2026
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 & 18:00 – 22:30; Sat 11:30 – 16:00 & 18:00 – 22:30. Tickets £7
(incl. glass & programme). Entertainment is from Rellix on Friday evening and Flaxen Hill on Saturday
evening. Friday lunchtime is the quiet session and Saturday lunchtime has the quiz. All details are on woolstonbeerfestival.camra.org.uk. Run by
Southern Hampshire CAMRA.
-
27th Poole Beer Festival – 30th & 31st October 2026
St Aldhelms
Centre, Poole Road, Branksome BH12 1AD
11:00 – 15:30 & 18:30 – 23:00 both days. Tickets
£10 and go on sale 1st September. Run by East
Dorset CAMRA.
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38th Dorchester Beerex –
5th & 6th February 2027
Corn Exchange, North Square, Dorchester DT1 1HF
Open Friday
& Saturday 11:00 – 16:00 and 18:30 – 23:30. All sessions £12. Admission includes
commemorative glass plus two ½ pints, with a further pint concession for CAMRA members. Tickets on sale
soon. Run by West Dorset CAMRA.
-
Gosport Winterfest
XXXIII – 26th & 27th February 2027
Thorngate Halls, Bury Road, Gosport PO12 3PX
Three sessions: Fri 12:00 – 16:00 'quiet' session, tickets £5; Fri 18:00 – 22:00, tickets
£8 & Sat 12:00 – 20:00, tickets £12. CAMRA Members get 'free' entrance, but must buy a
glass, £3 per session; these must be bought on-line in advance. Tickets on sale from 1st November 2026.
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
• Thu 29/10/2026
– Sun 01/11/2026 |
Sandrocktober Fest
The Sandrock, Sandrock Hill Road, Farnham GU10 4NS
Thursday & Friday 16:00 – 23:00; Saturday 12:00 – 23:00; Sunday 12:00 –22:30. Halloween
weekend event featuring 18 different ales – expect some old favourites alongside more unusual brews that
you don't often see locally. Hog roast from 14:00 Saturday. See www.sandrockfarnham.co.uk/events for
details.
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• Thu 29/10/2026
– Sun 01/11/2026 |
The Star, Godalming Halloween Beer Festival
17 Church Street, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1PE
Preview session Thursday from 17:00, from 12:00 other days. Saturday from 19:00 is ticket only and is sold
out. The only information is on their Facebook www.facebook.com/stargodalming. The website is www.starinngodalming.co.uk
|
| • Fri 30/10/2026 |
Castle Inn, Sandown
12-14 Fitzroy Street, Sandown, Isle of Wight PO36 8HY
Halloween Ale & Cider Festival located in their haunted Ale Barn. 16 Real ales and 10 still Ciders. See
their Facebook event – www.facebook.com/events/1357098709386901. The pub's website is at sandowncastle.co.uk
|
| • Fri 30/10/2026 |
26th Denmead Beer Festival
Denmead Community Centre, School Lane, Denmead, PO7 6LU
Note that it is Friday this year, 19:00 – 23:30. Tickets £12.50 which includes glass, programme
and first drink. The Community Centre's website is denmeadcc.uk and Facebook event is www.facebook.com/events/3260366420826401
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• Fri 30/10/2026
– Mon 02/11/2026 |
Castle Inn Halloween Ale & Cider Festival
Castle Inn, 12-14 Fitzroy Street, Sandown, Isle of Wight PO36 8HY
16 Real ales and 10 still Ciders. The main bar will be decorated to the max for this spooky occasion. See
their Facebook event – www.facebook.com/events/1357098709386901. The pub's website is at sandowncastle.co.uk
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| • Sat 31/10/2026 |
Oktoberfest Portsmouth
Guildhall Square, Portsmouth PO1 2AB
In a big tent on Guildhall Square. Saturday 12:00 – 17:00 & 18:00 – 23:00. Tickets from
£21.95. ID required. A Bavarian style beer festival so expect sausages, pretzels & keg beer. See www.oktoberfestportsmouth.co.uk for all
details.
|
| • Sat 07/11/2026 |
Square & Compass Annual Sausage and Cider Festival 2026
Square & Compass, Worth Matravers (nr. Swanage), Dorset BH19 3LF
Annual cider festival with a great selection and variety of ciders and perries mainly from the West Country.
Plenty of sausages, mulled cider, apple cake and a bit of music too. See www.squareandcompasspub.co.uk/what-s-on/1776/sausage-cider-festival.html
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• Sat 07/11/2026
– Sun 08/11/2026 |
Isle of Wight Steam Railway Shunt Fest with Dark Ales Festival 2026
The Railway Station, Havenstreet, Isle of Wight PO33 4DS
Annual Winter Ales Festival with a good selection a dozen of real ales plus a couple of ciders. 11:00 –
17:30 each day. Free entrance, though train rides behind heritage diesel shunting engines are extra. The
Smallbrook Junction connection with the Island Line will not be open, so bus it to Havenstreet. See iwsteamrailway.co.uk/event/shunt-fest for details.
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• Fri 20/11/2026
– Sun 22/11/2026 |
The Autumnal Collaborative Beer Festival
Waterloo Arms, 101 Waterloo Road, Freemantle, Southampton, SO15 3BS and Witch's Brew, 220 Shirley Road, Freemantle, Southampton, SO15 3FL
A joint Beer Festival shared between two of Southampton's best cask ale pubs. Over 30 cask ales and ciders
will be available across the 2 venues. Normal hours, from 12:00 each day, at the Waterloo, and extended to
12:00 – 23:00 each day at The Witch's Brew. Initial details on both pubs' Facebook pages – www.facebook.com/61554991042981 and www.facebook.com/210710642770717. More
details to come!
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• Wed 16/12/2026
– Sun 20/12/2026 |
Barking Cat Winter Beer Festival
Barking Cat Alehouse, 182-184 Ashley Road, Poole BH14 9BY
We've heard about this and have the date but nothing on the pub's website thebarkingcatalehouse.co.uk or Facebook www.facebook.com/BarkingCatAlehouse
yet. Keep an eye on those.
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• Fri 08/01/2027
– Sat 09/01/2027 |
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. See www.westendcentre.co.uk/event/westy-beer-festival-2027 for more details.
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If you know of any more non-CAMRA beer festivals in our branch area then please
email the details to us.
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