Billy Gould Reviews Ayrshire Real Ale Festival

It’s raining, it’s dreary and the only thing to look forward to this month is Halloween, right? Wrong. This is the month for hop-lovers to indulge in over 160 beers and to sup their way through 30 varieties of ciders and perries. It can only be the Ayrshire Real Ale Festival, and you know it’s going to be good because it has been organised by the Ayrshire and Wigtownshire branch of CAMRA, not to mention being in its 15th year.

As you can imagine, I hastened along to Troon Concert Hall with a spring in my step. This impressive building is just a short walk from the station and located on the beach front, and its two halls were fully decked out for three days of indulgence. Scottish and English ales as well as a selection of brews from abroad all featured but I was particularly impressed with the dedicated ale room for the Champion Beers of Britain – tankards to the ready.

Food and drink go hand in hand, and there were plenty of stalls offering great local nosh to accompany the booze. Local firm Browning Bakers, renowned for their ‘Killie’ steak pies had cooked up some right royal treats from stovies to haggis pies. The local support for this event was evident. Several local businesses sponsored the event, including the headline, Sulwath Brewers, and there were t-shirts, mugs and merchandise aplenty.

Quality entertainment was available on both the Friday and Saturday nights, that’s if you could draw yourself away from the heated debates over which ale should be crowned ‘Beer of the Festival.’

If you are looking for a superb selection of beers, in a great location and with all the trimmings then the Ayrshire Real Ale festival is for you.