Southsea celebration of beer and music gears up for return

Southsea Beerex 2017 aims to go down a storm with ale enthusiasts on Friday, March 31, and Saturday, April 1.

Guests will be treated to plenty of cask beer and live music at the Wedgewood Rooms, in Albert Road.

Tickets cost £10 each and come with a commemorative glass.

The event is being organised by the Wedgewood Rooms, in an effort to bring together great beers and performers.

Last year’s spectacle saw visitors being treated to 30 ales, from the likes of Staggeringly Good and Southsea Brewing Company.

Stuart Ainsworth, landlord of The Leopold Tavern, in Albert Road, has helped organise it in previous years and will once again help to pull together the beer list.

He said: ‘It’s got popular; it’s now established as a unique beer festival.

‘It’s a combination of great music and great beer, rather than an ordinary beer festival.

‘It’s a showcase of local beers and performers.

‘It’s also a chance to put Albert Road on the map, in a great venue.

‘The more beer festivals that happen here, the better.

‘More people are drinking decent beer, and that can only be a good thing.’

The event gets underway on the Friday from 6pm to 11pm.

It will then be held during the day on Saturday from 12pm to 5pm, and again that evening from 6pm to 11pm.

It comes after tickets went on sale for the 2017 instalment of Portsmouth Beer Festival.

The popular occasion, put together by the organisers of Victorious Festival, takes place at Portsmouth Guildhall from Friday, May 12, to Saturday, May 13.

Last year’s showcase of beer featured more than 100 real ales, as well as a selection of cider and a prosecco bar.