Barrels of Fun: Welcome to the Biggest Beer Festival in the Marches

Proudly hosted by Ludlow Spring Festival in collaboration with SIBA - experience the biggest and best beer festival in the Marches, held in the glorious grounds of Ludlow Castle.

This prestigious festival of ale begins with the SIBA Wales & West Region Beer Competition on Thursday 9th May - taking place behind closed doors, prior to the opening of the three-day festival held at Ludlow Castle. 

Judges (made up of fellow brewers and industry experts) will be embarking on a meticulous tasting journey of more than 200 different beers (in 25 categories) from breweries based in the Wales & West region. 

 

Meet The Brewers 

Once the winners are announced, the brewers themselves take centre stage at one of the longest bars you'll probably ever encounter in our famous 'Festival Pub'! Check out this year's entries in the different categories of cask and craft keg beers. Why not get prepared for your unparalleled ale experience by buying beer tokens ahead of the festival?

 

The Big Voice Of Independent Beer 

Beer aficionados have probably heard of SIBA. For those who haven't, SIBA stands for The Society of Independent brewers and Associates.

Neil Walker tells us how SIBA are passionate champions of independent beer and brewing: 

"SIBA are the SOCIETY of INDEPENDENT BREWERS and ASSOCIATES - passionate champions of independent beer and brewing. 

"As the Big Voice of Independent Beer, SIBA represent over a thousand independent breweries and supplier associate members and organise 8 regional beer competitions, as well as a national final at BeerX.

"All of the beers being served at Ludlow are in the running to take home a Regional Gold and be named best in Wales & West, before going on to fight it out at the National Awards in Liverpool next year. With a huge variety of beer styles being judged across cask, keg, bottle and can, you can try everything from modern hoppy IPAs and Pale Ales, to traditional Bitters, Stouts and Porters, or even Speciality beers, lagers and sours."

Founded in 1980 as the 'Small Independent Brewers Association' SIBA changed its name in 1995 to 'the Society of Independent Brewers' but kept the original acronym for which it had become well-known in the industry. Now a new-look SIBA (which has rebranded in 2024) sees the organisation move forward as SIBA - The Society of Independent Brewers and Associates, a name which better reflects their expanded membership and voice. Find out more at SIBA