Ten thousand real ale fans are counting down the days until the start of the Derby City Charter Summer Beer Festival in the Market Place.
WHEN Russ Gilbert heard about the Assembly Rooms fire, one of his first thoughts was for the future of the city's summer beer festival.
He is chairman of the event, organised by the Derby branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, and admits the future of the festival was thrown into serious doubt by the blaze in March.
Up to 75 firefighters were needed to tackle the 40ft flames which destroyed the venue's plant room, sited on top of the adjoining multi-storey car park.
Russ, of Gravel Pit Lane, Spondon, said: "I was in Leicester doing some research on beer festivals when I heard about the fire.
"I was inundated with calls and texts from people, all with great concern for what would happen.
"I saw the situation unfold and was very worried. I was also concerned that everybody was safe – that was my first thought. There was even more concern when we heard the venue would be closed for the foreseeable future."
Last year, the festival was held in the Assembly Rooms and a marquee in the Market Place.
Now, after some intense reorganisation by Derby Camra and Derby Live, this year's festival will be staged entirely in the Market Place marquee.
On offer inside it will be more than 200 draught ales from brewers across the Derbyshire and the UK. They will include a selection of new brews ready to be tasted for the first time.
The festival opens on Wednesday, July 9, at 6.30pm and finishes on Sunday July 13.
Russ says the reorganisation has been tough, especially making sure the ales would be kept at the right temperature because the festival is being staged outdoors.
He said: "Temperature with real ale is incredibly important. In the Assembly Rooms, it was 11C but, in the marquee, it could be 29C.
"With it being an outside event we will need mobile coolers and, with a lot of hard work from the cellar team, it should all work fine.
"The festival is a focal point in the middle of the summer in this city. It's a big part of the social calendar.
"We had to have the capacity this year – there is nothing worse than being at a beer festival and not everyone being able to fit in.
"People are really looking forward to it. I'm a little bit nervous, but I think that is a good thing.
"I just want it to be a great success. The quality of the beer will be very high and that is testimony to the organisers. I really want this to be a great success."
The Derby Telegraph's beer columnist, "Beer Hunter" Colston Crawford, is looking forward to the event. He said: "I have every confidence that the organisers will get it right this year. If my memory serves me right, 200 ales is fewer than last year and this is positive because beer festivals should be about quality, not quantity."
Evening entertainment will feature a series of bands and hot and cold food will also be available.
Derby Brewing Company is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year and will have a number of beers available at the festival.
Founder Trevor Harris is pleased with the outdoor venue. He said: "It's wonderful to be 100% under canvas. It's caused a few headaches to the organisers but people will take to it.
"It feels like a very quick ten years. We have a fantastic brewing scene in Derby."
There are 12 breweries in the city of Derby and Russ says they will all be represented at the festival.
DERBY'R BEER KING LAUNCHES NEW BOOK
DERBY'S Beer King is celebrating ten years on the throne with a new book.
Les Baynton has launched the book to coincide with the ten-year anniversary of Derby Brewing Company and the beer festival next month.
The 71-year-old's book, Royal Verse, is a selection of comic verse and pictures about pubs and was launched yesterday outside the tourist information centre in the Market Place.
Les, of Eaton Court, Derby, said: "We have obviously got a lot of problems with the Assembly Rooms this year so the festival will be in the Market Place, which is fine. It will be a good venue for everybody.
"I'm really pleased with the book, and it was a privilege to launch it at the tourist information centre."
Les, the only Beer King in the country, said the role came about after it was discovered that Derby's twin city, Osnabruck, in Germany, had a beer king.
He is as excited as ever for the city's beer festival. He said: "The festivals are brilliant and we are hoping for another great success. They have become part of the social scene in the city."
