OVER a thousand people turned out to celebrate some of the finest beers and ciders Hampshire has to offer on Saturday.

Visitors from far and wide queued for what seemed like miles outside the Winchester Guildhall for this year’s CAMRA Winchester Real Ale and Cider Festival.

This year saw over 3,000 tickets sold for the two-day event which featured over 100 different real ales, ciders, perries and foreign bottled beers.

David Butcher, director at Hampshire’s Upham Ale Company, said: “The CAMRA Winchester Real Ale and Cider Festival has become a key date in the diary across the regional brewing industry and we’re delighted to be partnering with it. As well as showcasing Tipster from our main ale range, we’re looking forward to trialling and receiving feedback on our current seasonal special ale, 1st Drop, which is proving hugely popular within our pubs and wholesalers.”

One of the event organisers, Vinay Narang, said it had proved a real hit with beer and cider lovers from across the county.

“Customers were able to complete satisfaction surveys to vote for their favourite producer,” he said. “When we’ve gathered the information the supplier with the most votes from the survey will be awarded a CAMRA certificate.”