Five Bells rings up beer festival, starting today!

A popular village pub, the Five Bells at Claypole, stages its annual beer festival from today.

Starting at 6pm, more than 60 gins will be on offer, a boost on the 46 gins the Camra award winner regularly has available. There will also be eight beers outside, four beers inside, plus six real ciders.

Saturday afternoon sees a hog roast in the car park.

Landlady Kay Finney says a special gin stall will be erected for Friday only, as on Saturday and Sunday, live bands will perform. Friday’s singing duo need less space.

Kay said the pub has staged beer, cider and gin festivals for about ten years, but skipped last year as landlord Martin Finney was unwell.

New for this year, the pub has just installed a wood fired oven in the car park, which will be used for pizza and other foods. It adds to Bertha, the pub’s famous charcoal and wood burning oven, which gives the pub’s food a distinctive “lovely outdoor cooking taste.” The TripAdvisor favourite is also known for its dry-aged meats.

The pub in Main Street opens from 11am on Saturday and noon on Sunday.