A BEER festival planned for Beverley will be a celebration of Britain's heritage, and not an opportunity for people to get drunk, says the town's Mayor.
Beverley Town Council is exploring the idea of holding a beer festival within the next 12 months.
But Councillor Kate Gray questioned the proposal at this week’s full meeting of the council, pointing out that there are huge problems associated wi
th young people drinking too much.
“Are we really setting a good example to the young? We have an awful problem at the moment,” she said.
But Mayor Jim Whitfield said: “We want people to enjoy a drink in regulated conditions, drinking in a sensible and proportionate way. We are not advocating binge drinking, but celebrating an important part of Britain’s heritage.
“I don’t think this will do anything to sully Beverley’s name. I am sure that in our advertising materials we will make sure we reiterate that this is a celebration of an important part of Britain’s culture, not an opportunity for people to go out and get drunk.”
The council has included £5,000 in its budget towards staging a beer festival at some time in the financial year which starts in April.
Coun Matt Snowden, a member of the town council policy committee, told the Beverley Guardian that such a festival would be an opportunity to learn about local beers and also be a social event, which would bring people into the town.
Similar events had been held successfully elsewhere, with participants sampling only small amounts.
“In other towns where they have held beer festivals they don’t have any trouble. People may spend the entire day there drinking in total only about two pints.
“They are controlled events and it is traditionally not the sort of beer that young people drink. We are talking hand-pulled old ales, not cheap pints of lager.”
The full article contains 325 words and appears in Beverley Guardian newspaper.
