The Dudley Winter Ales Fayre 2024 will take place at Dudley Town Hall, Thursday 28 to Saturday 30 November.

.

What is the Dudley Winter Ales Fayre?
It's our annual beer festival event where you're able to purchase and enjoy a selection of over seventy real ales and ciders.

Where is it?
In the heart of the Black Country at Dudley Town Hall, St James' Road, Dudley, DY1 1HP
What3Words - Dudley Town Hall

When is it?
As usual we'll be running into the last weekend of November. It's on from Thursday 28 to Saturday 30 November. This year we will be opening earlier on Thursday.

On Thursday we'll be open 1:00pm - 10:00pm, Friday 11:00am - 10:00pm and Saturday 11:00am to 8:00pm, although it may be earlier if the beer runs out. (Note: regarding stocks on Saturday, we are aware of the impact of running out earlier last year. More on that point, below.)

What's CAMRA?
CAMRA is the Campaign For Real Ale. A consumer organisation set up in 1971, with a vision to have quality real ale, cider and perry and thriving pubs in every community. This particular festival is run by the Dudley & South Staffordshire branch of CAMRA.

To see the benefits of joining CAMRA, look to Join CAMRA .

What does the logo represent?
This year our logo follows two themes. Firstly, with the creation of Dudley Metropolitan Borough 50 years ago, we reflect on the foundation of the area with the Dudley Bug, or "calymene blumenbachii" to give it its proper name. In combination, we also wanted to commemorate Sarah Hughes' Snowflake which won the Champion Winter Beer Of Britain at the Great British Beer Festival Winter.

Is this open to everyone?
It's open to adults, CAMRA members or otherwise. CAMRA members will be able to get in free by showing their membership card. Non-CAMRA members will pay a £5.00 admission (which is half the price of last year). If you book at an advanced ticket, you will get priority entry at the opening time of the festival on Thursday and Friday.

If you'd like to buy advance tickets, CAMRA members will pay £9 which will give them £10 worth of tokens to spend on drinks (thereby saving £1). Non-members will pay £14 which will cover the cost of entrance, plus a provision of £10 tokens (again, offering a saving of £1).

To pre purchase tickets, go to https://tckty.camra.org.uk/e/309/dudley-winter-ales-fayre-2024

Thursday and Friday are open to over 18s only. Saturday is a "family day" and all ages are welcome. In addition, entrance is free for everyone on Saturday.

The welcome team will give you a wristband to confirm your entry and any pre purchased entrance and tokens. Further refundable tokens can be purchased on the day. Any part-used/unused pre purchased tokens will be refunded the unused value minus £1.00.

What's going to be on offer?
We plan to have 72 beers on offer and ciders. This year we will feature beer from the West Midlands, the north and south of England (around a third of each). We will also have a red, a white and a rose wine, as well as soft drinks. It's our intention to offer a couple of non-alcoholic beers in cans/bottles.

So that the more popular choices don't run out early, we will be holding back some of the barrels for both Friday and Saturday. We have increased the choice of traditional ciders this year, following feedback.

Nearer the time, we will be able to release specific details of what's available.

If there is a risk that we are limited on stocks for opening on Saturday, we will provide updates on social media before opening.

How do I get there?
The event takes place at Dudley Town Hall. Dudley is very well served by many bus routes around Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the Black Country. However, Dudley Bus Station is under redevelopment and so buses are instead stopping at various locations around the town centre:

Image courtesy of Transport for West Midlands

Last year we had access to dynamic bus departure information thanks to TfWM. We're pleased to say this going to be available to us once again, with details of which bus stop they'll be leaving from.

Designated drivers are well served by nearby car parks. We tend to favour Tower Street car park, which is a two-minute walk from the venue (DY1 1NA).

Note: if you're travelling from Wolverhampton by train, take a five-minute walk into Wolverhampton, up to Bilston Street, and catch the number one bus (opposite St George’s metro stop).

If you use local train services, our most local stop is Dudley Port station, but this is still 2½ mile walk from the town hall: https://maps.app.goo.gl/DmHDgRAbEmDjRevF8. You may want to instead step over the road and take any of the bus services that go into Dudley town centre (as you look out of the railway station, you need services that are heading to the right).

Is there food?
Little Devils will once again be our caterer. They will provide hot pulled pork baps, vegetable and chicken samosas, faggots and peas, grey peas and bacon, cheese and onion cobs and pork pies. The bar will also have a selection of crips and pork scratchings on sale which can be purchased using tokens or contactless.

Are you making any charitable donations?
Each year we like to donate a portion of our earnings to a local charity. This year we're pleased to support Action Heart Dudley.

Donations can be made via coin buckets or by way of unused beer tokens.

How will I purchase drinks?
There are two ways you can purchase items at the bar. We have contactless payment options or, if you prefer, you can purchase tokens. The token cards have small values on them and our volunteers will strike-through values as you spend.

You can purchase more tokens if you wish. Unused tokens can be refunded (this does not apply to the pre-purchased tokens or for some specific vouchers) or can be dropped in the charity buckets as a donation.

Will there be entertainment?
There will be on music acts on Friday and Saturday. Thursday will be a quiet day. Details of acts will appear soon.

What if I'm the designated driver?
We really appreciate the support of designated drivers to get family and friends home safely. For you, entrance will be free, and we'll be giving you tokens for two soft drinks, supported by our caterers Little Devils.

What are the serving sizes?
Thirds and half a pint as usual but in some instances we will also be serving in pints, dependant on strength and whether we have said glasses left.

Do I have to pay for a glass?
To cut down on waste, this year we intend to recycle older glasses. We will also be selling a limited run of commemorative glasses for £3.50. There won't be any pre-orders on glasses this year and they'll be sold on a "first come" basis.

Can I bring children?
Saturday will be a family day, so children are welcome then. We ask that children are supervised at all times.

What if I have an allergy?
We will have details of allergens for the beers available at the bar. Please ask a member of the team for details. Vegan and Gluten Free options will be shown on barrel cards.

Can I still attend if I've not pre-purchased a ticket?
Yes, of course. The pre-purchase element offers priority to getting in (on opening times), but you absolutely can just show up on the day. Payments at the door can be made in cash or by card (including contactless).

What can I buy at the event?
We will have the Good Beer Guide on sale. We'll also have some festival-branded apparel of t-shirts, pin badges and pens.

Are you able to purchase "takeouts"?
Regrettably, you won't be able to purchase beer to take home owing to the rulings by HMRC. This includes decanting into containers. We would ask that you don't bring anything in to decant into. Naturally, it's disappointing, but we absolutely cannot "bend" rules in this regard. Any patrons who we observe that attempt to decant into bottles, etc. will be asked to leave immediately and we will be required to empty your vessel.

Tell me about timings.
You'll notice that we'll be closing at 10pm each night. This is to allow you time to visit our local pubs before last orders. It also gives our generous volunteers an opportunity to get home at a reasonable time after all the clean downs. Thursday we plan to open earlier than usual.

How can I get home safely?
If you're visiting the Dudley Winter Ales Fayre we're keen that you get home safely. If you have a designated driver, they can get in for free. We'll provide them with two free soft drinks via our caterers.

Or, maybe public transport is your preferred option? If so, Transport for West Midlands has been super helpful and put together a link that shows real time departures from the temporary stops around the town centre.

Can I volunteer?
You most certainly can. Volunteers who supported us previously have been emailed to advise that we are proceeding. You won't be paid for volunteering, but we do supply tokens which can be used during the event. In short: volunteers get free beer or cider and discounts from our caterers. For those who commit to at least seven hours, providing their application is completed within the deadline, will also get a branded t-shirt. The application form will be available soon.

I still have questions.
No problem. We are updating this page regularly, but don't hesitate to email us at ku.gro.armac.yeldud@retsambew