Dudley Winter Ales Fayre 2025
Dudley & South Staffordshire CAMRA is proud to bring you Dudley Winter Ales Fayre 2025.
Our event will take place at Dudley Town Hall, Thursday 27 to Saturday 29 November.
Latest update: Sunday 16 November.
Where is it?
In the heart of the Black Country at Dudley Town Hall, St James' Road, Dudley, DY1 1HP
When is it?
As usual we'll be running into the last weekend of November. It's on from Thursday 27 to Saturday 29 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 on Saturday we may close earlier if the beer runs out.
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 festival is run by the Dudley & South Staffordshire branch of CAMRA.
To see the benefits of joining CAMRA, look to Join CAMRA .
For attendees who are not yet CAMRA members but choose to sign up at the festival, in recognition you’ll be given tokens for two pints of your choosing.
What does the logo represent?
This year our logo again follows two themes: the Tipton Slasher and the Dudley Priory. The priory is celebrates its 200th anniversary with the Tipton Slasher.
William Perry, the bare-knuckle boxer was fondly remembered as ‘The Tipton Slasher’’ and the 100th anniversary of his grave placement at in Kate’s Hill.
Is this open to everyone?
It's open to adults, CAMRA members or otherwise, with accompanied under 18s on Saturday only.
CAMRA members will pay £12 at the door, non-CAMRA members £16. For both, this entitles you to a glass, a programme and £10 worth of beer tokens.
If you wish to pre-purchase tickets, CAMRA members will pay £10 and non-CAMRA members will pay £14. This will provide you with the same entitlements as above (i.e. a glass, programme and £10 of beer tokens) but with an additional saving.
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.
We should note that the glass you'll be provided with will not specifically be a festival glass for this year but older ones in stock. There are DWAF 2025 festival glasses which can be separately purchased.
Dogs, unless registered assistance animals, are not permitted.
To pre-purchase tickets click to Dudley Winter Ales 2025 - pre-purchasing site
What's going to be on offer?
We plan to have over 60 beers and 16 ciders and perries.
We continue to support our own Black Country and wider West Midlands breweries with our selection. We’ll also have a feature of “east versus west versus Scotland”, offering drinks from a wider geographical spread.
We will also have a red, a white and a rose wine, as well as soft drinks. We won't be serving non-alcoholic beers this year, as it didn't prove to be a popular choice in 2024.
If there is a risk that we are limited on stocks for opening on Saturday, we will provide updates on social media before opening.
Specifically what beer and cider will you have?
We plan to release the drinks list in a couple of days lead up to the event. There will be some stronger beers and cider available than previous years, based on customer feedback.
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 remains under redevelopment and so buses are instead stopping at various locations around the town centre. There are also various stops, not far from the town hall to get your bus back home.
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 is going to be available to us once again, with details of which bus stop they'll be leaving from.
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, turn left to the busy stop and use services that go into Dudley town centre, such as number 74 (as you look out of the railway station, you need services that are heading to the right).
There was a hope that Transport For West Midlands would have the trams in service in time but, sadly, this isn't to be the case (we have high hopes for next year at least).
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.
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).
Is there food?
We will have Little Devils supporting us once more, although they’ll be implementing slight changes to the food options following feedback.
Are you making any charitable donations?
We will be support Action Heart Dudley once again (https://www.actionheart.com/about), who support over 700 patients of the area at any one time. One of those has been one of our long-standing volunteers, Terry.
Who are your sponsors?
We are exceptionally grateful to several local businesses that support the event.
Our programme is sponsored by Holden’s, the staff polo shifts by Davenport’s, the commemorative glass by Bathams and the beer mats by Netherton’s Bains Wines.
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.
The bar does not take cash.
Will there be entertainment?
Acts have been lined up and now confirmed...
Thursday, 27th November No artists performing - it's a quiet day
Friday, 28th November
14:00 Louis Bennett - a solo artist singing cover versions of a variety of songs.
17:00 Sedgley Ukulele Strummers - 14 performers playing a variety of songs.
19:00 The Ian Sutherland Band - five performers singing cover versions of a variety of songs.
Saturday, 29th November
14:00 Beatlesque - two performers singing cover versions of Beatles songs.
16:00 Suzie Law - solo artist singing a variety of Country & Western songs
Is there anything else going on?
There will be a raffle running in aid of the charity with prizes including the first bottle of Dark Ruby Mild brewed by award-winning Sarah Hughes Brewery in Sedgley. The raffle will take place on Saturday so please be sure that your contact details are legible in case we need to get in touch.
What are the serving sizes?
Thirds and half a pint as usual with pints too, although the latter is dependent on strength and whether we have said glasses left.
Can I be served in my own brought glass/tankard?
No, because these may have variants on measures particularly tankards which don’t show appropriate fill lines. There is no objection, however, to be served in your festival-supplied glass for you to then pour it in your own vessel.
Do I have to pay for a glass?
To cut down on waste, this year we intend to recycle older glasses.
We will, however, be selling commemorative glasses. 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 always supervised.
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) and better affordability, 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 we appreciate this may be 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 previous years.
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.
Possible works disruption...
Works are taking place at the nearby Burnt Tree Junction which may impact your journey into Dudley (the junction of the A4123 Birmingham New Road, A461 Burnt Tree/Birmingham Road).
Read more about it at https://www.tfwm.org.uk/plan-your-journey/major-roadworks-and-events/dudley/burnt-tree/
What beers will be served?
We'll confirm nearer the time with some downloadable forms for your own tasting notes too.
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. Drinking whilst volunteering is allowed, but there are common sense rulings in this regard.
Please be aware that you don't need to be a CAMRA member to volunteer.
Volunteers will be entitled to discounts with our caterers. We have now placed the order for volunteer tops but there may be some spare. If you receive a top, it is yours to keep.
If you can support us, please complete this form: https://forms.office.com/r/cC83cV6i0P
I still have questions.
No problem. We continue to update this page, but don't hesitate to email us at ku.gro.armac.yeldud@retsambew