The National Winter Ales Festival (often shortened to NWAF) is a yearly event organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). The purpose of the event is to showcase the best winter ales (for example stouts and porters) in the UK. It was started in 1997 to give more exposure to these styles of beer as they are often not available during the summer when its sister festival, the larger Great British Beer Festival, is held. NWAF is home to the Champion Winter Beer of Britain awards.
The festival is generally held in January of each year; however there were two festivals in 1997, one at each end of the year. The first one gave the awards for 1996/7 and the second for 1997/8; there was no festival in 1998. The 2011 festival was held January 19–22.
Read more about National Winter Ales Festival: Venues
Famous quotes containing the words national, winter and/or festival:
“The national anthem belongs to the eighteenth century. In it you find us ordering God about to do our political dirty work.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“One of the ministers of Truro, when I asked what the fishermen did in the winter, answered that they did nothing but go a- visiting, sit about, and tell stories, though they worked hard in summer. Yet it is not a long vacation they get. I am sorry that I have not been there in winter to hear their yarns.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Don’t you know there are 200 temperance women in this county who control 200 votes. Why does a woman work for temperance? Because she’s tired of liftin’ that besotted mate of hers off the floor every Saturday night and puttin’ him on the sofa so he won’t catch cold. Tonight we’re for temperance. Help yourself to them cloves and chew them, chew them hard. We’re goin’ to that festival tonight smelling like a hot mince pie.”
—Laurence Stallings (1894–1968)