"The Hub is Still the Pub" ANOTHER BRILLIANT BEER FESTIVAL Doncaster CAMRA's 18th Beer Festival was a resounding success! This was despite disaster striking on the Thursday evening. Due to a power failure at the "Hub" (Doncaster College), we were not allowed to open the festival until the following day! I would like to extend our sympathies to all who travelled here that evening only to find the festival closed. We were, of course, powerless (literally!) to do anything about it. A big thank you, therefore, to everyone who came back on Friday and Saturday to give us another chance. Despite that initial setback, our Beer Festival was (I repeat) a resounding success. There were well over 80 real ales to be enjoyed together with traditional ciders & perries, fruit wines, and Continental bottled beers and lagers. We also had live entertainment - the hit group the Wallbirds on the Friday night, the popular local group Strange Triangle on the Saturday night and, on the Saturday afternoon, the wonderful Rockingham Brass Band (conducted by Frank Hoyland, the popular licensee of the "Hickleton Village Hall"). This was the first time a brass band had performed at our festival, and they went down a bomb! More next year, please! Everybody told us how much they had enjoyed themselves and what a wonderful venue we have got in the "Hub". What's more, although we were only open for two days, we sold all the beer! What a result! Thank you to all who helped at the festival and thank you to everybody who came to give their support. I can't wait for next year's Beer Festival! Ian Round The winning beers of the festival, chosen by "blind-tasting" panel, were as follows: Brown Cow Captain Oates - Champion Mild Titanic Lifeboat - Champion Bitter Wensleydale Sheep Rustler Nut Brown - Champion Best Bitter Thornbridge Jaywick - Champion Golden Ale Peak Ales Chatsworth Gold - Champion Speciality Beer Titanic Lifeboat - Overall Champion The Hub is now booked for 2009.