Bottoms up! The CAMRA Kent Beer Festival is returning for the first time since the pandemic.

The Campaign for Real Ale group will be hosting one of its largest and oldest festivals at the King’s Hall in Herne Bay on Friday, September 23 and Saturday, September 24.

Beer and cider fans are in for a treat, as the event is set to offer more than 60 real ales and 40 ciders on tap.

The pints will come from a range of local producers from across the county, as well as some of the best breweries from around the UK, with a selection of styles and strengths to choose from.

The Kent Beer Festival is organised and run by CAMRA volunteers, who struggled to find a venue for this year’s event after being cancelled for the past two years due to Covid.

In July, the organisers confirmed that, at the last minute, they managed to secure a venue and set the wheels in motion for this year’s festival.

A Facebook post from the group said: “As you may know we have had major issues sourcing a venue to re-launch the Kent Beer Festival.

“At the 11th hour Canterbury City Council have been a great help in us managing to hold a two day event at King’s Hall Herne Bay, 23rd and 24th of September. This was pretty much the only date available!

“To organise a festival in 12 weeks is going to be an enormous task but we didn't want to let the chance pass us by.”

There will also be food available to soak up the beer, as well as a programme of live entertainment to get you into the festival spirit.

On Friday, there will be evening entertainment from Jive Guys and The Crafties from 7pm to 9pm, while Saturday will see live music from Sam Brothers at 1pm and The Bones at 7.30pm.

The event is split into four sessions over the two days, with an afternoon session from 12pm to 4pm and an evening session from 6.30pm to 11pm on each day.

Tickets to the Friday afternoon session are the cheapest at £6, while the evening session will set you back £10. Tickets to both sessions on Saturday cost £8.

CAMRA members will not get a discount to this event, but will instead receive a free pint with each ticket.

The Kent Beer Festival takes place on Friday, September 23 and Saturday, September 24 from 12pm to 11pm. Book tickets online here.