The Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival is the undisputed showpiece event of the area’s brewing calendar, according to the Managing Director at one of the industry’s most celebrated local names.

Nottingham Brewery will return to Trent Bridge for this summer’s second staging of the event in West Bridgford, from Wednesday 12 to Saturday 15 October.

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It is a weekend which Philip Darby is anticipating with relish.

“The Beer Festival is our Wembley; it’s our Test Match. It’s as simple as that,” he said.

“It’s our big event of the year, and we were chuffed to pieces with how it went at Trent Bridge last year.

“We had a nice spot in the corner [in front of the William Clarke Stand], which meant we were in the ideal place for people who wanted to take a moment to soak up the atmosphere.

“It made for a really nice pub-style atmosphere on the side of a cricket ground. And with the way people could sit in the stand with a drink and look out over the square, it was a delight.”

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The brewery will return to their tried-and-trusted spot beyond the boundary’s edge this autumn, with a wide range of beers on offer – may of which will be making a welcome return.

“We try and put on every single beer we’ve brewed throughout the year at the festival,” he said.

“People are in a slightly different frame of mind because it’s a festival, so they’re happy to try a bit of everything.

“There’ll be things like our Sooty Stout – an oatmeal stout which we haven’t brewed since last winter, and which won’t be back in pubs until the end of October – so it’ll be the first time people will have had the chance to drink it for a long time.”

The beers will, however, only be part of the experience at the Nottingham Brewery tent.

Ever since his first forays to the event at Victoria Swimming Baths in the 1990s, Darby has been keen to maintain a celebratory atmosphere in his corner of the festival.

“We like to think that if people want to be entertained, they’ll come to the Nottingham tent,” he said.

“Whether it’s something like getting the Nottingham Rugby lads involved as we did last year, or bringing the Knights of Nottingham along as we did when we were at the castle, we try to make it a fun experience,” he explained.

“But it’s always a really good atmosphere across the site, and the brewing fraternity is a really friendly one, so I’m looking forward to taking some time to browse the site and taste a few different things myself.”

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