History of the Festival

Since June 2005 the Lions Club of Braintree, in association with North-West Essex CAMRA, has been organising a Real Ale Festival in Braintree.

Our original plan was to help promote real ale in Braintree, but also to highlight that there were breweries in Essex. In 2005 there were approximately 3 Essex Breweries, for our 2019 Festival we had 30+ Essex-based breweries to choose from.

Since that first Festival in 2005, Braintree Lions Club has raised and donated in excess of £300,000 to local, national and international charitable causes with some £90,000 coming directly from our Real Ale Festivals.

Over the first 18 festivals we have:

• Had 818 different beers/ciders available;
• From 286 different breweries/cider makers; from Cornwall to Scotland;
• Served over 55,000 pint;
• Offered 15 BRAF festival beers. All from Essex breweries.