WELCOME TO THE HOME PAGE OF THE 2016 NOTTINGHAM ROBIN HOOD BEER AND CIDER FESTIVAL
Our Opening Hours will be:
Wednesday, 12th October 2016 - evening session only
Thursday, 13th October - through to - Saturday, 15th October (inclusive) - open all day
Tickets information
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Calling All Volunteers
Putting on the biggest & best Beer & Cider Festival in the UK means we need a lot of help & volunteers. Nottingham Robin Hood Beer & Cider Festival currently has nowhere near enough bar staff for the event... Can you please help? Or do you know someone who can?
We are specifically looking for more volunteers on Friday 5pm onwards up to closing and all day Saturday.
Are there any publicans or pubs who would be willing to come along and volunteer? We’re offering a great opportunity for you to promote your hostelries by wearing your own pub T-shirts behind the Festival bars! [All we ask in return is that all volunteers follow the NRHBCF Festival Rules and code of conduct.]
Festival Fringe Fortnight - updates here
A number of pubs have signed up to FFF (Including Hand & Heart; Barrel Drop; Crazy Crow) and details of events will start to appear from 16th September. The Five Canning Circus group of pubs are undertaking ‘Jack and Jill Went up the Hill’ complete with collecting badges and a chance to win a hamper of goodies.
Beer Prices have been 'held' yet again ! What does this mean? £3 a pint for all but the strongest beers and ciders!
What/When/Where/Why? |
The Answer can be found here .... |
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| When is the Festival? | Wednesday 12th to Saturday 15th October 2016 |
| Where is the Festival? | In the grounds of the historic Nottingham Castle more |
| What are the opening hours? | 11am-11pm Thursday - Saturday / 5.30pm-11pm Wednesday |
| How do I get to the Festival? | Nottingham Castle is a short walk from the railway station and both bus stations. The tram is about four minutes walk away. Map |
| Let's get down to business - what is there to drink? | In 2015 we offered 1,270 different draught real ales and well over 200 real ciders. Soft drinks, teas & coffees and country wines are also available. See the 2015 beer listings here / and the cider list here. The lists for 2016 will be posted when available, usually about ten days before the start of the festival. |
| What are the admission prices? | Advance tickets & Pay at gate - details for 2016 are now available here |
| Why do I have to pay to get in? | The festival costs a massive amount to stage, with large costs for marquees, lighting, toilets etc. not to mention the beer. |
| Do I have to buy a glass? | You can bring your own glass, as long as it carries a government stamp. If you wish to drink thirds or halves your glass must have the necessary lines. Glasses are included in ticket prices and are refundable for £2.50 each on exit if you wish. If you have your own glass we will give you £2.50 worth of beer tokens (refundable) in lieu of a glass. |
| Are there Beer Tokens or is it a Cash Bar? | It is strictly a token-only festival. A number of refundable tokens are included in admission prices. |
| Can I buy more beer tokens once inside the festival? | Yes there are token booths where you can purchase as many tokens as you need. They are refundable but only in small numbers, so don't buy too many at a time. |
| How much is a pint? | Prices have again been held this year, which means that all but the very strong beers and ciders will be £3 a pint |
| Do you sell drinks in a third of a pint? | Yes we do, our glasses are half pint tankards but also have a third line on them. |
| Will there be a programme available? | Yes programmes are available free of charge. Pick one up on your way in - or have a look at what 2015 had to offer here - 2016 will be found on this page when available. |
| Will all the beers listed be available all the time? | Around 800 beers will be on sale from the start, as these run out they are replaced by beers marked as RES (reserve) in the programme. By late Saturday evening we usually still have a few hundred beers on sale, more than most festivals start with. By the way we never run out, rumours that this has happened in the past are merely urban myths. |
| Do you sell lager? | We sell some cask conditioned lagers i.e. real ales |
| Can I bring my own beer? | Not really, that would be like taking coals to Newcastle! |
| Can I bring children? | Children are allowed on site until 5pm, at the discretion of the Castle staff. However all under 18s must leave site at 5pm. |
| Will I be able to buy food at the Festival? | There are numerous catering stalls offering a wide selection of world cuisine more |
| Is there a designated smoking area? | Smoking is permitted in an area behind the upper marquee, this is partly covered. |
| Is parking at the venue available? | No parking is allowed on site, there is no space available and vehicle movement is not permitted when the festival is open. There are numerous public car parks situated nearby. |
| What is the policy about bringing dogs? | No dogs are allowed in the Castle grounds, except assistance dogs. This is a city Council ruling that applies at all times of the year. |
| Will there be live entertainment? | There is a full programme of live entertainment on the Victorian bandstand at all times. Limited updates are now available and can be seen here and will continue to be posted until the programme is finalised. For those who prefer their festival to be music-free there is no music in the large upper marquee. |
| What if it rains? | The festival has several very large marquees so there is plenty of cover if it rains. |
| Will I have to queue to get in? | We do all we can to keep queueing to a minimum, particularly for ticket holders. |
| Can I buy tickets in advance? | Advance tickets go on sale on 1st June 2016 from the Nottingham Tourism centre in the Market square and online. Friday and Saturday tickets sell very quickly so make sure you get to purchase them early. However it is possible to pay on the gate although this is dependant on space being available, for 2015 it was possible to pay on the gate at all times, but we cannot guarantee this. |
| Do you still need bar staff? | We rely on a large group of volunteers to staff the festival. Applications are now being taken - the closing date has been extended - forms here |
| Can you recommend accommodation? | Nottingham has a very wide choice of hotels, varying in price from budget upwards. We would recommend using the established hotel search engines such as booking.com |
| Are you on Twitter and Facebook? | We have dedicated feeds/accounts on both Twitter and Facebook |
| Is there an app? | The app will be available prior to the start of the festival and a link will appear on this page. |
| Do you have any gluten free beer? | We aim to have the widest possible choice of gluten free real ales as we can possibly obtain. The number available nationally has increased significantly in recent months. A list will appear on this web site about ten days before the festival. All vegan beers are listed in the programme and identified on the signs on each cask. All of our ciders and perries are gluten free. 2016 update here |
| Do you have wine? | Country wines are available in both the upper and lower marquees. |
| What if I have an allergy or food intolerance? | We attempt to show all allergen information on our beer signs, but if in doubt please ask our bar staff. |
| Do you offer a Student discount? | Card carrying members of the Nottingham Trent University and University of Nottingham Real Ale Societies are given additional beer tokens on entry, in line with those given to CAMRA members. No other discounts are available. |
| Can I get a pass-out and come back in? | It is not possible to obtain a pass-out to leave the festival at any time, following serious abuse of the system at earlier festivals. In the case of an emergency please speak to the steward on the exit gate. |
| Do you have vegan friendly beers? | We aim to offer a good range of beers that are suitable for vegans. The number of such beers has increased considerably in recent months and it is probable that around 5% of the total number of beers on sale will be vegan friendly, hopefully more. All our ciders and perrys are vegan friendly. |
| How can I contact you? | See Contact page and/or below. |
| Can I pay on the gate? | None of the sessions are 'ticket only' and there will be a number of 'pay on the gate' admissions available daily - for full details download word or .pdf file or visit the ticket page |
| What if I have a disability? | We aim to make the Festival accessible to anyone with long-term or permanent disabilities, mobility, sight and/or hearing impairments and hope you will find the answer here |
| Do you provide Braille or Large-Print literature? | Large-print or Braille versions of the programme can be made available if requested in advance – please contact festival organisers at least 3 weeks prior to the start of the event. |
| How do the beer prices compare to 2015? | Beer prices have been held yet again for 2016, which means just £3 a pint for all but the strongest beers and ciders. |
| What is FFF? | The Festival Fringe Fortnight involves several pubs who offer an 'extended' Festival flavour around the Robin Hood Beer & Cider Festival - details of Ales, Beers, Ciders, Entertainment & Food can be found here |
| We've left room for more questions .... | Watch the spaces above fill out ....... |
Tickets and admissions - festival@nottinghamcamra.org
Catering, stalls etc. - catering@nottinghamcamra.org
Entertainment - entertainment@nottinghamcamra.org
Beer Ordering - beerorder@nottinghamcamra.org
Brewery Bars - festival@nottinghamcamra.org
Bar Managers - We are always looking for experienced volunteers to act as bar managers, if you are interested please email barmanagers@nottinghamcamra.org
Cider - cider@nottinghamcamra.org
Volunteers/Staffing - staffing@nottinghamcamra.org - Phone : 07887 476173
All other enquiries - festival@nottinghamcamra.org - Phone : TBA
Frequently asked questions here
Updated : 30th September 2016 (226301/242764/247523/250761/253631/263020/267427/267427/269674/271980)