Since reopening back in September, The Chester Arms appears to be going from strength to strength. Now nearly famous for its ‘nearly famous steak platter’, The Chester has decided to try its hand at running its first beer festival. Featuring 12 different craft breweries from Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, The Chester Beer Festival opened on Friday and is running until bank holiday Monday.

I decided to pop along on the Friday evening and was surprised to see The Chester’s gorgeous garden already full of Oxford’s hip and trendy RYPs. The live music hadn’t started yet, but the ‘scene’ certainly seemed to have arrived. Strings of different coloured fairy lights had been strung up in the trees, keeping the party going as the sun started to set.

Sidling over to the beer tent, we were greeted with a smile by the friendly and immensely knowledgeable barman, who told us he was going to select a range of samples for us that would give us a flavour of the overall festival. The first ale we tried was a light, golden ale called the Brill Gold from the Vale Brewery. At the same time we had a dry, flat Traditional Farmhouse cider, which created quite a contrast! Moving on to the darker end of the spectrum, our final two tasters were the Clouder from the Cats Brewery and the Blowing Stone from the White Horse Brewery. Slightly scared about moving over to the dark side, I asked the barman to describe our final drinks. He was spot on in describing the Clouder as a slightly hoppier ale with a strong hint of tropical fruits and the Blowing Stone as having a heavier and quite smoky taste. There was a distinctly chocolate-y taste to the Blowing Stone as well, which was nice for a few sips, but which may have become quite sickly if we had had a whole pint.

As well as The Chester’s usual menu, a food tent had been set up at the end of the garden selling a variety of, what seemed to be, solely meat-based meals. My tip to fellow vegetarians would be to eat before going to The Chester Beer Festival in order to avoid disappointment when those post-pint hunger pangs start kicking in.

Saying that, the festival definitely has something for everyone, whether you’re a local brewery buff, or just want to try out some new flavours. Beer passes can be bought in advance or at the bar so that you can really make the most of sampling the local beers. As well as live music, there are also going to be some talks happening and a chance to try your hand at brewing so definitely try and make it down to The Chester Arms this bank holiday weekend.