Hull Real Ale and Cider Festival 2012 Review

The Hull Real Ale and Cider Festival 2012, review

The Hull Real Ale and Cider festival is an annual event held to deliver the finest and freshest ales in the region. The event is held in celebratory and communal fashion, representing all that is sociable for the respected interested parties, who seek to find the tastes of fine ales.

The event this year took place at Hull’s Holy Trinity Church, in the Town Centre, and ran from Thursday 19^th, to the evening of Saturday 21^st of April.

The event is aimed at promoting traditional and independent pubs and breweries across the U.K. and is the only dedicated consumer group in the U.K to do so.

The event took place at Holy Trinity for the first time, in what is now the 34^th year of running for the the Festival. This year’s organiser was Stewart Campbell, who stated before the event about the privilege of hosting the Festival at a historic place such as the Holy Trinity.

                                                             Organiser, Stewart Campbell

The event is a ceremonial one that has passed through time, as it was first thought a ritual to drink within the church in medieval times.

Ale as a term is one that is used, and deviates from its origins as a compound term of wording. It was traditionally known that the word ale formed many parts of other words, to associate meaning with practise, such as the word Bridal. This term originated from Bride-ale, which represented a wedding feast.

The Parish Church held these events through the Whitsun season in Tudor Times, and the acclaimed name of Whitsun-ale, meaning to drink at Whitsun, became known.

Ale in medieval times was a highly important and social aspect of life in the Parish Church, as the ale was to honour the Church Saint, and the sales of ale helped repair the church and create alms for the poor.

Today, many Parish churches may find themselves needing to host events such as the Hull Real Ale and Cider Festival, to fund and upkeep the running of the church, so that its traditions are not lost.

It seems then that if traditions follow, this may not be the last time that the Hull Real Ale and Cider Festival may be seen held at the Holy Trinity Church.