A HUGE range of beers will be tempting the tastebuds of discerning ale connoisseurs in Newton Abbot later this week when MaltingFest gets underway on Thursday (April 10).

The annual celebration of the art of blending water , hops, grain and yeast opens its doors to the public in Osborne Park for three days and once again will showcase a huge range of beers, including cask, craft keg beers and lagers, local ciders and local spirits including gins, whiskies and rums.

And this year the event will also be officially launching Indie Beer Week, a new UK-wide beer week to promote independent beer, pubs and people, with a string of events set to take place in community pubs, bars and brewery taprooms.

The week is planned as a national celebration of great independent beer and a chance pubs and breweries to attract new customers, or give regulars a great new beer experience by running special events, beer festivals, tap takeovers, meet the brewer evenings or tasting experiences which celebrate local beer and producers.

MaltingsFest, organised by the Society of Independent Brewers in the South West, is the most comprehensive festival of drinks produced by local brewers in the south-west.

Organisers are confident that beer-wise there should be should have something for everyone’s palate. Previous years have seen close on 300 brews available ranging from traditional bitters to stouts, lagers, amber beers, strong beers and New World IPAs with every style of beer in-between.

A similar number of beers will be available this year and these will be judged on the Thursday morning from 11am before the event opens to the public at 5pm.

MaltingFest is open to the public from 5pm to 11pm on Thursday, April 10, between 11am and 11pm on April 11 and 11am to 10pm on April 12

Full details can be found at the website www.maltingsfest.co.uk.