Snooker Loopy beer festival - Jubilee Refreshment Rooms, Sowerby Bridge

I have just received an email advertising an upcoming festival which may be of interest to some of our northern members over the next couple of weeks featuring some one off brews :-

Going Snooker Loopy - Saturday April 17th to Sunday May 3rd

Saturday April 17th marks the start of the 2010 World Snooker Championships at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield , featuring all our favourite World class snooker players plus a team of popular BBC Sport snooker commentators.

Saturday April 17th is also the start of Snooker Loopy, a fortnight celebration of events and characters from World Snooker Championships over the past thirty three years, in the Jubilee Refreshment Rooms, Sowerby Bridge , a caf/bar in the former Sowerby Bridge station building, featuring beers brewed or badged especially to celebrate the World Snooker Championships.

It is unlikely that ales on offer will mimic the full range of snooker ball colours, and you will need to sample the bars wines, ciders or European fruit beers to get your first red, but certainly you will be able to put down a few blacks, or screw back to the bar for a brown or two. Ros wine gets you a pink, Seville Orange & Mandarin Jigger a yellow, but youre unlikely to get many blues here unless you go for spirit mixes. You could however score 147 (a Mallinsons brew).

The Wright brothers got their idea some time ago, when they saw breweries offering beers with sport related names, Sticky Wicket, Ashes Ale, Apres Ski, or celebrating particular sporting characters.

Andrew and Chris realised no beer names had been devised to celebrate one of the most popular events of the British sporting calendar, the World Snooker Championships, yet that final featuring Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor had kept an audience of 18.5 million watching til well after midnight, a record BBC2 post-midnight TV audience, yet to be beaten. The brothers have arranged for the brewing of twenty different snooker championship themed ales, with pump clips specially designed to show the venue, players, or memorable past events, to be made. Quietly maturing in the cellar of the Jubilee Refreshment Rooms are the products of seven, mainly local, brewers.

Bridestones Brewery, Blackshaw Head, has produced The Nugget (celebrating Steve Davis) and the Curse of the Crucible.

From Elland Brewery you will find (The) Rocket, (celebrating Ronnie OSullivan), and The Beckham of the Baize, (celebrating Paul Hunter).

Goose Eye Brewery, Ingrow, has sent four ales entitled The White Hot Heat of the Crucible, NO, Golden Bairn (celebrating Stephen Hendry) and David Vine.

Casks from Ilkley Brewery hold Mr Maximum (Willie Thorne) and Blackball Champion (Dennis Taylor).

Mallinsons Brewery of Lindley, Huddersfield has chosen to brew The Crucible, Cliff Thorburn 147, Inch Perfect, and a mild JP (John Parrott).

Saltaire Brewery ales are badged Alex (The Hurricane) Higgins and Brown Ball.

WHAT A range of twenty different snooker championship related beers

WHY Suggested by the Wright brothers and local brewers

WHERE The Jubilee Refreshment Rooms, Sowerby Bridge station caf/bar, Station Road , Sowerby Bridge HX6 3AB

WHEN From noon til 10:15pm daily Saturday April 17th to Sunday May 3rd

CONTACTS - Andrew and Chris Wright TELEPHONE 01422 648 285

Drink responsibly.:)

Thanks for the heads up 'crossste'. What is it with these small Pennine towns? I know ROBCamra had an enjoyable mini crawl a couple of weeks ago and a friend from Huddersfield enjoys drinking in Sowerby. May well have to invest in a Day Rover when the kids are back at school next week.