Norwich Beer Festival is 26-31 October at The Halls, with the top three Champion Beers of Britain and 28 Norfolk ciders. Door £3 to £8, sessions, rules.
The 47th Norwich Beer Festival runs from Monday 26 to Saturday 31 October 2026, and for the first time since 2023 it is back inside The Halls. Norwich and District CAMRA has confirmed the dates on its own festival pages, and its FAQ answers the question people actually type: “Will there be a Norwich Beer Festival in 2026? Yes! From October 26-31.”
Updated 10 October: advance sales have now also ended for the Thursday evening and Friday lunchtime sessions, so Thursday night and the whole of Friday are door only. The branch has published the live music line-up (below).
Updated 17 October: the cider and perry list is out, and the branch has confirmed the top three beers from this year’s Champion Beer of Britain will be on the bars (below). The beer list and programme are still to come.
That is worth stating plainly, because the festival has had an unusual two years.
Why it was away, and what happened in 2025
The festival has been held at The Halls, the medieval friary made up of St Andrew’s and Blackfriars’ Halls, since 1977. The branch lists only three interruptions in that run: 1989, 2020 for the pandemic, and 2024 to 2025, when critical repairs were carried out on the building.
There was no festival at all in 2024. In 2025 the branch ran a 46th festival anyway, but split across three venues and stretched over 17 days because the work on the roof and windows overran:
- 17 to 19 October: launch event at the Redwell Brewery tap room
- 17 October to 2 November: a fringe festival in Norwich pubs
- 27 to 29 October: part one at the Waterfront
- 30 October to 1 November: part two at Castle Social, level 3 of Castle Quarter
There was no admission charge anywhere in 2025, and the souvenir glass was only made in a pint size. The branch describes that year as “much smaller than usual”, which is why it has invited the same charity, the Norfolk breast reconstruction support charity Keeping Abreast, back for a second year as its 2026 beneficiary.
Sessions, times and door prices
Prices below are what you pay in cash or by card on the door, taken from the branch’s own dates, times and prices page.
| Day | Session | Times | Door price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday 26 | CAMRA preview | 4pm to 5pm | Free to CAMRA members |
| Monday 26 | Evening | 5pm to 10pm | £5 |
| Tuesday 27 | All day, before 5pm | 11.30am to 5pm | £3 |
| Tuesday 27 | After 5pm | 5pm to 10pm | £5 |
| Wednesday 28 | Lunchtime | 11.30am to 3pm | £3 |
| Wednesday 28 | Evening | 5pm to 10pm | £5 |
| Thursday 29 | Lunchtime | 11.30am to 3pm | £3 |
| Thursday 29 | Evening | 5pm to 11pm | £8 |
| Friday 30 | Lunchtime | 11.30am to 3pm | £5 |
| Friday 30 | Evening | 5pm to 11pm | £8 |
| Saturday 31 | All day | 11.30am to 9.30pm | £5 |
The two £8 sessions are the Thursday and Friday evenings, which are also the only two the branch warns about for queues. Its FAQ says that in cold or wet weather there are usually no queues from 20 to 30 minutes after opening, “except for short periods between about 7 and 8.30pm on Thursday and Friday night”.
The cheapest way in is the £3 Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday lunchtime. CAMRA members get in free at every session, but the branch is explicit that they still have to join the queue.
Advance tickets: what you are actually buying
Advance tickets are sold through CAMRA’s Tckty platform at a £1 premium over the door price. The important thing is that the headline figure is not an admission price. A Monday evening non-member ticket is £31, made up of the £5 entry, a £5 souvenir glass and a £20 beer card. The glass and the card are both refundable, so the real cost of the evening is whatever you drink. Member versions of the same tickets are £25, because members do not pay to get in.
Three practical points from the branch:
- Only about 40% of capacity is ever sold in advance, and there are cash and card admissions on the door at every session. No session is all-ticket.
- Thursday evening, Friday lunchtime and Friday evening are now door only. On 10 October the ticket site showed “Sales Have Ended” against all three, each relabelled “entry on the door only”. The branch adds that 60% of the hall’s capacity is kept for the door anyway. Expect the Thursday and Friday night queues it warns about.
- A ticket guarantees entry during the first two hours of a session, subject to the ticket queue, and priority entry after that.
- Bars work on beer cards, not cash. Extra £20 beer cards and £5 glasses can be bought in advance and collected at the glasses stand, or bought on the day.
Rules that catch people out
Strictly over-18s, and the branch spells out that this includes babies. Only support dogs. No re-admission and no pass-outs. Last admission is 30 minutes before the session closes. There is no cloakroom anywhere in the building, which matters on a wet night in late October.
Getting there
The Halls sit on St Andrew’s Plain in the middle of the city, a few minutes’ walk from Norwich Market and from the Prince of Wales Road bus stops. It is not a venue with a car park. If you are driving in, our parking in Norwich page has the multi-storey and park-and-ride options, and the Norwich roadworks and travel page carries anything closed that week.
What will be on the bars
The ticket listing promises more than 300 cask-conditioned real ales from British independent breweries, draught and bottled beers from abroad, and over 60 ciders and perries, mostly from East Anglia, plus beers from the wood and as many gluten-free and vegan beers as the branch can find. Food is served in Blackfriars’ Hall at every session.
Live music
The branch’s entertainment page puts live music on the main stage in St Andrew’s Hall on the Thursday and Friday evenings and on Saturday afternoon and early evening:
- Thursday 29 evening: Synergy (covers of the Stones, Clapton, Hendrix and Tina Turner) and Hillbilly Goats Gruff (bluegrass and country)
- Friday 30 evening: Cawston Brass Band, formed in 1886
- Saturday 31 early afternoon: Joe Holden, Norwich singer-songwriter
- Saturday 31 late afternoon: The Macarnos
There is no band listed for the Monday to Wednesday sessions.
Two things are now confirmed for 2026:
- The Champion Beer of Britain podium. The branch announced on 4 October that the top three from this year’s competition will all be served: gold winner Bristol Beer Factory’s Independence, a 4.6% pale, silver winner Cairngorm Wildcat (5.1%), and Driftwood Spars’ Alfie’s Revenge.
- The cider and perry list. The list, last updated 13 October, runs to more than 70 ciders and perries. 28 come from Norfolk makers, among them Crone’s, Norfolk Raider, Burnard’s, Downham and Whin Hill, with more from Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk. The branch notes that not all of them may be available on the day.
What is still to come
The branch has not yet published the 2026 beer list, the online Beer Finder or the festival programme; its own page says they will go up “prior to the Festival”. In 2025 they appeared shortly before the doors opened. We will update this page when they do.
For festival enquiries the branch gives organiser@norwichbeerfestival.org.uk.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Norwich Beer Festival 2026?
Monday 26 to Saturday 31 October 2026. It is the 47th festival, and Norwich and District CAMRA has confirmed the dates on its own festival pages and in its FAQ.
Where is the Norwich Beer Festival held?
The Halls, on St Andrew’s Plain in the city centre. That is the medieval friary made up of St Andrew’s and Blackfriars’ Halls, which has hosted the festival since 1977. The 2026 festival is the first back in the building after structural repairs to the roof and windows.
How much does it cost to get in?
Between £3 and £8 on the door, depending on the session. The £3 lunchtimes are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The £8 sessions are the Thursday and Friday evenings. CAMRA members get in free at every session but still have to queue.
Do I need to book in advance?
No. Only about 40 per cent of capacity is sold in advance and there are cash and card admissions on the door at every session. Advance sales for the Friday evening and the Thursday evening and Friday lunchtime sessions have already ended, so those three are door only. An advance ticket costs £1 more, includes a refundable £5 glass and £20 beer card, and guarantees entry during the first two hours of the session.
Can I take children to the Norwich Beer Festival?
No. It is strictly over-18s at every session, and the organisers state that this includes babies. Only support dogs are allowed.
Was there a Norwich Beer Festival in 2024 and 2025?
There was none in 2024. In 2025 a smaller 46th festival ran across three venues, the Redwell Brewery tap room, the Waterfront and Castle Social at Castle Quarter, because repairs at The Halls overran.
Sources
Norwich Beer Festival, dates, times and prices, 47th Norwich Beer Festival 2026, advance tickets, FAQ, the venue, 46th Norwich Beer Festival 2025 and the Tckty ticket listing, all Norwich and District CAMRA, checked 6 September 2026; sessions, advance tickets and the Tckty listing re-checked 3 and 10 October 2026; entertainment checked 10 October 2026; beer and cider lists, Tckty and the Champion Beer announcement checked 17 October 2026.
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