This year’s Apple and Ale festival at the Fleece Inn concentrated on local ciders from Worcestershire and Herefordshire along with a good selection of beers based upon the general theme of “Notts or not Notts” with 75% of the beers on offer coming from the Nottingham area. Over the weekend fifteen beers were listed in the festival programme along with the regular Uley Pig’s Ear and Wye Valley Bitter in the bar. Of particular interest to those of us in branch was the availability of the unfined offerings of Phantom Falls 5.1% and Mutiny Stout 3.7% from the Boat Lane brewery in Offenham. Nottinghamshire beers from the Dunkeries, Lincoln Green, Milestone, Totally Brewed and Welbeck Abbey breweries were on offer which were also ably supplemented by three beers from Warwickshire’s own Church End brewery which included the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain - Goats Milk. This selection of beers and ciders was complemented by live music starting on the Friday night whilst on Sunday local morris men from Pebworth danced alongside Adlington Morris from the North West on their annual pilgrimage south. Along with all this there was also the spectacle of apple pressing using their own vintage equipment, kids activities, tastings, vintage lorries and miniature steam engines. A busy and entertaining weekend was had by all that attended.