A REVAMPED Northwich Beer and Drinks Festival has been hailed a success after more than 1,000 people poured into Memorial Court this weekend.

The festival, in its 25th year, took a leap away from its traditional ale offerings to include gin and prosecco on Friday night, Saturday lunchtime and Saturday night, with rave reviews.

Organised by the Rotary Clubs of Northwich and Northwich Vale Royal, the three-session event welcomed an unprecedented amount of visitors who drank the place dry.

Rotarian Tim Henshall said: “It was amazing – we almost had to shut the doors we were that busy. The new format has very much worked.

“There were 1,100 people through the doors across the three sessions, and the estimated amount raised is between £8,000 and £10,000.

“They got through 350 gallons of ale, 120 bottles of prosecco, 50 bottles and gin and 11 different ciders – there wasn’t a drop left.”

Drinkers enjoyed bands ‘Beaver’ on Friday night and ‘The Tijuana Death Squad’ on Saturday, with commemorative t-shirts marking the quarter-century also proving popular.

The new format paved the way for a younger clientele, who have played their part in adding to the event’s more-than £200,000 charity total.

Tim added: “The sessions were the busiest they’ve been in a long time, with the Saturday lunchtime particularly busy compared to previous years.

“On the Saturday we did run out of gin and a couple of members had to jump in the car and get down to the shops. All 13 different gins sold and by the end we had about half of one bottle left. We also cleared one shop out of tonic!

“In all honesty I didn’t have any doubt the new format would work, but it was beyond our expectations. We definitely got it right and even had to put a new gin bar in on Saturday morning to deal with the demand. There were a lot more ladies and a lot more young people – the age profile was very much down compared to previous years, possibly because of the addition of the gin.”

In a weekend of success, there was only one disappointment, with the festival’s longest-running beer unavailable for the first time.

Wobbly Bob – a popular ever-present over the past 24 years – is no longer provided to festivals due to Phoenix Brewery’s new deal with J D Wetherspoon.

In its place, a polystyrene gravestone marked with ‘RIP Bob’ was placed on the bar.