Ale City - book launch talk plus guided beer tasting with Roger Protz

Name: Ale City - book launch talk plus guided beer tasting with Roger Protz
Start: 2025-09-25T19:00:00+01:00
Location: The Alban Arena

Schedule

Thu, 25 Sep, 2025 at 07:00 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

The Alban Arena | Saint Albans, EN

This is a ticketed event, which requires an add-on to your normal festival attendance ticket. To book your place, see: https://tckty.camra.org.uk/e/352/st-albans-beer-cider-festival-2025#ticket-tab-multi
For details of all our special events at the St Albans Beer & Cider Festival, see https://stalbansbf.org.uk/events
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St Albans is a city rich in history, with its origins in the Iron Age. Much of that history is enshrined in its amazing pubs, which include old coaching inns, a pub where soldiers fighting in the Wars of the Roses relaxed with ale, and Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, dating from the 17th century and possibly even earlier.
Pubs connected to the railway age opened in the 19th century and there have been further additions in both the 20th and 21st centuries. These include the Farriers Arms, where the longest surviving branch of the Campaign for Real Ale was formed in the 1970s.
Meanwhile, commercial brewing was established in the city during the seventeenth century, with the Kinder family opening the St Albans Brewery on Chequer Street, and more following in their footsteps.
This incredible history is documented in Roger Protz's brand new book: Ale City. And Roger is joining us at St Albans Beer & Cider Festival to officially launch the book with an exclusive talk about the research that went into it, along with a guided beer tasting session.
Roger has lived, worked, and drunk in St Albans for 50 years. Packed with anecdotes and fascinating facts, this lavishly illustrated guide – with photography work contributed by our very own festival photographer Will Lewis - details the city's pubs and brewing heritage. Expect to hear that brought to life in this discussion, along with the opportunity to explore some outstanding beers specially selected by Roger for tasting.