We Went To The Harrogate Beer Festival

Matt jumped into the back of his mates car and was driven for five hours to attend and do some market research for the Three Hounds & Beckenham RFC Beer Festival 2026 this past Saturday, March 7th. Here is what he drank, what he enjoyed and what we plan on including in this years beer festival.

First off, Harrogate is a rather wonderful and nice town, if you are ever in that neck of the woods it is worth visiting, especially if you fancy some indie beers with the likes of Harrogate Brewing Co, Cold Bath Brewing Co, North Bar and several more specialist bars, pubs and tap rooms in the city centre and all within walking distance of each other.

When it comes to the Harrogate Beer Festival there was a lot of beers and ciders to choose from with 62 Cask Ales, 16 Keg Beers and 11 Still Ciders available, most of which, if not all where from Yorkshire based producers. Traditional brewers such as Daleside, Roosters, Theakstons and Titanic sat alongside more modern and contemporary breweries like Northern Monk, Harrogate Brewery and Vocation, which for a beer drinker who appreciates both the classics and new styles of beer was wonderful to see. It was great to go from a Theakstons, XB, which is a traditional Ruby Ale, to a Amity Brew Co, Waterpistol, a Hazy Pale Ale packed with New Zealand and US hops, back over to Bowness Bay Brewing, Swan Blonde, a more modern take on a Blonde Ale with the helping of Citra hops to complement an classic English hop Pioneer.

This brings us nicely to our first improvement from last years beer festival. We are proud to be able to showcase and support the newest breweries to the UK beer scene whenever we run a beer festival with Beckenham RFC. It's what Matt and the team here at the Three Hounds love to do. However, being able to also show off beers and breweries that built our love for Cask Ale and the technique of serving an unique beer that is really only really found on these isles needs to be celebrated. So expect a couple of more traditional breweries on this years beer list.

During the day of the beer festival the Six Nations was on the big screens, which was helpful when having to watch the England game and sink an extra pint because of the outcome. Once the evening came round the live music started in two separate rooms, one was by the Keg and Cider Bar, while the other was in a separate room away from any bars. This allowed us to either enjoy some music with our beers or be in the main beer hall to chat and discuss how we can fix the world. The Beckenham Beer Festival already has the rugby sorted with a Friday Nights Game and a Saturday Touch Rugby Tournament for people to watch while they sip on some suds. This year however, we are going to introduce live music from local musicians on the Saturday evening, not only does this add an extra string to our entertainment bow but also gives us the opportunity to support the local music scene.

Overall, Matt had a great time at the Harrogate Beer Festival and plans on returning next year, his come back with ideas to improve on last years Three Hounds & Beckenham RFC Beer Festival and we would say that is a win for all. Tickets are now on-sale for this years Beer Festival, with day tickets being just £3 or weekend tickets being £5.