‘A big drinking bonanza of fun’: The Boar goes behind the scenes of the 46th Warwick University Real Ale festival
On a nippy January afternoon, I wander into the cosy depths of the Dirty Duck. 1pm is a little early for a pint, regrettably, but it’s a fitting venue to meet the co-presidents of the UK’s oldest student-run real ale society. Fresh from a night of raucous circling, James Freed and James Moran – the affable double-act leading the legendary Warwick University Real Ale Society (WURAS) this year – sink into a sofa with me to tap the keg on the society’s hotly-anticipated pièce de résistance.
Welcome to the 46th Warwick University Real Ale Festival.
An apt place to begin our behind-the-scenes look at the largest student-run beer festival in Europe is of course the mammoth planning process, which the two Jameses tell me begins immediately after the pints stop flowing.
“I feel like early on it’s very much idea-generating”, Moran suggests. “When you finish the last festival,” says Freed, “then you obviously look at the finances, you look at what went well, what went wrong, that kind of thing, and then you remember that for next year. But then also in term three as well, around summer, you’re brainstorming new ideas that you want to implement in your festival. So, I think we did that a bit. We had some really crazy ideas. I had a weird idea of trying to register as a brewery, to brew our own beer for the festival – which didn’t happen,” he laughs, “so maybe another year…”
The Library Bridge banner, Moran notes, has made a return to the society’s publicity campaign after an absence since Covid – just one of a host of adverts that have sprung up around campus in recent weeks.
Real Ale Society also took advantage of an Earlsdon pub crawl last week to smother the Coventry suburb in glossy posters, and were joined by Jay Chan, the viral student attempting to drink a pint in every constituency. In a joint social media post, they all downed a beer to “send the message” of the festival.
We reach out to quite a few [local breweries], asking, ‘can we brew something with you?’ With some of them, it will be brewing their core range of beers. Others, they’ll actually let us come up with a new one … specifically for the festival
James Moran, WURAS Co-President
To get regional breweries involved, the Jameses tell me, the society sends its sponsorship brochure to local watering holes in week one of term one – “the second the year starts”, as Moran puts it.
“Last year we found a lot of success with one brewery,” Freed says, “so we really wanted to push a big sponsorship from them. So in September, I reached out to one of them, Windmill Hill, being like, ‘do you want to be a big sponsor this year?’ So we managed to secure them very early on, along with a collab brew for the society.”
Regarding these brewing partnerships central to the festival’s ethos, Moran tells me how Real Ale has worked closely with breweries in the Leamington and Coventry area in its preparations for the event.
“We reach out to quite a few, asking, ‘can we brew something with you?’ With some of them, it will be brewing their core range of beers. Others, they’ll actually let us come up with a new one, like the Dhillon’s brew. We’ve come up with our own recipe with them [named ‘Call the Therapist’, according to the beer list I’ve been very kindly sent]. So that’s something they have never brewed before, something we’ve made specifically for the festival.”
“And then some of them,” says Freed, “are more of a teaching experience for us, where we can go along and see how they brew and be a part of it, and then we can put our logo next to it, and people drink that at the festival. That way, you know we were part of the process.”
Real Ale Society has worked with local breweries to create new recipes for the festival | Image: WURAS
The result of Moran and Freed’s PR labours is a very healthy beer list this year, including such wild names as Das Ist Techno Sex, Very Big Moose, and Meow Mild. There’s even a milk stout simply called Peanut Caramel Chocolate and a pale ale called Maple Pancake. Pressed for the precise numbers, Freed tells me there will be 70 casks, 16 taps in the keg bar, and around 18 kegs. Oh, and 470 bottles of wine and mead, new flavours of the latter including strawberry and West Country mead.
We can’t give away our [Turbo Purple] recipe this year, so all I’ll say is that the percentage will be high, but it will be very drinkable. So I think we should have a circle
James Freed, WURAS Co-President
“There’s a good range”, says a proud Moran. “There’ll be some that stay on, but those cask beers change for the most part.” Supplying me with an example, Freed grins: “So last year we had Shagweaver, and this year – even bigger, even better – we’re bringing Shagweaver XL.” The golden ale from North Cotswold Brewery, which has honey listed among the tasting notes, is sure to be a hit for its name alone.
“We’re looking to have some really fun ones this year,” he adds, “alongside some really great standards. So if anyone’s a big fan of Fruitesse, we’re planning to get a Fruitesse-style beer on cask, and it’s called Rhu-Bar-Beer. It’s rhubarb-flavored, low percent, and very sessionable.”
For the cider aficionados, meanwhile, they can expect to be treated to a Nuclear range from Somerset family-run business Lilley’s Cider – that is, their classic sweet ciders boosted with caffeine – and more of the popular cocktail ciders.
“The result of Moran and Freed’s PR labours is a very healthy beer list this year” | Image: WURAS
One conspicuous absentee from this list of stalwart beverages, however, looms large. I’m eager for my interviewees to provide a pitch for the festival’s infamous Turbo Purple – the event’s heavyweight drink and a far-cry from your usual Wednesday night tipple.
Rising to the task, Moran explains that “basically we choose one of the strongest ciders we can find, one of the strongest beers we can find, and a bit of blackcurrant wine. It’s the same recipe, only with everything upscaled.” Not to mention that, from experience, it tastes better than your regular Purple.
“In previous years,” says Freed, “I think we’ve had quite tough-to-drink beers [in the Turbo Purple recipe], where you’ve got like an Imperial Stout for example. We can’t give away our recipe this year, so all I’ll say is that the percentage will be high, but it will be very drinkable. So I think we should have a circle”, he concludes, both Jameses laughing. “I think we need a circle during the festival.”
When this started 46 years ago, the first people to do the festival were passionate about real ale, they were passionate about doing this festival. And every year they meet people who are like-minded, and they give them that passion, and it just kind of carries on like that
James Freed
If a game of 20+1 is indeed proposed in the Copper Rooms, it will be soundtracked by a jam-packed music schedule – another of the festival’s main draws. Essex alternative funk band Midnight Repost, last year’s Saturday headliner, will make a return to kick off this year’s festival in the Thursday late slot. Performances can also be expected from Band Society and Big Band, the latter of whom, Freed notes, are so eager to return every year that they approach Real Ale’s exec as soon as possible.
“I just love that Big Band, without any prompt or anything on the Friday, they’re just on it. They know the songs, and just do it unprompted. That’s amazing.”
A couple of Real Ale exec bands are also teased – Pork Chop Express and Kintsugi. “There’ll be some special things coming from them…”
Big Band will take to the Copper Rooms stage on the Friday night | Image: Nikolai Morton / The Boar
But of course, the music will not just derive from the stage. Festival-goers threading their way past the kegs often tend to contribute their own unprompted addition to the atmosphere, chanting “more beer” to the melody of ‘Amazing Grace’, and of course belting out in unison: “reaaallllll aleeeeeeee”.
Moran tells me that, when he provides his answer to the common question ‘what societies are you part of?’, people instinctively shout back at him the above refrain. “It’s weird”, he admits. “But it’s quite nice that it’s a part of the campus culture that people look forward to.”
We really try to balance both introducing people into new beer styles … and also doing the fun ones, like the cocktail ones that we know students are going to like
James Moran
The fact that the festival has been running for 46 years owes much to the passion for ale inherited across generations of students, the pair suggest.
“I think we’ve got one of the most passionate exec groups currently”, Freed claims. “When this started 46 years ago, the first people to do the festival were passionate about real ale, they were passionate about doing this festival. And every year they meet people who are like-minded, and they give them that passion, and it just kind of carries on like that. As long as you’ve got a group of individuals that are willing to give up a lot of degree time, a lot of other stuff, and really want to put on a great festival, you’re going to keep having it no matter what.”
“And the thing is,” Moran continues, “when you see it on that Thursday night, the numbers of people tell you that all the time you put into it was worth it, that something you’ve put hours and hours and hours into has paid off. The name Real Ale Festival might almost put people off, but the reception I’ve got is that it’s just a name. It is just a big drinking bonanza of fun. We really try to balance both introducing people into new beer styles – loads of people love Guinness, for example, but it’s probably the only stout they’ve ever had – and also doing the fun ones, like the cocktail ones that we know students are going to like. It’s finding that balance between providing for the people who want actual good quality beers, but also for students to be introduced to them while also knowing they can come and have drinks they would like.”
The duo will be crossing their fingers for high numbers of attendees this year, as half the profits go to charity. “Unfortunately, in previous years, we’ve struggled to make a profit,” Freed notes, “so we haven’t been able to [donate much]. So we’re really hoping that this festival is the one we can break the post-Covid hump and really put some stuff towards charity.”
The festival’s marketing campaign has seen banners spring up around campus | Image: WURAS
The sheer volume of students who have already signed up to serve across the event’s three dates is already promising, however.
“Our goal is normally around 70-ish servers”, says Freed. “Last year we had 72 the week before the festival, but this year we hit 80 before term started. We’re getting very excited because there’s so many people wanting to serve. And there’s still people wanting to serve now, so we’ve had to shut it down. We’ve got too many!”, he laughs in disbelief.
“It wouldn’t be possible without the servers”, adds Moran. “If we don’t get enough servers on the night, we physically couldn’t run it. We need this. And this year, the uptake and keenness has been incredible.”
Currently we have, like, 60-year-olds that come to the festival who used to be on exec – the first ever presidents, the first ever people. And now we’re just going to start getting 80-year-olds – it’ll be a huge range
James Freed
On this positive note, we conclude our chat by discussing the legacy of the festival, and why it is that people keep coming back.
“I mean, it’s one of those things that’s its own entity”, reflects Moran. “I’ve seen someone in, like, 14th or 15th festival shirts, which is wild to see that it’s been going that long. I mean, the society is 52 years old, and we’re on our 46th festival – and they obviously missed one during Covid. I heard they even used to do it on the Oculus Field in tents, and it only became the Copper Rooms in, I want to say, 2013, and that’s when it really sort of got big. I’ll definitely come back for festivals in the future. We’re close to the 50th festival, and I think for that milestone we’re going to have so many people exec-wise.”
Freed mentions that “currently we have, like, 60-year-olds that come to the festival who used to be on exec – the first ever presidents, the first ever people. And now we’re just going to start getting 80-year-olds – it’ll be a huge range. But it’s nice to see that, and they always wear their shirts.”
The names of presidents immemorial, I’m told, are all carved onto a horn, passed down from president to president. “The legend says it’s four pints in the horn”, Freed grins, “and yeah, it’s got all of those names engraved. So soon we’re going to have to engrave James and James.”
If this hop behind the scenes is anything to go by, our incumbent presidential pair are all set to put on one hell of a “drinking bonanza of fun” in a couple of weeks. Nothing else need be said. Other than, perhaps, REAAAALLLLL ALLLLEEEEEEEEE!
The 46th Warwick University Real Ale Festival will take place in the Copper Rooms from Thursday 19 February to Saturday 21 February. Event tickets and drinks tokens are available on the SU website.
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