Thank you
Crewe Rail Ale Festival 2026
4–6 September 2026 · Crewe Heritage Centre
A few words on this year
Before anything else, a huge thank you to everyone who came through the door, worked the bars, or helped set up and pack down. Here’s a note from the Festival Organiser.
What a festival!
I’ll be honest, after taking 2025 off, we went into this year’s Crewe Rail Ale Festival with a few nerves. There were some hurdles to clear along the way, but we ploughed on, and from the very first planning meeting right through to the “panic meeting”, our brilliant team found a way through every one.
We had a slightly new set-up this year, and our fantastic volunteers went straight into auto mode and had the whole thing ready in a single day. Then came the best surprise of all: the crowds. Advance ticket sales had been strong, but even more of you turned out than we’d dared to hope. Friday and Saturday were absolutely buzzing, and Sunday kept up a lovely steady flow right to the end.
And here’s the headline… we sold nearly all of our 45 cask ales, plus the keg, cider and perry. Even better, the vast majority of our beers were sourced from Cheshire and our neighbouring counties. Both food stalls sold clean out too!
If anyone ever doubted that great real ale, cider and perry are in demand, this weekend was the answer! Put quality local drinks in front of people and they will come. That’s hugely encouraging, not just for us, but for every brewery, cider maker and pub flying the flag for the good stuff.
We had some great feedback from members and guests and are already looking at how we can make the next festival even better.
This year we welcomed Heritage Centre visitors alongside our own regulars, and the atmosphere was electric. So thank you to every single person who came along. But most of all, our heartfelt thanks go to our truly awesome volunteers. Real professionals, every last one of them.
Here’s to real ale, real cider, real perry and an even bigger festival next year?
Cheers!
Kez Challacombe
Crewe Rail Ale Festival Organiser
South Cheshire CAMRA
The festival in pictures
More photos on our social media, give us a follow to relive the weekend.
Our festival charity
St Luke’s Hospice
We were proud to support St Luke’s Hospice as our festival charity this year. Founded in 1988, St Luke’s provides expert, compassionate care for people living with life limiting illnesses across mid and south Cheshire, helping them to live the life they can.
Their services are wide ranging and free to patients and families, including day hospice care, support for people staying at the hospice, St Luke’s at Home, family support and counselling, bereavement support, and a lymphoedema service. As a charity they rely on donations to keep that care going, so if you enjoyed the festival and can spare something, please give generously; the need doesn’t stop when the festival does.
Donate to St Luke’s Hospice →Thank you to our sponsors
CRAF 2026 ran only thanks to our generous sponsors and advertisers. A huge thank you to the local independent businesses who got behind the festival this year.
Void Games
Thank you to Void Games, based right here in Crewe, for sponsoring this year’s beer tokens. Void Games is Crewe’s go-to spot for trading card games, collectables and tabletop gaming.
They run organised play events for games like Pokémon, Flesh and Blood, and Magic: The Gathering, and have built a friendly community of gamers around the shop, both in store and via their active Discord server.
It was brilliant to have a local independent business like Void Games behind CRAF this year. Give them a follow and check them out next time you are in Crewe.
4T’s Brewery
Thank you to 4T’s Brewery for sponsoring our cask bar this year. What started in 2010 as a home-brew operation in founder John Wilkinson’s garage has grown into one of Warrington’s most-loved breweries. Head brewer Jordan Millington (“Bob The Brewer”) has been behind the kit since day one, and the brewery has grown steadily over the years, including picking up their first CAMRA award back in 2017.
Today, 4T’s produce quality cask, craft, bottled and canned beers, “satisfying tastebuds everywhere”, and they even open their own brewery tap once a month for pints straight from the source.
A brilliant local brewery to have had behind our cask bar this year.
Tom’s Tap & Brewhouse
Thank you to Tom’s Tap & Brewhouse for bringing you the keg bar this year. Tom’s Tap is one of our own South Cheshire breweries, and as a microbrewery and taproom based right here in Crewe, it does not get more local than this.
They are known for a brilliant rotating selection of small batch beers and ciders on tap, alongside a great choice of cocktails, gin, rum and wine, with plenty of their own brews thrown into the mix too. Having recently won a Silver in the regional rounds of the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain competition, they really are one of the best.
Beyond the beer, Tom’s Tap is known for being a genuinely welcoming spot for everyone and have created a real community. They are proud promoters of inclusivity, and the bar is dog friendly and child friendly, with regular events like crib nights, bottle shares, quiz and live music keeping the community coming back. Thanks for having us. Pay the taproom a visit if you haven’t already.
Champion Beer of Britain: regional judging
Premium Bitters category: North West Region heat
We were proud to host judging for the Premium Bitters category as part of the North West Region heat of CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain competition, right here at CRAF on the Friday. Champion Beer of Britain judging runs over two years, starting with member nominations and tasting panels before moving through area heats like this one, all judged blind.
- 1st Coach House Brewery: Innkeeper’s Special Reserve
- 2nd Storm Brewing Co: Silk of Amnesia
- 3rd Merlin Brewing Company: Dragonslayer brewed in our branch area
Congratulations to Coach House, who took the top spot in a narrow contest with Storm close behind, and well done to Merlin, one of our own South Cheshire brewers, on a brilliant third-place beer. It was fantastic to play a part in the Champion Beer of Britain journey by hosting this heat at CRAF. Good luck to Coach House as the competition continues.
See the original post on Facebook →The venue
Crewe Heritage Centre
Set among working signal boxes, historic locomotives and the famous APT (Advanced Passenger Train), standing alongside Crewe North Junction, where trains still sound their horns as they pass, the Heritage Centre once again provided hosts to the Crewe Rail Ale Festival.
Beyond festival weekend, Crewe Heritage Centre is open to visit in its own right with a number of new exhibits, miniature railway on-site café and, of course the Advanced Passenger Train, make it worth a trip any time of year.
- Historic locomotives & the Advanced Passenger Train
- Working heritage signal boxes
- Viewing platform over the West Coast Main Line
Crewe Heritage Centre is normally open weekends, bank holidays, and Wednesdays during Cheshire East school holidays, check their website for current opening times before you visit.
More about the Heritage Centre →
Getting to the Heritage Centre
By train
It does not get more fitting. Crewe is one of Britain’s great railway junctions, directly served from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Chester and beyond. The Heritage Centre is around a 20 minute walk from Crewe Station.
By car & parking
Sat-nav postcode CW1 2DB. Note: on busier days the venue may reserve the main car park for Blue Badge holders, so allow time and consider using nearby town-centre car parks.
By bus
Routes to Crewe: Christadelphian Hall
8, 12, 12A, 13, 37, 38, 39, 84, 84X, 85, 103
Routes from Crewe: The Terrace
8, 12, 13, 37, 38, 39, 84, 84X, 85, 103
Tell us what you thought
Whether it’s what to bring back next year, what to change, or just a good word for the team, we would love to hear from everyone who came along.
Complete our short feedback form, or drop us an email; either way, the team reads every response.
Prefer to fill it in directly? Open the feedback form in a new tab →