A POSTPONED two-day multi-cultural food and beer festival in an ancient village church near Coventry has been rescheduled to take place this weekend.
The event, organised as part of the University of Warwick Resonate Festival to celebrate Coventry’s City of Culture year, was due to take place last December but cancelled as a result of Covid restrictions.
Highlighting the medieval tradition of church ales, an evening of beer tasting will take place on Friday (March 25) between 7pm and 10.30pm in the beautiful Grade I listed church of St John the Baptist in picturesque Berkswell.
It will feature tipples made by local producers including Twisted Barrel Ale Brewery and Tap House, Fargo Village,Coventry, Byatts Brewery, Coventry and Church End Brewery, Warwick.
Twisted Barrel will be celebrating church beers with fabulous names such as God’s Twisted Sister and Truth & Purpose.
Held in collaboration with The Spirit of Berkswell project and the My-Parish network based in Warwick’s History department tickets cost £10, inclusive of four drink tokens in exchange for beer or non-alcoholic drinks.
Berkswell Feast! Food Fair on Saturday (March 26), 10.30am – 3.30pm, will have a very family-friendly focus with lots of local delicacies to sample including Coventry Godcakes and Berkswell Cheese, alongside celebratory dishes from Slovakia, Italy and Poland.
More substantial Sri Lankan and British specialities will be available to buy.
Warwick researchers will be talking about the history and meaning of hot chocolate, Coventry God Cakes, honey, medieval hangover cures and church ales.
Parishioners will be taking part in a ‘share-a-plate’ event and fun children’s activities will include candle making and biscuit decorating.
Prof. Beat Kümin, part of the Global Research Priority team on food at the University of Warwick’s Department of History, said: “The FEAST! festival will be a perfect way to celebrate locally produced beers and Coventry’s rich multi-cultural culinary tapestry in the surrounding of a beautiful ancient church.”
Free food and drink samples will be available, and visitors are invited to bring along a favourite celebratory food dish for the sharing table.
