Beer Festivals in Newcastle

Newcastle drinks well all year round, but a handful of festivals give the calendar its fixed points. They range from a volunteer-run real ale festival that has been going for decades to a German-style beer hall in a square behind Central Station, and all of them sit in the city centre or a short walk from it. This guide covers the recurring ones, when they usually fall and what to expect, so you can plan ahead rather than finding out the weekend after.

Exact dates and ticket prices change from year to year, so treat the timings below as a guide and check each organiser's own site before you book.

Newcastle Beer and Cider Festival (spring)

The big one for real ale drinkers is the Newcastle Beer and Cider Festival, organised by volunteers from the Tyneside and Northumberland branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. It has run for more than four decades and is now held at Northumbria Students' Union on Sandyford Road, a few minutes' walk from Haymarket Metro. The festival takes over the building during the university's Easter break, which is why it lands in April.

It runs over four days, Wednesday to Saturday, with an evening opening session on the Wednesday and day-long sessions after that. The 2026 festival offered more than 100 drinks, mainly cask ales alongside craft beer, cider and perry, with food, live music and charity fundraising through the week (the Thursday has become a fancy-dress Hat Day in aid of St Oswald's Hospice). Card and cash were both accepted in 2026.

The organisers have confirmed the 2027 festival for Wednesday 7 to Saturday 10 April 2027 at the Students' Union. Ticket prices and booking had not been announced at the time of writing; sign up for updates on the festival website.

Best for: Best for: serious cask ale and cider fans, and anyone who wants the widest choice under one roof.

Blackfriars Beer Festival (May bank holiday)

Blackfriars Restaurant occupies the refectory of a 13th-century Dominican friary on Friars Street, just off Stowell Street, and it now runs what it describes as its annual beer festival over the late May bank holiday weekend. The festival started in 2025, so it is young, but the setting is unlike anything else in the city: the friary's Cloister Garden and Banquet Hall, with the old stone ranges all around you.

In 2026 it ran from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 May with beers from nine local breweries, including St Dominic's, the friary's own brewery. Tickets were sold by session (the 2026 Sunday ticket included entry, a branded schooner with a first beer and a festival brochure), and there was street food from the barbecue, live music at the weekend and separately ticketed tastings. A pound from each ticket went to the Newcastle United Foundation.

Dates for 2027 had not been announced when we checked, so watch the Blackfriars events page in spring. Bookings are paid in advance and non-refundable.

Best for: Best for: a smaller, sociable session in one of the oldest buildings in Newcastle.

The Cumberland Arms Beer Festivals (summer and winter)

Down in the Ouseburn, The Cumberland Arms on James Place Street is one of the best-loved real ale pubs in the city and a multiple winner of the regional CAMRA cider pub of the year award. According to its CAMRA listing, the pub holds a beer festival every summer and every winter, when the usual line-up of hand pulls and ciders is extended with guest casks.

The Cumberland does not publish festival dates far ahead, so the way to catch one is to follow the pub's website and social media. It is roughly a 20 minute walk from Grey's Monument through the Ouseburn Valley, or a short walk down Byker Bank from Byker Metro, and the terraced garden above the valley is the place to be when the summer festival coincides with good weather. Our best pubs in Newcastle city centre guide has more on the pub itself.

Best for: Best for: a proper pub festival with folk music and a strong cider list.

Oktoberfest Newcastle (October)

For something louder, Oktoberfest Newcastle sets up a heated Bavarian beer hall on Times Square, the open square beside the Centre for Life and a couple of minutes from Central Station. It runs on Saturdays through October, with separate afternoon and evening sessions, German beer in steins, bratwurst, oompah bands and DJs. It is an over-18s event and it tends to sell out, so the early sessions are worth booking well ahead.

The 2026 event is running on Saturdays 10, 17 and 24 October, with tickets through the organiser at oktoberfest.org.uk and Skiddle. Expect a party rather than a tasting: this is about lederhosen, long tables and singing, not rare cask ales.

Best for: Best for: groups, birthdays and anyone who would rather sing along than take tasting notes.

Between festivals

If you want festival-style choice on an ordinary weekend, the city's brewery taps fill the gaps. Wylam Brewery pours its own beer in the Palace of Arts in Exhibition Park, a short walk north of Haymarket, and hosts street food and events through the year, while the Ouseburn pubs around the Cumberland make for an easy crawl. Our best beer gardens in Newcastle city centre guide picks out where to sit outside when the sun is out.

Tips for festival-goers

• Book early. Oktoberfest and Blackfriars both sell by session, and popular sessions go first.
• Join CAMRA. Members often get discounted or free entry to CAMRA festivals; check the Newcastle festival's ticket details when they are released.
• Use the Metro. Haymarket serves the Students' Union, Central Station serves Times Square and Blackfriars, and Byker or Manors are handy for the Ouseburn.
• Pace yourself. Festival measures are usually thirds and halves for a reason.

Know a Newcastle beer festival we have missed? Get in touch and we will take a look.