Beach Street Beer Festival 2024

Beach Street Festival 2024, Beach Street, Micklegate Road, Felixstowe IP11 2GN

The Beach Street Beer Festival, organised by the independent bottle shop chain Hopsters, was a delightful event held in Felixstowe. With locations in Ipswich, Chelmsford, Leigh-on-Sea, and Felixstowe (where the venue doubles as a seaside bar), Hopsters chose The Shed as the festival site. This venue, typically a bustling covered market on weekends, proved ideal due to its proximity to the beach, just a stone’s throw away

Spanning two days, we attended on Saturday afternoon, the second day, under the glorious sunshine. Beach Street, where The Shed is located, was alive with energy, and featured numerous street food vendors and independent retailers. The Shed itself provided ample seating, though many attendees preferred the additional outdoor seating to soak up the beautiful weather.

This year’s festival offered free entry, attracting a good crowd. Purchasing beers was straightforward—just swap cash or card for a ticket strip, and you were ready to explore.

Although the number of craft breweries was not extensive, each one brought their A-game, showcasing their latest and freshest brews. This commitment to quality is a hallmark of Hopsters’ festivals, where selected breweries consistently bring their best offerings. The breweries in attendance included Burnt Mill, Phantom, Time & Tide, Briarbank, DEYA, Duration, and Three Hills.

Each brewery featured four taps on rotation, ensuring a varied selection as new beers were tapped throughout the day. Highlights included Phantom’s hazy pales and IPAs, such as Extra Slice of Cheddar, Go Big Or Go Home, and Greenkeeper. Time & Tide stood out with their Space Hopper, a 6% IPA bursting with intense hop flavours.

Adding to the excitement, the Hopsters permanent bar adjacent to The Shed hosted a 10- tap takeover from Track Brewing Co. This included their new DIPA, ‘Slice’, which was a crowd favourite.

Beach Street is renowned for its street food, so finding excellent food to complement the beer was effortless. Overall, the Hopsters Craft Beer Festival was a superb event, offering fantastic beers, vibrant street food, and a beautiful seaside setting.

We look forward to attending again in 2025.