13th Old Town Beer and Cider Festival - Centurion Edition

The much-loved Old Town Beer & Cider Festival returns for its 13th year, and 2026 sees our biggest celebration yet – the Centurion Edition. Taking place from Thursday 7th to Sunday 10th May 2026 at Christ Church Swindon, the Community Centre and surrounding grounds, this year’s festival features 100 beers and ciders combined to choose from – our largest range ever, and the reason we’re proudly calling it the Centurion Edition. Keep up to date by visiting the festival website here

The festival opens on Thursday 7th May with a fantastic Comedy Night, featuring three comedians to get the weekend off to a roaring start headlined by Esther Manito, as seen on Live at the Apollo (BBC 1), Esther Manito: Crusade (ITV X). Hypothetical (U&Dave) and Stand up sketch show (ITV 2) & COMEDY CENTRAL LIVE. Esther Manito is an Arab Essex girl who will challenge every single preconception of what that means. The award winning comic has supported Alan Davies, Shappi Korsandi, Sindhu Vee, Jason Mansford, Jo Brand and Al Murray!

On Friday afternoon, we’re delighted to host a brand new event in partnership with the Swindon Literature Festival: TASTING NOTES: The Art & Science of Pairing Beer and Music, led by Pete Brown, Sunday Times weekly beer columnist and acclaimed author. This unique session includes guided tastings of selected festival beers, carefully paired with music to heighten the experience, plus the chance to chat with Pete, buy his books, and have them signed.

On Friday evening, the main festival gets fully underway, continuing from midday on Saturday with the full Centurion Edition beer and cider offering in full swing.

From 5pm to 10pm on Saturday, enjoy an evening of live local music, continuing our popular tradition from the past three years. This year’s line-up is headlined by the immensely crowd-pleasing 'What The Pluck' ukulele rock band, alongside two more local bands (The saga louts & Splat the rat).

We round off the four-day celebration on Sunday afternoon with a brand new family event: Music Bingo, ensuring there really is something for everyone to enjoy (finer details in the workshop).

Planning is well under way, with tickets going on sale from 1st March. Keep up to date by following us on our Facebook page and sign up to the Beer Festival Brewsletter at:
http://eepurl.com/iqptr6

Cheers to the Centurion Edition – our biggest beer and cider festival yet 🍻

Session times are as follows:

Thursday 7th May - 6-11pm -  Comedy Night (In Christ Church only) - £15 (ticket includes entry, festival glass, festival guide, 1st drink). Hot food available to buy with your beer/ cider from 6-8pm before the comedy starts.

Friday 8th May - 1.30-4.30pm - With acclaimed author Pete Brown - TASTING NOTES - The Art & Science of Pairing Beer and Music (In Christ Church only) - £10 (ticket includes entry, festival glass, festival guide and 4 x 1/3 pint beer tastings).  There will also be the option to pre-order a signed copy of Pete's book when purchasing your ticket. Available for collection on the day. Price to be confirmed.

Friday 8th May - 6-11pm (In Christ Church only) - £15 (ticket includes entry, festival glass, festival guide and 2 x drinks). Hot food available all evening. 

Saturday 9th May - 12noon-10pm (In Christ Church and the Community Centre) - £15 (ticket includes entry, festival glass, festival guide and 2 x drinks). Hot food available all day.

Saturday 9th May - 5-10pm - £12 (ticket includes live music, festival glass, festival guide & first drink). Hot food available all evening.

Sunday 10th May - £10 Adults/ £5 children - Music Bingo - doors open 3pm, till approx 6pm (ticket includes unlimited beer/ cider & snacks - soft drinks purchased separately).

Raffle available at all sessions.

DISCLAIMER: The festival kicks off on Thursday with around 100 beers and ciders. As the weekend unfolds, some lines may run dry as crowd favourites are polished off. This helps us ensure no beer goes to waste — a win for sustainability and for beer lovers alike!