GREAT Harwood real ale fans were treated to a bank holiday weekend of fine drink at a popular pub.

The Victoria, St John's Street, held its first ever real ale festival and had 15 beers on offer including local ales from Bowland Brewery, Bashall Eaves and the Phoenix Brewery from Heywood, near Bury.

Landlady Jean Baxter is now intending to make the three-day festival an annual event at her pub, which which is in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide.

Jean, who has been licensee at the pub for two and half years, said: "The event went without a hitch and I'm hoping to have more like this in the future."

The event was supported by Great Harwood's Red Rose Brewery as part of the run up to Cask Beer Week in September.

Club bids for award

A BURNLEY club, popular with clubbers from across East Lancashire, is competing with other northern clubs for a top award.

Lava and Ignite, Hammerton Street, has been nominated in the northern section of the annual Smirnoff Bar, Entertainment and Dance Association awards (BEDA).

The club, which opened in December last year, is up against some of the north's biggest clubs, including Gatecrasher in Sheffield, Heaven and Hell in Hull, Doncaster's Trilogy and Sunderland's Liquid Diva.

The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in Birmingham on September 26.

Ales popular

MORE than 75 per cent of off-licences have reported increased sales of bottled real ales in the last twelve months according to a survey.

The survey, into the importance of real ale in a bottle, was released this week by CAMRA, publishers of the new Good Bottled Beer Guide. CAMRA claims consumers are rejecting cheap canned lagers in favour of natural, local real ales.