One of Dorset's most loved events, an annual beer festival, welcomed a sell-out crowd that raised funds for a local charity. 

The 35th annual Dorchester Beerex was a total sell-out crowd over all four of its sessions, with a queue leading around the venue of the Corn Exchange on Friday, February 2.

Organised by volunteers of West Dorset Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Dorchester Casterbridge Rotary Club, the event raised more than £23,000 last year, and is hoping to match or better that figure.

Across the weekend, 80 cask ales were on offer for guests, with 20 traditional real ciders.

Some of the crowd had been waiting outside for almost an hour to ‘get the best seat’ inside.

One attendee who travelled in from Poole said: “You’ve got to get here early to get the good spots in beer festivals.”

Speaking about the atmospheres from the festival, Richard Gabe of West Dorset CAMRA said: “Friday afternoon will see your connoisseurs come down and sample predominantly ales, whilst the evening will have that night out atmosphere with a laid-back acoustic and keyboard set from Chris Davies.

“Saturday will see us welcome people from far and wide, all over the country to sample the selection and then the evening is more of a party atmosphere, with that Britpop band seeing us off."

The event has run every year since 1988 all in the name of charity. Since its beginning, it has raised over £225,000 for local causes. Organisers are hoping to break the £250,000 mark with this event. 

This year, the event's chosen charity is Amelia's Rainbow. The local charity helps children with with serious life-threatening illnesses or disabilities, giving them the chance to have free week long vacations in holiday homes, as well as providing loving memories with their rainbow gifts.  

Farah Batchelor, charity manager of Amelia’s Rainbow said: “The support means a huge amount to us and we are so grateful for the support, especially as we have such a local connection to the town and have helped a number of families in Dorchester.

“We are looking at opening a second holiday home soon for people and we’re hoping that the money can go towards that.

Adrian Carey, Chair of this year’s event, said: “The turnout has been really good. We’ve sold 1,425 tickets for all sessions. Its been more than two days to set everything out but we’ve planned this since September last year.

“Behind us there’s an amazing committee and a great set of volunteers. Seeing everyone come through the door today was great and even more so that we’re making money for the event.

The main sponsor of the event was the Cerne Abbas Brewery. Vic Irvine, the chair of the company, announced that he was going to step down from his role after the event following his diagnosis with lung cancer.

He said: “We’re really proud to be the main sponsor of the event to raise a landmark quarter of a million pounds for a great local cause.

“It’s great to see so many people having fun and trying out some new beers and just to see it bringing people together is great.

Mr Irvine went on to talk about one of his favourite beers on offer at the festival, Vic’s secret. He said: “It’s named for its famous Australian hops and it would be rude not to approve of it for my final show.

Mark Wingate will be taking on Mr Irvine’s role as the company looks to ‘evolve not revolve,’ according to Mr Irvine.

Mr Wingate said: “We’re looking to take on a streamlines process to increase efficiency.” He added that it’s ‘very important to celebrate local events’ like the Beerex, and they will be looking support next year’s event.