Chippenham Beer Festival is set to be bigger and better than ever when it returns this weekend, even featuring its own beer.

With space for 2,000 real ale fans to pour into at its base at the Olympiad, it is hoped visitors will fill the three sessions on Friday and Saturday.

The event, which started out as a small festival in the Neeld Hall, has doubled its supply of ciders for this year, and will also feature 100 beers and a number of perries.

Gareth MacDonald, chairman of the festival organising committee, said that although tickets have sold out for Friday evening, there were still plenty of tickets available for Saturday lunchtime and even some left for Saturday evening.

“We have always resisted making all the tickets available in advance,” he said.

“Some have to be available on spec. I joined the first festival myself on spec – I was walking down the High Street with my wife when I saw a lady handing out leaflets for a beer festival.

“We went along to it to see what was going on, and I’ve been involved ever since. If they hadn’t had tickets available for people who might not have known about it before, I might never have known about it.

“We were caught on the hop on Saturday’s afternoon session last year in terms of tickets, as we were expecting around 500 people and got 650,” he said.

To commemorate the event, town mayor David Powell will be attending the Saturday lunchtime session. A brew made in honour of the occasion by Moles Brewery – Crowning Glory – will be available for the first time at the event before going on general sale.

Mr MacDonald said: “You don’t need to be an anorak to enjoy the festival. It’s about getting together to discover a bit more about real ale.”

Tickets for the event are on sale at the Olympiad.

The lunchtime session on Saturday is from 11am until 3.30pm at £4 for a ticket, with music, and the evening session from 7pm until 11pm also has music, with tickets costing £5.

For more information, visit www.nwwiltscamra.org.uk/site/ chippenham-beer-festival