Hair of the dog!

LAPPING it up: Jacko enjoys a bowl of “dog beer” pulled by landlady Michelle Fenton

WET and windy weather failed to dampen the spirits of real ale fans who turned out to celebrate the success of Delph’s first-ever beer festival.

Around 500 people tried some of their favourite brews during the eight-day festival which ended yesterday on a promise that it would become an annual event.

Several local real ale pubs joined forces to hold the event to mark National Cask Ale Week, and landlady Michelle Fenton, from the White Lion Inn, said yesterday: “It has gone really well.”

One of the most popular for four-legged festival-goers was “Dog Beer.”

A secret savoury recipe prepared specially by Michelle produced a beefy treat for canines, served from a special mini-hand pump set up for the purpose.

It proved so popular that Michelle said it would now stay on as a permanent brew. “The dogs all loved it,” she said.

Michelle, who is chairman of the local PubWatch branch, came up with the novel idea to boost interest in the festival.

She said: “In reality the dog beer is beefy-flavoured water. Our own pet dog, Jacko, loves the special brew. He really laps it up.”

The festival was boosted by events held during the week at The Old Bell, The Bulls Head, The White Swan, The Royal Oak at Heights and Delph Band Club.

Oldham Mountain Rescue team volunteered its services as first aiders for a three-legged pub crawl and an inter-pub tug-of-war to round off the festival yesterday afternoon.