Those reading this who were around campus last week may well remember Cardiff Real Ale and Cider Society’s ‘Beer & Cider Festival’ back in February — or maybe not, if they particularly enjoyed the day!
This past February, the festival raised over £3000 which Cardiff Real Ale and Cider Society donated to Mind, the UK charity for mental health support. As a result of their generosity and charitable work, Mind got in touch with Cardiff Real Ale and Cider to present them an award for their work.
The society has been running their annual festival in the Students’ Union for “longer than any current members can remember”, says Secretary Dan. This past year, the festival took over substantial parts of the Students’ Union’s second floor for two days, with a variety of 36 different beers and 40 boxed ciders for students to choose from.
What makes this festival better than others for students in Cardiff to go to, aside from the great selection, is the charitable intentions behind it. For many years now, the society has been giving a significant majority of the profits made by the festival to Mind.
Speaking about the charitable nature of the festival, Secretary Dan says that the society’s decision to donate the majority of the proceeds to support Mind was “made right at the start of our year when we first began planning”, adding that “although the festival has little to do with Mind, we think it’s important that the benefits of having the festival are shared not just with those who are able to attend, but also with the people Mind support”.
Dan says that the society’s choice to support Mind was made by the committee many years ago which committees over the years have honoured as the society remains “big fans of their work”. So, in Dan’s words, the work is “part tradition, part genuine dedication to the cause”. Having spent over £8000 to put on the festival, and profiting over £12,000, the society decided to donate the lion’s share of that profit to Mind.
Dan and the committee, in discussion with Gair Rhydd, were also keen to stress their thanks to many of the local breweries who supplied the event, many of whom having donated the alcohol after believing in the cause, and some having made their own financial donation to the event as well.
Gair Rhydd can also happily confirm that Cardiff Real Ale and Cider will be hosting their festival again this year, open to students and non-students alike, again donating a significant chunk of their profits to Mind. To hear more details as they are confirmed, follow them on Instagram @cardiffrealale.
Gair Rhydd will see you there!