St Austell beer festival raises £18k for South West charities

St Austell Brewery’s Celtic Beer Festival has raised £18,000 for charitable causes across the South West, following the event held in November last year.

The money will be donated to the St Austell Brewery Charitable Trust, which provides funding to charities and individuals in need across the region. The trust, established in 2003, has distributed more than £1m in grants.

In 2025, the trust supported a range of projects, including youth mental health services, air ambulance operations, essential care equipment for families and adaptive surf gear for charitable organisations.

The one-day festival was held in the brewery’s Victorian cellars and featured more than 100 beers from over 50 UK breweries. The beers were donated for the event, with five bars operating throughout the venue. Live music was also staged during the day.

Organisers also introduced a new Friday night preview event, which included a beer tasting hosted by Jonny Garrett from the Craft Beer Channel.

Georgina Young, brewing director at St Austell Brewery, said: “It’s a chance for our brewers to showcase their creativity and, most importantly, every pint poured helped us raise a huge amount of money, which will make a meaningful difference for charities, individuals and organisations here in the South West.”

The Celtic Beer Festival is the charitable trust’s largest annual fundraising event. Other activities include pub quizzes, sponsored walks and an annual charity gala, which raised £47k last year. Staff across the company’s pub estate also take part in fundraising challenges throughout the year.