Beer Festivals in Sunderland

Sunderland's main beer festival is run by volunteers from the Sunderland and South Tyneside branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. It focuses on cask beers and ciders that are not usually found in the area,, with live music from local performers on the final day. This guide explains how the festival works, where it has been held recently and how to find out about the next one, along with two city pubs that keep cask ale on all year.

Festival dates and venues change from year to year. Everything below comes from the branch's own festival website, and we will update this page when the next dates are announced.

The CAMRA Sunderland and South Tyneside Beer and Cider Festival

The branch festival, which its organisers call Sundfest, ran from Thursday 5 to Saturday 7 November 2026. It was held in the function room at the rear of the Beggars Bridge Pub and Kitchen in East Boldon, a few metres from East Boldon Metro station, which puts it a short ride from Sunderland city centre on the Green line. 2026 was the festival's fourth year at that venue.

The timing has moved around. From 2023 to 2025 the festival was held in September, with the 2025 event running from 11 to 13 September. For 2026 the branch returned to its traditional October and November slot. The festival's web pages go back to 2018, when it was held over three days in early October, so it has run for several years either side of the pandemic.

What to expect

The bars concentrate on beers and ciders that are unusual for the North East, so it is a chance to try brewers you will not find on local handpumps. The final beer and cider list is published on the festival website about two weeks before opening, with a handful of extra cask beers held back as reserves. Saturday is music day, with sets from local performers. Food is available from the host pub's kitchen, and drinkers can use the pub's beer garden.

Best for: Suits cask ale and cider drinkers who want to try beers from outside the region.

Entry and paying for drinks

For 2026, CAMRA members got in without charge on production of a valid membership card, in line with CAMRA's national policy for its festivals. Entry for non-members was £5. The entry desk takes cash or card.

Drinks at the festival bars are bought with tokens rather than cash, because bar staff do not handle money. Tokens are sold at the entry desk in values of £2.50 and 50p, and more can be bought at any time. Bar prices are set in bands by strength, with cask ales, key keg beers and ciders each priced separately. Paddles of three third-pint measures are available, which is a sensible way to work through a long list. Unused tokens can be refunded in cash or donated to the festival charity, the RNLI.

There was no dedicated festival glass in 2026. Instead the branch reused surplus glasses from earlier CAMRA festivals in the North East, and a clean glass is always available from the entry desk.

Best for: Suits anyone who wants to sample widely without committing to full pints.

When is the next festival?

At the time of writing, no dates have been announced for 2027. The branch posts festival dates, prices and drinks lists on its festival website, sundfest.camra.org.uk, and its general news and events on the Sunderland and South Tyneside CAMRA website. Both are worth checking from late summer onwards.

The festival is staffed by CAMRA volunteers, and the branch website is the place to ask about helping at future events.

Cask ale between festivals

If you want to drink the kind of beer the festival serves at other times of year, two pubs on Silksworth Row, on the western edge of the city centre, are good places to start.

The Ship Isis is a Grade II listed pub built in 1885, with a long front bar and a row of handpumps serving changing cask ales and ciders. It was named Branch Pub of the Year 2025 by the Sunderland and South Tyneside CAMRA branch.

Best for: Suits a wide choice of changing cask ales in a listed Victorian pub.

The Museum Vaults, a few doors along, is a traditional former Vaux pub dating from about 1867, run by the same family for more than forty years. It serves up to three hand-pulled beers and opens early on Sunderland home match days.

Best for: Suits a traditional pint among local memorabilia, especially before a match.

Neither pub has announced its own beer festival dates for the coming months, so follow their social media for news of tap takeovers or special events. For more places to drink in the city, see our guides to the best pubs in Sunderland, the oldest pubs in Sunderland and the best beer gardens in Sunderland. If you enjoy a night of questions with your pint, our quiz nights in Sunderland guide has the weekly options.

Know a place we have missed? Get in touch.