Beer lovers poured into the King’s Hall on Friday and Saturday to taste the best of local ales and award-winning brews from across the country.

All 2,500 festival tickets were sold, with the most popular beer barrels running dry by the end of the last session.

Two local breweries walked away with the prizes. Saltaire Brewery won the Gold award for Hazelnut Coffee Porter, beating last year’s winner Mary Jane by two votes. But the makers of Mary Jane, Ilkley Brewery, won the first- ever Brewer of the Festival award for taking the most votes over all.

The beer-tasting was accompanied by rousing brass music from Harrogate Band, who were treated to rapturous applause and returned to the stage for an encore on Saturday night. Food was provided by Lishman’s, of Ilkley.

Richard Walton, spokesman for Ilkley Round Table, which organises the annual event, said: “It was a great atmosphere with the band there. The mix of people was phenomenal and the feedback on the beer was really good. The support for the event is as good as ever.”

The beers were selected by Ilkley Brewery founder Stewart Ross. “It would be easier for me to use last year’s beers, but I changed about 60 per cent of them and really looked for some different ones. They’ve gone down really well.” he said.

Festival-goer Paul Driver said: “It’s a fantastic local event earning lots of money for local good causes. I’ll drink to that.” Ilkley architect Simon Cape added: “It’s a great community event with great community spirit. That should be celebrated - well done to the organisers.”

The event is expected to raise around £30,000 for local charities and good causes.