SOMERSET village Upton Noble is expecting bumper sales of its hugely popular Uptonogood Cider, which will be on sale at this year’s Beer & Cider Festival, held at the Village Hall on 16-17 September. The cider was made from 61 sacks of apples donated by villagers last autumn and the bottled beverage has already been flying off the shelves, surprising even the festival’s organising committee.

“We’ve had so many plaudits for our own brand cider,” said Festival Chairman Dan Hurring. “But there is also much more on offer at our second fixture. Our inaugural festival last year was an overwhelming success and we feel that we’ve gone above and beyond that with our beer and cider offering this time, with more than 30 local beers and ciders to choose from. We’ve been very lucky to secure barrels of beer from local pubs The Three Horseshoes in Batcombe, The Talbot in Mells, The Montague Inn in Shepton Montague and the newly refurbished The Mason’s Arms in Frome. We’ve also got a fantastic line-up of music and family entertainment. We’ve really expanded the food elements this year, with a range of caterers onsite as well as local produce stalls. It’s going to be an event not to miss.”

At last month’s sponsorship lottery draw, local company Read Agri Services beat off 40 other local sponsors and won the right to title sponsorship of Saturday’s festival. Read Agri’s chosen charity to benefit from a proportion of the festival’s profits is Willberry Wonder Pony, the cancer charity set up by local event rider Hannah Francis, who died on 1 August.

Last year’s Upton Noble Beer & Cider Festival raised thousands of pounds for good causes, with a significant proportion spent on a Community Public Access Defibrillator, which is now installed in the BT phone box. This year the festival will also support the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance and a humanitarian charity to be chosen after the event.

John Wainwright & Co is sponsoring the beer glasses for the first time. One glass will be given away free with every beer token.

The Upton Noble Beer & Cider Festival consists of a ‘pub night’ on Friday 16 September (7pm-11.30pm), and an afternoon and evening of live music, dancing, sensational food and a special children’s ‘village’ on Saturday 17 September (noon-1am). For significant savings on advance tickets, buy online at www.unfestival.co.uk.