Despite the weather the annual Sulby Glen beer, cider and gin festival attracted crowds up north over the weekend, and we spoke to both the landlady and some of the people enjoying a drink at this year’s event.

The six-day festival is in its 19th year and Sulby Glen Hotel landlady Rosie Christian, who has been at the pub for 47 years and in the industry for 57 years, emphasised how important the event is to people from the island and further afield.

She said: ‘We’re a real ale pub, so it is a very important event as it gives customers a chance to taste beers they normally wouldn’t have on the bar at their local. We have people coming from all over to drink it!

‘We’ve had a lot more people than I expected this year, because the weather has been awful and the drinking culture has changed a bit since Covid.

‘I was a bit apprehensive about people coming out but there’s been an awful lot of people here.

‘We’ve got people from Ireland that have come over to stop here just for this event. It’s great.’

Phil Kniveton, from Greeba, said: ‘We’ve just popped down with a few mates just to come to the beer festival.

‘We wouldn’t be here in this pub if it wasn’t for the festival so I think it’s very, very good.

‘The amount of beers they’ve got on offer and the fact it’s a little bit different, it gets people out and into doing stuff.

‘We don’t normally come to Sulby for a pint, often go to Ramsey but wouldn’t normally stop here, but this festival is definitely a stopping point.

‘You’ve got to give it a go – it’s great!’

Peter and Joanne Larkman, from Southport, stumbled on the festival by accident but said they were glad they did.

Mrs Larkman said: ‘We are staying in Ballaugh and have been coming to the island for the past 15 years and we dropped on this beer festival completely by accident.

‘The drinks are beautiful.’

Mr Larkman added: ‘It’s a fabulous set up here at this beer festival and I’m a CAMRA [Campaign for Real Ale] member so I love coming to the island because every pub you can get a decent fresh pint of beer.

‘We’ve also been to the island’s nominated best pub 2023, the Trafalgar Hotel, and that is an absolutely exceptional hostelry, and the lady that runs it is from North Wales and she’s superb.’

When asked whether they’d recommend the beer festival to other people Mrs Larkman said: ‘Of course, you’re missing out, get yourself to Sulby.’

Mr Larkman said: ‘People need to get down here and drink some beer’.

Graham Mutch, from the Yorkshire Dales, said: ‘I’m staying in this hotel for five days.

‘I’m very pleased with the beer festival, there’s a lot of beers inside the marquee which I recognise from back home, including this one I’m loving which is called White Rat.

‘I’ve had it before in Skipton in Yorkshire and I liked it there, and I was quite surprised to find it here, as well as quite a few others.

‘It’s very very good, I’m liking it a lot.

‘I’ll certainly be staying for two or three, or more.

‘Earlier today we were in Peel watching the Viking longboats. There were lots of people there, Peel seems like quite a lively place. Before that I didn’t think there was that much activity but there was lots of young people there.

‘I’m very happy to be back in Sulby drinking beer now though.’