One of the great delights of Norfolk is the range of local food and drink that is on offer.
Stay at any Norfolk Luxury Hotel and you’ll inevitably be treated to the finest sea-sonal cuisine, whether that is crab from Cromer or a locally-reared duck with the freshest Norfolk vegetables. But what you are also able to enjoy is some of the delicious local brews on offer from across the county.
Norfolk has a thriving micro-brewing industry, with a diverse range of local ales. There’s a good chance that you’ll be able to get one at the bar of your hotel in North Norfolk and then compare it with other local brews in many of the country pubs that support the small brewers by having the beers on as guest ales. New figures suggest that Norfolk’s micro-brewing sector has increased four-fold over the past 30 years, supported in part by beer festivals held across the county.
The Norfolk and Norwich beer festival held at the end of October every year is a mar-vellous event but a lot of villages and pubs also have their own beer festivals promot-ing local brews. Some of the small microbreweries have been going for years while others have sprung up in the last two or three years. But whether they are established breweries, or new additions to the beer brewed in Norfolk, many have very good reputations and produce a wonderful range of ales to suit all tastes. If you are on a weekend break Norfolk, make sure that you sample some of the dif-ferent beers, though read the labels carefully. Not only do they have some fascinating names, often ones which tap into local culture, history and tradition, but some of the brews are quite strong too.
If in doubt, ask for some advice at your North Norfolk Hotel. In addition, Norfolk is blessed with a wonderful network of rural pubs and many have good kitchens attached to them, so you can normally get a traditional Norfolk lunch or dinner with your pint. And if beer isn’t necessarily your favourite tipple, cider and apple juice is also pro-duced in the North Norfolk area – and very tasty it is too.