Prost! Raise a stein at town centre beer festival

Or here’s hoping, for this year’s Bavarian Beer Festival will be returning to the centre of Kirkcaldy from today (Thursday) until Sunday.

The festival, following on from the successful Festival of Township event, will fill the town with litres of beer, live music and Germanic grub.

The ever popular festival will this year celebrate the 500th anniversary of the signing of the German Purity Law (Rheinheitsgebot) on the brewing of beer in Kirkcaldy’s twin town of Ingolstadt, and also mark 20 years of the Kirkcaldy Ingolstadt Association set up to form cultural links between the two towns.

To mark the special occasion, 59 hectolitres of traditional Bavarian beer, including 1600 bottles of the specially brewed Jubilee Beer celebrating the 1516 edict, are being imported from Herrnbrau, the independent Ingolstadt brewery.

Out of the wide range of beer specialities, two award-winning flavours are being sent to Kirkcaldy: the pale wheat beer and the lager festival beer, called “Tradition”, both costing £4 per pint.

Entertainment will be provided by a 17-piece professional festival band from Ingolstadt playing rousing traditional beer festival music at regular intervals throughout the event.

And joining the German musicians at the opening on Thursday, will be the Kirkcaldy & District Pipe Band.

For those feeling a bit peckish, there will be a German food stall selling popular Bratwurst and Kartoffelsalat as well as some Scottish gastronomy offerings.

The whole event will take place from today (Thursday) at 4pm until Sunday at 11pm, in a large marquee which is set up in the town square where toilet facitlities will be available.

The first Bavarian Beer festival was held in the town in August 2003, celebrating 40 years of the twinning link between Kirkcaldy and Ingolstadt in Bavaria and the Golden Anniversary of the Town House.

In September 2012, 50 years of the twinning link was celebrated in the Festival of Friendship returning to the Town Square where it has remained.

Robert Main, chairman of the Kirkcaldy Ingolstadt Association for the past 15 years, said: “The Festival is of particular significance this year in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Rheinheitsgebot.

“I am exceptionally pleased that the Association is able to mark this milestone occasion locally with a programme of celebration of twinning by delivering a typical Bavarian programme with our Ingolstadt friends for the benefit of the Fife community.”

Admission to the festival will be free, with patrons paying for their food and drink.