Getting better and better

A hand holding an ice cream cone filled with pink ice cream in front of a blurred-out background.

We’re back! We know you’ve missed us, and we’re looking forward to seeing you all again.

But while just like before we’ll have a fantastic selection of beer, cheese, international beer, cider, mead, and wine, this year there are a few small differences to our festival. Here’s what’s changed.

Card payments preferred

We accept and prefer card payments throughout the festival. But we no longer accept cash over the bars. Instead, if you’d like to pay by cash, simply purchase tokens from the token desk. You’ll find it directly after the glasses stand on your way in.

New food concessions

Many of our favourite food concession stands are coming back. But we’ve several new options as well.

Joining us for the first time are a Cambridge favourite in Pimp My Fish, with their homemade, locally sourced fish and chips, cooked to perfection.

Also making their first appearance are Let’s Go Street Food. They’re selling gourmet pork hotdogs, topped with homemade beef chilli or slow-cooked pulled pork, and gourmet beef or wild boar burgers from Dunwood Farm.

Finally, Jacks Gelato will be here on Saturday. We’re really looking forward to the special beer-flavoured ice cream they’re making for the festival.

Advance tickets

You’ve probably seen that you can now buy your ticket in advance. Some of these have now sold out. But never fear – you can still pay for your entrance on the day, as we’ve reserved 80% of our site capacity for those who pay on the door.

Entrance is still free for CAMRA members.

More sustainable

Every festival we try to reduce our impact on the environment. Some of our previous changes have been to install more efficient beer cooling equipment and better insulated refrigeration, and to replace lighting systems with LEDs where we can.

This year we’ve worked hard to reduce the amount of single use plastic, so instead you’ll find alternatives at all our food stands.

Also, we’ve made our printed programme shorter, so it uses 75% less paper. But don’t forget that the most up to date beer list is either on our Android app (sadly our iOS app isn’t returning this year), or on our website.

Glass cleaning

The devices in the beer tent where you could wash your own glass aren’t returning this year. Instead, you’re welcome to rinse your glass at one of the drinking water taps around the site. Or, simply swap it for a clean one at the glasses stand.

Have a great visit!

We really hope you have a good time at this year’s festival. Don’t forget to share your photos on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook with the hashtag #cbf2023 – we love to see what you’re enjoying!