Organisers make final preparations for Norwich’s City of Ale festival, which starts on May 26

Final preparations are being made for the start of Norwich's first ever City of Ale Festival, which kicks off in three weeks' time.

Festival organisers held a meeting on Thursday to tidy up any loose ends before the festival programme goes to press and to launch the local beer list.

More than 200 beers are featured on the festival's website and will be available throughout the event, which runs from May 26 until June 5 and hopes to celebrate fine ale in a fine city.

Thirty-five local breweries are taking part, with many celebrating Norwich's return to the Premier League with special brews.

Dawn Leeder, co-chairman of the Norwich City of Ale steering group, said: 'Amongst the 35 featured local breweries there is an impressive array of beasts: there's a Panther, a Norwich Bear, a Wolf, a Fox, a Fat Cat, a Green Dragon and even some Bees,'

Some very rare cask ales will also be available in strictly limited quantities including Green Dragon Bridge Street Bitter (4.5pc), which is normally only available from the eponymous Bungay pub, and there will be a single cask of Why Not Chocolate Nutter (5.5pc) usually only produced in bottles.

She added that Norfolk Square was also doing a special cask run of Scroby (4.2pc), named after the golden sands of Yarmouth.

Meanwhile, Woodforde's Premier Crew (4.1pc), Winter's On the Beer City (4.4pc), Fat Cat's Cat & Canary (4.8pc) and Green Jack's Canary Premier (5pc) all celebrate the Canaries' return to the top flight of English football. Other festival specials include Norwich Bear's Pooh Bear (4.2pc) 'a hunny and orange beer', Ole Slewfoot (also named after a bear) is producing EBA (5.3pc) made with English malt, Belgian yeast and American hops and Panther offers Pink Panther (4pc), a wheat beer to be consumed, no doubt, to the strains of Henry Mancini.

The festival will be launched by Good Beer Guide editor Roger Protz at St Gregory's Church, St Gregory's Alley, off Pottergate, on Thursday, May 26, with a closing ceremony and awards event at Dragon Hall, King Street, on June 5. Chris Higgins, Norwich's incoming sheriff and Trafford Arms' landlord, is booked for the launch event and final awards ceremony.

The festival is being backed by the Evening News and fits in with our Love Your Local campaign which urges people to support their locals.

For more information and for a list of the beers visit http://cityofale.org.uk/beers.

Do you have a pub story? Call David Bale on 01603 772427, or email david.bale2@archant.co.uk.