Acton Beer Festival 2026

At the end of August, the Acton Beer Festival was held at the West London Trades’ Union Club (WLTUC) in Acton now in its 3^rd iteration, it is a three-day festival organised over the last weekend of the month. The club which is run as a co-operative was formed in 1983 as a social hub for trade unionists, labour members and the local community, it has been a long term-supporter of CAMRA, the local branch is an associate member and card-carrying CAMRA members are always welcome, moreover in keeping with its commitment to real ale it always stocks at least two cask ales at the bar from independent breweries, primarily from local brewry Portobello. Two years ago, the club organised their inaugural beer festival with assistance from Portobello Brewery, the festival was a resounding success and it has since become an annual fixture. The festival offers free entry to all, it featured 24 cask ales and 6 keg beers from breweries across the country, along with several ciders from Celtic Marshes and Pulp respectively. Despite the relatively small size of the venue, it offered a packed program featuring stand-up comedy, live music, a raffle and a beer themed pub quiz that could bring any larger festival to shame. The beer range was varied ranging from traditional styles like Bitter, ESB, Golden Ale to modern icons like NEIPA and APA’s, even the darker-end of the spectrum was represented with several Porters and a Dark Mild available. While the selection was varied, the majority of the beers came from the likes of Pennine, Brentwood and St. Peter’s who each contributed several beers apiece; at least a quarter of the line up was taken up by Portobello which had the most contributions with 7 beers, this is understandable since they are the co-organisers of the festival. While there were some cask ales and a few ciders by the bar, most of the beer selection was situated in the rear garden which was partially covered to protect visitors from the threat of inclement weather.

Although the number of beers were on the small side due to the size of the venue, it continued to be well-stocked long into the final day. On the day of our visit, I sampled several beers over the course of the afternoon, to wet the whistle my first libation was Down the ‘Atch (3.7%) – Brentwood, a light-bodied session bitter resplendent with a biscuity dry bitterness and notes of toasted wholemeal bread and marmalade. Though not available at the bar, Moon Struck (5.5%) – Downton was the strongest beer on offer at the venue that weekend, a rich ruby ale with prominent roasted malt flavours, wood-smoke, berry fruits with an underlying hoppy bitterness and a spicy aftertaste. I also sampled two beers from Portobello, including Carnival Pale (4.2%) a blonde-ale that has been annually produced to coincide with the Notting Hill Carnival since 2015, quite appropriately for the occasion it was full of tropical fruit flavours including mango and passionfruit with cut through the punchy hops, while the luscious creamy mouthfeel elevated it into a bustling carnival-like atmosphere. I also tried their core-range fixture Market Porter (4.6%), a homage to the great London Porters of old it is produced with 8 different malt varieties to help give its distinct character. It had a notable dry bitterness with a distinct lack of sweetness, while a rich blend of malts gave it a fully rounded roasty and toasty flavour with hints of coffee and dark chocolate thrown in. While some may find this beer on the astringent side, it is a faithful and traditional take on the Porter style that helps set it apart from the likes of Stout. Incredibly despite the lack of dark-ales available both Market Porter (4.6%) and Elgood’s Blackberry Porter (4.5%) took the top two positions as Champion Beers of the Festival as voted by visitors. If there ever was a reason to justify the increasing popularity of darker coloured beers like Stout and Porter, then this would surely be good proof. From looking at these results, this will hopefully encourage the organisers to reflect on the situation and take the decision to stock more dark beers at future festivals. Overall, I found this festival to be warm and inviting, the staff were friendly, accommodating and always at hand to offer advice on beer choices to those unfamiliar. The atmosphere was relaxed, far removed from the hustle and bustle of larger festivals. So, if you’re ever in London in the lookout for a small-scale beer festival, then this one surely makes the grade.