Norwich City of Ale, uniting pubs, breweries, and beer lovers across the city, returns from 21st May to 21st June 2026 for its 14th year.
This year, 51 pubs, 28 breweries, and thousands of visitors will come together for a celebration of craft, cask, and keg beer.
Founded in 2011, City of Ale has grown into a nationally-recognised model for city-wide beer festivals, championing independent pubs and showcasing Norwich as one of Britain’s great beer capitals.
New for 2026 is the City of Ale app, designed to make exploring the festival easier and more interactive. It allows festival-goers to collect digital trail stamps as they visit participating pubs, track their progress across the eight ale trails, and collect trail badges once complete. The app will also feature information about the festival and promote City of Ale events at participating pubs.
The 2026 event badges have been designed by Caz Jones, and follow this year’s theme of historical Norwich breweries. In 1836, there were 27 breweries in Norwich, but by 1920 — through acquisition and takeover — only four remained. The 2026 City of Ale trails are named to commemorate both these and some lesser-known breweries that were once part of the bustling brewing trade within the city.
The chosen charity for 2026 is Mission Remission, the UK’s first and only charity solely dedicated to helping people move forward after cancer. A fundraising beer, No Submission, will be available in pubs throughout the festival, brewed in collaboration by Ampersand Brew Co and Adnams. Fifty pence from every pint sold will go to support the work of Mission Remission.
“Norwich City of Ale is a unique collaborative showcasing of all that is great about Norwich’s pubs, Norfolk’s brewing and malting, and the wider farming communities of Norfolk,” said event co-chair Phil Cutter.
“In what continues to be a challenging time for the hospitality industry, pubs are still an integral part of the Great British tradition, with this month-long event being a fantastic way to visit not only your favourite locals, but also those pubs that you have always fancied visiting, but never quite got around to!”
James Kay, a partner at accountants TC Farnell Clarke, who sponsor the event, added: “It’s our ninth year sponsoring the City of Ale, and over that time it’s been fantastic to see the ever-growing support for the festival, both locally and from further afield.
“There is so much involved behind the scenes all year round to make this festival possible, and what makes City of Ale so special is the time and effort dedicated by so many to make it a huge part of the calendar in Norwich.”
