FESTIVAL FOOD | LOCAL BANDS | BEER TOKENS

Sample the beers and lagers on tap at the medieval Abbey Buildings, the home of a long brewing tradition. Live music by local bands.

• Friday: 5pm – 11pm
• Saturday: 5pm – 11pm
• Sunday: 1pm – 4pm (or until the Beer runs out !!)

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Line-Up

Friday:

Wally Ukes is a super friendly community group with a songbook spanning the last 60 years. We play everything from timeless classics to modern hits, offering something for everyone. Join us at Abingdon beer festival for an upbeat set of great songs as you’ve never heard them before – on 20 ukuleles!

Followed by:

Gaffer Tape – 7 men on a mission to make music to play for other humans to enjoy. Ranging from Abba, Black Eyed Peas through to Hendrix, The Who and Nirvana. A true wall of sound!

Saturday:

The Greenway Project – despite our name, we’re neither a 70s prog rock super group nor a bunch of eco-warriors armed with a Gantt chart (though we would like someone to save the planet, please). We’re a local 5-piece covers band who play an eclectic mix of genres, including rock, soft rock and hard rock. Don’t worry, ‘Summer of 69’ is in there somewhere. Our noise comes from 3 mics, a pair of duelling guitars, and a rhythm section which includes a bass and our eponymous drummer. Finally we add in a touch of sax appeal.

Followed by:

Hard On Ya Ears! – Abingdon’s loudest rock and punk covers band. We bring raw live energy, classic anthems, & big sing-alongs from The Clash to AC/DC! Just loud, live, and fun!

DJ Sets will keep the music buzzing in-between sets, all evening – as well as on Sunday if the celebrations continue indoors (but we pray for sun ☀️)

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Food & Drink

Fat Tabby – high quality burgers using local suppliers and growers.

The Yafo Kitchen will be serving up their freshly cooked 100% vegetarian and 1000% delicious handmade Falafel, fresh salads and homemade hummus.

SIFT’D: We are passionate about creating delicious baked goods made from complementary seasonal fruits; serving an ultimate experience. From our burnt honey cheesecakes to our double-flavoured brownies, we account for every unique taste palate. We cannot wait to see you soon with your stomachs empty and your heart full.

Cocktail Bar: This year, we are also operating cocktail bar on Friday and Saturday 7 – 9pm each day.

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Heritage Matters

Bryan Brown, president of the Friends of Abingdon Abbey Buildings Trust, sets the scene for the Abingdon Beer Festival on the 1st , 2nd and 3rd of May 2026.

Heritage is a key factor in beer, brewing, pubs and the Abingdon Beer Festival. The Festival is held in one of the most important heritage buildings in the country, the remains of the great medieval Abbey of Abingdon, founded in the 7th century, the existing buildings are over 800 years old, now nationally scheduled and grade one listed.

Brewing and malting have taken place at Abingdon Abbey from that time, initiated by the monks for their own consumption, up to a gallon (eight pints) a day were consumed – the amount we hope will be drunk by visitors to our beer festival! Shortly after Henry VIII’s Dissolution the remaining buildings were developed as the Abbey Brewery, including a major malt house. Beer continued to be brewed on the site for some 300 years until it was merged with Morlands in the late 19 th century.

Beer of course has a rich heritage, there is evidence of brewing from 400 BC and by medieval times beer had become a staple, often safer than water. Ale made with malt, yeast and herbs was distinct from ‘beer’ introduced from the Netherlands in the 14th century which used hops, first cultivated here in Kent. Today many established breweries have a heritage brew, often made from recipes many hundreds of years old.

We all love heritage pubs, buildings and time-honoured interiors of great character which feel so appropriate for drinking. Generally, we don’t like our pubs over modernised; so, the favoured formulae for many are, heritage beer drunk in a heritage location.

The Abingdon Beer Festival is a tradition revived and organised with the support of Loose Cannon Brewery, itself a revival of the Abingdon brewing tradition. The festival is held in the remaining Abbey Buildings. Although the buildings are wonderfully atmospheric and include the only theatre in town, the Unicorn, there is much to do to make them more accessible and functional.

Like all heritage buildings they need to pay for themselves, so all profits from this beer festival go towards maintaining them. Our predecessor trustees unbelievably saved the buildings from demolition, and our Trust has owned and maintained them for over 80 years. They have developed into a very valuable town centre social and community hub providing a great venue for weddings and events which include drama and music in the Unicorn Theatre. We have been working for over 10 years on a plan to restore the buildings and we are now within site of raising the budget of £5.4 million. Following a fantastic grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund of £4 million and grants from local councils and heritage trusts we are just £100,000 short of our goal.

So, do come and join us in these atmospheric buildings for an unusual experience whilst enjoying over 30 ales and beers. What could be better, sampling some wonderful beverages and helping to save our precious heritage.

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How to Find Us

Please head to our Getting Here page for directions and map.