I recently attended the Kingston Beer and Cider Festival, which was organised and supported by Kingston and Leatherhead’s branch of CAMRA.

The event was superbly organised, very reasonably priced and had some truly outstanding beers. A huge shout out to the Kelham Island Brewery’s Easy Rider which was a favourite of the day, it’s a pint which brings back some very happy memories of University for me.

It was great to meet with Kingston and Surbiton’s local MP, James Berry, at the festival. I can assure you that I gave him some tips on what to choose!

What always strikes me about events like this is how many outstanding, small independent breweries we have in the UK. One of my beliefs, which stems from working as a chef, is to always buy local where possible. Whether this means sourcing meat from a local farmer or making a trip to your local garden centre to grow your own vegetables, if you can do it, it’s important to support your local businesses. This mantra is the same for beer. So next time you’re looking for a new tipple to try, go out and support your local independent breweries and pubs, try something new, be adventurous as you like – you have nothing to lose.