Nottingham's strongest-ever ale to launch at Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival

Terror from the Sky will only be sold in third of a pint measures

A beer weighing in at a whopping 26%, making it the strongest-ever brewed in Nottingham, will be on sale at this year's Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival. Named 'Terror from the Sky', it is described as a full-bodied stout with a combination of chocolate malt and oats to give it a rich chocolatey flavour and a roasty finish.

The super-strength beer will be available from the Liquid Light bar - the brewery which produced it - at the festival at Trent Bridge. Only 140 pints have been made as it is pushing brewing limits to the extreme. Just four 36-pint casks will at the festival with one tapped at 3pm every day from Wednesday, October 9 to Saturday, October 12.

It will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis in a third-pint measure - and there will be no tasters. It trumps the 23% 'Grounds for Divorce' which was brewed by the now-closed Navigation Brewery at Meadow Lane.

Craig Nightingale, brewery manager at Liquid Light, in Alfred Street, St Ann's, contacted Andy Sales, the head cellarman at Nottingham's Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to moot the idea of creating a strong beer for the festival.

Craig said: "We are really excited to bring this beer to the festival. It’s our first time having our own bar at the festival we really wanted to showcase what we are capable of also, of what we produce on a weekly basis at the brewery. It was simple for us, taking the crown of strongest beer ever at the festival is the only way to do it."

Andy said: “It took little thinking about to agree to this and the wheels were set in motion." More than 600 draught beers and 140 ciders and perries will be available to sample at this year's festival, including some rare US ales.

For the first time, the festival will extending onto the Trent Bridge turf, with a new real ale bar located on the venue’s historic outfield in front of the Pavilion. Visitors will be able to enjoy the beer festival experience from a marquee housed on the field, or take in the scene from the stands, while the ground’s concourse areas and Trent Bridge Inn courtyard will continue to feature bars, food stalls, retail outlets and live music.

More than 15,000 people have visited the annual festival, which has been held at Trent Bridge, the home of Notts County Cricket Club, for three years. This year has seen the introduction of a season ticket, allowing access to all four days, along with a Saturday party night ticket for the festival’s finale, which will feature music on two stages and live DJs.

“We’re always seeking ways to make our staging of the beer festival bigger and better – and hosting a bar on the outfield was the obvious next step,” said Nottinghamshire CCC's commercial director Michael Temple. “This opportunity to extend the event onto the field will bring something new to the experience for seasoned festivalgoers and regular visitors to Trent Bridge alike.

“It’s really special to see our venue come to life during what were once seen as our quieter months as a cricket venue, so I can’t wait to see the festival take shape again this October.”

Tickets, priced from £16, are available now from trentbridge.co.uk/camra. Opening hours are Wednesday, October 9, 4pm-11pm, Thursday, October 10 to Saturday, October 12, 11am-11pm, and Saturday party night ticket after 7pm.