Reverend is star of own beer festival

Reverend Chris Rushton, the inspiration for the Rambling Rev brew

A Stoke-on-Trent vicar has become the star of the beer festival he is organising for the fourth year in a row.

Reverend Chris Rushton, minister at Holy Trinity, Hartshill, is the inspiration for the Rambling Rev special brew created by the local Titanic Brewery.

The name for the special brew is not an indication of his preaching style but is instead a reference to the several books he has penned on the subject of walking.

The festival got underway at the Minton Halls behind the church on Tuesday and runs until Saturday.

It is the fourth time Mr Rushton has organised the festival and it has grown bigger each time. 

His aim was to show the local community that "people in the church don't have two heads".

The first year featured eight guest ales and went down a storm, even turning a surprise profit, which increased in the following two years.  This year, there there will be fourteen ales and two ciders provided through the Titanic Brewery.

Hear Mr Rushton talk about the festival in this video: