by Rich Gabe, Press Officer, West Dorset Campaign for Real Ale.
Members of the Dorchester Beerex committee, made up of West Dorset Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and Dorchester Casterbridge Rotary Club members, are proud to announce the final profit of Dorchester Beerex 2026 held last February in the town’s Corn Exchange raised a massive total of £24K which was beyond the committee’s expectations!
The festival was sponsored by the local Cerne Abbas brewery and the principle charity, amongst other beneficiaries, was “People First Dorset”.
The charity works with people collectively and individually to promote self awareness and acceptance in the community as well as life skills such as social interaction using workshops as a tool.
People First Dorset were presented with a cheque for £10K which is the biggest individual charity payment Dorchester Beerex has ever made to date.
On receiving the cheque the group’s manager Laura Kerr said:
“This amount of money is amazing and will make a huge difference to our day to day running. We will use the money for various activities including interaction groups, friendship groups, speaking up groups and independent advocacys; there is so much to cover such as relationship, employment and housing issues to name but a few. Thank you.”
Group member Diane Childs wanted to express her thoughts. She said:
“Thank you for the opportunity to raise money for People First Dorset, I surprised myself with my self confidence in taking part at Beerex especially helping behind the bar.”
West Dorset CAMRA and Beerex 2026 chairman said:
“It was a joy and a pleasure to have People First Dorset as our main charity. It was great to see individuals helping behind the bar playing a customer inter-action game and they were the most engaging group ever.”
Further funds from the raffle, which totalled £4k, were made to the Dorchester Youth & Community Centre in Kings Road, Dorchester.
Youth worker Laura Barnes said:
“Every penny of this money will go to young people assisting with daytrips, craft activities and day to day financial barriers.”
Dorchester Youth & Community Centre is a vital hub for youngsters to safely meet and engage with each other on the streets.
On behalf of Dorchester Arts Centre, Artistic Director Mark Tattersall received a cheque for £700 which will go to finance Parkinson’s Dance classes. These classes give therapeutic benefits, whilst being fun and stimulating which leads to better balance for people with the condition.
Further profits will be allocated to good causes.
Members of the Dorchester Beerex Committee 2026 would like to thank all of the breweries (in particular Cerne Abbas) alongside barrel sponsors, raffle prize donators and loyal customers who helped raise such a large amount of money in these times of hard finance. Dorchester Beerex will return next February 5th & 6th.
