REAL ale fans will be wending their way back to school once again when the 10th Skipton Beer Festival is held at Ermysted's Grammar School at the beginning of June.

And they will be able to sample a very special brew created in memory of Lynda Smith, a former chairman of the Skipton branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) who passed away in December.

The event, which takes place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 2 to 4, will feature around 77 beers, well over half from Yorkshire, with ales from local breweries Grey Hawk/Copper Dragon, Naylor's, Timothy Taylor and Dark Horse heavily featured. There will also be be a selection of real ciders, plus perries, wines and bottled foreign beers, and food is available at all sessions.

This year's festival is the second to take place in Ermysted's Refectory, with its easy accessibility from the town's rail and bus stations being a factor in the success of last year's event, say organisers.

Skipton Town Hall and the Rendezvous Hotel were used for previous festivals.

Sally Goodman, of Skipton CAMRA branch, said: "Last year's festival was very successful and we have another wide range of very fine ales to try.

"There will be one very special beer - Lynda Smith, who sadly passed away after losing her battle with cancer last December, was one of the longest serving members of our branch and had been chairman and membership secretary,

"She was a dear friend to many of us, and so we will be brewing a one-off batch of 'Lynda's Beer' in her honour for the festival, with the help of Bingley Brewery.

"All proceeds from the sale of her beer will go to the Annette Fox Leukaemia Research Fund, which works closely with Ward 7 at Bradford Royal Infirmary, where Lynda spent far too much time."

Other highlights include:

Elland Brewery's 1872 porter, brewed in wood to a recipe from - as per the name - 1872, and which has won multiple awards. It is described as "a rich, complex, dark ruby porter".

Copper Dragon's Dark Storm mild, described as "dark and malty".

Timothy Taylor's Golden Best, described as "the last of the true Pennine light milds, a crisp, amber beer that makes a refreshing session ale".

The popular 'Mild Trail' also makes a return, where drinkers can try 13 different milds and get a stamp for each one to get a free drink.

Other Yorkshire breweries featured include Brass Castle, Bridgehouse, Fernandes, Goose Eye, Great Heck, Kirkstall, Ossett and North Riding.

The Thursday session runs 3pm to 10pm, while the Friday and Saturday sessions are both from 11am to 10pm. Admission is £1.50 on Thursday, £2.50 on the other days. CAMRA members have free entry at each session. Entry is restricted to those aged 18 and over.