OK, the stats. 28,153 people came through the gates, compared with 21,500 in 2004. Just over 62,000 pints were sold, a whopping 28% up on last year. The foreign beer sold out on Saturday night (with nearly 4,000 litres gone) as did the cider bar. Even so, there was still a good selection of different beers on offer by close of play on Saturday, thanks to several emergency re-orders.

Cambridge is now the third biggest beer festival in the country, behind the Great British and Peterborough.

Around 400 volunteers helped to make Festival a success and we thank them all hugely. If you attended the Festival during one of the busy periods and had problems getting served quickly then our apologies but we were simply overwhelmed at some points. Having said that, it's always amazing how patient and understanding our customers are, so thanks to you too.

It's not too early to volunteer to work at the 2006 Festival go to www.cambridge-camra.org.uk/festival

Finally, the results of the prestigious Beer of the Festival contest.

So, many congratulations to Cambridge Moonshine brewer Mark Watch, who also won the award last year with Mulberry Whale. Mark brews Red Watch with two varieties of hop and a single malt plus the magic ingredient : a kilo and a half of blueberries in each firkin. He'll be brewing some more as soon as he can get hold of a supply of blueberries! Moonshine beers are still quite hard to find locally but places worth checking (and no hardship to visit anyway) are The Carlton Arms, Cambridge Blue and the University Sports and Social Club, all in Cambridge.