REAL ale lovers from across South East Cornwall are in for a treat next month with the staging of a 12-day beer festival in Liskeard.

The King Doniert pub, which is part of the Wetherspoons group, will have ales from around the world as part of their festival, which takes from place from Wednesday, March 5 through to Sunday, March 16.

Among the ales on offer will be female brews from Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the USA, all of which have never previously been available at the pub.

Organisers say a number of ales have been brewed for the first time, exclusively for the festival, and as well as featuring a range of different malt and hop varieties from around the world, there are also beers that include cherries and cocoa beans in their ingredients.

The international beers, which will cost £1.99 a pint, are Hey Pal (Terrapin Brewery, USA), Estuary Session Ale (Land & Sea Brewery, Canada), Wallaby (Penny Red Brewery, Australia), Chocolate Porta (Birra Perugia Brewery, Italy) and Antiopdean (Brew Moon Brewery, New Zealand).

The festival line-up also includes Alpha Female (Rooster’s), Loopy Loo (Batemans), Chase the Sun (Vale), Cherry Nice (Greene King), Queen of Hearts (St Austell), Mocha Porter (Elgood’s), Grand Union (Hook Norton), Blossom (Black Sheep).

Pub manager Ian Lynskey said: “The festival is a great celebration of real ale. It will allow us to showcase a selection of superb beers, featuring beers not previously available to our customers in the pub, including those from brewers as far afield as Australia and New Zealand, as well as those closer to home, over a 12-day period.”

Tasting notes on all of the beers will be available in the pub as part of the festival magazine (a digital version will also be available on the Wetherspoon app and website).