A 12-DAY beer festival begins in two Darlington pubs on Wednesday.

Award-winning beers from UK and overseas breweries will be on offer.

The Tanners Hall in Skinnergate and The William Stead in Crown Street, both in Darlington, as well as The Ironstone Miner in Westgate, Guisborough will each be serving up to 25 beers from Italy, Brazil, Holland and the USA, as well as the UK, during the festival, which runs from Wednesday March 22 until Sunday April 2, inclusive.

All beers will be priced from £1.99 to £2.29 a pint.

Several unusual flavours will be present in some of the beers, including blackberries, coffee, lemon and lemongrass.

Beer lovers will be able to try any three of the real ales in special third-of-a-pint glasses for the price of a pint.

Danielle Hutchinson, manager of the Tanners Hall, said: “We are promising our customers a superb range of award-winning ales, including some great beers from overseas and many others from brewers across the UK.

“The festival will be the perfect way for real ale enthusiasts to enjoy a range of excellent beers over 12 days.”

Tasting notes on all of the beers will be available in each of the pubs.

Overseas beers include Continental IPA from the St Louis Brewery, USA, Back Garden from Bagby Brewing, USA, and Flink from Brouwerij TIJ in Holland. UK beers include Salopian Lemon Dream, which was named The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) National Champion Speciality Beer in 2012, Mauldons Blackberry Porter, and other award winners Bitter & Twisted and Acorn Darkness.