A beer from a brewery in St Louis is among a string of award-winning pints that will be on offer in five Cumbrian pubs.

Wetherspoon pubs in Carlisle, Workington, Whitehaven and Keswick are preparing to host their popular 12-day beer festival, which starts on Wednesday.

Up to 30 beers from across the UK and as far as America and Brazil will be served up until Sunday, April 2. Ales from award-winning breweries from Italy and Holland are also in the line-up/

Several unusual flavours will be present in some of the beers, including blackberries, coffee, lemon and lemongrass and, for the price of a pint, customers can try any three of the real ales.

Tasting notes are available for each beer, telling customers about the flavour, characteristics and strength.

The Woodrow Wilson in Botchergate, Carlisle, is anticipating a good turnout throughout the festival.

They will be serving all 30 varieties with some available from an outdoor beer tent and others from the pub itself.

Local jazz group The Ragtime Rascals are due to perform on Friday and Saturday (23 and 24 Mar).

Manager, Andrew Hetherington, said: "We do a beer festival twice a year, one in March and one in October. We have a different range of ales and we get international brewers in who come to this country and brew them for Wetherspoons.

"As we're a very ale-orientated pub - it's the main event of the year for us really. We're very busy. We're one of the top Wetherspoons in the country for ales.

"It's just the wide variety of ales that they are not able to get from your average pub. We have got a broader horizon so we are able to get some suppliers that people would have to travel to the opposite end of the country to get a certain ale from.

"Real ale enthusiasts, if there is an opportunity to try a different beer, they take that opportunity."

Also participating in the festival is The William Rufus, also in Botchergate, The Bransty Arch, Whitehaven, The Henry Bessemer, Workington, and The Chief Justice in Bank Street, Keswick.

Among the beers from oversees brewers are Back Garden and Continental IPA from the USA and Burton Pale Ale from Brazil. Closer to home, award-winning ales include Salopian Lemon Dream, The Society of Independent Brewers' (SIBA) National Champion Speciality Beer 2012, and Mauldons Blackberry Porter, which won the same title in 2016.

All the beers will be priced from £2.15 to £2.65 a pint.