Some quick thoughts about the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) which I visited yesterday. First of all I still can't believe how much better it is at Olympia rather then Earl Courts. The place is much airier and just doesn't feel as packed as Earl Courts did, even though there were plenty of thirsty punters enjoying some of the best ales on offer. I was amused to see Timothy Taylors scooped up the Champion Beer of Britain award. I sometimes think CAMRA are deliberately trying to rile the craft beer movement by giving awards to reliable if a bit boring brews. Still it was nice to see Oakham Citra and Saltaire Triple Chocoholic get noticed - exciting beers that are comfortably straddling the middle ground between craft and mainstream.
Joining me at the festival was a friend visiting from Canada, where he emigrated several years ago. He brought the entire family along including his ten month old son and five year old daughter, so this was the first time I got to visit the fabled GBBF "Family Room." We weren't expecting much to be honest, as hardly anybody brings their kids along, and the festival programme stresses heavily that "it's not a crèche." Visions of a pokey room staffed by a bored volunteer flashed before my eyes. However we were all pleasantly surprised - the kids are treated to a lovely space upstairs where there are plenty of toys, arts and live performers to keep them amused all the way until 9pm when it promptly shuts. It was a bit weird sipping a pint while surrounded by tens of kids but they all seemed to be having a very jolly time. A parent must stay with the child though so don't expect to drop the sprog off and then go have a merry time - one of you will have to keep an eye on your child!
I'd actually arrived at the festival a bit before my Canadian friend, so I spent thirty minutes having a look around. In this time I managed to neck a third of Castle Rock Black Gold and Moor Revival, both of which were excellent. I stopped by the American bar but even by 2pm on the second day of the festival most of the beers were gone, with only four or five left to choose from. They were all on the high end of the ABV scale and I didn't fancy getting blotto half an hour into the festivities so I plumped for a third of Smuttynose Bouncy House (about 4.3% abv,) which was fine but I don't think it was at its best. All the US beers were cask only, and quite frankly I don't think the Yanks or the Brits know how to handle US beers in cask. There were many complaints that the US beers were a bit flat and lifeless this year. Who knows, maybe next year we'll see a few on keg - or even some being served in cans.
I didn't really get to see any of the entertainment, although I was a bit disappointed that the "carnival" theme wasn't carried out a bit more. There were some halfhearted "ringmasters" walking about but it needed more trapeze artists and perhaps a couple of fairground rides so queasy punters can empty their stomachs ready for the next round of ale and pie. The food was on good form this year although I only managed to scarf down a Pork and Black Pudding pie (excellent) from the Crusty Pie Company, and a steak and Stilton pasty from a venue I can't remember the name of - I may have been getting pretty tipsy by that point. My friends native Canadian wife tried her first pork scratching, and despite initial disgust an hour later she had bought four bags of the stuff to take home. One scratching and you're hooked.
As for the beers, well they were in good form this year. The Moor Revival was probably the highlight, but I did also enjoy the Otley O1 - not the "oi" which I incorrectly asked for. The Marble Dobber was a boozy treat from the ever reliable Marble boys (and girls) and the Bristol Beer Factory Nova was a hoppy treat to finish the evening on. If you haven't been to the festival head on down - it's well worth the price of admission if you're a beer lover. And it's still great even if you have to bring the family along with you.
Showing posts with label Great British Beer Festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great British Beer Festival. Show all posts
Thursday, 14 August 2014
Thursday, 16 August 2012
CAMRA Great British Beer Festival 2012
The Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) has been and gone again. This yearly beerathon organised by CAMRA is always a great day out and this year was no exception. If anything it was better as the festival was in Olympia, a much more pleasant building than grotty Earls Court, where previous festivals have taken place. Sadly I was drinking to much beer and didn't stop to take any snaps, so this is another photoless update. I expect my blogging rights to be revoked by Google any day now. If you want to imagine what the GBBF looked like, just imagine a giant greenhouse full of people selling you beer.
The light, airy Olympia building was a great environment for the festival. I spent the Wednesday there, where the crowds remained manageable all day, even in the evening when I was pretty soused. The threat of Olympic crowds must have been keeping people away. There was also a lack of corporate guests who nearly overran the festival last year. I don't remember getting belligerent at all about the crowds, which I tend to do when I've got a few drinks inside me
The festival was in good form with some excellent ales on offer. A new "Champion Beers" area grouped Champion Ales of past and present together in one superstar stall. The ales on offer read like a Who's Who of top notch beers, and I enjoyed a half of the excellent Chocolate Cherry Mild from the Durnham brewery. This ale tastes exactly how it is described and is always a treat. I didn't try the Champion Beer of Britain 2012, Lucky Number 9 from the Coniston Brewery, as it was a barley wine and quite frankly barley wine terrifies me. I'm sure it was very good though.
Elsewhere in the festival I thought I'd try another fruity ale, this time the Chocolate Orange Delight from Downton. I was looking forward to this one as chocolate, orange and ale feature very highly on my favourite things list. In fact the only thing it needed to tick off all items on my favourite things list was a giant pair of tits. Sadly the actual ale didn't live up to expectation and was a little bit sickly. It didn't even have that much of an Orange taste. If it was to have breasts they would probably be saggy and maybe a little hairy. Not so much a delight as a disappointment.
Things got much, much better with the Boggart Rum Porter, an excellent pint which sadly wasn't on when I visited Boggarts only outlet, the MicroBar in Manchester, documentated in a earlier update. I'm not a huge fan of porter but this was very suppable, perfectly hopped and the shot of rum really adding to the flavour. I could have drank this all day if there wasn't literally hundreds of other beers to sample. Other decent ales sampled included Raven Ale from Orkney, a very good example of a golden ale with a pleasent hoppiness and particulary dry finish, and the Dawkins Brass Knocker, another refreshing golden ale with a fruity flavour that went down well.
As the day rolled on the ales kept coming. All were delicious but as usual at a beer festival my notes stopped after around the 5th half pint, which is why I really shouldn't be allowed to blog. I made the mistake of ordering a Belgium Lambic beer which certainly refreshed the tastebuds with its vingary flavour. Some tastebuds were so refreshed I could feel them trying to run the hell out of my mouth. I found it disgusting to be honest but some people seem to enjoy it.
The American section was doing a brisk trade which really shows how the American craft ale scene has picked up speed over the last few years. A lot had sold out on the Tuesday, when the festival didn't even open to the public until the evening! A promising sounding Lagunitas ale had long gone so I settled for the servers suggestion of Brown Ryed Girl from Willimantic in Connecticut, which was absolutely fantastic. I was prepared for the usual American ale experience where the beer is tremendously hopped and tastes ridiculously fruity. However I was greeted with a wonderful caramel taste with spicy undertones. It was probably the best beer I had at the festival. Well done to the Americans.
The GBBF really is a good day out and with the pub games, live entertainment and vast amount of food available the time just flies by. I had a great time as always and look forward to returning next year. Hopefully they'll stick to the Olympia venue from now on.
The light, airy Olympia building was a great environment for the festival. I spent the Wednesday there, where the crowds remained manageable all day, even in the evening when I was pretty soused. The threat of Olympic crowds must have been keeping people away. There was also a lack of corporate guests who nearly overran the festival last year. I don't remember getting belligerent at all about the crowds, which I tend to do when I've got a few drinks inside me
The festival was in good form with some excellent ales on offer. A new "Champion Beers" area grouped Champion Ales of past and present together in one superstar stall. The ales on offer read like a Who's Who of top notch beers, and I enjoyed a half of the excellent Chocolate Cherry Mild from the Durnham brewery. This ale tastes exactly how it is described and is always a treat. I didn't try the Champion Beer of Britain 2012, Lucky Number 9 from the Coniston Brewery, as it was a barley wine and quite frankly barley wine terrifies me. I'm sure it was very good though.
Elsewhere in the festival I thought I'd try another fruity ale, this time the Chocolate Orange Delight from Downton. I was looking forward to this one as chocolate, orange and ale feature very highly on my favourite things list. In fact the only thing it needed to tick off all items on my favourite things list was a giant pair of tits. Sadly the actual ale didn't live up to expectation and was a little bit sickly. It didn't even have that much of an Orange taste. If it was to have breasts they would probably be saggy and maybe a little hairy. Not so much a delight as a disappointment.
Things got much, much better with the Boggart Rum Porter, an excellent pint which sadly wasn't on when I visited Boggarts only outlet, the MicroBar in Manchester, documentated in a earlier update. I'm not a huge fan of porter but this was very suppable, perfectly hopped and the shot of rum really adding to the flavour. I could have drank this all day if there wasn't literally hundreds of other beers to sample. Other decent ales sampled included Raven Ale from Orkney, a very good example of a golden ale with a pleasent hoppiness and particulary dry finish, and the Dawkins Brass Knocker, another refreshing golden ale with a fruity flavour that went down well.
As the day rolled on the ales kept coming. All were delicious but as usual at a beer festival my notes stopped after around the 5th half pint, which is why I really shouldn't be allowed to blog. I made the mistake of ordering a Belgium Lambic beer which certainly refreshed the tastebuds with its vingary flavour. Some tastebuds were so refreshed I could feel them trying to run the hell out of my mouth. I found it disgusting to be honest but some people seem to enjoy it.
The American section was doing a brisk trade which really shows how the American craft ale scene has picked up speed over the last few years. A lot had sold out on the Tuesday, when the festival didn't even open to the public until the evening! A promising sounding Lagunitas ale had long gone so I settled for the servers suggestion of Brown Ryed Girl from Willimantic in Connecticut, which was absolutely fantastic. I was prepared for the usual American ale experience where the beer is tremendously hopped and tastes ridiculously fruity. However I was greeted with a wonderful caramel taste with spicy undertones. It was probably the best beer I had at the festival. Well done to the Americans.
The GBBF really is a good day out and with the pub games, live entertainment and vast amount of food available the time just flies by. I had a great time as always and look forward to returning next year. Hopefully they'll stick to the Olympia venue from now on.
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