Before reporting their views and comments, it's worth
reflecting that CAMRA definitely seem to have upped their game. For a start,
this year's advertising definitely seemed designed to appeal to a younger
audience. I commented on this at the time, as I thought it boded well for a
festival which had definitely become staid and rather stale, and although my
colleagues had nothing to compare it against, writer and critic Benjamin Nunn,
who writes the entertaining Ben Viveur blog, was full of praise for the event.
I can verify this, after flicking through the festival
programme my colleagues brought back for me. Leaving the foreign beers aside,
the range and sheer variety certainly looked impressive, and light years away
from the plethora of bland and rather boring golden ales which made up the bulk
of the offerings two years ago (the last time I attended GBBF).
Somewhat surprisingly my colleagues stuck with the pies, and
beer-wise they went mainly with the hoppy pale ales. But as itinerant lager
drinkers (not all the time), this was a good entry point into the world of
cask-conditioned ale. Being committed sportsmen, they also had fun
participating in the pub games that are on offer at GBBF. they even picked up a
couple of prizes.
All three had a good time, and really enjoyed their first
time at GBBF. They claim to have drank more than five pints (well two of them
did) and then called in at our local Spoons on the way home, for something to
eat. So with the festival succeeding in attracting a younger crowd, and providing some much more interesting beers, were there any drawbacks? Well, according to Ben, some of the issues that came up last year, such as the pricing and the entertainment, were still present; although having seen the programme I would disagree with the latter claim. And from what I have read, GBBF seems to have improved in leaps and bounds from what I experienced two years ago.
8 comments:
Good to read the views of youngsters Paul.Even if they only buy pale ales occasionally it'll help turnover of cask.
Still,I just don't see the appeal of GBBF when there's so many great cosy pubs, even in London. An afternoon at the Royal Oak, Market Porter and Harp would give more variety than you'd ever need. And I've no desire for pub games and "entertainment". Reading CAMRA Discourse, you get the feeling GBBF is more for the volunteers than the punters !
That, as ever, was a nicely descriptive piece Paul.
For me, these sort of events fall into the slot of "stuff to do", and my own POV is rather as Martin's. However, I don't knock them at all. Lots of people go to car boot sales, not particularly to buy anything, but to chat with other people who...like going to car boot sales, even if I don't. I think that there's plenty of this at beer festivals, or at any other. They're all a part of life.
Cheers,
E
Good point, Etu, and good analogy with car boot sales, or comic cons, or other social events.
Hi Martin, thanks for your comments which, as always, are appreciated. I am in the initial stages of drafting a post about beer festivals, with particular regard to my feelings towards them, and how my attitude has changed over the years, so I will be as brief here as I can.
I agree that an afternoon in any of the London pubs you mention would give most drinkers plenty of variety, but I feel that the focus of beer festivals has changed over the past couple of decades, despite the crazy amount of different beers on sale at GBBF. Today’s festivals provide much more than just an endless list of beers which most people have never heard of. Instead, much as it pains me to use the term, they offer a complete festival “experience” incorporating good food (street food especially), games and entertainment.
I appreciate you are not keen on the latter, which is slightly surprising following your attendance at the End of the Road Festival, but at outdoor festivals especially, a good live act can really get the crowd going. At an event such as GBBF, the venue is sufficiently large so as to escape the music altogether, should you wish.
Then there is the social aspect, meeting up with friends, with people sometimes travelling large distances just to share these experiences. This social side is for me, what makes a good festival, and is why you see so many groups of drinkers at events such as GBBF, rather than individuals walking around on their own.
Finally, festivals such as GBBF, allow brewers the chance to showcase their beers, to an audience which probably wouldn’t come across them anywhere else. They also generate revenue for CAMRA, provide useful publicity for the campaign and act as a major source for the recruitment of new members.
Etu, I see you too have picked up on the social side as being one of the reasons people go to festivals. As I outlined above, I think this aspect now greatly over-shadows that of “ticking off “ beers; although there are still a fair number of people for whom that is the number one attraction.
I can understand Martin's point of view, but to me, while you can always go to a cozy pub, the GBBF is a one off every year (and yes, I know there are a plethora of other festivals now), somewhat akin to Oktoberfest. :)
Plus, I like Etu's comparison to a social event, not to mention the chance to try new beers all in one place, rather than going around the country (and winding up dumping half of them in a plant pot). ;)
Cheers
Like Martin I have a greater love of a good pub crawl than a beer festival, although I am not adverse to the latter. I haven't been to the GBBF for the last two years, different beers are very much my thing though I'm more pub ticker than beer ticker, given my normal consumption at GBBF when I have attended seems to be around the five pint mark , i.e 10 halves or so, it proves an expensive day out for the return, once factoring in travel and entrance fee. On a London pub crawl I will drink more, the travel cost is the same, no entrance fee obviously but for me a greater return experience.
Russ, if you regard GBBF as a social event, rather than just the opportunity to try a range of different beers, then I think that’s fine. You might even find find that plant plot superfluous. But before we carry on too far along that road, Citra makes a valid point in relation to the amount of beer which most normal people can imbibe at a festival, along with the overall cost.
Five or six pints would represent my normal capacity as well, at such an event, as anything more would leave me feeling decidedly worse for wear the following morning. So factoring in both travel costs and the entrance fee, it does represent an expensive way to sample 10-12 different half pints of beer.
It sort of depends what you want from the event though; a great day out with a group of your mates, or the chance to sample some unusual and potentially amazing beers. A combination of the two, in varying degrees would be the best outcome in my book, but ultimately it depends on what you’re expecting to get out of an event like GBBF.
Good points by everyone.
Let me qualify what I said by the fact that I've never been to one of these so I'm looking at it from the point of view of all exciting and new. :)
I can see that if you've been to one or two, then going again (and especially having to come from out of town) can be a bit of a drag. Believe me, they do have similar events in Victoria, BC - a three hour drive from me - and I haven't even considered going to one.
And the point about going to pubs with a group and sampling different beers is a good one. On reflection I think I'd be more inclined to that myself. :)
But, as mentioned, as a one off (especially after seeing Peter Jackson's episode #2 of the Beer Hunter series) it wouldn't be all that bad.
Cheers
PS - "You might even find find that plant plot superfluous."
LOL, I didn't twig to that the first time I read it. :)
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