GBBF 2019

Right, let’s look at last Friday’s visit to CAMRA’s annual flagship event, and the grand-daddy of all UK drink festivals, the Great British Beer Festival. It’s an event that needs little in the way of introduction, so let’s cut to the chase by saying that it hadn’t been my intention to go to the festival.

It had been several years since my last visit to Olympia, which took place in 2016, and as that occasion was the opening day Trade Session, it’s difficult to make comparisons with what I experienced this time around. Before describing the 2019 event, it’s worth mentioning that this blog has covered Great British Beer Festivals from 2009, 2012, 2014 as well as 2016. I also did a write-up of 2017’s event; even though I wasn’t actually there!

Two things persuaded me to go along this year, the first being the good report I received about last year’s event from two members of my team from work. Admittedly 2018 was their first ever GBBF, but they came back full of praise. I was several thousand miles away at the time, travelling to a location just outside Washington DC, for the American Beer Writer’s Conference, but the pictures my colleagues posted on Facebook did rather make me wish that I was there, at Olympia, sharing the experience with them.

There were no such clashes this year, but the thing which really inspired me to go along, was the well-illustrated and extremely positive write-up in CAMRA’s BEER magazine; the award-winning, quarterly publication, sent out free to all CAMRA members.

So with my mind made up I decided it was high time to renew my acquaintance with the Great British Beer Festival, with one proviso. I didn’t want to pay the rather steep admission charge, so instead I applied for a Press Pass - something any beer writer is entitled to do. CAMRA, quite naturally, will expect in return, a good write-up of the event, and I feel I have done this without compromising my integrity as a writer.

I don’t feel guilty either  about depriving CAMRA of potential revenue, as not being a life member, the organisation have taken more than enough money in membership fees from me, over the years.  Besides, without the Press Pass, I wouldn’t have attended, and I wouldn’t have spent forty quid or so on beer and food.

I arrived at Olympia, shortly after midday, after a pleasant, but rather slow journey on the Number 9 bus from Charing Cross. Sitting on the top deck gave me views of central London that I would not have experienced had I taken the tube. I joined the queue, which snaked around Olympia, before making my way up to the Press Office to collect my pass. After that, I was in and ready to start drinking!

I’d arranged to meet up with prolific blogger and champion GBG ticker, Retired Martin for what would be his first visit to the Great British Beer Festival. We’d agreed to rendezvous at bar B11, where there was a selection of Cornish beers on sale, although not Doom Bar, much to Martin’s disappointment.  

I started off with an enjoyable half of Kor Dogel, an easy drinking pale, hoppy ale from Padstow Brewery. It wasn’t long before Martin showed up; I can’t remember what he had as I wasn’t keeping score, although I do recall that sometime, quite early in the proceedings, he had a beer from Arkells of Swindon. Arkells of course, are a long established brewery and are one of the few remaining, independent family brewers to have survived into the 21^st Century.

Continuing the old family brewer theme, a little later on in the day, I decided on a glass of Holden’s Black Country Bitter; another old fashioned, but very quaffable bitter which brought back memories of visits to the West Midlands.

The pair of us had a good wander around, bumping into fellow blogger Tandleman on the way. We paid a visit to the foreign beer bar he was working on, where I went for a glass of Kellerbier, an unfiltered beer from St.Georgen Bräu of Buttenheim, a large village between Bamberg and Erlangen in the Franconia region of northern Bavaria.

The beer was good, being cool, full-bodied and well-hopped, but somehow it didn’t taste the same as it did the day, nine years ago, when son Matthew and I sat in the shady beer garden, on the edge of Buttenheim, knocking back several half-litres of this delicious beer, served in traditional stoneware mugs. If proof were needed that location and actually being there, adds provenance to a beer, then this was it!

We had a couple more beers between us, noticing that the hall was starting to get quite busy. I still wouldn’t say it was heaving, and there was very little waiting to be served.  Martin was getting itchy feet, and told me he was aiming to catch a certain train. Before he left I had what for me was one of the best beers of the festival in the form of Heart & Soul; a really tasty 4.4% session IPA from Vocation Brewery.

Martin had been drinking Vocation beers the night before, in Leeds, at a special event to commemorate Beer Leeds blogger and writer, Richard Coldwell who sadly passed away at the end of June. He told me Vocation has some rather good beers on tap, including a special one in Richard’s memory.

Martin departed soon afterwards and, as it turned out, leaving when he

did was the right decision, because later in the afternoon, a large chunk of the UK national rail network was knocked out by a massive power outage, leaving trains and their passengers stranded. I, in the meantime, wandered off to grab a bite to eat.

There were plenty of different food stalls to chose from, so I had a pasty from the Crusty Pie Company, plus a bacon roll from the Real Sausage & Mash stand. It was around this time that I too was thinking of following Martin’s example, but a half of Adnam’s 5.0% Dark Side of the Moon, a rather interesting marshmallow and coconut stout, plus the equally interesting Smokin’ Gun Porter, from Big Hand Brewing Company, set me off on a quest to find the group of friends from West Kent CAMRA, who I knew would be sitting upstairs in the gallery area, where there were plenty of tables and benches.

I must have walked past them a couple of times, before a text alerted me to where they were sitting. I sat down and joined them, and that was where the rot set in. It involved quite a few more beers, another pasty and a 9.15pm departure, but on the plus side, there was plenty of interesting, and useful conversation.

One of the beers I sampled was another survivor from the past; this time XXX 4.3%, a ale from the Three Tuns brew-pub in the picturesque Shropshire village of Bishop’s Castle. I’d only sampled this beer on one previous occasion, and that was in 1976, as a student.

A girlfriend and I had driven with a friend, all the way from Rugely in Staffordshire, to Bishop’s Castle, with the express purpose of enjoying a few pints of the Three Tuns “home-brewed” beer. The beer was well worth the long and tiring drive, and drinking it 43 years later at GBBF, brought back fond memories. I have to say though, that this was another example of location and occasion adding provenance.

Some final thoughts, as I’ve waffled on far longer than intended. First I felt that CAMRA really had taken all the criticisms from previous years on-board and addressed them in a professional and positive manner. The bars seemed better laid-out than hey were three years ago, and they were much easier to navigate.

The food stands were plentiful and what they were offering was good. My only gripe was the absence of the Piper’s Crisps stand, or indeed any crisps at all. There was live music, for those that wanted it, and Swallow, the band Martin and I saw and heard briefly, were very good. Another major positive at GBBF, was the beer quality, which was very good. The same could about the range, although once you’ve had six or seven halves, they all start tasting the same, and you’re never going to make a dent in the 1,000 + beers on sale at the event.

There were a few moans about high prices, although I personally didn’t really notice, as I was drinking either half pints or thirds. Also, considering the substantial overheads involved in staging an event like GBBF, in the heart of London, these factors have to be considered when setting the beer prices, and whilst some were undoubtedly on the dear side, there were still a few bargains to be had, if you looked around.

Finally the attendance figures. My friends, who are regular attendees, thought the attendance at this year’s event was again down on previous years. This also became obvious to me, as the evening progressed. I’m not sure why this should be, although perhaps people are becoming blasé towards the event, despite CAMRA’s best efforts.

There may be other factors involved as well, such as conflicting events taking place at the same time, but despite all this I’m still glad I went, even though it will probably be several more years until my next GBBF. 

If you haven’t been, do give the event a try, and despite the odd minus, there are a lot more pluses!

An alternative to GBBF Friday?

I’m still working on my article about last week’s Great British Beer Festival. For now, I can report that I enjoyed it, am glad I went and that I also came away with the feeling that CAMRA have listened to the feedback given over the past few years and taken action.

It’s too early for me to answer the question, will I go again but, as this short post demonstrates, I was not the only person asking this question. I’m also keen to learn CAMRA’s opinion of the event; both publicly and privately especially as the numbers attending seemed down on previous years. So as a prelude to my report, and before any post-mortem, here’s an alternative idea that some friends and I came up with last Friday.

I wasn’t the only person at GBBF on Friday, who was questioning their attendance at future festivals. There were several friends amongst the group I was with who were of the same opinion, all thinking that despite the great day out that the Great British Beer Festival offers, there are only so many new or exotic beers you can sample, without ending up totally legless.

In addition, when you factor in the cost of getting there, along with the not insignificant admission charge, a visit to GBBF can leave you seriously out of pocket, and that’s before you’ve even had your  first beer. An alternative day out, for next year’s event was therefore proposed, and it runs as follows.

As several of the people I was with on Friday use the event to meet up with friends or former work colleagues from other parts of the country, why not use the occasion to meet up somewhere on their home territory. So whilst it has become something of a tradition for this particular group to meet up at GBBF each year (normally on a Friday), why not instead travel somewhere outside of London and join them there?

Several people had travelled up from Hampshire or Dorset, so the idea was floated that instead of everyone spending money travelling to London, followed by extra cash for admittance to the festival, it would be good to travel to somewhere with a more central location; a city like Salisbury or Winchester for example. We could then visit several pubs in these localities and no doubt get to sample a number of different beers. 

A decent pub lunch could also be on the cards, rather than the constant “grazing” which seems to be the pattern at GBBF. This would be a much more relaxed day out, and would also afford the opportunity for a spot of sight-seeing, and other tourist activities as well.

It’s early days yet, but the idea certainly seemed to appeal to those present. The prospect of visiting a new location, or revisiting somewhere different, but not particularly familiar, is definitely one which appeals to me. There’s obviously mileage in it, if you’ll excuse the pun, so we might be witnessing the birth of a new early August tradition, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Underneath the arches

I was in London, last Monday evening, for the British Guild of Beer Writers’ Summer Party. This is an annual event which takes place on the evening before the opening day of the Great British Beer Festival. I haven’t been to every party, since joining the Guild in 2015, but of the three events I have attended, this one was by far and away the best.

This might be because I now know a lot more Guild members, than I did when I was just a “newbie,” but I think this year’s venue, along with the beers and food we all enjoyed, was every bit as important.

The venue was the London Fields Brewery Arches, at Helmsley Place, just a five minute walk from London Fields Overground station. The bar area, which occupies one of the railway arches, was just the right size for the number of Guild members in attendance. There were three London Fields beers on tap, along with an eclectic selection of bottles and cans, all suitably chilled.

The courtyard outside, acted as an over-spill area, and was also where the food was served. The weather too played its part in the evening’s success, remaining dry, but not too hot. The culinary offering was from local restaurant Al-Amin, and consisted of a choice of chicken or vegetable curry, with rice, samosas and onion bhajis.

The food was served roughly halfway through the evening, and was the perfect accompaniment to the various beers. Prior to getting stuck into the curry, there was a short speech from Guild Chairman, Pete Brown. Pete thanked the generosity of our hosts at London Fields, along with all the other brewers who had contributed towards the evening. There was also a special thank-you to Ros Shiel, who is stepping down as Guild Secretary.

Apart from the London Fields beers, a number of both national and international breweries were represented. These included Stiegl from Austria,  Krombach and the recently re-vamped Hofmeister; both from Germany, plus Curious Brew and West Berkshire Brewery from the UK. There was also a sprinkling of cans from Mikkeller – the renowned Danish  “gypsy” brewer, from Copenhagen, along with a separate bar offering a range of beers from the United States, at the rear of the arch – see below. 

I won’t start “name-dropping” by listing the many well-known beer writers and other luminaries who were at the party, although I will make an exception for Peter – better known as Tandleman. It was good to catch up with him as well as fellow blogger Ed Wray, but the surprise of the evening was being tapped on the shoulder by “Beers I have known” Steve from Northern Ireland.

I hadn’t seen him since 2015, when we both attended the European Beer Writers Conference in Brussels. Steve said he would be looking after one of the American bars at GBBF, so I said would pop over and say hello on Friday. He also mentioned he was instrumental in obtaining some of the beers on offer at the party.

So what about the beers? There were three offerings from hosts, London Fields – Pilsner (Broadway Boss), Pale Ale (Hackney Hopster) and a White IPA (3 Weiss Monkeys). They were keg, rather than cask, but were well brewed and quite drinkable, but of the three, I much preferred the Pale Ale.

The Mikkeller offering - Hair in the Mailbox, was an interesting IPA and, believe it or not, my first ever Mikkeller beer! I missed out on their Double Sour Cherry Organic Berliner – see the cans in the photo, but  managed to sample Curious Session IPA: a triple hopped and rather distinctive IPA, plus son Matthew’s favourite - Hofmeister Lager.

I had a chat with representatives from both Curious Brew and Hofmeister, who were manning their respective stands. My discussion with the lady from Curious Brew, centred on the company’s recently opened, state of the art brewery at Ashford; the town where I grew up in and spent my formative years. I also enquired about the possibility of a brewery visit.

Some of you might remember me writing about Curious Brewing’s expansion plans, and it seems they are already coming to fruition. Look around and you will see the increased availability of Curious brand beers, and only today I noticed Tesco running a promotion on cans of Curious Brew lager.

Distribution and availability was a topic I discussed and with the two lads from Hofmeister. The company seem to be taking a more cautious, step-by-step approach with their Hofmeister Helles, primarily because they want to get things right. They are carefully vetting all new accounts to ensure the beer will work in these outlets.

Hofmeister are doing this by focussing the bulk of their marketing activity on experiential, face-to-face opportunities, where drinkers get to taste in prospective pubs and bars. You can read more about this strategy here, and also learn where exactly in Bavaria the re-vamped brand is being brewed.

I left shortly after the official 9.30pm end of the party, but not before being invited by a couple of Scottish members, to share part of a bottle of Heretic Evil Cousin. This was a strong (8%), American Double IPA. It was a dangerous one to finish on, as it didn’t drink like a beer of this strength.

I made my way back to London Fields station and whilst on the platform got chatting to one of the most knowledgeable writers on Belgian beer, and the author behind the current, and all previous editions of Good Beer Guide Belgium. I said I wasn’t going to name-drop, but I’m sure many of you will know who I am talking about.

We parted company at Liverpool Street, from where I took the underground to Charing Cross. Tuesday morning was a bit of a struggle, both getting up and at work, but by lunchtime I felt sufficiently recovered. My colleagues knew I’d been partying up in London the night before, but cut me some slack, especially in view of my help with the previous day’s audit. I still had a pile of work to catch up on, though!

A hectic week

It’s been a rather hectic week, with two trips up to London, a surveillance audit at work, plus the usual run of the mill stuff that constitutes a busy working life in 21^st Century Britain.

The visits to London were at the start and then the finish of the working week, and both were connected with CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival, but as I’m intending to write about them both separately, all you need to know for now is that Monday evening’s trip was for the British Guild of Beer Writer’s Summer Party, whilst Friday was an all day, so that I could attend GBBF.

The connection between the former and the latter is that every year the Beer Writer’s Guild hold a party which, by tradition, takes place on the evening before the opening day of the Great British Beer Festival.

Both events were good in their own right, and there’s lots to tell about each one, but this week Southeastern Trains have certainly had their money’s worth out of me, and that’s with the one-third discount which my Senior Railcard qualifies me for.

More importantly, I have drank some excellent beers, met lots of interesting people, some of whom I know, whist others I didn’t, but this weekend I think both liver and wallet deserve a rest!

So it’s a case of knuckling down and bashing away on the keyboard to bring you all the latest news and gossip about these two linked and GBBF-inspired events.

Good beer and good cheer at the Nelson Arms

I caught up with an old friend, over a few drinks, last Thursday evening. We’d only seen each other briefly over the course of the past few months, so a get-together was long overdue.

As we wanted somewhere quiet, where we could chat without disturbance from television or recorded music, we opted for the Nelson Arms, a backstreet local, tucked away behind Tonbridge railway station.

It’s just over a mile from my house to the pub and being quite a sultry evening, I was rather hot and sticky when I arrived. My friend had turned up a few minutes beforehand, and was standing at the bar when I walked through the door.

The choice of beers was split between Kent Brewery and Young’s. I was especially pleased to see both Ordinary and Special on sale from the latter brewery, and over the course of the evening was determined to try both of them.

The Nelson was reasonably busy, with a handful of darts players in the former public bar area, plus a few small number of individuals, like us, in the plusher, right hand section of the pub. We found a spare table and sat down, both eager to recount and listen to each other’s traveller’s tales.

My friend had spent time travelling through France and into western Germany, with his Australian girlfriend, whilst I’d been on a business trip to China and had also walked an additional section of the North Downs Way. We compared notes and looked at each other’s photos – digital ones, of course, but I came away having added Heidelberg to my list of places to visit, along with the Alsace region of eastern France.

I was also able to catch up with some of the developments taking place locally, on the CAMRA front as, unlike me, my friend is still active as a committee member of West Kent CAMRA.  The branch had recently held presentations for three local pubs, which were either deemed “much improved” or runner-up in the branch pub of the year award (please don’t call it POTY!). For a variety of reasons, I missed these events, but my friend confirmed they had all been successful and were well attended.

I was true to my aim of trying both the Young’s beers, preferring the Ordinary to the Special. The latter seemed darker than I remember it, with a slight reddish tint which certainly wasn’t present in the Special I drank in my twenties and early thirties. I still scored it at 3.0 NBSS, against a 3.5 for the Ordinary.

By contrast, the 4.9% Tropic Ale, from Kent Brewery, wasn’t as good, and with hindsight I should have gone with the brewery’s weaker 3.7% Session Pale. With work the following morning, three pints was sufficient for me, but even so it was getting on for 11pm when we left the pub.

Before ending, special mention should be made of the young and very knowledgeable barmaid, who changed my first pint (a very cloudy seasonal from Kent Brewery), without question, and who also told me about her attempts to promote the “craft” cans, stored in a glass fronted fridge, behind the bar. Full marks to her, and full marks to landlord Matt Rudd for teaching his staff about beer.

So a good evening all round with good company, good beer and an excellent pub, which is also a great place to visit for a quiet drink.

A little refreshment along the way

I’m sure some of you won’t be overjoyed to learn that I haven’t finished my ramblings about the North Downs Way. The paucity of comments so far, does point to a lack of interest in my endeavours to complete the “Canterbury loop” of this 153 mile long distance trail, so perhaps a post describing the two rather good pubs I called in at on my three day walk, will bring things back on track.

Both of these rather different, but very welcome pubs were new to me, although ironically the first one was only a short hop from the small village where I spent my teenage years. Situated in the hamlet of Stowting, at the foot of the North Downs, and nestling in some beautiful countryside, the Tiger Inndates back in part to the 16th century. It acquired its current name in 1985, having previously been known as the Anchor.

The Anchor was the name the pub traded under when I lived with my parents, in the village of Brook, some six miles to the west of Stowting. Brook is also situated below the North Downs escarpment, but is a much larger village. Despite the proximity of the two, I don’t recall ever visiting Stowting. Dad was never keen on driving along the narrow roads at the foot of the downs, especially after suffering a rear-end shunt when pulling over one day to allow a car travelling in the opposite direction, to pass.

Later, when I acquired my own transport, in the form of a motorbike, I did head out in the direction of Stowting, but only ever got as far as the Five Bells at Brabourne. This large pub is still trading, although it has received a serious “makeover,” but at the time, its main attraction was the two hard-to-come by Scottish & Newcastle beers – Younger’s Tartan and Mc Ewan’s Export. Both keg beers of course, but something of a rarity in East Kent at the time.

I could see the Five Bells from the top of the escarpment, when I stopped to eat my packed lunch, but 47 years on it was  Stowting and the Tiger Inn that I was making for, a place I was sure I would be able to sit down and enjoy a well-earned pint. The Tiger is a solid-looking, square-shaped building, with a couple of extensions at the rear. The pub still displays the legend, “Mackeson of Hythe Ales" moulded into its frontage, although much of the lettering is obscured by the rather luxuriant growth of creeper which covers much of the building.

It is claimed that the Anchor was one of the first pubs purchased by the Mackeson Brothers back in the day, but the Hythe based brewery also once owned the Honest Miller; the sole pub in Brook. It is also claimed that the Tiger was one of the first pubs to have been purchased by a consortium of villagers to save it being closed or converted to some other use. This occurred in the 1990’s, and I’m happy to report the pub is still trading successfully today.

When I arrived, most of the custom seemed to be sitting outside, so after purchasing my rather excellent pint of Young’s Ordinary – see previous post, I went out and joined them; although I did make sure to find a shady spot to sit in. The pub’s interior has quite a rustic feel to it, with bare wooden floors, exposed brick walls and plenty of old wooden beams.

Despite changes to the interior over the years, the Tiger has lost none of its character and is still a warm local pub with a friendly & welcoming atmosphere. The bar area is located to the front of the building, with the restaurant to the right and rear. It includes a separate area that can be used for private dining or functions.

The pub is popular with walkers, horse riders and locals alike, and is well worth seeking out for quiet pint or a meal. Given the excellence of the beer, I was tempted to stay for another, but given what I wrote previously about the perils of stopping for a pint, halfway through a lengthy walk, I was glad I followed my own advice.

I was too knackered to manage a pub visit that evening, so missed out on the intriguingly named Cat & Custard Pot at Paddlesworth. My plans for a lunchtime drink the following day were also scuppered when I discovered to my horror, that my intended port of call, the Lighthouse Inn at Capel-le-Ferne,  had closed suddenly, and unexpectedly, at the beginning of July.

I only discovered this the previous evening, so with no suitable lunchtime pub to break my journey, I had to make do instead with the nearby Cliff Top Café. I sat down with a cup of coffee and a rather filling cheese and tomato sandwich, but it was a shame that low cloud and drizzle blowing in off the sea, spoiled the view of the English Channel, as on a clear day it is possible to see right across to the coast of France.

Later that evening, having reached Dover and then taken the train to Shepherdswell, I found myself at the comfortable and well-appointed “Brambles” bed & breakfast establishment in nearby Eythorne. My hosts told me that the Crown, the village’s sole remaining pub was just a short walk away, and that I could get a cooked meal there. Google maps confirmed this, and despite my aching feet I managed the short half a mile distance with relative ease.

The Crown is a solidly built, brick building, with a white-painted frontage. It looks out on to the road which leads out of the village, towards Dover. According to local reports, the pub has been given a new lease of life, since new owners took over its running in February. It was busy with a good mix of drinkers and diners when I called in. Fortunately I had arrived well ahead of the 9pm cut-off point for ordering food.

I was asked if I wanted to sit inside, or outside: either on the  terrace at the side of the pub, or in the garden.
I opted for inside, but then regretted it when I was placed adjacent to a group of diners who were celebrating some sort of event or other. The party consisted mainly of middle-aged women - nothing wrong with that of course, but the group included a rather dominant male whose loud voice, and tedious view points tended to drown out those of his companions. I wondered if the women were as pissed off as I was by "shouty man," who obviously liked the sound of his own voice rather too much.

Fortunately the meal was drawing to a close when I sat down so I didn't have to suffer this individual for too long, but what is it with these people who feel the need to show off  like this and bore everyone else to death? My meal of pan-fried salmon with salad and new potatoes, certainly helped restore my good spirits, as did a couple of pints of some rather good beer – St Austell Proper Job; not a beer I come across on draught that often, but very welcome on that particular evening.

There were no easily accessible pubs the following morning, on the final day of my walk. I stopped to eat my 
packed lunch at Patrixbourne; a picturesque village in a fold in the downs. Unfortunately it is a dry
village without a public house, and also, despite the numerous attractive buildings, gave the impression of being little more than a collection of rather desirable properties, for wealthy people from Canterbury.

There wasn't even a bench for the weary traveller to rest on, so I sat on a grassy bank, next to the road leading out of the village. Suitably fortified, I commenced the long climb out of the village and then joined the relatively straight track which led me all the way to Canterbury, and the conclusion of my walk.