tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post8659499884659208868..comments2024-01-20T18:54:45.127+00:00Comments on Ben Viveur: Has the GBBF lost its G?Benjamin Nunnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735110277517005667noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-2940260171625337292017-09-21T01:36:15.700+01:002017-09-21T01:36:15.700+01:00I don't partake myself, but some food for thou...I don't partake myself, but some food for though here.Joenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-72724122798581394552017-09-08T18:18:57.274+01:002017-09-08T18:18:57.274+01:00I wouldn't drink Bombardier at the GBBF or ind...I wouldn't drink Bombardier at the GBBF or indeed anywhere else, but the brewery bars have tended to offer 'interesting stuff' in addition to the ultra mainstream brands. In the past we have seen new beer launches and ultra-rarities on these bars - even this year you could get Fuller's Brewers Reserve, Titanic Plum Porter Extra (or Export or whatever they named the strong version) etc. <br /><br />I would actually like to see more brewery bars and indeed an end to disincentivisation.Benjamin Nunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12735110277517005667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-83146131010258412102017-09-06T16:36:51.318+01:002017-09-06T16:36:51.318+01:00But does anyone go to any Beer Festival to drink C...But does anyone go to any Beer Festival to drink Charles Wells Bombardier... seriously? Did they ever sell any beer when they were there? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-91557983771905005312017-09-06T15:15:07.804+01:002017-09-06T15:15:07.804+01:00The family brewers are probably distinctly unimpre...The family brewers are probably distinctly unimpressed that CAMRA is happy to take their money while sneering at their beers and kicking their pubs out of the GBG in favour of micropubs and brewery taps with limited hours and limited appeal.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-43489134345135452082017-09-06T13:48:16.544+01:002017-09-06T13:48:16.544+01:00All the negative comments for this years GBBF all ...All the negative comments for this years GBBF all fail to nail the reason. And thats quite simple. This year continued the pattern of diminishing input by regional brewers. If you recall, upon entry to Olympia you were previously struck by the plethora of regional brewers all with their colourful stands. Every year one less..until this year there were none. Well Harveys were there but only because Camra agreed to staff the stand on their behalf. <br />And the reason the regional brewers have pulled the plug on providing tailor made stands for the GBBF? They are fed up with the cost of the stand and then losing the cash to Camra. Its seems unbelievable that Camra expect the regionals to pay for their pitch, staff the stand then give most of the takings back to Camra.<br />In general each of the regionals feel well pissed off that their carrying of the real ale flag has been pissed upon by Camra who are now more likely to support some micro start up with bar space than they are to the regionals who kept real ale alive during the dark ages.<br />So that lack lustre feeling upon entering Olympia is the loss of the vibrant regional breweries. Even the Charlie Wells Bombardier double decker bus was missing this year. <br />Camra should be PAYING them to have a stand not asking 10k Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01735869326541745820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-65427024381014110152017-09-04T20:23:04.420+01:002017-09-04T20:23:04.420+01:00Camra losing lots of money and trying to make it b...Camra losing lots of money and trying to make it back?timnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-52447431852021131752017-08-20T12:13:26.451+01:002017-08-20T12:13:26.451+01:00In my early twenties I went on one of my first ove...In my early twenties I went on one of my first overseas trip. Twenty years plus later I returned to one of the places we visited which had then been magical in its remoteness but I suspect most all its newness to us. Revisiting was a mistake, the magic had gone. While we wanted it to have the 'Christmas in a Sweetshop' sense of excitement that it possessed when we were young, we had to accept that that experience was of a different time john crynenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-40312885651152561982017-08-16T21:57:59.765+01:002017-08-16T21:57:59.765+01:00I enjoyed the GBBF immensely. But I go on the trad...I enjoyed the GBBF immensely. But I go on the trade day, so don't have to pay for the ticket, travel or accommodation and I catch up with loads of people I know. Before I became a brewer I had given up going due to the cost of the ticket and travel. Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13844169940650659196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-76605069366323760062017-08-15T20:26:17.167+01:002017-08-15T20:26:17.167+01:00Load of wank if you ask me. Load of wank if you ask me. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-24989198143967328702017-08-15T19:53:33.592+01:002017-08-15T19:53:33.592+01:00They didn't open the USA bar until 3 in an att...They didn't open the USA bar until 3 in an attempt to prevent this sort of thing from happening and a lot of trade sessioners whinged about it. It is crazy that a beer can run out before the public are even allowed in...<br /><br />I think the festival probably reinforces prejudices about cask limitations, especially with the current outdated CBoB categories - though the US cask obviously goes some way to countering that. There are plenty of British brewers around now who could do the same, given the opportunity and the encouragement from CAMRA.Benjamin Nunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12735110277517005667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-1737892061585048872017-08-15T19:39:15.082+01:002017-08-15T19:39:15.082+01:00Hmm, factoring in travel and accommodation costs, ...Hmm, factoring in travel and accommodation costs, I wonder how many sub-£3 pints I'll have to drink there in order to make a saving...Benjamin Nunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12735110277517005667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-47091195091183134112017-08-15T11:50:35.712+01:002017-08-15T11:50:35.712+01:00I got in at 17:30 of the first public session and ...I got in at 17:30 of the first public session and found that Brasserie De La Senne's Taras Boulba on tap had already been polished off by the trade session buggers! I agree with a lot of what you wrote, though. The bars that were difficult to get to were the foreign beer bars. There are two ironies to me. <br />Firstly, for someone who has good cask regularly, I actually go to this festival to seek out things like Kölsch which I can't find on tap anywhere else. <br />Secondly, in showcasing real ale in the hundreds, the festival actually highlights cask ale's limitations in style.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921858416849788564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-4580829666758942222017-08-14T21:28:30.059+01:002017-08-14T21:28:30.059+01:00I’ve been to a good many beer festivals but haven’...I’ve been to a good many beer festivals but haven’t once been inclined to visit GBBF so I admit I read this with a good deal of confirmation bias.<br />Olympia just conjures up images of trudging round trade shows (been there, got the t-shirt and lots of other marketing tat) and I suspect a lot of the GBBF is for “the trade”. As a rule, if an event has to tell you how to have fun (hat day!), it’s generally not fun. Turning to the main thing, the beer, from the past programmes I have perused, there’s a lot of established folks rocking up with their most popular brews. This leads to a conservativeness that is the very opposite of the new, different and sometimes downright strange ones I seek out at a beer festival. At the Great British Beer Festival, one of the most popular outlets is the American Craft bar, need I say more.<br />So to these prejudices of mine, Ben adds some more solid evidence of Camra ceasing to be a campaign for real ale. It now seems to concentrate on trying to save moribund pubs and hosting receptions at the Houses of Parliament. A great way of encouraging people to embrace real ale is to get them to try it and enjoy it – and what better way than by staging beer festivals. The GBBF entry price is hardly likely to entice anyone slightly curious. The “craft revolution” has shown us you can get away with charging much higher prices in London and the South East for some quite ordinary beer. Camra has lost no time in embracing this trend. Remember how we used to complain about the Chancellor increasing duty on a pint by a penny! I’m sure there are cost pressures but a lot of the festival is run and staffed by volunteers who do some amazing work.<br />Having a big event in the capital city does generate some good PR so maybe that’s a good reason to keep it as is and I’m sure there are many people for whom it remains a must-do. But I do worry that Camra like football clubs and political parties is becoming too distant from its grassroots.<br />Ianhttp://www.twitter.com/iangreevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-48365236475701384802017-08-14T20:30:39.726+01:002017-08-14T20:30:39.726+01:00Im not sure I agree, except on the point it felt a...Im not sure I agree, except on the point it felt a little more low key this year, but hey hands up everyone who remembers the 30th GBBF, the theme at all ? anything special about it? or the entertainment provided by the likes of the Fulham brass band, or Jean Genie (David Bowie Tribute obv), I suppose Dr Feelgood might count as a name people might recognise from the 70s, thats the thing about the past it always seems better than it actually ever was.<br /><br />for me, I thought the beer prices were atypical for London, admission, well its only £9 for CAMRA members, but I suspect the full admission price deters alot of the leave the office early worker drinkers who used to turn up. But I was quite happy with all the beer styles I tried, the vast majority Id never had before and are never likely to see in my neck of the woods and I left wanting to try more, I didnt feel like Id run out of beers Id wanted to try, which doesnt always happen at beer festivals even the very big ones IME, I had a great time.<br /><br />on the venue itself, well first off they have tried lots of venues over the years, Brighton, Birmingham had it one year, Leeds for a few, Alexandra Palace, even Docklands Arena once though everyone hated that, and Olympia thesedays is about 1/3rd bigger as an exhibition space than it was in 2005. I dont believe the National hall was ever open for use back then, and it definitely wasnt on the first year back at Olympia as the place was still going through massive restoration and redevelopment. But I do remember the one thing that was constant feedback back before the underground car park experience of Earls Court, was there wasnt enough room for the bars, seating, anything at Olympia, till they redeveloped it to how it is now. and tbf I think the organisers are still trying to work out the best way to use the available space. But it felt ok to me, as trust me a venue that size that is "too big" is much more noticeable that you are rattling around in than anything GBBF has felt like. <br /><br />Stonohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02656315721111561414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-13702497762901443202017-08-14T19:21:15.665+01:002017-08-14T19:21:15.665+01:00Will be interested to see the attendance figures, ...Will be interested to see the attendance figures, if they get released. Felt quieter than usual (went Thursday, which my usual day), but a CAMRA official chatted to went for the line that that was an 'optical illusion' as they'd 'made better use of the space this year'. We'll see. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5280044379124455706.post-43866669112172831592017-08-14T19:06:54.504+01:002017-08-14T19:06:54.504+01:00Possibly CAMRA's straitened financial circumst...Possibly CAMRA's straitened financial circumstances have something to do with the steep prices and evidence of cost-cutting...<br /><br />Come to Stockport Beer Festival where beer will still start from under £3 a pint next year :-)Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.com