Great Britain Beer Festival

[Tim]

Hi Guys,
Its been a while since i logged in and a lot has happened since.
Basically in April i moved to London for work and havnt been brewing
however i am in the land of real ale
I know that kook was (or still maybe?) based in london and a few guys (Ross?) came over last year for the beerfest. Anyone coming this year? its the first week of August at Earls court.
if anyone is coming, shoot me an email at;
[email protected]
maybe we can meet up
cheers
Tim
ps. I'm hope the NSW Xmas in july works out as well as the xmas one. i thouroughly enjoyed my case!

 

[Ross]

Tim,

Hoping to get there - Will give you a call if I make it, I'm sure Kook & the Rate beer team will be there...

cheers Ross

 

[Tony]

another working holiday buying lybian tanks and drinking real ale all day hey ross.

ahhhhhhhh do you need a secratary to take tasting notes? i would be tax deductable

cheers

 

[big d]

And im sure we at AHB central will all be looking forward to cutting edge reports on a daily basis if possible through those beer goggles you lot will be wearing.1/2 ya luck
Cheers
Big D

 

[Ross]

another working holiday buying lybian tanks and drinking real ale all day hey ross.

ahhhhhhhh do you need a secratary to take tasting notes? i would be tax deductable

cheers

With a face like that - how could I refuse

 

[kook]

I've booked the week off work for it. I'll definately be there on the Tuesday, Wednesday and possibly the Thursday. I don't normally go on Fri / Sat, as it's too crowded.

Drop me a PM (or I'll drop you an email) as I'd be happy to meet up for a beer.

Chelmsford Beer Festival is on very soon too (next weekend I think?). I'll probably go on the Friday.

 

[bconnery]

This time of year makes me miss those ales even more.
The GBBF and all those wonderful local Camra festivals were always great fun...

My wife and I used to get loads of free stuff, particularly at the regional ones because we were under 30, Australian, and one of us female (hopefully you shouldn't have to guess which one ...) and enjoying real ale and members of Camra....
I have posters, tap pictures, coasters, glasses, shirts, prints.

We are heading back for a trip in late August, too late for the GBBF but boy am I looking forward to a pint or many of some quality ales...

I will be mostly around Sussex, Kent and Hampshire so it's Harvey's, Shepard Neame, Gales etc for the most part I guess.

 

[Tim]

Ok Guys,
I have a ticket for next Thursday, which is Hat Day.
Hmm, bring on the Ale!
Tim

 

[kook]

I'll be there on Thursday, but probably only till around 5pm.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...ost&p=69977

I'm the one in the blue Cantillon shirt. Normally find me around the foreign bar Drop me a PM if you'd like my mobile number and want to catch up for a beer.

 

[Doc]

You lucky bastards
Wish I could be there.

If Lichfield Brewery is there with their Doctors Orders beer, can you please see if you could acquire the pump clip

Doc

 

[kook]

Doc, have you tried this guy? :

www.dalecu.co.uk

 

[Doc]

Doc, have you tried this guy? :

www.dalecu.co.uk

Yep. He had it listed as available for sale, but he had sold it
So I got the Robinson Double Hop Ale instead
Would love the Doctors Orders one.

Doc

 

[Vlad the Pale Aler]

Doc-
Robinsons! what a jolt to the memory banks. The first real ale I ever drank was on a school trip to Gawsworth Hall, far too boring, so a few of us ducked off to the pub, as is the norm. I can still smell the fuggles over 30 years later, bits of it floating in the cloudy brew.
The most educational school outing ever!

 

[mike_hillyer]

Do they still do a beer festivale in Stratford in East London? If yes is it a real ale one? My cousin asked me to go once but something cropped up. I assume yes because he gradually over 3 years got me into real ale.

I would love to be there. I would be looking for a pint of Directors. What are those pubs called with no music, no fruit machines etc... and everyone is old and talks about the war? Anyway they used to always sell Diretors for half the price of any other pint in town. Always a beautiful drop but I reckon it would be better drinking this style in Perth than London at the moment

 

[kook]

I think you're talking about the Pigs Ear Beer Festival (used to be held in Stratford town hall).

It was cancelled in 2004 due to licensing issues, and hasn't re-appeared since. A real shame, as it is supposed to be a great fest and I've never had the opportunity to attend

 

[bconnery]

What are those pubs called with no music, no fruit machines etc...

Good pubs.

My favourite pub I visited while in the UK was a pub called the Bow Bar in Edinburgh. It was a hole in the wall with nothing but the bar, some seats on either side and 4-5 guest taps. And another tap that seemed to alternate between Landlord and something local.

Directors is a nice pint!

Counting down the days until I arrive back there and sink my teeth into the first pint...

21st August here I come!

 

[Doc]

From here.
Not familiar with these breweries to know if they will be missed.

Beers,
Doc

Three prominent breweries will cut back participation in the upcoming Great British Beer Festival in London.

Adnams, Batemans and Woodforde's will not operate stands at the festival. Woodforde's said its decision was based the high cost involved in attending the five-day event. Adnams and Batemans, told the Morning Advertiser newspaper they are looking at different ways of spending their marketing budget.

 

[Doc]

I'll be there on Thursday, but probably only till around 5pm.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...ost&p=69977

I'm the one in the blue Cantillon shirt. Normally find me around the foreign bar Drop me a PM if you'd like my mobile number and want to catch up for a beer.

Do you have a report for us Kook ?
How was it. Got some great pics and beer reviews ?

Beers,
Doc

 

[kook]

Just got back from the Thursday. Busiest GBBF ever aparently. Loads of people been already. I have a feeling the beers will be quite sparse by saturday.

I've got some pics which I'll post at some point (need to get around to putting some stuff in the gallery).

Beers of the show for me were the Thornbridge Jaipur IPA, Dogfish Head 90 min IPA (had it last year too, but damn it's a good beer!), Plevna Siperian Imperial Stout (Finnish, really hoppy and tasty), Witnica Black Boss Porter (Polish) and Girardin Jonge Lambic. I'm sure there were others too, but don't have my notebook nearby

Didn't see Tim or Ross at all?? Hope you guys had a good time though!

edit -

Oh, one big bit of bad news was that the majority (ie, 95%+) of the american cask beers never turned up. Really dissapointing, aparently due to bad planning they're still sitting on a dock. A portion of the bottled beer was also on the same container and never made it. The only reason the DFH beer was there is due to the fact it was flown over (suppose thats why its 6 a pint!).

 

[Tim]

I survived Hat day at GBBF 2006 and have the hangover to prove it!
Sorry i didnt give you a buzz Kook, everything has been kind of crazy the last few days.
I was wearing a Chefs hat, and i got some interesting comments about it!

I cant really remember much, but it was a good day. I must have sampled close to 30 beers, so I cant actually remember any of the brewery names.

I didnt see Doghead fish? i was hoping to try some 90 min IPA. Maybe it was all gone?

One thing i did find interesting was the trend of using American hops in english style bitters. It sounds wierd, but really works well.
I'll report back some more when my memory starts to return!
Tim