Great British Beer Festival

This year was my 10th anniversary at the GBBF (When I started visiting it was held at the Earl's Court Exhibition Centre - upon which the present, historic Kensington Olympia is a big improvement!). It is truly the biggest beer-related annual event in the UK (Nottingham Beer Festival claims to offer even more beers, but that's not true). A five-day event, it will allow you to sample close to 900 ales and ciders from the UK (all on tap) and abroad (mostly in bottles).

Entry fee is reasonable, especially if you're a CAMRA member. There are single and season tickets available every year, and you can also attend tutored tastings with changing subjects, although there's always a "Championship Beer of Britain" tasting with beer writer extraordinaire Roger Protz - though he did seem a bit frail this time. Those will be charged extra - and while they're not terribly informative, they will allow you an hour of beer-focused rest apart from the Hoi polloi of drinkers downstairs.

The beers are organised along themed, numbered bars - usually based upon regions, though this is also subject to change. In addition, you'll always find brewery bars by Fuller's and others, plus a plethora of food stalls with hot and cold "delicacies" - the quotation marks seem necessary as some of those will make you a frequent visitor to the toilet facilities. But compared to the often deplorable food offered at other, smaller CAMRA events, the range here is positively resplendent. I strongly recommend the Handmade Sausage Rolls offered in an alleyway between the main hall and the hall to the left (from the main entrance) - they're excellent.

Upon entry, you can purchase a beer programme (UKP 2 for non CAMRA members) and a festival glass (pint, half-pint, or third-pint goblet) at UKP 3, which you can return later. Or not.

Be aware that this is a busy event. Very busy. Very busy indeed - with a few thousand punters present at the same time during peak hours (Thursday and Friday afternoons, especially). Those less tolerant of cacophonic noise should arrive early. It is advisable to queue about an hour ahead of noon opening on Thursdays and Fridays - especially if you want a place to sit), or leave early. Or attend smaller festivals.

Connection via London Transport is excellent. There's the Kensington Olympia overground station right across from the hall, but I personally prefer the 10-minute walk from Barons Court or West Kensington underground stations (District and/or Piccadilly Lines).

Mind you, beers are not cheap here (As always, the terms "cheap" and "London" should never be uttered as part of the same sentence). Half-Pints begin at UKP 1.80 for low ABV brews, but can go up to UKP 2.50 for men's beers and well over UKP 3 for Euro trash or American ones.

All in all, it's a one-of-a-kind occasion. The location is great, the beer selection positively overwhelming, and the atmosphere very much dependent on your appreciation of disorganized noise.

And, yes, there are ciders available, too.

The Great British Beer Festival is THE event for lovers of good beer and real ciders in the UK.


Organised by CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) every August, in the last year it has moved to the Earl's Court Exhibition Centre in London.


The event is huge: over the week, the festival gets over 65,000 visitors, drawn by the prospect of over 450 real ales, and a growing selection of the very best ciders, and specialist lagers from Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic, to name a few. New in 2007 is a stand featuring ales for vegetarians, coeliacs and others with specialist dietary needs.


There's plenty of food available, (with the emphasis on good-value pub-type grub, rather than gastronomy), and a selection of bands (mostly jazz, but including classical!) for entertainment over the week. There are also stalls selling ale-related memorabilia - beer glasses, beer towels, books, t-shirts and the like.


The event draws a huge range of people, from all walks of life and all ages. It's not just a male, middle-aged event by any means - about a third of attendees are women, and there are also meetings for CAMRA's different groups, including LAGRAD (lesbians and gay men). The whole thing is very good humoured and enjoyable.


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An update for 2008, having just attended on the first day!


It's still as big as ever, with over 450 real ales again this year. The layout is also improved on last year so it is easier to move around, and there are plenty of seating areas, too. There are some excellent discounts on CAMRA merchandise, and a slightly wider range of food, with Indian food stands adding to the mix this year.


The Champion Beer of Britain was named yesterday as Alton's Pride brewed by Triple fff Brewery in Hampshire - a small, independent craft brewery which has won several prizes before, but not the big one!


Well worth a visit before its ends on Saturday 9th - otherwise you'll have to wait for next year!

Just awesome. More beer than you could shake a stick at (who would want to?). The finest opportunity to indulge in a cornucopia of ales you'll find in this city of ours. Lasting from the 3rd until the 7th of August (yes, there's still time) in Earls' Court CAMRA are showcasing their stocks for all (over 18s).

The evenings are busier and the £10 entry fee is a little high but it's the biggest beer festival on these shores so I'd suggest putting it on your to do list. There's plenty of food available from regular stuff to Ostrich burgers. I had some over-priced (£6.50) but brilliant Haddock and chips.

I'll squeeze in one more visit before it's all over and start counting the days until the next one.

farewell, Ian

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hangover.

Here are some tips:
1. get a full pint glass, don't be an idiot and get a half pint glass, because they'll always over fill it.
2. if you see green wood chips on the ground walk around them. they are vomit.
3. offer to buy a round, they are only £6 for 4 people.
4. make sure you eat, those drinks will catch up to you, and since they are so cheap, you barely even realize it until you are already wasted.
5. Take a half day and go during a work day, all the good beers are gone by the weekend.
6. Make sure none of your colleagues are going to be there. Especially if you told them you were going to the Doctors so you could take a half day.
7. If you are interested in getting a winning beer, make sure you got there first.
8. And finally, BRING CASH, they only take cash there and the queue for the cash point is ridiculous.

I love beer and I love music and I love having a good time. I don't, however, love drunk lads with balloon hats and fancy dress barfing on the floor and knocking into people and breaking glasses. It's possible that I turned up a bit late, or I didn't have enough to drink, or maybe I'm just too old... For whatever reason, I will not be attending this 'festival' again.

I do not want to say it was all bad. There was a Belgian beer vendor and of course a Yelp table where I took away a great tote. I shouldn't forget to mention the biltong vendor either. All of these things meant that I didn't necessarily dislike the experience. Let's just say I don't have tickets for next year...

Another year comes and goes and yet another pilgrimage to the GBBF. I consider myself a veteran of these events and have followed them around the country as they wended their way from London, up north to Leeds, down south to Brighton and then back to London again. But they keep on getting bigger and better. The organisers of this event have learned (sometimes the hard way) how an event of this size can be put on. This year was excellent.

With over 800 beers on offer from the UK and from around the world, this really does live up to the hype of the largest pub in the world. The atmosphere is almost entirely good-natured and the food on offer to mop up the vast quantities of alcohol is of good quality and wide variety (but of enormous expense!) but it's the beer that's the winner.

If you like beer then this should be an annual fixture. First week in August most years and an education in hop and malt second to none.

(Originally posted on August 7, 2008 - this year's GBBF is over, but I've made some corrections to my initial post.)


Two more days to go!


If you like real ale, don't miss this year's festival which is running until Saturday, August 9, 2008.


I agree with laurangutan and ahunter: Go for the 1/3 and pints and try to sample as many ales as possible.


The number of beers at the festival (over 450) can be overwhelming to a newcomer. I suggest picking up a copy of this year's Champion Beer of Britain (http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=199436) winners' list (at the CAMRA booth underneath the large CAMRA promo banner) and decide for yourself if you agree with the results.


And you should definitely get a copy of the official festival guide (£1, free to CAMRA (http://www.qype.com/place/38935-CAMRA-Ltd-St-Albans) members like me ;-) ). It features detailed descriptions of all ales. I may have missed wonderful taste experiences because I only was able to spend 4.5 hours at the festival yesterday and didn't have sufficient time to study the guide as extensively as necessary
Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPzo83Ypdjo

I think this is a fun festival to visit with some friends. I also think it is fun if you are an experienced ale connoisseur and want to try some brews that you have not had before. The selection of beer is amazing and it is all good quality. There is entertainment (although when the main performers aren't on the other stuff they have on stage seemed a bit lame) and there are plenty of food and fun stalls that could also divert your attention.


I would offer some words of caution however to help people enjoy the experience. Don't overdo it..I don't mean the alcohol..go aheadknock yourself out (perhaps quite literally). I mean..don't go more than once.twice maximum. If you do, you may tire of all the people and long for a simple pint in a pub (I did!). If you don't like the crowds and want to drop by one evening, go on Tuesday. If you want a whole daygo on Wednesday. Thursday onwards gets a bit busy. Thursday is also when you start noticing some ales have been drunk dry, so the same advice applies if you have a specific bevvie you want to get your hands on. If it is not pouring down with rain, try and go there without a coat. It gets quite hot inside and you'll just have to carry it around everywhere. Same goes for brollies and jumpers.


So I enjoyed it but will enjoy it less often next year (when I will just turn up in my shorts on a Tuesday :) )

Check out the live camera here:
http://sensr.net/?mobile=1&#id=4068&hour=latest

Can you find yourself enjoying a pint?