Beer Blogger finds Mojo

Bit quiet here lately, I admit. GBBF always takes its toll. I haven't been used to proper working hours since I stepped off the City treadmill over six years ago. The 100 or so hours spent in the week at GBBF Press Office at least give a reminder of how tired and emotional one can get by working hard. At least GBBF is great fun.

Anyway, I think most visitors enjoyed the event. From a press and publicity angle, we managed to get coverage in most of the national newspapers together with plenty of regional and international press and a sprinkling of good TV. A lady from a Chinese TV news agency suggested that at least 100 million viewers might see her piece filmed from the Bombardier bus.

I am now back at the blog with plenty to share. Hopefully your visits here in the coming weeks and months will prove to be entertaining and informative.

A couple of final GBBF photos to sum up the event.

If anyone ever says that the press office at GBBF is a soft option, this is what they look like at the end of the week. From left to right, Arfur, Royce and Brian
re-hydrating at the staff party. Thanks for your company lads.



And to prove that I can get my hands dirty too, here is the new boy on the Fuller's bar covering for absence during the final session. I did my best but I managed to spill half a pint of Pride over a customer. I don't think I will be asked back.

GBBF - American Beers

CAMRA has announced the winner of the annual competition for American cask-conditioned beer sold on the Bières Sans Frontières bar at the Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, London.

An international panel of judges agreed that the overall champion cask-conditioned beer was Cambridge Brewing Company- YouEnjoyMyStout. The head brewer is Will Meyers and the brewery is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The beer is a 10.5% abv Imperial Stout aged for two years in previously used American oak bourbon barrels. The beer is very full-bodied with complex notes of caramel, treacle, and espresso mingled with vanilla and tannin from the oak.

The runner-up was Brooklyn Brewery's East Indian Pale Ale and in third place was Stone Brewery's Levitation Ale.

The Bieres Sans Frontieres bar at the Great British Beer Festival has this year featured a record 55 different American cask-conditioned beers in 2009 from breweries as diverse as Stone Brewery in California, Dechutes Brewery in Oregon and Victory Brewing in Pennsylvania.

Bières Sans Frontières is the International bar at the Great British Beer Festival and features 300 different beers from around the world. The bar is organised by volunteer Andy Benson and is staffed by over 60 volunteers from as far away as America and Japan.

I was lucky enough to be on the judging panel again this year and my category was Speciality Beer - an eclectic mix of Brett, grapefruit, coriander, smoked malt, espresso and a little lemonade like tartness - my notes are hazy with a 10am start and a flight of 6 beers to try.

GBBF

Some bad stuff happens once the public are off the premises .....

GBBF Day 3

GBBF Day 3

Many of our favourites are here this week ....

GBBF Day 2

Apologies, camera shake is an occupational hazard at GBBF


Surely the cheapest Wandle in town ....

White Horse, Parsons Green

At last year's Great British Beer Festival CAMRA presented 45 American cask ales. This year I am hopeful that we will see at least that number and hopefully slightly more.

It was with some excitement therefore that I noticed the publicity for this weekend's USA festival at The White Horse, Parson's Green exclaimed "The Most American Beers on Draught the UK has ever seen!"

The beer list is now available on-line and you can see that they have come up trumps with a provisional list of 48 American beers - some cask, some keg. There will also be some interesting beers from England.

These are exciting times for the beer drinker with an interest in the US craft brewing scene. Although the aggressive nature of their use of hops has been established for some years now, there are great things happening over the water with barrel ageing, high gravity brewing and rarer beer styles. US craft is really taking beer further than it's ever been. We are seeing similar efforts from the likes of Thornbridge and Brewdog in this country but it has not really caught the public attention as successfully as the most adventurous US brewers.

Come and see what all the fuss is about and celebrate Independence Day with an Arrogant Bastard.

Keep your eye on the Bieres Sans Frontieres website to see what is coming to GBBF this year.

Great British Beer Festival

At least one of the loyal visitors to this page will be delighted to hear that one of the acts at this year's GBBF will be the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.

Lost Abbey

Six months ago, I had never heard of Lost Abbey Brewery let alone tried any of their beers. Then, at GBBF, I had the good fortune to be on the panel of judges for US beers and the beer, The Angel's Share, was the stand out winner. Brewed in San Marcos, California, it is a 10% strong ale aged in bourbon barrels for at least 6 months - this is a complex beer and was my Lost Abbey initiation.

The name Lost Abbey is a nod to the fact that many of the best American microbreweries are now brewing beer in a Belgian style but with a typical US in-yer-face, over-the-top character. Such is their success that many are gaining a cult following and are particularly scarce - even outside their state, let alone in the UK.

In October, at the Great American Beer Festival I shared a judging table with Tomme Arthur, the brewmeister at Lost Abbey. Like most brewers he came across as very passionate about his beers. He was adamant that if you are to barrel age beer, it must impart something spectacular on the beer and you must be able to charge enough for the product to justify up to 2 years before the beer can be sold. He achieves both and makes no apologies for the price of some of his greatest beers. At the festival itself I queued up with everyone else to try an inch or two of some of his beers. All excellent.

Their corporate goal is to brew "Inspired beers for Sinners and Saints alike"

They are some of the most sought after beers in the USA and now, for the first time, they are available in the UK. The good people at Beer Merchants have secured a small parcel of Lost Abbey beers for the British beer lover.

These are not necessarily the most famous aged beers and they don't come particularly cheap, £90 for 12 75cl champagne corked and wired bottles, but they do come highly recommended.

A Christmas present to myself arrived from Beer Merchants less than 48 hours from the time of order. The customer service was excellent, I hope the beers match up.

GBBF (11) The Last Post

The end of the week. 60,000 customers, 250,000 pints, 450 British cask ales, 108 ciders and perries ...... we are exhausted after a long week.

My tradition at the close in recent years has been to have a final pint of ESB with my friends from Fullers - and Arfur of course

Some final pics .....

GBBF (10) The Perfect Pint

As GBBF week came to a close, I was asked to perform for a video on the Perfect Pint. Tim Lovejoy, he of Soccer am fame, has just launched a web TV channel called ChannelBee.com. Part of the channel is a three minute slot for experts to share the crucial 1% of their chosen field with the layman. I could not quite manage it in three minutes but here is my four minutes of fame.

GBBF (9) Beer Ticking

I spent yesterday taking a camera crew around GBBF doing a film about beer ticking. Brian the Ticker had previously drunk 39,985 different beers over a 30 year period and was chasing his landmark 40,000.

The first 2 hours was spent analysing the programme to see how many winners there were on the list. Luckily there were 18 which given some might not be available would mean that chasing 15 over the day would be possible.

A further couple of hours spent watching Brian sampling his beers approaching the 40,000th; then it was time for the money shot.

By this time Brian was oblivious to the camera crew and marched off to buy his 40,000th beer. The camera crew chased after him to the Scotland bar. With perfect timing, just as Brian was buying his landmark beer Tryst, Stars in Stripes, the battery in the video camera failed and we missed the big moment.

A quick replacement battery meant that we were able to film Brian drinking his 40,000th and he was clearly delighted to be Britain's Best Beer Ticker !

GBBF (8) American Beers

An early start today, 10am beer tasting and judging of the US cask beers at this year's festival. The winning beer is The Angel's Share from Lost Abbey Brewery in San Marcos, California. A massive 12.5% ABV strong ale matured for 6 months in freshly emptied bourbon barrels. Vanilla, cherry and licorice on the nose, a clean flavour followed by a warming finish with the bourbon characteristics coming through. A perfect start to the day !

GBBF (7) Champion Beer of Britain

The full results ....

Champion Beer of Britain: TRIPLE FFF, ALTON'S PRIDE (Hampshire)

Second: Beckstones, Black Dog Freddy (Cumbria)

Third: Wickwar, Station Porter (Gloucestershire) Mild Category
Gold - Beckstones, Black Dog Freddy (Cumbria)
Silver - Rudgate, Ruby Mild (York)
Bronze - Rhymney, Dark (Merthyr Tydfil)

Bitter Category Gold - Triple fff, Alton's Pride (Hampshire) Silver - Lees, Bitter (Manchester) Joint Bronze - Jarrow, Rivet Catcher (Tyne & Wear) and Surrey Hills, Ranmore Ale (Surrey)

Best Bitter Category
Gold - Skinner's, Betty Stogs (Cornwall)
Silver - Highland, Scapa Special (Orkney)
Bronze - Cairngorm, Nessies Monster Mash (Highlands) and Timothy Taylor, Landlord (West Yorkshire)

Strong Bitter Category
Gold - Thornbridge, Jaipur IPA (Derbyshire)
Silver - Fuller's, ESB (London)
Bronze - Highland, Orkney Blast (Orkney)

Golden Ale Category
Gold - Otley, O1 (Mid Glamorgan)
Silver - Loddon, Ferryman's Gold (Oxfordshire)
Bronze - Skinner's, Cornish Knocker Ale (Cornwall)

Speciality Beer Category
Gold - Otley, OGarden (Mid Glamorgan)
Silver - Wentworth, Bumble Beer (South Yorkshire)
Bronze - Nethergate, Umbel Magna (Essex)

CAMRA Bottled-Conditioned Beers
Gold - Wye Valley, Dorothy Goodbody's Wholesome Stout
Silver - Fullers, 1845
Bronze - Wells and Young's, Special London Ale

Winter Beer of Britain Winner (announced in Jan 2008)
Wickwar, Station Porter

GBBF (6) Champion Beer of Britain

CAMRA's Press Release .....

HAMPSHIRE ALE IS
BEST BEER IN BRITAIN
Alton’s Pride is named Champion Beer of Britain 2008 at the Great British Beer Festival

Alton’s Pride brewed by Triple fff Brewery in Hampshire was today judged to be the best beer in Britain by a panel of brewers, beer writers and journalists.

Alton’s Pride, which has an ABV of 3.8%, is described in the 2008 edition of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide as, “Clean-tasting, golden brown beer, full-bodied for its strength with an aroma of floral hops. An initial malty flavour fades as citrus notes and hoppiness take over, leading to a hoppy, bitter finish.”

The Hampshire brewed beer was chosen as the overall winner from over sixty finalists in seven categories (Best Bitters, Bitters, Golden Ales, Milds, Speciality, Winter Beer and Strong Bitters) including beers from tiny micros to major regional brewers.

Roger Protz, one of the finalist judges and Editor of the Good Beer Guide said, “A magnificent victory for a craft brewery that opened in 1997 with a five barrel plant and has just opened a new brewhouse with a 50 barrel kit. It has grown due to consumer demand for its rich and complex beer and proves that the future for real ale in Britain is assured.”

Graham Trott, Head Brewer of Triple fff Brewery said, “We are over the moon and delighted to put Alton as a brewery back on the map. I would like to thank everyone who is connected with the brewery and we look forward to more people enjoying our winning beer.”

The Silver award went to Black Dog Freddy from Beckstones (Cumbria).

Bronze went to CAMRA’s current National Winter Beer of Britain winner Station Porter from the Wickar Brewery (Gloucestershire).

GBBF (5) Beer from the Wood

Today's highlight will be the arrival of a 250 litre (c54 gallons) cask of Dutch beer - De Molen - Tsarina Esra. The brewer is bringing the cask himself from Holland; but I am sure it would have been easier to bring two, one under each arm.

Of particular interest is that the barrel is wooden; the beer having undergone extra maturation - one definitely for our friends from SPBW.

Described as being dark brown in colour, with aromas of caramel, chocolate, dried fruit and licorice, the taste is more dark chocolate with a light peat smokiness, tobacco and a warming sweetness. This is one for the connoisseurs withing in at a beefy 11% ABV.

GBBF (04) More set-up

GBBF (3)

A bare Earls Court welcomed the first volunteers today.

GBBF (2) American Beers

This year's Great British Beer Festival will see seventeen of America ’s craft breweries represented, showcasing 57 of their beers, the largest amount of American Craft Beer to be available at the GBBF in its 31-year history.

Well, let's hope so at least. A couple of years ago, we were expecting a large consignment of American beer but alas, it was impounded by British customs and excise, days before the event as illegal foodstuffs. By the time it was released, GBBF was over and some other lucky local CAMRA beer festivals were the beneficiaries of this misfortune.

The foreign beer stand at GBBF is know as "Bieres Sans Frontieres" and is managed by Andy Benson who reports "We aim to feature the best beer from around the world and American craft beer is a very important part of that, and one which has increased in size at the festival over recent years.

“American brewers are extremely innovative and produce an incredible variety of beer styles, which are of the utmost quality.

“They brew beers which others wouldn’t dare to brew, push the boundaries of brewing and have acted as an inspiration to brewers in many other countries.”

I have just found the list of beers and breweries on the BSF website - now linked above.

The American beers are of considerable interest to me this year, as I have been invited to be a judge at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in October. This will give me a taste of what USA has to offer.

GBBF (1)

This is the lull before the storm that is The Great British Beer Festival. Earlier this week, I was trawling my local pubs delivering posters, tickets for the trade session and London Drinker magazines. Now is a rest day before the main event.

From Saturday onwards, over 1,000 CAMRA volunteers will descend upon Earl's Court exhibition centre and busy themselves preparing for the biggest beer festival in the world.

First will be the scaffolding and building the stillage. The beer will then go up for its last conditioning before sale.

By Tuesday morning, the bare floor space will have been converted into the biggest pub in the world, with a choice of over 450 British cask ales, 110 ciders and perries and 200 foreign beers. There will be the usual food stands, games and shops.

I will be in the press office looking after press and publicity, welcoming our press visitors, escorting camera crews around the site and doing various interviews through the week.

Our favourite task each year is to encourage the various photographers to take pictures that show real ale in a progressive light rather than the stereotypical beers bellies, beards and sandals. Every year, despite our best efforts of getting photos printed of Japanese tourists or young people having a great time, there is always one that slips the net. I guarantee there will be a photo on either Wednesday or Thursday of next week's press that will show a large man, with a very large belly and a long beard showing the world what drinking real ale is all about.

I will update throughout what has the makings of another great event.

Cheers !