GBBF & Beer Festivals 'The US Way'!

Typical Publican stuff. The Publican is *not* a consumer magazine, it's a trade paper for the licensed trade. The dominant attitude is that beer is just another drink and the only sensible thing is to push whatever drink makes the most margin. That's why they're so keen on alcopos, shooters and recently that awful Magners cider.

To be fair, the Publican probably reflects the views of the majority of the licensed trade.

Paul

Agreed, Paul.

two points:

There is a trend towards pale, golden, hoppy beers which surely are the way to woo keg lager drinkers over to the real ale cause (eg. Phoenix Arizona, Newby Wyke Kingston Topaz, Oakham JHB, Crouch Vale Amarillo, all of the Durham 'White' range, Ossett). There's no need for the devil and all his works!

Secondly, if you want a decent beerfest with none of the GBBF hype ('biggest, best, London, etc etc) and a darn sight cheaper, try Peterborough later in August. I know I'm tempting fate here, but I know of nobody who, having been to both festivals, doesn't consider Peterborough the superior of the two.

They have a point: Small tasting servings are the one thing that would transform this whole giant piss-up into a true beer festival. I've given up on GBBF because these pint and 1/2 pint glasses are simply idiotic in this context, and as long as the law isn't changed, I won't bother.

Pierre

You have a good point there. The best solution to this problem is to start with the lowest alcohol content beers and work up. Unfortunately after a few halves the discipline tends to wear off, and the rest of the stay soon becomes an alcoholic haze!

Brian

The York Brewery owned pubs in York offer customers four x 1/3 pint glasses in a sort of milk bottle holder, so you can sample all the beers on offer.

Most(?) real ale pubs will also offer customers a small squidgette of beer before expecting them to commit themselves to a half of something they may not like.

There must be a solution here. Why offer 300+ beers when the most anyone will be able to sample in a session will be about 12?

I've already got my ticket to a local beer event in September. It's limited to 700 tickets which include coupons for 10 120Ml 'nips' for 2,800 yen a ticket (13 quid) extra coupons can be had for a quid each. A tad expensive compared to the UK but better than festivals organised by the Japan Craft Beer Association who rip-off the brewers and the punters to line the pockets of the president. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be able to order bigger sizes when we find a beer we like :-(

Wayne

I drink pints at the GBBF, and still find myself spending rather more time than I'd like queuing at the bar at busy times. Selling beers in tiny measures would be an operational nightmare, and would slow things down enormously.

BTN

Third of a pint measures:

Wayne

It works in every other country, though. The tasting glass is the norm, not the exception, at festivals worldwide.

At a Belgian or US beer festival, I expect to taste 50 to 70 beers a day. Some will be mere sips, which are affordable from small glasses, but who's going to buy pints (or halves) of unknown beers, with the likelihood that they will be tossed down the drain after a sip? Large glasses encourage conservatism, sticking to the tried and true, which is the opposite of the goal of a proper festival!

Pierre

That's still too big, over 200 ml. 3 oz/100 ml would be right.

Pierre

It's 189 ml.

Paul

I take it this article is referring to the same "Great British Beer Festival" that is so desperate to attract custom that it has this year had to move to a larger venue?

Utter nonsense.

d.

I'll never knowingly order a beer I've ever drunk before in my life at a beer festival.

That doesn't change the fact that I want a pint of it.

For me, it's not really possible to fully experience a beer from just a sip.

BTN

That does not preclude ordering a pint, or whatever, *after* you've tasted it. Most beers I taste at a festival will not require more than a couple of ounces, and I'd rather buy a pint of something new and interesting rather than a pint of something new and disgusting.

Pierre

In article , Sir Benjamin Nunn writes

But it is possible to experience a beer from a one-third of a pint measure, and I congratulate the GBBF organisers for having this size glass available.

If only pubs did the same thing.

Roy.