This is a typical Pickthall response, Brett - loaded with the usual typical Pickthall arrogance. And as long term posters to this NG will know, they are almost impossible to argue with sensibly, being masters of ducking, weaving, changing the subject and quoting out of context. Frankly, I don't know why anyone still dignifies their self-important tripe with a reply.
JC
Definitely a myth as you say. Any non-member of CAMRA visiting a festival /might/ be sympathetic but they could also be a "dragged along friend" of a sympathizer. Either way they have one big positive note: they aren't members. (Members should of course be *doing* something. [1]
That's about the strength of it. Of course if they then go off and visit their local and ask for similar things I think CAMRA have at least won one small battle.
You could be more precise in your criticism. i.e. What's not there that should be? What is there that shouldn't be?
If you want to do it privately then fine, that will do.
[1]Cue bleating about lack of time etc..."PeterE" - a made-up name if ever I've heard one - said
I think I'd rather have just half a dozen beers available, and a comfy seat and table, in a beer festival in a pub.
Yet again no attempt to join the discussion from snipped-for-privacy@u-net.com, just nasty, snide comments.
... and you being an undisputed expert in matters of arrogance.
Well, there you and I must agree to differ. IMHO a properly run festival should budget for throwing a good many gallons of perfectly drinkable ale down the nearest drain once the last session has closed. Because if it doesn't, it's not offering the range and variety of beer that constitutes a "festival".
And yes, I do know what CAMRA's budget scrutineers expect. They are concerned with financial viability first and campaigning value second. This isn't the proper forum for discussing the details of that approach. But it does help explain why people like Jeremy Baker think festivals are "a disaster for the trade".
Simple. I've stopped going to beer festivals, other than to work there, or else to drink at very quiet sessions such as Friday afternoons. And I've started going more often to some of the many quality free houses with which my part of the world is fortunately blessed.
My philosophy is that cask ale will survive if enough people want to drink enough of it. And we help them to do just that by telling them what's to be found and where, how good it is, what it costs, what pubs are offering which beers. Providing information, in other words. Festivals are one way of informing the public. Guide books are another. And websites. And pub crawls. And brewery visits. But I do think that, over the years, festivals have become very much less effective at informing the public than they used to be. For the uncommitted drinker, they're just another venue on the drinking circuit.
To end on a positive note: I /do/ enjoy the Peterborough festival. It works well because it's out of doors and under canvas, in summer time, so space isn't an issue, smoke isn't a problem, noise isn't a problem. They have a colossal range and quantity of beer, and they have a lot of wholehearted support from the trade, from brewers serving their own beers at their own bars to horse drawn drays. In marketing speak, it's got a unique selling point. I can't think of any other festival that has the sheer magic of Peterborough's.
As I mentioned further up the thread, I've organised a few festivals in my time. I now have my doubts about their campaigning value.
Rather than sit on my backside, I do my bit for the Campaign in other ways. Surveying pubs in back-of-beyond housing estates, for example. Less rewarding personally, possibly more effective in getting more people to drink better beer.
It's not difficult to imagine a future where cask beer has largely disappeared from mainstream outlets and only survives in a few hundred specialist outlets across the country. And CAMRA - by the emphasis placed on beer festivals and micro breweries - may in a sense have contributed to that.
Nothing to do with me, mate, honest.
--
That's a bit rich, you chose not to answer MY reply to YOU!
Such as?
Jeff Pickthall wrote:
So why do these dispirited drinkers come back in record numbers along with more and more of their friends? Your comments don't make sense. If people were pissed off, these festivals would be throwing beer away rather than running out early which is currently the case.
I think you've got me mixed up with someone else.
See what I mean?
JC
In message , snipped-for-privacy@u-net.com writes
You're only a few posts away from the 'but I did answer you' claim...
Then there'll be the selective inability to see posts asking for an article number to prove it ;)
Look at http://makeashorterl>> So why do these dispirited drinkers come back in record numbers >> along with
My apologies Steve. It was your brother to whom I was referring.
There he/she goes again, no attempt to join the discussion from snipped-for-privacy@u-net.com, just snide comments. Or is it that you can't follow the thread properly, that you don't join the debate?
If it helps, I'm 99% certain the J of JC stands for John. So feel free not to spare his blushes.
But I think John was referring back to his earlier comment (a touch obliquely) that you weren't actually contributing anything.
If you were I missed it.
You've been to Lanarkshire, then?
Cambridge is very similar. And how can you dislike a festival that's a whole week long?
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Ask the community — no account required