I've just spent another 11 days in London for the Great
British Beer Festival, this was the 17th straight year that I've worked there
and all of it on Bières Sans Frontières. There was quite a contraction in size
compared with last year as we adjusted for the impact of the Olympics and the
lack of one of the Halls. For most of the volunteers this was a welcome return
to the far more attractive Olympia with natural light flooding the building for
most of the time.
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| One day to go before we open |
One radical change was the location of a few bars on the
upper level, sadly it appears most visitors thought there was just a single green
carpeted scaffolding staircase to the new area, shame they missed the doors
around the sides but I guess that as they were closed and were Fire Doors there
was an assumption that they were not accessible.
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Every one a winner
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There's always great anticipation over the arrival of the
American beers, we've had our fair share of mishaps with the shipment, but
thankfully when I checked it all we had only lost half a dozen bottles. More
importantly every Cask was sound and showed no sign of leakage. Deliveries from
The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Norway and Australia followed without a hitch.
Setting up the Festival in preparation for opening to the
public regularly presents us with a few problems, like trying to put just short
of sixty Casks into a space for twenty or 400+ cases of beer into a fridge with
half the space taken by those casks that couldn't go on the stillage. But every
year we manage, we have some dedicated volunteers who know what needs to be
done.
My opening day started early with a spell of judging on
CBOB, very enjoyable but I had to cut short my visit to the buffet that had
been laid on to get back to my bar for opening time. The Annual race to the
tables is an amusing diversion as the staff urge the visitors to put on a bit
of a sprint. Before too long the cash was mounting up in the tills, a few sales
to 'tickers' certainly helped. I do, however, wonder at the goings on in the
head of the person who spent over £100 on beer and left it all behind, a case
of more money than sense?
One of the sponsors of the mainly American 'Rest of the
World' bottle bar was
The Brewers Association, to whom many thanks for their
assistance and, of course, the beer. Accompanying the new Brewers Association
European Ambassador, yes we have to call Andreas 'Your Excellency', were Jack
White and Bill Graham. Why do those those names ring a bell? Whites Stripes and
Evangelism at GBBF? Actually founders of, respectively,
Ballast Point and
SkaBrewing. Also in attendance were Jamie Cook, not from The Arctic Monkeys but
Stone & Wood Brewing in Australia, and Mike Murphy from
Lervig Brewery in
Norway. Naturally all these guys need to do serious QC on their beers to ensure
they reached these shores in excellent condition. Luckily I can report all were
very happy with their beers.
Trade Day was quieter than usual, probably down to a smaller
number of Brewery Bars and the expense, many who would normally come down and
send a night or two in London made day trips instead. Even the Brewery Bars that
were in attendance seemed to have fewer representatives. However introductions
and networking are all part of the day and I did my share arranging a visit to
Fuller's for the overseas Brewers the next day to be shown round by John
Keeling.
Apart from the beers I sampled during the CBOB judging I had
two marked down as must try's for Trade Day. Both were in limited supply and
both caused queues to form when the Firkins were available. Firstly it was
Fuller's Brewers Reserve No4, aged in Armagnac Casks, another beer that is
influenced by the Spirit rather than obliterated by it. I'm sure this will age
rather nicely just as 1,2 & 3 are doing. This one I fear will be a little more expensive than the previous offerings, but we have definitely entered an age where we are increasingly willing to pay for special beers.
Secondly was Greene King 5X, a
massive 12% beer that is the base for Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale (which I would
dearly love to get my hands on again) aged for 24 months in massive Oak Tuns.
Seeing the rather long line of eager punters I headed straight to John Bexon to
get my taste of this special beer. It was simply stunning, rich dark
caramelised fruits, Sherry, Liquorice and a touch of sourness. The queues for
this beer must give cheer to GK, everyone who tried it thought it was
wonderful.
One drink that almost lifted my skull was a tiny sample that
Rich at Magic Rock insisted I try, he'd had some beer distilled at Herriot Watt
to make a beer Schnapps. Well that certainly was hoppy! With more hops and
added hops. Did I mention the hops? I think it may take a little more work on
that project!
And before I continue with more on GBBF 2012 let's return to
name the Brewer, this time I'll give a little hint. He's a damn good brewer.
Which Brewer do you admire...?
Steve Wagner and Lee Chase
Favourite Brewery...?
Stone Brewing Co
Favourite overseas Brewery...?
Fuller’s
What's the next big thing...?
My participation in the JD Wetherspoon
International Real Ale Festival
If you weren't a brewer you'd be a...?
mayor of my home town. I was
trying to do. But have never run the election.
Does consistency of flavour matter...?
I believe it’s very important to ales
we’re making. But very hard to keep the consistency. It’s challenging every
day.
Michael Jackson always denied that he had a favourite beer,
but said if you asked him what his
final beer would be as he faced the firing squad it would be...?
Bitter, of course it’s REAL ALE.
And what would your final beer be...?
Stone IPA or Arrogant Bastard
If it were possible, which Brewery/Brewer would you consider
doing a collaboration beer with...?
Lee Chase, Jeff Bagby and me plus Mitch
Steel & Steve Wagner
If you were to give one piece of advice to an aspiring
Brewer it would be...?
I’d like them to have lots of
experiences with looking at facilities at other breweries, tasting other beers
and making collaboration beers with other brewers.
And a few more personal questions;
What do you do to relax...?
Swimming in the ocean, biking from home
to the brewery and running on the beach. Triathlon!
Favourite musicians...?
Spandau Ballet and Bob Dylan
TV, Cinema, Concert or Theatre...?
Akira Kurosawa’s movies
Favourite holiday destination...?
San Diego, CA
