gbbf 2011

[hondo]

http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/the-camra-great-british-beer-festival-2011

http://gbbf.camra.org.uk/home

[Spinko]

Good to see Brewdog educating the next generation of drinkers..

[Wittenden]

http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/the-camra-great-british-beer-festival-2011

http://gbbf.camra.org.uk/home

Waded through Brewdog's tedious blog. One question, what is a Keykeg, and is it any better than a decent cask, lovingly maintained by a well trained and motivated cellarman or landlord/lady?

[Quinno]

Waded through Brewdog's tedious blog. One question, what is a Keykeg, and is it any better than a decent cask, lovingly maintained by a well trained and motivated cellarman or landlord/lady?

<puts Hondo hat on>

http://keykegbeer.keykeg.com/en/

Google is a wonderful thing.

[aleandhearty]

Waded through Brewdog's tedious blog. One question, what is a Keykeg, and is it any better than a decent cask, lovingly maintained by a well trained and motivated cellarman or landlord/lady?

See here also: http://www.aswiftone.com/2011/05/key-keg-mystery-unravelled.html

Do read the comment from Richard at Magic Rock Brewing.

[RogerB]

The GBBF is always to big and busy for my liking. I would go if there was some decent music but from what has been announced, it doesn't look too exciting so I'll probably be giving a miss again this year.

[Quinno]

The GBBF is always to big and busy for my liking. I would go if there was some decent music but from what has been announced, it doesn't look too exciting so I'll probably be giving a miss again this year.

Who needs GBBF when you have Reading Beer Fest 30 mins away from Paddington? :whistle:

[NickDavies]

The GBBF is always to big and busy for my liking. I would go if there was some decent music but from what has been announced, it doesn't look too exciting so I'll probably be giving a miss again this year.

Trade afternoon is best if you can wangle some tickets. Very civilised until the great unwashed are let in around 5PM. Lots of pubs and clubs never apply - if they did there's be about 100,000 people there - and brewery reps get tickets too - so worth enquiring of a friendly landlord/club secretary.

[gillhalfpint]

We are going on trade day before 5pm. Got my advance train tickets as soon as we could, and Birmingham to Euston £12.55 and Euston to Birmingham £4.95. I'm happy with that. Just need to sort the underground or buses out.

[hondo]

http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news.ma/article/90909

[hondo]

http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news.ma/article/91110

[hondo]

http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/camra-cancels-brewdogs-gbbf-bar:rolleyes:

599

[Wittenden]

http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/camra-cancels-brewdogs-gbbf-bar:rolleyes:

599
Its the Campaign for Real Ale-Keg isn't Real Ale. QED

[Quinno]

Its the Campaign for Real Ale-Keg isn't Real Ale. QED

With a history of publicity stunts, you do wonder whether this was planned all along. I suspect they'll send some penguin-suited jocks to stand outside Earls Court drinking BD from tins.

I wish all the those who keep banging on about starting a Campaign for Real Keg (or whatever) would just get on with it. They won't get CAMRA to change, regardless of how many millions of pixels they take up with blogposts and comments about it.

[oldboots]

With a history of publicity stunts, you do wonder whether this was planned all along.

of course it was, they would win which ever way it went

a. CAMRA bans a poor little brewery.... what hypocrites when they sell foreign kegs...yadda yadda yadda
b. Brewdog sells KEG BEER at GBBF shock horror gasp


You can try their keg pish in Foleys if you come up to Leeds, personally I wouldn't bother with it.


I suspect they'll send some penguin-suited jocks to stand outside Earls Court drinking BD from tins.


I have this mental image of thuggish, drunks in DJs, black ties, kilts and big boots, obviously they would be wearing Tam O'Shanters with built in ginger rug a la Russ Abbott

See You Jimmy

[Quinno]

of course it was, they would win which ever way it went

Best comment I've seen reads:
I think we can see how silly all this has become by asking the question "why not just take some cask beer instead?". We all know that BD would see that as completely unacceptable - despite the fact that they make some excellent cask. Which tells me that ultimately they're in it for the marketing, not for the beer.

[gillhalfpint]

I went onto Brewdog webpage to read the arguements in the forum as to why they were not going to GBBF, and gave up. There are hundreds - well a lot anyway - of comments about the decision to exclude them from GBBF. This one will run and run I reckon.

[hondo]

of course it was, they would win which ever way it went

a. CAMRA bans a poor little brewery.... what hypocrites when they sell foreign kegs...yadda yadda yadda
b. Brewdog sells KEG BEER at GBBF shock horror gasp


You can try their keg pish in Foleys if you come up to Leeds, personally I wouldn't bother with it.



I have this mental image of thuggish, drunks in DJs, black ties, kilts and big boots, obviously they would be wearing Tam O'Shanters with built in ginger rug a la Russ Abbott

See You Jimmy

605604 :rolleyes:

i have no problems with your sentiments its a forum but the uncouth language is more suited to the dark side :o

[aleandhearty]

With a history of publicity stunts, you do wonder whether this was planned all along.


of course it was, they would win which ever way it went

I like BrewDog beers, I really do. However, I find their petulant hissy fits and frothing-at-the-mouth rabid advocacy of keg beers just as tedious as the CAMRA 'beardy-weirdies' they obviously despise. As echoed elsewhere, if the product is that good, form your own bloody movement.

[Quinno]

I went onto Brewdog webpage to read the arguements in the forum as to why they were not going to GBBF, and gave up. There are hundreds - well a lot anyway - of comments about the decision to exclude them from GBBF. This one will run and run I reckon.

I strongly suspect that most of those posts were made by the same couple of people who perhaps may or may not work for BD. All part of their PR campaign, to make it look like the whole world is anti-CAMRA and that BD are the untarnished virgin hero of British brewing.
I think BD are sailing close to the wind on this one.


As echoed elsewhere, if the product is that good, form your own bloody movement.

I'd happily attend a craft keg fest with my CAMRA hat on and hopefully enjoy some of the beers available. Our former branch chairman wasn't averse to a pint of Staro when there was no hoppy ale available at the bar, so it's not like we're Nazis....

[Bucking Fastard]

[QUOTE=aleandhearty;35115]I like BrewDog beers, I really do. However, I find their petulant hissy fits and frothing-at-the-mouth rabid advocacy of keg beers just as tedious as the CAMRA 'beardy-weirdies' they obviously despise.[QUOTE]

Well said,I too have really enjoyed BrewDog cask beers.I feel the following quote lifted from their blog shows an overconfidence in their own contribution to the beer brewing industry... We feel the festival lacks the stylistic diversity amongst domestic brewers that makes craft beer great. It is easy to get lost in a sea of boring, lightly hopped bland cask ales at the festival and we were determined to change that.

Now I dont know what is going to be available at the GBBF 2011 but if cask product from Marble,Oakham,Titanic,Little Ale Cart or Dark Star were to be available,I would not expect a beer lover to tag those breweries with the words,boring,lightly hopped,bland.In fact IMHO those microbreweries have ales that would put BrewDog's in the shade.

[Quinno]

[QUOTE=aleandhearty;35115]
Now I dont know what is going to be available at the GBBF 2011 but if cask product from Marble,Oakham,Titanic,Little Ale Cart or Dark Star were to be available,I would not expect a beer lover to tag those breweries with the words,boring,lightly hopped,bland.In fact IMHO those microbreweries have ales that would put BrewDog's in the shade.

Add to that Oakham, Ascot, Thornbridge, Celt Experience, Moor, Otley...

[Bucking Fastard]

[QUOTE=Bucking Fastard;35118]

Add to that Oakham, Ascot, Thornbridge, Celt Experience, Moor, Otley...

If we all put our minds together I expect we could come up with a very long list of breweries that can match BrewDog's beers for quality,which only makes BD 's assertions sound like marketing puff.

[oldboots]

605604 :rolleyes:

i have no problems with your sentiments its a forum but the uncouth language is more suited to the dark side :o

Was it the K word or the reference to Scotsmen? As a ginger person born in Springburn I have no problem with the latter but appologise for the former. Is there a euphemism I could use perhaps?

[NickDavies]

I strongly suspect that most of those posts were made by the same couple of people who perhaps may or may not work for BD. All part of their PR campaign, to make it look like the whole world is anti-CAMRA and that BD are the untarnished virgin hero of British brewing.
I think BD are sailing close to the wind on this one.



I'd happily attend a craft keg fest with my CAMRA hat on and hopefully enjoy some of the beers available. Our former branch chairman wasn't averse to a pint of Staro when there was no hoppy ale available at the bar, so it's not like we're Nazis....

You do wonder don't you. Camra is a membership organisation, and a pretty big one at that. It only exists because of and for its members. All slagging it off achieves is to annoy those members, and they may well, individually or collectively, retaliate in kind by avoiding your products in future. It seems a rather foolhardy way to conduct business.

[oldboots]

You do wonder don't you. Camra is a membership organisation, and a pretty big one at that. It only exists because of and for its members. All slagging it off achieves is to annoy those members, and they may well, individually or collectively, retaliate in kind by avoiding your products in future. It seems a rather foolhardy way to conduct business.

You're absolutely right about what sort of organisation CAMRA is, unfortunately most of the Bloggeratti and especially those who comment on their blogs, view CAMRA as a monolithic organisation with some sort of power to control beer consumption in the UK, to dictate how brewers brew beer and how beer must be dispensed. Hardknott Dave and his fragrant wife (http://hardknott.blogspot.com/2011/07/marketing-and-position.html) for example seem to think there is a conspiracy against them by CAMRA and if only CAMRA "approved" their beer their business would flourish. Others see CAMRA only as a drinking club for bearded, sandal wearing, busybodies who should get out of the 1970s, worthwhile only for 'spoons vouchers and cheap entrance to the beer festivals they run. Brewdog have positioned themselves as "revolutionaries" and sniping at CAMRA is just one facet of their marketing strategy. On the GBBF debacle we mainly are relying on the Brewdog blog for what it's about, there is nothing offical from CAMRA only a fairly feeble response from the organiser (Marc Holmes) in the blog comments.

In spite of their behaviour I won't be boycotting Brewdog beers (except the keg versions which I've drunk and disliked, I'd rather drink a better quality lager than that stuff), any more than I boycotted Marstons when the idiot in charge called CAMRA members "hobbits" and I don't think many members of CAMRA would join a boycott either although maybe more than a Marstons boycott. Lovibonds and Meantime don't seem to have to resort to stunts to sell their beers.

[Brewguru]

I have reviewed BD's beers on other beer review forums and have found them over hopped. Just because you throw a few extra kilos of the stuff into a brew doesn't, in my opinion, make you a good brewer. Nor does putting it in a keg, if the beer starts off poor. Being simplistic and to the point it's all about crafting a balance between the malt, bitterness and aroma. Get it wrong and it shows, whether in cask, keg or bottle.

[aleandhearty]

I have reviewed BD's beers on other beer review forums and have found them over hopped....Being simplistic and to the point it's all about crafting a balance between the malt, bitterness and aroma.

I suspect BrewDog don't care too much about balance. Drinkers either buy into that out on a limb hoppiness, or they don't. I have to say I do. for all their faults, any brewer that can deliver such a tasty 3.2% beer as Edge can't be all bad.

[Spinko]

You do wonder don't you. Camra is a membership organisation, and a pretty big one at that. It only exists because of and for its members. All slagging it off achieves is to annoy those members, and they may well, individually or collectively, retaliate in kind by avoiding your products in future. It seems a rather foolhardy way to conduct business.

I am a CAMRA member but I also support Brewdog's campaign to open their eyes.

CAMRa should not be holding Beer Festivals if they want to arbitrarily enforce ridiculous rules. If they want to hold Real Ale festivals, that is fine, but they should definitely not be trying to sell their quirky rules as the only beer style in town at a unified Beer festival. Call it a real ale festival if that is all they want there

But of course, that's not all they want there. They happily accept "industrial carbonated fizz". So long as it is from another country.

And they happily accept things that aren't beer, namely cider and perry, so long as they can call it "real".

Compared to these exceptions, it is pathetic that they will not allow Brewdog to display some of the finest Beers in Britain at the moment purely because 30 litre kegs needs to be replaced more often than 60 litre kegs.

Camra have shown themselves to be truly pathetic in their exclusion of Brewdog. I expect at least one tenth of people at the Great British Real Ale Festival to be wearing Brewdog tshirts.

[Brewguru]

Taken from Roger Protz himself on UK Drinks Forums, I quote:

"Let's keep things in perspective. The demand for tickets for the Great British Beer Festival this year (starts Tuesday) has been unprecedented. Beer talks and tastings were sold out as soon as they were announced. The great drinking public is beating a path to Earl's Court even if BrewDog won't be there.
It was a racing certainty that BrewDog would get themselves removed from the festival. They are controversialists in search of a cheap headline. They announced they would attend the festival even though they consider CAMRA festivals "dull and boring". Why bother to attend, then? The reason their contract was withdrawn is simple: they didn't pay for their stand by the agreed date. The festival organisers then leant over backwards to accommodate them, extending the deadline, but still no money. Before anyone says CAMRA shouldn't be obsessed with money, it has to pay for the hire of Earl's Court. GBBF makes a tiny surplus -- some years it has made no surplus at all. The festival is staged as a shop window for cask beer."

So apparently it's because they didn't cough up in time, now that could just be an excuse, most breweries are exceedingly slow at paying their bills, seems to me that there is proably more to this than meets the eye...

here is the link http://www.wine-pages.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=001398

[Alesonly]

I will go too the GBBF myself on the Wednesday Afternoon around 12:30 onward and sample a few good Ales Ive already got me ticket only £6 as CAMRA member.
I must say Ive had a few BrewDog Beers whilst in up at the In-laws in Glasgow recently and I was not that impressed I did not find anything exciting or outstanding with them. But thats the good thing about the choice of Beer & Ale we have. If we all liked the same we would all be drinking Red Barrel Guinness Or Fosters And sitting in Pubs that all look the same.

[gillhalfpint]

Well I had a great time at GBBF 2011 today, I was given a perspex card holder for business cards so me and Ray put Pubs Galore cards in them.

Frustration set in when I tried to get onto Pubs Galore on my phone though, and I got my user name and password in twice and stilll couldn't get onto the site. Wanted to find out if any of you were there.

Not to worry, we enjoyed it, apart from freezing in a broken air con carriage going down, and cooking in a broken air con carriage coming back. Virgin trains. Going on London Midland 2 Sept for a crawl round London pubs.

[Spinko]

Taken from Roger Protz himself on UK Drinks Forums, I quote:

"Let's keep things in perspective. The demand for tickets for the Great British Beer Festival this year (starts Tuesday) has been unprecedented. Beer talks and tastings were sold out as soon as they were announced. The great drinking public is beating a path to Earl's Court even if BrewDog won't be there.
It was a racing certainty that BrewDog would get themselves removed from the festival. They are controversialists in search of a cheap headline. They announced they would attend the festival even though they consider CAMRA festivals "dull and boring". Why bother to attend, then? The reason their contract was withdrawn is simple: they didn't pay for their stand by the agreed date. The festival organisers then leant over backwards to accommodate them, extending the deadline, but still no money. Before anyone says CAMRA shouldn't be obsessed with money, it has to pay for the hire of Earl's Court. GBBF makes a tiny surplus -- some years it has made no surplus at all. The festival is staged as a shop window for cask beer."

So apparently it's because they didn't cough up in time, now that could just be an excuse, most breweries are exceedingly slow at paying their bills, seems to me that there is proably more to this than meets the eye...

here is the link http://www.wine-pages.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=001398

They didn't pay their next instalment purely because CAMRA kept adding additional rules on what Brewdog could and couldn't do.

You'd have thought if they truly wanted to celebrate the best of British beer they'd have worked with one of the best British brewers at the moment to get their beer there.

Instead they conspired against them.

There's only one winner here, while real ale continues to do OK, craft beer sales are surging and is a more consistent product.

[Quinno]

They didn't pay their next instalment purely because CAMRA kept adding additional rules on what Brewdog could and couldn't do.

You'd have thought if they truly wanted to celebrate the best of British beer they'd have worked with one of the best British brewers at the moment to get their beer there.

Instead they conspired against them.

There's only one winner here, while real ale continues to do OK, craft beer sales are surging and is a more consistent product.

I think you've a fallen for the BD spin hook line and sinker! :whistle:

[NickDavies]

Well I had a great time at GBBF 2011 today, I was given a perspex card holder for business cards so me and Ray put Pubs Galore cards in them.

Frustration set in when I tried to get onto Pubs Galore on my phone though, and I got my user name and password in twice and stilll couldn't get onto the site. Wanted to find out if any of you were there.

Not to worry, we enjoyed it, apart from freezing in a broken air con carriage going down, and cooking in a broken air con carriage coming back. Virgin trains. Going on London Midland 2 Sept for a crawl round London pubs.

We were there, excellent time had by all, lots of beer was drunk and so were lots of people, possibly including a load of very noisy Cornish type people with drums. Didn't spot a single BD t-shirt despite above prediction.

[Spinko]

I think you've a fallen for the BD spin hook line and sinker! :whistle:

I've read both sides and Brewdog's appear more credible, with screenshots of the relevant documents, etc. Camra's is just bluster and disingenuous.

[Quinno]

I've read both sides and Brewdog's appear more credible, with screenshots of the relevant documents, etc. Camra's is just bluster and disingenuous.

If Brewdog were that bothered about the Key Keg sizes they could easily have sent down a lorry full of cask 9's. But they wouldn't.

THAT is disingenuous bluster.

[Wittenden]

There's only one winner here, while real ale continues to do OK, craft beer sales are surging and is a more consistent product.

I don't tend to drink in town centre pubs or "bars", and I can only think of two pubs round here which sell "craft Keg". However, the real ale served is always excellent, so I am not tempted by the fizz.With beer at over £3/pint I can't afford to be adventurous for the sake of it.

[ROBCamra]

There's only one winner here, while real ale continues to do OK, craft beer sales are surging and is a more consistent product.

You might be a bit young for this Spinko but you sound just like Watneys used to do when they were flogging the pile of poo that was Red Barrel.

[Farway]

You might be a bit young for this Spinko but you sound just like Watneys used to do when they were flogging the pile of poo that was Red Barrel.

Oi, I liked Red Barrel, especially when the alternative was Brickwood's

[Farway]

IT’S made in a tiny Gosport brewery with just seven staff – but a lager that is brewed like a bitter has been crowned the top speciality beer in Britain (http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/local/east-hampshire/we_re_not_bitter_we_brew_the_best_beer_in_britain_ 1_2928347?commentssort=1&commentspage=0).

Despite being fairly local not one I have come across on my forays

[oldboots]

IT’S made in a tiny Gosport brewery with just seven staff – but a lager that is brewed like a bitter has been crowned the top speciality beer in Britain (http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/local/east-hampshire/we_re_not_bitter_we_brew_the_best_beer_in_britain_ 1_2928347?commentssort=1&commentspage=0).

Despite being fairly local not one I have come across on my forays

Hondo also mentioned it on this thread (http://forums.pubsgalore.co.uk/showthread.php?8122-Champion-Beers-of-Britain-2011)


Oi, I liked Red Barrel, especially when the alternative was Brickwood's

I used to like Brickwoods Best, twice the strength of Red Barrel and about fifty times the flavour :D I even liked it after they renamed it Pompey Royal in 1977.

[NickDavies]

You might be a bit young for this Spinko but you sound just like Watneys used to do when they were flogging the pile of poo that was Red Barrel.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought that Red Barrel was despite itself real ale. It all went wrong(er) when they kegified it and dropped the 'Barrel'. "Watney's Red, the best thing you've said."

[Wittenden]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought that Red Barrel was despite itself real ale. It all went wrong(er) when they kegified it and dropped the 'Barrel'. "Watney's Red, the best thing you've said."

I was using a Grottny's pub-the Firs on the Cromer road in Norwich- in Autumn 1972 The (fizzy) offerings were Watneys Norwich Mild and Bitter, Watneys Special Mild and Watneys Red Barrel. All in keg. RB was too dear for us
at 14 0r 15p/pint. MILD was 12p. Bliss.

[ROBCamra]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought that Red Barrel was despite itself real ale. It all went wrong(er) when they kegified it and dropped the 'Barrel'. "Watney's Red, the best thing you've said."

According to this it was keg in the Thirties.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps the most well known beer of the 60s and 70s, the much maligned Watneys Red Barrel, can trace its origins back to the 30s; in fact Watneys claimed 1931. Red Barrel was originally developed as an export beer that could be transported for long distances by sea.

Red Barrel, like all keg bitter, was filtered, to remove the yeast. It was then pasteurised and carbon dioxide was added. The "keg" was linked to a tank of carbon dioxide which effectively forced the beer up from the cellar. There was no need for the traditional long-handled beer pump. Keg was usually served chilled and was fizzy, with froth on the top.

Red Barrel was tentatively trialled at the East Sheen Lawn Tennis Club where Watneys' Master Brewer, Bert Hussey, was a member. He was convinced that once sampled it would be instantly popular. By the early sixties, Watneys were able to claim that it was the country's most popular keg bitter. It was also the first.

[Al 10000]

I car'nt ever remember Red barrel being in real form and the same goes for Norwich bitter which we drank loads of in Great Yarmouth in the early 80s.

On the subject of Fizzy beers up our way the worst culprit was Ansells their electric dispensers had a squirrel on it which warned you that the beer was going to be very fizzy.
We used to have a competition to see who could keep their tongue in the beer the longest the record was about 6 seconds because all the bubbles burnt your tongue.

[gillhalfpint]

The things you used to get up to in days gone by. Can't remember drinking Red Barrel although I remember the barrel, like the Worthington E that used to sit on the bar. Can't remember seeing the squirrels, although they might not have travelled up north. When I started on beer it was 1965/66 and it was all Vaux and Newcastle beers. Nimmos and then Whitbread had the brewery in Castle Eden. Can't remember any others offhand.

[Quinno]

like the Worthington E

They had cask Worthington E at the GBBF yesterday (I got in for free!). It was very wishy-washy but did have a decent taste underneath, quite sweet.