Great British Beer Festival
Encyclopedia
Beer festival
A Beer Festival is an organised event during which a variety of beers are available for tasting and purchase. Beer festivals are held in a number of countries...
organised by the Campaign for Real Ale
Campaign for Real Ale
The Campaign for Real Ale is an independent voluntary consumer organisation based in St Albans, England, whose main aims are promoting real ale, real cider and the traditional British pub...
(CAMRA). It presents a selection of cask ale
Cask ale
Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is the term for unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure...
s and other alcoholic drinks from the UK and beyond. The festival is also home to the Champion Beer of Britain
Champion Beer of Britain
The Champion Beer of Britain is an award presented by the Campaign for Real Ale , at their annual Great British Beer Festival in early August. Beers can qualify in three ways:...
awards. GBBF's sister festival, the National Winter Ales Festival
National Winter Ales Festival
The National Winter Ales Festival is a yearly event organised by the Campaign for Real Ale . The purpose of the event is to showcase the best winter ales in the UK...
concentrates on beer style
Beer style
Beer style is a term used to differentiate and categorize beers by various factors such as colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin....
s such as porter
Porter (beer)
Porter is a dark-coloured style of beer. The history and development of stout and porter are intertwined. The name was first used in the 18th century from its popularity with the street and river porters of London. It is generally brewed with dark malts...
and stout
Stout
Stout is a dark beer made using roasted malt or barley, hops, water and yeast. Stouts were traditionally the generic term for the strongest or stoutest porters, typically 7% or 8%, produced by a brewery....
, and is held in January of each year.
Description
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
and perry
Perry
Perry is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears. Perry has been common for centuries in Britain, particularly in the Three Counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and in parts of south Wales; and France, especially Normandy and Anjou.In more recent years, commercial...
is also available. The festival is completely staffed by unpaid volunteers, around 1000 of whom work at the festival.
The festival is usually held during the first full week in August and runs from Tuesday to Saturday. The Tuesday afternoon session is only open to the trade and press, with the Champion Beer of Britain award winners being announced mid-afternoon. The general public are admitted to afternoon and evening sessions from Tuesday evening until Saturday evening. CAMRA figures show that in 2006, over 66,000 people visited the festival over the course of the week and consumed some 350,000 pints of beer — one pint sold in less than half of every open second. Part of the huge improvement on 2005 (ticket sales were up 40%) was attributed by the festival organiser, Marc Holmes, to the move from Olympia to Earls Court
Earls Court Exhibition Centre
The Earls Court Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre, conference and event venue located in west London, United Kingdom in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . It is the largest exhibition venue in central London. It is served by two underground stations, Earl's Court and West...
, a much larger and easily-accessible venue.
On the first day of the GBBF the prize-winning beers and ales in the eight categories recognized by the Society of Independent Brewers
Society of Independent Brewers
The Society of Independent Brewers was founded in 1980 under the title The Small Independent Brewers Association to represent the interests of the growing numbers of independent brewing companies in the United Kingdom...
are announced. As well as the beer, the festival offers entertainment such as live music and traditional pub games
Pub games
Pub games are games which are or were played in pubs, bars, inns, and taverns, particularly traditional games played in English pubs. Most are indoor games, though some are played outdoors Pub games are games which are or were played in pubs, bars, inns, and taverns, particularly traditional games...
, as well as a variety of food stands. The 2011 festival was held on the 2–6 August.
Event history
CAMRA held their first large beer festivalBeer festival
A Beer Festival is an organised event during which a variety of beers are available for tasting and purchase. Beer festivals are held in a number of countries...
in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, London in September 1975. It was a 4 day event that attracted 40,000 people who drank 150,000 pints of real ale. Strictly speaking it was not a GBBF, but it has been considered the forerunner of the festival. The first "proper" GBBF was held in 1977.
- 1977–79: Alexandra PalaceAlexandra PalaceAlexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
, London - 1980: Alexandra Palace (in tents after the Palace burnt down)
- 1981–82: Queens Hall, LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
- 1983: Bingley HallBingley HallBingley Hall in Birmingham was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Great Britain. It was built in 1850 and burned down in 1984. The International Convention Centre now stands on the site....
, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... - 1984: No event
- 1985–87: Metropole, BrightonBrightonBrighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
- 1988–89: Queens Hall, Leeds
- 1990: Metropole, Brighton
- 1991: Docklands Arena, LondonLondon ArenaThe London Arena was an indoor arena and exhibition centre, on the Isle of Dogs, in East London, England...
- 1992–2005: Olympia, London
- 2006–11: Earls Court, LondonEarls Court Exhibition CentreThe Earls Court Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre, conference and event venue located in west London, United Kingdom in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea . It is the largest exhibition venue in central London. It is served by two underground stations, Earl's Court and West...
- 2012: Olympia, London
See also
- Champion Beer of BritainChampion Beer of BritainThe Champion Beer of Britain is an award presented by the Campaign for Real Ale , at their annual Great British Beer Festival in early August. Beers can qualify in three ways:...
- National Winter Ales FestivalNational Winter Ales FestivalThe National Winter Ales Festival is a yearly event organised by the Campaign for Real Ale . The purpose of the event is to showcase the best winter ales in the UK...
- Champion Winter Beer of BritainChampion Winter Beer Of BritainThe Champion Winter Beer Of Britain is an award presented by the Campaign for Real Ale , at their annual National Winter Ales Festival in January. The award is similar to the Champion Beer Of Britain which is presented in August...
- Campaign for Real AleCampaign for Real AleThe Campaign for Real Ale is an independent voluntary consumer organisation based in St Albans, England, whose main aims are promoting real ale, real cider and the traditional British pub...