Beer nirvana

Camra's 30th birthday celebrations are among highlights at this year's Great British Beer Festival. Adrian Tierney-Jones reports

Forget high-season shenanigans at the likes of Henley and Glyndebourne. The place to be seen this summer is the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) at London's Earls Court. What's more, this August sees the Campaign for Real Ale's (Camra) venerable institution celebrate its 30th birthday. You can sing along as you blow out the candles, as well as marvelling at the 400-plus British cask beers, several orchards of cider and perry and gallons of ales, stouts, porters and lagers on show from across the world.

Last year, the first GBBF at Earls Court drew more than 65,000 visitors in five days, a figure Camra will be hoping to top. The event is certainly beer nirvana - as well as cask beers from all over the UK on offer at Camra-manned stands, family brewers such as Fuller's and Shepherd Neame have their own bars.

Phenomenal achievement

Then there are the specialist bars, such as the Viscount stand, offering gluten-free and organic beers. And the Society of Independent Brewers (Siba) will run a bar featuring the seven class-winners from this year's Siba national beer competition, all of which won regional contests to qualify for the national finals.

"At our stand we think we'll have the best selection of Siba members' beers," says chairman Peter Amor.

"The fact that this festival has been running for three decades is a phenomenal achievement," says Camra press officer Owen Morris. "It reflects the growing popularity of real ale in the UK.

"From modest beginnings in 1977, when it was held in Alexandra Palace, the Great British Beer Festival has become a highlight of the beer-drinker's calendar."

Appetite for ale

The event may be seen by many as an occasion to down pints of ale, but it is also a celebration of our national drink. As well as the MA's Roger Protz giving several tutored tastings, the Beer Academy's George Philliskirk and Belgian beer aficionado Tim Webb will be joining in the fun. For the more gastronomically minded, Fiona and Will Beckett - authors of Camra's forthcoming Appetite for Ale - will be carrying the torch for beer-and-food matching.

This is an event that all licensees interested in cask ale should try to visit, from owners of free-houses that have a long row of hand-pumps to real-ale virgins looking for ideas.

Morris says: "The trade session on the Tuesday is a unique opportunity for all sections of the trade to come together and learn more about real ale. And visitors will be the first to hear the name of the winner of the prestigious Camra National Champion Beer of Britain competition.

"There is nowhere else you will find such a wide range of cask ales," adds festival organiser Marc Holmes. "For licensees it's also a chance to meet brewers and go back to their pubco owners to show them what they are missing."

Dream demographic

The festival is not always perfect. For instance, last year I was served a best bitter with a harsh, smoky, phenolic character. When I complained to the bar manager he asked me if I had ever heard of Franconian smoke beers. I said I had - but not in the East Midlands. On the other hand, there are some great beers in top condition.

The third-pint glasses allow more sampling - and when I attended on the Thursday night, the place was heaving with hip and happening 20-somethings, a dream demographic group for breweries. Who said cask ale was on its knees?

The Great British Beer Festival runs from 7-11 August. Visit www.camra.org.uk for details.

What i'm looking forward to at the GBBF

John Keeling, Fuller's brewing director

"I like to try beers that I haven't tried before. Last year someone suggested a Japanese beer, so I went over to try it and met the brewer, who said 'Hello, John'. It turned out that I had taken him on a tour around the brewery two years earlier.

The trade day on the Tuesday is a great opportunity to meet people, but I also like to attend a couple of other sessions to try more beers, especially those brewed in the North West, where I come from.

I'd say that you must go there and experience it. Fuller's pubs do have guest beers, so licensees should try our guest-beer list and also go along for the experience to learn about cask. They should also come to the Fuller's stand to see how well-liked we are. It's an event you shouldn't miss if you're at all interested in beer."

Geoff Brown, marketing director, Punch Taverns

"I think that if you are interested in cask ale it's important to go along to grasp the dynamics of the market.

It's a chance to meet brewers - especially useful with the larger companies, such as Fuller's and Caledonian. The professionalism of the brewers' stands is a key feature.

But I do find it frustrating that Camra decides how the beers will be dispensed. I remember when Gales was there - I liked a pint of their bitter with a creamy head, but was told that Camra wouldn't allow them to serve it that way because it was a southern beer. Whatever happened to the customer? Unfortunately I'll be away on holiday this year, but I usually attend and always enjoy meeting my old friends from the industry."

Peter Amor, Siba chairman

and Wye Valley Brewery founder

"To anyone in the street I'd say: 'do go along, pace yourself and try lots of different beers. Enjoy experiencing the variety and quality of British beers.'

If I were a licensee I'd attend the festival to find out how local cask ale can create an interest in pubs.

This event has changed for the better - the cooling has improved and there's more space. It has lost something by becoming less intimate, but that will probably settle. The festival also features other activities, such as matching beer with food, that offer lots of opportunities to learn."

Paul Nunny, managing director, Cask Marque

"From a trade point of view, most people attend on the first day, when it's a gathering of the great and the good in cask ale.

If you're serious about stocking cask ale, it's a great opportunity to try as many beers as possible. It's important that licensees stock a range of gravities and styles and attending on this day is part of a learning process.

What is so encouraging is the size of the festival, the numbers attending and the enthusiasm for cask ale, especially from those in their 20s and 30s.

From a quality point of view, Camra has put a lot of effort into making sure that the beers are served at the right temperature. I would like to see them being more pro-active in the cooling used at other major shows. In summer there's nothing worse than warm real ale, especially as pubs are getting better with cooling."