SUNDERLAND AND SOUTH TYNESIDE OCTOBERFEST DAY 1

I love it when a plan comes together :-

The 7th Sunderland and South Tyneside Octoberfest is nearly upon us. Today, Monday 5th October 2015 is the first set up day at the Bonded Warehouse, Sunderland. Now most people who attend a beer festival pay their money, pick up a souvenir glass ( to add to the dozens already in a cupboard at home) , then enjoy the beers and ciders and the chat, without giving much thought to how the event has been  put together. Here is a unique insight.

Part 1 -

So early Monday morning  I find myself in a van with a fellow CAMRA member  heading for a lock up garage in South Tyneside. The lock up stores racking, chillers,  shelves for the bar and the casks, plus handpulls and miscellaneous equipment. We were joined there by three others so most of the heavy stuff was all loaded up in double quick time, with rain threatening as we huffed and puffed.

 
Leaving the chillers, handpulls and other bits and bob for the second load, we drove off with the van considerably lower at the back than when we first  arrived. The rain then started in earnest as we  pulled up outside the venue, near the Sunderland Fish Quay. 

The venue in the Bonded Warehouse was to be held in the function room on the first floor, accessible by stairs and a lift. On the ground floor is the student union bar

To our horror the front doors were locked. With a sense of foreboding I rang the bell. The caretaker opened up and stated she finished in 45 minutes time,  at noon, then wasn't coming back till 6.30 that evening ! 

Time for plan B, which up to this point hadn't existed . A quick phone call to the festival organiser to give him the good news then, bearing in  mind there was now only 2 of us again, the Dynamic Duo unloaded the van, getting soaked in the process. Leaving all the kit in the downstairs bar, we just made it for noon, with the caretaker hovering in the background dangling her keys.   

After emptying the van , part of the hastily improvised cunning Plan B was collect the beer ( 30 casks) and have a break till later that evening, when we could unload it and make the second trip to the lock up for the rest of the stuff. 

Our first port of call was Darwin Brewery in Sunderland for one cask of Orange IPA*

When we arrived and announced we were here to collect a cask, it was inevitable with the lousy day we were having that the answer would be " Oh, we haven't racked it yet so we are going to deliver later this afternoon.". No you're not, the place is locked up, we' ll collect it in the morning

Most of the casks and ciders  had been delivered into the capable hands of Maxim Brewery. Significantly this year, some of the beers are in wooden casks and THEY ARE HEAVY. So once these were all loaded up, courtesy of a fork lift, it was time to head home for a break to resume again at 6.30. So off we set with our precious cargo,  which had made the van even more lower than the first time. If it had been dark any headlights switched on would have shone into space.

After lunch some time was spent modelling the new festival T Shirts as  seen here.

 

Part 2 

I have to report the sad news that we lost a beer ! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Turned up at the venue at reopening time and met a bunch of the guys who had just arrived. Time to get the racking etc upstairs. During this the van with the beer arrived and thus began the labourious, back breaking work of getting it off the van, into the lift and upstairs. 

Leaving others to build the racking and the bar, three of us then headed back to the lock up to collect the rest of the stuff ; the chillers, handpulls etc. More huffing and puffing ensued then back to the warehouse, to be told a beer was missing. It was 3 Kings Webb Ellis in a wooden cask. After much head scratching it was decided I would contact Maxim later and if found, pick it up in the morning.

Meanwhile the rest of the guys were well on with getting the casks in place, the chillers to cool the beer hooked up and the bar built, so totally knackered left for the evening.

During the intermission, see attached the beer and cider lists

Beer List

Cider List

Will the missing beer be found ? Follow the link for the next episode.Octoberfest part 2

  

* Assume this means its flavoured orange, rather than coloured orange, although you never know !