SUNDERLAND AND SOUTH TYNESIDE OCTOBERFEST - THE DRINKING DAYS

The Sunderland and South Tyneside CAMRA Octoberfest was in full swing when I attended on the Friday . If you wish to read my previous posts giving the background leading up to this one, please link to the following

Octoberfest set up day 1

Octoberfest set up day 2

So Friday saw my first visit to the Beer Festival proper ( it started the day before. Although I claim I was mostly working behind the bar, there was also time to socialise and try a few beers.  This must have been the first time a topic of conversation by some punters was the function room laminate floor, but more on that later.

I have to say there was a really impressive range of beers and ciders / perrys to try. Of the 30 beers available, 5 appear in CAMRA books 300 Beers To Try Before You Die and its sequel, 300 more. Not a bad ratio . For reference they were :-

Castle Rock Elsie Mo

Dark Star American Pale Ale

Highland Dark Munro

Hopback Taiphoon

Little Valley Hebdens Wheat

Also featured were local beers " from the wood" . What this means is they were in wooden casks. Now my own personal opinion is that I didnt think these tasted anything different. Non of our customers  who came to the bar and ordered them even mentioned the fact they were from the wood. For a real comparison you need the same beer in metal cask and wooden barrel, blind tested to tell the difference. Even then I probably wouldn't be able to. For the record, the beers in question, all fine beers and  local ,  were :-

Maxim -  Maxim Ale 

Maxim - Maximus

Temptation - Cheery Belgian &   Raspberry American

3 Kings - Webb Ellis  

 

So over the 2 days , If you are asking me , "which was your favourite new drink ? ", based on the fact I had never tried it before I have to say ( drum roll) 

Orchard Pig Maverick Cider !!

I had this near the end of my Friday night session and its sweetness hit the spot as a final drink. Don't get me wrong, all the beers I had were great ( well, apart from the Brewlab Orange IPA - where was the Orange ?) So much so that on Saturday I threw caution to the wind and my final drinks were a couple of perries , after my beers.

Customer of the day. Well that Friday evening there was a lady dressed like a character from an Agatha Christie story , with a floppy hat and cape ( a 21st century version of Margaret Rutherford ). She was very excited about having the Maxim Ale (5.4%) , then moving up to the Maximus (6%), and finally Roosters Baby Faced Assassin ( 6.1%). I never saw her after that !   

And what about the floor then ? Well we spotted during the set up days that the laminate flooring just in front of the bar had a distinct bulge to it. I didn't take much notice at the time but on approaching the bar for a drink there was a noticeable buckle when waking on it. It was quite amusing standing behind the bar, with line of sight down the bulge, watching punters weave about like they were drunk, without yet having had a beer. It was interesting that the more people had to drink, the less weaving there was. This must have been Newtons 3rd law  kicking in ( for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction) caused by the drink counteracting that of the floor distortion . Very entertaining. 

As a summary, a good combination of helping behind the bar, trying a "few" beers and ciders, and mixing with the punters made this a fantastic two days.  

The final post in this "exciting series" is Sunday, the take down day. Stay tuned.

Octoberfest Take Down Day

SUNDERLAND AND SOUTH TYNESIDE OCTOBERFEST DAY 2

To recap, this week its the Sunderland and South Tyneside CAMRA Octoberfest. Yesterday was the first set up day, and a post of our adventures can be found here :-

Octoberfest Day 1

So , good news, the missing wooden cask of Webb Ellis has been found !  

I turned up at Maxim Tuesday lunchtime and there it was, sitting all alone on a fork lift truck. We had just missed it yesterday , that was all. 

Now I would like to say I lifted the HEAVY wooden cask into the boot of the car, but I didnt. Someone else did, making it look effortless. Driving away I immediately thought , Ive got to get this thing out at the other end yet.

Needless to say, the venue, the Bonded Warehouse was locked up again when I arrived, but only for about 10 minutes this time ( the caretaker had gone shopping !).  Fortunately help was at hand to lift the cask and soon it was up next to the bar. Speaking of which, this is what the room  looked like before we started (above left) and this is what it looked like when I turned up ( below). 

  

Soon the last beer, the Darwin Orange IPA arrived,    so we now had all beers and handpulls in place. The main thing later that evening was for the guys with the technical expertise  to connect the casks to the handpulls. ( not me I'm just a grunt )

Today we just concentrated on health and safety issues, a bit of tidy up  and then I turned my attention to washing the festival glasses, ( in a glass washer,  not by hand). Of the 400 that were ordered, I managed to get about 100 done before I got bored. Time to head off home for my tea, then out for a few beers tonight.  

My next visit will be Friday, Day 2 of the actual event. Its Mrs Kens birthday on opening day and I know what my priorities are ; well at least Ive been told what my priorities are !

To Be Continued Octoberfest Drinking Days

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 !