This weekend sees the end of the 2017 Great British Beer Festival. A group of us met up on Thursday for what was my 14th consecutive visit. We have this reunion every year and its a chance to catch up, and take the piss out of each other for nearly 6 hours of drinking.
I met a mate in Kings Cross Station then we travelled on the Tube to Barons Court, which is about 10 minutes walk from Kensington Olympia, the festival venue. The tube was crammed with standing room only. After the tube and the walk through the streets, it was a relief to have to stand again in a long queue till noon opening time. Such was the queue length we didnt actually get into the building till 20 past. It should be noted at this point that, despite travelling the furthest ( from Durham) , again I was first there. After us 2, the rest just sauntered in later. " Queue? What Queue?"
Now every year I take my own food. An investment in some cheap pies is always a good idea. Usually past their sell by date, they keep me going throughout the afternoon. This year I brought some CAMRA magazines down so had my backpack. They have tightened security so there was a mandatory bag search inside the venue.
" Can you open the bag please" I was asked by this stern individual.
"Theres only magazines and some out of date pork pies" (Note the attempt at some humour there).
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He remained stony faced throughout. Probably totally pissed off that he would have to do this for the rest of the afternoon while we all enjoyed ourselves.
We found a table with enough room for 6 then I went off to buy a festival glass. The counter for the glasses was longer than our bar at our beer festival. This little guy behind the counter held up glass as I offered my £3. He then proceeded to stick his tongue out, which ended in a point. He never said a word, but he looked like an extra from Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. The tongue went back in as the transaction completed.
Now, onto the beer. The winner of the Champion Beer of Britain had been announced 2 days previously. Church End " Goats Milk" was the winner.
Finding the beer in the 84 page program, I set off for bar B6 to find the beer had sold out but would be back on at 2.15. Not to worry, I ordered my first drink at the same bar , Bathams Mild, which turned out to be my favourite of the day !!
Now was a chance to take stock of the festival layout bar locations. There were more than 20 bars selling real ale, cider, perry, real ale in a bottle and foreign beers. 900 beers and ciders were available ( well, 899 as the Goats Milk wasnt), and nearly 20 food stalls. The program contained a full listing of every drink and food stall. The description for S35 Fish & Chips was very succinct - it said Fish & Chips !
The beer list had been previously published online so had an idea what i wanted. It was just a matter of finding the right bar. It was commented mid afternoon that some of the bars are that far to walk from our table that by the time you get there you've forgotten what you came for.
Titanic Brewery had there own bar and I was keen to try Plum Porter Grand Reserve ( what ever that means) . This was 6.5% so as I like strong dark beers I was expecting something special. Wrong ! The plummy aroma of the original was less pronounced and it tasted a bit "thin". Back to the drawing board guys, I think you just sank with that one.
Soon it was time to see if the Goats Milk was on, so i wandered up to B6. Seeing the handpull in use I walked up to the bar coming in from the left.
This grunt wearing a fluorescent jacket and a radio mike said. " Can I help you sir ?"
Yeah, "half of the Goats Milk please"
" Join the queue then" he pointed to my right and to a long line of hopefuls queuing. I thought, bollocks to this so ordered a local beer, Errant Clever Girl which was quite drinkable.
I heard later the Goats Milk had sold out again. I just thought, all those buggers queuing for a drink they had never heard of, to then sip it and then comment sagely about its aroma , taste etc. I can wait till next time.
During all this by the way , the out of date Tesco Pork Pies were going down a treat. I had left then on the table , for some reason no one else would touch them. Cant yet figure out why.
So after nearly 6 hours , it was time for one last drink, so i opted for Tiny Rebel Stay Puft, a Marshmallow Stout. Tasty way to end the day.
Ive worked out I had 11 different beers and 1 cider of varying styles; from new and long standing breweries - and it turns out my favourite was the first drink I had, the Bathams Mild, which has been around for years.
A great day out , very tiring as didnt get home till 11pm, but already looking forward to next year .
