Hello beer lovers everywhere.
Life is slowly returning to some sort of normal in many places around the world it seems. In the UK that means the return of CAMRA organised beer festivals. For me, in particular, that is something I have looked forward to for many long months, not just the chance to taste some great ales from around the country, but to gather with a group of like-minded people and talk beer (and maybe putting the world to rights on all sorts of topics.
As a CAMRA member, I choose to volunteer at these events, generally working the bar serving to a vast array of customers from all walks of life, from regular ale drinkers to those who are new to ale and just there to see what's happening. As volunteers we are also allowed to sample the beers as we work (as long as we don't go to mad - of course), which is great to get free ale, but also allows us to suggest recommendations to the customers if they are a bit stuck as to where to start, or what to have next, due to the large amount of choice. It's a great experience, and i get a lot of satisfaction from seeing people get enjoyment from sampling their first ever real ale, something they may have never had before, or even as can happen drinking one of their favourite ales, wether they are newbies to the ale scene, or old hands with hundreds, if not, thousands of ales tasted.
May brings, for me, a particularly busy time as i've registered to work at three different festivals. The first of which I preview here,
Bexley Beer Festival .This is 15th year that this event has been held, and the theme this year is a celebration of the 75th anniversary of VE Day. In truth this was the theme for the 2020 event, which was, like so many things, cancelled due to COVID.
The festival run froms Thursday 5th to Saturday 7th May 2022, and features a provisional list of 97 ales, and 30 ciders from as far afield as the Orkney Isles in Scotland, to several breweries from Wales, to the locally brewed ales from Bexley Brewery, with styles to suit every taste, wether that be PAle, IPA, Golden, Amber, Mild, Best Bitter, Porter or Stout. Add to that some wonderfully named ales such as Kendall Mint Cake Stout, Pan Galactic Pale Ale, Pomegranate Saison, and probably the most aptly named ale Slippery Slope Porter, and it should be a great three days.
Entry to the Festival is free for CAMRA members, and U-26's (with ID), or £3 for Non-members. A souvenir glass is also availbale for a £3 deposit, refundable if you don't want to keep it. Food will also be availble, and the usual pub snacks/soft drinks can be bought in the club bar.
So that's the first of 3 festivals in my busy month. I'll give some insights into some of my favourites in a future post, and the beer of the festival too.
Take Care and enjoy your beer