Gbbf 2004

[Richard English]

I will definitely be at the Young's bar at just after 1200 on Friday 06 August if anyone wants to buy me a pint.

[chazwicke]

I'll be there in spirit! Enjoy it Richard.

[Theakston]

I look forward to reading your posts about the GBBF '04. I trust you survived the downpour. I read that it was actually raining inside the beer hall during the first day!

[Richard English]

Well, I went yesterday and it was better than ever.

The part of the roof damaged by the lighting strike had been fixed and everything was working well, including the air-conditioning and cask-cooling systems.

There were over 450 cask-conditioned beers and probably the same number again of bottled beers. There was also a cider bar with around 50 different kinds - all real, of course.

I tried some Young's while I was waiting and several other beers, including a number of milds. As I was intent really on enjoying myself and the company, I did not bother to take notes on many of the beers.

However, one beer that stood out was Dragon Stout from Jamaica which was surprisingly good if a little sweet. Very strong at 7.5% but certainly better than the usual chemical fizz that prevails in many places. I have never been to Jamaica but will probably be going to Bardados next year so, if Dragon stout is available generally in the Caribbean, then it will be a better trip than I had originally envisaged.

In view of the recent discussions about beer measures, it was interesting to find that some of the bartenders would not serve into my tankard - which is not marked with its capacity. That is, of course, the law - unless the beer is dispensed using a metered pump (rarely used) or in a bottle. The way around it is simply for the bartender to serve into a marked glass and pour that into the tankard. The one barmen (a "jobsworth" at the Cains bar) who refused to serve me at all lost a sale to Gales.

On 18 September I'll be going to the Horsham Beer Festival and maybe I'll try to keep some tasting notes then. That I usually don't is, I suppose, that good beer is so common and relatively cheap in England that we tend to treat it as a very everyday thing - rather than the rare drink appreciated by connoiseurs that is is in many less fortunate countries!

[chazwicke]

I am with you on keeping notes. I gave that up well over a decade ago. It was impossible to keep up with it and also to give an accurate review when attending a festival or tasting. Plus it detracted from my enjoyment. I sometimes will post notes here but that is done usually at home while actually drinking a single beer. The only record I now keep is what beers I drank and where when I am traveling in the UK. And I just do that for fun as I have always done it on every trip I have ever taken there. Bob and Ellie Tupper of Hop Pocket fame have been doing this as long as I have and they have kept very detailed notes forever. Look for a book from them on the subject at some point. By the way I ran into Bob at last years GBBF.

I was looking at my pictures from Last years GBBF. It was like torturing myself knowing I did not go this year.

I have had the Dragon Stout in bottles over the years. Not my first choice. I think it is made by the brewers of Red stripe.

[MeridianFC]

You are correct D&G make Dargon, which to be honest I've never cared for.

All this talk of the GBBF makes me fair want to cry. I had the strongest craving for a pint of cask bitter the other day that I nearly went out of my mind. I was going to go the Rock Bottom in Bethesda to have some of their "cask" beer, but in the end I settled for some Tupper Hop Pocket Pils from the Reef. What a world, what a world.

[Theakston]

Originally posted by Richard English
However, one beer that stood out was Dragon Stout from Jamaica which was surprisingly good if a little sweet. Very strong at 7.5% but certainly better than the usual chemical fizz that prevails in many places. I have never been to Jamaica but will probably be going to Bardados next year so, if Dragon stout is available generally in the Caribbean, then it will be a better trip than I had originally envisaged.

I had the dragon last year in Tortola. Not bad, but not great either - I preferred the Guinness "Foreign Stout" that is to be found in the Caribbean. Was it on cask? that would make a difference I'm sure. Talking of which - a (Brit) friend of mine made it to the fest and was raving about cask conditioned Victory Storm King Stout (Victory being a brewery quite close to us). Did you get to try this?

Funny thing is most of the Brits I hear from like to try all the imported stuff at the GBBF these days, while the Americans all make a bee-line for the British stuff. Perhaps they need 2 festivals, one all British and another for the increasing number of imports?

[brewmonkey]

When I attend festivals I do not keep notes at all. The whole purpose is to enjoy your visit and try the beers and as Richard had happen, the truly good ones will stick in your mind. Those are the ones we want to hear about especially! If I spent 3 days at the GABF trying to keep notes of everybeer I sampled I would get about 25 beers and that is it.

[Beaver]

Originally posted by brewmonkey
When I attend festivals I do not keep notes at all. The whole purpose is to enjoy your visit and try the beers and as Richard had happen, the truly good ones will stick in your mind. Those are the ones we want to hear about especially! If I spent 3 days at the GABF trying to keep notes of everybeer I sampled I would get about 25 beers and that is it.

I agree totally!

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by brewmonkey
When I attend festivals I do not keep notes at all. The whole purpose is to enjoy your visit and try the beers and as Richard had happen, the truly good ones will stick in your mind. Those are the ones we want to hear about especially! If I spent 3 days at the GABF trying to keep notes of everybeer I sampled I would get about 25 beers and that is it.
What you're saying is, after the first hour you wouldn't remember a thing? ;)

[Richard English]

The Dragon Stout was in bottle.

And of course, one of the reasons why we tend to try the imports is that we can get our usual cask-conditioned beers any time but some of the imports only dome over for GBBF.

[fretlessman71]

Is "dome over" a euphemism for cask cond. ale, or is that simply a typo (for which you are already forgiven)?

[Richard English]

Whoops:eek:

No, it's not some special British word for imported cask-conditioned beer, I'm sorry to say!

[fretlessman71]

Funny.... I was picturing this metal dome that fit over the cask to protect the flavor from UV rays or something! Or a cask convention held here in the states at one of our new stadiums with a retractable roof.... :D

[Richard English]

As you will see if you look at the pictures from the GBBF on the CAMRA site (especially the one of the Scottish bar), all the casks (around 500 of them in total) were protected by plastic covers through which was run coolant to keep the beer at the correct temperature.