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Great British Beer Festival, August 2002
Fancy trying nearly 700 real ales, ciders, perries and imported beers? Then start planning your summer trip to CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival.
The biggest real ale festival in the world takes place at Olympia in West London the first week in August and is expected to attract over 40,000 visitors not only from the UK but from Europe, USA and as far away as Australia.
The first attraction is, of course, the choice and the Festival not only has real ales from all over the UK and beers from all around the world but boasts the best selection of British real ciders and perries to be found anywhere. These drinks, particularly perry (like cider but made with pears), are not easy to find and are continually under threat in a way that real ale was in the 1980s. Cider drinking can be traced back to pre Roman times and thus is truly part of our heritage. If you have never tried it then the Festival is definitely the place to start but be careful, most are at least 6% alcohol.
But the Festival can be fun even for those who are not avid beer or cider drinkers. There is live music every session and lots of different pub games to play from the usual skittles to Shut the Box. Add in lots of different types of food and lots more seating than ever before and you can be guaranteed a good time out.
For further details phone: 01727 867201 or visit the web site: www.gbbf.org.
Reproduced from the Full Pint, Issue 15.
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