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London Drinker Beer Festival 2004
A Wonderful Time Was Had by All
There was great beer, there was great food, there were energetic staff and happy customers. The 20th London Drinker Beer and Cider Festival was a great success. My thanks go out to the large number of local CAMRA members who volunteered to work during the week, and to all those who came from further afield to help – from other London branches, all over England, Europe, and even the USA. The numbers of staff meant that we could serve customers rapidly, provide extra meals, and open up the hall balconies for seating.
There were an excellent selection of beers on throughout the week, with highlights in all the featured areas. The London breweries had been asked to cask unusual beers for us, and most chose strong beers – my favourites were the Fullers 1845 and the Pitfield 1824 Mild. The East Anglian micro-breweries produced some interesting beers – some of us were lucky enough to taste the Railway Tavern Crab & Winkle Mild, while the new Crouch Vale BGE was beer of the festival. From Shropshire, there were enthusiastic comments for the Salopian Lemon Dream and the Six Bells Big Nev's. I must also thank the sponsors of the programme and the beer tasting, Charles Wells, who again sent their very popular Banana Bread beer.
The cider stall featured bottle conditioned Irish cider – made by a Mr. Llewellyn near Dublin. There was a Welsh cider, from the Rhondda valley, and the excellent Butford perry. The German draught beers proved popular and sold out – demand remains strong for the very smoky Schlenkerla Rauchbier, which is a taste well worth acquiring! Many other countries supplied bottled beers.
The catering team did their usual miracle of fitting huge amounts of food into a tiny kitchen, and provided two special dishes each day – my favourite was the middle eastern inspired Lamb Tagine.
Apologies to people who had to queue to get into the festival – we reached the fire limit between six and seven each evening. Except on Friday night, most got in within fifteen minutes. By the close of the festival, we still had beer, cider and food to offer. Even the weather was quite favourable, with just the occasional shower: the hall stayed at about 20°C (68°F) throughout the festival, with low humidity, reasonably comfortable for both people and beer.
So that's it again for 2004. There are, of course, other London and national festivals to visit in the next twelve months. Then the 21st London Drinker Beer and Cider Festival will open at the Camden Centre from 16 to 18 March 2005. Please join us there, to drink, eat, or to work as a volunteer.
We know we'll all enjoy ourselves there again.
Ian McLaren,
Festival Organiser
Reproduced from the Full Pint, Issue 25.
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