Beer festival

London's GBBF beer festival

A Beer Festival is an organised event during which a variety of beers (and often other alcoholic drinks) are available for tasting and purchase. Beer festivals are held in a number of countries. A Beer Exhibition is usually synonymous with a Beer Festival but, whilst a beer festival may involve a limited range of beer styles or manufacturers, with an emphasis on entertainment, use of the term "beer exhibition" places emphasis on sampling or tasting a wide range of beers, usually craft-brewed in a variety of different styles by various brewers. There may be a theme; for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales. Beerex is a commonly used portmanteau word coined in 1977^[1] as an abbreviated form of Beer Exhibition.

German beer festivals

Inside a tent at Munich's Oktoberfest - the world's largest beer festival

The largest beer festival in the world is Oktoberfest in Germany. Several other smaller beer festivals are held all over Germany all over the year. The 2nd largest beer festival in Germany and probably in Europe, is the Cannstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart. Its popularity increases and more and more people come from around the world to visit the festival every year. Many other places have beer festivals styled as "Oktoberfests", but taken on its own the name is generally taken to mean for the Munich event.

The second largest genuine Bavarian festival is the Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing. The festival is similar like Oktoberfest but it has an own history and it is not a copy of the Oktoberfest, as is the Barthelmarkt by Manching, which even dates back to Roman times.

Not called "Oktoberfest", but very similar in character, is the Cannstatter Wasen in Stuttgart which starts one week later and is the second largest fair in the world. Smaller beer festivals similar to the Oktoberfest are common in Germany and take place throughout the year in most bigger German cities. Some of them go on later into the night than the Oktoberfest.

Other major German cities that host large beer festivals include Hannover (Schützenfest Hannover) and Bremen's, where the traditional beer festival is known as Freimarkt. The City of Hamburg host the Hamburger DOM. Like the Oktoberfest and the Cannstatter Wasen, most German beer festivals are also funfairs. They are called "Volksfest" (festival for the people).

In England the largest German Beer Festival takes place at Alexandra Palace in North London as part of their firerworks celebrations. The festival takes place in the Great Hall which can hold up to 6,000 people. In 2009 the Alexandra Palace German Beer Festival will takle place on Saturday 7th November and will include a performance from world famous London knees up act Chas n Dave as well as a host of traditional German entertainment, beer and food.

British beer festivals

Festivals are often organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), by local pubs and occasionally by other groups. CAMRA festivals are run by volunteers under direction of the local CAMRA branch. There is an admission fee which is reduced or waived for CAMRA members. Pub festivals use professional bar staff, and there are usually no entry fees. Beer festivals organised by student real ale societies - some CAMRA-affiliated and some not - have existed for many years, but are currently enjoying something of a boom. These festivals are typically held in students' union premises, and entry is hence sometimes restricted to students and staff, though exceptions may be made for card-carrying CAMRA members. Student beer festivals vary in size but can easily rival local CAMRA events, with beer numbers in the 80-100 cask region. Good examples include Cardiff and Warwick. One of the last sporting bastions of real ale drinking is rugby. A number of rugby clubs organise festivals combining beer drinking with rugby and even live music. A good example is Ashford Rugby Club in Kent, which organises an annual 3 day beer festival each August.

The format of British beer festivals tends to follow a set pattern. Casks of ale from many different brewers are placed on stillage behind rows of trestle tables. Staff serve beer directly from the cask, and take payment in the form of cash or via a token system, where sheets of tokens are purchased at the entrance to the venue in bulk. Consideration must be given to cooling; this is commonly achieved using wet sacking or blankets for evaporative cooling, though refrigerated cooling saddles and coils are increasingly being used. Some festivals in the winter months simply keep the whole venue, or a smaller tap room, at cellar temperature by leaving doors and windows open. Glasses are distributed at the entrance to the venue, usually for a small deposit although often included in the entrance fee. The glasses usually bear a design specific to the festival and are therefore considered to be collectable. A beer list is usually available, often indicating where in the venue the different casks will be situated. Food is usually available, and entertainments and games such as live music, pub quizzes or tombolas are often organised.

In all British festivals the beer is sold in quantities of half or full pints. From 2006 the GBBF additionally served beer in "nips" (one-third of a pint), for the benefit of those who wish to sample many beers wthout consuming excessive amounts of alcohol.

Notable British beer festivals

• The Great British Beer Festival held annually in August in London is the largest and most famous beer festival in the UK, and is organised by CAMRA. The "GBBF", as it is known, was founded in 1977 and was attended by over 66,000 people in 2006, and 350,000 pints of ale were consumed over the five days of the festival.

• The CAMRA National Winter Ales Festival; held at New Century Hall, Manchester, is designed to showcase beer styles which may not be readily available during the summer festival. Taking place every January, it has also been celebrated in Glasgow and Burton-on-Trent.

• The Peterborough CAMRA Beer Festival held in three giant marquees on the Embankment, Peterborough, PE1 1EF has been running since 1978 and is the largest outside of London with 350+ draught real ales, 100+ ciders and perries. Takes place on the Tuesday to Saturday in the week before August Bank Holiday.

• The Nottingham Robin Hood Beer Festival in Nottingham, has been held annually in October since 1977 (before 2008 styled Nottingham Beer Festival). It is held in the grounds of Nottingham Castle in the city having moved there from the Victoria Leisure Centre. It has grown to 15,000 people attending in 2008 with 57,500 pints of real ale consumed.

• The Farnham Beer Exhibition in Surrey, having been held every year since 1977 at the Farnham Maltings, is the longest-running beer festival to be held annually on a single site in the United Kingdom, and every year sells over 29,000 pints of real ale during its 3 day opening.

• The Cambridge Beer Festival, held since 1974, is the longest running beer festival, although it has changed venue three times. Currently, it is held for a week each May in a large marquee erected on Jesus Green in Cambridge. It is the second largest festival outside of London and had 32,000 people attending in 2007.

• The Reading Beer Festival was first held in 1994,^[2] and has now grown to one of the largest beer festivals in the UK. It is held at King's Meadow, Reading for the 4 days immediately preceding the May Day Bank Holiday every year.^[3] It is now the third largest festival outside London, after Cambridge.

• The Telford Beer Festival, otherwise known as Britain's biggest pub-based, cooled hand-pulled beer festival happens twice a year at the Crown Inn in Oakengates, Telford, Shropshire. Typically held on the Last weekend in April and the First weekend in October lasts 5 days with 34 individually cooled hand pulls Ales, Ciders or Perries.

Other festivals are held in Portsmouth known as the Pompey Beer Festival, London, Nottingham, Peterborough, St Albans, Norwich and in many other places. They are both very large and offer an interesting and distinctive selection of British and foreign beers.

The largest German Beer Festival to be held in Britain takes place each year at Alexandra Palace as part of their Fireworks celebrations. Known as The Alexandra Palace German Beer Festival the 2009 event takes place on Saturday 7th November and includes performances from Chas n Dave and a host of traditional German acts.

Festivals in other countries

Europe

• In Belgrade, Serbia, Belgrade Beer Fest takes place every August at Usće park.
• In Braşov, Romania, a large Beer festival is held every year in October.
• In Bruges, Belgium, BAB-bierfestival, held every year in November
• In Copenhagen, Denmark, the big Copenhagen Beer Festival takes place every year in May.
• In Kragujevac, Serbia, Šumadija Beer Open, held every year in June.
• In Plzeň, Czech Republic, the biggest Czech beer festival (Pilsner Fest) is held every year in October.
• In Prilep, Macedonia, Фестивал на пивото, held every year in August.
• In Tallinn, Estonia, festival Õllesummer is held every year in July.
• In Trondheim, Norway, an Oktoberfest is held every second year during the student festival UKA.
• In Stockholm, Sweden, Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival is held every year in September.
• In London, England the largest event is the Alexandra Palace German Beer Festival which coincides with the venues annual firework display (7th November 2009)

Asia

• Hong Kong has celebrated the 3-week Oktoberfest since 1991 and it is organized by the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel. Many other clubs, hotels and restaurants have an Oktoberfest celebration evening or weekend.
• Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam has celebrated Oktoberfest every October since 1992. The event is organized by the German Business Association of Vietnam and the Windsor Plaza Hotel. The 2008 event attracted more than 10,000 guests. In 2009, the Windsor Plaza Hotel also organized the Beerfest Saigon, the first beer exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City^[4]
• In the Philippines, the Oktoberfest is celebrated all throughout the archipelago. The Philippine Oktoberfest starts every first of October and ends thirty days later. The event is marked by concerts and parties usually sponsored by San Miguel Corporation and Asia Brewery, the top two beer companies in the Philippines.

Australia and New Zealand

• Maitland, The Bitter & Twisted International Boutique Beer Festival, held annually at the old Maitland Gaol on the first weekend of November. Featuring over 50 craft beers from Australia and around the globe, nationally recognised entertainment lineup and the best prison food you'll find. www.bitterandtwisted.com.au
• Hobart, The Tasmanian Beerfest is held on the 2nd Saturday of November. Showcasing over 100 boutique and Premium Beers Hobart Regatta Grounds.In its 3rd year in 2008 around 10,000 people tasted over 100 different beers from around the world.
• Brisbane has many small celebrations of Oktoberfest. Mainly supported across the local university populations, it has spilled over into local restaurants and pubs, looking to join in the festival.
• Sydney celebrates Oktoberfest at the Fairfield Showgrounds in the Suburb of Prairiewood.
• Canberra celebrates Oktoberfest at the Thoroughbred Park, Lyneham.
• Adelaide celebrates Schuetzenfest in January at Bonython Park just outside the CBD.
• There previously was an annual Oktoberfest Beer Festival at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds in Flemington, Victoria, after a break of two years another Oktoberfest was celebrated in 2007 at the Dandenong Showground.

The New Zealand Beer Festival has been run in Auckland and Wellington since 2007.^[5][6] BrewNZ - Beervana is organized and run by the Brewers Guild of New Zealand.^[7]

South America

Negro Piñera in the Bierfest Valdivia, January 2007.

• A huge Oktoberfest is held in the Brazilian city of Blumenau (more than 600,000 visitors in 2004), and many other Brazilian cities founded by Germans have their own Oktoberfest, such as Santa Cruz do Sul (more than 500,000 visitors in 2004), Igrejinha (more than 200,000 visitors in 2006), Rolândia, São José do Cedro, Seara and Itapiranga.
• In Argentina, a town called Villa General Belgrano in the Córdoba Province has an Oktoberfest that is well-known and the biggest in the country.
• In Valdivia, Chile host each summer a so-called Bierfest that organized and sponsored by Kunstmann Bier, a local high-quality beer company.
• Llanquihue also in Chile hosts a once a year a Bierfest during summer. The main sponsor is Cerveza Cristal, Chiles largest beer company.

North America

• Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest is held in the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, around the time of Canadian Thanksgiving; the twin cities have a large ethnic German population.
• Also in Canada is the Toronto's Festival of Beer held in August in the city's historic Fort York. This is a relatively young festival but has grown into a major events for thousands of visitors from across southern Ontario.
• Montreal's Mondial de la Bière is the biggest beer festival in Canada.
• In Mexico, in the cities of Puebla, Mexico City, Mazatlan and Tapachula Oktoberfest is celebrated by the descendants of German immigrants in these cities. The largest ones are held in Puebla and Mexico City where the German community is very important and one can hear German music and be delighted by German food and folk dresses.
• The Great American Beer Festival held in Denver, Colorado, started in 1982 and in 2008 had more than 46,000 people attend, with judges selecting medal winners from 2,961 beers entered by 477 breweries.^[8]
• Another large event in the US is Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, in Cincinnati, Ohio; over 500,000 people attend this annual festival each year.
• The pseudo-Bavarian village of Leavenworth, WA in the US holds Oktoberfest during the first two weeks in October yearly.
• The Kelowna Beer Festival located in central British Columbia raises funds for local charities. It was created to promote and enhance the awareness of craft beers, ciders and quality imports from around the world. To allow people to enjoy these beverages responsibly in an atmosphere filled with entertainment and in combination with great food. And in the great Bavarian tradition, to sample these unique beverages in an environment that fosters new friendships and strengthens old ones.
• The largest and longest running beer festival in New York City is Brewtopia: The Great World Beer Festival.
• Victoria, British Columbia hosts the Great Canadian Beer Festival which started in 1993 and draws more than 7000 beer lovers every September.
• The Oregon Brewers Festival attracts more than 60,000 each July to Portland.^[9]
• Philly Beer Week is a 10-day series of beer events starting on the first weekend in March in Philadelphia as a celebration of America's Best Beer-Drinking City. In 2009 it featured 674 separate beer events.^[10] The Keg Hammer of glory was used to tap the ceremonial first keg at Opening Tap on March 6, 2009.
• The Great International Beer Festival is held in Providence, Rhode Island twice annually. In 2008 it featured beer from 47 breweries.^[11]

See also

• International Beer Day
• Great British Beer Festival
• National Winter Ales Festival
• Oktoberfest
• Cannstatter Wasen
• Volksfest
• Great American Beer Festival
• Great World Beer Festival

References

External links

• Bitter & Twisted
• Octoberfest
• Pilsner Fest
• Great British Beer Festival
• Beer Festivals calendar
• Great American Beer Festival
• Brewtopia: The Great World Beer Fest
• The New Zealand Beer Festival
• BrewNZ - Beervana
• Edmonton's Festival of Beer
• http://www.gcbf.com/index.html/ The Great Canadian Beer Festival]
• Atlantis Beer Festival
• Hobart Tasmania Australia
• Festival of Beer: The Where and When of Beer Festivals
• BeerTasteTest.com: Beer Tasting Festivals and Events
• PubsGalore: UK Beer Festival Calendar
• Beerfest Saigon
• Oktoberfest Vietnam