The trade event takes place in the daytime on the Friday, then tickets are available for the public on the Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening; entry is a bargain, ranging from £10 - £12.
I attended the festival on Friday and it was a massive first for me. My drink of choice tends to be a glass of wine, a good old G&T or sometimes even a whisky... I've only ever had a pint on the odd occasion and only if it is filled with a cloudy west country cider. This Friday was the first time I chose beer as my drink and not just for a round but as the theme for the whole evening!
I turned up at the Old Truman Brewery (yes - the festival takes place actually IN a brewery) fifteen minutes after the doors were due to open expecting to walk straight in but was surprised to see a decent queue for entry down Brick Lane. The event had sold out and in true British fashion, those of us with tickets were queuing in an orderly fashion to enter the brewery... apart from one poor chap from Chicago who was hunting avidly amongst the crowd for a spare ticket. A fan of all things British and most specifically English beer, he was keen to get in! Lucky for him - and unlucky for one of my friends who had dire food-poisoning - I had a spare ticket and he joined our group.
So what is a craft beer? What it isn't is a beer from a mass-brand company that can be bought here, there and everywhere. What it is, on the other hand, is a beer from a traditional, small and independent brewery. It is well defined here - "Craft Brewer Defined"
The most quirky flavours I tasted were the Mexi-Cocoa beer, which is a chocolate and vanilla flavoured stout from the Rebel Brewing Company in Cornwall as well as a banana bread flavoured beer from another brewery, which they recommended to go very well with curry (and, not forgetting, with banana bread).
As well as the two mentioned above, here is a list of my favourite beers from the event:
- Hélène - a spiced wheat beer, also from the Rebel Brewing Company
- Nelson Sauvin Saison, from the Meantime Brewing Company, London
- Kriek Boon - a traditional Belgian beer with a twist as it is cherry flavoured, from the Boon Brewery
- Brewers & Union Unfiltered Dark Lager - I expected this to be heavy and hard to drink but, although it was big, it was smooth, rich and delicious. It was also surprisingly refreshing. It is from Brewers & Union Craft Beer (brewed in Bavaria and Belgium)
- Beast of the Deep - an unfiltered strong lager, both elegant and fruity. This is also from Brewers & Union Craft Beer
With the new interest in microbreweries and their attention to detail, beer produced by craft breweries is being recognised as complex, unique, artisanal and accessible to all. craft beer deserves this recognition. It is master-crafted and from the huge variety available, there is arguably a craft beer out there for every palate to enjoy. Similar to wine, there is a different type of craft beer to go with every event, to suit every time of year and to match every kind of food...
... Speaking of food, I must mention the good ol' gorgeous grub at the festival. I tried a delicious posh nosh pork and chilli sausage roll at the start of the evening as well as some pork crackling and then ended the evening at Hix's Fish Dog stall - the ultimate fish finger sarnie!
All in all, it's a great event with a fantastic atmosphere. It's really well organised, with a great crowd, good music, tasty local food and - not forgetting - both quirky and traditional, high-quality craft beer.