GBBF 2015

Defo! Never been before.

 

Not me!

 

Yep sure am! Yearly ritual at this stage.

 

Well the international list has started to go up. Not sure it's complete as not showing Dutch/Belgian draft from what I can see.

In terms of the US selection - Gotta admit, nothing crazy standing out. Lots of new breweries.

 

Took a look on their beer finder, ticked all the boxes and huge international selection :

http://gbbf.org.uk/beers/beerfinder

Founders, Stone, Epic in the USA section would do me, particularly Founders. Not going this year, off to Prague the week before.

 

Don't get me wrong definitely a very vast selection with some reputable breweries! It will be interesting discovering some of the lesser known ones though.

Enjoy Prague - Fantastic city!

 

Should be fun.

I think I saw La Cumbre Project Dank on the US cask list. If you see that one available, be sure to get some - it's an outstanding IPA.

 

That stuff was outstanding last year!! One of the best beers I had.

 

I wonder will there be any Belgian beers on draft/cask this year? All beers on the list are noted as bottled

 

Second year in a row I've got to go out of country for work the same week as GBBF. I would have loved to try Fresh Squeezed on cask among many others.
I've been to the GABF a few times, but it seems like this one works differently. Am I right that you buy a ticket to the event, but then you also pay for each beer you want to drink (beer tokens)? What does it cost per beer? I'm just curious for next year (hopefully).

 

You are quite right. You need to buy your tickets for entry to the fest whether that be by purchasing daily tickets or a season ticket which allows entry for the duration of the fest. You will need to pay by cash at each bar and prices will vary. You can get a third, a half or.a full pint. Some very strong beers are limited to a third. Average half would be around 2.80 to 3.00 pounds maybe a little more. The British stuff can be allot cheaper

 

Dunham Massey's Chocolate Cherry Mild caught my eye. 'A traditional dark mild, enhanced with a dry cherry flavour.'

 

Congrats to Tiny Rebel for winning the champion beer of britain

FUll list

Overall winner
Gold - Tiny Rebel Cwtch
Silver - Kelburn Jaguar
Bronze - Dancing Duck, Dark Drake


Mild –

Gold – Williams Bros, Black

Silver – Rudgate, Ruby Mild

Bronze – Great Orme, Welsh Black

Bitter –

Gold – Pheasantry, Best Bitter

Silver – Acorn, Barnsley Bitter

Joint Bronze – Purple Moose, Madog’s Ale & Timothy Taylor, Boltmaker

Best Bitter-

Gold – Tiny Rebel, Cwtch

Silver – Highland, Scapa Special

Joint Bronze – Barngates, Tag Lag & Salopian, Darwin’s Origin

Golden Ale-

Gold – Kelburn, Jaguar

Silver – Adnams, Explorer

Bronze – Blue Monkey, Infinity

Strong Bitter-

Gold – Dark Star, Revelation

Silver – Salopian, Golden Thread

Bronze – Grain, India Pale Ale

Speciality Beer –

Gold – Titanic, Plum Porter

Joint Silver – Kissingate, Black Cherry Mild & Saltaire, Triple Chocolate

Bronze – Hanlons, Port Stout

Champion Winter Beer of Britain (from category winners announced in January 2015)-

Porter – Elland Brewery

Stout – Dancing Duck, Dark Drake

Barley Wines and Strong Old Ales – Lees, Moonraker

Old Ales and Strong Milds – Purple Moose

Champion Bottled Beer of Britain winners
(Sponsored by Beer Hawk)

Gold – Harveys, Imperial Extra Double Stout

Silver – Fyne Ales, Superior India Pale Ale

Bronze – Mordue, India Pale Ale

 

Booked my ticket for Friday as I have a day off so I'll be there at noon. Any recommendations so far?

 

Got the US and German draught bars eyed up now. Deschutes and altbier from the barrel sounds just the ticket.

 

I have to say that while hats off to the organisers for getting such a great fest together, the volunteers at the bars really made it. Generous portions, polite manners and good advice for people who aren't so experience. I'll definitely be going next year.