Reflections on GBBF 2017, past, present and the future?

Festival goers Nick Sturley & Shane Gilchrist

Another year of the amazing Great British Beer Festival and well done to all the volunteer CAMRA members and brewery bars who work so hard to make this such an enjoyable celebration of cask beer.

The organisation of GBBF is a well oiled machine and everyone knows what they are doing to produce great beers served in pristine condition ready to serve for the first day. Great credit is deserving for all of those who work so hard to make this happen, but below the surface, just like an iceberg, is all well with GBBF?

I have attended the last five consecutive GBBF's so what has changed in that time. The UK beer market has certainly changed dramatically with the influx of craft ales and pressure from other sectors such as gin and cider, but has GBBF, the showcase for cask ale moved on to address this?

CAMRA bar

To an outsider the answer has to be no. Yes there has been some welcome additions with the American and Foreign beer bars and more street food stalls, but the place still looks the same as it always has and there seems a dearth of fresh, younger active members amongst the volunteers. Everyone, including the event has just got a little older and it seems as less inviting now to younger drinkers as it was five years ago. That's not to criticise its appeal to more mature drinkers, it certainly fulfils that need, but in my view it needs to move on and appeal to younger drinkers.

It is time for CAMRA to grasp the nettle and start to showcase craft keg beers and lagers from UK brewers, whether they are brewery conditioned or naturally conditioned. That probably means enticing these brewers themselves to showcase their beers as its as much about badge style, design and meeting the brewers as the beers themselves. Cans should also be welcomed with open arms, quite why these are frowned upon is beyond me as often these mimic a beers draught version better than a bottle.

Tiny Rebel brewers bar

The number of brewery bars increased this year from eight to eleven, but it was noticeable that the bigger regional brewer players have ceased to support the event i.e. Greene King, Marston's, Charles Wells (now part of Marston's). These bars were once the life blood of GBBF offering not just a taste of their fabulous beer but also a brand experience. Without a strong selection of brewers GBBF is a poorer event.

So for the future, imagine a different GBBF, an event to be proud of that truly showcases all that is best in the world in UK beers. It would feature the best of cask beers, keg and lagers from the UK. Bottled beers whether they are bottle conditioned or not and of course cans. Brewers would be welcome, the bigger regional brewers set the standards and their big brands help to keep the market robust against other sectors,  but its important the event is also accessible to the smaller craft brewers as well.

St Austell Brewery Proper Job Ambassadors on trade day

Some areas would have to compromise to make space. Perhaps fewer CAMRA bars, less street food, less book stalls etc and the biggest compromise of all might be divorcing the event from the core beliefs of CAMRA to avoid the constraints of preserving cask beers only. I think for cask to survive and prosper in the future you have to make it attractive to craft drinkers and to promote it alongside these beers at the same event would seem a good start.

In conclusion, I am still a great fan of GBBF but I think there is a wonderful opportunity to make this it a quiet brilliant event if changes are made now. If it carries on in the current format for the next five years I fear numbers will have declined further and someone will invent another event that will take its place. Please don't let that happen, its too good to lose CAMRA.