Latitude booze policy

[DJ Cull]

I’m a Latitude virgin and can’t find anything on the site about what you can take in - what are the normal rules there? Can you take drink into the campsite and the arena?

Edited May 27, 2021 by DJ Cull

[incident]

6 minutes ago, DJ Cull said:

I’m a Latitude virgin and can’t find anything on the site about what you can take in - what are the normal rules there? Can you take drink into the campsite and the arena?

You can take alcohol for personal consumption into the Campsite - or, assuming this hasn't changed since 2018, buy it at a near supermarket price from the on-site co-op.

You can take almost nothing into the arena - it's by far the strictest festival I've ever been to in that respect. Then when you're in the Arena, you can enjoy a wide variety of Carlsberg.

[stereodista]

6 minutes ago, incident said:

You can take alcohol for personal consumption into the Campsite - or, assuming this hasn't changed since 2018, buy it at a near supermarket price from the on-site co-op.

You can take almost nothing into the arena - it's by far the strictest festival I've ever been to in that respect. Then when you're in the Arena, you can enjoy a wide variety of Carlsberg.

Or fast-track a pregnancy — never seen a buggy get searched on entry, in spite of bottles of booze in plain sight! 

[sedra]

No glass bottles on campsite but can take personal alcohol just not into the arena- you get searched on entry. 

[Paulbusbloke]

Looking forward to £6 a can for warm carlsberg!

[Chapple12345]

We used to smuggle it in our camping chairs we brought but they started checking them since - you're allowed to take a reasonable amount of food into the arena though so we usually take some sandwiches for lunch and then get food in the arena after 

[Havors]

On 5/27/2021 at 7:02 PM, incident said:

You can take alcohol for personal consumption into the Campsite - or, assuming this hasn't changed since 2018, buy it at a near supermarket price from the on-site co-op.

You can take almost nothing into the arena - it's by far the strictest festival I've ever been to in that respect. Then when you're in the Arena, you can enjoy a wide variety of Carlsberg.

At least it wont be the old carlsberg.... the new recipe is not nearly as bad haha 

[Mackem]

On 5/27/2021 at 7:02 PM, incident said:

Then when you're in the Arena, you can enjoy a wide variety of Carlsberg.

Hang on, is this true? It's years since I've been to Latitude but I thought I could remember it having real ale?

 

[Havors]

20 hours ago, Mackem said:

Hang on, is this true? It's years since I've been to Latitude but I thought I could remember it having real ale?

 

You may be able to find a tent or stall that sells something decent. Usual can at most festivals but they are few and far between. 

[chrisplowman]

On 5/27/2021 at 6:52 PM, DJ Cull said:

I’m a Latitude virgin and can’t find anything on the site about what you can take in - what are the normal rules there? Can you take drink into the campsite and the arena?

No drink can be taken in but I disagree on the strictness of searches at the gate. Could easily smuggle stuff in if you really want to.

 

On 6/4/2021 at 5:59 PM, Mackem said:

Hang on, is this true? It's years since I've been to Latitude but I thought I could remember it having real ale?

 

It did have a few years ago but has been Carlsberg for a while now. Your options are Regular, Export or Somersby Cider. There is a pretty good gin bar though.

[Mackem]

 

 

   On 6/4/2021 at 5:59 PM,  Mackem said: 

Hang on, is this true? It's years since I've been to Latitude but I thought I could remember it having real ale?

 

23 hours ago, chrisplowman said:

It did have a few years ago but has been Carlsberg for a while now. Your options are Regular, Export or Somersby Cider. There is a pretty good gin bar though.

So there's no ale or craft beer? Given the middle class profile of the festival, I'm really surprised. I doubt Reading or Leeds lose any bar trade by only offering lager, but seriously I'm not going to drink Carlsberg all day - and I can't be the only one. If I can't smuggle cans in then I'll probably be on the water most of the day. And they're not going to make any money out of that. 

[sam1981]

On 6/8/2021 at 1:03 PM, Mackem said:

   On 6/4/2021 at 5:59 PM,  Mackem said: 

Hang on, is this true? It's years since I've been to Latitude but I thought I could remember it having real ale?

 

So there's no ale or craft beer? Given the middle class profile of the festival, I'm really surprised. I doubt Reading or Leeds lose any bar trade by only offering lager, but seriously I'm not going to drink Carlsberg all day - and I can't be the only one. If I can't smuggle cans in then I'll probably be on the water most of the day. And they're not going to make any money out of that. 

 I last went in 2018 and there were a couple of bars with real ale. Lots of the bars only served lager and cider so you had to hunt out the ale. Nothing you'd classify as 'craft' beer anywhere, though hopefully that might have changed in the past 3 years??  🤷‍♂️

Had a great weekend, but the beer selection was the worst part of it. It does seem ridiculous given they make such a big thing of the food experience and then you can't even get a bog standard Pale Ale or IPA anywhere on site. 

Edited June 10, 2021 by sam1981

[Amos Trask]

last 2 or 3 there have been a couple of Carlsberg exclusive bars - where they pimped pints of export for a 50p premium, but most if not all the site bars do some form of Bitter/Real Ale - sure it was Adnams a couple of years ago.  Overall bar prices have always been reasonable, and the table service area is excellent (very dangerous if you get rooted for too long).

Searches - whoever mentioned the buggy is bang on, has served me very well.  If you not in family camping, go to the gate when its busy, consider the sacrificial can on top/inside of the bag (give one up, say sorry and they tend to give up looking) . . . hide it on your person not in bag.  And don't celebrate should you get anything in as you get through the gate as they have spotters 20 yards inside at peek times.

Into Camping they are glass obsessed - decant everything.

[glasto-worker]

Note the WBC no longer bids for this event as they cant make a trading profit from it.

don't forget Hectors's Ale was on sale {Henham Park Owner Hektor Rous hired spare capacity at other breweries (particularly Oakham and Green Jack) to brew his beers. Most production was for the annual Latitude festival in Henham park.} 

But due to access restrictions it was not possible to keep the bars restocked with real ale hence why when a bar ran out it could not be restocked .

I miss Latitude as it used to be a lot less hectic than Reading/leeds

 

How beer gets delivered

one of the bag search areas

Hectors's Ale

[efcfanwirral]

 

 

On 6/7/2021 at 1:08 PM, chrisplowman said:

No drink can be taken in but I disagree on the strictness of searches at the gate. Could easily smuggle stuff in if you really want to.

 

It did have a few years ago but has been Carlsberg for a while now. Your options are Regular, Export or Somersby Cider. There is a pretty good gin bar though.

 

On 6/14/2021 at 12:38 PM, Amos Trask said:

last 2 or 3 there have been a couple of Carlsberg exclusive bars - where they pimped pints of export for a 50p premium

Reading had this- Export is quite nice comparatively anyway, and at that one at least they had an amazing strawberry and rhubarb Somersby so I'm hoping to see that at this one 

I can do Somersby so mainly cider for me at this one I think! 

That said I'm just looking forward to having an overpriced pint in a paper cup in a field, I'm not too bothered what it is! 

Edited June 26, 2021 by efcfanwirral

[Mr Boo]

1 hour ago, efcfanwirral said:

That said I'm just looking forward to having an overpriced pint in a paper cup in a field, I'm not too bothered what it is

I agree with this. I’m going to enjoy it, no matter what it tastes like 🍻

[dj_tim]

Can anyone confirm what drinks the co-op sold last time? Warm beers don’t hold the same appeal they used to so if they sell anything approaching drinkable I’ll be tempted to just buy from there rather than carrying a load of cans in.

[efcfanwirral]

6 hours ago, dj_tim said:

Can anyone confirm what drinks the co-op sold last time? Warm beers don’t hold the same appeal they used to so if they sell anything approaching drinkable I’ll be tempted to just buy from there rather than carrying a load of cans in.

Co-op at festivals only sell the beers that are available from the main bars so it'll be carlsberg and somersby

[incident]

Just now, efcfanwirral said:

Co-op at festivals only sell the beers that are available from the main bars so it'll be carlsberg and somersby

Can't speak for other festivals, but that certainly wasn't the case at Latitude 2018. The Co-Op was well stocked with a surprisingly large range at decent prices - including plenty of major brands not owned by Carlsberg Group.

Though admittedly that was one of their earliest steps into the Festival world, so it may have tightened up since.

[efcfanwirral]

44 minutes ago, incident said:

Can't speak for other festivals, but that certainly wasn't the case at Latitude 2018. The Co-Op was well stocked with a surprisingly large range at decent prices - including plenty of major brands not owned by Carlsberg Group.

Though admittedly that was one of their earliest steps into the Festival world, so it may have tightened up since.

That'd be incredible if that's how it goes! It was Reading 2019 so perhaps they've tightened up, or maybe FR and Carlsberg made them....

[gfa]

7 hours ago, efcfanwirral said:

Co-op at festivals only sell the beers that are available from the main bars so it'll be carlsberg and somersby

Isle of Wight 2019 they had a wide range. I can't quite remember but its possible there might be sub sponsors for example at IOW it was all carling i think but they also had a strongbow arena so the coop had strongbow stuff too.

---

The booze policy seems very up in the air, if i go in with a slab of 24 beers will that be considered too much? Or should i try like a bottle of spirits (decanted of course) plus like 8 tins? Also how are the searches if i put my spirits in my tent that will be fine right? I am 20 so probably at a much higher risk of searches vs most people at the festival

[Mambonumberfive]

As already mentioned smuggling is possible but more difficult than greenman for example. The first time I went about 4 years ago there were a couple of real ales but I couldn’t find any beer other than lager at the last one.

They aren’t happy in my experience for people going back to their cars and bringing alcohol in to the campsite so I would probably try and take it in on my first journey with the tent if possible! 

[Keef]

I went to Latitude in 2019, just for the day on the Friday, and they were selling real ale at one of the main bars on site (although not at all of them), but it ran out mid-afternoon.  They told me they hoped to get more in on Saturday but it wasn't certain.  It was Adnams if I recall (The Adnams brewery is only a few miles from the site) as well as another local brewery.

[Mackem]

I was speaking over the weekend to a mate who’s been more recently than me and he said the main ale available had been Woodford’s Wherry from Norwich? Makes sense I guess 

[glasto-worker]

22 hours ago, Mambonumberfive said:

As already mentioned smuggling is possible but more difficult than greenman for example. The first time I went about 4 years ago there were a couple of real ales but I couldn’t find any beer other than lager at the last one.

They aren’t happy in my experience for people going back to their cars and bringing alcohol in to the campsite so I would probably try and take it in on my first journey with the tent if possible! 

 

2 hours ago, Keef said:

I went to Latitude in 2019, just for the day on the Friday, and they were selling real ale at one of the main bars on site (although not at all of them), but it ran out mid-afternoon.  They told me they hoped to get more in on Saturday but it wasn't certain.  It was Adnams if I recall (The Adnams brewery is only a few miles from the site) as well as another local brewery.

 

1 hour ago, Mackem said:

I was speaking over the weekend to a mate who’s been more recently than me and he said the main ale available had been Woodford’s Wherry from Norwich? Makes sense I guess 

frontline { counter } bar staff would not have a clue and I would suspect many are agency staff so even less in the know.

any conventional real ale has to settle and most bars will leave it ' a good 24 hours ' but during that time the Keg cant be lifted or moved so most Bar managers will leave it 36 hours just to be safe although that is not the case with Bright Beer { has the sediment/yeast removed at the brewery. }

## when a bar says - they hope to get more in Tomorrow - they don't mean - they are waiting for the Ale to arrive ' as its already there ' - they are just waiting for it to settle. ## so location of the Brewery is not a factor - by the way Woodford’s Wherry used to be sold at Glastonbury ' in some of the Bars '

The bars at Latitude { on the request of the landowner } are far smaller than many festivals hence why not every bar can serve real ale as there is not enough space. I should know as I have worked in every Bar at it.

when the WBC had the contract ' any Bar that had real ale on sale that second ' used to raise a red flag above the bar ' - have not a clue if they still do this.