Craft and (crap) beer at Glastonbury

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

Is there realistically anyway to petition the festival to bring in smaller UK breweries to supply beer instead of having the same crap lager site wide?

Maybe I'm alone in this but I would love it the different bar tents were actually different. Why not let people like Tiny Rebel, Brew York, Cloudwater, DEYA etc. have their own tents around site.

It would make travelling around the he different areas a bit more interesting and help justify the £7 pints if you're actually getting a decent beer. (Would also be nice to have some sours and different IPAs instead of only lager or dodgy ale)

 

Am I just a puke, or is anyone else annoyed at the Carlsberg only setup? 

[gfa]

9 minutes ago, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

Is there realistically anyway to petition the festival to bring in smaller UK breweries to supply beer instead of having the same crap lager site wide?

Maybe I'm alone in this but I would love it the different bar tents were actually different. Why not let people like Tiny Rebel, Brew York, Cloudwater, DEYA etc. have their own tents around site.

It would make travelling around the he different areas a bit more interesting and help justify the £7 pints if you're actually getting a decent beer. (Would also be nice to have some sours and different IPAs instead of only lager or dodgy ale)

 

Am I just a puke, or is anyone else annoyed at the Carlsberg only setup? 

I'd never considered they could just have different drinks in each area to solve the only the big breweries can manage to cater for 200k people.

With Melvin back onboard at glasto i think carlsberg might be sticking around given he'll be linked with them

[donthaveacoolname]

Avalon Inn and the bar in the Acoustic Tent field usually have some decent Ale (or did in '17 when I was last there....)

[gigpusher]

59 minutes ago, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

Is there realistically anyway to petition the festival to bring in smaller UK breweries to supply beer instead of having the same crap lager site wide?

Maybe I'm alone in this but I would love it the different bar tents were actually different. Why not let people like Tiny Rebel, Brew York, Cloudwater, DEYA etc. have their own tents around site.

It would make travelling around the he different areas a bit more interesting and help justify the £7 pints if you're actually getting a decent beer. (Would also be nice to have some sours and different IPAs instead of only lager or dodgy ale)

 

Am I just a puke, or is anyone else annoyed at the Carlsberg only setup? 

I didn't actually see it on site but I believe Brew York were there last year and they had some special Glastonbury beers for it. My husband would definitely prefer if they did this. 

[Isaact]

1 hour ago, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

Is there realistically anyway to petition the festival to bring in smaller UK breweries to supply beer instead of having the same crap lager site wide?

Maybe I'm alone in this but I would love it the different bar tents were actually different. Why not let people like Tiny Rebel, Brew York, Cloudwater, DEYA etc. have their own tents around site.

It would make travelling around the he different areas a bit more interesting and help justify the £7 pints if you're actually getting a decent beer. (Would also be nice to have some sours and different IPAs instead of only lager or dodgy ale)

 

Am I just a puke, or is anyone else annoyed at the Carlsberg only setup? 

I actually emailed them about this and got a really crap response, let me see if I can dig it up. Completely agree with you, and goes against the whole spirit of the festival only having mass-market brews there.

1 minute ago, gigpusher said:

I didn't actually see it on site but I believe Brew York were there last year and they had some special Glastonbury beers for it. My husband would definitely prefer if they did this. 

Brew York were there but only in one of the crew bars (I think Unfairground) and they sold out of it very quickly.

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

2 minutes ago, gigpusher said:

I didn't actually see it on site but I believe Brew York were there last year and they had some special Glastonbury beers for it. My husband would definitely prefer if they did this. 

Unfortunately not, I saw the can of Eavis juice but apparently they were kept exlcusive in a VIP tent backstage. 

Obviously carlsberg isn't good enough for the Glasto elite

Shame because a nice juice Forsyth would be perfect in the heat 

 

[Isaact]

Here it is. The email I sent them:

Quote

Hi Glastonbury! Another vintage year this year, but I had to email in and say that I was really, really disappointed with the lack of craft beer options at any of the bars. It really feels against the ethos of Glastonbury that almost all the drinks options are owned by huge, multi-national corporations like Heineken or ABInBev, and none of the frankly booming independent and local craft beer industry was represented at all. I get that it would be more expensive - that is fine. Charge more!

 

And their crap response:

Quote

Thank you for your feedback Isaact. We hope you otherwise enjoyed the Festival.

 

 

With regards

 

Caroline Armitage

Glastonbury Festival Markets Office

 

[gigpusher]

2 minutes ago, Isaact said:

I actually emailed them about this and got a really crap response, let me see if I can dig it up. Completely agree with you, and goes against the whole spirit of the festival only having mass-market brews there.

Brew York were there but only in one of the crew bars (I think Unfairground) and they sold out of it very quickly.

I'll bet would have loved those cans. 

[Tranquility of Solitude]

8 minutes ago, donthaveacoolname said:

Avalon Inn and the bar in the Acoustic Tent field usually have some decent Ale (or did in '17 when I was last there....)

Acoustic tent field bar is called The Cockmill, and this year had quite a few offerings from the Otter, Shipyard and Ringwood Breweries.

[catavento]

1 hour ago, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

Maybe I'm alone in this but I would love it the different bar tents were actually different. Why not let people like Tiny Rebel, Brew York, Cloudwater, DEYA etc. have their own tents around site.

Yeah indeed, or even if there were a couple of bars on site that did what the bar in the Acoustic does (or certainly did), but for keg stuff rather than cask? The wider area is pretty well served for breweries, there'd be plenty of relatively local options. 

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

3 minutes ago, Tranquility of Solitude said:

Acoustic tent field bar is called The Cockmill, and this year had quite a few offerings from the Otter, Shipyard and Ringwood Breweries.

Hopefully not too rude but they are all the dodgy ales I'm talking about.

The independent beer scene in the UK has never been so vibrant and it's totally ignored by Glastonbury 

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

3 minutes ago, catavento said:

Yeah indeed, or even if there were a couple of bars on site that did what the bar in the Acoustic does (or certainly did), but for keg stuff rather than cask? The wider area is pretty well served for breweries, there'd be plenty of relatively local options. 

I'm not a huge fan, but wild beer co looked to be right outside the festival, they had a big sign up for a drive through beer shop on the way in, surely they should be represented as local suppliers?

[Tranquility of Solitude]

Just now, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

Hopefully not too rude but they are all the dodgy ales I'm talking about.

The independent beer scene in the UK has never been so vibrant and it's totally ignored by Glastonbury 

Understand your point, and no offence taken, but don’t believe the independents you are talking about are geared up to produce the volumes required at Glastonbury. That’s the beauty of small, independent breweries. They don’t produce in large quantities, and are often difficult to get outside of their geographical area.

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

11 minutes ago, Isaact said:

their crap response

Stinks of auto reply doesn't it. 

For all the PR they do about the festival, it really just comes down to mega corps and mega charities (also corps with a small possibility of doing some good however unlikely)

Places like Greenman absolutely wipe the floor with Glasto in that regard

[Tranquility of Solitude]

5 minutes ago, catavento said:

Yeah indeed, or even if there were a couple of bars on site that did what the bar in the Acoustic does (or certainly did), but for keg stuff rather than cask? The wider area is pretty well served for breweries, there'd be plenty of relatively local options. 

Not sure how you would be able to serve cask at Glastonbury? It’s a fresh product, and requires careful looking after. During a hot Glastonbury it would be undrinkable, and readily go off. There’s no cellars.

[Neil]

small breweries can't supply the quantities the festival wants.

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

3 minutes ago, Tranquility of Solitude said:

Understand your point, and no offence taken, but don’t believe the independents you are talking about are geared up to produce the volumes required at Glastonbury. That’s the beauty of small, independent breweries. They don’t produce in large quantities, and are often difficult to get outside of their geographical area.

Exactly why I think having them allocated a tent would be perfect.

If they know they are going to Glasto they can easily prepare enough kegs. They do festivals all year round and outside of nano breweries most cater huge crowds. 

Tiny rebel, brew York etc. are already on a massive scale supplying to supermarkets etc

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

Just now, Neil said:

small breweries can't supply the quantities the festival wants.

I mean that basically just ignores every point I've made, and to be honest, is just incorrect

If they can supply supermarkets year round, they can supply a festival. That's ignoring all the beer festivals throughout the summer they attend in the UK and abroad

 

[Neil]

Just now, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

I mean that basically just ignores every point I've made, and to be honest, is just incorrect

If they can supply supermarkets year round, they can supply a festival. That's ignoring all the beer festivals throughout the summer they attend in the UK and abroad

 

as i understand it, the fest approached loads of small breweries, a few year back, and asked can you supply this amount over this timeframe, and a lot pf those breweries declined, because they wouldn't also be able to supply their normal customers.

[marathonsteve]

There has been Belgium beer on draught before, which was truly excellent but it wasn’t there this  year

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

1 minute ago, Neil said:

as i understand it, the fest approached loads of small breweries, a few year back, and asked can you supply this amount over this timeframe, and a lot pf those breweries declined, because they wouldn't also be able to supply their normal customers.

Well, I can't really speak to when that was or how much they asked (did they want them to supply in the same way as carlsberg, or a smaller scale etc.)

If people like brew York, tiny rebel, cloudwater, vault city etc. etc. were asked to stock and run a bar tent for the length of the festival I'm sure it would be possible. 

Bars like acoustic, Williams green, bread and roses etc. Could all be craft beer bars

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

1 minute ago, marathonsteve said:

There has been Belgium beer on draught before, which was truly excellent but it wasn’t there this  year

There was one year I was there had a full Brooklyn beer bar with all their different beers on, that was such a welcome addition but I think it's been gone since 

[NotAnInsider]

The beer situation at Glasto this year was a real disappointment. Really struggled to find anything vaugely drinkable; the odd bar had Shipyard IPA which was ok, but compared to the likes of Green Man and Bluedot which all have a cracking range available it was terrible.

Glasto in the past has had a decent range, so its clearly a result of whatever crappy deal they have with Carlsberg - the guys at the Bimble Inn said someone from the bar team came and made them turn the Guiness taps around so they couldn't be seen as Carlsberg weren't happy - and they had to fight to be able to serve it in the first place.

If Green Man can get a Brecon Brewing to supply a range of ales for a festival of 20k, i see no reason why Glasto can't get a handful of semi local breweries to at least provide an alternative to the dross that is carlsberg.

[Sawdusty surfer]

11 minutes ago, Tranquility of Solitude said:

Not sure how you would be able to serve cask at Glastonbury? It’s a fresh product, and requires careful looking after. During a hot Glastonbury it would be undrinkable, and readily go off. There’s no cellars.

The Irish posse up the hill in the south east of the site could manage it....

[marathonsteve]

4 minutes ago, NotAnInsider said:

The beer situation at Glasto this year was a real disappointment. Really struggled to find anything vaugely drinkable; the odd bar had Shipyard IPA which was ok, but compared to the likes of Green Man and Bluedot which all have a cracking range available it was terrible.

Glasto in the past has had a decent range, so its clearly a result of whatever crappy deal they have with Carlsberg - the guys at the Bimble Inn said someone from the bar team came and made them turn the Guiness taps around so they couldn't be seen as Carlsberg weren't happy - and they had to fight to be able to serve it in the first place.

If Green Man can get a Brecon Brewing to supply a range of ales for a festival of 20k, i see no reason why Glasto can't get a handful of semi local breweries to at least provide an alternative to the dross that is carlsberg.

The craft beer at Greenman in the courtyard has always been fantastic. Some strong beers as well