Craft and (crap) beer at Glastonbury

[balti-pie]

Saddened by GDS running out of Brooklyn’s excellent AF beer special effects last night, I had a bash of the San Miguel 0.0 AF - and I’ll be honest, it’s really terrible. Like sweetened shitty cheap bread. Wouldn’t drink it if it were free! 

[The Nal]

This alcohol free chat is a disgrace. Should be forum bans handed out for it.

[catavento]

Re AF beer, I'll recommend Tropic of Now by Brulo, dunno if it's been mentioned already. It's badged as a DDH IPA, but less hoppy than that suggests, imo. I bought a crate of cans in some special offer or another a while ago and they've all gone. 

[Alvoram]

For those that asked, if you aren't already aware... The Cloudwater Chubles 53N and Chubble Enhanced were both listed for delivery from the 10th April. Neither is listed at all anymore. 

(I never ordered any, but I just remembered that somebody asked the date, and I forgot to report back.) 

[fightoffyour]

7 hours ago, Alvoram said:

For those that asked, if you aren't already aware... The Cloudwater Chubles 53N and Chubble Enhanced were both listed for delivery from the 10th April. Neither is listed at all anymore. 

(I never ordered any, but I just remembered that somebody asked the date, and I forgot to report back.) 

They're having tastings in the taproom tomorrow and still selling tickets so it seems to be ready in cans.

[p.pete]

When craft beer at Glastonbury was discussed before the strongest argument against it was all the infrastructure that Carlsberg brought to the festival and not wanting to rock the boat.  Can EE->Vodafone be the new 'but planes' response?  Carlsberg don't have to control things for ever.  If there are things that might enhance the festival, like more craft beer or just better or more varied beer & cider options and they're not on board, then hopefully that's something that can be looked at in the future whenever their involvement is next being reviewed.

[Clouds]

1 hour ago, p.pete said:

When craft beer at Glastonbury was discussed before the strongest argument against it was all the infrastructure that Carlsberg brought to the festival and not wanting to rock the boat.  Can EE->Vodafone be the new 'but planes' response?  Carlsberg don't have to control things for ever.  If there are things that might enhance the festival, like more craft beer or just better or more varied beer & cider options and they're not on board, then hopefully that's something that can be looked at in the future whenever their involvement is next being reviewed.

I personally don't think that was the strongest argument against it.  It was more the fact that the infrastructure required to execute an operation as big as supplying bars at Glastonbury is not something most craft breweries possess.   The volume of beer required to keep the bars continually supplied/stocked and the logistics of getting in there, storing it etc.

I think the only chances of having something vaguely resembling craft beer at Glastonbury would be a brand which is either owned or collaborates with a major player in the industry - so something like Beavertown, Camden Town, Brooklyn etc.  Brooklyn actually had a bar there one year but it never came back after that, no idea why not but obviously something that never worked out.

Edited March 28, 2023 by Clouds

[p.pete]

25 minutes ago, Clouds said:

I personally don't think that was the strongest argument against it.  It was more the fact that the infrastructure required to execute an operation as big as supplying bars at Glastonbury is not something most craft breweries possess.   The volume of beer required to keep the bars continually supplied/stocked and the logistics of getting in there, storing it etc.

I think the only chances of having something vaguely resembling craft beer at Glastonbury would be a brand which is either owned or collaborates with a major player in the industry - so something like Beavertown, Camden Town, Brooklyn etc.  Brooklyn actually had a bar there one year but it never came back after that, no idea why not but obviously something that never worked out.

Maybe it didn't return Carlsberg didn't like it?  If you don't know why it didn't come back it might be simply that it was actually too popular - who knows?  Lots has been said around craft beer places being too small already, including that being a very old reason for it not happening.  Since then lots of craft breweries have matured massively - also there's lots of different ways that this could be implemented.  The main barrier to me seems to be Carlsberg and their grip on the situation, but EE->Vodafone.

[Clouds]

17 minutes ago, p.pete said:

Maybe it didn't return Carlsberg didn't like it?  If you don't know why it didn't come back it might be simply that it was actually too popular - who knows?  Lots has been said around craft beer places being too small already, including that being a very old reason for it not happening.  Since then lots of craft breweries have matured massively - also there's lots of different ways that this could be implemented.  The main barrier to me seems to be Carlsberg and their grip on the situation, but EE->Vodafone.

Theres maturing then theres being capable, and wanting to, supply a major festival and all the headaches of being able to manufacture, store and transport huge volumes for a very short period - potentially having to let down existing customers, take on additional temporary staff etc etc. 

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

52 minutes ago, Clouds said:

 The volume of beer required to keep the bars continually supplied/stocked and the logistics of getting in there, storing it etc.

I don't understand why people keep defaulting to this, it doesn't have to be either / or.

There could easily be a beer festival within the festival showcasing loads of craft beers, this works brilliantly at Greenman

Or let the smaller bars be craft beers bars dotted around various areas. 

 

It's the lack of choice that is the killer. I'm just thankful brothers bar survives every year.

[Clouds]

1 hour ago, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

I don't understand why people keep defaulting to this, it doesn't have to be either / or.

There could easily be a beer festival within the festival showcasing loads of craft beers, this works brilliantly at Greenman

Or let the smaller bars be craft beers bars dotted around various areas. 

 

It's the lack of choice that is the killer. I'm just thankful brothers bar survives every year.

I dunno, maybe because they have experience in running a small business and know only too well the logistics required to suddenly have to scale up production of something for a very limited time.  Or maybe they realise that pumping a load of money into something they have little/no experience in isn't a sensible business decision at the moment.  Maybe they disagree with you that running a beer festival within a major music festival is an easy job?  Maybe they think a 250k event isn't comparable to a 25k one?  

I would love to see it happen don't get me wrong and I share your frustration - I'm just considering the reasons why it hasn't
 

Edited March 28, 2023 by Clouds

[emilya1993]

I heard they've switched to Coors - not sure if it's accurate but from someone who worked for Carlsberg at the festival last year. 

Having one big brand to deal with the infrastructure requirements and on site tech is probably the reason for sticking with Carlsberg for so long.

 

Would be nice to have smaller traders around!

[balti-pie]

Coors ffs! the most well known of their brands is Carling, which is actual horse piss and extremely unwelcome. It makes Carlsberg appealing, which is kind of an achievement 

[The Nal]

They could easily do Moretti or one of those standard beers. But they've managed to choose the 2 worst beers/ales on planet earth. Carlsberg and that Otter ale stuff. Which tastes like weasels piss.

[drumski]

Always thought someone like Beavertown would be up for Glastonbury, given who the founders dad is.    Shame Brewdog turned out to be a gang of sausages, one of few craft ale companies in the UK that could have dealt with demand on their own.  If it's Coors then it'll likely be Heineken?  Not sure who owns what these days

[Greenelk]

33 minutes ago, drumski said:

Always thought someone like Beavertown would be up for Glastonbury, given who the founders dad is.    Shame Brewdog turned out to be a gang of sausages, one of few craft ale companies in the UK that could have dealt with demand on their own.  If it's Coors then it'll likely be Heineken?  Not sure who owns what these days

With Beavertown fully owned by Heineken now (the Plant's have all left the board) it's a brand that could appear at festivals, sadly, Heineken have ruined what used to be pretty drinkable pales by changing Neck Oil and Gamma Ray for mass production, and turning them into piss

[Fearless_Fish]

On 1/27/2023 at 2:42 PM, waltere said:

Assuming you're talking about the little bar tents that popped up a few years back, in which case I ended up working on the one in Williams Green in both 2015 and 2016 - asides from being heaving on Thursday, when that's the biggest stage on, trade was, at absolute best, steady, and at worst downright non-existent.

I suspect this may have something to do with your latter question tbh

I desperately missed that stall in 2019. It didn't help that it was tucked away right at the back corner of the field; most people probably didn't know it was there. The cider was superb, and back then "just" £4.50 a pint (the cider bus was £4). It was our go-to stop for a drink. There's nowhere on site now (last went in 2019) apart from the cider bus where you can get a real cider to my knowledge.

[Fearless_Fish]

On 2/2/2023 at 8:02 PM, Quark said:

I've got a bottle of Ghost Ship in my booze cupboard to try. Been too cowardly to try it after the horror of Doom Bar AF put me off the AF versions of more standard ales. Might give it a go this weekend

Yeah, found AF IPAs to be nice, but AF "traditional ales" that I've tried have been abysmal - including Doom Bar (I can't remember the rest I tried, which is a shame as I'd like to know what to avoid in future)

[Alvoram]

19 hours ago, The Nal said:

They could easily do Moretti or one of those standard beers. But they've managed to choose the 2 worst beers/ales on planet earth. Carlsberg and that Otter ale stuff. Which tastes like weasels piss.

Moretti is Heineken.

If it turns out to be Molson Coors, I imagine Madri will have swung it being the new 'very in' Molson coors brand, so I'd expect to see Madri on sale there. 

Carlsberg, Molson Coors, and Heineken are the only 3 breweries I imagine have the infrastructure to manage the whole site, so there really isn't much choice there, and none of them are great. But the main problem, really, is the lack of smaller brands to supplement the main brewery. (Presumably part of the arrangement is exclusivity to some degree.) Of course, the ideal option would have been Heineken who could easily flood the site with Lagunitas and Beavertown. 

Another thing, I've just realised, is that of those 3 brands, the other 2 have reasonable (though not great) ale options, like Carlsberg own Brooklyn and Heineken own Lagunitas and Beavertown. What do Molson Coors own on that front? Could their lack of any recognisable brands in the field mean more room for outside craft suppliers? 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Alvoram

[moogster]

Looks like they have decent stuff in North America, like Terrapin, but Europe doesn't go further than Blue Moon. Or a London brewery called Hop Stuff which doesn't ring a bell...?

Edited to add Sharps brewery. Looks like they are proud to have a hazy IPA...

Edited March 29, 2023 by moogster

[Alvoram]

1 hour ago, moogster said:

Looks like they have decent stuff in North America, like Terrapin, but Europe doesn't go further than Blue Moon. Or a London brewery called Hop Stuff which doesn't ring a bell...?

Edited to add Sharps brewery. Looks like they are proud to have a hazy IPA...

Doom bars all around 🙈😂

[incident]

4 hours ago, Alvoram said:

If it turns out to be Molson Coors, I imagine Madri will have swung it being the new 'very in' Molson coors brand, so I'd expect to see Madri on sale there.

That would actually be a decent result.

Much as I hate to admit it, given the dishonest way they're marketing it, Madri is actually fairly competent as far as mass produced swill goes. Certainly several steps up from the last few we've had (Carlsberg/Tuborg/Bud).

[balti-pie]

Yeah, Madri is palatable. I’m right with you on the pretend European cultural providence though, it’s such horseshit 🤣 

[Memory Man]

Would they do coors light as a direct replacement for the low ABV swill of carlsberg and then augment it with a bit of madri here and there too, perhaps? Madri may not be on all bars, but some, a bit like carlsberg export was.

or just go full madri everywhere perhaps. Lots of bars only have 1 lager so i doubt you’ll see both everywhere.

[Memory Man]

They also do that Pravha which is 4.0% (descended from Staropramen)

a bit of staro and blue moon would be a nice change if they stick them on somewhere