Craft and (crap) beer at Glastonbury

[ceetee]

39 minutes ago, The Nal said:

Maybe if these crafty places stopped trying to rip people off they'd sell more? 

This cloudwater crowd charge 6 quid for a can for some of their beers. Get fucked lads. 

If they can't make enough profit to continue trading, doesn't that indicate that their prices aren't high enough to cover their material and running costs?

Edited January 24, 2023 by ceetee
Spelling

[Jose Pose]

Probably been said already, but when it comes down to it, the festival is oversubscribed and an automatic sell out every year. The beer offering being good, bad or different isn’t going to make a blind bit of difference to that. They don’t need to provide an amazing choice of craft beers because it would make no difference commercially to do so. The deal they have with Carlsberg will be the best financially for them and they won’t want to piss them off for no reciprocal benefit.

If there are independent bars on site, then of course it might give them an advantage over other bars if they offer a better choice to ticket holders, but as far as Glastonbury is concerned it won’t make a blind bit of difference.

[Acid Loafers]

10 minutes ago, Jose Pose said:

Probably been said already, but when it comes down to it, the festival is oversubscribed and an automatic sell out every year. The beer offering being good, bad or different isn’t going to make a blind bit of difference to that. They don’t need to provide an amazing choice of craft beers because it would make no difference commercially to do so. The deal they have with Carlsberg will be the best financially for them and they won’t want to piss them off for no reciprocal benefit.

If there are independent bars on site, then of course it might give them an advantage over other bars if they offer a better choice to ticket holders, but as far as Glastonbury is concerned it won’t make a blind bit of difference.

The question then becomes, how much is Carlsberg paying for that?

Is there any chance that a "independent beer" area idea contract + a new main festival beer (like a Camden Hells, Estrella Damn, San Miguel, Amstel, Heineken) contract would pay more than the current Carlsberg contract?

I'd imagine quite a few suppliers would still want to have their product at Glasto, even if it meant that there's now an area with independent beers on site too. 

[Jose Pose]

20 minutes ago, Acid Loafers said:

The question then becomes, how much is Carlsberg paying for that?

Is there any chance that a "independent beer" area idea contract + a new main festival beer (like a Camden Hells, Estrella Damn, San Miguel, Amstel, Heineken) contract would pay more than the current Carlsberg contract?

I'd imagine quite a few suppliers would still want to have their product at Glasto, even if it meant that there's now an area with independent beers on site too. 

Who knows, are they paying? Are they doing it for free, or do they sell the lager to Glastonbury for next to nothing?

I honestly have no idea how these things work, but at a guess the story a few pages back about them making a bar turn Guinness pumps round suggests at the very least they do it for nothing in return for the exposure.

The majority of the breweries mentioned here certainly wouldn’t have the means to just give the beer to glastonbury for free, or even pay them to supply it.

Edited January 24, 2023 by Jose Pose

[The Nal]

3 hours ago, ceetee said:

If they can't make enough profit to continue trading, doesn't that indicate that their prices aren't high enough to cover their material and running costs?

More likely that their prices are too high so people arent buying enough of their overpriced product to cover their material and running costs.

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

4 hours ago, The Nal said:

Maybe if these crafty places stopped trying to rip people off they'd sell more? 

This cloudwater crowd charge 6 quid for a can for some of their beers. Get fucked lads. 

So less than a pint of Carlsberg at Glastonbury?

[BBC7BBCHEAVEN]

1 hour ago, The Nal said:

More likely that their prices are too high so people arent buying enough of their overpriced product to cover their material and running costs.

Yes, or from an informed and not obnoxious point of view.

It could be the tax changes that impact smaller breweries over larger ones (lobbied for of course by the likes of Heineken etc)  andhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reform-of-alcohol-duty-rates-and-reliefs/reform-of-alcohol-duty-and-reliefs#who-is-likely-to-be-affected

That and the enormous rise in energy costs that will impact that industry significantly 

[Eks101]

There was a Brooklyn Brewery bar up by Williams Green one year but it never came back. Anyone know why?

[Alvoram]

1 hour ago, Eks101 said:

There was a Brooklyn Brewery bar up by Williams Green one year but it never came back. Anyone know why?

Brooklyn Brewery is distributed by Carlsberg... I'd be happy if they offered a couple of their draught / keg ale options at every bar... Better than trying, and failing, to keep and serve good quality cask ale. 

Just the more traditional Brooklyn East IPA, and maybe either a Brooklyn golden ale brewed especially for Glasto, or their Defender Golden IPA sold in kegs (or tankers,) at every bar would be an awesome step forward. 

No sense them having their own 'craft ale bar' though, kinda gives me 'Emperors new clothes' vibes. 🤷‍♂️

Edited January 24, 2023 by Alvoram

[davefb]

8 hours ago, ceetee said:

If they can't make enough profit to continue trading, doesn't that indicate that their prices aren't high enough to cover their material and running costs?

Did their brewery tour a few years back. It was astonishing how much they spent on ingredients, well the hops..

Did put the prices into perspective. Must admit was shocked the problems in the industry spread that far.

the lack of "something I'd choose to drink" is my normal excuse ( as well as the cost) for bringing my own booze... normally avalon and acoustic have something ( and the bimble etc ? )... isn't it just the big main stage bars that have the 'meh' drinks ?



 

[Neil]

Part of the problem in the past was that craft breweries couldn't guarantee supplying the quantities Glastonbury wanted 

[philipsteak]

9 hours ago, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

Yes, or from an informed and not obnoxious point of view.

It could be the tax changes that impact smaller breweries over larger ones (lobbied for of course by the likes of Heineken etc)  andhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reform-of-alcohol-duty-rates-and-reliefs/reform-of-alcohol-duty-and-reliefs#who-is-likely-to-be-affected

That and the enormous rise in energy costs that will impact that industry significantly 

And just economy of scale too. You see it in  AF beer too. Some really good stuff out there but it's made in (relatively) tiny amounts 

[moogster]

6 hours ago, davefb said:

Did their brewery tour a few years back. It was astonishing how much they spent on ingredients, well the hops..

Did put the prices into perspective. Must admit was shocked the problems in the industry spread that far.

the lack of "something I'd choose to drink" is my normal excuse ( as well as the cost) for bringing my own booze... normally avalon and acoustic have something ( and the bimble etc ? )... isn't it just the big main stage bars that have the 'meh' drinks ?



 

On the other hand it seems there's a sort of competition on the amount of hops that can be added to a beer. Energy + ingredients costs are probably really tough on breweries, and I personally have limited my purchase of pricey beers a lot recently. But then maybe some breweries should innovate a bit with their recipes. Become the coolest gruit brewer around or something. Stop with  the "super extra half ton of hops hops with tonka beans grown on baby panda's poo" beers...

I just want a decent drink at Glasto. A flagship IPA from one of the bigger craft breweries will do. 

[mjfiddy]

8 hours ago, Alvoram said:

Brooklyn Brewery is distributed by Carlsberg... I'd be happy if they offered a couple of their draught / keg ale options at every bar... Better than trying, and failing, to keep and serve good quality cask ale. 

Just the more traditional Brooklyn East IPA, and maybe either a Brooklyn golden ale brewed especially for Glasto, or their Defender Golden IPA sold in kegs (or tankers,) at every bar would be an awesome step forward. 

No sense them having their own 'craft ale bar' though, kinda gives me 'Emperors new clothes' vibes. 🤷‍♂️

Yeah they have a “craft tent” at Latitude (also supplied by Carlsberg) which is essentially this, just various Brooklyn’s but it was a lifesaver when having to buy beer all day and not wanting Carlsberg or Carlsberg 

[fightoffyour]

I brew mw own beer and the dry hops alone for a NEIPA are going to account for 80% of the material costs alone. That's 5x the cost of any lager before you even talk about economies of scale or anything else. But yeah some Heineken swiller thinks it's overpriced.

Edited January 25, 2023 by fightoffyour

[The Nal]

58 minutes ago, fightoffyour said:

I brew mw own beer and the dry hops alone for a NEIPA are going to account for 80% of the material costs alone. That's 5x the cost of any lager before you even talk about economies of scale or anything else. But yeah some Heineken swiller thinks it's overpriced.

£4 for a 440ml can of beer. 

https://shop.cloudwaterbrew.co/collections/by-style-pale/products/socal-bright-pale?variant=39838849400912

 

[Alvoram]

56 minutes ago, The Nal said:

£4 for a 440ml can of beer. 

https://shop.cloudwaterbrew.co/collections/by-style-pale/products/socal-bright-pale?variant=39838849400912

 

Give me one can of that over 3 or even 4 cans of Carlsberg almost any day… (Excluding  those days when I’m drinking purely to get ‘merry.’)

If I’m buying that it’s for the flavour, for the hops, and for the enjoyment of the drink itself… If I’m buying Carlsberg it’s purely because it has an alcohol content. 

On a side note, I wonder why San Miguel wasn’t at every bar, it is a core Carlsberg product, and although it’s not great, it’s a lot nicer than Carlsberg. I did find it at a few bars, but not all of them. 

[moogster]

I mean you can have a bag of chips or Deluxe dinner at Glasto so why not carlsberg or something fancier too? 

(side note: avoid the mead from the Greenfields if you want to remember your night)

[p.pete]

Craft beer is ridiculous, as a business and as something consumers would choose to drink.  I choose to drink it, but only in small amounts as it's frinckin expensive.  Lots of people won't go near craft beer bars because the prices make their eyes water and eye-water is free.  It would definitely cause some competition to the piss in the main bars, but the people shovelling out (also ridiculous) money for piss-beer at a festival that you can bring your own booze to are largely happy with their lot and probably not many will go out of their way to pay more for a tastier beer.

Glastonbury isn't going to be the saviour of the craft beer industry.  It can't supply enough because most of them only have relatively small setups and can't bring tankers of the stuff to site.  So we're not expecting them to supply the whole festival with £15 pints.

Absolutely it's not something the festival needs to do, but the festival didn't need to add the Park area, or stump up money to develop spiders and giant cranes, or build seaside piers either.  Absolutely Carlsberg is in there already and they'll control things to their own advantage, and that needs to be respected, but if it could be kept as an open issue whenever contracts are being looked at in future, or done in a way that they're benefitting too then there's hope at least.

[gfa]

8 hours ago, Neil said:

Part of the problem in the past was that craft breweries couldn't guarantee supplying the quantities Glastonbury wanted 

 We were saying each area could get their own brewer in to solve this issue. I think even then a big brewer would still be significantly cheaper. I bet most people don't even mind and just think its part of the festival experience tbh / want to save money.

I didn't buy a single pint and lots of other people on here don't either. Its cheaper to bring your own and don't even get me start on spirit/mixer prices!

3 minutes ago, moogster said:

I mean you can have a bag of chips or Deluxe dinner at Glasto so why not carlsberg or something fancier too? 

(side note: avoid the mead from the Greenfields if you want to remember your night)

Added to the 2023 to do list, thanks!

Edited January 25, 2023 by gfa

[Jose Pose]

Tbh people actually need saving from themselves, despite all the other obvious issues, they should be grateful the main lager they get to tip down their necks all day in 30+ degree heat is only 3.8% Carlsberg. 

[p.pete]

4 minutes ago, gfa said:

Added to the 2023 to do list, thanks!

Avoiding the mead or the advice?

[p.pete]

1 minute ago, Jose Pose said:

Tbh people actually need saving from themselves, despite all the other obvious issues, they should be grateful the main lager they get to tip down their necks all day in 30+ degree heat is only 3.8% Carlsberg. 

Haha - pints of special brew (carlsburg?) though when the temperature drops below 15 degrees?

[Crazyfool01]

11 minutes ago, moogster said:

I mean you can have a bag of chips or Deluxe dinner at Glasto so why not carlsberg or something fancier too? 

(side note: avoid the mead from the Greenfields if you want to remember your night)

Can you ? I thought it was all sit down book in advance jobs from deluxe dinner … think they go on sale fairly early too . I managed to nap someone’s cancellation last time 🙂 

[Alvoram]

3 minutes ago, p.pete said:

Haha - pints of special brew (carlsburg?) though when the temperature drops below 15 degrees?

Bottles of White Lightning (do they even still make that?) from the co-op… 🙂 Who needs over priced real cider from the cider bus then?