Craft and (crap) beer at Glastonbury

[p.pete]

1 minute ago, Alvoram said:

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? 

 

Got yourself one hell of a snakebite there!

[fightoffyour]

1 hour 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

 

A product costing more than you are willing to pay for it is very different to its price relative to the cost of raw materials and manufacturing.

[balti-pie]

£4 for a can of something really nice, or £4 for four cans of shite. i know which one id rather have 😊

[moogster]

18 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

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 🙂 

I meant it's a possibility Glasto offers 🙂

[The Nal]

3 hours ago, Alvoram said:

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. 

The fest really need to get their act together on booze. San Miguel, Carlsberg, Tuborg et al is absolute cats piss.

Edited January 25, 2023 by The Nal

[Wooderson]

20 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. 

Theyre amongst the best breweries on the planet.

[Alvoram]

2 hours ago, Wooderson said:

Theyre amongst the best breweries on the planet.

Are they really that good? Never had them on the bar before, what would you suggest I try out? (Pale, EP, blonde and mahogony ales sell best here, as it's a walking destination, the darkest ales, stouts and porters don't really sell well.) 

[balti-pie]

Cloudwater do a couple of cask beers, but they're predominantly keg pales, IPA's and double IPAs etc. Its rare to get them on tap down where i am (sussex) but there's always loads of cans. They're always coming out with new pales and tweaked versions of IPAs but they are of an absolutely excellent standard, and i'd be chuffed to bits to hike for 4 or 5 hours and find some ice cold cans of Cloudwater in a pub to drink next to a fire 😄 with a bag of pork scratchings, bloody hell thats heaven!

[moogster]

46 minutes ago, Alvoram said:

Are they really that good? Never had them on the bar before, what would you suggest I try out? (Pale, EP, blonde and mahogony ales sell best here, as it's a walking destination, the darkest ales, stouts and porters don't really sell well.) 

I tend not to be wowed by NEIPAs ( west coast 4 eva) but hell they make good ones... 

On the other hand, maybe try to find a local brewer that makes something nice, unless you of course have that already?

[Alvoram]

15 minutes ago, moogster said:

I tend not to be wowed by NEIPAs ( west coast 4 eva) but hell they make good ones... 

On the other hand, maybe try to find a local brewer that makes something nice, unless you of course have that already?

Well I've applied for an account with their distributor for Derbyshire... We'll see what they actually stock when it's approved, and I'll pester you all for some tips. 🙂 

@balti-pie We stock a small selection of canned / bottled ales, a selection that needs a serious shake up, as it currently includes a few brew dog options 😮 (along side some others.) 

My only worry is, if they're £4 per can direct to customer, what will their trade prices be like 😕 🤞

[moogster]

Looks like Buxton and Thornbridge are not far from you? I knaow thornbridge is in supermarkets so not maybe not as fancy maybe...

[balti-pie]

Buxton are magnificent. One of my favourite breweries in the world. Yellow belly, axe edge, trolltunga, all the ridiculous barrel aged beauties, i love them dearly. One day i'll get meself to the peak district and run right through their taproom lists . . . 

[Alvoram]

14 minutes ago, moogster said:

Looks like Buxton and Thornbridge are not far from you? I knaow thornbridge is in supermarkets so not maybe not as fancy maybe...

We always have Thornbridge in both bottles and cask. Have Jaipur on the bar as we speak, (what's left of Sunday's beers, we use cask breathers /aspirators to prevent spoiling 😉 ) and another being racked tonight ready for Friday!!! 🙂 

Buxton is not so regular, we do have them from time to time, but not nearly as often as Thornbridge. Our regular ones are Thornbridge, Castle Rock and Little Star, you'll almost always find something from one of these on the bar. Probably due some Buxton on the bar though. 🙂 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Alvoram

[Greenelk]

I'd chuck Neon Raptor in Nottingham forward for consideration, they have a great range covering IPAs, sours and stouts, and I know they ship kegs UK wide

[moogster]

Aah a bottle of Jaipur did make some lonely of my work trips hotel nights in nowhere-industrial-zoneUK a little better 🙂

Speaking as a random tourist who thinks she's a beer connaisseur (..._ and would pop by a pub, I'd be going for whatever super small local breweries you are serving, even if it's not one of the big UK ones. A taste for discovery and maybe some snobbishness may help random tourists open their wallets.

That would work for Glasto too actually. After Worthy Cheddar, let's get a Worthy Milk Stout!

[balti-pie]

Cask Jaipur is one of the sights that make me punch the air in happiness as I walk into a pub 🤣

[davefb]

22 minutes ago, balti-pie said:

Cask Jaipur is one of the sights that make me punch the air in happiness as I walk into a pub 🤣

Oh yeah and "I'm gunna have a bad head tomorrow"

The 10th anniversary one (Jaipur X) they did was special.. Its part of why I'll put up with Bearded Theory messing about, that they have the Thornbridge stuff. ( they had a few different breweries as well this year, small popup style, think it was castle rock and vocation?)

[Boomtowner]

1 hour ago, davefb said:

Oh yeah and "I'm gunna have a bad head tomorrow"

The 10th anniversary one (Jaipur X) they did was special.. Its part of why I'll put up with Bearded Theory messing about, that they have the Thornbridge stuff. ( they had a few different breweries as well this year, small popup style, think it was castle rock and vocation?)

I had a Jaipur X for elevenses at Bearded in 2017, led to my friends calling it the swirly beer, as that's how it made me feel. I saw a bottle in my local for a couple of quid more than I paid at Bearded.

 

@AlvoramI'd throw Northern Monk, North Brewing and Brew York in the mix, all fantastic brewers with a good range.

 

[Gregcharlie]

4 hours ago, Alvoram said:

We always have Thornbridge in both bottles and cask. Have Jaipur on the bar as we speak, (what's left of Sunday's beers, we use cask breathers /aspirators to prevent spoiling 😉 ) and another being racked tonight ready for Friday!!! 🙂 

Buxton is not so regular, we do have them from time to time, but not nearly as often as Thornbridge. Our regular ones are Thornbridge, Castle Rock and Little Star, you'll almost always find something from one of these on the bar. Probably due some Buxton on the bar though. 🙂 

If these all sell well then you’ll want to get some of the core Salopian range on - Lemon Dream for me is one of the best easy drinking golden ales out there and you can never go wrong with an Oracle

[gazzared]

19 minutes ago, Gregcharlie said:

If these all sell well then you’ll want to get some of the core Salopian range on - Lemon Dream for me is one of the best easy drinking golden ales out there and you can never go wrong with an Oracle

Yep bishops castle is a great little town for drinking nice salopians and Three tunns beers would be great if they were at Glastonbury 

[stuartbert two hats]

On 11/6/2022 at 6:05 PM, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

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

I suspect they approached someone to properly supply the BAR tents and to be the sole supplier for the festival, which would obviously be a big ask for smaller brewers.

But the idea of approaching lots of suppliers to supplement the mainstream beers (which aren't going away) is a fantastic idea, albeit one that sounds like tons more work for the festival admin.

[stuartbert two hats]

On 11/6/2022 at 6:06 PM, BBC7BBCHEAVEN said:

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 

2017 in the T&C field?

[stuartbert two hats]

On 1/24/2023 at 4:40 PM, 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.

That's simply not the way Glastonbury think about things. They don't need to individually paint the bins either.  They want to make the festival as good as they can to ensure it keeps selling out. Both Michael and Emily remember 2008 very well. 

They're not doing well enough on the beer, but that's not because they take the attitude that if there's no direct commercial incentive to do something that makes the festival better then they won't bother. It's just not how they tick.

[Jose Pose]

9 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

That's simply not the way Glastonbury think about things. They don't need to individually paint the bins either.  They want to make the festival as good as they can to ensure it keeps selling out. Both Michael and Emily remember 2008 very well. 

They're not doing well enough on the beer, but that's not because they take the attitude that if there's no direct commercial incentive to do something that makes the festival better then they won't bother. It's just not how they tick.

The bins are painted by volunteers though, and they raise money for charity by doing it, it’s a nice touch but it’s no skin of Glastonbury’s nose.

We all know the food is great at Glastonbury, but that is because they can invite individual traders on-site to sell it and charge them up to £20k per pitch to do it, so it actually benefits them hugely financially.

Carlsberg most probably pay Glastonbury for the privilege of handing over and distributing hundreds of thousands of litres of beer for them, that’s a ginormous financial and logistical hole for them to try and plug to try and provide an alternative that would ultimately only be for a relative minority, and it wouldn’t make any difference to them commercially in tickets sales.

[The Nal]

10 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

2017 in the T&C field?

Yeah. Surprisingly empty most of the time too.