This year at the Great British Beer Festival, taking place from 2-6 August at Olympia London, attendees can take part in walk-up, informal tastings at the Discovery Bar, which can be found in the festival’s Discover CAMRA area.
New for 2022 is an evening programme of cider tastings from 2-5 August. The Discovery Bar plays host to cider experts from CAMRA, the Real Al Co., The Hop Inn Hornchurch, Ross Cider, The Ciderologist and the newly founded London Cider & Perry Club. These cider champions will impart their knowledge and supply tastings of a range of brilliant ciders. All are welcome, the line-up includes:
• Modern British Cider: Session and Traditional craft cider in kegs & why your local should have them on the bar – with Gabe Cook (The Ciderologist) and The Real Al Co.
o Ciders: Keg Crafty Apple from The Real Al Co., Keg Conditioned Ross Cider
• Bittersweet Symphony: The apples at the core of cider. The art of blending cider – with Albert Johnson, Ross Cider
o Ciders: Keg Conditioned Ross Cider, Bottle Conditioned Ross Cider
• Let’s Talk Bubbles: How Sparkling Cider gets fizzy – with Alison Taffs of The Hop Inn and Hop Shop Hornchurch
o Ciders: Traditional Method Gospel Green Cyder (Champagne style fizz), Ancestral Method Artistaw Cider (Pet Nat, gentle fizz)
• London Got Cider: East meets West in one City – with London Cider Club and The Real Al Co.
o Ciders: GiggleJuice from DuckChicken Cider (apples picked in Kent, pressed and fermented in London), Luke Cider Infernal Serpent (made from apples from the Western Counties)
The Discovery Bar will also be home to a display of fresh ingredients, thanks to sponsors Crisp Malt and Charles Faram Hop Merchants, so visitors can experience them first hand. Homebrewing experts The Malt Millers will be on hand all week to answer homebrew questions and help visitors learn more about how to craft the finest brews at home.
Learning and Discovery Manager Alex Metcalfe said: “This is a really exciting year for the Great British Beer Festival. The Discovery Bar is a place where anyone can come and tune their senses, to learn more about the ingredients, techniques and people behind the UK’s best beers and ciders. We help people build knowledge, increase their confidence around tasting beer and cider and empower them to have consistently more enjoyable drinking experiences. The range of breweries, cidermakers and experts sharing their wisdom, as well as their excellent drinks, is the most ambitious line-up we have produced so far.”
To find out more about the Discovery Bar at GBBF, visit the website: https://gbbf.org.uk/whats-on/discovery-bar/
Press release from CAMRA
Contact: press@camra.org.uk