City break and a drink or two to toast what’s a welcome return to normality
DO you fancy an enjoyable city break to London? Britain’s premier beer festival will be returning to London Olympia from August 2-6, 2022 following a two-year hiatus owing to Covid-19, writes Neville Grundy.
The Great British Beer Festival (GBBF), now in its 45th year, will once again feature quality real ale served from across the British Isles. New breweries will join stalwarts of the brewing industry to celebrate the very best real ale, cider and perry that Britain has to offer.
This year visitors can also sample some of the very best cask beer from America, thanks to a cask beer exchange set up between the Great British Beer Festival and the New England Real Ale Exhibition. This makes GBBF the only place you can find quality cask-conditioned American beers – a rarity even in the USA itself, where keg beer is predominant.
Tickets will go on sale on next week. Entry is £20 and visitors will receive a souvenir glass, programme and two half-pints to kick off their day of beer tasting. VIP and corporate ticket packages are also available.
Festival organiser Catherine Tonry said: “It gives me great pleasure to announce the return of the Great British Beer Festival in 2022. Circumstances outside our control have seen hundreds of beer festivals cancelled across the country over the last two years, so the return of the Great British Beer Festival marks an incredibly positive turn for the beer industry and beer drinkers alike.
“We can all raise a glass to a new chapter of great beer and comradery in a postpandemic world. Our organising group has worked extremely hard to put on a good show this year, and we are confident that we won’t disappoint!”
The Great British Beer Festival wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of dedicated volunteers from across the country who converge on London to organise the best beer show in town. Nearly a thousand volunteers help make the event on behalf of the Campaign for Real Ale, a non-profit consumer group for beer, cider, pubs and clubs. All festival proceeds go directly back into CAMRA campaigning activity.
Tickets will be on sale soon and to find out more, visit gbbf.org.uk.
The national CAMRA website is at: camra.org.uk. The Southport & West Lancs Branch website is at: southport.camra.org.uk.