28-686: The Great British Beer Festival (sometimes abbreviated as GBBF ) is an annual beer festival organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). It presents a selection of cask ales , and the Champion Beer of Britain awards, and is held in August of each year. GBBF's sister festival, the Great British Beer Festival Winter , is held in February each year. Great British Beer Festival is styled as
56-440: A long weekend ). The pubco Wetherpoon holds simultaneous festivals twice-yearly in all the hundreds of branch in its chain, lasting over two weeks, and using the handpump rotation method. It claims its festivals are Britain's largest. The number of different beers that can be provided in a pub festival ranges from about 15 to about 100. In all British festivals the beer is sold in quantities of half or full pints . From 2006
84-536: A celebration of agriculture after a period of crop failures and famine as a result of the volcanic winter following the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia. The inaugural event was held in a meadow near the River Neckar on 28 September 1818, and featured displays of agricultural technology and a "Fruchtsäule" ( Fruit Column ) display covered with fruits, vegetables, and grains donated by King Wilhelm I . In
112-562: A certain region or in a particular style, for instance, the Winter Great British Beer Festival (Formerly the National Winter Ales Festival). If a pub is well-provided with handpumps , it can put on a small festival by rotating guest beers rapidly through them. Alternatively, a temporary stillage may be set up inside the bar, or in a tent outside. Pub-based festivals usually last a weekend, (in fact, often
140-734: A number of beer festivals, including: Beer festivals in Canada include the Great Canadian Beer Festival , which since 1993 (with help from the Victoria chapter of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)) has focused on cask ales from the Pacific Northwest . Since 2003 the festival has been held at Royal Athletic Park on the first weekend after Labour Day . The festival attracts over 60 craft breweries from across BC and Canada, with more than 8000 visitors. The Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest
168-607: A special VCBW Collaboration Ale with partial proceeds donated to a local charity. Also in 2010, the Ontario Craft Brewers started Ontario Craft Beer Week, a week-long craft beer celebration across the province. The Mondial de la Bière was founded in 1994 in Montreal and attracts around 80,000 people. Edmonton International Beerfest is held each spring in Edmonton, attracting approximately 25,000 people. The Golden Tap Awards
196-507: Is a much smaller and more exclusive festival held in the North end of Toronto. On May 10, 2010, a group of craft beer enthusiasts launched Vancouver Craft Beer Week, the first "beer week"-type festival in Canada, a format that was begun in Philadelphia in 2008. VCBW spans nine days with events held throughout Vancouver, concluding with a three-day tasting festival. Each year, organizers commission
224-683: Is a nine-day event in Kitchener - Waterloo , which started in 1969 influenced by the original German Oktoberfest . It is held every October, starting on the Friday before Canadian Thanksgiving and running until the Saturday after. Toronto's Festival of Beer was first held in 1995 at Fort York in Toronto , though has been held at Exhibition Place since 2009. There is also the Lauder Beer Festival which
252-614: Is also held each year in Wasen. Although the Volksfest is not strictly speaking a beer festival, it is considered by many to be the second largest beer celebration in the world after the Munich Oktoberfest . According to estimates about 4.2 million people visited the festival in 2006. The Volksfest begins one week later than the Oktoberfest. The first Cannstatter Volksfest was conceived as
280-540: Is an annual beer awards event held in Toronto. The awards are sponsored and presented by The Bar Towel, a website and forum dedicated to the discussion and promotion of Toronto's craft and microbrew beer scene. Cannstatter Volksfest The Cannstatter Volksfest is an annual three-week Volksfest ( beer festival and travelling funfair ) in Stuttgart , Germany . It is sometimes also referred to by foreign visitors as
308-562: Is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales. Israel hosts several annual beer festivals, with the largest and oldest one being the Jerusalem Beer Festival , attracting 20,000 visitors and running for 15 years, serving 120 different kinds of beer. Other annual beer festivals in Israel take place in
SECTION 10
#1732858282277336-735: Is commonly said that the largest beer festival in the world is Oktoberfest in Germany, though some argue that is actually a folk festival , not a beer festival. Several other smaller beer festivals are held all over Germany throughout the year. The second largest beer festival in Germany and probably in Europe, is the Cannstatter Volksfest , hosted on the Cannstatter Wasen in the Bad Canstatt district of Stuttgart . It starts one week later and
364-510: Is very similar in character to Oktoberfest. Its popularity increases and more and more people come from around the world to visit the festival every year. Many places have beer festivals styled as "Oktoberfests", but taken on its own the name is generally taken to mean for the Munich event. Smaller beer festivals similar to the Oktoberfest are common in Germany and take place throughout the year in most bigger German cities. Some of them go on later into
392-983: The Bergkirchweih in Erlangen , with the largest open-air beer garden in Europe. Other beer festivals include the Hanover Schützenfest , the Freimarkt in Bremen , the Hamburger Dom , the Stuttgarter Frühlingsfest , the Cranger Funfair, the Düsseldorf Funfair. Like the Oktoberfest and the Cannstatter Volksfest, most German beer festivals are also funfairs . They are called "Volksfest" (festival for
420-406: The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), pubs, brewers, social and sporting societies or charities. CAMRA festivals are run by volunteers under the direction of local branches and the admission fee is reduced or waived for CAMRA members. Pub festivals use professional bar staff and there is usually no entry fee. Larger British beer festivals are usually held in large indoor venues ( Kensington Olympia in
448-664: The Stuttgart Beer Festival , although it is actually more of an autumnal fair. The festival takes place at the Cannstatter Wasen from late September to early October, spanning a period over three weekends, ending the second Sunday in October. The extensive Wasen area is in the Stuttgart city district of Bad Cannstatt , near the river Neckar . A smaller variant of the Stuttgart festival, the Stuttgart Spring Festival ,
476-447: The "biggest pub in the world" and offers around 900 different beverages, at least 450 of which are beers from British breweries, as well as around 200 foreign beers from countries including Belgium , Germany and the USA , as well traditional British cider and perry . The festival is staffed by unpaid volunteers, around 1,000 of whom work at the festival. The festival is usually held during
504-505: The GBBF additionally served beer in " nips ", i.e. one-third of a pint ( 0.2 L; 0.4 US pt), for the benefit of those who wish to sample many beers without consuming excessive amounts of alcohol. Beer festivals are held across the United Kingdom. Notable ones include: In addition, many small festivals are organised by local CAMRA branches, pubs, clubs and charities. Belgium has
532-535: The beer, the festival offers entertainment such as live music and traditional pub games , as well as a variety of food stands. CAMRA held their first large beer festival in Covent Garden , London in September 1975. It was a 4-day event that attracted 40,000 people who drank 150,000 pints of real ale. Strictly speaking it was not a GBBF, but it has been considered the forerunner of the festival. The first "proper" GBBF
560-456: The case of the GBBF). Casks of ale from different brewers, numbering in the hundreds, are placed on stillage behind rows of trestle tables. Staff serve beer directly from the cask and take payment in the form of cash or tokens purchased at the entrance. Cooling is achieved using wet sacking or blankets for evaporative cooling or though refrigerated cooling saddles and coils. Glasses are distributed at
588-416: The course of the week and consumed some 350,000 pints of beer — one pint sold in less than half of every open second. Part of the huge improvement on 2005 (ticket sales were up 40%) was attributed by the festival organiser, Marc Holmes, to the move from Olympia to Earls Court , a much larger and easily accessible venue. Since 2012 the event has returned to Olympia and remains massively popular. As well as
SECTION 20
#1732858282277616-607: The entrance to the venue, usually for a small deposit although often included in the entrance fee, often bearing a design specific to the festival. A beer list is usually available, often indicating where in the venue the different casks will be situated. Food is usually available, and entertainment and games such as live music , pub quizzes or tombolas are often organised. Medium-sized festival are typically held in meeting halls or marquees . These include festivals organised by local CAMRA branches, Round Tables or by other clubs and charities. They may be themed, emphasizing beers from
644-455: The first full week in August and runs from Tuesday to Saturday. The Tuesday afternoon session is only open to the trade and press, with the Champion Beer of Britain award winners being announced mid-afternoon. The general public are admitted to afternoon and evening sessions from Tuesday evening until Saturday evening. CAMRA figures show that in 2006, over 66,000 people visited the festival over
672-435: The following decades, the Volksfest grew and evolved beyond its agricultural focus. In 1841, the festival's first parade was held, which featured over 10,000 participants and 100,000 spectators. Traditionally a parade also takes place at the Wasen, usually on the first Sunday. In 1954 a record number of spectators attended the parade along the route from Stuttgart's central square to the Wasen site: 300,000. The Mohrenköpfle
700-526: The following towns and cities: Germany has an old tradition of manifold festivals which are more than beer festivals. Usually, they are not only "beer drinking events", they are fun fairs and folk festivals. Many of them are held for centuries and have their origins in parish fairs, markets and trade fairs or other historical reasons. In some German regions, especially in South West Germany fun fairs are more connected with wine than beer festivals. It
728-652: The night than the Oktoberfest. Another large genuine Bavarian festival is the Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing . The festival is similar to Oktoberfest but it has an own history and it is not a copy of the Oktoberfest, as is the Barthelmarkt by Manching , which even dates back to Roman times. Other large festivals in Bavaria are Nürnberg Volksfeste in spring and autumn, Fürth Michaeliskirchweih (held since 12th century) and
756-519: The people) and are numerous in Germany. An emerging festival located in Berlin boasts the world's longest beer garden. The International Berlin Beer Festival hosts over 2,100 different beers from 86 countries. British beer festivals focus on draught real ale , although bottled beers and ciders are often included. There is also an emphasis on variety as well as volume. Festivals can be organised by
784-672: Was held in 1977 at Alexandra Palace . The venue has moved between cities since it was first established but has settled in London since 1991. The only years in which a festival was not held were 1984, 2020 and 2021, due to a fire at the venue and the COVID-19 pandemic respectively. CAMRA announced that no festival will take place in 2024 due to renovations at Olympia and the lack of a suitable alternative venue. 51°29′47″N 0°12′35″W / 51.49639°N 0.20972°W / 51.49639; -0.20972 Beer festival A beer festival
#276723