April 2012 Recap: Birmingham Twissup & Stourbridge Beer Festival

Where have I been since my last blog post on the 18^th of April? Those promising warming months of Spring followed by the traditional monsoon washout called British Summertime have really flown by. Here is a recap of April and two very different beer-based events:

Birmingham's First Twissup

The 21^st of April saw the get together of a pleasant collective of beer bloggers and enthusiasts for Birmingham's first ever Twissup (That's a jovial gathering of Twitter based ladies and gentlemen for the purpose of fermentable nourishment, for the civilized amongst us of course). Twitter can be cited as being responsible for many things in today's world, from organising Arabian revolutions to mocking celebrities trying to hide behind anonymised injunctions, however, having a bunch of random ePeople get together for a few drinks is, as far as I can tell, its most important function to date.

@19irishdragon, @CarlDurose, @ckdsaddlers, @dannybrown76, @hindleyillos, @MarbleTim, @mrdavidj, @OthertonAleman, @therealstewbert and myself. Ten imbibers already illuminated by the benefits of quality beer gathered for drinks at the Lamp Tavern, The Anchor and Post Office Vaults, Birmingham. It was great to finally put faces to Twitter handles and warming to see so many like-minded and friendly beer fans passionate about the exciting, and growing, good beer movement in the region get together and have a jolly good time. Anyone interested is more than welcome to join us for the next one, there'll certainly be a lot more to come from our regional beer pioneers I'm sure!

Stourbridge Beer Festival 2012

Next came the annual Stourbridge Beer Festival. A festival close to my heart having been the Chairman for Stourbridge & Halesowen CAMRA during the last two events. I can't begin to explain how much work goes into organising a beer festival, it really is a colossal undertaking. Months of planning, a week and a half of hard labour and around 90 volunteers were needed at Stourbridge this year. Although when you're a customer walking into the hall on opening day it all looks so easy...

I took the opportunity this year to try and bring in some new and interesting beers that generally don't reach the West Midlands. The hope being that it would expose both local drinkers to a few more quality breweries and the breweries themselves to virgin consumers and publicans alike. I think it's important, when given the chance, to always push the boundaries at events like these.

So for Stourbridge this year in came: Beavertown, Brodie's, Buxton, London Fields, Magic Rock, Redemption, Sambrook's, Steel City, Twickenham Fine Ales and Windsor & Eaton, all breweries rarely seen, if ever, around Birmingham and the Black Country. These coupled with the best of our local breeds: Angel Ales, Beer Geek, Kinver, Sadler's and SarahHughes, amongst others, provided suitable compliment to the occasion. Over 2000 customers later and selling out at just the right time I'd like to pay tribute to all the CAMRA volunteers involved and everyone who attended, I hope to see you all again next year!

I'd started to feel that some local CAMRA beer festivals had stagnated with their beer choices, let's not play it safe, the brewing scene is as vibrant as it's ever been, despite the Government's best attempts to counter it. Lets use these fantastically popular events to showcase excellence, both near and afar.

Stourbridge Beer Festival Preview

(Produced for Ales & Tales)  

The mornings are brighter, there are flowers adding vibrant bursts of colour, trees in full blossom and residents at long last ditching their heavy winter coats. We've even managed to recover from losing that extra hour in bed with the arrival of British Summer Time.

This of course means two things: that by the time you are reading this spring is well and truly here and that the beer festival at the Stourbridge Town Hall is getting ready to tempt you with a multitude of real ale delights.

The 14th Stourbridge Beer Festival takes place a little later than usual, so make sure you make a note in your calendars for the 12^th 13^th and 14^th of May. The festival, for those that haven't been before, is held yearly at the Stourbridge Town Hall, close to town centre bus stops and the Stourbridge Town rail station. A short walk along the high street will present you with the magnificent Victorian town hall and the less aesthetically pleasing 1980s built Crown Centre. Entrance is through the library.

As ever there will be a delightful range of around 80 real ales from round the country and also around 20 real ciders and perries with their time-honoured fruitiness. This year's theme will be beers from Yorkshire, so along with plenty of your locally brewed favourites and a few festival specials, several gems from “God's Own County” will be making an appearance. Worry not however, as dourness and flat caps will of course be optional.

Our logo for the commemorative festival glasses this year is celebrating the life of a former resident and British hero, Frank Foley. In his role as passport control officer he helped thousands of Jews escape terror in Nazi Germany. At the 1961 trial of former high ranking Nazi Adolf Eichmann, he was described as a “Scarlet Pimpernel” for the way he risked his own life to save Jews threatened with death by the Nazis. Despite having no diplomatic immunity and being liable to arrest at any time, Foley would bend the rules when stamping passports and issuing visas, to allow Jews to escape “legally” to Britain or Palestine, which was then controlled by the British. Sometimes he went further, going into internment camps to get Jews out, hiding them in his home, and helping them get forged passports. One Jewish aid worker estimated that he saved “tens of thousands” of people from the Holocaust.

Entrance charge to the festival is reduced for all CAMRA members and those wishing to join up on the day will be rewarded with discounts and a host of other goodies. For more information visit our website www.stourbridgecamra.org.uk/beerfest/ where you'll be able to take a look at the beers on offer as well as how to get involved.

We hope to see you at this year’s festival, whether you are a veteran attendee of many years or have never been before. Remember, Stourbridge Beer Festival for three days will be the biggest pub around!

Roberto Ross

Stourbridge Beer Festival