Norwich Beer Festival was back in the Halls this year and I was determined to volunteer every shift that we were open to the public, primarily so that I didn’t miss any gossip. Here’s the festival during the final stage of the set-up on the Monday morning, with volunteers having also been at St. Andrew’s Hall the previous day to begin the set-up.
The merchandise stand with some of the older Norwich Beer Festival glasses. I do have glasses from the last fifteen years of my volunteering at the festival, but I don’t collect the older ones as they take up so much space. There’s a fine line between preserving local history and being unable to open a kitchen cupboard.
The black sheeting protects the floors of St. Andrew’s. And, some history might be useful here as St Andrew’s Hall and Blackfriars Hall in Norwich were originally parts of the same Dominican friary church, with St Andrew’s occupying the nave and Blackfriars the chancel. The Dominicans, known as the Black Friars because of their black cloaks, took over the site in 1307, although much of the surviving church dates from rebuilding between about 1440 and 1470 following a devastating fire in 1413. After the friary was dissolved in 1538, the city purchased the buildings in 1540, preserving them for civic use rather than allowing their demolition. That showed considered forward planning by the city authorities and has made it easier for the Norwich Beer Festival. And the friars would have liked it, they used to have a brew house by the river.
Blackfriars Hall, so the former chancel of the church.
Very grand.
Setting up the World Beer Bar.
The seating along the former cloister wall all laid out and I liked the new carpet that has been installed.
There’s Roy, who is the main man in glasses, although his respected judgement extends across the whole festival, striding purposefully across the glasses stage.
Getting ready to open.
The cider bar, which is something that I didn’t have time to explore in the end as I struggled to work my way through the beers without needing another distraction.
The food options at the festival.
I wear the radio for the glasses team so that I look important. Roy is naturally important and that’s clear to everyone, whereas I need a little visual boost for customers. I only had to speak into it once during the week, as I was primarily listening for when the volunteer roles were put out. I couldn’t work out how to change channels, but fortunately Matt was able to help. He seems to be able to fix anything whereas my contribution to the technical team remains identifying that something isn’t working and putting a broken label on it.
Speaking of which, here he is, pouring me a Newcastle Brown Ale slushie.
Very nice.
Ian used to be the chair of Norwich CAMRA and he is one of those people who is now designated as a wise man on matters. And then there’s Ivan. Ivan is an institution, he’s everywhere at the beer festival and he’s actually bloody good at what he does. I hope he doesn’t read this as he’ll get a big head, but I’d note that he’s one of those people who just makes things better.
For ten minutes I was given a stewarding role whilst there was an incident elsewhere and I spent this talking to the wonderful Ellie from Ampersand whilst needing to steward absolutely no-one.
Volunteering at the beer festival is, in my view, a really wonderful idea for numerous reasons and that includes the food provided to volunteers, here’s the rather agreeable chicken and chips.
And standing next to my favourite beer festival person is my second favourite beer festival person, namely Sue. She’s not subtle and she wouldn’t claim to be, but she’s Head of Logistics and that included bringing me sausage rolls which is why she’s my second favourite. I’d add that Jen also brought me chicken bakes, but my scoring system is based on many factors and Jen was very high on the list nearly all week. I’d add that the rankings are independently assessed by me and are therefore beyond reasonable challenge.
Ivan and I helped the beer festival by trying lots of their beers to ensure that they were in tip top form. Ivan frequently went over to the bars to offer advice, which I’m sure they were delighted to receive.
This might be the pinnacle of my beer festival career and a role I retire into. Unless Roy decides to take over the entire festival or something and then I’ll follow as his chief adviser.
Note the comment written on in pen, that’s how Sue kept her number two spot.
A beer ice cream, this one used a mint flavoured beer to create a decadent little dessert. I thought it important to establish that I’d had a proper dessert rather than just spending the week drinking beer.
Oscar couldn’t make Monday as his wife wanted a decadent birthday trip out and not an afternoon at a beer festival, so he came along later on in the week. I wouldn’t say that he was drunk, but he had to get driven home the 400 metres to his pub.
Ivan, who somehow has a manager badge, said that it was the rules that boxes should be stacked as high as possible. Roy and I didn’t get involved obviously as we’re very health and safety conscious.
The volunteer meal of the week, the KFC style chicken with chips.
Ivan was very helpful at getting the radio from upstairs every morning and also treating the senior glasses management team.
Jen taking photos in her social media role.
Thanks Jen!
Thanks Sue!
A photo of the hall from the main stage.
Beer comes in many colours.
The volunteer meal of beef shin pie and chips, very lovely.
Ivan was exhausted by the end of the week, not helped by his popping to the pub until the early hours of the morning. This had better not impact on his bar billiards performance this week.
And then it was all over, with loading of the vans beginning as soon as the last customer was out on the Friday. It’s a well-oiled machine, this beer festival.
There’s a staff party with the remaining beer on Saturday night and Craig, the festival organiser, allocated me three of the eighty or so pizzas that were ordered. He’s very good is that Craig.
Spicy Mexican pizza, absolutely delicious. Paula, aware that her league table position had dropped, helpfully kept my glass full.
Chris saying a few words before handing over to Craig.
And Craig, the festival organiser, saying a few words. He’s good he is, and I’m not saying that because of the pizzas and also the crisps he brought me in the week. There’s so much work behind the scenes that he, and of course others, do, and Craig always remains calm and gets on with it.
The volunteers delivered a brilliant festival and I had a great week around such wonderful people. It was also marvellous to see some friends from school, from Lidgate, from the Record Office, from other CAMRA areas, from the LDWA, from Ramblers and lots more besides. It was all really rather lovely.
And, finally, all the beers that I rated at 4.2 or higher on Untappd at the festival.
Duration – Turtles All the Way Down [Cask] – 4.3
Fengate – Black Lion Rauchbier – 4.4
Elephant School – Nice & Swicy – 4.2
Brouwerij St. Bernardus – Abt 12 – 4.3
Tartarus – Whisky Barrel Aged Jersey Devil – 4.5
Ludlow Brewing Company – Silent Knight – 4.2
Funky Fluid – Major Krush – 4.6
Funky Fluid – Gelato XTREME Black Forest – 4.6
Ampersand – Welcome Back – 4.2
Wilderness Brewery – Fragile Self Confidence – 4.3
Tindall Brewery – Sour Cherry Experiment – 4.2
Bierbrouwerij de Koningshoeven – Three Rules of Authentic Trappist – 4.4
Pastore – Apricot Casa – 4.2
Humber Doucy – Sweet Shade – 4.2
Which means that I can confirm my top three beers were:
Funky Fluid – Major Krush – 4.6
Funky Fluid – Gelato XTREME Black Forest – 4.6
Tartarus – Whisky Barrel Aged Jersey Devil – 4.5
I appreciate that I could have saved everyone some time by simply submitting Poland as my answer, so here’s the list with no Polish beers:
Tartarus – Whisky Barrel Aged Jersey Devil – 4.5
Fengate – Black Lion Rauchbier – 4.4
Bierbrouwerij de Konigshoeven – Three Rules of Authentic Trappist – 4.4
But, a beer festival is more than just about beer, it’s about meeting existing friends and making new ones, and enjoying so many people having a great experience. Oh and it’s about the food. It was great to back in the Halls and here’s to next year, cheers!