The World We Have (Temporarily) Lost. 47th Cambridge Beer Festival
In recent years I’ve often been at the opening session of the Cambridge Beer Festival, arguably the UK’s longest running, which is on a Monday evening and then returned later in the week. That wouldn’t have been the case in 2020 because I’d have been at my trade union conference in Bournemouth. Obviously thanks to current developments neither have taken place.
The Beer Festival has gone virtual at this link:
https://www.cambridgebeerfestival.com/cambridge-beer-festival-online/
Its perhaps at this time of year when the weather is getting a bit warmer and Spring is in full bloom that staying indoors starts to provoke more reflection. A Spring visit to Cambridge, sometimes buying local asparagus in the market and then wandering across Jesus Green reminds that summer is on the way. Summer is still on the way of course!
Meanwhile my post on the 46th festival
I paid a visit to the 46th Cambridge Beer Festival on Wednesday. Although I am very old I wasn’t at the first, although I certainly attended several at the Corn Exchange.
These days it’s held in tents on Jesus Green which is perhaps just as well since it is an extremely well attended event. CAMRA of course have huge experience of organising beer festivals so everything works smoothly none the less.
There are some things which are traditional about the festival that continue still and I don’t mean the beards. The cheese counter is still going and in fact I think has improved with some interesting local and regional cheeses featuring this year.
Cambridge has embraced keykeg sometime since and there was a keykeg bar as well as beers using that method of dispense on the Adnams, Grain, Three Blind Mice and Bexar Country brewery stands.
While all the bars were busy the queue at the keykeg bar which stretched back a bit (service even so remained good) underlined where the zeitgeist is going.
Experience of the festival was being served a Hill Farmstead saison on the world beers bar by former Parliamentary Beard of the Year winner Julian Huppert.
There was certainly an effort to embrace progress here not just in a series of talks including a launch of the Queer Beer project but also a free tasting of a Bexar County mixed fermentation beer on cask and keg.
The festival is open all day Saturday and is well worth a visit.
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