EC&O Venues Earls Court And Olympia

‘Land’s End to John O’Groats’ in less than 4 hours using Twitter!
 
Follow the tasting and join in the debate at www.twitter.com/realalelive
- Trail to be hosted by London’s Official London Ale Taster, Steve Williams
 
Issued: Tuesday August 3rd 2010
Status: Embargoed until Wednesday August 4th 2010 (00:01 hours)
 
Great British Beer Festival 2010, Earls Court, London, August 3rd-7th 2010
 
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is today holding the fastest and longest beer trail across Britain using the social media tool, Twitter.
 
Covering almost a thousand miles of good beer - from Lands End to John O’Groats - in less than 4 hours, CAMRA has devised a trail which in the real world would take over a day to complete!
 
CAMRA will look to capture the best of British brewing in a trail which will take drinkers on a journey starting with a classic Cornish bitter, and ending in north Scotland via an historic brew infused with heather. As an initiative, CAMRA hopes to capture the diversity and choice of the British beer industry at a time when over 750 breweries are in operation, offering a huge range of tastes and aromas to drinkers.
 
Visitors at the Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court, London, where all beers will be available, as well as real ale lovers in their local pubs around Britain, will be able to participate in this revolutionary beer trail.
 
CAMRA will launch Britain’s fastest and longest beer trail at 2pm. CAMRA will be tasting 10 beers, all in third pint measures, with the tasting schedule as follows- 
 
Beer 1- 2pm- Cornwall- Skinner’s, Betty Stogs (4% ABV) - Copper ale with balance of citrus hops, malt and bitterness, plus a hint of sulphur with a long bitter finish.
Beer 2- 2.25pm- Berkshire- West Berkshire, Magg’s Magnificent Mild (3.8%) - Silky, full-bodied, dark mild with creamy head. Roast malt aroma is joined in the taste by caramel sweetness and mild, fruity hoppiness. Aftertaste of roast malt with balancing bitterness.
Beer 3- 2.50pm- Greater London- Sambrooks, Wandle Ale (3.8% ABV) - Amber-coloured beer with a smooth mouthfeel. Citrus and a little hop on the nose with fruit becoming stronger in the taste and some bitterness that lingers in the finish.
Beer 4- 3.15pm- Bedfordshire- Wells and Young’s, Waggledance (4% ABV) - Brewed with honey this golden ale has hops to balance the sweetness.
Beer 5- 3.40pm- West Midlands- Purity, Pure Gold (3.8% ABV) - A refreshing golden ale made two malts and four hops to create an easy drinking beer with a lovely dry and bitter finish.
Beer 6- 4.05pm- Derbyshire- Amber, Chocolate Orange Stout (4% ABV) - A rich dark stout with roasted orange and vanilla chocolate flavours. Dark bitterness with a smooth finish.
Beer 7- 4.30pm- Yorkshire- Rudgate, Ruby Mild (4.4% ABV) - Nutty, rich ruby ale, stronger than usual for a mild. Champion Beer of Britain for 2009.
Beer 8- 4.55pm- Cumbria- Keswick, Thirst Quencher (4.3% ABV) - A refreshing Pale Ale with an exotic fruit and citrus aroma.
Beer 9- 5.20pm- Alloa- Williams Bros, Fraoch Heather Ale (4.1% ABV) - The unique taste of heather flowers is very noticeable in this beer. A fine floral aroma and spicy taste give character.
Beer 10- 5.45pm- Highlands- Cairngorm, Highland IPA (5% ABV) - Traditional amber coloured strong IPA with initial tart bitterness and subtle malt flavours followed by a big hopped dry finish with citrus notes.
 
CAMRA’s groundbreaking trail will be hosted by London’s Official Ale Taster*, Steve Williams, who will share his beer knowledge online with participants, particularly those new to Britain’s National Drink. Participants will be encouraged to feed back to CAMRA what they like and dislike about each beer, and will have the opportunity to enter a range of competitions which will be launched throughout the event. 
 
Steve Williams said:
 
‘Hosting Britain’s fastest and longest beer trail is an honour and a challenge, and the best way for new drinkers to get to grips with the sheer amount of variety and tradition in our growing brewing industry.
 
‘We are only sampling 10 British real ales out of over 500 at the Great British Beer Festival this week, and over 2500 on the market as a whole, but we have carefully selected the range to ensure that drinkers get a good flavour of what is out there.
 
‘Travelling the length of the country sampling thirst quenching bitters, dark and malty milds, high hopped IPAs, and brews made with anything from chocolate and vanilla to heather and honey, will be great fun, and will be a real display of the healthy position British real ale finds itself in at the moment.’
 
In preparation of the tasting, CAMRA undertook some research into which area of Britain drinkers most enjoy a pint of real ale. CAMRA found that the largest proportion (14%) of drinkers chose the South West of England as their favourite area to drink real ale.
 
With Cornwall as a starting point at 2pm today, CAMRA is hoping that people old and new to real ale sign up to ‘twitter.com/realalelive’ and participate in this virtual beer tasting revolution!
 
Radio/TV discussion- Steve Williams, London’s Official Ale Taster, is available for interview before or after the trail. For further information, please contact the Great British Beer Festival press office on 02072 443925.
 
END
 
Notes to editors-
*Steve Williams was awarded the title of Official London Ale Taster after a hard fought competition against other applicants. The competition was sponsored by Old Spitalfields Market, London and took place on June 9th 2010. Steve’s official London Ale Taster website is www.londonaletaster.co.uk
 
Great British Beer Festival 2010 Opening Times-
Tuesday August 3rd- 5pm- 10:30pm
Wednesday August 4th- Friday August 6th – 12:00pm- 10:30pm
Saturday August 7th- 11:00am- 7:00pm
 
Great British Beer Festival Tickets-
Advance day tickets- £6 (CAMRA members), £8 (non-members)
Advance season tickets- £20 (CAMRA members), £23 (non-members)
Day tickets- £8 (CAMRA members), £10 (non-members)
Group bookings (10+)- £7 per person (CAMRA/non-CAMRA members), only available by phoning See Tickets on 0871 230 5594 
 
For further information-
CAMRA Great British Beer Festival Press Office, 020 7244 3925
Jon Howard, CAMRA press officer, 07939 425471