Wednesday 8 November 2017

The end is nigh for London Drinker beer festival

I heard a sad bit of news from organiser Christine Cryne last night: the 2018 London Drinker Beer & Cider Festival will be the last. The hall in the Camden Centre is closing, and in the absence of anyone willing to take over running the festival and find it a new venue, that's it.

They want "to go out with a bang" though, and have lots planned for the final edition, which runs from Wednesday to Friday, the 14th-16th March. It includes judging the Champion Beer of London, competitions for the best low-alcohol (3% or under) beer in London and the best amateur cidermaker, a bring & buy stand, tutored tastings with five London brewers, a free pub quiz, and a VIP session for CAMRA members. 

And once again all the draught beers, cask and keg, will be London-brewed or from members of the London Brewers Alliance, which includes a couple from a little further out. All this info and more is in the downloadable festival newsletter.

The festival will be officially opened by Fuller's John Keeling, at lunchtime on Wednesday 14th March.


2 comments:

  1. The news that 2018’s event will be the last ever London Drinker Beer Festival, marks the end of an era, although I think I’m right in saying it wasn’t totally unexpected.

    The Camden Centre was rather dated and was never my favourite venue for a beer festival; although I can see its attractions – central location, catering facilities etc. I understand the building had been earmarked for re-development for some years. I can also fully understand the desire of the festival organisers to stand down. Having been involved in organising a number of such events, in the past, I know only too well the dedication and sheer amount of hard work these people put in to ensure the beer festival is a success.

    London Drinker’s disappearance will leave a large hole in the beer festival calendar. I wonder what, if anything, will pop up to take its place.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the hall nearly closed some years ago, as I recall. I have similar feelings to yours about the venue - although I always found it fine up before about 6pm, when the volume and crowding ramped up.

      Perhaps the definite closure will inspire someone else to come forward and organise a successor, in just the way that an organiser saying they'd like to step down usually *doesn't*. Sometimes you need a clean break or a hard stop in order to force change.

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