Whew, what a week...

With the restored Twickenham Beer Festival now over - wow, that was a long week! And that's even after I had to work Monday & Tuesday instead of helping with set-up right from the start.

Into the beer festival on Wednesday morning - I was the bar manager for the main ale bar - to discover they already had all the casks up on the stillage. Hurrah! We set up the bars, customer seating and what have you. At least that wasn't too late a finish.

Then Thursday morning in again around 9, completed the set-up and as the day went on I started briefing the bar staff and sorting out stuff for later in the week, such as going to meet the estimable Tom Madeiros of the nearby Twickenham brewery who'd agreed to let us have samples of hops and malt for the planned introductory beer tasting session on Saturday. The beer manager and his crew had done a brilliant job of getting the beer ready in plenty of time, and once the labels were all up we were ready to open at 5pm.

It's three years since the last Twickenham beer festival, so in a way it's like a new event and it was a bit slow getting started. We had also been given an almost absurdly low fire limit by the council H&S people, so the organisers hadn't promoted it as heavily as in the past. Nonetheless, by 7pm it was humming - the bars were busy and everyone was having a good time, volunteers and customers alike. As bar manager, one of my more important jobs is to make sure the volunteers take breaks whenever possible and practical, as it's easy to overdo it and burn yourself out when you're enthusiastic.

During the evening quite a few local publicans were around as our guests, along with the brewer from the new Botanist Brewery in Kew. The branch's new Pub of the Year was announced, with the Prince of Wales in Twickenham just pipping runners-up the Magpie & Crown (Brentford) and the Roebuck (Hampton Hill).

Come closing time at 10.30pm, I thanked the bar staff and headed straight home, as I knew the alarm would have to be set for 5.30am to get Helma and Roric to Heathrow for their flight to Germany. We were up and they were checked in mostly on time, and after walking the dog I cycled back to Twickenham for Friday which was to be the first full day's opening.

It was getting harder now, and then when during the afternoon I cycled home again to give the dog his afternoon run my energy was really running low. Still, it was back to the fray, and our fears on the festival fire limit were realised when around 6-7pm the hall was nominally full - though in fact there was still spare room - and we had 40-50 people queuing outside waiting for others to leave so they could get in.

Fortunately, the council folk saw sense - they acknowledged that the space available to us was sufficient for another 10%, and that pretty much instantly cleared the queue. At the bar we were thoroughly busy all of a sudden, but the volunteers were brilliant. In fact, I don't think anyone will have had to wait more than 2 or 3 minutes all festival, and most were served within a minute.

Come Saturday morning, I have to confess I found it difficult to get there even by opening time. The tickers and a few other keen types were in early, but it took a while to get busy. By lunchtime though it was pretty lively, especially with Harlequins rugby fans in ahead of their game. It quietened down once they went off to the match, then picked up once more around 5-6pm. The afternoon tasting session went very well, with some good interest and plenty of relevant questions from the participants.

By now beers were running out all the time, but we still had plenty left, and come 9.30pm we decided to cut prices and start pushing takeouts, which shifted a few extra gallons. On the one hand, by closing time we still had a good choice of beers left - festival-goers often complain about festivals running out before the close - but on the other hand, by closing time we still had quite a bit of beer left...

In again Sunday to help take everything apart and clear the venue - we had to be out at midday. By rooting around for all the plastic bottles I could find, I managed to salvage a few beers for later. Unfortunately one of the wretched bottles then leaked in the car onto the carpet, the smell of which will not help if I'm stopped by the cops...

A day later, I've finally managed to catch up on some sleep, but it's still hard to get back into work mode!

Ale to the Chief!

With over 100 cask beers from 18 different states, plus one from DC-based Capitol City, the Blackwell/W2 bar at GBBF has one of the largest ions of US real ale in the world.

And it's proving a big draw, according to deputy bar manager Jim Laws. "Some people go for the strength, but a lot are going for the hops," he said, noting that while the US is famed for its big hoppy IPAs - and it is International IPA Day today, after all - there are plenty of porters, stouts and others on tap too.

He added that the beers from bar sponsor Sierra Nevada have been going particularly well: "The Sierra Nevada beers have been flying out - we've got three on, the Pale Ale, the Porter and the Torpedo Extra IPA."

There's even been a few that weren't in the programme, due to last minute shipping changes. Lowell Beer Works is the house brewery for a small chain of pubs in Massachusetts, and its tasty 15% Godzilla sold out in just a few hours on Tuesday afternoon. Its smooth Brookline Weizen Bock was still available on Thursday, fortunately.

So how have the US cask beers measured up to the exacting standards of CAMRA's volunteer cellar staff? Overall they have done extremely well, it seems. "One or two gave a few problems," Jim said. "But considering they've had a heck of a journey that's only to be expected."

Around half of the 100 had already run out by late Thursday afternoon, but Jim said there were still several more casks to go up on the stillage - including some more from Sierra Nevada - never mind the ones that had already been tapped and would be ready for sale shortly.

"There should still be a good range by Saturday," he concluded. "You can never tell though, it depends how busy we get tomorrow."

A taste of history comes home to London

Doing good business on the US cask bar (W2) today was something that originated just a few miles from Earls Court: Virginia brewery Devil's Backbone's re-creation of a 1930's London Dark Lager, using a recipe from long-gone Southwark brewer Barclay Perkins.

Lager brewing in London in the 30s? And dark lager at that? Absolutely, according to Ron Pattinson, the brewing historian and writer who suggested the brew to Devil's Backbone.

"I wasn't sure how it would turn out, to be honest!" he said. "A dark Munich style is not what people expect of British lagers in the period. But I've got records from Britain of lager brewing as far back as the 1840s."

He added that any Bavarian brewer would have recognised the techniques used in British lager back then - this was real lager, properly conditioned and quite probably served without additional gas.

The beer itself was delicious, by the way - ruby-black in colour, with coffee and toasted malt aromas and then a smooth body with fruit and malt balanced by a light bitterness and a faint red wine, almost bock-like, character.

Talking to Ron - who was signing copies of his books on the Cogan & Matter stand (S65) - I got the sense that he very much enjoys using the history of brewing to overturn modern assumptions and expectations about beer, and about the past.

Indeed, if anyone reading this has an old pub going spare, he said he has another pet project you might be interested in.

"I'd like someone to get an alehouse and brew Edwardian ales," he explained. "I want to give an impression of what it used to be like and how different it was, when you didn't have anything weaker than 4.5%."

Who knows, it might even make a reality TV series - we've seen it done with country houses and farms, now how about 'The Edwardian Pub'?

Beer for all seasons

Given the general soggyness of this grey day, it wouldn't be too surprising to find that sales of darker and stronger beers were picking up today as visitors veered away from the golden ales and summer bitters that went down so well yesterday- and the GBBF Twitter feed was bearing that out.

Amber's medal-winning Chocolate Orange Stout (B5) was the choice of chMKUK, while kmflett was on the US cask bar (W2) enjoying the cask re-creation of Barclays London Dark Lager, brewed by Devils Backbone in the US in co-operation with beer historian and blogger Ron Pattinson.

Hermanoprimero reckoned that the Goacher's Real Mild (P4) "tastes like smoky bacon" - was that a compliment or a criticism? Titanic's Chocolate & Vanilla Stout (W5) won more fans too, with unclewilco calling it "very drinkable" and with a "stunning aroma".

However, it is also International IPA Day today. I'm not quite sure who organised this - do let us know in the comments if you know - but quite a few festival visitors are taking advantage of the range of IPAs available to celebrate it to the full. AndrewBowden recommended the Windsor & Eton Conqueror (B2) and Megfdavies the Thornbridge Raven (B1), two great examples of the new category of Black IPAs - look out for more of these around GBBF.

Thornbridge's regular IPA, Jaipur, was the tipple of choice of Ahnlak, while SamSWalker tried the Potton Shannon IPA (B3) and Ilkleybrewery cheekily recommended the Ilkley Lotus IPA (B2).

The US is noted for its IPAs of course, and the GBBF US bars have several great examples. Beer_Talk reported enjoying "a lovely Everybodys Brewing Country Boy IPA" for one, while festival sponsor AlesByMail sampled both that and the Il Vicino Wet Mountain IPA.

For now, #GBBF is off to see if there is any of that Barclays Dark Lager left. Happy IPA Day, everyone!

Real ale sets the Twittersphere abuzz

With well over 400 British cask ales to choose from at GBBF*, how do you decide where to start - or indeed where to finish? The high-tech option is to ask Twitter, and sure enough, the festival's Twitter feed (@gbbf) and hashtag (#gbbf) has been buzzing with recommendations since we opened at midday on Tuesday.

Nethergate Old Growler (P2) is a lovely well balanced porter, says Pete_Tinley, and having had it in my local recently, I can say he's absolutely right. He's now waiting for the Champion Beer of Britain, Oscar Wilde Mild (P2) to come back on - incidentally, I overheard one of the barstaff from the Vane/P2 bar saying they'd already sold three of the four casks at the festival, the fourth was going on this afternoon - but stay hopeful, because more is on order from Mighty Oak.

There's a vote for Harveys Lewes Castle brown ale (B7) from kathrynpiquette, "A bitter edge with treacle undertones - or overtones?" she says. "Fab either way!" Meanwhile, De_Mote says Thwaites Nutty Black is "Mmm..."

Among the stout fans are PhilPriston who recommends Hook Norton Double Stout (W4), _gmh_ who says Raw's Dark Peat Stout (B2) is "veery drinkable", and Nikonvscanon who recommends the Titanic Chocolate & Vanilla Stout (W5). There's votes too for the Irving Admiral Stout (P4) and several tweets praising B&T's Edwin Taylor's Extra Stout (B3).

The golden beers are getting plenty of attention at the bars too. Axatl says Country Life Golden Pig (B7) has just overtaken Salamander's Golden Salamander (W7) as his festival favourite, while Nottingham Rock Ale Bitter (W4) and Arkell's Wiltshire Gold (W7) are also winning fans.

Fortunately, whatever style you prefer - and most of us like several styles, if not all of them! - it is almost certainly here somewhere. And if you can't find your first choice, well, my reaction is usually just to try something else - and I'm usually very pleasantly surprised.

*Not all of them at the same time, sadly

First love: real ale

One of the joys of GBBF is introducing people to ale for the first time. (Although can you introduce someone for the second time? Never mind...) Yesterday it was a friendly and very interested TV crew from Japan, here to film the festival, interview CAMRA chief exec Mike Benner and then cover the CBOB announcement.

One thing I didn't have time to give them a tour of though was the Japanese beers. Yes, we have Japanese beers - 10 of them, on the New World bar (Urbani/W3) alongside other Pacific Rim brews from Australia and New Zealand.

Slightly confusingly, this part of Bieres Sans Frontieres is also where you will find the Scandinavians, which this year mostly means the Danes, although there are one or two Norwegians as well.

Also here are the stunning beers of Danish microbrewer Mikkeller, although as the eponymous Mikkel doesn't have his own brewery - instead co-operating with other breweries around Denmark and the world to use their facilities - he is listed as a 'gypsy brewer', which may not be politically correct but is apparently one of the terms he prefers.

Wood you believe it...

Wooden casks are sadly something of a rarity at GBBF these days - but this year we have three huge examples in use, and just to confuse you, they are not on one of the British ale bars but on the Belgian and Dutch bar, Vesalius/P5.

Their arrival earlier in the week from Dutch brewry De Molen caused great excitement, not just because of their size - 225 litres, or around 50 gallons - but also because of their contents. They have been cask-maturing Hot & Spicy, a smoked Imperial stout with chillies, the faintly lactic Hout & Hop, and Tsarina Esra Reserve, a full-flavoured strong porter.

If they've run out - though hopefully with casks those size, they won't have! - there's plenty more Low Countries beers on offer, including half a dozen more on draught, plus bottled Trappists, lambics, fruit and honey beers, stouts and more. And if all that gives you a taste for the subject, you could tap it at its source - bar sponsor Eurolines runs buses to beer festivals in both Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as many more beery places around Europe.