|
I'm a Beer Festival Virgin, what happens at a beer festival? Will I have to queue to get in again? Can I buy a pass for the week? Who are CAMRA and what is Real Ale? What are the different types of beer? Why do you not sell Lager? What are the prices? Are there cashpoint facilities on site? Can I bring children? Can I bring my dog? Is there disabled access?
I'm a Beer Festival Virgin, what happens at a beer festival? A Beer Festival is an opportunity for you to try some of the thousands of different beers that are available in the UK. Alongside the beer, there will be plenty of food, live music and children's entertainment on Saturday afternoon You will need a glass, available at the entrance for a £3 deposit. The Bars will be in A-Z order of the breweries, Beers that are available will have a label on detailing price, style and strength (measured in %ABV). Not all beers in the programme will be available at a given time, so best to use your eyes! The technique then is to try as many beers and different types as you wish, you will see lots of people drinking 1/2 pints, if you're not sure ask the bar staff for some advice or to try a sip. We recommend starting with the weaker beers and possibly trying stronger ones as the night progresses. CAMRA supports responsible drinking, if you are or appear to be drunk, you will be asked to leave the site. As an alternative to British Beer, we will have a large range of Ciders, Perries and Belgian Beer. At the end of your session you can either keep your glass as a souvenir, return it for a refund or donate the money to charity.
Will I have to queue to get in? Not any more! We have in the past struggled on the Friday night, just down to sheer numbers, however in 2009 we had a much bigger and quicker entrance, max queue time, even on Friday night was 5 mins! We will also have much more marquee space this year so that If the weather is poor, there is plenty of room. However, it's not going to rain this year!
Can I buy a pass for the week? No, but for £20 you can join CAMRA! If you want to join at the festival, ask the door staff and they will point you in the right direction. This not only gets you into Chelmsford Beer Festival for free, but allows you free or reduced entry to other beer festivals (including Chelmsford Winter Beer Festival), plus loads of other goodies including £20 off Wetherspoons vouchers, monthly 'What's Brewing?' Newspaper, Quarterly Beer Magazine, plus discounts on CAMRA books and merchandise. For more details www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=joinus Back to top
Who are CAMRA and what is Real Ale? CAMRA ( 'CAMpaign for Real Ale') is an independent, voluntary, consumer organisation, whose main aims are promoting real ale and the traditional British pub. For more info on CAMRA please check out the website http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=about Real Ale (sometimes called Cask Ale) is the term given to a beer that has been produced using natural processes and is still fermenting or 'alive' when it is delivered to pubs in the cask. Generally the breweries producing Real Ales are small local independent craftsmen. With Keg beer (EG, Lagers, Smooth Beers, Guinness etc) the fermentation is stopped in the brewery, either buy filtering, chemicals or pasteurisation so that the yeasts are killed. Pubs then pump the beer using CO2, which also puts the fizz in it. Chelmsford Beer Festival is run by volunteers from the Chelmsford & Mid Essex branch of CAMRA. for more details of our activities and events, please visit our website. http://www.chelmsfordcamra.org.uk/
Back to top
What are the different types of beer? | Type | Description | Example Beers | IPA or Pale Ale | India Pale Ale changed the face of brewing early in the 19th century. First brewed in London and Burton-on-Trent for the colonial market, IPAs were strong in alcohol and high in hops: the preservative character of the hops helped keep the beers in good condition during long sea journeys. Beers with less alcohol and hops were developed for the domestic market and were known as Pale Ale. Many beers now named IPA (e.g. Greene King IPA or Rebellion IPA) are not true examples of this style but are just ordinary bitters | Red Squirrel Springfield IPA Thornbridge Jaipur IPA | Bitter | Bitters developed towards the end of the 19th century as brewers began to produce beers that could be served in pubs after only a few days storage in cellars. Bitters grew out of pale ale but were usually deep bronze to copper in colour due to the use of slightly darker crystal malts. | Butcombe Bitter Nethergate Augustinian | Golden Ales | This new style of pale, well-hopped and quenching beer developed in the 1980s as independent brewers attempted to win younger drinkers from heavily-promoted lager brands. Golden ales are pale amber, gold, yellow or straw coloured and above all, such beers are quenching and served cool. | Crouch Vale Brewer's Gold Hop Back Summer Lightning | Mild | Mild is one of the most traditional beer styles which is enjoying a revival in today's real ale market. Usually dark brown in colour, due to the use of well-roasted malts or barley it is less hopped than bitters and often has a chocolatety character with nutty and burnt flavours. | Light Mild Timothy Taylor's Golden Best Dark Mild Bateman's Dark Mild Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde | Porter & Stout | The name given to this dark brown ale derives from the fact that it was once especially favoured by porters in the London street markets. It owes its deep colour to the fact that the grains are burned black during malting.
At the time, a generic term for the strongest or stoutest beer in a brewery was stout. | Acorn Gorlovka Stout RCH Old Slug Porter | Wheat Beer | Brewed with a proportion of wheat in the mash, they have a fruity, sweetish taste and may be naturally cloudy. | Fenland Sparkling Wit O'Hanlon's Goldblade Wheat | | Barley Wines | Higher in alcohol, these beers are usually full-flavoured and warming.They can vary in colour from pale to dark. | Green Jack Ripper Woodforde's Headcracker | Specailaty Beers | Any of the above styles can be brewed with added flavours from spices or fruit | Green Jack Orange Wheat Humpty Dumpty Lemon & Ginger |
In addition to the Real Ale bars, you will also find Belgian Beer, Cider and Perry, Wine and soft drinks. Back to top
Why do you not sell Lager? Lager is actually technically a process whereby the beer is stored in huge vessels and fermented using a bottom-fermenting yeast, this process is normally used on mass produced beers and give a certain taste that generally gets called Lager. CAMRA's aim is to support local and independent breweries, therefore you wont find the big brand lagers, however you may find some 'Real Lagers' made using Lager ingredients but using natural real ale processes If you are a Lager drinker and new to Real Ale, why not start with one of the many Golden Beers that will be available?
What are the prices? All drinks are priced at normal pub prices, mostly £2.60 - £3.00 per pint.
Are there cashpoint facilities on site? Unfortunately, we only accept cash and there are no local ATM facilities.
Can I bring children? Under 18's will only be admitted with a responsible adult. Due to licensing laws, under 18's are not permitted in bar areas, however there will be some undercover areas where they will be allowed. Saturday 12pm - 6pm is Family Day, there will be various activities to keep children entertained, for more details, see Entertainment page. Minors will be encouraged to leave by 6pm.
Can I bring my dog? Dogs will be allowed on site under the following conditions; They are on a regular short lead at all times. Any mess created is bagged and removed from the Festival site to Council identified dog bins. CAMRA have the right to a) refuse entry to any dog without reason b) ask for any dog to be removed from site without reason.
Is there disabled access? We will have disabled facilities, however please bear in mind that the surface is grass. If you have any other questions please email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
FAQs 
