By the end of the festival we will have served almost 200 different cask beers all of which are eligible to receive votes in the Beer of the Festival ballot.
With your glass you will find a voting form for ‘Beer of the Festival’.
Please let us know not just your favourite real ale but cider, perry and foreign beer as well.
Breweries really value these awards.
Please put your form in the box on the Glasses Stand before you leave.
We are now cramming into the hall about as much beer and cider as it will hold.
We have almost 200 different cask beers with a significant turn-over from last year.
You can download the BBF2014-beer-cider-list.pdf. This includes a list of the imported beers and the beers 'on the floor' at the start of the festival.
We have again increased the order for beer and cider and are now cramming into the hall about as much as it will hold.
We have ordered almost 200 different cask beers this year.
We cannot put all of the beer that we have on to the stillage from the start which is why you will see that many casks are on the floor below it on opening day.
They can only be racked when a space occurs, so that a beer that you particularly want may not be available immediately. This is the only way that we can operate, so please understand our situation.
We would advise against making long journeys just to sample one or two specific beers.
To reiterate, we simply cannot guarantee that they will be on whilst you are at the festival.
We do not hold back beer; once it is ready to go on sale – and it has to be ready because we will not compromise on quality – it goes on sale until it is sold.
Similarly, we cannot guarantee that all the beers that we have listed here will arrive but there will be substitutes of equal quality.
CAMRA’s LocAle campaign is very important to us but both the Pig’s Ear Festival last December and the London Drinker Festival (12 to 14 March) heavily feature London beers and so we have spread our net more widely to bring you what we hope is the best in British real ale, mostly from small or medium sized breweries.
We are not a ‘winter ales’ or ‘dark beers’ festival; we aim for a range that will cover all tastes.
Our particular speciality is the standard ‘session’ bitter (4% ABV or lower), but we also have a small ‘Strong Beers’ bar next to the Foreign Beer bar.
You should find something there to send you happily on your way.
Free soft drinks will be available in both halls.
Despite what some say, with one generous exception, none of the beer is gifted to us.
It is all purchased from the breweries or beer agencies on normal commercial terms.
Battersea Beer Festival follows CAMRA guidelines in charging what is reasonable for the area without seriously undercutting local pubs or excessive overcharging.
We have a range of ciders and perries which have been carefully selected from small and medium producers.
These can be found in the Lower Hall.
They are listed on the Beer and Cider list which can be downloaded from BBF2014-beer-cider-list.pdf.
In line with CAMRA policy, our beers are served in oversized, lined glasses - both pint and half pint glasses are available.
Please Note: we have neither 1/3rd pint glasses nor 1/3rd pint lines on the glasses because we feel that demand for them has not been sufficient to justify the additional complications involved.
We also will not be using the 2/3rd pint ‘schooner’ measure.
As ever, we have a good range of imported beers selected by Bar Manager Peter Sutcliffe from his wide personal knowledge.
This bar is located in the main hall, on the right as you enter.
A range of bottle-conditioned beers can be found in the Lower Hall.
See the beer list at BBF2014-beer-cider-list.pdf for details.
Our Beer List is usually finalised in the autumn so, sorry, it is too late to add beers and ciders to it at this stage.
If you wish to register an interest for a future festival, please feel free to do so. We would be happy to hear from you but this does not guarantee you an order.
Contact Dave Plackett, the festival Beer Manager: beer@batterseabeerfestival.org.uk.