Britain’s national drink is celebrated in London this August

The Great British Beer Festival returns with hundreds of ales, ciders, perries and beers, reports LondonTown.com

London, 31-7-2013 — /EuropaWire/ — Around 55,000 people are expected to flock to the Great British Beer Festival this August to celebrate Britain’s national drink. Running from the 13^th to 17^th August at London’s Olympia, the festival features over 800 real ales, ciders, perries and beers from around the world. Although the festival may sound like one fine excuse to get sozzled, for real ale experts it’s actually quite a serious affair and, with plenty of experts hosting talks and tastings, it can be quite educational. For anyone travelling from outside of London, a great selection of cheap London hotels can be found on LondonTown.com.

The festival’s first main event is the announcement of the Champion Beer of Britain, an annual accolade awarded by CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale). In order to be named the Champion Beer of Britain, the beers must first be acknowledged by CAMRA through one of three ways: regional tasting panels, a vote from CAMRA members or by winning one of the 150 Beer of the Festival awards at CAMRA festivals held throughout the year. Following this, nominated beers are put through several rounds of blind tastings at London’s Great British Beer Festival. Last year’s winner was Coniston Brewery, No.9 Barley Wine.

Tutored tastings are on offer throughout the festival, providing the chance for visitors to learn the subtleties of what makes a great beer. Tastings across the five days include the Champion Beer of Britain tasting with Roger Protz, the current editor of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide; a cider tasting with Ian White and Chris Rouse; and a look at Italy’s best beers with editor of the Italian Beer Guide Luca Glaconne and international beer judge Lorenzo Dabove. Plus, Jeff Evans, editor of the Good Bottled Beer Guide, samples six beers from his latest edition.

Besides the amber nectar, there’s a load of activities to keep visitors entertained, including traditional pub games, live music and, to soak it all up, some hearty traditional pub snacks.

Find out about all the best events taking place in London this summer with LondonTown.com’s Summer in London article.

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