CPD at the GBBF

When I tell my friends that going to beer festivals is part of my Continuing Professional Development they seem sceptical. Perhaps they think the important networking opportunities are another attraction.

When it comes to the GBBF though I can provide conclusive proof that it's CPD:

See? A lecture with powerpoint slides and everything. This years it was someone from Lallemand talking about dried yeast.

Though he was unable to shed any light on the matter of their products being mixed cultures he did give top tips on rehydrating yeast. Due to the delicate state the cells are in as they emerge from their freeze dried state it's best not to use either pure water or wort for rehydration, instead use boiled tap water or diluted wort. As I tend to use diluted wort myself I felt myself bathed in the warm glow of smugness on hearing this.

As to the networking I managed to catch up with all except one of the people I'd planned to, and bumped into enough other people that I think I ended up ahead on points.

Old Dairy's AK1911 was on so I got to explain to friends about how it came to be. If I've not bored you about it before it's all down to Ron Pattinson and Bradford City.

The Champion Beer of Britain was a bit of a disappointment this year though. As it's made with American hops to 50 units of bitterness the more craftily inclined amongst my fellow beer nerds failed to chorus their annual howls of outrage at the choice. Though I didn't see anything praising the choice either. Perhaps it's a tradition or an old charter or something with the crafties that if you can't say anything bad about CAMRA say nothing.