TOPIC:

The idea of a beer festival in Dublin was being mentioned in passing in Cork on Saturday. I doubt if there's any more detail at this stage, though I hope our friends in the business will keep us posted.

Anyway, it was mentioned in relation to the Great Irish Beer Festival in Galway last year that we could have an ICB stall there, and I was wondering if people would be interested in helping run an ICB one at this Dublin event, if it happens and if it's practical.

At the very least, it would be good to have some leaflets on how to make beer, where to get ingredients, what not to do, popular myths debunked etc. Ideally it would be great if we could actually offer homebrew, depending on the legality of it and the willingness of the brewers to provide.

Off the top of my head, I don't think it's a good idea to be handing out free samples, and I doubt if the organisers would be keen either, but we could either give the tokens we collect back to the organisers in exchange for running the stand, or the brewers could take what they'd need to cover their expenses. Either way a) I don't think it should be done to make money and b) I don't think it would be worth our while if we have to pay up front to be there.

The mechanics of this might be better discussed offline, so really what I'm wondering is if there'd be four or five members who'd be going to the Dublin event anyway (if it happens) and would be willing to remain sufficiently upright to spend at least some of their time helping run a stall and telling punters that homebrew is not rubbish, but actually great. Oh, and don't try a lager straight off.

I'm in. Anybody else?

Provided it doesn't conflict with something major, I am more than willing to help out by manning the stall, explaining the process, running a demonstration of some sort, providing a batch or two of beer for consumption, waving my hands in the air enthusiastically and whatever else seems even vaguely appropriate.

im pretty sure i could remain sober for a day, i may have to be slightly restrained though. i think it's a great idea, any building of homebrew knowledge in the outer world is a good thing in my mind.

I would like to sign up for an early stint on the stand. <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: -->

We would have to be very careful about how we do any sampling. There cannot be consideration of any sort, in return for beer which has been brewed without a licence to do so commercially. I suppose you could make an argument for covering your costs, but I would rather just wear the cost of the ingredients personally and provide my beer for free, in order to keep things simple.

Perhaps we could provide a special ICB token to every person who passes through the door. The token would entitle the bearer to a small sample of each of the beers at the ICB stand (Terms and conditions on the back make it clear that we reserve the right to give you jack shit if we feel like it). One per person, non-transferable. It does not come as part of the entry fee, it is freely given by an ICB member, not by anyone with a financial interest in the festival.

&amp;quot;sbillings&amp;quot;:15x6ps4r wrote: Provided it doesn't conflict with something major[/quote:15x6ps4r]Yes, obviously the timing will be a very important factor -- and one outside of our control -- in whether this happens or not. Right now I'm just wondering if there's any real interest in doing some groundwork and perhaps formally registering an interest.

&amp;quot;beeristhereason&amp;quot;:15x6ps4r wrote: i think it's a great idea, any building of homebrew knowledge in the outer world is a good thing in my mind.[/quote:15x6ps4r]Indeed. If it does work out we should be able to take it on the road to other events around the country.

&amp;quot;beeristhereason&amp;quot;:15x6ps4r wrote: I would like to sign up for an early stint on the stand[/quote:15x6ps4r] <!-- s:lol: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt="" title="Laughing" /><!-- s:lol: --> I was highly amused when reading CAMRA-NI's call for volunteers for their festival last year, desperately pleading for people to help with the take-down at the end because there are never enough people. Daftly, they have a staff party [i:15x6ps4r]before[/i:15x6ps4r] the festival ends. Any wonder they all evaporate after that.