Playlouder - Music is the Network

Given the number of recent reviews that have commented on the quality of beverages (or lack of it) for sale at the event, how long before we organise the Playlouder Hipster Real Ale Festival? Matt, Alex, and Luke would do an admirable job of selecting some decent beers, and Lost could provide his wine expertees....

Totally

i like bitter and ale. this is something i know alot about. i would like to play with this drinkfaster booze festival. it would be fun. maybe i would stop talking like this if it happened. maybe not. who knows. brilliant.

drinkfaster! amazing.

let's do it!

ginger beer too?

i love it

why 'hipster'

dunno, i just like the word

Not so keen on the what it reepresents, admittedly

trousers?

yeah, don't like trousers at all

shorts or skirts are where it's at

Personally, I regard it as a good sign if I'm still in possession of my trousers by last orders...

...Then again, it sometimes depends on what kind of exciting new company I've fallen into.

Am I too old to be classed as a hipster then?

Only please, PLEASE promise me that beards won't be compulsory!

In my real world you are free to choose, but in an ideal world EVERYONE would have beards. And mine would be the biggest.

I refuse to grow a ladybeard just in order to get drunk with you lot.

madam - beards will be provided

Blonde, red or brunette...?

...By which I mean, do you favour pale ale, bitter or mild/porter (and nothing to do with beards)?

I'll say one thing in your favour: the entertainment's likely to be better than at the average beer festival, hard as they try. Even at the Great British Beer Festival, the Bowie covers band sounded great but were nothing to look at.

While you're getting your act together, the Battersea Beer Festival is on from the 6th to the 8th of February:

I'm in

The 6th suit you?

i went to the st.albans beer festival a few months ago

st.albans is where Camra HQ is

right next to my old junior school infact.

Indeed, and several good-to-excellent pubs.

yeah 6th sounds good

Don't know how I'll recognise any of you, but I'll make sure I do my laundry so that my Guns 'n' Dope Party t-shirt is clean for the occasion...

more pubs per square mile than anywhere. supposedly.

i might see if i can drag some people to the battersea one too though

beer milo, you like beer?

et tu, mme?

Getting back to the idea of a PL beer festival: the last Pig's Ear (i.e. City & East London CAMRA) Beer Festival was held at Ocean, so the idea's not as far fetched as it sounds...maybe they'd put on some PL promoted bands in return for a little sponsorship?

youth outreach programme

maybe the bands would have to sign about beer

sing

At least there'd be no problem supplying their backstage rider...

...And here's something for those music venues where they say, "Oh, we can't keep real ale because we don't have a proper celler / it would go off too quickly.":

I'm in if one of you lot can provide a sofa or something to sleep on! Just got bacl back from 9 days in the clubbing district of Malta hence been er.. distracted from the internet..

I should add I don't live in or near fucking london!

but I'll still bring you all a nice bottle or two

I would love to be able to offer sofa / floor space, and would under normal circumstances, but unfortunately there are major (slow moving) building works going on in my flat right now.

If you can find somewhere to kip, it would be good to meet up with you at Battersea.

Did anyone go to the CAMRA thing btw? I forgot it was last weekend. If the DrinkFaster festival is to happen, I think Victoria park might make a good venue - The Royal Inn on the Park has a great selection of ale - I spent yesterday afternoon sat in their beer guardian drinking Fullers Discovery which was most pleasant...

guardian? garden

The beer guardian sounds like a pagan spirit. Probo a large fat one with a beard.

...Or with a handlebar moustache and a large pipe, who looks like he communes with the 'little people' on a regular basis.

BTW, I never did get to Battersea in the end: on the Wednesday, one of the friends I'd arranged to go with copped out at the last minute (no real surprise, actually) and the other one was ill. I thought about going on the Thursday, but it was a friend's birthday and I gave him the choice between going to the festival or a strip club; being a spirits drinker, he opted for the strippers...

...And I have to agree with Tim that The Royal Inn On The Park would be an excellent setting. Am I right in thinking that it's owned by the same people as the Prince George in Dalston?

Hmmm - I'm not sure

I shall have to go back and scout about to see if it's possible to fit bands in there though

or we could enquire about the possibility of running a PlayLouder DrinkFaster beer tent at one of the festivals held in the park...

I still think some kind of tie-in with Pig's Ear may be helpful, i.e. free expertise, local knowledge, not reinventing the wheel, etc.

aah, I missed that the first time round - great idea! They could bring the ale, we could bring the music...

...And beards in both camps!