Discovery Bar

The Discovery Bar returns to the Great British Beer Festival 2023 with an exciting programme of informal brewer and cider maker led tastings throughout the week of the festival. Discovery Bar tastings help you learn more about the ingredients, techniques and people behind the greatest beers and ciders Britain has to offer.

Discover Perry, one of Britain’s most esteemed and historic beverages with an informative display and expert led tastings programme. Experience the freshest hops and malts in our ingredients display. Learn more about how you can craft the finest brews right at home with the crew from homebrew heroes The Malt Miller who’ll be on hand all week to answer your homebrew questions.

Scroll down and find out what's on and when. Be prepared for your tastebuds and pre-conceptions to be challenged in equal measure. Whether you have been drinking for forty years or forty minutes you are sure to learn something new, but don't worry our friendly volunteer team will be on hand to guide you on your journey.

NEW FOR 2023: introduction to beer styles tasting The Malt miller Meet Our Sponsors

Volunteer at the Discovery Bar

Calling all Beer and Cider lovers!

Join our team of volunteer experts on the GBBF Discovery Bar. You don’t have to be a CAMRA member, nor do you need to know everything about beer and cider, but you should ideally be passionate about the drinks and are willing to engage and talk to others and support tastings. Register your interest today by emailing alex.metcalfe@camra.org.uk

DISCOVERY BAR TASTING PROGRAMME

Tuesday 1 August

Anspach & Hobday: London Black vs Cask Black vs London Black Co2

Discovery Bar Beer Tastings

Time -

13:00 to 15:00
17:00 to 19:00

London’s original Nitro Porter goes head-to-head in a triple tasting against its special one-off cask version and a unique carbonated edition. Guests will be able to make a side-by-side comparison of all three versions of London’s beloved Porter and see how each approach impacts on their experience of the beer.

Beers

Keg: London Black Nitro Porter
Keg: London Black CO2 Porter
Cask: Cask Black

Oakham Ales: A Tasting Of The Evolution Of Oakham Ales

Discovery Bar Beer Tastings

Time -

13:00 to 15:00
17:00 to 19:00

Enjoy a trip along the Oakham timeline! From the brewery’s pioneering use of American hops back in 1993, via the discovery of the Citra hop in 2009, to Oakham’s 30th Anniversary this year. Sample Oakham’s first ground-breaking brew, JHB and compare cask Oakham Citra (the first UK beer to be brewed with 100% Citra hops) with the unfiltered keg and can versions of the beer.

Beers

Cask: JHB (Jeffrey Hudson Bitter)
Cask: Oakham Citra
Keg: Oakham Citra Unfiltered

Perry – Champagne from the Orchard with Susanna Forbes, Little Pomona and Sam Nightingale, Nightingale Cider

Discovery Bar Perry Tastings

Time -

18:00 to 21:00

Taste terroir and technique as you compare perries from two UK cider producers. Little Pomona Orchard and Cidery from Herefordshire and Nightingale Cider Company from Kent.

Perries

Brut Rosé 2021, Traditional Method Perry: Little Pomona
Kentish Perry ‘live’ Keg Conditioned: Nightingale Cider

Wednesday 2 August

A tale of two yeasts: Two beers brewed using largely the same hops and malts but fermented using different yeasts.

Discovery Bar Beer Tastings

Time -

13:00 to 15:00
17:00 to 19:00

Compare Iron Pier’s Windmill Hill Saison, a “clean” saison fermented with a Belgian yeast strain, with their Barrel Aged Harvest Ale brewed using a saison yeast blended with oak barrel cider lees from Dudda's Tun.

Beers

Keg: Windmill Hill Saison
Keg: Barrel Aged Harvest Ale

Perry - A walk on the wild side with Albert Johnson, Ross Cider

Discovery Bar Perry Tastings

Time -

18:00 to 21:00

A tasting of keg conditioned, wild ferment natural perry; this blend showcases the very rare Flakey Bark perry pear.

Perries

Thorn and Flakey Bark Blend, ‘live’ keg conditioned

Thursday 3 August

Vocation Brewery – An introduction to the dark arts of Barrel Aging

Discovery Bar Beer Tastings

Time -

13:00 to 15:00
17:00 to 19:00

Explore the impact barrel ageing has on a beer’s flavour and the effects of using different types of barrels with two head-to-head tastings.

Beers

Bottles: 2022 Barley wine aged in Bourbon barrels Vs 2023 Barley wine aged in Burgundy barrels 330ml bottles
Bottles: Peach & apricot sour from chardonnay barrels Vs Plum & blackberry sour from pinot noir barrels
PLUS: An exclusive single wooden pin* of Vocation’s bourbon barrel aged Coconut Porter. 1 of 2 the only two pins of this beer in existence. It’ll be compared with the same beer from keykeg. This is very limited. When it’s gone it’s gone! (*a pin is the smallest size of cask available)

Perry - the jewel in the crown of British drinks. A drinker’s guide to perry with Adam Wells, Cider Review

Discovery Bar Perry Tastings

Time -

18:00 to 21:00

Adam Wells is the foremost British writer about perry, and is currently researching his debut book, a drinkers guide to perry; and he will be joined by Phil from 99 Pines Perry, a charity based around the famous May Hill, the folklore home of perry.

Perries

99 Pines Perry, bottle
Little Pomona Table Perry, ‘live’ keg conditioned

Friday 4 August

No-and-Low Beer. Look how far we’ve come

Discovery Bar Beer Tastings

Time -

13:00 to 15:00
17:00 to 19:00

No-and-Low Beer. Look how far we’ve come: An introduction to how great no-and-low alcohol beer can be.

Beers

Cans: Stoop - Lightly hopped and aged on oak for a refreshing dry finish.
Chug: A hazy extra pale ale with big tropical hops. Expect an assertive but round bitterness, an extra pale base and fluffy body.

Saved from the waste bin tasting

Discovery Bar Cider & Perry Tastings

Time -

18:00 to 21:00

Join Matt Billing of Ascension Cider, who saves orchard apples and pears and farmers fruits rejected by supermarkets, for a sustainable and environmentally conscious tasting session.

Cider, Perry and Fruity Bevs:

Ascension Selection, cans

Saturday 5 August

Mash Paddle: Brewing demonstration

Brewing with homebrew equipment (live)

Time -

13:00 to 15:00
17:00 to 19:00

Witness a beer being brewed in front of your very eyes! Mash Paddle brewery will collaborate with The Malt Miller using domestic scale homebrew equipment to make a beer at the Great British Beer Festival. Tastings will be available of a pre-brewed version of the beer.

The beer to be brewed at the Discovery Bar’s Saturday live brew will be decided by a public vote on social media leading up to the festival. The vote will dictate the beer style and ingredients.

All ingredients and equipment are available from The Malt Miller website.

The beer will then be brewed again for a later Mash Paddle taproom event supported by The Malt Miller.

NEW for 2023: Introduction to Beer Styles tasting. Just £5!

A brand-new informal tasting session supported by volunteers and digital resources. For just £5 you’ll receive a tray of four tasters of both traditional and contemporary beer styles that are available at the Great British Beer Festival’s bars. The tasting will take place in a reserved area of the Discovery bar, supported by introductory information on each style provided by our volunteers and a digital display. Use this tasting to have a greater understanding of beer, and you’ll have an even better time at the Great British Beer Festival as a result.

Our Sponsors

The Malt Miller

Homebrew heroes The Malt Miller return to the GBBF 2023, expanding the Discovery Bar with a bigger than ever display of brewing ingredients and equipment. Get up close and personal with a range of international and British hops and malts first-hand and learn all about the different scales of home-brewing equipment. The Malt Miller crew are friendly, knowledgeable and very approachable folk who live to inspire the next generation of homebrewers. Maybe you will one day hold aloft the coveted GBBF Homebrew Competition title!

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