theartsdesk at the Great British Beer Festival

Held each year at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, the Great British Beer Festival is the top-drawer event in any British beer enthusiast's diary. Organised by CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ale), it’s a mind-boggling, discombobulating overload of more beer than it’s possible to imagine. Every non-corporate brewer is here, from the heard of (Fullers, Thwaites) to the local and barely heard of. Beer is central, but there’s food and games too. People are here too. Masses of them. And they’re all happy, friendly and full of good vibes. This event has a great atmosphere.

The chaps above bought cheapo second-hand suits on which they were listing in marker pen which beers they’ve sunk. Asked if they’d thought of another way of recording the experience they said, “No, this is the only way we could do it.” Most of the other beer fans seemed to have a different strategy. Clutching crib sheets and the festival’s programme, they were checking each beer off, then moving on to the next one – a diligent approach.

Still though, after the person behind the bar asked, “What can I get you sir?” you heard the response, “Two pints of... Yeah, that’s it.”

I employed random tactics and ended up sitting at a table also occupied by three of a group of seven off-duty Coldstream Guards. Then they spotted an empty table and announced they were “taking it”. Nobody here fitted the Aran sweater, bearded real ale stereotype. Women were here. The ladies on the right were from a pub in Rome, near the Porta Portese, that brews its own IPA.

More than 1,000 beers, ales, ciders and perrys are on offer at 23 bars. Four bars are dedicated to Bières san Frontières, including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the US. The festival runs over five days. You purchase a glass on entry and hand it over each time you buy a drink. Prices are lower than pubs. Food is high-endish and robust. Ploughman’s with good cheese and bread was very fine. One stand was covered in a mountain of bags of pork scratchings. Ostrich burgers are on sale too, but there’s not much on the vegetable front. CAMRA has stands selling books on beer, as well as beer ephemera (it's called brewiana). Seventies Charrington’s trays, bar towels and local brewery ads are up for grabs.There's a music stage too - cricketer Mark Butcher is playing with his band on Saturday. Adrian Edmonson and the Bad Shepherds play on Friday.

Although the event is about beer, beer and beer, a lone outpost flew the flag for wine (pictured right). This wine bar had no customers and was mostly used for leaning on. What seems the obvious main focus – necking down loads of beer – wasn’t the main agenda. The event took over. Sunday is the last day (OOPS - got this wrong. Saturday is the last day, see comment below). This extraordinary and friendly festival is a winner.

• Buy tickets for the Great British Beer Festival
• The Great British Beer Festival website
• The CAMRA website