MAY | COVER FEATURE
brewery last week, they wanted
to make a sour beer so badly that
they sat and peeled 281 grapefruits
by hand themselves. That’s a story,
that’s a beer with meaning. The
band have literally had a hand in
the beer you’re drinking. Isn’t that
better than a generic can of lager
that’s not had human interaction
until you pick it up? We think so!“
A REVOLUTION IN YOUR
KEG
This revolution has had knock-
on effects on the events industry.
We’re all just consumers afterall.
A new website, Feast-It, designed
for event organisers to select food
and drink suppliers by reputation,
has been fuelled in part by the craft
beer and bespoke beverage trend.
Digby Vollrath, its co-founder,
has a vast experience in festivals,
both in the UK and the States, and
has seen the UK adopt the US’
30
The amazing cover and inlay
images are sourced from The
World’s Greatest Music Festival
Challenge: A Rocking Seek and
Find by Matt Everitt (author), Jim
Stoten (illustrator).
Published by Laurence King, the
book explores festivals past and
present via intricate, lovingly
illustrated landscapes.
passion for craft.
“We’re catching up with the
craft beer revolution, which was
an American trend ten years
ago. We have 100 different drink
suppliers at Feast It, but it’s often
the case that organisers sell all
their beverage rights to a festival
or event. However, this is changing
because of consumer demand.
Those big companies that want to
monopolise the market must now
diversify their selection, and in
an attempt to do this, a lot of craft
companies are being acquired.”
Ground Control Production’s
managing director and Broadwick
Live director Jon Drape has also
noticed this trend, and stresses
that it is no longer in the big
brewing companies’ interests to
monopolise a festival.
“Festivals are evolving, and we’re
getting away from homogenised
brands. The one-size-fits-all
beverage model is old fashioned
now, and we’re very careful at
Broadwick Live not to treat our
festivals as a group. We are wary
of group deals, and ensure we are
very bespoke to the requirements
and market demographics of each
festival. We pay attention to the
nuances of each to deliver what
they want. This is a trend that
people are also getting used to on
the high street.“
The problem with homogenised
beer choice is generally
commercially driven, according to
The Fair’s CEO Nick Morgan. “The
bigger brewers have more money
to present to promoters, hence the
lack of choice. They have more
money as they are mass-producing,
and cost per product is far less.
However, some bigger brewers
are in a huge acquisition drive of
some of the smaller craft brewers.
For example, Heineken have just
purchased Brixton Brewery.
“Some of the smaller shows