I was pulled up short by a headline in a Spanish trade publication. It was a sobering read: “More than 90% of craft beer festivals planned for this year in Spain have been cancelled.”
Cerveza Artesana Magazine reported that only seven festivals out of more than the 100 scheduled for 2020 took place before pandemic protocols in mid March put everything on hold. The first big casualty was the Barcelona Beer Festival that would have expected to attract some 35,000 folk over its three days.
Clearly the situation is reflected across the craft beer world, but for Spain’s ever-increasing number of small regional craft breweries festivals represent a vital shop window that is key to exposure and income.
You can read the full article (in Spanish) here, but in a nutshell there are scores of festivals where organisers have been compelled to pull the plug.
Others have postponed, clutching at any straw in the hope that a perceived second wave of infection might simply ebb away.
Among these was Barcelona, who had quietly suggested a possible rescheduling for the second week of October. That now looks an improbable dream.
At least one festival did take place. Cangas, a small town on the opposite side of the estuary from the port city of Vigo in Galicia, hosted a three-day outdoor event held under strict procedures in August.
Temperature checks were taken on entry, there was a significantly reduced capacity with greater distancing between tables and face masks were to be worn.
It was organised by Asociación Gallega de Cerveceros Artesanos, who promote Galician craft beer. The local paper reported on it warmly.
Otherwise a couple of organisers opted for virtual technology. One was the three-day SanBernaBeer that would have been held in Logroño in the heart of La Rioja wine country in early June.
Bigger players have picked up that baton. Barcelona juice kings Garage arranged an English-language drink-along aimed at the UK market in early August.
Collaborating with established outlets, Garage presented half a dozen beers for a two-hour Instagram live event hosted by the Craft Beer Channel’s Jonny Garrett.
The beers were new releases with the exception of the signature Soup IPA. I’ll drink Garage at the drop of hat, but the Fanghirl 8.2% Imperial New England IPA was a rare treat; beautifully balanced with enough bitterness and bite to transform it into a complete and utter joy.
It’s the big sister of their superb Fanbhoy, that impressive cinc-hopped 6.2% IPA (Simcoe, Columbus, Galaxy, Mosaic and Cascade) that has proved such a success.
One of the bottle shops involved in the Garage-a-thon was A Hoppy Place in Windsor, which shared the evening experience with several socially distanced customers.
Co-owner Dave Hayward reflected on its commercial merits.
‘I will likely not choose to be involved in another virtual event where the risk of not selling the boxes is on the bottle shop’
Dave Hayward, A Hoppy Place
“For the drink-along, what’s very clear is that pre- and post- lockdown most people who seek interactivity have returned to the pub,” he said.
“The numbers were about 15 per cent of those that attended a similar Omnipollo night. We just about got through the beer but it was incredibly challenging.”
It’s a challenge Dave might not take up in future.
“I will likely not choose to be involved in another virtual event where the risk of not selling the boxes is on the bottle shop,” he said.
“It was naturally fun to meet the brewers, and ‘remote’ breweries can only ever host an event in this way, but as I say, it’s a challenge.”
Dave remains a firm fan of Garage (who isn’t?), and putting him on the spot was akin to the old “who’s your favourite child?” conundrum.
“The best beer of the night? I enjoy all of Garage’s IPAs. Not a bad beer there.”
Unfortunately for fans of Spain’s craft festivals there’s barely a beer to be had anywhere.
Beer and Far 
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