Are you new to the world of real ale and craft beer? Or perhaps just a little daunted or unsure when faced with a choice of hundreds of beers? Not sure where to start at a festival, or which style of ale is most likely to suit your palate?
Fear not! Because we're joined on Thursday evening by beer expert Tim Hickford who is on hand to give a free, friendly and informal tour of the festival - with a few tasting suggestions and pointers along the way.
All you'll need is your empty glass and a token card, and Tim will lead you on an exploration of flavours, across the variety of beer styles we have on offer at the festival. As you move from bar to bar, he'll suggest a diverse selection of beers you might want to grab a third of to try and discuss. And by the end of the tour we guarantee that, as well having had good fun and great chat, you'll be much better equipped to find and choose the beers that suit you best - whether at a festival or down the pub.
A Hertfordshire local, Tim has spent his whole career so far in the beer industry, with roles at breweries including Longdog, Mad Squirrel and Brewpoint, spanning on and off trade management, sales, marketing, e-commerce, training and communications. In 2015, he became one of the youngest qualified beer sommeliers in the country.
A few years later he launched his successful "Beer With Tim" brand which includes a blog and social media presence across multiple platforms, and last year he became a full member of the British Guild of Beer Writers.
Tim's passion is to make other people as excited by great beer and pubs as he is, as you can discover by joining this great tour! It's completely free with your general Thursday festival admission - just be there ready to meet in the foyer, near the CAMRA membership stand, for a 7pm start.