Brewer questions GBBF timing

September 9, 2006: CAMRA has hit back against a suggestion by a major brewery boss that the Great British Beer Festival should be moved away from its summer date.

Stephen Crawley, of Caledonian, said a winter date would make more sense than the hottest month of the year, and also said that the exhibiting brewers should be given a greater say in the running of the event.

However, Mike Benner, chief executive of CAMRA, told the Morning Advertiser that by holding the event in August they attracted the maximum amount of visitors, including tourists, and stressed that they had no problems in keeping their beer cool.

He added that the organisation did its best to work closely with exhibiting brewers, but, at the end of the day, someone had to be in charge.