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The NWAF opened up yesterday with about 110 Cask Ales on offer. Wednesday is traditionally an easy day with smaller crowds and this year was no exception, but attendance was up significantly over last year.

Time accelerates amazingly on festival days. One prepares the bar and the beers to open, then suddenly we’re open, and in a flash it’s midnight and we’re unwinding in the staff bar with a pint or two before trudging home to our hotel.

One indication of the nature of the crowd is how they order. I served a great many ‘nips’ (1/3 pint) last night, as well as mostly half pints. I think I only sold two full pints all night. Thursday and Friday generally are very different.

The British also are (rightfully) very particular about short pours. We had a beer from Ascot Brewery, On The Rails, a mild, that was particularly lively. That means it had a very foamy head… When you looked at the line of dark beer under the foam it looked like it was above the fill line. As the head settled the apparent beer line actually dropped! I was asked twice for a top-up; after that I got pretty generous with my pours of that beer…  Interestingly, the beer was lively even after being on for several hours and serving perhaps 3 or 4 gallons.

I’ll have more reports as time and a creaky internet connection permit!