Dear fellow volunteers at Grande Biere
Thank you very much for your cooperation.
The Grande Biere tasting event was opened hoping that many people could
experience the 'aroma' of craft beers. While the number of visitors were 1/3
of that of Japan Beer Festivals, the type of visitors, the beers exhibited
and the operation all lived up to our expectations and ended in a very
productive event, giving us great confidence in the 2nd year.
This is all thanks to you, volunteers, who fully understood the purpose of
this event and consolidated all your efforts. Let me take this opportunity
to thank you all.
One of the reasons why I am so confident about the success of Grande Biere
2009 is that we had completely different sets of visitors than our Beer
Festivals. The Beer Festivals, which tend to be dominated by beer fans, used
to be outside of interest to those who had never experienced craft beers or
microbrews. Grand Biere's primary objective was to enhance awareness among
these people and to grow them into the new customer base. The resulting
majority of those who had "first time experience with craft beers" at the
Midtown Night and the following two days was more than we had expected.
Besides, most of the visitors went home with impressions that they had a
fun, want to come back and would buy beers they tasted at the event. This
makes me feel confident that we succeeded in fulfilling our mission.
As one of the major factors in bringing this success, we can name deep
understanding and unlimitted support that the beer makers and importers
showed to this event. It is solely because each company contributing only
"aromatic" beers to the event that the visitors enjoyed variations of
"aromas" and the "first comers" wholeheartedly enjoyed the "attraction of
craft beers" to the fullest. What also added to the fun experience of
visitors would have been the serving by brew masters and conversations with
sales representives of exhibitors who came all the way to Tokyo.
At the same time, you carried out the complicated tasks spanning from months
of preparation, short time hall preparation, reception, assistance to
exhibitors and works in the backyard smoothly without any troubles. Without
your commitments, the visitors would not have been as satisfied as they are.
The knowhow of the entire operation would be succeeded as great heritage of
Grand Biere to next year, the year after next and ever. I feel deep
appreciation to your devotion and would like to deliver my heartfelt
appreciation.
The next Grand Biere is decided to take place at the same Tokyo Midtown in
April next year. Please help me again next year in making the next Grand
Biere the more rich and fruitful event.
Ryouji Oda
Chairman
Japan Craft Beer Association
What do you think about that? Getting served beer by the brewer who made it is the greatest thing since giant parmesan cheeses.
6 comments:
What a load of BS.
Success?
I'm not sure. Alos, I'd be very wary of a beerfestival qwhich only wanted 'aromatic beers'.
Was that the theme? Why didn't they say so? Still the quality of beer on hand thsoe 3 days was pretty good. But that's due to the brewers, not the organisers. If they really wanted to attract more of the non craft beer drinking public, maybe they should have reduced the ridiculous 5,500yen entrance fee. I'm sure that turned away most of those 200yen happoshu drikers they 'seem' to be eager to convert. Just a big excuse for certain people to get more money. Some of it was mine. Geez, I'm sounding cynical. someone please post a positive comment!
Hey, at least once you paid the entrance fee it was all you can drink?
You made some good friends?
You got to meet Nate?
Any of those work?
Looking forward to meeting you gents at the more down-to-earth Great Japan Beer Festival, which I assume you'll be attending...
The entrace fee was too high.
Beer was good but not enough time to drink them all in. Good I got to try many different beers though but you can do that at other festivals for less and seeing as the whole point of this one was 'to attract new business and educate the masses' (although I'm stilljt really sure as to the whole point), I think it was not successful. The masses just didn't turn up. I don't think it was advertised or publicised very well. No one seemed to know about it, outside the 'ji biru' community. The ones that did seemed very confused, including on the Friday, when we (those in the industry? - and their friends) were all going inside. We still didn't know what to expect. But yes, I did enjoy it. It was expensive but good for us drinkers, just not so good for the vendors, perhaps. I think the press release/e-mail is BS. I don't thinkit was a succees, but I'm not the organiser so it's just my opinion. Then again, the organiser is not going to say he did a bad job, and mail everyone telling them that, is he?
Don't mean to rant. Beer was good. It was good to meet you, Nate (if for a second and I forget what I said) and it was good to try a new festival out.
What I don't get is why people bitch when the beer at hand was the best quality overall I have seen at a Japanese beer festival. I go to a festival to drink new and good beer. That simple. If it has that, I'll probably be happy. If not, then I will be less so. I was happy
with Grande Biere. It was ten times more enjoyable than the stupid Ebisu wait-in-line-for-ten-minutes-for-your-mediocre-beer-fest.
Not to mention I wasn't too pissed off that 1)no drunk obaasans hit on me 2) It didn't feel like a suburban commuter train during rush hour - though even that is still better than Ebisu most years. 3) I didn't have to get there an hour early just to get in when it opened 4) BEER DIDN'T RUN OUT. Especially after waiting 45 minutes (for sankt gallen imp chocolate stout in 2006)
If they got new people that is great.
I would recommend stretching Friday night out. Maybe 630-10pm. That would be great and attract a lot more people.
Anyways, as some of you probably know there was a certain someone, whose name starts with T, who basically predicted a massive failure in the number of people expected. I guess that someone was spot on.
Chris I think bitching is in your blood, so I understand what you are saying.
tim
I finally found time to visit your site. It's nice. Some articles brought me to laugh my head off.
I participated in the organizing committee just to find out how things are run, to get acquainted with people and to find any issues that can be solved.
Definitely the direction the GJBF and the Grande Bieres are heading is not my taste but I enjoyed the beers. The atmosphere of the festival won't change unless its owner changes and if there are so many supporters for the current style of the festivals. I don't know whether I can continue shouting if my work gets busier but I will be visiting festivals to find the new brew of my kind for the season.
This year at Ebisu, we saw a significant change in the kind of visitors - there were more general drinkers, who would never drink craftbeers other than these festivals, participating by buying tickets available at convenience stores. A friend of mine serving at a booth complained that he saw so many visitors mistakenly shouting the brewer's name or the beer style name to get beers.
Japanese people are vulnerable to Gai-atsu ("outside pressures") so there might be a change. Let's wait and see.
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