June 19, 2001 11:22: PubSpy found a new respect for real cask ale at the Camra-run beer festival recently.

IT was something of a spiritual experience walking into the main hall of Lewisham Theatre last week. For a venue which usually plays host to various luminaries from the entertainment world, it was a strange yet wonderful feeling to see a towering wall of beer casks lined up against the stage

I am, of course, talking about last week's Catford Beer Festival run by those experts at the Campaign for Real Ale.

Seeing a selection of my previous articles displayed on the wall in the lobby was almost enough to give me seizures before I even stepped foot inside the main arena.

Thankfully I overcame my irrational horror of being immortalised (by continually repeating the mantra: "Nobody knows who I am") and carried on with my assembled team of assistants to try out some of the great, good, weird and wonderful brews on offer.

Initially, the choice seems almost too much. Even though we had gone into the arena armed with our commemorative glass and beer guide, it was almost impossible to know where to start.

Traditionalists as we are, we steered clear of the cider, perry, international imports and wines to go straight for the casks.

I was quite taken with my first pint of Wealden Wonder from the Ales of Kent brewery a company which has only been in existence for less than a year. Dry and hoppy, this was perhaps a little on the strong side for a first pint.

However, I pushed through and was on my next one within 20 minutes. Which is more than can be said for Agent Doyle who came a little unstuck on his Goachers Crown Imperial Stout. "It's too strong," he later grumbled.

Next up we all went for something a little more light on the palate. I think we found our group favourite of the night with another Goachers beer this time the nectarish Fine Light. (It is also worth noting the other excellent Goachers bitter Gold Star).

Of course, as the beers go down, so does the sharpness of your palate, and after a while it is harder to distinguish between the finer nuances of flavour. As a result, the beers we picked ended up being stronger as the night went on. A personal favourite of mine ended up being the B&T 2XS a deceptively drinkable and smooth pint which weighs in at a mind-numbing six per cent alcohol by volume.

This may well have been my undoing, as after this, my notes began to fail me, even though I must have had at least another two different ales after this.

However, I think it is worth saying, the atmosphere at this festival was friendly and relaxed. While you would think a big hall full of men (and a surprising yet still disappointing number of women) drinking ale could easily go out of control, believe me when I say I saw not one person going over the top.

The reasons are various, but as one of my group commented, being drunk on ale is a different "drunk" from spirits or lager "drunk". It is certainly more mellow and conducive to conversation.

In fact I would go so far as to say all so-called "lager louts" should be forced to join CAMRA and drink nothing but real cask ale for a year and see the difference.

CAMRA is certainly a worthy bunch in my book. The festival is run purely for the love of it by volunteers. While some would argue there are perhaps more important things in life to worry about than the introduction of "pint to line" glasses in pubs, I think their crusade is actually a very political one. Namely our troubled independent brewing and pub industry is protected from the hands of the few multinational companies.

One alarming statistic in the programme says: "A study carried out by CAMRA earlier this year predicted if recent trends persist, more than 90 per cent of the British brewing industry will be in the hands of just two global brands producing a handful of lager brands by 2020."

I think that is something worth resisting.