While You Were at the Beer Festival

A friend of IN VIVO Blog reads his GBBF-approved magazine

Massive beer festivals and keeping up with the weekend's news don't necessarily mix, but damnit we'll do our best.

• Glass half-full ... The Boston Globe is reporting this morning that FoldRx, a biotech specializing in molecular chaperones that can return misfolded proteins to their correct shapes, will receive a serious chunk of change from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The $22 million grant will be paid out over five years, says the Globe (Our most recent feature on venture philanthropy can be found here.)
• Glass half-empty ... Cost cutting: not just for Big Pharma. Amgen isn't saying what the cuts will look like, but the big biotech said in a regulatory filing on Friday that hits to its ESA franchise will result in a fresh look at its cost structure.
• Through the Looking Glass ... we've ignored this blog-friendly story so far if only because we don't have much to add beyond "eeesh." But for a roundup of the Johnson & Johnson-sues-the-Red Cross kerfuffle, and the various guffaws and high-horsing around the web, see the never-subtle Pharma Marketing Blog.
• What's in your glass? Finally, some tasting notes from the Great British Beer Festival for any ale aficionados out there ...

As you can see from the picture above we spent some time camped out in front of the Caledonian and Sharps booths, mostly because these breweries rarely disappoint. The XPA and Deuchars IPA were outstanding as usual, and the mysterious Rebus 20 was also quite good. Sharps' Atlantic IPA was delicious and we also liked their Cornish Coaster. No surprises there.

What did surprise us a bit were the higher-than-the-pub prices for some beers at the festival (3 quid per pint was not uncommon), and the fact that we 'discovered' only a few new ales that were top-notch. (That said, we couldn't try all 450. Maybe next year.)

Can't wait to try again: Jennings Cocker Hoop from Marston's and Caledonian's XPA.

Give it a miss: A Fist Full of Hops from Falstaff and Bullmastiff South's Welsh Gold.

If you were at the festival or just have a favorite ale to tell us about, lets hear it in the comments...