Haystacks, rodeo bulls and a barbecue dream
Last weekend, meat fanatics, music maestros and those ready for some general mayhem journeyed to the holy grail of low ‘n’ slow barbecue cooking, Grillstock Festival. A few of us from the office went along and we certainly embraced the party atmosphere.
Saturday was a glorious day to kick off the proceedings; hundreds of food loving, fun hunting people turned up to Bristol’s sun-bathed Harbourside. Many attendees made straight for the merchandise shack and fairly quickly trying to find your friends in the crowd meant looking past several trucker’s caps and Grillstock t-shirts.
As we sought out the masses of meat on offer, it was clear that Grillstock’s own 16-hour smoked pulled pork, smokestack burgers and ribs were in high demand; the queue for their barbecue plates didn’t disappear all weekend. Other notable traders included MEATLiquor, who sold their popular dead hippie burger; BrewDog selling their deadly 7.4% Dogma IPA; and the award-winning Beefy Boys, whose burgers were deliciously juicy.
Meanwhile, over 22 barbecue pit crews were fighting a hard, slow-cooking battle, all for the honour of being crowned King of the Grill. For those who passed by at the right times, amusingly named teams Apocalypse Cow, Grillers in the Mist and Social Smokers were among the competitors giving out free samples, showing guests just how southern-style barbecuing is done.
From cooking to eating, the hog dog challenge saw the winner triumphant, whilst comically coated in mustard. The chilli competition participants included a “zombie man”, but the scotch bonnets and habaneros proved too much for even him, bringing nearly everyone to tears or reaching for the sick bucket.
Of course no festival can truly embrace the Deep South without some cigar box guitars, country, blues and hillbilly music. Bare Knuckle Parade, Sunday’s act, were amazing and by far my highlight from the main stage. The local band from Bath, The Heavy, were electrifying and energetic, playing their eclectic mix of blues, indie rock and neo soul that left everyone with one question: “How d’you like me now?” De La Soul, Goldie Lookin’ Chain, DJ Yoda and Grillstock favourite’s Heymoonshaker got the crowds going too.
The weekend’s celebrations culminated in a series of spontaneous dance offs, which is no doubt a testament to how much everyone enjoyed the festival. Instead of leaving the event once all the traders had closed and nearly all the music had finished, Grillstock’s fabulous festival-goers decided to have some fun. Nothing quite sums it up like this video of our fabulous project manager, Joe Packer:
And so, just as it began, Grillstock Fesival ended on a high note, and now takes its weekend of mayhem to London on 5th and 6th September.
