Scotland Invades the Criterion

Thursday 22nd – Sunday 25th January saw the Criterion, Leicester hosting a Burns Night beer festival, featuring a solid selection of ales from our tartan brothers across the border.

Having previewed the selection a few days prior to the event, both the ‘Monster and I were keen to get over for this one; the line up included no less than six offerings from that most elusive of breweries, Clockwork, and as a result the beer hound in us could smell the scoops on the breeze…

Clockwork is a brewery which I must confess I had no real knowledge of – hardly surprising given that it operates from a solitary brewpub in Glasgow, where the brewery output is consumed and sold exclusively on the premises. How the Criterion had managed this coup I do not know, but much kudos to them for it.

Unfortunately, due to logistical issues, the Clockwork beers did not arrive until after the festival (they’re currently racked up in the cellar, and I’m awaiting a text from one of my contacts on the staff to advise that they’re tapped and ready), so on the Thursday we busied ourselves with the rest of the selection.

The 15 beers available were drawn from six breweries; renegade masters and Portman defeaters Brewdog were represented by Trashy Blond (4.9%) and Zeitgeist (4.9%), with these complemented by three offerings from Fyfe, Boadicea (4.2%), Perle (4.2%) and Weiss Squad (4.5%), and six from Kelburn, Goldihops (3.8%), Misty Law (4.0%), Red Smiddy (4.1%), Dark Moor (4.5%), Carte Blanche (5.0%) and Ca’ Canny (5.2%)

The selection was rounded off with one brew apiece from Harviestoun (Haggis Hunter, 4.3%) and Houston (Texas, 4.3%) and a somewhat calculated offering of 80 Shilling (4.1%) and Deuchars IPA (3.8%) from the behemoth that is Caledonian.

Of these we sampled all bar the Caledonian duo (just too commercial), the wheat beer (just not our bag) and the Goldihops and Red Smiddy (both already scooped). The condition on all was very good, and the beers themselves were generally good – the only real let down was the Perle, a lacklustre, thin and watery offering brewed using this lager hop variety.

Beers on the day which merit particular note were the Trashy Blond, a cracking amber number with a spicy hopped palate redolent with apple and citrus notes and a deliciously dry and bitter finish, the Zeitgeist with its big sweet malt hit, roasted and chocolate tones and lightly fruited hop edge, and the Haggis Hunter for its tangy, fruity malts and late, bitter hop finish.

All in all, the team at the Critter pulled off a good show, and I look forward to sampling the Clockwork brews when they become available.

If there is one gripe to be made it would have to be in respect of pricing – due to “costly delivery charges from Scotland” the prices on all the ales had been increased by up to 20p, resulting in a pint of 3.8% beer selling for £2.50. Still, given the economic climate I guess this is to be expected really!

For those with an interest, the Clockwork ales will be Amber IPA (3.8%), Red Alt (4.4%), Oregon IPA (5.5) and Strong Ale (6.0%) and two keg beers, Original Lager (4.8%) and Hazy Daze Seriously Ginger (5.0%)

Pan-C

Where My Dogs At

BrewDog fans' ears will prick up with the news that The Rake, "London's smallest specialist beer bar" will be hosting a special cask week dedicated to the UK's finest boundary-busting brewery.

The week will coincide with the Pigs Ear Beer Festival and will run from Monday 1st to Saturday 6th December inclusive. A comprehensive lineup of beers from the Scottish micro can be expected, including the premiere of the fruits of their latest experiment, a 10% Raspberry Imperial Stout.

Lovebeer are also hosting a couple of Meet The Brewer sessions above The Rake on Saturday 29th November to whet the appitite for the week ahead.

I would urge any open-minded beer lover who is unfamiliar with the likes of Punk IPA, Hop Rocker lager and the Paradox series of whisky-infused imperial stouts to pop along during the week. And for those fortunate enough to be familiar with them, there's bound to be something new that will wow your tastebuds and spoil your enjoyment of 'ordinary' beer forever!

Dubbel

• The Rake is located at 14 Winchester Walk, SE1 9AG, on the edge of Borough Market, just around the corner from the Market Porter and is run by the guys behind Utobeer.
  
  
• The Meet The Brewer sessions are ticketed events. Interested parties should contact Lovebeer on 020 7378 9461.
  

Swan & Vaults Fest - Update

Further to my recent post on the forthcoming joint effort between the Swan & Rushes and the Vaults, Leicester, I can now confirm a few more details for you all...

The event will be taking place over the second weekend in December - presumably running Friday 12th - Sunday 14th, with around 60 english real ales to be offered between the two pubs.

As expected, the Swan will also be stocking a selection of kegged belgian beers, with strong christmas brews a key feature.

Confirmed Swan beer highlights currently include a barrel of aged Jack-Ham (Oakham / Green Jack) co-brew Worthog (13.5%) from the original brew run for last years Peterborough fest, plus Oakham's Exterminator - a new 7.9% IPA and one of only 14 barrels brewed.

For those with a lighter palate CBOB Altons Pride (4.6%) from Triple FFF will also be on offer at the Swan, as will a selection of other well known popular brews - hopefully something to suit every taste and keep scoopers and "ordinary" drinkers alike happy.

For the tickers in our midst the Swan is also aiming to offer festival specials from Bells and Atomic breweries, while the Vaults will doubtless boast a wealth of one off brews - we'd expect nothing less!

I'll be seeing Paul at the Vaults at some point over the next couple of days and will see what further gen I can persuade him to decant.

As soon as I know more, so will you!

Pan-C

Swanning into the Vaults this December...

Just thought I'd take a few minutes out of my hectic daily schedule to share this little nugget of information with you all...

Following a prolonged session on the aged Hawes Buckler the other week, Leicester's two finest real ale landlords have decided to team up for what should prove to be a beer extravaganza of epic proportions - a festival staged simultaneously between the Vaults and the Swan & Rushes.

Many of you will already doubtless be familiar with the Vaults and its licensee Paul Summers, a man whose dedication to micro brewed ales is legendary - a fact reflected in the high regard the Vaults is held in by many of the Scoopergen crew.

Paul's regular beer festivals attract tickers like few others, invariably guaranteeing as they do a plethora of solid winners to satiate even the most obsessive of the Panda Pop Posse.

December though will see a new and exciting twist as this doyenne of english ale teams up with Swan & Rushes landlord and belgian beer afficionado Grant Cook to present something truly special.

Although details are few and far between at the moment (they're still being hammered out by the two landlords) the current plan seems to be somewhere in the region of 50 real ales in the Vaults and a selection of strong belgian beers from the keg over in the Swan - which will include christmas beers, tripels and the like.

Having attended many fests at both pubs in the past and always found them to be exemplary, I can only anticipate that this team effort will a real cracker - and that there will be a lot of very drunken people wandering around by end of it.

More information (such as dates and beer lists) will be posted as they become available; in the meantime, just keep December free eh?!

Pan-C

Bladdered (again) @ the Bull

This October finally saw the arrival of the long-awaited Bull Handpicked ’08 beer festival. Dubbel, Jnr and I had excitedly been anticipating the event since landlord, Garrett, first approached us on a random regular Friday evening visit, enquiring as to where our real ale allegiances lay and which of this year’s brews had most impressed us. We rapidly reeled of a list of faves from notable British breweries including Thornbridge, Marble, BrewDog, and Beowolf.

The Bull is definitely my favourite watering hole. I was first introduced to the place in April this year and from my very first visit I’ve always felt warm and welcome in its homely and comfortable atmosphere. This really is a pub you can walk into and leave feeling content. As soon as you open the door the staff and the regulars will welcome you with open arms to their locals’ paradise. Landlady Lynne’s food never fails to impress me: generous portions, locally sourced ingredients, seasonal options, BBQ’s, hog roasts, fine home made crumbles - you name it - and if there isn’t anything on the menu that takes your fancy, Lynne is only too happy to go out of her way to be flexible with other options.

The Sunday roast this week again left me spellbound. Naturally, I had to select the largest option on the menu - a bit of everything! - beef, lamb, pork (and crackling of course). The home made roast potatoes were perfect with lightly cooked cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, stuffing, and a huge Yorkshire pudding. Mmmm.

Garrett is amazing in his knowledge and enthusiasm for breweries and beer sampling. He’s so positive in his ongoing aim of sourcing some of the best beers in the country and he never seems to forget any of them! Not withstanding his cellar skills, which are clearly exceptional based on the constant stream of crystal clear beer pulled from the pumps. If you were inclined to check the temperature you could guarantee every pint would be virtually spot on 13.5 degrees. The two proud owners together with the rest of their team provide the perfect concoction for our Ultimate Pub.

Anyhow, I digress. Back to the festival…

We were invited to a preview “tasting” session on the Thursday night. In actuality this was just a chance to get the beers flowing nice and early - I think the hosts were too excited! The first night was supposed to be a light one. If only my head felt the same way as I navigated my way to work on the Friday morning knowing only too well that it would only be a few hours before we could continue working through the select 20 or so beers.

Friday was definitely ‘a good effort’ and I woke up with my face stuck to the sofa on the Saturday morning but still eager to get back to the pub for midday to ensure we had maximum time for quaffing all day. Thank heavens I backed out of the originally proposed 20 pint challenge! We all left at the appropriate time. A finishing Dark Star Imperial Stout put pay to everyone’s plans for a late night. Officially 10.5% (although the consensus around the pub was that it was probably a fair bit stronger - 14% at a guess). YCC associate Rapid confirmed its soporific qualities after deciding that 4pm was the perfect time for a pint of it. Fortunately he’d perked up admirably well come darkness.

After much wallowing and some deliberation we opted to give the Sunday a miss. None of us felt it wise to tackle another day and what a shame! We missed Lynne’s hog roast which looked fantastic as it was being prepped the night before.

In terms of the ale selection Beowulf Dragonsmoke Stout (4.7%) was one of my favourite beers of the weekend; a full-on smoky dry-roasted stout with a rich bitter palate and a hint of chocolate which tingles the tongue. Their Dark Raven (4.5%) tradional mild with a heavy yet smooth and hugely fruity body was also a treat. Sadly we missed the Finns Hall Porter as it was stoically kept in reserve until the Sunday buffle*.

This was our first encounter with BrewDog Hype (4.1%), a beer which can only be described as BIG. A warm gold colour, the nose is full of a spectrum of fruit, malts and hops, the flavour is one of the richest, fullest beers I’ve ever had. Not one to be drunk all day! With some pints the palate adjusts as you work your way through and the overall taste sensation weakens – this just doesn’t and was one of the first beers to run dry. Punk IPA (6%) came runner up in the Beer of the Festival public vote and is a legendary beer for us. Each of our stashes are full of the stuff following Tesco’s recent giveaway introductory offer of 99p a bottle. However, straight from the cask it’s a different animal: a monstrously sweet, yet refreshing and tangy IPA in keeping with the rest of the impressive BrewDog range. We pray they don’t become too big and lose their way.

Dark Star Festival Best (4.5%) was a festival special literally consisting of 50% Festival and 50% Best Bitter. I was unsure about this one. Although a big fan of Festival, the Best is the only ale in the entire range I’m not sure I enjoy. Having recently tinkered with the recipe, it has improved but it still lacks the usual Dark Star wow factor. The two mixed together seemed to separate again on the palate, possibly because I was already familiar with the two ingredients. On the other hand, the Imperial Stout was worthy of celebration alone. This rich, gloopy, treacley Russian Imperial Stout is absolutely to die for and probably my personal Beer of the Festival - certainly the one that commands the most respect.

Other beers that really impressed were the eminently drinkable Marble Pint (3.9%) which was first to sell out despite its worrying sparkling yellow-green hue and another huge-hopper JP Best (4.3%). But a special mention must go to Thornbridge, whose Katipo (5.4%, pronounced Kar-ti-Paw) porter was dark but not too heavy and chocked full of peaty, ripe fruit flavour which we absolutely loved. However, the Beer of the Festival was rightly awarded to Jaipur IPA (5.9%) a modern-day classic and possibly the best IPA currently in production in the country with spice and a host of fruits offset by a rasping dry finish, it really was in world-beating nick.

Overall the festival was wonderful and an all-round great success. Garrett and Lynne have since revealed that they are planning to put their acquired stillage to good use with a monthly brewery showcase weekend. The first of which will hopefully be BrewDog in November. (Keep an eye on the blog for further updates) Brilliant news, and great to see that the hard work put into the festival hasn’t kerbed their enthusiasm!

Jimbo

*Buffle, v - best defined by Two Hats of Goldie Lookin' Chain: "I dunno if you've heard of buffling but it's to shy away from something, "You coming out for a drink? You coming out tonight?" "No, I'm buffling". Or you get in a fight "Aaaah, no buffling, no buffling."

Bladdered @ the Brunswick

As many of you will doubtless be aware, last week (1st - 4th) saw the Brunswick Inn host its annual beer festival and, due to a change to our original plans, the Beer Monster and I had the pleasure of taking a trip over for the Friday session.

Arriving at around 1pm, we found the pub already packed out with an eclectic mix of families, scoopers, students and lunchtime drinkers; after a quick foray through the main bar area we swiftly established that seating was going to be at something of a premium and ensconced ourselves in the separate lounge area to the right of the front entrance.

We had been expecting to find around 30 beers available as this seems to be pretty much the norm nowadays, however we were in for real treat – fifty ales were on offer, and the selection was quite impressive with beers from (amongst others) Brown Cow, Old Bear, Goose Eye, Tigertops and Burton Old Cottage; for those who are interested there’s a full beer list on Natasha Moorfield’s site.

Needless to say, the pair of us were pretty soon drooling at the prospect of the quaffathon ahead and wasted no time in getting the first couple of halves in, kicking off with Phantom Mild from Tigertops and Oh Bullox from Brunswick’s own selection; the condition of the beers was excellent and pretty much reflected the standard across the board, although we did encounter a couple of slightly hazy brews later in the day.

Given that we were in Derby for the day it seemed something of a crime to restrict ourselves to just one pub and, accordingly, after getting our drinking legs nicely screwed on and putting away sixteen halves between us we decided it was time to take a bit of a mission and hit our other chosen destination, the delightful Flower Pot pub, home of Headless brewery.
I fell in love with the ‘Pot on my first drinking visit to Derby, and once again I found myself bowled over by the fine range of ales that were on – fifteen if memory serves me correctly, with the bulk of these being guests rather than Headless brews. As a first time visitor the Beer Monster found herself suitably impressed by the place; there’s been some criticism from certain corners over the slightly higher beer prices charged by the pub, however the beer selection is invariably excellent, the condition usually very good and the pub has a charming ambience, all of which more than make up for the slight premium in my opinion.

Our all too brief visit allowed us to sample nine ales from seven breweries, including the Flower Pot Special brewed by Burton Bridge alongside offerings from Full Mash, Salamander, Holland, Whim, Black Hole and Headless themselves.

With time ticking on it was back up to the Brunswick to grab a final half each and some food. Fortunately the pub had laid on a barbecue out back and were offering a choice of hotdogs or burgers at reasonable prices, so we opted to chow down with the burger option, topped with baked beans – a new taste sensation on me (I’d never have thought to put the beans on the burger, in the bun, but it works an absolute treat!)

Having finished lining our stomachs it was time for the short stroll back up to the station and the Friday night party train back to Leicester, with the pair of us feeling decidedly well oiled and very satisfied with the outcome of the day.
We’re already looking forward to the next Brunswick bash, which will be taking place around the same time next year – it’s a shame they only do one per annum, but I guess the waiting ultimately makes the reward all the sweeter…

Pan-C

Strong as a Bull

Sometimes it's a closely-fought wrestling bout in your mind: do you divulge and promote your undisputed favourite tucked away treasure of a pub to the world? After all, an unpretentious, warm and friendly, classic village pub like this deserves to prosper and be a source of pleasure to as many worthy souls as possible.

Or do you try your hardest to keep it a secret; your own personal, relatively quiet refuge away from the unpleasant realities of big city life? There aren't many places where you feel so truly welcomed and smugly satisfied.

As more and more of Britain's much beloved pubs continue to wither towards terminal closure, there are the odd few that have sprouted new life and are keeping the freehouse tradition alive.

Since we imposed ourselves (as out-of-town regulars) on The Bull in Horton Kirby early this year, we have witnessed a very good pub grow to become truly great. In the last 10 months, we have seen Licencees Garrett and Lynne:

• introduce real ciders and perries and acclaimed American and Continental bottled beers in addition to the excellent ever-changing cask ales from microbreweries nationwide


• arrange pub outings to the Dark Star brewery and Chappel beer festival


• host numerous beer festivals, parties and live music evenings


• launch a website and Facebook group, keeping regulars up to date with developments and upcoming events


• serve up a treat of fine, locally-sourced homecooked food (including special steak and fish nights, lamb and hogroasts and barbeques galore)


• justly pick up the local CAMRA Pub of the Year award, a title dominated by the Cock Inn at Luddesdowne for the past 3 years

There's even a cracking view of the Darenth Valley from the peaceful back garden and the rarity of an adorable pub dog, Chloe, completes the homely, familiar feel of the place. We have never left without a beaming smile on our faces and count our lucky stars that we have a place of this standard within reasonable distance (about a 25 mile round trip from home down the A20).

Happily, far from resulting in complacency, the Pub of the Year status seems only to have spurred the owners on to achieve greater things. A sixth handpump is waiting to be installed on the bar and there is sometimes an extra ale available on gravity. The keg beers have been refined with Stella and John Smiths ousted in favour of imported Löwenbräu and Dark Star Natural Blonde lager. Garrett even has plans to commence brewing on site in the New Year.

This weekend The Bull is hosting its Handpicked '08 Beer Festival, sourcing beers from the corners of the country that you simply do not find in Kentish pubs. There are also a couple of exclusives, including a seldom seen cask of Dark Star Imperial Stout at 10.5% ABV and a festival special also from the Sussex micro. As self-professed aficionados we were given the opportunity to assist in the selection of the ales - so if you don't like the look of these then you've got us to blame!

Beowulf Dark Raven (4.5)

Beowulf Dragonsmoke Stout (4.7)

Beowulf Finns Hall Porter (4.7)

BrewDog Hype (4.1)

BrewDog Punk IPA (6.0)

Brewster Hophead (3.6)

Brewster Hop-a-doodle-doo (4.3)

Dark Star Hophead (3.6)

Dark Star Festival Special (4.5)

Dark Star Imperial Stout (10.5)

Marble Pint (3.9)

Marble JP Best (4.3)

Marble Ginger Marble (4.5)

Newby Wyke Sidewinder (3.8)

Newby Wyke Riverside Special Bitter (4.8)

Purity Pure Gold (3.8)

Purity Pure UBU (4.7)

Thornbridge Lord Marples (4.0)

Thornbridge Katipo (5.4)

Thornbridge Jaipur IPA (5.9)

As well as this impressive beer list, there will be a further 5 ciders and perries, a barbeque, live music, birds of prey display and another mouthwatering hogroast on the Sunday. The atmosphere is sure to be terrific and attendance is strongly advised.

The festival runs from Friday through to Sunday and the nearest train station is Farningham Road on the London Victoria line. I imagine we'll be there more often than not, so do come and say hello if you spot us.

Dubbel

Soggy Celebrations in Peterborough

For the last few weeks both the Beer Monster and I had been eagerly anticipating the autumn beer festival at the delightful Coalheavers Arms, Peterborough (September 4th – 6th).

Having discovered the pub early this year and attended their Easter festival a couple of weeks later, I already had a fair idea of what to expect – great beer in excellent condition, warm and friendly service, plus some of the finest grub it’s been my good fortune to sample at any festival.

Although the event had started on Thursday evening we were sadly unable to make it over until the Friday morning due to work commitments (boo, hiss), and arrived at the pub shortly after 1pm having first lined our stomachs with a McSpoons breakfast (something of a fiasco, but that’s another story).

We arrived to find the pub quite quiet, although the fact that a couple of beers had already sold out gave a fair indication that there had been a roaring trade the night before; after greeting licensee Tom Beran we took our seats in a corner of the pub and, having effectively set up camp with note books, pens, packs of mini Smarties and ornaments (!) spread out on the table before us, set down to the serious business of drinking.

Once again, Tom had pulled out all the stops to offer a diverse range of ales with a number of beers I’d not encountered before. Milton, who own the pub, had provided a couple of specials in the form of Asterix and Obelix, along with their Five Hop, brewed by Coalies volunteers for the Peterborough festival, but these were by no means the only winners on offer with Green Tye (website under construction), Tring and Nethergate all supplying quality scoops, plus new seasonal brew Autumn Equinox from the mighty Dark Star.

A complete list of beers, plus tasting notes can be found here.

Despite some truly foul weather Tom nevertheless braved the elements to man the cooking station in the beer garden, serving up his stunning Beer ‘n’ Beef burgers (with fiery homemade chilli sauce) and a cracking chilli con carne on the Friday night, while Saturday evening saw the burgers complemented by one of the finest curries it has ever been my pleasure to eat.

A fully trained chef, the guy is an absolute kitchen god – for those who don’t believe me, try his recipes yourself; you can find them here, and although the chicken curry hasn’t been posted as yet I have no doubt it’ll be up within the next few days....

All in all another superb effort; my heartfelt thanks to the team at the Coalheavers – they pulled off another cracker.

On a personal note, Friday also saw me record my 1,000th scoop (a hell of a lot more beers have been consumed, but alas many went without recording the gen); for those who are interested, the attached video is the landmark beer going down the hatch…

Pan-C

Decent Exposure

Earlier this week, London’s Metro newspaper reported on a new interactive, independent event called Beer Exposed, which will run from Thursday 25th through to Saturday 27th September at the Business Design Centre in Islington.

The website promises that the event will “bring together beers and brewers from all over the world to create a unique experience designed to expose you and your friends to the incredible diversity of tastes and flavours that beer can offer.”

Seemingly far more structured than GBBF’s mass piss-up in a warehouse, the half-day sessions include various Beer Walks and Talks with industry experts such as Roger Protz and Garrett Oliver. We’re looking forward to Zak Avery’s “Extreme Beer” Walk during the Friday evening session.

A wide array of British ale breweries will be represented, including the likes of Otley, Thornbridge, Harviestoun, BrewDog (who will be launching a new beer) and, of course, Greene King. Craft brewers from around the world, such as Blue Moon, Moosehead, Flying Dog and Asahi are also in attendance. However, the exhibition is not just limited to ale, with various quasi-national lager producers making up the numbers and organisations like CAMRA, Cask Marque and the Drink Aware Trust occupying stalls too.

As far as we’re concerned, London can’t have too many well-publicised beer events and the notion of allowing non-enthusiasts to distinguish intricate craft beers directly alongside more mainstream lagers is a clever one. We wish the organisers every success.

Dubbel

• The sessions run from 5pm to 9pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday and midday to 4pm on Friday and Saturday. Admission is £14 in advance and £17 on the door but a discount of two tickets for £20 can be obtained by quoting METRO when booking online. The Beer Walks and Talks are extra; full details can be found on the website.

Bank Holiday Festivities

August Bank Holiday weekend is always a busy time for beer festivals; the extra day's midsummer trade is an irresistable excuse for landlords and ladies up and down the country to have a good old fashioned knees-up. In case you are yet to decide where you'll be spending the weekend drinking, here are a few events that have hit the YCC radar:

If the GBBF is Britain's #1 beer festival (in terms of sheer number of beers) then the Peterborough Beer Festival is not far behind at #2. Not strictly a bank holiday festival, the event kicks off on Tuesday and runs through until Saturday 23rd. The beer list has been announced and looks very impressive indeed. I counted 22 festival specials, plus of particular note, no fewer than five from the excellent BrewDog range - including what is possibly a festival premier of cask Speedball and another as yet unnamed beer of unknown strength.

Pan-C and the Beer Monster will be scooping the place out on the opening day and will report back here with their impressions. If you are planning on heading down, do note that the festival has irregular opening hours (Tuesday trade session 3:30-5:30pm, open to public from 5:30 and shut between 2:30 and 5:30 on Wednesday and Friday afternoon).

A little further west down the A47, tooth-rot fans will be flocking to the Swan & Rushes in Leicester for their Cider & Cheese Festival. 16 ciders and perries and 16 cheeses sourced from a wide range of suppliers from the west of England, plus 9 ales, including what is tipped to be the last surviving cask of Oakham Warthog in existance. A pokey 13% when it was first unleashed a year ago at Peterborough, it has been maturing away quietly in the cellar and it's anyone's guess how potent it is now. A warm atmosphere and like-minded beer (and cider) lovers are assured and on Saturday 23rd, Two Gentlemen Play the Pops will entertain the punters in their flatcaps and tweed - an act that must be seen to be appreciated!

Closer to the capital and The Bull in Horton Kirby (nr. Brands Hatch), Kent is also marking the occasion with live music in the garden (weather permitting) from rock and blues guitarist Roger Betts on Saturday 23rd and Matt Brooks on Monday 25th. Throughout the weekend, the landord promises to treat us to a selection of his own personal favourite ales, with the likes of Dark Star Hophead, Champion Beer of Britain 2008 Triple fff Alton's Pride, RCH Pitchfork and Red Squirrel Springfield IPA all featuring. There will even be a semi-gynormous hogroast on the Monday.

The Bull is a mile's stroll from Farningham Road station (trains direct from Victoria every 30 mins) along the river through the picturesque Darenth Valley and is well worth a look.

Dubbel

Trading Places at GBBF‘08

Tuesday was our first return to the Great British Beer Festival since its maiden year at Earls Court in 2006. We opted to attend the Peterborough bash as an alternative last year, primarily put off GBBF by the unpleasant overcrowding we were made to endure.

We might well have shunned it again this year had we not been able to procure tickets* for the opening trade session. We recall bouncing around trade day ‘06 virtually with the place to ourselves, with the venue filling steadily over the course of Wednesday, culminating in the horror of an impenetrable wall of bodies blocking the bars and 20-minute queues for the gents on the Thursday evening. So, following a tactical Builder’s Breakfast at Benjy’s on Earls Court Road, we were a little alarmed to roll up at 11:55am to find the entry queue snaking around the outside of the building.

Twenty minutes later though, we were inside, glass in hand, seated nice and close to the BSF bar and mapping out our first moves. I shoehorned in a couple of milds from the Bar Nouveaux (including the delicious Brampton Mild, which must have been terribly unlucky not to have made it into a medal position in its category) before surrendering to the lure of the US casks.

We stayed on the American beers for the majority of the afternoon and were lucky enough to have the opportunity to sample all three of the beers subsequently announced as the Top American Cask Beers at the festival. I particularly enjoyed both the overall winner, Lost Abbey Angel’s Share, a sweet, phenolic, oak-aged superweight at a daunting 12.5% and third place Cambridge House IPA, a big and bashy, fruity yet raspingly dry yankee IPA – a comparative session ale at merely 6.5%. The surprise Champion Beer of Britain winner, Triple fff Alton’s Pride was not available for sale at the time the announcement was made but we had already secured a sample of both the second and third place ales before the hype began. Protzy has the full list of winners.

We didn’t get on with the entire line-up from the USA, as Pan-C’s face will tell you here after a sip of a particularly pokey, heftily-hopped bottled brew! Some creamy stilton and chilli-infused cheddar from the Truckle Cheese Co. refreshed the palate nicely and the tasty springbok burgers provided some much needed sustenance later on.

After a few hours in the YCC wilderness, I eventually spotted fellow blogger and mentor maieb at a nearby table surrounded by fellow ratebeerians. As pleasant a chap as you could hope to meet, he kindly tolerated me interrupting his circle of experts at varying degrees of inebriation with my nuggets of probably useless information throughout the day. He introduced me to an equally friendly and chirpy Irish fellow, who turned out to be the Beer Nut. Pan-C and I also barged in on a conversation they were having with Tandleman, the Godfather of the beer blogosphere, who seemed more than happy perched behind the German section of the BSF bar. Low and behold, even Stonch appeared briefly and we exchanged pleasantries to complete the love-in. (I believe it may be Tandleman who holds the photographic evidence)

We have these occasional social interactions to thank for not slipping into total beer oblivion, as I surely would have done had I continued to drink such lethal beers during the time casually spent nattering. With the evening upon us, I eventually turned away from the foreign stuff and found myself seeking out some of the stronger British ales available. The Wickwar Station Porter (6.1%) and the manificent Durham Brewery’s Bede’s Chalice (9%) were well worth navigating the room for and I was still able to try samples of Pan-C and Jnr’s Belgian and German third pint nips.

We eventually headed home at about 10pm after a final raid on the world bottled beer fridge. I have some Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout and Sri Lankan Lion Stout set aside for another day. All in all we had a grand day out at the GBBF. The venue was bustling but not packed and there were only ever short wait times at each of the bars. Best of all I awoke the following day without a deathly hangover!

I wouldn’t have wanted to do battle with the masses on a Thursday or Friday evening again – perhaps the festival is something of a victim of its own success – but we are certainly keen to repeat our trade day exploits next year.

Dubbel

*Many thanks to Garrett & Lynne of The Bull in Horton Kirby, who were sadly unable to make it to Earls Court but kindly passed on their tickets to us. We were proud to represent their award-winning pub on the day. Thanks also to Grant at the Swan & Rushes for securing Pan-C's ticket and to all of the organisers and volunteers who make GBBF possible.

And All That Beer & Jazz

The first ever CAMRA Greenwich Beer & Jazz Festival kicks off at noon on Wednesday in the impressive setting of the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College on the banks of the Thames.

Running through until Sunday evening, a wide array of jazz musicians will perform alongside a pretty decent (if not scooptastic) lineup of ale.

Inspired partly by maeib's recent voluntary antics and partly out of guilt, I will be working the first two days of the fest. This will be my first time on the other side of a festival bar and I felt it was about time I broke my duck. The event replaces the 15-year-old Catford Beer Festival which, due to the spiraling cost of hiring out the Broadway Theatre, has been under increasing threat for some time. Apparently the final nail in the coffin this year was a lack of volunteers - a shameful state of affairs for what is the biggest CAMRA branch in London. So in an attempt to redeem my inactivity of years past and in fond memory of Catford, I shall be throwing myself into the spirit of things.

That's if they let me in. The staff are made up strictly of CAMRA members only and I have had some trouble with the renewal of my membership. Despite paying in May and chasing it up on two further occasions I have yet to receive my new card. I have had to pay the full whack entry fee at two other festivals in that time and now face the possibility of being turned away from offering my services at my local branch's big day. I hope common sense will prevail.

I also hope that this new venture is a success. There is certainly a much slicker feel than with Catford but the entry fee could prove a stumbling block. It's as much as £15 (inc. £2.50 booking fee when purchased online) to get in after 5pm, only £1 less for CAMRA members. 'Bargain' hunters should aim to arrive before 5pm when the entry price is almost halved.

That may well be too much for struggling quaffers to justify - even if they do happen to appreciate jazz music, which many probably don't. I suspect, therefore, that this will be a festival for the ale novice and that's fine by me.

Welcome to flavour country.

Dubbel

Queen Victoria Blues & Booze Weekender

Next weekend (Thursday 17th - Sunday 20th July) sees the second Blues & Booze festival at Leicester’s Queen Victoria pub, situated on Southampton Street just five minutes walk from the train station.

The event will feature a fine line-up of local bands and an excellent selection of 30 Real Ales all sourced from microbreweries, with a strong Scottish showing including some of the tiny island micros.

All of the beers should be tapped and ready to go by 11am on the Thursday, with 18 beers on stillage and the remainder being dispensed from handpumps on the bar or directly from the cask in the cellar.

At the time of writing the beer list is as follows:

• ISLE OF MULL - McCAIG'S FOLLY, 4.2%
• ISLE OF MULL - GALLEON GOLD, 3.9%
• WINDIE GOAT - PEDEN'S COVE, 3.5%
• WINDIE GOAT - PRIEST'S WHEEL, 4.3%
• BROUGHTON - EDINBURGH PALE ALE, 4.5%
• BROUGHTON - GHILLIE, 4.5%
• BROUGHTON - OLD JOCK, 6.7%
• KINVER - LIGHT RAILWAY, 3.8%
• KINVER - CRYSTAL, 4.5%
• KINVER - HALF CENTURION, 5.0%
• BLUE BEAR - WHITE BEAR, 4.5%
• BLUE BEAR - WANDERLUST, 3.8%
• BLUE BEAR - ROAR SPIRIT, 4.2%
• GREEN JACK - CANARY, 3.8%
• BLUE COW - BEST BITTER, 3.8%
• BLUE COW - UDDER BEST, 4.0%
• ALES OF THE UNEXPECTED - WHEN HARRY MET TILLY, 4.5%
• ALES OF THE UNEXPECTED - ERNIE’S BEST BITTER, 6.0%
• ALES OF THE UNEXPECTED - JOCK’S SANCTUARY, 4.3%
• OYSTER - EASD' ALE, 3.8%
• OYSTER - THISTLE TICKLER, 4.0%
• TRAQUAIR - STUART ALE, 4.5%
• WHITSTABLE - NATIVE, 3.8%
• WHITSTABLE - OYSTER STOUT, 4.5%
• OSSETT - BLACK BULL, 3.9%
• VALE - GRAMPLING PREMIUM, 4.6%
• OAKHAM - HELTER SKELTER, 5.0%
• OAKHAM - ENDLESS SUMMER, 3.4%

There will be at least 2 more ales in addition to ths list, however details of these are yet to be confirmed.

Having visited their first bash earlier this year I can vouch for the quality and condition of the beers, and would highly recommend this festival to any serious ale fan – it’s going to be a cracker and I hope to see you there…

Pan-C

Having a Blast at the Victoria Inn

This weekend (Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th June) saw the Victoria Inn at Rugby host its Summer Beer Festival and, with Rugby being only a short hop from Leicester, I naturally decided to take a mosey over and check out the action.

The pub is the brewery tap for Rugby microbrewery Atomic Ales, who brew behind the Alexandra Arms in a brew plant shared with Alexandra Ales. Although relative newcomers to the brewing scene (Atomic was established in 2005) they have already scooped awards at CAMRA festivals and can justly take pride in their brewery motto “Never Knowingly Under-Hopped”.

The Victoria is a classic Victorian corner pub, sitting like a huge wedge of cheese on Lower Hillmorton Road; the cheese impression is heightened by the creamy yellow exterior paintwork with beautifully contrasting blue frames and detailing … stilton, anybody?!

Inside there are 4 distinct rooms; a saloon bar accessible from the front and first side doors – a fairly basic affair with a pool table and dart board, equipped with 4 handpumps; the larger and more comfortable lounge bar can be accessed from the second side door and offers classic red leather seats and what look to be period furnishings. Moreover this bar sports a superb TEN handpumps, giving the pub a proud total of 14 – a local record.

The pub always offers at least four of the Atomic range alongside six guest ales, a level of dedication which I find highly admirable; it was also nice to find one of the brewery partners, Keith Abbis, working behind the bar and happy to chat about the pub and the brewery - my sincere thanks for the polo shirt!

In addition to the two bar areas there are two further rooms with seating, one to the rear which also offers access to the beer garden and one adjacent which is much lighter and brighter and looks out onto the street.

Working commitments had meant I couldn’t get over to the festival until the Saturday afternoon, and I had arrived with some concerns that the selection might be somewhat diminished; fortunately these proved unfounded with all bar two of the 30 ales still available.

Alongside ten Atomic brews on handpull from the bar were twenty guests outside on stillage, sourced from around the country and ranging in strength from Ashover Light Rale at 3.7% all the way up to an impressive 9.0% with Alehouse 9 Above Zero.

Through conversation with Keith I learned that all of the guests had been obtained through swaps with other breweries; no mean achievement given the quality of the selection.

A quick peruse of the list revealed 15 required scoops, but alas! They included the two already sold out in the form of Atomic Festival (a one off and unsurprisingly the first to go) and Fernandes Solstice. Ah well, c’est la vie as they say en francais – thirteen ticks at a pub fest is still pretty good going so I duly started my supping...

Working steadily I kicked off with three of the remaining five Atomic offerings I wanted, namely Half-Life (5.0%), Bomb (5.2%) and Reactor (4.5%). All were in excellent condition and went down an absolute treat; I have yet to sample an Atomic beer that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed drinking.

I had decided to hold off for a while before sampling the new Atomic brew Chilli Haze (a 4.0% golden hoppy concoction, brewed with real chilli and supplying a serious yet strangely pleasant heat) and was determined to keep their Blackout (6.0% sweet, dark, roasted stout-type brew) until last in a bid to preserve my palate; accordingly I made my way out to the garden to enjoy the sunshine, stillaged ales and wonderful aromas from the barbecue which was catering to the culinary needs of the drinkers.

Over the ensuing couple of hours I worked through brews from Cheddar, Nailsworth, Jollyboat, Taunton, Great Western, Festival and Alehouse – a fine selection in generally very good condition, although the Alehouse and the Oldershaw were both still rather hazy. On the whole though I cannot fault the quality of the beer, especially the fact that with the stillage outside the ales were still being served at the correct temperature on the evening of the third day.

In all then a most excellent visit to a cracking little festival; I look forward keenly to the next event at the Victoria, and to the forthcoming Summer Festival at the Alexandra Arms – Thursday 10th – Sunday 13th July.

It's also well worth mentioning a new and very valid undertaking by the Atomic chaps - a new Real Ale review website called Quality Ales, similar to Rate Beer but dedicated solely to English ales. This site also allows registered users to keep a complete record of the beers they've sampled online, instantly accessible to them - effectively a virtual scoop list. I've had a look and will certainly be contributing myself as soon as I've finished converting my handwritten notes over to XL format.

Pan-C

Vaulting into Confusion

The 20th – 21st of this month saw The Vaults (Leicester) host another of its now infamous beer festivals, this time celebrating the impending wedding of well known Bedford Scooper Tony Burke.

Licensee Paul Summers has long been known for his somewhat warped and twisted sense of humour, and seldom has this been more evident than in the naming of the fine range of specially commissioned, themed ales from microbreweries which he unleashed on an unsuspecting public...

Yes, that's a whole load of "Stag Ale" all brewed by different breweries, to different recipes and different strengths ... confused yet?

Due to other commitments over the weekend, the Beer Monster and I only made it down after the event on the Monday and Tuesday, by which time several of the ales from the bar had sold out - however we nevertheless managed to scoop everything from the stillage (with the exception of the Blackwater brew) plus the Brunswick, Oakham and Full Mash Poppycock from the main bar.

From what Paul has told me, the guerrilla approach to the naming caused no real problems – apart from one old boy who, when asked what he wanted, stood by the stillage repeating the words “Stag Ale!” over and over at ever higher volume!

Though I’m a little ashamed to admit it, I’d not been down to the Vaults since around Christmas time … having taken the time to re-acquaint myself with the pub I find myself wondering why on earth I stopped frequenting it in the first place – the range of beers has always been exceptional, and my visits this week have served to remind me just how excellent the condition of the beer is in here.

Needless to say, it’s back on my regular Leicester itinerary…

Pan-C

Ale’s Well that Ends Well at the Western Festival

As you will know from my previous entry, the 6th – 8th of this month saw the Western hosting what I believe to be its second beer festival. Naturally I took time out to pay a couple of visits and sample some of the ales on offer...

A copy of the beer list I had received less than a week earlier indicated that the event would be kicking off on Thursday the 5th, with 22 beers listed and the promise of an additional 10.

I duly turned up shortly after midday on Thursday, only to be informed upon arrival that there had been a mix up over dates and the festival would not be starting until the following day...

Somewhat nonplussed by this turn of events I headed back home, wondering as I walked just how this rather unfortunate mistake could have been made. Luckily for me I live close by and hadn't travelled any real distance!

Arriving back at the pub the following afternoon I was presented with a revised (and somewhat diminished) beer list – the promise of an additional 10 beers had gone, and the list was now down to 20 ales with 6 of these being kept back until the following day; moreover, some of the beers originally detailed had been replaced at the last minute by stock originally lined up for sale later in the week.

Determined to make the best of the situation I set aside my growing concerns about the organisation of the festival and got down to the serious task of supping. Despite the reduced selection there were still a few beers I was keen to try, plus a couple of brews I’d sampled previously but needed notes for.

Unfortunately, much as I would have liked to rip through everything I was after in one sitting, I had work commitments and sadly had to leave after a relatively short time. Accordingly I returned on the Saturday for a little mopping up...

During my 2 sessions I sampled Clark's – Red Rag Mild and No Angel (both 4.0%), Full Mash – Ouija (3.7%), Funfair – Brandy Snap (4.7%), Houston – Big Lusty May (4.3%), Shugborough [Titanic] – Mi Lady's Fancy and Lordship's Own (4.6% and 5.0% respectively), Rudgate – Battleaxe (4.2%) and Steamin’ Billy – Grand Prix Mild (3.6%)

All of these were dispensed on gravity, and I found the condition to be generally very good; the only notable exception to this was the Houston, which was still very green.

Overall then a slightly shambolic affair, but the ale that was ultimately available pretty much made up for it.

Here's hoping next time they organise things a little more effectively!

Pan-C

Newark Beer Festival - So many beers, so little conditioning time...

Unlucky for some, and sadly so it proved to be for us at CAMRA's 13th Newark Beer Festival last weekend.

We were long overdue a meet up at a big beer festival. Having settled on late May, we had narrowed our choice of festival venue down to three of the best: Cambridge, Northampton and Newark. We had never been to Newark before and having been most impressed by the preview on their website, opted to book a room above a local pub and venture forth into unknown Nottinghamshire. With the fest falling on a bank holiday weekend, this would also give us the added bonus of an additional day's recovery time - should it be needed.

The festival site was located opposite the imposing Newark Castle on the banks of the River Trent, with adjoining marquees inside a fenced off perimeter. Over 160 ales were scheduled to be on sale over the three days, with a healthy number of new breweries having been sought out and offered the opportunity to showcase their beers to appreciative festival punters. Some 35 ales were to be kept back until the Saturday, until space could be freed up on the crowded stillages.

We arrived excitedly at lunchtime on the opening day (I having left my membership card in London and unable to blag my way out of handing over the £4.50 entrance fee -- balls) and managed to home in on a few early winners. Those particularly worthy of note included Concrete Cow Black Monk; the hugely impressive Brampton Brewery's Mild; the equally noteworthy Red Squirrel London Porter; and the beer of the festival, Malt B's Smarties Night Porter, which sold out within 6 hours of opening.

Disappointingly, our enjoyment of these fine brews proved to be the exception to the hazy green norm. As the weather turned so did our fortune. An unforgivable number of the beers were simply not ready, served murky and astringent. The worst were unfit for consumption. No fault can be attributed to the ever-dedicated team of volunteer staff, with the traditional evaporative cooling method employed and constantly adhered to. It would seem that the organisers simply did not allow enough time for the casks to settle before the doors opened. I find it difficult to believe that this was the fault of the much-regarded Cellarman; more likely to be due to the time the council allowed CAMRA to commandeer Riverside Park for conditioning or unforeseen logistical problems with wholesalers. The majority of the dodgy casks were in no better nick the following day and if anything, in general, the beers held until the Saturday were even less palatable. If the quality of those that were flogged to the public were anything to go by, I dread to think of the state of those deemed not saleable.

Fortunately for Newark CAMRA, our observations did not seem to result in any loss in atmosphere nor turnover. The live entertainment was excellent and by 8pm Saturday just a handful of beers remained on sale and there were smiles all round. We ended the evening in the cracking Castle pub just over the river, which Pan-C will blog more about shortly. However, our sour festival experience is likely to turn us off a repeat visit next May.

Dubbel B