a swift one - Rastrick Beer Festival, 2014

Visit the a swift one site

Yes, you did read the title right; on the weekend of the York beer festival, 16 new breweries for me, and zillions of new beers, I spent my Friday afternoon at the Rastrick Beer Festival.

It is the most local beer festival to where I live, but for some reason I knew nothing about it until I came across it on fellow blog. But never one to miss a chance, off I went.

It is held at the church hall, at the back of the church on Gooder Lane, at the Brighouse end of Rastrick, and opens tomorrow (Sat) at 1pm till 11pm. The entry fee is £5 which entitles you to a glass, programme, and a free half, and it goes to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and The White Knights - last years festival raised £4,500 for charity.

Anyway armed with my programme, I selected my first half. Oates 'Summit IPA', it was ok but did not quite hit the spot. I was surprised how busy the place was, and equally surprised that I only knew three people there (but Roger, Martin and Gerald do get about a bit !). I needed another beer token, (£5 for 4 halves) and was a bit bemused to be served by a vicar, that was a first !

Next I tried Nook 'Nooky Brown', but again I was a little disappointed, and a check of the festival list confirmed that this was not really a 'tickerfest'. There were around 16 beers, and a few ciders on offer, all handpulled and well cooled, but apart from a smattering of Cornish beers (mostly the regular ones) the beers were locally sourced.

My next choice was a Cornish beer, Keltek 'King'. Again a decent beer, but it did not have the wow factor. Time was closing in, so time to go safe, Mallinsons 'Kiwi Classic'. And a damn fine beer to finish with.

All in all, despite the lack of ticks, a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. I will pencil it in for next year.


More...