a swift one - A champion beer of Britain in the wood
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One of the first posts I wrote for this blog was about a "beers in the wood" festival in Castleford.
Well a year has gone by and The Junction is now staging its 2014 event from noon on Friday (tomorrow) to late on Sunday.
And landlord Neil Midgley and landlady Maureen Shaw have put together another fine Bank Holiday selection.
There are beers from pub favourites Ridgeside, Five Towns, Walls and Old Bear.
Wentworth, Axholme and North Yorkshire Brewery also feature.
But the one that caught my eye was the champion beer of Britain, Elland's 1872 porter, available in both wine and whisky casks.
Neil has had the beer in a wine cask for about three months. He also managed to get a pin of the championship winning gyle, and that has been in a hogshead whisky cask for longer.
And if you like the idea of beers from the wood then raffle tickets will be on sale during the festival to become a cooper for a day.
The other thing that impressed me about this ale event was the mix of beers styles. I would've expected a top-heavy stock of pales given that summer is allegedly round the corner. But milk stouts and porters are well represented.
So what what better way to spend the Easter Holidays than enjoying a few dark beers before the pale brigade start invading our pubs, not that I'm complaining much because I'm a hophead for about 75% of the year!
Getting there:
The Junction is situated on Carlton Street in Castleford town centre. It is an actual two-minute walk from Castleford railway station.
The festival may run into Monday, which is good news for rugby league fans attending the Castleford Tigers and Warrington Wolves game.
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