Just thought I'd bump this thread as the festival starts today. Happy drinking.
'And where he supped the past lived still. And where he sipped the glass brimmed full' John Barleycorn, Carol Ann Duffy.
I'm hoping to do that promised note taking thing, it will probably start very scrappy, but hopefully improve, so keep notes of what you are drinking.
I got a sneaky head start yesterday as my local 'Spoons had at least 6 festival beers already on. Tried the Belgian guest from Palm and the excellent Brew Dog Edge, which will take some beating.
Lucky you! The local 'spoons here was a bit of a shambles on Monday night, all four guests went off one by one each time as one of our group went up to get a round. We ended up on less than average pints of Pride, inexplicably more expensive than the other beers. The reason given for the problem was that they were cleaning the lager lines.....eh, how does that work?
I've also had a sneaky head start - 3 ales (Youngs Ram Rod, Adnams Ghost Ship & Tom Wood Vanilla Orchid) and 1 cider (Westons Organic) down the hatch earlier in the week and a quick O'Hanlon's Dragon's Ale tonight. Will have a bit more of a session tomorrow in our other 'Spoons to compliment my curry. No real front runners yet - all pretty decent so far apart from the Vanilla Orchid. I'm afraid beers based on Vanilla, Chocolate or Coffee (or any combination thereof) are unlikely to score highly in my books.
Managed to try three on the way home last night. However, Sod's Law dictated that as I was driving two of them had to be the strongest out of the fifty!
JW Lees 'Chocoholic' 3.2%: Inevitably invites comparisons with Saltaire 'Triple Chocaholic'. Smooth, easy drinking, with hints of an Ovaltine type maltiness. Didn't think the chocolate flavours were as well integrated as the Saltaire, but pleasant enough.
Wychwood 'King Goblin' 6.0%: Can't really add much to the brochure notes. Warming, with a satisfying malty richness. Very drinkable for its strength. Enjoyable.
Caledonian 'Edinburgh Strong Ale' 6.4%: Found this rather disappointing for its strength. Served a tad cold which probably didn't help flavour wise, but I found it had a harsh slightly metallic finish.
'And where he supped the past lived still. And where he sipped the glass brimmed full' John Barleycorn, Carol Ann Duffy.
Anyone else annoyed with the festival programme. It's printed on black paper this year, which means I can't scrawl notes in the margins.
Anyway, it was nice to see our very own Arkwright getting a mention in the tasting notes for the Thornbridge Lumford.
"Lumford has been named after Lumford Mill, built by industrial revolution entrepreneur Richard Arkwright, and which used to sit on the site now occupied by the new Thornbridge brewery, which opened last year."