Thursday 17th September - Burton Beer Festival

Burton's branch of CAMRA typically hosts two festivals every year and in the past, the plan was usually to attend on the Friday night. This plan however is often flawed due to the sheer number of people attending, and the more interesting beers having sold out priot to our arrival. Not so this year as we arrived shortly before opening for the initial Thursday night session. Whilst we waited we chatted to a nice chap who had come all the way from Aberdeen.

At 7 pm sharp (-ish) the door were flung open and in we went.

"Hmmm" was my intial reaction, somethings changed here, the beer range looks more interesting than in previous years. Our normal plan is to spend some time at the festival and thence a couple of pubs, - not this time as our stay till 10.15 soon passed.

Along the way the following beers were sampled:

1. Brewdog - Edge - the description of a mild drinking far above its strength was spot on - although only 2.8% - you'd have thought it was stronger. A good example of the "people's beer" that CAMRA has proposed.
2. Time for something unusual. I had spied Dark Star's Espresso, a 4.2% black beer made with freshly ground espresso. This should be a beer for the beer drinker who like a little coffee, alas it came across as a glass of cold coffee for the beer drinker. Not a beer I'd drink again on purpose and a half was a lifetime's supply for me (but then beer is so subjective.
3. Back to the Brewdog section. I've followed the development of the double and triple IPA styles from their early days (then known as Baltic IPAs in some parts) so the chance to sample a British brewery's attempt in the form on Hardcore IPA was one I jumped at (the note in the programme that this 9% was the most bitter of british beers added to the attraction (must be the beer drinker's equivilent of why to mountaineers climb mountains?)) Sure enough the nip that I sampled had an intense hoppiness that you either love or don't. I think in a blind tasting it would be difficult to divide this from a Shiraz style wine. What ever I could still feel the numbness some days later!
   I was almost tempted by the 13.4% Falstaff Supernova, but the knowledge of meetings the next morning put paid to that.
   
4. So, onward from a large hopping to a very small hopped Milk Stout (4.5%) from the Bristol Beer Factory. A revival of an old Bristol recipe, this is a good example of the style I felt. If I'd have had a flat cap and closed my eyes I could quite easily imagine sitting in a pub in Bristol (except for the slight problem that I've never been to Bristol let alone drunk in a pub there).
5. Sticking to the Bristolian Stout theme but wanting more body next came Arbor's Oyster Stout (4.6%). Not one for the vegatarians as this does contain oysters.
6. Further into Cornwall, for Crowlas Bitter from Penzance. A simple 3.8% offering which answered my call for beer flavoured beer.
   
7. Closer to home next, I'd been speaking to Robert Greenway from Blythe Brewery earlier in the evening so it was only fittin g to sample one of his. Three beers were on offer, all new to me, but I chose Hamstall Hop a 4.2% beer on the basis that he had ustilised Fuggle hops growing at the brewery and I have previously say under the said hop bine. Good beer sums this one up nicely.
8. time for one more, Swedish Nightingale from Malvern Hills seemed a good choice and indeed was my conclusion over this 4% offering.