I do not get to a lot of beer festivals, but this one is within walking distance of where I work and a lot of my colleagues were going along, so I could not resist. It is run by North Hertfordshire CAMRA (Campaign For Real Ale). I am not a member, so I had to pay the £3 entry fee. You also pay a deposit for the souvenir glass that you can opt to keep and you buy a token card to pay for the beers so the barstaff do not have to handle money. I was at the previous even two years ago. I prefer the glass design this time. I won the smaller glass in the tombolla. It is from another festival many years ago. Most of us headed over just after lunch as we get to finish early most Fridays.
The venue is a little uninspiring. It is the leisure centre which is conveniently located near the station. I guess you just need a big space. There were very few chair and tables available, so it was a choice of sit on the floor or stand. Someone said there had been a boxing event there where a lot of chairs got damaged, so maybe that was a reason. There is a long bar down one side with dozens of beer kegs. A smaller bar at one end has the imported beers, cider and a selection of meads. I stuck with the beers this time. I tend to go for a half pint of each so I can try more. I am not a heavy drinker and very rarely have more than a couple of pints. The prices vary, but all these were under £2 for a half pint. I did not notice any that were more than that, but I expect there were some with premium prices.
My first beer was Village Idiot by the White Horse Brewery. It lived up to the description of being very hoppy. I liked the name and enjoyed the beer. It is also a social event and I had a good chat with various people. An old friend from the Linux user group was there with his brother too.
Next was Chocolate Brown by Anspach and Hobday. This brown ale uses cocoa husks in the mash. It was not a strong chocolate flavour, but very smooth.
Next was Curiously Dark Mild by Millis. I used to drink mild as a student in Coventry, but I rarely see it available in pubs around here.
Beer festivals are an opportunity to try unusual beers that may not sell enough to get stocked by pubs. Pump Up The Jam by Tiny Rebel lives up to its name by tasting distinctly of jam, in a nice way.
Sometimes the name of a beer will get my interest. Imperial Death Star by paradigm achieved this. It is a strong (7.2%) stout that they would only sell in third or half pints. It was very nice, but I could not drink too much of it. Several other people were enjoying it too. There was another beer that was described as 'liquidised Crunchie bars', but that had already sold out.
Titanic Plum Porter was another beer variety to try. Definitely fruity.
For my last glass I tried something different. Coolship by Elgood is described as a sour beer and it definitely was. I have to say I did not particularly enjoy it, but then I had plenty of others that I liked.
By this point I felt I had had enough and headed home on the train. My son who just passed his driving test picked me up at the other end and took me to the chip shop to get us some dinner.
If you have not been to a beer festival then you really ought to try one. It is not about getting drunk, but that may happen anyway. It is more about celebrating the variety of beers that are out there.
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