Last night was the 5th annual Stafford beer festival - backed by CAMRA and it's nice to see it grow as an event year on year. It's also held in a Catholic high school, which amuses me no end, I'm not sure why, it works really well and the beer festival in Liverpool was held in the Catholic cathedrals crypt so maybe it's totally normal.
Anyway, I'm quite a fan of beer festivals, in that I'm quite a fan of beer - I like cider and perry too - but they tend to be lethally alcoholic at a festival and mixing them both lies madness and drunkenness. What I couldn't help noticing is how very 'British' it seems, and where do all these people come from - and more to the point why do some of them still have mullets (how do you even still have a mullet in this day and age).
But there's lots of people stood around peering at a festival listing, trying to juggle a tankard, a pen, a beer and a programme - working on what they want to drink next based on maybe an amusing name (this also works with backing horses) or a sentence long description.
Now, I've been a fan of real ale for a while, and I know what I like -I like light ales so I can safely guess from a listing, or more importantly a colour if I'll like it.
I do have a tactic for beer festivals:
which means I had a good night, and no sore head this morning, and I drank the following:
(I can tell, because I have a series of squiggles in my programme I *think* means which ones I like best)
They were all good, but I think the Oakhams Endless Summer was my favourite, followed up by the Morton Jelly Roll - the only beer I broke my final rule of - because I was too tired to think)
Update - They just announced the beer of the festival (I meant to have some of this but it had already sold out)
Anyway, I'm quite a fan of beer festivals, in that I'm quite a fan of beer - I like cider and perry too - but they tend to be lethally alcoholic at a festival and mixing them both lies madness and drunkenness. What I couldn't help noticing is how very 'British' it seems, and where do all these people come from - and more to the point why do some of them still have mullets (how do you even still have a mullet in this day and age).
But there's lots of people stood around peering at a festival listing, trying to juggle a tankard, a pen, a beer and a programme - working on what they want to drink next based on maybe an amusing name (this also works with backing horses) or a sentence long description.
Now, I've been a fan of real ale for a while, and I know what I like -I like light ales so I can safely guess from a listing, or more importantly a colour if I'll like it.
I do have a tactic for beer festivals:
- Keep to roughly the same colour of beer
- Never mix cider, perry, country wines and beer (I learnt that the hard way at a beer festival in Gnosall)
- Keep to 1/3rd of pints
- Don't drink things I can otherwise drink in town
- Ask what people are drinking (I do tend to say Hello first)
- Take advice from people I trust who know what I drink anyway - not the bar staff, I always suspect they know what is left and they need to shift....
- Never have the same beer twice
which means I had a good night, and no sore head this morning, and I drank the following:
- Morton - Jelly Roll
- Peakstones Rock - Pugins Gold
- Quartz - Blonde
- Townhouse - Stygian Pale (they didn't have the Cascade wheat beer I really wanted to try)
- Oakhams - Endless Summer
- Thornbridge - Jaipur IPA
- Weatheroak - Light Oak
(I can tell, because I have a series of squiggles in my programme I *think* means which ones I like best)
They were all good, but I think the Oakhams Endless Summer was my favourite, followed up by the Morton Jelly Roll - the only beer I broke my final rule of - because I was too tired to think)
Update - They just announced the beer of the festival (I meant to have some of this but it had already sold out)
