CAMRA Beer Tent at Crawley Folk Festival 29th and 30th June 2008

As usual I was at this festival mainly for the music, but that didn't mean I wasn't interested in the beer. This year I managed to taste every single brew on offer (except the ciders and perries...).

My beer of the weekend was the West Berkshire Maggs Magnificent Mild. Definitely magnificent!

Bowman Eldorado (3.7%): Delicate and fruity with a distintive elderflower taste. Lovely. 4
Castle Rock Harvest Pale (3.8%): Beautifully balanced pale yellow bitter. 4
Church End Grapefruit (5.0%): Disappointing. I couldn't detect any grapefruit in this strong beer. 3
Copper Dragon Black Gold (3.7%): Very fine dark fruity mild. 3
Dark Star Festival (5.0%): One of my all-time favourites, strong and perfectly formed, possibly not at it's best today. 3
Dark Star Summer Meltdown (4.8%): A very strong ginger taste to this popular beer. 3
Dark Star Summer Solstice (4.2%): Zesty and hoppy, perfect for a sunny afternoon. No wonder it ran out in record time. 4
Hammerpot White Wing (4.0%): Excellent fruity bitter. 4
Hanby Cherry Bomb (6.0%): Apart from the colour there's no clue this is actually beer. Very pleasant tasting cherry flavour drink. 3
Hepworth Iron Horse (4.8%): Another old favourite not quite at its best, a bit tangy. 3
Hepworth Summer Ale (3.4%): Zesty fruity golden beer. Lovely. 4
Hornbeam Black Coral Stout (4.5%): Dark, gritty and warming. 3
Humpty Dumpty Porter (5.4%): Decent strong porter. 3
Leeds Midnight Bell (4.8%): Rich and complex unusual mild. 3
Leeds Yorker (4.0%): A massive hop taste to this light-coloured beer. Very similar to Dark Star Hophead, but the Yorker is made with Slovenian hops. 3
Mighty Oak Simply The Best (4.4%): Fresh with quite a bitter taste. 3
Oakleaf Nuptu'ale (4.2%): Golden, sharp and hoppy. 3
Ossett Wot No England (4.3%): Pleasant drinkable bitter. 3
Pictish Alchemist (4.3%): Very sweet hoppy beer. 4
Purple Moose Madog's Ale (3.7%): A little sharp but with a lovely smooth malt taste. 3
Spectrum Light Fantastic (3.7%): Gentle bitter. A little earthy. 3
Spectrum Old Stoatwobbler (6.0%): Strong, dark, sweet and malty. 3
Thornbridge Brother Rabbit (3.7%): Good bitter, similar in flavour to a golden ale. 3
Vale Best Bitter (3.7%): Well balanced bitter; very light in colour. 3
West Berkshire Maggs Magnificent Mild (3.8%): Mellow and dark, exactly as its name suggests. 4
White White Gold (4.9%): Almost tasteless pale beer, although with a pleasant aftertaste. 2
Whitstable Wheat Beer (5.2%): Lemon and grapefruit hoppiness to this delicious wheat beer. 3

Some fine beers available over the weekend. This year the beer tent opened on the Friday evening of the festival, which meant there was not a great selection left on the Sunday afternoon. Good for keeping wastage down but not so good for thirsty morris men!

CAMRA Beer Tent at Crawley Folk Festival 29th and 30th June 2008 (copy entry)

In order to index the breweries using the label field, I've needed to create a copy entry as I drank so much beer here they don't all fit in one entry. So all the text below is a direct copy of the following entry.

As usual I was at this festival mainly for the music, but that didn't mean I wasn't interested in the beer. This year I managed to taste every single brew on offer (except the ciders and perries...).

My beer of the weekend was the West Berkshire Maggs Magnificent Mild. Definitely magnificent!

Bowman Eldorado (3.7%): Delicate and fruity with a distintive elderflower taste. Lovely. 4
Castle Rock Harvest Pale (3.8%): Beautifully balanced pale yellow bitter. 4
Church End Grapefruit (5.0%): Disappointing. I couldn't detect any grapefruit in this strong beer. 3
Copper Dragon Black Gold (3.7%): Very fine dark fruity mild. 3
Dark Star Festival (5.0%): One of my all-time favourites, strong and perfectly formed, possibly not at it's best today. 3
Dark Star Summer Meltdown (4.8%): A very strong ginger taste to this popular beer. 3
Dark Star Summer Solstice (4.2%): Zesty and hoppy, perfect for a sunny afternoon. No wonder it ran out in record time. 4
Hammerpot White Wing (4.0%): Excellent fruity bitter. 4
Hanby Cherry Bomb (6.0%): Apart from the colour there's no clue this is actually beer. Very pleasant tasting cherry flavour drink. 3
Hepworth Iron Horse (4.8%): Another old favourite not quite at its best, a bit tangy. 3
Hepworth Summer Ale (3.4%): Zesty fruity golden beer. Lovely. 4
Hornbeam Black Coral Stout (4.5%): Dark, gritty and warming. 3
Humpty Dumpty Porter (5.4%): Decent strong porter. 3
Leeds Midnight Bell (4.8%): Rich and complex unusual mild. 3
Leeds Yorker (4.0%): A massive hop taste to this light-coloured beer. Very similar to Dark Star Hophead, but the Yorker is made with Slovenian hops. 3
Mighty Oak Simply The Best (4.4%): Fresh with quite a bitter taste. 3
Oakleaf Nuptu'ale (4.2%): Golden, sharp and hoppy. 3
Ossett Wot No England (4.3%): Pleasant drinkable bitter. 3
Pictish Alchemist (4.3%): Very sweet hoppy beer. 4
Purple Moose Madog's Ale (3.7%): A little sharp but with a lovely smooth malt taste. 3
Spectrum Light Fantastic (3.7%): Gentle bitter. A little earthy. 3
Spectrum Old Stoatwobbler (6.0%): Strong, dark, sweet and malty. 3
Thornbridge Brother Rabbit (3.7%): Good bitter, similar in flavour to a golden ale. 3
Vale Best Bitter (3.7%): Well balanced bitter; very light in colour. 3
West Berkshire Maggs Magnificent Mild (3.8%): Mellow and dark, exactly as its name suggests. 4
White White Gold (4.9%): Almost tasteless pale beer, although with a pleasant aftertaste. 2
Whitstable Wheat Beer (5.2%): Lemon and grapefruit hoppiness to this delicious wheat beer. 3

Some fine beers available over the weekend. This year the beer tent opened on the Friday evening of the festival, which meant there was not a great selection left on the Sunday afternoon. Good for keeping wastage down but not so good for thirsty morris men!

The Windmill, Littleworth, Horsham 5th June 2008

Went out to see some dancing at this pub which once was my local.

Badger Tanglefoot (4.9%): Lovely well balanced strong bitter.
Badger King and Barnes Sussex Bitter (3.5%): Better than I remember, although tastes a bit weak after the Tanglefoot.

Very impressed with the Hall and Woodhouse "Badger" beers which usually I don't rate. Must be well kept at this lovely pub.

Sherlock Holmes, Dinan, France 27th May 2008

At this very English style pub we found a beer expert who was able to discuss the finer details of French brewing in English, as well as try some interesting beers.

Lancelot Blanche Hermine (4.0%): Sweet, cold light-coloured beer with an elderflower floral smell.
Lancelot Bonnets Rouge (5.5%): Similar to the white, but with a distinct pink colour.
Brasserie Artisanale du Tregor Dremmwel Rousse (6.0%): Lovely malty beer with a definite bitter taste, although stronger, colder and fizzier than the traditional English variety.

We also managed to negotiate a visit to the local brewery, Brasserie Artisanale des Remparts, with tastings and lots of bottles to take home.

A La Truye Qui File, Dinan, France 27th May 2008

Specialist beer research in northern France meant we came here and tried some:

Brasserie Coreff Stout (4.8%): As in the previous pub, this tastes like flat lager, but this time with stout flavouring added. Right consistency, no real flavour.
InBev Leffe Blonde (6.5%): Cold, refreshing and tasteless.

Still remain to be convinced.

Le Fitzcarraldo Pub, Dinan, France 27th May 2008

My eagle-eyed husband spotted a hand pump while on holiday in Brittany, and of course this had to be investigated.

Brasserie Coreff Ambrée (4.7%): A definite malt taste to this brown beer but with the "dead" characteristic of say Newcastle Brown. Like flat lager with malt flavour. Disappointing!

And of course once we'd investigated this pub/bar, the two adjacent establishments needed the same treatment for reasons of equality and fairness.

The Malt Shovel, Horsham 10th May 2008

Popped into my local for some more drinking after a family wedding.

Fuller's London Pride (4.1%): Pleasant and refreshing bitter without a strong flavour.
Hepworth's Pullman's First Class Ale (4.2%): A disappointment from this usually excellent brewer. An unpleasant hop taste.
Wadworth 6X (4.3%): Nicely balanced strong ale. Lovely.

Pic to follow.

"Mild Day" The Malt Shovel, Horsham 3rd May 2008

My local mild event for May Mild Month. Lots of milds, lots of CAMRA members, morris dancers and a talk from the Director and Head Brewer at Harvey's brewery.

Arundel Sussex Mild (3.7%): Lovely open malty taste and a very smooth flavour.
Ballards Mildhurst Mild (3.4%): A traditional bitter mild.
Caledonian Deuchars IPA (3.8%): Unpleasant and soapy. Line cleaner or a clever ploy to get everyone drinking mild today.
Charles Wells' Courage Directors (4.8%): Malty well balanced bitter.
Dark Star Over the Moon (3.8%): A sweet mild with a 'best bitter' flavour.
Hepworth's Iron Horse (4.8%): Sweet, light coloured local bitter, not mild.
Marston Moor Matlock Mild (4.0%): Creamy and mellow; doesn't taste this strong.
Moorhouse's Black Cat (3.4%): Slightly more bitter than others; tasty.
Triple fff Pressed Rat and Warthog (3.8%): Almost a spicy taste to this very drinkable dark beer.
Wychwood Hobgoblin (4.5%): Strong and not much like traditional mild.

The talk by Mike Jenner, Director and Head Brewer at Harvey's, gave a good summary of how the brewery has stuck to traditional beers and respects its history, while embracing technology and changing tastes. It got quite technical at times with various salt contents in the water discussed (Lewes water is lower in sodium that London water).

The future at Harvey's sounds exciting with the creation of a microbrewery to use as a testing ground for new ideas and recreations of some historical brews.

CAMRA members from North Sussex, Western Sussex, Brighton and South Downs, Mid Surrey, East Surrey, Croydon and even as far away as West Kent were in attendance as well as the Regional Director.

The pub did themselves proud, a great day with nine fine beers out of ten.

Pic to follow.

Blog update

Just wanted to let my readers know, I haven't stopped drinking or the blog...!

I'm getting married next month so I'm a bit busy right now, but I will be back blogging about beer very soon.

Ruth