Good Brew Dog at Last!

Yesterday we had a National Winter Ales Meeting followed by the party for CAMRA staff that had worked at this year's event. The meeting was held in the trendy Font Bar off Oxford Road, an unusual choice, but hey, CAMRA isn't all flock wallpaper and farts!

On the bar when we went in was Brew Dog Hype and York Brewery Decade. Graham chose the Decade which was superbly hoppy and bitter. I chose the Brew Dog. Would it be disappointing again? No. It was a rounded beer, with a good malt base, resiny hops and a quenching bitter finish. Lovely. Others thought so too as I only managed two pints before it "went". The Decade wasn't a hardship and was in turn drunk dry to be replaced by Facer's DHB, standing for "Dave's Hoppy Beer". It was too. Very. Next up was another Facer's Beer, Landslide which was a lot less hoppy. It drank well though, cut half in half with DHB. I like to experiment.

I won't describe the rest of the day in too much detail, which following a successful meeting, degenerated into what can only be called a piss up. We left to meet Eileen and another couple of friends in the Fringe Bar, where pints of Hopstar Daisy May went down very well indeed, while a question about the authenticity of a beer called Phoenix LJ Silver as coming from the renowned Heywood Brewery, must wait until I next speak to the brewer. Suffice to say it was not one of Tony's pump clips, nor was the insipid liquid anything like the Phoenix we know and love.

Lastly and unwisely we finished in the Smithfield where we drank some lovely beers between us, with my Durham Definitive and Eileen's Hornbeam Tears of Angels being the pick of a very fine bunch.

Just another ordinary Saturday in the Grim North!