Get the Basics Right!

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Well that's another Oldham Beer Festival over and it's time to reflect on a few things beerwise.  Firstly it was a tremendously successful and we expect that the Mayor of Oldham's Charity Appeal, on whose behalf CAMRA run it, will benefit greatly from it.  It was in effect a sellout.

As always in these things I was mainly involved with the beer side, though I didn't manage the bar. I was however intimately involved in set up and given the severe soaking I got from one brewery's cask of beer, secondary fermentation is alive and well.  There are those that reckon most cask beer is inert these days. I'm not so convinced at the micro end that this is true. So many were vigorous - but we don't buy in national brands anyway, as they simply wouldn't sell.  The jury is out on those usual suspects of course, but like many, I "hae ma doots" every time I drink one.

It was also noticeable that the beers that sold out first were mainly local. That may not surprise you that much when we have breweries of the quality of  Pictish and Brewsmith to name but two and as always there are local favourites which fly out. It wouldn't be Oldham Beer Festival without Serious Brewing's Moonlight Stout and true to form, it soon went. If your beer is good, local definitely works, so there is plenty to play for there.

We always aim to have a leavening of beers that we don't see that often in our area and this time, the Beer Orderer went for an East Midlands theme. Now some were good and some, frankly weren't that brilliant, though that could be applied to lots of beers that you stumble across in the pub. Having had a lot of experience of these things, my advice to the small brewer is simple. Get the beers, clean with distinct appropriate flavours and no odd or "challenging tastes" - at least until you have managed the basics and repeatedly reproduced them. If you have the wish to start off with juniper, lime, exotic spices etc, my advice is just don't. The drinking public aren't daft and you will get slow sales and little repeat business. And brew for your customer, not yourself. Just because your muddy mess of odd ingredients appeals to you,think on. It is unlikely to achieve broad appeal.

The beer of the festival, Tryst Chocolate and Coconut Porte might seem to contradict my musings. Not so. Tryst know what they are doing in the first place. Luscious and moreish, it was a worthy winner. 

All the 62 beers were clear and bright or as near as dammit. 

My focus now shifts to Bournemouth and the CAMRA AGM and Members Weekend. This will include three nights in my London gaff, so fingers crossed all round.

Oldham Beer Festival

It's nearly that time of year again where we present some beers to the general public at the 27th Oldham Beer Festival. I've been involved in most of them and will be curating the beer for your delectation.

The list is awesome, featuring some of the best and most progressive breweries in the UK. Fancy any Arbor? We have it. Hardknott? You betcha. Redemption? "Certainly Sir." "Blackjack Madam? Of course." "A pint? Just as you wish." Something beginning with "P"? "Easy peasy. We have Pictish, Portobello and Privateer." "What about local breweries? Well we have the fantastic Wilson Potter Brewing a special ruby beer to celebrate CAMRA Rochdale, Oldham and Bury's 40th Anniversary or Seven Brothers, Tickety Brew, Track and Millstone." New breweries? Yep. What about Martland Mill from Wigan? or Revolutions from West Yorkshire?" "What? You just fancy a pint of John Willies? Of course. The new seasonal will be on and we have the Champion Winter Strong Ale, Moonraker on cask."

From further afield come Saltaire and Roosters from West and North Yorkshire respectively and even XT from Buckinghamshire.  We musn't forget our own local stars, Outstanding, Silver St, Deeply Vale, Irwell Works, Greenfield, Brightside and Hay Rake.  While hopefully none of the beers will disappoint and there should be something for everyone, I'll pick out a few I'm looking forward to.  Hardknott's Lux Borealis and Infra Red, Saltaire Triple Chocoholic, Arbor Blue Sky Drinking all appeal and of course one brewery and beer I haven't mention is the one I brewed with Ramsbottom Craft, Chocolate Chilli Stout, which will certainly be on. We'll also have the wonderful Flaori Maori.  Rooster's Baby Faced Assassin is also likely to charm.

If you fancy Cider and Perry, ours is, chosen by the former Cider Manager of GBBF who will also present them and answer all your apple and pear based drink questions.  Oh and foreign beer. We'll have that too in a well chosen bottle selection.  We even have fruit wines which are a great seller at this little do.

The info is all in the poster within this article. It will be a great do for good causes and there is plenty of seating.  So come along, sup some beer, cider or perry and do say hello to me.

There are two tongue in cheek words contained within this blog post. See if you can spot them.