Monday 11 January 2010

National Winter Ales Festival - Some Highlights


This festival is hammering its way relentlessly towards us now. Though we don't open until a week on Wednesday, the first beer deliveries will be on Friday this week. Then a lot of anxiety as we pull it all together in an unfamiliar venue and even more anxiety as we wait to see if anyone shows up. The trade session a week on Wednesday will be preceded by a small cavalcade advertising the event, with two horse drawn drays - thanks Thwaites and Robinsons and a vintage double decker bus from Wells and Youngs Brewing, which will be on site all week.

But this is about beer, so a few highlights for you:

Cask: Acorn Gorlovka Stout, Brew Dog Punk IPA, Coniston No.9 Barley Wine, Dark Star Critical Mass, Hydes 4X Strong Ale, Otley O8, Phoenix West Coast IPA, Robinson's Old, Ginger and Chocolate Tom, Holmfirth IPA, Thornbridge St Petersberg.

Foreign Draught: Bernard Dark, Andechs Spezial Hell, Augustiner Edlestoff, Beck Brau Affumikator (unfiltered smoked trippel), Keesman Herren Pils, Lowenbrau Buttenheim Bock, Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock, Vierzehnheiligen Silberbock, Uerige and Schumacher Alt.

Real Ale In A Bottle: Dunham Massey Winter Warmer, Durham Bede's Chalice, Temptation, Fullers Vintage Ale, Titanic Stout, Worthington White Shield.

Foreign Bottles: De Prael Nelis, Emelise Double IPA, Jopen Bokbier, Servatummus Winterkunninkske, Karg Weizenbock, Schneider Eisbock and Danish beers from Indslev, Orbaek, Randers, Rise and Svaneke Bryghus.
And that's just my highlights. There is so much more. If you take your beer seriously, you really NEED to be there!

All at competitive Northern prices too!

10 comments:

Matt said...

Please stop :-) Health issues prevent me attending, despite living in Stockport. I'm now drooling over the keyboard...

Cooking Lager said...

what no lout?

Paul Garrard said...

Just out of interest what is an average 'competitive Northern price'?
Are the rest of us being ripped off something shocking?

Not that I'm in the south you understand.

Brads39 said...

Look out for Sulwath Black Galloway. Well worth sampling.

Oblivious said...

Cookie, Schlenkerla is a great lager!

Whorst said...

No US Proper Real Keg?? Bastards!

Paul Garrard said...

Brads39 - Sulwath Black Galloway - I agree

Paul Bailey said...

Really wish I could make it, especially as you've now tempted me by highlighting some of the star attractions. Manged to sample Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock at Schlenkerla itself a couple of years ago, and enjoyed some excellent Bernard Dark in Prague between Christmas and New Year.
Coniston No 9 and Thornbridge St Petersburg both sound good, so am doubly sorry I am unable to attend.
Hope all goes well with the event, especially in view of all the hard work you have put into it!

Erlangernick said...

Augustiner Edelstoff--Krautley's most over-rated swill--is a "highlight"? Were it not for the ridiculous price, it'd be a most excellent Cooking Lager. Or slug bait.

This Beck Bräu...do they really call it a "trippel", as in Belgian trippel? Or stronger than a Doppelbock? They don't sell this at the brewery, mind, it's all made for export.

The Löwenbräu Buttenheimer Bock is ok in the bottle; wonder how it'll be vom Fass.

I assume the Coniston is brewed at the little place, and therefore much bettah. And the idea of a Phoenix West Coast IPA makes me tempted to check last minute airline prices. Oh, wait, are aeroplanes flying over there now?

Bailey said...

Mmm. That alt sounds very tempting...