The Great British Beer Festival - 2004
Other Years are here: 2000/2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009.
Well, having not written this when I should have done, I’m getting round to it now. And as it is the 3rd August 2005, and I’m off to the 2005 GBBF tomorrow, I thought I better get this posted!
Tasting notes, therefore are going to go out the window - I’m bad enough remembering the quality of a pint the next day, let alone a year later! But, a run down of what I drank, and what I indicated it was like.
Partners in crime were quirkus, who entertained me muchly and ian_wyrdness who rambled around looking lost for a while before finding me. I do seem to remember bumping into some of the ICSF lot at some point, but my memory may have failed me.
Anyhow, on with the beer:
Anglo-Dutch Brewery. Ghost on the Rim 4.5% "A pale, full-bodied bitter with a citrus finish." Pale? They weren’t kidding. It looked more like a white beer. It was very nice, but very, very hoppy ****
Buffy’s. Mild. 4.2% "With deep hues, this is a solid old-style mild where sweetness vies with roast malt for dominance." No notes at all for this, but I like Buffy’s mild, having had it at Cambridge twice and on the Isle of Wight. It is very sweet, and slightly chocolately. ***
Durham. Green Goddess. 3.8% "Created for the “Beauty of Hops” curry beer competition, this beer will slake the thirst of the most dedicated curry eater." No notes here as well. Just “OK”, so not that memorable, really.**
Facers. Smoked Ale. 4.1% No description. Not from me, either, except for a Lovely! ****
Goachers. Crown Imperial Stout. 4.5% "A classic Irish stout with a clean palate and a satisfying aftertaste from Kent Fuggles." Very, very black. Not bad, a bit Guinnessy.***
Hanby. Black Magic Mild 4.0% "A dark reddish-brown mild, which is dry and bitter with a roast malt taste." Last year Hanby’s Cherry Bomb was my favourite ale of the festival. I was very disappointed for it not to be there again. However they redeemed themselves with this. An absolutely gorgeous mild, on the top end for strength. It wasn’t too sweet, and had no after-taste. Which was a bit weird, but welcome.*****
Iceni Queen. Raspberry Wheat 5.0% "Pulped raspberries are added to this beer to produce a pale golden beer that is delicate and bittersweet." Hmm, nice but sweet. The beer needed more flavour and a drier brew. ****
Kelham Island, Pale Rider. 5.2% "A full-bodied, straw pale ale with a good fruity aroma and a strong fruit and hop taste." This is a lovely brew. For some reason though the pint I had wasn’t the best I’d ever tasted. Bizarre that is.****
Rudgate. Ruby Mild 4.4% "Nutty rich ruby ale, stronger than usual for a mild." Nice, though non-descript. Milds do have a milder flavour than special ales, and I’m not convinced a higher alcohol content works with the flavour here.****
Titanic. Iceberg 4.1% "A combination of Maris Otter pale malt and affine wheat malt give this refreshing beer real zest." I love Titanic’s brews and this one is no exception. It’s very hoppy, but refreshing, not too dry. It’s also more sparkling than the average British ale, and is great as a summer drink, slightly chilled. *****
There were also three American beers:
Sierra Nevada Stout. Which was lovely.
Sam Neill Cherry Wheat. This had morello cherries, so it was very sour for a cherry beer. This was also a lager, and very, very smelly!
Hopmonster (unknown brewery). As the name suggests, this is very, very hoppy. It was also quite sweet, which contrasted with the dry, hoppy taste.
Finally (if that wasn’t enough) I tried two ciders:
Munsley Medium (from Herefordshire) and
Gwynty Ddraig Sir Morgannwg (from Glamorganshire)
Both were very nice.
And that concludes the 2004 GBBF review.
Well, having not written this when I should have done, I’m getting round to it now. And as it is the 3rd August 2005, and I’m off to the 2005 GBBF tomorrow, I thought I better get this posted!
Tasting notes, therefore are going to go out the window - I’m bad enough remembering the quality of a pint the next day, let alone a year later! But, a run down of what I drank, and what I indicated it was like.
Partners in crime were quirkus, who entertained me muchly and ian_wyrdness who rambled around looking lost for a while before finding me. I do seem to remember bumping into some of the ICSF lot at some point, but my memory may have failed me.
Anyhow, on with the beer:
Anglo-Dutch Brewery. Ghost on the Rim 4.5% "A pale, full-bodied bitter with a citrus finish." Pale? They weren’t kidding. It looked more like a white beer. It was very nice, but very, very hoppy ****
Buffy’s. Mild. 4.2% "With deep hues, this is a solid old-style mild where sweetness vies with roast malt for dominance." No notes at all for this, but I like Buffy’s mild, having had it at Cambridge twice and on the Isle of Wight. It is very sweet, and slightly chocolately. ***
Durham. Green Goddess. 3.8% "Created for the “Beauty of Hops” curry beer competition, this beer will slake the thirst of the most dedicated curry eater." No notes here as well. Just “OK”, so not that memorable, really.**
Facers. Smoked Ale. 4.1% No description. Not from me, either, except for a Lovely! ****
Goachers. Crown Imperial Stout. 4.5% "A classic Irish stout with a clean palate and a satisfying aftertaste from Kent Fuggles." Very, very black. Not bad, a bit Guinnessy.***
Hanby. Black Magic Mild 4.0% "A dark reddish-brown mild, which is dry and bitter with a roast malt taste." Last year Hanby’s Cherry Bomb was my favourite ale of the festival. I was very disappointed for it not to be there again. However they redeemed themselves with this. An absolutely gorgeous mild, on the top end for strength. It wasn’t too sweet, and had no after-taste. Which was a bit weird, but welcome.*****
Iceni Queen. Raspberry Wheat 5.0% "Pulped raspberries are added to this beer to produce a pale golden beer that is delicate and bittersweet." Hmm, nice but sweet. The beer needed more flavour and a drier brew. ****
Kelham Island, Pale Rider. 5.2% "A full-bodied, straw pale ale with a good fruity aroma and a strong fruit and hop taste." This is a lovely brew. For some reason though the pint I had wasn’t the best I’d ever tasted. Bizarre that is.****
Rudgate. Ruby Mild 4.4% "Nutty rich ruby ale, stronger than usual for a mild." Nice, though non-descript. Milds do have a milder flavour than special ales, and I’m not convinced a higher alcohol content works with the flavour here.****
Titanic. Iceberg 4.1% "A combination of Maris Otter pale malt and affine wheat malt give this refreshing beer real zest." I love Titanic’s brews and this one is no exception. It’s very hoppy, but refreshing, not too dry. It’s also more sparkling than the average British ale, and is great as a summer drink, slightly chilled. *****
There were also three American beers:
Sierra Nevada Stout. Which was lovely.
Sam Neill Cherry Wheat. This had morello cherries, so it was very sour for a cherry beer. This was also a lager, and very, very smelly!
Hopmonster (unknown brewery). As the name suggests, this is very, very hoppy. It was also quite sweet, which contrasted with the dry, hoppy taste.
Finally (if that wasn’t enough) I tried two ciders:
Munsley Medium (from Herefordshire) and
Gwynty Ddraig Sir Morgannwg (from Glamorganshire)
Both were very nice.
And that concludes the 2004 GBBF review.