Easter Monday lunch, The Old Hall Hotel, Hope, April 2017

Easter Monday traditionally sees a visit to the pub for lunch. This is a tradition in Mrs MOFAD’s family, and is something we have done together for many years. It is often followed by some form of sporting activity, usually a game of rounders or cricket. Weather permitting. I say weather permitting, but we have been known to play on a snowy pitch before now. Not for a good few years now though, we’ve had quite a few mild Easters.

This year’s gathering just happened to be taking place at the Old Hall Hotel in Hope. Venue for the Hope Valley Beer and Cider festival that has been mentioned already on this blog. Pure coincidence surely? Or all part of the caring, sharing MOFAD plan to allow others to sample local ales? The MOFAD is all about the sharing 🙂

Mrs MOFAD began today’s proceedings with Elderflower by Pulp, from the beer festival tent outside. It was sweet with elderflower hints.

My choice was JW Lees Manchester Pale Ale, an inoffensive golden ale. If the name is familiar, that could be because you’ll often find their yeast strains in beers from Cloudwater Brew Co.

On to the starter next, and just like the last time we came here for Easter Monday, it was a pate which was supposed to be served with a pear chutney, but this didn’t materialise… The pate was nice though, with a few cheffy smears  of balsamic glaze having to make up for the lack of chutney.

Another drink to accompany the main course, this was Plane Jane by Long Hop, a gentle blonde ale.

Mrs MOFAD had a Tempted Medium Sweet from Tempted Irish Craft Cider, which was quite dry and would probably work better with a curry.

On to the main course, and just like the starter, it was similar to the one in 2015. The biggest difference was probably that it was served on a plate this year, and not a board! Hurrah! A nice piece of fish with a nice pesto crust, sweet potato chips and small bowl of peas.

Instead of pudding, I finished off my meal with a Sleepy Badgers by Little Critters from Sheffield, a smooth stout with chocolate notes.

Another pleasant trip to The Old Hall, everyone enjoyed their meals.

Old Hall Hotel, Hope, Beer Festival day 1, April 2017

We find ourselves back in Hope. A lovely little village with some lovely pubs, and good accommodation. And on each Bank Holiday weekend, a beer festival. We’ve been to this one a few times before, and it’s something that brings us back here. It’s a classic cask ale beer festival, with a decent selection of ciders too.

Tonight was the first night of the festival, and we popped in for a few drinks before going off to pick up a curry.

First up, Full Moon from Chantry Brewery, a hoppy, floral and bitter pale ale, very gentle.

Mrs MOFAD opted for this Mango from Broadoak. The clue is in the name. Sweet, sweet mango flavours. Very easy drinking. Scarily so!

My next beer was so good, it didn’t get photographed. Dark Peak from Howard Town Brewery is a rum infused porter – fruity, sweet and a smack in the mouth with a boxing glove dipped in rum. It was really nice. Looking forward to having a few more beers here over the weekend…

Summer House Beer Festival, October 2016

There is of course no such thing.

This “beer festival” was a self-curated drinking session featuring myself and regular MOFAD drinking companions Matt & Steve. We had a focus on dark beers tonight, and we had all brought a selection of bottles with us to share and try.

We started with Umbral Abyss by Vibrant Forest Brewery (procured by Matt). Whilst it lacked the now legendary Vibrant effervescence, there were good smooth coffee notes running through this one. Definintely one for coffee-ists like Bruce and Alec.

I took a quick turn away from the darkness here, for another Vibrant Forest brew, a Radicale Belgian Zuur Bier, which was tart but mellowed nicely – a good sour beer.

We stayed with Vibrant Forest for their Black Forest, which was a piquant porter indeed.

We moved on to some of my bottles next with an Imperial Brown Stout London 1856 by The Kernel Brewery, which was thick, brown and very chewy. We then moved on to Export Stout London 1890 by The Kernel Brewery, another of mine, which was very dark and very delicious. One of my beers of the night for sure.

This was followed by another favourite, a Bourbon Oktober again by Vibrant Forest Brewery. The second time I’ve had this big bourbon vanilla beast this year.

A mis-step next. We opened two bottles of Belgian Dubbel by Vibrant Forest. The first was very flat and tasted pretty off. The second had more carbonation but was still not right. We should have been getting raisins and similar but we just had to pour them away. Something not right with the batch perhaps?

And as you do, we finished with coffee. Guatemalan Coffee Extra Porter by Buxton Brewery to be precise. Massive coffee nose, big coffee flavours and some vanilla too. This was also a highlight of the evening.

It’s fair to say that our curated and self-hosted mini beer festival was a success. Buy beers, share beers with friends. It’s a great way to spend an evening.

Wicked Hathern Fest, August 2016

This blog is almost always about food and drink, and Wicked Hathern Fest has already generated two posts about food and drink (Pete on the Street and The Hog Stop). However, I wanted to write a quick post about the festival itself, as there are some other bits and pieces to write about.

Primarily a mini music festival, there is plenty of other stuff going on. This year there was a stage with acts specifically for children, craft stalls and people exhibiting cars. You’ll notice sponsorship from a local car dealer, pretty hard to miss. This is a sign that the festival is growing. There was also a comedy stage which sadly clashed with the main headliners – a shame as there were some good acts from the circuit on.

Unsurprisingly for a village with a brewery (although not represented here) there is a beer tent, this year “curated” by a local pub. Unfortunately, when we arrived at around 4pm many of the ales had already gone. However, this running out of alcohol also had an interesting effect later on, because the filth known as Strongbow ran out, and people were being forced to drink real cider. Although they appeared to be unprepared for the increased ABV of the more flavoursome beverage…

And so on to the music. If you had ever told me that I would one day see a Grammy-nominated Motown star performing in a field on the outskirts of a sleepy Midlands market town, I would have laughed at you for at least an hour. In fact if you had told me that *I* would ever see that star performing anywhere outside of the USA I would probably have also chuckled quietly to myself for a bit…

As well as local bands performing original songs and covers, including 1980s covers band We Tried Kylie (who play no Kylie but are great) and indie covers band The Zufflers (who definitely play no Kylie but are also great), tonight there were two headline acts. First up were 1990s indie kids Dodgy, who decided to perform quite a lot of new and unreleased material to a not all that interested audience. They were an ok band who never really set the pulse racing, and that was replicated tonight.

On to the real headliners then. How on earth do you get Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (Lois and Delphine, who are just two of Matha’s many sisters) to turn up to a field just off the A6? No, I have no idea how the organisers did it either, but they did.

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were brilliant. She is 75. You would never know. Full of energy and obviously having a great time, she was even impressed by meeting the mayor before the show.

She arrived on stage in a Native American head dress, opening with Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”. She was quick to remind everyone that Hathern was a long way from Detroit, Michigan (in case we weren’t aware). Another cover soon followed, an odd choice of George Harrison’s lovely Beatles song “Something”, which was nice but not a big crowd pleaser.

Plenty of her most famous songs throughout the set too, including Heat Wave, Jimmy Mack, and Nowhere to Run, with a special introduction reserved for Dancing in the Street, with Martha thanking many of the artists who had also covered it, even Bowie & Jagger.

Marvin Gaye was one of the writers of Dancing in the Street, and the band paid tribute to him with a version What’s Going On? which soon turned into that concert staple of “the song where everyone in the band does a solo, including every separate member of the horn section, and the drummer”. The set finished with fireworks and a Motown medley – at least this one was performed by an actual Motown legend!

A great day out, I have no idea how they will top it in 2017, although not running out of lots of the good beer before 4pm will probably help! I can now add a Motown legend to my list of legendary artists seen live…

The Hog Stop at Wicked Hathern Fest, August 2016

I have already talked about The Hog Stop a couple of times back in April. As I mentioned, they also have a dedicated catering trailer which can be found around the town on market days and at various other events. Today’s Wicked Hathern Fest was one such event. After some tasty Peter Pizza earlier, we needed more sustenance before the headlining acts.

Luckily The Hog Stop trailer was on hand to delight us with porky goodness. The full line up was available:-

English – apple sauce, sage and onion stuffing and crackling.
Italian porchetta – garlic, fennel, rosemary and chilli.
American BBQ – apple coleslaw and BBQ sauce.
Jamaican jerk – scotch bonnet pepper sauce & banana chutney.
Chinese 5 spice – hoisin sauce and Asian leaf salad.

We both went for the American BBQ which was delicious once again, a perfect festival snack, filling and fab. The Hog Stop are purveyors of perfect pork!

Pete on the Street at Wicked Hathern Fest, August 2016

I’ve already talked about our best local pizza place, Peter Pizza, and their takeaway pizza options. They also have a third option if you can’t eat in or get a takeaway from them. They can come to you.

Pete on the Street is essentially a fully functioning wood burning oven in an old shipping container. On the back of a truck. Don’t believe me? Well, here it is:-

You can book it for your party or event (be that a wedding or music festival, such as the one we find ourselves at today). It is a well-oiled machine, both in terms of the old DAF truck at the front (my dad used to fix these for a living), and the team knocking out pizzas at the back. They say they are equipped to serve 60-70 pizzas an hour in almost any setting.

At today’s Wicked Hathern Fest they were certainly working their socks off, serving up three options, the classic margharita, the ham and salami and the pepper and courgette. Several Peter classics, all served up from this very unique vehicle. There are no frills here, it’s Italian peasant food served up in very humble surroundings. Absolute genius, and great tasting food. A great pizza for 5 quid.

I should really show you a picture of the pizza, but we ate it too fast. Imagine a smaller version of this:-

And just served on a paper plate. There you go. Great pizzas, great concept! There were queues to get some until they ran out at around 8pm…

Hook Norton beer festival, July 2016

A tale in two parts. I’ll start with the beer first, and then talk about the beer festival itself afterwards. On with the beer.

We begin with Yubberton Goldie, described as “a refreshing IPA style beer with strong hoppy character”. That sounds right up my street.

However, it was not an IPA, it was bitter but very thin and had no hoppy character. Nowhere near pale enough for an IPA either. So definitely not an IPA in my book.

Bravely, we soldier on to the next beer. This was an Alestock from Nailsworth brewery, a micro brewery in Gloucestershire. The description intrigued me as it appeared to be written to appeal directly to my palate. Listen to this :-

“more hoppy than a caffeine fuelled bunny on a bouncy castle, it is the perfect year round ale”.

That is my kind of beer. Sadly the liquid did not live up to these words. If it’s hops you want, look elsewhere. This had none. A big let down, just a below average golden ale. Not unpleasant, just not hoppier than aforementioned bunny. Shame.

I get knocked down. But I get up again. You’re never going to keep me down. We travel further down the M5, to Newton Abbot (big town as my cousin who grew up in a nearby village calls it!) and the Teignworthy Brewery for their Old Moggie. This was described as “a lovely golden ale with a good, hoppy citrus taste”.

Not as described. Good bitterness here, but once again it needs more hops.

Onwards, ever onwards. Much closer to our host location now, with Loose Cannon brewery from Abingdon. This was described with the following words:-

“the use of only pale malts really allows the hop’s unique citrus flavour to shine unabated.”

Nope. Good bitterness, and certainly the best one yet, but I just wasn’t getting that unique citrus flavour of grapefruit. A shame, but it wasn’t a bad beer at all.

We must not be downhearted. Soldier on.  This time we cross the border to a favourite region for drink production, Speyside (more famed for its whisky though). Speyside Craft Brewery are a brewery I’ve come across before, having had their deliciously balanced Findhorn Killer (named Hoppy McHopface by me).

Today’s offering was Dava Way, an English pale ale with elderflower flavours. At last, a beer that lives up to its billing, this was really nice with lots of elderflower flavour. We make our own elderflower cordial (recipe will follow one day) so it’s a flavour I like and it works well here.

Next up we move to Mighty Oak brewery, from down my way in Maldon, Essex. This beer is Captain Bob (the punchline of a tasteless Robert Maxwell joke from the 1980s). This is described as “a traditional deep amber coloured bitter brewed with Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand”.

It is exactly that, bitter hoppy sweetness with a classic Nelson Sauvin hop profile. Definitely my favourite so far.

We move on to another familiar brewery,  Butcombe in Bristol. I’ve had several of their beers in recent years. Today’s offering was their July 2016 special, Hop Eye. The blurb says “an intensely complex and hoppy light golden beer that contains hops from 13 countries”.

Another one that delivers on its promise. This was the hoppiest beer of the day (you’d hope so with 13 hops in there). It’s a lighter hoppiness but still very pleasant.

On we go. A little closer to our location again, with Windsor & Eton brewery (double posh!) Conqueror is their Black IPA, described as “a black IPA, rich, complex and very distinctive.”

However, we are back to false advertising. This is not an IPA. It’s not a black IPA. It’s not a Cascadian dark ale (another name for the black IPA). Once again, it was a pleasant ale, but not a black IPA. Look for something like Vertigo from Salopian Brewery for an excellent example of this.

Our time at the beer festival is running out. On to one final beer. We cross a different border this time, to Swansea for Tomos Watkin and Sons and their “Kickass”. The tasting notes say “refreshing bitterness, tropical fruit flavours and a dry finish”.

Another one that sounds like it was made just for me. Not as pale as I was expecting, but good maltiness with a balanced sweetness in there too. A good finish after a bit of a disapointing start.

So, a few words on the beer festival itself. It is held in a field. A field on a farm. A field with long grass. On a lovely summer’s day like today, it’s not too much of a problem, but if any of the rain that was in the forecast had arrived it would have been a different story.

One of the main attractions of the festival for us (apart from the obvious beer) was a stage with live bands on throughout the day. However, they were inside a marquee, which meant that if you got too far away (not all that far really) you couldn’t hear the music. We ended up sitting in one of those places, so we couldn’t really hear the music after a little while (more people turning up and acting as baffles).

There were several food options around including a nice looking pizza van, fish’n’chips (from a van), a hog roast and also a burger van. The local scout group were selling filled rolls and cold drinks, as well as teas and coffees, and there were also ice creams and lollies from the local playgroup, and a little coffee van serving freshly roasted coffees, lattes and the like.

There were 140 beers on, around 70 barrels along each side of the beer tent. There were a couple of ciders which could be purchased with beer tokens, but they were gone within an hour or two. There was also a separate cider bar (cash only) but they only had a few ciders from one producer. Mrs MOFAD had one of them, which was described as alcoholic Calpol. That’s not a good thing.

It was a nice enough afternoon out, but we ended up leaving early, as there wasn’t enough to keep the interest of our non-drinkers, or those who had wanted a drink but couldn’t find much to choose from. No wheats, no fruit beers, no sours. Lots of bitters, milds, golden ales and similar, just nothing more modern in style.

We’ll probably explore other options for next year, it’s not like there’s a shortage of beer festivals 🙂

Preview – Hook Norton Beer Festival 2016

Last year we went to the Hook Norton brewery as we were camping nearby. We were pleasantly surprised to find that a beer festival was happening just down the road. We had other plans that day, but our interest was piqued. So we arranged to go camping nearby again on the same weekend this year. That’s this weekend which is fast approaching us.

So I thought I’d do a quick preview post as the beer list has been published. Feast your eyes on this little lot. I’ve highlighted some of my favourites in italics. There are lots of new beers that I’m also looking forward to sampling.

Brewery	Beer	ABV	Description	County
Abbeydale	Moonshine	4.3%	A beautifully balanced pale straw-coloured premium bitter with a distinctive floral aroma, leading to a predominantly citrus taste, with grapefruit and lemons to the fore, and a quenching bitter finish. Our most popular beer.	Yorkshire
Adnams	Ghost Ship	4.5%	A ghostly pale ale which takes its inspiration from Adnams 600-year-old haunted pub, The Bell at Walberswick.	Suffolk
Arkell’s	Hoperation IPA	4.0%	A blend of English and American hops brought together to create a powerful hop flavour in this Pale Ale with oats and wheat in the grist to provide a smooth rounded finish.	Wiltshire
Atomic	Atomic Strike	3.7%	A pale golden ale with a sharp fruity aromatic aroma and a good sharp bitter finish.	Warwickshire
Backyard Brewhouse	The Hoard	3.9%	A golden straw coloured beer brewed specially to mark the discovery of the ‘Staffordshire Hoard’ – the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found.SIBA National beer competition 2011 Gold medal.	West Midlands
Ballards	Midhurst Mild	3.4%	Traditional mahogany brown, mild, smokey, roasted nutty aroma with sweet molasses and dark chocolate flavours.	Hampshire
Batham	TBC	TBC	TBC	Staffordshire
Belhaven	Belhaven 80/-	3.9%	An auburn copper with with a malty, toffee and soft fruit flavours	East Lothian
Belhaven	Belhaven Golden Bay	3.8%	Mild malty aroma. Light chocolate roast flavour with a light caramel and hint of figs and a dry bitter finish.	East Lothian
Bellingers	Blenheim	3.9%	A clean-tasting, dark straw-coloured bitter with a balanced sweetness	Oxfordshire
Bewdley	Worcestershire Way	3.6%	A pale straw colour, First Gold, Celeia, and Fuggles hops. A very refreshing session beer with citrus aftertones.	Worcestershire
Box Steam	Golden Bolt	3.8%	A light straw coloured bitter, with a fruity malty caramel flavour.	Wiltshire
Bradfield	Farmers Blonde	4.0%	This very pale, brilliant blonde beer has citrus and summer fruit aromas making it an extremely refreshing ale.	Yorkshire
Brains	TBC	TBC	TBC	Glamorgan
Brakspear	Hooray Henry	4.0%	Celebrating all the is good about Henley On Thames and the world famous Regatta. This gloriously zesty blonde beer releases tangy citrus and grapefruit overtones	Oxfordshire
Brough’s	Fettle	4.3%	A golden bitter, slightly sweet, with a subtle hoppy aftertaste.	West Midlands
Butcombe	Hop Eye	4.2%	An intensely complex and hoppy light golden beer that contains hops from 13 countries	Avon
Cannon Royall	TBC	TBC	TBC	Worcestershire
Castle Coombe	Doing Little	4.2%	Toffee-coloured and hoppy	Wiltshire
Castle Rock	Harvest Pale	3.8%	A pale, polished, blonde beer with a distinct hop flavour leading to a crisp finish	Nottinghamshire
Coors	Doombar	4.0%	A balance of spicy resinous hop, inviting sweet malt and delicate roasted notes.	Staffordshire
Cotswold Brewing Co	Cotswold Lager	4.0%	Light and refreshing with hints of tropical fruit and elderflower.	Gloucestershire
Cross Bay	Sunshine	4.0%	Smooth Malt taste with Red Berry additions from UK grown Hops.	Lancashire
Cumbria	Loweswater Gold	4.3%	A pale golden ale made with mainly lager malt and German hops producing a tropical fruit aroma and flavour. Winner of many awards, including 2011 Champion Golden Ale of Britain.	Cumbria
Dark Star	Seville Ale	4.0%	Golden Ale brewed with Spanish Seville oranges	West Sussex
Donnington	Cotswold Gold	4.0%	Our latest permanent, award-winning beer has a golden colour with a citrus flavor followed by a rounded malt finish.	Gloucestershire
Dowbridge	D B Dark	4.4%	A strong, dark, full-bodied ale with roast malt giving hints of chocolate.	Leicestershire
East London	Jamboree	4.8%	A golden beer using English hops throughout, in particular Bramling Cross, Jamboree has a blend of lager, pale and wheat malt, giving a smooth but refreshing mouthfeel.	London
Elgood	Black Dog	3.6%	Well balanced malt and hops gives a pleasant aroma and taste, with splendid roasted bitter flavours.	Cambridgeshire
Enville	Ginger Beer	4.6%	Produced using root extract ginger this ingeniously created ginger beer has a flavour which is not overpowering and is very refreshing.	West Midlands
Everards	Stateside Rye	4.5%	Pale amber beer with a rose, lavender, fruity hop and citrus, zesty, malty, vanilla taste	Leicestershire
Felinfoel	Dragon Heart	4.5%	A rich colour and a smooth balanced character with red fruit flavour and toffee overtones	Carmarthenshire
Forge	Hart of Gold	4.0%	Golden colour with flavours of tropical fruit and pink grapefruit	North Devon
Fuggle Bunny Brewhouse	New Beginnings	4.9%	Nose twitching, Fuggle peers from him den for the first time. The fresh spring air is gently fragranced with aromas of sweet honey and spice. A breeze of dry hoppiness drifts by whilst the warm glow of the sun gives the fields an amber haze. Today was going to be a good day for an adventure.	Yorkshire
Fuller’s	London Pride	4.7%	Award-winning, famous premium ale. A good malty base with an excellent blend of hop character, resulting in an easy-drinking beer with great body and a fruity, satisfying finish.	Middlesex
Goff’s	Lancer	3.8%	TBC	Gloucestershire
Grafton	Prowler	4.3%	Classic copper bitter, bags of flavour, dry malty finish.	Nottinghamshire
Grainstore	Ten-Fifty	5.0%	A full strength mahogany coloured beer, possessing the fine balance of pronounced hop bitterness & aroma against a natural malty sweetness.	Leicestershire
Great Orme	Celtica	4.5%	A refreshing contemporary golden ale full of citrus taste and aroma.	Clwyd
Great Orme	Orme Bitter	4.2%	Crystal, chocolate and Maris Otter malts give an initial well balanced taste, giving way to a delicate smoked finish.	Clwyd
Great Orme	Welsh Gold	3.6%	A thirst-quenching session ale full of fresh hop flavours and aroma	Clwyd
Greene King	Back of the Net	4.1%	A perfect, easy drinking beer for the Summer; the Amarillo and Citra hops create a refreshing beer with an intense citrus zing	Suffolk
Grey Trees	Caradogs Bitter	3.9%	A beautiful bitter, copper in colour, with a crisp flavour and a dry finish. Crafted with Crystal and Caragold malt, Challenger and Golding hops, Welsh water and Grey Trees’ passion.	Glamorgan
Grey Trees	Diggers Gold	4.0%	Grey Trees’ modern CAMRA award-winning golden ale. Alive with fresh citrus aromas which leave a subtle bitterness. Crafted with Marris Otter pale malt, US hops, Welsh water and Grey Trees’ passion.	Glamorgan
Gun Dog Ales	Hot Dog	3.9%	We love Hot Dog and it appears so do a lot of other people. Super cool and friendly, with a refreshing citrus taste, it’s a summer beer that ticks all the right (cool) boxes. So pop on the shorts, light the barbie and lap up the sunshine.	Northamptonshire
Hall & Woodhouse	TBC	TBC	TBC	Dorset
Hambleton	Stud Blonde	4.3%	A refreshing, golden, easy-drinking blonde ale	North Yorkshire
Hanlons	Yello Hammer	4.2%	A light and refreshing golden ale that’s so full of flavour it’s bursting	Devon
Harveys	Best Bitter	4.0%	Tailored to the taste buds of the people of Sussex over many decades, this popular beer is brewed with the finest Maris Otter malted barley and a small percentage of roasted ‘Crystal’ malt. A blend of four different hops from local growers impart a distinctive character and a moreish quality.	Sussex
Harveys	Golden Ale	4.3%	A cool golden summer ale, very refreshing with a balanced complexity.	Sussex
Holden’s	Slack Tub	3.8%	A thirst quenching fruity “new age” Ale using only the finest pale malt giving you a sparkling straw colour. Using whole leaf Citra Hops to create a light refreshing soft flora, perfect for those high days and holidays	West Midlands
Hook Norton	Harvest Hop	3.5%	Light and fruity, with a cosmopolitan hop burst, ideal summer refreshment.	Oxfordshire
Hook Norton	Haymaker	5.0%	A strong pale ale of distinctive taste. Plenty of Goldings hops during the brewing give it a certain something extra – like sunshine dancing on the tongue.	Oxfordshire
Hook Norton	Hooky	3.5%	A subtly balanced, golden bitter, hoppy to the nose, malty on the palate. The classic session beer, eminently drinkable.	Oxfordshire
Hook Norton	Hooky Gold	4.1%	A very pale, crisp beer confidently displaying its hop character. The first Hook Norton Beer to feature American hops, a fruity aroma and a pleasant, light taste.	Oxfordshire
Hook Norton	Hooky Mild	2.8%	A dark chestnut coloured ale, full of roast malt flavours, and complemented with superb dry-hop aromas from East Kent Goldings.	Oxfordshire
Hook Norton	Lion	4.0%	Perfectly balanced, fresh and fruity. A blend of four malts and four hops gives a slightly sweet taste and a wonderful aroma of dark fruit.	Oxfordshire
Hook Norton	Old Hooky	4.6%	A beautifully balanced beer, fruity by nature, with a well-rounded body and the suggestive echo of Crystal Malt.	Oxfordshire
Hook Norton	12 Days	5.5%	A strong dark brown beer, offering a dominantly malty palate with nutty overtones, giving way to a lyrical sweetness that speaks for its strength	Oxfordshire
Hook Norton	167	6.7%	Brewed to celebrate 167 years of brewing here at Hooky. Reddish brown, fruity and spicy. Remember Diamond Reserve? Try this!	Oxfordshire
Hook Norton	Thorns Best	4.2%	Hand crafted by his master Sandra, this dark chestnut brew delivers a forest fruit finish. It’s a dog’s life indeed.	Oxfordshire
Hook Norton	Pro’cross’tination	4.0%	You’d be a fool to delay or postpone getting your hands on our PROCROSSTINATION Ale, brewed to celebrate our 50th Anniversary, our St Cross international Pale Ale is bit unique and truly an international affair.	Oxfordshire
Hook Norton	Brian the Daddy	4.2%	Brewed in fond memory – so please raise a glass, raise a smile, and enjoy.	Oxfordshire
Hop Back	Summer Lightning	5.0%	An extremely pleasant bitter, straw coloured beer with a terrific fresh, hoppy aroma. This, coupled with an intense bitterness, leads to an excellent long, dry finish.	Wiltshire
Hopshackle	Kinesis	3.8%	A golden ale tasting of malt, citrus fruits, orange and passion fruit	Cambridgeshire
Hydes Anvil	Lowry	4.7%	Crafted from Citra and Chinook hops to produce an intensely hoppy and refreshing Golden beer. The use of amber malt gives the beer an attractive richness with oodles of strong citrus and lovely tropical tones. A real “Hop Heads” beer.	Greater Manchester
Itchen Valley	Belgarum	3.9%	Named as a tribute to the Roman province of Venta Belgarum, better known today as Winchester. The hop’s flavours are full and juicy but the key to Belgarum is the sweetest of Hampshire honey, offset by elderflower, creating one of our most addictively smooth pints.	Hampshire
Kingstone	TBC	TBC	TBC	Monmouthshire
Langham	Hip Hop	4.0%	Following in the modern tradition of blonde strongly hopped beers. A classic blonde beer — clean and crisp. The nose is loaded with floral hop aroma while the pale malt flavour is overtaken by a pleasing dry and bitter finish.	W Sussex
Lees	Manchester Pale Ale	3.7%	Brewed with a blend of Liberty and Mount Hood hops, for a fruity, citrus, hoppy flavour with malty characteristics and a golden colour. It is 100% natural and 100% refreshing.	Greater Manchester
Lemming	Red Head	4.4%	Our complex red ale made with six different malts from the UK, Belgium and Germany, with UK and US hops – a truly international ale	Warwickshire
Loddon	Hullabaloo	4.2%	A copper coloured Best Bitter with a rich, nutty malt balanced by the dry herby flavour of English Fuggle hops. Guaranteed to cause a stir!	Oxfordshire
Loose Cannon	Bombshell	4.2%	The perfect beer for a warm summers day. The use of only pale malts really allows the hop’s unique citrus flavour to shine unabated. Thirst quenching and tasty.	Oxfordshire
Mighty Oak	Captain Bob	3.8%	A traditional deep amber coloured bitter brewed with Nelson Stauvin hop from New Zealand.	Essex
Moncada	Notting Hill Blonde	4.2%	Continental style yellow beer, a mix of hops, bitterness and sweetness. The flavour explodes on the tongue	London
Mordue	5 Bridges	3.6%	TBC	Tyne & Wear
Nailsworth	Mayors	TBC	TBC	Gloucestershire
Nailsworth	Red October	TBC	TBC	Gloucestershire
Nailsworth	Tockenham	TBC	TBC	Gloucestershire
North Cotswold	Hung Drawn & Portered	5.0%	A strong dark Porter – treacle roasted molasses	Warwickshire
Oakham	Endless Summer	3.4%	Pale gold colour with a good head, floral aroma, dry citrus hop taste	Cambridgeshire
Olde Swan	TBC	TBC	TBC	West Midlands
Otley	Hop Angeles	4.8%	It spent a while in development but this is our version of a full bodied hop bursting American Red, it just keeps delivering.	Glamorgan
Otter	Otter Head	5.8%	A distinct barley wine, old ale character, yet is light to drink. It has a malt, fruit and slightly sweet flavour, with a long bittersweet aftertaste.	Devon
Pot Belly	Bellowhead	4.5%	A light coloured bitter with a citrus hoppy finish, Brewed with the help of “Bellowhead”	Northants
Purity Brewing Co	TBC	TBC	TBC	Warwickshire
Ramsbury	TBC	TBC	TBC	Wiltshire
RCH	TBC	TBC	TBC	Wiltshire
Rebel	Mexi-Cocoa	7.2%	A premium luxury chocolate & vanilla stout. Tasting of black treacle, brown sugar, coffee and raisins.	Cornwall
Rebellion	Evolution	4.2%	A light golden Summer beer, with a citrusy hop character	Buckinghamshire
Redemption	Urban Dusk	4.6%	Chestnut coloured Premium Bitter with malts providing coffee aromas and some hazelnut and caramel on the palate, while Bramling Cross hops offer some dark fruit flavours.	London
Robinson’s	Reservoir Hop	4.2%	A Blonde ale. Clean, zesty and hoppy palate	Cheshire
Rudgate	Ruby Mild	4.4%	Nutty, rich ruby ale. Champion beer of Britain 2009 – dark cherry ruby red in colour	Yorkshire
Salamander	Golden Salamander	4.5%	Silver Medal Winner at the Great British Beer Festival. A golden premium ale brewed with Challenger and Styrian hops. This beer has a refreshing citrus hop flavour.	West Yorkshire
Salamander	Mud Puppy	4.2%	A bittersweet copper-coloured bitter with a distinctive hop character derived from Progress and East Kent Goldings hops.	West Yorkshire
Shepherd Neame	Spitfire Gold	4.1%	A well-balanced, light golden ale. Its sweet malt base is built upon with delicate floral and pine aromas imparted by some of the most popular hops of the moment, including Centennial and Saaz.	Kent
Sherfield Village	Butchers Brew	4.9%	A rich, brown multi-hop beer which is vegan-friendly (only ever casked or bottled unfined)	Hampshire
Shotover	TBC	TBC	TBC	Oxfordshire
Six Bells	TBC	TBC	TBC	Shropshire
Six Bells	TBC	TBC	TBC	Shropshire
Skinners	Lushingtons Ale	4.2%	A zesty pale ale, with summer fruits flavours and floral notes	Cornwall
Slaughterhouse	TBC	TBC	TBC	Warwickshire
Speyside	TBC	TBC	TBC	Inverness
St Austell	Proper Job	4.5%	An award winning modern IPA, packed full of citrus pineapple, grapefruit resinous flavours with a fine crisp bitter finish.	Cornwall
St Georges	Dragons Blood	4.8%	Chocolate and crystal malt combined to give a ruby red coloured beer with a hint of chocolate. Brewed using fuggles and styrian Goldings, blended for an earthy and slightly spicy aroma.	Worcestershire
Stratford-Upon-Avon	Louis’ Pale Ale	4.0%	Our hoppiest beer yet! Powerful floral flavours made with pure English hops including East Kent Golding and Challenger. It is heavily hopped at the end of the boil process which allows the brew to lock in all of the essential oils to create a powerful flavour and aroma. Full bodied with strong floral flavours.	Cumbria
Stratford-Upon-Avon	Malty Pig Bitter	4.4%	A Premium Dark Golden Bitter made with Maris Otter, Crystal and Chocolate Malts with English Fuggles and Golding hops.A full bodied dark golden bitter with hints of caramel. Generously hopped to bring out a variety of balanced hoppy flavours.	Cumbria
Stratford-Upon-Avon	Stratford Gold	3.8%	Premium light Golden ale made with Maris Otter, Crystal and Wheat Malts with Citra and Fuggles hops. Medium Bodied Golden ale with a fine malty flavour with a light hint of citrus fruits.	Cumbria
Stroud	Budding Pale Ale	4.5%	Very popular pale ale with a grassy bitterness, sweet malt and luscious floral aroma.	Gloucestershire
Summerskills	Devon Dew	4.5%	Honey, yellow with a floral, clean malty aroma. Sweet lemon upfront with a long grapefruit finish, mildly hoppy.	Devon
Teignworthy	Old Moggy	4.4%	A lovely golden ale with a good, hoppy citrus taste	Devon
Teme Valley	Summer Nights	3.7%	A thirst quenching summer ale that is dark in colour	Worcestershire
Thornbridge	Ashford	4.2%	A new world brown ale	Derbyshire
Timothy Taylor	Boltmaker	4.0%	The Brewers’ Favourite. Named after one of favourite local pubs, Boltmaker is a well-balanced Yorkshire Bitter that was awarded Supreme Champion Beer of Britain in 2014.	Yorkshire
Timothy Taylor	Landlord	4.3%	A classic pale ale with a complex citrus and hoppy aroma. A recent survey revealed that Landlord has the highest proportion of drinkers who call it their favourite ale. And it has won more awards than any other beer	Yorkshire
Tomos Watkin	Kickass	6.0%	Does exactly what it says on the tin. At a full bodied 6.0% ABV, the clean malt palate allows a big kick of new world hops to give a refreshing bitterness, tropical fruit flavours and a dry finish. Craft brewed in Wales by our brewing team to be enjoyed anywhere.	West Glamorgan
Torrside	Fire Damage	3.6%	A smooth, rich yet easy drinking stout with its feet firmly rooted in the smoked beer traditions of Germany. Brewed to a lower ABV for the warmer months.	Derbyshire
Tring	Moongazing	4.2%	All American hopped. This amber/ruby hued ale has a well rounded bitterness with grapefruit, mango and peach hop characteristics imparted by Chinook and Citra.	Hertfordshire
Triple F F F	Alton’s Pride	3.8%	A traditional English bitter brewed using water from the Hampshire chalk hills. Full and clean tasting, initially malty then tangerine fruit and resinous hop build to a quenching bitter finish. CAMRA Supreme Champion 2008.	Hampshire
Turpin	Golden Citrus	4.2%	Award winning golden ale steeped with Yakima Valley American hops for a powerful citrus flavour.	Oxfordshire
Turpin	TBC	TBC	TBC	Oxfordshire
Twisted	Rider Ale	4.0%	Deep copper, fruity, floral, malty with a dry finish	Wiltshire
Uley	Pigs Ear	5.0%	Deceptively strong Pale Ale that is eminently quaffable. A pale-coloured beer with a light hop balance leads to a hoppy, fruity aroma and smooth, finish. A wolf in sheep’s clothing	Gloucestershire
Wadworth	Swordfish	5.0%	With a gentle rum aroma and dark, unrefined sugar adding a rich smoothness, it is a full-bodied, deep copper coloured ale.	Wiltshire
Warwickshire	TBC	TBC	TBC	Warwickshire
Watermill Inn	Windermere Blonde	4.2%	Blonde bitter with a hoppy aroma, well balanced bitterness and long lasting dry finish	Cumbria
Wessex	Stourton Pale Ale	3.5%	Low gravity, English style pale coloured bitter, light and refreshing.	Wiltshire
Weston’s Cider	Old Rosie	7.3%	Mid golden and straw-like in colour, a cloudy, medium-bodied fruity cider that has a wonderful aroma of wild berry-fruits, honey and vintage cider-barrels.	Herefordshire
Weston’s Cider	Rosie’s Pig	4.8%	An easy drinking cloudy cider with a fresh apple flavour with hints of citrus and spice	Herefordshire
White Horse	Black Beauty	3.9%	Siba Regional Bronze Winner 2013 Black Beauty Mild joined the Stable last year as a dark outsider and dark is the word! Rich Ruby in colour, using the best chocolate malt and fine English Fuggle hop to achieve a flavour that leaves the herd behind like a true Champion!	Oxfordshire
Wickwar	Falling Star	4.2%	Premium Golden Ale. Brewed for the contemporary taste palate using locally grown and renowned floor malted Maris Otter barley from Warminster Maltings.	Gloucestershire
Windsor and Eton	Conqueror	5.0%	A Black IPA – a rich, complex and very distinctive ale. It is brewed with a careful blend of 5 speciality malts along with Summit and Cascade hops.	Berkshire
Wychwood	Hobgoblin	4.5%	Full-bodied, Ruby beer that delivers a delicious chocolate toffee malt flavour, balanced with a rounded moderate bitterness and an overall fruity, mischievous character.	Oxfordshire
Wye Valley	Daisy Duke	4.1%	An ale that’s sunny by name, sunny by nature. A dark blonde ale that always looks on the bright side.	Herefordshire
Wye Valley	The Hopfather	3.9%	Starring UK Chinook and Herefordshire Goldings hops, this smooth bodied ale features a spicy honey-pine and grapefruit flavour.	Herefordshire
XT	Apricot Pale Ale	4.2%	Apricot flavoured golden ale	Buckinghamshire
York	Guzzler	3.6%	A beautifully balanced, light gold coloured beer with dominant hop flavours and pale malt character.	Yorkshire
Yubberton	Goldie	4.0%	A refreshing IPA style beer with a strong hoppy character.	Gloucestershire

Really looking forward to this on Saturday, full report to follow!

Blenheim Palace Food Fair, May 2016

Another visit to the Blenheim Palace food fair. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that we were here on Whitsun bank holiday weekend last year.

Once again we were camping nearby and had decided to make this our Sunday stroll. It had been a pleasant afternoon last time, so we decided to have another wander round this year. Entrance to the food fair is free, but if you arrive by car and pay for entry into the grounds, this has now gone up to £14.90 per adult, from last year’s £13.

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The food fair has expanded since last year too, with more stalls opening up near to the pleasure gardens. Once again there were a good range of stalls, quite a few more hot food sellers, including GB Confit, selling confit duck which was very tasty indeed. The nice people from Two Cocks brewery were back, and several of our group stocked up on their beers. There were another couple of booze stalls, including cider and gin, alongside crisps, cheese, sausages, marshmallows and chutneys.

Lots of lovely things to taste and take home – just make sure you can carry everything. A grand day out!

BBC Good Food Show, The NEC, November 2015

We have been visiting the Good Food show since at least 1999. It is an annual pilgrimage. At its best, it is an opportunity to pick up lots of interesting food and drink from smaller producers. At its worst it is overrun by the big supermarket chains and energy suppliers.

That was its nadir around 5 years ago, but they do appear to have listened to feedback, as it has been back to its best over the last few years, full of great stuff from small and friendly producers who want to tell you about what they have made and how they have made it.

Lots of highlights today. The biggest one for me was Renegade Brewery from Berkshire, a spin-off from West Berkshire brewery. They had three great beers on show, and there was time for a quick flight through all of them. A good lager with plenty of hops, and then the next stop is the India Session Ale (because we’re all about the session IPA these days), a hoppy IPA without the high ABV that you might associate with it. And finally, a West Coast pale ale, an American style pale ale (which means it’s not that pale), but is stuffed with hops, by far and away the best beer of the day (but then I am an unashamed hophead). I restricted myself to just the 12 bottles today.

The next best thing was craft cidre (not cider) from L’Atypique. Not one, not two, not three, but four of them, all deserving of the name cidre (unlike that Stella muck, aka husband beater). The reserve cidre was fantastic, with almost wine-like qualities. It will be our Xmas dinner tipple this year. They also have a standard one, a rose and a pear cidre. All natural, no added stuff, and really nice tastes.

You’ll also spot a selection of ales from Wadworth, my annual refresh of herbs and spices from Fox’s spices, beautiful spicy Lime chutney from Spice’n’Tice, Tracklements chutneys, and lots of garlic things from the Isle of Wight garlic farm. Oh, and sausages from Debbie & Andrews, making a welcome return to the show.

Another great day out at the Good Food show. Not even the weirdness of Sticky Toffee pudding cheese (yes, really) could put a downer on it. Well worth it. MOFAD cards were left on several stalls 🙂