Yapton Beer Festival 2015

Oh happy day, for 'tis Yapton again... my how the time flies... was the last one really a year ago?? 😀

I have mentioned it before, and I still no idea how they do it, but despite the grey, cold, rainy weather earlier in the week, the festival was again warm, sunny, cloudless and damned hot...

As ever an excellent selection of ales was on offer, with most beers seemingly cheaper per half than last year, or my sums are wrong - I think we were paying £1.60/£1.70 a half last year, I reckon it was more like £1.50/1.60 this year...  another development this year was that they were also offering beer in a third of a pint at a cheaper rate again - a welcome change if you want to try some of the stronger one's, or just have a couple of good slurps of a beer you've never heard of before.

Piccie courtesy Twitter...  this is the main bar - there's another one behind the person taking the piccie...

So without further ado here's the ales.....

Brewery	Beer (click for more info)	ABV	Notes (from brewery website)	What I can remember...
Titanic	Iceberg	4.1%	..."combination of Maris Otter pale malt and fine wheat malt, give this refreshing beer real zest. Add refreshing Yakima Galena and Cascade hops and what you get is a fantastic wheat beer..."	This was a lovely hoppy bitter of surprising flavour, and lowness of gravity..  slipped down far too quickly!
Titanic	White Star	4.5%	.."A light refreshing distinctively hoppy beer with a freshness that belies its strength"	...you've probably noticed the breweries theme by now... Buoyed by our obvious and unseemly enjoyment of the Iceberg, some of us rushed for the other offering from Titanic, but having tried it, I have to say that it definitely wasn't as nice..  little bit insipid as I remember
Goldmark	Vertigo Craft Lager	4.8%	"An authentic German style pilsner using the best German malts and hops. A long fermentation and a twelve week lagering, ensures a full, smooth, crisp taste.  Sophisticated Esters entwine around the malt sweetness and hop bitterness."	You know how it is - you get chatting to some bloke you've never met before and he raves about this beer he's just tried, so you try some....  and then wished you hadn't....  I gave it a quarter of a pint and ditched the rest - 'sweet and a little cloying' my tasting notes say...
Revolutions	Go-Go American Pale	4.5%	"An American influenced pale ale that is packed with Cascade, Chinook & Centennial hops for a citrus finish"	Hell yes - this was lovely - slightly hazy, but hoppy, bitter and one of my top beers of the festival
Windsor and Eton	Windsor Knot	4%	"a Pale Ale brewed with two specially selected hops, Sovereign and Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand.  The combination of these hops produces an intense and distinctive tropical fruit aroma including Mango, Lychees and Passion Fruit to deliver an easy drinking and refreshing beer."	OK, but my tasting notes indicate this was a bit of a disappointment after the previous beer...  "OK, not outstanding, bit thin"
Dancing Man	Big Casino IPA	5%	"A very hop forward IPA... Smell : Grapefruit, citrus, brioche Taste : Juicy piney Hops, dry, slight caramel sweetness, long bitter finish"	My sisters favourite brewery, and this was the second of my top beers of the afternoon... not so sure about 'brioche' but the tasting notes sum it up completely...
360 Degrees	Wet Coast Pale	5%	"Using solely American hops, a contemporary Pale Ale, heavily hopped to produce intense tropical fruit flavours and a long bitter finish."	American hops are fashionable at the moment, but just for once I have no issue with the fashion, as the hops (like for example my favourite, Citra) give a very citrus'y bitter flavour... this was the third of my top beers of the afternoon...
Hastings Brewery	Down Under IPA	5.8%	"An American-style IPA - but with Australian and NZ hops only".	Later into the session so the strengths are going up a little - Hastings seem to make beers I like as one of theirs was one of my favourites last year as well..  this one was superb  very bitter and very hoppy... but for the strength this was easily the festival winner for me.....
Kissingate	Chennai IPA	5%	"Notes of sweet oranges, grapefruit, lemons, resin, pine with a floor roasted malt backbone to carry a lasting bitter sweet finish."	Like alcoholic orange squash - hideous - two mouthfuls and it went the same way as the Craft Lager....
Mallinsons	Cascade Waimea	4%	"One of our dual hopped ales, using Cascade for bittering and Waimea hops for aroma. This is a pale gold beer with a floral fruity hop aroma. The taste is bitter and tart with an intense dry bitter finish."	Huge bitter notes - almost made you want to have a drink of water after - very nice...

...and that was it - wended my way home for a snooze on the sofa...