Yapton Beer Festival (2013)

I've been attending beer festivals and pubs to try different beers for more years than I care to remember, so I thought it might be time to start writing them down before I forget them...😀

In this case a superb sunny Saturday lunchtime at our yearly jaunt to Yapton (see above) in sunny West Sussex resulted in the following....  before anyone says anything - the standard measure is a half pint! 

Brewery	Beer	ABV	Notes (from brewery website)	What I can remember...
Brodies	Citra	3.10%	"Hop monster"	1st beer of the day..
Brodies	Kiwi	3.80%	Galaxy Hops from Australia, blended with NZ Nelson and Motueka provide an extreme passion fruit aroma. One of the hoppiest we've ever made.	2nd - Brodies confirmed as a brewer to watch in future.... both of these were superb...
Sawbridgeworth	Selhurst Park Flyer	3.80%	Very hoppy session beer	3rd - first disappointment of the day - insipid.... threw half away
Sawbridgeworth	Is It Yourself	4.20%	Coloured bitter has a delightful floral aroma with an easy drinking citrusy bitterness	4th - second disappointment of the day - threw most of this one as well - I always give a brewery an even chance but in this case the brewery will be avoided in future.....
Hackney	American Pale	4.50%	a rich malt base giving it a warm amber colour and a delicious body of flavour. It is brewed with high quality American aroma hops that make it refreshing and hoppy.	5th - significantly better offering, but in the view of those who tried it with me, this may have been in comparison with the two previous offerings!
Dark Star	APA	4.70%	The yeast strain used for the brewing of this American style pale ale is specially imported from the USA, along with Cascade, Centennial and Chinook hops. The low colour Maris Otter malt provides a perfect light colour and dryness to complement the crisp taste and full aroma of the hops. SERIOUSLY FULL OF HOPS	6th & also 10th - safe ground Dark Star are one of my premier league brewers - had this before and again it didn't disappoint - massive hop flavours, floral/citrus, with plenty of bitterness
Highland	Orkney IPA	4.80%	A modern IPA, not overly bitter but still nicely ‘hoppy’ and at 4.8%, just about a session IPA for a sensible night’s drinking. The hop profile is nothing short of stunning.	7th - average......
Redemption	Big Chief	5.50%	Big hoppy IPA style beer, packed full of Kiwi hops with hints of honey and nectar and plenty of tropical citrus and floral notes. SIBA regional ‘Overall Champion Beer’ 2012.	8th - very nice finisher
Reserve options in the event any of the above were not available
Brodies	Old Street Pale	5.00%	showboat American Pale Ale.	11th - had to try given the huge success of the first two brews - and this didn't disappoint either - lots of hops/bitterness and flavour - darker beer....
Five Towns	Niamh’s Nemesis	5.70%	a full bodied IPA with hints of grapefruit before a dry finish	9th - superb - should have been a first choice ale - one of our selections for beer of festival...