Southampton Beer Festival 2016

Does it get any better....??  Note the theme to this years event which resulted in an excellent glass

I am over late for this so apologies in advance as my memory may be even more impaired than it usually is after a beer festival..

Brewery	Beer (click for more info)	ABV	Notes (from brewery website)	What I can remember...
Irving	Jutland	4.4%	"Jutland (4.4%) Golden Ale with a distinctive floral harvest aroma. The palate has dominant tropical fruit and citrus notes balanced by a light malt character from the pale Marris Otter malt used in the brewing process. The finish has a lasting bitterness complemented with Orange zest flavours from the English Pioneer hops used in the hopback. An ideal summer ale to quaff throughout the balmy evenings".	A commemorative beer brewed for the centenary... darker than I was expecting, and also fruitier than I was expecting..  ho hum...
Woodfordes	Wherry	3.8%	"Fresh and zesty with crisp floral flavours. A background of sweet malt and a hoppy 'grapefruit' bitter finish characterises this champion bitter".	In the grand pantheon of beers 'Wherry' holds a fairly elevated place as one of the classics - when I saw this was on (and it's rarely seen round here) I almost bit their arm off but I have to say it was a poor pint, and I was disappointed....  ho hum again..
Red Cat	Prowler Pale	3.6%	"With a very light straw colour, this is an easy drinking session beer. It is quite fruity, using a range of modern hops to give light citrus notes. Having a clean dry finish this is a refreshing thirst quenching pint which also goes very well with food"	Bit of a tall order after two slightly disappointing ales, but this one definitely didn't... very dry, hoppy, crisp..  nice!
Dark Star	Partridge	4%	"A best Bitter brewed in a traditional Sussex style using Maris Otter, Crystal and Chocolate malts with East Kent Golding hops. Typical of Dark Star ales, the Best Bitter relies on the heavy handed addition of aromatic hops late in the boil".	Dark Star is one of my favourite breweries (they brew two of my top 10) but this isn't one of my favourites of theirs...  bit too dark and earthy for my tastes....
Andwells	Spring Magic	4.4%	"Golden amber beer with a fresh citrus aroma - golden amber beer, with a fresh citrus aroma. A bitter sweet balance of tart orange peel and home made marmalade. "	Described as having a "marmalade" finish and it did, most effective - I did read somewhere that Mandarina hops give the flavour - either way very nice..
Itchen Valley	APA		"American Humulus lupulus of the Cannabaceae clan which is perfect for toe twirling - tea totalling not so much. Pleasure inducing fruity nose and a dry bitter bite"	Hard to find anything on line for this ale which is a shame as it was lovely - I am advised that it is also marketed as BIF (Big in Flavour). Either way - my beer of the festival - this was superb..
Red Cat	Tomcat	4.7%	"Having a rich golden colour, Tomcat is packed with 6 different modern style hops providing a very full fruity hop character with just the right level of bitterness. It’s an American Pale Ale, a beer which has seen great popularity over recent years".	My second favourite beer of the festival (and only by the slightest amount), which given how much I enjoyed the Prowler Pale by the same brewery means I will definitely look out for more from them...
Urban Island	High and Dry	5.5%	"West Coast IPA. Strongly hoppy with refreshing citrus flavours and a bitter finish".	No notes
Dark Star	Revelation	5.7%	"A blend of Warrior, Cascade, Columbus, Crystal and Chinook by the sack full – then dry hopped during conditioning using our ‘Hoptimizer’ (Industrial sized hookah)".	Last beer of the festival and I already know this is superb, so I wanted to try it to see how the BIF and the Tomcat compared...  this is hoppy and therefore bitter to the extreme  lovely but didn't knock my #1 off the top...