Yapton Beer Festival 2017

Yapton again, err again... another year has passed! Yapton worked it's usual magic and the sun shone, bullshit was quoth, and we all got sun burnt and enjoyed some decent (not outstanding) ales... it doesn't get any better despite a poor turnout from the jolly boys (holidays, charity walks, plays etc) with only four of us this year...

As ever most beers were surprisingly cheap - I think we were paying £1.50/ £1.60 a half (which compares with last year and the year before), but excellent value. Entry to the festival was up a pound to £6 (which gets you an official glass, no official glass = no beer), and that's the secret of this successful festival, and a lesson that a lot of Beer Festivals could do with learning...  people aren't going to come and pay a large entry fee to an event when they are then also being charged the same or more than their local pub... last years experiment of offering beer in a third of a pint at a cheaper rate again was also continued...  this year they continued to move forward with new ideas and offered free containers for takeaway - something I took them up on, and as a result enjoyed a lovely pint of Revelation in the garage that evening! 😀

Long may this little festival continue!

Picture courtesy http://devoursussex.co.uk

So without further ado here's the ales.....  I have to say, although I didn't have a poor beer, the choice was very largely from lesser known breweries this year...  having said that there were some stand-out's and also some disappointments...  on the disappointment side for example, they had beer from Thornbridge (very much tick) but it was 'dark caramel tasting stout with flavours of raspberry' (very much yuck - Steve the Wargamer says "oi, leave the fruit out of the beer")... having gone all that way it would have been nice if they'd bought back a barrel of Jaipur as well...

Brewery	Beer (click for more info)	ABV	Notes (from brewery website)	What I can remember...
Lazy Lizard	APA	4.4%	"A golden ale with floral and citrus notes. This refreshing crisp, zesty, dry pale ale is triple hopped using four varieties of American hops balanced with roasted malts"	A good start from this new and coming Brighton based brewery - very tasty golden ale, with grapefruit Citra bitterness..
Vibrant Forest	Cascade	5%	"This range of beers utilises a single hop to showcase the flavour profile of each flower and the flavours include giant tropical fruits to big and bitter citrus. Hops include Chinook, Centennial, Citra, Summit, Amarillo, Simcoe and Mosaic."	Usually a good choice, and I have to say the first half of the half was lovely, but it soon went "off the boil" and became curiously tasteless...
Brighton Bier	Heydaze	4%	"Our unfined/vegan cask pale ale showcasing Mandarina Bavaria alongside a rotating selection of American hops"	An interesting approach as theoretically the taste will never be the same two times running (depending on which American hops are used), but it's a decent brewery. Good one, but again - not outstanding...
Ballards	Nyewood Gold	5%	"Auburn bronze Premium ale with malty barley sugar and spicy hop aromas and a smooth creamy flavour with soft fruits throughout with a tasty balanced finish. Originally brewed for the Beauty of Hops Competition 1997 to trial Phoenix hops, a new variety developed to be resistant to Wilt, the disease which has decimated English Hop Gardens."	Nyewood Gold is one of the classic ales, and alongside Summer Lightning and Timmy Taylor Landlord kind of started off the fashion for golden bitters so not having seen it for a while on draught I had to try it again..  good strong flavours, no shirking with this one...
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)."	Immense flavour, bitter, tasty, from a premier league brewery (in my opinion) - it was like coming home after hard days work, and I stuck with this for the rest of the afternoon as nothing else took my fancy...  3 halves later and I got another pint to take home....

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