Portsea Island Beer Festival - 2018

It's that time again..  hurrah! 🍻🍻

Our (8th!)  yearly amble to the Groundlings Theatre (venue for the beer festival) coincided  with a bout of fine weather in the UK - not often I get to cycle to the event in weather warm enough for a tshirt and shorts but so it was this year..

Started off with a fine full English breakfast (even the hash browns were nice and I normally avoid them like the plague) in the historical surroundings of the Ship Anson pub on the Hard in Portsmouth..

Interesting history...  been there since the 18th century - the picture dates end of the 19th - this was known as the devils acre back in the day - 50 yards to the left of the picture is the main gates for the dockyard and there were thirteen pubs in a row all vying for the money of any matelot or dockyard worker who needed something to take their mind off, well, anything really ...  the Victoria and Albert is now a newsagents..  the Ship Anson bought the pub next door (right) and knocked into one...  the London Tavern was done for by the Luftwaffe in 1941 and is now the beer garden/patio for the Anson (where I put my bike while having brekkie)..  apocryphal or not - the London Tavern is also where they reckon the term "the King's Shilling" was coined...  the landlady used to slip a shilling into the beer pot and when it was drunk you were said to have taken the shilling and therefore carted off to army or more likely navy (as a youngster I was always fascinated by the fact my Dad had some pewter tankards with glass bottoms - that was why... )  Funny to think I was sat in the window to the right of the door eating sausages  - the things you could have seen through that window if you had a time machine!

Anyway - breakfast consumed it was time for some beer..

Not a bad year this year - ie. better than last but still not outstanding..  the smaller festivals still seem to be struggling to get beer from the majors onto the list..

Bear with me on the following - one of the jolly boys poured a whole half pint over my program by accident so I'm going from memory!

Brewery (clickable)	Beer (click for more info)	ABV	Notes (from brewery website)	What I can remember...
Lincoln Green	Quarterstaff	5%	"Stout of heart and nature. A rich, full bodied stout with flaked barley and generous blackcurrant hop bitterness."	I've had a few beers from this brewery as they are based in Hucknall in Nottingham and having relatives who live there and know I like beer, so they often get me a few bottles from here for Christmas - either way I hadn't realised it was a stout when I first ordered it but it was still one of my favourite beers of the day... delicious
Brunswick	Triple Hop	4%	"A straw coloured ale, and like the name suggests, three hop varieties used in three separate stages. Dry, with a bitter astringency".	Despite the blurb I found this decidely average - maybe I should have had it before the stout?
Kelchner	Black IPA	4.8%	"A black IPA that is brewed with a multitude of hops and sits comfortably on a roasty base of dark malts. Dense citrus, coffee and chocolate notes with a dry and resinous finish make this a dark beer for those who don’t want to leave the hops behind."	Also known as "After Dark" on their web site...  OK - but not as good as the Quarterstaff...
Slaters	Haka	5.2%	"Haka is an award winning New Zealand Pale Ale that is dry hopped for three weeks".	Unexceptional I'm afraid despite the three weeks - though some of the guys particularly liked it...
Triple FFF	Lady Eleanor	4.6%	"Fruity with a robust bitterness"	My beer of the festival - nice enough I had two or three of these - strong taste of fruity bitterness, very drinkable - head and shoulders above everything I had apart from the Quarterstaff - recommended
Urban Island	High and Dry	5.5%	"A juicy and intensely hopped American IPA with an earthy herbal base and citrus finish."	Tasty ale this one from a local brewery, and another of my top three for the day..

Think that was it...