Victoria Hotel Beeston, Winter Beer festival.

Any beer festival at the Victoria hotel is always a great event, but when over 15 ales from local breweries are available it sounds even more appealing.

When it came to picking beers for the evening I stuck to the local offerings.

Leadmill Brewery Pacific Gem (3.9%). The Leadmill brewery started in a converted pig-sty at Selston, but since 2001 it resides in the stable block of Park Hall farm at Denby, Derbyshire. Pacific Gem is a very light golden beer. On the nose it is very hoppy and strong kiwi and citrus flavours can be tasted. It is a very light refreshing beer which also has some complex grassy tones. A nice beer, but a bit more character is needed to make this a top ale. 6.5/10



Leadmill Pacific Gem



Prior’s Well brewery Father Hawkins (4.5%). Prior’s Well brewery was opened in July 2010. It is based in the grounds of the Clumber Park estate near Worksop. Father Hawkins is a dark brown beer with a slight reddish hue. Nutty flavours at the start go to a tobacco finish. It is an amazingly easy drinking beer, but it hasn’t got that much character. A good session best bitter 5.5/10

Maypole brewery Celebration (4%). The Maypole brewery name has been around for 15 years, but it is since 2005 that the brewery has it is operating in its current guise. Maypole is based at Eakring, Notts. Celebration is a golden ale with strong ‘green’ flavours such as celery and vegetable stock. It is a refreshing, palette clearing English golden ale. 5.5/10

Coppice Side Brewery Scary Crow (5%). The Coppice side brewery has only been in operation for a few months from its Heanor site. This golden beer has a sweet start which goes to a well balanced bitterness. There are some lemon tones, but I would want a little bit more hop character. 6/10

October Beer Festival at the Victoria, Beeston.

I went on the first day of the Victoria’s October beer festival to try some of the ales they had to offer. The theme of the festival was CAMRA Champion Beers of Britain (and runners up) plus Local Favourites. In total about 60 different ales would be available over the weekend.

After a brisk walk to Victoria I was after something refreshing to start me off.

Kelham Island Brewery Pale Rider (5.2%). This infamous Sheffield beer was an obvious starting point for me. My history with this ale goes back many years and was my drink of choice in my days based in the city of Steel. This batch of Pale Rider is quite different from what I would normally expect. It has a nice floral nose, but it has a heavy malty finish. Flavours of caramel can be tasted, but it is lacking bitterness at the end. It is also missing the citrus flavours normally associated with Pale Rider. This is a very full bodied malty version of Pale Rider lacking in bitterness, and it is much poorer than I would expect. 6.5/10

York Brewery Yorkshire Terrier (4.2%). Dark Amber beer with a very unusual nose – cream like tones. It has a malty flavour but is lacking in hops and character. 5/10

Castle Rock Meadow Brown (4.8%). Light Brown ale with a coffee nose. For an ale of this colour, it has the strongest flavour of coffee I have ever come across. It is very smooth drinking, but too much coffee dominated for me. 6/10

Dark Star American Pale Ale (4.7%). Golden beer with a thin head. Very very hoppy with slightly floral and grassy flavours. 6.5/10

Oakham Attila (7.5%). Golden beer with a slightly floral nose. Very sweet flavours which make this beer too rich and sickly. Extra sugar must be added, making it too sweet. 4/10

Amber Ales Chocolate Orange Stout (4.0%).  A very black ale. The first half of the flavour is orange fruit (a bit like Terry’s Chocolate Orange) that then goes to chestnut and coffee flavours. It is quite hard to drink a pint of it. 6/10

A few quiet ales in the Victoria, Beeston.

Having a bit of spare time on my hands, I wanted to do a bit of reading, so the taproom of the Vic seemed a good place.  It was a quiet night in the Vic taproom with only about 10 other people in there. The other patrons had a similar idea as me, with quite a few there only in the company of some reading material.

Drink 1. Half pint Caythorpe One Swallow (3.6%). The Caythorpe brewery is based locally behind the Black Horse Inn at Caythorpe, so it seemed a sensible first drink. One Swallow is Amber in colour and has a very thin fine head. The nose is malty and hoppy and is promising indeed. It has a nice malty palette which has a good clearing bitter finish. It is not the most complex ale, but it has good grassy flavours.  6/10

Drink 2. Half pint Ufford Golden Drop (4.3%). The Ufford brewery is based near Stamford and has been in operation since 2005. Golden drop, naturally, is golden in colour and had a thick creamy head. It has a light citrus nose, but it is quite a dry ale and I found it lacking in character. 4/10

Drink 3. Half pint of Durham Magus (3.8%). The Durham brewery was launched in 1994 at the Durham beer festival. Magus is their best selling beer and is a pale a beer as you are likely to find. IT has a citrus nose and a creamy head. It is easy drinking, well balanced and tasty. A good quaffing beer. 6/10

Drink 4. Half pint of Castle Rock Harvest Pale (3.8%). If you are from Nottingham, or appreciate ale, then you will know about Harvest Pale. Today I was disappointed with the Harvest Pale. How it was drinking was a clear example of how batches of ale can vary. It was clean drinking but it was not as zesty as I would normally expect and had a bit more bitterness. Slight floral and cardboard tones could be tasted.  5.5/10

A trip to two ale houses in Beeston, 30th September 2010.

It is another walk from the University Park into Beeston, but this time with the spectator and another acquaintance in tow. Bellies are rumbling, and the perfect antidote is a combination of dinner and a beer at the Victoria. In the Vic we are claim our seats before ordering refreshments. To me the Blue Monkey Amarillo leaps of the blackboard into a handle glass.

Drink 1. A pint of Blue Monkey Amarillo (3.9%). Amarillo is an orangey gold beer with a thin head. The nose is sweet with honey accents. It is easy drinking but has a great balanced bitterness to it. The Amarillo hops give a nice citrus and floral flavours. A another great beer from a great brewery 8/10.



Blue Monkey Amarillo

Following our refreshments at the Victoria, it is the short 5 minute dash to the Crown Inn. The Crown is a lovely pub that was recently refurbished. The interior is of a very ‘traditional pub’ style. A great selection of beers are on offer, normally at least 12.We approach the hatch at the side of the main bar and after tasting about half the ales available we take our chosen drinks into the parlour.

Drink 2. A pint of Peakstones Crown ING glory (4.2%). It is a red brown colour with a thick head. The nose is toffee and upon tasting coffee and roasted malt flavours come through. 5.5/10

Drink 3. A pint of Leatherbritches CAD (4%).The Leatherbritches brewery has been going since 1993 and is based in Ashbourne at the back of the Bentley Brook Inn. This is a bargain ‘house beer’ at £2 a pint. The beer is dark brown with a thin head. It is a tasty bitter with smoky tobacco flavours as well as hints of raisins. 6.5/10.



Leatherbritches CAD



A trip to the Victoria Hotel in Beeston

Victoria Hotel Beeston 26^th Sept 2010.

7.30pm on a Sunday evening the 2 mile walk in a South-West direction starts from University Park. It is is a well trodden path which helps build up an anticipation and appetite for what awaits. As I walk into Dovecote lane I see the Victoria at the end of the road and a train pull into Beeston station next to it. The Vic is traditional 19^th century station hotel opposite the old Beeston brewery. On entry to the Vic I take a right turn into the cosy taproom. The interior obviously has a ‘classic pub’ feel to it, but the walls are covered with ancient brewery paraphernalia.

                Next to the bar is the list of drinks available, which includes 13 real ales – decisions, decisions. In the end it is quite an easy decision for the first drink, as I am a big fan of the Blue Monkey brewery from nearby Ilkeston.

Drink 1. A half pint of Blue Monkey 3.6% Original. Blue Monkey started brewing in 2008 and I have always been a fan of everything they have produced. This combined with the relatively local nature of the brewery meant a half of Original was an obvious starting point for the night. Colour-wise Original has a dark amber or aged-oak look to it. It is wonderful session ale, with warming malts along chestnut tones balanced beautifully with a slight hint of citrus. It has a great length which leaves you wanting another sip immediately. Hop-wise it contains Pilgrim and Styrian Goldings.  It is an extremely satisfying drink for any occasion. A finer bitter as you will ever find. 9/10.

Drink 2. A half pint of Nottingham Rock bitter (3.8%). Wanting to keep to local breweries it was to the Nottingham brewery which is based in Radford at the back of the Plough Inn. Rock Bitter is a different beast than what most first time drinkers would expect from a bitter. Rock bitter was first brewed in the 19^th century as an easy drinking ale for Nottingham factory workers. It is a light gold in colour and was a forerunner to an IPA (Indian Pale Ale) style of beer. Upon tasting the Rock Bitter is drier or greener and more bitter than the Blue Monkey Original. It has very little nose at it is first served. It is very drinkable, but doesn’t have the cosy nature that would want to make you drink it on a winter’s day sat by a roaring fire with a steak pie – what a good bitter should do. Flavour-wise, you get hints of caramel and floral notes. It is a solid easy drinking beer, but I feel it lacks character. One point to note that as the drink warmed up it improved remarkably. I feel it was served at too low a temperature. As it warmed a sweeter nose came to the fore which made it a far more enjoyable drink. 6/10.

Drink 3. A half pint of Oldershaws Regal Blonde (4.4%). The Oldershaws brewery is Grantham based  and has been running for nearly 15 years now. Regal Blonde is very light in colour with a hint of a floral nose. It is brewed with Czech German hops to make a larger style of beer. I very much liked the beer when first tasted, but was left slightly disappointed as I would have hoped for some hop excitement at the end. It is an uncomplicated larger style beer, which would be a great introduction into real ale. 5.5/10.

Drink 4. A half pint of Hopback GFB (3.5%). The Hopback breweries history goes back to 1986. I normally associate drinking beer from Hopback with my trips to the New Forrest normally within a few miles of their Downton brewery. GFB stands for Gilbert's First Brew and was first made in 1996. GFB is a very golden beer. It is blonde but with bitterness. It has that very distinctive Hopback character, which I associate with a dry finish to their beers. In GFB’s case, it comes from the use of Kent Goldings hops. The beer has an unusual slightly smoky character to it. 5/10.





Fullers ESB



Drink 5. A half pint of Fullers ESB (5.5%). ESB is a dark amber colour and has a fruity nose; most notable on the nose is prunes. On the palette dates and prunes continue with tastes of bonfire toffee to make a wonderfully complex warming bitter with hints of sweetness. The length to the beer is fabulous. It is no surprise that ESB was originally brewed in 1971 as a winter brew. At 5.5% it is not a session beer, but it is very drinkable and something that you will stick to once you have started drinking it. It also strikes me as a beer that would be wonderful to cook with, for example a rich stew.  It is a lovely unusual dark beer which has a Christmas or wintery nature to it. 8/10.