Nottingham Beer Festival day 2

Thinking it would be very busy at the beer festival tonight, we decided to go early to ensure we could try some of the ales on our wish list. It was 4.30pm when we arrived and it was busy! By 6.30pm it was extremely busy with everyone packed together like sardines. Of the two days I preferred the Thursday as it was less hectic.

Here are some of the beers I tried:

Fyfe Nagnum IPA (4.5%). This Scottish IPA had a pretty poor nose of sweaty socks and the taste was no better as although it was quite malty it was bland and dull. 3/10

Blue Monkey Infinity (4.6%). So it was then that I went to one of my favourite breweries. Infinity is a very light golden beer.  It has a floral nose and lovely citrusy flavours, which combine with a nice bitterness to make this a great easy drinking ale. 7.5/10

Blue Monkey Evolution (4.3%). Evolution is darker than Infinity and has a subtle nose to it with hints of grapefruit. It is more malty compared to Infinity and has a lovely complex flavour with great length. Slight caramel and violet flavours make this a perfectly rounded ale. 9/10

Blue Monkey Infinity (Left) and Evolution (Right)



Poachers Lincoln Best (4.2%). This is a dark brown bitter with lots of roasted malt and coffee flavours. It is easy drinking and would be nice on a winters day. 6/10

Allgates Motueka Gold (4.2%). Light golden colour with a thin head. The New Zealand hops used make this a really refreshing beer with citrus and floral flavours and a nice bitterness. 7.5/10

Vale VPA (Vale Pale Ale) (4.2%). A well balanced golden beer with a citrus nose, good body and nice bitterness to it. 7.5/10

Strathaven Aleberry (4.6%). This Scottish beer is infused with damsons and you can really tell as it has a very fruity taste. It is easy drinking, but it is a bit too dominated by the fruit. 5.5/10

Backyard Brewhouse Nipin (4.6%). Light golden American style pale ale. It has a slight citrus nose and almost vegetable flavours. Initially it seems a sweet beer, but it is bitter at the finish. 5.5/10

Botley Gringo’s Gold (4.5%). Light golden beer with a thin frothy head. It has a sweet nose with flavours of nectarine. It is very easy drinking due to the sweetness, but it is not complex enough. 5.5/10

Hogswood Broken Piston (4.2%). A nice brown beer with sweet coffee flavours. It is easy drinking and settles nicely in the stomach. 6.5/10

Loddon Ferrymans Gold (4.4%).This amber beer has a floral nose/taste and a good length. 6.5/10

Great Oakley Tailshaker (5%). Another amber ale with a frothy head. It has nice malty and floral flavours and is very smooth to drink. 7/10

Green Mill Zenith (4.5%). Golden ale with a complex nose and hoppy citrus taste. It is a well balanced drinkable ale with good length. 7/10

Blue Monkey 99 Red Baboons (4.2%). This very dark beer has a slightly sweet nose and raisin like flavour. An unusual and really tasty beer. 8/10

Once again the beers had been superb. The highlights had to be the fantastic beers from Blue Monkey. Well done to them.

Nottingham beer festival day 1.

I printed out the beer list for this fabulous event a week before it opened. The list is impressive with over 800 different ales. Leading up to the festival I highlighted a few ales that I wanted to try.

I walked from my office with a colleague in tow to the city centre arriving at about 6.45pm. The beer festival is in the grounds of Nottingham Castle right in the city centre. This excellent location is one reason for the beer festivals success over the last few years. A wide range of people come to the beer festival but it seems to do very well with students and young people due to the approachability of the location. Upon arrival we got our tankards and entered the marquees. It was already very busy. Even by this time one or two barrels of ale had already sold out!

I did pretty well being disciplined enough to stick to my predetermined list. Here are the beers I tried:

Buxton Moor Top (3.6%). A light blonde beer with a thin head. It has a citrus nose coming from American hops and grapefruit taste to it with a good bitterness. 6/10

Bristol Beer Factory Acer (3.8%). An amber beer with a creamy head and a fruity nose. There is a good flavour of sweet malt and kiwi, which make this a smashing ale. A very well balanced beer – 7/10

Alcazar New Dawn (4.5%). A golden pale ale with a frothy head. On the nose there is sweaty socks. It has a complex flavour involving leather and green vegetables like asparagus. 6/10

Isle of Sky Fruit Beer (Rowan berry) (4.5%). Amber beer with an incredibly fruity nose of red berries. It has a good bitterness/dryness to it with fantastic flavours that remind me of picking raspberries. It is a lovely complex, well rounded beer with good length. 7.5/10

Isle of Sky Fruit Beer (Rowan berries)

Shotover Prospect (3.7%). Light brown bitter with a thin coarse head. Even though this beer has plenty of hops I found it very dull and disappointing. 2.5/10

Steel City Masters of the Spooniverse (4.2%). A light golden beer with a fruity nose. A tasty beer with grapefruit, good malt and a nice dryness. 7/10

White Rose Get that Focke Down (3.5%). Very light gold colour with a thin head. Lovely citrusy nose, light fruity body but nice complexity. A great session beer 7/10

Brewdog Edge (3.2%). This is a mild but with a lot more hops than you would normally find. It is of couarse a dark beer with a frothy head. It has an interesting nose that gets you excited, but I did not like the flavour. It is far more bitter than a normal mild. It has a bitter coffe flavour which I found dull, unexciting and to be a mono-flavour beer. 3/10

Saltaire Cascade (4.8%). This is an American style pale ale with a big bubbly head. It has a fruity (apricot), floral aroma and a sweet body which makes it easy drinking. It has a very good bitterness to the finish which makes it a flavoursome well balanced beer. 7/10

Two Towers BSA (5.4%). A strong amber ale with a thin head. It has a malty nose and is a good example of a classic strong bitter. It is a tasty ale, which is surprisingly easy drinking. 6.5/10   

Castle Rock Alan Sillitoe (4.2%).Light golden ale with a hoppy citrusy nose and grapefruit flavour. Clean and tasty beer 7/10.

So summing up the first day of the beer festival, it was a great crack with plenty of tasty beers. Beers from Sheffield were excellent, but my highlight was the Rowan berry ale from the Isle of Sky. I look forward to the next instalment…