| Brewery |
Beer |
ABV |
Notes |
| Abbey Ales (Bath,Somerset) |
Bellringer |
4.2% |
Light-bodied, clean tasting and refreshingly dry. Voted ‘Beer of the Festival’ here in 1999. A fine beer from “Bath's only Brewery.” |
| Anglo Dutch (Dewsbury, Yorkshire) |
Imperial Pint |
4% |
Claimed to be the most traditionally English in style of the beers from Nederlander Paul Klos. What have his others got in them? Tulips?” |
| Arran (Brodick, Isle of Arran) |
Sunset
|
4.4% |
The brewery tells us that their newest beer is “a mid-amber summer ale, (with a) light perfumed fruit hop aroma, good balance of malt, fruit and hops, with a pleasant dry lingering finish.” |
| Bath Ales (Bristol) |
Gem |
4.85% |
Medium-bodied and lives up to its name. |
| Blind Man's (Frome, Somerset) |
Mine Beer |
4.2% |
David Capps-Tunwell left the navy and started a brewery turning out excellent beers from the start. It’s not supposed to be that easy. He tells us the beer is Copper coloured with a hay aroma. |
| Bullmastiff (Cardiff) |
Legless XI |
11% - honest! |
Treat this Welshman with respect. |
| Butts (Great Shefford, Berkshire) |
Barbus Barbus |
4.6% |
Can’t find any comprehensible notes on this. Suffice it to say it’s a corker. Barbus barbus is the scientific name for the barbel - a fish! |
| City of Cambridge (Cambridge!) |
Rutherford's IPA |
3.8% |
Fresh and amber-coloured, this beer is made from a blend of two yeasts. Which might be why they named it after the bloke who discovered the structure of the atom. Think he also played Miss Marple. |
| Cannon Royal (Ombersley, Worcesteshire) |
King's Shilling |
3.8% |
Citrus flavours are prominent in this session bitter. |
| Cheriton (Cheriton, Hampshire) |
Village Elder |
3.8% |
A pale, refreshing, beer flavoured with elder flowers. Defending Devizes champion. |
| Church End (Shustoke, Warwickshire) |
Pooh Beer |
4.3% |
The honey in this popular beer is from a beekeeper whose apiary is just up the road from the brewery in Ridge Lane. Makes all the difference. |
| Copper Dragon (Skipton, Yorkshire) |
Dark Ale |
3.5% |
A luscious dark ale from a new Yorkshire brewery. |
| Cwmbran (Upper Cwmbran, Gwent) |
Four Seasons |
4.8% |
The lighter stablemate to last year’s ‘Full Malty’. |
| Dark Star (Brighton, West Sussex) |
Hophead |
3.8% |
This brewery swept the board at the recent SIBA beer festival. The beer is light, hoppy & refreshing. And lovely. |
| Dark Star (Brighton, West Sussex) |
Meltdown |
4.8% |
A tip-top ginger beer. |
| Donoghue (Grainthorpe, Lincolnshire) |
Fiddler's Elbow |
3.7% |
A very light hoppy beer in which the aroma and flavour of Goldings hops predominates. |
| Dwan (Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland) |
Super Cool Amber |
5.7% |
Cask-conditioned Lager. |
| Enville (Stourbridge, West Midlands) |
Czechmate Saaz |
4.2% |
The 2001 Devizes champion is brewed with the single variety Saaz hop. It’s light and fruity with a dryness which confirms it as a classic Czechoslovakian-style beer. If you’re normally a lager drinker, try this. |
| Freeminer (Coleford, Gloucestershire) |
Speculation |
4.8% |
An aromatic ale that you may be familiar with in bottled form. |
| Glastonbury (Somerton, Somerset) |
Golden Chalice |
4.6% |
Guaranteed to contain no muddy hippies. |
| Grand Union (Hayes, Middlesex) |
Pilsner or Stout |
5.2% |
If it’s half as good as their Stout then it’ll be one of the best things to come out of Hayes since Sir Les Ferdinand.
(Note the canal connection for the UK's only Beer Festival held on a canal wharf!) |
| Heather Ales (Strathaven, Lanarkshire) |
Strange Brew |
4.2% |
Cloudy but not wheat, this was an accident whereby someone forgot to pitch the yeast and it picked up a wild yeast and fermented out in true Belgian Lambic style. So, consider yourself a guinea pig. |
| Hobden's Wessex (Longbridge Deverill, Wiltshire) |
Choc Nob Hob Gob Rob |
4.4% |
Brewed as the 4,000th beer for the Hobgoblin in Reading. |
| Hop Back (Downton, Wiltshire) |
Halcyon Daze |
4.3% |
The July offering from a brewery who, if rumours are to believed, could become more familiar to the people of Devizes. It’s a golden ale with a soft, malty palate, complimented by a summery bouquet. |
| Houston (Houston, Renfrewshire) |
Helga's Big Jugs |
5% |
Helga is a Strong, Buxom Blonde German styled Bier. German Hallertau Hersbruker hops are used with Lager malt to produce a zesty, refreshing, full bodied ale. Go and get your hands on Helga's Big Jugs cause it's "Pure dead brilliant". Now, before you lynch us for dubious sexual politics, those word come from Caroline at the brewery. |
| Iceni (Ickburgh, Norfolk) |
Raspberry Wheat |
5% |
Not much to add to that, really. |
| Iceni (Ickburgh, Norfolk) |
Lad Lager |
5% |
I’m told that there’s an interesting story behind this beer. I’m just not told what it is. |
| Isle of Skye (Uig, Isle of Skye) |
Misty Isle |
5% |
Misty Isle appears to be nickname for the island. At time of writing, here endeth our knowledge of the beer. |
| Kelham Island (Sheffield, S. Yorkshire) |
Pale Rider |
5.2% |
Full bodied straw pale ale. And of course he's a ghost! |
| Khean (Congleton, Cheshire) |
Fine Leg |
4.2% |
The brewery opened this time last year and has a bit of an obsession with cricket. |
| Leek (Leek, Staffordshire) |
Staffordshire Gold |
4% |
The Chairman wrote something clever about beers from Cheshire, completely forgetting that Leek is well over the border in Staffordshire! |
| Maypole (Newark, Nottinghamshire) |
Mad Mild |
4.9% |
Strong and full bodied. Just like most of the bar staff. |
| Nursery (Keynsham, Somerset) |
Jack Fell Down |
7% |
Your last chance to taste this strong ale. |
| Oakham (Peterborough, Cambridgeshire) |
JHB |
3.8% |
Champion beer of Britain in 2001. A cracking light beer. Grapefruit & kiwi fruit on the palate. A little sweetness followed by a long, dry, aftertaste. |
| Oakleaf (Gosport, Hampshire) |
I Can't Believe it's not Bitter |
4.9% |
A corking lager. |
| Olde Swan (Netherton, West Midlands) |
Bumblehole |
5.2% |
Strong ale from the old “Ma Pardoe’s" brew house. Since you ask, I’m reliably informed that the Bumblehole Branch is a short branch (about 100 yards) of the Dudley No 2 Canal, over the canal from Cobb's Engine House at Windmill End. Cheers, Dave. - It's that canal connection again! |
| Organic Brewhouse (Helston, Cornwall) |
Halzephheron Gold |
3.6% |
All we know, is that it’s organic. But you probably guessed that. |
| Orkney (Stromness, Orkney) |
Red MacGregor |
4% |
Devizes Champion in 2000. World Champion in 2002. A powerful smack of fruit and hops is a feature of this complex beer. No canals on Orkney, as far as I know! |
| Portchester (Portchester, Hampshire) |
Chastity |
3.6% |
Can’t find any notes on the beer. Best try it and write your own. |
| RCH (West Hewish, Somerset) |
Old Slug Porter |
4.8% |
Porter was one of the most popular beer styles of the 18th & 19th centuries. Developed in London, it was one of the main influences on the beer that became Guinness. Revived as a style in the 1990s. This is a fine example of the genre with a full-bodied taste of chocolate, coffee, blackcurrant and black cherry. |
| Slater's (Eccleshall, Staffordshire) |
Slater's Bitter |
3.8% |
A decent session bitter. |
| Stonehenge (Netheravon, Wiltshire) |
Great Dane |
4.6% |
A cask conditioned lager brewed in Netheravon by a Dane. Have a glass of this to celebrate the fact that Stig took over what was Bunce’s 10 years ago last Tuesday. |
| Suthwyk (Southwick, Hampshire) |
Skew |
4.6% |
The brewery is certainly hedging its bets when they say “It appeals to young and old, men or women alike and can be enjoyed throughout the year”. |
| Triple FFF (Alton, Hampshire) |
Alton's Pride |
3.8% |
The only beer with a dull name (cf “Apache Rose Peacock”, “Dazed & Confused”, “Pressed Rat & Warthog”) from this excellent brewery. Must be something in the Hampshire water because, like Cheriton, they’re winning loads of awards. |
| Wadworth (Devizes, Wiltshire) |
Festival Special |
4% - tbc |
For the second year running, Trevor Holmes is doing us - us, mind you – no-one else, a special. At time of writing, the beer wasn’t ready so we’ve got no tasting notes. Sources close to the brewery tell us that we might expect something that is a bit reminiscent of JCB but with more than a hint of the essence of IPA. It will be dry-hopped with Styrian Goldings. |
| Wadworth (Devizes, Wiltshire) |
JCB |
4.7% |
"Late summer hops juggle with the scent of hazelnut and a breath of fresh tropical fruit to make the mouth water." Says the official version. Yum-yum, say we. |
| Warcop (Wentloog, Gwent) |
Rockers |
4.8% |
Can we find any notes on this beer? Can we bottoms! |
| West Berks (Yattendon, Berkshire) |
Maggs Magnificent Mild |
3.8% |
A gold medal winner (Mild category) at the 2003 SIBA National Beer Competition. A traditional dark mild introduced in Autumn 1998, not too sweet, and very popular. |
| Whitttington (Newent, Gloucestershire) |
Cat's Whiskers |
4.5% |
A bright medium bodied bitter with a gentle sparkle and a good head that delivers a rich hop flavour to give a refreshing and full character glass of beer. Fancy! |
| Wickwar (Wickwar, Gloucestershire) |
Station Porter |
6.1% |
A smooth, dark ruby brown ale with an aroma of roast malt, coffee and rich fruit. It has a similar, complex and spicy, rich bittersweet taste, and a long, smooth warming roast finish. Twice Silver Winner at CAMRA's Great Winter Beer Festival. |
| Wood's (Craven Arms, Shropshire) |
Wallop |
3.4% |
A light, eminently drinkable pint. An excellent ‘session’ bitter with a good palate. |
| Yates (Ventnor, Isle of Wight) |
Undercliffe Experience |
4.1% |
A strong, traditional dark bitter. Brewed with Goldings and Fuggles hops. |
| York (York, Yorkshire, etc.) |
Centurions Ghost |
5.4% |
A warming, dark bitter ale, with a roasted malt taste. Very easy to drink for its strength. |
