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St Albans Beer Festival 2026 (CAMRA Beer Festival)
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Old Cannon - Gunner's Daughter |  | 1 |
| Black Country - Pig on the Wall Mild |  | 1 |
| Byatt's - Smoke on the Porter | | 1 |
| Burton Bridge - Mumford Mild | | 1 |
| XT Brewing - Animal Brewing Mythical Animal: Minotaur | | 1 |
| Big Trip - Mu Mu Land | | 1 |
| Oakham - Omertà Hopped Porter | | 1 |
| Woodshedding - Fresh Mild Beer |  | 1 |
Visits Details
26 Sep 2026 (Hogan Sampling)
Second visit of the outing: The last day of this four-day annual beer and cider festival and positively buzzing. A sizeable queue formed behind me shortly after my arrival just after 2pm. I was lucky with my timing not to have been queuing for long. I met up with some fellow local CAMRA members from south-east London who were seated on the outside terrace upstairs. The place is not disabled-friendly with this late 1960s theatre venue without a lift to its name and one disabled toilet on the ground floor but at least quite logically placed. I had come with a pre-marked list of the ales I wished to supp including bitters, milds, a brown or two, and stouts and porters. About half on my list of some 18 were still on I was pleased to discover. If you find the stairs on the ground floor to their main bar on the stage too much to manage, you can by all accounts ask a CAMRA volunteer to fetch your beer for you. Thanks must go to the volunteers for keeping up with serving the sheer numbers at the festival and it was very young people-dominated on this Saturday visit and so perhaps an increase in CAMRA’s membership was comfortably achieved.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Cannon - Gunner's Daughter | 5.50 | | 1st beer of this festival visit: I was tempted to go to this microbrewery’s own festival the week before in Bury St Edmunds but it co-incided with the Gadds’ Green Hop festival at their taproom just outside Broadstairs and so a pleasure to note Old Cannon was here and in the quantity of two different styles. The Old Cannon Brewery is an independent brewpub located in the heart of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and known for its distinctive offerings, including the signature Extra Special Bitter called the Gunner’s Daughter. It opened in December 1999 on the historic site of the St Edmunds Head pub and brewery set up in 1845. This, the remaining style on from Old Cannon, their strong bitter, served as a welcome start to my afternoon tastings. The Gunner’s Daughter presented herself magnificently, boasting a robust, healthy head and a delightful pattern of lacing that hung on all the way down and served as a good sign of plenty of action to follow in her flavours she exuded. A dry fruity first bite. A moreishly slightly sweet malty bitterness rising from her East Anglian Maris Otter Pale malt as her base, combined with Crystal malt and a touch of Black malt for her dark colouring along with a peek of dark chocolate. A satisfying hoppy fruitiness joining in from her blend of traditional Northdown hops and fruity Nelson Sauvin hops giving rising to gooseberry, elderflower and grape for my taste buddies’ delectation before climaxing with a lingering hoppy aftertaste coupled with a dry bitterness grandly sailing out leaving me utterly quenched and ready for more samplings after my hike back from the neighbouring village of St Michael’s. Served in perfect nick and especially if she had been on for a good few days of this festival. |
| Black Country - Pig on the Wall Mild | 4.30 | | 2nd beer of this festival visit: This ruby-chestnut brown mild came with a handsome head and lasting lacing from brewing set up at the back of The Old Bull’s Head pub in Lower Gornal, Dudley, in West Midlands, when in 1999 the outhouse was opened up to reveal vintage wooden fermenting vessels just waiting to be handled and by 2004 the beer finally started flowing fast and furious on the site with brewing history dating back to 1834 before closing after WWII. A dry bitter first hit. A rush of dark sweet fruits rising from hedgerows and a hint of banana from its light, earthy hops aiding a teasing balance to the sweetness of the grain. Its likely hops are Fuggles behind a slightly woody spice that hugs the dark malts and a light, teasing splash of Goldings to spice things up a bit and aiding a floral caress. A hint of caramel, raisins and toasted brown bread for me from a heavy foundation of regional roasted malts lending this brew roasted cocoa beans, ground coffee and bready flavourings from its thick, sultry body. A dry hoppy bitterness paddling out. Served in very good nick for a beer festival on its last day. |
| Byatt's - Smoke on the Porter | 4.80 | | 3rd beer of this festival visit: Served with very good head and lacing and lasting very well on this deep mahogany-brown bodied porter from a family micro-brewery launched in 2011 in Coventry, in the West Midlands, before expanding in 2016 with a move to a much larger, purpose-built Coventry-based facility at the Lythalls Lane Industrial Estate. A dry bittersweet first hit with a tease of wood smoke giving me a smoky tickle. A bready maltiness rising but not sweet in the least from its regional roasted malts with a special touch of traditionally smoked malts to weave in that ash-kissed flavouring, before pairing it with a handful of playful ripe juicy dark fruits from its English hops to aid my lubrication perfectly, and balancing their friction against the malty roastiness. A lingering dry hoppy bitterness going full steam ahead before the shunt down my chimney. Served in superb nick with lots of lasting mouthfeel. |
| Burton Bridge - Mumford Mild | 4.20 | | 4th beer of this festival visit: Presented with very good head and lasting lacing on this dark mild from brewing set up in 1982 in the rear of the old Fox & Goose pub at 24 Bridge Street, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire. A dry bitter first bite from its UK-grown hops. A malty fruitiness rising from its traditional roasted malts exuding sweet biscuity flavours from its Maris Otter Pale Malt. Its Crystal Malt lending a bit of a sweet, sticky caramel and toffee note and its Chocolate Malt and Roasted Barley giving the beer its mahogany complexion and a hint of dark chocolate and coffee flavouring. A slightly sweetened cherry or two in on the act. A dark hedgerow berry fruity bitterness prevailing aided by its Fuggles behind an earthy and slightly woodsy character, Goldings or East Kent Goldings lending a touch of spice and sweet floral fruitiness, and Challenger or Bramling Cross lending a well-behaved bitterness alongside a hint of dark, jammy fruitiness. A dry bitter wave on the sailing out. Served in very good condition. |
| XT Brewing - Animal Brewing Mythical Animal: Minotaur | 4.30 | | 5th beer of this festival visit: Poured with very good head and lacing lasting all the way on this brown ale from old farm buildings at Notley Farm in Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire, behind the birth of XT Brewing Company in 2011 which launched the Animal Brewing Co badge to push the boundaries with limited, one-off brews. A sweet malty first hit on this chestnut-coloured pour. A lightly fruited bitterness climbing aided by its earthy Fuggles and Goldings hops, the latter behind its touch of spicy fruitiness for my taste buds. A dark fruited maltiness winning over from its traditional British Maris Otter pale malt base, coupled with Crystal and roasted Chocolate malts lending a sweet, roasty and fruity maltiness. A lip-smacking dry fruited bitterness ebbing out. Served in very good order. |
| Big Trip - Mu Mu Land | 4.00 | | 6th beer of this festival visit: Presented with a very impressive head and lasting lacing on this porter from Big Trip Brewing in Poland Street, Ancoats, Manchester and which began in 2022. A dry malty first bite on this brew containing eight malts mixed with Herefordshire hops behind a subtle, smoky complexity and a sweet hit of lactose milk sugar. Its Chocolate and Roasted Coffee Malts lending it a dark complexion with a chocolatey and roasted coffee flavouring. Its sticky, sugary grains, namely Crystal and Toffee Malts, behind a toasted toffee pie and cream-filled profiterole flavouring. A sweetened bitterness rising with hints of caramel, biscuit and toffee but not overly. A dry malty smoky bitterness prevailing before the gliding down my throat with a creamy vanilla milk stout taste about it for me. Served in first-class nick. It gets its name, Mu Mu Land, from the famous refrain from the 1991 electronic/house track, "Justified & Ancient" by the British electronic band, The KLF, featuring American country singer Tammy Wynette. |
| Oakham - Omertà Hopped Porter | 5.00 | | 7th beer of this festival visit: A foamy top to it with lasting lacing all the way on this hopped porter which I have never tried before from Oakham Ales, with its brewing equipment first erected in 1993 actually in Oakham, Rutland. As demand grew bigger and harder to contain, in 1998 Oakham moved into an old labour exchange in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, before in 2006 opening an even larger, purpose-built 75-barrel brewhouse in Woodston, south-west of Peterborough city centre, Cambridgeshire, to keep the liquid pumping. A sweetened bitter first hit. A dry fruited hoppiness rising. A malty fruitiness prevailing from its Hana Heritage Malt lending a smooth, receptive bed for the darker varieties, and Carafa Special 2 and 3 Malts, which are dark, de-husked German varieties, behind its black complexion and used for stripping away any harsh bitterness. The latter was stroking my palate with smoky, roasty and toasty hints for me. Not in the least sweet with a lingering clean bitterness aided by its Bramling Cross Hops lending a fruity, spicy tickle on the front of my mouth before the climax in coaxing out blackcurrant, passionfruit and lemon zest mixed with a touch of earthy spice. Served on top form. |
| Woodshedding - Fresh Mild Beer | 3.30 | | 8th beer of this festival visit: A light ABV one to finish on indeed but alive and kicking with its handsome head and lasting lacing on this Pale Mild Ale from apparatus set up in 2024 in the former Wild Beer Co premises at Lower Westcombe Farm, Evercreech, Shepton Mallet, Somerset. A very dry bitter first bite. A fruited maltiness bursting forth from its Warminster Floor-Malted Heritage Barley, the Plumage Archer Variety, sourced directly from sustainable local farms. This organic, old-school grain lending a rounded toffee maltiness mixed with regenerative agroecological wheat sourced straight from the soil to give the body a slightly rustic texture on the tongue. A hoppy note waving but not in the least tropical with only the British hedgerow varieties rearing up with a tangy citrus, black and red currants and sweet hedgerow berries. For me very much the old fashioned earthy, floral hoppiness getting in on the act which I heartily applaud with sweet berries and toasted toffee to boot. A dry bitterness prevailing and lingering for me. In good nick but slightly thin due to its lower ABV. |
About the St Albans Beer Festival 2026
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 1 |
| 6 |
| 1 |
 | - |
 | - |
The pub is found in St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 3LD.
The 2026 beer festival held in late September in the Alban Arena. Offered hundreds of cask ales, an array of craft beers, international brews, ciders and perries, street food and musical entertainment. This year a range of cask ales from the West Midlands were available.
We have visited this pub once, seen 8 different beers and tried them all.
Postcode: AL1 3LD