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Rare Breeds Beer Festival 2008 (CAMRA Beer Festival)
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - American Pale Ale (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) |  | 2 |
| Goacher's - Silver Star |  | 2 |
| Blindmans - Icarus |  | 2 |
| Purple Moose - Glaslyn Ale | | 2 |
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | | 1 |
| Great Orme - Celtic Dragon | | 1 |
| Leyden - Crowning Glory | | 1 |
| Westerham - 500th Brew IPA | | 1 |
| Bazens' - Black Pig Mild | | 1 |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - Dr Sunshine's Special Friendly English Wheat Ale | | 1 |
| RCH - Double Header | | 1 |
| Rother Valley - Boadicea Ale | | 1 |
| Rother Valley - Honey Fuzz (superseded by 4.1% version) | | 1 |
| Westerham - Single Hop Bramling Cross | | 1 |
| York (now brewed by and at Black Sheep) - Centennial | | 1 |
| Arran (formerly Isle of Arran) - Dark |  | 1 |
| Cropton (see also Great Yorkshire) - Monkman's Slaughter | | 1 |
| Golcar - Bitter | | 1 |
| Harviestoun - Ptarmigan | | 1 |
| Moles - Tap Bitter | | 1 |
| Three B's - Bobbin's Bitter | | 1 |
Visits Details
07 Jun 2008 (Blair)
Came with the Thanet Camra coach. Really good day. I did feel that the beer list was a little uninspired but there was still enough to not get bored.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | 3.40 | | Really good mild, dark with plenty of oats and malt. |
| Leyden - Crowning Glory | 6.80 | | My beer of the festival. Dark brown/red in colour. Sweet and malty with bit of coffe. Very easy drinking for it's strength. Great stuff. |
| Westerham - 500th Brew IPA | 4.80 | | Really nice IPA. Lots of citrus with a bit of toffee. One of my favourites of the day. |
| RCH - Double Header | 5.30 | | Clear golden yellow beer, a bit of vanilla with plenty of malt. |
| Bazens' - Black Pig Mild | 3.60 | | Pretty good, dark brown with coffee and a little dark fruit. |
| Rother Valley - Boadicea Ale | 4.50 | | Nice best bitter, hoppy with toffee and a little citrus. Not an exciting beer, but does the job. |
| Blindmans - Icarus | 4.50 | | Dark ruby ale with plenty of fruit and nut flavour. I liked this. |
| Purple Moose - Glaslyn Ale | 4.20 | | Golden in colour with a light citrus and hop flavour. |
| Harviestoun - Ptarmigan | 4.50 | | I didn't like this one, very bitter with a little malt and caramel. Not my beer. |
| Arran (formerly Isle of Arran) - Dark | 4.30 | | Being called 'Dark' I was expecting a dark beer. Not particularly exciting, dark chestnut colour with a little caramel and a hint of nuts. |
| Cropton (see also Great Yorkshire) - Monkman's Slaughter | 6.00 | | Very diappointing. Very watery with not a lot of flavour. Dark in colour, with a nice aroma of toffee and fruit. Then you get to the taste and there's nothing there. Shame. |
07 Jun 2008 (Ian)
Got here for opening and was 2nd in the queue. I sat with Phil Lowry, Chris Excell and some of the other local Camra branch. Then Alistair, the Ramsgate bunch and Eddie Gadd turned up. Music was a lot better this year. Great festival and a great day, relaxed with good beer and good people.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - American Pale Ale (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | 4.70 | | I recommended to everyone and everyone liked it. Even non beer drinkers. Just love those American hops. |
| Goacher's - Silver Star | 4.20 | | As good as the previous day and the second best beer of the festival behind the Dark Star APA |
| Great Orme - Celtic Dragon | 4.50 | | Now this was good. Another cracker from Wales. Gold with lasting off white head. Sherberty aroma. Hoppy. The hops are excellent. Little thin in body maybe, but the sherbert hop is lively. |
| Purple Moose - Glaslyn Ale | 4.20 | | I admit that sometimes I take againse Welsh breweries for no good reason (except Otley and Evan Evans), but this has changed my perception. Gold with lasting beige head. Looks in good nick. Decent malt hop yeast balanced aroma. Hop and toffee in mouth. Very good nick. Surprisngly good flavours. Finish has some refreshing acidity. A very pleasant bitter. |
| Blindmans - Icarus | 4.50 | | Russet/dark brown with lasting beige head. Really good malty beer. Dryish malt. Good fruits. Just a bit lacking on finish. Bit nutty, not bad, but as I say, something missing somewhere. |
06 Jun 2008 (Ian)
I got here for opening and sat inside with a couple from Gillingham that I see at some beer festivals. Martin and his father turned up later. All beer in good condition and I had a really good time.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - American Pale Ale (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | 4.70 | | Beer of the festival. I had it 4 times. Just to remind myself of just how good beer can be. |
| Goacher's - Silver Star | 4.20 | | Clear gold, lasting white head. That's excellent. Just great condition, bit creamy and lovely hops. One of the best Goacher's beers. Just lovely. Like Gold Star but as a bitter strength, same flavours, just less alcohol. I had it twice this evening and again on the Saturday. |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - Dr Sunshine's Special Friendly English Wheat Ale | 4.20 | | Never one of my favourite Gadd's beers, but this was particularly good. Gold, lasting off white head. Cracking condition. Nice summer beer, nice hops, some cereal, bit of peach, rose petal. Such great condition and lovely peachy fruit. |
| Rother Valley - Honey Fuzz (superseded by 4.1% version) | 3.80 | | A new beer from Rother Valley. Deep gold with thin beige head. Excellent condition. Honey aroma. Bit earthy in mouth. Excellent hop bite on finish, bit nettley even. Not overly honey flavoured but definitely there and a good satisfying finish. |
| Westerham - Single Hop Bramling Cross | 4.00 | | Copper colour. Bit of a yeasty aroma. Good fruit. Good condition, nice in mouth, good hops, bit of sherbert, bit of farty years. Bramling Cross presence on end is lovely. |
| York (now brewed by and at Black Sheep) - Centennial | 4.00 | | Clear gold, lasting off white head. Nice, bit soapy. But lovely aroma, some fullness in mouth, bit soapy again towards end, but some grapefruit. |
| Three B's - Bobbin's Bitter | 3.80 | | Amber, bubbly off white head. Toffee-ish with a bit of herb. It's ok. Not my favourite, but it's an ok bitter, bit of an odd chemical aroma. |
| Moles - Tap Bitter | 3.50 | | Copper with clear thin beige head. Toasty toffee aroma. It's a reasonably tasty session bitter. Toffee throughout and then a dry finish. Fine. |
| Golcar - Bitter | 3.80 | | Hazy amber, lasting beige head. It's a bitter with some red fruit. It's ok, just fairly standard. |
About the Rare Breeds Beer Festival 2008
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 2 |
| 6 |
| 10 |
| 7 |
 | - |
The pub is found in Woodchurch, Kent, TN26 3RJ.
Sited as usual in a marquee on a field at the Rare Breeds centre near Woodchurch. This is a smallish informal branch beer festival. The cider and perry choice this year was excellent (16 to try) for the size of the event. Well run and well attended.
We have visited this pub 3 times, seen 21 different beers and tried them all.
Postcode: TN26 3RJ