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Kent Beer Festival 2005 (CAMRA Beer Festival)

Beer (sort)Average Score (sort)No. Samples (sort)
Oakham - White DwarfExceptional2
Grand Union - Liberty BlondeExcellent2
Verhaeghe - Echte KriekExcellent1
Castle Rock - Elsie MoExcellent1
Newby Wyke - HMS RevengeExcellent1
Castle Rock - Harvest PaleExcellent1
Rooster's - CreamExcellent1
Harviestoun - Bitter & TwistedGood1
Oakham - JHBGood4
Wem (formerly Hanby) - Rainbow ChaserGood1
Wickwar - Coopers'Good1
Grand Union - One Hop WilliametteGood1
Brouwerij Van Steenberge - Jopen AdriaanGood1
Oakleaf (now see Fallen Acorn entries) - BitterGood1
Newby Wyke - Summer Session BitterGood1
Hopdaemon - BewitchedGood1
Rooster's - SpecialGood1
Grainstore - Rutland PantherGood1
Brouwerij Van Steenberge - Jopen LentebierGood1
Grand Union - GoldGood1
Orkney (Sinclair) - 3 Sisters Scottish Ale (Atlas range)Acceptable1
Goacher's - Real Mild AleAcceptable1
Goacher's - Fine Light AleAcceptable1
Whitstable - East India Pale Ale (or EIPA)Acceptable2
Goacher's - Best Dark Ale (aka Original)Acceptable1
Larkins - TraditionalAcceptable1
Berrow - S'portAcceptable1
Whitstable - Wheat BeerAcceptable1
Brewster's - Belle StarAcceptable1
1648 - OriginalAcceptable2
Whitstable - Oyster StoutAcceptable1
Elgood's - Golden NewtAcceptable1
Sharp's - Doom BarAcceptable1
Ringwood - RazorbackAcceptable1
Nethergate (was Nethergate Growler for a while then name reverted) - AugustinianPoor1
Cropton (see also Great Yorkshire) - King BillyPoor1
Wolf - Granny Wouldn't Like It !!!Poor1
Picture 1. Kent Beer Festival 2005, Canterbury, Kent

Visits Details

23 Jul 2005 (Ian)
Day 3 of the festival and the Saturday lunchtime session. This has now been extended all day until the beer runs out. A lot of the beers had gone on the Friday evening, but there was still enough to keep you interested. Here with Mark, Darren and Brian from Blakes in Dover
BeerABVScoreNotes
Oakham - JHB3.80ExcellentHad a second barrel on so I had to try it didn't I? I love the grapefruit in this.
Grand Union - Liberty Blonde4.20GoodAgain a second barrel of this was on and as I liked it so much the day before, I had it again. Very good, especially the hops
Wem (formerly Hanby) - Rainbow Chaser4.30GoodI had been waiting for this to come on. Dark gold in colour, good hop and malt aromas, Good balance, hoppy finish, sharp pioneer hop aromas
Wickwar - Coopers'3.50GoodDark gold, almost nutty aroma, goodish balance, some lightish white flesh fruit flavours, fruity finish. Good session bitter and tasty for such a light alcohol beer
Newby Wyke - Summer Session Bitter3.80GoodGolden, typical summer citrus hoppy session beer. Extremely drinkable but difficult to differentiate from similar beers
Grand Union - Gold4.20GoodSlightly yeasty aroma, gold beer with some citurs. Hoppy dry finish. Very drinkable and just slightly more individual than the other golden citrus hoppy beers, which is why it gets a better score
Brouwerij Van Steenberge - Jopen Adriaan5.00GoodYet another of the draught beers from the foreign beer bar. Advertised as a wheat beer it is in fact a gruit beer. Golden opaque with bubblegum aroma, some sweetish fruit, then good long finish. Very refreshing
Berrow - S'port4.70AcceptableDark gold, good malts some hop, fine
Elgood's - Golden Newt4.10AcceptableTypical citrus bitter, absolutely fine
Whitstable - Wheat Beer5.20AcceptableOpaque golden wheat beer, has banana fruit and some lemon, fine but needs something else to match its continental cousins
1648 - Original3.90AcceptableDark gold, some goodish citric hop aroma. Not a bad session citric hoppy ale
Ringwood - Razorback3.80AcceptableReddish brown bitter with slightly red fruit aroma and some herby hop with hoppy finish. OK but I was a little disappointed, expected more
Nethergate (was Nethergate Growler for a while then name reverted) - Augustinian4.50PoorMatly beer with petrol/ethanol aroma and fruity malt. Malt flavour with some hop to balance, bit sweet for me
22 Jul 2005 (Andrew)
Friday lunchtime and it was fairly busy but not enough that I couldn't get servered straight away most of the time. Far less young folk in today and far fewer women than last night.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Rooster's - Special3.90GoodHoppy bitter but again slightly too liverly
Goacher's - Fine Light Ale3.70AcceptableGolden yellow beer with bitter hops and a subtle marmarlade finish
Larkins - Traditional3.40AcceptableNormally this has a wonderfull syrup hop tasted to it but today it was just liverly
1648 - Original3.90AcceptableLight grapefruit tasting bitter
Cropton (see also Great Yorkshire) - King Billy3.60PoorCloudy
22 Jul 2005 (Ian)
Day 2 of the festival and the Friday lunchtime session. Oh and it was my birthday. Andrew and I were joined by Martin
BeerABVScoreNotes
Oakham - White Dwarf4.30ExceptionalWhilst the JHB went off the boil, this was still a cracking pint
Castle Rock - Harvest Pale3.80ExcellentAndrew, Martin and I all agreed that this was very good indeed. Pale gold, american hop nose, good citric flavour, tasty session beer.
Newby Wyke - HMS Revenge4.20ExcellentDark gold, smell of cascade hops, rich citric hoppy flavour with some raspberry, hoppy dry finish, the kind of beer I like
Hopdaemon - Bewitched3.70GoodI make no apology for liking ginger flavoured beers, cos I do. This one was amber, smell of ginger nut biscuits, good stem ginger flavour in mouth with some dry hop finish. Nice
Brouwerij Van Steenberge - Jopen Lentebier5.00GoodGood cloudy gold lemony, creamy wheat beer. Very cold and refreshing with nice hoppy acid lemon finish. Nice for a change
Grand Union - One Hop Williamette4.50GoodAnother in a line of what I think is a good idea. It gives you a good impression of what the single varietal hop tastes like. This was gold in colour with blackcurrant and hop nose, sweetish in mouth with lime citrus on end. Good beer
Oakham - JHB3.80AcceptableNot as good as the previous evening by a long chalk
Orkney (Sinclair) - 3 Sisters Scottish Ale (Atlas range)4.20AcceptableMahogany in colour, fruity malt aroma of dark fruits, caramel malts but sharp hop flavour on end throws this beer completely out of balance
Sharp's - Doom Bar4.00AcceptableBit bland, which is a shame as it is normally a great favourite of mine
Wolf - Granny Wouldn't Like It !!!4.80PoorBeen waiting to have this for ages cos I think it has the best name of any beer in England. Disappointed though. Ruby colour malty fruity nose, alcohol sweet taste, bit odd
21 Jul 2005 (Andrew)
Thursday night and it was busy where we were sitting but not too bad at the bar (which is the important area obviously). Lots of young folk in, especially girls, which is a bit of a novelty.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Oakleaf (now see Fallen Acorn entries) - Bitter3.80GoodIntensly hoppy with some lemon and grapefruit flavours
Grainstore - Rutland Panther3.40GoodA dark mild like beer with a sweet roasted bitter taste to it
Harviestoun - Bitter & Twisted3.80GoodOne of my favourite beers but just too lively on this occasion. Very bitter and grapefruity in taste.
Goacher's - Real Mild Ale3.40AcceptableGiven that this is my favourite beer of all time I was disappointed with its liveliness
Goacher's - Best Dark Ale (aka Original)4.10AcceptableBadged as Goachers Dark but I think there are the same thing. Anyway it was too lively which was a shame.
Oakham - JHB3.80AcceptableA bit yeasty with some citrus hops in the taste.
Whitstable - East India Pale Ale (or EIPA)4.10AcceptableHad a grass like smell to it with an orange/marmalade taste and some hops.
Brewster's - Belle Star4.80AcceptableA copper brown beer with initial citrus hops followed by a creamy malt finish.
21 Jul 2005 (Ian)
Thursday night and the first of my 3 sessions at the Kent beer festival. Located in a cow shed on Merton Farm on the outskirts of the city. Around 70 beers on with a good showing from Kent as well as a Wicked Woman bar, cider and perry and a foreign beer bar.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Oakham - JHB3.80ExceptionalPale gold, grapefruit nose with creamy feel in mouth and good citric hop finish. The one all the others try to emulate
Oakham - White Dwarf4.30ExceptionalFound it hard to say which is better, JHB or this. Lemon nose very tangy in mouth good acids. Excellent long dry lemony finish
Grand Union - Liberty Blonde4.20ExceptionalGolden beer. Aroma of liberty hops, good beer, really like the citric hops, good balance, good in mouth
Castle Rock - Elsie Mo4.70ExcellentRich raspberry aroma, golden beer, bit herby, good mild citric finish. Very nice indeed as all Castle Rock beers are
Rooster's - Cream4.70ExcellentGolden with good green hop aroma. Typical Roosters richness in mouth. Very nice if a bit sickly
Verhaeghe - Echte Kriek6.80ExcellentCloudy pink/cherry colour. A whiff of cherry (a bit like the Liefmans Kriek) good sourness, cherries don't overpower it, but not as malty as say Kriek Fantastyck. Still an excellent kriek. Very sour
Whitstable - East India Pale Ale (or EIPA)4.10AcceptableNot as it should be, flavours were very dull
Whitstable - Oyster Stout4.50AcceptableSmell of molasses, flavour is dry with good mouth feel, finish is dry, just not quite there as a beer. Chewy coffee flavoured malts in this black stout

About the Kent Beer Festival 2005

The pub sign. Kent Beer Festival 2005, Canterbury, Kent

Summary of Beer Scores

 Total
Exceptional4
Excellent6
Good13
Acceptable18
Poor3

The pub is found in Canterbury, Kent, CT4 7BA.

The annual Kent CAMRA beer festival held in a large cow shed just outside of Canterbury. Great!

We have visited this pub 5 times, seen 37 different beers and tried them all.

Map location

Postcode: CT4 7BA