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Rare Breeds Beer Festival 2006 (CAMRA Beer Festival)

Beer (sort)Average Score (sort)No. Samples (sort)
Goacher's - 1066 Old AleExceptional2
Oakham - White DwarfExceptional1
Tower - Tower Of StrengthExcellent1
Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Blackthorn AleExcellent1
Rother Valley - BluesExcellent1
Coach House - Innkeepers Special ReserveExcellent1
Goacher's - Best Dark Ale (aka Original)Good1
Fallen Angel - Kama SumatraGood2
Rother Valley - Well SprungGood1
Bushy's - Ruby (1874) MildGood2
Potton - The Village BikeGood1
Eastwood & Sanders - FireballGood1
Bryson's Brews - Shifting SandsGood2
Spectrum - WizzardGood1
Westerham - 200th Brew IPAGood1
Salamander - Golden SalamanderAcceptable2
Copper Dragon - Best BitterAcceptable1
Jarrow - Jobling's Swinging GibbetAcceptable1
Bank Top - Samuel Crompton's AleAcceptable1
Hopdaemon - Festival SpecialAcceptable1
1648 - 3 ThreadsAcceptable2
Wylam - Gilmour's Gold TankardAcceptable1
Frog Island - Croak & StaggerAcceptable1
Hebridean - Clansman AlePoor1
Titanic - They Think It's ............ Ale OverPoor1
Picture 1. Rare Breeds Beer Festival 2006, Woodchurch, Kent

Visits Details

03 Jun 2006 (Ian)
With such a good beer list I had to come back for the second day. I cycled down and got there just after 11 in the morning. Again, I sat in the marquee out of the sun. Morris dancing and bands entertained the sun drenched crowd in the field. Beers were still in great condition.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Rother Valley - Blues5.00ExcellentBlack with lasting dark beige head. Toasty, roasted malt. Bit like a stout. In fact more of a stout than a porter. Bit of sour liquorice. Very nice, roasted malt. Dry stout. Good bite on end. Some roasted toffee. Dry finish. Quite good choc/coffee but mostly choc.
Bushy's - Ruby (1874) Mild3.50GoodExcellent mild. Refreshing, ruby mild, lovely malts and then bit of hop bite on the end. Top notch. Not huge flavours but well balanced and some toffee on the end.
Potton - The Village Bike4.30GoodHazy copper, with lasting beige head. Resiny hop aroma, bit of grapefruit. Smooth in mouth, juicy citrus finish. Yes, could do with another half a day settling, but still a pretty good bitter
Rother Valley - Well Sprung4.30GoodDeep copper/amber colour with bubbly off white head. Malt and earthy hop aroma. Actually quite a good malty best bitter. Bit of yeast. OK best bitter with a bit of roasted malt.
Bryson's Brews - Shifting Sands4.00AcceptableOrange/gold with lasting white head. Citrus and salt aroma with a bit of chlorine. Full and creamy in mouth, peach and citrus fruit finish. Bit of earthiness. Odd aroma, but rest is a good golden bitter
Copper Dragon - Best Bitter3.80AcceptableDeep copper, lasting off white head. Good pear drop hop aroma, soft in mouth, bit of toffee, and then good citrus hop finish. Really quite soft and extremely drinkable session bitter. Yeah hop finish is pretty good.
1648 - 3 Threads4.30AcceptableVery deep chestnut, thin disappearing off white head. Richish malt and hop aroma. Smooth and malty in mouth, bit of sourness. OK, bit dull.
Jarrow - Jobling's Swinging Gibbet4.10AcceptableCopper, bit of haze. Fruity aroma, pretty standard bitter. Good bitter finish. Bit more fruit and bitter than most.
Wylam - Gilmour's Gold Tankard4.00AcceptableHazy gold with thin white head. Probably not quite ready yet. Citrus hop aroma. Nice. Good hop, good citrus. Yep, golden citrus bitter. Fruit is quite juicy. Fine.
Fallen Angel - Kama Sumatra3.70AcceptableExtremely dark brown with thin beige head. Woody and powdered coffee aroma, bit of velvet texture in mouth, some dark fruits (blackcurrants) and then more powdered coffee. Really interesting. Not lacking on flavour. Powder is a bit nasty.
Hebridean - Clansman Ale3.90PoorCopper with thin off white head. Odd herby aroma and flavour. Bit chemically. Jane had it the previous evening and didn't like it much. Not sure it should be like this. Some hop, bit watery in mouth. Not too good.
Titanic - They Think It's ............ Ale Over4.50PoorSlight hazy copper, lasting beige head. Bit of apple wood. Not sure if this was ready yet. Malty fruit in mouth. IN mfact malt fruit is quite dominant. Can’t get away from that aroma though.
02 Jun 2006 (Ian)
Friday night and thanks to Andrew's parents for giving us a lift down to the Rare Breeds Centre. This was a great night. A very good and widespread beer list entertained those hardy souls who camp out overnight and to those who made it down. We sat in the marquee and had a very good evening. The rustic nature of the festival is great.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale6.70ExceptionalNow this is a proper old ale. Deep ruby with lasting beige head. Toffee and sour liquorice aroma. Intense sourness for a UK beer. Thick and syrupy in mouth. Good hop. Superb balance. Bit too much syrupy toffee, but still gorgeous.
Oakham - White Dwarf4.30ExceptionalPale gold with lasting white head. Cereal flavour in mouth, alpha acids hop finish. Fantastic tangerine and grapefruit flavours. When I came back the next day, the blokes on the same table as me all agreed that this was the best beer they tried at the festival.
Tower - Tower Of Strength7.60ExcellentSummer version at 6.0%. Peachy fruit, reminds me of a Belgian strong gold ale. Good in mouth, nice sweetish bit and then good hops on end. Pear drop fruit. Lovely actually.
Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Blackthorn Ale4.40ExcellentGold with lasting white head. Good hop/malt balanced aroma. Lovely in mouth. Good hop finish, some creaminess. Yet another great Thornbridge beer. The fruit and hop balance is fantastic. Citrus hop. My non Kent beer of the festival.
Spectrum - Wizzard4.90GoodHazy deep copper, lasting beige head. Red and dark fruit aroma. Malty in mouth, bit like malt loaf and then good hop finish. Cherries and raisins and sultanas. Really good beer. Bit of roastedness. Good malty bitter.
Eastwood & Sanders - Fireball4.20GoodCopper colour with lasting off white head. Nice bitter, fullish in mouth, nice citrus hop. Some creaminess. Nice crisp finish. Dry hop which is quite green
Westerham - 200th Brew IPA4.80GoodPale gold, with thin white lasting head. Pear drop hop aroma. Some juicyness in mouth with good hop finish. I like the hops on this. Yep. Not as intense as US IPAs can be, but still good.
Bank Top - Samuel Crompton's Ale4.20AcceptableGold with bubbly white head. Aroma I’m not keen on, some peach fruit. Good im mouth, bit of syrup.
Frog Island - Croak & Stagger5.60AcceptableDeep chestnut with rich fruit aroma. This lasts into the mouth with some choc, some coffee. OK for it’s strength. Good malty fruit of red berry and raisin.
Salamander - Golden Salamander4.50AcceptablePale gold with white head. This is so like Hopdaemon Golden Braid as to be untrue. Its a JHB/Hophead wannabe. Very astringent finish. Bit too much grassy hop one end. Good enough but the hop is a bit unbalanced.
Hopdaemon - Festival Special4.20AcceptableCopper colour with bubbly off white head. Saaz hop aroma is a bit muddled with the usual Hopdaemon flavours. Bit sickly malt in mouth, but quite fruity. Hop finish is pleasant, but this beer is not as good as either base beers by themselves.
02 Jun 2006 (Andrew)
Arived about 6.30 and due to the pleasant weather most people were sitting outside. Got a seat in the marquee and had an excellent evening with Ian and Jane
BeerABVScoreNotes
Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale6.70ExceptionalBig sour and burnt acrid malt flavours dominate. This is kind of beer that rips your heart out and thrusts it back down your throat. Wonderful
Coach House - Innkeepers Special Reserve4.50ExcellentBig smell of cake mix. Dark caramel brown coloured beer with flavours of rich raisen and diluted port. Lovely.
Goacher's - Best Dark Ale (aka Original)4.10GoodLittle bit of malt to start with followed by lots of burnt sugar
Bushy's - Ruby (1874) Mild3.50GoodA ruby mild with a sweet subtle malt underlying a very low level bitterness.
Bryson's Brews - Shifting Sands4.00GoodBig smell of the sea (which Ian said was cleaning fluid but I'm not sure) and then a big smell of dog pee. Tastes of a well rounded summery sryupy citrus hop beer. Pale gold in colour
Fallen Angel - Kama Sumatra3.70GoodStong smell of sour bile (but not unpleasant). Big sour taste with a bit of sweet sherry and separate coffee bite. Some weak chocolate flavours too. I liked this but it was a bit odd
1648 - 3 Threads4.30AcceptableSweet vine tomatoe smell. Lots of burnt sugar and a blunt bitterness with some underlying sour flavours
Salamander - Golden Salamander4.50AcceptableFlowery elderflower hop aroma. Pale gold in colour. Reminisent of Hopdaemon's golden braid when it was first released. Bit unsubtle.

About the Rare Breeds Beer Festival 2006

The pub sign. Rare Breeds Beer Festival 2006, Woodchurch, Kent

Summary of Beer Scores

 Total
Exceptional3
Excellent4
Good10
Acceptable12
Poor2

The pub is found in Woodchurch, Kent, TN26 3RJ.

Annual Ashford, Folkestone and Romney Marsh CAMRA Beer Festival held at the Rare breeds centre on the edge of Romney Marsh. The festival is housed in a small marquee in a field at the centre.

We have visited this pub 3 times, seen 25 different beers and tried them all.

Map location

Postcode: TN26 3RJ