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Nottingham Beer Festival 2007 (CAMRA Beer Festival)
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Oakham - JHB |  | 1 |
| Spectrum - Black Buffle Stout |  | 1 |
| Coastal - Erosion | | 1 |
| Whim - Flower Power | | 1 |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Imperial IPA | | 1 |
| Highgate - Old Ale | | 1 |
| Fernandes - Pickled Pecker | | 1 |
| Great Oakley - Welland Valley Mild | | 1 |
| St Austell - Black Prince |  | 1 |
| Castle Rock - Preservation Fine Ale | | 1 |
| BrewDog - Buzz | | 1 |
| Brewster's - Belle du Jour | | 1 |
| Tunnel - Boston Beer Party | | 1 |
| Whim - Hartington Bitter | | 1 |
| Holden's - Octavia | | 1 |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Alliance | | 1 |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - King Bee | | 1 |
| Downton - Logan's Berry | | 1 |
| Arundel - Black Beastie | | 1 |
| Matthew's - Honey Mine |  | 1 |
| Elmtree - Dark Horse Stout | | 1 |
| Arbor Ales - Old Knobbley | | 1 |
| Nottingham - Sooty Oatmeal Stout | | 1 |
| Whim - Hartington IPA | | 1 |
| Hydes - 1863 Classic Bitter | | 1 |
| Milton - Dreihopfenbockbrau | | 1 |
| Coastal - Pirate Ship | | 1 |
| Mauldons - Octoberfest | | 1 |
| Downton - German Pale Ale | | 1 |
| Nottingham - Jo & Twiggy's | | 1 |
| Rooster's - Right of Leffe | | 1 |
| Alcazar - Jack O'Lantern 3 | | 1 |
| Grafton - Dark Lady | | 1 |
| Tring - Mansion Dark | | 1 |
| Elmtree - Bitter | | 1 |
| Castle Rock - White Admiral | | 1 |
| Atlas Mill - IPA | | 1 |
| Magpie - Thieving Rogue | | 1 |
| Globe - Porter | | 1 |
| Funfair - Showman's Stout | | 1 |
| Bottle Brook - Meandering Mild | | 1 |
| Dent - Rambrau |  | 1 |
| Riverhead - Premium Mild | | 1 |
| Discovery Ales (Hawkhill) - Eureka | | 1 |
Visits Details
20 Oct 2007 (Ian)
Saturday has an early start. Advertised as 10.00, but actually opened around 10.25. Back here with Martin and Simon and then Mes and Sim turned up with Angelo from Ratebeer. I spent the first hour doing Su Doku in The Times and drinking slowly. Excellent day and a good finish to a fine festival.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakham - JHB | 3.80 | | Beer of the festival, such great condition as it only came on during the Saturday. So much great mouthfeel, citrusy tangerine/grapefruit. Perfect. |
| Fernandes - Pickled Pecker | 5.50 | | Black with lasting beige head. Creamy vanilla, very drinkable, doesn’t taste of 5.5% Nice choc. Good. Just very good. |
| Arundel - Black Beastie | 4.90 | | Very dark brown, thick lasting head. Good mix of malt, milk choc and hop. Toasty without being over the top. Very drinkable, good smooth, but toasty mouthfeel. Nice strong dark beer. |
| St Austell - Black Prince | 4.00 | | Black with dark brown edges. Lasting beige head. Easy drinking dark beer with some roastiness. Decent simple, but very drinkable. |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - King Bee | 7.00 | | Very dark brown, thin tan head. Smells of putty. Intense coffee malt, roasty and toasty. Not sure where the honey is, but definitely intense. Putty and coffee aroma. Good aftertaste of smooth mocha coffee. Putty runs through it. Not sure it entirely works. More honeycomb than honey, a nod towards a Crunchie but covered in thick intense coffee flavoured dark choc. Putty fades a little as it goes down. Definitely distinct. |
| Downton - Logan's Berry | 4.40 | | Orangey vermillion colour with lasting beige head. Very berry. Lots of raspberry and blackberry, really lovely fruit. Proper fruit added to this. Not sour, but the fruit certainly has a kick. Base beer is good too. |
| Holden's - Octavia | 4.30 | | Gold with lasting bubbly off white head. Yeasty aroma, some hop. Good condition, a bit like Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter. Good character. Very good straight yeasty bitter. |
| Castle Rock - Preservation Fine Ale | 4.40 | | Copper/orange, thick creamy head. Fruity, clean tasting bitter. Too tight a sparkler, good hop on end. Creamy, tasty and berry fruity. |
| Tring - Mansion Dark | 3.70 | | Deep brown with lasting beige. Very good mild, slight caramel, good condition. Lots of caramel, faint roasted malts. Good for the style. |
| Downton - German Pale Ale | 4.20 | | Gold, very carbonated, definitely lagery, some tangeriney hop on aroma. Actually it’s very good. First beer on Saturday at 10.25, very light and drinkable. |
| Arbor Ales - Old Knobbley | 4.50 | | Ruby/brown with beige head. Little bit of mintyness on slightly watery, slightly grainy beer. Fine, just a bit watery. |
| Coastal - Pirate Ship | 4.80 | | Gold with thin beige head. Rubbery. Which is a shame at the hop is good. But rest of it is a drinkable orangey, citrusy bitter. |
| Elmtree - Bitter | 4.20 | | Copper with bubbly beige head. It’s a slightly fruity bitter. Decent raspberry/strawberry, some yeast. It’s a bitter. |
| Magpie - Thieving Rogue | 4.50 | | Hazy gold, with thin white head. Yeasty bitter, it’s a bitter, it’s yeasty. Some hop. |
| Hydes - 1863 Classic Bitter | 3.50 | | Copper, thin lasting bubbly beige head. Slightly yeasty, decent light bitter, in good condition, fine, interesting for a light bitter. |
| Nottingham - Jo & Twiggy's | 4.10 | | Gold with lasting bubbly white head. Some citrus, hop aroma. Some grassy hop throughout. Nettley. It’s a golden bitter with some butter. |
| Dent - Rambrau | 4.20 | | Gold, thin white head. Bit of cardboard, bit of herby hop. Cask conditioned lager. Fairly bland, some lager hop flavour on end. Inoffensive. |
19 Oct 2007 (Ian)
Day 2. We got a few seats at a table. Martin, me and Simon again with a couple of old boys from a pub in Derby that Simon brought along. Martin and I had bought a take out picnic from the Italian deli, Gusto, down the road and enjoyed it a lot.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highgate - Old Ale | 5.30 | | Black with thin dark beige. Wow. Now that is interesting. Sour, but not off, some dark fruit, damson, plum. Very interesting. Unusual flavours and a very good beer. |
| Spectrum - Black Buffle Stout | 4.50 | | Black, tan head. Good condition. Good dark malts, intense roasted malts. Choc aroma, bit like a porter really, full and deep in mouth. Excellent burnt malt finish. Very good choc and malts. |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Imperial IPA | 7.80 | | Amber, slight haze. No head. Very herbaceous aroma, OK condition, lots of orange crystallized fruits. Very enjoyably though. Very nice jellied fruit. The herby, nettle hop is great. Not too syrupy. |
| Great Oakley - Welland Valley Mild | 3.60 | | Very dark brown with thin beige head. Decent bitter choc, roasted malts. Nice creamy chocolate, really good mild, choccy grainyness is superb, lots of flavour. |
| Tunnel - Boston Beer Party | 5.60 | | Orange/gold with disappearing head. American piney grapefruit hop aroma. Some syrupy malt. Tangerine/clementine fruit. Good condition. Gets better as it goes down. US hops are reasonably understated. Piney throughout. |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Alliance | 10.30 | | Hazy amber/copper with no head. Last half out of the barrel. No off/bad flavours. Barley wine aroma, plus good lime. God that’s strong. Lime and grapefruit, syrupy malt, but the alcohol is very heavy. Tangerine jelly. Stronger version of the IIPA. Strong and fortifying. |
| Whim - Hartington IPA | 4.50 | | Gold with thin off white head. Decent condition. Slightly citrusy bitter. Goodish orangey fruits, good sting on the tip of the tongue. Decent bitter, a little bit dusty and cardboardy. Fruits and finish are good. |
| Mauldons - Octoberfest | 5.00 | | Gold/copper with no head. A bitter/marzen mix. Sweetish, drinkable. Has a lagerish tinge. Some hop. Fine. |
| Grafton - Dark Lady | 4.00 | | Black, dark brown edges, no head. Slightly sour, roasted malt aroma. No great condition. Thickish mouthfeel. Nice enough, dark malts, but very dull condition. |
| Nottingham - Sooty Oatmeal Stout | 4.80 | | Black beer with brown edges. Stouty/cereal aroma. Bit of charcoal on aroma. Decent stout. Bit too charcoaly sooty for me. Nice roasted kick on finish. |
| Castle Rock - White Admiral | 5.60 | | Gold, lasting white head. Too tight a sparkler. Pretty good sherberty hop. Strong pale ale, plenty of flavour. Little bit of toffee on aroma. Little bit of stale pale malt. |
| Funfair - Showman's Stout | 5.00 | | Black with dark brown edges, dark beige head. Bit of diacetyl I think, bit of cream/butter, some liquorice. Bit of vanilla. |
| Elmtree - Dark Horse Stout | 5.00 | | Black beer, thin beige, dry stout. Nothing outstanding, but nothing out of place. Fine. |
| Riverhead - Premium Mild | 4.80 | | Full of diacetyl. Too buttery. Odd minty flavour to it too. A buttery/minty strong mild. Hmmm, let me think about this. Not much of the malt comes through. Some choc. |
18 Oct 2007 (Ian)
Here with Martin and Simon and Neil from Ratebeer. Not really enough seating, but we had a space on the stage. Got here about 2.15 and left 5 and a bit hours later to have our meal in the Hilton where we stayed.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal - Erosion | 7.50 | | Heavy, thick dark beer, stilton flavours. Thick. Good thick malty strong ale. Some nuttiness. Very impressive. Good balance. Alcohol doesn’t destroy it. Very drinkable actually. Good, good malts. |
| Whim - Flower Power | 5.30 | | Gold clear beer. Glorious grapefruit aroma. Good carbonation. Extraordinary hop. Very intense lychees. Very drinkable. Good balance yet still intense hop. Sherbert. Well done, though. |
| Whim - Hartington Bitter | 4.00 | | Gold colour with sweaty sox hop. Very good bitter. A bit of tea maybe. Nice, drinkable. |
| BrewDog - Buzz | 4.50 | | Copper colour with thin bubbly off white head. Bit of tea and rubber on the aroma. OK in mouth and then this coppery almost metallic aggressive hop kicks in. Wakes your taste buds up. Bit too much maybe. |
| Brewster's - Belle du Jour | 4.80 | | Amber colour with lasting off white head. Very fruity beer, must be the most fruity non fruit beer I’ve had. Peach and apricot. Good hop on end. Lovely fruit, in good condition and just as lovely as the call girl that the beer is named after. |
| Alcazar - Jack O'Lantern 3 | 4.80 | | Black with tan head, smells like cheap supermarket vanilla ice cream with chocolate ripple in it. Dullish, but the finish grows on you. Good vanilla essence. |
| Atlas Mill - IPA | 5.00 | | Copper with disappearing head. Syrupy, rubbery malt aroma, some hop on end. Pretty disappointing, too rubbery. Some tangerine fruit as the half pint when down. |
| Bottle Brook - Meandering Mild | 4.10 | | Very dark brown. Decent mild. Very mild in fact. Nice malts, a little thin as you would expect. Good condition. Pretty good for the style. Bit of stilton cheese flavour. |
| Globe - Porter | 3.90 | | Very very dark brown colour with disappearing beige head. Good choc, some strong espresso coffee. Nice severe cocoa flavour. Choccy, good in mouth, bit of sour/bleach. No huge fruit. Fine. |
| Matthew's - Honey Mine | 4.70 | | Lovely chestnut colour, lasting bubbly beige head. Looks in good condition. Toffee and earthy hop aroma. Honey in mouth and firey nettley finish. A little bit of a nod to the bock style. Odd honey. Reasonably clean. Just lots of depth of flavour. Fine, if odd. |
| Milton - Dreihopfenbockbrau | 5.40 | | Orangey amber colour with thin beige head. Toffeeish aroma. Decent carbonation, very toffee in mouth. Smooth. Amazingly sweet toffee smoothness. Nice though. |
| Rooster's - Right of Leffe | 5.20 | | Pale gold colour with thin whtie head. Astringent hoppy aroma. It’s a blond, astringent hoppy, typical Roosters beer. Doesn’t taste of 5.2%. Feathery hop. Nothing to do with Leffe mind. |
| Discovery Ales (Hawkhill) - Eureka | 3.90 | | Deep copper colour with disappearing bubbly beige head. Farty yeasty aroma. Sickly, syrupy malt in mouth. This new brewery needs to pick up its standards on this sample. Yeasty, walnuty bitter. |
About the Nottingham Beer Festival 2007
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 1 |
| 7 |
| 11 |
| 22 |
| 3 |
The pub is found in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG1 1DB.
Held at the regular venue of the Victoria Centre, this is one of the highlights of the annual beer festival calendar. One of the best ranges of UK micro cask conditioned beer in the country. 280 beers available from Thursday with another 100 different beers added on Saturday, meaning that there is always fresh beer to try.
We have visited this pub 3 times, seen 44 different beers and tried them all.
Postcode: NG1 1DB