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Hemel Old Town Beer Festival 2026 (CAMRA Beer Festival)
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Five Points - Brick Field Brown |  | 1 |
| Vale - Old Toby - Ep02 (Badged as ABC - Aylesbury Brewhouse Company) |  | 1 |
| ABInBev - Boddingtons | | 1 |
| Wilde Child - Double Trouble Birthday Cake Stout | | 1 |
| Rebellion - Roasted Nuts | | 1 |
| Charlie Wells (also branded as Brewpoint) - Double Star | | 1 |
Visits Details
18 Jul 2026 (Hogan Sampling)
Third visit of the outing: My first ever visit to this festival and held in a very old part of Hemel Hempstead, away from its rather ugly pedestrian town centre built sometime in the 1960s. Only one beer finished out of 36 real ales on, on its second day at my arrival time of about 4pm. I was able to enjoy a range of traditional ales: bitters, browns, a stout and a porter. A very orderly queuing system which worked well rather than as is usual at a beer festival, everyone standing at the counter waving at the volunteers to be served. Bench seating outside in the churchyard and with the beer racked up inside St Mary's Church and this made for a very novel venue. They even had the church and its huge 200-foot octagonal spire made of an oak timber frame clad entirely in lead arranged in a distinctive herringbone pattern etched on the souvenir glass. I was able to get third measures which pleased me. My thanks go to all the CAMRA volunteers who made it such an enjoyable event for me.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five Points - Brick Field Brown | 5.40 | | 3rd beer of this visit: Served with superb head and lasting lacing on this East London brown ale from Hackney and first introduced in autumn 2016, following the brewery being set up in 2013. In 2021 it relocated from its original railway arch underneath Hackney Downs train station to its larger warehouse and brewing setup at Mare Street, Hackney, incorporating its open-air taproom. A hoppy bitterness rising. A malty fruitiness with a hedgerow sweetness doing battle with its demerara sugar and treacle flavours. A hazelnut or two with a berry fruitiness emanating from its all-British line-up of Challenger and Goldings hops and following earlier brew-versions incorporating floral American Willamette hops, sliding downwards. Served in superb nick with lasting conditioning. |
| Rebellion - Roasted Nuts | 4.60 | | 4th beer of this visit: Came with good head and lasting lacing on this dark amber brown ale from a brewing operation set up in 1993 in Marlow Bottom, Buckinghamshire, and at Bencombe Farm from 1999. A dry malty first hit. A malty bitterness rising with hints of toffee, light cocoa and an earthiness full of roasted nuts from its Pale, Crystal and Chocolate malts. A fruitiness winning over for me aided by its Goldings and Cascade hops. A sweet malty note joining in with a biscuity flavouring tinged with brown sugar, chocolate and toffee. A spicy hoppiness lingering. In top form. |
| Charlie Wells (also branded as Brewpoint) - Double Star | 3.40 | | 1st beer of this visit: Presented with good head and lasting lacing on this traditional bitter launched in January/February 2026 by Wells & Co to mark the company's 150th anniversary of brewing heritage and brewed at their 2020-opened Brewpoint Brewery located on the outskirts of Bedford. A dry bitter first bite on this reimagining of a historic beer originally brewed by the company in the 1960s. A sweet hop-infused bitterness rising. A gentle biscuit malt sweetness winning over from its all-English malts. A hoppy fruity sweetness from its 100% English hops paddling out aided by its toffee and caramel flavours. Served in very fine form. |
| Vale - Old Toby - Ep02 (Badged as ABC - Aylesbury Brewhouse Company) | 5.00 | | 5th beer of this visit: Some head and lacing presented but not overly lasting on this dark smoked porter*. A smoky first bite from its beechwood smoke. Bittersweet chocolatey and roasted coffee flavours rising from its Chevallier heritage malts alongside Munich, Crystal and Chocolate malts. A fig or two joining in. A sweetish maltiness prevailing. A dry hoppiness emerging from its Northern Brewer hops, a classic, highly versatile dual-purpose hop originally bred at Wye College in England in 1934, and a crossing of a Canterbury Golding female with a male seedling of Brewers Gold. For me an earthy and woody flavouring with hints of resin, cedar and pine needles and a smidgen of wild herbs and black pepper lingering. Served in not such good nick for its head and lacing but certainly flavoursome. *This porter belongs to Vale’s Aylesbury Brewhouse Company’s (ABC) range. While the main Vale line focuses on traditional, classic regional ales, the ABC banner serves as an experimental "lab" for small-batch, limited-run recipes. Old Toby has been released with handpump badge references including Old Toby Ep02. |
| ABInBev - Boddingtons | 4.00 | | 2nd beer of this visit: Came with very good head and lasting lacing on this golden coloured bitter originally brewed in 1778 at the Strangeways Brewery in Manchester before Henry Boddington bought the brewery outright in 1853. Since closing its doors in Manchester in 2005, it is brewed by AB-InBev, the largest brewing company in the world, formed in 2008 through the merger of the American brewer, Anheuser-Busch (famous for Budweiser) and the Belgian-Brazilian brewing giant, InBev, and based in the UK at the modern Samlesbury Brewery in Lancashire but with a traditional cask-conditioned version relaunched in late 2025 under licence by Manchester's oldest brewer, J.W. Lees Brewery. A very dry hoppy first hit. A dry herbal floral hoppiness rising from its English Fuggles and its Goldings hops lending an earthiness. A hint of maltiness shining through with a sweet breadiness evident and from its mix of English Pale Ale malt and joined by small amounts of wheat malt or flaked maize to aid its lasting head. A fruity hoppiness sailing out. Served in good nick with plenty of conditioning. |
| Wilde Child - Double Trouble Birthday Cake Stout | 5.00 | | 6th beer of this visit: Some head and lacing presented on being poured but not overly lasting on this West Yorkshire stout from a Leeds-based brewing operation set up in 2016 as a small, one-barrel outfit inside a home garage before expanding with a taproom facility located in Armley Road, a 15-minute walk from Leeds city centre. A very sweet cake-like fruitiness rising on this limited-edition brew, released to celebrate 10 "wild" years of Wilde Child Brewing in June 2026. Liquid layers of sweet icing sugar, sponge cake and chocolate assaulting my taste buddies. A malty note joining in from its 7 different malts, including Malted Barley, Wheat and Oats, for all that biscuity and roastiness coming at me. A hoppy sweetness, nuttiness and fruitiness gliding and sliding downwards. It is likely UK Magnum or Warrior bittering hops were involved, or possibly Fuggles, or East Kent Goldings, to blend naturally with the roasted malts in this pastry stout’s making to just impart a bitterness without leaving behind strong herbal or grassy flavours that would otherwise do battle with its sweet cake icing, vanilla and chocolate notes. It was for me certainly that dessert in a glass and I was glad my remaining card token only permitted me slightly less than even a third. What I had certainly sufficed and to end this first visit for me to this very well-organised beer festival. Whilst its head and lacing had departed, its conditioning remained for me on the mouthfeel. |
About the Hemel Old Town Beer Festival 2026
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | - |
| 1 |
| 5 |
 | - |
 | - |
The pub is found in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 3AE.
The Hemel Old Town Beer Festival, co-organised by Mid-Chilterns CAMRA and St. Mary's Church, was hosted at the church grounds and has been running for 4 years since its inception in 2023. It is located between the Old Hemel Hempstead High Street and Gadebridge Park. St. Mary's Church is a Grade-I listed building and is the oldest standing structure in Hemel Hempstead. The church dates to 1140 and the church historically sold ale to members of the public, making the modern CAMRA festival a return to its roots. There were 36 real ales on but for one which had run out by about 4pm on its second day, 3 KeyKeg beers (draught beers served from a one-way keg system that keeps the beer fresh without letting it touch any dispensing gas and where beer can stay fresh for up to 4 weeks once tapped), and 15 ciders and perries listed on the Saturday visit in July 2026 on its second of three days’ running.
We have visited this pub once, seen 6 different beers and tried them all.
Postcode: HP1 3AE