MagicPhil's Tasting Notes 2007

London Drinker Beer and Cider Festival 2007

Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London WC1,
close to Kings Cross/St. Pancras)

Wednesday 28th - Friday 30th March 2007
Open Wed + Thurs 12-3pm + 5-10.30pm;
Fri 12-10.30pm.
No admission after 10pm
Admission free Wed + Thurs lunchtime
CAMRA members £1.50 at all other times
(non-members £3.00)

Further info see: http://www.camranorthlondon.org.uk/

Food all sessions.
Imported Beer

This and previous years of MagicPhil's Tasting Notes at:-
http://www.littlebluerhino.demon.co.uk/ldbf.htm
or at the US mirror site:-
http://www.magicphil.net/lbr/ldbf.htm

Magicphils Disclaimer:
No warranty is implied for any beer mentioned. It should not be implied that any beer not mentioned is disparaged.
Magicphil drinks ordinary bitters and does not drink milds; and does not, therefore, review them. If other persons wish to have Milds reviewed, it is open to them to do so. Any person who chooses to read the reviews below, or indeed to base their actions on them in any way is to be cautioned that Magicphil will not hold himself liable for the actions of such persons.
This disclaimer is forced on Magicphil by comments he has received at previous beer festivals.

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MagicPhil's Tasting Notes -Volume 1

Wednesday 2.40pm. 22/03/2007

1st Pint. Alcazar Brewery, Sheriff's Gold, 3.6%abv
Festival Programme Notes(FPN): This one hasn't made it to their own website!
MagicPhil(MP) says: Very light, very pale straw colour, a touch of sweetness immediately. This has an underlying tartness as well, that is quite pleasant. it does give a bite to this beer. The sharpness continues with citrus, lemon rather than anything else, It is not too sharp, but it is on the edge for me. In prime condition.
Recommended, but I could not drink a lot of it.

2nd Pint. Purple Moose Brewery, Glaslyn Ale, 4.2%abv
FPN:Golden coloured fruity best bitter.
MP says: Yes, pleasant immediate flavours with some citrus. Light brown, not enormously distinctive, but it improves in the mouth. The citrus is pineapple rather than lemon, but there is some sharpness there. Less astringent than the first beer today, although less distinctive.

MagicPhil's Session Pick: Alcazar Brewery, Sheriff's Gold, 3.6%abv

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MagicPhil's Tasting Notes -Volume 2

Wednesday 5.05pm. 28/3/2007

1st Pint. Bazen Brewery, Sparked Out, 4.0 %abv
FPN: Astonishing complex light amber beer.
MagicPhil(MP) says: Quite pleasant, light brown, some citrus, some banana, even a touch of smoked banana? maybe! A touch sweet, but in good condition.

2nd 1/2 Pint. Triple fff brewery, Pressed Rat and Warthog, 3.8%abv
FPN: Complex hoppy and bitter mild.
MP says: Yes, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, it is a lighter mild, more a cross between a mild and a bitter.

3rd Pint. Twickenham Brewery, Crane Sundancer, 3.7%abv
FPN: Amber bitter with a citrus fruity hop nose.
MP says: Pale brown, hazed, light brown maybe. Real hop / pepper attack, maybe too much, probably too much.

4th Pint. West Berkshire Brewery, Grist to the Mill, 4.1%abv
FPN: A tawny-coloured bitter with a good balance of malts and hops to give a mellow flavour to the beer.
MP says: A light brown beer, very lively coming out, perfectly good, touch of licquorice, some hop, some malt, pleasant not distinctive. slightly hazed. Sweeter towards the end.

MagicPhil's Session Pick: None

Magicphils Rant

Again, there is astonishingly poor management of this beer festival. I accept that there can be problems, and "unforseen" occurences, but these are what organisers should have planned for. The fact that there was a problem - of whatever kind - between 3pm and 5pm, is acceptable. What is not acceptable, is that again, and I do mean again, and again, is that at 5pm, when the Festival was supposed to open, there was a queue reaching to the top of Bidborough Street, and No-one had explained what was going on. At about 5.20pm someone came out of the entrance and shouted to the first twenty people what was? happening, but it got no further than that. The fact that no steward can be spared to inform people further away from the entrance than 10 yards seems to be condemnatory of the organisation of the festival, and perhaps of the ethos of this festival.

Notice please, that I speak of the stewards: The security personnel are, in my view, excellent in their performance, as they have been since the decision to employ professionals.

I have attended all previous festivals. I have enjoyed most of them. The organisation did seem to be improving. But I am worried that this festival is frozen by the upper echelon of organisation.

What is the point of this beer festival? Is it to get as many people as possible drinking good real ale? If not what is it? The use of a CAMRA line into the festival, and a non-CAMRA line worked last year. Why has this been discarded, especially after problems this evening. Surely the best thing to do is to get people in at an acceptable rate until the hall is full. Any other scenario seems obtuse.

End of Magicphils Rant

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MagicPhil's Tasting Notes - Volume 3

Thursday 2.40pm. 29/03/2007

1st Pint. Acorn brewery, Ginger nuts, 4.2%abv
FPN: This one hasn't made it to their own website!
MagicPhil(MP) says: Quite light, pale straw colour, touch of sweetness to begin with. Very reminiscent of the Sheriff's Gold of yesterday. I can hardly tell the difference between them. Maybe the Ginger Nuts is slightly sweeter, but no more than I would expect from a days ageing! Not that I am suggesting that they are the same beer.

2nd Pint. Buntingford Brewery, Challenger, 3.8%abv
FPN: Pale session bitter with citrus hop flavours.
MP says: Yes, the FPN sums it up fairly well. Nice grapefruit citrus with a touch of sweetness, no great depth, but very pleasant. I can imagine drinking this for an evening, or two.
Recommended

MagicPhil's Session Pick: Buntingford Brewery, Challenger, 3.8%abv

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MagicPhil's Tasting Notes - Volume 4

Thursday 5.10pm. 29/03/2007

1st Pint. 1648 Brewery, St George, 4.5%abv
FPN: Brewed with Sussex hops, malted barley and South downs water.
MagicPhil(MP) says: Mid brown, slightly hazed, pleasant enough in the mouth, perfectly good, perhaps a standard drinking bitter.

2nd Pint. Wear Valley Brewery, Barney Bitter, 3.7(5.0 programme)%abv
FPN: This one hasn't made it to their own website!
MP says: Quite dark, mid to dark brown, soft in the mouth, a touch sweet and soft. Malty. Some hop later on, perhaps a bit sweet. Almost a cross between a bitter and a mild, really does not develop, but is perfectly good for a sweetish session bitter. Here's to Barney!

3rd Pint. White Brewery, 1066 Country Bitter, 4.0%abv
FPN: Amber-gold in colour, a light sweetish beer.
MP says: Mid-brown, lively in the mouth, some citrus, grapefruit rather than anything sharper, no great depth but perfectly drinkable, fresh, young, there are some flavours there that are almost lambic, but one assumes this is not the case. A touch sour for some, perhaps.

MagicPhil's Session Pick: Wear Valley Brewery, Barney Bitter, 3.7(5.0 programme)%abv

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MagicPhil's Tasting Notes - Volume 5
Friday 3.05pm. 30/03/2007

1st Pint. Butcombe Brewery, Gold, 4.7%abv
FPN: Medium bodied, with pale malt, hops and bitterness
MagicPhil(MP) says: Mid brown, not distinctive, pleasant, some pepper hop, a touch of sweetness, a touch of light citrus, Perfectly good drinkable bitter.

2nd Pint. Crouch Vale Brewery, Brewers Gold, 4.0%abv
FPN: Golden ale, with citrus hop aroma. CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain for the last two years.
MP says: Essentially, my review of 2003 is still applicable; perhaps 2006 was a glitch; the beer this year was slightly lighter, being a pale yellow and rather more lively and less sweet. All easily possible if the beer was younger in the barrel. This year, therefore, I upgrade the recommendation to Highly Recommended.
2003 Review "A dark straw coloured beer that delivers a lot of flavours immediately, there is sweetness here, there is citrus, there is even a little malt, it does last in its flavours. It may be a little too sticky for me at the end. Recommended"
2006 Review: "Yes, very much the same as the Three shires, but slightly darker and possibly a bit sweeter. Where the Three shires is balanced citrus and sweetness, this is biased to sweetness. Good, all the same, but I prefer the Three shires. "
2007 Review: As the 2003 review, but with less sweetness and thus -
Highly Recommended.

3rd Pint. Dark Star Brewery, Hophead, 3.8 %abv
FPN: Wonderfully hoppy and clean tasting with a refreshing mouthfeel.
MP says: Mid to dark straw, light beer, some fruit immediate, some citrus comes in, grapefruit. This is a very good beer, but it is disadvantaged by the fact that I have had it immediately after the Brewers Gold. They are very similar beers, but the Brewers Gold has the edge. I would be happy to drink Hophead over an extended period, but the other, at least on this tasting, is better.
Recommended

4th Pint. Hopdeamon Brewery, Incubus, 4.0%abv
FPN: (The line is left blank in the programme)
MP says: A mid straw colour, good flavours in the mouth, some sweetness there, but not too much. Slightly heavier than the last two beers, but not unpleasantly so. It gets a bit sweet as it warms up, some honey flavours come in. A touch sticky for me, in the end.

5th Pint. Inveralmond Brewery, Ossian's Ale, 4.1%abv
FPN: Well-balanced best bitter with a fruity dry finish.
MP says: Unremarkable, a perfectly good session bitter, with nothing to recommend or condemn.

MagicPhil's Session Pick: Crouch Vale Brewery, Brewers Gold, 4.0%abv.

MagicPhil's Reserve Session Pick: Dark Star Brewery, Hophead, 3.8%abv.

MagicPhil's Beer of the Festival: Crouch Vale Brewery, Brewers Gold, 4.0%abv.

MagicPhil's Reserve Beer of the Festival: Buntingford Brewery, Challenger, 3.8%abv.

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