MagicPhil's Tasting Notes 1998

London Drinker Beer Festival 1999
Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London WC1
close to Kings Cross/St. Pancras
March 25-27
open wed/thurs 12.00-3.00pm + 5.00-10.30pm
fri 12.00pm- 10.30pm
last admission 10.00pm

Home Top of this Page

MagicPhil's Tasting Notes -Volume 1

Wednesday 1.40pm.

1st Pint. Belvoir Brewery, Star 3.9%abv
Slightly peppery, good strong citrus, mild malt, a pleasant pint, if undistinguished.

2nd Pint. O'Hanlons, Spring Gold 3.6%ABV
Straw coloured bitter- this is a good 'session' bitter, it is pleasant without being overwhelming. I could drink this beer all night.

3rd Pint. Cheriton Brewery, Pot's Ale 3.8%abv
I dont know if i have found the bottom of this beer yet. At first I found a very good attack in the mouth, but then I thought it disappeared, however the more I drank it -within the limits of a session- the more I found in it. I recommend this beer.

4th Pint. Hopback Brewery, GFB. 3.5%abv Good attack, slow middle but a very nice beer in the mouth, this is a beer to drink comfortably, and well.

5th Pint. Townes Brewery, Sunshine 3.6%abv I was disappointed with this beer, it had a promising colour, but the malt and sweetness is surely too much for a beer of this character and strength. I find the sweetness cloying.

Home Top of this Page

MagicPhil's Tasting Notes -Volume 2

Wednesday 5.10pm..

1st Pint Buffy's Bitter 3.9%abv
This is a disappointing beer, it does not promise anything but it does not deliver anything either, it might seem a bit sweet, but there is no real character in the beer. I did think originally that there was real promise to it but I was deluded.

2nd Pint Oakham Brewery JHB 3.8%abv
Very light, fruity attack, very pleasant, strong fruit, good finish. straw coloured pint, good to drink, Recommended strongly.

3rd Pint Springhead Bitter 4.0%abv Everything here is on display, there is no more flavour than you can see in the display cabinets. Dont bother.

Home Top of this Page

MagicPhil's Tasting Notes - Volume 3

Thursday 2.00pm.

1st Pint. Hardy and Hanson's Kimberley Best Bitter 3.9%
Quite hoppy, quite peppery, a very pleasant pint if undistinguished. a little sweet for me, but a good drinking beer. Very smooth.

2nd Pint. Pitfield Bitter 3.5%
Dry-hopped they say, and I can believe it. This is a very nice ale, not perhaps for someone wanting exceptional flavour, but there is here a good attack in the mouth and a good middle. At first I thought it lacked finish but it is there, even though it takes a while to arrive. This beer may get better the more one drinks. :-)

3rd Pint. Shardlow's Chancellors Revenge 3.6%
This may be the beer with the best possibilities out of those tasted by me. It was slightly cloudy -a mild haze- when I had it but the flavour was very good, with citrus and body. With good fruit in the mouth and a taste that keeps going, this is one of the best -for me- this year. Highly recommended.

Home Top of this Page

MagicPhil's Tasting Notes - Volume 4

Friday 2.50pm.

1st Pint Shardlow - New Brewery Bitter 4.1%abv
No head, dark brown-reddish, Liquorice to start but not. An interesting Beer, not what I would usually drink but pleasant none the less. It did infuse a certain warmth into me. :-)

2nd. Pint Dark tribe - Full ahead 3.8%abv
Good fruit, good citrus, a little dark, but not too heavy, a pleasant beer: but not extraordinary.

3rd. Pint Moorhouse'es Premier Bitter 3.7%abv
This stuck me at first as being very wheaty, it's interestingly fruity -certainly- and may be a beer that gets better as one drinks it.

4th. Pint Deeping Red 4.1%abv
Fruity, wheaty, yeasty; pleasant if undemanding..

5th. Pint Gales Best 3.8%abv
This is not as sweet as I had expected this Gales ale to be. it is pleasant and yeasty and altogether a very drinkable pint. Yeasty is the final comment.

6th. Pint Hopback Brewery, GFB 3.5%
I make no attempt to excuse myself for going back to a beer I drank earlier, this is one of the best beers -as far as I am concerned- at the LDBF98, it is light, it is fruity, and it has a taste that goes on. If some of my colleagues have complained that it lacks body, then I have sent them on to drink Thunderstorm or Summer Lightning.

Home Top of this Page