MagicPhil's Tasting Notes 1999

London Drinker Beer Festival 1999
Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London WC1
close to Kings Cross/St. Pancras
March 24-26
open wed/thurs 12.00-3.00pm + 5.00-10.30pm
fri 12.00pm- 10.30pm
last admission 10.00pm
CAMRA members admitted free wed/thurs lunchtime
50p before 1.00pm fri
UKP1.50 all other times
Non-Members UKP2.50
A range of regional beers, beers rarely seen in London, cider, perry + imported beers.
Hot + cold food.
Breweriana auction Wed eve.
Thu quiet night.
Kit Packham's One Jump Ahead live on Fri eve.

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MagicPhil's Tasting Notes -Volume 1

Wednesday 2.15pm.

1st Pint. Alchemy Brewery, Halcyon Days 3.9%abv
Festival Programme Summary (FPS): "Named after the Halcyon malt it is brewed with; a well rounded pint with plenty of flavour and a floral aroma."
MagicPhil(MP) says: A pleasant pint, pale brown rather than golden very fruity, a slightly sharp/sharp-sour aftertaste, reasonable depth of flavour but very pleasant on the tongue. I may go back to this beer at a later session.

2nd Pint. Cheriton Brewery, Pots Ale 3.8%abv
FPS: "Pale Brown, with a hoppy nose, a well balanced bitter taste with a little fruit and a bitter aftertaste"
MP says: Well made beer with a robust -if not subtle- aftertaste, pleasant although not to my taste. Nothing wrong with it,  I  just didn't like it.
* N.B. Here is last years tasting note on Pots Ale -
( London Drinker Beer Festival 1998 Wednesday 1.40pm.
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.).

3rd Pint. Summerskils Brewery, Cellar V. 3.7%abv
FPS: None Provided
MP says: This is a rather darker, more malty, beer than either of the first two. I did not like this at first, it is -to my taste- a little treacly, but I must admit that as I drank it, it got better. In the end, I got to quite like it, although I don't know whether I could drink it all the time.

MagicPhil's Session Pick: Halcyon Days, Alchemy Brewery

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MagicPhil's Tasting Notes -Volume 2

Wednesday 5.40pm.

1st Pint. Church End Brewery, Pooh Bear 4.3%abv
Festival Programme Summary (FPS): "A bright golden beer brewed with honey. Sweet yet hoppy; moreish.
MagicPhil(MP) says: Disappointing, this beer is certainly loaded with honey flavours, but there is no more there than that. All the flavour is at the front end, do not expect any more. This reminds me of a bottled (real-pseudo) ale which was good in the mouth, but then there was no more.

2nd Pint. Dark Horse Brewery, Dark Horse Ale 3.6%abv
FPS: A tasty light bitter, with a hint of roasted grain.
MagicPhil(MP) says: This beer was in total contrast to the beer before, it has flavour, it has body, it has good nose and it goes on and on, there is more here than is obvious.As I drank this, I seemed to enjoy it more, it is certainly pleasant. The nose is good, citrus with more promise.

3rd Pint. Moles Brewery, Tap Bitter 3.5%abv
FPS: A pale brown beer with a hint of a trace of malt in the aroma. A gentle malty, dry flavour in this full bodied beer.
MP says: Very pleasant although undemanding bitter, it has good flavours but one waits for more, it is almost a good "session bitter", but it lacks the length of flavour that might have made it exceptional.

4th pint. Roosters Brewery, Special, 3.9%abv
FPS: A yellow coloured beer with a good balance of fruit and malt in the aroma and taste.
MP says: No great character here, although the beer is pleasant, it is a session bitter, but I was slightly disappointed by its lack of depth.

5th pint. Vale Brewery, Notley Ale, 3.3%abv
FPS: A well-hopped session beer.
MP says: The FPS sums this up well, it is exactly that, it is a good session bitter, it has rather more flavour than one would expect, but it is a pleasant drinking bitter.

MagicPhil's Session Pick: Dark Horse Ale, Dark Horse Brewery

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MagicPhil's Tasting Notes - Volume 3

Thursday 1.45pm.

1st Pint. Coniston Brewery, Bluebird Bitter, 3.6%abv
Festival Programme Summary (FPS): "CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain 1998. Named after Donald Campbell's Bluebird. It has a complex fruitiness, backed by a lingering soft sweetness and hoppy bitterness."
MagicPhil(MP) says: The program note almost sums it up, although there is not as much depth or complexity as I would have expected. It is good in the mouth, good on the tongue, it is a good drinking bitter. Slightly hazed, but this did not mar the taste

2nd Pint. Elgoods Brewery, Golden Newt, 4.6%abv
FPS: "A golden brew with a bitter finish"
MP says: This is a well made beer, with a slightly liquorice flavour that was not at first to my taste, but as I progressed through the pint the liquorice became(seemed) less pronouncedand there appeared rather more complex flavours than I had found to start with. Slightly cloudy.

3rd Pint. Dent Brewery, Bitter 3.7%abv
FPS: "A clean tasting light bitter with hints of grapefruit in the nose"
MP says: Good drinking bitter, good citrus, good depth of flavour, very pleasant altogether. I recommend this beer.

4th Pint. Hogs Back Brewery, Hair of the Hog, 3.5%abv
FPS: None supplied
MP says: This is a very pleasant light bitter with good flavour,good citrus, long deep continuing taste. This is a beer that I could drink all day. I recommend this beer

MagicPhil's Session Pick: Hogs Back Brewery, Hair of the Hog
MagicPhil's Reserve Session Pick: Dent Brewery, Bitter

Special Notes from our guest correspondent Tricia:
" My favourite beer of today, ehm, ohh it was, ehm, ohh, that one over there; J********, what did you call that one that was quite nice and you thought it was honey but it wasn't honey 'cos I don't like honey. 5.3% it was and it's called what?Absolution by Abbeydale"
Tricia's Choice: Abbeydale Brewery, Absolution, 5.3%abv
FPS: "Pale and very drinkable."

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MagicPhil's Tasting Notes - Volume 4

Thursday 5.30pm.

1st Pint. Royal Clarence Brewery, PG Steam, 3.9%abv
Festival Programme Summary (FPS): "Floral hop aroma with some malt. A medium bodied complex bitter."
MagicPhil(MP) says: A mid-brown ale with a good body to it.There are complex flavours here which take time to find.

2nd Pint. Otter Brewery, Bright, 4.3%abv
FPS: "Malt and fruit aroma in this malty tasting, straw coloured brew"
MP says: A very pleasant beer with good body, with good presence and good flavour. Takes time to get the best from it.

3rd Pint. Concertina Brewery, One-Eyed Jack 4.0%abv
FPS: "Fairly pale in colour, with plenty of hop bitterness"
MP says: A dark golden rather than a light brown, this is another pleasant bitter with no vast character or depth, but which is perfectly drinkable as far as it goes.

4th Pint. Cotleigh Brewery, Harrier SPA, 3.6%abv
FPS: A hoppy straw coloured beer with a very hoppy aroma and flavour.
MP says: Respectable drinking bitter, no more than this, might be better on another day. Lots of promise -unfulfilled- !

MagicPhil's Session Pick: Otter Brewery, Bright, 4.3%abv

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MagicPhil's Tasting Notes - Volume 5

Some notes lost due to extreme befuddlement - best efforts given

Friday 3.40pm.

1st Pint. Tomintoul Brewery, Stag, 4.1%abv
Festival Programme Summary (FPS): "This tawny brew has a lingering, malty, gently bitter aftertaste"
MagicPhil(MP) says: A pleasant bitter, although lacking in definition, good flavour.

2nd Pint. Abbeydale Brewery, Moonshine, 4.3%abv
FPS: This beer is not in the programme.
MP says: I was pointed at this beer by Don, who had imbibed it at an earlier occasion, and I find all sorts of good flavours in it. "A good drinking bitter"

3rd Pint. Kelham Island, Golden Eagle, 4.2%abv
FPS: "An excellent hoppy, fruity best bitter."
MP says: Yes, very pleasant. Enjoyed.

4th Pint. Hampshire Brewery, Richard Lionheart, 4.2%abv
FPS: A smooth golden best bitter.
MP says: I enjoyed this bitter with its sweet flavours and its deep taste, but it may be a little sweet for some.

5th Pint. O'Hanlons Brewery, Snake's Venom, 5.0%abv
FPS: "Special brew for the festival"
MP says: This was slightly cloudy and lacking in great character, but pleasant and drinkable -maybe slightly sweet-

6th Pint. Abbeydale, Absolution, 5.3%abv
FPS: "Pale and very drinkable"
MP says: Yes, very good flavour, but not a great deal of depth. Better than expected, almost recommended.

7th Pint. Flounder and Firkin, Apiarist's Delight, 5.0%abv
FPS: "Brewed especially for the festival using honey produced at the local Freightliners City Farm, which recently won a reprieve from Islington Council."
MP says: Good drinkable beer, difficult to find anything special about it, maybe the honey flavours are too subtle for me.

Extra: Abbeydale, Last Rites, 10.5-11.0%abv
FPS: "Too much of this and that's what you'll be needing."
MP says: In some ways I regret that I did not try this at another time, since the flavours here are so strongly displayed and so freely given, there is so much flavour/body both in the mouth and on the tongue as to be a lesson in strong ale brewing.
This beer should be drunk with dedication and with -at least- the head bared -if not on one's knees- there is so much depth here as to be almost overwhelming.

MagicPhil's Session Pick: Abbeydale Brewery, Moonshine, 4.3%abv
MagicPhil's Session Pick with a new liver: Abbeydale, Last Rites, 10.5-11.0%abv
MagicPhil's Brewery of the Festival: Abbeydale Brewery
MagicPhil's Reserve Breweries of the Festival: Dent Brewery, Hogs Back Brewery, Otter Brewery.

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