09/02/18
Stanley Halls, South Norwood.
As newly baptised members of CAMRA, there was an extremely tangible air of excitement entering this magnificently beery hall. 24 beers in total were on offer in a nice local feel mini festival. The lads of course were keen to try them all and managed 18; a sterling effort. The festival was well attended, particularly by an array of impressive moustaches and nostalgic t-shirts and people who were generally enthusiastic for a good ale. A top evening.
Beers:
Black Jack
You Bet
IPA
Greater - yellowish pale, transparent, citrus aroma, medium bodied, thickens towards the end, malty and consistent, very bitter, a pipe cleaner!
Black Jack
Duel
Pale - sweet smelling, pair amber, wowsers!, Rather bubbly on top, quite spiritual, maybe whisky notes, smooth, sweetness comes in, blood orange taste.
Cronx
Pop up!
IPA - dark orange and mildly cloudy, very citrusy, predominantly orange, mealy, flavour comes through very slowly, aftertaste isn't overpowering but pleasant, dry.
Cronx
Yallah Mild - purplish reddish hue but very dark, strong sweet coffee aroma, coffee start and piercing sweetness at the end, surprisingly light and a mulberry undertone at the end.
Dark Star
Table Beer
Session Pale - lemon tip ex appearance, opaque, very very cloudy, tastes like a really nice day out in the countryside, a really nice beer, can imagine sitting back in the combine harvester drinking this, bitter front, smoother finish, wheaty.
Dark Star
Bock - very dark brown, looks rough, toffee aroma, lives up to its aroma, target smooth, bitterness up front but toffee is the overriding flavour, very tasty.
Ramsgate Gadds
No 5
Best Bitter - Reddy brown, a little sweet aroma, the flattest beer of the night so far, slight bitterness at the end, slick of hop at the start, red fruit textures.
Ramsgate Gadds
Oatmeal Stout - very dark, medium roast aroma, medium bodied, smooth, level flavour throughout, bitterness comes through gradually as an aftertaste.
Hammerpot
Bottle Wreck Porter - darker than the funny bones dark dark house, smokey, thin bodied, smoke up front, tails off to a full flavour, really swirls around the tongue, ashen, very nice.
Kissingate
Chocolate and oatmeal stout - darker than a night out in Syria, a solid contender for beer of the year, like chocolatey porridge, oatmeal front and vanilla at the end, sweet, textured, not as heavy as expected.
Kissingate
Powder Blue Blueberry Porter - dark as hells gates, mild coffee aroma, deep, can really get lost in this one, starts slowly, glamour of the blueberry really comes through at the very end, pleasantly sweet, quite heavy.
Redemption
Urban Dusk
Bitter - dark brown, nutty aroma, tasty, caramelly, very smooth, sweet and velvety, nutty.
Salopian
Pathfinder
Golden Bitter - golden colour, citrus aroma, clear, Parma violet thoughts, mellows out to sweetness, not tremendous.
Thornbridge
Made North
Golden Bitter - pale, light amber, not offensive, medium mealiness, very flat, lemony.
Thornbridge
Brock
Stout/Porter - substantially dark, bitter aroma, thin bodied, lingers towards the end with a sweet flavour, quite hazelnutty.
Volden Porter - dark brown and messy, a saturday morning breakfast, salty, liquorice flavours, like licking a charcoal, good for BBQ's maybe.
Chorlton Citra Grapefruit Sour - cloudy like England in general, pale, sour, very sour, citrus, nice but nothing much else to say.
Dark Star Hoppenweisse - cloudy, dark amber, very smooth, sweet, aggressive in sweetness, inoffensive, fairly mild.
