ALE No. 310: 30th Cambridge Beer Festival Programme

Beers

• A theme this year is to have as many previous Festival Champion Beers as possible.

• If you're looking at this at the beginning of the Festival week, some won't be ready yet.
• If it's later in the week, some will have sold out, in which case we may have bought in extras not on the original list (possibly some "old favourites").
• See the various notices for the latest information.
• There should always be a good choice of beers on at any one time.
• The ones which are "on" have cards displayed on or near the casks giving the details, including the price.
• If you can't find a card for a specific beer, it's not on at the moment.
• Descriptions are from the Good Beer Guide, the brewery or from the Web (e.g. other Festivals).
• We are using oversize glasses, allowing us to serve you a full pint (or half) of beer with plenty of space for the head.

Adnams (Southwold, Suffolk) 1890

Bitter (3.7%)

This is the classic Southwold bitter, full to the brim with fragrant aromas of hops and malt. Dry, refreshing, with a lingering bitterness.

Maypole

Regatta (4.3%)

Light, bright and crisp in flavour with a refresing touch of bitterness.

Atlas (Kinlochleven, Argyll) February 2002

Smoking Barrels (3.6%)

Tempest Wheat Beer (4.9%)

A naturally cloudy, full-flavoured wheat beer with distinctive citrus and spicy notes to the nose and palate.

B&T (Shefford, Bedfordshire) 1981

Two Brewers Bitter (3.6%) (midweek beer reorder)

Badger (Blandford St Mary, Dorset) 1777

Tanglefoot (5.1%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Strong Bitter in 1985 and 1987. A deceptively strong ale, light in colour, with fruity notes balanced with a smooth hoppiness, biscuity flavour and spicy finish.

Bartrams (Thurston, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk) 1996

Cherry Stout (4.8%)

Cambridge Beer Festival 2000 Champion Beer

Headway

A beer brewed to benefit charity; featured at the recent East Anglian Beer Festival in Bury St Edmunds

Batemans (Wainfleet, Lincolnshire) 1824

Dark Mild (3.0%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Mild in 1985, 1986 and 2002. Ruby/black mild, with a creamy brown head, a fruit and nut nose leading to a complex mix of malt hop and fruit taste. The sweetness dies, but bitterness lingers in the aftertaste.

XB (3.7%)

A distinctive, well balanced bitter, with a refreshing dry bitterness on the palate and a pleasing hoppy finish.

XXXB (4.8%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Strong Bitter in 1986, and five times Premium Beer of the Year at CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival. A strong bitter with a complex palate, consisting of a delicate aroma of hops balanced by a prominent malty character.

Black Sheep (Masham, Yorks) 1992

Special (4.4%)

A clean-drinking beer with a creamy head, with Goldings Hops and Maris Otter Barley.

Blanchfield (Fakenham, Norfolk) 1997

Bull Best Bitter (3.9%)

A moderately bitter beer with a hoppy backbone that is not apparent in the delicate malty nose. Easy on the tongue, the finish contains a subtle blend of malt, hops and bitterness.

White Bull (4.4%)

A summer-seasonal wheat beer.

Blue Moon (Barford, Norfolk) 1997

Easy Life (3.8%)

A toffee-like malt base blends well with a bitterness that slowly recedes to a slightly sweeter finish. Hop notes also slowly fade in the amber-coloured beer. The nose is a deceptively light mix of malt and hop.

Moondance (4.7%)

Buffy (Tivetshall St Mary, Norfolk) 1993

Norwich Terrier (3.6%)

Brewed using Halcyon and Marris Otter malts, it's flavoured with First Gold hops with contributions from Styrian and Mounthood hops.

India Ale (4.6%)

Golden in colour and flavoured with dwarf First Gold hops.

Bullmastiff (Leckwith, Cardiff) 1987

Gold (3.8%)

Champion beer of Wales 1999 and 2000. A hoppy aroma invites you to taste a fine blend of hops and fruit with malt to balance. A refreshing juicy hop finish completes the beer. Golden beer to match its awards.

Welsh Red (4.8%)

Buntingford (Buntingford, Hertfordshire) 2001

Golden Pale Ale (4.5%)

Mardock (4.5%)

One of a range of beers brewed to commemorate the long lost Buntingford railway line. This beer recalls Mardock (for Wareside) station, and is brewed with treacle in honour of the famous Wareside Treacle Mine.

Cains (Liverpool) 1850

Sundowner (4.5%)

A refreshing golden premium ale for summer. Brewed using 100% premium-quality malt to which is added the unusual citrus twist of lemon.

City of Cambridge (Chittering, Cambridgeshire) 1997

Jet Black (3.7%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Champion Beer in 1998. A uniquely styled black beer, mild but full in flavour and body.

Grantchester Mild (3.7%) (midweek beer reorder)

A batch of Jet Black which has been maturing since last September!

Hobsons Choice (4.1%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Champion Beer in 1997. In 1998, Finalist in the Champion Beer of Britain Contest at the Great British Beer Festival at Olympia. Bronze award 1999 English Ale Awards. A light golden bitter with a pronounced hop aroma, contributing to the refreshing bitter aftertaste.

Sunset Square (4.2%)

Bramling Traditional (5.5%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Strong Bitter in 1999 and 2000. Fruity and delicious, made with rarely used Bramling Cross hops.

Cottage (Lovington, Somerset) 1993

Western Glory (4.8%)

Crouch Vale (South Woodham Ferrers, Essex) 1981

IPJ Mild (3.7%)

Brewed in honour of tasting panels everywhere, this is a lovely full mash mild with no "paint" in sight!

Crouch Red (4.3%)

A lovely red-hued beer in the Irish style.

Earl Soham (Earl Soham, Suffolk) 1984

Gannet Mild (3.3%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Mild in 1987 and 1989. Dark, fuggley and slightly sweet...

Sir Roger's Porter (4.2%)

Black, full-bodied and sweet. Made with chocolate malt, and an open fire in mind!

Elgoods (Wisbech, Cambridgeshire) 1877

Black Dog (3.6%)

A traditional dark mild with malt and hops well balanced, giving a pleasant aroma and splendid roasted, bitter flavours.

Double Swan (4.5%)

A complex palate with a refreshingly light hop character.

Exmoor (Wiveliscombe, Somerset) 1980

Gold (4.5%)

Pale gold in colour with a malty aroma and flavour, its slight sweetness is complemented by its long hoppiness.

Hart (4.8%)

A full flavoured strong bitter with a warm brown colour. Initial maltiness, with hints of fruit and a delicious hop aftertaste.

Fenland (Chatteris, Cambridgeshire) 1997

Fenland IPA (3.9%)

Doctor's Orders (5.0%)

A russet best bitter with a ruby glint and a complex malty fruit aroma, with a blend of First Gold hops and three varieties of Norfolk malts.

Fox (Heacham, Norfolk) May 2002

Heacham Gold (3.9%)

Voted 3rd place for Champion Beer of the recent Ely Beer Festival.

LJB (4.0%)

Fullers (Chiswick, London) 1699

Chiswick (3.5%)

A clean-tasting, flowery, hoppy and highly-regarded session beer.

ESB (5.5%)

Rich malt, tangy fruit, spicy hops, a peppery note in the long finish and hints of orange, lemon and gooseberry fruit. Nutty, marmaladey, and gorgeous. Champion Beer in its category at the 1990 Festival.

Goachers (Maidstone, Kent) 1983

Fine Light Ale (3.7%)

A pale, golden brown session bitter with a strong floral, hoppy aroma and aftertaste.

Goldstar (5.1%)

A pale and full-flavoured bitter.

Hardy & Hansons (Nottingham) 1832

Mild (3.1%)

A rich ruby traditional Midlands dark mild with nutty and roast malt flavours coming through in the aftertaste. Champion Mild of the 1988 Festival.

Best Bitter (3.9%)

A beautifully balanced golden brew with good bitterness and a full and satisfying finish.

Harveys (Lewes, Sussex) 1790

Sussex XX Mild Ale (3.0%)

A dark copper-brown colour. Roast malt dominates the aroma and palate leading to a sweet, caramel finish.

Armada Ale (4.5%)

Hoppy amber best bitter. Well-balanced fruit and hops dominate throughout with a fruity palate.

Harviestoun (Dollar, Clackmannanshire) 1985

Belgian White (4.3%)

A summer special.

Hebridean (Stornoway, Isle of Lewis) January 2002

Celtic Black (4.2%)

Islander Strong Premium Ale (4.8%)

Brewed with special coloured Scots malt, deep ruby in colour and predominantly malty with robust hopping to match. Complex like the Hebrides themselves, with hidden rewards waiting for those who search them out. A perfect drink after a hard day's work!

Hesket Newmarket (Hesket Newmarket, Cumbria) 1988

Blencathra (3.2%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Champion Beer in 1989. A dark ruby traditional bitter, malty throughout with a lasting bitterness.

Catbells Pale Ale (5.0%)

Refreshingly easy to drink but deceptively strong pale ale - winner at CAMRA's 1997 Merseyside Festival.

Hobden's Wessex Brewery (Warminster, Wiltshire) 2001

Russian Stoat (9.0%)

It may have the ability to bite you.

Hook Norton (Hook Norton, Oxfordshire) 1849

Bitter (3.4%)

A well-balanced golden bitter, dry and malty on the palate, with a hoppy bitterness in aroma and taste.

Old Hookey (4.6%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Bitter in 1984. An unusual reddish brown beer with a strong nutty aroma and palate balanced with fruitiness. Full-bodied with a bitter-sweet aftertaste.

Iceni (Ickburgh, Norfolk) 1995

Elvenden Forest Gold (3.8%)

Raspberry Wheat (5.0%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Speciality Beer in 2001.

LAD Lager (5.0%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Speciality Beer in 2000. An American-style ale, deliciously flavoured with summer fruits, Harsbrucker hops and wheat and lager malts.

Lidstone (Wickhambrook, near Newmarket, Suffolk) 1998

Rowley Mild (3.2%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Mild in 1999. A distinctive, dark beer, traditionally brewed with chocolate malt.

Session Bitter (3.7%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Joint Champion Beer in 2002. Intensely aromatic, straw-coloured ale offering a superb balance of malt and hops on the tongue; an ideal session beer by any standards.

Oat Stout (4.4%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Joint Champion Beer in 2001.

G.O.S.S.A (5.7%)

Barley Wine

Maldon (Maldon, Essex) November 2002

Hotel Porter (4.2%)

Mallard (Carlton, Nottingham) 1995

Duck and Dive (3.7%)

A light beer with a hoppy nose, good bitterness and a dry palate.

Drake (4.5%)

A full-bodied premium bitter, with malt and hops on the palate and a fruity finish.

Duck Down Stout (4.6%)

Black and fruity.

Mauldons (Sudbury, Suffolk) 1982

Dickens (4.0%)

A light coloured bitter with a fine distinctive hop nose and a refreshingly dry fruity finish.

Peggotty's Porter (4.1%)

A traditional dark porter brewed with roasted rye malt and choicest fuggle hops resulting in a rich biscuity flavour.

Milton (Milton, Cambridge) 1999

Jupiter (3.5%)

A golden session beer with a delicate hoppy flavour leading to a satisfying bitter finish.

Pegasus (4.1%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Bitter in 2001. Hops dominate the first impressions of this majestic ale, but the long, fruity/toffee finish shows that this is anything but a one-dimensional brew.

Constantine (4.1%)

Pale, crisp and highly hopped - very refreshing!

Colossus (5.6%)

Pale and hoppy, a well balanced but surprisingly strong bitter.

Queen of Sheba (6.0%)

Specially brewed for this Festival by six female volunteers; rich, strong and very dark.

Mammon (7.0%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Old Ale/Strong Mild in 2001. The epitome of greed. Rich, dark, mysterious and warming. Specially aged for this festival, it now has a wonderfully complex flavour.

Moorhouses (Burnley, Lancashire) Mid 19th Century

Black Cat Mild (3.4%)

An excellent dark, fruity ale. Smooth and well-balanced with fruity, chocolate and coffee flavours to complement the bitter roast character that lingers on in the aftertaste. Champion Beer of Britain 2000.

Pendle Witches Brew (5.1%)

A faint malty nose leads into a rich, sweetish nutty flavour with a subtle hoppy bitterness. This develops into a delightful lasting bitter finish.

Nethergate (Clare, Suffolk) 1986

Suffolk County 4.0%

Formerly Nethergate Bitter, Suffolk County retains the classic Nethergate taste but is not so intensely bitter as previously. Still a fine balanced beer with plenty of hops and malt.

Old Growler (5.0%)

A complex and satisfying porter, smooth and distinctive. Sweetness, roast malt and fruit feature in the palate, with bitter chocolate lingering. The finish is powerfully hoppy.

Oakham (Peterborough, Cambridgeshire) 1993

Jeffrey Hudson Bitter (JHB) (3.8%)

Delightful, thirst-quenching, straw-coloured brew with a distinctive, floral and grassy hop character on the nose and palate. Champion Bitter of the 25th Cambridge Beer Festival, Champion Beer of Britain in 2001 and many other awards.

AD56 (5.6%)

O'Hanlons (Whimple, Devon) 1996

Yellowhammer (4.5%)

Light, fragrant and refreshing - citrus aromas, sweet malt, not too dry, bursts on the tongue!

Port Stout (4.5%)

A blending of rich ruby port and stout - a unique and original brew based on an Irish morning-after "corpse reviver"!

Old Cannon (Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk) 1999

Best Bitter (3.8%)

A fruity, hoppy bitter, full of flavour and very refreshing.

Spring Ale (4.5%)

Old Stables (Sandy, Bedfordshire) September 2002

Stable Ale (4.4%)

Black Beauty Stout (4.2%)

Oldershaw (Grantham, Lincolnshire) 1997

Sunnydaze (4.0%)

A wheat beer brewed with 40% wheat, giving a refreshing and hoppy taste.

Regal Blonde (4.4%)

Brewed with Czech and German hops to produce a cask-conditioned lager with good hop aroma and taste.

Orkney (Quoyloo, Stromness) 1988

Dark Island (4.6%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Champion Beer in 1999. Ruby coloured, with a beautiful malt and hop balance.

Skullsplitter (8.5%)

Named after Thorfin Hausakliuuf, the seventh earl of Orkney, this reddish coloured ale has an intense vinous nose. It is rich and satiny in the mouth with a long dry finish and deep rich fruity notes.

Pitfield (London) 1996

East Kent Goldings (4.2%)

Orange/gold ale with a fruity, peppery hop nose, balanced by smooth malt in the taste, which is not too bitter.

Hoxton Best Bitter (4.8%)

A strong, malty beer, dark copper in colour, with a malty chocolatey nose.

Potton (Potton, Bedfordshire) 1997

Phoenix 3.8% (midweek beer reorder)

Randalls (Guernsey) Mid 17th Century

Mild (3.6%)

IPA (3.8%)

Patois Ale (5.0%)

Amber in colour, with a hoppy aroma. Bitter and hoppy both in the palate and finish.

Ridleys (Chelmsford, Essex) 1842

IPA (3.5%)

Well-balanced session beer with a delicate orange character yielding to a hoppy aftertaste.

Robinsons (Stockport, Cheshire) 1868

Old Tom (8.5%)

A full-bodied dark beer, it has malt, fruit and chocolate in the aroma. A delightfully complex range of flavours including dark chocolate, full maltiness, treacle toffee and fruits lead to a long, bitter-sweet aftertaste.

Rockingham (Elton, Cambridgeshire) 1997

Fruits of the Forest (4.5%)

A fruity Belgian-style beer.

A1 Festival Ale (4.0%)

Sarah Hughes (Sedgley, W. Midlands) 1860s

Ruby Mild (6.0%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Old Ale/Strong Mild in 1999 and 2002.

Spectrum (Barford, Norfolk) June 2002

Bezants (4.0%)

Golden, hoppy bitter.

Trip Hazard (6.5%)

Hoppy flavours.

St Austell (St Austell, Cornwall) 1851

Black Prince (4.0%)

A black ale, deep and dark with a full-bodied fruity flavour.

HSD (5.0%)

A full-bodied strong Cornish ale brimming with a kaleidoscope of malty and hoppy flavours.

St Peters (Bungay, Suffolk) 1996

Best Bitter (3.7%)

A light, hoppy, traditional best bitter with a distinctly East Anglian taste.

Honey Porter (5.1%)

A traditional porter made with honey for a unique aroma and taste.

Steamin' Billy (Oadby, Leics) - brewing contracted to Grainstore, Oakham

Bitter (4.3%)

A well-rounded beer with a light floral flavour and aroma and a satisfying aftertaste.

BSB (4.7%)

A full-bodied strong bitter with a good hoppy aftertaste.

Timothy Taylor (Keighley, W. Yorks.) 1858

Golden Best (3.5%)

A clean-tasting and refreshing amber-coloured mild with fruit on the nose, a light hoppy taste, a bitter finish and background malt throughout. A good session beer.

Porter (3.8%)

A unique sweet, malty stout with a glorious dark colour.

Landlord (4.3%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Champion Beer in 1986. A classic strong pale ale, with a complex and hoppy aroma, has been CAMRA's beer of the year four times. Now with Madonna's stamp of approval!

Tolly - now brewed by Ridleys since 2002 take-over

Mild (3.5%)

Cambridge Beer Festival Best Mild in 1991. A dark, distinctively malty mild, smooth and flavoursome.

Ventnor (Isle of Wight) 1996

Golden Bitter (4.0%)

A golden honey-coloured bitter brewed with natural spring water.

Oyster Stout (4.5%)

Containing real oysters, this beer is a rich combination of the sweetness of an English stout and the silky smoothness of an Irish stout. The brewery's drayman calls it "Black Viagra", so you have been warned !

Winter (Norwich, Norfolk) 2001

Bitter (3.8%)

A delicious malty, hoppy session beer.

Revenge (4.7%)

Golden coloured and well-hopped, for a distinct bitterness with a sweetish finish that makes this a warmer beer.

Wolf (Attleborough, Norfolk) 1996

Golden Jackal (3.7%)

A hoppy, thirst-quenching golden bitter.

Stout (4.5%)

A rich, dark, strong stout.

Woodforde (Woodbastwick, Norwich) 1980

Mardler's Mild (3.5%)

Smooth and gentle mild, dark red in colour, roast maltiness counters the bitter-sweet fruitiness for a short, light finish.

Wherry Best Bitter (3.8%)

Amber in colour with a golden syrupy flavour that blends a well-balanced, classic, creamy bitter. A fine blend of hops, bitternes and fruit gives a light but complex feel. A long, consistent finish, with little flavour loss.

Nelson's Revenge (4.5%)

A full-bodied pale amber beer with the rich flavour of Dundee cake! Sultana fruit, hoppy bitterness and a full, light feel culminating in a warm, mellow glow.

Admiral's Reserve (5.0%)

An outstandingingly rich and rounded 5% beer, with a warm and inviting reddish chestnut colour. The beer has a delicous fruit aroma, and tasting reveals an initial sweetness which develops into complex malt and fruit flavours, and ends with the crisp bitterness from English Hops. Launched in April 2002 to celebrate their 21st Anniversary.

Wye Valley (Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire) 1996

Dorothy Goodbody Golden Ale (4.2%)

A well-hopped golden ale with a distinctive malty flavour.

Butty Bach (4.5%)

A fine amber coloured golden ale, voted Beer of the Festival three times in the last five years at Cardiff.