The 11th Cambridge Winter Beer Festival was on (and is still on today, but that disrupts the flow of my dialogue, so please, don’t do that) yesterday, and lo, it was good. A run-down of the day goes like this:
11am: Fried breakfast (alas, only of the Engerlish variety. *tsk*) to set us up the bomb day.
Noon: Let the (beer) festival-ities begin!
I shall ignore times for the next section, merely listing the beers consumed, in order, and our ratings.
1. Black Dragon (B+T, Shefford, Beds) 4.3%. A hearty 5/10, nice opener
2. Regal Blonde (Oldershaw, Grantham, Lincs) 4.4%. Workmanlike 5/10, and the start of us deciding to use the names of beers to tell a story as a way of choosing what next
3. Village Bike (uh-huh) (Potton, Potton, Beds) 4.3% 6/10 A fine ale
(Noting the last two names, considering the company was all male, there was much talk of females, except one of our party, who divulged the nature of his, erm, movie collection.)
4. Coachman’s Whip (St Jude’s, Ipswich, Suffolk) 4.9% 6/10 Taste buds were still intact here
5. Lemon and Ginger Spiced Ale (St. Peter’s, Bungay, Suffolk) 4.7% 4/10 (The others insisted on a 3, but I like it, although it wasn’t a winter ale, it was cleansing before heading to the pub as this was the end of the first session.
As we were booted out, we had to find a pub. A lie, we went to our traditional between-session beer fest pub, that haunt of CS Lewis, the Pickerell. I should rate the beer there, too
5a. Woodford’s Wherry (didn’t write the strength down, sorry) 6/10. A good pint.
Hurrah! Lunch of nuts and crisps and back to the scoring. Of sorts. Two of us were dispatched to get some food downstairs, while our 6th (beer festival ale) awaited upstairs. But. The food was going to be ten minutes, and instead of wandering back up, we had another down there.
5b. Three Point Nine (didn’t write the brewery down either, and am guessing the strength is 3.9%) 6/10 Mellow and smooth.
Food accquired, back up to the awaiting 6th:
6. Raspberry stout (Fenland, Ely, Cambs) 4.6% 3/10 Not stout, not raspberry
7. Croak and Stagger (Frog Island, Northants) 5.6% 5/10 Solidly drinkable
8. Mammon (Milton, Milton, Cambs) 7.0% 7/10 Quality (and note the strength, we are entering the Abyss, looking to the star of the morning)
9. Artic Owl (Iceni, Ickburgh, Norfolk) 10% 8/10 What a way to finish
Between times, as I got, shall we say, merrier and merrier, we discussed a lot of things. The usual things I like to discuss in company. Physics, theology, philosophy. Then I remember much as I like to discuss these things, I should remember that the company in which I was discussing were all cleverer than me (the ones that were still awake, natch, although the dozing person who did discuss while awake and in company is also cleverer than me, just to put that in) and thus I tend to make a fule of my little brane. Ah well, it is still good fun.
Sometime after ten pm: Our traditional post-beer festival eating place, Yippee Noodle Bar. It is surely a great place to eat.
11pm: Last bust home, filled with drunken, noisy chavs. Mostly young girls. I despair, I really do. Plus point was a big girl, of about my age, with dreads, looking like she was stuck in 1991. You know the sort (if you were there), crusty-ish, goth-ish, bits of coloured ribbon strewn through the dreads (of great length. The dreads, not the ribbons.)
This is a caption, it doesn’t have to be here.
And now, off for another prolonged session, as it is Ganesh’s stag do!
