CAMRA Great British Beer Festival 2012

The Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) has been and gone again. This yearly beerathon organised by CAMRA is always a great day out and this year was no exception. If anything it was better as the festival was in Olympia, a much more pleasant building than grotty Earls Court, where previous festivals have taken place. Sadly I was drinking to much beer and didn't stop to take any snaps, so this is another photoless update. I expect my blogging rights to be revoked by Google any day now. If you want to imagine what the GBBF looked like, just imagine a giant greenhouse full of people selling you beer.

The light, airy Olympia building was a great environment for the festival. I spent the Wednesday there, where the crowds remained manageable all day, even in the evening when I was pretty soused. The threat of Olympic crowds must have been keeping people away. There was also a lack of corporate guests who nearly overran the festival last year. I don't remember getting belligerent at all about the crowds, which I tend to do when I've got a few drinks inside me

The festival was in good form with some excellent ales on offer. A new "Champion Beers" area grouped Champion Ales of past and present together in one superstar stall. The ales on offer read like a Who's Who of top notch beers, and I enjoyed a half of the excellent Chocolate Cherry Mild from the Durnham brewery. This ale tastes exactly how it is described and is always a treat. I didn't try the Champion Beer of Britain 2012, Lucky Number 9 from the Coniston Brewery, as it was a barley wine and quite frankly barley wine terrifies me. I'm sure it was very good though.

Elsewhere in the festival I thought I'd try another fruity ale, this time the Chocolate Orange Delight from Downton. I was looking forward to this one as chocolate, orange and ale feature very highly on my favourite things list. In fact the only thing it needed to tick off all items on my favourite things list was a giant pair of tits. Sadly the actual ale didn't live up to expectation and was a little bit sickly. It didn't even have that much of an Orange taste. If it was to have breasts they would probably be saggy and maybe a little hairy. Not so much a delight as a disappointment.

Things got much, much better with the Boggart Rum Porter, an excellent pint which sadly wasn't on when I visited Boggarts only outlet, the MicroBar in Manchester, documentated in a earlier update. I'm not a huge fan of porter but this was very suppable, perfectly hopped and the shot of rum really adding to the flavour. I could have drank this all day if there wasn't literally hundreds of other beers to sample. Other decent ales sampled included Raven Ale from Orkney, a very good example of a golden ale with a pleasent hoppiness and particulary dry finish, and the Dawkins Brass Knocker, another refreshing golden ale with a fruity flavour that went down well.

As the day rolled on the ales kept coming. All were delicious but as usual at a beer festival my notes stopped after around the 5th half pint, which is why I really shouldn't be allowed to blog. I made the mistake of ordering a Belgium Lambic beer which certainly refreshed the tastebuds with its vingary flavour. Some tastebuds were so refreshed I could feel them trying to run the hell out of my mouth. I found it disgusting to be honest but some people seem to enjoy it.

The American section was doing a brisk trade which really shows how the American craft ale scene has picked up speed over the last few years. A lot had sold out on the Tuesday, when the festival didn't even open to the public until the evening! A promising sounding Lagunitas ale had long gone so I settled for the servers suggestion of Brown Ryed Girl from Willimantic in Connecticut, which was absolutely fantastic. I was prepared for the usual American ale experience where the beer is tremendously hopped and tastes ridiculously fruity. However I was greeted with a wonderful caramel taste with spicy undertones. It was probably the best beer I had at the festival. Well done to the Americans.

The GBBF really is a good day out and with the pub games, live entertainment and vast amount of food available the time just flies by. I had a great time as always and look forward to returning next year. Hopefully they'll stick to the Olympia venue from now on.

Manchester

Manchester is one of my favourite places to visit in England. Laid back but with an lively energy to it, it's a great place to spend a weekend. Exploring the back streets of the Northern Quarter before vomiting with the students at the many bars and pubs along Oxford Road is always a pleasure. Manchester is also home to a splendid range of pubs, and I recently spent a day there visiting some highly rated pubs which I hadn't actually been to before. Curse my pub ignorance.

They're not kidding. It's pretty small. Actually they are lying a little bit, I didn't see any vines or leaves.

First up was the Micro Bar, which is not really a pub but more of a stall in what is known as the Arndale "Market." This area is basically a tiny little market shoved into a back corner of the Arndale shopping centre. One half is full of tantalising food stalls, the other half packed full of stalls selling all the tat imaginable. Although if you want real tat you have to go to Afflecks, a five storey monstrosity which is basically like Camden Market packed into a building. Although it has its fans I find it a dreadful experience, trudging up floor after floor looking at more shiny spiky boots, neon necklaces and t-shirts with odd foreign words like "Slipknot" and "Man-o-war" printed on them, surrounded by gormless goths and excitable 14 year old girls with hair the same colour as my bathroom towels. Not my idea of fun.

Although the Micro Bar is small it packs a punch. An outpost of the Boggart brewery, there were a couple of Boggart brews on offer plus a couple of guests. I tried the Boggart Cascade, a sturdy bitter which didn't set the world alight but was a pleasant pint. I also tried the Great Orme Brewery Cambria which was much better,  a pleasent and light session ale with an excellent crisp, hoppy taste. Both ales were in good condition and the service was friendly if a little scary. But as a Southerner I find all Northerners terrifying with their friendly attitude, chatty humour and frequent eye contact. The Micro Bar also had a well stocked off sales section, including a magnum of Chimay Blue which I was tempted to buy but for the safety of my mind and body I decided not too. The Micro Bar has obvious shortcomings due to its market location, such as there's not really anywhere comfortable to sit, the atmosphere is non existant and the places is restrained by the Arndale opening times so it closes ridicously early, especially on a Sunday. The plus is that it's in a food market, so plentiful curries, meats and cheeses are just round the corner (or next door if you get cheese) to accompany your tasty pint.

One of the best pub interiors I'd seen. Fantastic.

Next up was the Marble Arch, a historic pub on the outskirts of the city centre. The interior is tremendous, perfectly preserved with a sloping floor leading to the bar, the way a pub should be. Food is a strong focus here although I didn't get the chance to try any. The cheese selection in particular looked brilliant but I was stuffed full with a Wetherspoons breakfast so didn't stand a chance of eating any. Luckily beer is also has a strong focus here. This pub is an outpost of the Marble Brewery, whose brewery is located behind. There's plenty on offer, although sadly I wasn't able to try the Marble Pint as it was off. My dream of ordering a half pint of Pint was shattered. Instead I plumped for the Bitter, which was surprisingly fruity and light. It was a top notch pint. All of Marbles ales are organically brewed, although unlike most things labelled organic it didn't taste of a hippy's socks. This pub is a must visit for the interior alone, and the wide selection of ales is just the icing on the cake.

The Angel is located a stone throws away from the Marble Arch, although it's a different beast, a modest and cosy local. On a lazy Sunday afternoon there weren't many punters in, although I imagine it get's livelier in the evenings. There were plenty of ales on offer and I went for a pint of the Three B's Stokers Slates, a rather good mild with a very pleasent chocolate taste. It looks like I'm not the only one who has enjoyed this pint as it has amassed a rather sizeable collection of awards. It deserves them as it's a great example of a mild.

What my readers have been waiting for:
another fabulous picture of TLJ's nails! This
time holding a Welsh ale.

In between the pubbing me and The Lovely Jemma enjoyed a good meal at Dough!, a pretty decent pizza place in the Northern Quarter and not a Simpsons tribute restaurant. Although it wouldn't surprise me if Manchester does have s Simpsons tribute restaurant. Or at least a bar. It's that kind of town. Our last pub before heading on the Virgin Train to London was The Castle Hotel, a pleasant little pub deep in the Northern Quarter. A Robinsons pub, it had a fair range of Robinsons ale on offer. You don't seem them too often in London so I went for a pint of Unicorn and Crusoe. To be honest neither were that memorable, probably why I'm not too fussed that you don't see Robinsons in London that often. The pub itself was a bit of a charmer, with a small open area at the front and a cosy little room behind the bar. Behind this room was a intimate little gig venue. The small back room packed in an ecelectic mix of punters and the atmosphere was jolly. A nice little pub.

I must give special mention to the The Font, a bar which is as studenty as a student bar can be (£2 cocktails, cheapo food, loud music, full of students) but had a pretty good cask ale selection, which I wasn't expecting. The bottled selection also looked very good with a wide range of Thornbridge ales amongst other goodies. Coupled with a decent CAMRA discount which meant a cocktail and a pint on a Saturday night came to £4.25 (astonishing) it was a pretty good night.

If you find yourself in Manchester you can do worse than visit one of these pubs. And the good news is there are plenty more places in Manchester that I need to visit. I'll be sure to test them out next time I'm up there (sorry Jemma!)

A final shot of the magnificent Marble Arch.