Last Saturday, I trekked to Watford in the pouring rain to the it’s annual beer festival organised by CAMRA. Now in its 27th iteration and the second year held at Halsey Masonic Hall, the new venue was an improvement on the previous venue (West Herts Rugby Club) given that it’s nearer to the town centre and nearby rail/ bus links. The building was quite spacious with enough space for the forty casks of beer and several boxes of cider and perry, there was also plenty of seating in the main hall as well as seating in two additional rooms at the back of the building. Without much hesitation I started my beer odyssey on a light touch and sampled some Tring Mansion Mild (3.7%) from Tring Brewery in Tring, Herts; as usual for a Mild, it wasn’t heavy on strength but it made up for its drawbacks through its flavour, it had a slight sour note that undercut the taste of the roasted malts, whilst a lingering bitterness helped disguise its low ABV. The drink was far from smooth, with notes of carbonation providing an unsatisfactory overall experience. Hoping to improve my fortunes, I carefully scanned the beer lists of my leaflet for my next drink, seeking a session level Golden Ale, I went for Good Day Sunshine (4.0%) from Vale Brewery in Brill, Bucks; described as straw coloured with tropical fruit flavours, I was able to detect hints of tropical flavours such as mango and passionfruit, however these were easily overtaken by the bitter and hoppy overtones that seemed to dominate the drink. Any enduring tropical qualities were quickly eroded, its drawbacks given its low ABV, perhaps the brewers should spend less time trying to an ape an IPA, and more time creating a decent quality Golden Ale. For my next drink I sought to go to the Bitter side, and went for some Riverside Red (4.2%) from New River Brewery in Hoddesdon, Herts; brewed with German malts it sounded promising, I was met with a fruity and biscuity aroma, it had a touch sweetness in the taste with hints of caramel running through it, that complimented its underlying sourness. The bitterness was quite balanced, allowing the smoked German malts to evidently come through, making it taste remarkably like a Rauchbier. Vivid red in colour like a sunset, this was a stunning effort from the Brewery.
Next up I sought for a good drink of Porter and carefully made my decision, I eventually settled on Railway Porter (4.8%) from Five Points Brewery in Hackney Downs, London; one of the brewery’s premier drinks, it was quite popular with the punters at the festival and the barrel was nearly empty by the time I got to it. Described as jet black in colour, smoky with hints of raisins, plums and dark chocolate. It was everything it said on the tin, it was strong, fruity and profoundly bitter in flavour, it’s distinct smokiness helped underly it’s profound dryness that gave it an almost coal like quality, reminiscent of a steam train. Given that the brewery is stationed under a railway arch underneath the Lee Valley and West Anglia mainline, this drink was a touching reminder of the railway's heritage. It was a delicious, quaffable and a crowd pleasing drink, a fine example of a Porter. For my final beer of the day, I decided to up a gear and go into the strong ales category. Unfortunately there were very few ales of over 6% ABV at the festival and one of them had already gone. I eventually settled on Cassiobury Sunshine IPA (6.0%) by Paradigm Brewery in nearby Sarratt, Herts. Described as a hazy IPA, the beer was a dark russet gold that seemed to underly its strength. It was met with lip smacking fruitiness, with distinct notes of mango, grapefruit, peach that complimented its slight bitter qualities. The alcoholic strengths were clearly noticeable in the mouthfeel, but not too overwhelming. This drink was a true IPA and thoroughly delivered on its promises, so quite poignantly I was saddened to hear that Paradigm Brewery are closing at the end of August, it will be a sad loss to the illustrious brewing scene in Hertfordshire. With plenty of beer in my belly, I ended the day on a sweet note and sought a drop of Cider for my dessert course. After much deliberation I went for Pear Still Pear (4.8%) from Ascension Cidery in Polegate, East Sussex. Described as a sweet wild fermented cider blended with freshly pressed pear juice, this was a rare example of where Cider meets Perry. It was evidently sweet, with a distinct fruitiness that helped underly in smoky, slightly sour like qualities. Since the apples were fermented in the wild before processing, it gave the drink a distinct tart like quality that made it notably aromatic. A pleasing, and somewhat refreshing cider, it gave me a satisfying finish to my trip.
Overall the beer festival was quite a decent one for a low-level ‘local’ beer festival that seems to proliferate throughout the land on the yearly festival calendar. It had a good selection of drinks with a heavy emphasis on session ales, although there was a lack of stronger ales, such as barley wines, stout, old ale, IPA and strong ale, which I think the festival should improve upon in years to come, given the space of the building I think that would be eminently possible.
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