St Albans Beer & Cider Festival 2024

Another year, another festival; at the end of last month I was down at the St Albans Beer & Cider Festival, which has been held at the Alban Arena since 1996. This visit was my fourth (since 2012) and I was eager to see what was different since my visit last year. There have been some changes since last year, in addition to their stalwart Herts, National and International Bars, this year they have included showcase bars for American cask beer producers and a regional spotlight bar for breweries based around Merseyside, along with brewery bars for new additions to the festival Oakham, Siren Craft Beer and Timothy Taylor's alongside established favourites like Mad Squirrel and Tring for example. As usual I attended on the final day of the festival, however unlike other festivals I've gone to in the past where I've often experienced a dearth of supplies, the organisers rather niftly made sure that a good number of beers and ciders were still in stock, even to the point of postponing the availability of some beers to later in the day; this came to my advantage as it gave us the oppertunity to try out more beers and ciders. 

For my first beer I went local, from a brewery that's only 4.7 miles away; I sampled English Ale (4%) by 3 Brewers, one of their flagship releases it is sold at a number of local pubs in the area, but I was intrigued to try this local offering, despite it's low sessionable strength, it was bitter and rather hoppy with strong malty notes, despite looking like your run-of-the-mill amber coloured ale, its potent mix of flavours made it seem stronger than its ABV suggests, although far from outstanding, it was a decent start to the proceedings. For my next beer I visited one of the brewery bars, and settled on Osset, a Yorkshire based brewery which encountered at last year's festival. I tried out some Voodoo (5%), although described by the brewery as a deliciously rich and full bodied stout, alas I was underwhelmed by the experience overall. Ganted it was smooth and creamy in mouthfell, with notes of coffee, chocolate and lactose making up for most of the flavour-profile. There was a mild hint of Orange somewhere in there, but it wasn't discenrable to the point that you couldn't really tell it was a Orange flavoured stout. Following a luncheon pie from the Real Pie Company, who have been regulars at the festival for a number of years, I sought to refresh my tastebuds and sample a Green Hop Beer. At this time of year, a number of breweries across the South East and the West Midlands produce these beers which involves brewing beers made with hops that were freshly picked within hours of brewing. This creates for a unique taste, so I went for the only such example avaialble at the festival, Green Hop Fuggles (4.2%) by Wantsum. One of a number of green hop beers by the brewery that showcase various hops, it has long been on my bucket list to try. From appearances it was your typical Golden Ale, but the flavours were more than otherwise. It was rather hoppy, exhuding grassy and floral notes that you can only get from freshly picked hops; it was richly dovetailed with a malty background that had hints of fruit, wood-smoke and tart elements. This beer was richly balance without being too hoppy, the brewers evidently understand how to take advantage of the flavour propertises from the hop variety. Needing some fresh-air I went back out into the courtyard and went in search of the Merseyside Bar. There were many beers to choose from, but I eventually settled on Peat Bog Porter (4.9%) by Big Bog brewery, whom at the time of writing have gone into administration so it was really the last chance to try it. Although described as a porter made with dark malts and real liquoriche root, I found it rather misleading. First their was lack of dark malts in the mix, far from looking a porter it resembled more a Brown Ale, which is popular in parts of Northern England. Otherwise it was malty, sweet with some fruitness present though the liquoriche flavours were rather muted which was rather a let down, when it promised so much. Feeling slightly bruised, I was still on the lookout for a proper traditional Porter, in the end I went to the Hertfordshire Bar, and tried out some London Porter (5%) by Mad Squirrel, another local brewer based in Potten End. Reasurringly it was dark, rich and smoky with a sharp bitterness in the foreground, supported by notes of roasted coffee and dark chocolate. It had a medium bodied mouthfeel with a touch of silky creaminess present, without being too cloying and heavy, with a dryness present on the back-end. For an old-school style Porter, it ticked all the boxes and delivered on the flavour front, it was easily beer of the festival in my opinion. 

After trying out a number of beers, we exited the festival for a brief sojurn down the Saturday market that is held weekly in this town. We passed along a bakery stall, and we purchased some baked goods to bring back with us, I ultimately went for a Pork Pie as I has cider on my mind. For the non beer drinkers, this festival caters for all, not only is there a Wine & Spirits bar, there is also the long-standing Cider and Perry bar, situated near the stage. A dizzying mixture of ciders and perries from various producers clogged the stands, varying in strength and flavour (from sweet to dry). My prefernce is generally for medium or sweet ciders, so I settled on Appley Dappley (5.2%) by Snails Bank. A rather unusual concoction, it combines bittersweet apples with Russet variety to create a distinct flavour, although I found it distinctly sweet, there was depth to the flavours. There were strong hints of vanilla and smokiness going on the background which added to the richness and flavour-profile of the cider, and although there was a hint of strength it was too noticeable, on the whole it was refreshing and rather quaffable cider, which went rather well with my Pork Pie, that helped bounce off and amplify the flavours. At this stage of the festival I usually go for stronger ales, although my senses were starting to diminish with every succesive drink. I ultimately went for The Union (6%) by Thornbridge, a classic English style IPA brewed using a Burton union set which the brewery recently acquired from Marstons. it certainly delivered on results, in the foreground their was a potent fruitness with hints of orange, caramel, oak and a whisp of sherry, this was backed up with a balanced hoppiness that deftly balanced with the other flavours without being overwhelming. The colour was a shimmering gold, whilst the mouthfeel was heavy bodied and cloying; this is not your typical IPA with overbearing notes of citrussy hoppiness, all the elements here combine into a maginficent showcase of flavours. For my final beer of the festival, I sampled Talk to the Palm (8.4%) by the London Brewing Company, another relatively local brewer (based in Finchley), I was keen to try out one of their beers, since I was eluded the oppertunity back at Ealing in July. A rather flavoursome Imperial Stout, although it was on the lower register of strength, the flavours were rather noticeable, there were distinct hints of sweetness, vine fruits with a background of spiciness from the bittersweet hops, thrown in was a potent malty background, that had notes of roasted and toasted bitterness without being too forceful, although there were hints of cocoanut it was difficult to determine in all this excitement; and at this strength beer starts tasting more like a spirit, and I sensed some vinous notes of Port and Sherry deep in the hedgrows, it was rounded off with a slick, heavy and creamy mouthfeel, that is typical of the style. 

The beer perfectly round off the proceedings, although by this time I was a little worse for wear, having sampled a great variety of beers. Whenever I visit a beer festival, I'm always on the lookout for variety in my glass, and it was great to see that this festival still had a number of options left avaiable, even on the last day. This festival is one of the biggest in the south-east and with the cessation of the Olympia as the venue for GBBF, along with Ealing it is one of the more high-profile festivals Londoners can easily travel to. For a Herts based beer festival, there is an excellent showcase of beers from producers around the county, but this deftly balanced by beers from producers based around the country, and the international, brewery and regional showcase bars make it seem like a condensed version of GBBF, with the slew of events such as cheese and beer tastings, auctions, talks and pub heritage tours adding to the proceedings. 50 years have passed since the first CAMRA beer festival was held at the Old Market Hall in March 1974, and in it's 27th year at the Alban Arena, the festival has helped showcase the vast nationwide legacy of breweries and beers that have come about over the years thanks to the pioneering efforts. This festival delivers on all fronts, and always provides a memorable and enjoyable experience for visitors.