21:28 Monday 18 March 2013

Ashbourne Beer Festival tasting notes

Written byBY GARETH BUTTERFIELD

Beer drinking reporter, Tom BradshawPedigree prices

THIS week the News Telegraph is supporting the town’s first ever independent beer festival.

It’s been launched by the Ashbourne sub-branch of the Campaign for Real Ale and runs in Ashbourne Town Hall from Friday until Sunday.

The branch’s chairman Mark Grist has been busy compiling the tasting notes for each beer on this page, which will help you choose your favourite tipple at the festival.

Don’t drink them all at once!

ABBEYDALE BREWERY, SHEFFIELD

Moonshine (4.3 per cent)

A beautifully balanced pale straw coloured premium bitter. A distinctive floral aroma, leading to citrus flavours in the finish. Very thirst quenching.

AMBER BREWERY, RIPLEY

Derbyshire Gold (4.0 per cent)

A well-hopped golden ale, with lots of flavour from Nugget and Gelena hops and a caramalt base.

Imperial IPA (6.5 per cent)

A traditional strong IPA , this has a substantial malty base with a big and deep hop profile, triple-hopped using a unique blend of four different hop profiles — Nugget, Styrian Goldings, Cascade and Goldings.

ASHOVER BREWERY, ASHOVER

Poet’s Tipple (4.0 per cent)

Chestnut to amber in colour, with balanced malt. Triple hopped with English Challenger hops for a traditional bitter flavour.

Coffin Lane Stout (5.0 per cent)

Warming chocolate and coffee flavours are enhanced by a slightly bitter finish of Fuggles hops.

BEARTOWN BREWERY, CONGLETON

Ginger Bear (4.0 per cent)

Flavours from the malt and hops blend with the added bite of root ginger to produce a superbly thirst-quenching blonde ale.

BLACK IRIS BREWERY, DERBY

White Fang (4.2 per cent)

A pale session ale that uses lager malt. Generous amounts of British & American hops lead to a fruity, hoppy flavour and a mellow bitterness.

Great Eastern Transatlantic Porter (4.6 per cent)

Five varieties of malt create this complex and dark porter. This very British beer style is given a twist through large amounts of the American Gelena and other hops. Smooth chocolate and rich coffee flavours are blended with strong berry notes and a tart bitterness.

BLUE MONKEY BREWERY, GILTBROOK

Sanctuary (4.1 per cent)

A traditional light copper coloured ale, but with a hoppy twist. A superb session ale with a little spice.

Infinity (4.6 per cent)

A satisfying pale ale with a punchy hop presence. Rapidly becoming a legend in the real ale world...it’s always a matter of personal taste, but will you subscribe to that legend yourself?

BRECON BREWING, BRECON, SOUTH WALES

Twilight Beacons (4.0 per cent)

A delicious dark ale with a distinct and refreshing hoppiness – good for a sun-downer session.

Welsh Beacons (3.7 per cent)

Launched on March 1st, a golden traditional Welsh Ale brewed with pale, gold, oat and wheat malts for a full flavour.

BUXTON BREWERY, BUXTON

American Rye (4.3 per cent)

A hoppy amber ale, brewed with a complex mash of Maris Otter pale malt, rye, caramalt and wheat with a shed load of American hops.

CASTLE ROCK BREWERY, NOTTINGHAM

Black Gold (3.8 per cent)

A well-balanced award winning dark mild ale with some bitterness. Full-bodied, but not overly sweet.

DANCING DUCK BREWERY, DERBY

22 (4.3 per cent)

A wonderfully balanced best bitter with good malty flavour and dark fruit notes, offset by a strong hop taste with a clean finish. A great thirst quencher.

Dark Drake (4.5 per cent)

Deliciously malty, caramel and liquorice flavours combine in a velvety smooth-drinking stout with a freshly-roasted coffee and toffee finish.

DERVENTIO BREWERY, DERBY

Cleopatra (5.0 per cent)

A golden ale with a strong hint of apricot.

FRONT ROW BREWERY, CONGLETON

Collapsed (5.6 per cent)

All their beers have a rugby theme and this is the prop forward for their team. A big solid IPA packed with everything — big on hops, big on flavour.

HOWARD TOWN BREWERY, GLOSSOP

Milltown (3.5 per cent)

An old-fashioned traditional dark mild, made with chocolate and rye malt giving a sweet flavour with a hint of liquorice.

Longdendale Lights (3.9 per cent)

A light ale that is beautifully light and unexpectedly refreshing. This was a summer special that was so popular it became a regular year-round beer.

MAGPIE BREWERY, NOTTINGHAM

Hoppily Ever After (3.6 per cent)

A blonde, refreshing single-hopped beer with a distinct flavour from a new English hop variety (Endeavour).

Peregrine (4.7 per cent)

Brand new pale ale brewed in conjunction with Nottingham University, a mixture of traditional and new varieties of hops. The first public outing for this beer.

PEAKSTONES ROCK BREWERY, ALTON

Alton Abbey (4.5 per cent)

A ruby coloured beer, brewed with Progress hops resulting in a smooth fruity flavour.

RAW BREWERY, STAVELEY

JR Best Bitter (4.2 per cent)

A traditional brown bitter with sweet biscuit malt flavours, a smooth balanced bitterness to the finish.

REDWILLOW BREWERY, MACCLESFIELD

Smokeless (5.7 per cent)

A surprisingly approachable smoked porter, velvet smooth with a robust malt backbone. This is infused with Chipotles (smoke-dried Jalapenos) to give even more smokiness and a subtle hint of heat.

UNNAMED BREWERY, LONDON and ASHBOURNE

IOLANI(4.4 per cent)

Red ale, trial brew from a 1.5 barrel mini-plant, being lined up for a bottle-only contract, so a rare outing in cask.

WELBECK BREWERY, WORKSOP

Ernest George (4.2 per cent)

A deep brown ale packed full of chocolate malt, black malt and roasted barley for an incredibly intense rich flavour.

WENTWELL BREWERY, DERBY

Jeremiah Mild (3.3 per cent)

A brand new brew from one of the best regarded micro breweries in our region. A smooth malty mild.

WHIM BREWERY, HARTINGTON

Kaskade (4.3 per cent)

A golden ale, light and sharp with strong hoppy and grapefruit flavours, with a dry finish.