Beer!

I have a confession to make. I'm not a fan of real ales. I find them bland and lacking character. I find that generally true of most British beers. There are exceptions, of course, like Badger Ale and Abbot Ale and (my Brit friends will lynch me for saying this) Newcastle Brown, but by and large, I don't really enjoy them. I find they're too mired in tradition to dare anything truly interesting. To be honest, while I love Belgian and German beers, the innovation of trailblazing American micro-brews is where I feel the action happens. Even the smaller British breweries stick to the same old tired styles, trying to mimic the incumbents rather than show them up. So you may wonder why I would shell out 10 quid for a ticket to an exhibition dedicated to beer I don't really like.

The answer, my friends, is here. And here. And here.

I had a few duds at the festival, like the two beers I tasted at the SIBA counter, and the traditional Oude Lambic Becca started with. She settled into a nice pear cider, though. I believe it was Henry Weston's Country Perry, although I can't be certain because I didn't write it down. It was a little sweet for my taste, but she enjoyed it. The three beers I'd like to highlight were all right in my sweet spot - malty, dark, and thick, with a fairly high ABV. You can keep your IPAs to yourself, I'll take something that hasn't been assaulted with hops.

I've gone into some detail about the Kasteel Rouge before. This was the first time I'd tried their brown ale. It keeps a consistent character - you can tell it's related to the Rouge. I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn their recipe is exactly the same but just skips the cherry flavors. It was an excellent start to the evening.

The Rauchbier from Schlenkerla was a very nice surprise. We'd actually been warned off it by another visitor to the festival while we waited in the queue, and you know how I can't resist a challenge. I'd be the kid with his tongue stuck to the flagpole if I didn't have such a strongly developed sense of cause and effect. The oak-smoked Eiche (eiche being german for oak) was a bit on the sour side, but sufficiently deep and rich to keep my interest. The smoke adds a dimension to the flavor profile that recalls crisp autumn evenings spent camping or tramping through enormous piles of leaves. This would be a great beer to enjoy fireside.

I closed out the evening by going back for a second third-pint of the Lost Abbey Bewery's Angel's Share. It's similar to the Innis and Gun Rum Cask I've discussed previously (and which has become my go-to brew to keep in the fridge) in that it's aged before bottling in liquor barrels. The difference is they use bourbon casks instead of rum. You can smell the bourbon as you bring the glass to your lips. It's marvelous, and the fun doesn't stop there. The bourbon notes follow the beer all the way down, and stick with you long after you've finished the glass. This was, by far, the best beer I tried at the festival.

Oh, and look at that. It's American.