Great British Beer Festival 2008
In August, some 35 beer enthusiasts from across the pubs visited Olympia for the Great British Beer Festival. 450 real ales and ciders were on show, so in the interests of maximum bang for our buck, we approached the task in the manner of a military exercise.
We split into teams of four, each with a leader who was tasked with keeping things on the straight and narrow, and collating and recording results from the tastings. We split the show into different groups of stands, and drew out of a hat which team was exploring which group of stands. We met up back at a briefing room some two hours later to post results onto a blackboard and swap notes. Later in the day our brave beer delegates were free to ramble at will and explore their own agendas.
Here are the results from the day, arranged alphabetically: different teams made their own notes, hence the varying content in terms of comment and scores.
| Brewery | Beer name | ABV | Region | Description in guide | Comment | Score |
| Acorn | Summer Pale | 4.1% | South Yorkshire | Dark amber beer with a very dry aroma and slightly malty finish. | Pale. | 7 plus |
| Allendale | Black Grouse | 4.0% | Northumberland | Dark porter style with hints of coffee and chocolate with an aged oak aroma. | Dark Porter. | 7.5 |
| Black Isle | Yellow Hammer | 4.0% | Scotland | Fruity and hoppy summer ale; citrus fruit, hops with some caramel on nose; hoppy taste with bitter edge and underlying sweetness. | ||
| Cains | IPA | 3.5% | Merseyside | Light full flavoured session beer with subtle hop aroma. | Excellent quaffer. | 8 |
| Cains | Finest Bitter | 4.0% | Merseyside | Sweetish malty bitter, with hints of roast caramel, blackcurrant and malt aroma. The hops give a dry bitter after taste. | Chocolate and nuts. | 7 |
| Cains | 2008 Culture Beer | 5.0% | Merseyside | Pale coloured bitter with a citrus hop character and subtle hints of malt and fruit in the aroma and taste. | Excellent special for this year. | 8 |
| Dark Star | Hophead | 3.8% | West Sussex | Clean-drinking pale gold coloured ale with strong floral aroma and elderflower notes. Full bodied, quaffable and dry. | ||
| Dark Star | Espresso | 4.2% | West Sussex | Dark stout brewed with roasted barley malt and Challenger hops, with freshly ground espresso coffee beans added to the copper for a few minutes to provide a rich aroma. | ||
| Dunham Massey | Chocolate Cherry Mild | ? | Gt Manchester | Dark mild with hint of dry cherry that cuts through aroma and taste. | Fruity beer - split the group. | |
| Everards | Tiger Best | 4.2% | Leicestershire | Mid-brown, well balanced best bitter made for broad appeal with a long bitter-sweet finish. | ||
| Fullers | Discovery | 3.9% | London | Blonde beer bursting with rich biscuity flavours; a zesty character and fruity bite combine with gentle bitterness. | 8 | |
| Fullers | Gales Festival Mild | 4.8% | London | Almost black with slight red tinge. This classic mild has a fruity aroma, a sweet fruity and malty taste with a sweetish aftertaste. | 8 | |
| Grain Store | Rutland Panther | 3.4% | Rutland | Reddish black mild, punching above its weight with malt and roast flavours. A brew that can match a stout for its intensity. | Dark. | 7 plus |
| Greene King | St Edmunds Ale | 4.2% | Suffolk | Pale bronze with intensely fruity aroma, tasting of malt, fruit and gently bitter peppery hops with complex fruit and a hoppy finish. | Might tempt a few lager drinkers. | 7 |
| Greene King | Abbot Reserve | 6.5% | Suffolk | Premium ale: mahogany, rich amber colour; roasted ripe berry fruits nose; mature bitter sweet taste. | Strong amber colour. Couple of pints at best. Wobbly Bob of Abbot world. | |
| Harveys | Sussex Best | 4.0% | East Sussex | Full-bodied brown bitter with a hoppy aroma, which leads to a good malt and hop balance and a dry aftertaste. | Top session ale. | |
| Harviestoun | Bitter & Twisted | 3.8% | Scotland | Golden session beer, refreshingly hoppy with fruit throughout, a bitter-sweet taste and long bitter finish. | Top 3 of this group. | |
| Hebridean | Berserker Export Pale Ale | 7.5% | Scotland | Brewed from traditional 19thC recipe. Matured to develop a smooth intricate flavour. | 7.5 | |
| Hogs Back | TEA | 4.2% | Surrey | Pale brown bitter with malt and hops prominent. Well rounded bitter flavour balanced by fruit and some sweetness. | 8 | |
| Hogs Back | Hop Garden Gold | 4.6% | Surrey | Pale gold best bitter with an aroma of malt, hops and fruit; citrus flavours are balanced by malt and fruit; hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste with a hint of sweetness. | 7 | |
| Kelburn | Goldihops | 3.8% | Scotland | Well hopped session ale with a fruity taste and a bitter-sweet finish. | Top 3 of this group. | |
| Marstons | Cumberland Jennings | 4.0% | West Midlands | A creamy amber-gold malty ale with balancing hoppiness. | ||
| Marstons | Jennings Cockerhoop | 4.6% | West Midlands | Rich, creamy, copper coloured beer with a developing bitterness towards the end. | ||
| Marstons | Old Empire IPA | 5.7% | West Midlands | An old-style IPA - brewed stronger and hoppier than the modern IPAs we are used to. | 7 | |
| Mighty Oak | Oscar Wilde Mild | 3.7% | Essex | Roasty dark mild with suggestions of forest fruits and dark chocolate. The sweetness yields to a more bitter finish. | ||
| Oldershaw | High Dyke | 3.9% | Lincolnshire | Golden and moderately bitter, a predominately hoppy session beer. | Pale. | 7 plus |
| Orkney | Dark Island | 4.6% | Orkney | Full-bodied and well balanced with roast malt, fruit and caramel. | Hints of wet ashtray. | 8 |
| Pictish | Alchemist | 4.3% | Lancashire | Yellow beer with generous hop and fruit on the nose and palate followed by good bitter hop finish. | ||
| Pitfield | Eco Warrior | 4.5% | Essex | Pale golden beer with a hoppy citrus aroma and flavour that is balanced by some sweetness and a developing bitterness. | ||
| Purity | Pure Gold | 3.8% | Warwickshire | Refreshing golden ale made with two malts and four hops to create an easy drinking beer with a dry and bitter finish. | ||
| Purple Moose | Dark Side of The Moose | 4.6% | Gwynedd - Wales | Dark ale with deep malt flavour and fruity bitterness. | 7.5 | |
| Purple Moose | Tryfan | 4.8% | Gwynedd - Wales | Strong but refreshing full-bodied golden beer with distinctive bitterness from NZ green bullet hops. | Top 3 of this group. | 9 |
| Robinsons | Dizzy Blonde | 3.8% | Cheshire | Straw coloured with distinctly perfumed aroma; crisp, zesty and refreshing. | ||
| Sharps | Doom Bar | 4.0% | Cornwall | Session bitter with faint flowery aroma and moderately fruity, malty taste with a long finish. | Say no more. | |
| Sharps | Atlantic IPA | 4.2% | Cornwall | Pale beer with citrusy hop charcter underpinned by typical Sharp's fruity character with refreshing crisp mouthfeel. | Nice session beer. Good for lager drinkers. | |
| Slaters | Top Totty | 4.0% | Staffordshire | Pale yellow bitter with hoppy and fruity aroma; the tangy dry lemon finish follows a balanced taste of hops and fruit. | 7 | |
| Stonehouse | Cambrian Gold | 4.2% | Shropshire | Deep golden fruity beer with a subtle dry finish just right for a warm sunny day. | A really great, must try beer. | 8.5 |
| The Fine Ale Club | Against The Grain | 4.5% | Brewed by Wold Top - East Yorkshire | Gluten free beer - no nonsense, easy drinking session ale, smooth and creamy with a good head, lemony citrus flavour and dry aftertaste with hoppiness in the finish. | ||
| Theakston | Grouse Beater | 4.2% | North Yorkshire | Golden, mid gravity bitter with initial sweetness balanced with moderate hoppiness. Dry hopped fuggles to give delicate aroma with subtle hint of moorland berry. | Unusual blackcurrant beer. | 8 |
| Theakston | Old Peculiar | 5.6% | North Yorkshire | Full-bodied dark brown strong ale, slightly malty but with hints of roast coffee and liquorice. | Classic winter ale - still great. | 8 |
| Tring | Side Pocket for a Toad | 3.6% | Hertfordshire | Citrus nose balanced with a floral aroma and crisp, dry finish in a straw-coloured ale. | ||
| Ulverston | Bad Medicine | 6.3% | Cumbria | Dark winter warmer, which is surprisingly light and easy to drink. | Description is spot on. | 7 |
| Wells & Youngs | Eagle IPA | 3.6% | Bedfordshire | Pale brown bitter with aromas of orange peel and hops, bitter hop and biscuity malt taste with a long dry aftertaste. | Cracking Blonde. | |
| Wells & Youngs | Youngs Waggle Dance | 5.0% | London | Brewed with honey, this golden ale has hops to balance the sweetness. | Sweetish classic that should sell well. Cracking beer, shame about the pump clip. | |
| Whittingden | Cats Whiskers | 4.2% | Gloucestershire | Medium-bodied bright tawny-coloured beer with a gentle sparkle and a rich hop flavour. | 8 | |
| Wickwar | Station Porter | 6.1% | Gloucestershire | Dark chocolate colour; strawberry chocolate nose; smokey liquorice and port taste. | 9 | |
| Wolf | Straw Dog | 4.5% | Norfolk | A wheat beer with slightly floral hints and refreshing citrus nose. | Pale. | 7 plus |
| Woodfordes | Nelsons Revenge | 4.5% | Norfolk | Amber; rich, floral and fruity nose; citrus and dried fruit taste. | 8 | |
| Woods | Wonderful Bitter | 4.8% | Shropshire | Mid-brown fruity beer with a roast malt taste. | 8.5 |