Craft Keg Beer Festival — no one hurt

Yesterday and to Nottingham as part of the judging team in SIBA’s inaugural craft keg competition. Some good beers, some truly magnificent and a few indifferent chaps. Went back later to try a few more at the one night festival and favourites included Freedom Pilsner, Jaipur, Black Isle Organic Porter, West’s St Mungo, Munich Red and Hefeweizen — sniffing the Jaipur was like putting your nose in a massive hop sack, a wonderful experience that followed through on the palate. Some let downs as well — Kipling had a big biff of passion fruit on the nose, but little else, while Hambleton’s Nightmare was all butter toffee and mocha on the nose and thin roast water on the palate. Some greet the rumble of craft keg with uncontainable excitement, other fumble for their cross in the folds of their CAMRA-branded cassock, but relax it’s not going to be the new messiah, it’s just another method of dispensation and for one welcome it with wide open arms. Well done to SIBA in launching this competition as well (you can try the winners at the Canalhouse starting Thursday night), something that some of their members had been going on about for years. Now they’ve done it and it can only get better. A glass of beer is a glass of beer is a glass of beer, as Gertrude Stein once wrote before deciding that said sentence was too long and rose would be snappier.