The place: Wiveliscombe, Somerset.
The festival: Westfest, autumn 1997 I think. It was held annually for several years, at the local school. I rather enjoyed it, especially as Wivvy is rather a nice little town, surrounded by hills.
I think I drank a lot of Exmoor Beast and at the festival the previous year I had met Jim Laker, the man behind the beer, a beer I still enjoy a lot; he sadly died later that year.
However, I had been to the US the previous summer and spent a fortnight feasting on beers from Cambridge Brewery, Ipswich, Harpoon, Portsmouth and various other New England joys. Never such innocence again.
Strange to recall how revolutionary Summer Lightning and Schiehallion seemed at the time. How things have moved on in the brewing world!
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