British Bank Holiday weekends are invariably washed out affairs, much more suited to sitting wistfully on a window ledge staring outside at the rain trickling down the pane. Luckily, the last two Bank Holiday weekends in May of 2013 have been gloriously bright affairs. That type of weather definitely lends itself to sitting out with friends in a Beer garden, having a picnic and a few cold drinks in the park with the family or even better, attending a beer festival. There have been a few of late and there are a few more to come in Liverpool over the next few months. I spent the first May bank holiday at the Eagle and Child beer festival in Bispham Green (near Parbold/Mawdelsey). Typically, this festival experiences excellent dry weather and is generally superbly run and friendly affair. The addition of hand pumps to a few of the cask ales on offer this year is a definite improvement and a step upward from the usual high standards in the grounds of the pub owned by the Ainscoughs (of Racquet Club fame). The most recent Bank Holiday weekend was also spent investigating a slightly smaller scale beer festival, this time by the banks of the River Mersey in Otterspool at the Otter’s Café at Active Adventures. Having ventured down on the Saturday and Sunday, the clientele was mixed to say the least, with a market having brought some people out and the remainder either those wandering along the promenade for a walk and an ice cream or those specifically for the beer festival. There was even room for a Hen do oddly enough! Rather than a pub or association running this event, the crowds were treated to some local brews organised by the Mad Hatter Brewing Company. The Mad Hatters Brewing Company is the newest addition to Liverpool’s ever-increasing craft beer and real ale scene with Head Brewer Gaz and partner in crime Sue, initially taking things a little more seriously in 2007. With the burgeoning interest in Liverpool (as with the rest of the UK) in food and more pertinently, drink, driving the demand for fashionable food and beers with character, there is certainly room. The latter of these demanded items is something that the Mad Hatter is able to provide in abundance. This is more than evident, with some 16 different styles of beer lined up at the brewery, perhaps more once confidence has grown – and a range of brewing techniques not generally used in the UK. Some departure from academia up in Lancaster, I am sure most would agree, but a brave and highly welcome decision for a lot of us. At the festival, there were a few ales on offer from some of the usual suspects on the Liverpool Beer scene in the shape of Liverpool Organic Brewery, Liverpool Craft Brewery, Wapping, Brimstage Brewery from Wirral and another newcomer in the shape of the promising Melwood Brewing Company. The undoubted stars of the show at this festival were the beers on offer from the Mad Hatter Brewery. The unusually potent ales conceived by the Mad Hatter himself were present in fridges, which were stocked full as to be curiouser and curiouser; leporine artwork by Emily Warren of Stealthy Rabbit adorning a variety of exciting bottles promising much. Emily's thoughts are given in a bit more detail than I can divulge right now over on: [http://thestealthyrabbit.blogspot.co.uk/]. Over the course of the weekend, I made it my duty to try and characterise as much of the wonderland made real by the brewery as possible. However, with an ABV of usually over 7%, care must be taken – an easy task it was not!! The brewery was keen to provide something as an alternative to the usual session beers on the market, offering viable alternatives for food pairings to the usual fallback of a bottle of wine. Here are a few of the tasting notes I made whilst I was able to stave off falling down the rabbit hole:
2. Imperial IPA: Using Simcoe hops, the pine notes in this beer are deeply embedded and very obvious, at 7.3% it packs quite a punch and has quite a sharp edge with some good acidity. Very, very hoppy!
That’s your lot for what magnificence I tried on offer at the Beer Festival, but your extra reading after this blog is to go and check out the Mad Hatter Brewing Company website (conveniently located here: [http://madhatbrew.co.uk/] and for more up to date information, search facebook for Mad Hatter Brewing Company, or follow them on twitter, @MadHatBrew] with a run down of their beers and details should you need to contact them. Their beers will be available from the following outlets: Beers are available in Liverpool from: Stamps Too, (CAMRA pub of the year, Liverpool) The Dispensary, Renshaw St The Ship and Mitre And also soon from: 23 Club, below the Clove Hitch Pod, Allerton Road Manchester: Pie & Ale, Northern Quarter, The Port St Beer House, Northern Quarter And also soon from: Joshua Brooks, Oxford Road The Magnet, Stockport (CAMRA pub of the year, Greater Manchester) Unfortunately, you can’t buy from the Brewery direct at the moment, so you’ll have to go hunt down these bad boys from one of the outlets above if you’re feeling impatient!! A tip of the (mad) hat should also go to the guys down at the Otters Café for putting on the mini market and beer festival. They have an aerial assault course in the vein of Go Ape! there alongside a maze and the café and lovely riverside views. The coffee and cakes is pretty good there too! Full details of the venue are just a click away: [http://www.activeadventuresliverpool.co.uk/]. Until next time guys, I’ll see you through the looking glass! Pedro x
17 Comments
Jon
5/30/2013 08:02:13 am
Looks like a lot of hard work went into this post - the sacrifices you make for your readers! Shame we couldn't make it but it looks like a few of those beers would be too dark / heavy for my tastes.
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Pedro
5/30/2013 11:19:32 pm
The porters and stouts perhaps, although their smoothness might surprise you! The other beers are probably right up your street, trappiste, blonde and various abbaye styles.
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Pedro
5/31/2013 02:29:03 am
There's a fair few Abbaye, Trappiste style and sour saison type beers there Jon, am sure there's enough for you to have an evening's worth of new stuff! I think the Farmhouse Saison will be good for you too.
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Chris
5/30/2013 08:10:50 am
Thanks for the sterling review Pete, sorry we missed it.
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Steph
5/30/2013 08:18:37 am
I think both Angela and myself can vouch for the choc orange stout! ;)
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Leigh Milkamanavicius
5/30/2013 08:42:54 am
Spoken like a true connoisseur! An informative and insightful guide to a fast growing local delicacy!
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Louise
5/30/2013 09:16:00 am
Good review of all the beers on offer at the mad hatter festival. I really enjoyed my glass of Burley Blonde and I was amazed by the variety they had on offer. Good day all round.
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Jim
5/30/2013 01:41:02 pm
Good to hear that more local brewers are coming through to join the likes of Liverpool organic. Great post with some really informative tasting notes. I'll definitely look out for the mad hatter beers in future.
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Delly
5/30/2013 06:16:44 pm
Definitely some interesting beers there, the high gravity also speaks of influence from craft brewers in the USA who love their strong IPAs. I'll have to keep my eyes open for if any bottle make their way down South.
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Alister
5/30/2013 06:38:33 pm
Interesting read and would love to try some of those up in 'Pool but looks like this brewery likes the strong stuff, I presume they are aiming for the bottle rather than the draft market! As you know I am a light and hoppy fan!
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Pedro
5/30/2013 11:22:08 pm
There are cask ales too Alister, some lighter easier drinking ales. You wouldn't go too far wrong breaking out one of those with some cheese in the evening, but the rhubarb and rosehip wit is a good refreshing daytime beer!
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Pedro
5/31/2013 02:27:38 am
There's a few lighter beers and they do cask ales too Alister, although not as many as in bottles and even the IPAs are pretty strong! The Rhubarb and Rosehip Wit is a lighter one, very refreshing too!
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Alan D.
5/30/2013 10:51:05 pm
Good blog, some decent descriptions of the beers and am looking forward to them making their way down our way at some point so I can pass judgement! Am partial to a lambic or gueuze bier, so will be interesting to see how they measure up.
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Pedro
5/31/2013 02:30:00 am
You won't be disappointed Alan! Many thanks for reading.
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Polly
5/31/2013 07:17:38 am
Oooh I fancy trying the Chocolate Orange one! Luckily for me they serve them locally in the NQ, defo gonna sample them thanks!
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Chloe
6/13/2013 09:36:52 pm
You make them all sound very tasty! I'd like to try them all! I hope I can make a festival with you soon.
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6/28/2013 08:37:20 pm
Hey, what a fantastic review, thanks! and some great comments..
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