T|E|H – Beer Festivals – Yarnbury 2022

Hello my fellow drinkers!

Today I thought I would so a small write up about one of the festivals that I visited recently. Now festivals come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and this is the third one that we have done this year thus far, and it is definitely the biggest in regards to available beer ranges. It had a choice of 62 different beers from 20 breweries, plus 17 ciders from Lilley’s Brewery.

This year was the 12th Annual Yarnbury Beer & Music Festival which is hosted at the YRFC’s Rugby ground and this year also marked the 150th anniversary of YRFC’s founding so it was quite the packed event this year.

So naturally with a festival like this on my doorstop (25 min walk from my house) I clubbed together a few friends and we went to check it out!

So lets talk about the beer!

1. Name: Court of Horrors
2. Brewery:  The Meanwood Brewery
3. Aroma :  Strong hoppy notes followed by hints of lemongrass and coconut.
4. Appearance : Honeyed Amber, bit of haze and a tight white head.
5. Body :  Light bodied, good carbonation, brilliant head retention.
6. Hops: Green Bullet, Mandarina Bavaria, Sorcachi Ace added to the whirlpool dry hop.
7. Taste : A complicated myriad of hoppy tones with a cutting bold lemongrass rush that mellows into a coconutty finish.

A strong opener for the festival, cracking name too. Definitely got my mouth watering for another pint and with the weather being gorgeous it would have been a shame not to have another!

Our overall rating: 3.8/ 5.0

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1. Name: Farmers Blonde Ale
2. Brewery:  Bradfield Brewery
3. Aroma :  Floral notes with a hint of citrus and slight hoppy-ness
4. Appearance :Traditional copper coloured blonde, with a thin tight white head
5. Body : Medium bodied, well carbonated, poor head retention.
6. Taste : Refreshing easy drinking ale with hints of summer fruits and a interesting floral twang,

A nice easy drinking ale, big fan of the floral notes of this one, as it made it stand out a bit from the others that I had.

Our overall rating: 3.3/ 5.0

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1. Name: Red Rye-Ding, Red Rye
2. Brewery: Harrogate Brewery
3. Aroma :  Quite a strong floral scent, with a slight spicy and hop punch.
4. Appearance : Dark red/amber in colour slight film head.
5. Body :  medium bodied, well carbonated, no head retention.
   Hop:
6. Taste :A wash a fruity citrusy flavour, followed by a slightly spiced rye resulting in a cheeky dry finish

This one for me was one of the best beers in the festival, I really enjoyed this one. I even went back for a third.. but don’t tell anyone! The picture of this one is the one with the introductory paragraph.. I enjoyed it so much.. I didn’t take another!

Our overall rating: 4.1 / 5.0

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1. Name: Phatom Signs
2. Brewery: Shadow Brewery
3. Aroma :  Very malty nose, with a hoppy background.
4. Appearance : Copper coloured clear pale with a medium white head.
5. Body :  Medium bodied, low carbonation, poor head retention
6. Taste : Heavy malty flavour, with a crisp hop and dry finish.

Not sure on this one, I think with the heat and the fact it was at a festival meant it wasn’t quite as good as it would be normally. I would love to give this one a pop again as it has some real potential, but didn’t seem to deliver on the night.

Our Overall Rating: 3.0/ 5.0

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1. Name: Parachuting Hedgehog, Mild
2. Brewery:  Sunbeam Brewery
3. Aroma :  Strong notes of treacle and tar with a hint of coffee
4. Appearance : Dark cherry red, with a open white head.
5. Body : Medium bodied, low carbonated with medium head retention
6. Taste : Velvety toffee and treacle that is cut by a strong coffee rush resulting in an explosion of flavour.

Now I’m no Mild expert, but I had three whilst I was at this festival, and this one was by far the best of the bunch, it also is definitely is in contention for the best beer name of the festival.

Our Overall Rating: 3.9 / 5.0

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1. Name: Misift
2. Brewery: Brass Castle
3. Aroma :  Strong Hoppy Scent with a hint of Citrus
4. Appearance :  Clear Amber in colour with a medium white head
5. Body : Medium bodied, well carbonated, great head retention.
6. Hops: Centennial & Cascade
7. Taste : A little dry, but very moreish hoppy and citrus fruitiness flavours.

This is Brass Castles rolling hop beer, you can have this one with a variety of different pairings creating a slightly different pallet each time.

The Centennial & Cascade pairing made for a very hoppy tipple with a hint of citrus, but I know that others have a more fruity grapefruit like finish which is a little more popular with my friends.

Our Overall Rating: 3.6/5.0

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I have to admit, I did have a couple more outside of these, but it begins to get a little hazy after that so I am not putting my thoughts to paper on those, but I don’t think I had a bad pint, all evening!

I will definitely be attending next year should the festival be on again, I think the next one we will be attending is at Bini Brew Co in August so keep your eyes peeled for our thoughts on that!