Hello my fellow drinkers!
We have been on the road again with the usual suspects, this time to Bini Brew Co’s Summer Beer Bash! We were last in Ilkley when we came to Crafty Dogs Beer Festival earlier in the year so it only seems right that we attend this one as well!
This one was a wee bit smaller than our last beer festival at Yarnbury, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t some top choice tipples available.
On the roster we have some familiar faces such as Wishbone, Ilkley and Piglove brew Co. Along with some the new faces (at least for us) of Hops & Dots, Bini Brew Co, Wharfdale, & Cannabrew, pretty sure Nomadic was there too, but I will be the first to admit, the end of the night was pretty hazy. They are on the poster though!
So lets talk about the beer!
- Name: Bini Brew Co
- Brewery: Chairman Maow (5.5% ABV)
- Aroma : Tropical fruit aroma, with a background of strong hop
- Appearance : Cloudy, Sunny Orange Juice with a tight white head
- Body : Medium to full bodied, well carbonated with a tight fluffy white head.
- Taste : Very strong tropical pineapple notes, that leaves a slight tang and hoppy tingle, ever so slight aftertaste of tar that coats the tongue making it a little dry.
With it being Bini’s summer Bash it was only right to start with one of their more well known beers, Chairman Maow. Not a bad starter it certainly set the bar for the others, I found that the aftertaste spoilt this one a bit for myself, but not a bad beer at all. It had a real bite to it, and at 5.5% it was not to harsh but a tad strong for a session.
Our overall rating: 3.3/ 5.0
- Name: Velvet Gloss (5.0% ABV)
- Brewery: Wishbone
- Aroma : A rich coffee, with a hint of roasted barley.
- Appearance : Black as night, with a medium white head.
- Body : Smooth, well balanced, well carbonated, good head retention
- Taste : A lovely chocolatey slightly roasted coffee mouthful, which is followed by a tongue tingling bitter finish.
Wishbone have done it again, another no nonsense cracking pint. You will notice there is no picture of this one as I enjoyed it too much to even think about taking one. At 5% you could easily have another, but unfortunately there were others calling my name, but when I get the chance I’m definitely getting another of these.
Our overall rating: 4.0/ 5.0
- Name: Spirits Arise, New England IPA (7.4% ABV)
- Brewery: Piglove Brew Co
- Aroma : Zingy notes of tropical fruit, with a slight blanket of hop to follow.
- Appearance : Opaque dark pineapple smoothie with a thin tight white head.
- Body : Medium to heavy bodied, well carbonated, low head retention
- Taste : Lovely mouth-watering tropical punch, followed by a sweetness that rolls off the tongue to a sharp alcoholic bite to finish.
This was a beautiful tipple, it was a weighty, mouth-watering tropical pint, with a strong pineapple and tropical twist. I loved it. at 7.4% I couldn’t afford to have another, but believe me I wanted one!
Our overall rating: 4.1 / 5.0
- Name: Holy Cosmos, Smoked Kolsch (5.9% ABV)
- Brewery: Piglove Brew Co
- Aroma : Lovely smokey hops with a very thin wisp of citrus
- Appearance : Deep cloudy orange marmalade with a thin white film of a head.
- Body : Medium Bodied, well Carbonated, low head retention.
- Taste : Floral and citrus hoppiness to start followed by a big smokey undertone and ashy/smoke finish, it was like tasting all the best bits of a BBQ at once, and it definitely made your mouth water.
This is the kind of beer that divides a room. It was such an unusual flavour profile, and incredibly tasty for a smoked beer, I have not had another one like it. On paper you wouldn’t think that it works.. but it does!
Our Overall Rating: 3.9/ 5.0
- Name: Blonde (3.9% ABV)
- Brewery: Wharfdale
- Aroma : A little Herbaceous on the nose, with a hint of grass
- Appearance : Clear pale amber with a dense white head
- Body : Very smooth, Medium bodied, well carbonated good head retention
- Taste : Quite grassy, with a slight citrus running through.
A good standard, easy drinking pale ale, poured by an informative chatty quiz man, what more would you want from your local (we will be round for the quiz soon)
Our Overall Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
- Name: D-E-U-S (Democratically Elected Ukrainian Stout), Imperial Stout, 10/5%
- Brewery: Hops & Dots
- Aroma : Heavy nose of roasted malt and tar, and a hint of chocolate
- Appearance : Very dark, with a tight café late head
- Body : Full Bodied, well carbonated, good head retention
- Taste : A lovely bitter dark roasted coffee and chocolate with a slight Ashy/Tar. There were a lot of smokey flavours although it was never smoked.
I finished on this, my god it was good, but at 10.5% it was a powerful beast to finish on. Full of flavour as well as power, I suspect we will see some more from Hops and Dots in the coming weeks.. so keep your eyes peeled for that!
Our Overall Rating: 3.8/5.0
As is the norm, I have to admit, I did have a couple more outside of these, but it begins to get a little too hazy to report on afterward. So, I am not putting my thoughts to paper on those!
That is two for two cracking beer festivals that the crafty dog has been affiliated with so we eagerly await a third! Next time I will drag John or Peter with me so that I’m not expected to remember and document all these cracking beers myself!
The|Eternal|Hoptimitsts 