Hello and welcome back to the Eternal Hopimists,
John, Sue and Sam all got on a train bound for Knaresborough last bank holiday to visit the budding beer festival that is the Henshaws Beer Fest.
The charity ran festival, put on a variety of local tipples from Cold Bath, Daleside, Harrogate Brewery, Turning Point and Roosters Brew Co
The festival itself was held in Henshaws Arts and Craft Centre, which is a pretty unique setting for the festival. It had two major stages, with various musical acts, a couple of food trucks, a café and indoor seating as well!
As usual we took it upon ourselves to have as many of the beers as we could, whilst giving an unbiased opinion of what we thought of them. Spoilers; there were some belters, but a couple of… acquired tastes too.
Roosters Brewing Co, (YPA) Yorkshire Pale Ale – 4.1% ABV
1. Hops : Styrian Golding hops
2. Grain : Malted Barley & Wheat
3. Aroma : Lightly Floral and peachy notes
4. Appearance : Clear golden colour with a very thin white head when poured
5. Body : Thin, low carbonation, no head retention
6. Taste : Very fine washed fruits, with a light hop.
Dietary Notes: Vegan Friendly
It’s a shame this one wasn’t as lively as the ladies that pulled it! not sure if it was in the pulling or had not travelled well, but this one was a little too flat. Having been to the taproom the day before the festival, I know that this is better than what was on offer, which is a shame!
Sues Rating: 2.7/ 5.0
Turning Point Brew Co, Astral Voyage -3.4 % ABV
1. Hops : Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy Hops
2. Grain: Barley, Wheat & Oats
3. Aroma : Tropical fruits and Hoppy aroma
4. Appearance : Opaque Manuka Honey Yellow with a tight white head when poured
5. Body : Medium Bodied, well carbonated with good head retention
6. Taste : Lip smacking tropical notes, wich morph to hops, and a pine needle tingle coming creating a dry finish.
Dietary Notes: Vegan Friendly
This was a cracking full on flavoured session, if we were not reviewing id have 3 or 4 of these, very good. As per I tip my hat to Turning Point Brew co, they certainly know their stuff.
Sam’s Rating: 3.7/ 5.0
Harrogate Brewery, Wavey Marms – 3.8% ABV
1. Hops : Mosaic and Citra
2. Grain: Malted Barley, Wheat and Oats
3. Aroma : Sweet honey like notes with an underlying hop.
4. Appearance : Cloudy orange, with a slight white head
5. Body : Medium bodied, well carbonated with ok head retention.
6. Taste : Very sweet honey like taste with a veiled hoppy aftertaste.
If you have a sweet tooth and fancy a beer this summer, look no further, this one was a belter and at 3.8% its one you can have again and again!
John’s Rating: 3.6/ 5.0
Daleside Brewery, Monkey Wrench – 5.3% ABV
1. Hops : N/A
2. Grain: N/A
3. Aroma : Brown bread, toffee, tea and banana
4. Appearance : Reddish Chesnut brown, with a decent head when poured.
5. Body : Medium bodied, well carbonated, with cracking head retention
6. Taste : Caramelized stoned fruits, with a hint of malted bread with a treacle backing.
This one was giving me some real red rye vibes, its multi-award winning, and my go i can tell why, definitely the highlight of the festival for me!
Sam’s Rating: 4.1/ 5.0
Daleside Brewery, Old Legover – 4.1% ABV
1. Hops : N/A
2. Grain: N/A
3. Aroma : Quite woody with some nutty notes among the hop.
4. Appearance : Clear Amber/copper coloured beer. Cream coloured, thin, bubbly head when poured
5. Body : Medium Bodied, good carbonation, ok head retention.
6. Taste : Quite nutty, not as woody as the scent, with a hoppy kick giving it a dry finish.
Not bad, another good one from Daleside, nice higher ABV session, I would definitely have this again if give the chance!
John’s Rating: 3.4/ 5.0
Harrogate Brewing Co, IRIS, NEIPA – 6.3% ABV
1. Hops : GALAXY, MOSAIC & AZACCA
2. Grain: N/A
3. Aroma : Tropical notes with an undercut of Hop.
4. Appearance : Opaque, orange smoothie with a white thick white head
5. Body : Medium to full bodied, really well carbonated and cracking head retention.
6. Taste : Strong tropical tones, with a wash of grapefruit and a nice hoppy tingle that coats the tongue, resulting in a bit of a dry finish
another one with a dry finish, but this one certainly delivered on flavour, it was the heavy hitter of the festival at 6.3% and was very popular, and I can see why.
Sam’s Rating: 3.4/ 5.0
Daleside Brewery, G&P, Gin Infused Pale Ale – 4.0 % ABV
1. Hops : N/A
2. Grain: N/A
3. Aroma : Quite a limey scent, with a mix of elderberries and malts.
4. Appearance :Hazy straw yellow with an open white head when poured.
5. Body : Medium bodied, ok carbonation with minimal head retention.
6. Taste : An unusual taste, not quite gin, not quite beer with a lime wash and a dry finish
not to sure on this one, its certainly an acquired taste, fantastic idea on paper, unsure about the execution, would love to try it again to see if it was just a bit off at the festival, or if that’s what a true pint is like.
Sue’s Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
Cold Bath Brewing, 1571 -0.5 % ABV
1. Hops : N/A
2. Grain: N/A
3. Aroma : Mellow hoppy and Malted scent.
4. Appearance :Clear golden colour, with a thin white head when poured.
5. Body : Thin bodied, medium carbonation, with ok carbonation.
6. Taste : This one is very clean, with a biscuity undertone with a twist of citrusy hop.
Dietary Notes: Vegan Friendly
Now I know its unusual to have a non alcoholic beer at a beer festival, but after this Jan I must admit I am very impressed with these modern low ABV tipples. This one was unbelievably clean, and refreshing, but still scratches that beer itch, I highly recommend this one if your driving and out and about!
Sam’s Rating: 3.3/ 5.0
Mash Gang X Amundsen, Reign in Blood -0.5 % ABV
1. Hops : N/A
2. Grain: Malted Barley, Oats and Wheat.
3. Aroma : Strong Chocolate and cherry aroma.
4. Appearance : Dark Reddish black with a strawberry mocha head when poured.
5. Body : Medium bodied, well carbonated, really good head retention.
6. Taste : Sweet, but with a deep cherry and chocolate flavour the makes you go WOW!.
This one is inspired by Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte, and for me its the best non alcoholic beer I have ever had in the 60+ years I’ve been around on the planet! well done Mash gang & Amundsen, you cracked it!
John’s Rating: 4.0/ 5.0
We also had some grub at the snaffling hog box, which was very good indeed. I will spare you the photo’s of us stuffing our faces, but let it be known that I’m pretty sure you needed to unhinge your jaw like a snake to get the burger in your mouth, we definitely got Yorkshire sized portions, and we were not complaining!
That concludes our coverage of the Henshaws Beer Fest 2023, of course we took a couple of beers for the train home, as we couldn’t let this chap not have another Reign of Blood could we!
We hope to visit again at Henshaws Beer Fest 2024! Next Up Crafty Dog Beer Festival!… god its hard to keep up with them all!…
The|Eternal|Hoptimitsts 