Every good beer adventure needs a grand finale, and as the Ale Train rolled into Guiseley, it felt like we’d arrived at exactly that.
After a day spent hopping between pubs, chasing trains, sampling excellent beer and somehow keeping the Yorkshire weather on side, we finally reached our final destination: Airesborough Beer Festival.
And after a day like ours, it couldn’t have been a more fitting place to bring the first ever T.E.H Ale Train to a close.
There were live bands, music and a cheeky BBQ pit, what more could you possibly need!
But what did they have on TAP?
Name: Strawberry Rhubarb Ripple Oat-Icecream Sour (4.5% ABV)
- Brewery: Yonder
- Aroma : Strawberry & cream boiled sweets with a hint of sourness
- Appearance : The colour of Apple and Rhubarb pie filling, with a thin white film head when poured.
- Body : Thick, almost Smoothie like, low carbonation and no head.
- Taste : Sour up front, makes your lips purse then its followed by a big hit of strawberries and cream leaving a very sickly sweet finish.
Full disclosure, I asked for the Yonder Stout and not this one, but.. you have to try these things whilst you can. Its definitely not my usual drink, and was very sickly sweet, but I can definitely understand why there is a market for this, but I would argue its not a “beer”, its more like a sweet alcohol smoothie that is beer adjacent.
Sam’s overall rating: 3.7/ 5.0
Name: Stout, Deluxe Beer (4.0% ABV)
- Brewery: Pilot
- Aroma : Slight Roasted malt, but very minimal ( I think the beers too cold)
- Appearance : Dark Ale with a open finger thick tan head when poured.
- Body : Medium bodied stout, no head retention, very cold.
- Taste : Roasted Malt, notes of milk chocolate but not much else.
As I said earlier in my review I think this one was too cold, but I was not about to stand around and wait for it to warm up as there are plenty more beers to try.
Also this is a beet festival in outer Leeds and this has travelled from Leith ( Edinburgh) so its travelled a fair distance, so it could be that it doesn’t travel well.
Matt’s overall rating: 2.9/ 5.0
Name: Range of Light, Pale (5% ABV)
- Brewery: Horsforth Brewery
- Aroma : Intense hoppy notes that lingers, very yummy.
- Appearance : Very pale amber, no head and no residue. Bit of haze.
- Body : Low gas again, feels a lot lower alcohol than it is, vey smooth going down.
- Taste : Deeply citrus with a hint of smoothness, nice round taste, goes down easy and would pair well with fish I think.
I really enjoyed this one, it was light refreshing, and delivered on exactly what i want in a beer.
Selene’s overall rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Name: Mango Oro, Ultra Pale Ale (3.8% ABV) [the sign on pump is wrong]
- Brewery: Zapato
- Aroma : Big hit of citrus and tropical fruits on the nose.
- Appearance : A cracking sunshine yellow/ golden pint with a tight white head when poured.
- Body : Clean, Medium bodied, very morish and a good head retention.
- Taste : This was a very juicy mouthful, and very clean, not to hoppy and not to sweet either.
This is the best thing I have drank at the beer festival so far, If I was in a field in the sunshine I would have been happy as a swine in muck with this one.
Sam’s overall rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Name: Icarus Falls , Red IPA (5.5% ABV)
- Brewery: Bingley Brewery
- Aroma : Faint hints of stone fruits and malts
- Appearance : Amber to Red in colour, with a closed white head when poured.
- Body : Medium bodied, good level of carbonation, and decent head retention.
- Taste : This one was a little dry at the finish but it had a good bold flavour of stoned fruits which morphed into a bitter hoppy mouthful.
I like this one, in fact its time for another.
Matt’s overall rating: 3.6/ 5.0
Name: Tasty Juice, Double Dry-Hopped IPA (6% ABV)
- Brewery: Lervig
- Aroma : Mango, Pineapple and citrus fruit notes.
- Appearance : Pours a hazy, golden-amber with a tight white head.
- Body : Very light body, making it surprisingly smooth, not very good head retention.
- Taste : It was true to its name, juicy and pretty tasty, the tropical fruit flavours did what they do best, and made you want to go back for that extra mouthful.
I thought this one was surprisingly dangerous as it certainly didn’t taste like a 6% beer. Top end for a session in my opinion, but i would happily have another..
Sam’s overall rating: 3.8/ 5.0
Name: High Noon, Blonde (4.5% ABV)
- Brewery: Bingley Brewery
- Aroma : Strong hoppy scent, not picking up anything else.
- Appearance : Pale Honey colour with a closed white head when poured.
- Body : Medium bodied, good level of head retention and okay carbonation.
- Taste : Triple hop trying to give full flavour but unfortunately not managing, thin in body, low carbonation but slight dryness
unfortunately despite Blondes and lagers being my thing, this one didn’t really hit the mark with me. But there is a silver lining! I still have room for one more Icarus Falls!
Matthew’s overall rating: 2.9/ 5.0
Name: Airedale Blonde (3.9% ABV)
- Brewery: Skipton Brewing Company
- Aroma : Had a nice bitter sweet hop taste with an unusual earthy backing.
- Appearance : Clear golden yellow pint with a good white head when poured.
- Body : Thin and mild, was very delicate with low carbonation.
- Taste : Sweet with a fruity, apple like quality. with a medium bitter draw to finish.
this was a pleasant easy going blonde. sweet, and satisfying without being at all sickly or overpowering.
Kayla’s overall rating: 4.0 / 5.0
After all these beers, eventually, common sense made a rare appearance.
While Airesborough Beer Festival was still going strong, we decided it was probably best to leave while we could still remember the night. With a few beers still left untasted and plenty of festival atmosphere still in full flow, we made our way home for one final stop of the day.
The back garden.
With one last beer in hand, family and friends gathered to round off what had been another fantastic Ale Train. There was plenty of laughter, a fair amount of reminiscing about the day’s highlights, and the inevitable debate about which beer had come out on top.
Looking back, the 4th T.E.H Ale Train was everything we’d hoped for. Great pubs, great beer, good weather (eventually), and the sort of company that makes even the longest day disappear far too quickly.
A huge thank you to The Flying Duck, Bini Brew Co, The White Horse, and everyone involved with Aireborough Beer Festival for helping make the day such a success. And of course, thank you to all the family and friends who joined us along the way.
The Ale Train has always been about more than just the beer. It’s about spending time with good people, discovering great venues, and creating the sort of memories that get retold every time someone says, “SAM…you cant Fit WALTZERs in there!?!?!”
But for now the glasses are empty, the train tickets have been safely pocketed, and another Ale Train is in the books.
Now the question:
The|Eternal|Hoptimitsts 