8th Britannia Inn Champion Beer Festival 2010
From Friday 12th to Sunday 21st November 2010 we will be celebrating our eighth annual Beer Festival, featuring a mixture of CAMRA Champion Real Ales still in production since the competition started in 1978, some SIBA Award Winners (Society of Independent Brewers), and some local finest brews. We'll be aiming for an even more interesting mix this year than last. Below is last year's comprehensive list, which, as we have six hand pumps, were rotated throughout the Festival, ensuring there was a good mix of strengths, flavours, darks, lights, etc. at all times.
There were voting cards throughout the Festival, for guests to nominate their personal favourite, plus lots of prizes to be won. The most voted for favourite this year was Cairngorm's 'Tradewinds' with comments such as 'clean, gooseberry flavour' and 'a fine example of a pale, hoppy bitter'. Thanks very much everyone who came to the Festival, we hope we'll see you again. If you've any ideas you think should be incorporated into this next Festival, we'd be delighted to hear from you.
We held a spring Beer Festival for 2009 for the first time as well, in May. This was in conjunction with other Inns in Langdale, namely Wainwright's Inn in Chapel Stile, The Old Dungeon Ghyll at the head of the Valley, and The Three Shires Inn over in Little Langdale.
The Real Ales featured in the spring Festival were all 'Made in Cumbria' and between the four pubs, we co-ordinated so that we didn't all have the same ones on at once!
The Spring Festival was great fun and we're repeating it this year, between Friday 14th to Sunday 23rd May. Real ale lovers are encouraged to walk between the Inns, fortifying themselves with our libations along the way!
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| 4.0% (CAMRA 2005 and 2006)
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 | Kelham’s Pale Rider 5.2% (CAMRA 2004) £2.90
A well-balanced, strong, fruity, full-drinking pale ale, flavoured with North American hops. |
 | Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted 3.8% (CAMRA 2003) £2.70
Aggressively hoppy beer with fruit throughout. A bittersweet taste with a long bitter finish. A golden session beer. |
 | Caledonian Deuchars I.P.A. 3.8% (CAMRA 2002) £2.70
An extremely tasty and refreshing session beer. Hops and fruit are very evident and are balanced by fruit throughout. The lingering aftertaste is delightfully bitter and hoppy. |
 | Oakham J.H.B. 3.8% (CAMRA 2001) £2.60
An impressive thirst quenching yellow bitter with powerful aromatic grapefruity hop character. Mouth filling grainy palate with a malty sweetness underpinning the hop bitterness. The citrus hop and malt persist as a deep enveloping dryness builds. (2nd place in last years Brit vote ) |
 | Coniston Bluebird Bitter 3.6% (CAMRA 1998) £2.70
A yellow- gold, predominantly hoppy and fruity beer, well balanced with some sweetness and a rising bitter finish, and a much beloved, permanent fixture on the Britannia bar. |
| Hawkshead Bitter 3.7% £2.80 A pale, hoppy, fruity and bitter session ale, with the distinctive aroma of Slovenian hops. One of Cumbria's finest!
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| Triple FFF Alton's Pride 3.8% (CAMRA 2008) £2.80 A golden brown session bitter with a forward, hoppy aroma and long, bitter finish.
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| Beckstone Brewery's Black Dog Freddy 3.9% (CAMRA Gold for Milds 2008) £2.80 Named after the brewer's dog, this beer's now so popular that if we're able to purchase some for our festival we'll be very privileged indeed! We're so keen to try it at The Brit that we're going to collect it from the brewery ourselves. |
| Dent Aviator 4.0% £2.80 A chestnut coloured ale with a full and rounded hop flavour. Malts are complex but take second place to the hop ensemble which make this a distinctive beer.
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| Lancaster Blonde 4.1% £2.80 New this year, Blonde has been designed for drinkers seeking a pale beer with real taste and impact. A contmpoary beer combining pale Marris Otter malt with Germanic-style Munich malt. Initial citrus bitterness is followed by a delightful delicate biscuit overtone culminating in a long, dry finish.
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| Skinners Betty Stogs 4.0% (CAMRA Best Bitter 2008 & SIBA Reserve National Champion 2008) £2.80 A classic pale amber mid-strength bitter with fistinct hoppy overtones. A beautifully balanced quaffing ale containing Cornish malted barley and wheat. Sounds like a 'super food'!
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| Trade Winds 4.3% (SIBA Best Bitter 2008, CAMRA Champion Speciality Beer 2004, 2005 & 2006) £2.95 Ligth golden in colour with a high proportion of wheat giving a clean, fresh taste. The mash blends with Perle hops and elderflower providing a bouquet of fruit and citrus flavours.
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| Yates Bitter 3.7% £2.70 A well-balanced, full bodied beer, golden in colour with complex hop bitterness. A great aroma and distinctive flavour
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| York Brewery Guzzler 3.6% (SIBA North Gold 2006 & 2007) £2.70 A light beer with pale malt character, crisp and refreshing.
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