 |
Jesse Carlingard
Not a permanent beer available for the punters,
but a guest ale that shines during it's brief
period on the pumps. Despite receiving mixed
reviews during the time we were able to sample
it, Jesse Carlingard would eventually return to
it's home brewery where remarkable progress
would be made which eventually led to it
receiving international honours. |
 |
Jamie Murphy's
The stout was a left wing choice for selection
at the party. Depending on how it is poured, it
can be a bit hit and miss having arrived for
reasonably big money from a brewery in
Sheffield. When Jamie Murphy's is on form, it is
a crisp and direct beer that will get you
results. When it is off form, it can be cloudy
and sometimes you will even forget you have
imbibed it. |
 |
Paulander Reid
The first solid Australian beer we have ever
experienced is a must for any Oktoberfest.
Paulaner Reid is adaptable and has great
flexibility, being comfortable in any number of
positions such as a half pint glass, a pint
glass or even a stein. A particularly pleasing
import given the cheapness it arrived from from
a brewery in Bradford. |
 |
Sol-ly March
A reasonably new beer on the scene, Sol-ly March
has received some rave reviews that have
resulted in international recognition. It's
quick to drink and very exciting and is
something of a rarity having been brewed
locally. One negative about it is that it does
tend to be served off on a regular basis, with
at least a four month period every year when you
can't touch a drop of it. |
 |
Steve Fosters
Steve Fosters is a dependable old beer best
served with a big, white frothy head at the top.
One for the older drinker, it has a remarkable
success rate having reached a cup final which is
something none of the other beers at Oktoberfest
have done. Gained cult status in the 1990s when
the head brewer was a bit of a prick and the
beer turned flat in protest against him. |
 |
Lorenzo Peronimonte
Just like Jessie Carlingard, Lorenzo Peronimonte
served a brief spell as a guest ale before
imported Italian's became fashionable. A strong
brew that tended to find the mark more often
than not, it was a popular drop during it's
month stay before being poached by a brewery
from Brentford. But Peronimonte obviously
doesn't travel well as it failed to live up it's
billing from that point on. |
 |
Alastair John Smiths
Blink and you could be forgiven for forgetting
this beer exists. Either that or you've tried to
blank it from your mind given that it was served
during a dark period for the brewery in the mid
00's. Alastair John Smiths was quick to drink
but other than that it offered very little to
the point where we would actually forgotten
about it until putting this list together. |
 |
Heinekemy Agustien
Arguably one of the most overhyped beers in the
world. It arrived on the scene to great fanfare
and clearly believed it's own hype with a strong
and arrogant marketing campaign on Twitter
involving gyms, clothes and fast cars.
Unfortunately, Heinekemy Agustien was in reality
fattening, slow and very, very, very bitter. A
waste of money if truth be told. |
 |
Frank Worthington's
Another one for the old school beer fanatic. We
only got to sample Frank Worthington's once it
had been well matured. Best drunk fresh, it had
a reputation for silkiness and being the drink
of choice at parties given it's lavish
lifestyle. A lovely looking drop, it is another
smooth beer that will appeal to fans of a
certain vintage. |
 |
Craig Blue Moon
An exciting beer out of Liverpool, Craig Blue
Moon is direct, to the point and will get you
drunk very quickly. It's a mightily entertaining
drop and one of the most fun beers you can find
out there. Particularly recommended is drinking
it after a hard day of work tiling the roof of
Steve Gerrard's house which you can then
relentlessly mention in the media at every
opportunity. |
 |
Elvis Mahou
Your first few sips of Elvis Mahou will be
terrible and a bit of a let down after paying
big money and hearing good things about it. But
this is one of those beers you have to give time
to and once you start reaching the halfway point
of your pint, things will have improved to the
point where you don't think that it is actually
that bad a beer. |
 |
Leon Best Bitter
A more apt name for this would be Leon Worst
Bitter. Best Bitter is yet another to arrive to
huge fanfare having had a very successful spell
on tap up in Newcastle. How it went down so well
up there is an absolute bloody mystery as it is
lazily brewed and in truth tastes like absolute
shit. Once you've had one pint of it you will
never want another. |
 |
Leon Coors Light
You've got to make the most of Leon Coors Light
while you can. When it arrives from the brewery,
it is an absolute delight and will be one of the
best beers you have on offer. Be warned though,
when you get halfway through the barrel it tends
to go off and the rest of it will taste bitter
and unkempt, which eventually leads to it going
totally off the rails to the point where nobody
will touch it. |
 |
Roland Carlsbergkamp
From a large family of beers, one of whom was
considered the best in the world at one point.
That leaves Roland Carlsbergkamp with a lot to
live up to which, unfortunately, it simply can't
do. There were high expectations for it which
were understandable but once arrived it remained
untouched and unwanted, eventually being chucked
out without being poured. |
 |
Sam Miguel Baldock
Won plenty of plaudits at low level beer
festivals but the question was - could Sam
Miguel Baldock step up to a higher level of
competition? The results have been mixed. To
some he is a great accompaniment to higher
quality beer in that when you combine the two,
he looks like he belongs. To others, he is an
expensive mistake that shouldn't feature in the
the brewery at all. |
 |
Old Speckled Henderson
Old Speckled Henderson was always likely to be
up against popular opinion from the moment it
replaced a popular Dutch beer on the bar. It
started off well enough, proving it's worth with
some excellent pints but soon a major flaw was
detected in that for some reason it would always
spill out of the glass, leading to the eventual
return of the Dutch beer. |
 |
Gerry Armstrongbow
The final one of the old school beers, Gerry
Armstrongbow had a brief period with the brewery
in the 1980s before it was discarded after being
deemed too strong due to a drunken altercation.
Since then, the Northern Irish brew has gone
onto become very popular in Spain and even more
incredibly could be found in Singapore as
recently as 2014. |
