I blame Mrs RM. I was having a nice beer-free day before my trip to Glasgow tomorrow, but she insisted I came along to our village Football Club Beer Fest, ostensibly because she’d forgotten her purse but more because you’re expected to.
Waterbeach (pop. 4,000) runs one of the biggest youth football tournaments in East Anglia, hundreds of mini De Bruynes descending on the village green, their parents parked in our drive and dropping their McDonalds wrappers on our lawn (joking). It’s wonderful being the centre of the world during FA Cup Final weekend.
And with every football tournament comes the beer festival for real people.
So two hundred people get a bar with, frankly, some top quality local beers. Whoever picks Milton, Welbeck and Navigation knows their beer.
If Cambridge Beer Fest (coping with record crowds, apparently) is all about meeting ex-work colleagues, Waterbeach Football Fest is about buying drinks for Mrs RM while she has politically charged arguments with the rest of the village. Both have their appeal.
Half the folk stick stoically to the real ales all night, cause that’s what you do at a Beer Fest, even when you drink Bud Light at your own birthday party (really).
The other half drink Becks, Stella and Prosecco from a fridge at £2.50 a pop. The Rose ran out at 8.30, which tells you all you need.
It was a lovely evening to drink outside in the sun.
Shame the beer was in toughened plastic; it makes even well cooled beers taste a bit undercooked. But our wonderful local brewery Milton had provided some Nero (5%) and Pandemonium (6.5%) which at least drank their strength.
The Pandemonium (described as Wobbler and only £4 a pint) was generating the excitement, some occasional drinkers confessing their woes at having sunk four pints on Friday night. Lightweights.
Hot Dogs and doughnuts are all you need with beer, really. And an accompaniment of “The Prince“, “Message to you Rudy” and “Come on Eileen” , the soundtrack to every Cambs village event for the last 30 years.
Live music from The Juliets was more enterprising, a mash-up of “Sweet Dreams” and “Seven Nation Army” the most extraordinary thing I’ve heard this week. Mind you, even Pub Curmudgeon owns a White Stripes record.
I’ve left Mrs RM on the Prosecco as I need to catch up on Dr Who. Tomorrow, I will be in Carlisle.
retiredmartin 
44,000 at Cambridge apparently, up 3000 from last year. There may be a little bit of life left in CAMRA still.
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I do hope so, or there won’t be a Beer Guide, and that would be the End of Times.
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I consider it entirely conceivable that the mighty Tigers will be playing Waterbeach in the Trophy or Vase in 5 years time. Therefore, may I enquire, do the facilities of beer tents and doughnuts extend to visiting supporters? Is the pictured Chinese takeaway any good?
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