NO BOYCOTT FOR THE CLIFFORD CHAMPION BEER FESTIVAL

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As I patiently explained in my last post, my June review was the best of my June posts. I’ll be blogging about June itself until September at this rate.

But it seems only right to give early credit to the organisers of my favourite Beer Festival at Clifford, home to decent upstanding citizens and Richard Coldwell. See my previous reports here and here.

But surely you hate Beer Festivals, retiredmartin ? Sad tickers with plastic bottles, weirdy beardies and an obsession with pumpkin hops. And no GBG ticks.

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Craft gin

But Clifford‘s fest is really a high-class village fete, which means you get all sorts of normal people there (joking). Look, it’s even got its own year-round market on Google Maps.

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Some folk arrived on tractors. It was just like home.

In Waterbeach, the local pub has a Festival over a Bank Holiday weekend and locals attempt to drink all 16 beers. Clifford lasts but one day; I do hope no-one there attempted all 30.

So I enjoyed a few halves, served in pint glasses, because beer tastes better in a pint glass. FACT.

All the beer was fresh and cool, generally NBSS 3.5 with the stand-out Track Sonoma a 4. That’s better than the central beer in Leeds last month.

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And that’s the thing. Clifford doesn’t try too hard. Good brewers, no silly names, beers you’ll have seen in central Leeds or Manchester or Cambridge like Moor and Track and Wylam. I hate to say it, but an exemplary choice Mr Coldwell.

Shame about the tasting notes “Think blueberry muffins with a hint of caramel and liquorice“. Indeed.

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But never mind the beer. Some acoustic Beatles covers, local new music, France v Argentina on the big screen, and the best pie and peas outside of Wigan.

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I walked off my first pie (of two) by walking to Boston Spa, a town famous for something or someone. Perhaps the lack of a Beer Guide pub, who knows.

A top walk along the backs of the old spa hotels,

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and some competing entertainment at the Dulcie Butterfly Tea Rooms.

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They really do look like the real thing, don’t they ?

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

35 thoughts on “NO BOYCOTT FOR THE CLIFFORD CHAMPION BEER FESTIVAL”

  1. “home to decent upstanding citizens and Richard Coldwell. ”

    (slow golf clap) 🙂

    “and an obsession with pumpkin hops.”

    Ugh. You get that over there as well? We get inundated every Halloween with beers like that. 😦

    “I do hope no-one there attempted all 30.”

    I’d put money on Alan being able to do it. 😉

    “because beer tastes better in a pint glass. FACT.”

    Well yes… unless it’s the WRONG pint glass. 🙂

    “no silly names,”

    Hang on; Hoptical Illusion, Ringmaster and Nor’Hop (with the slogan ‘drink Moor beer’). Hmmm.

    “by walking to Boston Spa, a town famous for something or someone.”

    Little known fact. The Boston Tea Party was due in part to a lack of high tea at the Boston Spa, owing to a shortage of CO2, or something. 🙂

    “They really do look like the real thing, don’t they ?”

    I believe it’s photo-shopped. 😉

    Cheers

    PS – “France v Argentina on the bid screen,”

    I’m guessing you could offer to pay to have the channel changed then?

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    2. “And an obsession with pumpkin hops.” Ugh. You get that over there as well?

      Fortunately only in very small doses, Russ. The ghastly stuff is easy to spot, and even easier to avoid. I suppose some use has to be found for all those pumpkins grown for Halloween – itself an unwelcome import from across the pond!

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      1. A quick look at the beer list for the Cambridge fest revealed words like “chocolatey biscuit, caramel, lemongrass, liquorice, passion fruit, guava, floral aroma, vanilla, cherry, Mexican corn etc etc”. All on the first page.

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      3. Yet twice I’ve had Shipyard Melonhead and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Not the most obvious of fruits but it was second only to a proper Belgian bottle conditioned cheery beer, and going to prove that they can’t go far wrong in Wolverhampton.

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      4. Was that on cask, Paul ?
        I haven’t seen Shipyard on handpump. I agree though, fruits can be hit and miss. Titanic Plum Porter is up there with Bass in my view, but the cherry one is a bit TOO much.

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      5. Yes, from a cask both times and the only Shipyard I’ve seen on handpump. Maybe it’s only local to Wolverhampton – one of those beers that doesn’t travel well !
        I was deadly serious about “how much I enjoyed it” but regret being a tad frivolous in suggesting that “they can’t go far wrong in Wolverhampton”.
        I expect we each have certain fruits we like, and as a child I would have melon as a starter on about the annual occasion we used a restaurant, and others we don’t and fruit beers we like and don’t like.
        I have found fruit and spiced beers to be very unpredictable in that the flavouring tends to be overwhelming or not at all noticeable and so rarely well balanced.

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      6. “chocolatey biscuit, caramel, lemongrass, liquorice, passion fruit, guava, floral aroma, vanilla, cherry, Mexican corn etc etc”

        Was that just the first beer?

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  2. I tend to keep clear of Moor beer as the unfined stuff has an unfortunate effect.

    “Blueberry muffins”?! If I want muffins I get Mrs B to make some. She makes a mean muffin.

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  3. I must say that if my beer is going to have a “hint of liquorice,” it had better be the hint-iest hint that ever hinted. (I’ve got no problem with Marmite crisps, though, based on my experiences.) 😉

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    1. Oh yes, “pressed rat and warthog” crisps or whatever, bring it on.

      I don’t mind the hazy grapefruit beers or sours or whatever. What I do resent is the lack of consistency. You never see the same beer twice, and beer fests promote constant tinkering rather than a consistent product. My top beer this year is Banks’s Mild, of course.

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      2. Although most of the beers sold well – 9 sold out, 11 down to dregs at the end. The only one with a considerable amount left in the cask was a mild. Everyday drinkers just don’t want it.

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      3. Oddly, I heard a couple of older chaps mildly bemoaning the lack of darker beers at the start. Think they started pale and stayed there. Glad they sold well, excellent selection (except for lack of John Smiths Cask).

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      4. 1872 Porter, Black band Porter & Voodoo Mild were on offer. All are quality dark beers, but none sold well. They are just loss-leaders intended to stop moaning fuckers complaining that there were no dark beers on – can’t win can you.

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  4. Hang on, tribute acts are supposed to have puntastic names: that ‘Bee Gees Tribute Band’ doesn’t indicate any sort of effort to come up with something when drunk at 2.00 am. Be G-strings, MayBee Gees, Vitamin B Gees.
    Bookings taken, reasonable rates.

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  5. Big Shout out to Andy Poulter who did more on the beer selection than I did, and the entire CCBF organising committee without whom the festival would not have taken place.

    Obviously we got something right and Martin’s review is appreciated. I guess 650 paying customers, plus their children and random non-drinkers who just rocked up for the craic and the music tell us that we get something right. We look to be on track to make £6k + to be shared between our Village Hall and Clifford AFC.

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      1. He was very well done when we both staggered out of the Old Star at about 6pm on Sunday after a post festival celebration which started with 2 pints of Track Sonoma, followed by a pint of 1872 Porter in the park at the back of VH, and then (coughs loudly) pints of OBB, that were on fine form, courtesy of mine host Mr Galsworthy. Me? Bollocksed.

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  6. Richard,
    That looks like a right proper beer festival. Very well done. You certainly deserved those pints of OBB the next day and I’m quite sure you weren’t paying £3.40 a pint for them like I was in London all last weekend, well when I wasn’t on the Harveys.
    I don’t know if you’re planning similar next year but if it wasn’t for advanced age and failing health I would man the bar from 10am till noon and all the pints sold to those locals who don’t like wasting mornings would surely mean no beer wasted and more money for the good causes.

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    1. Cake icing beer. Must be a market for that !

      Five pounds buys a glass, programme and the live music. Beer was priced at £3.40 a pint which was very good value for the range.

      Thanks for comments Barb(ara). I see you live not from Dave our Minneapolis UK pub expert !

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      1. I’ll have to time a U.K. visit for late June next year so I can check out this fest. It looks and sounds and probably tastes fab—and the price is right! As for Minneapolis Dave, I don’t know him but we possibly frequent some of the same taprooms here. My fave is Fair State as I love sour beer.

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