An excellent evening was had for the group. Alistair from Fengate Brewery came along and discussed beer in great detail for a couple of hours; no question was off limits! He talked us through his own beers which Blackfriars provided on draft – Hudson’s Bitter, Ley Lines(Golden Ale), Three Threads (Smoked Porter) and finally his impressive Imperial Extra Double Stout!
Two people brought along beers that they had brewed to be tried by the group. One was called Tally Ho-Ho-Ho!! a Christmas beer which was based on a recipe for Adnams Tally Ho, which was then dry-Christmas-spiced.
One member brought along a beer, which while drinkable had a taste which he had been unable to isolate the cause of. Several of the members offered thoughts on the cause, and some suggestions on how to remedy it in future brews.
It was also nice to see some attendance from the local CAMRA branch for the meet the brewer aspect of the evening.
During the meeting, two of the organisers of the Acle Winter Beer Festival gate-crashed the meeting and presented Alistair with his award for “Beer of the Festival” for this beer Hokey Pokey made specially for last year’s Acle Winter Beer Festival. Well done Alistair!
It’s still early days with the group, and we continue to evolve what it is, and the format, taking feedback from all attendees. We have decided to make the guest “meet the brewer” appearances quarterly, and the next two sessions in November and December will therefore focus solely on the amateur brewing. Hopefully people will have some of their own brews to bring along, and also come with their problems to see if help is available. We continue to be interested in attracting new members who would like to join this friendly and supportive environment, so please let us know if you want to join for the next session.
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