Winnners and Losers at the Hare & Hounds

Well the tables have been wiped and the slop buckets emptied. Yes, yesterday saw the final day of the first Hare & Hounds beer festival of this year. The unseasonably good weather we had on the first weekend certainly helped as the pub was even busier than usual. With over a hundred beers flying out in the first few days, there were fears of a beer drought, but thanks to good planning, that never came to pass. So well done to Andy & Lynne and all the team there.

How was it for you? Well, it was an unashamed tickers fest. Even more so after the initial beer rush led to many beers appearing that were not on the official list. Which left many tickers caught between sexual arousal and despair as they feared they may be miss out on a crucial tick.

For the rest of us, these events usually mean plotting a course carefully between trusted breweries and the unknown depths. The first part was easy, but with so many new ones appearing, the second wasn't so easy. There were a few more than usual of the pale, but still malty, beers and a few of the boring and brown type, but still plenty to enjoy. Some of the Milds and Stouts were particularly good.

Winners: Rather predictable, but it’s hard to see beyond the quality of Mallinsons. All five of theirs were very good, indeed, with Stella and Summit perhaps just edging it as the best two.

Losers: DB Brewery of Runcorn. Not sure if they hadn’t cleaned the mash tun out or whether they were supposed to taste something like unfermented Greenalls.