Today marks the end of Wetherspoon’s Autumn Real Ale Festival, which saw the chain offer 30 festival ales, 25 of which appeared at Wetherspoon for the first time ever. The selection contains something for everybody, with ales ranging from 3.4% to 6.6% ABV, from pale blond to dark black and from powerfully fruity porters to malty golden ales.
Wetherspoon is once again promoting its third-pint measures, allowing you to sample three ales for the price of a pint. This is brilliant for a festival like this, making it easy to sample a range of new and often unique ales without committing to a half or full pint (or getting too drunk!). These are available on the app too, and the staff were kind enough to label the beers before they brought them to us!
Whilst I’m certainly very fond of cask ales, and visiting dozens of Spoons has introduced me to a whole variety of flavours and aromas, I wouldn’t consider myself a connoisseur. My inexperienced taste buds aren’t well-trained enough to distinguish between Citra and Mosaic hops but that’s one of the things I love about these festivals – it can really expand your ale horizons.
You can read the ‘official’ descriptions of the beers below, and I’ve added details of the brewers who’ve poured their heart and souls into these beers and made this festival possible. I’ve included my amateur ratings of each one, and you can visit the WethoWanderers Untappd to find more of my thoughts on these beers.
12th October – The Roebuck Inn
So on the second day of the festival I found myself in The Roebuck Inn, festival tasting notes in hand as I started a journey to sample as many of these festival ales as I possibly could. With such a range of ales being promoted it’s impossible for any one pub to stock them all at once, but my visit to The Roebuck was a good start, with seven of the festival ales on offer.
Zulu Blonde 4.5% ABV
Richard Chennels has returned to brew this popular beer again, this time at Banks’ Brewery (West Midlands). This golden amber beer has a predominantly malty character, balanced by fruit flavours and hints of citrus, leading to a light, crisp finish.
My rating: 3.5/5 (Untappd)
Zululand Brewery, Eshowe (South Africa)
Website / Instagram / Twitter
Hoptropolis 6.0% ABV
Mitch Steele has travelled to Hook Norton Brewery (Oxfordshire) to brew this deep golden beer. The intensely fruity aroma leads to a medium body and emerging hop character, with plenty of tropical fruit notes and a pleasing bitterness in the finish.
My rating: 3.75/5 (Untappd)
New Realm Brewing – Georgia (USA)
Website / Instagram / Twitter
Phoenix Tears 4.5% ABV
This new copper-coloured beer, using solely UK ingredients, delivers a beautiful balance of hop notes and malt flavours, resulting in a bittersweet character and a warming, spicy finish.
My rating: 3.5/5 (Untappd)
Castle Rock Brewery – Nottingham
Website / Instagram / Twitter
Finisher 4.0% ABV
This seasonal golden pale ale is packed full of hops which deliver ripe apricot, juicy citrus and subtle spicy flavours, balanced by a light sweet maltiness.
My rating: 2.25/5 (Untappd)
Cracklewick 4.8% ABV
This occasionally brewed mahogany ale has floral, citrus and spicy aromas, which complement the chocolate and roasted malt hints in its flavour, resulting in a satisfying, smooth and velvety character.
My rating: 3.75/5 (Untappd)
Shepherd Neame Brewery – Faversham
Website / Instagram / Twitter
16th October – The Last Post
The following week I headed to another local Spoons, The Last Post, where three festival ales were on offer (although I did sample two more seasonal cask ales, not specifically included in the Festival).
Easy Stout 4.0% ABV
Robyn Guille has travelled to Batemans Brewery (Lincolnshire) to brew this tropical session stout. The aromas of tropical and citrus fruit lead to a smooth roasted malt flavour, with notes of chocolate and toffee, then a full-bodied, creamy and refreshing finish.
My rating: 3.5/5 (Untappd)
Steel & Oak Brewing – New Westminister (Canada)
Website / Instagram / Twitter
The Murmurings of a Lost Leviathan 4.8% ABV
This golden IPA sparkles with mesmerising tangerine and papaya sorbet notes, delivering a hoppy and full (yet not overpowering) flavour which melds beautifully across a brazen sea of passionfruit and lemon zest.
My rating: 4.25/5 (Untappd)
Combined Harvest 4.4% ABV
This deep gold seasonal beer contains a unique multigrain blend of malted barley, oats, wheat and rye, creating a refreshing flavour with a dry-sweet character, plus citrus hints.
My rating: 3/5 (Untappd)
17th October – The Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren
I’d truly caught the Real Ale Festival bug by now, so we paid a visit to The Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren in Stapleford where the Wetherspoon App reliably informed me I could tick seven more festival ales off the list.
King Goblin 6.6% ABV
This rarely seen, deep ruby strong ale is brewed with roasted chocolate and crystal malts which, combined with a blend of hop varieties, produce a rich and full-bodied beer, with fruity notes and a pleasingly smooth character.
My rating: 4.25/5 (Untappd)
Nut Brown 4.0% ABV
This chestnut-coloured beer has aromas of gooseberry, pine, toasted malt and caramel, leading to hints of brown sugar on the palate, balanced by a fresh bitterness, with orange and fresh bread notes.
My rating: 3.25/5 (Untappd)
Slovenian Pale Ale 4.3% ABV
This light golden seasonal ale is brewed with a blend of pale ale and lager malts to give a European character, while its Slovenian hops deliver a pleasing floral aroma and hints of lemon in the flavour.
My rating: 3.25/5 (Untappd)
Maxim Brewery – Houghton le Spring
Website / Instagram / Twitter
Quiet Shadows 5.0% ABV
This new hazy straw coloured pale ale has a ripe fruit and resinous aroma, leading to delicate strawberry and raspberry flavours, complemented by vibrant citrus notes, before resulting in a soft, silky finish.
My rating: 3.25/5
Fyne Ales – Cairndow (Scotland)
Website / Instagram / Twitter
19th October – The Trent Bridge Inn
Nottingham seems to be blessed with a number of Wetherspoons all offering a number of guest ales, and it was just my luck that The Trent Bridge Inn would help to tick six more festival ales off the list.
Hubble 5.2% ABV
This golden American pale ale is packed with a mouth-watering blend of US hops, delivering big punchy notes of mango, lemon and orange from the aroma all the way through to its refreshing finish.
My rating: 3.25/5 (Untappd)
Bohemian Pale Ale 5.0% ABV
Richard Chennels has returned to brew this popular beer again, this time at Banks’ Brewery (West Midlands). This golden amber beer has a predominantly malty character, balanced by fruit flavours and hints of citrus, leading to a light, crisp finish.
My rating: 3.75/5 (Untappd)
Joe’s Garage Brewery – Plzeň (Czech Republic)
Website
Cherry Porter 4.9% ABV
This dark red speciality porter has a rich aroma and a well-rounded fruity character, with its sweet cherry flavour balanced by generous hop notes.
My rating: 3.25/5 (Untappd)
19th October – Lloyds No. 1 Bar
Before heading home we just had to pay a visit to Lloyds No.1 Bar, having checked the Wetherspoons App to find it was serving two more festival ales. Eight festival ales in one day? Don’t mind if I do!
Krafty Kiwi 4.0% ABV
This occasionally brewed, light golden beer contains hints of crystal malt, enhancing the flavour and balancing the lemon zest notes and hints of pine, with a lasting resinous finish.
My rating: 3.5/5 (Untappd)
Brewster’s Brewery – Grantham (UK)
Website / Instagram / Twitter
20th October – The Ritz
A trip to Lincoln to visit and review a couple more Wetherspoons brought us to The Ritz, which was serving Purity’s Bunny Hop. Coincidentally, The Trent Bridge Inn actually sells off their old beer pump clips in exchange for donations to Young Lives vs Cancer, and I’d picked up the Bunny Hop clip just the day before!
Bunny Hop 3.4% ABV
This hazy, pale golden ale is extra hoppy in character, with a full aroma, pronounced bitterness in the flavour, notes of grapefruit and a long, dry finish.
My rating: 3.25/5 (Untappd)
I’ll be keeping a keen eye out for the four ales we didn’t come across – Evan Evans‘ Challenger, Robinsons‘ Fear of the Dark, St Austell‘s Average Joe! and Hogs Back‘s Ratfink & Ripsnorter. And I’m certainly looking forward to sampling some of the other offerings from the breweries we’ve discovered thanks to this Real Ale Festival
Wetho Wanderers 