When you turn up to this festival with a tankard
they give you a free half. This adds to the atmosphere of this circular Napoleonic
fort but the organisers should probably invite a re-enactment society to come
along too. Built in the early 1800s to protect the port of Harwich against the
threat of invasion it is now a museum housing displays in its original rooms of
guns, uniforms, and general militaria.
The festival took place on the old parade ground in
the centre of the fort, where we were also treated with a live performance from
Polly Haynes, a North-Essex based singer songwriter, singing bluesy songs with her
acoustic guitar.
Getting here was easy, it’s a 5 minute walk from Harwich Town railway station with its connection at Manningtree and the main
Norwich to London line. There’s also a bus stop right outside for anyone
travelling from the Colchester direction.
I sampled 11 different beers across a range of
styles, although drinking out of a pewter tankard does make it difficult to assess
the colour of the beer. Let’s go through them one by one – there is no logical
order, just what took my fancy at the time.
A subtle chocolate orange flavour from chocolate
malt and curaçao orange peel, which isn't dominant or overpowering. There's
vanilla in there too, which keeps everything nicely in balance. A thin body and
subtle bittering towards the end makes for a surprisingly refreshing drink for
a stout.
Very easy drinking but full-flavoured bitter
honouring the fact that Nelson's body was returned to England preserved in a
barrel of brandy, which was either subsequently incorporated into the sailors'
ration, or surreptitiously siphoned off, depending on which historical tale you
believe. In any case, brandy is added to this brew, although I'd be
hard-pressed to identify it. What I do get though is plenty of hedgerow fruits,
spice and liquorice.
Light and very obviously brewed with American Citra
hops, this one has a kick on the palate and characteristic long-lasting grapefruit
bitterness, but not an unpleasant one as there's enough tropical fruit coming
from the hops to temper the overall flavour. If you like new world hops then
this is for you. If you don't, then try it as a gentle-ish introduction to
golden ales.
One of this brewery’s space-themed beers, Apollo
has a light malty, grassy taste with lots of bitterness. I'm not sure about
'one giant step for mankind' but this is a very pleasant, unchallenging,
session ale.
Brewed for the charity Global’s Make Some Noise, it
tastes like there's a good mixture of hops in there, and indeed there is.
Inspired by the charity’s initials there's Galaxy, Simcoe, Minstrel and Nugget.
Not as easy drinking as the Apollo I'm not sure I would drink much more of
this, and of all the beers I've sampled so far, it's taking the longest to go
down!
Organic lemons add a subtle but unmistakable zesty finish,
which results in a very drinkable and refreshing summery brew. If I can find
this in bottles I’d pop them in the fridge as I would happily drink this a bit
cooler.
A well balanced ale with some bitterness but not
overly sweet. The brewery calls it a mild, but don’t think of it as a
traditional mild – it is much lighter and fresher.
A light refreshing golden beer, with tropical
fruit, citrus, and floral flavours from the use of Cascade and Amarillo hops. A
very crisp and clean finish makes this a very session-able beer.
A strong but very smooth mild with a lovely
chocolaty taste and an almost spicy herbal aroma.
A subtle citrus aroma follows through to sweet
lemons on the palate and a bitter finish.
I’m a big fan of Colchester Brewery and I chose it
as my last beer of the day. This is one of their ‘retro’ beers and is heavily
malted, quite sweet, slightly earthy but entirely balanced.
