SIBA Beer X 2020

SIBA beer X is an event I have never had the experience of venturing into. In the city of Liverpool it hosts a wide range  of suppliers and influential bodies from across the brewing industry. It also features various seminars, and a range of beers from Independent brewers across the nation.

Entering as brewers at SIBA beer X you find no shortage of folk trying to sell you stuff. We spotted lots of familiar faces from the likes of Murphy's, Crisp Malt, Charles Faram, Holdens and more. We also got to witness the Charles Faram Wellhopped World Series awards. Featuring the highest rated newly developed hops. You can sample the hops and beers brewed with hops on the Charles Farams stand. I also happened to bump into the bloke who developed and grows both First Gold and Sovereign hops. I do like First Gold hops. 

Farams Will presents the Wellhopped awards

Daya Brewing's Something Good 2 was a good display of Harlequin hops. Punchy tropical and resiny with some underlying British spiceyness. Ledbury Golden Ale, brewed with the new Euro variety Most was subtle with nuanced summer fruit a little reminiscent of a Styrian Golding.

I also managed to catch some of the Seminar from Carl Heron from Crisp Malt but overall it was the awards that were the star of the show. Daleside Lager winning bronze in the Bottle/can session lager. Sadly our other entrant and previous awards winner Monkey Wrench didn't claim any silverware this time but was on good form. Fellow Harrogate brewers Roosters won Bronze in Bottle/can 5.5-6.4% category and other names from the North East/Yorkshire cropped up from the likes of Acorn and Hadrian and Border. All in all it was a great day and night enjoyed by all including myself and general manager Adam. Hopefully next year we will achieve nomination again.

Monkey Wrench sits by abandoned single use glassware. A anti-Covid19 measure.

Cheers! From the Weyermann stall

Harrogate Beer Festival 2020

Harrogate Charity Beer festival is one of the biggest events of the calendar year at Daleside. Organised and run by Harrogate Round Table, the 30th Harrogate Beer festival featured live music, food and breweries from across the region at the town's Crown Hotel.

Sponsored by both Daleside and Theakstons both breweries were well represented. Keg beers were also available from Cold Bath Brewing, Theakstons and Daleside separate to the cask bar. My initial venture into the trade session involved much exploration. Memories of Harrogate Beer Festival from 2010 were a little sketchy. Everything was easy to find but my initial question was where was Emily? I know she got in late in the game and was nearly forgotten. Eventually she was spotted with her makeshift pumpclip...

One of the two casks in existence of Emily 

Gravity fed from cask and conditioned nicely. Emily was very drinkable for the 5.5% abv. Fleshy fruit and tropical flavours dominate. Underneath there's some banana, apple and spice underpinning the dry finish. Emily is approachable but complicated and arguably better aged a bit longer.

Moving on it was good to try Daleside Stout again. I don't manage to try every seasonal we brew from on trade. Turning Point Disco king was a very pleasant IPA with lots of perfumed sweet citrus and pine from the use of Mosaic and Chinook hops. An all round quality West Coast style IPA. 

Rudgate Brew 28 Cry Wolf was also citrus, hop forward with lemongrass late on whereas Roosters Little Changes came across savory and quite traditional tasting for a new English hop variety beer. Theakstons Old Peculiar is a classic as always that's rarely encountered on cask. 

Another to mention was Theakstons Peculier IPA. An all round good beer that doesn't really tick the boxes of contemporary keg IPA. It's more of an ESB. On the whole I didn't manage to try everything on the list and given  I was getting served a few accidental pints instead of halves managed to get through a fair volume of beer. The all round impression was of a classy, well presented beer festival and a great night.