The location of the festival was former cotton-spinning Islington Mill in Salford. It was cosy, but not restrictive. Friendly and inviting. The courtyard was by far the best area to sit and have a drink.
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Paradise Pale Ale (Left), Black Fox Porter (Right) |
Now, this is the one of the first porters that Mady has felt safe to drink. Dark in colour, with a light tan foam. It was surprisingly hoppy for such a dark porter, with the traditional chocolate notes with only the slightest hint of coffee. Overall, this is quite a light porter in both texture and flavour and was an easy-drinking porter.
One of the most flavourful beers of the festival – and Mady’s favourite – and definitely suited for a hot summer day in the park with a BBQ. It was more akin to a lager than an ale, very light with slight carbonation. Flavour-wise there were some slight hints of hops but it was overwhelmingly floral.
The first rye beer we’ve had, so we had no idea what to expect and nothing to compare it to! At first, we were both put off by the smell – honestly, it was not pleasant. However, it was nice to taste. One of the strongest palates of the festival. The beer retained a little spice of the rye, a bit peppery with a slight chilli flake tinge, that combined with the traditional hoppy notes very well. It was slightly reminiscent of a rye whiskey notes. Surprisingly good.
The plainest beer of the festival – but that doesn’t mean it was bad! Admittedly, it just means we don’t have a lot to say. It was easy to drink pleasantly floral and refreshing.
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Railyway Porter (Left), BLY (Right) |
Railway Porter. Made by 5 points, 4%.
In comparison to Black Fox, this is the style of Porter that Rami is used to – and coincidentally it was his favourite. It was much thicker and much heavier than the Black Fox – too heavy for Mady’s taste – and stronger in flavour. Strong notes of coffee and chocolate dominate the palate. This is definitely the sipping pint.
Another style of beer that neither of us have tried, and yet again we didn’t know what to expect! It was only slightly heavy, but immensely filling. It was very fruity and, unsurprisingly, oaty! It was a pleasant change of pace, and something we’d definitely explore again. Though, admittedly, it left a strange aftertaste.
For us this was just awful. It was an interesting experiment and maybe with more lime and a lot less salt it might have worked for us. We were heavily dehydrated afterwards, and it made difficult to drink more beer! Not for us.
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All the free stuff! |