SUNDERLAND AND SOUTH TYNESIDE OCTOBERFEST - THE DRINKING DAYS

The Sunderland and South Tyneside CAMRA Octoberfest was in full swing when I attended on the Friday . If you wish to read my previous posts giving the background leading up to this one, please link to the following

Octoberfest set up day 1

Octoberfest set up day 2

So Friday saw my first visit to the Beer Festival proper ( it started the day before. Although I claim I was mostly working behind the bar, there was also time to socialise and try a few beers.  This must have been the first time a topic of conversation by some punters was the function room laminate floor, but more on that later.

I have to say there was a really impressive range of beers and ciders / perrys to try. Of the 30 beers available, 5 appear in CAMRA books 300 Beers To Try Before You Die and its sequel, 300 more. Not a bad ratio . For reference they were :-

Castle Rock Elsie Mo

Dark Star American Pale Ale

Highland Dark Munro

Hopback Taiphoon

Little Valley Hebdens Wheat

Also featured were local beers " from the wood" . What this means is they were in wooden casks. Now my own personal opinion is that I didnt think these tasted anything different. Non of our customers  who came to the bar and ordered them even mentioned the fact they were from the wood. For a real comparison you need the same beer in metal cask and wooden barrel, blind tested to tell the difference. Even then I probably wouldn't be able to. For the record, the beers in question, all fine beers and  local ,  were :-

Maxim -  Maxim Ale 

Maxim - Maximus

Temptation - Cheery Belgian &   Raspberry American

3 Kings - Webb Ellis  

 

So over the 2 days , If you are asking me , "which was your favourite new drink ? ", based on the fact I had never tried it before I have to say ( drum roll) 

Orchard Pig Maverick Cider !!

I had this near the end of my Friday night session and its sweetness hit the spot as a final drink. Don't get me wrong, all the beers I had were great ( well, apart from the Brewlab Orange IPA - where was the Orange ?) So much so that on Saturday I threw caution to the wind and my final drinks were a couple of perries , after my beers.

Customer of the day. Well that Friday evening there was a lady dressed like a character from an Agatha Christie story , with a floppy hat and cape ( a 21st century version of Margaret Rutherford ). She was very excited about having the Maxim Ale (5.4%) , then moving up to the Maximus (6%), and finally Roosters Baby Faced Assassin ( 6.1%). I never saw her after that !   

And what about the floor then ? Well we spotted during the set up days that the laminate flooring just in front of the bar had a distinct bulge to it. I didn't take much notice at the time but on approaching the bar for a drink there was a noticeable buckle when waking on it. It was quite amusing standing behind the bar, with line of sight down the bulge, watching punters weave about like they were drunk, without yet having had a beer. It was interesting that the more people had to drink, the less weaving there was. This must have been Newtons 3rd law  kicking in ( for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction) caused by the drink counteracting that of the floor distortion . Very entertaining. 

As a summary, a good combination of helping behind the bar, trying a "few" beers and ciders, and mixing with the punters made this a fantastic two days.  

The final post in this "exciting series" is Sunday, the take down day. Stay tuned.

Octoberfest Take Down Day