Anyhow , this is my third visit. I also go myself while the family go round the shops; however, within 5 minutes of sitting down, there is always someone friendly to talk to. This time a couple from Manchester, so we spent at least half an hour reliving the best pubs in the city.
Another guy on the table was a CAMRA local who, the more he drank, kept coming out with wise and funny statements. The best was :
" Do you notice when young people come to a festival, they make a dash to the bar and order their drink first, then look for a seat. We old ones make a dash to find a seat first, then go to order a drink"
On the subject of drink, we finally get round to the title of this post. The festival had over 150 ales, ciders and foreign beers. On a Facebook post before we headed up to Glasgow I spotted a picture taken from the festival programme of a beer brewed at Bute Brewery called Cock Up Your Beaver. There then followed the usual comments about the name. In fact one CAMRA volunteer posted while I was there that he enjoyed saying to any women looking at beers where he was serving " Would you like to try a Cock up your Beaver ?
The name is actually the title of a Robbie Burns Poem. A beaver, in this context, was a hat; hence cocking your hat. The beer is usually only brewed in time for Burns night.
Personally, I thought the marketing was better than the beer. Its a 4.5% red ale; it was Ok.
Other great names were " 99 Red Babons", "Betty and the Gardens- B side" and another imaginative name from Rat Brewery ; Raturday Night Fever"
The last two times Ive been was on a Saturday. Both times we were "entertained" by the Caledonian Brewery Bagpipe Band ( I don't do bagpipes) . This time I was there on a Friday, so I asked one guy behind the bar if the bagpipes were going to be on. "Saturday"" he said. Forgetting where I was I said "Great!" He glowered and walked away.
And finally, the best beer for me this time wasn't actually a beer ; Toffee Apple Cider" Gorgeous !
Same time next year.
