Brighton and Hove Albion Beer Festival
October is associated with one drinking event above all else – Oktoberfest. Which is particularly odd given it actually takes place in September in Munich. But never mind about the specifics, it’s a good excuse to get drunk and throw a party.
Now regular readers will know that over at WeAreBrighton.com HQ, we love a Brighton and Hove Albion themed party, whether it be for an Albion Halloween Party or a Brighton Indian Banquet.
Would it be possible to hold an Albion Beer Festival? We put our heads together and decided it would. So, if you want to throw a Brighton and Hove Albion Oktoberfest, here are 16 Albion related beers that you may want to consider getting in…
Jesse Carlingard
Not a permanent beer available for the punters, but a guest ale that shines during it’s brief period on the pumps. Despite receiving mixed reviews during the time we were able to sample it, Jesse Carlingard would eventually return to it’s home brewery where remarkable progress would be made which eventually led to it receiving international honours.
Jamie Murphy’s
The stout was a left wing choice for selection at the party. Depending on how it is poured, it can be a bit hit and miss having arrived for reasonably big money from a brewery in Sheffield. When Jamie Murphy’s is on form, it is a crisp and direct beer that will get you results. When it is off form, it can be cloudy and sometimes you will even forget you have imbibed it.
Paulaner Reid
The first solid Australian beer we have ever experienced is a must for any Oktoberfest. Paulaner Reid is adaptable and has great flexibility, being comfortable in any number of positions such as a half pint glass, a pint glass or even a stein. A particularly pleasing import given the cheapness it arrived from a brewery in Bradford.
Sol-ly March
A reasonably new beer on the scene, Sol-ly March has received some rave reviews that have resulted in international recognition. It’s quick to drink and very exciting and is something of a rarity having been brewed locally. One negative about it is that it does tend to be served off on a regular basis, with at least a four month period every year when you can’t touch a drop of it.
Steve Fosters
Steve Fosters is a dependable old beer best served with a big, white frothy head at the top. One for the older drinker, it has a remarkable success rate having reached a cup final which is something none of the other beers at Oktoberfest have done. Gained cult status in the 1990s when the head brewer was a bit of a prick and the beer turned flat in protest against him.
Lorenzo Peronimonte
Just like Jessie Carlingard, Lorenzo Peronimonte served a brief spell as a guest ale before imported Italian’s became fashionable. A strong brew that tended to find the mark more often than not, it was a popular drop during it’s month stay before being poached by a brewery from Brentford. But Peronimonte obviously doesn’t travel well as it failed to live up it’s billing from that point on.
Alastair John Smith’s
Blink and you could be forgiven for forgetting this beer exists. Either that or you’ve tried to blank it from your mind given that it was served during a dark period for the brewery in the mid 00’s. Alastair John Smith’s was quick to drink but other than that it offered very little to the point where we would actually forgotten about it until putting this list together.
Heinekemy Agustien
Arguably one of the most overhyped beers in the world. It arrived on the scene to great fanfare and clearly believed it’s own hype with a strong and arrogant marketing campaign on Twitter involving gyms, clothes and fast cars. Unfortunately, Heinekemy Agustien was in reality fattening, slow and very, very, very bitter. A waste of money if truth be told.
Frank Worthington’s
Another one for the old school beer fanatic. We only got to sample Frank Worthington’s once it had been well matured. Best drunk fresh, it had a reputation for silkiness and being the drink of choice at parties given it’s lavish lifestyle. A lovely looking drop, it is another smooth beer that will appeal to fans of a certain vintage.
Craig Blue Moon
An exciting beer out of Liverpool, Craig Blue Moon is direct, to the point and will get you drunk very quickly. It’s a mightily entertaining drop and one of the most fun beers you can find out there. Particularly recommended is drinking it after a hard day of work tiling the roof of Steve Gerrard’s house which you can then relentlessly mention in the media at every opportunity.
Elvis Mahou
Your first few sips of Elvis Mahou will be terrible and a bit of a let down after paying big money and hearing good things about it. But this is one of those beers you have to give time to and once you start reaching the halfway point of your pint, things will have improved to the point where you don’t think that it is actually that bad a beer.
Leon Best Bitter
A more apt name for this would be Leon Worst Bitter. Best Bitter is yet another to arrive to huge fanfare having had a very successful spell on tap up in Newcastle. How it went down so well up there is an absolute bloody mystery as it is lazily brewed and in truth tastes like absolute shit. Once you’ve had one pint of it you will never want another.
Leon Coors Light
You’ve got to make the most of Leon Coors Light while you can. When it arrives from the brewery, it is an absolute delight and will be one of the best beers you have on offer. Be warned though, when you get halfway through the barrel it tends to go off and the rest of it will taste bitter and unkempt, which eventually leads to it going totally off the rails to the point where nobody will touch it.
Roland Carlsbergkamp
From a large family of beers, one of whom was considered the best in the world at one point. That leaves Roland Carlsbergkamp with a lot to live up to which, unfortunately, it simply can’t do. There were high expectations for it which were understandable but once arrived it remained untouched and unwanted, eventually being chucked out without being poured.
Sam Miguel Baldock
Won plenty of plaudits at low level beer festivals but the question was – could Sam Miguel Baldock step up to a higher level of competition? The results have been mixed. To some he is a great accompaniment to higher quality beer in that when you combine the two, he looks like he belongs. To others, he is an expensive mistake that shouldn’t feature in the brewery at all.
Old Speckled Henderson
Old Speckled Henderson was always likely to be up against popular opinion from the moment it replaced a popular Dutch beer on the bar. It started off well enough, proving it’s worth with some excellent pints but soon a major flaw was detected in that for some reason it would always spill out of the glass, leading to the eventual return of the Dutch beer.
Gerry Armstrongbow
The final one of the old school beers, Gerry Armstrongbow had a brief period with the brewery in the 1980s before it was discarded after being deemed too strong due to a drunken altercation. Since then, the Northern Irish brew has gone onto become very popular in Spain and even more incredibly could be found in Singapore as recently as 2014.
