Armakeggon

Last Sunday was 'Armakeggon', a craft beer festival at Archive bar. There were more than a few beers to sample

 and even at just before 11am more than a few people waiting to sample them

This year they offered the beers in 100ml tasting cups, which meant lots of back & forth to the bar but it also gave you the chance to try a number of different beers without writing yourself off. Too quickly. Here are three of the ciders, mid sample 

We were lucky enough to grab a seat on the balcony upstairs, with a great view of the world walking past underneath  

but we weren't there to gawk at passers-by, we were there to drink!

The beers were many and varied, and I've only got pictures of a few. This is a 'Golden Age of Bloodshed' spiced Saison

and these are a 'Caramel Zombie Assault' (on the left) and a Saison Dupont (on the right). The combination of slightly salty toffee and banana made a kind of liquid banoffie pie

Other standouts included the Rogue XS IPA, the Gypsy Tears lambic stout, the Love Tap hoppy lager and the Craison crayfish saison. The latter (made from marine crayfish, not yabbies - I checked!) was most intriguing with a nice fresh saison-style fruity mouthfeel at the start and a faint lingering taste of fish. Fun to try, but I didn't go back for another and unusually for me I'm not wondering how to make it myself.

We managed to try pretty much everything we were interested in and still find time to finish off with pots of our favourites. All up it was an awesome day, so thanks to Graham for being excellent company and holding the table during my frequent 'comfort breaks'. Monday was not as awesome as I had to be at a clients site at 9am for a 2hr meeting to discuss business processes for implementing strategic reporting objectives, but somehow I made it through.

Which leads me to the Friday song...Chumbawamba & Tubthumping.

Must be hard to be in Chumbawamba - their career spanned three decades and mainly comprised of anarcho-political punk music. But everyone just remembers them as a one-hit wonder with a drinking song...