Admittedly I'm a little late to the party here but, I thought I'd share my success at this year's London and South East Craft Brewing Festival. Arranged by my brewing club, The London Amateur Brewers, it runs every year, held this year at the New Truman Brewery, Hackney Wick. I entered 5 brews in 5 categories, here's a little run down of the selection:
1. Vanilla Bourbon Porter (Wood aged) If you want to spoil yourself, look no further, my pièce de résistance this year. Weighing in at around 9% it'll warm your cockles...and everything else. Aged over bourbon barrel chips, infused with fresh vanilla pods and laced with genuine U.S. bourbon for extra warmth and aroma...it's a real beaut'. 2. Sinead O'Stout (Sweet Stout) Another deep, dark, divine beauty. A robust stout, that's about 6%, it's infused with Milk Sugar (lactose) to give a subtle sweetness that balances out the chocolatey, toasty notes of a damn fine stout. 3. The Golden Lady (English Golden Ale) Ahhhh, a crisp yet full bodied English ale. I brewed this using Golden Syrup and aged for around 3 months to mellow out. 4. The Big IPA (English IPA) Brewed with English Goldings and Fuggles hops this recipe is your typical IPA: golden, sweet and hoppy. Perfect chilled in summer, room temp on a winter eve or on a Park Bench, whenever. 5. See the Light (English Summer Ale) Brewed to be particularly light and refreshing, it's all about showcasing the floral notes of the English hops here. Light, dry and particularly refreshing, at 4% it goes down a little too easily.
Competition this year was particularly strong, with the highest number of entries to date. However, I was fortunate enough to bag a 3rd in the Sweet Stout category winning a brewery trip for two to Windsor and Eaton Brewery and my Vanilla Bourbon Porter came in 5th in the wood aged category receiving a great example of style. However my proudest moment overall was placing 10th out of over 250 entrants. Not too bad, bring on next year. Time to get brewing...