This page contains the tasting notes for the 2024 Biggleswade Beer & Cider Festival. Not all of the products have been delivered yet, so there may be a small number of last minute changes. For more information about the festival see our event page.
This page is best viewed on a large screen. Printed copies will be available at the Festival.
Real Ale
| Number | Brewery | Location | Name | ABV | Container | Style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buntingford | Royston | Single Hop | 4.0% | Cask | Golden Ale | Melon, citrus and pine from this trail hop – hop name officially CF184. (A trial hop from Charles Faram – Codename Princess Hop) |
| 2 | Buntingford | Royston | Eyes of Moddey Dhoo | 4.3% | Cask | Ruby Ale | Dark ruby red ale brewed with dark crystal rye and German malts. Toffee like sweetness with balanced body. |
| 3 | Lord Conrad’s | Cambridge | A-Bomb | 4.0% | Cask | Pale Ale | American hopped blonde, brewed with a blend of light citrus hops from the Yakima region. |
| 4 | Lord Conrad’s | Cambridge | Hip Hop | 4.8% | Cask | Pale Ale | Pale ale hopped with resin giving strong bitter resinous notes. |
| 5 | March Hare | Dunton | Brown Owl | 3.2% | Cask | Brown Ale | A beer with a beautiful deep red-brown hue, low to moderately hopped, slightly dry, with a surprisingly full bodied rounded malty and biscuity taste for such a low abv. |
| 6 | March Hare | Dunton | Victorian Milk Stout | 4.9% | Cask | Stout | A hefty stout from twelve different malts plus lactose to sweeten in the traditional way. Subtlety hopped to make way for a malty sweetness. |
| 7 | Milton | Waterbeach | Sparta | 4.3% | Cask | Pale Ale | Refreshing pale bitter. Packed with hop flavours and crisp bitterness. |
| 8 | Milton | Waterbeach | Nike | 4.7% | Cask | Ruby Ale | A delicate balance between maltiness and hops makes this dark ruby ale a distinctive and quaffable pint. |
| 9 | Moonshine | Cambridge | Sundowner | 4.0% | Cask | Pale Ale | Light coloured beer, with a rounded hop flavour from the addition of New Zealand, Nelson Sauvin and American El Dorado hops. |
| 10 | Moonshine | Cambridge | Cellarmans Stout | 6.0% | Cask | Stout | A sweet stout with a rich malt profile. Dark roasted malts are blended together with large quantities of Oats to create a mellow, silky smooth juicy rich stout. |
| 11 | New River Brewery | Hoddesdon | Twin Spings | 4.0% | Cask | Golden Ale | Deliciously balanced mellow golden ale with Kiwi hops and caramel malts. |
| 12 | New River Brewery | Hoddesdon | Blind Poet | 4.5% | Cask | Porter | Lightly smoked porter; chocolate malts, smooth and dark. |
| 13 | Papworth | Earith | Whispering Grass | 3.8% | Cask | Golden Ale | Subtle aroma and flavour from the Maris Otter malt, with a dry yet fruity bitterness. |
| 14 | Papworth | Earith | Koura | 5.7% | Cask | Wheat Beer | Golden, cloudy wheat beer with a delicate banana aroma. Well balanced bitterness with a zesty citrus finish. |
| 15 | Phipps NBC | Northampton | Foundry Mild | 3.5% | Cask | Mild | A big lick of liquorice on the nose inviting you in to taste sweet caramel and toasted malt loaf flavours found under its lush creamy head. |
| 16 | Phipps NBC | Northampton | Ratliffe’s Stout | 4.3% | Cask | Stout | This is a creamy, full bodied malty brew, satisfyingly rich with distinct caramel and coffee notes. A combination of crystal and roasted malts give the stout its deep, dark flavour topped of with a creamy thick tan head. Unlike some stouts, it isn’t overly bitter due to careful use of traditional English hop varieties in the brewhouse. Winner of the CAMRA Winter Beer festival in Derby 2013. Our Albion Brewery was the original home of Ratliffe’s Stout from 1884 to 1919. |
| 17 | Pot Belly | Kettering | Beijing Black | 4.4% | Cask | Mild | A Strong dark mild, Mild but not Meek!! “Supreme Champion” at SIBA National Beer Competition 2006. |
| 18 | Pot Belly | Kettering | And Now For Something Piggin’ Different | 4.7% | Cask | Black IPA | As a homage to Monty Python’s 50th Birthday celebration we have a black beer that has been super hopped! Using copious amounts of Chinook, Simcoe, and Citra – try it with your eyes closed, and you will honestly think it is a classy blonde with a smooth finish! |
| 19 | Potton Brewery | Potton | Holly Pup | 3.8% | Cask | Mild | A deliciously easy-drinking mild with fruit and chocolate flavours. |
| 20 | Potton Brewery | Potton | Crow | 4.3% | Cask | Stout | A dark, smooth and nothing like a nitro-stout, this is a lovely traditional stout with a subtle hop finish, roast and coffee aroma. Coffee, chocolate and gentle roasted flavour. |
| 21 | Potton Brewery | Potton | Pride of Potton | 6.2% | Cask | Strong Ale | Caramel balanced by the gentle hops. Smooth and strong, one to savour. |
| 22 | Rocket Ales | Great Straughton | Black Knight | 3.7% | Cask | Mild | Made with multiple types of darker malt for layers of flavour. The dark colour of this beer comes from chocolate malt, avoiding the sometimes burnt wood astringent taste that can come from black malt. |
| 23 | Rocket Ales | Great Straughton | Bloodhound | 4.2% | Cask | Best Bitter | This copper coloured beer has a balance of malt flavours from Maris Otter malt and hop bitterness with slight orange marmalade notes from the English Admiral hops used. |
| 24 | Two Bobs | Oaklands, Welwyn | Gold | 4.3% | Cask | Golden Ale | This deep Golden Ale combines Cara malt flavours with a hint of bitterness from Archer & Jester hops. |
| 25 | Weldon | Rushdon | Dragline | 4.2% | Cask | Pale Ale | Golden ale with pine fruit and floral notes imparted by US Simcoe Hops. |
| 26 | Weldon | Rushdon | Galvy Stout | 4.2% | Cask | Stout | A classic light stout brewed with Hops from the Garden of England and an array of dark malts imparting hints of liquorice and toffee. |
| 27 | Wheatsheaf Brewery | Huntingdon | Same Again | 3.9% | Cask | Mild | A malty, toasty dark mild ale with floral notes, hopped with Admiral and Cascade |
| 28 | Wheatsheaf Brewery | Huntingdon | Wipeout | 6.1% | Cask | Ruby Ale | A rich dark ale with orangey citrus notes and a boozy warmth. |
| 29 | Xtreme | Peterborough | Christopher ColumbuX | 4.3% | Cask | Pale Ale | A summer blonde with the single hop, Columbus, bursting through. An intensely citrus flavor and aroma, combined with an earthy, black pepper background and a subtle bitter finish. |
| 30 | Xtreme | Peterborough | Galaxy | 5.0% | Cask | IPA | A very pale, refreshing IPA with modest conditioning and a subtle citrus nose. This opens with a dry grapefruit pallet and a refined bitter after taste which gives a vibrant zesty mouth feel. |
Craft Beer
| Number | Brewery | Location | Name | ABV | Container | Style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Blacken Sun | Milton Keynes | Cosmic Ark | 4.1% | KeyKeg | Lager | An easy drinking pseudo lager made with Kviek yeast. Clean, crisp and malty with a subtle bitterness and a spicy, sweet noble hop flavour. Easy drinking and refreshing. |
| B | Blacken Sun | Milton Keynes | Unsung | 5.4% | KeyKeg | Belgium Abbey | Our interpretation of a classic style. A simple malt base lays the platform for a deep golden beer with a noble hop character. Combined with our House Belgian yeast blend, we’ve created a complex yeast driven beer with notes of fruit / spice and an a unique tropical yeast ester aroma. |
| C | Six Hills Brewery | Stevenage | Running with the big dog | 4.8% | KeyKeg | Pale Ale | Our series of dry-hopped New England’s are generally single hopped in order to showcase each variety. We use the same wheat, oats and finest barley every time as a soft backdrop to further accentuate the hop. |
| D | Six Hills Brewery | Stevenage | Hanging Around | 5.5% | KeyKeg | Pale Ale | Bold malt backbone and higher bitterness from our version of this classic. Hopped differently each time, which allows us to seek out the freshest boldest US hop flavours. |
Cider & Perry
| Number | Brewery | Location | Name | ABV | Container | Style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camrose Cider | Huntingdon | Bish Bash Bosh | 5.6% | BiB | Dry | The juice of local dessert and cookers blended with classic cider apples, Morgan Sweet and Tom Putt. It is straw in colours light and refreshing but not too sharp. |
| 2 | Camrose Cider | Huntingdon | Luvvly Jubbly | 6.0% | BiB | Medium Dry | Spartan apples from Diddington, fermented with Limelight, Ashmeads Kernel and Tremlitts Bitter. Nicely balanced, golden in colour, with body and a slight tannic after taste. An easy drinking cider. |
| 3 | Cromwell Cider | Huntingdon | Cavalier Perry | 6.5% | BiB | Perry | Made from dessert pears that are allowed to ripen on the tree to produce a light and bright medium perry. |
| 4 | Cromwell Cider | Huntingdon | Oliver’s Last Gasp | 6.7% | BiB | Dry | The driest cider in our range. A ‘mean’ cider with an abv between 6.5% and 6.9% that will take your breath away and is not for the faint hearted. |
| 5 | Potton Press Cider | Guilden Morden | Heritage | 7.0% | BiB | Medium | Softly tannic, full bodied and balanced with a delicious orchard aroma. Made from 14 different traditional and rare Herefordshire cider apples from old well managed heritage orchards. |
| 6 | Potton Press Cider | Guilden Morden | Happy Medium | 7.4% | BiB | Medium | Blended from the best of the current season and vintage ciders. Very popular rich and fruity cider, CAMRA award winner. |
| 7 | Simon’s Cider | Cambridge | Crispin | 5.9% | BiB | Medium Sweet | Single variety Crispin dessert apple cider. |
| 8 | Simon’s Cider | Cambridge | Barton Perry | 6.1% | BiB | Perry | Medium perry made from dessert pears with white wine flavours. Fruity. |
| 9 | Simon’s Cider | Cambridge | Russet | 8.0% | BiB | Medium | Single variety cider made with Egremont Russet apples. |