Stockbridge Tap beer festival preview

Posted by on Sep 4, 2012 in Beer Festivals, Edinburgh Beer, Pubs | 4 Comments

Edinburgh certainly lives up to its reputation as the festival city – only last weekend the annual fireworks display signalled the end of the various month-long fringe and EIF events. Whilst for many, August means excitement, late nights and countless shows, for the beerhound, it really means four weeks of busier pubs, clogged streets and elbowing aside flyer-toting, face-painted drama students.* Fortunately, as we’re into September, they’ve all returned to Surrey and the streets are quieter again. A good job, as it means there are fewer obstacles between you and the Stockbridge Tap Beer Festival!

Yes, once again beer drinkers have another reason to celebrate living in Edinburgh. Following on from the ale-based extravaganzas of the Bow Bar, EdIndBeerFest and the SRAF, attention turns next week to Stockbridge, as the Tap turns over their fonts to sixty+ casks from all over the UK. We’ve been granted early access to the beer list – reproduced with Archie’s permission below – and once again, it promises to be a corking ten days of beery fun. The festival begins on Thursday the 13th of September, so join us at the bar for some (or all) of the following…



Immediate highlights would include the one-off Black Isle Molly’s Vanilla Porter – a bespoke beer made for the festival, and named after Archie’s passion for googly-eyed goldfish. Other rarities appearing include rumours of a Highland Imperial Stout, DemonBrew’s new Firehead, and two reboots from Craig Middleton – Cromarty Double dry-hopped Red Rocker (Red Rocket, surely?) and a version of Brewed Awakening with vanilla, toasted coconut and sarsaparilla – the last of these ingredients meaning you are legally allowed to have it slid along the bar to you, before flipping Archie a coin and moseying off into the sunset.

There will be plenty of cask beer up from England throughout the festival – for example, the relatively new Hackney brewery are sending their American Pale and Liberty Ales up to Edinburgh. Titanic Plum Porter sounds like one for a chilly afternoon, as does the wonderful RedWillow Ageless Double IPA – which, if you haven’t yet tried, is really something. Ilkley Siberia looks interesting, made in collaboration with beer writer Melissa Cole, as it’s essentially a rhubarb and (again) vanilla saison. Who said cask beer was boring?

Those are just our possible highlights – the full beer list (barring last minute changes, acts of God, etc) is below. As we’ve said before, the Stockbridge Tap is arguably the best pub in the city – head down from Thursday week and get yourself some festival love – no face paint required…



* Please note, the BeerCast does not condone the elbowing of anybody, under any circumstances. Unless they asked for it.


Stockbridge Tap Beer Festival 2012, 13-23 September

    CASK LIST

(England)

Blackjack The Blind 4.2%
Blackjack Shuffled Deck 3.9%
Blackwater Loan Shark 5.1%
Brodie’s Kiwi 3.9%
Brodie’s Shoreditch Sunshine 3.8%
Darkstar Kiwi 4.0%
Dunham Massey Chocolate Cherry Mild 3.8%
Dunscar Bridge Steeplejack 3.8%
Hackney American Pale Ale 4.5%
Hackney Liberty Ale 4.0%
Harbour Citra 6.0%
Ilkley Joshua Jane 3.7%
Ilkley Siberia 5.9%
Liverpool Organic Styrian 4.2%
Liverpool Organic Simcoe
Magic Rock High Wire 5.5%
Magic Rock Rapture 4.6%
Magic Rock Curious 3.9%
Navigation Pale Ale 3.9%
Navigation Stout 4.4%
Offbeat Outlandish Pale 3.9%
Offbeat Odd Ball Red 4.2%
Offbeat Unhinged Ginger %
Old School Hopscotch 3.7%
Old School Headmaster 4.5%
Redwillow Directionless 4.2%
Redwillow Sleepless 5.4%
Redwillow Feckless 4.1%
Redwillow Ageless Double IPA 7.2% (pin)
Roosters Londinium 5.5%
Salopian Inquisition 4.2%
Steel City New Dawn Fades 4.8 %
Summer Wine Origin 3.9%
Summer Wine Shackled 4.7%
Titanic Plum Porter 4.9%
Windsor & Eton Knight of the Garter 3.8%
Windsor & Eton Windsor Knot 4.0%
Windsor & Eton Kohinoor 4.5%
Windsor & Eton Conqueror 5.0%
Windsor & Eton Eton Boatman 4.3%

(Scotland)

Alechemy [TBC] 5.2%
Black Isle Molly’s Vanilla Porter 4.6%
Black Isle Unfined Yellowhammer IPA 4.0%
Broughton Dark Dunter 5.0%
Broughton Trial #2 3.6% [Dry hopped Dr Jade, Willamette & Columbus]
Cromarty Vanilla Brewed Awakening/toasted coconut & sasparilla root.
Cromarty Double dry hopped Red Rocker.
Demonbrew Firehead 3.9%
Demonbrew Redline 4.3%
Fyne Ales Zombier 6.9%
Fyne Ales Cloud Burst 4.6%
Fyne Ales Sublime Stout 6.8%
Highland Imperial Stout?
Highland [TBC] dry-hopped
Loch Ness Prince of DarkNESS 10.0%
Loch Ness Rowanberry Pale 3.9%
Williams Bros Impale IPA 5.5%
Williams Bros Caesar Augustus 4.1%

    KEGS

Fallen Grapevine 5.4%
Brodie’s London Sour 3.1%
Williams Double Joker 8.3%
Lovibonds Lagerboy
Camden Pale Ale 4.0%

4 Comments

  1. Gary Paterson
    September 10, 2012

    Looking good… would be particularly pleased to get a half of the Double Joker IPA… managed to get a wee taster of it in the Beer Hive… was pretty enjoyable… Vanilla Porter sounds great too!

    Will be looking forward to getting down to this!

  2. Gary Paterson
    September 10, 2012

    Oh and not to forget Fyne Ales Zombier! Very cool!

  3. Jonas
    November 6, 2012

    You if someone shall know;will this festival be on next year?If so will it be around the same time?

  4. Richard
    November 6, 2012

    Jonas, I’ve spoken to Archie at the Stockbridge Tap – they will be holding another festival in September 2013, but don’t know the exact dates yet. If you’re on Twitter, follow Archie @StockbridgeTap to keep up with the pub’s news!

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