40 beers to try at Bristol Craft Beer Festival

Bristol Craft Beer Festival is at Lloyd’s Amphitheatre in Bristol Harbour from Friday 14 – Sunday 16th.

To celebrate this momentous occasion we though it only right and proper to bring you a comprehensive list of the 40 beers you need to try at Bristol Craft Beer Festival 2018 this weekend.

This ought to be enough to tantalise your tastebuds into making a trip down to the Amphitheatre this weekend. The Saturday daytime sessions is sold out, but you can get tickets for the other sessions at https://bristolcraftbeerfestival.co.uk/

1. Alvinne: Sour’ire de Mortagne Smoked Peaches
Coming in at a rather naughty 11% this sour quadruple is a perect example of a traditional Flemish sour but with the added character of smoked peaches for a fruity twist

2. Amundsen: Apocalyptic Thunder Juice
A cloudy, dank and juicy New England style IPA this is one for all you hop forward fans out there

3. Arbor Ales: MEGS Bomb
This hoppy golden ale is a showcase of the finest American and Australian hops. Resulting in a easy drinking, yet tropically sweet ale… the question is, who or what is Megs?

4. Beavertown: Spruce Moose
A creative collab between Beavertown and Harbour, this low abv Farmhouse Table Beer is basically Summer in a glass

5. Boxcar: Simcoe IPA
Deep gold with a white creamy head, what more could you want from an IPA. Hints of citrus and tropical fruits, but be careful it goes down smooth and at 7.2% that can often result in a rather foggy head the next day.

6. Brewdog: #Mashtag2018
Brewdog’s #Mashtag2018 is democratic brewing at its finest. Thousands of people cast their ballots and the result is a 5% pale brewed with Pale and Maris Otter malts,US Hops and a hibiscus and yuzu kick!

7. Brewdog Overworks: Moru
One for the brave and bold and adventurous, this wild Saison is fermented with carrot, mango and ginger.

8. Burnt Mill: Steel Cut (GF Pale)
Using oats, buckwheat, maize and sorghum this gluten free pale ale has plenty of body to balance out the hoppy additions of Summer and Enigma.

9. Dugges: Space Time Stout / Wiper & True Collab
A series of three stouts, each has its own subtle tweak from the base recipe. The first was infused with vanilla and cacao, the second more cacao, vanilla and Tonka beans and the third saw the original beer aged in oak cognac barrels. The best thing is all three will be available at Bristol Craft Beer Festival.

10. Dry & Bitter: Cycle City (BCBF IPA)
Cycle City, is the second version of Bristol Craft Beer Festival IPA. Packed with Columbus, Cryo Citra and Nelson Sauvin hops this Dry & Bitter / Left Handed Giant collab is a must try!

11. Electric Bear: Of Course The Pyramids Were Built By Aliens
A fruited kettle sour that tastes like a proper grown up fruit smoothie. Tart overripe berries, lemony acidity and mosaic hops make for a complex yet drinkable brew

12. Fierce & Noble: American Pale
New kids on the block Fierce & Noble have created an APA dream. This full bodied session ale combines American hops with a sweet caramel malt base.

13. Gipsy Hill: Dynamo
This experimental Pale Ale is fermented to a low sugar level and dry hopped with Citra and Galaxy, making for an incredibly dry and refreshing champagne style session pale ale.

14. Good Chemistry: Barrel Aged Black Prince
Black Prince is packed with malts; Crystal, Chocolate, Black, Roasted Barley, Amber and Smoked Malts as well as Extra Pale. This brew is only reserved for the most special of occasions, so count yourselves lucky Bristol.

15. Harbour: Keller Heller Bock
This brew is something of a rarity, as Cornish brewers Harbour made this as an experimental brew and it is currently not available for public purchase… a rare treat indeed!

16. Left Handed Giant: Reuben Picks Raspberries
A collaboration between LHG and Barcelona’s Garage Beer Co. this DIPA is as thick and murky as it gets, having been brewed with Amarillo, Ekuanot & Simco & fermented with London Fog Yeast.

17. Lervig: Liquid Sex Robot
A whipcracking DIPA from Norwegian masters Lervig. This full bodied, smooth brew is packed with tropical fruit flavours and low bitterness in that characteristic New England style.

18. Lost & Grounded: Keller Pils
German Pilsner malts combine with Magnum, Perle and Hallertauer Mittelfruh hops for this perfect pilsner from Bristol’s Lost & Grounded.

19. Magic Rock: Robots Vs Clowns
Made in collaboration with Gigantic Brewing of Portland Oregon, this crisp and fruity brew is exactly what a larger should be.

20. Mikkeller: Spontan Quadruple Blueberry
This sour ale was brewed with an obscene amount of raspberries and aged in oak barrels for a perfect finish… Mikkeller are one of the world’s best and they’re Spontans are highly sought after.

21. Mont Saleve: IPA Série #5
A wonderfully hoppy concoction from French masters Brasserie du Mont Saleve. Their philosophy is simple; homemade beers brewed on the spot, no additives, no preservatives and as many local ingredients as possible.

22. Moor: Old Freddy Walker
One for the connoisseurs, this dark and rich full bodied ale from one of Bristol’s most exciting and ground breaking breweries is like Christmas Pudding in a glass.

23. New Bristol: Pineapple Pale
A Californian inspired beer New Bristol’s Pineapple Pale was hopped in five different stages and the addition of fresh pineapple gives it a fruity and juicy twist.

24. Northern Monk: Striding Edge
A one of a kind brew from Northern Monk, Striding Edge has the flavour, intensity and mouthfeel of a high abv pale ale, despite it being a 3.0% session beer… marvellous stuff!

25. Pressure Drop: Rhubarb: A User’s Guide
Collectively brewed by some of the UK’s finest female brewing talent, Rhubarb: A Users Guide was made with massive amounts of Force Yorkshire Rhubarb and combined with delicate aromatics and a slight sourness to make a refreshing beer.

26. Sierra Nevada: Southern Gothic
Steeped in tradition, yet ready for anything—that pretty much sums up Sierra Nevada’s Southern Gothic Unfiltered Pils. This hop-forward but light-bodied pilsner is crisp and drinkable, perfect for an afternoon on the porch or a night down at the pub.

27. Siren: Yu Lu
Part of Siren’s core range, Yu Lu is an intricate loose leaf pale ale with subtle hints of bergamot, orange and lemon. The Delicate hop notes will leave your taste buds tingling.

28. Stone: White Ghost Berliner Weisse
A modern take on a true Berlin classic. Brewed using the same traditional lactic acid cultures as the Berlin brewers of the 1920’s, Stone’s Berliner Weisse is a bright and sparkling thirst-quencher.

29. Stone & Wood: Cloud Catcher
Hopped with all Australian Galaxy and Ella, this full flavoured limited release ale has an aroma of apricots, a full bodied mouth feel from the blend of pale and crystal malts and finishes with a dry clean bitterness.

30. Tempest: Long White Cloud
Expect lots of tropical and stone fruit aroma upfront, chased by light malt, pineapple, and citrus flavour on the palate, and a refreshing tropical finish.
31. The Kernel: Table Beer
Brewing a low-ABV beer that is immensely satisfying in all ways is a work of magic, and the Kernel nails it with every batch of their Table Beer!

32. Thornbride: Green Mountain
The beer is small batch, brewed at Thornbridge Hall. Thornbridge has generously dry hopped it with Galaxy, Mosaic, Citra and Amarillo hops, creating a hugely aromatic and juicy fruit bomb. It drinks beautifully, with just a light bitterness to keep it balanced.

33. ToOl: Goliat Maple Bacon
Maple. Bacon. Beer… You’ve got our attention! This Imperial Stout could possibly be the star of the show.

34. Track: Sonoma Pale
Manchester’s Track Brewing is known for making brews inspired by travelling the world and the Sonoma Pale is no exception. This bright and juicy pale ale is packed with Centennial, Citra and Mosaic and is the perfect drink to toast the end of summer!

35. Unity Brewing Co: Amalgamation
Amalgamation is a mix of ideas – part tripel, part Belgian IPA. Based around a traditional tripel recipe, we reinterpret this classic by amping up the bitterness and adding a big charge of hops right at the end of the brew.

36. Verdant: Rustling Substance
Cornish brewers Verdant well and truly knocked it out of the park with this Cirta and Wai-Iti hopped pale ale

37. West By Three: DIPA Citra & Amarillo
Winners of We are Beer’s Raise The Bar contest, Swansea’s West By Three knocked the judges socks off with their experimental brews. Earning them a place at Bristol Craft Beer Festival.

38. Wild Beer: The Blend ’18
This summer blend is very light and spritzy with bundles of juicy fruit character from old fruited barrels and funky yeast strains. This beautifully balances the sour punch occurring from both fermentation and maturation developing in barrel.

39. Wiper and True: Unkle Funka – Coffee infused Pale Ale (Extract Collab)
Steeped with Exract Coffee Roasters Unkle Funka beans. This combination of ingredients brings flavours of bright citrus and mango balanced with delicate natural earthy notes and sharpe pine finish

40. Wylam: Fruits of Perception
This green fruit kettle sour from North East giants Wylam was fermented low and slow from a single lager strain, with the addition of fresh kiwi, honeydew melon and cucumber.