Features / Bristol
Seven Bristol beers to drink at Bristol Craft Beer Festival 2017
The Bristol Craft Beer Festival returns to Motion from September 15-17, bringing together beer-lovers and the breweries from across the world that cater to their tastes.
Bristol’s excellent crop of breweries are well represented this year.
Here are some of the best beers from each brewery, as chosen by the people who work there:
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Arbor Ales
Yakima Valley
“Our flagship premium strength beer, Yakima Valley is packed full of our favourite American hops. This is a celebration of everything we love about IPAs. It was first brewed in 2011, which was a good year for American hops and it was when our love affair with them really began. It’s full of bold citrus, sweet grapefruit and marmalade flavours.” – Rosie Setterfield-Price, sales administrator
Bristol Beer Factory
Milk Stout
“The original Bristol milk stout. Brewed since 2006, marking the start of Bristol’s beer renaissance and setting the tone in challenging the way Bristol looked at beer. Even back then, Bristol Beer Factory was looking forward. This champion award-winning stout holds its own with its full body and smooth creaminess. Timeless.” – Simon Bartlett, managing director & co-founder
Good Chemistry Brewing
Business Casual
“My favourite beer that we brew (though obviously this is really difficult to choose!) is probably Business Casual. It’s a 4.1% contemporary saison, hopped with Hallertau Blanc for flavours of elderflower, gooseberry and white wine. A really refreshing interpretation of a usually quite rustic style.” – Bob Cary, head brewer and co-founder
Left Handed Giant
Duet
“We rotate the hops each time we brew the beer, with a new pairing with every batch. It’s got a silky and light malt backbone with fairy low bitterness. Each time you approach it there is an element of familiarity to it with a fresh hop hit each time. Depending on the hop mix it can be huge citrus or tropical fruits or piney and resinous. I really enjoy the experimentation to it.” – Bruce Gray, managing director
Moor Beer
Stout
“We brewed this beer at the urging of one of our biggest export customers because they were complaining about how hard it was to find a straightforward, unpretentious stout. Stout is one of the greatest beer styles we have invented in this country, and for a long time Guinness were the only brewery making it. Now lots of craft breweries are brewing stouts but they are often very strong, or made with adjuncts, and it is surprisingly hard to find a straight-up, well-balanced stout of a drinkable strength which isn’t too sweet or roasty. This beer has proven successful in converting people who don’t like beer, and people who only drink Guinness, to craft beer.” – Darran McLaughlin, events and tap room manager
Wild Beer
Tepache
“I think my favourite Wild Beer would be Tepache, one of our most recent beers that was launched earlier in the summer. It is a pineapple sour that is actually based on a traditional Mexican soft drink that comes in at around 1%. We have made an ‘adult’ version of this that clocks in at 6%. It personifies what we do – experimenting with, wild yeasts, looking further than the traditional confines of brewing with regular ingredients (it combines muscavado sugar, masa flour alongside pineapple) and suits the summer season, something that we are passionate about here at Wild Beer.” – Simon Dehany, marketing and strategic communications manager
Wiper & True
Bristol IPA
“The beer we are most looking forward to pouring at Bristol Craft Beer Festival is the one that we created for the event along with Left Handed Giant, Verdant and DEYA. Not only is it a great tasting IPA, but it symbolises the sense of camaraderie that we love about our industry. This is something we will be celebrating at the event, through the fact that all the beers we will be pouring over the three days will be collaborations.” – Martin Saunders, commercial director
Bristol Beer Festival runs from September 15-17. For tickets and more information, visit www.bristolcraftbeerfestival.co.uk
Read more: Bristol Beer Festival 2017 opens its doors
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