So I said I’d just drink what’s there, when one of my friends asked if I’d be bringing beer home. Just as well too, as there were very few cans on the go. But draught now, that was a different story altogether…
Where was I? Oh yes, London Docklands. We (Galway Bay Brewery) were invited to Brew By Numbers Riverside Beer Festival, which took place in their brewery. Cormac and I were manning the taps for the three day event. It was £50 for a four and a half hour session and there were six of those. Punters were given a glass and unlimited 100ml pours. Braybrooke had been recommended to me so they were my first port of call, obviously I made sure all of our own beers were tasting great first! They had a lovely malty boi – Vienna style pouring and I enjoyed that. The Bruery had Ruekeller Dunkel on and that kept those lovely malty vibes going. We were stationed between Finback who had a beautiful Seasalt Lager and Fallen Acorn who were pushing out the NEIPA boat with Awaken. Not a bad place to be.
I also sampled Dois Corvos Cream DIPA, brewed with Citra, not cream! And I refreshed my palate with Jester King’s Blackberry Saison. The Himalayan dumplings were probably my favourite food of the festival. And the Swiss lads from Hoppy People brought their raclette and a wheel of cheese for some light snackage after the first day. As you do like. Melted cheese is hard bet.
I kicked off day two with Brew By Numbers 32 German Style Pilsner, which absolutely nails it, really dry with nice bitterness. And for something completely different I had Hoppy People’s Clash of the Titans Barley Wine which was rich and warming.
On the morning of day three Cormac reckoned we should visit E Pellicci for breakfast. I’m going to say this is a must the next time you are in London. The place oozes character and craic. And the grub was spot on. I sampled IPAs from Fuerst Wiacek and Beak and they were both really good. Time to Ride the Danger Curve TIPA from Heist was whopper. And Pastore’s Dry Hopped Sour was like a mouthful of summer.
Myself and Basil from Finback had fun working side by side. And the lads from Fallen Acorn were very generous with their (necessary) factor 50. We all shared food and I’m looking forward to crossing paths with the good people I met. I have to say I was very impressed with the event. The Brew By Numbers team were so helpful and sound. You should visit them if you’re in London and grab a pizza and a couple of beers. Sláinte!
PS: it would be remiss of me not to mention the new/old beer that we poured first at this event. Gift of Time is a mixed fermentation beer that was brewed as a collaboration with Honest Brew, aged for three years in white wine barrels and finished with Nelson Sauvin hops. If that sounds like the kind of thing you’re into then you should definitely get yourself to Mullingar’s inaugural Wild Beer Festival this coming Saturday the 11th of June!