Featured beers to ‘whet the appetite’ at February festival

Beverages from all over the world will be presented at the Great British Beer Festival Winter, the last chance to catch this rolling festival in Norwich!

As the final preparations are underway and hundreds of volunteers get ready to come together for the last February festival, Norwich and Norfolk CAMRA have given us a preview of some of their featured beers. 

In the main St Andrew’s Hall there is simply every beer of every style and season!

Starting with the subtle flavours of the golden ales, like the Hambleton Raspberry Blonde Ale or Lees Golden with light toffee sweetness and fruit-hop finish or try the berry and citrus IPAs and maybe try Oakham’s Dragon In Bavaria with tangerine, citrus and hints of rose, the Little Valleys Radical Roots Ginger Pale, or Moor’s Smokey Horyzon – a smoked, spicy beer.

The dark beer selection is equally exciting – with High Weald’s Charcoal Burner or Little Valley’s Stout with orange aroma, try Firebrick’s Cushey Butterfield (tonka bean stout) or their Conquistador (black vanilla, dark berry stout).

Take time to find out what the cider bar has to offer.  Rated from very sweet to very dry you can find the perfect ciders and perries for your palette.

If you like something sweet, try the fruit beers in the World Beer Bar, in the marquee.

Take a look in Blackfriars' Hall to discover who won the 2019 Champion Winter Beer of Britain and sample winners and finalists.  Select from a wonderful range of sweet winter beers, like the Winter’s Vanilla Latte, Boudicca’s Prasto’s Porter – a special edition with dark cherries and liquorice – or try something different like FCB’s Honey and Elderflower or Humpty Dumpty’s NBB Frisher Gerstensaft, a Koln style beer with a golden and slightly fruity taste.

Remember to visit the Brewery Bars with award-winning beers from both Lacons and Norfolk Brewhouse.

Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten Free beers are also in plentiful supply thanks to our organising committee champions and are denoted by their respective symbols – V, VG, GF.

The World Beer Bar, managed by Cheryl Cade, has grown and will host some very special beers on limited supply.  Tuesday is the battle of the Berlinerner Weisse - Mikkeller, Ich Bin Berliner Weisse Watermelon verses the Alvinne Berlinerner Weisse, which is best? You decide!

Wednesday is USA day with Ale Smith, Speedway Stout (Hawaiian) and Jackie O’s Brewery Chomolungma or Electro Lyte lager. Thursday is ‘enter into the darkside’ including Westerham, Wally Winker Death by Chocolate and the Struise, Black Damnation Mocha Bomb 2018.

Friday is Belgian day with Hedonis Ouwen Duiker or try the Hof Ten Dormaal, Frambuesa y Chocolate (raspberry & chocolate, barrel aged).

Track the beers as they change with the live online beer listing, available here.

New to the beer festival?  Pay four(£)-on-the-door and grab your glass and beer tokens and away you go! With music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and hot food served every day 12 noon til 10.30pm, what’s not to like?

This national CAMRA festival moves location every three years and this will be the last year it will be hosted in Norwich by the Norwich & Norfolk Branch.

The annual Norwich Beer Festival will remain a favourite fixture in the October calendars of local beer-lovers and will celebrate its 42nd year in October 2019.