Fests & Crawls > Medway Fest (Nov 2006)
Expectations were high after last years great festival - and this years certainly didn't disappoint. Running Thurs-Sat, myself, Dan, Rob and a few of his mates headed to the Friday afternoon session. Dan and I met up in the Alexandra at 3pm, where we suffered a poor example of Shepherd Neam's finest seasonal - Late Red. Not inclined to buy another we made the short walk to the festival.
Two quid for entry and pint glass was up on last year, but still cheap. This also included the festival handout, complete with brief but descriptive beer notes. There were over 50 ales on offer, and whilst I started on the weaker 4%-ers, Dan dived straight in with a Croak & Stagger - the third strongest on the list, at 5.6%. Fortunately there was plenty of comfortable seating again, and we positioned ourselves next to the eatery serving hatch for easy access to grub.
After a couple of decent pints it was deemed time for food - Dan with his staple diet of bacon baguettes; and myself with one of sausage. Completely hit the spot, and providing something to soak up the next 6 hours of booze. Rob + co arrived around 5pm and the drinking began in earnest. After only 3 pints I made a switch to the Belgian beer bar, which had a selection of over 30 bottles. Here I enjoyed a nice mix of cherry, chocolate, spicy and raspberry beers - ranging up to 9% in strength. Needless to say, more sausage baguettes were parked in.
Brewer |
Region |
Name |
ABV |
Rating |
| Shepherd Neame | Kent | Late Red | 4.5 | 6/10 |
| Bath | Bristol | Gem | 4.1 | 8/10 |
| Mordue | Tyne&Wear | Workie Ticket | 4.5 | 8/10 |
| Orkney | Scotland | Dark Island | 4.6 | 9/10 |
| Bellvue | Belgium | Kriek | 5.2 | 8/10 |
| Cottage | Somerset | Norman's Conquest | 5.0 | 7/10 |
| Delirium | Belgium | Tremens | 9.0 | 7/10 |
| Floris | Belgium | Chocolate | 4.2 | 9/10 |
| Bellevue | Belgium | Framboise | 5.2 | 8/10 |
| Fruli | Belgium | Ninkeberry | 3.9 | illegible |
At around 9-ish, Dan and I headed off to get the train back - which included a half hour mission in Chatham trying to find an ATM. The plan to go down to the local on return was dropped in favour of the offy - where Dan stocked up on more booze, and I bought out their supply of Pringles and Ben&Jerrys.