Abbeydale Brewery at Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival

Get used to seeing and hearing members of the Abbeydale team this year. Our aim certainly for 2012 and beyond is to keep our Abbeydale community up-to-minute with going’s on inside and outside the brewery.

So I was invited along to the Magna Rotherham beer and music festival as a beer taster. What an opportunity to show our fans what it’s like behind the scenes of a beer festival and on a blind beer tasting judging panel. Little did I know that our Moonshine was destined to win gold medal in the pale bitter category and then go on to win overall Champion beer of Yorkshire 2012! #notbragginghonest.

To beer tasting then. A wise man once told me “you’re supposed to burp the beer afterwards for a more powerful aftertaste” – well that’s not going to happen cos that’s cool nor is the use of the spittoons. Each beer received a mark out of 10 for the following: Appearance (clarity, cling, condition, head etc), Aroma (malty, hoppy, fragrant, grassy), Taste (sweetness, body, mouthfeel/fizzy etc) and aftertaste (bitter, Sulfury, dryness etc) Basically you can try and define it all you want but what we’re interested in here is do you – as a person – like it and would you go back to the bar and buy another? See the beer flavour wheel for more in-depth descriptions. 

Over 80 beers all from Yorkshire, 30 judges, 7 different categories and 2 hours later. You do the math! But the end result is always the same…a slightly tipsy brewer in the end!

Apologies, it’s my first but of many video blogs,

Enjoy.

Dan Baxter

Download the beer flavour wheel.