It's officially spooky season! Somehow, the inexorable march of time means that we're now well into October. The nights are drawing in, the weather has turned into something slightly less predictable, and the air is filled with the unmistakable scent of pumpkin spice. There is, however, another reason to rejoice at the arrival of autumn: the one and only Robin Hood Beer & Cider Festival!
A little under a fortnight ago, Amy & I made our annual pilgrimage to one of the most highly anticipated events in the calendars of beer lovers both locally and further afield. For the second straight year, this year's event took place at the iconic Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. With the inaugural use of this venue for the beer festival last year garnering mixed reviews from many (myself included), we were both interested to see how this year's edition would fair and, significantly, if and how the event organisers had responded to the feedback. This year also marked another first, as we attended the beer festival on the Wednesday evening for the first time. In previous years, we had attended the Thursday session but this year, in order to ensure we got the widest choice of beers available, we opted for the Wednesday evening public session instead. How would we fair? Had there been improvements since 2021? What inane and ridiculous method would I choose for selecting beers? All these questions and more will soon be answered!
Amy & I arrived at the cricket ground just before 4.30pm, half an hour after the gates had opened to the paying public following the end of the trade session. There were already a lot more people around than we'd expected but it was pleasing to see the festival buzzing on the first day of festivities. We showed our prepaid tickets, had them scanned, picked up our tokens and branded glassware and set about getting our bearings and selecting our first beers of the day which, in itself, is quite a challenge given the sheer array of options on offer. We had already noticed a couple of changes from the previous year. The entrance of the festival was further up the road than previously, opposite the local Co-Op. Last year, the gate immediately next to the Trent Bridge Inn had been in use. I can only assume that the change was made to prevent bottle necking at what is a busy road junction and, perhaps more likely, to limit the number of people queuing outside the pub during busier sessions. It was also refreshing to be able to take away a souvenir glass from this year's event. Last year, due largely to shortages and holdups caused by you-know-what, spare glasses from previous years were used which, I think you'll agree, isn't quite the same even if it does provoke some extra nostalgia. What beers would we choose to first fill our new glasses with? I had a strategy in mind. My plan this year was to drink beers only from breweries that I'd never tried beer from before. On paper, this sounds relatively easy when faced with 1000+ choices but, as we shall see, it was easy to stray from the path.
As we entered the festival proper and began to soak up what was a noticeably jovial atmosphere, we first encountered the key keg bar. Amy was excited to try a few from this location. Last year a lot of the ones that we'd been after had already gone, even by Thursday, so this had influenced our decision to arrive a day earlier this time. Amy selected a very good sour from Vault City and I had, finally, made my first choice of the day. I began with a beer from Cat Asylum, a brewery based in Collingham, near Newark, where a best friend of mine lives. Blood Orange (4.6%) is a mixed fermentation pale ale infused with real blood orange from Sicily. It sounded excellent, smelled great and poured hazy but, unfortunately, was slightly on the sour side. I was hoping things would improve as I drank more of it during our wayfinding though. We wandered through the main marquee where we located the main stage, which had been moved to a different side of the tent, allowing for much more space in front. The previous stage location was occupied by the cricket ground's own in-house food van and beyond this was access to the seating within the terrace, overlooking the pitch. We briefly bumped into former work colleagues of mine and, after a brief chat during which my beer did not improve but I did at least finish it, we decided to have a further wander to fully take in the expanse of the area. The organisers, both within CAMRA and at the cricket ground itself, had clearly listened to feedback after last year's festival. Things were arranged in a way that made as much use of the space as possible, especially within the main marquee. The brewery bars were well positioned, and accessible and extra space had been utilised, both within the undercroft and beyond it, to incorporate more brewery bars, more food retailers and a second, smaller stage for acoustic performances. It was already a significant upgrade on the teething problems of the year before. As we continued to adapt to our surroundings, it was time for a second beer. Good beer names always attract me, so I was never going to pass up Dragon Slayer (4.1%), from Shadow Bridge in Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire. This smooth, sweet and hoppy golden ale was very tasty and refreshing, even if it did punch a bit lighter than its name would have suggested! Amy opted for a second sour from the key keg bar, and we decided to further explore. We were beginning to get our bearings now and the festival was in full swing, helped by the band playing rock covers on the main stage.
The reduced space in comparison to previous venues, such as both Nottingham Castle and the Motorpoint Arena, do indeed make this venue easier to navigate but it can get crowded in certain spaces at times, particularly and predictably, around the brewery bars. Still, we did manage to make our way through crowds without too much trouble. People swaying out of the way can often be an advantage! I'd already picked out my next drink, so we made our way back to one of the smaller bars, in a marquee adjacent to Hounds Road. Beer number 3 for the day came from Hush Brewing out of Northwich in Cheshire, with their superbly named My Girlfriend Loves Frogs (4.6%). As well being the most ridiculously named beer thus far, it's an extra pale ale with all English hops, specifically Admiral, Archer and Olicana. It was worth the pick for the name alone but was also a great beer overall. Amy indulged in Brew York's excellent Tonkoko which, had I not had on previous occasions, I probably would have joined her on. Working in hospitality, and having lived and worked in Nottingham for years, means I have a tendency to bump into people I know fairly regularly. It should come as no surprise that the same thing happened on the trade day of one of the UK's largest beer festivals. It was certainly very nice to see so many people out and about on a Wednesday and nice to be able to introduce Amy to people she'd previously only heard me talk about in passing. After an opening trio of pale beers, it was time to switch it up. Following a quick stop for more tokens, and back in the Hounds Road marquee, I'd identified another beer that I felt I had to try. Amy had also found something that she desperately wanted which was handily located on the same bar. Resting Devil are based in Chesterfield and their Chupacabra (4.6%) was calling out to me. Billed as a Mexican stout, this actually pours golden, but still retains a malty and bitter aroma. What makes it Mexican? The chillies of course! The beer starts off light and balanced but then the heat kicks in. It's gently warming though and not overwhelming. It's an unusual juxtaposition of things but certainly proves the adage that chocolate and chilli are natural bedfellows. Amy's choice certainly bettered mine though. Newport's Tiny Rebel are known for, amongst other things, their Stay Puft marshmallow porter. They had provided a birthday celebration version, creatively monikered as Birthday Stay Puft, which can be described as a marshmallow & salted caramel birthday cake porter. It can also be described as heavenly, even at a hefty 10%. We drank our very different beers whilst chatting with staff and colleagues at the Castle Rock bar, some of whom were very confused by both the appearance and description of my beer.
I decided to stay on the dark stuff for a little bit and it was back to the main marquee to check out a bit more of the entertainment. My next choice was, again, fairly local but a new brewery to me, in the shape of Derby's Little Brewing. I was immediately drawn to The Panther (4.2%), a smooth stout with hints of coffee, chocolate and whiskey. Whilst the coffee and chocolate were instantly recognisable, the whiskey was subtle but added a touch of warmth and woodiness. It turns out I'm a sucker for beers and breweries named after animals and mythical beasts. The area in front of the stage was rather busy so we moved back into the main marquee slightly to absorb more of the rock anthems being sung our way. This put us in a good location for our next couple of beers. My eye had earlier been drawn to a beer from 3P's from Woodville in Leicestershire. Despite the decidedly unappetising name, Black Damp (5%), sounded intriguing. This is an oatmeal, chocolate and plum stout. I was worried it would be too sweet, but the oatmeal rounds out the mouthfeel a touch, so it effectively becomes a slightly sweeter stout with chocolate notes. I enjoyed it, although Amy was less of a fan. It was so far, so good for my plan to drink from breweries with which I was unfamiliar. However, my plan was shortly to come slightly acropper, even if would be a minor deviation. In the run-up to the festival, I'd been made aware of a special beer that would be available. A one-off. A singular event. Navigation Brewery had brewed a 23% beer. 23%. That is not a typo. Amy & I had been determined not to cave to it for reasons that should be obvious. The beer: Grounds for Divorce, a powerful imperial stout, left to mature after being double mashed. We hadn't counted on the power of persuasion of one of our friends who just so happens to work in Navigation's brewery tap. Having been assured that it didn't taste its strength, it was worth it, and we'd regret it if we didn't, we relented and shared a third between us. On this occasion, peer pressure came up trumps. This was a gorgeous beer! Best described as treacle in a glass, it was smoky, smooth, sweet and somehow light tasting all at the same time. It was, literally, dangerously drinkable. Beer of the day? Possibly. Beer of the moment? Definitely!
It was back to business-as-usual following such a monster of a beer. I'd once again been drawn in by a name, this time of both beer and brewery, and we once again headed back along the concourse to the nano bar. Another Welsh brewery, this time Weird Dad from Newport, would be providing my next source of refreshment. White Wellie (5.6%) is an IPA hopped with Simcoe. This provided big American hop flavours at a proper IPA strength. It was indeed a nice day for a White Wellie (sincerest apologies to Billy Idol). We took a few minutes to once again explore the undercroft and the new areas that have been opened up this year. The evening had started to darken by now and the atmosphere, under the purple glow of fairy lights, was welcoming, comfortable and lots of fun. No risk of bad light stopping play! The temperature had also dropped a touch, so we resolved to return to the main marquee where a larger number of people ensured that it was slightly warmer than elsewhere. As we perused our options for the next few beers, we were drawn again to the stage where another act was now performing. A piano-led, rock 3-piece were wowing the crowd with songs that certainly didn't lack emotion or talent and had definitely drawn a substantial audience. Searing vocals added an almost haunting feel to the tent and the whole thing landed somewhere between Radiohead, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Hope of the States, with no disrespect meant to any of those bands or, indeed, the guys on stage, who were, it must be said, doing a cracking job. I went south for my next beer. Riverside in Upper Beeding, West Sussex weren't a name I knew and so warranted further investigation. I went for Steyning Stinker (5.1%), a hoppy pale with floral and pine character and a hint of grapefruit. The move back to pale for my recent duo had served me well. My palate felt refreshed and so did we.
I would not stay on the pale beers for long though and I soon spotted my next target, in the solitary beer provided for the festival by Island from, you guessed it, the Isle of Wight. Vectis Venom (4.8%), as it is known, is a ruby tinted dark brown ale with an underlying smoothness. I wasn't sure what I expected but it proved to a good idea to pick something that took me back to my southern roots. We both had a few vouchers left to get through at this stage but had made the decision that we would use what we had and then call it a night. This meant that I wanted to make sure I selected my last few beers carefully to make the most of the tokens that we still had. Next on my list was another beer that was in with a shout of being beer of the day. Coming from Liverpool's Black Lodge, Five Foot Assassin (5.8%), is a big, juicy, hazy IPA. The flavours are brimming with stone fruit and sweet berry. It was very very good indeed. I would comfortably have drunk it all day had I felt so inclined. Black Lodge are a brewery that I'll be seeking out more of in future. I was clearly in the mood for something fruity at this point as my next choice was not too far removed. Steering back to the east Midlands, I chose something from Harrison's, based in Retford. Proof of Concept (4.3%) does exactly what it says on the tin. It's a double dry hopped IPA with massive flavours of grapefruit, lemon, peach and orange. It's basically like drinking a fruit salad or a smoothie and feels like it should be quite a bit stronger than it is.
Amy had exhausted her supply of vouchers now and, for my part, I had enough left to cover two more beers. It was a no-brainer then to try and end on some strong beers but without going overboard. The penultimate beer of the evening came from Essex, more accurately Brentwood, based in Pilgrim's Hatch. Lumber Jack (5.2%) is their take on an ESB. It's a strong beer, but perfect for the style, as it comes with a slight sweetness and a full body. Timberrrrr!! I love a good ESB and this ticks all the boxes. Two vouchers left meant one last beer. What would I choose? How could I round off what had been a fabulous day? The answer lay with Guisborough brewery from, er, Guisborough in North Yorkshire, and their beer called Boba (5%). This sounded like an intriguing beast and worthy of my final tokens. I wasn't wrong. Boba is an old brown ale in style but with US hops and a modern twist. Somehow this has combined into a belter of a beer. Big malty aromas, proper bitterness and a delicate note of citrus that brings the whole thing together. Boba and out?
And with that, we were done. Vouchers depleted, glasses tucked away safely, we headed out into the Nottingham night and summoned an Uber to convey us home. What an evening it had been! This year's festival felt like an improvement on last year's. It certainly conveyed more of the feel of a finished product. The use of more of the available concourse and undercroft space was an inspired idea and made the venue feel more open. It also meant that there was generally more to do, more to see and more of a showcase for local entertainment and food vendors. The real question, however, is always about the beers. I have no complaints. Barring a slightly dodgy opener, the middle order and the tail end had been brilliant! Every beer was different, exciting and showcased different things. Each and every brewery and cidery that contributed to the phenomenal range of products available should be commended. Preparing for an event of this size and scale on an annual basis is no easy task and everyone, from the organisers to the volunteers, and the brewers themselves, have consistently risen to the task with aplomb. On a personal level, I was very happy with how I'd stuck to my theme, one small trip off-piste notwithstanding. So, what's next for the future of the festival? Whilst no firm decision appears to have been made at the time of writing, the festival could do worse than remain where it is. The organisers learned from the feedback of last year and adjusted things accordingly. There's no reason why, assuming it's run and operated in the same manner, that Trent Bridge can't continue to be the festival's home for many years to come. There's something to be said for enjoying amazing beers and entertainment at one of Nottingham's most iconic venues. Whatever the next step is, and wherever the festival might end up, rest assured that I will follow. You never know, I might run out of cricket references in the meantime.
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