Lions feva Beer Festival, Knaresborough

We went to the beer festival sponsored by the Lions Club in Knaresborough as part of the feva arts festival in Knaresborough. The festival was at Knaresborough House and featured maybe two dozen hand-pulled cask ales from breweries all over England.

So here's what I sampled in ascending order of greatness:

• Ilkley Summer, Ilkley Brewery, Ilkley--This bitter has a lot of citrus flavors, as a matter of fact, far too many for my taste.
• Pentathlon, Roosters Brewery, Knaresborough--This pale ale commemorates the 2012 Olympics by using five different hops from around the world (thus being international and mimicking the five Olympic rings). Like Ilkley Summer, this brew has a few too many flavors going on for my taste.
• Cracker, Barngates Brewery, Ambleside--this bitter is both coppery and malty and finishes pretty dry. It's a nice beer, but not as good as...
• White Rose, Roosters Brewery, Knaresborough--this pale ale is citrusy without going overboard like Ilkley Summer. It was refreshing, but even better was...
• Old Yorkie, Ridgeside Brewery, Leeds--Malty and chocolaty, this bitter was quite tasty and had a nice finish, though not as great as...
• Bristol Milk Stout, Bristol Beer Factory, Bristol--this stout has a darkness and creaminess that was the show winner in my book. It was a smooth and creamy drink, like they made Guinness with milk instead of water. Yummy!

 You may be saying to yourself, "Six pints in one evening! Only a zombie could do that!!" To which I say they let us order pints or half pints. I ordered half pints so that I could sample more beers. When the barman poured the Ilkley Summer, something went wrong with the hand-pull and the glass was about half foam. So he said I could have it for free since it didn't pour properly. What great people these Englishmen are!

They also served food. We had the Samosas which were spicy and satisfying. A local band played music inside (we sat out on the side lawn) that sounded nice. It was a fine night with friends.

In addition to the Lions Club, Ilkley Brewery and Roosters Brewery sponsored the event.

Thanks so much!