Oxford CAMRA beer festival struck again in October, and for once I was going to make sure I had nothing else scheduled then, and make sure I went on the first day when all of the beer would be on and I wouldn't be faced with the typical "Oh, you should have been here yesterday and tasted..." that commonly happens at this event.

Popping into the immaculately decorated civil splendour of Oxford town hall seems a bit odd at first but I soon cheered up when I saw the huge stacks set up loaded with barrels. All the familiar pullover-wearing, beer bellied, bearded CAMRA blokes, who you seem to bump into whichever pub you visit, were there, plus a surprising number of younger people, male and female. The appeal of real beer seems to be spreading. In addition I soon ran into a group of staff and regulars from the Turf Tavern, including Darren the Manager, who was eagily taking notes.

The beer were mostly themed around an ornithological theme this year, so I decided to avoid all bird-named beers. I had half-pints of each of the following, and included is what I scribbled down at the time about it, if I can read what I wrote (which is more challanging for the beers I had towards the end...)

Oxford Brewery Draught Ale (4.2%) - New brewery not actually in Oxford. Very average.

O'Hanlon's Port Stout (4.4%) - Instant aroma. Deep and mellow. Chocolate aftertaste.

Nottingham Brewery Sooty Oatmeal Stout (4.8%) - Oatmeal very detectable. Very deep flavour. Lovely.

St Peter's Brewery Lemon and Ginger (4.7%) - NO!!! Tastes like lemsip.

Buntingford Herb Ale Remedy (5.5%) - The NHS could do with this. Lots of herb taste and honey, but not overdone. Dark and bitter. Delicious.

Atlas Anteallach (4.2%) - New brewery. Tastes a lot stronger. Hoppy aroma but actually quite a deep, bitter taste.

Brasserie de la Soif Finefont (4.2%) - French draught "bitter" from Nantes. Tastes a bit French.

Kelburn Red Smiddy (4.1%) - Very bitter. Slightly "flat" on the tongue.

Oulton Ales Nautilus (4.2%) - Fruity yet malty. Lovely balance. Good!

Garton Liquid Labotomy (8%!!!) - YES! Out of this wold(sic.). Unintellegible scribbling.

Overall, I liked the Labotomy the best, but it's not really a session beer! Next best was the O'Hanlon's Port Stout. Overall, some good, some unusual, some horrid, and some excellent. Roll on next year!

Mart.