Stocks Bar May Day Weekend Beer Festival

The Stocks Bar has a beer festival this weekend, starting on Friday 30th April and running until Monday 3rd May.

They expect to be offering a range of approximately 30 ales and ciders.

You can get more info from their facebook page or main website at www.crownandthistle.com

The Stocks Bar is at the Crown & Thistle Hotel, 18 Bridge Street, Abingdon, OX14 3HS

In recent months following changes of bar management the Stocks Bar has been up and down regarding its beer range, but recently it seems back on track again with a good range of beers including local beers from Witney based Brakspear, Wychwood and Grove based Pitstop, as well as guest beers from further afield such as Jennings. So let’s hope that this beer festival goes well and is a sign of good things to come.

The List of beers is:

  • Snecklifter 5.1%
  • Cockerhoop 4.6%
  • Mans Bitter 3.9%
  • Old Empire 5.7%
  • Fortyniner 4.9%
  • Old Thumper 5.6%
  • Marstons EPA 3.6%
  • Hobgoblin 4.5%
  • Oxford Blue 4.0%
  • Brakspear Bitter 3.4%
  • Dragon Tale 4.5%
  • Boondoggle 4.2%
  • Oxford Gold 4.0%
  • Stickle Pike 3.8%
  • Normans Conquest 7%
  • Golden Arrow 4.5%
  • Grumpling 4.6%
  • SaracenIPA 4.5%
  • Dragon Hill 4.2%
  • Bitumen 10%
  • IPA Indianapolis 7%
  • Star 3.8%
  • Jumping Jack Flash 3.9%
  • Dr Hectors Healer 5.0%
  • Mags Mild 3.8%
  • Gravitas 4.8%
  • Old Father Thames 3.4%
  • Tom Fool 4.0%

Brewery Tap’s Second Beer, Cider and Music Festival

The Brewery Tap, Ock Street, Abingdon is holding its second beer & cider festival at The Brewery Tap between Friday 26th and Monday 29th March.

The first was in December 2009, and had an excellent range of beers combined with an amazing range of sausages. The Brewery Tap are planning to hold four festivals a year.

This second festival will have 30 cask ales and 6 real ciders. There will also be live jazz music on Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.

For more information download Brewery Tap Beer Festival 2 – Tasting Notes which has a list of all beers with tasting notes.

I can see several beers on the list I have not tried before, and as before it has a good mixture of beer from local breweries (Appleford, White Horse, Pitstop, Vale, Hook Norton) and a few from further afield.

The Kings Head and Bell is also planning a beer festival soon on May day bank holiday weekend, and I’ll post more info on that when I have it.

Other big beer related news in Abingdon is that the Loose Cannon Brewery in Suffolk Way is getting close to opening. Trial brews will begin in April and hopefully will be on sale in May direct from the brewery’s shop and in local pubs. For more information see this article in the Oxford Mail.

Feb 2010 Issue Oxford Drinker Available

The Oxford CAMRA branch’s newsletter for Feb/March 2010 has now been published. It includes news, articles and information about pubs and breweries in the Oxford and White Horse branch areas.

Free copies can be found in most real ale pubs. In Abingdon this includes Brewery Tap, Stocks Bar, Punchbowl, King’s Head & Bell, Spread Eagle, Nags Head, Broad Face, White Horse, Plough, The Anchor, Cross Keys.

You can also read it online as a PDF at www.oxfordcamra.org.uk/drinker/