Brewery Tap Beer Festival Preview

We are now into beer festival season in Abingdon on Thames. Last weekend we enjoyed The Cross Keys beer festival, where the first drink to sell out was Bristol Port Cider, and next week The Broad Face has a beer and music festival (6th-8th April). However this weekend sees probably the largest beer festival ever held in Abingdon on Thames. The Brewery Tap’s Spring Beer and Cider (and pies and music) festival.

There are several beers here never before seen in Abingdon on Thames, including the launch of Abingdon’s Loose Cannon Brewery’s Blonde ale; three new beers from The recently opened Aylesbury Brewhouse and the launch of XT Brewery’s Number 6. The complete list of ales and ciders along with tasting notes can be found here.

There will live music from Rascals of Rythmn on Friday evening, Big Blues Band on Saturday and George Haslam’s Swingtime band on Sunday at 5pm.

The Festival runs from Friday March 25th to Sunday March 27th.

More Abingdon Beer Festivals

Despite recent pub closures (Fitzharris, Ox, Nags Head and Plough), Abingdon is still a good place for pubs and real ale with many of the still open pubs offering a good range of real ales in good condition and frequent beer festivals. Following on from the recent beer festival at the Cross Keys, there are 3 more local pub beer festivals coming up in the next few months. Continue reading

Latest Beer at the Brewery Tap


Click the image to see the beers currently being served at the Brewery Tap in Abingdon, and what is in the cellar waiting to come on.

If enough people are interested in this kind of info, I could set up a mailing list, forum or database and also ask other local pubs to provide information for it. Please comment to this post to let me know if it is worth setting up.

You can also get up to real time info of beers available The Brewery Tap and some other pubs at YourRound.co.uk.

October Issue of Oxford Drinker Available

Oxford Drinker, Issue 64.The October Issue of The Oxford Drinker, the newsletter of the Oxford branch of CAMRA (Campaign For Real Ale) is now available.

You can pick up a free copy from most good pubs in the area. There are currently copies in the Brewery Tap, The White Horse and The Loose Cannon Brewery shop. They should appear in other pubs during the next week (deliveries rely on volunteers to take them to pubs in their spare time).


Articles of interest to Abingdonians in this issue include:

  • Abingdon’s Loose Cannon Brewery
  • Report from Old Anchor Beer Festival
  • Oxford City Pub of The Year shortlist
  • Publication of new Good Beer Guide 2011, including new entries from the Oxford branch area
  • Preview of The Oxford Beer Festival
  • Welcome report from the new Oxford CAMRA branch chairman
  • List of Beer Festivals

If you can’t wait to get a hardcopy, then you can also read it online as a PDF file from the Oxford CAMRA web site

Brewery Tap’s 3rd Beer Festival this year!

Abingdon is having a good share of beer festivals this year. We have recently enjoyed the King’s Head & Bell‘s 1st beer festival in August, and The Old Anchor’s beer festival in July. Starting today, the Brewery Tap in Abingdon is holding its 3rd festival this year (previously ones were in June and March. Incidently, ‘Abingdon’s First beer festival’ was actually held in the car park of The Brewery Tap back in October 2004.

List of beers and ciders, with tasting notes

The Tap’s beer festival features 16 real ales including Abingdon Bridge from Abingdon’s own Loose Cannon Brewery and 8 real ciders, and as with the previous Tap festivals this year…. specialist sausages and live music.

There will be live music on Saturday afternoon (4pm) from The Three Musty Steers and on Sunday afternoon (4pm) from George Haslam’s 18 piece Big Time Swing Band.


Saturday also coincides with the annual Runner Bean Day on Saturday, which offers prizes for things such as the longest runner bean.



If you want to travel outside of Abingdon there are a few other beer festivals going on including The Cricketer’s Arms in Littleworth which is holding its Autumn Beer and Sausage Festival featuring 12 locally brewed beers, and Far From the Madding Crowd in Oxford which is holding its Autumn Beer festival.