August 16, 2000 -- As always, tasting at the Great British Beer Festival was a bit of a challenge. Why? Because samples at the annual London celebration of cask-conditioned ale are poured in only two sizes, pint and half-pint. And let me tell you, even with low alcohol content typical of English bitters, there are only so many beers that a person can taste at a half-pint apiece.

But then again, the spirit of the GBBF, which bills itself as the "World's Biggest Pub," is more about drinking beer than it is tasting it. So, with that in mind, I went forth to lift a few jars with several thousand of my closest overseas friends. Some of the highlights of my two days of supping:

The Wholesome Stout from Wye Valley of Herefordshire was one of the few stouts on offer, and a very fine one at that. Its tobacco-y nose introduced an ale with a well-rounded character and a fine progression from the lightly sweet, coffee-ish body to the dry, roasty finish.

Glentworth's 3.9% Light Year from south Yorkshire was my favourite in the judging portion of my GBBF experience, with the bit of sulphur on the nose not detracting one bit from its excellent quaffability. I really thought that this should have won the Ordinary Bitter category, until I tasted...

...the Jeffery Hudson Bitter from the Oakham brewery of Cambridgeshire. This was judged on the other Ordinary Bitter panel, so I didn't have a chance to taste it until I got a half-pint on the GBBF floor, and I was very glad that I did. An excellent, extremely well-balanced ale, the JHB has a fragrant floral nose with a hint of pink grapefruit and a body that blended hop and malt beautifully.

Wiltshire's Hopback brewery fielded both Thunderstorm and Summer Lightning, each of which I had sampled on several occasions previously. And they remain lovely beers. I even picked up a couple of carry-out bottles of the crisp, well-hopped Lightning at the end of my first session.

The oddly-named Pressed Rat and Warthog from Hampshire's Triple FFF brewery also impressed with its slightly chocolaty start morphing deliciously into a nutty, roasty, plummy body. At 3.8%, this drank considerably bigger than its modest alcohol content.

And although I was only somewhat impressed by the Brakspear's Bitter at the judging table, placing the Oxfordshire ale in a tie for second on my score sheet, in the context of the tasting floor and, later, the pub, I was able to better appreciate its significant hop character and crisp dryness. Which just goes to show that awards are not necessarily everything that they are cracked up to be.

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