My wife does not drink real ale but likes the ciders. Although she'll occasionally have wheat beers or porters.
It's hard for me to believe that 5 years ago I wouldn't have touched real ale with a bargepole... I mean, i tried a few, but always thought they tasted soapy and didn't like them... now it's the only beer I drink! ( I don't drink keg at all, except under the most desperate circumstances...)
Abbeydale moonshine won the top award, I didn't have any as I try to go for beers I've not had before when I go to a beer festival.
I'd be all over that one, as I've never tried it before! Hopefully it will make its way up here at some stage. I'll talk to my cellarman.
It was a bit strange in that there were some very common beers there such as Black Sheep, Timmy Taylor's Landlord and Bombadier - can't think why anyone would want those at a festival!
I have a friend whose all-time favourite beer is Landlord, so if she saw it at a fest, she might have one, as it's not one we get up here (i am in Scotland) very often... but I have hated every Black Sheep beer I've ever tried, and also not a fan of Bombardier.
It's like when you walk into a bar that purports to have real ale and all they've got is Deuchars, or Abbot/Greene King/Belhaven!
