Dish of the Day: Craft Beer Rising Festival

Last weekend I attended the first Craft Beer Rising Festival. With an eye to the young and urban crowd who are currently guzzling down anything under the Craft Beer banner, the event was part trade show, part food fair and, well, part p**s up.

Appropriately hosted at the Old Truman Brewery in Shoreditch, they clearly hit their target audience; disappointed drinkers were being turned away at the door. The organisers struck a good balance, providing plenty of opportunity to learn about, and try, the beer – and then have a dance in the next room.

After incorrectly following the signage back and forth between the cloak room and the cask room (I should have worn my glasses), I took to the stands with my plastic tasting cup in one hand and monopoly money vouchers in the other.

There was chance to try some of the favourites which are rarely available on tap: such as the fragrant, zesty and light Chapel Down’s Curious IPA and Hook Norton’s dry and malty Double Stout.

There was also plenty of opportunity to try less-well-known brews. Schiehallion’s sharp and hoppy Bitter and Twisted for one. And The Botanist’s Maxiumus, which is brewed by the Botanist pub in Kew, and is a fine dark ruby ale. They were two of the stand-outs of the night.

I also had a glass of Ameretto-flavoured beer thrust in my face to try by a waitress – it wasn’t pleasant. But I satisfied my blood lust with a bag of pepperoni “beer sticks”. The age group of most people there was younger than your usual beer fest but that wasn’t to say the old guard weren’t in attendance too. The gender balance was better than at most of these events – it certainly wasn’t beardy blokes wall-to-wall.

Strangely, the one thing I bought at the entire festival wasn’t a beer. It was a bottle of 42 per cent malt liquor from the Old Cannon Brewery. Dubbed Spirit of Gunner’s Daughter, the liquor is distilled from their Gunner’s Daughter Ale. It is hands down the smoothest drink I’ve ever tried. A bit like whiskey but slightly more watery and without the peatiness, it could be easy to forget how strong it is. Especially after a few pints of Craft Beer.

Follow Will at @will_coldwell

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• Pacificweather

  I have never heard of craft beer before but it seems I have been drinking it for the past 45 years. It seems that young journalist have only recently started drinking it and want to tell us how good it is. How can I possibly complain at that.

• HarryTrainspotter

  And here’s me thinking CRAFT stands for – Cant remember a f888888g thing…..
  Suppose after so much beer that would be the case?