Angry People

I was lucky enough to have been given free tickets to a Festival of Winter Ales, organised by CAMRA. Although there were only 25 of the 50 ales still on, and the winning ales not among them, it was a good opportunity to taste a selection of real ales from around the country.

Sharing our drinks, my partner and I managed to try 10 different ales and still walked home for a pint in the local (but that’s another story, perhaps to follow).

When drinking real ales there is, as with many aspects of life, a large component of liking what you are familiar with. Most real ale drinkers push themselves outside of their ‘comfort zone’ a little more often than the average lager lout and are a little more willing to try something new.

Some of the ales that I tasted were pretty extreme, but it’s necessary to remember these are winter ales and created more for supping than sessions. I didn’t make notes, so cannot recommend any specific beers. If you get the chance to attend a beer festival, my recommendation is always ‘go for it’ (responsibly of course!)

Now, the best part of the evening was the entertainment. While we were sampling the fine selection of ales, an unassuming gentleman was quietly setting up a wealth of well used looking musical equipment. What followed was what can only be described as quality entertainment, whether you liked it or not.

Stompin Dave Allen performed a selection of folk and blues, with the greatest energy and enthusiasm put into his own songs. The aspect that no-one could fail to admire, was that Stomping Dave is a multi-talented man. To those of us with no musical experience, it is a wonder to see someone play guitar, banjo or fiddle while tap-dancing, and alternatively playing a harmonica and singing. Dave is based in Bridport but if you check out the gig’s page on his site you’ll see his gets around a bit, and there’s plenty of opportunity to see him.