At SwishJunction we felt it was our moral duty to take time out on a Thursday night and investigate this Beer Festival. The setting was beautiful; the bar is set up in Le Gothique‘s grassy courtyard framed by trees and golden leaves on the ground. The smokers dotted around added to the gorgeous bonfire night atmosphere that we love about Autumn.

 

 

Entry on the door costs £4 and an extra £2 deposit for your souvenir pint glass. Plenty of the booze on offer boasted Halloween-themed names, suited to the occasion, so naturally SwishJunction made the mission to sample as many spookily-named (ok, slightly daft but fun) beverages as possible. Our favourites include:

Coffin Dodger (Northumberland) – smells like caramel with a smooth, not-too-rich taste. Only brewed in October apparently and rare to find (typical, a proper favourite and we’ll probably never find it again).

Screech Owl (Nottingham) – fab if you like a lighter ale. A great option for daytime ale drinking, or that transition from Indian summer to cooler autumn.

Barman’s Ghoulies (Cumbria) – now, this had a unique smell… almost like cheese (cue hilarious ghoulie-themed banter last night) but don’t let that put you off this perfectly-quaffable pint.

Black Widow (Worcestershire) – a dark stout option, our tester likened it to Guinness but with a thinner consistency.

Witches Cauldron (Aviemore) – sweet and rich, dark in colour, smells like vanilla. Try it if you’re a beginner to ale wanting to sample richer tastes.

The festival continues today and tomorrow from 1pm until 11pm both days. Reserve tickets here and pay on the door. A great way to kick off the weekend, if you ask us.