Life

Craft Beer: ABV Festival in Belfast's Carlisle Memorial Church a holy tasteful affair

Some of the beer worshippers who gathered in Carlisle Memorial Church in north Belfast last week
Some of the beer worshippers who gathered in Carlisle Memorial Church in north Belfast last week Some of the beer worshippers who gathered in Carlisle Memorial Church in north Belfast last week

"HAVE you tried the chilli beer? It's class, you should try it," said an enthusiastic imbiber in the queue for the bar at the ABV Festival in the Carlisle Memorial Church last Friday.

"It's on my list", I tell him, "The one after next" as I eye up a Baltic porter from Mikkeller which is neurotically entitled Beer Geek Limfjordsporter.

He is quite jovially insistent, though: "I've had it and I'm going to get another one." So I relent, move it up my list, and take a gulp of Siren Fire Alarm from my splendid ABV glass.

The notes on the beer list say 'spicy, spicy, spicy, spicy, spicy' and it did, to use Belfast parlance, burn the bake off me. It was also smokey and sweet and indicative of the flavour odyssey many willing beer drinkers went on when they entered the imposing building over four sessions between last Friday and Saturday.

An eclectic mixed of young and old, male and female, bearded and unbearded, sipped, chugged, swirled and smelled some of the best beers which the fiercely dedicated organisers could assemble under one roof. The result was a festival of flavours.

After setting my mouth on fire, I immediately offset that with a collaboration between home favourite Boundary and sour kings of the north of England, Mad Hatter – the Milk Agitator Berliner Weisse had the right levels of tartness and fruitiness with a lovely sweet finish.

I finally did get my hands on beautifully roasty Mikkeller porter, which had smooth dark chocolate and coffee notes and completed a Danish double sampling another wonderfully monikered brew in To ol's Roses Are Brett Brett IPA which delivered delicate hops, a fruity aroma and taste and a warming hint of sweet spice.

But for me, the star of the Friday evening session was Buxton Yellowbelly, an imperial stout whose strong toffee popcorn aroma is detectable from a mile off. That's not to say it is sickly sweet – it gets the balance just right. There's rich caramel and peanut butter flavour and at 11 per cent abv, this one's a real sipper.

Those lovely curved Woodworkers-sponsored glasses should be raised to the organisers for bringing some great beers to a wonderful setting. Looking forward to next year.