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Stuart House Beer Festival a highlight of King's Lynn summer




It’s festival time again. Actually, it’s always festival time in Lynn. With the Hanse Day, power boats, mods and rockers, classic cars and Festival Too, it seems that there is something happening every weekend over the summer.

However, it all started back in 1952 with the music festival, and this still continues to this day.

Despite not being a great fan of classical music, I still found enough films, talks, exhibitions and other music to visit around a dozen events over an intense fortnight of culture, a testament to the organisers and volunteers who kept the whole show on the road and even managed to switch one performance into the air-conditioned Corn Exchange from the Guildhall on the hottest Lynn day of all time.

Stuart House, Lynn.
Stuart House, Lynn.

Alongside the official events, another treat to look forward to has been the Stuart House Beer Festival. Held in the garden of the hotel since 1998, this 30 or so beers and about a dozen ciders awaited the thirsty public.

Unlike some festivals, Dave has always attempted to source well-known award-winning beers and customers have rarely been disappointed by the drinks on offer.

Over the years we have cowered in the tents, dodging the rain or baked in the evening sunshine sipping our beer and feasting on the excellent burgers, but alas, no more as Dave is retiring.

19th King's Lynn Beer Festival at Stuart House Hotel, King's Lynn, 2016. David Armes (hotel owner and organiser along with King's Lynn Vancouver Round Table). David is holding a glass of CWTCH Beer 4.6% from The Tiny Rebel Brewery in Wales, this beer was the Supreme Champion Beer of Britain in 2015.
19th King's Lynn Beer Festival at Stuart House Hotel, King's Lynn, 2016. David Armes (hotel owner and organiser along with King's Lynn Vancouver Round Table). David is holding a glass of CWTCH Beer 4.6% from The Tiny Rebel Brewery in Wales, this beer was the Supreme Champion Beer of Britain in 2015.

I would like to offer my thanks to Dave and his staff alongside the Vancouver Round Table and the event sponsors for putting on such a fun event for so many years, and I am sure that the recipients of the money raised for charities in excess of £100,000, over the years are equally grateful.

It will be sadly missed, but then as I typed those words with a metaphorical tear in my eye, I noticed in the programme that the Round Table are keen to continue in future, so maybe, just maybe…

Not content with one festival, we headed off to London to the Great British Beer Festival the following week. I had been presented with a free ticket, so with the prospect of a couple of free halves and a souvenir glass, we booked a place near Olympia and set off for an adventure in the capital.

Stuart House, Lynn.
Stuart House, Lynn.

My only previous visit to this event was many years ago when it was at Earl’s Court, so I was rather unprepared for the sheer scale. With the beer, cider and gin list running to 15 closely typed pages, it was clearly not going to be possible to sample more than a very small fraction of the offerings, and choice became a matter of picking a sensible strength beer of an appealing colour.

A quirky name helps, and Costa Del Salford from the Irwell Valley Brewery turned out to be exceptionally good. Alongside the drinks were no end of food offerings, books, games and brewery related items on sale.

Remember those bottles of Jubilee ale from 1977 in the loft that are going to make your fortune? 10 for £10. Sorry. There ware also some bargains on the clothing stall, though strangely all the items on the sale rail were small and medium size.

Jeff Hoyle (57982500)
Jeff Hoyle (57982500)

So, two beer festivals, one at each end of the scale. Which had the best beer? Well neither as it happens. It was the Bar wife’s birthday while we were in London and as a treat, I took her up to Wood Green to watch London Skolars play West Wales Raiders in the Rugby League’s third tier. In the clubhouse they had a pin of New River Brewery’s London Tap. Pure nectar. Take note beer festival organisers.

Jeff Hoyle



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