Sample the Ales at the Le Gothique Beer Festival

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Over 50 beers at the forthcoming Wandsworth Beer Festival

More than 50 beers will be on tap for sampling at the forthcoming Wandsworth Beer Festival, housed in the historic Le Gothique building.   The event, which takes place from Thursday March 25 - Sunday March 28, is the second of what is now an annual festival and follows a popular Halloween Festival.   It will showcase regional and micro breweries from around the country, with beer from as far afield as Kinlochleven in Argyll (a 3.6% strength straw-coloured beer called Latitude) to Douglas on the Isle of Man (a 4.2% strength red-coloured ale called Manx Pride).   Intriguing-sounding beers include Midnight Sun Porter (5.6% strength) from Alloa-based Williams Brothers, who are committed to sourcing local ingredients, and Titanic Brewery's 5.2% Captain Smith, named after the captain who went down with the Titanic.

Local beer will also be on offer, including a range of beers from glass sponsors Twickenham Fine Ales and beer from Sambrook's brewery in nearby Battersea.   There will also be 10 ciders available. And the Le Gothique's normal bar will also be open, so non-beer drinkers can enjoy the atmosphere as well.  

The building itself - the Grade II-listed Royal Victoria Patriotic Building, off Windmill Road - provides a splendid setting and drinkers can reflect on its history, which includes its uses as an orphanage and a hospital. It's most famed for housing 20,000 refugees during the World War II, with Rudolph Hess being held in the cellars for several days.  

Wandsworth Beer Festival costs £2 to enter (£1 for CAMRA members), with beer prices starting from £2.80 for a pint. On Thursday to Saturday you can enter from 12 noon to 10pm, with entries on Sunday (when the beer choice may be running down) from 12 noon to 3pm. More information is available on the festival website: http://www.beerviking.com/wcbf/.

Sue Choularton

March 16, 2010