Waterloo Beer Festival

My friend Roland texted me about going to this beer festival. I said yes, and agreed to book the tickets on-line. When I did so, I got a message that my tickets had been e-mailed to me, and I'd need to print them off. Oops! My printer was broken, and I'd been promising myself for perhaps 9 months that I'd replace it: well, you can't rush these things. Off to Argos and an hour later I'm the proud owner of a new printer, and the first documents it printed were our tickets.

Old Christ Church

The festival is run by Liverpool Organic Brewery in the Old Christ Church in Waterloo, which is a great, if draughty, venue. A jazz band called Swingology provided some good music, and not too loud; I noticed that entertainment was provided at all sessions, so if you're one of those who find that music affects your taste buds, this festival may not be for you. The noise levels were high, but through conversation rather than the music; the acoustics are such that noise of any kind bounces all over the place.

I was wearing a badge that hinted at my support for nuclear disarmament, and the fellow who served me couldn't stop laughing when I ordered a beer called Bomb from Atomic Brewery (5.2%), a hoppy golden ale. Dragon Slayer (4.5%) from B&T Brewery was bland to my taste, but probably fine for people who prefer the likes pf Wainwright. I tried 9 different beers in all (half pint glasses) and my favourite was Buzz (4.6%) from the Animal Brewing Co. The most extreme beer was the aptly-named Hop Monster (4.5%) from Exit: very enjoyable but it certainly scorched my taste buds to the extent that the next beer I had, Moondance (4.5%) from Melwood initially seemed disappointing and bland, but as the taste of Hop Monster receded, it became clear that this beer, brewed near Kirkby, was really quite pleasant.

When the session ended, we went to the new Wetherspoons in Waterloo, the Queens Picture House, very close to the station. It was formerly a carpet shop, but before that, there had been a cinema on the site. The decor is bright and more modern than our older Southport Spoons and I quite liked it: Roland said that the last time he'd been there was to buy a carpet. I can't remember what I drank but it was fine. After one pint, we decamped to the Volunteer Canteen, East Street, Waterloo. This small, two-roomed, mid-terrace pub was full with football fans and refugees from the beer festival, but despite the bustle and noise, it was very friendly as usual. The excellent Lemon Dream (4.5%) from Salopian was my drink, until it ran out, and then it was on to Liverpool Organic Cascade (3.8%).

After that, it was on the train back to Southport.

Liverpool Organic Brewery are running another festival from 30 July to 2 August in St Luke's Church, the famous bombed out church at the top of Bold Street, Liverpool.