Giant Dongle

Welcome to the spring edition of the Giant Dongle. So much is going on and what a year it has been so far for beer festivals - and it is still only February The Exeter Winter Ales festival did exactly what it said on the label. Held at Exeter City FC it boasted two bars, several ante rooms for comfort and the best range of food that one could wish for.

Then came the London Ales Festival put on by The William Henry in Weymouth – extremely well kept beers and at a cost of £10.36 (and cheaper if you had any vouchers left!) for a round of four is good value in anyone’s language. Then just as you thought it couldn’t get any better the Dorchester BEEREX reared its head. What a fantastic array of well sourced and well kept beers and hats off to Richard Gabe for his part in this (well he had to redeem himself after Octoberfest didn’t he (lol)).

One of the beers, “Tuck” from Lincoln Green Brewery in Nottinghamshire is one of the 8 finalists competing in March, alongside Palmers Tally Ho, for National Champion cask dark beers 4.5 to 6.4 abv. At risk of egg on face its not a patch on the local brew. Once again local beers won prizes – must be proof that Dorset beers are the best and it means that the committee won’t have to go far to award prizes. Good things happening on the pubs front, fresh from the Spice Ship in Weymouth, and the Lyme Brewery bar having makeovers we await the re-opening of the Rock Point Inn in Lyme Regis under the St Austell brand.