The beers what I drank

On Thursday, Roger -- my father-in-law -- and I went to the Great British Beer Festival. We managed to sample a number of beers, some good, some not so good. With the help of the event map and the intertubes, I managed to remember all of beers we tried. For those of you who are concerned for my liver, I should point out that we were drinking half pints. I'll list them here in the order we drank them:

Marston's Old Empire IPA

First beer of the evening. I remember this being pretty good.  I'd drink it again if it were available and I were in the mood for an IPA, but probably wouldn't seek it out.

Brakspear Oxford Gold Organic Beer

Much as I would love to be able to drink organic beer on a regular basis, I've never had an organic beer that was halfway decent.  This was no exception.  The beer had no body, and the hops was pretty difficult to discern as well.  The Monty Python line about American beer and having sex in a canoe came to mind.

Cain's IPA

This one was pretty decent.  I remember it as fairly hoppy and refreshing, but that may have been because it followed the Oxford Gold.

Morton's Speedwell Bitter

The first memorable beer of the evening.  Probably my second favorite, and one that I'd definitely like to try again.

Sharp's Doom Bar

My favourite beer of the evening.  Maybe I was swayed by the fact that they had a prominently displayed "Beer of the Year" award.  Maybe it was because they washed out our glasses.  Maybe it was the very generous half pint they served.  In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed Doom Bar and I'll be looking for it in the pub.

High House Farm Brewery Nel's Best

Third favourite beer of the evening.  It's a Newcastle beer, so hopefully I can try this one again when we're up there visiting Joanne's family.

Caledonian 80/-

Made by the same brewery that makes Deuchars IPA.  We probably should have gone for the Deuchars.

Bonus Beer: Coniston Bluebird Bitter

I didn't actually try this one, but Roger tried a bottle of this while waiting for me to arrive.  He thought it was pretty good, as I recall.