;)
We certainly had every type of weather for this festival, 31 Deg C on Friday, cooler and overcast on Saturday/Sunday and then thunder and lightning on Monday, followed by sun for afternoon Boule!
The weather did not seem to deter anyone and the turnout was as large as usual.
Of the 34 beers advertised, there were NO no shows. We even had one extra beer in the form of Pilgrim's Crusader (4.9%).
As for the star of the show.... well a few beers caught the eye and the tastebuds.
Errr... it appears that the editor of this site was a little too eager to declare the results of best beer of the festival. After careful deliberation, here are the official results:
| POS. | BREWERY | BEER | ABV | SCORE | Other Info. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1) | Surrey Hills | Ranmore | 3.8% | 32 | 5 x A's |
| 2) | Grand Union | One Hop Fuggles | 4.5% | 27 | NO A's |
| 3) | Oakleaf | Southwyk Skew Sunshine Ale | 4.6% | 23 | 2 x A's |
| 4) | Surrey Hills | Shere Drop | 4.2% | 22 | 3 x A's |
| 4) | Castle Rock | Harvest Pale | 3.8% | 22 | 3 x A's |
Our Congratulations have go to Surrey Hills! You have to remember that they have only been brewing for about a month! Both of their beers were very tasty and very popular, but the better of the two was just (about) Ranmore (3.8%).
The Official List of Beers can be seen by clicking on the image below:
The musical entertainment was provided on Friday Evening by D'arcy Spice an excellent Irish Band (who did well to play most of their set in the dark!) and on Monday Lunchtime we were entertained by the Frog Island Jazz Band (who had to play their first set in the Beer Tent because of the rain!).
A few of pictures are provided below of the Frog Island Jazz Band (after the thunderstorm), the garden filling up, and the other star of the show, (well ome of them) Surrey Hills, Shere Drop.
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If you missed our May Bank Holiday Beer Festival, then do not despair as it all happens again in just three months!
To see what our previous Beer Festivals have been like, please click on the links below:
Well that's about it from another Great Surrey Oaks Beer Festival. As ever, this festival would not be possible without the hard work and organisation from Ken. About half an hour before opening on the first night, Ken was probably wishing he'd never decided to have a May Beer Festival this year, but that's another story! Everything worked out OK in the end so once again....
Thanks Ken!
Last updated: 30th May 2005