Firkin Fest at Picture House Social

Just a quick heads-up for this event being held at the Abbeydale road emporium.

The Picture House crew have again joined forces with near-neighbours Hop Hideout to offer a weekend of ale excellence (plus toons) proving again that these two are indeed steel city`s dynamic duo.

night on the tiles

On the main bar was usual suspect Deception from ultra-local Abbeydale, an old fave, but alongside it were double dark delights Brass Castle`s Bad Kitty and potteries perfection in a pint pot, Plum Porter from Titanic. Both aromatic and deeply tasty. Incidently, Jules from HH had organised a MTB event with Brass Castle which I`d not picked up on but I`m sure that was a well-spent hour or two for those in attendance.

The firkins are housed in the Ping-Pong room next door and most ales are one gravity here with the odd keg too. Cloudwater Red (4.8%) was a very decent starter and my half didn`t last long. Pale ales from Siren and Burning Sky and the Wild Millionaire (popular salted caramel brew) were nice enough and old favourite Jarl from Fyne Ales was worth the quite hefty price attached. I also tried a bit of the Feral Nancy cider from locals Cider Beast and I have to admit that I lied it and the branding. (I concur that `seals are just mermaid dogs`!). The standout for me though at 6.3% was Jakehead IPA from the North East`s Wylam. Lots of floral aroma on this one and a lovely bitter-sweet taste made it easily drinkable, one of the better IPAs for me this year. Keep a look-out for Wylam.(I don`t know what a Jakehead is but it sounds like it could fit well onto Call my Bluff or some-such quizzical thing).

After sinking the Titanic favourite (ooh) we jumped ship (ouch) and boarded the Broadfield in search of more treasures. For the third time in a week I happily stumbled across North Riding`s Red Citra. After sampling this at the excellent Steel City Real Ale Festival last week, I`d had a few Red Citra`s at the wonderful Three Tuns and was happy to do the same at the Broady. The beautiful red body showcases a fine balance in this beer and reminds us what a wonderful hop citra can be. Fantastic and certainly one of my favourite beers this year.

Must mention the Great Heck Mosaic too as that was tasty. Night.