Festival Ale (Gatehouse, Doncaster)

Bru Brewery Brown Ale 4.5%

A Brown Ale. Pours mahogany coloured with a decent white head and lacing. Aroma, biscuit malt. Taste is biscuit malt with hints of chocolate and nut.

4 down, 16 to go.

Festival Ale (Becketts Bank, Leeds)

Salopian Hop Twister 4.5%

A Golden Ale. Pours clear golden with a white head and lacing. Aroma, hints of citrus and grass. Taste is citrus, predominantly grapefruit and lemon. Some hoppiness with a slightly dry finish.

Festival Ale (The Hedley Verity, Leeds)

Elgoods Blackberry Porter 4.5%

A 'Flavoured' Porter. Pours deep brown with a beige head and lacing. Aroma, blackberries and a little lavender. Taste is blackberries, milk chocolate and a hint of liquorice. Slightly thin for a Porter but nice enough.

Festival Ale (Stick or Twist, Leeds)

Roosters Long Shadow 3.6%

An Amber Ale. Pours clear amber with a slightly off white head and lacing. Aroma, malt and a hint of caramel. Taste is malt, some caramel and a little fruit.

Festival Ale (Becketts Bank, Leeds)

Shepherd Neame Hop To The Future 4.5%

An IPA. Pours clear golden with a white head and lacing. Aroma, tropical fruit. Taste is hops and tropical fruit.

Festival Ale (Becketts Bank, Leeds)

Bath Ales Queen of Hearts 4.3%

Either an early Winter Warmer or an Autumn Red which pours deep amber with a decent white head and lacing. Aroma, malt, toffee and dark fruit. Taste is pretty similar with a little spice. Very nice

9 down, 11 to go (fingers crossed)

I'm usually more careful and I can't blame alcohol as this is my first ... but ...

The Yarborough Hotel, Grimsby has the following badged as a Festival Ale but it isn't on the official list (of 20). Anyway ...

Milestone Eagle 4.5%

An American Pale Ale. Pours slightly hazy golden with a white head and lacing. Aroma, faint malt and apple. Taste is a strange concoction of malt, hops, caramel and apple.

Festival Ale (Yarborough Hotel, Grimsby)

Banks's New Wave IPA 6.0%

Pours clear deep golden with a white head and lacing. Aroma, some malt and hops, a little tropical fruit. Taste is much the same.

Festival Ale (Yarborough Hotel, Grimsby)

Black Sheep Monty Python's Dead Parrot 4.1%

A Speciality (or Red) Ale. Pours hazy amber with an off white head and lacing. Aroma, a little malt and some orange. Taste is orangey and quite earthy. Quite strange!!! I'd have to concede that this beer may be generally better than the pint I've just been served.

Festival Ale (Blue Bell Inn, Shorpe)

Hook Norton Off The Hook 4.3%

A Golden Ale. Pours clear pale golden with virtually no head. Aroma, citrus especially grapefruit. Taste is hoppy and citrusy, again especially grapefruit.

Festival Ale (Blue Bell Inn, Shorpe)

Wolf Brewery Lazy Dog 4.7%

A Premium or Strong Bitter. Pours chestnut coloured with a small white head and very little lacing. Aroma, malt, caramel and some fruit. Taste is malt, a little coffee, caramel and fruit. Nice

Festival Ale (Red Lion, Doncaster)

Thornbridge Shelby 5.0%

An IPA. Pours golden with a thin white head and lacing. Aroma, malt and a little citrus. Taste is malt, a little biscuit & toffee, some citrus and hoppiness.

Festival Ale (Gatehouse, Doncaster)

Exmoor Exile Wicked Wolf 4.2%

A Golden Ale. Pours clear golden with a decent white head and lacing. Aroma, flowery with a little malt and hops. Taste is also a tad flowery, quite bland. Apparently there are some juniper berries in there somewhere.

15 ticked off, 5 still to find.

Festival Ale (Rawson Spring, Hillsborough)

Purity APA 3.9%

A Golden Ale. Pours hazy golden with a white head and lacing. Aroma, tropical fruit. Taste is predominantly hoppy and tropical fruit.

Festival Ale (Rawson Spring, Hillsborough)

Wadworth Sweet Molly 5.5%

A Ruby Ale. Pours ruby with an off white head and lacing. Aroma, smokey malts and caramel. Taste is smokey malts, chocolate, caramel, dark fruit and a hint of spice. Excellent! Unsurprisingly, my favourite festival ale.

Festival Ale (Benjamin Huntsman, Sheffield)

Adnams Old Ale 4.1%

An Old or Traditional Ale. Pours dark brown with an off white head and lacing. Aroma, malt and a little toffee. Taste is malt, toffee and caramel. Slightly on the thin side but pleasant enough. Seems to be part Mild, part Winter Warmer.

Just 2 left to find ...

Festival Ale (Art Picture House, Bury)

Hogs Back Citrus Pale Ale 4.5 %

A Golden Ale. Pours clear deep golden with a small off white head and lacing. Aroma, hops and citrus. Taste is mainly hops and citrus with a little underlying malt.

So ... just the one left ...

Festival Ale (Red Lion, Doncaster)

Lancaster Tales English IPA 5.1%

Pours clear golden with a white head and lacing. Aroma, hops and citrus. Taste is also citrus and hoppy.

Full house

Top man

Cheers, hopefully they will increase the number of ales next spring ... makes it more of a challenge.