After my Dutch Delight I needed a short walk in order to get to my next port of call, The Coal Orchard, a Wetherspoons pub.  As soon as I got there I made the first mistake of beer sampling and ordered the strongest one that they had on, Ballast Point Calico Amber.  I also went straight for a pint.  A refreshingly good pint for 5.2%ABV, I could quite easily of had a session on this one.  The flavours were a fairly close match to the brewery description so you should know what you’re getting.

I finally made it to the festival on Friday to sample some beers; I didn’t want to be in Taunton town centre later on when it is the preserve of the youngster so set off at about 3:30pm.  After a 4 mile walk with a brief stop for some cash, (and to buy a pen which I had forgotten to bring with me), I arrived at The Perkin Warbeck, formally a Wetherspoons and now a Lloyds No. 1.
Perkin Warbeck was a pretender to the throne of Henry VII in the 1400’s and after his surrender was imprisoned briefly at Taunton Castle before being moved to the Tower of London.

It’s much nicer getting up at 5:00am to mash when it is starting to get light outside.  Spring is in the air and that can only mean one thing for beer lovers the time for mild is nearly upon us.

Now there’s always been an interesting relationship between those who brew the beer and those whose job it is to make sure it arrives at the pub in tip top nick.  It’s also difficult for those who deliver to give an opinion to the creative guru’s in the brew house ....without being slapped around the head with a damp hop pocket!!  However, they can’t be too disgruntled with our thoughts on their latest amber creation.