The Courtyard Beer Festival
The Courtyard at Washington Arts Centre is hosting its summer beer festival from August 23 to 27, with 47 beers and 13 ciders (30 of which will be on at any time)
Among those are eight beers from the pubs own microbrewery, the Leamside Ale Company.
Tokens cost £15 for a book of half pints, though supplements may apply for some stronger beers and ciders.
Beers (including North East ales)
Pale Ale and Bitter 3.5% – 4.4%
| Brewery | Beer | ABV | Tasting Notes |
| Acorn (Barnsley, West Yorkshire) | Blonde | 4.0% | Beautifully balanced pale ale with a clean crisp finish. |
| Allgates (Wigan, Lancashire) | Pretoria | 3.9% | A yellow gold ale with big assertive lemon sherbet hops; juicy but dry and bitter with just a pinch of sourness. |
| Angus (Carnoustie, Angus) | Birdie 3 | 4.1% | A subtly flavoured pale brown ale. |
| Battledown (Cheltenham, Gloucestershire) | Sunbeam | 3.8% | American style “Steam Beer” brewed with Northern Brewer hops. |
| Beartown (Congleton, Cheshire) | Peach Melbear | A sweet aroma of peaches and elderflower, perfectly balanced by a hoppy bitterness in both the flavour and finish. | |
| Bristol Beer Factory (Bristol) | Acer | 3.8% | A beer with a huge hop kick to it, ripe tangerines, resinous hops and a blast of citrus play around on a solid bready malt backbone. |
| Brown Cow (Selby, North Yorkshire) | PBF 35 | 4.3% | |
| Concrete Cow (Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire) | Midsummer Ale | 3.8% | A light golden beer with citrus and lime flavours along with tangy juicy malt, a subtle bitterness and a clean hoppy aroma . |
| Crouch Vale (Chelmsford, Essex) | Yakima | 4.2% | Very pale with delicious Amarillo hops, therefore earthily aromatic and highly drinkable. |
| Dark Star (Partridge Green, West Sussex) | Hylder Blonde | 4.2% | A delicate and lightly hopped beer with the fresh fruitiness of the South Downs Elderflower which is added after the boil. |
| Empire (Huddersfield, West Yorkshire) | Hop Odyssey | 4.2% | |
| Green Jack (Lowestoft, Suffolk) | Orange Wheat | 4.2% | Light, with grainy citrus & marmalade flavours. A delightfully drinkable wheat beer. Now brewed with Citra. |
| Hornbeam (Denton, Manchester) | Citrus Temptation | 3.8% | A light ale with a rounded aroma of crisp citrus. Grapefruit, lemon and lime. |
| Inveralmond (Perth, Perthshire) | Inkie Pinkie | 3.7% | Light and refreshing, a well-received warm weather thirst quencher. Lightly fruity with a pleasing hoppy aroma. |
| Itchen Valley (Alresford, Hampshire) | Godfathers | 3.8% | This clean and crisp session bitter. Golden, gently malty and finely balanced with blends of wheat and Crystal malt and English hops. |
| Leeds (Leeds) | Leeds Pale | 3.8% | An easy drinking pale ale. Light and hoppy with delicate floral notes and a well-balanced finish |
| Mallinsons (Huddersfield, West Yorkshire) | Sorachi Ace | 3.8% | Pale blonde with a fresh lemongrass aroma. The taste is bitter lemon hop with a bitter, lightly dry lemony finish. |
| Millstone (Mossley, Manchester) | Tiger Rut | 4.0% | Pale hoppy bitter, full-bodied with distinctive citrus grapefruit aroma. |
| Mordue (North Shields, Tyneside) | Pale Ale | 3.6% | A well hopped session beer, based upon their award winning IPA. This pale beer packs plenty of flavour and is ideal for the summer. |
| Newby Wyke (Grantham, Lincolnshire) | Banquo | 3.8% | Citrus and bitter with spicy notes. |
| Owenshaw Mill (Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire) | Salt Road Blonde | 3.9% | |
| Partners (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire) | Pure Gold | 3.5% | An easy drinking session beer combining four different malts, that give this beer a complex character. |
| Phoenix (Heywood, Manchester) | White Tornado | 4.3% | Light coloured, clear wheat beer with a full hop palate and a citrus aroma. |
| Purple Moose (Portmadog, Gwynedd) | Ysgawen | 4.0% | A refreshing pale ale brewed using Cascade hops with the added indulgence of elderflowers. |
| Roosters (Knaresborough, North Yorkshire) | Buckeye | 3.5% | An easy-drinking, well-hopped pale ale, a blend of American and New Zealand hops, producing an orange, citrus fruit aroma. |
| Salopian (Shrewsbury, Shropshire) | Shropshire Gold | 3.8% | Golden with a floral aroma and a full hoppy flavour that is balanced by a crisp maltiness and a rich finish. |
| Village (Melmerby, North Yorkshire) | White Boar | 3.8% | A superb, light, hoppy session bitter with a full fruity aftertaste. |
| Walls (Northallerton, North Yorkshire) | Yorkshire Gold | 4.2% | A bitter golden ale with a slight hint of citrus. |
| Yates (Westnewton, Cumbria) | Golden Ale | 3.9% | An extremely pale coloured beer. Fully rounded, smooth, hoppy flavour, using lager malt and hops. |
Strong Ale 4.5% and above
| Brewery | Beer | ABV | Tasting Notes |
| Brewsters (Grantham, Lincolnshire) | Pandora | 4.8% | Amber in colour, with a rich biscuit-malt flavour, overlaid with orange and blackcurrant hop flavours. |
| Bridestone (Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire) | Nelson Sauvin | 4.5% | Blonde coloured and hopped with New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hop for bold punchy hoppiness – think fresh crushed gooseberries. |
| Cullercoats (Cullercoats, Tyneside) | Rocket Brigade IPA | 5.5% | A traditionally brewed India Pale Ale. |
| Goose Eye (Keighley, West Yorkshire) | Pommies Revenge | 5.2% | A strong, single malt bitter. Light straw-coloured and extremely palatable |
| Ilkley (Ilkley, West Yorkshire) | Lotus IPA | 5.6% | A gold coloured genuine India Pale Ale with hoppy, lemon and citrus aromas. This ale is complex, but well balanced and full of flavour. |
| Loddon (Dunsden Green, Oxfordshire) | In Yer Face IPA | 6.0% | American boutique breweries have developed a unique style of IPA. A huge mouthful of toasted malt, fruit, flowers and spice, with a real kick. |
| Lymestone (Stone, Staffordshire) | Ein Stein | 5.0% | A lingering combination of pale malt and German hops. |
| Old Dairy (Kent) | Blue Top IPA | 4.8% | A dangerously drinkable pale ale – nice and hoppy with hints of lemon. |
| Red Lion AKA Bob’s (Ossett, West Yorkshire) | Chardonnayle | 5.1% | A complex & stylish strong pale ale with hints of lemongrass and fruits like a Chardonnay wine, using Willamette hops for aroma |
Leamside Ale Company
| Brewery | Beer | ABV | Tasting Notes |
| Leamside | Adventure | 3.8% | Deep golden ale with subtle fruit character. Brewed using a blend of American and European hops. |
| Primrose | 4.0% | A refreshing golden ale subtly hopped with Styrian Goldings. | |
| Alexandria | 4.1% | Intense bitterness subsides to a crisp citrus finish. Bitterness comes from British First Gold and aroma from a blend of US & European hops. | |
| Meadows | 4.2% | Pale fruity ale with medium bitterness and hints of blackcurrant from the late Bramling Cross | |
| Brockwell | 4.2% | Brewed using Maris Otter pale malt utilising New World hops. Medium bitterness with tropical fruit flavours. | |
| Five Quarter | 4.5% | A mellow easy drinking porter. A blend of six grains gives a smooth coffee flavour with fruity overtones. | |
| Resolution | 5.2% | A traditional English IPA brewed in the Burton style using a blend of English malt and hops. | |
| Hazard | 8.5% | A traditional English barley wine brewed utilising a blend of traditional English hops. |