Chappel of Love

As summer (you may have missed it...) limps into its final 3 weeks, evenings draw in & the evening air beigins to aquire that autumnal `nip', one of my favourite times of year has arrived.

Chappel beer festival.

Set in a railway museum in the rolling coutryside of north essex, this is my favourite beer festival & the only one I make a concerted effort to attend. The museum is set at Chappel station which is at the East end of a 32 arch Victorian viaduct with stunning views over the surrounding area. Sitting in an open railway carriage with a lovely beer watching the sun set over the Colne Valley is one of the best ways to pass time that I can think of (OK, it's in the top ten anyway)

Over the years I've been attending, I've noticed a gradual change in the cross-section of attendies. If I mention to my colleagues I'm going to a beer festival, most of the comments revolve around anoraks & beardy weirdies. Whilst there will always be an `earthy' element to some of the customers, they are only a small minority in a hugely cosmopolitan mix & most of the people are absolutely normal!

The weekday evening sessions tend to be slightly top heavy with `suits' arriving off the trains from London but overal the crowd is a complete mix of all ages & types, a large number of couples, many with their children & some also with their dogs!

I tend to try & have a couple of relaxed sessions on Tuesday & Wednesday evenings & a longer stint on Saturday afternoon / evening. Thursday & Friday evenings tend to be rather too busy for my taste - you can often wait 3/4 of an hour to get served if you time it badly, & that doesn't count the time spent fighting your way to the bar!

My favourite session is the Saturday lunchtime - very relaxed, not too crowded & a great family atmosphere. My partner has been for the last 3 years or so & her children have also been a couple of times & actually enjoyed it - I think I actually detected a hint of disappointment when they heard they were with their father this year (although to be fair, they may have just have been being polite...) One of my favourite quotes came from the youngest who would have been about 9 at the time - well into the afternoon after I'd purchased another in a fairly long line of ales, he looked at me & in completely earnest said `I can't believe you're still thirsty...'

Real ale seems to have become more `trendy' & acceptable in recent years, I've always been a `bitter' man (I'm sure my partner & previous partners would confirm!), & when I first starter drinking in pubs 20 years or so ago, a request for a pint of bitter would often be greeted with surprise & it wouldnt be that unusual to find no real ale available.

It seems that real ale is now making a comeback, `micro' breweries are springing up all over the country and, led by Greene King in particular, real ale is being targeted increasingly at the female market & as an alternative to wine with a lovely meal. My partner is a confirmed `wino' & it is to my immense satisfaction that she will now attend the festival, drink & enjoy a selection of ales & will also always try my beer in a pub (OK, that may be a bad thing...). She even notices whether a pub has `proper' ale pumps.

Anyway, for the first time in the world ever, I have got a weeks holiday that co-incides with the festival & can indulge Wednesday & Thursday lunchtimes. My target is at least 40 different beers over the week & who knows - I might even try the vegitarian curry...although that will probably only be a pishty end of session decision- it has no meat in it!

Bottoms up :o)