Now that the pub had been purchased from Punch, Mark was free to hold his first beer festival and enlisted the help of Mike from B&T with the supply of beers. Mark had originally intended to have between 16 and 20 beers but Mike’s wise council was heeded and they settled for twelve celebrations of St. George.
In support, Mengo postponed Frankie’s Cellar Party and turn up in force along with the other local beer festival stalwarts, the boys from Bordon. Jem, Satan and Paul (aka the burly one) were already there when the walkers and bikers arrived. The final group, of course, were the ones who let the bus take the strain.
Shortly after arrival, Mark set of for Twickenham leaving Mike and Lesley in charge of the beers. Despite Mike’s displeasure, the beer could be obtained by the half in a pint glass; Mengo’s preferred drinking style.
Although it was a lovely sunny day, the patio was forsaken for the large table next to the stillage and the serious business of beer sampling commenced. Of the twelve on the list, two – Spitfire and Bombardier -were regarded as too common to bother with. Of the rest, the Wadworth St. George and the Dragon was perhaps the most liked whilst Itchen Valley Green Jackets was undoubtedly the worst (the notes describe it as s**t).
Shortly before our departure, Neil Thompson turned up. This was handy as he had decided on the dates of a Bamberg trip – 9 to 15 September 2010. Well one Mango was interested.
| Brewery | Beer | % |
| Hop Back | English Hop Medley | 4.0 |
| Goffs | Tournament | 4.0 |
| Milton | Fair Albion | 4.3 |
| Nethergate | St. George’s | 4.2 |
| Burton Bridge | By George | 4.3 |
| Wadworth | St. George and the Dragon | 4.5 |
| Marston | Dragon Tail | 4.5 |
| Itchen Valley | Green Jackets | 4.5 |
| Banks & Taylor | Dragon Slayer | 4.5 |
| Titanic | English Glory | 4.5 |
Attended by:-
PV, TM, ROC, GM, FN, PC, RN, KOC and MG