Beer

Over the weekend I went into the Hay Deli with my Young Man - he loves going in there. He says the smell of the shop reminds him of the Food Hall at Harrods! We noticed that there is a new range of local beers in, and we tried the BV (Black Vaughan) Stout from Mayfields Brewery in Leominster, which was very nice indeed, and uses Herefordshire hops.
So today I went in to get samples of some of the other beers on offer.
Stroud Brewery do an organic pale ale called Budding, after the man who invented the lawnmower in 1830 (he came from Stroud), based on machinery at a woollen mill that cut the excess fluff off newly woven cloth. Their organic barley is grown in the Cotswolds. Derek at the Deli said that it was one of the new range that he liked the best (he's obviously serious about trying his stock himself, to ensure high quality!). This beer won the Champion beer of Gloucestershire in 2006 and 2008 in a CAMRA competition.
I also got Ducking Stool from Mayfields, named after the ducking stool which is still on show at the Priory in Leominster, made with Challenger and Cascade hops grown in Herefordshire, and Auntie Myrtle's from Mayfields, made with Fuggles hops from Herefordshire and winner of the Heart of England Fine Foods 2011 Diamond Award.
So that should keep me going for a few pleasant evenings.

After a long handing over period, Derek is finally completely in charge at the Deli (he's even changed the labels on some of the products, as another customer while I was there pointed out. It's a nice, clear font and simple design). Jenny and Alex Valentine have gone on to do other things (Alex is a musician, and Jenny writes rather good children's novels).

There will be more beery goodness happening up at the Castle on Saturday 7th December, too. The Castle Tap will be featuring beer from local brewers like Jones the Brewer, RedStone and Wobbly Brewing, with cider and wine as well, and food, and music from Lonesome Stampede - all for £10 including two pints and food! I've had some of Jones the Brewers' beer before, at the Rose and Crown and at the Hereford Beer Festival Beer on the Wye, and their Abigail's Party is very good.