I've been to the GBBFⁱ 5 times now & this time I've not caught a train from the South Coast.   I drove to Milton Keynesⁱ & caught up with Matt & Andrew so we could go together & make a day of it.   I'd forgotten how muggy London gets due to the urban heat sink effect - phew!   We got a train to Euston, then a tube to Gloucester Square were we walked to The Drayton Arms in Kensington.   We each had a pint of Hydes You're Bard - straight afterwards regretting having a full pint due to upcoming beer festival & wasting my sobriety on this very average beer.   I've never seen fish finger sandwiches for sale in a pub before  - obviously tarted up a little to make it sellable; a twist of lime in the mayo, 100% cod fish fingers and a soft bap.

In the beer festival I had a list of beers I wanted to drink - 43 of them, downloaded from the CAMRA website.   Matt & Andrew galantly helped me try to get them all rather than go their own way with the beer orders.   We had;

Amber, Chocolate Orange Stout - definitely chocolate & orange but not sickly or overpowering, so not bad.   More of an interesting beer than one you might want a whole pint of.   Certainly worth a taste.

Blue Monkey, Evolution - a very lemony, Amarillo hop tasting, very pale beer.   Possibly my favourite beer of the day.

Brampton, Golden Bud - very much like the Evolution above, lemony like a shed load of Amarillo hops had been used.   Maybe a touch drier & earthier than the Evolution though.

Great Gable, Yewbarrow - toasty, malty & with a little burnt flavour.

Hart, Dishy Debbie - watery without much taste to describe.

Salamander, Golden Salamander - had a good strong taste of Cascadeⁱ hops.   Good & dry too.

Malvern Hills, Black Pear - not black, no pears in it (thanks Matt for description).   A citrussy hoppy beer with just a little barnyard.

Hawkshead, Organic Oatmeal Stout - I bought this beer on the basis that the brewery can do no wrong by me & I live too far from the place to find their drink their beers often.   Malty sweet, big bodied stout.   A pleasant subtle roastiness to it.

Bath Ales, Wild Hare - fruity, sultana flavour.

Wold Top, Against the Grain - fruity like mixed fruit in a cake.

Crouch Vale, Amarillo - definitely the taste of Amarillo hops with a very lemony-citrus flavour.

Falmer's, A Drop of Nelson's Blood - full bodied & malty.

Surrey Hills, Ranmore Ale - Malty sweet.

Castle Rock, Harvest Ale - dryish, mellow, malty.

Potbelly, Yeller Belly - mellow with vanilla & caramel tastes.

Purity, Pure Gold - a malty-sweetness & vanilla.

Brewsters, Decadance - malty & caramelly.

Buffy's, Norwich Terrier - much joking about Norwich Terroir.   A little watery.   Quite dry.

Iceni, Raspberry Wheat - very subtle rasberry flavour.   A gentle, smooth beer.

Caledonian, XPA - A bigger beer than the Deuchars IPAⁱ & more satisfying.   Without the floury (not flowery) flavour of the IPA too.

Devon Ales, Thick Black - caramelly & toasty.

Great Orme, Cambria - Possibly my favourite beer of the day.   Very grapefruity-citrus & refreshingly dry.

The Highland Brewing Company, Dark Munro - Dry, burnt, toasty.

Bridgeport, Bridgeport IPA - fresh citrus smell & taste.  

Cambridge, Charles River Porter - a little smokey, roast malt flavour & sweetish.

Crickethill, Colonel Blides - a malty-sweet, caramelly beer.

From the beer festival we left to travel into Westminster to eat & be closer to the train when we were ready to return.   First, we went to the Red Lion to see the Division Bell (very unimpressed, not even a bell).   Each had a pint of Morrissey Fox Blonde.   From there to Weatherspoon's at Trafalgar Square for a pint of something none of us can remember & a meal that came with a free pint of Marston's Pedigree.   Finally to the Ship & Shovel at Charing Cross - which is a Hall & Woodhouse pub - for a pint of Lemony Cricket.  

We caught the train to MK & had a final round of 2x Brains SA Gold & a Wells & Youngs Bombardier in The Swan in Milton Keynes Village.