Pig’s Ear Beer Festival
It’s nearly Christmas, and what could be nicer than to celebrate with a pint of Brodies’ Hoppy Ho Ho Ho?
That’s just one of over a hundred beers available at the Pig’s Ear Beer Festival, which opens tomorrow at Ocean in Hackney.
It’s the twenty-fifth Pig’s Ear – organised by the East London and City branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), and devoted to showcasing the best of real ale.
Winter ales always make a strong showing here with a good selection of porters, stouts, and old ales – a rare but lovely English beer style. There’ll be a few spiced beers too; Hoppy Ho Ho Ho is flavoured with cinnamon and ginger, a real Christmas pudding in a glass.
By the way, if you like your Cockney Rhyming Slang, you might be interested to know that the apparently strange ‘Pig’s Ear’ name of the festival has a very simple explanation.
For a Cockney, Pig’s Ear = Beer.
When: 2-6 December: Tues–Thur: 1200–2230. Fri:–Sat: 1200 – 2300
Where: OCEAN, 270 Mare Street, Hackney (Hackney Downs or Hackney Central rail)
Picture credit: Gordon Joly on flickr
2 Comments
With beers called God’s Wallop, Beastly Bride and Mr. Sno’balls being served, this has to be a fun event!!
I’m glad to find someone else who appreciates these beer names.
Beer naming is actually something of a sport in England. For instance “Baz’s Bonce Blower” at 11% ABV – I can report that it’s far more effective than paracetamol at getting rid of a migraine. However I suspect that some of the jokes may not work in ‘translation’ to North American English. (‘Christmas Crack’ is a purely legal drug…)
Other names, like ‘42′, require specialised knowledge – this one is explained by the fact that the brewer is a Douglas Adams fan (and in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 42 is the answer to the meaning of life,the universe and everything).