The Fat Cat - Ilkley Brewery Takeover

Ah tap takeovers. The best way to legitimately try four or five different beers, in one evening, in the middle of the week. The Ilkley Brewery, (located in Ilkley, Yorkshire, funnily enough) was paying a visit to our Fine City and I can’t resist a tap takeover. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a brewery gets together with a pub and puts a bunch of their beers on tap all at once, often giving away merch and beer talks at the same time. Ilkley had ten of their beers on. I managed to try four, or maybe five, before getting put on my arse by a chocolate and chipotle stout. The Mary Jane was a good place to start at only 3.5%. The Ilkley Pale (mellow) and Olicana Pale (fresh) were easy to drink and would make great session beers. Crossroads was my favourite, though unfortunately for me it was also the strongest of the cask ales at 5.4% (I didn’t make it to the kegs). Combining four different hops (hence the name) it had depth of flavour with warm citrus tones. Or notes. Or something. Then I was handed the aforementioned chipotle stout. From which brewery I could not tell you, but I can tell you it pushed me over the edge for a Thursday and because of which, I missed out on any raffle prizes. Why do they always call the tickets at the end?