He’s back! Woohooo!

Gentleman George. The Bent and Bongs Beer Svengali.

For 2025 we are graced again by the recommendations of Gentleman George. He has been perusing the list of beers, checking his own notes from travels in foreign lands, and discussing with his inner circle of other beer svengalis (we had to check the plural for that one!)

The following are Gentleman George’s recommendations. These are some of, if not the best beers in the festival. Some of them even vie for the lofty title of the best beers in the world. Heady stuff indeed. If you want to try the ultimate beers that the festival has to offer, this is the place to be.

A warning up front. Some of these beers are strong ones. Really strong ones. If Chuck Norris were at the festival these are the beers he would be drinking. Sip them slowly. Don’t gulp them. Enjoy them the way their creators intended.

A volunteer in a staff shirt pulls a glass of Jarl at the cask bar at the Bent and Bongs Beer Bash.

Cask Beers (Cask Bar)

Thornbridge – Union (5%)

Brewed on Thornbridge’s new Union set which they rescued from Burton on Trent, this comes a no expenses spared selection of the finest malts and hops. Maris Otter, Crystal malts gives you the base whilst the British grown Goldings and Northdown hops give you gentle berry flavours and rounded flavour for the balance with the malt.

Wigan Brewhouse – Mad Monk (7.1%)

Dark and serious Imperial Russian stout. Creamy oakey liquorice rich finish. Can’t imagine it lasting long…

Liquid Light – Day Tripper (4.3%)

This thick juicy pale ale is packed full of Amarillo hops, so much so it is double dry hopped with them and Motueka too. A monster hop profile sits well on a malt bed of pale ale oats and Munich malt.

Craft Beers (Craft Corner)

Dolphin – Riddler (5.4%)

Riddler is a sour that uses roasted and crystal malts in the mash for a darker colour and notes of mocha, burnt caramel and raisin. Post fermentation Riddler is aged for three months on fruit selected to complement the character of the base beer– plums for tanginess, cherries for tartness, and roasted figs (kindly provided by local beer aficionado, Tim Lloyd) for a touch of figgy sweetness.

Two Towns Down (Paisley) – The Day We Caught The Train (6%)

Chews this salted caramel stout, inspired by one of Scotland’s best loved stouts. Indulge yourself in layers of Belgian candi sugar, lactose and sea salt. Complex, sessionable yet chewy…

Rivington – Pastel Sea of Tranquillity (6.8%)

A New England IPA packed full of juicy creamy fruit flavours , so hoppy and velvety smooth.

Belgium and Foreign Beers (Foreign Bar)

Põhjala (Estonia) – Põhjala Baltic Porter Day 2025 (10.5%)

Baltic Porter Day is brewed each year to celebrate Baltic Porter Day. Each year it’s a little different. The 2025 recipe is brewed with bison grass. This is the only time you’ll get to try the 2025 brew. Enjoy it before it’s gone forever.

Haacht (Belgium) – Tongerlo Blond (6%)

Named as the World’s Best Beer across all categories at the 2014 World Beer Awards. Do we really need to say any more than this?

This is a lovely Belgium Blond with a delicious well-balanced flavour and just a tingle of bitterness to finish.

Brasserie de la Senne (Belgium) – De la Senne Schieve X-Mas (8%)

Imagine the flavours of Christmas pudding overlaid with a refreshing bitterness. Caramel, biscuits, and plum pudding balanced with citrusy hints of candied fruits and subtle orange. All finished with a hint of liquorice.

Chimay – Chimay 150 (Green) (10.5%)

This is an extra-strong Belgium blond with an intense fruity taste. Hints of smokiness and spiciness keep it very well balanced.

Cimay brewed 150 for the first time in 2012 as a limited edition of 150,000 bottles; hence the name. It’s not often available on draught. Enjoy it while you can.

Huisbrouwerij De Halve Maan – Straffe Hendrik Xmas Blend (11%)

Every year the master brewers at the De Halve Maan brewery hold back a little bit of their amazing quad brew. They then age this beer which is then gentle aged in barrels stored in the brewery’s medieval cellars. To finish their annual Christmas Blend the master brewers select the perfect blend of these barrel aged quads. The result is something very special. Deep, dark, and luxurious.

At 11% this is one of the two strongest beers of the festival. Sip it slowly to enjoy the complexity of its taste and see how its taste changes as it slowly warms up in your glass. It’s totally delicious.

Have a Great Night

These are some of the best beers in the whole beer festival. Some of them are also the strongest. Anything over 7% is sold as a half pint only due to the strength.

We said it to begin with and we’ll say it again to end. Treat these stronger beers with respect. Drink them slowly. Enjoy the taste.

Drink responsibly, have a great night, and a great tomorrow.

Pete Robinson of Cracked Flag singing at the 2023 Bent and Bongs Beer Bash

Farewell Pete

October 2024 was not a good month. The world lost a true gentleman, Pete Robinson.

We won’t try to say that which has already been said. Our words could never do justice to the man that Pete was. Instead we will try to remember him as we knew him and celebrate everything that he was. And that ‘everything’ is a whole bundle of goodness.

Pete was one of the three musician/singer/songwriters who made up Cracked Flag; a folk band with a true talent to entertain. Cracked Flag have been a part of the Bent and Bongs Beer Bash for as long as any of us can remember. We aren’t just talking as far back as the days of the Formby Hall here. We are talking right back to the beginning.

Pete, with Cracked Flag, would be singing their hearts out on that huge Formby Hall stage while the queue to get in to hear them would stretch all the way to the bottom of the car park.

Cracked Flag performing on the Formby Hall stage at the 2007 Bent and Bongs Beer Bash.

Pete wasn’t just a musician/singer/songwriter. He also had a turn of comedy that could rival the best of them. We always noticed how the crowed loved Cracked Flag not just for the singing but as much for the stories, jokes, and anecdotes they threw in between songs.

Look closely at the photo. We absolutely adore the way that Pete and Cracked Flag turned their mic stands into holders for their pints. That one small thing seems to sum up everything that Pete was about. Fun, a cheeky glint in his eye, and a zest for life that made the world a brighter place.

We didn’t want to believe the news when we heard it. The world became a little less joyful. Like that moment when you finish your pint and realise that it’s time to get the last bus home.

If there is one thing that we do know it’s that wherever Pete is now there will be music, singing, and people laughing so much that they have to double over to save their stomach muscles from tearing.

To honour Pete’s memory and everything he, and Cracked Flag, brought to the festival we are naming the beer festival stage The Cracked Flag stage. We hope this is a nice way to keep Pete’s memory alive.

Farewell Pete. A true gentleman if ever there was one.

blog.bentnbongs.com

2025 – Gentleman George Recommends