In this week’s PINTS OF VIEW, Gavin Aitchison blows the whistle for a summer of sport and beer.

FOR sports fans, it doesn’t get much better than this.

The World Cup is under way, promising a month of top-class wall-to-wall football, and in just three weeks’ time the Tour de France is coming to Yorkshire - not forgetting generous doses of rugby and cricket in between.

No wonder breweries are rolling out the novelty beers as fast as their barrels will allow, coming up with new recipes and new puns, to celebrate the sporting spectacles.

The beer list at next weekend’s Poppleton Beer Festival gives a flavour of the new bitters to enjoy between the lazy sessions in front of the TV.

York and Ossett Breweries lead the field, with two beers each, one for each of the big events.

York has its Velo-City, featured in this column a few weeks ago, and Final Whistle. The former is a golden ale using French hops, and with a very low ABV of 2.8 per cent. The latter is a more conventional pale ale, with a pleasant crisp finish.

Ossett’s duo are Tour de Yorkshire and the splendidly-named Rio de Ja-beer-O! The Tour beer is a pale, golden bitter with a slightly spicy finish, says the brewery, while the Rio is a dryer ale with an “intense citrus aroma”.

Other sporting specials on the bar include Tour de Wot? by Theakston’s, Bicycale by Rudgate, Hill Hammer by Copper Dragon, Velo by Black Sheep and Le Grande Dep-Rat by Rat Brewery.

In total, the festival boasts 49 different beers (plus six ciders), an impressive selection to satisfy most tastes.

Sporting beers aside, highlights will include Magic Rock’s Ringmaster, a zesty pale ale by a tremendous brewery. You may have tried it under its previous name, Curious, before it had to be rebranded due to an inadvertent trademark breach.

Others to keep an eye out for include Kismet and Old Forge Bitter, both from Half Moon Brewery in East Yorkshire, and Dark Star’s Hophead, Oakham’s Citra, Liverpool Organic’s Kitty Wilkinson, and Roosters’ Londinium, each excellent and varied beers.

The festival began as a small village fundraiser three years ago but has grown to become a hugely popular event.

This year’s takes place next Friday and Saturday in the community sports pavilion in Millfield Lane, with doors opening at 4pm on the Friday and noon on the Saturday.

Alongside the hand-pulled ales, there will be wines, a Pimms and Prosecco tent, a hog-roast and pork pies.


SHORTS

The Gillygate will reopen next Friday, following a four-week refurbishment costing £500,000.

Brian Furey is the new licensee and has worked with owners Punch Taverns on the project.

Punch say the pub will have a “fresher and more contemporary style” inside, and a new menu has been launched.

There will be eight cask ales on the bar, and hopefully demand will allow that figure to be maintained.

Brian said: “I’ve been looking for the perfect pub business to run as my own and when the Gillygate came available I jumped at the opportunity.”

He plans to put on plays, live music, quizzes and other events.

Brass Castle Brewery’s Tap Room in Yorkersgate, Malton, opens to the public today. Beers from Malton’s other brewery, Bad Seed, will also be on the bar.

A beer festival opened at the Wheatsheaf in Burn last night and continues until tomorrow.

Twitter: @pintsofview