Awakening 23

Awakening 23, St. John’s Church, Forton Road, Gosport PO12 4TQ

Awakening 23 was a fabulous Craft Beer Festival promoted by Fallen Acorn Brewery and Quay West Studios and took place in the enchanting setting of a church in Gosport on the south coast of England.

The TWICB Team opted to spend the entire weekend in Portsmouth, indulging in a delightful ferry ride across the sound to Gosport and embarking on a pleasant walk to the festival venue, building an anticipation for the delightful brews that awaited us.

Attendees had the choice between two ticket options: an all-inclusive pass offering unlimited pours, or a more affordable entrance-only ticket where tokens could be purchased to acquire beers. To differentiate between the two options, the organisers wisely provided distinct glasses for each, creating a seamless experience and the church was buzzing with beerfarers when we arrived on Friday evening.

The church proved to be a great place to hold a beer festival, with ample room inside and lots of seating outside, where a food stall had been set up. There was a wonderful ambience and when the live music started up the atmosphere was superb.

Two bars were pouring, one serving a superb selection of keg craft beers, together with a cask only bar. The selection of beers from both were excellent with breweries from the local area prominent – but with excellent choices from elsewhere in the UK together with several US beers including those from Finback, Hudson Valley & Burley Oak.

Pride of place went to the promoters, Fallen Acorn Brewery who served up a treat with over a dozen different beers of all styles. The best of the lot, in my opinion, was the festival namesake called A’wakening’ a sensational 8% DIPA that exploded with fresh tropical fruit flavours. This was indeed Fallen Acorn’s swan-song as they have now stopped brewing, but they certainly went out with a resounding bang!

We are glad to report that there are plans for Awakening 2024.