I've found my new favourite beer festival: Here's the four pints from it everyone should try

Where’s the best place to have a pint? If your answer is “under the bus shelter at 2am” you’re wrong — that’s the second best place.

If your answer is an enormous conference centre, then you’re most definitely wrong, too. The right answer, of course, is a pub. So why are so many beer festivals held in giant corporate enormodome sheds?

The Liquid Dreams beer festival, housed at The Mall Tavern pub in Notting Hill, looks to change that. A beer festival with a difference, it’s housed in a local boozer, and crams 50 indie breweries and 70 different beers within its walls.

And the best bit? It’s an all-you-can-drink deal, at the reasonable price of £49.50 a ticket.

“Its something I've always wanted to do, and I saw a need that wasn't being met,” pub landlord and festival organiser Andy Perritt tells us.

“Whilst we have the Great British Beer Festival and London Craft Beer Festival, I didn't think anyone was doing a more niche festival showcasing really top beers from around the world — and no one was doing it in a pub setting.

“My favourite beer festival was IMBF (Independent Manchester Beer Fest) but this closed last year and previous to this, Logan Plant ran the very successful Beavertown Extravaganza which was world class. But following their sale to Heineken he stopped that and I wanted to allow people to still be able to experience these exceptional beers.”

• The best craft beers: our favourite pints revealed

The secret to a fantastic beer festival

When Andy spells out precisely what makes Liquid Dreams so great, the festival’s success all seems so obvious:

“No.1… it's in a pub. People love it that they can come to the pub, walk around and explore all the areas and have these extraordinary beers.

"Plus, the beers I get are exceptional and are all from small independent breweries from around the world.”

Andy keeps things intimate, too.

“I don't over-sell tickets for each session, meaning there is space for people to sit, chat and talk to each other, and also with the people from the breweries that are here pouring,” he explains.

“I think people love the concept of an ‘all-you-can-drink’ ticket, meaning you really can enjoy all the 70 beers that we pour at any one time.”

The landlord keeps a keen eye on the scene too to ensure his punters get a great selection of beers, curated to appeal to all tastes. And he’s got some recommendations as to which breweries Shortlist readers should be keeping an eye on.

“I love the fact we manage to get hyper micro breweries pouring, so Emperors brewery and Baron Brewing are two great examples,” Andy highlights.

“Omnipollo always goes down and I also love Nerd Brewing. To be fair though, we really had amazing breweries covering all the styles we were pouring so we're very lucky.”

Missed this year’s festival? Shame on you, but don’t fret — Andy’s planning on doing it all again next year.

“This was our third year and we are really feeling the momentum. The feedback has always been fantastic and people really appreciate the beers and the breweries that we managed to get in. We will certainly be doing it again at around the same time, the last weekend of February.

“Bringing like minded people together to chat, sharing stories over a cracking beer. Life really doesn't get much better than that!”

Roll on 2026.

We attended one of Liquid Dream 2025’s 5-hour sessions at the start of the month, and left happy knowing we tasted some crackers. Here’s our favourite of the amazing beers we had — don’t miss them if they turn up at your local (or a bus shelter, for that matter…)

Barrel Aged Banana Cookie Kooks Imperial Stout — 15.4%

Brewed by: Omnipollo + Other Half Brewing Co.

• Like your beers heavy and chocolatey? The Cookie Kooks Imperial Stout is as indulgent as they come. With strong vanilla and caramel overtones, its collab brewers even mention Cocoa Pops, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Golden Grahams among its flavour notes. Don’t make the school-boy error we did, by kicking off with a half of this deliciously syrupy, but ludicrously sweet and strong bad boy. Treat it like your dessert!

Birds Ain’t Real Pale Ale — 5.5%

Brewed by: Coolhead + Deya

• Another collaboration, with Shortlist favourites Deya teaming up with Finland’s Coolhead for a super-drinkable Pale. Gently fruity with an orange citrus tang, this is perfect beer garden fodder.

Impresario IPA — 6.8%

Brewed by: Fuerst Wiacek

• A juicy, hazy IPA, this dry hopped pour has a citrus tang thanks to its citra, mosaic and chinook hop combo. There’s an earthiness to its grapefruit palate, and a surprisingly creamy finish. Get the sunset behind you with this one and you’ll be away.

Dopealicious IPA — 7%

Brewed by: 3 Sons Brewing

• Another hazy highlight, the Dopealicious hails from Florida and has all the easy confidence of a chrome’d-up lowrider. Sweet pineapple as it goes down, with an orange-y finish reflected in its inviting colour, too. Just keep an eye on that 7% ABV, as it’s almost too easy to knock this one back.