Hastings and even more great ales!

So, starting with the Tower, London Road, St Leonards, and, as you can see, it is about to get a makeover, hence the scaffolding... Anyway, great to see Lousia behind the bar, always good to keep in touch and be aware of the local updates.  Because of the refurbishment, Louisa has put the price of ale up by 10p a pint, hardly bank breaking, and very understandable, Louisa, and you do keep your prices extremely competitive; great ales at great value prices still, so, what to drink this time?

Whilst watching England thrash South Africa in the cricket, I drank a pint of all the 4 ales on offer, starting with the 3.9% Hopback Hop Medley, a slightly biscuity flavoured and dry pale bitter, very nice and just £2.40 a pint. Then the 4.4% Bristol Beer Factory Sunrise, a dry pale golden bitter with plenty of body at £2.60 a pint, followed by a pint of the 4.7% near-regular here Dark Star American Pale Ale (APA), the brewery having certainly kept up the excellent quality of this ale in recent months, pale and very hoppy, and at a great value £2.50 a pint! Finally, another excellent ale, Triple fff Brewery Ramble Tamble, the most expensive ale here on Wednesday at £2.90 a pint, but for that you get 5% of a pale-ish bitter with plenty of body and a fruity aroma and flavour that smacks your palate into submission!  Great stuff again Louisa, cheers!

 

I sat outside the White Rock Hotel bar, looking at the Channel and pier, (it was a bit foggy over the sea) and I sampled 2 of the 3 local ales they were serving on Tuesday, all at £3.10 a pint; 1 handpump not being used this day. I ignored the ubiquitous Harveys Sussex Best (4%), and, as you will see from my photograph, I had a half of the Arundel Sussex Gold, a 4.2% "golden bitter", quite pale though, with a slightly tart flavour, very nice by the second mouthful.  I also had a pint of the 1648 Saint George, a slightly darker bitter with a sweetness to the initial taste, then dry, slightly malty and bitterness coming through with the aftertaste. Not bad at all, and I do like to sit beside the seaside!

Finally, at the Dolphin, where all the ales are £3.50 a pint, here in the posher end of town, there were the usual 4 regulars, Sussex Best, Youngs Special and Dark Star Hophead and APA, and the ale pictured above from Nottingham.  Castle Rock ales are being seen a lot more of down here these days; they also have Elsie Mo (4.7%) coming on soon, and it's like never having left the North, with beers from Yorkshire breweries too, notably Kelham Island and Rudgate, more of shortly.  Anyway, one of the guest ales was Castle Rock Preservation "Fine Ale", a 4.4% 'heavier' ale with plenty of body, sweetish to taste and then with a dry aftertaste, not bad, but... 

...I'd missed them having the excellent Oakham Bishops Farewell, sadly, as it is a favourite of mine, it must have gone down a bit too easily, but now, on the bar, there was the Rudgate Norse Necta, 4.3% of pale dry bitter, reyt easy to drink, so I did!  If you see it anywhere, and you have a similar taste to mine, go for it...

Cheers!