More excellent ales...

OK, ales recently enjoyed in two Hastings pubs, the Dolphin, at Rock a Nore in the 'old town', and the Tower, London Road, St Leonards... First, probably my favourite of the bunch...

I've had some excellent ales very recently, including the Saltaire Challenger Special (5.2%), an ale from this excellent Yorkshire brewery, which obviously uses the challenger hop in the process. It is has a deep red colour, has good body with fruity flavours, and you'd be hard pressed to guess it was such a dark beer if you drank it 'blind'.  Sorry if I overuse the word in this blog, but it is excellent!

Another dark beer, a wee bit darker than the Challenger Special, and this time from a Scottish brewery, The Orkney Brewery's Dark Island (4.6%). Nice again, but a bit more like a stout in flavour, at least how I always think of a stout, with the roasted malty flavour I'd expect in a stout.  Carry on...

Thanks to Maz for modelling this pump clip of the Stonehenge Great Bustard, a 4.8% amber ale that I really had to mention as their ales are consistently so good, and I have an anecdote this particular one lends a hand to share... I was at a football match up North with many mates, and a son of one (son of Teapot Dave, that is), purposefully ensuring I didn't swear in front of him, I shouted out "BUSTARD!" instead of another word at one highly charged moment, the little bustard told his dad I said the other word! Can't win, not so exciting, but always happy to share ;-)  

OK, to the ales at the Tower, and you'll be unlikely to be surpised I'm about to mention a very good Dark Star ale, or two, served up here, as there are usually 2 or 3 being served at this pub always! Todays newby for me was the 6% Victorian Ruby Mild, a crackin' dark beer, and I also had the much paler 4.8% Sunburst, mentioned before; this brewery doesn't seem able to do much wrong! 

Finally, for now, Sara was serving up Crouch Vale Apollo (4.3%), labelled "intensely hoppy", and not wrong! Nice and pale, bitter, fruity with body, grapefruit up yer nose and dry grapefruit flavours, loved it! OK, this was my favourite pale ale of the bunch, excellent...

Cheers!