Excellent Welsh Ales... TRUE!

I was reminded yesterday evening that I hadn't written a blog for a while, sadly, other commitments had filled my time, but I'm still here! 

So, to the subject headlined, and it is true! I've never found Welsh ales that much to my liking, excepting the odd one here and there, or ales from the Swansea brewer, Tomos Watkin, who do brew very good ales. The last time I drank Watkin's ales was before a match at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, at the 'Nationalist' Cayo Arms nearby.  Sadly, this is now a Marstons pub, so no more Watkin ales there then...  

However, ales from the Newport brewer, Tiny Rebel (website) have found their way to East Sussex, and I have been very pleasantly surprised, they do brew some very good ales, indeed! Yesterday evening, at the Tower, London Road, Hastings St Leonards, I had a few pints of their Hank, a pale and hoppy 4% bitter with a pronounced grapefruit aroma, very good, and competing with the excellent Dark Star ales, Hophead and APA, and competing well too. I've also recently drank Tiny Rebel Billabong, an "Aussie Pale Ale" (presumably Australian hops used) at the Tower, another excellent pale bitter, this time 4.6%, only £2.70 a pint, with more body, obviously, and peach, as well as grapefruit, flavours and aroma, cheers Louisa!

Of course, the new 2014 CAMRA Good Beer Guide entrant, has also been serving up more local ales too, and others from afar, including, locally, 1648 Gold Angel, a 5% pale golden bitter; Franklins Viva La Rye, a 4.3% very dry pale bitter with a hint of roasted malt; the very new Bedlam Hoppy Golden Ale, an ale that does what it says on the pumpclip, it's hoppy and golden, slightly sweet at first taste, but then becoming dry and bitter; oh yes, and they currently have Dark Star Six Grain, a 4.8% bitter, which is maltier than you would usually expect from a Dark Star ale, must be all that grain... and from afar? Well, in addition to the Tiny Rebel brewery ales, I have to add a comment of the Marble Beers, 5.9% Dubber, all the way from Manchester; and I have to add a further note, their pub, the Marble Arch on the Rochdale Road up there, is always worth a visit if you are in that area at any time, I love the place, interesting exterior and interior, excellent food as well as ales, and I have great memories of toons on the juke box too!   

Whilst we're talking about Tiny Rebel, I had the Billabong at the Albatross Club (RAFA) in Bexhill on Sea too (the local CAMRA Club of the Year), very recently, at £2.80 a pint, more good value; £2.80 being the price of all their ales since their recent price increase, whatever the strength! Also, Old School (OSB) Absent, a 5.5% IPA at their regular Thursday "new brewery" event, a pale bitter, which was much too easy to drink for the strength, could be dangerous if sticking just to that ale and having a 'session'. Also, recent ales have included Black Paw Dark Seam, a 5% VERY dark bitter, lovely roasted malt flavour, with a bitter aftertaste, and Liverpool Craft American Red, a deep red, full flavoured bitter.

I also heard the news here from Peter, before seeing it in the local CAMRA publication, Sussex Drinker, that a merger of Franklins Brewery, Brighton Beer Company and WithSoul 'Cask and Craft', a specialist wholesale supplier of real ale, has been launched, with a new brewery in the near future. Things will change, obviously, so keep an eye out for their "plan to embrace the attitude, ingredients and flavour profiles of the progressive beer styles from Belgium, North America and beyond... in a way that respects the character and historical integrity of British ale." I'm looking forward to that!    

At the Dolphin in Hastings 'Old Town', Rock-a-Nore Road (the local CAMRA Pub of the Year), excellent ales keep on being served too, including the ever-excellent Stonehenge Ales Danish Dynamite (5%); Franklins Grumpy Guvnor (4.5%); Wadworth Blunder Buss (5%); the darker Old Knucker (5.5%) from Arundel brewery; Ramsbury Kennet Valley a 4.1% pale bitter with a slightly sweet aftertaste; and the very good pale 4.2% pale bitter Nuptu'ale from apparently always good Oakleaf Brewery.     

That's it for now, Hastings and East Sussex may not have the huge range of free houses and microbrewers that I used to be spoilt by when I lived in South Yorkshire, but in no way does it lack, as can be seen from above... so, enjoy your ale, cheers!