Battle and its environs...

For a change, I'll start with the last pub we visited, for a number of reasons, including my forgetting to photograph the building myself, very unusual for me; so, many thanks to the Bull Inn (website), whose own photograph I've borrowed. 

Also, we'd walked quite a way by now, my brother, Dan the Routemeister, and me, so were well deserving of a drink, and a great pub too, rebuilt in 1688, with Caen stone from France, via the virtually destroyed abbey kitchens (during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries).  This is a lovely old inn, selling 3 real ales, the regulars being the ubiquitous Harveys Sussex Best (4%) and, brewed especially for the Bull, Old Dairy Top Bull (4%), though, unluckily for us, they were out of this (another trip will be required, obviously). However, this was replaced by another Old Dairy brew Gold Top, a nice refreshing 4.3% golden bitter. Their 'guest' ale was from Hastings, ie the FILO Churches Pale Ale (4.2%).

We also met many people here, on entry, I straight away headed for the 2 lads at the bar, the 'Battle Boys', Chris and Al, more often seen by me at the Dolphin in Hastings, also Al's daughter, the lovely Claire (always pleased to see a young woman happy to be out drinking with us older types). Our ale was admirably served by Joss, and I also had a chat with the landlady Kerri, nice one. Sadly we had to leave after just the one pint as the last bus from Battle to Hastings left at 18.20hrs! But I'll be back...  

The first pub of the day we'd visited at lunchtime in nearby Catsfield, The White Hart, a 17th century building, but only a pub from 1840. Another nice friendly pub, with a low ceiling and quite large bar, and just the 2 real ales on sale. They had Sharps Doom Bar (4%), all the way from Cornwall, and, you guessed it, Harveys Sussex Best (4%). Anyway, I hadn't drunk Sussex Best for a while, and for the thirsty me, it hit the right spot, not a bad bitter, if a bit light on hops. 

After negotiating confusing woodland paths, that apparently weren't open to the public, we managed to get to The Squirrel Inn, on the A271, 15 minutes before it closed at 15.00hrs. Surprise surprise, the 2 regular ales were Sharps Doom Bar and Harveys Sussex Best, but there were 2 local ales from smaller breweries as guests. We didn't have the Long Man Best Bitter (4%), but each had a pint of Pig & Porter Ashburnham Pale Ale, a 3.8% light copper coloured bitter, very easy to drink, which was just as well. Not the easiest of pubs to get to on foot, but a nice building, and definitely worth a visit, but allow yourself time.

Anyway, amazing how there was a place called Battle in this part of Sussex, quite convenient for the Normans to ring up the Brits and say "let's battle at Battle", and, well, there's another story...

Cheers! 

FILO, Hastings, Easter Beer Festival

The beer festival started on Thursday evening, I visited yesterday (Good Friday) and it is due to finish on Easter Monday. The Full list of ales available can be downloaded from the FILO's website (site) and many of the available ales can be seen in the photograph below.

Mike, the landlord, who was in fine form, was serving in the festival bar in the conservatory towards the rear of the pub, which houses the ales and ciders below, and 2 ales, the Castle Rock Harvest Pale Ale and Pig & Porter Red Spider Rye, were being served from handpumps in the bar, together with the 4 of their own ales I have recently reported on. Except for the 2 stronger guests (£3.50 a pint) the guest ales were all £3.40 a pint, and their own ales at their usual prices, starting at £3.00 a pint for the FILO Crofters (3.8%).  I shall only report on the 5 ales I drank yesterday.

The 5 ales I sampled were the Pig & Porter Ashburnham Pale Ale, a 3.8% bitter with a hint of roasted malt; an old trusted favourite of mine, Oakham JHB, a pale hoppy 3.8% bitter; also, Oakham's even better Bishops Farewell, a 4.5% pale and hoppy bitter, with good body and a grapefruit aroma and taste, excellent as ever; Milk Street Beer, fuller bodied at 5%, a bit sweet, with a slight citrusy aroma, I'll borrow Mike's description of 'mango', and a dry aftertaste; and my personal favourite 'beer of the festival', the Salopian Hop Twister, 4.5% and here was hops and aroma 'in your face'! This had a peachy aroma, with grapefruit too, and tangerines in the flavour, and with a dry aftertaste, I loved it, it was excellent.

Try to get there before they run out of ales, certainly the Hop Twister, and the food looked excellent too, cheers!