Bexhill Beer Festival Part III (The Early Beers)

Obviously, sampling ales needs some sort of benchmark on which to base your comparison, so the 'unlucky' beer you drink first becomes that baseline mark. I started with the weakest first, it being unfair to drink weaker ales following stronger, more full bodied ales...

On the first day, I only drank pale and medium coloured bitters, leaving the dark beers, the porters and stouts, plus the ciders, 'til the following day, and the baseline was set by Redwillow Headless (3.9%), which I have had before, a bitter dry bitter with fruit and malt in the flavours, not a bad start. Then, another ale I think I've had before, Saltaire Blonde (4%), which uses Czech and German hops, another pale beer in which I detected a hint of wheat, if they don't use wheat malt in this, then the hops confused me! Again, not bad at all, and very different. The third was the only local ale of the festival, incredibly, Dark Star Seville (4%), which, I was assured, by the locals, ain't as good as it used to be (I still have my theory about our tastes changing, remember). Anyway, yep, a fruit flavoured beer, though very subtle, a deep golden bitter, shading it as the best ale so far...

My 4th ale was, and I assure you I wasn't drinking pints of everything, Hopstar Lush (4%) a slightly darker coloured bitter flavoured with Amarillo hops, not bad. The next two were heading upwards from 4%, ie Big Hand First Hand (4.2%), paler, with a biscuit flavour, dry and bitter, and Dancing Duck 22 (4.2%), a slightly darker bitter. Both were very drinkable, but not up to the level of the local ale, Dark Star Seville, which still had the edge for me. 

So, we were now heading towards the stronger ales, where you would expect more flavours, but the next choice disappointed me, especially after everyone else had said how good it is, but it just wasn't to my personal taste, and became my least favourite ale of the festival. This was Hand Drawn Monkey What Would Jephers Do? (4.5%), others loved it, but not for me. The next bitter was much more to my taste, Heavy Industry 77 (4.9%), 2 ales with numbers as names, great for bingo callers, though this was much more interesting to me. Described as a "big amber IPA", which gives it a job to follow up, but it did, plenty of body and a nice dry and bitter finish, it did the job for me, cheers, so now became the leader!

But 2 ales were now coming up on the blind side, both pale and hoppy bitters, but very different! Derventio Cleopatra (5%) was, quite frankly, full of apricots, both in aroma (and the aroma could be detected from a distance!) and in taste. The tasting notes mentioned other fruit, but I only got the apricot, but very refreshing and very nice. The final ale of the session, 5 Towns Niamh's Nemesis (5.7%), did win the day, though, a great dry pale bitter with grapefruit in the aroma and taste, I loved it!

Cheers for now, because, much more to come!  

Wandering Part II

Part II of my research saw me visit the Jenny Lind, High Street, Hastings, and The Stag, All Saints Street, Hastings.  My first stop was at the Jenny Lind, which I hadn't visited since the new ownership, and was suitably impressed.  I received a warm welcome from Sarah behind the bar, who even admitted to reading my blog, nice to be appreciated, many thanks!

So, apart from a lovely barmaid interested in the ales, always a good sign, there were 6 real ales (all having 1p off a pint since the budget, this is a first!) and a real local cider, Laughing Jester (5.5%). The real ales included 2 from Hastings Brewery, Blonde (3.9% and £3.19 a pint) and Pale Ale (4.7%); 2 from Theakstons, Best Bitter (3.8%) and Old Peculiar (5.6%); Courage Directors (£3.49 a pint); and my ale for this visit... 

The 'guest ale' was Wadworth's Bishop's Tipple, 5% and a typical tasting ale from that brewer, pale 'amber' coloured, a bit sweet at first, but actually quite bitter with a nutty aftertaste, a very nice beer that I seemed to remember from my last drinking this many years ago, cheers Sarah.  A friend, Tony, also came in whilst I was drinking there, and I was next going to visit his own pub of choice (a burden of course). 

The Stag is another Shepherd Neame pub in Hastings, this and the Hastings Arms are the best 2 of many, in my opinion.  Of course, they sell their own brewery brands, and there was a 'guest' from Okell's, a nice 3.7% bitter called Bitter, a good choice of name, if unoriginal, which I drank (£3.50 a pint). Their own ales were Kents Best (4.1%), and 2 'seasonal' ales, that I have recently reported on, the pale golden 4.3% Early Bird and the very good Double Stout (4%). I had a good chat with the landlord, Alan, and with another customer (who knew too many people from Sheffield that I do for comfort!), and Tony came in towards the end of my visit.

So, in Hastings 'old' town, the FILO is the leader for the best value ales...

Cheers all!

Sunday 11th November - St Leonards

OK, Sunday, afternoon, and a chance to get to The St Leonard, London Road, St Leonards, just a little way up the hill, on the left, from the seafront.  Why "a chance" then?  Well, this new addition to real ale drinking on the South East Sussex coast currently opens only Wednesday to Saturday evenings, 5-11pm, and Sunday afternoons/early evening, 12-9pm.  This is quite an airy room inside, on two levels, with one bar, bare floorboards, 'traditional' pub furniture, and an art deco feel about the decoration. 

So, what was on offer?  Well, I've seen Hopback Summer Lightning on offer before, which I love, but the pub was closed that time I walked by, sadly.  The St Leonard also appears to be regularly providing ales from the very local brewery, Hastings, this time their Best Bitter and Blonde were on the bar, both discussed before, and very good ales to have on sale; I've drunk them before, reported on them before, but they also had on an ale I haven't tried before (please don't call me a 'ticker', I just wanted to try a pint of an ale that was new to me). 

 

So I drank the Woodforde's Once Bittern, a 4% bitter, which I presume a portion of the profits goes to the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, which they support.  This was a bit more expensive than the usual local prices, £3.50 a pint, but had to be tried.  So, it was new to me, plus I'm a member of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, and fraternal feelings took over too!  A decent ale, like all Woodforde's ales tend to be. Nice one.

I then walked up the hill, intending to take advantage of the Dark Star ales that usually adorn the bar of The Tower, a 10 minute walk further up London Road, and I wasn't disappointed.  I also got to watch some football and have a bit of banter in a decidedly more busy local. In addition to the 3 Dark Star ales was Bass Bitter, now brewed by Marstons; I've given much time to Bass recently, nb the 3 Dolphins blog, so, though I was very tempted, there were much more ales to my taste on offer.

 

So, the 3 Dark Star ales were ones I can happily drink, the APA, not my favourite, but very hoppy, a little too sweet for me, the Hophead, probably my favourite among their regular brews, and the 5.7% Revelation, at £2.90 a pint, a bargain! What can I say about the Revelation that I haven't said before, full bodied, pale, in your face hops... I can only add I ended up a wee bit 'merry'.  Cheers! 

21st September and Central Hastings

Pissarros, sadly, has had a repaint, now Battleship Grey on the outside, instead of the Green it used to be, what came over them was my immediate thought, but, apparently, this was it's colour many years ago, so reverting to the past (though the photo they have from then isn't in colour, so grey, hmm...).  They usually have 2 ales on sale, the regular is the ubiquitous Sussex Best and a guest, at the moment from Long Man Brewery (see website) Long Blonde, 3.8%, a pale golden ale, not my favourite ale, but very easy to drink. There are plans to bring in a darker guest ale soon for the Autumn/Winter. 

 

 

I then popped into Frank's Front Room, which is certainly a comfortable bar to visit, it sells coffee, food and bar drinks too, eg the 2 regular ales are Hastings Best Bitter and Blonde, and a guest ale, today it was Black Sheep Best Bitter.  It really is a bright and airy watering/feeding hole, very woman friendly, and not just full of old men quaffing beer! Near the railway station, and certainly worth a visit when in Hastings.

 

I had a very friendly and informative chat with the barman, Paul, and another young woman working there (sorry! I missed your name), talking about pubs, ales and 'fishermen's rolls', one of which was eaten by me at the food & wine festival on Sunday last.  Today, I drank the Hastings Blonde (a lot of 'blondes' about today), which is 3.9%, was clear, quite bitter too, best I've tasted it so far. Hastings Brewery are brewing their ales without finings, to cater for vegetarian and vegan diets, so they can sometimes come up cloudy, but not today! 

Then I walked up to the Dripping Well, where I drank the Hastings Best Bitter, 4.1%, again an unfined ale, medium coloured, what I always grew up to think a bitter should look like... It's a fair enough bitter to drink, does what it says on the label, so I was happy to imbibe. They usually have 3 ales on sale from their 4 handpumps; the 2 others, regulars really, were Henry's IPA from Wadworths and Courage Directors. 

 

Also, Nick the Landlord made a short visit, whilst they received a delivery from Hastings Brewery (see website). Always friendly and easy to chat around the bar here, to other customers and staff alike, and good to see Nick, even if only briefly.

 

I ended my session by visiting the Hastings only Wetherspoons, the John Logie Baird, as, being a CAMRA member, I can get 50p off a pint there each day, which for me is every now and then, but worth taking advantage of every now and then.  They had the usual suspects, including Fullers London Pride, but I like to drink their guest ales for 2 reasons, they usually come from micros and are even cheaper!

 

The guests included Blindman's Icarus, a 4.5% ruby ale; Stonehenge Danish Dynamite, a 5% dry bitter; Orkney Raven Ale, at 3.8%, a session bitter; and my choice for a mere £1.49 a pint after my CAMRA discount, Exe Valley Shepherd's Crook, which I had to try as I lived in Exeter during the 1980s and regularly drank Exe Valley bitters at the Welcome Inn there, which is a medium coloured bitter, whose aroma was a bit off-putting, it smelt of wet dog, but was easy enough to drink, if a shade more boring than I expected at 4.7%.

 

So, report over, cheers!

 

 

The St Leonard and Hastings Brewery

The St Leonard, London Road, St Leonards, Hastings (a fair old address) has recently reopened under this new 'badge', and shows signs of great promise...

 

Still only open Wednesday to Saturday evenings, and Sunday, during the day, The St Leonard has opened with real ale to the fore, and a gradual introduction of food at varying levels... now, I have to own up, I haven't had an ale here yet, indeed, I haven't had a drink here yet, but that time will come soon! 

 

I was passing this morning, and had a chat to a bloke working on the main door to the pub, who gave me my updated news about this pub... I also saw a Hop Back Summer Lightning pump clip over his shoulder, which is why I particularly say, "great" promise ;-) 

 

 

Why is this glass empty? LOL

However, the first time I found out about this pub was when Hastings Brewery recently tweeted about them selling their ales, so Hastings Best and Blonde may also be regularish, if not regulars, we shall see! Indeed, if you want to know where to find Hastings ales on sale go to www.hastingsbrewery.co.uk/find/ 

Good luck, I drink the 'Best Bitter' at The Dripping Well and Frank's Front Room, cheers!

Tuesday 24th July and trip to St Leonards-on-Sea

An early start at the Tower again, first, to prove St Leonards isn't such a scary place, despite 'devil dogs' in the area (typical media exaggeration), but also as they sell good value ales at The Tower... I'd also said I'd lend my copy of The Dice Man to Louisa, but, sadly yet again, she wasn't around... However, I left the book behind the bar, many thanks. 

Good chat and good ales, 4 from Dark Star today, Saison, The Original, Sunburst and the Hophead that I drank. I'm getting more and more to like this pub, and good value too!  I also managed to get a photograph without a smoker lurking outside this time.

I then walked down the hill to the seafront, close by the pier, and visited the White Rock Hotel, despite my reservations about the temperature of the ales here, which regular readers will understand. Another 4 ales from Sussex brewers here, Dark Star's Hophead again, Harveys Olympia, a golden ale at 4.3%, Arundel Castle, a 3.8% 'tawny bitter', as it says on the pump clip, and the Dark Star ale I drank, Hylder Blonde. The Blonde is 4.2% and, apparently, flavoured with elderflowers, it has a flowery, fruity aroma, is pale, dry and bitter, and has a dryish peculiar aftertaste, presumably the elderflowers! Excellent service, as ever, from Kerry behind the bar, who has recently moved down the beach and now lives in the Old Town, hence is a bit of a regular at the Dolphin now, cheers!

From there, into town, and I own up, The John Logie Baird again, well, I do get 50p off a pint for being a CAMRA member... The usual larger regional brewers ales were on sale, Doom Bar, London Pride, Broadside etc, plus a couple that interested me, Beartown Bruins Ruin (5% and bronze coloured), and an ale brewed especially for 'spoons called Koroibos (named after the winner of the 'stadion' race at the first Olympic Games in 776BC).

Keisa served me, a friendly local lass, with very interesting tats and piercings; Koroibos was my choice, which is a collaboration between Everards and Corfu Brewery (yes, there is a real ale producer in Corfu!), however, at 4.5% I expected a lot more. It's refreshing, pale, hardly any aroma, and a bit bitter, but it could do with more hops (to my hoppy bitter taste buds), but it's very easy to drink, which makes it dangerous, especially at £1.99 a pint, and that's before I got my 50p deduction!

My final port of call was just down from Hastings railway station at Frank's Front Room, a reopened pub, very bright and airy in its new incarnation, usually selling 3 ales, Hastings Best Bitter and Blonde, and Sambrooks Wandle Bitter. Now, I live in Hastings, and was born and bred in Wandsworth, so it augured well!  I had a good chat to the hard-working Paul behind the bar, and with one of the three 'Franks' too, ie Geri...

Apparently, the Sambrooks may change and become more of a guest pump, and presently their food is mostly sandwiches, salads and bar snacks, but they are recruiting a chef in August, so things will change... Plans include evening meals, curry nights, quizzes and music; and the 'snug' (this is a 2 roomed bar) can be used for private functions already, and is. A very interesting new find.

Cheers!

Tuesday 10th July - Battle to Hastings via Icklesham

The Routemeister and I left Battle and walked along the 1066 Country Walk, link to Hastings, although we saw no giraffes today, we did see quite a few rabbits... 

We walked about 15 miles or so today, a bit harder than our Kent walk as more uphill climbs, plus some more taxing land, with a lunchtime stopover at Icklesham, where we visited the Robin Hood (the Routemeister's first visit here).

Sad news that Fred (a regular here who I always enjoy chatting to) has had a stroke, it appears, and is convalescing as we speak, our regards and best wishes to Fred.

Ales on today were Hastings Blonde, Tolly Cobbold Tolly English Ale (2.8%), Greene King London Glory, Morland Original, and we enjoyed 2 pints of Canterbury 2012 each, a 4.2% pale dry bitter, which was excellent.  We also sat outside enjoying the scenery for a short while, but it got a bit chilly!

The Icklesham Village Beer Festival is to be held behind the Robin Hood on the 19th-22nd July 2012, supporting local charities, local breweries and local acts. See the website for details at www.ivbf.co.uk.

We then returned to Hastings for the Routemeister to catch his return train to Clapham Junction. Cheers!

Today, Hastings...

Lovely weather back, but just one visit today, to the Dolphin Inn in Hastings, and a great chat, as usual, with the landlord, Mark, who keeps a crackin' pint and a friendly house...  

6 ales on today, Summer's coming, so expect this for at least the next 6 months, the usual 3 regulars, Hophead, Directors and Sussex Best, together with 3 guest ales, Brains Reverend James, Hastings Blonde and a new one, from my late 1980s haunting of the Scottish Borders, Broughton Clipper IPA, 4.2% of pale, hoppy, fruity apple aroma with a hint of sourness that comes through in the dry and bitter aftertaste... When I lived in Scotland it would have been rare to taste a beer like this! 

Early warning, an even more favourite ale of mine from the Dark Star brewery, American Pale Ale (APA) is soon to come on for the Spring/Summer as a regular; I know what I'll be drinking a few pints of over the next few months... 

St Leonards, Hastings+

A short walk to St Leonards via Bohemia, then back via Warrior Square and the front...

First stop was the North Star... 5 ales on sale here, including Hogs Back TEA, Landlord, Sussex Best, Woodforde's Nelson's Revenge, and Dark Star Rye & Juniper 'SAHTS Inspired Beer', at 5.2% a rich fruity, full-bodied pale ale, with a bitter and dry aftertaste... You'll take it from this that I drank the Rye & Juniper, yep indeed, very good!

Next, I visited the Dripping Spring, the only pub in the Hastings area where you can find Wye Valley HPA, as far as I'm aware, a really easy to drink pale bitter, and, therefore, one of the reasons to visit this pub. The new managers appear to have kept up the good name of previous incumbents, and a friendlier pub would be hard to find.

In addition to the HPA, there was Black Sheep Best, Bombardier, Sussex Best, and Courage Best on sale, with more coming on for the weekend, NB tomorrow (Friday 29th) Fullers ESB will be available, thankfully not today, as experience tells me I'm not at my best after a few pints of ESB.

I also tried a half of the Jennings Lakeland Stunner at 3.9%, pale, with hints of grapefruit, and a bitter sweet, a bit sour even, taste; it says 'full bodied' on the pump clip, yes it is, probably why the 'sweet & sour' taste in particular. Wasn't bad, but I decided to concentrate on the HPA.

Finally, I'm glad to have stopped at the White Rock Hotel, where I sat on the balcony, overlooking the pier and sea, crackin' weather, and very pleasant company to talk to, consequently I handed over my card, and it would be very nice to hear that she looks at this blog, if not the website...

I again drank the Dark Star Rye & Juniper (at only £3 a pint here!), well, it is very nice, and they also had Hastings Blonde (3.9%) and Porter (4.5%), and Rother Valley Blues, a 5% dark beer. As ever, the White Rock Hotel sells locally brewed ales from Sussex at a decent price, locale indeed!