30 Nov - Hythe, new pubs + another real fire

A lovely bright, if a bit chilly Friday, and I met up with Mark (the Pubmeister) at the Dolphin, Hastings, where, as you can see below, two drays were delivering ale, including from Hastings Brewery, great timing! We had a coffee before leaving to catch the 10.17 bus to deepest darkest Kent.

We had considered visiting the Red Lion in Snargate, but it was just too complicated to fit in yesterday (that will be for another memorable day, no doubt), so we undertook the near 2 hour bus trip straight to Hythe, on a lively number 100/101 bus, and the time seemed to pass very quickly too. Good chat one of the reasons for that.  Anyway, we arrived in Hythe shortly after noon and made straight for our first destination, The White Hart in the High Street.

The White Hart is a lovely big pub, originally built in 1395 as an inn, but now more of a restaurant and also selling two real ales, sometimes 3 during busier times.  This Friday the two ales on were Greene King IPA (their regular ale) and the guest was the Kent brewer Hopdaemon's Incubus, a 4% nutty flavoured bitter, not bad at all, which will be replaced by the same brewer's 5% Green Daemon, a great shame that wasn't on yet (Hopdaemon website).

From there, we crossed back over the Military Canal and walked the short distance to The Three Mariners in Windmill Street where we met the very friendly, efficient and enthusiastic manager, Sarah, and chatted to a few of the 'locals' too. The Three Mariners is a freehouse and regular CAMRA awards winner, and has 8 handpumps, in usual circumstances serving 5 or 6 ales, and a real fire, and you know how much I like real fires...

Anyhow, we had halves of 3 of the ales on offer, missing out on Caledonian Autumn Red (4.4%) and their only regular, the 3.7% Youngs Bitter (more of in my next blog). The 3 we drank were all Kentish ales, Gadds (website at the Ramsgate Brewery) Seasider, an easy to drink 4.3% pale amber ale; Westerham (website) British Bulldog, a golden coloured 4.3% best bitter; and Goachers (website) 4.5% Imperial Stout, a dark stout brewed with roasted barley and Fuggles hops, a too easy to drink ale, and both of our's favourite in Kent this day, I do believe.

 

Unless you include crisps and nuts, The Three Mariners is not somewhere to go for food in Hythe, but it is the place to visit if you want convivial company and well conditioned ales, nice one!

Our final port of call in Hythe was The Red Lion Hotel, Red Lion Square, another large interior well set out as a restaurant too. We met Debbie behind the bar here, who asked to be remembered to Brian at the Star in St Mary in the Marsh (more of in part 2 of this day's blog, I'll probably publish that tomorrow). usually 3 ales here, the guest was the 3.6% Greene King IPA, and two regulars Wells Bombardier (4.1%) and the Kent brewer Old Dairy's (website) Red Top (3.8%), which we had, a nice mixture of hops in this easy to drink session bitter.

 

Well, more to come in Part 2 of Friday 30th November, but for now, cheers!

29 Feb - Crooked Billet, Wimbledon Common

Trip to London for possible money-making purposes (sadly didn't work out), but had to include lunchtime and evening trips to pubs...

Lunchtime, my brother Dan and I walked up to Wimbledon Village and visited the Crooked Billet, on the edge of the Common. This is a crackin' Youngs pub, next door to the Hand in Hand (below), another very good Youngs pub which, under a previous ownership, used to be the only place I knew you could get Ruddles County before it fell under the spell of one of the new 'Nationals', Greene King.

OK, Youngs are now part of one of the new 'Nationals' too, following their merger/whatever the legal definition is, with Charles Wells of Bedford, so, all but the 2 guests listed below are actually brewed by Wells now; as brewers, Youngs and Courage RIP.

I like both of these pubs, but we only visited the Crooked Billet today, and didn't even drink Youngs Special, which I usually would, their ales on the bar including, Special and Ordinary from Youngs, Bombardier and Directors, their other regulars, and 2 guest ales, Doom Bar (OK, but can be drunk anywhere these days, and is only OK to my palate), and the 4.4% Twickenham Naked Ladies, what a great find for me, though I know it's been available for a while now, my first taste.

Naked Ladies, a nice image, but a big hit of hops to the nose when you first taste it, not so 'ladylike', quite a pale ale, but more bitter than I thought it would be. I like this beer!

The Hand in Hand, always worth a visit too, another good pub, just a few doors down from the Crooked Billet, in Crooked Billet, Wimbledon Village, SW19.

County Arms, Wandsworth Common

Another Young's house, that was no doubt a coaching inn, or something, a hundred to a hundred and fifty years ago. Big old pub, typical Victorian pub/inn, on the main road coming from Wandsworth Bridge, and sitting just in front of the prison!

We all drank the excellent Young's Winter Warmer, best I've tasted this winter, and I've had a few pints of it at various pubs too. They also served Young's Ordinary, Special, and Wells' Bombardier.

At the back is an enormous eating/restaurant part of the pub, and a cracking beer garden too, if a bit too close to a very busy road these days.

Kieran doing a bit of pole dancing within the County Arms ;-)

The Nightingale, SW12

The Nightingale, Nightingale Lane, a little along from Wandsworth Common railway station. A cracking Young's pub that my brother had never visited (he mixed it up with the Surrey Tavern). Great pint of Special, Kieran had a bottled Young's Double Chocolate Stout (and what an amazing beer that is!), and they also had 'Ordinary', Bombardier, Sambrooks Porterhouse Porter, and Addlestone's for cider drinkers.

I do have an anecdote from working for Securicor CIT, but that's for another day...