4 new pubs in London...

Well, not quite all new pubs, though one of them is, but all new to me, and the first 3 I hadn't been to before are all in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2014, so a promising day was ahead... 

After drinking elsewhere (the Harp, more of soon), I wandered down to The Edgar Wallace, Essex Street, in the Temple area. This is a good looking building and has a lovely comfortable feel to the interior, though the downstairs bar area is smaller than I'd imagined before entering, there is also an upstairs area (tables and seating) that would feel as comfortable as being at home when dining here! 8 real ales on sale, which come from the Enterprise standard list, sadly, so not too many micro ales. Anyway, 2 regulars, their 'own' Edgar's Pale Ale (3.5%) brewed by Nethergate, so presumably their own IPA, an OK bitter, but a bit thin, and the rather good Crouch Vale Brewers Gold (4%). The other ales you wouldn't be surprised by...

My next visit was to The Castle, in between Fetter and Chancery Lanes, and a 'Red Car' pub, a small pubco that appears to have a background in Redcar; certainly the landlord here comes from up there. A more varied selection of ales here, though, coincidentally, their 'own' ale was brewed by Nethergate! That is, Red Car Best Bitter (3.9%); this time, presumably Growler Bitter. A nice Victorian pub, with a very pleasant Kiwi behind the bar, Lauren, who is going home to New Zealand in a months time, though may be back, no problem, as her parents are both Brits. Other ales included London Pride; Abbey Ales Bellringer (4.2%); Dixon's Hoppy Daze (4.2%), brewed by Riverside brewery; Spitting Feathers Farmhouse Ale (3.6%); and Atomic Brewery's Dark Matter (4.1%) and Strike, a 3.7% quite sour pale bitter, not bad. Missing you already Lauren... 

My third 'new' pub was just up from Smithfield Market, the Old Red Cow, another run by someone from up int' North, so much so that they didn't take the tight sparkler off when I asked them to whilst pouring my ale! The barstaff were friendly enough, though, and 4 ales on sale, at a quite high price, mostly over £4, and some 'craft' beers on at over a fiver; this isn't a cheap pub to visit. There were 2 pale bitters, Windsor & Eton Windsor Knot (4%) and West Berkshire Full Circle (4.5%), Signature Brew Bad Carols (5%), and Alchemy Five Sisters, a 4.3% 'red' ale with plenty of roasted malt flavour. The prices and tight sparklers mean I shan't be returning too soon... 

My final new pub, is a new pub called The Mansion House, near to Kennington tube station, round the corner from where I used to live, and opposite the church I first got married in! It was dark by now, so the photograph taken with my mobile phone of the outside is pretty poor, but it's a new building as well, so not that exciting, lots of glass, you can guess. This is the fourth Oakham Brewery bar, as far as I can tell, and, like the others, (the Bartons Arms in Birmingham is the other I've visited before), all seem to sell Eastern food, an 'oriental' restaurant being incorporated here (site). I also met up with 3 members of the Musicians Union NEC, so intelligent conversation was enjoyed too, as well as the beers of course!

Sadly, though, I needed to catch a bus back to Clapham Junction from outside the nearby Imperial War Museum, and from there to catch my late-ish train home, so I could only have a couple of ales. As you'd expect, there were all the regular Oakham ales, spoilt for choice really: JHB, Inferno and Bishops Farewell, but Citra only in bottles, and a real cider of their own. They did, though, have a rather lovely 6% ale brewed with Citra hops, Green Devil IPA, pale, dry, fruity aroma and taste, grapefruit++, plenty of body, and pretty damn good! They also had a guest ale from Blue Monkey Brewery, another 'Black' IPA, which I shall one day be dedicating a blog to, Bonobo (5.3%), as with other black IPAs, dark, tasting lighter than you'd expect, though, of course, not anymore now I'm used to them. A bit too easy to drink...

Cheers!

Wandering in Hastings - Part III (the final part, for now)

So, the cheapest and best value ales in Hastings?  I've already covered the 'old town' in Parts I and II, what about central Hastings and St Leonards/Bohemia?  Of course, the John Logie Baird, our Wetherspoons, sells cheap ales, guests usually at £2.09 here, with CAMRA tokens, that knocks the price down to one pint at £1.59 a day, but 'spoons are 'spoons and not what I'm looking for in this price comparison really...

Virtually opposite the (soon to be rebuilt) pier, at the seafront, is The White Rock Hotel, which has been the best value bar in the town centre since I moved to Hastings just over 2 years ago, and it remains so now with ales at £3.10 a pint, unless of high strength, which usually begins at about 5.5%...

So, buying Dark Star's Hophead (3.8%) at £3.10 a pint was a must for this visit, always a great ale to drink as it suits my palate. There were also 3 other local ales too, an excellent 'locale' policy from this establishment, thank you very much; the ales including the seasonal Harveys Sussex Old Ale (4.3%), Isfield Bitter (3.7%) and a tawny bitter from Arundel Castle (3.8%). Certainly, in the town centre, The White Rock Hotel offers the best value at £3.10 a pint for most ales, not taking Wetherspoons into account.   

Above St Leonards, in London Road, not far from Hastings own 'Bohemia', is the Tower, a good real ale house that sells ales from £2.30 a pint, where I've never had reason to complain about the condition of their ales, which has always been superb on my visits, as with my last two very recent visits, where even the 5.9% Thornbridge Jaipur, always a pleasure to drink, was on sale for just £3.00 a pint, excellent ales and excellent service from Sara(h) and the landlady, Louisa, many thanks!

I first drank the Dark Star Hophead, yet again, at 3.8% and £2.30 a pint, great ale at a great value price, excellent indeed, however, this was not available on my second visit, when Shenstone Hop 'Easter Beer' (3.8%) had replaced it; this is from a new brewery in Staffordshire.  As said earlier, I had the Jaipur, and the Dark Star American Pale Ale (APA), another light bitter at 4.7% with mucho fruity hop flavours and only £2.40 a pint.  There was also Banks & Taylor's Edwin Taylor's Extra Stout (4.5%), sorry, didn't try it as I was in a light and hoppy frame of mind, as I usually am.

Overall, the best value had to be at the Tower, London Road, £2.30 for Hophead, compared to up to £3.50 for the same ale elsewhere in Hastings, and only £2.40 for the APA!  As said above, central Hastings best value bar has to be at the White Rock Hotel, and, as said in a previous blog, the First In Last Out (FILO) has to be the best value in the medieval 'old town', with their own ales starting at £3.00 a pint, and guests at £3.30 a pint.

It was an arduous task, now over, for a while, 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!