Twas the season: Excellent ales in Sussex...

So, what excellent ales did I enjoy in the period leading up to, and including the festive period? 

First, at The Tower, London Road, Hastings St Leonards, where, as my previous blog commented on, before Christmas, they had 5 excellent ales on the same day, including old favourites Dark Star Hophead and APA, and Thornbridge Jaipur. Also, there was the new local brewery, 360 Degrees Pacific Pale, and Dark Star Critical Mass, a stronger, darker, and more seasonal ale you couldn't wish for, and 3rd in this blog's list of seasonal ales (though I haven't included pale bitters here, just the darker beers); 4 out of 5 ales all Sussex brewed... 

On Christmas Day itself I drank, from Somerset, the Cottage Full Steam Ahead (4.2%). Now I haven't had a Cottage ale for quite a few years, not sure how much I liked their ales in the past, but I liked this one; a deep amber coloured bitter with a hint of roasted malt, a very well balanced bitter indeed. Also, from Herne Hill in South East London, where the Florence Brewery produce 'Florence' beers for 'Capital Pubs', and a range of ales called "Head in a Hat Brewing", from which I drank GIN, a 4% pale-ish bitter which has been infused with "botanicals taken directly from the still" at the City of London Distillery, so you can guess what that means, yep juniper, amongst other flavours; I'm guessing the citrus comes from the hops used. I'm looking forward to drinking some more of Florence ales, whichever hat they wear! 

OK, exciting ales already, so what did the Albatross Club (RAFA) at Bexhill-on-Sea have to offer? Amongst others, there was Hastings Brewery "Handmade" Number 5, Galaxy hops being used for this one, and named Hop Forward Pale Ale; a 4.8% ale that I've mentioned before, which has an immediate citrus aroma from the hops, citrus flavour too, pale, dry and bitter, I do like this ale! Another local ale, Rother Valley Hoppers Ale was also tasted by me, a nice 4.4% light bitter, fruity with a nutty hint in the flavour, reminiscent of West Country ales.

OK, also, on Sunday, as it was a lovely day, I just had to partake in a 10 mile round walk to Bexhill again, and I met the new barmaid, Karen, nice to meet, and I'll only mention 2 of the ales this time (both of the others available have been mentioned before), again the local Dark Star Critical Mass (7.4%), already reported on, and very good. But an excellent Wessex Brewery (Wiltshire) Russian Stoat, a 9% VERY dark ale, with a rich full flavour, and a hint of liquorice... I have no idea what the joke is about the stoat rather than stout, but this was a wee bit sweeter than I'd expect a stout, personally, but still excellent, and second in the list of dark seasonal ales.   

The Dolphin, back in Hastings, down opposite the fishermen's beach, has had many great ales, as you would expect, the 3 regulars, plus, amongst others: Triple fff Old Dray, a 4.8% traditional best bitter; Wadworth Old Timer, a well-known 5% nutty flavoured old ale from the West Country; Wickwar Rite Flanker, presumably brewed for the rugby union season, a 4.3% bitter with a hint of caramel; and Rother Valley Holley Daze, a 4.2% pale-ish bitter with a hint of caramel and roasted malt. OK, the stand out bitter, though, was from the reliable Yorkshire brewer, Rudgate Volsung, another ale celebrating the Viking influence in this part of the country, 5% pale golden ale with plenty of body, hints of malt, and nice and bitter!  

But the overall seasonal ale award for this Christmas has to go to the very local Hastings Old Town Brewery, FILO, in their own pub, the First In Last Out, High Street, Our Auld Ale, a "Winter Beer" indeed! I could mention their other ales, but shall not this time, though I shall add that they now have 2 guest ales available, in addition to 5 of their own: including, on my last 2 visits, Adnams Ghost Ship and Bath Ales Barnsey, both 4.5%, and Milestone Maid Marian (4.3%). 

But Our Auld Ale, other than getting me 'merry' faster than usual due to the 6.5% strength and being too easy to drink, is a deep dark reddish brown colour, with loadsa body and hints of spice, excellent indeed! I do have to own up to writing some more notes, but I cannot read what I wrote, which says a lot, so maybe I'll have to return very soon and drink some more before they run out. 

See, I don't only drink pale hoppy ales, compliments of the season! 

Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas, Bon Noel, whatever... Christmas and St Stephen's/Boxing Day were spent in Hastings for me and with no work this year, yay!  Most of my drinking outside my home was spent at the Dolphin, Rock-a-Nore, opposite the fishermen's huts, and Santa Claus/Father Christmas/St Nicholas/whoever, had landed a bit early on the lower roof.  The day started very wildly, with driving wind and rain, but the sun later came out, so it was a very mixed bag of weather of, what will become, the wettest year on record in the UK.

Ales at the Dolphin included the usual Dark Star Hophead, Harveys Sussex Best and (lately) Youngs Special, all very well known to readers, if not most ale drinkers in the World, by now, and the seasonal regular Harveys Sussex Old Ale, and RCH Pitchfork (4.3%), which I believe I have noted elsewhere to be a decent pale ale, nice and bitter, and all the way from Cornwall, Sharp's Winter Berry Ale, more about below.

However, before I visited the Dolphin, on both days, I walked up the hill to the Tower, on the corner of London Road and Tower Road, (upper) St Leonards, and bordering Bohemia.  Good to see Louisa, the Landlady, here on Christmas Day, when she had Dark Star American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%) and Critical Mass (7.4%, hence why I gave it a miss at 11am), a darker strong ale from the Sussex brewer; Sharp's Doom Bar, seen all over the Country and only £1.99 a pint here until 6pm on New Years Eve. 

The previously reported Rother Valley Golden Valley had finished at the end of the previous evening, but Kent Brewery's KGB, aka Kent Golding Bitter (4.1%) was being pulled through as I left, hence my Boxing Day visit to try that one too.  So, Christmas Day saw me drinking the more bitter than usual APA, a very nice surprise, and the single hopped (presumably) KGB was my drink on Boxing Day, a nice refreshing golden hued bitter with a dry aftertaste, worth the revisit indeed!

I had planned to try a half of the ludicrously strong Dark Star Imperial Stout (10.5%) at the White Rock Hotel on Boxing Day, but it was not on and they only had two ales, not the most exciting either, so I made a deviation to the Dripping Well, Cambridge Road, and a wee drink and chat with Mark the landlord (and other patrons, of course).  OK, no Christmas ales here either, but I had a decent pint of Hastings Best, and the usual Wadworth Henry's IPA and Adnams Broadside were on sale too.

So, I ended my 2 days Christmas 'bar drinking at the Dolphin, where I met up with all the family barstaff, though not all working both days, including Mark and Mo, and Laura and Louise, and had drinks bought for me by Joe and Mark, cheers mateys! Following a pint or two of the Dark Star Hophead, I finished both days, actually, by drinking the Sharp's Winter Berry Ale, a seasonal ale flavoured with morello cherries, and very tasty too...

Seasons Greetings to everyone who reads this... well, to everyone anyway, cheers!