National Beer Day!

Celebrating National Beer Day 2016 (website) at the Dolphin Inn, Rock-a-Nore Road, in Hastings with a pint, or three, of excellent Dark Star Hophead, cheers! 

St George's Day Festival of English Ale in Hastings

The Albion, in George Street, Hastings, is holding a Beer Festival this weekend, together with fun, music and food... 

In addition to their regulars, including an excellent favourite of mine, Dark Star Hophead (3.8%), which I had a pint of there yesterday, a crackin' ale indeed, Harveys Sussex Best (4%) and Timothy Taylor Landlord (4.3% ), you might just be able to imbibe up to 10 other ales from near and far!

From Sussex brewers, there will be Dark Star Sunburst (4.8%) website, Beachy Head Legless Rambler (5%) website, Rother Valley Chocolate Porter (4.2%) website, Harveys Armada Ale (4.5%), and their pertinent Georgian Dragon (4.7%) website; and from Kent, though the brewer himself comes from much closer to home, there will be Pig & Porter Red Spider Rye (4.8%) and Skylarking (4%), a session pale ale: website.

From further afield will be Adnams Mosaic Pale Ale (4.1%) website, from way up int' North, an early pioneer with their unfined and unfiltered ales, and excellent unique pub where they used to brew, the Marble Arch (website), one of my favourite pubs ever, Manchester brewery, Marble Pint (3.9%) website, and across from Cornwall, and now brewing more fine ales than when I lived nearby in the 1990s, St Austell Spring Fever (4.1%) website.

Have fun, and a Happy St George's Day to you, cheers!

My Local Pub of the Year update, Hastings

Borrowed, and edited, from a contribution to the Steve on Hastings blog...

The Tower

I recently walked up to the current 2015 South East Sussex CAMRA 'Pub of the Year', the Tower, on the corner of London and Tower Roads in Bohemia (251 London Road TN37 6NB). As ever, it was a pleasure to see Louisa the landlady, to meet up with a few friends I hadn't seen for a while, and drink some excellent ales at good value prices, and I hadn't been up there for a while...  

6 real ales (and 4 ciders, £3.10-3.40 a pint), mostly local to Sussex/Kent too, including 2 excellent regular ales from Dark Star, ie Hophead (£2.80 a pint) and American Pale Ale, (£2.90), both of which I've talked about at length many times before, and a refreshing pale offering from 1648, the 3.7% Hop Pocket (£2.90). Also, 2 dark ales, Titanic Plum Porter (4.5%, £3) and Arundel Smokehouse Porter (6%, £3.20), and a 'red ale', Isfield Ethelred (4.4%, £3 a pint), which was certainly not unready! 

Much more to come soon, cheers!

Drinking Ale Beasts in Hastings!

Last week I drank the superb Burning Sky Aurora, at the FILO in Hastings, and now The Rutland Beast, brewed at Oakham in Rutland by The Grainstore Brewery(website)... Seven different types of malt and wheat are used for the grist, and three different hops in the brew, though Grainstore appear to be a little shy about sharing the names of the hops used! 

Also, I didn't really find it to be a "beast", but a well-balanced ale with a deep red colour and lovely to drink. OK, it's a wee bit strong at 5.3%, but with a lovely cherry beer aroma, and fruity strong taste and plenty of body, in fact, I'd describe it as an excellent strong 'ruby mild', but what do I know? I had this very recently at the Dolphin Inn at Rock-a-Nore, and the speed of it not being on any more provides evidence of what a good beer it is/was.

So I thought I should give notice of another 'beast' of an ale, this time from an East Sussex brewer, and due to come on at the Dolphin this weekend, and that is the very seasonalDark Star Green Hopped IPA (brewery website). Seasonal, because of the use of fresh (most brewers use hops picked within 12 hours to add to their brews of this type of ale) or green hops, rather than the dried hops usually used by brewers. Very different in style, a supremely dry pale bitter with a strong aroma and taste of citrus from the Simcoe hops used, and 6.5% of strength that you may not notice, unless you drink more than one pint! 

Cheers!

Congratulations to Louisa at the Tower!

Congratulations to Louisa, and her colleagues at the Tower, London Road, Bohemia, for winning the local South East Sussex CAMRA 2015 Pub of the Year, and Cider Pub of the Year too, nice one, or two! I've known Louisa, the manager at the Tower, for 3 years now, and can honestly say that I've never had a bad pint there. In fact, she has brought this pub into CAMRA reckoning by maintaining ales in excellent condition, with many local Sussex ales too, along with excellent value. 

Consequently, I have been writing about the Tower for 3 years now, and have had a look back over my blogs to help with this one. However, I didn't really need to, because Louisa has continued to sell good quality and good value ales. I first noted the cheapest ale as £2.30 a pint in 2012, now it is still usually just £2.60 a pint, a fair comparison relative to other pubs regarding changes in pricing, but still so much better value than most, and in lined glasses ('spoons apart for price!). The Tower has also been in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for 2 years now. 

Also, that early 'cheapest' ale was the excellent Sussex brewed Dark Star Hophead (3.8%) at £2.30 a pint, and the other virtual regular from Dark Star brewery (website) American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%) at £2.40 a pint. They were both on for my most recent visit this week at £2.70 a pint and £2.80 a pint respectively, great stuff!  

Over those 3 years, Louisa has also added 2 handpumps from the 4 when I first visited, meaning usually at least 4 regularly changing ales in addition to the 2 virtual regulars. Other ales on this week were the even more local Franklins (website) Pudding Stout (4.2%); from the North West, Robinsons Voodoo Dawn (3.9%), a 'deep red ale'; and from South Yorkshire, Abbeydale Accent Compensation (4.1%), a pale bitter.   

Oh yes, and the 6th ale on this visit, from Peterborough, was the excellent Oakham Bishops Farewell (£2.90 a pint), 4.6% of pale hoppy, citrus fruity, dry and bitter ale. I've written so often about this ale, as I have the Dark Star pair, that I really don't have anything else to add, except, I continue to love drinking them! 

And to add to Louisa's collection of awards was the local Cider Pub of the Year! She sells 2 keg ciders, Strongbow and Symonds Founders Reserve, and 2 real ciders, as can be seen from the photograph. There is Shepton Mallet Somerset Snuffler (4.8%), and the legendary Westons Old Rosie, 7.3% and dangerous!   

Congratulations Lou!

Return to the Bricklayers in Putney...

So much to write down, and so little time these days, or poorly organised is the reality, rather than an excuse! So, I've been to The Bricklayers Arms (website - though probably better to check Becky the landlady's twitter account for ale updates) in Putney a few times without writing about it, shame on me! 

On these visits, ales have been provided by 3 main brewers, though always others available too! The first time it was ales from Loddon Brewery (website), notably their Ferryman's Gold (4.4%), a nice pale gold bitter that I must have mentioned before! Also, Razzle Dazzle (4.3%), a very pale ale with a fruity aroma, bitter-sweet taste and dry sour aftertaste; their Hoppit Classic Bitter (3.5%), golden, quite pale, a clear crisp session bitter; and Hullabaloo (4.2%), a slightly maltier well-balanced bitter.   

In addition, another day saw the West London brewer Fullers (website) in situ, including the Gales Seafarers Ale (3.6) and their own winter ale Jack Frost (4.5%) and difficult to find Chiswick Bitter (3.5%), probably one of the finest session bitters around, if you're not into the pale hoppy type! This is seriously hard to find even in Fullers' houses, flavoursome, as dry hopped too, but not to be drunk following their ales with stronger flavour like ESB or Jack Frost, as you won't appreciate it at all...  

Finally, my most recent visit was like still being down in East Sussex, with a grand selection of Dark Star ales (website), including American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%), Hophead (3.8%) and The Art of Darkness (3.5%), all of them being regularly consumed by me in the past. There were also Partridge Best Bitter (4%), Espresso (4.2%) and The Original (5%), sorry, I didn't try either of these 3 on my 2 visits, but the APA was excellent, the Hophead superb, both pale bitters and very hoppy, and my favourite session dark ale, The Art of Darkness, which my brother, the Routemeister, was amazed by, he hadn't really believed my hype, but it is a 'session black pale ale', no other way to describe this wonderful full-flavoured beer! 

Nearly forgot to mention the West Berkshire (website) Dr Hexters Healer (5%), a strong full-bodied bitter with a marmalade 'zestiness', and Downton (website) Chocolate Orange Delight (5.8%), a strong beer, and you can guess for yourself its flavours!   

Back again soon, cheers!   

A Seasonal Dolphin in Hastings!

This is an updated and topical version of my first article published in the Hastings Independent many months ago (expect many more), now on the 'Steve on Hastings' blog too, and I chose the family-run Dolphin pub at Rock-a-Nore, because it had been named the South East Sussex Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Pub of the Year for 2 years in a row. The local CAMRA people do not consider pubs after they have won twice in a row, so we may have to wait for a bit longer before it becomes pub of the year again. Shame they don't just chose the best pub, rather than handicap their choice in such a way, but, hey! CAMRA has some very strange ideas, and members, and I should know, being one... 

So, a 'seasonal' photograph from the Dolphin's balcony, OK, we're very unlikely to see snow for a while, if at all, this winter, but I do like this photograph, which I took a couple of winters ago.  

Apart from considering the quality of the ales, how else does CAMRA chose their 'best' pubs? Importantly, they take into account how their 'champion' integrates with the local community. In this respect, the Dolphin raises thousands of pounds every year for local charities, is closely connected to Hastings Fishermens' Museum and has been instrumental in the refurbishment of the Stacey Marie, their retired fishing boat sited opposite the pub (more of very soon), members of the RNLI regularly visit for social events, the pub gets involved in old town festivals such as Fat Tuesday and the Pram Race, and is at the start of the Jack in The Green May Day procession, opening earlier than usual on that day, to provide refreshment for participants and observers, and local musicians regularly play here, do I need to go on? 

Indeed, there is a variety of live music performed here 3 nights a week, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evenings, and a quiz for charity on Thursday evenings. Food is served every afternoon, and on Mondays the kitchen reopens at 6pm for a 'Fish Supper' deal, where the price of the fish (from Hastings fishing boats whenever possible), hand-cut chips and mushy peas, includes either a pint of beer, glass of wine, or a soft drink. 

Of course, the Dolphin also sells liquid refreshments, soft drinks, wines, 'mulled' wine for December through to the end of January (Mark the landlord's own recipe), spirits, numerous keg beers, including 3 of the newer 'trendy' craft ales, and, of course, what I'm keen on writing about... It sells 6 cask-conditioned ales, and what better way to write about finding such beer in Hastings than visiting the recent champion public house? The Dolphin sells 3 regular ales, 2 from East Sussex brewers, Harveys Sussex Best and Dark Star Hophead, and Youngs Special.   

There are also 3 regularly changing guest ales, very recently these have included Sussex brewer King's Wonderland, a "Winter Pale Ale", a 4.1% very pale bitter with a fruity aroma, good body and a dry finish, not bad at all! Also, from further afield, ie Devon, Hanlons Snowstorm Festive Ale, a 5% "strong winter ale", with a deep amber colour, similar taste to a typical 'old ale', slightly sweet maltiness, plenty of flavour, and a dry finish. Or, if you're very lucky, they may just have a few pints left of either the West Yorkshire brewers, Saltaire's Winter Ale or award winning (though not so seasonal) Cascade Pale Ale.

There are a number of brewers who continue to produce ales of quality regularly, and a few of them in Yorkshire, including Saltaire Brewery. The Winter Ale is a 4.9% darkish amber ale, they say with "toffee accents", but I have no idea what that means! Though I could detect a slight caramel flavour from the malt, and a hint of spice from the Challenger and Brambling Cross hops, all in all, a very good beer of its type. I tried their Cascade Pale Ale yesterday too, which uses Centennial hops as well as Cascade hops, and is described as an "American style pale ale"; good old Saltaire do provide much information on their pump clips! Whatever, it is a 4.8% pale golden bitter, with a fruity aroma and flavour, but more peach rather than the grapefruit I expected, pretty damn drinkable too... 

All of this is why the Dolphin is regarded as a fine example of a community pub, and why it won the CAMRA award twice in a row, and why I commenced my search for beers of and in Hastings and East Sussex here. Before I go on, I'll add that Harveys Sussex Old Ale is currently on sale at the Dolphin too, and shall be for the next couple of months. Anyway, I trust I do still have your interest, because I shall be looking at local pubs and the local brewing industry more over the coming months and years, though I have already written quite a bit about the area on this blog before.

Cheers!

Promenading in Hastings...

Only a short stroll along the seafront, in the sunshine, from The America Ground to the bottom of London Road, St Leonards, and I found 3 bars that sell real ale, at prices mostly cheaper than the town centre, ie at £3.20-£3.50 a pint, nice!

Almost immediately I start walking, below the Grade II listed, late Victorian, 'gothic' Palace Court (star of the vampire film Byzantium, which I still haven't seen), I reach the Pig in Paradise, which changed hands earlier this year. I didn't eat at either of these establishments on the day, and they all serve food, but the Pig also has regular 'comedy club' nights, and music, a recent gig saw The Lambrettas playing! 

In addition, they have 2-4 real ales available, always an ale from the East Sussex brewer Long Man, and regularly a more common beer like Wychwood Hobgoblin or Sharps Doom Bar. On this visit I had the Long Man Best Bitter (4%), which was very pleasant, I do like their ales, as recently discussed. They also have a huge range of bottled beers, including 'craft' beers, eg from Meantime Brewery,  BrewDog and many American beers, and not a few Belgian beers either! They also sell a crafty keg from Long Man, ironically (to me) called Crafty Blonde (4.1%).

Next stop was the regular CAMRA Good Beer Guide entry, the bar of the White Rock Hotel, with its fine balconies looking out onto the seafront and pier. Here, one is blessed with a choice of 4 Sussex-brewed real ales, on this visit including the ubiquitous Harveys Sussex Best, Rother Valley Golden Valley, and Dark Star Hophead and The Art of Darkness, a pleasant easy to drink 3.5% deep dark red bitter with loadsa hops used. I do understand how they make these dark hoppy 'pale ales', but it's still an oxymoron, and still I'm always amazed at the flavours coming through from the hops... I do like this ale!  

My final port of call was in-between Warrior Square Gardens and London Road, St Leonards, the Gecko Bar & Bistro, 22 Grand Parade, which also has regular music, and which is a very recent find for me, though David, the licensee, assured me he's been here for 2 years now! Anyway, beers, in addition to the one real ale they have available, which David is planning to increase to two, and we had a bit of a chat about this, they sell a couple of BrewDog beers on draft. OK, crafty kegs, indeed, but BrewDog do know how to get the best out of the hops for their Punk IPA (5.6%), though a bit more costly at £4.60 a pint, though I've seen it for much more.

The Gecko Bar has an ale from Long Man as its regular, and it looks like it should be their excellent 4.2% bitter, Copper Hop, for some time to come now, and what a good choice too, though I'm looking forward to seeing what other ales may be appearing in the future, cheers! 

Sussex Beer Festival, Hastings, starts tomorrow! 20-21 September...

Well, not actually a beer festival, but at the Hastings Seafood & Wine Festival, the FILO has a bar in the main marquee, with 12 different ales brewed in Sussex + more! Here you can see the bar being constructed yesterday... 

So? What ales are there? 

From Hastings Brewery, there is their Porter, and 2 of their 'Handmade' ales, number 5, the single-hopped Galaxy Pale Ale, and number 14, their 3 Cs American Pale Ale. You can find reviews of them elsewhere within my blogs, nice and hoppy! 

From Long Man comes their very good Copper Hop and darker Old Man, similarly reported on before. 

Dark Star provide their ever hoppy Hophead and Vice Beer, a new one for me! 

Of course, the FILO Brewery are also providing 5 of their lovely ales too: Gold, Crofters, Old Town Tom, Churches Pale Ale and Bourne Blonde, so a good variety of their ales, indeed! 

Come and enjoy, cheers!

Goodbye and best wishes to Binnie!

What can I say?!? Surprised I am! Fullers have taken over The Harp, in between Charing Cross and Covent Garden, and they did it last month! I only found out because it is reported in the most recent edition of CAMRA's What's Brewing...     

I've just looked at Fullers twitter page for The Harp, and it still appears to be retaining regulars from Sussex, as had been served up by the previous incumbent, Bridget 'Binnie' Walsh, for example, among the 10 real ales on offer are still Dark Star Hophead and American Pale Ale. They also have Burning Sky Plateau, and many other ales in addition to Fullers, so, not so bad and fingers crossed for the future... 

I'll add my best wishes to the ex-landlady for the future, she did a great job with The Harp, cheers m'dear!! 

A Challenge - Where are the Best Beers Brewed?

A friend of mine up int' frozen North put to me a question recently about where the best beer is brewed, which got me to thinking... To consider where the best breweries are means trying to work out what the best beers are, and, sadly, my limited resources don't help me reach that answer, there are many breweries, different styles of beer, many different hops, and we all have different preferences, consequently, how can a case be made that any beer is the 'best'? Whatever, I'm always happy to share my opinion, using memory and notes, and comments made on this blog before, so I may just repeat myself here and there! 

What I'll do is look at different styles in different blogs, and come up with a final conclusion later. Today, I'll start with session bitters, those below 4% in strength, subdivided into pale and not-so-pale ales. Regular readers will know my preference and will expect me to start with paler ales, and I shall, but only because I can't think of many darker ones to extol! Also, 2 brewers in Sheffield, whose ales I would love to discuss in this section, as they both brew excellent pale bitters but don't brew regular ales, Little Ale Cart and Steel City breweries, will have to be given a miss, sadly. 

Oakham (website) are one of my long-favoured breweries who started brewing in 1993 in Rutland, and moved to Peterborough in 1998. They now have a 75 barrel brewing plant, with an additional 6 barrel capacity at their central Peterborough brew-pub, the 'Brewery Tap'. From many great ales brewed there, they provide me with a long-loved pale golden ale, Jeffrey Hudson Bitter (JHB 3.8%), what an excellent ale to start with, plenty of citrus aroma and flavours from the hops, and a lovely dry bitter finish. This sets the standard! 

Copper Dragon (website) of Skipton started brewing in 2002 with a 10 barrel plant, I think... Anyway, they now have a 10 barrel and a 20/30 barrel plant, and, it looks from their website, that the longer term plan is to increase to a 60 barrel capacity. I really got into their ales when I lived and travelled around Yorkshire, and their contribution here is Golden Pippin (3.9%), which is another pale golden ale with citrus aroma (get used to it!), a hint of pale malt biscuit, and a nice dry bitter aftertaste. All of these are good, of course, but this one isn't quite as good as the JHB!  

Nearer to home, down here in East Sussex, at the foot of the South Downs, is Burning Sky (website), a new brewery I have written frequently about, and run by Mark Tranter, formerly of Dark Star. I suppose I could ask the question, but I'm guessing they have a 20 barrel plant, forgive me if I'm wrong, but I'm on a roll here! For a low 3.5% strength, Plateau in no way lacks flavour or body, it is pale with a lovely refreshing grapefruit aroma and taste, a dry bitter aftertaste, and packed with hops, quality! Winning, so far, in the the pale hoppy category...

But to darker session ales and, I have to admit, the number that excite me are much fewer in number than the pale hoppy variety. I'm not saying that there aren't many very drinkable ales in this category, because there are, and I was going to mention three that I really like... However, the Slaters Bitter (website) I remember doesn't appear to be one they brew now, or it may be one of their others, but I do not remember it being a pale one, which they all seem to be, I remember it having a more traditional colour for a bitter. Sorry, it has to be missed out on here! So, I'm down to 2 darker session bitters I really like, of the many good ones that exist. 

The third beer I am considering is a very traditional looking bitter, is an early memory for me of what a session bitter should look like, and is brewed by Fullers (website), who are based by the River Thames at Chiswick in West London at the Griffin Brewery, where a brewery has existed for over 350 years. Fullers have only been included in the business name since 1845, consequently, one of their stronger beers is called 1845. However, Chiswick Bitter (3.5%) is surprisingly difficult to find even in Fullers' own houses! This has to be my favourite of the type, though not to be sampled following the consumption of anything stronger or it loses the effect of the qualities is has, because it is nice and subtle, definitely not in your face. It is a lovely refreshing bitter with a subtle nutty flavour and dry aftertaste, a nice one, and flavours have to be attributed to using Goldings for dry hopping in the cask.

Dark Star (website), used to brew in the cellar of their pub in Brighton, the Evening Star, but moved to aid expansion into a 45 barrel plant in 2010, to Partridge Green. I've gone on about this ale many times in the past, and The Art of Darkness (3.5%) has surprised many other reviewers too, when comparing the taste to how it presents. Although it is very dark, it is actually a very deep red colour, not as black as it first appears, or is often described as, and has a subtle roasted flavour, but balanced by fruit and spice. This is packed with many flavours due to a whopping amount of hops used! This has to be my favourite darker session bitter, the hops used are Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial for flavour, and Warrior for bitterness and, as I've said before, it's a session 'Black IPA', an oxymoron, excellent!  

However, apologies to the Sussex brewers whose ales I have already extolled, but I recently had a pale bitter that even more perfectly fits into my ideal session ale... "Is that possible?!?" I hear you exclaim, yes it is, and an ale I first tasted 2 years ago and which, every time I've had it since, in at least 3 different bars in different places down South, it has been as excellent as was my first taste, and this ale comes all the way from Fyne Ales (website) of Argyll, in the beautiful scenic West of Scotland! Fyne Ales have a 10 barrel plant, and been brewing since 2001 using liquor from their own water supply and a yeast with a 200 year old history, originally used by Fountainbridge Brewery, Edinburgh; McEwans, I presume...

Indeed, though, after extolling so strongly the virtues of ales from the Dark Star and Burning Sky breweries, how could I consider an ale from Scotland, hardly renowned for their pale hoppy bitters, as my 'champion' in this class? Here's how, and I'll describe it simply, and pretty much as I did 2 years ago, Fyne Ale Jarl (3.8%) is a crackin' dry, pale golden and hoppy ale, with plenty of citrus flavours, nice and bitter, and very refreshing, and has continued to be so at each tasting! When I looked at their website I saw that they use one of my favourite hops, Citra, which could be a reason why I like the Jarl so much, and, no doubt, because they are an excellent brewer of fine ales (excuse me Fyne Ales, but had to include the obvious pun too!).

Cheers to Fyne Ales and Jarl!    

Top 20 pubs Part II

This covers numbers 11 to 15 from my list (see the previous blog for 16-20), and doesn't have the domination of Devon pubs this time, but has more pubs from the South East of England. However, number 11 is a Devon pub... 

So, this blog's Devon pub and number 11 is The Bridge Inn at Topsham (website), the village being on the River Exe, though The Bridge is actually by a bridge over a smaller river, the Clyst. This is a historic inn, much of it built in the 16th century, though the family that run the pub have only been here since 1897! The Queen visited the pub in 1998, though I also have memories of the Queen Mother visiting, and pouring a pint, quite a few years previous. I first visited in 1985 with my ex-wife, Julie, whilst working and living in Exeter, when I was presented with my first ever beer 'menu'. Other memories of that first visit included listening to 2 farmers whose dialect meant neither of us could understand what they were saying, so not really listening at all, and that in those days it closed at 10.30pm (Winter Time, so out of tourist season).  

This is a crackin' old building, full of atmosphere, with the staff serving up to 9 ales fetched directly from the cellar, as they are 'pulled' by gravity straight from the cask, plus they have real ciders; they also have a newer extension at the back where some ales are also served by handpump, but this is from a seasonally opened separate bar. Ales available are regularly from local microbreweries, and the one regular ale is the 3.8% Branscombe Vale Branoc. I have visited The Bridge Inn many times, either by driving here, or by catching the train direct from Exeter, consequently allowing for proper drinking at this and other pubs in Topsham. However, I haven't visited for some time, and believe it is a different generation of the family in charge now, who I do hope to visit and drink with very soon! 

At number 12 is the Kelham Island Tavern in Sheffield (website), a pub resurrected by Trevor and Lewis in 2002, having been closed for quite a while (I seem to remember it being called the Swan or something, though happy to be corrected). Since then, they have won the Sheffield CAMRA Pub of the Year many times, no mean feat in Sheffield, and are the current 2014 PotY! Indeed, during those 12 years they have also TWICE won the National CAMRA Pub of the Year, an even greater feat... So, what have they got to offer? 13 real ales, many from local microbreweries, indeed, 3 of their 4 regular ales are from Sheffield brewers, including from Bradfield Brewery, where my old colleague at Kelham Island Brewery (round the corner from the pub, but no connection business-wise), Paul, now works.  

But it's more than that... They serve excellent ales, real ciders, decent food, have live music and other events, and I have fond memories of winning a few quid at dominoes here too. They have also created a friendly warm pub, where women feel happy to visit, though also the real ale brigade too, plus many other regulars and visitors in a rather eclectic mix. Indeed, when I visited earlier this year, I had the usual amusing 'hello' from Dave behind the bar, don't ask, and a good chat with Trevor too, and I also knew quite a few folk there, and not just the 2 lads I came in with. Oh yes! They have a 'no swearing' policy, with heavy fines for those who flout the mores. So, I have been back recently, and felt as welcome as ever, and I do need to return again before I die, hopefully many many times! 

OK, back to the 3 pubs in the South East, starting with The Snowdrop Inn in Lewes (website) at number 13, and in Sussex actually. This is a great pub, and I've been to The Snowdrop on quite a number of occasions, alone and with friends and/or family, mostly to do with long walks, being a 'tourist', or just a Lewes 'pub crawl', and also before and after football matches at Albion's newish ground in Falmer (next station on the line to Brighton). Crackin' staff, including some very interesting lasses, good food, beer festivals and well conditioned ales, why wouldn't you want to return?  

So, to the ales, a very important factor, and the new 'kid on the block', well, not so new now, but certainly, in my opinion, the current best brewer of pale and hoppy ales in East Sussex, Burning Sky, provide the regular ales here now; so expect to see at least Plateau and Aurora pumpclips on the bar, and probably one of their 'crafty kegs' too. Also, served in specially manufactured 'lined' straight glasses with the names of Burning Sky and The Snowdrop Inn on opposite sides of the glass; I'm looking forward to their next beer festival, and trusting I shall be able to purchase one of these glasses, as suggested to me by bar staff recently; OK I've a few glasses already, but these ones are quality. Anyway, up to 6 excellent ales, real cider, good food, friendly staff etc etc... this is a pub I want to return to again and again!  

Across the border to Kent now, and the Red Lion in Snargate is at number 14, and which I believe my last blog that included comments referring to it was the one about pubs with no keg beers, but that isn't the only reason why... The Red Lion is another 16th century pub, with a farm next door and a church opposite, and not much else around, but the population of Snargate is listed as 102 persons, so I'm guessing there are some other farms and houses thereabouts that aren't so obvious. One of its charms is that it is in the middle of nowhere, in-between Walland and Romney Marshes, and the closest you can get to it by public transport is a little over a mile to the south at Brenzett, and next is 2 miles to the north at Appledore.

Another charm is the building, of course, with a captivating room at the back, and much more, evidence of this being a museum to the past, certainly to the 1940s; you have to visit to see it and appreciate what I mean.  This has been in the same family's hands for a little over 100 years, and is known locally, and further afield, as Doris's, the landlady being the daughter-in-law of the original family owner I do believe. However, her own daughter is more likely to be serving up your ales these days, both lovely people. The ales you'll be served will probably be from a local microbrewery like Goachers, and are served from the 4 handpumps on the antique marble bar, plus a couple of real ciders. I've not been for a while, so shall have to organise another wander into the marshes of Kent very soon. 

Back across to Sussex and the 15th pub on the list is The Evening Star (website), just a couple of minutes walk from the railway station in Brighton, and the 'flagship' pub of Dark Star Brewery. As I've said before, I first tasted Dark Star Hophead when I lived in Sheffield, quite a few years ago now, and have even acquired the nickname of 'Hophead Steve' in the Dolphin in Hastings, for some reason, since moving to the South Coast... One of the first places I visited when in Brighton following many years absence had to be The Evening Star, of course, and I have returned, a few times since, to this unpretentious hostelry. 

Obviously, I'm going to say excellent ales are served up here, ie 7 ales from handpump (plus usually a perry and cider); 4 ales usually being from Dark Star, and another 3 guest ales. The bar staff really do know their business, and regularly are involved with the brewery, and involved in collaborative brews with other brewers, such as Magic Rock and Brodies. Always friendly, with an eclectic mix of customers and, following an earlier in the day visit to the beer festival in Hove one year, I was tolerated by virtually everyone in here, staff and punters alike! Consequently, of course I want to return again... 

Cheers for now, numbers 6 to 10 coming up soon, with an even greater variation of pub and from 5 different cities and towns! 

Another FILO Beer Festival this weekend!

The First In Last Out (FILO), High Street, Hastings 'old town' has yet another beer festival this May Public Holiday weekend, and it has already started...

As with the recent beer festival, their own ales are available, as usual, plus an extra dozen from other breweries, including a few I don't know: Kirkby Lonsdale Tiffin Gold (3.6%), Elland Lambo's First Pint (4%), Williams Brothers April Thesis (4.2%), Beachy Head Legless Rambler (5%), plus many others well known and loved, notably Dark Star Revelation (5.7%).

Enjoy! 

Much Ado about Hops, Great Ale, and a New Pub...

You'll probably guess from my brief last blog, I'm a bit unhappy at losing the original of this blog, it was a fair piece of authorship, and I don't think I'll get up to the mark again... Oh well! This was, and still is, designed to review some very hoppy and excellent ales, provide some news, and mention a pub I'd previously been told to avoid, but now selling some very good real ales, more later... 

Oakham are probably my favourite brewery, and that is saying something! Anyway, this very tasty offering from them, the 4.6% Bishop's Farewell, does the business for me, pale, fruity, hoppy, with plenty of body and a lovely bitter finish, great stuff, and recently available at the CAMRA South East Sussex Pub of The Year 2013, and now 2014 too: Congratulations to Mark and family at the Dolphin, Rock a Nore, Hastings 'old town'! And many thanks for the photograph too, presumably this thanks going to Laura, cheers m'dear! 

In addition to the 3 regular ales always on offer here, including the very hoppy session ale from the Sussex brewer, Dark Star Hophead (3.8%), and the Bishop's Farewell as a guest ale, there are always 6 ales in total, so 3 guests as well as the regulars. Another quality brewery recently represented was from Yorkshire, and goes by the name of Roosters (also brewing 'specials' under the alternative name of 'Outlaw'), an ale I've had up int' North, the excellent pale and bitter Yankee (4.3%). I also have to mention an ale that I found quite magnificent, but not what would be called my 'usual tipple', Yeovil Ruby, a deep red slightly sweet bitter with a malty aroma and clean taste, finishing off nice and dry! 

Whilst reviewing the Dolphin, they have recently started selling 3 'crafty kegs', 2 varying ones from Meantime, to me still tasting 'tinny', which comes from the unnatural gases used to pressurise and dispense the beer, I presume. But also one that is a collaboration between Charles Wells and the American brewery, Dogfish Head, called DNA - New World IPA (4.5%). In effect, this is a weaker version of the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (6%), brewed originally last year as a cask conditioned ale, but now a crafty keg. It's not as tinny as the other 2, but I wish I had had the chance to try the real ale version! 

When discussing drinking hoppy ales in Hastings, thoughts immediately go to The Tower in London Road, upper St Leonards. This is like drinking in a certain Sheffield pub, in the Shalesmoor area, but with fewer South Yorkshire accents! Just look at the photograph above, and 3 Dark Star ales, brimming with hops. Regular here is their American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%), semi-regular is the Hophead (3.8%), both well-reported before. The 2nd and 3rd Dark Star ales in the photograph have also been reviewed before, and packed with hops, though slightly darker and dark, the revelation that is Revelation (5.7%), and the dark revelation that proves that it's not just strong ales that pack a punch, so does the 3.5% The Art of Darkness! Louisa has also served up their Six Hop Ale, subtitled "Extreme Hops", a 6.5% full-bodied darker golden ale, packed with fruity hops and a lovely dry bitter finish, quality! 

Another 2 Sussex brewers having their ales served here include the new (old) boy on the block, Burning Sky. 2 of their ales have been quite regularly served at The Tower, both brimming with hops, and well reviewed by me already, the 3.5% Plateau and the stronger Aurora (5.6%), even better quality! Also, even closer by, and featured in the photograph above, number 14 in the Hastings 'Handmade' series, their 3 Cs American Pale Ale (5.5%). The clue is in the name, not their usual 'Handmade' single hop brew, but 3 hops were used for No 14, and I was only 1 out with my guess at what they were, that is Columbus, Centennial and Cascade. You can probably write this for me, but I'll write it anyway: plenty of body, a pale golden bitter with a strong citrus aroma and plenty of varied citrus flavours coming through, finishing off with a pleasant crisp dry aftertaste, not bad at all! 

From further afield have been 2 ales from the apparently very consistent Red Willow, including Mirthless (3.9%), pale, citrus aroma and grapefruit and tangerine in the flavour, finishing off dry and bitter, and Wreckless (4.8%), a bit maltier, with a biscuit aroma, less fruity, and a wee bit darker. I doubt they'll bring out a "Tasteless" or "Hopeless", but they do brew a 4.1% Feckless... Oh, and another newer favourite brewer of mine has been represented too, Tiny Rebel Goldie Lookin Ale (4.5%), a collaboration with the Newport band, 'Goldie Lookin Chain'; though I doubt the music is to my taste! But the ale is, I'm guessing it's 4.5%, because of 45 RPM, sounds about right, and this is a golden bitter with a fresh aroma and tangerine and orange in the flavours, definitely worth a try (the ale)...     

And the new pub? This is The Clown in Russell Street, just behind Queens Road, and very close to the town centre. It's always seemed a bit rough, from observing the clientele smoking away outside, and doesn't look much from outside either, does it? But I'd had a whisper they were selling FILO ales now, so I had to make a visit... It's actually quite a fun wee pub inside, decent juke box, decent banter, and 3 handpumps for real ales. The first time I visited there was just the very good Churches Pale Ale (4.2%) from FILO, but they do still serve up more common ales such as Wells Bombardier. However, I very recently visited and they had 3 FILO ales, the Churches Pale Ale, which is now a regular, plus Gold (4.8%) and Crofters (3.8%). So things are looking up in Hastings Town Centre... 

Oh, I've only visited early lunchtime, and even the lad behind the bar advised me that I may not appreciate the pub at other times, cheers Alan!     

FILO Beer Festival Report 17-21 April 2014

I visited the beer festival at the First in Last Out (FILO), High Street, Hastings, only on the first day, Thursday 17th. Due to circumstances, on the day, I only sampled 7 of the 20 ales available, and their own have been reviewed by me before, so were not included this time. In order of strength, below are my reflections on those 6 festival ales, and I was surprised at both my favourite and least preferred ales... 

First, I tried the Elgoods Spring Challenge (3.7%), which was 'pale and refreshing', as the tasting notes said, and with a dry bitter aftertaste, a pleasant start at 6.5/10. Then, I drank the Dark Star Seville (4%), their first ever 'fruit' beer, first brewed 3 years ago, and including a hint of bitter orange, as you'd expect. I'd tasted this at the previous beer festival reported on this blog, and had been a bit underwhelmed. This time, however, I got a lot more flavour, and it was quite bitter and dry, and very good, obviously improved with time settled in the cask, 8/10. The third ale, in turn, I was disappointed with, surprisingly, as I usually enjoy Roosters beers. This Roosters, 41 Degrees South (4.1%), was pale and fruity, dry and bitter, but neither quality was as pronounced as I expect from this brewery, 5.5/10. 

The fourth ale was Hop Back Spring Zing (4.2%), which was very pale, dry and bitter, very refreshing, and very good too, 7/10. Nine Standards Silver Standard (4.3%) was a wee bit different, described as "a classic pale ale", and the hoppy aroma and taste did make me think English hops, though I have no idea what was used, though I'd guess Fuggles if questioned, but please don't quote me on that! It had a light malty aroma, was quite a dry bitter with a nutty aftertaste, not bad at 6/10. My final ale, or finale, was the slightly stronger Cairngorm Wild Cat (5.1%), all the way from Scotland! This had a malty aroma with a hint of burnt oats, and received 6/10 too.

Today, I sampled my seventh ale, Elgoods Golden Newt (4.1%), which was also pretty good, and I think I may have had this before. The malts used seem to include lager malt, at lest that's what my tastebuds told me, and this is, apparently, dry hopped. The dry aftertaste supports the dry hopping, and there was a fruitiness about it hat I just couldn't quite distinguish, but, considering this is near the end of the cask, in very good nick and got 7/10!  

Consequently, I was surprised that the Roosters came last in my marking, perhaps my high opinion of the brewery made me more critical as a judge? Whatever, the local Sussex brewer, Dark Star, came out tops in this small sample, their Seville being much more to my taste, even more so than it did when I tried it for the first time a couple of weeks ago!

Cheers!   

Guest blog from The Routemeister

I've been talking about visiting the Sussex Oak in Warnham, West Sussex, (website) with my brother, Dan, The Routemeister, for ages, and he went and done it without me! Oh well, he's become a 'guest blogger' for the trouble, cheers Dan, and many thanks for the photographs too! 

The Sussex Oak has 6 real ales served from handpumps on the bar, including Fullers London Pride, Harveys Sussex Best, and Timothy Taylor Landlord, all well known and regulars at the Sussex Oak. Dan, though, tried one of the guest ales, the Surrey Hills Ranmore Ale, a 3.8% golden ale, that he enjoyed, and recorded its flavour as "lemony and zingy!" They also had Dark Star Partridge and Hophead, both reviewed by me in the past, as people will be well aware, NB the Hophead...

Dan also visited The Scarlett Arms (website), a fine 16th century pub in Walliswood, just over the border in Surrey, and somewhere I have been to before, and reviewed in an earlier blog. This is a Badger (Hall & Woodhouse) house, and Dan tried a pint of their seasonal ale, Badger Holy Moley, a light golden/pale amber bitter made with spring water from this Dorset brewer's own spring (I presume). He said it was very agreeable, though he believed it to be a "bit thin" for a stronger ale at 4.7%. So there you have it, The Routemeister's debut blog.

Cheers Dan!

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!