South East Sussex POTY again!

Congratulations, yet again, to Louisa at the Tower, London Road, St Leonards, Hastings, for winning the local CAMRA Pub of the Year again! I've made 2 trips there recently, just to make sure, of course, nothing to do with excellent ales at good value prices, oh no... Anyway, both trips 6 ales from handpumps, none more expensive than £3 a pint, can't be bad, and all in good nick too!

The ales are mostly from local brewers, her 2 regulars being the excellent, and Sussex brewed, Dark Star (website) Hophead (3.8% and £2.80/pint) and American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7% and £2.90/pint). Other local-ish ales were Gun (website) Scaramanga (3.9%) an extra pale refreshingly light bitter, Long Man (website) Copper Hop (4%), a more typical bitter which I have reported on a few times before and very good, and Pig & Porter (website) Skylarking (4%) a refreshing pale golden bitter hopped with Ella and Galaxy, so hints of exotic fruits.

And, from further afield, Derby brewer Shiny (website) Pail (4%) brewed with Ella and Cascade hops, pale and lovely and bitter, Yorkshire brewer Ilkley (website) Rombald (which was £3 a very fair pint and 4.6%) a hoppy 'American' amber ale brewed with Cascade, Chinook, Nugget and Columbus hops with a biscuit malt flavoured base, and, from even further afield in Scotland, Fyne Ales (website) Maverick (4.2%) a reddish copper coloured bitter brewed with Bramling Cross and Challenger hops, always good ales from Fyne Ales!

But, not only did the Tower win the POTY for ales, but for Ciders and Perry too, nice one! Ciders included Orchard Pig Explorer (4.5%), Biddenden Bushels (6%), a favourite of a Scottish mate Jeff, Westons Old Rosie (7.3%) and Old Badger (I think, can't read my own writing! 4%), and their Country Perry (4.5%), and priced between £3.10 and £3.40 a pint... I can remember paying 25p a pint at the old Cider Bar in Newton Abbot in my youth!

Oh yes, and ales shortly to come on, if not already available, include excellent ales from Oakham Ales (Endless Summer), Fyne Ales (Highlander), Downlands (IPA), and Franklins Citra, enjoy them if you see them, you lucky people!

Sheffield Revisited - Day Two: Matchday!

Monday and Tuesday nights I slept very well, staying B&B at The Hillsborough Hotel, 54-58 Langsett Road S6 2UB (0114 2322100 - I believe a new website will be set up soon, but they do have a facebook page). Good to see Brigitte and Tom brightening up the place again, and they did have to clean it up big time when they took it over! Coincidentally, I remember that when I first met Tom he was the manager here.      

Great breakfast, all locally sourced, as I say regularly elsewhere, a good breakfast needs a quality sausage, and here was a very good breakfast sausage from local butchers, Crawshaws, at Hillsborough, so far so good. Of course, great bacon too, and the eggs come direct from a friend's smallholding, beans and tomato, and an enormous pot of tea too, I was sated! I was bought a drink by Tom at lunchtime, after a couple of hours wandering around the centre of Sheffield, cheers Tom, but I shall mention the ales at the Hillsborough Hotel later in this blog. 

I then wandered up to The Blake Hotel (0114 2339336 - facebook page), where I met up with another friend I hadn't seen since I met up with him and his lass when he came down to visit Lewes, Will. We tried 4 halfs here, all in good nick, as they should be, the owner of the establishment being long-time publican, and ex-brewer at Kelham Island too, James Birkett, who also has the Sheaf View, and is looking to acquire the Bottom Welly, the Wellington at Shalesmoor (nee Cask & Cutler). 

We drank 2 ales from local brewery, Neepsend (twitter), which James has shares in, their Blonde (4%), an easy-drinking ale that dries out nicely at the finish, and IPA (5%), labelled a "New World IPA", consequently, you can guess the type of hops used; pale, very dry and bitter! Also, from West Yorkshire brewer Partners (website) Triple Hop (4.2%), with Willamette, Cascade and Cluster the 3 hops, pale, very subtle taste of toffee and malt, and from Warrington, 4Ts Brewery (website) IPA (4.6%), using American and Australian hops, hints of peach and citrus in the taste, with a strange dry aftertaste, couldn't figure it out... 4 decent ales.

I then went into the centre of town to visit my favourite Sheffield restaurant for lunch, Mama's and Leonies (website), where I knew 2 of the chefs there, 2 of the waiting staff, and the 2 owners! Not a lot has changed since I first started eating here in the 1990s. I had arranged to meet up with ex-colleague and good friend, Debra, who turned up straight from work, always great to meet up...  

... and always great to eat their excellent Warm Chicken & Bacon Salad, of which, I always order sans croutons, and either a glass, or carafe, of the house red wine, just a glass this time though, a long day still ahead. Debs was jealous, of course, and vowed to have the same as me next time, looking forward to it already! 

Conservatory at the Hillsborough Hotel

Back to the Hillsborough Hotel, for pre and post match drinks, where they have up to 8 different ales, served from handpumps. Ales included, but not tried this time, their regular Acorn Barnsley Bitter (3.8% - brewery website), Colchester Metropolis (3.9% - brewery website), and one of my locals, Dark Star American Pale Ale (4.7% - brewery website), an excellent ale I have sung the praises of many times before! I met up with many people for both sessions, including the lads we'd met at the Fat Cat the previous evening, Noel, Ian, Phil, Dave, Mike, and many others, including the landlords, Tom and Brigitte, of course!

 The ales were in great form, and I want to mention 3 in particular, meeting my love of dry and hoppy pale ales, first, from the excellent local brewery, Blue Bee (website) Chinook Pale (4.2% - they also had their 4.8% Tempest Stout), no need to tell you which hops were used in the Chinook! Very pale, citrus fruit flavour and refreshingly dry aftertaste, I loved it! Also from Sheffield's The Tapped Brew Co (website) MOJO Crystal Pale Ale (3.6%), dry hopped with Mosaic and Citra, a wonderful refreshing dry pale bitter, and from further afield in North Yorkshire, Bad Seed (website) Calypso Pale Ale (4.5%), I'm guessing Calypso hops used for this 'American Pale Ale' type beer, nice and dry, with a hint of grapefruit, and I got 'wheat' in the flavour too.

Many new brewery's ales tasted, which I loved, and good B&B too, cheers Tom and Brigitte, I'll be back!  

Brighton... Well, Lewes actually...

I suppose, if going to a football match at Brighton's (newish still) Falmer Stadium you have a choice or two... you can drink at the ground, and they do have real ale there, one of the few grounds that do! Or, you can drink in Brighton or Lewes, for me, the choice is obviously Lewes, and for anyone coming by train from the London direction probably best for them as well. The match ticket gives you free travel down from Haywards Heath, and you reach Lewes before you get to the ground, let alone Brighton, and it is closer to Falmer than Brighton, just, and all 3 pubs mentioned here are in CAMRA's 2014 Good Beer Guide... 

Anyway, I met up with quite a few people I hadn't seen for a while, some of whom were already alcoholically challenged before I arrived. I started at the best pub in Lewes, I came to decide that evening, the Snowdrop Inn in South Street. It doesn't take long to get around the pubs in Lewes, as it's not really that big, and, as you can see from the photograph above, this pub is below a cliff, because this is where the sea used to come up to here in years gone by, at least that's what I tell people, but it did used to be a major port on the River Ouse, and has a well recorded history from Saxon times, through to the Norman invasion and the erection of Lewes Castle, Tudor times and Anne of Cleaves House, and a hero of mine lived here, Thomas Paine, and much much more, definitely somewhere to visit and enjoy.   

6 ales are served by handpump at the Snowdrop Inn and a 4.8% real cider too, Cornish Orchards on this day. Dark Star American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%) and Harveys Sussex Best (4%) are 2 regular ales, and there is now always at least one ale from Burning Sky Brewery, but today there were 2, so a treat for me, the Aurora (5.6%) and the Plateau (3.5%), and a crafty keg beer from them too; more regarding Burning Sky below. So, 4 ales from East Sussex and 2 from the Manchester brewery, another old favourite haunt of mine up there, Marble Arch, and their Pint (3.9%), a pale dry session bitter, I think I've written about before, and Chocolate Marble, which I definitely haven't tried before, a 5.5% slightly sweet stout with a balance of chocolate and coffee malt flavours, and very nice indeed!  

From the Snowdrop, I rushed away from the rather lovely barmaid, sadly, towards The Gardeners Arms, around the corner and down a wee bit in Cliffe High Street, as I'd received a phone call that people were arriving... now, they'd all been drinking in Brighton beforehand, and I felt remarkably sober! Things did get a wee bit confusing from here, and I forgot to take any notes. We had a good chat here, between each other (Paul, the Robbo brothers, Kieran and Graham, and Darrel and Jim) and with locals too, but I have no idea what I drank there, it didn't stand out, but I had been drinking Plateau back at the Snowdrop, and that is rather excellent. Anyway, I had a pint of something not too hoppy here; most of the ales were less exciting than the hoppy delights offered at the previous pub...   

Darrel and Jim popped off to a pub nearer to the station to meet up with another mate called Paul, and the remaining four of us dropped into the Lewes Arms, a Fullers pub in Mount Place, well, 3 of us did, we lost the other somehow until inside the ground at half time! I've written about this pub before, a decent Fullers pub that sells at least 2 guest ales usually, though I do remember Graham buying me a pint of Gales HSB (4.8%), though I thought he'd bought it for his brother. I nearly started an argument, but very gently, of course, thinking I was being ignored by the barmaid, sorry luv! Anyway, we went to the match next, got beaten, and I had to wait ages to catch a train back from Falmer, not very well organised at all... 

I did, though, manage to get back to Lewes in time for a couple more pints at the Snowdrop Inn, thankfully, the best pints of ale I had drunk for ages, the first, Plateau, went down in minutes, the second, I took my time over to enjoy the lovely flavours of, the also excellent Aurora, both reported on by me very recently. I had a good chat with Alec the bar manager too, though the lovely barmaid didn't work 'til this late, sadly. The Burning Sky ales are packed with hops, and served in quality straight glasses with the pub name on one side and the brewery name on the other (I love the glasses if anyone wants to know what to get me for my birthday!). 

For information, the head brewer at Burning Sky is Mark Tranter, formerly of Dark Star, and this brewery looks to be the foreseeable future of hoppy ales in East Sussex, you read it here! See their website too (site), good luck to them, cheers! 

Meeting a Caveman (nearly), and at the Albatross too!

No, really! A lovely walk along the coast to Bexhill on Sea, and pop into the Albatross Club (RAFA), the regional CAMRA Club of the Year 2013; a must for a CAMRA member, who also happens to be an associate member of the RAFA and the Club, it would be rude not to.

4 pumps, awaiting a fifth, and 2 from my (not so) old favourites Dark Star Brewery, the APA and Hophead, both much written about by me, another from the Hastings brewery, FILO, their Cardinal, a very good 4.6% "Sussex Porter", and one from Kent, the Caveman Mesolithic, a 4.5% pale, refreshing bitter, with a hint of dark roasted malt in the flavour. Oh yes, and the 2 Sussex ales from Dark Star both were changed as heavily drunken by regulars, so another 2 came on! 

Another FILO ale, The Churches Pale Ale (4.2%), pale-ish, as you would expect, and I'm sure I've reported on this before, though didn't taste this one today, and one I did sample, the only non-local ale, from the Potteries, Titanic Engine Room, a 4.6% pale dry bitter, very nice! 

So, meeting the caveman? Not quite, but I met the brewer's parents, who run the George & Dragon pub in Swanscombe, Bob and Bron. A very pleasant chat ensued, and good to see them taking their time off in East Sussex, and hence, how Jeff at the Albatross Club has got hold of the Caveman ales recently, Bob and Bron deliver them, nice one.

The two that came on, above...

So, I've not written much lately, thank goodness some may say, but I do have a lot of work on at the moment, but I shall carry on sharing my, and friends' experiences regarding ales, pubs, and yes, even going to football matches, now and then, cheers! 

Even more delicious ales...

Starting with ales recently at the Dolphin, Rock a Nore, Hastings, seen below, behind the Stacey Marie, which has it's own facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/Rx134?ref=hl 

The Stacey Marie is a retired fishing boat now under the aegis of the Fishermens Museum, Hastings, and has recently been brought back from nigh on oblivion by a number of local residents, including the landlord of the Dolphin.

So, ales at the Dolphin recently? In addition to the regular 4 I go on about time after time, Dark Star Hophead and APA, Youngs Special, and Harveys Sussex Best, they have 2 guests at any one time, including Mauldons Silver Adder (4.2%), a pale bitter with a slightly fruity flavour at first taste, and a hint of smokiness, suggested by a slight honey flavour. They also have had Wadworths Farmers Glory (4.7%), a deep golden bronze ale that reminds me of some beer I've had before, but I think it's just I've had it before! Also, more recently, they have had Stonehenge Eye Opener (4.5%), a pale golden bitter, quite dry, and very nice indeed.

They have had Wadworths Swordfish (5%), a stronger version of their 6X with added pussers rum, it has to be tried. The first time I drank this, it was excellent, the second time, last year, a bit less so, but it is back to excellent again, needs to be tried, at least! The final one I'll mention is the Oakleaf Hole Hearted (4.7%), on there this week, brewed with Cascade hops, similar to the APA, but with more body and a deeper flavour, dry and bitter, this is an ale to drink if you have a similar taste to me, pale, dry and hoppy...

As you can see, the Tower, London Road, St Leonards, Hastings, is close to having its makeover finished. So what have I drunk there recently?

The tower, on this visit, had the ever-excellent Dark Star American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%), together with Sharps Doom Bar (4%), 1648 Signature (4.4%), and Dark Star's 80 Shilling (4.8%), their version of a Scottish 'heavy' ale. Now, I've lived in Scotland, but I've never tasted an 80/- that tastes like this; it's very nice, as most Dark Star ales are, it was a dark ruby colour, quite bitter, with a slightly roasted malt flavour. I liked it!

Finally, on a more recent visit, the 4 ales at the Tower, included Adnams Fat Sprat (3.8%), an 'amber beer', and 3 ales from Dark Star. The already reported Sunburst (4.8%) and the excellent Red Shift (5.5%), with its Ardennes Yeast and Galaxy hops, full of fruitiness, yet still a beer! I also tried the Hylder Blonde (4.2%), which I hadn't drunk for a while, with "delicate Dowland Elderflower", a very nice dry and pale bitter, indeed.

Anyway, a bit busy these days with another venture, but more soon, cheers!

The Pied Piper of Hastings

OK, not a local myth, well not yet, anyway, though it may soon become one, the (definitely) female Pied Piper of Hastings, not to be confused with the German male one or St Patrick...

The day started off with my painting the second coat of red and varnishing the barer boards of  the hull of RX134, the Stacey Marie, then I had a quick pint of Dark Star Hophead (3.8%) in the Dolphin (in the background of the photograph).  The gulls that are nesting just behind the wheelhouse (camera shy here) were a wee bit upset at my daubing paint around their abode, but didn't attack me, thankfully.  Anyway, after my nice refreshing pint, I headed off to the Bourne, spotting 2 young women walking close by.  The youngest one, the "Pied Piper", had shortish blond hair in a bob, so looked nothing like the picture below, but you try finding a suitable picture, 'tain't easy!

I crossed over the Bourne, taking advantage of a gap in the traffic, then looked across at the 2 women, and walking in the opposite direction to them, a bloke, looked like he may have been a fisherman, and his border collie. The young blonde just seemed to ignore any traffic, bringing both directions of traffic to a halt, the collie slunk after her, then the bloke, then her friend, and no drivers swore, shouted, or even seemed that upset. I was gobsmacked! She crossed right into my path and I saw she wasn't as young as I originally thought, but quite an attractive young, but mature, woman. I made a reasonably trite comment, carried on up the hill, and thought she was probably going to the Jenny Lind, no idea why I thought that, I just did.

So, I wandered up to the rear of the First In Last Out (FILO), where the landlord's son, Adam, was behind the bar, the lovely Elina was in charge of the kitchen, and I had a wee chat with Tony, the manager, when he dropped in too. Very pleasant company, and a great pint of their own FILO Gold (4.8%), good stuff, and £3.30 a pint. They also had on their own Crofters (3.8%), a nice session ale; Mike's Mild (3.4%); Old Town Tom (4.5%), a ginger flavoured beer which the FILO was forced, under threat of legal action (it's not just the BIG boys who bully smaller brewers!) by the Robinson's Brewery up North, to change it's original name of Ginger Tom; and Churches Pale Ale (4.2%). There was also a guest from another Sussex brewer, Isfield Straw Blonde (4.1%).

So, I then wandered down High Street to the Jenny Lind, where the Pre-Raphaelite, Sarah, was behind the bar, and I had a rather good pint from another local brewery, Arundel Stronghold, a 4.7% deep red 'premium ale', which had plenty of body and a slightly roasted malt flavour, very nice too. Amongst their other 5 ales was the also very good Otter Ale (4.5%), which appears to be making quite a splash in Hastings! 

Anyway, have a guess who was there too, sitting out in the back garden with her friend, presumably, their garden being a nice peaceful wee spot to sit in, though I kept to the bar area of course... Yes, it was Kristina (the Pied Piper of Hastings), I had a wee chat with her as she came to the bar whilst I was heading off, so found out she was Kristina with a "K", daughter at Uni in London, lives near Alexandra Park, not far from me, and quite enjoyed telling me she often just goes off across roads on a whim.  It would be good to meet her again, I have little doubt, a personality and a half, and pretty as well.  Anyway, the Beermeister was still working, but first, dropped into home for a shower and change of clothes before heading up to...



...the Tower at St Leonards.  This is one of my library photographs, I forgot to take any photographs whilst there, too busy drinking and chatting really.  At the moment, there's scaffolding outside as the pub is about to be redecorated, so just think of this photograph with scaffolding up, that's what it looked like.  Louisa was working there today, good to chat with, as I hadn't seen her for a while, and a new barmaid started too, Charlotte, a young lass with amazing big blue eyes! Good banter this side of the bar too, including with Rob and Sean.

And ales, of course! Sharps Doom Bar (4%), and Dark Star Sunburst (4.8%), Hophead (3.8%) and American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%).  As usual, I had my fill of lovely Dark Star ale, mostly Hophead at £2.30 a pint and APA at £2.40 a pint, great value.  Excellent ales, good company, and a great day, many thanks to all the characters in this (true) story, cheers!

Friday 12th October - Hastings, and a new pub too!

Below, posing outside the Dolphin, Rock-a-Nore, Hastings in my alias as 'Snoopy' on the facebook 'Steve the Beermeister' page (link), Friday was a foray into a few central Hastings pubs too.

 

 

The Dolphin had the usual Hophead, Sussex Best, Youngs Special and Dark Star APA; together with guests 1648 Britannia, a pale, dry and fruity 4% ale, which early in the barrel was almost apple or cider like, but as it carried on conditioning, was even better, maturing into a very good bitter; ale doesn't fail to surprise me at times!  The other ale was Long Man Old Man, which has since been replaced by Long Man Sussex Pride, what I would call a very decent traditional bitter, 4.5%, and very pleasant, it has certainly improved since I first tasted it, Long Man are fast becoming a very consistent brewer, excellent news for Sussex.

 

As ever, great company in the Dolphin, Mark the landlord in fine fettle, mostly on our side of the bar, and the landlady's daughters, Laura and Louise, behind the bar, always pleasant, cheers!

From the Dolphin, in the 'Old Town', I walked back into the town centre and, at first the General Havelock, which lies between Cambridge Road and Havelock Road; in fact, there's an old 'right of way' through the pub, indeed, there used to be an alleyway, which can be noted quite easily! 4 ales on, and Westons Old Rosie, the real cider available. Ales included Hophead, Doom Bar, Landlord and the ubiquitous Sussex Best; I of course, chose to drink the Hophead, tasted good, as it should, and well served by the lovely Ellen, who has worked behind the bar since the pub reopened (not literally). Food looks good, especially the paninis, and the chips looked excellent, only £1.50 a bowl (LARGE portion) and £1 as a side dish, good value. 

 

I then ventured round the corner/across the road to The John Logie Baird, Havelock Road, the 'spoons of Hastings, which also features Old Rosie as it's real cider, and millions of ales, well, quite a few, including London Pride, Abbott Ale, Youngs Special, Bishops Finger, Deuchers IPA, Hook Norton Old Hooky, and my choice today, Elgood's Greyhound.  The Greyhound is a 5.2% bitter, pale, it was slightly hazy, not as great as I'd expected, but not bad, certainly at £1.45 a pint (priced £1.95, but with my CAMRA 50p off voucher, thank you Mr Spoon). Very happy to see the interestingly adorned Tash working behind the bar again, always a pleasure. 

Finally, I visited a new pub, for me, under new management, which has been a Shepherd Neame pub, The Fountain on Queens Road.  I believe it is now a freehouse, but still getting their beers from Sheps; a bit confusing the status! The only ale they had on was Shepherd Neame Master Brew, though there are 2 handpumps, so room for variety as they develop their new regulars.  The ale was very good, actually, well conditioned, and much better than I remembered, though I hadn't drunk it for a while.

 

The barstaff were friendly, though it was very quiet for a late Friday afternoon, and the pub was quite bright and 'airy', ie quite large and well served by good sized clear windows.  I got the feeling of a bar for younger people as my first impression, and they do have live music at weekends.  Good luck to the new management, we could do with better ale houses in this part of town.

 

Cheers!

Old Man at the Dolphin in Hastings

OK, for me, a dark beer that I drank all lunchtime! Long Man's Old Man, an "original old ale", 4.3%, a deep red coloured bitter with a strong roasted malt flavour, delicious! Served by the lovely Laura, and great chat with Mark and others...

 

The other guest is still Oakleaf Brewery's Squirrel's Delight (4.5%), plus the Summer regular (no doubt to change soon) Dark Star American Pale Ale, and the regulars now, Hophead, Sussex Best and Youngs Special.

 

Cheers!

August Bank Holiday 27-08-12

No wandering too far today, so just off to the old town in Hastings, and the Dolphin, which I reached before it opened, but, luckily, the stall selling 'fishermen's rolls' had just started producing, and I was first in line to enjoy one of their wonderful sandwiches/baps, with 2 filleted fish (usually a dab and a plaice, bap sized), cooked in olive oil and seasoned with pepper and lemon juice... Only £2.50, very good quality and excellent value!

Anyway, I only had a few minutes to wait after I had finished eating the sandwich, and entered the Dolphin, where 2 new guest ales were on sale, including Stonehenge Ales (Bunces Brewery) Heel Stone...

Thanks to a taster from Mark, I found the 4.3% Heel Stone to be a golden ale, fruity, with an easy bitterness to it, though not quite bitter enough for my taste, so, before my usual Hophead, I also had a taster of the RCH Pitchfork, also 4.3%, and then a pint, as it was pretty good.  It's a paler golden colour, and a very easy to drink bitter, which can also be found in bottles.

 

The name comes from the last battle to be fought on British soil during the English civil wars, in 1685, when James II was on the thrown (the Monmouth rebellion).

Anyway, the usual 3 ales were on sale, Hophead, Directors and Sussex Best, and the summer regular, Dark Star American Pale Ale too, making it 6 good or excellent ales at the bar, and, as usual, I drank a few pints of the Dark Star Hophead, this in the convivial company, earlier, of Mark the landlord.   Working behind the bar were, early on, Laura and Louise, and Fraser, Joe and Debs appeared too, as did Mo.  Later, after Mark had left, there were also Dave, Kevin and Al to chat with at the bar, a nice afternoon, indeed, with the family and friends...

 

Cheers!

Links for Stonehenge (link) and RCH (link).

Monday 23rd July at the Dolphin, Hastings

Hi, a lovely day, and a chance for me to play around with my Snoopy image (see facebook), but also to drink ales at the Dolphin, it just gets better! 

Still the regular Hophead, Directors and Sussex Best, the semi-regular 'seasonal' APA, and guest Goddards GO4IT!, well, they had brought in an extra firkin of it, plus a new guest ale, Castle Rock Elsie Mo (4.7%, light golden ale, grapefruity, slightly sweet, very good!).

The Dolphin, yes again, but a purpose...

The Dolphin, Hastings... OK, my local, but still brings in great guest ales, in addition to the 3 regulars, Hophead, Directors and Sussex Best, the seasonal regular, Dark Star APA, and why wouldn't I go there?  

So, what was different today? The rain and wind, and me being the only person on the beach... with about 200 gulls?

No, 2 Olympic guests at the Dolphin! Though, sadly, not Jessica Ennis and Victoria Pendleton, but 2 very good ales... Goddards 4.6% GO4IT!, a pale, dry, bitter, with a slightly metallic aftertaste, and not meant to be a complaint, as it is a good bitter, so not so sad! Also, and sorry, the pump clip has the tosser Sebastion Coe on it, tossing 5 olympic rings in the air... or is that juggling? Nethergate Brewery Lord of the Rings, 4.2% of, yet another, pale hoppy ale (I love this pub), quite dry, and very easy to drink...

OK, I ended up drinking Dark Star ales... first, Hophead, then APA... and very nice...

...and I did meet a QPR supporting family, on holiday in Hastings, great company, and a few great to chat to regulars too, and I'm looking forward to the arrival of the Olympic 'flame' tomorrow, where does all this fun end...

Cheers!

Dolphin, Hastings 3rd June

OK, for a change, I wandered eastwards, along the beach in the evening sunshine, and ended up at the Dolphin at Rock-a-Nore, presumably an Anglais interpretation of 'Northern Rock' (?), and started with my usual Dark Star Hophead, but more was available than I realised...

The 3 regulars, and summer 'special' were all on, ie Hophead, Directors (is it just me, or does this taste more 'malty' than it used to, have Charles Wells altered the recipe, it's like drinking liquidised Caramac!?!), Sussex Best, and the excellent Dark Star American Pale Ale (APA), plus 2 guests, the new localish brewer (Littlehampton), Anchor Springs Riptide (4.1%, a medium coloured traditional South Eastern bitter, pretty good) and Hop Back Summer Lightning, another old favourite... 

Consequently, following the Hophead, I tried a pint of the Summer Lightning, I had to compare the two for research purposes, of course, and I found that Summer Lightning still can hold it's head up high, but not quite to Hophead height, despite being stronger at 5% compared to 3.8%, which is some achievement for the Sussex brewer. The tasting notes in the Good Beer Guide for Summer Lightning read "Finely balanced, it has an intense bitterness, leading to a long, dry finish." Very true, though I would add a slight nutty flavour too, presumably to do with the hops used, but it still doesn't come up to the bitterness of Hophead, a crackin' ale, indeed, but not as bitter and dry, ie what I like ;-)

In amongst the convivial atmosphere and good company, which included Adam, behind the bar, and Mark (landlord) and Kevin among many this side of the bar, I also drank the APA, however, I have to concede that I still prefer the Hophead, but only by a 'short head' (in horse racing 'terms', not pubco fiddling the amount of beer they serve up 'terms'; which certainly isn't the case at the Dolphin, where you always get a proper measure). 

Incidentally, they ran out of the Riptide, this evening, but will have Elgoods Golden Newt coming on soon, a 4.1% golden ale, which I am looking forward to, probably after the weekend, cheers!

St Peter's Ale at the Dolphin Inn, Hastings

OK, a lovely morning by the sea, so a wander along the beach to the Dolphin at Rock-a-Nore opposite the fishermen's huts in front of the 'Old' Town.

I arrived to enjoy chatting to Mark, the landlord, Steve the customer (more than just one of us) and Louise behind the bar this morning.  The usual regular ales were among the 6 on offer, ie Hophead, Sussex Best and Directors, plus the seasonal regular, Dark Star APA, and two guests, Fullers Summer Ale and...

St Peter's Ruby Red Ale, a 4.3% unsurprisingly 'ruby' coloured ale, with the taste of roasted malt, but bitter, remarkably light in the circumstances, and undeniably thirst quenching!  Usually, you only see St Peter's ales in bottles like below...

...and the only previous time I have had beers of their's from the cask, was before a midweek match in London, at the Jerusalem Tavern, the brewery's flagship, which is open 11-11 on weekdays only, so a big treat today, see their website.

Cheers!

Bohemia Developments...

OK, St Leonards, Bohemia Road, whatever, so, developments and latest ales in the area, ie the 4 pubs I do visit in the area and heading back into town...

My first stop was the Tower, still selling great ales at reasonable prices for the area (though I do miss the prices in Sheffield from my trip up North last week ;-) -  OK, so this is the best value ale house in the area, the ale is well looked after and nicely priced well below £3 a pint, and Louise remembered me, nice one, cheers!  So 4 ales on sale, and two of my favourites, Dark Star Hophead and APA, were still both on, plus Batemans Hop Bine Bitter (3.6%) and yet another old favourite Hop Back Summer Lightning, 5.2% of pale, bitter and wonderful hoppy ale... I re-tried the Summer Lightning, well you have to, don't you? Plus I drank a pint of the Hophead, well, I drank that first, actually, then a pint of Lightning, and, maybe not a surprise, because tastes develop, I prefer the Hophead, but Summer Lightning is still a crackin' ale!  Nice company, nice chat, great ales, I'll be back again, Louise, cheers muchly!

I then visited the Dripping Spring for the latest tales of managers coming and going, yet! There is actually a couple installed as managers here now, and they have both been in the area for many years, so here's hoping we see them continue the good name of this pub and its ales: a warm welcome to Jeannie and Dave :-)

And, yes, real ales back on the bar, the previous manager having been asked to run down all stocks meant that when Jeannie and Dave took over last week there was no beer at all, so, orders were put in and they re-opened last Monday 18th June, no doubt much to the delight of regulars. So, very happy to see the excellent 2 Dark Star ales here too, Hophead and APA, plus Rother Valley Level Best, and because of the 'Euros' England's Best.  In addition, the two old regulars, the ubiquitous Sussex Best and Wye Valley HPA.

I next visited the North Star, sporting a completed 'loyalty card' (9 pints gets you a free pint), but no sign of Jamie about, no doubt down at his other venture the General Havelock, but, as ever, great service from his colleagues, thank you. 5 ales on sale, as ever, Landlord, Doom Bar, Sussex Best, Jennings Cumberland Ale, and Wadworth Red, White & Brew (4%), which I entertained as my complimentary loyal pint; it's a light bitter, not overly bitter, with a slight roasted flavour from the malt. 

Walking back down the hill into town and my final call was to the Dripping Well, with the ever friendly Rick behind the bar, and good banter from both sides of the bar.  The 4 ales today were Henry's IPA, Adnams Bitter, Directors, and Hastings Best Bitter (4.1%).  I had a pint of the Directors first, an ale I used to drink so much of in my youth, but my everchanging palate, which is getting to like more and more bitter and dry ales (not so malty), means that drinking Directors and the like is becoming like drinking liquidised Caramac to me, I just have to accept it...

Anyway, Nick informed me he is giving the Hastings Brewery a try out, dropping out the Adnams, and has Hastings Blonde and HPA to come on.  I drank the Best Bitter, which is quite a well balanced and enjoyable bitter.  Good luck with that venture, Nick, it would be great to see the Hastings Brewery develop their brewing skills and get some regular outlets!

Cheers!!

Dolphin, Hastings

I visited the Dolphin yesterday, back to Hastings now, and had to continue my research into the quality of Dark Star Hophead, obviously. Unsurprisingly, it was as good as it was in the Kelham Island Tavern in Sheffield, actually, I think it was better, but only fractionally, crackin' ale! 

In addition to the Hophead, the other regular ales, Directors and Sussex Best were on offer, plus the semi-regular, at the moment, Dark Star APA and Hop Back Taiphoon, and Anchor Springs Riptide, a 4.1% medium coloured bitter from the Littlehampton-based brewery. By today, a 4.4% ale called On Tap should be on the bar, Beer Rocks is named as the brewer on the pumpclip, but research shows they are a beer supplier, not brewer, that appears to use a number of different breweries to produce their own labelled ales!

The Dolphin has continued with its excellent value menu since the Jubillee celebration, but should be changing this weekend, so get in by Friday if you want to take advantage. I love the pub, but this isn't advertising for them, it's saying to anyone who wants a great value meal, including the price of a pint of beer or glass of wine, to get in for their 'Best of British' menu; includes Fish & Chips, Sausage & Mash, Pie & Mash, Curry or Ploughman's.  Get in there!

Hove CAMRA beer festival

Yesterday, I visited the Sussex CAMRA Branches Beer & Cider Festival at Hove Town Hall, ends today.

OK, so the town hall isn't too impressive a building, though the older part around the corner is a little more interesting, but inside was very interesting, as there were a few rooms full of ales, bottled beers, ciders and perries, food, bits & bobs, and people who enjoy good beer!

I had 10 halves in my shortish lunchtime visit (open 11-3pm yesterday and again in the evening; I don't think it closes during the afternoon today though), so I'll list them as I drank them.

My first was Bowman's SHB (3.7%), which wasn't listed in the programme, nor is it on their website, so either a brand new ale, or a 'mix', not sure which, but it was very tasty for my first choice. OK, it's the winter (nearly over), but today I was concentrating on pale, session ales, and this fit the deal, a pale and very easy ale to drink, though not much aroma, so I'm guessing no American hops with their floral and fruity aromas. Anyhow, whilst just starting this, I met Keith of Porter Tours, someone I've known for years, but hadn't seen for a few; in fact, the last time was in a Eurostar bar, returning from Brussels! Great to meet up and hear news of people from an old haunt, the Andover Arms in Hammersmith.

I also met up with a couple of people from the Gardeners Arms in Lewes, otherwise, most people I knew who were coming were probably at the business end on Thursday.

I was served by a lovely young woman for my first two drinks, who tolerated my waffling too, and had the second ale, Twickenham's Grandstand (3.8%), pale, fruity, dry, and very nice!

Next, Sambrook's Pale Ale (4.2%), again pale, dry, slightly fruity flavour, another not in the programme, and cannot see anything about it on their website, but nice.

King's Cascade (4.2%), pale and hoppy, but not as much fruit flavour from the hops that I'd expected by the name.

Langham's Flor-ale (3.8%), pale, but not as much hops as I'd expected.

Fallen Angel's Gardeners Delight (4.2%) was dry and pale, very good, though missed the labels from their bottled beers (if you've not seen them, they're quite outstanding, in a sexist sort of way!), first time I've tasted one of their ales from cask.

Surrey Hills' Shere Drop (4.2%) was pale too, but tasted more like what I'd call a proper bitter from my youth, ie it was bitter, and they used to always be a mid-copper or bronze colour; I liked it!

I then had to try Bradfield's Steel Cow (4.5%) from my old stomping ground in South Yorkshire. I'm not sure if he works there now, but an old colleague of mine when I worked part-time at Kelham Island Brewery, Paul Ward, was their first brewer, I believe. It was worth trying too, pale and dry, and my notes say "not so bad", so it was good!

My penultimate drink was South Downs' Truleigh Gold (3.7%) which was pale and bitter, nice, but one of my favourite ales I kept til last, so 9 beers I'd never tasted before, and I was very happy, in more ways than one...

Dark Star APA (4.7%) is a pale, dry and bitter ale with the three 'Cs' of hops providing aroma and fruit flavours, crackin' ale and only £1.20 for a half! So, ended with 10, mostly 'locale', ales, and I enjoyed them all, and the wasabi peanuts and beansprouts too.

The view as I walked back into Brighton and my pre-station visit to the Evening Star (had to be done), where I drank 2 pints of the very good Magic Rock's Rapture, I think it was called, my notes aren't so clear now as I was a bit 'merry', at 4.6%, darker, but light very fruity flavour. I chatted to quite a few people, who probably wished I hadn't, and met up with Keith again. Good day, cheers!