Tuesday 13 November 2012 - Icklesham and real fires again.

More real fires and real ale in Icklesham this time, a dreary day, so a good reason to seek out real fires, and where better than this East Sussex village?  First stop the Queens Head...

 

A few fires in here, but I only photographed the one below, it's not so easy to take decent photographs in old pubs away from windows, and with my mobile phone too; I'll have to remember to bring my camera with me!  Anyway, there were ales too, of course, including Greene King Abbot Ale and IPA, Rother Valley RWB (all ales I've already written about or that are well known), Long Man Long Blonde (3.8%, pale golden hoppy ale), and Harveys Sussex Best and Old Ale (4.3%, dark seasonal ale)  Both of the male staff members have joined in 'Movember' with impressive moustaches, good stuff, though unlikely to ever see me with one, though I have 'sponsored'. 

I also met someone here from Long Man Brewery, great to be able to put faces to brewery peeps!  Then I wandered back to the main road and followed it westwards to the Robin Hood, another delightful old pub...

...and I was very pleased to meet up with Fred, on this side of the bar, always a good conversationalist, and I'd been a bit worried about him, not having seen him for quite a while, a real fire, of course, and Darcy and Debbie behind the bar, always good too.

2 ciders from handpumps, Westons Old Rosie and Wyldwood Vintage Organic Cider, both at 7.3%, and five real ales. Available were Brains The Rev James (4.5%), Triple fff Pressed Rat & Warthog (3.8%), Wychwood Hobgoblin (4.5%), and the two I drank from Full Moon Brewery, ie Hop Dance and Red Pacific.  The Red Pacific is a 4.8% full bodied deep red coloured bitter, and the Hop Dance is an easier drinking pale bitter at 3.9%, both good examples of a seasonal ale and a 'session' bitter.

 

Cheers!

Tuesday 29th May

Had a fair old wander yesterday, taking the scenic route (more details on my personal facebook page), well, one of the possible scenic routes, to Icklesham, and the Robin Hood, seeing as how we got there too late to have a drink 2 weeks ago!

Debbie and Darcy working behind the bar yesterday, nice discourse, and with the regular I know, Fred (much more of a  regular visitor than me too).  On the bar were the usual 2 ciders from Westons and the 5 ales were Canterbury Foundry Red Rye (3.6%), Longman Best, Adnam Southwold Bitter, and the 2 I drank, Millis Dartford Warbler (4.3%, medium coloured bitter with malty flavour, very nice) and Triple fff Pressed Rat & Warthog (3.8%, apparently sold as a mild, but I'd suggest too hoppy to be a traditional mild, nutty, slightly burnt malt flavour, plus dry and bitter aftertaste, as I say, not really a traditional mild, but very tasty!).

 Anyway, so people know the opening times, and don't miss out like we did: Mon-Thursday 11-3pm and 6-11pm; Fri/Saturday 11-11pm; Sunday 12-4pm and 7-10.30pm.  Above is the bar with hop vines hanging from the ceiling, very atmospheric (see my photo from previous visit too).

On leaving the Robin Hood, I walked back to Hastings (cash at a premium, and single bus fare from Icklesham to Hastings is ludicrously expensive, at least a pint and a half), and got a bit lost, well, not really lost, but I went in the wrong direction...

Back in Hastings, I visited the Dolphin, well I'd got very thirsty, despite the temperature dropping, as a fog came in from the sea.  On sale, the usual Directors, Sussex Best and Hophead, plus the seasonal regular Dark Star APA and Harveys Elizabethan Ale (5% 7.5% in bottles!); awaiting the Longman Sussex Best clearing, so a spare handpump.  I drank the APA, excellent!

Cheers :-D