Sunday 27th January - Grumpy Guvnor at the Dolphin...

Obviously not Mark, the Dolphin's landlord, who's usually very jolly, but the 4.5% ale Grumpy Guvnor, brewed by one of the newer Sussex brewers, Franklins of Bexhill (website), I tried their session ale, the 3.8% English Garden, at the White Rock Hotel last week, as already reported.

There was also the usual regulars/seasonal regular, Dark Star Hophead, Youngs Special, and Harveys Sussex Best and Sussex Old Ale, and another ale too (oops! Forgot to note the name); but still 6 ales, whilst most years they drop to 5 for February, which shows how real ales are the only dynamic sales in the current beer climate!  Anyway, the Grumpy Guvnor is a deep reddish-brown coloured bitter, with a slight taste of roasted malt, very much like a traditonal best bitter, and very nice too, and they are soon to be serving the Franklins' 5.5% Citra, which I am very much looking forward to. Cheers!

Tuesday 22 January - The Albatross and White Rock Hotel.

Having to attend a meeting in Bexhill-on-Sea meant I could go to the Albatross Club in the evening, instead of making one of my more usual lunchtime visits.  Now, a song written by Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney, sung by Costello and, I believe, with the original recording including McCartney playing bass on it, may seem a strange way to kick off this blog, ie "Veronica" (youtube).  However, I'd been with a colleague of mine, I'm sure you can guess her name, and, at the Albatross Club, I met a second Veronica in one evening.  Whenever I see my colleague I always sing to myself this song, so it was, and is, very much on my mind.

Anyway, enough of my waffle, ales!  To gain entry to The Albatross, you need either to be a guest of a RAFA member, or a CAMRA member, and, as a visitor, you become obliged to donate a £1 fee for the visit, soon recovered when considering the ales cost around a pound a pint more elsewhere.  This year, though, I decided I should join the RAFA as an associate member, and so, I collected my membership cards to the Association and to the club, many thanks for accepting me!  So, ales...



4 ales available, which will be increased to 5 in the next few months, once a bit of work on the bar is sorted, all at £2.60 a pint, and always an interesting choice. This Tuesday there were 3 Sussex ales available Isfield Toad in the Ale, Dark Star Hophead (3.8%),and Rother Valley Exit, and Youngs Special (4.5%) for the more conventional drinker, ie, you can get this all over the country. Now, Dark Star beers too, can be bought in many places, indeed, I drank my first pint of Hophead some years ago, when I was living in Sheffield, and I've reported on this excellent pale hoppy bitter many times, so I shan't report on either today.

I've had the Isfield Toad in the Ale (4.8%) before, but couldn't remember what it was like, so had to try a half, and happy to.  It's a very dark deep red colour, which I couldn't remember, with a hint of chocolate malt in the flavour, very nice too.  The Rother Valley Exit (5.7%) was a more hoppy brew, subtitled as 'Sussex Strong Ale', much paler than I thought it would be, with a hint of malt 'biscuits' and a dry aftertaste.  So, 4 very different ales on offer, and all good!  

As can be seen, The Albatross Club won the South East Sussex Club of the Year award for last year, and Geoff, the Head Steward/Bar and Cellar Manager, I'm not really sure of his title, together with the Club officials and activists, must take much credit for providing this oasis for real ale drinkers in Bexhill.  As would be expected, convivial spirit was present, and much rewarding conversation was held with Geoff, the regularly present, Jonathan, and many others, including the Social Secretary (another nurse).  In addition, there was a very good band playing called 'Creole Jazz', sadly, the weather not allowing for too many people in the audience this evening, and Geoff even brought round plates of roasted potatos, very nice touch, cheers!

Now, why, if coming back home via the White Rock Hotel, should I place a photograph of the English Rose in Luton here?  Logical, really, for me anyway... As it was tipping down, I decided not to walk the 5 miles home, as I'd already got soaked walking the 5 miles to Bexhill earlier in the evening, so I cought the train back, but, wishing to visit the White Rock, and with about half an hour to spare before closing, I got off at Warrior Square instead of going all the way into Hastings. Once the barman, Johnny, and I started talking, by now I was the only customer, and his cleaning and tidying up was easy to balance with me talking my usual 9 to the dozen.  Anyway, we'd talked before, some time last year, and he comes from Luton, and we had discussed pubs there before, and I wanted to give the English Rose a plug, as I had a great time drinking there before a 'friendly' match at Luton a couple of years ago, together with my co-author of this blog, Kieran, and his mother, Cath, who lives in Luton, and who put us both up for the night, thanks muchly.  So, there you go...

In addition, during the clear up campaign, I also chatted to Johnny's colleague, Louise, indeed, they were both very pleasant company for a sodden peasant, as I felt at the time, balancing the tidying and cleaning up, with keeping the customer happy (moi), and, probably, just wishing I'd go home!  Many thanks for your patience. Oh yes, ales, they had the ubiquitous Harveys Sussex Best (4%), Franklins Pudding Stout (4.2%), which I have very recently commented on, so I had a pint of the Franklins English Garden, a 3.8% session bitter, pale, and very easy to drink.  Unless an ale is very strong they price them all at £3.10 a pint here, which is very reasonable, especially for a hotel on the seafront, and not very far away from the town centre, and there are usually 4 ales on sale, always from Sussex brewers.

So, a nice end to a very enjoyable evening (and I had a hot shower when I got in), many thanks and cheers!

Friday 18th January, Pissarros, Hastings, real fire, and more...

Managed to get to Pissarros today, even though I hadn't planned to drink this Friday, but an error with my heating meant I didn't really want to sit in a cold flat, and I was very happy I did visit.  Pissarros now has 3 real ales served from handpumps, sells decent food, part of the building being a restaurant, as well as being able to eat in the bar area, and accommodation, which looks comfortable, and good value for Hastings (see website).

The ubiquitous Harveys Sussex Best (4%) was available, as usual; a guest ale at £2.95 a pint, all the way from Cheshire, the 4% Beartown Brewery's Kodiak Gold, a pale 'gold' coloured bitter; and my choice for the day, as I've had it before at the Dolphin, in Hastings medieval 'old town', Long Man Brewery's (see website) Old Man.  This was excellent, a dark, deep red coloured 4.3% old ale, with a strong roasted malt flavour; and it appears to be a semi regular at Pissarros too, I'll have to watch out for it more, as I do often walk by this bar on my way to and from the railway station, the only negative being it's relatively expensive price at £3.50 a pint.

I also took advantage of my CAMRA membership at Hastings' Wetherspoons, the John Logie Baird, with my 50p voucher that knocked the price down from an already good value £1.99 a pint to drinking my pint of Spirit of Kent having spent just £1.49, cheers Mr Tim 'spoon!  This is a 4% "XXX Pale Ale" and it did what it said on the label, it's a decent pale bitter from Westerham Brewery in nearby Kent (see website).

I finished off the day drinking in the Dolphin at Rock-a-Nore, by the fishermens' huts at the seafront below the 'old town', insufficient snow for me to get a decent outside shot, but a nice photograph of the fireplace, which was very welcoming, the strong wind making the sub-zero temperature feel even colder. Of course, being very obvious, of the 6 cask ales available, I mostly drank the Dark Star (see website) Hophead, talked about many times previously, pale, hoppy and bitter.  I  also had a pint of the only change to the beer menu from my last blog, ie the Loxley Ale being replaced by the 5.2% Laughing Frog, brewed by the Sussex-based 1648 Brewery (see website); 4 of the 6 ales on offer coming from local Sussex breweries.  The Laughing Frog is a far too easy to drink full-bodied bitter, nice one.

 

Then, back out in the cold... Cheers! 

Wednesday 16th January - White Rock Hotel + Tower again, Hastings

Another nice bright day, though a bit chilly, and a walk along the front, which enticed me into the White Rock Hotel, overlooking the sea, and delighted to see Kerry behind the bar again, who immediately suggested I drink the ale that I chose for myself anyway, excellent decisions.

 

There were 4 ales on, as usual, 1648 Signature (4.4%), Harveys Sussex Old Ale (4.3%), Dark Star Rock Star (6%), the result of cooperation with Magic Rock Brewery, an "American Brown Ale", and Franklins Pudding Stout.  I had a pint of the Pudding Stout, which Kerry said she had tried elsewhere and really liked, and it's a 4.2% very dark reddish brown ale, with a very strong chocolate aroma, less prominent in the taste, which has hints of spice, immediately a bit sweet, but with a bitter finish; liked it!

 

I then wandered up London Road to the Tower again, sadly, Louisa wasn't behind the bar this time, though she does employ lovely barstaff to fill in when she's not present, so no worries. There were 3 ales from Dark Star, the 6% Rock Star, 4.2% Winter Solstice, which I was going to drink, but didn't get round to (the music got a bit loud and she put snooker on the tv, pretty boring for me), and the 4.7% American Pale Ale (APA), which I did drink after trying a pint of the Nethergate "Growler Brewery" Hound Dog (4.2%).  This was a decent pale bitter, but not a patch on the APA though; Dark Star must have changed the recipe, I think, as it is tasting more bitter to me these days, crackin'!

 

 

I ended up walking back eastwards along the beach to the Hastings 'Old Town' and the Dolphin, which had the same 6 ales as I've already reported, the Hophead, Special, Sussex Best and Old Ale, Riptide and Loxley Ale, and the wonderful Louise and Debs behind the bar.  Also, I met The Quaffer, editor of Sussex Drinker, and had a good chat to him, and became a bit merrier than I usually get.

Cheers!
 

9th January - Tower, Hastings Plus

I'm starting to grow increasingly fond of this pub, specifically because of the pale hoppy ales, or full-flavoured stronger ales, they are providing at a very fair price for punters, and the lovely staff and interesting clientele.

There was the excellent 5.7% Dark Star Revelation, with it's abundance of hop flavours, which, of course, I drank, also the same brewer's 4.7% American Pale Ale (APA), which is not quite bitter enough for me to really enjoy, though it's pretty damn good.  A blast from my past up in South Yorkshire, Thornbridge Lord Marples (4%) and Sharps Doom Bar (4%), which wasn't around when I lived in Cornwall, were also available, and a nice chat with the landlady, Louisa, was partaken too, cheers!

An update for the Dolphin, which is currently selling it's current 3 regulars of, one of my favourites, as you'll be aware, Dark Star Hophead (3.8%), Harveys Sussex Best (4%), and the new regular, Young's Special (4.5%), it's seasonal ale, Harveys Sussex Old (4.3%), and two guests still (despite their usually cutting down to only 5 ales at this time of year, it still is 6); from the Nottingham brewery, Milestone, Loxley Ale, a 4.2% 'biscuity' malty flavoured ale, and Anchor Springs Riptide, a light coloured ale with hints of dry roasted nuts and 4.1%.  Cheers to Mark (the landlord) for maintaining the quality and numbers of ales.

Cheers to you too!

4th January - Bexhill and the Albatross Club

A lovely walk along the front to Bexhill on Sea and a New Year visit to the Albatross Club. This blog is a bit later than I was hoping to post because I have had problems loading photographs onto Blogger, so this is an older photograph already loaded... hence the rather more sunny aspect!

To drink in The Albatross Club, as I've said before, you need to be a member of the RAFA, or have a friend who can sign you in who is a member, or belong to CAMRA, hence my permission to gain entrance.  Though on Friday, I decided to join the RAFA as an associate member ("about time!" I hear from Geoff and Peter, not to mention John and Jonathan), so my application is now with the membership secretary.

So what 4 ales were on sale for the good value £2.60 a pint for members and friends, and CAMRA members?  2 from Dark Star Brewery, the 4.7% American Pale Ale (APA) and 3.8% Hophead, both nice pale and hoppy ales, as you will have already noted from my previous blogs, and I certainly partook of the Hophead on Friday.  They also had Youngs Special (4.5%) and Rother Valley Level Best, a 4% ale I have drunk before, a nice light coloured bitter with a hint of that nutty flavour you taste from some hops, yes, I had a pint of this before the Hophead.

By the way, when I first visited The Albatross, there were only 3 lines for real ales, now there are 4, and in a couple of months this is to become 5 lines.  Geoff and his colleagues who work the bar and cellar are certainly putting up an excellent showing for real ale in Bexhill... This is the only place to visit for real ale in Bexhill really, and they provide a good value food menu too!

Cheers!

New Year 2012-13 - Hastings

Happy New Year!

So, apart from visiting the Dolphin, Rock-a-Nore, 'Old Town', have I been anywhere different, or drunk anything special over the New Year?  Well, yes, actually... The Dolphin had it's usual Dark Star Hophead, Young's Special and Harveys Sussex Best on, as well as the Harveys Sussex Old and Hastings Porter, plus the 4.2% St Austell 'Cornish Pale Ale' Tribute, another pale and hoppy beer, so Christmassy beers no more...

But not at the White Rock Hotel, on the seafront, vitually opposite the Pier, where I wandered in on the off chance to see if the Dark Star Imperial Stout, a massive 10.5%, was on tap yet, and, luckily, it was being drawn through by Kerry as I waited!  A whopping £2.50 a half, but then, when considering the strength, a half of this is like drinking a pint of strong ale at an equivalent 5.2%, so not so expensive really. "What was it like?" I hear you ask, well, it was nothing like the 10% Imperial Stout I remember drinking many years ago, that was brewed by Durham Brewery, in fact, if given this in a blind tasting, I would have guessed it was either a barley wine or Christmas beer, because it released a Christmas Pudding basinful of flavours in my mouth, very full bodied and nice, but a tad too sweet really for me really.

What else did I get up to? I visited the Tower, London Road, to watch a football match on Sky, and to take advantage of their excellent value ales. I started with a couple of pints of the Kent KGB, that I recently reported on, gave the Sharp's Doom Bar (only £1.99 a pint for a seasonal special price until New Years Eve), and even the Dark Star APA, a miss, because the 5.7% Dark Star Revelation was available at £2.90 a pint, crackin' ale and crackin' value...  The Revelation, as I've probably said too often, is a revelation, a pale ale bursting with hops and flavour, and from this month, it becomes a permanent ale on the Dark Star inventory, crackin'!   

Finally, I also visited the Hastings Arms, George Street in the 'Old Town', a Shepherd Neame pub, so the choice was... well, as you can see in the photograph above. Although the ale you can see me about to drink is in a Bishop's Finger glass, I had that fine ale last time I was here, as recently reported, but I drank the 5% Christmas Ale, at £3.50 a pint, more the norm for Hastings prices, a more easier to drink ale than the Imperial Stout, which had tasted like a 'Christmas' ale to me, maybe even like one of those big beers from Belgium, like Gulden Draak.  No, Shep's version of Christmas Ale was lighter than expected, quite bitter, and with a nutty, maybe 'walnut', hoppy aftertaste. Liked it! 

So that was it, I've plans to go further afield soon, but in the meantime, it's Hastings for me, cheers!