Seasons Greetings!

I believe in sharing my best wishes... To care about others, to acknowledge and respect those who work in the Emergency Services at this time of year, at all times of the year... to want to use such a 'season' to be good to each other, this is, above all else my thoughts... 

Best wishes to all! 

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!

Updated Liverpool page!

Updated Liverpool page published! 

This is the excellent Vernon Arms, more Liverpool pubs @ The Beermeister website - all very decent real ale pubs, but many others exist there too, indeed, too many for my website or this blog. Go and have fun there...     

Cheers!

Youngs Stout Day!

It's not often you get invited to 3 pubs to drink a free pint of beer at each, but I was earlier in November. However, they were all in London, and I wasn't that day! Anyway, my brother, the Routemeister, took up the challenge for me, and provided this photograph, I think from the Dukes Head in Putney; he also went to the Coach and Horses at Kew Green, but I think he didn't make the third! 

Dan didn't record the strength, but I believe Youngs London Stout to be 5.2%, and, well, it is a stout! Very dark, almost black, he found the flavour not as heavy as he expected it to be, roasted barley in the flavour, as you'd expect, and as it "was free, it tasted better!" 

Cheers Dan! 

Yorkshire Green Hopped Ales PLUS!

There's a surprise, for me at least! All the hops grown down in the South East, and I hadn't seen any 'green hopped' ales in Hastings this year until these 2 came along. What makes them so special? Well, the hops have to be added to the brew within 24 hours of being picked, at least that's my take on the style, please feel free to add to my knowledge!

Anyway, this is very seasonal, obviously, and hops have to be dried very quickly, to retain flavours once picked, so that they can be used over the year, in turn, making them more pungent and intense. The more delicate flavours and aromas of the hop oils are lost, hence the green hopped ales' flavours being very different, and I've never drunk a bad one, though no doubt they've been brewed!     

The first one I tried, both were enjoyed at the Dolphin in Hastings, by the way, was the Saltaire (website) Sovereign Harvest (4.8%), as they say, brewed with Sovereign hops "picked Tuesday, brewed Wednesday". Probably because of the time and distance traveled, the flavours weren't as "floral & herbal" as the label says, but I certainly found it to be a pale golden fruity ale, sightly sweet at first taste, but drying out into a bitter finish, a bit 'sour' even; not bad at all. 

The contribution from Ilkley Brewery (website) though, is a bit special! Brewed using the locally developed and grown Yorkshire hop, Olicana, The Green Goddess (4.9%) had aroma and flavours that smacked me in the face immediately, getting right up my nose, but in the nicest possible way! It reminded me of drinking a wheat beer at first, and there's a lot about the flavour I cannot explain, presumably Olicana flavoured. Fruity and herby aroma, a pale golden bitter, very dry at the finish, and very refreshing, I loved it! 

OK, it's not a green hopped ale, but this ale from Oakham Ales (website), their seasonal Asylum (4.5%) is another excellent ale from this brewery, and a hoppy delight indeed! A pale amber bitter, with a lovely fruity aroma, slightly sweet on the palate,  but dry as well, then getting more bitter as it wanders round the mouth, and I wrote "bloody good!!" So it must be, cheers! 

Current Hastings Beer Festival Tasting Notes!

So, having visited the FILO Hastings Week Beer Festival (still on until tomorrow, though I can't see all ales still being available tomorrow!), here are my early-ish tastings notes of the 12 ales I already referred to a couple of blogs ago! First, I should say that I would be happy drinking any of these ales if the others weren't present, but I am going to put them in preferential order, of course, or I wouldn't be me... 

'Pale Ales' - Skinner's River Cottage (4%) uses Cascade hops, is quite light and easy to drink, with a dry aftertaste I couldn't quite work out, not bad at all. 

Whitstable East India Pale Ale (4.1%), another pale hoppy ale that would be happily consumed by me all day, not so bad either! 

Caveman Prehistoric Amber (4.5%), described by the brewer as being an "atypical pale ale", and with a definite roasted malt flavour in there, I wasn't so sure at first, but then, as it went down, I came to enjoy the aftertaste!   

Not-so pale - Rudgate Battleaxe (4.2%) uses East Kent Goldings and Challenger hops, and is a decent chestnut coloured bitter, slightly malty and with a nutty aftertaste. 

Hanlons (I'm sure they used to be called O'Hanlons!?!) Copper Glow (4.2%) uses Phoenix, Willamette and Cluster hops, is copper coloured, too sweet for me though... 

Bespoke Running the Gauntlet (4.4%), another slightly sweet malty beer, but with a hint of roasted barley and dry aftertaste, not bad. 

Loddon Russet (4.5%), with Slovenian Styrian Goldings and Fuggles hops and multi-grain, a "red" ale that has a lovely aroma I couldn't quite fathom out what is so nice about it! Very interesting at first taste, quite complex mix of flavours with a nice dry finish, really easy to drink, but I felt there wasn't really anything to stand out in the end, very strange, complex to rate this bitter, but not bad!?!  

Runners Up - Oakham JHB (3.8%), no need to say much about this excellent session bitter from the ever-dependable Oakham Ales, it started as my bench-mark for the tasting! Pale golden bitter using Mount Hood and Challenger hops, refreshing and fruity with a dry crisp bitter finish, I love it! 

Orkney Dragonhead (4%), which is a stout and a half despite the low gravity strength! Uses Goldings hops, and is a very very dark black stout (probably the darkest I've ever seen!), with much body, roasted barley++ and a dry bitter aftertaste. Quality stout! 

Triple fff Rock Lobster (5.0%), named after the B52s song, uses Australian Ella and Galaxy hops and is a deep copper colour. It is a bitter, though with a dark berry flavour and aroma, and finishes dry, I really liked this! 

Rudgate York Chocolate Stout (5.0%) uses Challenger hops and is a very complex dark ale, not as chocolatey as the Youngs and Saltaire Brewery versions of chocolate stouts, but not bad at all. You get a lotta beer!

And the first prize goes to (regular readers will not be surprised with my choice) Oakham Citra (4.2%), though they do brew even better ales! The hop's in the name, obviously, and described as having "grapefruit, lychee and gooseberry aromas", well I always get the in your face grapefruit! Pale golden, fruity, with a dry refreshing bitter finish, if this was the only ale left in the World, I could cope, cheers!  

London Beer Flood 1814

Today is the 200th anniversary of the little known London Beer Flood that happened close by what is now the Dominion Theatre, on the 17th of October 1814 (though some reports record this tragedy to have been on the 16th, the evidence to support the 17th looks to be more voracious). 

In those days, London drinkers were supplied by dozens of competing breweries, and competition saw some of them build enormous vats in which to ferment and condition their ales. The enormous porter vat of the Maux & Company had a capacity of over a million pints! At about 6pm, on this day, 200 years ago, one of the steel restraining bands that enveloped the vat broke and released the contents of the vat. Together with this million plus pints of porter, other vessels in the brewery released more beer into the flood too. The resulting deluge damaged the brewery and a nearby pub, the Tavistock Arms, and flooded the basements of nearby homes.   

Sadly, depending on which reports you read, between 7 and 9 people died as a direct result of the flood, most drowning in their own basements, and many more were seriously injured, including some of those who came to help rescue survivors. 

Some may joke "what a way to go!" But I say R.I.P. to those who died... 

Another Beer Festival in Hastings starts on Thursday!

Yes really, another wee beer festival, this time in the restaurant area, ie the room down at the back of the First In Last Out (FILO); which is an event for Hastings Week 2014 (today being the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings). The FILO is in the High Street, Hastings 'old town' (website). The beer festival starts on Thursday evening (16th October) and ends on Sunday 19th October, though I wouldn't put too much money on many festival ales remaining by then. 

Ales at the festival are session ales and stronger, dark and pale, from the North and South, and from East and West, you've got it, there really is no theme other than a variety of different ales for Hastings Week! From the North and far-North (Scotland) come Rudgate Battleaxe (4.2%) and Chocolate Stout (5%) and Orkney Dragon Head Stout (4%). From over to the West there will be Skinners River Cottage (4%), O'Hanlons Copper Glow (4.2%) and Bespoke Running the Gauntlet (4.4%).

We'll be universally challenged by ales from the counties of Cambridge and Oxford, 2 of my old favourites from Oakham Ales JHB (3.8%) and the single hopped Citra (4.2%) and Loddon Russet (4.5%). Then from closer to home in Hampshire and Kent will be Triple fff Rock Lobster (5%), Caveman Prehistoric Amber (4.5%) and Whitstable Brewery East India Pale Ale (4.1%). Hard to imagine a more eclectic choice of ales! 

Of course, in the bar will also be a selection of ales from the pub's own microbrewery, ie the FILO Brewing Company at Hastings Old Town Brewery. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to it, cheers! 

www.drinkaware.co.uk

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! 

Ales @ the Welsh Beer Festival in Putney...

As per my last blog, sorry I'm taking so long these days, I seem to have more obligations than I used to! Anyway, I made 2 visits to The Bricklayers Arms (website) over the weekend, and had quite a fun time, though with family obligations, I couldn't drink too much, which was probably just as well...

For those who haven't read my previous reports on The Bricklayers, it is, as my brother says, my "local pub in Putney". Sometimes I visit, and there are hardly any ales available from their 10 handpumps, but on other visits, like last weekend, they had approximately 100 ales on stillage, with most of them in their beer garden (some of them in the photograph below), and more on handpump inside, or waiting to be connected up in the cellar, 'twas good, though, sadly, nothing from Tiny Rebel Brewery, shame! Anyway, I only drank 11 of them (which meant I missed out on nearly 90!), mostly half-pints, a few pints, and a few repeated that I particularly enjoyed, but I'll start with the ones that come at the bottom of my list and work my way up... 

OK, so scoring at the 'average' scale, to begin with, came a pale golden bitter with a hint of cider, being a bit tart, and from a VERY new brewery (so they have time to improve), Tomos a Linford Cmrw Canu (4%). Next, slightly above average, was the 4.3% Jacobi Red Squirrel, dry, with a hint of roasted barley and nutty aftertaste. 9th was Pixie Spring Deliverance (4.5%) an "American style pale ale", very dry and bitter, but I was disappointed there was less grapefruit in the taste than I expected! Then came Grey Trees Diggers Gold (4%), more US hops, a golden bitter and very subtle citrus aroma and taste. 

Then came a 'black IPA', and from Brains too, not usually my favourite brewer, I have to admit, but this wasn't bad! Their Black Mountain (5%) does what it says on the label, though a very deep red in colour actually, roasted barley aroma, plenty of body, bitter with a dry aftertaste. Then, from Caffle, came a paler ale, Darker Side of Pale (4.4%), nearly a bronze colour, not much aroma, but decent bitter. In fifth place was the unfined Axiom New Dawn (4.2%), clearer than I thought it would be, and a pretty good pale golden bitter too. Next was Big Hand Havoc (5%), pretty good, though it tasted nothing like the tasting notes, being very dry with a hint of roasted barley in the flavour, not like an APA at all! 

The top 3 were all very good, and my scoring was finely balanced, but... drum roll... in third, I put Otley APA (4.3%), not labelled as a rye beer, but my tasting notes say it is, with a hint of elderflower too, nice one! In second, with a lovely fruity aroma and dry aftertaste, came the very good 4.5% Celt Double Dose, but my winner, of not much more than a 10% sample of all the ales remember, was the Borough Neath Full Blast... A fruity aroma, I got plum as well as citrus, and very dry and bitter, I did like this 4.7% ale, cheers!  

Welsh Beer Festival - Bricklayers Arms, Putney

This weekend, a festival of Welsh ales! My views on Welsh ales were recently expressed, when Tiny Rebel Brewery got a big thumbs up from me! 

Borrowed this photograph off their twitter page, so many thanks for that, and just a selection of what is available this weekend at the Bricklayers Arms in Waterman Street, Putney SW15 1DD.

Visit and enjoy, 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!

Beer Festival in Bexhill this weekend!

This weekend, Friday 12th to Sunday 14th September, at the RAFA Albatross Club (close to the De La Warr Pavilion at the seafront), very reasonable prices, and many very interesting ales from around the country, as described on their site:

 

ALBATROSS CLUB

6^TH BEXHILL BEER FESTIVAL

(GREAT BEXHILL BEER FESTIVAL) (GBBF)

 

BEER LIST & TASTING NOTES

£3.00 A PINT ------ £1.50 A HALF------ £1.00 A THIRD-

 

1/ ACORN BREWERY

BARNSLEY BITTER 3.8 %

This award winning Barnsley Bitter is brewed using the finest quality Maris Otter malt and English hops. Chestnut in colour, having a well-rounded, rich flavour, it retains a lasting bitter finish. Brewed using yeast strains used in the 1850′s to brew ‘Barnsley Bitter’. 

Acorn Brewery Barnsley Bitter won a Silver Award in its class at the Great British Beer Festival 2006 and was also a finalist in 2007, 2008 and 2012.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

2/ DUNHAM MASSEY BREWERY

CHOCOLATE CHERRY 3.8%

A multi-award winning speciality beer. The class of Dunham dark with a dry hint of cherry that cuts through the malt flavours.

3/ BIG CLOCK BREWERY

DIRTY BLOND 4.2%

An easy drinking, dark blond beer.

A new brewery based in Accrington Lancashire.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4/ THE YARD OF ALE BREWERY

BLACK AS OWT STOUT 4.2%

A dark stout with a strong roasted coffee aroma.

The smoothly rich taste leads to a medium-bitter finish.

5/ WILSON POTTER BREWERY

RUBY RED 4.4%

An easy drinking rich ruby ale with a full-bodied, Malty berry taste, with a floral aroma.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

6/ SONNETT 43 BREWERY

BROWN ALE 4.7%

A very moreish rosy brown beer. Quite a simple brew for those who like their beer mild and fruity with flavours of malt and toffee blending well with a pleasant light bitterness.

7/ EAST LONDON BREWERY

JAMBOREE 4.8%

A golden beer using English hops throughout, in particular Brambling Cross, Jamboree has a blend of lager, pale and wheat malt, giving a smooth but refreshing mouth feel.

8/ THE FIVE POINTS BREWERY

RAILWAY PORTER 4.8%

A Porter in the classic London style with our own twist. Aromas of chocolate and coffee with hints of caramel, brewed with British East Kent Goldings hops.

9/ STEEL CITY BREWERY

HE’S NOT THE MESSIAH 4.8%

Ultra pale ale. Brewed with US magnum hops. Loads of Cenennial and Motueka hops

after flame-out and Citra and Chinnock in the fermenter. Good enough for Jehovah Himself. False beards not required.

10/ TOTALLY BREWERY

PUNCH IN THE FACE IPA 4.8%

Peppery aroma, Citrus and tropical fruit flavours and a balanced malt bill.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

11/ SALTAIRE BREWERY

BLACKBERRY CASCADE 4.8%

American style pale ale, with the aromas and strong bitterness of Cascade and Centennial hops, infused with a hint of blackberries.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12/ REDWILLOW BREWERY

WRECKLESS 4.8%

A pale ale, loaded with Citra and Amarillo hops, which provide the flavour of tropical fruit and a clean finish.

                                             

13/ MONCADA BREWERY

NOTTING HILL RUBY RYE 5.2%

A robust ruby ale made with rye complimented by a fruity hop aroma.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

14/ THE MELWOOD BREWERY

KALEIDOSCOPE EYES 5.5%

 Pale IPA style beer with Pioneer and Amarillo hops.

 “Picture yourself on a boat on a river with tangerine dreams and marmalade skies”

15/ROOSTER BREWERY

 BABY FACED ASSASSIN 6.1%

Brewed with 100% Citra hops that create aromas of mango, apricot, grapefruit & mandarin orange, along with a lasting, juicy, tropical fruit bitterness, the Baby-Faced Assassin is a deceptively quaffable India Pale Ale that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

16/ ELLAND BREWERY

1872 PORTER 6.5%

Rich, complex and dark Porter from an original 1872 recipe,

with an old port nose, and coffee and bitter chocolate flavours on the palate.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

17/ BASELINE BREWING

REBEL ALLIANCE 6.5%

A “proper” IPA at 6.5% ABV this beer recalls the alliance between the Mughal Empire and rebels from the British East India Company, in the first Indian Uprising of 1857.

The end result of the rebellion was the disbanding of the Mughal Empire as well as the East India Company, and the establishment of the Raj.

18/ WELTONS BREWING

CHURCHILLIAN 6.6%

A big stout. Charcoal flavours mixed with hints of treacle toffee. Aromas of toast & berry fruits.

We are fed up with strong English stout being called, Russian. This is English Churchillian.

MUSIC PLAYED BY THE EXILES   

FOOD AVAILABLE UPSTAIRS.

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!! 

Time for a walk, long time since the last one...

Sorry folks, the best ales blogs are being put on hold for a week or so, but I had a very roundabout walk, mostly cross-country, with my brother, Dan the Routemeister, from Berwick (not the one in North England/Scotland, that would have been roundabout!) but the Berwick in East Sussex, to Eastbourne; we covered about 18 miles, including getting a wee bit lost at one stage. Anyway, this is the land of the Long Man of Wilmington, aka the Giant of Wilmington, aka the Green Man, and so, the location of pubs selling ales from nearby Long Man Brewery (website).  

Our first stop was at The Giant's Rest (website) in Wilmington, a very comfortable 'real pub', clean and bright with uncovered wooden floor boards, and friendly service. They provide B&B, sell what looks like very decent food, though we had a packed lunch with us, so I can only say it looked good (I have seen many good reviews though), and there were 2 ales on sale, from 4 handpumps, so plenty of potential! The 2 ales were both from Long Man Brewery, the 4% Best Bitter, and the 4.2% Copper Hop, which we drank, and what a gorgeous ale too, quenching our thirst suitably. The Copper Hop, brewed using Caramalt and Vienna Malt in the grist, was in very good form, a nice deep amber colour , very hoppy, and quite bitter, as I like 'em, cheers! 

We then meandered a bit more, reaching The Eight Bells (website) in Jevington, after food had stopped being served, so I cannot comment on food again. This is another real pub in the country with friendly service (no Slaughtered Lamb!), and over 300 years old. Both The Giant's Rest and The Eight Bells have great gardens, and we decided to take our beers outside this time. 4 handpumps again, all being used; the ubiquitous Harveys Sussex Best and Adnams Broadside were on sale, plus 2 Long Man ales, Long Blonde and Copper Hop. Dan tends to follow my lead, so we both had the 3.8% Long Blonde, having already had the Copper Hop this day. This is a very pale and refreshing, light golden coloured, quite hoppy, and very easy to drink, happy again! 

We then meandered a wee bit more, before walking at a faster pace once we got up on top of the ridge to Beachy Head, from there we walked back along the 2 mile-long promenade, into Eastbourne and The Dolphin (website) in South Street, near to the railway station. This is a Brakspear pub, which I was looking forward to, but, sadly, they'd sold out of their own ales! However, they did have 3 ales on from 4 or 5 handpumps (I think it was 5, but I didn't note this), including Sussex Best from Harveys and Long Man Long Blonde, and Dan again followed my example, so we tried the one I hadn't had before, from West Sussex brewer, Downlands, their 4.2% Day Tripper. The Day Tripper was a golden beer with a malty aroma, sweet at first and with a dry finish, not bad, but not really to my taste. 

So, ale of the day was the Copper Hop, from brewer of the day, Long Man... 

We should have finished our walk with the Long Blonde, but hey, cheers! 

REALLY Dark Beers: Best Beers III

I'm trying to keep the number of categories I use low, and I'll not include "Black IPAs" here, as they can come into other categories, so, to the darker milds, porters and stouts. I've had many stouts and porters I have enjoyed, but shan't be including in my 'best of', eg at previously reported Albatross beer festivals in Bexhill: the Deeply Vale Breakfast Stout or DV8 (4.8%), which even had a bitter finish, or the powerful and very dark 7.3% Flipside Russian Rouble...

So, to the 2 milds that stand out for me, and both the brewers first enticed my attention with their good session bitters. Whim Ales (website) of Derbyshire have been brewing since 1993, using a 10 barrel plant, and originally caught my eye with their 4% Hartington Bitter. Whim Magic Mushroom Mild (3.8%), though, is a dark mahogany ale made from roasted barley and crystal malt. It is full flavoured for such a strength, with the roasted barley prominent in the aroma, and a hint of coffee and chocolate malt flavours, so complex, and smooth at the finish.

The second mild comes from Dudley in the West Midlands, where they have been brewing for 99 years, Holdens (website), whose crackin' 3.9% Black Country Bitter first caught my attention. Holdens Black Country Mild (3.7%), though, is a deep chestnut-red, and uses amber, black and 'caramalt', and fuggles hops like their bitter. This is a very tasty mild with hints of fruit from the fuggles, and narrowly wins my vote; this is how a mild should taste! 

Sorry for not discussing porters more, but I place the Fullers London Porter (5.4%) head and shoulders above the rest, and I've had quite a few! The West London 'regional' brewer (website) excels at providing a perfect version of a porter; porters originally being brewed in the 18th century for the porters working in the markets of London. Rather than the fizzy stuff that now comes from Ireland, the London Porter is a fitting tribute to this style of ale and its place of birth.

Fullers use brown, crystal and chocolate malts for their London Porter, and fuggles hops; you'll notice a tradition of using this English hop in darker brews, and for good reason! London Porter is dark and rich, with bitter roasted malts coming through, hints of chocolate, coffee and biscuits, and a smooth dry finish, pretty damn good. Not so easy to find on draught, though still good in bottle, but if you get the chance to drink the cask-conditioned version, do so, I always do, and I love pale hoppy bitters! 

Stouts? I have reduced the final comparison to 2 'chocolate' stouts and both, like the London Porter, can also be enjoyed from a bottle, but are superb from the cask. Youngs (website), sadly now a pubco, their beers being brewed by Charles Wells... Anyhow, Youngs used to brew the best of this type, their Double Chocolate Stout (5.2%), made from pale, crystal and chocolate malts, and fuggles and goldings hops, together with chocolate essence and dark chocolate. I first drank this as a cask ale at the Cask & Cutler (now Wellington) in Sheffield. The first time I tasted it in London was at the old Brewery Tap on the corner of the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth, sadly now unused, the pub and brewery...

It was in Wandworth that I found out, from a  Youngs employee, that the first time the Double Chocolate Stout was brewed, the Head Brewer sent a colleague out to a local confectioners to buy heaps of chocolate bars to add to the brew, it was that experimental! Chocolate is still added, but now in Bedford, and I haven't seen this excellent beer in a cask for quite a long time now, sadly. Whatever, there is only one way to describe it, it tastes like chocolate, and it tastes like beer, proving that beer and chocolate can go together, it is awesome!

Many other brewers have also tried to emulate the 'chocolate stout', and Saltaire (website), who have been brewing in Shipley, West Yorkshire, since 2006, brew a very decent version. Saltaire Triple Chocoholic (4.8%) uses chocolate malt, and cocoa and chocolate essence, to produce chocolate goodness in a beer! Strong chocolate aroma and flavour, with a hint of coffee and toffee, and a slight bitterness coming through at the finish, a very nice one...

So, quality beers all, and, if the Ram Brewery was still brewing cask-conditioned Double Chocolate Stout, I am sure it would be a neck-and-neck finish with the London Porter... Sadly, it is unlikely I'll ever be able to enjoy the Youngs again. Happily, though, I can announce the Fullers London Porter as the winner of this blog and its categories, from the Chiswick Brewery (above), cheers to them!

Best Beers II - Premium ales

I say "Premium Ales", but it's really ales between 4% and 5% in strength! Again pale ales and darker ones in my analysis, but starting with the darker ales this time.

Old Mill (website) of Snaith, West Yorkshire, who started up in 1983, brew some great ales, and I would have included their GBH (Great British Hopefuls), an excellent 4.2% bitter, but sadly it's only brewed every 4 years around the time of each Olympic Games. It is so good that I drank this only at a beer festival once I'd got the taste, ignoring other offerings, because it was that good. I first drank this back in 2000 AD, I do believe, and would happily drink it at any opportunity! 

Some great darker bitters are brewed more regularly, though, but not really to my taste, despite my being raised drinking London Pride and Youngs Special, both ales I continue to drink now and then, depending on where I am. However, Butcombe (website), a brewery established in 1978, and who moved to a 150 barrel brewery at Wrington in Somerset in 2005, brew the excellent Butcombe Bitter (4%) using Mendip spring water, and which I first tasted in the 1980s. This is a near perfectly balanced quaffing ale, tawny coloured with a dry refreshing bitterness, quality!

Hepworth (website) of Horsham, West Sussex, started brewing cask conditioned ales in 2003 and use locally sourced malt and hops for all their beers. Their 4.8% Classic Old Ale, does what it says on the label, it is an old ale, and it is a 'classic'! I suppose it is really a winter warmer, but it is a darn good ale, rich and flavoursome, with a lovely bitterness coming through at the finish. A very tasty dark old bitter indeed! 

All the ales already mentioned are very worthy of winning awards in all types of festivals, and in various categories, and have done! But I do have some humdingers to include with my paler choices, and Tiny Rebel (website) from Newport in Wales, have come onto the scene like a flash of lightning, brewing some crackin' ales at their 12 barrel plant since just 2012, winning numerous awards already!

Tiny Rebel's 4.6% Billabong is described as an 'Australian Pale Ale', and uses hops grown in Tasmania. I have seen numerous superlative reviews of this ale, "citrusy, bitter sweet, well-balanced, grapefruit aroma, lemon aroma" etc etc... My notes say it all, really, I believe this is an excellent pale bitter, with good body, and peach and grapefruit aroma and flavours, with a dry bitter finish. Say no more... 

I had to chose between 2 ales from Oakham Ales (website), either their superb 4.2% Citra, or the one in the photograph above, the 4.6% Bishops Farewell; though a very tough decision! One of my favourite breweries, as regular readers will be well aware, and the Bishops Farewell is a pale, fruity, hoppy ale with plenty of body and a lovely dry bitter finish. I'll even add the notes my brother sent to me when he drank this at the Swan & Rushes in Leicester, after I suggested he visit that pub whilst up there: "Pale, hoppy, fruity, smooth and slightly bitter", says it all, mostly!

From Salamander (website) in Bradford, West Yorkshire, founded at the end of the last century, and who expanded to a 40 barrel plant in 2004, comes a comparable ale to Oakham's contribution. Golden Salamander is a 4.5% golden bitter that uses Challenger and Styrian hops, and has a citrus aroma and taste, Salamander say it has an "assertive hop bitterness", and they ain't wrong! It is refreshing, fruity, and has a lovely dry bitter finish. Salamander are yet another excellent Yorkshire brewery, consistent, and their ales are always worth drinking, quality again...  

Twickenham (website), guess where they're based, consistently brew excellent ales too. They started off with a 10 barrel plant in 2004, expanding into larger premises and a 25 barrel plant in 2012. I first drank their 4.4% Naked Ladies well before trying it at the Crooked Billet, on the edge of Wimbledon Common, in March 2012, when I first made notes. It was excellent, and I have continued to drink it whenever, and wherever, I see it on the bar. My last couple of pints were tasted very recently at the Watermans Arms in Richmond, in the photograph above. Both of these pubs are Youngs pubs, by the way, which says a lot, but I have enjoyed my Naked Ladies at various freehouses too, eg the Bricklayers in Putney.

The name of the ale is inspired by the statues of water nymphs in York House Gardens in Twickenham, and the Naked Ladies is well-reported by me, obviously (love it!). This is an excellent pale golden bitter, very hoppy (using Pilgrim, Celeia and Chinook hops), citrus and peach aroma and flavours, with a light 'biscuit' malt about it, and a dry refreshing bitter finish. I'll repeat what I first said about it over 2 years ago, "Naked Ladies, you just can't beat them, continues to impress..."   

So! How is it that the Naked Ladies was pipped at the post, and it was just by a 'short-head', by a beer from Essex? I'm still scratching my head really, I was sure the Twickenham ale would be victorious in this category, but no... I kept looking at my copious notes and compared the two, and was surprised how Crouch Vale came into the reckoning right at the finishing post. Crouch Vale came into existence in 1981, moving to larger premises in 2006, and I have had quite a few very decent ales from them over the years; probably been drinking their ales for nearly 20 years now.

Anyway, the champion in this category is their 4.2% Yakima Gold, named after the Yakima Valley (named in turn after the Yakima Nation, whose reservation is on the east side of the Cascade Mountains), where the Amarillo hops used for this ale are grown. Indeed, 77% of all U.S. hops are grown in the Yakima Valley, and many grape vines too! I've had Yakima Gold in many different pubs/club and never had anything but a great pint or three, samples of my notes say "fruity, quite bitter, excellent"; "refreshing and very pale, fruity bitter with peach aftertaste, very good"; "genuine pale bitter, lovely stuff indeed!"

So, congratulations to the runner-up in this category have to be made (though all the ales mentioned are excellent!), I love the Naked Ladies, but the 'Gold Medal' goes to Crouch Vale Brewery and their Yakima Gold, cheers!