Smiling again!

This was what the Alchemist, at 225 St John's Hill, SW11 1TH (near Clapham Junction/Wandsworth Common), looked like before it closed down a couple of years ago, very nice, and with more than a hundred years history behind it...  

This is what happened to it! Like the Carlton Tavern at Maida Vale (reported in my blog of 29th April this year), it is another London public house to be demolished, but without planning permission! 

Like the Carlton Tavern, the owner has been ordered to rebuild the Alchemist, brick by brick, using original materials! The Council said that "the demolition was a serious breach of planning rules which can only be right by the complete rebuilding and reconstruction... using the same materials and to the same architectural design."   BRAVO! 

See the Standard for more.       

Biddenden's Bushels Cider!

I realise that I haven't written much here for quite a while, and I do have many ales, and not a few pubs, to report on, but I'm slipping in this report of my drinking the very nice Biddenden's (website) Bushels Cider (6%) at the Dolphin, Rock-a-Nore, Hastings. 

The Bushels was lovely and clear, not quite the same as some of my past experiences of drinking cider straight from Devonshire farms, together with whatever lumps and debris was left in them (always an experience!), or the rougher ciders enjoyed at the Cider Bar in Newton Abbot. But I don't live in Devon anymore, so this one is now a reasonably local cider to me (from Kent), and certainly had to be tried, as Mark, the Dolphin landlord, purchased 5 firkins for this, definitely a local pub to me! 

As you can see from this photograph, a nice bright cider, at a decently cool temperature, "flat" say Biddenden, but it certainly has life, with a sweetish apple flavour at first, but drying out very nicely, thank you! The say "medium dry", I'd say much drier than I expected, nice one. Mark had brought in 2 firkins at first, but, as both sold out within a few days, the extra 3 firkins were ordered very urgently! 

Indeed, all 5 firkins sold out pretty quickly, but I'm aware that Mark has already ordered 2 or 3 more firkins, so shall be available at the Dolphin again very soon, which I'm looking forward to... Oh yes! And I've ales to report on too, so expect another blog soon, I'll not be so tardy again, fingers crossed, cheers!