Hoppy Leap Day!

No! I didn't say Hoppy Leaf Day...

My Local Pub of the Year update, Hastings

Borrowed, and edited, from a contribution to the Steve on Hastings blog...

The Tower

I recently walked up to the current 2015 South East Sussex CAMRA 'Pub of the Year', the Tower, on the corner of London and Tower Roads in Bohemia (251 London Road TN37 6NB). As ever, it was a pleasure to see Louisa the landlady, to meet up with a few friends I hadn't seen for a while, and drink some excellent ales at good value prices, and I hadn't been up there for a while...  

6 real ales (and 4 ciders, £3.10-3.40 a pint), mostly local to Sussex/Kent too, including 2 excellent regular ales from Dark Star, ie Hophead (£2.80 a pint) and American Pale Ale, (£2.90), both of which I've talked about at length many times before, and a refreshing pale offering from 1648, the 3.7% Hop Pocket (£2.90). Also, 2 dark ales, Titanic Plum Porter (4.5%, £3) and Arundel Smokehouse Porter (6%, £3.20), and a 'red ale', Isfield Ethelred (4.4%, £3 a pint), which was certainly not unready! 

Much more to come soon, cheers!

Scottish Beer Festival in Sheffield this weekend!

From today, until Sunday, the Hillsborough Hotel, Langsett Road, Sheffield, is holding a 'Scottish' Beer Festival. Now, I am well aware that every day in Sheffield is a potential beer festival, with so many excellent real ale houses and local microbreweries, but this is featuring many Scottish ales soon after Burns Night, and no doubt something to do with Tom the landlord too!  

Hillsborough Hotel

There are numerous ales available, including the Swannay Orkney IPA (4.8%), brewed with Styrian Goldings hops, pale, citrus fruity and refreshing (website), also the stronger 'ruby red' Loch Lomond Kessog (5.2%), brewed with Northern Brewer and Willamette hops, (Willamette well used by a certain Sheffield brewer I used to work for as well!) with a dark-red fruity and dark chocolate flavour (website). 

From Fallen Brewing, is their even stronger 5.4% Grapevine (website), amongst others, and brewed with FIVE different hops, Magnum, Pacifica, Galaxy, Kohatu and Citra (one of my favourite hops!), creating a fusion of fruity flavours, grapefruit and tangerine citrus mixed with 'tropical' mango and pineapple, finishing with a nice dry bitterness... 

       

Not finally, but finally from me for now, is the Pilot Beer Blønd (4%, website), brewed with Galaxy and Amarillo hops, citrus flavours with a hint of spice, and deliberately unfined, so naturally a wee bit cloudy... and, of course, many more ales too!

Well, I can't make it there for this festival, sadly, but would be grateful for any feedback, either here, or on my facebook page, concerning the ales available please, from anyone who does visit, cheers, and enjoy!