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!

Congratulations to Louisa at the Tower!

Congratulations to Louisa, and her colleagues at the Tower, London Road, Bohemia, for winning the local South East Sussex CAMRA 2015 Pub of the Year, and Cider Pub of the Year too, nice one, or two! I've known Louisa, the manager at the Tower, for 3 years now, and can honestly say that I've never had a bad pint there. In fact, she has brought this pub into CAMRA reckoning by maintaining ales in excellent condition, with many local Sussex ales too, along with excellent value. 

Consequently, I have been writing about the Tower for 3 years now, and have had a look back over my blogs to help with this one. However, I didn't really need to, because Louisa has continued to sell good quality and good value ales. I first noted the cheapest ale as £2.30 a pint in 2012, now it is still usually just £2.60 a pint, a fair comparison relative to other pubs regarding changes in pricing, but still so much better value than most, and in lined glasses ('spoons apart for price!). The Tower has also been in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for 2 years now. 

Also, that early 'cheapest' ale was the excellent Sussex brewed Dark Star Hophead (3.8%) at £2.30 a pint, and the other virtual regular from Dark Star brewery (website) American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%) at £2.40 a pint. They were both on for my most recent visit this week at £2.70 a pint and £2.80 a pint respectively, great stuff!  

Over those 3 years, Louisa has also added 2 handpumps from the 4 when I first visited, meaning usually at least 4 regularly changing ales in addition to the 2 virtual regulars. Other ales on this week were the even more local Franklins (website) Pudding Stout (4.2%); from the North West, Robinsons Voodoo Dawn (3.9%), a 'deep red ale'; and from South Yorkshire, Abbeydale Accent Compensation (4.1%), a pale bitter.   

Oh yes, and the 6th ale on this visit, from Peterborough, was the excellent Oakham Bishops Farewell (£2.90 a pint), 4.6% of pale hoppy, citrus fruity, dry and bitter ale. I've written so often about this ale, as I have the Dark Star pair, that I really don't have anything else to add, except, I continue to love drinking them! 

And to add to Louisa's collection of awards was the local Cider Pub of the Year! She sells 2 keg ciders, Strongbow and Symonds Founders Reserve, and 2 real ciders, as can be seen from the photograph. There is Shepton Mallet Somerset Snuffler (4.8%), and the legendary Westons Old Rosie, 7.3% and dangerous!   

Congratulations Lou!

Congratulations to the Dolphin!

Congratulations, once again, to the Dolphin at Rock a Nore in Hastings, for winning the CAMRA South East Sussex Pub of the Year in consecutive years!

For those who do not know the Dolphin, it has been in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for many years now, and is a genuine family-run pub, with Mark, Mo, Laura and Louise as main participants in that success (Frazer, their son, managing to avoid getting into the photographs on this celebratory evening, though he was there somewhere!).  

The congratulations has to go to all of the family, who have their unique positions and roles within the business. Of course, this being a CAMRA award, the ales have a significant contribution to make towards receiving this award, and Mark keeps an excellent cellar, with 3 regular ales, and 3 guest ales, at any one time.  

Of course, to outdo other pubs, there also has to be other factors going toward why a pub wins the award. The Dolphin is a friendly establishment, and this is provided not just because of the warmth of the 4 family members in this photograph, but because all other staff members reflect the spirit of the family and continuity at all times the pub is open. In addition, excellent day-time food is served up by Maz and her team in the kitchen, with a special 'Fish Supper' night on Mondays, great value too, the pub is a centre for the local community, raising many thousands of £s for local charities every year, and also helping to preserve the Stacey Marie across the road from the pub, a retired fishing boat in the trust of the nearby Fishermen's Museum.

So, I'll leave with a photograph of that award, which will end up above the mantelpiece next to the 2013 award certificate, congratulations and cheers!



Congratulations to the South East Sussex Pub of the Year!



 

Congratulations to all at the Dolphin, Rock a Nore, Hastings, for winning the CAMRA South East Sussex 2013 Pub of the Year!

 

A good 'finger buffet' supplied by the landpersons, apparently, but the CAMRA peeps whacked it back very quickly, so no chance of a bite there for me! So, thank goodness I'd already eaten before coming down on Tuesday.  Anyway, a good night was had, and the ales included the usual 3 regulars, Hophead, Youngs Special and Sussex Best, also the seasonal regular, APA, and the returning Milk Street The Usual ( 4.4%) and, from my old employer up int' North, Sheffield, Kelham Island Easy Rider (4.4%).  Good stuff!

Nice to have another of my 'locals' win an award; the RAFA Club in Bexhill, and the Kelham Island Tavern, Cask & Cutler/Wellington and Fat Cat/Kelham Island Brewery, all in Sheffield, being previous winners of CAMRA awards...

I know how to pick my locals, indeed, cheers!

Congratulations to the Dolphin in Hastings for...

Congratulations to the Dolphin in Hastings for winning the local CAMRA Branch Pub of the Year for South East Sussex!

I shall very soon be blogging about pubs in London from my visit last week, and in WEST Sussex too, cheers for now!

Pub of the Week - Kelham Island Tavern, Sheffield

OK, have to add the Kelham Island Tavern in Sheffield as this weeks pub of choice for a few reasons, and not just because it has been CAMRA's National Pub of the Year TWICE in recent years! 

This warm, clean and friendly pub has a diverse clientele, and for a real ale house, a surprisingly high number of female customers too. Ales are kept in cracking condition, quality lagers, good value food, comfortable to sit in, and welcoming barstaff too. A place to visit, whenever I get to Sheffield. 

And, for me, I'll always meet someone I know there to talk to, CHEERS :-D