Yorkshire Ales in 2015

I made a trip up to Yorkshire in January, so my first 3 Yorkshire ales of the year were imbibed in dear old Yorkshire, which I do miss a tad...  

Anyway, 6 of us traveled up, specifically to attend a football match in Burnley (which is very close to the Yorkshire border), first destination Leeds, where we had a couple of drinks at the Wetherspoons in the station, and it is just called "Wetherspoons", not very imaginative... We were also awaiting Tom, who had missed our train at Kings Cross, but was coming up on the next one!  

Whilst in the 'spoons, we started with pints of Leeds Pale, a 3.8% very easy drinking pale session bitter, brewed with Slovenian Bobek hops. It was a nice refreshing way to start our drinking (if you ignore what was consumed on the train up), but our second pint was much better... That is, the Saltaire Cascade Pale Ale, a 4.8% ale, more body and bitterness, with a dry grapefruit finish produced by the Cascade and Centenniel hops used, this was getting better and more flavoursome.   

We got to Haworth thanks to another train, and wine provided by Kieran, and by taxi from Keighley, where we stayed at the Apothecary Tearooms and Guesthouse, run by our mate Teapot Dave and his brother Nick, ta muchly. I'll not mention the trip over the border, we came second, but after we'd eaten, we did a few pubs in Haworth, the only one worth mentioning ale-wise being The Fleece. Although it is a Timothy Taylor house, they had a Saltaire guest ale on, which I noted as "3 Cs", so I'm guessing it was the 4.4% Trio Pale, which uses 3 American hops, and I remember it being very good!   

Back to the Dolphin and Hastings, and this month I have savoured 4 more Yorkshire ales here. First, a completely different style of ale, the Rudgate Ruby Mild, a deep red 4.4% richer beer, almost a meal in itself, and not too easy to drink much more than one pint at a time, but very nice and tasty, and in a RNLI glass, respect.  

They have also had 3 pale hoppy ales, much more to my taste, of course. The first 2 of which were from one of my old favourite brewers, that is, the Roosters Cogburn, a 4.3% pale golden bitter brewed with American hops, very thirst quenching and their ever dependable Yankee, another 4.3% pale bitter, that uses Cascade hops also from the USA. Both very nice, indeed, but my favourite so far this year has to be from my old employer, Kelham Island Brewery, which is awaiting a new website, so cannot provide, sorry! Oh yes, their 4.9% Blondie Beer, pale, hoppy, with a nice dry bitter finish, very good, indeed, 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!  

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

Twas the season: Excellent ales in Sussex...

So, what excellent ales did I enjoy in the period leading up to, and including the festive period? 

First, at The Tower, London Road, Hastings St Leonards, where, as my previous blog commented on, before Christmas, they had 5 excellent ales on the same day, including old favourites Dark Star Hophead and APA, and Thornbridge Jaipur. Also, there was the new local brewery, 360 Degrees Pacific Pale, and Dark Star Critical Mass, a stronger, darker, and more seasonal ale you couldn't wish for, and 3rd in this blog's list of seasonal ales (though I haven't included pale bitters here, just the darker beers); 4 out of 5 ales all Sussex brewed... 

On Christmas Day itself I drank, from Somerset, the Cottage Full Steam Ahead (4.2%). Now I haven't had a Cottage ale for quite a few years, not sure how much I liked their ales in the past, but I liked this one; a deep amber coloured bitter with a hint of roasted malt, a very well balanced bitter indeed. Also, from Herne Hill in South East London, where the Florence Brewery produce 'Florence' beers for 'Capital Pubs', and a range of ales called "Head in a Hat Brewing", from which I drank GIN, a 4% pale-ish bitter which has been infused with "botanicals taken directly from the still" at the City of London Distillery, so you can guess what that means, yep juniper, amongst other flavours; I'm guessing the citrus comes from the hops used. I'm looking forward to drinking some more of Florence ales, whichever hat they wear! 

OK, exciting ales already, so what did the Albatross Club (RAFA) at Bexhill-on-Sea have to offer? Amongst others, there was Hastings Brewery "Handmade" Number 5, Galaxy hops being used for this one, and named Hop Forward Pale Ale; a 4.8% ale that I've mentioned before, which has an immediate citrus aroma from the hops, citrus flavour too, pale, dry and bitter, I do like this ale! Another local ale, Rother Valley Hoppers Ale was also tasted by me, a nice 4.4% light bitter, fruity with a nutty hint in the flavour, reminiscent of West Country ales.

OK, also, on Sunday, as it was a lovely day, I just had to partake in a 10 mile round walk to Bexhill again, and I met the new barmaid, Karen, nice to meet, and I'll only mention 2 of the ales this time (both of the others available have been mentioned before), again the local Dark Star Critical Mass (7.4%), already reported on, and very good. But an excellent Wessex Brewery (Wiltshire) Russian Stoat, a 9% VERY dark ale, with a rich full flavour, and a hint of liquorice... I have no idea what the joke is about the stoat rather than stout, but this was a wee bit sweeter than I'd expect a stout, personally, but still excellent, and second in the list of dark seasonal ales.   

The Dolphin, back in Hastings, down opposite the fishermen's beach, has had many great ales, as you would expect, the 3 regulars, plus, amongst others: Triple fff Old Dray, a 4.8% traditional best bitter; Wadworth Old Timer, a well-known 5% nutty flavoured old ale from the West Country; Wickwar Rite Flanker, presumably brewed for the rugby union season, a 4.3% bitter with a hint of caramel; and Rother Valley Holley Daze, a 4.2% pale-ish bitter with a hint of caramel and roasted malt. OK, the stand out bitter, though, was from the reliable Yorkshire brewer, Rudgate Volsung, another ale celebrating the Viking influence in this part of the country, 5% pale golden ale with plenty of body, hints of malt, and nice and bitter!  

But the overall seasonal ale award for this Christmas has to go to the very local Hastings Old Town Brewery, FILO, in their own pub, the First In Last Out, High Street, Our Auld Ale, a "Winter Beer" indeed! I could mention their other ales, but shall not this time, though I shall add that they now have 2 guest ales available, in addition to 5 of their own: including, on my last 2 visits, Adnams Ghost Ship and Bath Ales Barnsey, both 4.5%, and Milestone Maid Marian (4.3%). 

But Our Auld Ale, other than getting me 'merry' faster than usual due to the 6.5% strength and being too easy to drink, is a deep dark reddish brown colour, with loadsa body and hints of spice, excellent indeed! I do have to own up to writing some more notes, but I cannot read what I wrote, which says a lot, so maybe I'll have to return very soon and drink some more before they run out. 

See, I don't only drink pale hoppy ales, compliments of the season! 

Congratulations to the Tower and even more luverly ales!

So, many congratulations to Louisa at the Tower in London Road, (upper) St Leonards, Hastings, for having her pub added to CAMRA's 2014 Good Beer Guide, great stuff, and well deserved. So, despite having more obligations these days, I felt a visit was in order, well, not just one, of course, but a speedy return was required!  So, yesterday evening it was, and a rather exciting ale or three on offer too, great value, and warm chat and banter with Louisa herself, and many others this side of the bar...

4 ales, including a couple of new ones for moi, Sharps Doom Bar (4%), a well known ale from Cornwall, already reported on numerous times, one of my local favourites Dark Star American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7% and just £2.50 a pint here), an excellent pale ale, brewed using American hops, packed with body and flavour, notably grapefruit, with a citrus aroma, I do like Dark Star's 2 regular pale bitters, this and Hophead, but regular readers will already be well aware of that.   

The 2 new ales to me were Red Willow Endless Pale Ale from Macclesfield, which had a fruity aroma, sweet to taste at first, but turning bitter with a dry aftertaste, not bad at all for a 3.8% bitter, I liked it. So, why such a small photograph of the pump clip of the second new ale? Well, for some reason I forgot to take any photographs inside, and this was all I could find on Google, so this was it, the seasonal/monthly Dark Star Indian Summer IPA, and it does what it says on the pump clip, if you can read it... It's a wee bit darker than their usual pale hoppy ales, with plenty of body, not surprising since it is a 6% ale, very comparable to Thornbridge Jaipur IPA, which is probably the wanted result from the brewer. Now, I was silly enough to be eating a pack of Jalapeno bar snacks, so the flavour was effected big time, still very nice though.

OK, what have I had at the Dolphin at Rock-a-Nore in Hastings 'old town' recently? The usual local Dark Star Hophead (3.8%) and APA of course; and their other regulars, the local Harveys Sussex Best (4%) and Youngs Special (4.5%) have been available. But guest ales have included the 'rusty' coloured Demon's Eye from the Yorkshire brewer, Elland Brewery. This is another beer that starts off with a sweetish flavour but with a bitter dry aftertaste, very tasty indeed, and well liked by a number of the regulars too.

The Dolphin has also had Rudgate Volsung (5.2%) on, a well reported excellent pale bitter,  and, as I write, the Oakham ale Scarlet Macaw, a 4.4% pale bitter that I recently had at the Bricklayers Arms in Putney (I'll have to write that visit up, as I seem to have forgotten to, in all my business lately!). This tastes more than a 4.4% ale with plenty of body, with a fruity aroma and nice dry bitter flavour, I do like Oakham ales too, who brew excellent beer. So, if like me, you like pale bitter bitters, pop on down to the local CAMRA 2013 Pub of the Year, the Dolphin in Hastings. By the way, "Happy Birthday!" to Louise at the Dolphin for yesterday :-) 

Much congratulations in order all round. Cheers! 

Hastings and even more great ales!

So, starting with the Tower, London Road, St Leonards, and, as you can see, it is about to get a makeover, hence the scaffolding... Anyway, great to see Lousia behind the bar, always good to keep in touch and be aware of the local updates.  Because of the refurbishment, Louisa has put the price of ale up by 10p a pint, hardly bank breaking, and very understandable, Louisa, and you do keep your prices extremely competitive; great ales at great value prices still, so, what to drink this time?

Whilst watching England thrash South Africa in the cricket, I drank a pint of all the 4 ales on offer, starting with the 3.9% Hopback Hop Medley, a slightly biscuity flavoured and dry pale bitter, very nice and just £2.40 a pint. Then the 4.4% Bristol Beer Factory Sunrise, a dry pale golden bitter with plenty of body at £2.60 a pint, followed by a pint of the 4.7% near-regular here Dark Star American Pale Ale (APA), the brewery having certainly kept up the excellent quality of this ale in recent months, pale and very hoppy, and at a great value £2.50 a pint! Finally, another excellent ale, Triple fff Brewery Ramble Tamble, the most expensive ale here on Wednesday at £2.90 a pint, but for that you get 5% of a pale-ish bitter with plenty of body and a fruity aroma and flavour that smacks your palate into submission!  Great stuff again Louisa, cheers!

 

I sat outside the White Rock Hotel bar, looking at the Channel and pier, (it was a bit foggy over the sea) and I sampled 2 of the 3 local ales they were serving on Tuesday, all at £3.10 a pint; 1 handpump not being used this day. I ignored the ubiquitous Harveys Sussex Best (4%), and, as you will see from my photograph, I had a half of the Arundel Sussex Gold, a 4.2% "golden bitter", quite pale though, with a slightly tart flavour, very nice by the second mouthful.  I also had a pint of the 1648 Saint George, a slightly darker bitter with a sweetness to the initial taste, then dry, slightly malty and bitterness coming through with the aftertaste. Not bad at all, and I do like to sit beside the seaside!

Finally, at the Dolphin, where all the ales are £3.50 a pint, here in the posher end of town, there were the usual 4 regulars, Sussex Best, Youngs Special and Dark Star Hophead and APA, and the ale pictured above from Nottingham.  Castle Rock ales are being seen a lot more of down here these days; they also have Elsie Mo (4.7%) coming on soon, and it's like never having left the North, with beers from Yorkshire breweries too, notably Kelham Island and Rudgate, more of shortly.  Anyway, one of the guest ales was Castle Rock Preservation "Fine Ale", a 4.4% 'heavier' ale with plenty of body, sweetish to taste and then with a dry aftertaste, not bad, but... 

...I'd missed them having the excellent Oakham Bishops Farewell, sadly, as it is a favourite of mine, it must have gone down a bit too easily, but now, on the bar, there was the Rudgate Norse Necta, 4.3% of pale dry bitter, reyt easy to drink, so I did!  If you see it anywhere, and you have a similar taste to mine, go for it...

Cheers!

19th December - Hastings 2nd Christmas Fun Day for me.

I'll try to get to many of my regular pubs and bars in Hastings before Christmas, but for logistical and monetary reasons, I shan't make them all, sadly, but I'll have a bash!  First this Wednesday was the White Rock Hotel down on Hastings front, near the pier, and Kerry behind the bar, always a pleasure to see her there, very knowledgeable and a great barperson too.

The ales here are usually £3.10 a pint, unless over 5%, and consequently, we see the 7.8% Harveys Christmas Ale at £4.00 a pint, which was certainly worth trying a half of (I hate to think of people drinking too much of the 10.5% Dark Star Imperial Stout that is due to come on very soon, I'll probably only have a half of that too!).  So, the Christmas Ale, very nice, if a tad too sweet for me, full-bodied, as you'd expect, a bit of a 'Christmas Pudding' of a beer really! I also had the Rother Valley Blues, much easier to drink at just 5% (I'll try to keep seasonal exclamation marks to a minimum), a very nice dark, roasted malt of a stout, very much enjoyed by me.  They also had Dark Star The Original (5%) and Hastings Brewery's best ale to date (in my opinion) their 4.5% Porter.

Up London Road at St Leonards, and on the corner of Tower Road, I reached the Tower, which I still am not sure of the reason for the name, was there an old Norman tower here, or is it named after a church tower? I shall find out, have to really... Anyway, my favourite St Leonards pub, great ales at good value prices and friendly female bar staff, what more could a Beermeister want?  I did mention ales, yes Dark Star's not quite strongest yet Critical Mass, a mere 7.4%, and their APA too, 4.7%, call that strong?!?

Anyway, I avoided the two Dark Star ales, being a bit worried about falling over sometime today before I get near to my bed, so I decided between the other two, Hop Fuzz English (4%), which I have already had before, so it had to be the wheat beer from Rother Valley Golden Valley, and a very manageable 4.2%.  This was a very pale, quite dry and bitter beer, very much to my taste, cheers!

I then crossed Bohemia Road to the North Star, where I found 5 ales on that I've drunk at least a pint of every one in the past, though some very interesting Christmas ales, and Dark Star 'mad' ones, to come on soon, bother... Anyway, the ales were Moorhouse's Pendle Witches Brew (5.1%), always a pleasant dark ale with a strong flavour; the ubiquitous Harveys Sussex Best (4%), OK if you like a dependable bland session bitter; Timothy Taylor Landlord (4.3%), so well written about elsewhere, and a decent pint when well kept, as they do here; Hogs Back TEA (4.2%), it was a bit like being in a Kent pub, see my previous blogs re Kent; and Rudgate Jorvick Blonde, 3.8% and my choice for this visit, a nice pale hoppy bitter, well, that's my taste.  After wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas, if I don't see you before" I decided to go down to Hastings Centre and visit the North Star's sister pub...

the General Havelock.  5 handpumps, which had 4 ales and a cider on, Westons Twist (4%), a "mulled cider", apparently with "a warming winter spice flavour".  Anyway, I looked to the ales, Dark Star Hophead, Timothy Taylor Landlord, and Harveys Sussex Best, and the 4.3% Sussex Old Ale, that I gladly had a pint of, and gratis too, a reward of the sister pubs' loyalty card, cheers and Merry Christmas Jamie!

22nd and 24th October - The Bricklayers Arms, Putney

OK, I stayed near the Thames in Putney this week, hence, I had to revisit The Bricklayers Arms at least twice, first on Monday, with the lovely Annet behind the bar again, and the regular lad this side of the bar, John (we're becoming near-drinking buddies now), and quite a few other gentlemen this side of the bar too, of course.

I tried 3 of the ales today, Oakleaf's 3.9% pale blonde bitter Some Are Drinking, a decent summer ale, though it's now the Autumn, a refreshing ale; Cairngorm's Trade Winds, a 4.3% dry, pale bitter, described as being a "Citrus, Wheat and Elderflower", though I didn't get these flavours myself too much, but enjoyed it; and Triple fff Brewery's Jabberwocky, a 5% 'black IPA', a very dark bitter with hints of licquorice, very enjoyable, see, I don't just drink pale bitters! Also, many other ales, of course, give it a visit, though I shall mention a few from my next visit... 

OK, I returned on the Wednesday, sadly, no Annet, but hey! John was in his usual position this side of the bar, and Alan AKA 'Jock the Postie', this side of the bar.  There were some of the ales on from Monday still, eg Rudgate Battleaxe (4.2%) and Broughton Exciseman's 80/- (4.6%), and two new ales I drank. These were Plain Ales Innocence, a refreshing golden bitter, and my favourite of the week, Milk Street Brewery Beer 5%; now, I was a little confused over the name from the pump clip, but I checked up on the brewery's website, and that's what the name appears to be, says what it is on the pump clip, 5%, described as a 'bitter sweet' ale, personally, I describe it as an excellent bitter, that starts with a brief hint of sweetness at first, then a dry and bitter aftertaste, pretty damn good!

As I had other responsibilities that day, I could not take advantage of the Cider and Perry Festival, with 9 ciders and 3 perries, and I do like a proper perry as they aren't that common, but should you be in the area this weekend, get there, I would, have a perry for me please. See the website for more information.

Cheers!

18th September, Bohemia Road and back to Hastings.

The Tower, just down from Bohemia Road above St Leonards, Hastings... and Louisa the landlady wasn't here again, starting to get a complex!

Anyway, great value real ales here, 1648 Britannia (4.1%), Hastings Blonde, and 2 Dark Star ales, Hophead at £2.30 a pint and APA at £2.40! Good company, chat, ales (I drank 2 pints of Hophead, unsurprisingly), I'm fast becoming a fan of this pub, shame it's up that hill!!

The Dripping Spring, just along Tower Road from The Tower, hasn't changed landlord/landlady yet! Usual suspects, Sussex Best, Wye Valley HPA, Ringwood Fortyniner and Black Sheep Best, plus Youngs Gold and Castle Rock Harvest Pale Ale, 3.8% of memories from my local being the Tyne Mill (Castle Rock pubco) New Barrack Tavern at Hillsborough in the early years of this century, which, of course, I drank for old times sake.

The North Star, just off Bohemia Road, and the delightful Paisley serving up the ale, and friendly chat with her and another barfly. The food has changed here, in that, hot food is only served on Wednesday Curry Night now, and rolls are served up from about 1pm every day except Sundays, when gratis food is provided after 3pm when the meat raffle is over.

 

Ales? 2 regulars, Taylor Landlord and Sussex Best, and 3 guests, Jennings Crag Rat (4.3%), Ripple Steam Best Bitter (4.1%, see website) and Rudgate Jolvik Blonde (3.8%), my choice today, a pale, dry bitter.

As usual, 4 local ales at the White Rock Hotel, down opposite the beach and pier, of which, I drank the Dark Star Kiwi, 4% and amazing fruit aroma as soon as your nose reaches the rim of the glass! Kiwi fruit tends to be a bit delicate, flavour wise, not really sure if it was the kiwi, or flavours from the hops used (more likely), but very fruity, pale, slightly 'hazy', and it's meant to be, the informed and always friendly Kerry told me, dry and bitter, I thought sweet for a while, but actually slightly 'tart' when I concentrated on the flavours, I liked it, indeed!

 

Oh yes, 3 other ales too... Harveys South Down Harvest Ale (5% and discussed in an earlier blog when I tried it at the Dolphin), 1648 Britannia Ale (4.1%) and Rother Valley Ebulem, 4.5% and an 'elderberry porter', a very dark ale. 

Finally, the Dolphin, at Rock-a-Nore, Hastings 'Old Town', the super efficient and always lovely two sisters, Laura and Louise working behind the bar today, and the usual regular ales, Sussex Best, Dark Star Hophead and APA, now Youngs Special, and Riptide back on again, and a new one, Sharp's Red Ale from Cornwall, 4.1% and the pump clip adds 'Eden Project' to the name, apparently, some ingredients are being sourced by the Project for a few special brews like this one. The Red Ale is very easy to drink, deep red colour, a bit sweet, with a cherry fruity and dry aftertaste, not really hoppy enough for me, but others were chucking it down!

 

Cheers :-)

Lincoln Green

When my brother and I got to Lincoln, we walked uphill from the railway station, up ‘Steep Hill’, with historic buildings all around, passing the cathedral on the way up, which has one of the most impressive frontages of buildings in the UK, awesome! 

We had an early lunch at the Victoria Inn, 6 Union Road, just below Lincoln Castle.  This is a Batemans’ house that, in addition to their own XB, sells Castle Rock Harvest Pale and Timothy Taylor’s Landlord as regular beers, and guest ales too, up to 7 ales in total, as well as ‘real’ cider from the cellar!  The Victoria has a comfortable feel about it, some very interesting artefacts, a true pub, and good value food to boot, sandwiches with chips on the side, soup and bread roll, ploughman’s lunch, the usual pub fare, yes, but good quality. 

Walking around the castle, we reached The Strugglers Inn, 83 Westgate, this has a long main room and a smaller ‘snug’, but we sat out the back in the garden, which was a warm and protected place to sit.  The Strugglers has up to 6 real ales, including Greene King Abbot Ale and Rudgate Ruby Mild, among the regulars, plus guests, and I had a couple of pints of Salamander’s Golden Salamander, which went down a treat.  Lunch is served here too, reportedly very good value too, by the Good Beer Guide, but we had already eaten, so I cannot pass an opinion. 

I came back downhill, walking round to the east and south, Dan went to visit the cathedral, leaving me alone to visit The Jolly Brewer, 27 Broadgate, a ‘rock’ pub with regular live music.  The exterior doesn’t look too inviting, but don’t let that put you off, as the bar staff are warm and friendly.  The interior is ‘green’, with lighting helping to augment an art deco feel to the main room, look at my photo and you’ll know what I mean.  Work adorns the walls by local artists, so, should you fancy purchasing an original, there you are.  Westons’ Perry and Broadoak Moonshine cider were on sale, and up to 6 real ales are available, with Young’s ‘ordinary’ Bitter and Courage Directors the regulars, and often 2 locals among the guests, I enjoyed Leila Cottage Lincolnshire Life and Grafters’ Over the Moon! 

Further south and getting closer to the station, I met up with Dan again at the Green Dragon, Magpie Square, Broadgate, a 16^th century timber framed inn, with 10-12 regularly changing real ales on sale throughout the pub.  Henry VIII dined here a few years ago as a guest of the, then incumbent, Duke of Suffolk, so we were drinking in the company of very famous ghosts (the Good Beer Guide suggests “quality food” is available, but I still wasn’t hungry).  We sat outside, enjoying our drinks sitting by a peaceful side road and the canal (you can just see the back of my brother in the photograph).

I enjoyed visiting Lincoln.  Cheers!