South East Sussex POTY again!

Congratulations, yet again, to Louisa at the Tower, London Road, St Leonards, Hastings, for winning the local CAMRA Pub of the Year again! I've made 2 trips there recently, just to make sure, of course, nothing to do with excellent ales at good value prices, oh no... Anyway, both trips 6 ales from handpumps, none more expensive than £3 a pint, can't be bad, and all in good nick too!

The ales are mostly from local brewers, her 2 regulars being the excellent, and Sussex brewed, Dark Star (website) Hophead (3.8% and £2.80/pint) and American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7% and £2.90/pint). Other local-ish ales were Gun (website) Scaramanga (3.9%) an extra pale refreshingly light bitter, Long Man (website) Copper Hop (4%), a more typical bitter which I have reported on a few times before and very good, and Pig & Porter (website) Skylarking (4%) a refreshing pale golden bitter hopped with Ella and Galaxy, so hints of exotic fruits.

And, from further afield, Derby brewer Shiny (website) Pail (4%) brewed with Ella and Cascade hops, pale and lovely and bitter, Yorkshire brewer Ilkley (website) Rombald (which was £3 a very fair pint and 4.6%) a hoppy 'American' amber ale brewed with Cascade, Chinook, Nugget and Columbus hops with a biscuit malt flavoured base, and, from even further afield in Scotland, Fyne Ales (website) Maverick (4.2%) a reddish copper coloured bitter brewed with Bramling Cross and Challenger hops, always good ales from Fyne Ales!

But, not only did the Tower win the POTY for ales, but for Ciders and Perry too, nice one! Ciders included Orchard Pig Explorer (4.5%), Biddenden Bushels (6%), a favourite of a Scottish mate Jeff, Westons Old Rosie (7.3%) and Old Badger (I think, can't read my own writing! 4%), and their Country Perry (4.5%), and priced between £3.10 and £3.40 a pint... I can remember paying 25p a pint at the old Cider Bar in Newton Abbot in my youth!

Oh yes, and ales shortly to come on, if not already available, include excellent ales from Oakham Ales (Endless Summer), Fyne Ales (Highlander), Downlands (IPA), and Franklins Citra, enjoy them if you see them, you lucky people!

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! 

300th BLOG!

300th blog, so what do I write about? Obvious really... I love pale and hoppy ales, I've been hither and thither recently, and even discussed beers from over The Pond, but have had some crackin' ales since my last blog about beers in the UK, so where better to start than looking at the 4 excellent ales served from The Tower bar in the photograph immediately below, and then discussing them?!? 

With my love of hops, The Tower, 251 London Road, St Leonards, Hastings TN37 6NB, produced a masterpiece with this choice of 4 hoppy ales, and I've seen Louisa, and the new barmaid, Sheena, regularly too, I can't complain! This particular day and I was really stumped what to drink, but had to start with my  new favourite, Burning Sky's 3.5% Plateau, brimming with hops, with a lovely refreshing aroma, dry grapefruit taste, dry and very bitter, quality! There were also the 2, very well reported on by me already, Dark Star ales, American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%) and its big brother, the hoppy revelation that is Revelation (5.7%). But there was a new one for me too, Red Willow Mirthless 'Pale Ale', 3.9%, with a fresh citrus aroma, a wee bit 'malty' flavour not detected in the others, not so dry, but still quite bitter... What a choice for me!

Oh yes! And I've also recently had Dark Star's Art of Darkness (3.5%) and Hophead (3.8%), both oozing hop flavours and reported on regularly too; the 'classic' that is Hop Back Summer Lightning (5%), which amazingly seems 'old hat' these days hop-wise; another local brewer keeping the hops 'ultra', Franklins Citra IPA (5.5%); and a wee bit darker amber bitter, Hogs Back HBB or Hogs Back Bitter (3.7%) with a hint of 'peach' in the flavour, and dry and bitter, great stuff, Louisa, cheers!     

At the First In Last Out (FILO), High Street, Hastings 'old town' TN34 3EY, there was the usual array of their own FILO ales, including the hoppy threesome, varying in their styles, Gold (4.8%), Churches Pale Ale (4.2%) and Crofters (3.8%), and more about the FILO ales coming up in the near future... But there was also an ale from Yorkshire, possibly the birthplace of pale and hoppy ales, ie Roosters Cogburn, nice cowboy pun! The Cogburn is a "Robust Pale Ale", according to the pumpclip, and I have to concur, it is a pale bitter, indeed, 4.3%, with a fair amount of body, quite dry and hoppy, I gave it a smiley face in my notes; cheers to Adam (and not forgetting Mike - Bigg Senior - and Tony, the brewer, manager, etc etc) !   

... and what of the Dolphin, Rock-a-Nore, Hastings 'old town' TN34 3DW, the local CAMRA reigning Pub of the Year? OK, many will be aware I have the nickname 'Hophead' here, because I do enjoy drinking one  of their regular 3 ales, the Dark Star Hophead (3.8%), and just how many times have I reported on and analysed Hophead? But they also have 3 quest ales at a time, which is soon to rise to 4 guest ales, so will be 7 ales in total... So what other hoppy ales have I had here recently? 

There has been the ultra-reliable Stonehenge Danish Dynamite (5%), pale and full flavoured, reported on a-plenty; local brewer 1648's Gold Angel, another 5% pale golden ale with a biscuit aroma, plenty of body, slight roasted malt flavour, quite dry and bitter; West Berkshire's Full Circle (4.5%), a pale golden bitter, dry and pretty good, indeed; and Kent brewer Pig & Porter's Penhuist Pale Ale (4.5%), a deep amber colour, with a fruity aroma and a hint of peach in the flavour, drying out into a very nice bitter, cheers Mark & family! 

Well, that was the 300th blog, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, cheers!     

Sent to The Tower... and more Dark Star ales!

My most recent visit to The Tower, London Road, Hastings St Leonards, with the sky just darkening early evening as the Winter draws ever closer, and a very pleasant chance to meet up with the landlady, Louisa. 

Yep, of course there were excellent ales from the East Sussex brewers, Dark Star, available, all at a very reasonable price too. Their Hophead (3.8% and £2.40 a pint), American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7% and £2.50) and the 'seasonal' Indian Summer IPA (6% and just £3.10 a pint). I'm sure I've already commented about the Indian Summer, not just the decent weather we've had up until very recently, but the ale... It has mucho body, a lovely fruity aroma, and is a deeply delicious bitter, love all 3 actually!  

...and not just Dark Star ales, but Two Cocks Brewery's 1643 Cavalier, described as a 'golden ale', which is a quite pale golden bitter, and very easy to drink, thanks for yet another ale and fun filled evening, Louisa, cheers! 

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! 

More 'Red Shift', and something very interesting coming from Hastings Brewery...

The Dolphin in Hastings, Rock a Nore, was my target today, and not just because they have 2 firkins of Dark Star Red Shift (5.5%) to sell, but that's a good enough start! There were the usual Dark Star Hophead and APA, Harveys Sussex Best and Youngs Special, and the other guest was the fruity pale bitter from Salopian, Oracle (4%).

And, sitting by the Dark Star APA pump was the same brewer's Red Shift (5.5%).  I've already reported on it, but just to say again, this is a deep ruby bitter with a pronounced fruity Ribenaesque aroma. It still has a fruity taste, a subtle hint of roasted malts and plenty of body, it is a very nice ale, indeed, a warning though, you probably only have a few days before it's provision is ended here!

Oh yes! And the news connected to Hastings Brewery and one of their 'Handmade' ales to come... I was recently at the Tower, more of soon, but Louisa, the wonderful landlady, let me have a taste of the Handmade Number 6, Columbus, from an advance sample she had been provided me with because I keep on missing Hastings 'handmade numbers', many thanks Louisa!  The Columbus is a 4.8% pale bitter, single hop, with a very peachy aroma, it has plenty of body and a nice dry bitter finish. I liked it very much, so am hoping I'll catch it from the cask...

Anyway, lots going on, a visit to London to come, the CAMRA Beer Festival at Olympia too, and even more from the Tower, etc etc, cheers!   

More excellent ales...

OK, ales recently enjoyed in two Hastings pubs, the Dolphin, at Rock a Nore in the 'old town', and the Tower, London Road, St Leonards... First, probably my favourite of the bunch...

I've had some excellent ales very recently, including the Saltaire Challenger Special (5.2%), an ale from this excellent Yorkshire brewery, which obviously uses the challenger hop in the process. It is has a deep red colour, has good body with fruity flavours, and you'd be hard pressed to guess it was such a dark beer if you drank it 'blind'.  Sorry if I overuse the word in this blog, but it is excellent!

Another dark beer, a wee bit darker than the Challenger Special, and this time from a Scottish brewery, The Orkney Brewery's Dark Island (4.6%). Nice again, but a bit more like a stout in flavour, at least how I always think of a stout, with the roasted malty flavour I'd expect in a stout.  Carry on...

Thanks to Maz for modelling this pump clip of the Stonehenge Great Bustard, a 4.8% amber ale that I really had to mention as their ales are consistently so good, and I have an anecdote this particular one lends a hand to share... I was at a football match up North with many mates, and a son of one (son of Teapot Dave, that is), purposefully ensuring I didn't swear in front of him, I shouted out "BUSTARD!" instead of another word at one highly charged moment, the little bustard told his dad I said the other word! Can't win, not so exciting, but always happy to share ;-)  

OK, to the ales at the Tower, and you'll be unlikely to be surpised I'm about to mention a very good Dark Star ale, or two, served up here, as there are usually 2 or 3 being served at this pub always! Todays newby for me was the 6% Victorian Ruby Mild, a crackin' dark beer, and I also had the much paler 4.8% Sunburst, mentioned before; this brewery doesn't seem able to do much wrong! 

Finally, for now, Sara was serving up Crouch Vale Apollo (4.3%), labelled "intensely hoppy", and not wrong! Nice and pale, bitter, fruity with body, grapefruit up yer nose and dry grapefruit flavours, loved it! OK, this was my favourite pale ale of the bunch, excellent...

Cheers!

Hastings updates and some excellent ale

So, where haven't I visited for quite a while in Hastings? Oh yes, the Cinque Ports, All Saints Street, in the medieval 'old town', rather than post another photograph of the outside of the pub, I decided to post this photograph of a model of the bar constructed for the crackin' Greek barmaid, Andee, and it's not a bad likeness to the bar either!

Ale-wise, they're selling up to 3 ales now, the usual 2, ie Fullers ESB (5.5%), an excellent darker full-bodied ale, that I usually imbibe here, and the ubiquitous 4% Harveys Sussex Best, which I rarely imbibe, it's very drinkable, but lacks hops and flavour for me!  They are also trying guest ales, and I had a couple or three pints of the Otter Ale, a 4.5%, very nice, premium bitter at £3.30 a pint, enjoyed the visit and seeing Andee again, cheers! 

 

I had a meeting at The Windmill, Seddlescombe Road North (A21), the 'Brewers Fayre' part of the Premier Inn in Hastings, a couple of miles inland, and up the hill from me, so I thought, have a drink (I got there earlier than I thought I would).  As they only had Shepherd Neame Spitfire (4.2%), that's what I drank a pint of, not bad for £3.14 in a hotel bar, and not bad to drink either, maybe I should drink Sheps a bit more...  

 

Anyway, rather than turn down towards the award winning Alexandra park, more directly to home, I carried on down London Road after my meeting, and visited the Tower, and what a great spontaneous decision that was, with the excellent Sara behind the bar, good banter, and a great ale or 4!

 

The always good Hopback Summer Lightning (5%), an early example of the pale hoppy ales I drank many years ago, and 3 Dark Star ales: Summer Meltdown (4.8%), always good American Pale Ale (APA), a 4.7% pale hoppy ale, and a new one to me, a bit of a rarity, a darker ale I loved, the, also 4.7% Genesis, an excellent dark, porter coloured bitter with a lighter taste, and at only £2.60 a pint, loved it.

 

Many thanks to the landlady for the choice of ales, Louisa, and to Sara for the excellent service on the day, cheers!

 

Some disappointment in Hastings...

Not so much at the Tower in London Road, though, but then again... The lovely Sara was working, always pleasant, and some great ales on sale still, Ilkley Lotus IPA and Dark Star Revelation and APA (which I appeared to get the last pint of, thanks very much, but the other 2 are just to strong to only be drinking at a lunchtime visit, and, quite frankly, Doom Bar is very much a reserve for me, like if I'm dying of thirst!). I miss Hophead here at the Tower, longing for its return...

So, to the White Rock Hotel, down at the seafront, which did have Dark Star Hophead on sale, but nothing from the other 3 pumps, though it was after 12 noon, and it appeared 2 other ales may be pulled through at some time, but the lad behind the bar wasn't sure. OK, Hophead at £3.10 a pint, instead of the £2.30 the Tower charges, but... Quite frankly, that's me, 'frank' to the point of candour, I was reminded that, despite selling ales daily from 10.00 here, it's getting close to summer, and the beer was a bit warm, had definitely not been pulled through at all, and I wouldn't serve it up so cloudy (it was OK to drink-ish, and I always say I don't drink with my eyes, so can't be hypocritical, but I'll have no problems with my bowels this week!), this is why I don't drink in this establishment much during the summer, shame, as I like sitting out on the verandah looking at the sea...

So, where did I end up? At the General Havelock, to get my 'loyalty card' stamped and drink a decent pint of Hophead, but at £3.40 a pint now (inflation in a day). They also have Timothy Taylor Landlord and Harveys Sussex Best as regulars, and the Hophead of course, and Dark Star American Pale Ale (APA) as a guest on this day.  They usually sell Westons Old Rosie cider too, but a busy bank holiday weekend had seen that go down many gullets!

Good value food at the General Havelock too, had a wee chat to the lovely Ellen, serving today, and Jamie, the manager came in too, so pleasant company. For £4.45 I had a very nice cheese and red onion sandwich with mayo in brown bread, and a bowl of thick cut chips (the oil seemed a bit 'tired' and they were a bit fatty, but can't complain about the good value).  Cheers for another day...

Sunday 28th April

I wanted to watch football on television, so where in Hastings can you drink a good pint of beer at great value prices, and watch Sky Sports too?  Obviously, the Tower, London Road (now added to our website too, though I shall be adding to that page a bit more soon, ie Hastings St Leonards, and to feature in the next CAMRA Good Beer Guide too, congratulations to the landlady, Louisa, and all her colleagues!).  Great snacks on the bar for a Sunday lunchtime, the lovely Sara behind the bar, Louisa and beau this side when I arrived, and good company at the bar too, and ales...  

Look at the 4 above... 3 Dark Star ales and an interesting pale, quite bitter, ale from a brewery I'd never heard of, Dancing Duck, their 5.5% Abduction, not bad, but a bit strong for lunchtime, and 3 excellent ales from Dark Star to chose from!  I gave the 5% "red ale" Carafa Jade a miss, still a bit too strong, but, quite frankly, I couldn't get past the two other excellent paler ales, and difficult to chose which I preferred, though I may go marginally for the 4.8% Sunburst, a "golden ale", though a very pale 'golden', bitter and thirst quenching, loved it, and at only £2.60 a pint, eat your hearts out folks!  Oh yes, and there was the, also excellent, American Pale Ale (APA) at 4.7%, marginally 'weaker', and £2.40 a pint... So I drank a couple of pints of both, cheers Louisa and Sara, I was spoilt! 

And an update for the Dolphin, Rock a Nore, Hastings, where I had a couple of pints before walking up to the Tower, and a lovely slice of orange cake from the wonderful Maz behind the bar, and cheese and pickled onions, ta Mark.  Their regular 'seasonal' ale for the summer has returned, and probably will be on sale for 4 or 5 months, maybe longer, ie Dark Star APA, and the regular Dark Star Hophead too, great stuff!

Cheers!

The Tower in St Leonards, Hastings (20-02-13)

I hadn't been to the Tower, London Road, St Leonards, Hastings, for quite a while, and not because it has a long address, but, well, I've been pretty busy, and a bit short of cash to boot! The Tower probably sells the best value good quality ales in the area, and you're pretty sure to get one of Dark Star's excellent pale beers, so the walk up to the Tower was a sensible move on Wednesday, and Lousia, the landlady, was present too... bonus!

So, what did they have to drink? 4 excellent ales were available, indeed, 2 from Dark Star and 2 from the West Country.  I started with Bath Ales Golden Hare, a 4.4% 'seasonal' full-bodied pale ale with a pronounced bitter aftertaste, very good. I then had a half of the St Austell Ruck & Roll (topical, rugby, see?), a slightly darker light bitter with a hint of nuts to the flavour.  Then a new member of staff arrived, the already efficient Jess, with her intricately painted union flag fingernails; worth taking the picture as I progressed to the Dark Star ales...   

I had a pint of the ever bitter, pale and hoppy, favourite of mine, Hophead (3.8%), at just the £2.30 a pint, can't get better than an excellent local ale at a very competitive price... then the improved (on what was already a very good beer recipe, presumably a variation of hops used) American Pale Ale (APA and 4.7%) at £2.40 a pint. I was a happy bunny on my way home, cheers to Louisa and Jess!

The Dolphin for my next blog...

Weekend 2-3 February and surprise 3.5% Ale!

I watched football on Sky tv at the Tower, London Road, St Leonards, Hastings, and found they had 3 Dark Star ales on sale, the 5% 'winter warmer' Winter Meltdown, the excellent 4.7% pale ale, American Pale Ale and The Art of Darkness, only 3.5%.  They also had Tring Moongazer, a 4.3% lightish ale with "All American Hops".  The Moongazer is a light coloured ale, with a hint of caramel in the aroma, and a little sweet to start with, but with a bitter aftertaste, nice.

But the surprise was The Art of Darkness, Dark Star adding a whopping amount of hops to make this session beer, by strength, a "full flavoured black beer"... Not too bad a description, but the colour was more a deep dark red, and the flavours were certainly there. Yes, full of hops, refreshing, with a dry aftertaste, and I was very happy to drink more than just the one pint, excellent!  

At the Dolphin in Hastings, I again enjoyed the full flavoured 5.5% CITRA IPA from Franklin's, which does what it says on the label, this new brewery from Bexhill certainly is brewing some decent ales very early in its existence.  In addition to the CITRA, there were the Dolphin's usual regulars, Harveys Sussex Old and Sussex Best, Youngs Special and Dark Star Hophead, and there was also:

The Dolphin's first foray into ales from Kent Brewery, which shouldn't be their last, as this is another reasonably local brewery, in adjacent Kent, that brews some very good ales. The 4.1% Cobnut is a dark ruby ale, with a nutty flavour, and reminds me of a stout, very nice.  Cheers!

5th December and The Tower, London Road, Hastings

I get a bit confused if this is St Leonards up the hill here in London Road, or Bohemia?  Whichever, I visited the Tower and Louisa, and had a few ales. The photograph below is from a few months ago, but I forgot to take a photo this time, and it's quite nice and sunny in this picture, anyhow, I did take a photograph of the beer pumps and fire, further below:

Louisa is great company, keeps a friendly house, and serves up well-conditioned ales at some of the lowest prices in Hastings.  The 4 ales on offer today were Fullers London Pride (4.1%), I hadn't drunk a pint of Pride for a few months, so had to taste it, still a good ale, no doubt about that, despite my tastebuds now going for more pale and bitter ales, and at £2.40 a pint, had some mates of mine, I bragged to by text, very envious.  Similarly, I bragged about the excellent 5.9% Thornbridge Jaipur at £3.00 a pint to another set of friends; I'd forgotten how good Jaipur is, so I can only imagine what it would have been like to be drinking their Kipling!

 

Louisa also had two Dark Star ales on, the American Pale Ale (4.7%) at £2.40 a pint and Rock Star (6%), an "American Brown Ale" that was a collaboration with Magic Rock Brewery, at £2.90 a pint.  A Christmas visit could well be a priority for me, as for the week from 18.00 hrs on Christmas Eve, until 18.00 hrs on New Years Eve, she will be selling Sharps Doom Bar (4%) at £1.99 a pint!  As the pub is also open on Christmas Day from 11 to 3pm, I may just pop in on Christmas Day, just to wish everyone a merry Christmas, whatever, I will be there at some time during the festivities...

 

 

...and another real fire!

Cheers Louisa :-) 

Sunday 11th November - St Leonards

OK, Sunday, afternoon, and a chance to get to The St Leonard, London Road, St Leonards, just a little way up the hill, on the left, from the seafront.  Why "a chance" then?  Well, this new addition to real ale drinking on the South East Sussex coast currently opens only Wednesday to Saturday evenings, 5-11pm, and Sunday afternoons/early evening, 12-9pm.  This is quite an airy room inside, on two levels, with one bar, bare floorboards, 'traditional' pub furniture, and an art deco feel about the decoration. 

So, what was on offer?  Well, I've seen Hopback Summer Lightning on offer before, which I love, but the pub was closed that time I walked by, sadly.  The St Leonard also appears to be regularly providing ales from the very local brewery, Hastings, this time their Best Bitter and Blonde were on the bar, both discussed before, and very good ales to have on sale; I've drunk them before, reported on them before, but they also had on an ale I haven't tried before (please don't call me a 'ticker', I just wanted to try a pint of an ale that was new to me). 

 

So I drank the Woodforde's Once Bittern, a 4% bitter, which I presume a portion of the profits goes to the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, which they support.  This was a bit more expensive than the usual local prices, £3.50 a pint, but had to be tried.  So, it was new to me, plus I'm a member of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, and fraternal feelings took over too!  A decent ale, like all Woodforde's ales tend to be. Nice one.

I then walked up the hill, intending to take advantage of the Dark Star ales that usually adorn the bar of The Tower, a 10 minute walk further up London Road, and I wasn't disappointed.  I also got to watch some football and have a bit of banter in a decidedly more busy local. In addition to the 3 Dark Star ales was Bass Bitter, now brewed by Marstons; I've given much time to Bass recently, nb the 3 Dolphins blog, so, though I was very tempted, there were much more ales to my taste on offer.

 

So, the 3 Dark Star ales were ones I can happily drink, the APA, not my favourite, but very hoppy, a little too sweet for me, the Hophead, probably my favourite among their regular brews, and the 5.7% Revelation, at £2.90 a pint, a bargain! What can I say about the Revelation that I haven't said before, full bodied, pale, in your face hops... I can only add I ended up a wee bit 'merry'.  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 :-)

The St Leonard and Hastings Brewery

The St Leonard, London Road, St Leonards, Hastings (a fair old address) has recently reopened under this new 'badge', and shows signs of great promise...

 

Still only open Wednesday to Saturday evenings, and Sunday, during the day, The St Leonard has opened with real ale to the fore, and a gradual introduction of food at varying levels... now, I have to own up, I haven't had an ale here yet, indeed, I haven't had a drink here yet, but that time will come soon! 

 

I was passing this morning, and had a chat to a bloke working on the main door to the pub, who gave me my updated news about this pub... I also saw a Hop Back Summer Lightning pump clip over his shoulder, which is why I particularly say, "great" promise ;-) 

 

 

Why is this glass empty? LOL

However, the first time I found out about this pub was when Hastings Brewery recently tweeted about them selling their ales, so Hastings Best and Blonde may also be regularish, if not regulars, we shall see! Indeed, if you want to know where to find Hastings ales on sale go to www.hastingsbrewery.co.uk/find/ 

Good luck, I drink the 'Best Bitter' at The Dripping Well and Frank's Front Room, cheers!