Rye to Hastings - Friday 12th April.

On leaving the Red Lion at Snargate, we returned to East Sussex by numbers 11 and 100 buses, for a look into Rye, where neither of us were particularly experienced drinking at, our first destination, The Queens Head (Rye: we dropped into another Queens Head later, as you will see), where we chatted to the manager, the second Kate of the day, and knowledgeable and pleasant she was too.

The Queens Head is a CAMRA GBG entry, and ales? Well, they always have local ales on, usually one from Long Man and two from Franklins, and on Friday there were Franklins Mama Knows Best and English Garden (4.1% and 3.8%; I'm sure I've reported on both before); Longman American Pale Ale, a 4.8% full bodied and fruity ale with a dry finish; and Brains The Rev James, 4.5% and well known... From this you may guess I drank the Longman APA. 

We then walked down to the Ypres Castle Inn (pronounced "Wipers" locally, not too many French speakers around here, I guess, though I seem to remember that was how troops in the First World War pronounced the name). 6 handpumps here for 5 ales and a cider, which was the 6% Biddenden Bushels Cider.  The regular ales are the ubiquitous Harveys Sussex Best (4%) and Larkins Best Bitter (4.4% and a typical South East bitter in the tastes of Youngs and Sheps). They also had Adnams Broadside (4.7% and well known) and regularly have ales from Old Dairy Brewery, on Friday they were the 4.1% "premium bitter" Copper Top and 4.3% golden ale Gold Top.   

We then caught the number 100 bus back to Icklesham and the Queens Head Inn, where there are always a good selection of real ales on, which on Friday included Whitstable Native (3.7%) and Galaxy (the hop used), a golden fruity 4.4% ale. Oh yes, and they had many others, including the 5% Hopfuzz Tomahawk, but my notes were getting a little hopfuzzy by now...

We made it back to the Dolphin in Hastings, where I have since been made aware that I dozed off whilst standing at the bar before realising I should go home!  Anyway, there were the usual 3 regular ales, my usual tipple Dark Star Hophead (3.8%), Youngs Special (4.5%) and Harveys Sussex Best (4%), and, I believe, Isfield Straw Blonde (4.1%), Harveys 'ruby ale' Georgian Dragon (4.7%), and a nice West Country ale, Otter Brewery's Ale (4.5%), a copper coloured ale with that West Country nuttiness in the flavour, typical of the region.

The Straw Blonde and Otter Ale have since been replaced by Loddon Ferryman's Gold (4.4%) and the excellent Yorkshire ale, Ilkley Lotus IPA, 5.6% of pale fruity hoppy bitter! (18th April)  

Anyway, a good day was had, cheers!



Weekend in Hastings (1st-3rd March)

A bit of chat about ales at 3 Hastings bars from over the weekend, and I think my good mate and colleague, Kieran, is going to add a blog about Southampton soon...

It was a bit overcaste, so this is an old photograph of the Tower, London Road, upper St Leonards, not far from Bohemia Road, an excellent place to visit, though, sadly, no Louisa to say "Trouble's here" when I walked into the pub, but her colleagues are all efficient and very lovely young women, so I have no complaints, and ale-wise, no complaints either.  Out of the 2 Dark Star ales, I drank the American Pale Ale (APA), 4.7% of excellent pale and hoppy beer, but there was also their Porter (5.6%, and a bit too strong for me on the day, sorry).  They also had 2 Bath Ales beers on, their Golden Hare (4.4%) and Gem (4.8%), at least one of which I have reported on before, another good brewer!

I hadn't been to the Dripping Well for a while, walking back down the hill (Bohemia Road) to reach it, where I called Nick, the landlord, by the wrong name! See, I said it had been a while...  I drank the Brains The Rev. James (4.5%), and Adnams Broadside (4.7%), which was in excellent condition, really enjoyed it. There was also the 'cooking bitter' Wadworth Henry's IPA (3.6%), sorry, I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but you know what I mean, and they usually have the Hastings Best (4.1%), but the pump clip was turned round, so I guessed it wasn't on at that time.

I also met a great couple there, Simon, originally from up in the North West of England, and a more Southern Belle, I do believe, from her accent, anyway, Rachel.  If you read this, Simon, the art deco pub I was trying to describe, is the Ship & Mitre (I could only remember Ship being in the title, if you remember) on Dale Street, Liverpool.  Well worth a visit if any readers are ever in Liverpool, as are The Philharmonic and Doctor Duncans, and, well, there are a great number of good pubs up there really!

At the Dolphin, on the 3^rd March, there were the usual 3 regulars, Dark Star Hophead (3.8%), Youngs Special (4.5%), and Harveys Sussex Best (4%), and the three guests were 2 Sussex ales from Isfield, Flapjack, a 5.3% ‘oatmeal stout’ and IPA, Imperial Pale Ale, at 4.2%, both self explanatory, and Elland Tomahawk.  The Yorkshire brewery describes their Tomahawk as a “strong aromatic bitter”, which doesn’t really do it justice, it is aromatic and 4.7%, and a full flavoured pale bitter, and it is very good indeed!

 

Debbie and Maz were working behind the bar of the Dolphin, with an excellent plum cake from Maz for the regulars to enjoy, many thanks Maz, great Tomahawk to drink, cheers both, and good company that included an intriguing French woman, Florence, and, later, dinner at Trattoria Italiana, an Italian restaurant in Hastings, obviously.  A good day in all!   

By the 5^th, the guest ales were all different again, the ‘semi-regular’ seasonal guest is now the very good Harveys Porter (4.8%), of which they currently have 6 firkins, so it will be on for a while, and the other 2 guest ales included an ale from a very new local brewery, Pig & Porter, Red Spider (5.5%), a full bodied bitter with roasted malt as a contributory factor; this is what I would call a ‘special bitter’, and very nice.   

 

The sixth ale was the excellent Salopian Golden Thread, a 5% pale bitter with a ‘peach’ fruity aroma and plentiful body, a cracker of an ale, and the Hophead was in very good form too, by the way!  Company today included the landlord, Mark, and behind the bar the two very delightful daughters of the family, Laura and Louise.  

 

I enjoyed my time as ever, of course, cheers!