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

Black IPAs - oxymoron maybe, but...

I shan't waffle about what an oxymoron is, particularly as I may be reporting on all the 'Black IPAs' I have ever had as a cask ale, so I don't want to lose your interest. But how is such an ale brewed? I checked with a few brewers I know, including Brett who has recently left Hastings Brewery; good luck with your future career Brett, and many thanks for your advice! Primarily, usually malt that has been de-husked is used to provide the dark colour with as little roasted malt flavour as possible. Then, a significant amount of hops are used to provide the hoppiness, eg hops from the USA, Australia or New Zealand like Cascade, Columbus, Nelson Sauvin, Ella and Galaxy. 

OK, so lots of photographs and less writing... I drank my first Black IPA at The Wellington, Shalesmoor, just before I left Sheffield 3 years ago, and brewed by Steel City Brewing; of said brewery I've consulted with Dave "Unpronounceable", as I couldn't remember the name of the ale, and I've borrowed the photograph too, many thanks. You can guess that I haven't any notes of my drinking their Shadowplay (5.6%), but I do remember enjoying the ultra-hoppy flavour of the ale (this was early Steel City Brewing, remember, and the lads do like their hops!), and anything I was to drink later, would have to compare favourably... 

I didn't then experience a Black IPA for nearly 2 years, until I visited The Bricklayers Arms, Putney, in October 2012, where I drank Triple fff Brewery's Jabberwocky (5%), which I reported as being "a very dark bitter with hints of liquorice, very enjoyable, see, I don't just drink pale bitters!" I cannot find a record of the hops used, but am guessing American, as these Black IPAs have also been called "American", based on the style coming from the USA, and usually using just American hops at first. Indeed, I've seen this one commented on as an "American Indian Pale Ale", and I don't think they meant Native American!  

I first had Dark Star's The Art of Darkness (3.5%) a little over a year ago at The Tower, London Road, Hastings St Leonards. This isn't labelled as a "Black IPA", but strength-wise, I'd compare this like Green King IPA to stronger IPAs with hops used, only, The Art of Darkness has more hops used than most IPAs! Warrior hops are used for bittering, and flavouring is provided by an array of hops, including Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial. I have drunk this many times, as it is, well, this is how I described it the first time: "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... Yes, full of hops, refreshing, with a dry aftertaste, and I was very happy to drink more than just the one pint, excellent!"

Windsor & Eton's Conqueror (5%) was my next brush with the style, at the White Horse on Parsons Green, London SW6. This showed a difference to most of these Black IPAs, as smoked malt was used in the brew, however, substantial use of Summit and Cascade hops appeared to help the flavour acquire fruit, nut and bitter hoppiness. Incidentally, the beer label design is based on William the Conqueror's shield. 

Back to a more 'typical' Black IPA, and brewed by my old buddies at Steel City Brewing again, this time at The Albatross Club (Royal Air Force Association) in Bexhill on Sea, their In The Nightside Eclipse (5.5%). Hops used were Columbus and Magnum for bitterness, and what they term their "holy trinity of Galaxy, Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin for flavour." Extra Galaxy and Mosaic were added to the fermenter, and casks were dry hopped with Mosaic, this was another genuine hoppy ale from Steel City, Sheffield, bitter with even a hint of grapefruit, nice one!

I'm nearing the end of this blog, so you've done well, cheers! In October, at The Gardeners Arms in Lewes, I had the Black Iris Black Mountain (5.9%), I cannot find any information about the brew, but am guessing Cascade hops were used, to keep in with the American style, maybe... I found this did what it said on the label, it was very dark, full bodied, and very hoppy, as I said then, "gorgeous!" 

My penultimate ale, for this blog, is Blue Monkey's Bonobo (5.3%), which I had in January, during my first ever visit to the new-ish Oakham Brewery pub in Kennington, London, The Mansion House. Again, I cannot find anything about the brew itself, but guess Cascade hops were used, seems likely anyway, or something like them... I found it to be a lighter flavour than I'd have expected before gaining experience of Black IPAs, and a bit too easy to drink for its strength! But, to my last word for now...    

Brewed on my own doorstep, and let's hope they keep up the good work that Brett appears to have been highly influential in with their very good hoppy 'Handmade' series, Hastings Brewery No 11 Black IPA (5.4%). This is brewed with Ella hops (formerly Stella in name, until a certain brewery company stuck their legal nose in), and is close to what I would always expect from this style. Very dark, very hoppy, tastes 'lighter' and more citrus fruity than a dark ale really should, nice and dry too, I like it... I have had this at both The Tower and The Albatross Club recently, both being very supportive of local and microbrewers, nice one, cheers!  

5 Favourite (some old favourite) pubs in London...

So, not all the pubs I drank in on this visit to London, but all have had a few pounds sterling spent in them by me over the years...

The Harp, in between Charing Cross and Covent Garden, is an excellent pub to start off at, certainly when it's not too busy, and it does get very busy; this fact supported by them selling 9 real ales, and one of them, the Hophead, leaves 2 of their handpumps at the rate of a Barrel a day, ie 36 gallons+! Their 3 regular ales are Harveys Sussex Best, and two Dark Star ales, all have been reported on many times, Hophead (3.8%) and American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%), both the Dark Star ales selling at £3.45 a pint, that ain't a bad price for a central London pub. 

Oh yes, and 6 guest ales, that included Sambrook's Junction (4.5%), and there is always an ale from the Battersea brewery, Sambrook's, regularly on sale here too; Crouch Vale Brewers Gold (4%) and Blackwater Mild (3.7%); Palmers Dorset Gold (4.5%) and Best Bitter (4.2%); and the West London brewer, Weird Beard's collaboration with BrewDog Kentish Town Beard, a 5.2% "American Wheat Ale", pale, a bit cloudy, hint of tangy orange, dry and quite bitter, liked it!        

My previous blog deals with most of the (new) pubs I drank in on this particular London visit, so a bit of time walking included in my day. Anyhow, although I didn't go into The Old Bell, Fleet Street, which was built by Christopher Wren for the builders who worked on St Bride's church, that is situated in a wee alley behind the pub, anyway, I had to photograph it. This was a regular lunchtime haunt when I worked opposite the Old Bailey in my youth, in the days when people still imbibed copious amounts of alcohol during work lunch breaks. This is now a Nicholson's pub, and credit has to be given to that pubco for taking over and preserving some excellent ale houses, and providing decent ales and food too. 

In my day, as far as I remember, there was only one real ale in here, the excellent Worthington E on draught; not one of the poor keg beers that proliferated at the time, but a genuine real cask conditioned ale. I know that people have conjectured over the years whether this was just re-badged Bass, but it most definitely was, and still is a different ale entirely, with its own recipe, and now brewed at, I believe, the old Bass Museum brewery in Burton; now owned by Coors, there's a surprise! I wish I'd gone in for a drink, but I was restricted for time on the day, so a potential target for the future.    

Not far away is another Nicholson's pub, and one I have reported on not too long ago, The Blackfriar, an Art Nouveau masterpiece built at the beginning of the 20th century, but with a hostelry on the site for over 400 years. I've written about this before, on here, and on facebook, and shall no doubt visit again sometime soon, maybe when I go to The Old Bell, and I have happy memories of using this pub as a quiet wee place to visit with female friends, though not so quiet these days... 

I crossed Blackfriars Bridge to the South bank of the Thames and turned left/east towards Borough Market. As can be seen above, it was starting to get dark; in this photograph is The Rake to the right, with the market behind, and Southwark Cathedral in the background, where a forebear of mine was married (when it was still a Parish Church, pre-promotion). I popped into The Rake, but the 3 ales on sale were either not interesting to me (2 of them), or too strong, the other being about 14% or something! So I wandered through the market to... 

The Market Porter, which I could have published a darkened photograph of, but I haven't, as it was my last ale before I visited the new Mansion House in Kennington (see previous blog), and a photograph of a dark ale here, just to prove I don't only drink pale hoppy ales! Many ales available as ever, including ales from Triple fff, Peerless, and Coastal Brewery, but this was my choice: Leeds Ale Mary, a very pleasant 4.5% dark ale with a hint of liquorice in the flavour. From there to Kennington, and my first bus of the day, and already written about...

Cheers!   

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! 

Swinging from the scaffold with a flagon of ale in each hand...

... not really, though the scaffold's still up, but even more great ales! Latest, at The Tower, St Leonards, with 4 great pale hoppy bitters!  2 from Hop Back Brewery, the famous Summer Lightning (5%), and the lemon grass flavoured Taiphoon (4.2%), which I hadn't drunk for a while, so I gave a pint a try.  It had a maltier flavour than I remember, maybe I'm just getting too used to the excellent pale and hoppier ales now brewed by Dark Star, amongst many others. So, I also drank a pint of Dark Star Hophead (3.8%) at £2.40 a pint, and more than one of the excellent American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%) at £2.50, and had a good chat with Louisa, the landlady, cheers!

Louisa also suggested I note these upcoming ales from Hastings Brewery, apparently, single hopped beers "handmade" by Brett, a regular drinker at the Tower. Both of these use Australian hops: No4 Australian Blonde Ale (4.4%), which was brewed using Ella hops, and No5 Hop Forward Pale Ale (4.8%), which used Galaxy hops.  If I do get the chance to try either of these ales, I'll write up about them, and it looks like I must have already missed 3 of the brews... 

Back at the Dolphin, Rock-a-Nore, Hastings Old Town, down opposite the fishermen's working beach, the same regular 4 ales have been available, and I have started getting much more into the Dark Star APA, though still have been drinking the Hophead too, both excellent.  2 other ales of note that have been on sale there very recently include Triple fff Moondance, a nice pale 4.2% bitter, with citrus flavours and nose, initially a sweet taste, with a drying out on the palate, and a bitter finish, "sweet & sour" beer, nice one! Also, on Sunday in particular, I've drunk a few pints of an ale I've reported on before, and it is still outstanding, ie Salopian Hop Twister, 4.5%, obviously hoppy, tasting of grapefruit, with good body, and a very dry and bitter finish, love it!

I've visited the First In Last Out (FILO), High Street, Hastings, a couple of times too, and have grown back into their own FILO Gold (4.8%), amongst their own 5 ales on sale; they have had Dark Star Hophead on too, a good choice for the summer, which appears to have arrived.  Anyway, the Gold is a nice pale golden bitter with plenty of body, and you know you've had a drink too. I was even talked into helping out as a traffic 'marshall' in the old town for Pirate Day (last Sunday, 21st) by Adam there, and I had a couple of pints of Gold after 7 hours standing in the sun, Hastings does love to dress up and 'party', cheers Adam!

Finally, for this blog, I had a pint of Palmers Dorset Gold (4.5%) in the Jenny Lind, further down High Street, with the wee Pre-Raphaelite, Sarah serving up. The Dorset Gold is another pale dry golden full-bodied bitter, but don't let the aroma put you off, it's a decent beer... Oh, and, for a change, I've included a photograph of their cider pump clip, with the locally produced Trappers Laughing Jester (Pear) Cider, it tastes like ciders should taste from my memory of living in Devon, nice one.

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!

Tuesday 13 November 2012 - Icklesham and real fires again.

More real fires and real ale in Icklesham this time, a dreary day, so a good reason to seek out real fires, and where better than this East Sussex village?  First stop the Queens Head...

 

A few fires in here, but I only photographed the one below, it's not so easy to take decent photographs in old pubs away from windows, and with my mobile phone too; I'll have to remember to bring my camera with me!  Anyway, there were ales too, of course, including Greene King Abbot Ale and IPA, Rother Valley RWB (all ales I've already written about or that are well known), Long Man Long Blonde (3.8%, pale golden hoppy ale), and Harveys Sussex Best and Old Ale (4.3%, dark seasonal ale)  Both of the male staff members have joined in 'Movember' with impressive moustaches, good stuff, though unlikely to ever see me with one, though I have 'sponsored'. 

I also met someone here from Long Man Brewery, great to be able to put faces to brewery peeps!  Then I wandered back to the main road and followed it westwards to the Robin Hood, another delightful old pub...

...and I was very pleased to meet up with Fred, on this side of the bar, always a good conversationalist, and I'd been a bit worried about him, not having seen him for quite a while, a real fire, of course, and Darcy and Debbie behind the bar, always good too.

2 ciders from handpumps, Westons Old Rosie and Wyldwood Vintage Organic Cider, both at 7.3%, and five real ales. Available were Brains The Rev James (4.5%), Triple fff Pressed Rat & Warthog (3.8%), Wychwood Hobgoblin (4.5%), and the two I drank from Full Moon Brewery, ie Hop Dance and Red Pacific.  The Red Pacific is a 4.8% full bodied deep red coloured bitter, and the Hop Dance is an easier drinking pale bitter at 3.9%, both good examples of a seasonal ale and a 'session' bitter.

 

Cheers!

Saturday 10th November - Fires and pubs, Pett, East Sussex

The Routemeister had visited me for the weekend, so Saturday meant a fairly long walk, this time across the top of the cliffs and Hastings Wildlife Park, a fairly arduous trek to Pett Level, where we hoped to drink at the Smugglers, which we had sat outside looking at the beach virtually a year ago to the day. Sadly, it's temporarily closed, but soon to re-open, I have been reliably informed by one of those taking over the pub, when I spoke to her this Tuesday, there being just a few technical problems, so, fingers crossed!

Addendum and update, even, The Smugglers deal has fallen through, it is now rumoured to not be re-opening before Easter at the earliest! 

Anyway, we headed uphill, through fields (along a right of way) to Pett Village, only a mile or so away. Our first port of call there was the Royak Oak, which has 3 or 4 ales on at a time, today was Hopback Summer Lightning, Morlands Golden Hen and Harveys Sussex Best; a little disappointed that we just missed Triple fff Brewery's Jabberwocky coming on, which was soon to replace the Summer Lightning.  All these ales are either well known and/or already reported on by me, so I'll get onto the fires...

We sat right in front of the smaller fire, note our Beermeister caps drying out and warming up in the photograph above, we had been walking through rain for about 3 hours by now!

The larger fireplace is pictured above, though we'd have been hogging a table nearer to people eating if we'd sat there, so we relaxed in front of the previous fire, well away from people, though two older women did come and sit to the left of that fire; we're obviously not intimidating people.

We then walked along the main road to the Two Sawyers, a favourite of my brother's I believe, and one of mine too.  Here was Ringwood Fortyniner and Harveys Sussex Best, both well reported ales, and Harveys Trundle Bitter (3.5%) and Isfield IPA, a 4.2% pale bitter, with a biscuity flavour and dry aftertaste; from this you can guess this is what we drank there, and I've been reasonably impressed by the ales from this new brewery so far. 

Of course, it being a cold and wet day, a fire was lit at the Two Sawyers too.  Cheers!

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!

Wednesday 11th July 2012 - Back to the Dolphin.

OK, I was there Tuesday night too, but had to return and drink my old favourite Hophead! 

The usual 3 regulars, Hophead, Directors and Sussex Best were all on, plus the seasonal regular Dark Star APA...

Plus two other pale hoppy ales were on as guests also, Elgoods Golden Newt (4.1%, a little too biscuity and 'sweet' for me with my ever increasing fondness for bitter and dry ales, though certainly the Newt was being drunk by many regulars and visitors!) and Triple fff Brewery Moondance, another excellent grapefruity pale and dry 4.2% bitter, loved it!

Cheers!

Tuesday 29th May

Had a fair old wander yesterday, taking the scenic route (more details on my personal facebook page), well, one of the possible scenic routes, to Icklesham, and the Robin Hood, seeing as how we got there too late to have a drink 2 weeks ago!

Debbie and Darcy working behind the bar yesterday, nice discourse, and with the regular I know, Fred (much more of a  regular visitor than me too).  On the bar were the usual 2 ciders from Westons and the 5 ales were Canterbury Foundry Red Rye (3.6%), Longman Best, Adnam Southwold Bitter, and the 2 I drank, Millis Dartford Warbler (4.3%, medium coloured bitter with malty flavour, very nice) and Triple fff Pressed Rat & Warthog (3.8%, apparently sold as a mild, but I'd suggest too hoppy to be a traditional mild, nutty, slightly burnt malt flavour, plus dry and bitter aftertaste, as I say, not really a traditional mild, but very tasty!).

 Anyway, so people know the opening times, and don't miss out like we did: Mon-Thursday 11-3pm and 6-11pm; Fri/Saturday 11-11pm; Sunday 12-4pm and 7-10.30pm.  Above is the bar with hop vines hanging from the ceiling, very atmospheric (see my photo from previous visit too).

On leaving the Robin Hood, I walked back to Hastings (cash at a premium, and single bus fare from Icklesham to Hastings is ludicrously expensive, at least a pint and a half), and got a bit lost, well, not really lost, but I went in the wrong direction...

Back in Hastings, I visited the Dolphin, well I'd got very thirsty, despite the temperature dropping, as a fog came in from the sea.  On sale, the usual Directors, Sussex Best and Hophead, plus the seasonal regular Dark Star APA and Harveys Elizabethan Ale (5% 7.5% in bottles!); awaiting the Longman Sussex Best clearing, so a spare handpump.  I drank the APA, excellent!

Cheers :-D