This time I was out to watch Chanctonbury Morris Men at one of my favourite pubs.
Andwell King John (4.2%): An excellent malty beer with a very bitter hop taste. The first time I've tried a beer from this relatively new brewer.
Arundel Sting in the Tail (4.7%): Tastes good if you can get away from the unpleasant smell.
Welton's Pridenjoy (2.8%): Top marks to this stunning light bitter which stands up in flavour to beers twice its strength.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): A lovely pint.
Another good night out.
Once again we followed the Broadwood Morris Men to a pub in the Sussex countryside. Well actually on this occasion we got there early as we had a small celebration of my son's first birthday (where did that year go?).
Dark Star Hop Head (3.8%): Lovely drinkable sweet beer with a huge hop taste. My first three pints in a long time!
Hogs Back Spring Ale (4.0%): Pleasant and light but quite bitter.
Lovely food, beer and staff at this off-the-beaten-track pub. Oh and we had a great music session as well. Perfect.
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| Brighton Morris perform outside The Beer Essentials © Barry Dewdney - used with permission |
Oh what a shame, I locked myself out of my house and the only place to wait was the local pub with real ale and ice cream sundaes available.
Once I'd finished my large chocolate sundae...
St Austell Tribute (4.2%): Smooth pale ale with honey tones. Served on the colder side of "normal" but still within range.
A pleasant pub with friendly staff, fairly quiet on a mid-week evening.
This large venue was recently known as "Bar Vin" but has now reverted to its original name, "The Anchor Hotel".
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| Black Dragon Morris dancing outside The Beer Essentials © Barry Dewdney - used with permission |
Here again for the World Championship Marbles that is played every Good Friday. This year there was a beer festival. In fact it's still on, it runs until Monday or until the beer runs out.
This is a members' club in Horsham but there are often opportunities to visit, should you wish. Tonight there was a murder mystery play on so I thought I'd investigate.
This was a very busy "town" pub, absolutely jammed full of people. I stood by the bar as there was nowhere else to go and watched pint after pint being pulled.
Caledonian Raspberry Fool (4.0%): Stupidly sweet, this tastes like it has real fruit in it. Surprisingly it grew on me.
Castle Eden & Cameron's Nimmo's XXXX (4.4%): A decent malty brew.
There were also Thwaites and Harveys beers available.
I took several pictures of this pub but they all have these two men in. No, I've no idea who they are, they were just standing there and wanted to be in the picture.
Was starting to feel the worse for wear by the time we left this pub and I knew there were several more to go. My photography skills were suffering.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): Well kept beer at this bar.
After drinking gently for most of the day at the CAMRA AGM members' bar, come the evening I was persuaded to go on a pub crawl with the CAMRA Young Members group (just being young enough!). How wise this was you may decide after reading this and the next six entries...
Itchen Valley Pure Gold (4.8%): Cloudy but pleasant golden ale.
Also available was Youngs Bitter, Bombardier and Abbot Ale. The pub was large and had knowledgeable staff.
I was trying to get to the Star which apparently I was within yards of, but it was extremely dark and raining and I didn't fancy negotiating the adjacent supermarket carpark to find it, so I headed up the hill to the Hurst Arms.
This was a delightful local Harvey's pub, with a good variety of Harvey's beers and a good variety of clientele. Including, of course, a collection of CAMRA members.
Harvey's Dark Mild (3.0%): Tasty mild, very similar in flavour to the Sussex Best Bitter. I think it's the Sussex XX Mild by another name.
Harvey's Hadlow Bitter (3.5%): Just not strong enough to hit the spot, even after starting with the weaker beer.
Harvey's Armada Ale (4.5%): Pleasant bitter, very drinkable with a very bitter taste.
A very friendly and inviting pub. As I walked in the door, the lady behind the bar proffered a piece of kitchen towel to clean my glasses, as they were so steamed up. Exactly what a glasses-wearer needs at that moment! The service couldn't have been better and we happily stayed until closing.
Just round the corner from the Lamb, this more genteel establishment was a bit more refined and calm.
1648 St George English Ale (4.5%): Strong hop character followed by a separate mellow malt taste. Ok. Dispensed straight from the barrel.
White White Gold (4.9%): Beautiful fruity initial taste and an interesting hop character.
Leather sofas, modern art and very good tapas.
I was persuaded to go to the CAMRA Members' Weekend and AGM in Eastbourne, which necessitated doing a little research in the local hostelries.
On the Friday evening it was pouring with rain, but I managed to get to this large pub in the Old Town area.
Harvey's Olympia (4.3%): Pleasant but uninspiring golden ale.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): Served a bit cold. Considering how much they must sell here, not quite at it's peak. Fine beer though, one of my favourites.
Harvey's Star of Eastbourne (5.5%): I love Harvey's beers but they tend to suffer from all tasting very similar, and this is no exception. A stronger version of the Sussex Best.
At 9pm on a Friday night, with a ska gig upstairs and seemingly most of the 900 CAMRA members in town for the AGM on its premises, the pub was heaving. Too many people in one place for my liking but most of them seemed to be having a good time.
It took so long to get served that for the first time ever I ordered two rounds at once. I was drinking halves and it took less time to drink one than to order one.
Apologies for the dreadful photo, it was dark and raining heavily.
There were three beers on at this annual event - the same three as last year so I think they must be someone's favourites.
Palmer's IPA (4.2%): Drinkable beer but without a distinctive flavour.
RCH Hewish IPA (3.6%): Nutty beer. Not hoppy or strong, so no idea why it's called an IPA! Pleasant.
St Austell Black Prince (4.0%): Dark beer but again without a big flavour. Good for drinking all night.
Managed to find this pub in lovely Axbridge selling both lunch and real ale.
Butcombe Bitter (4.1%): Served a little cold but warmed into a lovely well balanced mellow bitter.
A tasty if rather expensive plate of fish and chips. Would have liked to stay for another beer but my companions were set on returning to the Doom Bar at the previous pub.
Coming to this pub has turned into an annual event. In other years we've got a big plate of lunch but the new management hadn't got the kitchen going so after sampling the beers we had to find somewhere else for lunch.
Sharp's Crown Inn Glory (3.8%): Pleasant light coloured bitter.
Sharp's Doom Bar Bitter (4.0%): A good pint of one of my favourite bitters.
Cheddar Ales Potholer (4.3%): A huge bittersweet hop taste to this 'more exciting than most' golden ale. Almost an IPA.
The beer was so good we came back later for a top up and a take out. And the lovely sunny day meant we could take advantage of the large beer garden.
Stopped in Steyning on the way home to see what this grand looking pub was like.
Dark Star Best (4.0%): Drinkable but uninspiring bitter. I've tasted much better from this local brewer.
Other beers available were Arundel Sussex Gold, Fuller's Gale's HSB, Timothy Taylor Landlord and Fuller's London Pride.
This 15th century inn had two bars, one full of sports fans either watching loud rugby on a big screen or playing snooker in the back, and one laid out as a restaurant.
We had planned on eating but we didn't feel hungry enough, although the menu looked excellent and reasonable. There was also free Wifi which appeared to be in use on the table next to us, incongruous in such an old building!
This was a small "local" pub, which we couldn't get into at first because the doorway was full of excited dog.
There was a bad smell inside, which may or may not have been connected to the presence of the animal.
Cottage Champflower Ale (4.2%): Decent, rounded bitter.
Vale Black Swan Mild (3.9%): A gorgeous dark, mellow, chocolately mild.
Both were served a touch too cold for my taste.
There were about ten locals watching the rugby in the corner of the bar, but it was not loud and didn't get in the way. A lovely pub apart from the smell.
As it was a sunny day and we had use of a car, we drove down to Worthing to see the sea and try some beer at a couple of pubs.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): Perfectly kept Harvey's, lovely.
Hop Back Summer Lightning (5.0%): Light, hoppy and strong. A bit sweeter than I remember, but great on a sunny afternoon.
A dark, cavernous interior well decorated with horse-brasses and swan ornaments, although the music was a bit loud.
Just a few yards from the Minster, this York Brewery pub was uninspiring from the outside, but felt very welcoming and friendly once inside. The bar staff were young yet knowledgeable about the beers, a rare combination.
York Wonkey Donkey (4.5%): Dark and smooth strong malty beer.
Tring Colley's Dog (5.2%): A distinctive mellow hop character to this strong deep red bitter.
Having run out of cash and not found a cash machine in the whole of York, I needed to pay by card and round up the price of a couple of halves to £5. The "tapas" menu sufficed and I had the most delicious bowl of cheese cubes and pickled onions for just £2.50.
Probably my favourite pub of the day (in spite of the electric pink toilet walls). I will definitely be back next time I'm in York.
I almost didn't make it into this pub as it was covered in "Private Party" signs. However having walked all the way across York (all of ten minutes) to get here, I went in anyway. As I was on my own they let me into the small front bar which was full of locals. I think the event must have been in the rear bar.
There was an impressive range of seven beers on offer, but after trying two I didn't want to outstay my welcome.
An interesting small pub with a wood panelled interior. Well worth a visit but don't be disappointed if it's full and you can't get in. The friendly barman who served me said that this is the only pub in York which regularly has mild.
I was looking forward to visiting a few good pubs in York as I only had a couple of hours before heading back down south, so there wasn't time to do much else.
This pub was a good local with several beers on, although the choice was not what I'd call inspired.
Everard's Tiger (4.2%): Cold and smooth drinkable bitter.
The other beers were Ruddles County, Caledonian Deuchar's IPA, John Smith's and Shepherd Neame Spitfire. There were several small rooms off corridors and I don't think I found them all. The main bar was full of a birthday party.
Came to York for a CAMRA meeting at this family-oriented pub.
York March Madness (3.8%): Very pale, sweet hoppy beer.
Leeds Special Session Bitter (3.5%): This tasted a little thin after the slightly stronger York beer.
It was good to see local beers available, and especially refreshing to see two session bitter strength beers on offer at the same time.
Managed a midweek drink in London with some friends at this decent Wells and Young's pub in Streatham.
Young's Bitter (3.7%): A good session bitter.
Young's Special (4.5%): Creamy smooth and strong.
Young's Mixed: A delicious way to enjoy the flavour of the Special without the full strength - it's about half and half Bitter and Special, and works surprisingly well. Always my choice when both are available.
Young's Waggledance (bottled, 5.0%): The alcohol is very well hidden in this tasty but not exceptional beer, although I couldn't pick up the honey the bottle advertised. Shame it was kept in the fridge.
As the quality of the pubs in Streatham is not as good as it used to be, it's good to know about this large Young's pub near Streatham Common station.
I wouldn't normally write about bottled beer here but the two I drank this evening were both local and both excellent, so I felt compelled.
Hepworth's Sussex (3.5%): Pale, crisp, hoppy and very bitter. A lovely beer with a bite, great with curry!
Welton's Sussex Pride (4.0%): Dark, warming and mellow. A hint of sugar but overall a very tasty mild style beer.
Both brewed in Horsham and although very different in style, neither had that unpleasant fizzy taste which is common in bottled beer. The Welton's was bottle conditioned, the Hepworth's not.
Popped in for some lunch as I'd been told there was a good "pint and a sandwich" offer on.
Continuing the theme of celebrating my birthday, I was taken to this amazing little old pub down an alley off busy city streets.
My first surprise birthday party, and it was held in the small front bar at this excellent pub.
Elgood's Thin Ice (4.6%): Thick dark bitter with a chewy, tangy taste. A little past its best.
A nice quiet weekday afternoon drink to celebrate my birthday (in advance, two days to go!).
Another regular feature in January is wassailing the apple trees at JB's cider orchard in Maplehurst, followed by beer drinking, music and merriment at the White Horse. All of which the White Horse does exceptionally well.
JB's Dry Cider (8.5%): Well you have to have some when you're wassailing. Mighty fine but dangerously strong. Tends to make you fall over.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): A perfect pint from a great brewer served at a fine pub.
Hepworth's Pullman's First Class Ale (4.2%): Zesty and fresh with a gorgeous light hoppy aftertaste. Another perfect (but very different) pint.
Ballard's Wild (4.7%): Tasty ale with a rounded caramelly malt flavour - is it a porter? Yet another excellent beer.
Hepworth's Classic Old (4.8%): Well balanced old, fruity without being too sweet.
Hogs Back HBB (3.7%): Slightly more sensible alcohol content in this tasty session bitter.
This year a special mention goes to the gingerbread which appeared part way through the evening. Wow, I've never tasted anything like it. I will be investigating the recipe.
Overall a really good beery evening at one of the best pubs I've ever been to.
As has become customary in my household, New Year's Day means drinking at the Dog and Bacon in Horsham.
Badger King and Barnes' Sussex Bitter (3.5%): Reasonable mellow drinking bitter. Quite a decent pint considering this isn't one of my favourites.
Badger Pickled Partridge (4.6%): This winter offering from Hall and Woodhouse starts like its going to be a deep rich beer but doesn't quite have the flavour to back it up.
A jolly start to the year with morris men, sword dancing, a traditional mummers play and some tunes and songs to finish. I attempted to capture the essence of the play in the photo, but to properly experience it you'll need to go to Rusper village on Boxing Day or of course come here next New Year's Day.
As usual I was at this festival mainly for the music, but that didn't mean I wasn't interested in the beer. This year I managed to taste every single brew on offer (except the ciders and perries...).
My beer of the weekend was the West Berkshire Maggs Magnificent Mild. Definitely magnificent!
Bowman Eldorado (3.7%): Delicate and fruity with a distintive elderflower taste. Lovely. 4
Castle Rock Harvest Pale (3.8%): Beautifully balanced pale yellow bitter. 4
Church End Grapefruit (5.0%): Disappointing. I couldn't detect any grapefruit in this strong beer. 3
Copper Dragon Black Gold (3.7%): Very fine dark fruity mild. 3
Dark Star Festival (5.0%): One of my all-time favourites, strong and perfectly formed, possibly not at it's best today. 3
Dark Star Summer Meltdown (4.8%): A very strong ginger taste to this popular beer. 3
Dark Star Summer Solstice (4.2%): Zesty and hoppy, perfect for a sunny afternoon. No wonder it ran out in record time. 4
Hammerpot White Wing (4.0%): Excellent fruity bitter. 4
Hanby Cherry Bomb (6.0%): Apart from the colour there's no clue this is actually beer. Very pleasant tasting cherry flavour drink. 3
Hepworth Iron Horse (4.8%): Another old favourite not quite at its best, a bit tangy. 3
Hepworth Summer Ale (3.4%): Zesty fruity golden beer. Lovely. 4
Hornbeam Black Coral Stout (4.5%): Dark, gritty and warming. 3
Humpty Dumpty Porter (5.4%): Decent strong porter. 3
Leeds Midnight Bell (4.8%): Rich and complex unusual mild. 3
Leeds Yorker (4.0%): A massive hop taste to this light-coloured beer. Very similar to Dark Star Hophead, but the Yorker is made with Slovenian hops. 3
Mighty Oak Simply The Best (4.4%): Fresh with quite a bitter taste. 3
Oakleaf Nuptu'ale (4.2%): Golden, sharp and hoppy. 3
Ossett Wot No England (4.3%): Pleasant drinkable bitter. 3
Pictish Alchemist (4.3%): Very sweet hoppy beer. 4
Purple Moose Madog's Ale (3.7%): A little sharp but with a lovely smooth malt taste. 3
Spectrum Light Fantastic (3.7%): Gentle bitter. A little earthy. 3
Spectrum Old Stoatwobbler (6.0%): Strong, dark, sweet and malty. 3
Thornbridge Brother Rabbit (3.7%): Good bitter, similar in flavour to a golden ale. 3
Vale Best Bitter (3.7%): Well balanced bitter; very light in colour. 3
West Berkshire Maggs Magnificent Mild (3.8%): Mellow and dark, exactly as its name suggests. 4
White White Gold (4.9%): Almost tasteless pale beer, although with a pleasant aftertaste. 2
Whitstable Wheat Beer (5.2%): Lemon and grapefruit hoppiness to this delicious wheat beer. 3
Some fine beers available over the weekend. This year the beer tent opened on the Friday evening of the festival, which meant there was not a great selection left on the Sunday afternoon. Good for keeping wastage down but not so good for thirsty morris men!
In order to index the breweries using the label field, I've needed to create a copy entry as I drank so much beer here they don't all fit in one entry. So all the text below is a direct copy of the following entry.
As usual I was at this festival mainly for the music, but that didn't mean I wasn't interested in the beer. This year I managed to taste every single brew on offer (except the ciders and perries...).
My beer of the weekend was the West Berkshire Maggs Magnificent Mild. Definitely magnificent!
Bowman Eldorado (3.7%): Delicate and fruity with a distintive elderflower taste. Lovely. 4
Castle Rock Harvest Pale (3.8%): Beautifully balanced pale yellow bitter. 4
Church End Grapefruit (5.0%): Disappointing. I couldn't detect any grapefruit in this strong beer. 3
Copper Dragon Black Gold (3.7%): Very fine dark fruity mild. 3
Dark Star Festival (5.0%): One of my all-time favourites, strong and perfectly formed, possibly not at it's best today. 3
Dark Star Summer Meltdown (4.8%): A very strong ginger taste to this popular beer. 3
Dark Star Summer Solstice (4.2%): Zesty and hoppy, perfect for a sunny afternoon. No wonder it ran out in record time. 4
Hammerpot White Wing (4.0%): Excellent fruity bitter. 4
Hanby Cherry Bomb (6.0%): Apart from the colour there's no clue this is actually beer. Very pleasant tasting cherry flavour drink. 3
Hepworth Iron Horse (4.8%): Another old favourite not quite at its best, a bit tangy. 3
Hepworth Summer Ale (3.4%): Zesty fruity golden beer. Lovely. 4
Hornbeam Black Coral Stout (4.5%): Dark, gritty and warming. 3
Humpty Dumpty Porter (5.4%): Decent strong porter. 3
Leeds Midnight Bell (4.8%): Rich and complex unusual mild. 3
Leeds Yorker (4.0%): A massive hop taste to this light-coloured beer. Very similar to Dark Star Hophead, but the Yorker is made with Slovenian hops. 3
Mighty Oak Simply The Best (4.4%): Fresh with quite a bitter taste. 3
Oakleaf Nuptu'ale (4.2%): Golden, sharp and hoppy. 3
Ossett Wot No England (4.3%): Pleasant drinkable bitter. 3
Pictish Alchemist (4.3%): Very sweet hoppy beer. 4
Purple Moose Madog's Ale (3.7%): A little sharp but with a lovely smooth malt taste. 3
Spectrum Light Fantastic (3.7%): Gentle bitter. A little earthy. 3
Spectrum Old Stoatwobbler (6.0%): Strong, dark, sweet and malty. 3
Thornbridge Brother Rabbit (3.7%): Good bitter, similar in flavour to a golden ale. 3
Vale Best Bitter (3.7%): Well balanced bitter; very light in colour. 3
West Berkshire Maggs Magnificent Mild (3.8%): Mellow and dark, exactly as its name suggests. 4
White White Gold (4.9%): Almost tasteless pale beer, although with a pleasant aftertaste. 2
Whitstable Wheat Beer (5.2%): Lemon and grapefruit hoppiness to this delicious wheat beer. 3
Some fine beers available over the weekend. This year the beer tent opened on the Friday evening of the festival, which meant there was not a great selection left on the Sunday afternoon. Good for keeping wastage down but not so good for thirsty morris men!
At this very English style pub we found a beer expert who was able to discuss the finer details of French brewing in English, as well as try some interesting beers.
Lancelot Blanche Hermine (4.0%): Sweet, cold light-coloured beer with an elderflower floral smell.
Lancelot Bonnets Rouge (5.5%): Similar to the white, but with a distinct pink colour.
Brasserie Artisanale du Tregor Dremmwel Rousse (6.0%): Lovely malty beer with a definite bitter taste, although stronger, colder and fizzier than the traditional English variety.
We also managed to negotiate a visit to the local brewery, Brasserie Artisanale des Remparts, with tastings and lots of bottles to take home.
Specialist beer research in northern France meant we came here and tried some:
Brasserie Coreff Stout (4.8%): As in the previous pub, this tastes like flat lager, but this time with stout flavouring added. Right consistency, no real flavour.
InBev Leffe Blonde (6.5%): Cold, refreshing and tasteless.
Still remain to be convinced.
My eagle-eyed husband spotted a hand pump while on holiday in Brittany, and of course this had to be investigated.
Brasserie Coreff Ambrée (4.7%): A definite malt taste to this brown beer but with the "dead" characteristic of say Newcastle Brown. Like flat lager with malt flavour. Disappointing!
And of course once we'd investigated this pub/bar, the two adjacent establishments needed the same treatment for reasons of equality and fairness.
Popped into my local for some more drinking after a family wedding.
Fuller's London Pride (4.1%): Pleasant and refreshing bitter without a strong flavour.
Hepworth's Pullman's First Class Ale (4.2%): A disappointment from this usually excellent brewer. An unpleasant hop taste.
Wadworth 6X (4.3%): Nicely balanced strong ale. Lovely.
Pic to follow.
My local mild event for May Mild Month. Lots of milds, lots of CAMRA members, morris dancers and a talk from the Director and Head Brewer at Harvey's brewery.
Arundel Sussex Mild (3.7%): Lovely open malty taste and a very smooth flavour.
Ballards Mildhurst Mild (3.4%): A traditional bitter mild.
Caledonian Deuchars IPA (3.8%): Unpleasant and soapy. Line cleaner or a clever ploy to get everyone drinking mild today.
Charles Wells' Courage Directors (4.8%): Malty well balanced bitter.
Dark Star Over the Moon (3.8%): A sweet mild with a 'best bitter' flavour.
Hepworth's Iron Horse (4.8%): Sweet, light coloured local bitter, not mild.
Marston Moor Matlock Mild (4.0%): Creamy and mellow; doesn't taste this strong.
Moorhouse's Black Cat (3.4%): Slightly more bitter than others; tasty.
Triple fff Pressed Rat and Warthog (3.8%): Almost a spicy taste to this very drinkable dark beer.
Wychwood Hobgoblin (4.5%): Strong and not much like traditional mild.
The talk by Mike Jenner, Director and Head Brewer at Harvey's, gave a good summary of how the brewery has stuck to traditional beers and respects its history, while embracing technology and changing tastes. It got quite technical at times with various salt contents in the water discussed (Lewes water is lower in sodium that London water).
The future at Harvey's sounds exciting with the creation of a microbrewery to use as a testing ground for new ideas and recreations of some historical brews.
CAMRA members from North Sussex, Western Sussex, Brighton and South Downs, Mid Surrey, East Surrey, Croydon and even as far away as West Kent were in attendance as well as the Regional Director.
The pub did themselves proud, a great day with nine fine beers out of ten.
Pic to follow.
