Excellent Tonbridge Cask Ales & Real Cider

I hadn't visited for a while, and yesterday I decided it had been too long! So I caught the train to Rye and had a few drinks in the Rye Waterworks micropub, Tower Street (corner with Rope Walk), Rye, East Sussex TN31 7AT (website). If you know nothing about the Rye Waterworks (ales and ciders available yesterday shown in the image above, although another ale filled that gap, but I forgot to make a note of it, apologies), and the building's 300 years history, please read this blog I wrote soon after the pub opened 6 years ago. 

I drank 2 beers I hadn't had before from the getting better and better in my estimation, Tonbridge Brewery (website), starting off with their 4.2% Blonde Ambition, well, 2 pints of it actually, it was that good I had to make sure. 😉 All their ales are vegan friendly, and clear as a bell, I thank you Tonbridge for being yet another brewery showing that you don't have to be lazy to brew suchlike! Tonbridge tend to use English hops a lot, in this instance First Gold (hopslist) and Challenger (hopslist), providing just a hint of orange to this pale dry bitter ale, very good indeed!

The second new ale to me from Tonbridge Brewery was their Velvet Raven, a 5.2% Stout, which is certainly what I would call a stout, despite its deep red colour suggesting a porter (see blog). Again, bewed with English hops, Northdown (hopslist), Fuggle (hopslist) and Kent grown Bullion (hopslist). There was a subtle aroma of coffee, with a spicy/fruity taste, and hints of liquorice, coffee and chocolate, finishing off quite dry and bitter, good stuff! 👍

I finished off with a cider from Biddenden Vineyards (website), their 8.0% Dry Cider, made from culinary and dessert apples; it looks a wee bit below a pint because the glass had been brim filled nd I didn't want to spill any! 😉 This is what a cider should taste like, but so smooth, gorgeous!

Great company and staff... Cheers folks! 🍎🍏🍺

Cider (and a Perry) For a Change...

Where better to enjoy ciders and a perry in Hastings, than at The Jolly Fisherman (facebook page), 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR (tel: 01424 428811), the first micropub in Hastings (blog). Opening hours (usual, but can be a little flexible, eg on Pirate Day and other special occasions, keep a check with their facebook page), now are Tuesday to Friday 4-11pm; Saturday 2-11pm; Sunday 2-10.30pm; unlikely to be open on a Monday. Anyway... 

On my last visit I started off with two-thirds of a pint (indeed, I chose two-thirds for all the ciders too) of a perry from Dorset cider maker Temple (website), their 6.5% Hendre Huffcap & Winnal's Longdon Perry; the 2 pear varieties used, unsurprisingly, Hendre Huffcap (National Perry Pear Centre) and Winnal's Longdon (National Perry Pear Centre). How to describe this slightly cloudy perry? What you would expect, hard to make anything up really, definitely tasting of pear with a dry finish, very good!🍐

My first cider, from Herefordshire based Ross on Wye Cider & Perry Company (website) was their 6.1% Five Apple Oak Cask Cider, and I apologise, but I cannot discover anywhere the apple varieties used, usually a blend, no doubt. Just slightly cloudy, what I would call a 'proper' real cider, great balance with a dry, bitter even, finish, very good indeed! 🍏🍎

The first of 2 very clear ciders, and both very good, but I've drunk them before so I'm not surprised by the quality, was from Kent, Biddenden Vineyards (website) Bushels (6.0%). This is a medium dry cider, made with a mixture of "orchard ripe culinary and dessert apples" although still not individually specified by them, unsurprisingly. Anyway, this is a very easy to drink medium dry cider, too easy actually, therefore potentially dangerous to drink, nice one! 😉

Also from Kent and the second clear cider, Turners Cider (website) Dry Cider (6.5%), again, the varieties of apple used are not specified, so obviously a carefully selected combination of their locally grown apples to endure the correct blend. This had a big apple aroma, more subtle taste, with a lovely dry finish, very nice again, and easy to knock back!🍏

Finally, another cider from Herefordshire, this time Little Pomona (website), which started up with the EU part funding their business and orchard with its 4 classic cider apple varieties, and that now produce their ciders, in this instance, their 5.8% Little Miracle. This is a blend of "3 different vintages" which produced a deep orange/gold colour, slightly cloudy and slightly sweet to start off with, a tartness to the aroma and a dry finish, not bad at all, cheers!🍏🍎

2 Rather Good IPAs and a bit more!

I couldn't believe it when I saw this on sale in Morrisons, but a 500ml bottle conditioned Thornbridge (website) Jaipur (5.9%). This superb version of an IPA with many hops from the USA, that are Chinook (hopslist), Centennial (hopslist), Ahtanum (hopslist), Simcoe (hopslist), Columbus (hopslist) and Cascade (hopslist). This is an excellent pale golden ale, with plenty of tropical fruits, grapefruit and citrus in the aroma and taste, with a dry bitter finish. I once had a few pints of a dry hopped cask conditioned version of this at the University Arms in Sheffield, when my old friend Mike Pigeon was the manager there, that was a bit special too, quality! 👍

Easily found at Marks & Spencer is their 4.9% Citra IPA, which is brewed by Oakham Ales (website), in the middle of Oakham's 4.6% bottled Citra and the bigger hitting 6.0% Green Devil, all brewed as single hopped ales, the hop being the excellent Citra, unsurprisingly (hopslist). Anyway, to the 4.9% M&S version, which has a big citrus aroma and taste, and paler than the Jaipur, with a lovely crisp dry bitter finish, very good indeed! Oh yes, and not forgetting... 😉

Have a guess what I was drinking yesterday in the Dolphin Inn in Hastings Old Town, yep, the wonderful session ale that is the  4.2% cask conditioned version of Oakham Citra! Not much to add really, does what it says on the label, and I can't remember it in better form, excellent!  😁

Cheers Ears! 🍻

The Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock a Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW (website).

The University Arms, 197 Brook Hill, Sheffield S3 7HG (website).

Women and Beer 3 - History

I'd already written a couple of blogs about the role of women and brewing/selling beer a while ago, in The Beer Goddess and in Brewsters and Witchcraft?  However, I've fairly recently bought the paperback book The Devil's in the Draught Lines (Dr Christina Wade, Campaign for Real Ale Ltd, 2024), since which was published an article by the same author in CAMRA's BEER magazine Summer 2024 called The Ancient History of the British Alewife.

Basically, Dr Wade knows a helluva lot about the history of beer, is multi-qualified, including being a beer judge, and I'm guessing that part of her doctorate, or maybe her M.Phil, or both, included research about the history of women in brewing and selling beer, because there is so much specific information about brewsters (female brewers) and licencees! Also, she records interviews with many contemporary brewsters. In addition, she has her own website called braciatrix, which includes links to her book, and is about women and beer, to precis it... 😕 

If you are a CAMRA member you can access the BEER article at the website.

Or buy the book, or just read my blog 1 and  blog 2, a bit simpler/less info 😉 Seriously though, I can't compete, so buy the book, it's chock full of data, cheers!

Sheffield: 5 Kelham Island and Shalesmoor Pubs

My abode for my latest Sheffield visit, during this week, was again The Crow Inn, 33 Scotland Street S3 7BS (website), which reopened 5 years ago after quite a few years closure, and has 7 en suite bedrooms. Sadly, no breakfast provided, but there are some very interesting bar snacks. Importantly, it also sells quite a few interesting ales and crafty keg beers! Open Mon-Wednesday 3pm to 12 midnight; Thurs-Saturday 12 noon to 1am; Sunday 12 noon to 11pm.

Before I go any further I have to own up to not being a great note taker in my wee book this visit, but I did add notes to photographs I shared on facebook, trust it's adequate. 😉

The first ale I drank here was from Manchester based Marble Brewery (website), their 4.1% Persephone, a pale golden summer ale, brewed with Ariana, Huell Melon, Lemondrop and Mosaic hops. Very crisp, pale clear vegan friendly ale, with a dry bitter finish, very decent indeed.

Because Michael behind the bar said it was nearing its end, and I didn't want to miss it, I had a quick half of North London based Hammerton Brewery (website) City of Cake, a 5.5% 'Choc Fudge Cake Stout.' It pretty much does what it says on its label, hints of coffee and caramel, big chocolate aroma and taste, with fudge indeed, sweetish (DUH!) and very luxurious. 👍

I also had a pint the next day of Sheffield based Abbeydale Brewery (website) Heathen (4.1%), an APA style ale, brewed with Mosaic hops, and dry hopped with Mosaic to make sure you appreciate the taste and aroma! As you'd expect from the hops, notably forest fruits and citrus, providing a bitter dry finish. Another clear pale vegan friendly ale, and on regularly at The Crow, so virtually its 'house ale' and deservedly so, nice one! 

Again, both days I visited Shakespeare's (facebook), 146-148 Gibraltar Street S3 8UB, which, as you can see from the photograph above, used to be a Ward's pub when I lived in Sheffield in the 1990s. This Georgian pub was closed for 18 months from early 2010 (previously, Jeff, Lindsay and I had helped them finish off their array of rums!), refurbished, and reopened in July 2011, and since winning CAMRA awards too. They sell up to 9 real ales, many from local brewers, over 50 bottled beers, and a fair few crafty keg beers. I drank here with Peter, who works at Blue Bee Brewery (website), and a friend for many years, the first visit, then with long time friends Jeff and Lindsay again the next day; we followed a similar route. 😁

The first day I drank, from Sheffield based Fuggle Bunny Brew House (website), their 4.0% Cotton Tail. This is a pale ale with citrus aroma and taste, they say with lychees in the aroma, but I wouldn't know about that 😉 and apparently brewed with 5 varieties of hop, which they keep to themselves, but probably includes Citra hops, I'm guessing, because of the lychee. Easy to drink, sweetish, with a slightly bitter finish.

Then I drank, from nearby Little Critters Brewing Company (website), a brewery from which I've drunk excellent ales from as far south as Hastings, their 4.4% Luna's Peach Pale Ale. Indeed, plenty of peach, so I'm guessing peach extract, fruits, or flavouring of some sort involved, the website suggests orange zest added too, but definitely states Centennial and Amarillo are the hops used. I have to admit that the peach was a bit too much for me, I should have had a half, but Little Critters do brew excellent pale bitter ales, looking forward to my next one...

I met Jeff and Lindsay here on my second day, and I drank 2 pints of Abbeydale Brewery (website) Deception (4.1%). This 'New Zealand Pale Ale' is primarily hopped with Nelson Sauvin, but Amarillo, Chinook, Galaxy and Columbus hops are added too. An excellent pale ale, with citrus, grape and gooseberry  in the flavour, refreshing, with a dry bitter finish. 👌

On both days, we wandered around to Kelham Island (Jeff and Lindsay in the photograph above), to the Kelham Island Tavern, or KIT, many of us still use the term KitCat when going to drink at the Fat Cat (below) as well as the KIT. 😉 Anyway, the Kelham Island Tavern, 62 Russell Street S3 8RW (website). Built in the 1830s, it was a derelict building when Trevor and Lewis took it over, refurbished it, reopening in 2002, and it became the best real ale pub in the country, indeed, they won the National CAMRA Pub of the Year in 2008 and 2009, and have won many other awards before and since! Although now retired, I believe Trevor still owns the property, but now the licencee is Josh, I believe, and still winning awards.

Because it's new to me, and a bit exciting I found out, and Peter and Josh (from pub and brewery!) brew it, I had to go for the locally based Blue Bee Brewery (website) their dual hopped Citra Nectaron IPA (6.0%). And a BIG fruity extravaganza it is! Citrus from the Citra hops, goes without saying, tropical fruit from the New Zealand Nectaron hops, including a hint of pineapple, and forest fruits from both. Together with the strength, this made it a pretty special ale indeed, plenty of body, full of aroma and taste, and dry bitter finish, quality!

On both days I drank the Blue Bee Brewery (website) American 5 Hop Version 70 (4.3%), that is the 70th version, this time using El Dorado, Mosaic, Columbus, Simcoe and Chinook hops from the USA! What would you expect me to say? 😁 Very hoppy, big citrus aroma and taste, pale golden, with a dry bitter finish, just as I like my session bitters, very good indeed! 

Anyone would think the Kelham Island Tavern is the Blue Bee brewery tap. 😉

On the first day Peter and I wandered around the corner to The Fat Cat (website), 23 Alma Street S3 8SA, and people familiar with this blog, or who know me personally, will know that when I was a post-grad student I worked at the associated brewery (just beyond and to the right in the photograph above), Kelham Island Brewery. The pub was an original in Sheffield, virtually throughout the country for that matter, when it was bought as the Alma in 1981 by Dave Wickett and his colleague Bruce to provide an alternative to the big brewers, and providing an outlet for independent brewers. After separating their business interests, Dave continued with the pub and set up the microbrewery, in a shed behind the pub at that time (now bigger, and seen above), in 1990. Now the brewery is no longer in use, but more recently, a group of lads bought the name and are brewing separately at Thornbridge Brewery (website).

I didn't take any notes here, but was a bit disappointed with the ale, so will leave my review of The Fat Cat for now, until my next visit. Worth a visit though! 👍

On the second day, Jeff, Lindsay and I continued on to Shalesmoor, and just after the tram stop is The Wellington (facebook), 1 Henry Street S3 7EQ. Originally built in the 1830s, it became run down during the 20th century, and was refurbished and reopened as a free house in 1993 renamed the Cask & Cutler (as I first remember it, although also called the "Bottom Welly" - the "Top Welly" was at the other end of Infirmary Road). Anyway, it changed hands in 2006 and returned its name to The Wellington, or Cask & Welly as we used to call it. In 2016, the pub was bought by the friendly Canadian, James B (another ex-brewer at the Kelham Island Brewery from quite a few years ago!), who has his own brewery now, Neepsend Brew Co (website). 

The Neepsend ales are very good, but I do particularly like Huddersfield based Mallinsons Brewing Company (website), indeed, they are among my top favourite brewers in the country. Anyway, I had a couple of pints of their 4.0% Town of Surfside, an American Pale Ale in style, although I can't find out which hops were used, I won't even guess which variety because they use many different varieties of hop from the USA in their ales! Whatever, I enjoyed it immensely, thus the 2 pints, pale,dry and bitter! 👍

Apologies for not photographing the Welly on this occasion.

OK, for me it's an institution that, whenever I visit Sheffield, I visit Mama's and Leonies at least once, twice this time (website), which is situated at 111/115 Norfolk Street, Sheffield S1 2JE (0114 272 0490), just down the road from the famous, for snooker fans particularly, Crucible Theatre, and around the corner from the Winter Gardens. I've been eating at Mama's since the 1990s, so I can see no reason why I should change that 'institution' now. Anyway, still many familiar friendly faces working there and pleasant discourse shared with Tracy and others, it's great to be remembered, and my favourite Warm Chick & Bacon Salad, without the croutons, and a half carafe of red wine of course. Always excellent, plenty of healthy stuff on the plate, mucho salad, and never fails to please me, well sated, nice one Kath, John and team, cheers m'dears!

For more information on hops mentioned please go to hopslist.

Summer's Coming... However, 4 Darker Beers!

I thought I should get in a few darker beers before I became completely fixated with the paler light summer beers. 😉 2 of these I sampled as crafty keg ales at The Jolly Fisherman in Hastings (blog), and 2 in bottle; you'll be able to work out which is which. The first (above), from Scottish brewery Harviestoun (website), their 10.5% Ola Dubh (which means 'black oil' in Gaelic), which has been matured for at least 6 months in 12 year-old Highland Park whisky barrels, and is significantly stronger than their bottled version. This was the most complex of this blog's beers, brewed with East Kent Goldings, Fuggles and Galena hops, with a hint of coffee in the aroma, and chocolate in the taste, and the whisky comes through in the flavour too, pretty good!

My first bottled beer is from St Peter's Brewery (website), their 5.0% Plum Porter, with 'natural plum flavouring' added. A big fresh plummy/blackcurrant aroma and taste, slightly sweet, but surprisingly 'light' to drink. It's a very deep dark red colour, and not bad at all.

I had been quite upset when I heard, not too long ago that their London-based pub, the historic Jerusalem Tavern, had closed down. However, I'm pleased to report that I more recently discovered that the pub has reopened under new licencees as The Holy Tavern, 55 Britton Street, London EC1M 5UQ, and with longer opening hours than previous, but still selling St Peter's ales in addition to others (website). Opens: Mondays-Saturdays 12.00 noon to 23.00, and 12.00 noon to 21.30 on Sundays.

The other dark ale I had at the Jolly Fisherman was from Siren Craft Brew (website) and their 7.4% Caribbean Chocolate Cake (above), the chocolate flavour coming from adding 'hand-roasted' cacao nibs to the brew, consequently a big chocolate aroma and taste, with a hint of coffee in the aroma, and hints of orange and coconut to the taste. I thought it was 'pretty good' which is what I wrote in my notes unsurprisingly! 😉

My second bottle beer, and last for this blog, was from Guinness and their 6.0% West Indies Porter (website), not quite as impressive as the stronger Guinness brewed in Nigeria, but tasty all the same. A very deep opaque red colour, with a slight bitterness and chocolate in the taste, and a hint of coffee in the aroma. Another dark beer that was not bad at all, cheers!

Paler ales to come soon... 😁

Scottish Beers 2

My second blog for the Scottish beers I'd been kindly provided with (Scottish Beers 1) includes 5 beers that I appear to have 'scored' pretty much similar, as in I'd drink them again indeed.  First, from Glasgow brewery Drygate (website) Gun-Toting Nano-Penguin (5.2%), a 'Peach Pale Ale' brewed with wheat malt added to the grist, plus peach extract, and Australian Galaxy (hopslist) and British Bramling Cross hops used (hopslist). Peach noted in both aroma and taste, which the Galaxy hops no doubt added to, slightly hazy and with a dry finish, not bad at all.

From Windswept Brewing of Lossiemouth (website), which closed down a few months ago after 12 years of brewing, their 5.2% Weizen. Consequently, not available anymore, I may well have drunk the last bottle of it (it was past its official 'sell by' date). This wheat beer, thus containing wheat malt in the grist, bottle conditioned, only slightly cloudy, although I was very careful pouring it out, and it had ages to settle, but still in fine condition! I've no idea what hops were used but Beer Analytics website suggests a couple that may have produced the banana flavour, together with caramel, the advertised taste. I found both in the aroma and taste, but very subtle (NB the caramel). I was surprised how much I enjoyed drinking it, I found it quite refreshing!

Next, from another Glasgow brewery Brewgooder (website), is their 4.1% New England IPA, surprisingly full-flavoured with some body for the strength. Also, brewed with a couple of my favourite hops used, Citra (hopslist) and Mosaic hops (hopslist), thus producing an authentic 'New England' style IPA, with a big fruity aroma and taste, notably citrus and pineapple. Cloudy and very pale, with a lovely dry finish, actually quite light and refreshing, not bad!

The next beer was from Black Isle Brewing (website), from Munlochy, up in the North East of Scotland, I had to look it up 😁 but they're on the Moray Firth a wee bit further north east than Inverness. Another cloudy beer with both lager and wheat malt added to the grist, but the brewers appear proud to advertise their 'organic and unfiltered' beers, 'suitable for vegans.' Brewed with an amazing cocktail of delicious hops, including Cascade (hopslist), Simcoe (hopslist), Citra (hopslist) and Nelson Sauvin (hopslist). This had a big fruity aroma and taste, not particularly bitter, but with a dry finish, quite easy to drink, and I coped with the cloudiness.

Finally, from Glasgow brewery West (website), a slightly different beer indeed, their German Pale Ale (GPA). Brewed "in accordance with the German Purity Law of 1516" and using the German hop  Hallertau Mittelfruher (hopslist) and US Chinook hops (hopslist), and wheat malt in the grist. Another slightly cloudy IPA style, very pale with a hint of spice, a slight biscuit flavour from the malt, and fresh citrus aroma and taste from the Chinook hops, again, not bad at all.

I wouldn't turn away a glass of any of these beers listed today, but my overall favourite of the 9 beers I was gifted was the 71 Brewing Funky Drummer noted in my first Scottish beers blog maybe the 7.5% strength influenced me a tad, but more likely the hops used, cheers! 🍻