That is, a couple more cans ๐beginning with one from Brewdog (website), and their 4.3% Wingman, "The Eagle has Landed" Session IPA, brewed with Ahtanum (hopslist), Chinook (hopslist), Citra (hopslist), Mosaic (hopslist), Simcoe (hopslist), and HBC 692 (Yakima Chief) hops. With those hops you would expect plenty of flavour, and you would be right. ๐ Pale golden, with a big fruity aroma, notably pineapple and grapefruit, and tasting of tropical and citrus fruits, in particular peach and grapefruit, light and dry, with a bitter finish, not bad at all. ๐
Monday, 20 October 2025
And A Couple More...
Sunday, 19 October 2025
Lakedown Brewing Co
The first of these 4 beers was imbibed at the Jenny Lind, 69 High Street, Hastings TN34 3EW (see blog which includes more information about the Jenny Lind etc). That is, from Lakedown Brewing Co (website), their 4.2% Wits' End, which, as I can find nothing about it anywhere, I am guessing was their Kicking Donkey rebadged for the Hastings Comedy Festival earlier this year. Whatever, Wits' End, which I'm not quite at yet, ๐ is a Best Bitter, and my notes suggest it does what it says on the label, it is a traditional, slightly malty, best bitter. If it is Kicking Donkey, the hops used were Pioneer, Cascade and Jester and all grown in England, Kent presumably, but it wasn't particularly hoppy, but then, reviews for Kicking Donkey suggest similar too, and I wouldn't bet against it being any different. Probably! ๐
The first of the 3 cans from Lakedown was their 5.7% Harmonium India Pale Ale, brewed with Cascade (hopslist), Centennial (hopslist), Chinook (hopslist) and Citra hops (hopslist), and finished off with Amarillo hops added at the end of the brew (hopslist). These hops make it an APA style essentially, but it's a bit darker than a typical APA, indeed, a deep copper colour, much more like a traditional IPA! Sorry, I'm trying not to get confused, despite the styles being confused, like 'fusion' brewing! Hints of tropical and citrus fruits, quite light and easy to drink, with a slightly dry bitter finish, with those hops and strength you'd expect a bit more to it, but deceptively easy to knock back, not bad at all, I'd love to try a cask version. ๐
Next I go to something much darker, their 4.8% Marquee, an American Stout From their subtitle I'll take an informed guess that hops from the USA were used when brewing this ale, but Lakedown appear to be shy about sharing the hops used! ๐ Whatever, because it is dark, as you can see in the image above, and rich and smooth, you catch the flavours from the malts used rather than from hops unsurprisingly. It has a quite subtle dark chocolate and coffee aroma, with roasted malt and dark chocolate more prominent in the taste, not bad...
My guess is that the hops used aren't shared for the AF and the American Stout because they change a bit, just a thought, anyway, have fun folks, cheers! ๐
Thursday, 16 October 2025
London Beer Flood 1814
R.I.P. to those who sadly died in their own homes. ๐ข
I can't find the original sources for the photographs, apologies to them for not referencing.
Sunday, 12 October 2025
October Whisky of the Month
Another Scottish whisky this month, Chivas Regal 12 (40% - website), and another whisky I'd often bought for my grandad as a present, which I mentioned earlier this year (blog), a blend of malt and grain Speyside whiskies, and at a good valued price! Among Scottish single malts, I mostly prefer Speyside whiskies, so they already have smoother whiskies to start off with, and then the blend has been matured in a combination of casks for 12 years, consequently, why the Chivas Regal 12 is so easy to drink!
This has an aroma combining honey, vanilla, herbs, cinnamon, pears and toffee, and tastes of butterscotch with a hint of tropical fruits, oak, and hazel and walnuts, from the ageing process in casks presumably, and very rich and smooth with a slightly spicy finish. Best served over a cube of ice, or with a few drops of water, which helps bring out the flavours. I really like this, and so glad I was buying a quality whisky for Grandad, who appreciated it too, slรกinte!
Friday, 3 October 2025
Hastings Tap Takeover On NOW!
Thursday, 2 October 2025
London Circular Walk: Tower & London Bridges
You could start this circular pub walk at either of the bridges, but I've started this blog at Tower Bridge because my favourite drink of the day was imbibed here, twice. ๐ So, behind Tower Bridge Road in a small back street is The Dean Swift, 10 Gainsford Street SE1 2NE (website), open from 12.00 noon every day of the week, until 23.00, excepting Sundays, when it closes at 22.30. The pub was built in the 1850s, and was originally called The Bricklayer's Arms, but was renamed for the Irish satirical writer and cleric, Jonathan Swift, who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin in 1713, hence Dean Swift, although I can find no connection to Swift locally or to the pub. And I've still not been able to finish reading Gulliver's Travels, ever!
This former Truman's pub, now a freehouse, has 20 'craft' beers available, including 2 cask ales and a variety of crafty keg styles. The cask ales were from Sussex brewery Burning Sky and their Plateau (3.5%), an excellent pale ale with hops from New Zealand and the USA (website), and the ale I drank 2 pints of (2 visits, first and fourth), from East London brewery Five Points Brewing (website), their 4.0% XPA, an American Pale Ale style, brewed with Citra (hopslist), Galaxy (hopslist) and Sabro (Hop Breeding Co) hops. This produces a pale beer with plenty of citrus and forest fruits, particularly grapefruit, bitter with a refreshing dry finish, excellent!
I admit that my record here looks weird as I arrived in London early, and checked on the pubs and took photographs as I had an hour to spare before meeting up, hence the extra pint too. ๐บ But the order here is a circular rout, wherever you start, and The Shipwrights Arms is just along from London Bridge Station entrance, so the best place to start and/or finish, I suggest.
Of course, we passed other pubs too, but time was short, and we wanted to stay sober!
My favourite of the pubs we visited was The Dean Swift, mostly because the 2 ales available were much more to my taste, and on my first visit I chatted with the manager, who is very knowledgeable about his beers, the locale and its pubs. I was a wee bit disappointed with Simon The Tanner, which was the only one of these pubs I'd visited before, and written about a couple of times, on my previous visits it was a little bit rougher around the edges with interesting stuff on the walls, see my older blog, it's a bit more polished now, and sadly there was only 1 ale available this time. The Raven was a bit noisy for me, but they were setting up for karaoke later in the evening, pleasant enough though, and all the pubs had friendly bar staff. As I pointed out, The Shipwright's Arms is closest to the station, very friendly bar staff, but take note that you are provided plastic 'glasses' to drink from if sitting outside, we stayed by the bar and were served in eccentric glass glasses. ๐ Anyway folks, cheers for now, and until the next time! ๐บ
Wednesday, 1 October 2025
A Few in the Jolly Fisherman.
Yesterday I visited The Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR (website), a wee pub that I have written about many times now, for example, the first time for I ever wrote about this pub was in this blog. This visit I drank 2 ciders and 2 dark beers.
My first cider was from Oliver's Cider & Perry in Herefordshire (website) and their 6.3% Making Hay cider. This is a wild yeast fermented still cider that smells like proper cider should, with a slightly sour and apple aroma. To taste it has a very big apple flavour indeed, and very sweet at first, but with a lovely dry finish, I liked it immensely! ๐๐๐
My second cider was from Bollhayes Devon Cider & Perry of Brixham (website) and their 6.5% Farmhouse Dry cider, looking very similar from the colour, but so different! Made with locally grown cider apples from their own South Devon orchard, this has nowhere near as much aroma, and is much drier to taste. I noted "very zider!" Pretty good still, but not as impressive. ๐๐
My first dark ale was from Leeds brewery Tartarus Beers (website) and their 4.0% Enfield, a Chocolate Brownie Stout. Brewed with 9 different malts, and with vanilla and chocolate added during conditioning, replicating the flavours of a chocolate brownie (apologies, I cannot discover the hops used). Flavour-wise, is very much chocolate indeed, with a hint of vanilla, coffee and roasted barley, but nicely dries out at the end, thus easy to drink and, for a 'session' stout quite a fair amount of body, which apparently comes from boiling the wort 'for over 3 hours.' ๐ฎ
Cheers folks, until next time. ๐