3 Brothers Drinking Together in SW19 and 2 in TW10!

Well, the 3 of us hadn't met up together as a trio for some time, and we decided again to meet up on the edge of Wimbledon Village, by Wimbledon Common. There are quite a few decent pubs in the area, but we whittled the choice down to two, a few yards from each other. The Crooked Billet (website), 15 Crooked Billet SW19 4RQ, built in the early 18th century, became a pub in the 1850s, the name coming from the pub sign that was a crooked piece of wood broken from a tree apparently, but there are many theories! Anyway, the name of this small local part of Wimbledon Common, and the road, was taken from the name of the pub; so not a chicken or egg situation. It's a pub I have visited off and on for many years, but Rob arriving last let us choose...

So, we chose the very nearby Hand in Hand, 7 Crooked Billet SW19 4RQ (website), dating back to 1831 and originally a bakery, but was a family owned pub for a hundred years before Young's took it over in 1974. Indeed, a wee bit underage maybe 😉 I first drank Ruddles County there before Young's took it over, and Ruddles Brewery was still an independent brewery then. Nowadays, like The Crooked Billet, both pubs sell guest ales in addition to Young's.  

In addition to the ales in the photograph above, there were also Sambrook's Sidekick, a 3.4% session IPA and Adnams single hopped Mosaic Pale Ale (4.1%) on the other bar. However, from the 4 shown in the photograph above, I drank, from Wandsworth brewery Sambrook's (website), their Pumphouse, a 4.2% pale ale, named after the Pump House Gallery in Battersea Park. This is brewed with 3 British hops, Admiral, Goldings, and notably Ernest, which gives it a strong fruity American style pale ale aroma and taste; light, slightly spicy with apricot and citrus. It was pretty good actually, and despite giving the always excellent Proper Job consideration, I surprised myself and kept to the more locale Pumphouse throughout our visit, nice one.

The next day just Dan and I walked across Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park to the Roebuck, 130 Richmond Hill, Richmond TW10 6RN (website), arguably the pub with the best view in London; the view is protected by an Act of Parliament of 1902! The Roebuck was built in 1717, believed to be on the site of a much older pub, and was a regular drinking hole of Dan and I in the late 1970s and 1980s, and occasionally since. It was recently tastefully refurbished by new owners Greene King, and doesn't appear much altered, if at all, from our older visits.

I was pleased that it wasn't just Greene King ales on sale though, as we enjoyed an excellent couple of pints of the Oakham Ales (website) single-hopped 4.2% 'Session IPA' Citra. Their Citra is, as you would expect, zesty with a hint of citrus in the aroma and taste, very pale, and a great dry bitter finish. An ale I love, and have written about regularly (for example blog), and would include as a luxury item on a desert island discs theme, along with a cooling system. 😉 Oh yes, and we were very pleased with our choice of lunch here, their Sharing Platter, with a portion of chips that we didn't need as it was plenty enough, even for us 2 gluttons!

The view from outside the Roebuck is one that has been painted many times, for example by J.M.W. Turner, and, as I forgot to take a photograph on the day, I thought I would share a photograph of an oil painting of the view. However, this is by a less celebrated, though very local artist, James Isiah Lewis (1861-1934), and is at Orleans House Gallery (in a villa built in the 'Palladian' style in 1710), Orleans Road, Twickenham TW1 3BL (website).

And this view hasn't changed much at all either, cheers! 😁

Oh yes, afterwards we carried on walking eastwards along the Thames to The Ship at Mortlake, the ales were a bit boring sadly, not like on a previous visit (blog)!

From Euston to Fleet Street.

We again started at The Marquis Cornwallis, 31 Marchmont Street WC1N 1AP (website) for our first pint, where we met Ian this time, down from Sheffield. Although they had the excellent Thornbridge Jaipur this time, we decided it was a wee bit early to start off with, it being 5.9%, so we started off with, from Herefordshire, the Wye Valley Brewery (website) HPA (Hereford Pale Ale, 4.0%). HPA is brewed with locally grown Target (hopslist) and Celeia (hopslist), originally from Slovenia, hops, which gives the ale its citrus aroma and flavour. Very easy to drink, we had 2 pints each, and 'tis very good indeed. However, we were 'targeting' (excuse the pun) Fleet Street as our destination, at Ian's request, so walked via...

A couple of pubs, including the Grade II Listed The Lamb, 94 Lamb's Conduit Street WC1N 3LZ (website), a pub well known for, amongst other things, it's 'snob screens' around the bar, which are featured when you go onto the website, and a pub I hadn't visited for many years! Primarily a Young's pub (website), but I drank, from Cornwall, the St Austell Brewery (website) Proper Job (4.5%), the brainchild of Roger Ryman, who sadly passed away 5 years ago R.I.P. (blog), when he joined and transformed the brewery as Head Brewer in 1999.

Proper Job is brewed with Willamette (hopslist), Cascade (hopslist) and Chinook (hopslist) hops, all from the USA. Willamette was developed from the English Fuggle hop in the late 1960s, indeed, was bred to replace Fuggle for growth in the USA! Cascade hops were originally developed from the 1950s, when English Fuggle and Russian Serebrianka hops were cross-pollinated, and named after the Cascade mountain range in the West of the country, they were released in 1972, and now represent about 10% of all hops grown in the USA. Chinook hops, which began life in 1985, were developed from Petham Golding hops. Proper Job is a pale straw coloured ale, citrus fruit aroma and taste, with a dry bitter finish, and very refreshing when quaffed during warm summer days, refreshing anytime really, nice one! 👍

Next we visited the first of two Samuel Smith's Brewery of North Yorkshire (website) pubs, the Grade II Listed Cittie of Yorke, 22 High Holborn WC1V 6BN (facebook); 'Sam Smiths' with an eccentric owner, and everything for sale is theirs, including crisps, spirits, wines, whatever, and they don't like mobile phones! This was a new pub for me, it has an almost monastic feel with its wooden panelling, stained windows, and small panelled booths to sit in, very cosy, though we stood at the bar. 😉 At this, and at the last pub, we drank Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Bitter, a 4.0% traditional Yorkshire bitter. A darkish amber colour, malty flavour, quite creamy, easy to drink, not enough hops for me though, but it will always be the same methinks. 😏

Ian's request was to visit the final pub as he'd never visited before, and I hadn't visited for a few years myself, so to the historic Grade II Listed, again Samuel Smith's owned, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, 145 Fleet Street EC4A 2BP (website); the entrance is down a narrow alley off Fleet Street leading to Wine Office Court. It was rebuilt the year after the Great Fire of London of 1666, and is a warren of nooks and crannies, well worth wandering round with a glass in hand.

Cheers m'dears! 😁

Circular Walk, Putney to Richmond and Back.

Okay, not so much a pub crawl, but an excellent circular walk, 15-16 miles, from Putney to Richmond and back to Putney, with many pub opportunities, and virtually all off road, a walk in the country in effect! We started by The Spencer in Lower Richmond Road SW15 1HJ (website), but much before opening time, and walked across Putney Common, passing the wonderful Arts & Crafts All Saints church (London Metropolitan Archives), before reaching the often very busy Upper Richmond Road, which we crossed to Putney Park Lane, which was soon off-road.

We followed Putney Park Lane all the way to Putney Heath and continued onto Wimbledon Common, passing by the Windmill and across to Beverley Brook following the brook to Richardson Evans and the A3. Yes, we had to cross the A3, where there is a good crossing, but you have to stick to the lights because the traffic here can be very dangerous, and quite unsighted. Once across we entered Richmond Park at Robin Hood Gate, with deer all around us (above image, and that close, no zoom lens needed!). We then strolled across to the Pen Ponds and up to Richmond Gate at the top of Richmond Hill (website).

We walked down Richmond Hill, much of it through Terrace Gardens, down by Richmond Bridge to the Thames Path and along to the White Cross, TW9 1NR, originally built in 1740 with some rebuilding in the 19th century (website) at the bottom of Water Lane. The White Cross has been a Young's pub since 1869, so Young's ales on sale, Ordinary and Special, and we started off with a pint of Ordinary each (3.7%), a decent enough refreshing pale amber bitter. Sadly, Young's is no longer a brewery, but a pubco, and their ales are now brewed in Bedford by Charles Wells (website). I have written about the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth closing down before, and what is now there, eg blog.

Young's pubs regularly seem to have St Austell Proper Job (4.5%) as a guest, so I had a pint of that too, an ale I've written about many times before, eg blog. And I've had Twickenham Naked Ladies (4.4%) here too, named after statues in York House Gardens in Twickenham, eg blog. Oh yes, and we dined here, the menu isn't out of this world (website), but pretty decent quality and enough for us to do a share with an extra portion of chips, tasty...

On finishing our lunch, we continued on our circular walk along the Thames Path (though the Thames does meander!) towards Mortlake and had a pint each at The Ship, 10 Thames Bank SW14 7QR (website), a Greene King pub, but I do get 10% CAMRA discount off ales here.😊 The Ship was built in 1781, and the Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race has had its finishing line here since 1845, so extraordinarily busy that day! Excellent views of the river and Chiswick Bridge, not the ugliest bridge crossing the Thames, and you can get 'trapped' in here for a short while every now and then when the tide is in, see photograph below from our previous visit here...

Or, of course, you can get your feet and trousers wet,😉but the tide starts going out again quite quickly, and there is always a wee path you can use along Ship Lane that goes up to the main Lower Richmond Road ('tis quite a long road) and Mortlake High Street. 

Or you can stay and have a drink, indeed, we sat outside (to the left of the photo immediately above, though sunny this day, and the tide wasn't in) and enjoyed a couple of pints of Greene King New Tricks (4.0%), a golden ale with lemon peel and ginger. Now I'm not the greatest fan of Greene King ales, but its location, and 10% off the price, influences our decision to visit here whenever passing. The New Tricks? Very subtle flavours form the ginger and lemon, a gentle bitterness, and wasn't bad at all, always worth dropping into The Ship. 👌

When we'd finished our drinks we carried along the Thames Path to Putney, completing our 'circular' route, and each had a Leffe Blonde (6.0%) to rinse away the dust, cheers!

Leffe website.

Oh yes, and if you want to drink in a pub close by the Thames in Putney, I suggest the Bricklayer's Arms, which is included in a recent blog, enjoy.

Putney & Tooting for Wimbledon!

Because of railway strikes, I travelled to London on Friday and back again on Sunday, so that I could attend a football match on Saturday, had to, see near the bottom. So I stayed at my brother's home, and Friday saw me in Putney, first off at Ghost Whale, 134 Upper Richmond Road SW15 2SP (website), a bottle shop and bar that also sells 8 keg 'craft' beers. I enjoyed pleasant discourse again with staff member Ray, from L.A., who I mentioned before (blog).

I returned again, a wee bit damp on Saturday, and I hadn't written many notes this weekend past, and I deleted some photographs I had meant to help jog my memory, oops, but on Friday I did imbibe the Belgian Abbey ale from St Bernardus (website) ABT 12 (10.0%), simple reason explained below next photograph. ABT 12 is a quadruple style ale (to do with strength), it was a deep dark red/brown/rust colour, a slight perfume to the aroma and taste, sweeter than I usually drink, with caramel and a hint of chocolate in the taste, but dried out slightly at the finish, had to be done, and not bad at all, but one shouldn't drink too many! 😉

Oh yes, and I did write notes of the first beer I drank on Friday, which was from Devon brewer Utopian Brewing Limited (website), their Bohemian British Lager (4.2%). It's brewed as a pilsner style, and, quite frankly, it does what it says on the tin, although I had it from the tap, it's a light crisp fruity lager, simples... See, I do drink lager sometimes!

So why the Belgian beer, and this Belgian beer photographed above from the Brown Dog in Florida? Well, it was Stacey of The Brown Dog, 215 St Joe Plaza Drive, Palm Coast, Florida, USA, FL 32164 (website), who reminded me by posting on their facebook page that Friday was the Belgian National Day national holiday (website), only a coincidence that I was online whilst at the Ghost Whale! Anyway, so I decided to have a Belgian beer to celebrate, top photograph, and Stacey sent the immediately above photograph back whilst I was still there on Friday, nice one! I have written about the excellent Gulden Draak a year ago (blog), and also Stacey contributed a guest blog about The Brown Dog a year ago too, cheers!

I then visited The Bricklayer's Arms, 32 Waterman Street SW15 1DD (facebook), which has 12 handpumps, 11 for ales and one for cider, and they do have quite a few ales from West Yorkshire based brewery Timothy Taylor's (website), although I prefer to drink their beers when I'm in West Yorkshire, notably at The Fleece Inn in Haworth (website). On the Friday I had a couple of ales, one from the South East London based Original Small Beer brewery (website), who specialise in lower alcohol strength beers, their 2.3% Organic IPA. It was a wee bit fruity, hint of orange, quite dry, slightly sour, I noted 'not bad' but I didn't have another.

No, I then went for a very different more traditional bitter from North London brewery Redemption (website), their 4.6% Urban Dusk. It had a deep dark chestnut colour, apparently with Bramling Cross hops to add a dark fruity taste (hopslist), but my notes say 'It looks like a bitter, it tastes like a bitter, and by golly it is a bitter' also 'very good' 😊

And I returned here on Saturday too, when I drank the East London based Five Points Brewing (website) Railway Porter (4.8%), which was very good indeed. Brewed using Goldings hops which give sweetness and spice (British Hop Association), and all things nice 😉 but the darker and roasted malts influence the taste more, as you would expect. It was rich and dark, had plenty of body, and with hints of chocolate and coffee in the taste, it was very good.👍And I shan't go on about whether it should be called a porter or a stout, because I've discussed that many times before, eg blog, but, as a friend pointed out, calling it a stout would betray the name Railway Porter, but maybe it edged more towards a porter anyway... 😏

I walked a few miles to Tooting earlier on Saturday, and had to take this photograph as it reminds me of Wolfy Smith, "Power to the People!" (youtube), you maybe have to be of a certain age to understand why. ✊ OK comrades (oops!), when the programme was on tv I went out with a lass for 2 years, who lived behind nearby Amen Corner (there's another link to popular culture of the past), which is just down the road from the Broadway, and we called ourselves the Tooting Popular Front as a laugh, so it did really exist and wasn't just made up by the writers. 😁

Anyway, back to pre-match drinking, which started at a pub I hadn't visited for many years, The Castle, 38 Tooting High Street SW17 0RG (website), where I followed in the 3 young women pictured in front of me (it's a busy pavement, it was the least busy photograph I managed to take!). It's certainly moved on to be a very foody pub, although haven't many?!? But it did have the England women's football match on television, and Cornish brewery St Austell (website) Proper Job (4.5% in cask), which I have written about many times, eg blog. I must admit that I was a little disappointed, although this is one ale that is better, and stronger, in its bottle-conditioned version (5.5% & blog), and drinking it in a pub just reminds me...

The Tooting pub I had originally planned to visit before the match was The Selkirk, 60 Selkirk Road SW17 0ES (website), which looks a fair size from the outside, but with added on bits, 'tis very big inside! I chose this pub because I had never been in it before, it's on a side street just off the High Street, but I saw it online, and I lived in Selkirkshire when I worked up in the Borders for a couple of years in the late 1980s, 'twas fate! Roomy inside, though with a few divisions, so not just one cavernous room, very friendly bar staff, also chatted to other customers, and a few other football fans, so it wasn't just the rain that kept me inside longer than planned.

Only one cask ale, and one draught cider, the ale was Timothy Taylor's Landlord, and, as I said above, I prefer to drink their beers up int' north, but I had a pint, and Landlord is what Landlord is, a decent enough bitter, gentle with the hops. But they did have quite a few crafty kegs on too, so I had a pint of Greenwich based (S.E. London and of Greenwich Meridian fame) Meantime Brewing (website) fizzy Anytime IPA (4.7%). Unsurprisingly, an American style IPA (APA), brewed with Cascade (hopslist), Centennial (hopslist), Ekuanot (Yakima Valley Hops, I believe also known as Equinox - hopslist) and Mosaic hops (hopslist), producing a light pale bitter, with tropical and citrus fruits in the taste. Now, I own up that I didn't take any notes, my apologies, but I was too busy having a life and chatting... 😁

And, I just had to have another drink before I left, because one of the bar staff said she loved these half-pint glasses (and their pint glasses too), and because the rain was coming down quite seriously outside the pub! And this is a lined-glass, in fact there is a wee bit over the measure here, although it didn't look like more than half a pint, but it was, cheers! So, from North London based Beavertown Brewery (website) Neck Oil (4.3%), who own up to using an enormous variety of hops in this session APA, although maybe not all at once (?!?), including Columbus (hopslist), Centennial (hopslist), Simcoe (hopslist), Amarillo (hopslist), Galaxy (hopslist), Vic Secret (hopslist) and Mosaic (hopslist)! As you could imagine, no doubt, this ensures a cornucopia of flavours, a wee bit too cold and fizzy for me, but very drinkable indeed!

And the reason behind my visit to London for the weekend? It was to go to a pre-season friendly match at AFC Wimbledon's new ground in Plough Lane SW17 0NR (website), and I have a bit of history going to the old Plough Lane ground when they were in the Southern League, and why drink in Tooting beforehand? 'tis far enough away from the ground to not be overcrowded on match days, and near enough to walk to in about 15 minutes. As you can see above, the proof of my attendance, and I got there quite early still, and the ground was still nearly empty, but the attendance was 5,138 for a pre-season friendly, and that's a fair turn-out for a friendly. 👌

Postscript. I bought a couple of 500ml bottles of the very tasty St Austell Proper Job (5.5%) this morning, cheers m'dears! 😉

La Belle Vue on Hastings Pier

I had to write this, although not directly relating to pubs and cask conditioned ale, but I've been waiting to drink on Hastings Pier again for quite a while now, and they do sell bottle-conditioned St Austell Proper Job, at 5.5% a beefed up and better version of the cask ale I believe, and many others agree, and which helped me through the dreaded lockdowns (blog). So I visited La Belle Vue (website) on the pier, a recently opened French bistro and bar, and chatted to the proprietor Keir a couple of days before coming here for a drink, indeed, I took the photograph above on the south facing upstairs 'outside' bar just before meeting her.

I came back on Saturday and drank in the downstairs bar, where I was served by the proficient Lucien, who I got on famously with as he had studied at the University of Exeter, and I had trained and worked in Exeter many years before, indeed, before he was born! 😁 However, when he wasn't carrying out his dealing with other customer duties we did share memories of the wonderful city that is Exeter, and which feels more like a town, and where I haven't visited since 2009, having lived here in the mid/late 1980s (blog written by Kieran).

I did drink a few pints, first, La Belle Vue Cidre (4.8%), which I believe to be from Appleshed Cider of Hereford (twitter), and made with apples that grow in their own "orchards that shelter beneath the Malvern Hills in Gloucestershire." A medium dry cider, not as dry as the usual ciders I drink, but very refreshing, and just £4.40 a pint, on a seaside pier, great value indeed!

I then drank La Belle Vue Lager, or Bière Blonde (4.0%), I haven't been able to work out where it's from, but it was very good, and tasted more like a Belgian blonde ale than a lager to me, although not quite the potency of many Belgian beers. 😁 At 4.0% I could drink this all day, and at just £4.25 a pint, I could nearly afford to drink it all day, excellent value! 😉

My final pint was of Grand Central IPA (above photo and 4.2%), which is brewed in the Manchester area, I believe by Hydes Brewery of Salford. This is what I call a 'crafty keg' beer, and 'vegan friendly' with a slight haze. Brewed with 6 different hops from the USA and Australia, consequently packed with citrus and forest fruit flavours, and quite delicious, cheers!

Oh yes, and La Belle Vue is primarily a French restaurant (website), with traditional French starters including Soupe à l'oignon, Escargot, Leek Terrine et Cuisses de grenouille, main meals as the above menu, and interesting bar snacks too (facebook).

I also briefly chatted to another couple of staff, very friendly respectful service, and met up with Keir again, which was a nice touch to end my visit, I'll be back! 👌

Let's Play Musical Hops!

I drank an ale called Cashmere recently, a single hopped ale from the excellent Kent Brewery (website), and, when I shared it on facebook, a friend immediately did what I did, and linked it to a song by Led Zeppelin (YouTube). I'd thought the same, but had been thinking this Musical Hops idea for a while. However, that song is Kashmir, spelt differently. Anyway, I'm not giving up on this as I'm adding another 5 hops to this blog that start with the letter 'C' - bear with me!

The Cashmere hop was developed by Washington State University and released in 2013, being a 'marriage' of Cascade and Northern Brewer hops. Cashmere has flavours of lemon, lime and melon, exhibiting a smooth bitterness, mildly aromatic with a subtle herbal bouquet* - I certainly don't remember much aroma, but have lost my previous notebook, sadly. So I didn't use an image from that ale, but the image above is of this year's Duvel Tripel Hop Cashmere, and I have recently written about their previous  Tripel Hop (blog), a bottle of which I happen to have in my fridge 😉 and, just now I ordered a few bottles of the Cashmere pictured above!

My second "C" hop is Calypso, which was one of the 3 hops used by the, also excellent, Yorkshire brewer Mallinsons (website) in their 'Tropical Blonde' (above - and blog). This tune is haunting, frankly beautiful, and sung by Suzanne Vega, and Calypso was one of the 2 hops that gave me the idea for this blog well before I'd even heard of Cashmere, so Calypso (YouTube).

The Calypso hop was bred in the Yakima Valley of Washington State, with Hopsteiner lineage. It features crisp, fruity aromas and flavours, and is complex* with hints of stone fruits, apple, pear and lime. For the Tropical Blonde I got citrus and tropical fruit in the taste, noticeably mango and pineapple in the aroma, but then there were 2 other hops involved as well! 😉

My third hop, and another of the earliest influences for this blog is Cascade, one of the 3 hops used by the American brewer Sierra Nevada (website), and you'll likely have noticed these "C" hops are mostly from the U.S. of A. The beers I mention in this blog are of the, highly influenced by the craft brewers over the Pond, and mostly labelled American Pale Ales. So, to the music for this one, and Cascade by Siouxsie and the Banshees (YouTube), quality!

The Cascade hop was pioneered at Oregon State University in the 1950s and is widely used, indeed Cascade hops have been grown in England since 2002, after development at Wye College (website). However, Cascade was originally developed from the English Fuggle hop and the Russian Serebrianka hop and released in 1972. Cascade provides spicy citrus flavours, particularly grapefruit.* Indeed, the Sierra Nevada (blog), certainly has grapefruit in the taste.

So to my fourth hop, and, for the music I had to dig deeper, it wasn't as automatic for the next 3, and so a wee bit eclectic! Anyway, the Crystal hop, which is one of the FIVE hop varieties used in the eponymous Revelation, which is a revelation, and is brewed in Sussex by Dark Star (website). Music is Crystal by New Order (YouTube), never heard of it before, but not bad.

The Crystal hop was developed from Hallertau, Cascade, Brewer's Gold and Early Green hops, with floral, fruity and spicy flavours, notably cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper.* I'm sorry, but the Revelation has so much going for it (blog), that I couldn't guess how much Crystal hops influence the flavour, but influence they must, cheers! 😄

OK, I'm slipping in a couple of 'googlies' here, first although used in many pale hoppy ales (and other styles!), the Challenger hop is actually English, but certainly can be included as a "C" hop! And my second googly is the music, I said eclectic earlier, and a wee bit space agey... Challenger by Creo (YouTube). Oh yes, and Challenger hops are one of 2 hops used by another excellent brewery, Oakham Ales (website), in their session ale JHB.

The Challenger hop, as I said, was developed in England, at Wye College, and is the result of marrying Northern Brewer and German Zattler hops, and was released to the public in 1972; also know as Wye Challenger. Challenger provides floral, citrus and spicy undertones, and is good for bittering ales.* JHB certainly has the citrus flavours expected, as noted in this blog.

My final hop for this blog is Chinook, one of the 3 hops used in Proper Job, which is brewed by the Cornish brewer, St Austell (website). The music is again a wee bit electronic, and bowls us yet another googly, Chinook by Julian Jordan (YouTube), likely more about the wind than hops. 😉

Chinook hops were released in 1985, a cross between a USDA male and Petham Golding hops, and has a spicy pine bouquet and definite grapefruit flavouring. They are widely used in APAs.* I regularly drink Proper Job, whether cask-conditioned, bottle-conditioned (my favourite!), or even from a can (blog), which has forest and citrus fruit flavours, notably grapefruit, nice one!

*If you're surprised by my wealth of knowledge about hops, don't be, I've used the excellent hopslist website as a source of much of the relevant content, many thanks to them.

I do hope you've enjoyed this blog, and some of the music too, cheers!

3 Crackin' Guest Ales on at the same time!

In addition to the very decent regular ales (Hophead, Special and Sussex Best), the Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock a Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW (website), when I was there the other day had the 3 excellent guest ales (below) from far and nearer, what a great local for lucky me!

To begin with, from way up in Argyll in Scotland, from Fyne Ales Farm Brewery (website), their very fine 4.5% Avalanche, and I'll have to be careful not to include too many superlatives and puns in this blog! 😉 Fyne Ales began brewing with a 1,600 litre brewing kit in 2001 in a former dairy building, then a former grain store became a 'brewery tap' powered by solar energy in 2012, and a couple of years later a larger 6,500 litre kit was installed in a converted sheep shed, where the brewery now resides. The original brewhouse has been kept on as the Origins Brewing project, testing and experimenting with newer recipes.

Brewed with Cascade and Liberty hops grown in the USA, this is a lovely pale refreshing bitter with plenty of body and depth for its strength. Cascade hops were originally developed from the 1950s, when English Fuggles and Russian Serebrianka hops were cross-pollinated, and named after the Cascade mountain range in the West of the country, released in 1972, and now representing about 10% of hops grown in the USA. Liberty hops are related to Mount Hood, Ultra and Crystal hops, descended from the German Hallertau Mittelfruher hop, and were released in 1983. First brewed in 2007, Avalanche continues to delight, with a clean citrus flavour drying out to bitterness, nice one!

Now we go way across to the south-west and Cornwall, and to St Austell Brewery (website), a much older brewery that dates back to when Walter Hicks bought the Seven Stars Inn up East Hill, St Austell, in 1863, where Hicks began to brew his own ales. As demand outstripped supply, in 1893 he moved the brewery to a site in Tregonissey Lane, where the brewery remains. When I lived and worked in Cornwall in the late 1980s/early 90s, I only remember 2 ales from this brewery, and there wasn't much else around from anyone else! One was a rather bland bitter, as I recall, 3.7% Tinners (I called it Thinners), which I did drink quite a lot of though 😁 and a more robust 5.0% Hicks Special Draught (HSD), a tasty ruby strong ale, which is still brewed.

But to the 4.5% Proper Job (5.5% in bottles, and a superb bottle-conditioned ale it is too! Blog), which I still don't believe is as good as the bottle-conditioned version, but I found it very agreeable with my more recent tasting, despite being disappointed a while ago, but very happy the time before that, what can I say? Oh yes, this was the brainchild of Roger Ryman, who sadly died 2 years ago R.I.P. (blog), when he joined and transformed the brewery as Head Brewer in 1999. Proper Job is brewed with Willamette, Cascade and Chinook hops, all from the USA. Willamette was also developed from the English Fuggles hop in the late 1960s, indeed, was bred to replace Fuggles for growth in the USA! Cascade hops I've discussed above, and Chinook hops, which began life in 1985, were developed from Petham Golding hops. Proper Job is a pale golden ale, citrus fruit aroma and taste, with a dry bitter finish, and very refreshing when quaffed during warm summer days, well, quaffed anytime really! 😉

Now to a brewery much closer to the Dolphin and, indeed, where you can regularly find their ales on the 'guest list' - Kent Brewery (website), unsurprisingly, is based in Kent, and first brewed in 2010 using the brewing plant of Larkins Brewery (website), before Kent Brewery had its own kit installed at Birling Place Farm (Birling, near-ish to Maidstone) in April 2011, and where they now brew their excellent ales.

Like the 2 ales already discussed, the 4.9% Kent Brewery Tropic Ale is in the style of an American Pale Ale (APA), so presumably using hops from the USA, as they regularly do. But they do not advertise what hops they use for their regular ales, except when they brew a single hop ale, which then becomes obvious, and occasionally for others, for example their Brewers Reserve, (Columbus hops). So I don't know what hops are used in the Tropic Ale, I apologise, but you can be sure it will be hops easily recognised as from the USA; I'm guessing they don't like to say any particular hops as it may depend on what is on the market, anyway, what's it like? I have written about this before as I do like the Tropic Ale, it has citrus and tropical fruit aroma and flavours, but quite subtle and refreshing with a nice dry bitter finish, I do like this! 👍

Yes I do like my APAs, cheers! 

Proper Job in Cans, yes, honest!

Well, I've written about St Austell Proper Job before many times before, including cask and bottle-conditioned versions (eg blog), but I have been amazed to find out that they now sell it in cans! And it's at the same 5.5% strength that the bottle-conditioned version comes at, but, obviously, not can-conditioned, although still with a great flavour coming through.

The hops used are Williamette, Cascade and Chinook, providing an abundance of fruit taste in the flavour, citrus and forest fruits, notably grapefruit, with a hint of pineapple, pale and golden, and with a great dry bitter finish, loadsa flavour and not bad at all for a beer in a tin! 

If you see it, it is well worth a try, honest, cheers! 

Favourite Ales of the Crisis, so far!

By now regular readers will be aware that my favourite ales are very much like me, pale, dry and very bitter, but in other years I would include some darker ales in a blog such as this, because I do enjoy a good porter or stout. Since March 2020, it hasn't been so easy, first, months without ales as many pubs were shut for much of the year, and when open, limited, often by supply, plus my regular local was selling Harvey's Old Ale under Tier 2, which I find too sweet for my taste, sorry. So this blog is about wonderful pale 'APA' style bitters mostly, many from Kent Brewery (website), as close by where I live, and regularly sold at my local, when open, including...

Two of my favourite ales from Kent, their Tropic Ale (4.9%) and Prohibition (4.8%) were particularly enjoyed, and if I could only ever have 1 ale if marooned on a desert island, I would be happy with either but, if given a choice, I would say the Prohibition edges it, just. And at the end of the first 'lockdown' in July, this was the first ale I drank in a pub and, as I said in the relevant blog, it was GORGEOUS! A variety of hops from the USA make this very much an American Pale Ale (APA) and gives it a big citrus fruity nose and taste, particularly grapefruit flavour, but such a pleasant refreshing pale bitter with a dry and bitter finish, quality.

Their Tropic Ale is also a dry bitter ale, but with a difference, whereas the Prohibition has a predominantly citrus flavour, the Tropic Ale also has tropical fruit flavours to add to the citrus, making it a wee bit more complex. Tropic Ale has a very nice dry bitter finish too, also refreshing, and gives Prohibition a run for its money. Both are very easy to drink, and because of their strength alcohol-wise, easy to get merry by, if only one of them had been available to me over Christmas... 😉 Further down I will discuss quite a few other excellent Kent ales too.

Also from Kent, Angels & Demons (website), who I'm guessing aren't brewing, for now anyway, as their facebook page is unavailable. Anyway, I had a newer ale from them, another great brewer that likes to use plenty of hops, their Evil Thieves (5.1%). Billed as an IPA, really another APA, although you never know these days, American hops are now being cultivated in Britain too, but I'm guessing hops from the USA were used for this ale. A big citrus aroma, and tropical and citrus fruit in the flavour, a pale golden bitter, very nice indeed. I just hope they get brewing again when the COVID-19 Crisis is under control, fingers crossed. I would miss their wonderful I Spy Dragon Fly and A.D.H.ME, and particularly miss Goldilocks is Dead... 😢 

Also from close to me down here in East Sussex, Gun Brewery (website) who brew mostly 'vegan' beers, and many gluten-free beers too, and I did enjoy their rather tasty strong-ish Zamzama (6.5%) back in July during my second pub visit post-lockdown (blog). A 'Vegan IPA'  although more like an APA again, I'm pretty sure hops from the USA used, a big fruity aroma, plenty of body and flavour, with citrus and tropical fruits, very drinkable, very nice!

The only pub I visited away from home in a year now was in August (blog), so you can see my predicament trying to write about different ales from around the country. On that visit to London I very much was brought back to life by drinking a couple of lovely, refreshing, if expensive, pints of St Austell Proper Job (4.5%) after walking for an hour in 37 degrees! Pale golden colour, citrus fruit, dry, bitter and very refreshing, just what the resus doctor ordered, phew... 😷 

St Austell Brewery has been much remembered over the past year, not just for being the only local brewery surviving from when I lived in Cornwall back in the early 1990s, but particularly because of the sad death of the brewer who rejuvenated the brewery after I moved away, Roger Ryman (blog), and the appointment of Georgina Young as his replacement (blog). Also, the lockdowns have meant that their local representative to us has not been able to visit in December, when she was bringing a very nice Proper Job polo shirt for me, missing you Linda!

From further afield, from way up int' North, in Huddersfield, I had 3 excellent ales brewed by Mallinsons Brewing Company (website), though imbibed down here in Hastings. Tropical Blonde (4.3%) does what it says on the label, it really tastes like 'sunshine in a glass' - well, sort of 😉 Brewed with Calypso, Citra and Nelson Sauvin hops that produce citrus and tropical fruit flavours, and with mango and pineapple in a big fruity aroma. A very easy drinking, pale dry bitter, I did like this, but then, Mallinsons is another excellent brewery.

Also, I had their single hopped Amarillo (4.2%), yes, brewed with Amarillo hops from the USA, unsurprisingly, but surprisingly with a bitter orange in the flavour! A very dry bitter finish, and I definitely liked this, but it is a hop I do enjoy. And Shift (4.3%), what can I say? Brewed with Ekuanot and Centennial hops that produce peach, citrus and tropical fruit flavours, and Mandarina Bavaria hops, a reasonably new variant bred in Germany, released in 2012, and a 'daughter' of the Cascade hop, and which adds a tangerine flavour to the mix! Refreshing and very easy to drink, with a nice dry bitter finish, as I said, another excellent brewery.

Anyway, Mallinsons hasn't been the only Yorkshire brewery whose ales I have enjoyed since the first lockdown, for example, Ilkley Brewery (website) and their 4.2% Pale or All Day Pale. This is a nice refreshing pale bitter, as you'd expect, brewed using Nelson Sauvin, Chinook, Centennial and Hallertau Blanc hops, including dry hopping, and which provide plenty of fruity aroma and flavours, and a lovely dry bitter finish... I liked it! 

Sadly, no Kelham Island of Sheffield ales in 2020, hopefully that will change in 2021, but other excellent Yorkshire ales did get down here, including two 4.3% lovelies from the always reliable Rooster's Brewing Company (website), Cogburn and Union Gap. The Cogburn is an ale I've drunk many times over the years, regularly when I was living in Yorkshire, and the name is a homage to the character played by the actor John Wayne in a couple of films. It is pale and dry, with a subtle citrus fruity aroma and flavour, nice one. 

The Union Gap I recorded as even better! Presumably named after the 1960s band that brought out a single that would be very questionable nowadays, labeled a 'West Coast Pale Ale' and appropriately brewed with Chinook, Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe hops. With these hops you unsurprisingly get a mixture of citrus flavours and aroma, tangerine and lemon particularly. Refreshing, pale dry and bitter, yes it hit the spot, thank you very much!

Coming further down the country, we reach Peterborough and I shall mention 3 of the ales from one of my very favourite brewers, the excellent Oakham Ales (website), including their single-hopped 4.2% 'Session IPA' Citra. Their Citra is, as you would expect from that hop, zesty and with a hint of citrus in the aroma and taste, very pale, and a great dry bitter finish. Another ale I love and could include in my luxury ale on my desert island, along with a cooling system. 😉

The other 2 Oakham ales I particularly enjoyed were the Citra on steroids Green Devil IPA (6.0%), plenty of body, pale, dry and bitter. Also a single-hopped ale with Citra hops, but less subtle, packing a punch with grapefruit and tropical fruit flavours, which could replace the Citra Session IPA on my desert island, and I wouldn't need as much of it! Oh yes, and Bishops Farewell (4.6%), a smoother golden ale brewed with Cascade and Challenger hops, plenty of body and subtle citrus and tropical fruitiness, dry and bitter, also excellent, as are all the wonderful ales in the Oakham range, and I've never had a bad seasonal beer from them either!

I managed to get in this excellent 'green-hopped' ale before Tiers 3 and 4 kicked in, just, not to mention Lockdown Mark 3! This one, Dark Star (website) Green Hopped IPA, a very decent annual arrival for my hopmonster palate, and with a full bodied experience, as you would expect from this 6.5% pale bitter. If you aren't aware, green-hopped ales are brewed using fresh hops, ideally picked on the day and thus seasonal, and this brew used Warrior, Simcoe and Ernest hops. The end result was an amber, subtle fruity bitter with a dry finish, and very good indeed!

I've already mentioned the excellent Kent Brewery above (website), a brewery that competes very well with Oakham Ales and their pale bitter beers, honest, I never thought I'd be that lucky to have another reasonably local brewer so good, and we have some other very fine brewers down here in Kent and East Sussex to compete with them too! But, comparable with their Prohibition and Tropic Ale described above, I'll specifically mention the Brewers Reserve (5.0%). This has a big fruity citrus aroma and taste, with a dry bitter finish, quality!

Quite frankly, I could sing my praises of many of their ales, but will just mention here a few more that I have specifically enjoyed during these upsetting 10 months, and I could add even more, but want to publish this blog today! So, other Kent Brewery ales that helped me cope with the COVID-19 crisis include Mayflower 400 (4.2%, and brewed to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the departure of the Mayflower to the New World), the two 4.5% single hopped ales Citra and Mandarina, and the 4.2% 'session APA' The Quiet American, after recent antics in the USA, surely an oxymoron, but a very easy drinking beer indeed... 😉

Well, I hope this was a reasonably fun read, and here's to the reopening of public houses this year, hopefully sooner rather than later, cheers m'dears! 🍻

A Trip to Putney and 37 degrees Celsius!

Loved these on the floor!

I arrived at Clapham Junction railway station following a surprisingly not too uncomfortable 2 hours wearing a face mask during the journey, and decided to walk along the Thames Footpath rather than catch a bus to Putney, and I couldn't believe how hot it was, 37 degrees Celsius! Still not sure whether I should have caught a bus or not, but I was looking forward to going to the Harvey's pub to the east of Wandsworth Park, The Cat's Back (website), however, it wasn't open when I got there sadly (about 3.15 pm). So, still thirsty, I cut through Wandsworth Park...

... into Putney, and ended up walking along the Lower Richmond Road to The Half Moon at number 93 Lower Richmond Road, SW15 1EU (website), a pub well known for live music in 'normal' times, and somewhere I hadn't been to this century! Well adapted for 'social distancing' with separate doors for entering and exiting, took my name and mobile number as I entered, very quiet, although I was informed customers had been there for lunchtime, and I was asked to sit under the air conditioning, very many thanks! It was so lovely and cool, cheers!! 😓

And I was brought a lovely pint of the excellent again St Austell (website) Proper Job, a 4.5% modern styled, USA-hopped (Willamette, Cascade, Chinook), 'Cornish India Pale Ale.' I have written about Proper Job before, named after a West Country colloquialism that I first heard when I visited Devon and Cornwall in the 1970s, meaning a job well done or quality, and used from Cornwall to Somerset. And the ale is a pale golden, dry, citrus fruity, bitter, very thirst quenching (I drank a second pint soon after 😉). I've written a number of times about this ale, for example when drinking a bottle-conditioned 5.5% version during the recent lockdown (blog) and, more recently following the sad death of its creator, Roger Ryman (blog).

Coincidentally, I was in Putney to 'house sit' (and look after 2 cats!) for my brother and his family because they were away across the country in Cornwall. Anyhow, I let you down a wee bit because the Half Moon was the only pub I visited whilst in Putney, it was too hot to go for long walks or to visit pubs really, and I had a nice garden in which to sit, although I mostly stayed indoors and watched DVDs supplied (virtually a self-imposed lockdown). But I did go just round the corner from the house to the Artisan & Vine at 195/197 Lower Rochmond Road, SW15 1HJ (website), which had a very interesting selection of canned beers to drink; I tested these 5...

2 were from the New Zealand brewery Deep Creek (website), first their 4.5% pale ale Lotus, New Zealand hops as you would expect (presumably Lotus), not too bitter, a hint of citrus fruit, and quite a pale golden beer with a dry finish, nice and refreshing. Then, their stronger 5.4% Redwood, an American Pale Ale, so presumably hops from the USA. Much more body as you would expect from the strength, a deep golden colour with a BIG fruity aroma, and citrus fruit/grapefruit in the taste with a hint of tropical fruits, again not too bitter, but with a dry finish.

Then, from much nearer to home, well Croydon, and Signal Brewery (website), and 2 of their beers. The 4.9% The Pale is an American style APA, using Cascade and Chinook hops, a golden beer with plenty of body and a big fruity aroma and tropical and citrus fruit in the taste; they describe the flavour as 'grapefruit & pomegranate.' Another that is not too bitter and with a dry finish. The second from this brewery was, also 4.9%, The IPA, cannot find out the hops used, could be similar, but an unfined beer, so hazy, very pale with a BIG fruity aroma too, and plenty of fruity taste, they suggest 'citrus & mango' and I shan't argue. Very good!

The fifth beer was again from New Zealand, but a different brewery, 8 Wired (website) Yes, Sensei, a 5.5% APA, described as a 'punchy little hophead.' A little bit darker than the other beers, nearer to a pale amber, and with plenty of body, I got peach in the flavour, guessing hops from the USA, with a dry bitter finish. The proprietor of Artisan & Vine comes from New Zealand, so may be a bit prejudiced, but he suggested this was his favorite, and it is very good, but so they all are. I may just agree with him, but enjoyed drinking the lot, every one a winner!

And to the sad loss of The Bricklayer's Arms to Putney, closed down during the lockdown. This has been the London CAMRA Pub of the Year many times in the past, but had been running down in recent years, and the beer garden has been built over with flats, consequently the regular beer festivals stopped. I suppose the writing was already on the wall when I wrote my blog (older blogspot) 4 years ago, when the council basically put a protection order on it, and many other pubs in Wandsworth, who knows?

But a shame, it has been a great place to drink ale, was the best in Putney for years...