Back to Rye and the Waterworks Micropub...

I'm gradually getting around again, but being very careful and administering regular Lateral Flow Tests to be sure, as one does, and yesterday I got to the Rye Waterworks micropub, which I first visited soon after it first opened getting on for 4 years ago (blog). The Rye Waterworks (website) is in Rye, unsurprisingly, in Tower Street on the corner with Rope Walk TN31 7NT (tel: 01797 224110), and just a few minutes walk from the railway station and main bus stops. 

Opening times are 2.00-10pm Monday to Thursday; 2.00 to 11.00pm Friday; 12 noon to 11.00pm Saturday; 12 noon to 10.00pm Sunday. I included a short piece about the history of the building in that first blog I wrote about this micropub, if you aren't already aware!

Everything in the pub is for sale, including all the furniture (except the bar!), consequently, the interior looks slightly different every visit (above, yesterday). As you can see from the board below, they also sell many different real local ciders, and beers from local breweries. I'll write further down about the beers I tasted, with breweries and beers available yesterday here:

Brumaison of Tonbridge (website) Best Bitter and Beulter;

Hopfuzz of Hythe (website) Blacksmith's Stout and Lager;

Only With Love of Uckfield (website) Dance Every Day and low gravity (0.5%) Juicy;

Romney Marsh of New Romney (website) Amber Ale and American Pale Ale;

Three Legs of Brede (website) Pale;

And the Waterworks own ale WW Pee Shooter Best. There is an application for planning permission in for their own brewery, but currently they are a nomadic brewery, brewing at other local breweries. Oh yes, and all 8 ales cost just £3.70 a pint, value!

So, to the ales I drank yesterday, of course I had to start with their own ale, the Pee Shooter Best, at 4.0% a very easy drinking session bitter and they're certainly attaining a decent recipe, very enjoyable. I also drank the Three Legs Pale, another session ale at 3.7%, slightly hazy and I think it's brewed with Columbus and Cascade hops, so quite citrus and fruity, but very light in taste, again, very easy to drink! I also drank the Romney Marsh American Pale Ale, at 5.0% it has a bit more oomph! Big flavour and aroma from the American hops used, the hops change over the months and years, but I believe Simcoe are the current hops of choice.

I just had to taste the Only With Love Dance Every Day, another paler session ale at 3.8%, hazy and full of flavour being dry hopped with Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe hops. Very interesting!

Oh yes, and they still sell those locally produced Scotch Eggs and Pork Pies, very tasty.

Great to see all the family yesterday, and a Happy Birthday to son Eddie, and great to see Lotte working behind the bar again, a great afternoon with much friendly chat, cheers to all!

Back to Rye...

I hadn't visited for a while, so thought it best to take a trip to Rye, to the Rye Waterworks micropub (my first descriptive blog of this micropub), in Tower Street, corner with Rope Walk, TN31 7AT. Met by the friendly family staff of David and Eddie, and the usual pleasant banter with them and other customers, old, and always new as well. When I did leave to catch the train home, a 5 minutes walk to the station, there was a bit of a mess, this was on Friday, and the countrywide power problems seemed to have messed up signals towards Eastbourne. The train was stationary and very crowded so I decided to pop back for another drink, lo and behold Ulla had also turned up to work behind the bar, the pub-related working family all present now...

Anyway, to the drinking! I started off with the 3.8% Old Dairy (website) Uber Brew, always reliable, and I was not let down at all, as ever, refreshing, hoppy, grapefruity, pale, dry and bitter, excellent! I then tried the Old Dairy Gold Bullion, (4.3%) which I believe is a version of their Gold Top, a golden ale, easy to drink with more subtle hops. I then re-tried Romney Marsh (website) Romney American Pale, which at 5%, and with the use of hops from the USA, I am always a little disappointed by. It is pale and golden, a bit too sweet for me though, with a caramel taste, and nowhere near the amount of citrus I prefer in the flavour. Remember, like the ales I prefer, I am pale, dry and very bitter! But where would we be if everyone was the same, thankful for the variety of ales available to us!?!

Oh yes, I returned to the Uber Brew, as I also did when returning from the station, from where I later caught a lovely much quieter, and cooler train with working air-conditioning, and I had an extensive chat to the conductor, who also loves real ales too, nice one, cheers!

Ticket to Rye...

It seems to be a regular event this, visiting the Rye Waterworks micropub (a few blogs now, for example this blog says a bit about it!), this time I traveled by train, but well worth it, yet again! Plenty of pleasant company, obviously the landlord and partner, and Alan (someone I know from Hastings) arrived later for his first visit, coincidentally. Plus five Norwegian lawyers, very pleasant company, women friends from university, who meet up every year, they work all over the place now, coming from Malta to London! Primarily, the lawyers meet up, not just to keep in touch, but to visit vineyards, this time they were about to go to Carr Taylor in Westfield (website) after a quick drink here, and having visited Chapel Down (website) the day before.

As ever 8 real ales, all £3.70 a pint, served straight from the cask by gravity, and a similar number of real ciders, and the odd perry or two. I only tried 3 ales, one more than once, first the Romney Marsh Brewery (website) Romney Gold (4.1%), single hopped with Citra, pale golden bitter, not bad at all! Then the Battle Brewery (website) Black Arrow Porter (4.5%), as usual, porters and stouts are difficult to differentiate (see older blog), as in, it depends on the individual brewer what they call their beers, I'd say this was more like a stout... Anyway, dark, lovely taste and body, though a wee bit lacking in the liveliness stakes, not bad at all though!

The ale I drank the most of was Old Dairy Brewery (website), their excellent session ale, Uber Brew (3.8%), pale dry and bitter, with a lovely fruity aroma and taste from the Citra, Chinook and Equinox hops used. Great that you can get this much flavour and body into a 3.8% ale, wonderful, la même chose!

Oh yes, and this is the toilet flush now in the gents, amuses me, me being a pale dry hoppy ale drinker, not to forget that David (the landlord) is made up with now being included on the Free Town Map of Rye... Anyway, cheers for a very pleasant visit and company, and the excellent ale of course, cheers!

Back to Rye!

I returned to Rye yesterday and re-visited the Rye Waterworks, my first 'micro' pub (older blog giving history etc). Why did I return so soon, following our walk there from Hastings last week (Steve on Hastings blog)? Frankly, we'd walked for 4 hours to get here last week, nearly missing the rain, at a fair old pace too, and couldn't get into the Waterworks because it was packed, so I had to return at the first opportunity, just to wish them a Merry Christmas and have a few beers, of course...

The photograph above is from last week, before the rain came, and as we 'marched' alongside the Royal Military Canal from Pett Level, but yesterday, certainly lazier as I caught the train to Rye and back. Anyway, I reached the Rye Waterworks this time just before it opened, so I was the first customer, hurray! Sadly, I didn't see David, the proprietor, this time, but did see his wife Ulla and excellent son Eddie, as he opened up the bar a wee bit early, not for me, but for a tradesman; never mind, I was still happy. 😉

Anyway, to the beers (above, all at £3.70 a pint) and ciders, which I didn't try any of; and the gap above left was filled by Hastings brewed FILO Cardinal (4.6%), a fine dark ale that the brewer calls Sussex Porter, though a wee debate with fellow customer Paul found we didn't agree it is a porter, so I shall be writing a blog very soon about porters, stouts and other dark ales. 

So what did I drink? I drank 3 of the paler ales, including Battle Brewery (website) One Hop Wonder (4%), brewed using just Chinook hops; a golden bitter, less citrus aroma and flavour than I thought it would have, but a very easy ale to drink. Then I tried the stronger Romney Marsh Brewery (website) American Pale (5%), brewed using a variety of different American hops, so every brew is subtly different; a more fruity pale golden ale, a bit sweeter and with more body, as you'd expect...

But my favourite ale of the day was the Old Dairy Brewery (website) Uber Brew (3.8%), brewed with 3 hops, Chinook again, Citra and Equinox, and I started with a pint and finished with another pint of this; a fair amount of body for such a session ale, and much more citrus in the taste, pale and golden, with a nice dry bitter finish, pretty damn good, cheers!

Oh yes, and a friend I hadn't seen for quite a while, Harrison, caught the same train as me coming home, good discourse made for a good journey, cheers again!

Return to Rye Waterworks...

Well, I didn't walk there and back this time, indeed, a quiet Friday and it seemed a good time to catch the train back to Rye (£6.30 cheap day return from Hastings, not bad) and revisit the Rye Waterworks micropub (facebook) on the corner of Tower Street and Rope Walk, TN31 7AT. Not much more work on the building to do for David now, I imagine, just the usual upkeep, and no doubt he has many small alterations he wants to make here and there! Anyway, I wrote about the history of this lovely cool wee building before, so, if you haven't already read it I suggest you go to my previous blog, cheers!

This was the array of beers and ciders I was presented with even before entering the building, so a good time to talk about what I had to drink, regular readers will know I prefer pale hoppy ales, but, as you can see, there is a good variety of traditional bitters, darker ales, and ciders too. I went for 3 of the ales again on this visit... From Hopfuzz of West Hythe (website), and remember, David sources his beers from a 20 mile radius of Rye, I began with their 3.6% Fallout, a golden session bitter, with a slight maltiness and hints of fruits, starting off with a sweetness to the taste, but a nice bitter finish. Not a bad start at all...

Then I moved on to the stronger ale from Romney of New Romney (website), their 5% American Pale, slightly darker golden/amber, does what it says on the label, apparently using American hops that may change between brews, eg they have so far used Azacca, Citra, Summit and Simcoe hops in their brews. I'm guessing they hadn't used Citra in this brew, at least I didn't detect any hints, this ale had much more body, as you'd expect, a little bit too sweet for me at first taste, but certainly dries out with a nice bitter finish, getting there...

Before I go on to the third ale of the day I'll quickly mention that David is now providing local gins for customers too, a selection of which arrived just after I wandered in; and included Tom Cat Dry Sussex Gin (website), Chapel Down Bacchus Gin (website), and Mayfield Sussex Hop Gin (website). I'm also aware that David is also seeking out local producers of perry, indeed, as I write, so there's even more to look forward to...

Oh! And remember that I told you in my previous blog that, basically, if it's not nailed down, all the furniture and curios at Rye Waterworks are for sale, consequently every time you visit you are likely to be witnessing a slightly different micropub. See the image below for a comparison from the last time I visited, similar view/different furniture.

Oh yes, and my final ale, well actually I had more than just the one pint of it, but I do like their regular pale session bitter, from The Three Legs of Broad Oak (website), that is the 3.7% Pale. I haven't written much different in my notes this time: "pale golden, lovely, dry and bitter, fruity aroma and taste, very nice!" And with a smiley face too 😊

Anything else to add? Well I ate one of their locally produced (that morning!) Scotch Eggs (please look away of you're vegetarian), it was nice, tasty and large, and served up with English Mustard and/or a very locally produced spicy chutney, indeed, made by David's next door neighbour I seem to remember him saying, both Scotch Egg and Chutney were quite delicious!

I must have enjoyed myself, because I stayed for a few hours, cool inside on a hot day, nice ale and food, and plenty of pleasant company and dscourse...

Finally, for today, David told me that, due to the huge number of charities that keep asking for support or wanting him to display their collection boxes, he has chosen just the one local charity as the defined charity of Rye Waterworks, ie Little Gate Farm (website), which "helps adults and children with Learning Disabilities and Autism." Nice one, cheers again David!

Rye Waterworks micropub, my first!

OK, not MY first micropub, but the first micropub I have ever visited, I've tried before, for example when visiting Deal a couple of years ago, but Deal's micropubs weren't open; NB make sure you know a micropub is open before visiting! So, what is a micropub? It appears to be accepted that a micropub essentially serves ale from casks, no lagers, probably wine, few spirits, and traditional bar snacks, but with no television, electronic games or fruit machines, and they're often situated in ex-shops! So, to my first, and also the first micropub in East Sussex...

The Rye Waterworks micropub

To The Rye Waterworks, Tower Street (corner with Rope Walk), Rye, East Sussex TN31 7AT (01797 224110), which was originally a water pumping house (1869), and has since been a soup kitchen, public lavatories, and a shop selling antiques and curios more recently (still is, sort of, but more later). However, with a history going back at least 300 years! See further down for the 'potted history' I have written, following talking to David (the licensee), and from researching a 19th century book by William Holloway and a recent online engineering journal.

David when he first held the keys!

The above photograph is borrowed from the Rye Waterworks facebook page, many thanks, and there are some great photographs showing the progression of the considerable work done on the fabric of the micropub since, so well worth a look! David is the licensee, and a warmer and more friendly publican you could never expect to meet, indeed his enthusiasm for this project, a micropub he opened just over a couple of weeks ago, seems unlimited (by the way, many thanks to Rod, who tipped me off about the Rye Waterworks, cheers!). David told me that the interior still has a small amount of work to finish off, "93% complete" he estimates, but it is already comfortable. Indeed, on this blue sky day, it was lovely and cool inside, but in the evening he lit the wood burner to ensure his customers remained comfortable.

Regarding the 'curios' I mentioned earlier? Well, David is still selling furniture and curios on behalf of the last incumbent at this address, indeed, most of what isn't nailed down you can buy, including all the tables and chairs, stools and other furniture, framed prints and curios! For example, just out of shot of my photograph to the right, there is a crackin' brass pub bell and a rather fancy ice bucket for sale... so, the Waterworks isn't just a unique micropub for being in an old pump house rather than an old shop, it will also look different every time you visit, as the furniture and decorations change each time some are purchased! Of course, all this is evidence of the great character of the place, but I really do need to talk about the ales...

There are 8 ales available (all from microbreweries within 20 miles of Rye), and served by gravity from this rather large fridge behind the bar. The 8 include 2 'regular' ales, one brewed by Old Dairy Brewery (website), a 4% session ale called Carrot Top (£3.60 a pint), much beloved by Sussex Best drinkers it appears, and the one we drank, from Three Legs Brewing Company (website), their excellent 3.7% session pale golden and hoppy session bitter Pale (£3.70 a pint). My notes: "Golden with a strong fruity aroma, a gorgeous fruity bitter." Can't say better than that! We also drank the 'guest' Black Pale (4.3% and £3.70 a pint) from Three Legs, a deep very dark red colour, roasted barley in the aroma and taste, quite bitter and "sharp on the palate" said my brother, couldn't disagree, very nice too, but I did prefer the golden Pale, as is my taste!

There were 5 other guest ales, FILO Cardinal (a 4.6% Porter, £3.80), Rother Valley Copper Ale (4.1% and £3.70), Hop Fuzz English (3.8% and £3.70), Range Ales Double Tap (4.1% and £3.70), and I also had a half of the 4.4% Romney Marsh Brewery (website) Amber Ale (£3.70 a pint), a sweetish complex fruity and nutty bitter which is sweet to taste, but dries out at the finish... There were also 3 ciders, Norman Hunt & Sons Conquest (4.8% and £3.70 a pint) and Big Kev's Summer of Fruit (6% and £3.8) and Dickens (8% and £4). Also, of course, some fine gins, wines and soft drinks are available too.

David has recently received his Food Hygiene Certificate, so expect to see rolls with various fillings on sale, sausage rolls, pork pies and scotch eggs, and the usual crisps and nuts, not to mention homemade spicy pickled eggs, and I do love pickled eggs!

Oh yes, so you don't attempt to visit when it is closed (noting my earlier failures when trying to visit micropubs elsewhere) the opening times at present are: 

Mon-Thursdays 2-10pm

Fridays 2-11pm

Saturdays 12-11pm

Sundays 12-10pm

Brick Cistern & Tower

"Potted History" (as promised!):

A 'water-house' was known to have been built on this site by 1628, but the present building includes what appears to be a foundation stone from when it was rebuilt in 1718, with a pump driven by a 'horse gin' piping water from the Ashdown Sands Springs; a horse gin was a wheel which had a horse harnessed to it, the horse walked around in circles and powered the pump.

A lead water pump was added in 1826 to pump water up Conduit Hill to the oval brick cistern (now grade II listed) that is by St Mary's Church. Then, in 1869, the Victorians rebuilt the water-house again and installed a steam engine and pump. As I said earlier, it has since been a soup kitchen (1907), public lavatories, and a shop selling antiques and curios... 

Now it is a micropub, cheers! 

My sources: 

Roder, David  Licensee, The Rye Waterworks.

Holloway, William  The history and antiquities of the ancient town and port of Rye, in the county of Sussex. With incidental notices of the Cinque Ports, published by J R Smith (London) 1847.

Rye Ancient Water Supply on www.engineering-timelines.com 2018.