First Real Ales of 2018!

Well, my first trip to a public house in 2018 was on Tuesday to the Tower, 251 London Road TN37 6NB (tel: 01424 721773), which, depending on how you consider your geography, is described as St Leonards on Sea, which is in the borough of Hastings, but the smaller area the pub is in is called Bohemia... Whatever, it is up the hill about 1250 metres from the beach, and I prefer to call it Bohemia, because, well it sounds more bohemian (see Ordnance Survey website). And, by "real ale" I mean cask-conditioned ale, see CAMRA website; though Belgian beers do come a close second to proper British cask-conditioned draught ales, in my opinion...

The Tower is the reigning CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) South East Sussex Pub of the Year 2017, and sells 6 real ales from hand pumps; 2 regular excellent ales from Sussex brewer Dark Star (website), their 3.8% session ale Hophead and the stronger 4.7% American Pale Ale (APA), so-called because of the style and the use of hops from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. There are also 4 regularly changing guest ales (and more often than not from local breweries too), and 6 real ciders and 1 perry (the perry currently from Westons; concerning 'real cider and perry' see CAMRA website).

The 'guest' ales included Hopback Summer Lightning (5%, see website), an excellent pale bitter I've used to help convert lager drinkers to real ale many times over many years! Also, the 3.9% pale session bitter from Red Willow (website), their Stateless, which is brewed with more hops from across the Pond, Cascade, Columbus and Chinook... it does what it says on the label, it's pale with citrus flavours and finishes with a dry bitterness. But...

OK, it's obviously the right time of year to be appreciating darker beers, but I particularly want to express just how good the Porter shown in the photograph was, however, I next drank, from Kent, Whitstable Brewery Christmas Spirit (I noted 4.6%, the website says 4.7%, I could be wrong! Website). Darker, a reddish chestnut colour, and brewed with English hops, Admiral and East Kent Goldings, as one would expect, producing a slightly spicy beer, not too heavy but with more body than the paler ales, and with a hint of chocolate in the aroma and taste too...

To the Aromatic Porter (4.5%) from Brewsters then (website), a brewery I've mentioned before when talking about women, brewing and witchcraft (eg blog and blog)! I didn't really get the 'aromatic' here though, and the chap sitting next to me at the bar, a well-known local CAMRA enthusiast, had been put off by the term 'aromatic', he needn't have been. Of course there was an aroma, but more subtle than the name implies, I tried to work out what it was, and I think I've come up with a dark berry, mostly blackcurrant, to the nose, certainly fruity. A much darker, well-bodied, bitter beer, with a dry finish and a hint of roasted barley in the taste, it was pretty damn excellent, and just £3 a pint, cheers Louisa!

Not to forget, ignoring Wetherspoons, the Tower is the best value real ale pub in Hastings, with the two regulars £2.90 a pint for Hophead and £3 a pint for APA, and on the day, the most expensive ales were £3.20 a pint, eg the Summer Lightning, and all in lined glasses too...

Keep up the good work Lou!