Happy New Year!

And Best Wishes for 2020!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2020, it can't be as bad as 2019, fingers crossed, cheers!

December: Visiting the Dark Side!

Over the last couple of weeks I have tasted 5 excellent darker beers, stouts, porters and Christmas Ales, what you expect to flourish at this time of year. Two of them, sampled a week apart, come from Kent Brewery of Birling in Kent (website), a consistent brewer of fine ales, mostly pale ales provided where I drink regularly, but they can brew excellent darker beers too, as these 2 prove. First, their Comfortably Plum (4.9%), described as a 'plum stout' on the pumpclip, but, although there is a hint of roasted barley in the taste, more like a porter to me. Now I have gone on about the difference between porters and stouts before (eg International Stout Day 2 years ago blog), and some stronger dark milds too, they tend to be interchangeable depending on the brewer. This was a deep dark red colour, dark fruits in the aroma and taste, smooth and velvety with plenty of body, and a nice dry bitter finish; my notes say "pretty damn good!"

Just a couple of days ago I drank the Kent Yule Log, a 4.5% 'chocolate cream stout' and what can I say, other than more of the same, I certainly summed up with a very similar comment to the Comfortably Plum! A big aroma of chocolate with a hint of molasses, a dark dark red colour again, tasting of chocolate and with plenty of body, certainly does what it says on the label!

Before I forget, I mentioned in my last blog that I had a few halves of Harvey's of Lewes, East Sussex, Christmas Ale, a mere 7.5% (I'm sure it used to be stronger?), described as a 'traditional barley wine' (website). A wee bit sweet to begin with, though a nice bitterness is produced by the hops at the finish, a bit of a Christmas Pudding of a beer!

OK, there's a hint of where I'm going with my next blog in this image above, but there are also 2 more excellent darker beers I drank on Wednesday, and both from further away. First, from Goffs Brewery in the Cotswolds (website), Black Night, a 5.3% 'ruby red porter' and it really is a deep dark ruby red colour, okay a hint of roasted barley in the aroma, but Bramling Cross hops provide a dark fruity flavour, plenty of body, rich and flavoursome, another excellent dark ale.

You will also be able to see, at the far right/back in the photograph above, from West Yorkshire's Saltaire Brewery (website), the 4.8% Triple Choc, an 'indulgent chocolate stout.' Brewed with Fuggles hops, and with a hint of chocolate in the aroma which belies the stronger chocolate flavour to the taste, a deep dark, almost black colour, though not as heavy as you would expect, pretty easy to sup actually, another excellent black ale.

Which was best? I'd hate to judge, I loved drinking all 5, particularly the 2 chocolate flavoured beers, maybe the Black Night 'shaded' it, but no, very happy to drink any of the 5, cheers!

Harvey's Brewery Visit

Harvey's Brewery 

The other evening a bunch of us visited Harvey's Brewery (website) at The Bridge Wharf Brewery, 4 Cliffe High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2AH, and a thoroughly interesting, informative and fun evening was had by all. The lad who guided us around the premises, a 'tower brewery' with the brewing process starting at the top, and using gravity rather than pumps to move the process on, was a bit of a laugh too, at first he appeared very 'straight' but this was part of his act which progressed as did the brewing process. The lad knows his stuff, brewing and the history of the brewery, which dates back to the late 18th century, Harvey's being the oldest brewery in Sussex (more on the history and the story of Harvey's at the website).

Hops

We had started at the bottom of the tower, but after his introduction, we were taken up to the top of the tower to a room storing hops and malt, and where the water (liquor in brewers' parlance, and drawn up from their own artesian well below the brewery after 30 years of filtering through the Sussex chalk downs) is stored in the liquor reservoir (website). This unique water/liqour supply, and the use of their own yeast variety, maintains the consistency of Harvey's beers and their unique flavours. In this room the ground malt or grist is dropped down to the mash tun with hot liquor creating the wort, the mash, which allows enzymes in the grist to convert the complicated starch of the malt into sugars to be turned into alcohol.

Malt

Harvey's prides itself on being environmentally pretty sound, with its own water supply, and using gravity rather than pumps to move the grist and wort down to the mash tun, then copper, then for racking off at lower levels. They also source locally as much as possible, use exchange paraflows to heat up the liquor, reusable bottles and casks, and 544 solar panels on the depot roof, and much more (website). Spent grain from the grist, and spent hops, go to local farms and agriculture, grain to feed cattle and hops to be used as mulch and fertilizer, indeed, Plumpton Agricultural College, who take some of the spent grain, estimate 1.4 million litres of milk a year is attributable to spent grain, and this feed also reduces methane emissions by 30%!

Mash Tun

Anyway, back to the brewing process, so the grist and hot liquor enters the mash tun (they have 2) on the next level down, creating the wort, which contains the sugars that will be fermented into beer (website). Once the sugars have been released by enzymes into the wort then it is released further down the tower into the 2 coppers or kettles to be boiled.

Copper or Kettle

During the boiling in the coppers hops are added to the wort, early on for bittering and preserving, later on for flavouring and aroma, and other ingredients may be added for special beers too. Once the boil is over, the temperature of the wort is quickly lowered via exchange paraflows and dropped into the fermenting tuns the next level down, where yeast is added, feeding on the sugars and creating alcohol and carbon dioxide during fermentation, developing taste and creating beer for the drinker.

Our motley crew

Then, when the fermentation is complete, the beer comes down into the room where we sampled some different beers (photograph above), where it is racked off into casks, or kegged, canned or bottled. We were first offered a blind tasting of halves of Harvey's Sussex Best (4.0%), which most of us recognised, and then allowed to help ourselves to a choice of 6 different beers, my favourite being the rather exceptional 7.5% Christmas Ale, more of in my next blog...

With many thanks to Harvey's and their workers, much appreciated, cheers!

For more about the Harvey's 'story' go to the website.

For more about the brewing process at Harvey's go to the website.

For more about their fine green credentials go to the website.

Petition to Cut Beer Tax

Sign the petition to reduce beer tax, unless you enjoy paying too much, here: Petition.

CAMRA National Pub of the Year Finalists 2019

The 4 national finalists for CAMRA Pub of the Year 2019 (website), and sadly I have never visited any of them, are, starting in alphabetical order:

The Bell Inn

The Bell Inn, 3 Ambury Road, Aldworth, Berkshire RG8 9TL (photograph, many thanks to CAMRA). The Bell Inn is Grade II listed, going back hundreds of years, depending on which source you use (eg Aldworth website), consequently has a great history, indeed, has stayed in the same family since the 18th century. I can't find a website for it, nor a Twitter account, though there is a Facebook page, that doesn't appear to have been added to for 2 years, apparently very traditional. Looking at other sites and reviews, it is well admired and appears to sell 3 regular ales and 2 guest ales, all local, eg from West Berkshire, real ciders and excellent food. It is closed on Mondays, except Public Holiday lunchtimes, and won this national award in 1990.

The George & Dragon

The George & Dragon, Hudswell, Richmond, North Yorkshire DL11 6BL (photograph, again with many thanks to CAMRA). The George & Dragon reopened in 2010 following its closure in 2008, with the building and land having been bought by the local community after raising £220,000, and then a further £80,000 that paid for its refurbishment (website); since when it has been a regular local CAMRA pub of the year, and national winner in 2016. Similarly, reviews say much for this pub, unsurprisingly for these are the shortlisted 4 national finalists, and they sell 5 regularly changing ales, apparently from local brewers, eg Rudgate and Roosters, real cider and excellent food too. On their website they declare they're not serving food on Christmas Day, which suggests, I presume, they are open every day of the year...

The Red Lion

The Red Lion, The Green, Preston, Hitchin, Hertforshire SG4 7UD (photograph, yet again, with many thanks to CAMRA). The Red Lion is an example of a very early community owned pub, indeed the first in Britain, having been reopened in 1983 following the decision of its previous owners, Whitbread, to sell the pub 3 years earlier (website). The building's history goes back to 1844, when separate cottages were integrated to create the now public house. It has 2 regular ales, Fullers London Pride and Tring Side Pocket for a Toad, and a regularly changing 3 guest ales from a wide range of breweries, local and further afar. Food also, of course, and unsurprisingly again, good reviews in abundance; the reigning Herts CAMRA pub of the year.

The Swan with Two Necks

The Swan with Two Necks, Pendleton, Clitheroe, Lancashire BB7 1PT (again, many thanks to CAMRA for this photograph). The Swan with Two Necks is a Grade II listed building, renovated in 2009, and has been with the current owners for over 30 years (website). They have 5 regularly changing ales, eg Phoenix and Copper Dragon, and a real cider, plus food, with the expected excellent reviews. This pub was CAMRA national pub of the year in 2014.

I wish the 4 entrants the best of luck with the competition; the winner will be announced in February 2020, and I do need to get travelling more, cheers!

Applecross, West Scotland

By another friend David, AKA Jalfreziman, many thanks!
Please note scenic images are from Applecross Photographic Gallery (website), many thanks!

Applecross Inn

Applecross, Scotland. Where? I must confess, I hesitated about writing this little review. For 42 years, my wife (Management) & I (Jalfreziman) worked in tourism and catering. Daily we dealt with queues, screaming little darlings, noise and mayhem. When we wanted a holiday, we wanted peace, tranquility and above all, no screaming little darlings. It helped that we had to take our holiflops out of season. We found our sanctuary in Applecross. So where is it? Miles from anywhere is the answer, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, 100 miles north-west of Fort William, 80 miles west of Inverness. Don’t let those mileages fool you. The roads are nearly all mountainous and single-track with passing spaces. From Fort William, allow 3 hours and from Inverness, allow 2. And only if the weather’s good. If there’s ice or snow about, add to that quite a wide safety margin. More about that in a mo.

Many thanks to Google for the map

Rule one… don’t go in the summer. Too many people have discovered it and it’s loony-tunes time. Add to that the famous west coast Scotland summer midges. Go off season. We usually go early November when the great unwashed have cleared off. And yes, it’s a gamble with the weather but we’ve always been lucky. And that’s why I hesitated to write this. We don’t really want to encourage more visitors to go then. We want to keep it all to ourselves. So, Applecross. The village where the pub is, is usually what people call ‘Applecross’ but the name really applies to the whole peninsular, about 25 miles by 15 miles and sparsely populated. 

Until the 1970’s, the only way in was over the Bealach na Bà, a mountainous winding road first built in 1822 and is engineered similarly to roads through the great mountain passes in the Alps, with very tight hairpin bends that switch back and forth up the hillside and gradients that approach 20%. It has the steepest ascent of any road climb in the UK, rising from sea level at Applecross to 626 metres (2,054 ft), and is the third highest road in Scotland. The name is Scottish Gaelic for ‘Pass of the Cattle’, as it was historically used as a drovers' road. The Bealach, as it is known for short, is considered unsuitable for learner drivers, large vehicles and motorhomes. The route is often impassable in winter. Consequently, before the ‘70s, Applecross was frequently cut off in the winter, with access from the sea only. In the 70s, a coastal road was constructed around the north coast of the peninsular, which adds nearly 30 miles to the journey and is in itself ‘a bit of a challenge’.

View from the pub across Applecross Bay 

Anyway, you get there one way or another. What is there? A fabulous coastline; views across the bay to Raasay and the Isle of Skye behind it, usually with snow on the peaks in November; wonderful, clean air; fabulous walks; otters; deer; highland cows wandering down the road; lovely, warm, welcoming people - and THE PUB! The Applecross Inn (website) is the only pub, literally for miles. It has justifiably won awards for its food, particularly the local game, crab & langoustines, the latter of which are caught in the bay daily and served fresh in the pub the same night.

The pub does accommodation (7 rooms). (Always try and get room 7 - it’s the nicest and quietest). The views are stunning. The bar is small with limited seating and with a roaring log fire in the winter. You can’t book a table for food (unless you’re a resident) but it doesn’t seem to matter, they always seem to be able to squeeze you in somewhere. In the summer there is outside seating aplenty, right on the beach. Over the years, the menu has changed little but then, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! The specials change daily and if you get the chance, try the haddock, highland lamb, venison, haggis or (only seen once), calves liver. Yum!

Now here’s a negative… (or at least it was), the beer. For years, the only ale on offer was Skye Red (4.2%, brewery website), which frankly is down there with Doombar in the ‘don’t bother’ department. But in 2019, things have changed! Check out the Applecross Craft Brewery at 5 Camusterrach Place, Camusterrach, Applecross, Strathcarron, Wester Ross, IV54 8LQ, whose beer brewing is much better than their website maintenance (never yet been able to successfully access it). Anyway, Google it yourself and see how you get on. The beer though is a huge improvement on Skye Red.

I promised myself I’d try all three of the main brews but after my first pint of Applecross Inner Sound (4.7%), the dark ale, I was hooked. I never did try the other two but I’m reliably informed they are very good. The dark ale is as you would expect… nutty, malty, very tasty! One is not enough so get someone else to drive. Excellent beer and a stunning location.

The other two ales on offer are Applecross Sanctuary Red Ale (4.0%) and Applecross Pale Ale (3.7%). It’s good to see the local pubs and restaurants supporting the local brewery. We did even spot them on sale in Portree on the Isle of Skye but at an eye-watering price of £6.70 per bottle. And yes, you can buy them by the bottle from the Applecross Inn as well (at a much more reasonable price). 

So that’s it! Applecross, Applecross Bay and the Applecross Inn. Don’t go there. It’s crap (ed: I love satire too!). Stay away (at least in November when we’re there).

Cheers Jalfreziman!

Stout in Rye, and more

I have visited The Rye Waterworks micropub quite often since my first visit soon after they opened last year (blog), and felt that, as they regularly have darker ales and as International Stout Day was just the other day (blog), another visit was in order, of course! No Eddie this day, though David and Ulla were present, as well as a barman I didn't quite catch his name (Paul?), and David was in fine form again, cramming people in where it didn't seem possible sometimes with an astute use of seating and tables, getting people to chat with each other, and even running impromptu quizzes, whilst Ulla ensured my glass was full, many thanks!

There were 8 real ales served straight from the cask, as usual, plus numerous ciders, and much more (gins and wine plus plus), and, oh look, a stout from local brewer, of course, Hopfuzz Brewery (website) Blacksmith, a 4.2% stout, very dark and smooth, with chocolate in the aroma and taste, quite subtle, and very drinkable too.

You will realise by now that I do love pale hoppy ales in particular, so I also drank a few pints of ale from another Kent brewer, Old Dairy (website) Uber Brew (3.8%), as I usually do when in a pub selling this fine ale. Pale and hoppy, using Citra, Chinook and Equinox hops, and plenty of them too, refreshing and bitter with a lovely dry finish, I love it!

As I've said before, the furniture and everything not fixed down is for sale, so it looks a wee bit different every time you walk into the bar, this is how it looked when I entered on Saturday (above). Oh yes, they also sell quality bar snacks, I had a lovely large scotch egg made very locally with free range eggs served with locally produced homemade spicy chutney, gorgeous.

If you haven't been before, it is well worth the visit, friendly, chatty, characters, and at the corner of Tower Street and Rope Walk in Rye TN31 7AT, fewer than 5 minutes walk from the railway station; see older blog for more information about the pub and its history, and enjoy, cheers!

This is International Stout Day!

OK, I announced the other day that today is International Stout Day 2019, so I had to go and find somewhere selling a stout, or hopefully two, and I was really praying for an Iron Pier stout/porter (website) special, but no luck there... However, I walked up to The Tower in London Road (facebook) and drank, before drinking 2 excellent strong pale bitters (that will come out soon in another blog), a very nice dark bitter, virtually a dark mild/bitter, and a milk stout. 

You can guess the milk stout, but before that I drank, from North Yorkshire, Great Heck (website) Dave, a 3.8% deep dark red bitter/mild (oxymoron maybe, but drink it and you'll know what I mean!), roasted barley in the taste, hint of liquorice, so much flavour for such a session ale, virtually a weak stout, with a dry bitter finish, and very good indeed! 

Then it was the Sussex brewery Gun (website) Milk Stout (4.1%), which does what it says on the label, vanilla milky, hint of chocolate and coffee, so very smooth, and so easy to drink! What more can I say, but cheers... Happy International Stout Day! 😀

International Stout Day 2019

This Thursday, 7th of November 2019 is the 8th International Stout Day (website), surprise surprise, celebating Stouts. Stouts appear to have developed from Porters, a dark ale favoured by London market porters 300 years ago, though a blend of ales originally, before brewers started brewing Porters themselves. Whereas 'Stout' tended to be a term to describe stronger beers. Stout, as in Stout Porter, was a strong, dark brew that London's brewers developed, and the dark beer that we think of today as a typical Stout style.

Technically, nowadays, Porters are brewed using dark malts, and are usually a very deep, very dark, red in colour if you put your glass up to the light, whereas Stouts are brewed using Roasted Barley and are black or very dark brown, notably brown in the colour of the head. Of course, I've drunk different brewers' Stouts, Porters and even strong dark Milds that taste as you would expect one of the other styles to taste, but, for me, I would define the Stout from the roasted barley taste, though no doubt many would argue with me there...

Whatever, enjoy a dark ale on Thursday, cheers!

HARBWR - Tenby Harbour Brewery

Friends of mine, Mark and Maureen, had a holiday in Tenby in Wales a couple of weeks ago and brought back a pack of beer (all from Tenby Harbour Brewery or Harbwr and all named after former Tenby boats - website) for me as a present, many thanks! So I had to drink them all, but didn't rush myself: first, I tried the M. V. Enterprise, named after a 1960s-1990s passenger boat, a 4% Pale Ale, brewed with Cascade (US) and First Gold (British) hops. This is a traditional style pale ale, pale copper coloured, with a bitter finish, not bad at all...

Next I drank the RFA Sir Galahad, named after Tenby's RNLI Lifeboat from 1986 to 2006, and very interesting too... A 4.6% Red Ale, brewed with British First Gold and Pioneer hops and US Cascade and Willamette hops, the combination resulting in an avalanche of aroma and flavours! A deep red colour, although surprisingly light to drink, with subtle malt and a hint of butterscotch flavours, and forest fruit and citrus flavours too; a wee bit sweet to begin with, but a lovely dry bitter and refreshing finish, indeed, very interesting, and a very nice beer!

M.V. Enterprise

Next I had the 4.2% North Star, named after a former fishing boat, an Amber Ale, which people appear to like to call what I suggest are traditional bitters, and this is pretty much that, a very decent best bitter indeed. Brewed with British First Gold and Bramling Cross hops, with a subtle malt in the first taste and a nice dry bitter finish, and as it went down malt in the aroma and a hint of orange/lemon in the taste and aroma appeared, again, not bad at all.

Finally I drank the 4.5% Caldey Lollipop, named after a Tenby boat that used to provide a ferry service between Tenby and Caldey Island in the 1950s, an I.P.A., which does what it says on the label! Brewed with German Magnum, US Mount Hood and New Zealand Waimea hops, which have produced quite a complex ale, certainly a hoppy IPA. Began with a fruity, slightly perfumed, aroma, big flavour and body, with a subtle spicy and dry fruity taste, but bitter orange and grapefruit emerging strongly in the flavour, and a dry bitter finish, what's not to like?!? My notes say 'very interesting' and 'very good' so it must be, indeed, my favourite of the 4.

Mark and Maureen had these beers at The Buccaneer Inn, St Julian Street, Tenby SA70 7AS (facebook page), and at the Harbwr Tap Room in the brewery too. Mark, my friendly local landlord, told me that the ales were all excellent as real ales too, I should imagine even more exciting, and that the food at the brewery-owned Buccaneer was excellent too, they had a seafood platter and lemon sole, which doesn't surprise me as they own a pub in Hastings fishing quarter and opposite Hastings Fish Market (Dolphin Inn website), and they know a bit about seafood, and cheers to you both for the beers!

Hastings Tap Takeover 11-13 October 2019

This weekend, to help kick off Hastings Week (website), 12 venues in Hastings, from The Dolphin Inn in the East to The Tower in the West, will be holding 'tap takeovers' (Hastings Tap Takeover facebook page). That means each venue will be celebrating 'exceptional independent breweries' from near and far, not necessarily just cask conditioned ales, but crafty kegs too! 

Venues and breweries involved:

• The Dolphin Inn (facebook) - Kent Brewery (website)
• The Crown (website) - Burning Sky (website)
• The Jenny Lind (website) - One Mile End (website)
• The Jolly Fisherman (website) - Wylam (website)
• The Albion (website) - Harveys (website)
• The Imperial (website) - Cloudwater (website)
• The Drift In (facebook) - Good Things (website)
• Eel & Bear (website) - Pressure Drop (website)
• The Pig's Palace (facebook) - Battle (website)
• The St Leonard (website) - Franklins (website)
• Farmyard (website)  -  Three Legs (website)
• The Tower (facebook) - Downlands (website)

CAMRA National Pub of the Year Contenders

The 16 Regional winners will be judged for the CAMRA National Pub of the Year (CAMRA website), and I have to own up to feeling a wee bit inadequate... I've only ever been to one of them, as far as I can remember! So, if you want to know about the others, have a look at the CAMRA website, and now I shall discuss the one I do know about...

I haven't been for a while, but the East Midlands winner, The Smithfield Ale House, Meadow Road, Derby DE1 2BH (website) is certainly an excellent choice of pub for us real ale lovers, so no surprise it is the reigning CAMRA East Midlands Pub of the Year! Positioned by the River Derwent, I previously reported it as being a great freehouse, with a good selection of varying ales, plus decent food too, not to mention friendly and knowledgeable bar staff, well worth a visit indeed, cheers and good luck in the national competition!



Cask Ale Week 2019, it now is!

Yes, it is Cask Ale Week again, yes it really is! Cask Ale Week 19-29 September 2019 (website) does what it says on the label, promotes cask ale, get supping now!

A Sheffield Mile Long Pub Crawl...

As seen in my last blog, I ate at Mama's and Leonies (website), then visited a new (ish, was closed for a while and open before in a previous guise as the Crown, which I have visited many years ago!) pub, the Crow Inn, 33 Scotland Street, S3 7BS (facebook). A mate, Will, advised me about this reopening a short while ago, cheers, so it was my second port of call, following my meal at Mama's, just above West bar Police Station, which is no longer there!

Behind the bar was one of the co-owners, Kate, who was happy to answer my questions (she also co-owns the Rutland), and very friendly. The Crow has 5 real ales, 3 real ciders and a perry, not to mention 14 crafty kegs! I went for a pint of the Mission Creep (never heard of this Welsh brewery, so new to me) Anger Management (4.4%), advertising the use of 'C' hops from the USA, consequently looked promising to me. A golden bitter which wasn't quite as I expected, as in not as fruity, quite dry and bitter, slightly sour taste. There were also ales from more local brewers, including Abbeydale and Blue Bee. Promising new addition to Sheffield's pubs!

Just walking down from there the next pub I visited was Shakespeares, 146-148 Gibraltar Street, S3 8UB (website), by now with company for my travels, Jeff and Lindsay, long time no see lads. This is a regular award winning pub in recent years with a wide choice of ales, 9 in all, prices starting at £2.70 a pint, oh yes, and they sell real ciders too, as do most of the decent pubs in Sheffield of course. I had the North Riding (website) Citra Pale (4.5%) at £3.20, which was okay, but I was a wee bit disappointed as I love the award winning Oakham Citra IPA, for example, which is only 4.2% and has much more flavour, oh well, it wasn't bad...

Opposite Shakespeares is The Bar Stewards, a micropub at 163 Gibraltar Street, S3 8UA (website) which serves 4 real ales, crafty kegs etc... Forget the whisky that appeared here, thank you Lindsay, from the 4 real ales they serve I drank Great Heck (website) Mosaic (4.5%), a golden fruity bitter with plenty of flavour, getting better indeed.

Crossing over the A61 (Shalesmoor) and we made a visit to the Kelham Island Tavern, 62 Russell Street, S3 8RW (website), a many award winning hostelry, indeed twice CAMRA National Pub of the Year. I had the local Blue Bee (website) Triple Hop (4.3%) with Citra, Mosaic and Ekuanot being the three hops. Another pale golden bitter of course, well this is me, grapefruit in the taste, big in the nose and flavour, with a dry bitter finish, very good!

And around the corner is another multi award winning pub, indeed, world leading beer writer Roger Protz has just written in the 500th edition of Beer Matters, Sheffield CAMRA's monthly magazine, that Dave Wickett, who bought and refurbished the Fat Cat and set up Kelham Island Brewery "started the beer revival" in Sheffield. Having worked for Dave at Kelham Island Brewery myself i also witnessed his love of ale and football that Roger emphasises. Sadly Dave passed away a couple of years ago, R.I.P.

Anyway, at the Fat Cat itself, 23 Alma Street, S3 8SA (website), I first drank Jolly Sailor (website) Summer Pale, a 4.2% dry hopped 'session pale' bitter, pale golden colour, not bad, but then it had to compete with their own Kelham Island (website) Pint Break (5.0%), brewed with lager yeast and 2 types of hop from the USA. Pint Break had a deep golden colour with a sort of bitter sweet flavour at first taste, drying out bitterness, plenty of depth and body, very decent; £3.40 a pint, prices here from £2.70 to £3.70 a pint. 

And a brand new bar for me. just round the corner from the Cat at 50 Green Lane, S3 8AY, is Pa's Bistro (website), where I sampled a couple of ales from a local brewery new to me too. As you can see a new building, and this area has had a lot of financial support from the EU by the way, and a friendly lad behind the bar, and some nice customers too, other than me... Anyway, the ale, from a choice of 9 regular brews of Fuggle Bunny (website), Pa's have up to 3 ales, 2 for my visit, and at just £3 a pint on match day, nice one. I first drank their Hazy Summer Daze (4.2%), a pale ale, hints of tropical and citrus fruit in the taste, with a dry bitter aftertaste. Then I had the rather excellent Russian Rare-Bit, a 5.0% 'Imperial Black Stout' with its aroma of roasted barley and full deep flavour with hints of chocolate and liquorice, nice one!

My first regular local when I moved to Sheffield in the 1990s was The Wellington, though it wasn't called that then, at 1 Henry Street, S3 7EQ (facebook), prices from £2.80 a pint. I drank XT (website) 3 West Coast IPA, a golden bitter brewed with Chinook, Columbus and Cascade, at £3.00 a pint, not as spectacular as some of their ales I've drunk before, but still good. I also had their own brewed Neepsend (website) Okami (4.7%), brewed with Styrian Wolf, Citra and Sorachi hops, pale golden, red fruit in the aroma, tropical fruit in the flavour, very interesting!

Another pub I've worked in in the 1990s, a ten minute walk away at the other end of Infirmary Road, is The Hillsborough Hotel, 54-58 Langsett Road, S6 2UB (website), which has 8 real ales and good locally sourced food. Here I had a few pints including Acorn (website) Fiesta, a 4.5% golden bitter, hints of citrus, not bad at all, and £3.00 a pint. Also, Abbeydale (website) Deception, a 4.1% 'New Zealand pale ale', probably my favourite pale ale of the visit to Sheffield, and brewed in Sheffield too. Pale golden bitter brewed with Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand, plenty of fruit in the taste, good body for the strength, very good!

The Hillsborough Hotel is a friendly establishment run by Tom and Brigitte, and a good place to drink at before and after a visit to Sheffield Wednesday's ground, oh yes, and I stayed there too, hence the breakfast, which one can never turn down, great stuff!

I also have to admit I was drinking in Sheffield for 2 days, and visited some of the pubs more than once, met many pals, and had a great time, cheers!

Sheffield Visit 2019

OK, I visit Sheffield once or twice a year, and I had already been here earlier in the year but hadn't written a blog, which I really wanted to do, but, anyway, here it will be, and a more up to date version as well... But that will wait until my next blog, very soon, I promise! BUT! Where do I always go to on arrival in Sheffield following a long journey? 

Mama's and Leonies (website), of course, 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. I've been going there for over 20 years now, so no reason why I should change now. Anyway, saw a few familiar faces working there, and had my favourite Warm Chick & Bacon Salad, without the croutons, excellent, never fails to please me!

And above is a hint of the ales on the bar at my first drinking house, new to me in its present guise, but I have drank in there many many years ago! More of very soon...

Congratulations Again to the Dolphin!

Again, my congratulations go out to the Dolphin Inn (facebook), 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW, for winning the 2019 SE Sussex CAMRA Community Pub of the Year, nice one! The award was presented yesterday evening, sadly missed by me, consequently no timely images, although I was there at lunchtime...

And, in addition to their 3 regular ales, Dark Star Hophead, Youngs Special, and Harveys Sussex Best, the 3 guest ales were all from close by, indeed, all three from Kent, and all very good. From Folkestone, Angels & Demons (website) 5% I Spy Dragon Fly, a very pale dry bitter, does what it says on the label, and I love it, but...

McCanns, a subsidiary of Angels & Demons, Folkestone Best, is a 4.0% traditional best bitter, and very good too, however... the Kent Brewery (website), from Birling, Tropic Ale (4.9%) is something very special, and I cannot get enough of this brewery's ales, I love them! Completely to my taste preference, and a hopfest in the mouth, they say a "Juicy IPA" and they aren't wrong. Another very pale golden bitter, tropical fruits and citrus aroma big time, grapefruit specifically in the taste, and beer of course, okay, it's getting boring, but like me, pale dry and bitter, quality!

Anyway, that's what the Dolphin is really about, Mark, Mo, family, and colleagues, serve up excellent real ales, not to mention great food too, and a truly 'community' public house, congratulations, yet again, and well deserved, cheers!

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!

Long Live The Local!

Long Live The Local is a campaign backed by an alliance of pubs, brewers and industry bodies that form Britain's Beer Alliance, who are trying to prevent the closing down of local public houses. They have organised an online petition, that I have already signed, to ask for a cut in, or freeze, beer duty, here is the link to the petition and to their website, with also the opportunity to send an email to your Member of Parliament, as I have done as well. Remember, when we lose a pub, we often lose the hub of a community with it!