Battle Brewery Beer Festival.

There appears to be much mentioning of beer festivals down my way lately, but then, don't they come along in couples, if not bunches... Anyway, this weekend, Friday 1st to Saturday 2nd March (it really is March already!), from 11am to 7pm both days, is the turn of Battle Brewery (website) for the latest 'mini' Beer Fest or "Birthday Bash" at The Calf House, Beech Farm, North Trade Road, Battle TN33 0HN. Obviously, you will be able to try their own beers, but there will be beers from other Sussex brewers too, including nearby The Three Legs Brewing Company (website), and ciders as well. Not to mention, food, live music, pub games and a quiz night on Friday.

If going, enjoy yourselves, cheers!

Hastings: The Tower Beer Fest 2019

Last weekend I wrote a blog about the ale and cider festival being held this weekend at The Tower in London Road, Bohemia, Hastings & St Leonards TN37 6NB, and yesterday I put in a couple of hours voluntarily working at the festival bar. This is one of only 2 pubs I am aware of in Hastings that serve all their ales in over-sized lined glasses, which means a full half or pint every time, and, for their what is now an annual festival, they use bats with 3 thirds of a pint glasses, if you want to try a large number of the ales on offer, cheers Louisa! 

Sorry about the quality of these last 2 indoors photographs, but above is the pub's bar which had 6 of the stronger ales available, out of 18 being served at any one time, plus 7 real ciders and a perry. I only drank 1 of these yesterday, though I have enjoyed before the excellent pale dry hoppy bitterness of Burning Sky Aurora (5.6% - website), and the wonderfully full rich dark Gun Brewery Whisky Imperial Stout (7.4% - website), both from Sussex breweries. Yesterday I tried the Cwrw Ial The Apache Line (website), a 5% pale bitter, with a huge fruity aroma, mango and citrus in the flavour too, not so bitter and dry, but very easy to drink!

And at the bar where I worked as a volunteer for a couple of hours, 12 of the less strong ales were available, plus the excellent stew was served here too. I'll start with the weakest I drank, the 3.9% Salopian Push, and I have to admit a little disappointment, as I'm usually impressed by Shrewsbury based Salopian's ales (website), though for many others it appeared a favourite; exactly why drinking ale is so much fun, nearly an infinite number of possible recipes and something for most! Push is a quite dry bitter ale with hints of fruit and sweet to taste at first, though not quite enough flavour for me, though regular readers will appreciate that I am, and have been called, a "hop monster." Not enough hops for me, certainly not as many as expected.

I then tucked into Yorkshire based Great Heck Brewery Proverbs (4.5% - website), with 2 excellent hops, Citra and Mosaic, used in the brew, which provided a lovely fruity and citrus aroma and taste, and lovely dry bitter finish.  Sticking with the Mosaic hop I enjoyed drinking the single hopped Downlands Mosaic (4.8% and does what it says on the label - website) from West Sussex, a vegan friendly beer, so a wee bit hazy, as no finings used, and with a very BIG aroma, fruitiness bursting up into the nostrils! At first taste I caught a slight sourness to it, but this disappeared as I drank more of this pale golden ale with its lovely dry bitter finish.

The final 2 ales I tried were the Scottish Redcastle Brewery Tower IPA (4.8% - website), a new brewery for me, and apparently using a mix of hops from Britain and the USA; this had a slightly fruity and caramel aroma, with malted biscuit in the taste and a nice dry bitter finish, very enjoyable. The other was the local Sussex Long Man Brewery Special Tower APA Brew (4.8% - website), which I'm guessing was a dry hopped cask of their usual APA, with Willamette and Cascade hops used, hint of citrus fruitiness, and very dry bitter finish.

My favourite ale of the day? Close, but the Downlands Mosaic, cheers Lou!

Hastings: The Tower Real Ale & Cider Festival Reminder

Further to my blog last weekend, just a reminder that I shall be heading to The Tower pub up London Road, Bohemia, Hastings & St Leonards for Lou's second (now annual, presumably!) Real Ale & Cider Festival, Tower Fest 2019, this weekend, and which starts in half an hours time! I shall be helping out over the weekend, and I trust that, should you be in East Sussex this weekend, you will attend too, and I may just see you... If so, enjoy the ales, and cheers!

Beermeister in Cyprus?!?

OK, even I was excited to see a Beermeister cap in the historic metropolis of Paphos in Cyprus yesterday, but it wasn't me there, but great to see a representative enjoying time out...

Many thanks to my brother Dan, actually, cheers Dan, here enjoying a coffee today (hmmm...) and displaying the Beermeister cap in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus too!

The Tower in Hastings: Ale Festival Next Weekend!

The Tower, up on the corner of London Road and Tower Road, Bohemia TN37 6NB, and following its successful Real Ale & Cider Festival last year (blog), is next week holding its second real ale festival from Friday the 22nd to Sunday the 24th of February 2019, 11am to 11pm Friday and Saturday, 11am to 10pm Sunday; oh yes, and real ciders too! There will also be good value, and great tasting, food served on Friday and Saturday, from Cafe 67 of Bohemia Road (facebook), including at least one meal containing an ale from the festival, and one containing a cider. Plus a raffle on Saturday and a Meat Raffle (vegetarians please look away) on Sunday...

Excellent ales on when I recently visited!

Ales for the Festival (with tasting notes) - may be a few extras too:

Gun Brewery Whisky Imperial Stout 7.4% Dark English pale and roasted malts give a rich, full body to this strong ale;

3 Legs Brewery Oatmeal Stout "7ish%" Dark Special brew;

Cromarty Ghost Town 5.8% Dark Classic dark roasted malty porter with blackcurrant & liquorice;

Burning Sky Aurora 5.6% Pale Premium strength pale ale with juicy malt backbone and big citrus and tropical hop flavours;

Goose Eye Pommies Revenge 5.2% Gold Extra strong single malt bitter;

Cwrw Lal Apache 5% Light Big mango fruit aromas with a smooth bitterness. Hoppy awesomeness;

Downlands Mosaic 4.8% Light Single hopped APA. Festival of tropical and citrussy notes;

Redcastle Tower I.P.A. 4.8% Amber Combination of British and American hops. Fruity aroma with a hint of toffee on the palate;

Long Man Special Tower APA Brew 4.8% Light DDD dry hopped;

Iron Pier Cast Iron Stout 4.7% Dark Dark chocolate and coffee notes with a smooth bitter finish;

Wild Beer Co Millionaire 4.7% Dark Salted caramel stout;

Purple Moose Dark Side Of The Moose 4.6% Porter Bramley crossed hops making a delicious dark ale with a dry biscuit flavour;

Long Man Old Reserve Special Tower Brew 4.5% Dark A twist on Old Man with cherry and blackcurrant;

Old Dairy No Bull 4.5% Dark Milk Stout with chocolate and coffee;

Great Heck Proverbs 4.5% Golden Citra and mosaic hopped golden ale;

Thornbridge Rocky Road 4.5% Porter Ice cream porter;

Great Heck Swanky 4% Light;

Holler Boys Honest Burger 4% Pale Limited edition oaty hoppy pale;

Salopian Push 3.9% Golden Pineapple aromas and tropical fruit cascade over floral and grassy hops;

Dancing Duck Ayup 3.9% Pale Session pale ale, subtle malt and floral notes, dry finish;

Ilkley Joshua Jane 3.7% Brown Rich nut brown Yorkshire ale;

Dark Star Pekko 3.8% Light Tropical fruit with herbal notes;

Franklins Cigar Sour 3% Amber sour beer brewed with a smoked malts, based on a German Licteheiner.

As you can see, many local ales included, plus a vast array of styles, enjoy!