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!