Beer and Biltong in Hastings

Beer & Biltong (facebook) is now open in Hastings St Andrews Mews TN34 1SP (open 10.00 to 17.00 Wednesday to Sunday), and good to see biltong back on sale again in the Mews too. The biltong side of the venture is supplied by Sussex Biltong (website) back in the Mews, and mighty fine it is too, especially the garlic version for me, and many others it would seem! 😋

They serve soft drinks, of course, 2 keg beers (more of below), and the 5.0% Castle Lager in bottle (website), which I've never drunk before, so I had to try it for research purposes. 😉 Castle Brewery was set up in 1886 and brewed as South African Breweries since 1895, but has been a subsidiary of AB InBev for the last 10 years. Brewed using South African ingredients, including Southern Star (hopslist) among the hops grown in the Waboomskraal Valley. Not too much aroma, but very easy and refreshing to drink, slightly bitter with a hint of nuts in the aftertaste.

The 2 keg beers are brewed locally in Guestling by Racketeers Brewing Company (Experience Sussex) or they're on Instagram. I couldn't find out what hops are used for the 3.7% Pale Ale but their 5.2% APA is brewed with Amarillo, El Dorado and Simcoe, apparently, I wouldn't be surprised if similar hops are used for this (hopslist). The Pale Ale is pretty much what you'd expect from U.S. influenced pale ales these days, light and refreshing, hints of tropical and citrus fruits, very easy to drink, not bad at all.

The 4.3% Amber Ale is a wee bit more complex, and brewed with Amarillo (hopslist) and Centennial (hopslist) hops apparently, meaning hints of citrus and tropical fruits in the aroma and taste for this slightly more malty beer. Gentle bitterness, and very easy to drink, very decent.

Decent quality beers and biltong, town centre prices, and worth visiting indeed, cheers! 👍