Mini Pub Crawl around Hastings Old Town

I walked to the Old Town from Hastings Town Centre, and started at the Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road TN34 3DW (website), because it's open by 11.00. This pub is in the heart of the Hastings Fishing Industry, with a balcony facing the famous tall black net huts. The Dolphin has returned to having 3 regular ales, 2 brewed in Sussex, Harvey's Sussex Best and Dark Star Hophead, and Young's Special, now brewed in Bedford, and I refuse to call it what they've re-badged it as 'London Special' as it's not been brewed in London for years now! Anyway, this recent visit saw 3 quite local guest ales too, that is, 2 from Sussex brewers, Lakedown (website), their 4.2% Pale, and Gun (website), Project Babylon, a 4.6%  American Pale Ale. I drank the third guest ale, from Kent Brewery (website), their rather easy to drink 4.2% The Quiet American, a light refreshing APA style with subtle flavours, noticeably grapefruit, nice one. 

I walked out of the pub to the right, and turned first right and walked up to the Crown, 64-66 All Saints Street TN34 3BN (website), which also opens at 11.00. Since the Covid-19 lockdowns they have reduced the number of their cask ales to 2. On this visit they had 1 from a Sussex brewery, that is Battle (website), and their 4.5% One Hop Wonder, not sure which hop, but a quite subtle APA, and not bad at all. The other ale was from Kent brewer Pig & Porter (website), their Slave to the Money, a 4.1% bitter, using Bramling Cross hops. They also have a regular keg stout from Sussex brewery Only with Love (website), their 4.9% Halland Oatmeal Stout, which uses Columbus, Magnum and Willamette hops.

If you go straight down Courthouse Street opposite the pub, cross The Bourne main road, continue up Courthouse Street and it leads you to the Jenny Lind Inn dead opposite (website), 69 High Street TN34 3EW. The Jenny Lind was built on the site of a much older pub that dated back to the early 17th century, The Bell, but with a gap whilst not a pub of 200 years, before the Jenny Lind started trading in the 1850s. It's named after the Swedish Nightingale, the famous opera singer who, under the wing of the German composer Felix Mendelssohn, became widely followed throughout Europe, including by Queen Victoria; she moved to England in 1855, where she lived until her death in 1887.

The Jenny Lind, which opens at 12.00, usually has 6 ales available, but with room and handpumps available for quite a few more ales for special events. Their 2 regular ales are from Sussex brewery Long Man (Best Bitter - website) and Greene King (Abbot Ale - website). They had 4 guest ales including 2 from Sussex brewery Only with Love (one was their Halland Oatmeal Stout cask-conditioned and Grizzly RYE IPA - website). Also 2 from Kent breweries Pig & Porter Skylarking, a 4.0% Session IPA, and the one I drank, from Kent Brewery (website), their 4.8% The New Black, a Black APA, an oxymoron perhaps? I have written about Black IPA/APAs for my older blog, where I briefly explain how 'Black' IPA/APAs are brewed. Anyway, The New Black really is, surprisingly maybe, light and citrusy, and very tasty indeed!

Then, I continued down the High Street to the seafront and turned left to reach the Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street TN34 3AR (website), which opens 14.00 weekends, 16.00 weekdays). They had 2 ales available, a 5.0% milk stout from Pentrich Brewing (website) Glass Half Empty, and the ale I drank, from Verdant Brewing (website), their 4.4% Where Can I Find Friday, a collaboration with Fyne Ales (website). Brewed with Mosaic and Strata hops, this was a very drinkable golden bitter. There was also a keg stout from Kent brewer Time & Tide (website), and they have 6-8 real ciders and perry available, usually including a couple from local cider makers, on this day, from Nightingale Cider Co (website), their 6.0% Discovery.

I then walked back westwards towards Hastings town centre, soon reaching the Albion, 33 George Street TN34 3EA (website), but with an entrance on Marine Parade opposite the seafront too, and which opens at 12.30. They had 4 cask ales available, all from Sussex breweries, Harvey's Sussex Best (website) is their regular, and there is usually an ale from Bedlam too (website), which, on this day, was their Phoenix, a 3.9% APA. Labelled an Extra American Pale Ale, and brewed using hops (Cascade, Citra and Amarillo) and a yeast from the USA, indeed, a nice refreshing bitter. Also, there was Yacht Rock, a 3.8% 'extra pale ale' from Only with Love (website) and the 4.2% Pale Ale from Lakedown Brewing (website). Please note that you do need to pay electronically here as they do not take cash.

If you are inspired by this blog and decide to visit Hastings soon, cheers! 🍺

The Albatross Club (RAFA), Bexhill on Sea

Yesterday, I visited the Albatross Club (Royal Air Forces Association) at Bexhill on Sea, the 2016 winner of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) National Cub of the Year award, and congratulations to them for winning this, and this years local CAMRA Club of the Year too (the national winner in 2017 is the Cheltenham Motor Club). This a members club (RAFA, which I belong to, but you don't need to have been in the Air Force to join as an Associate Member), but CAMRA members are allowed in too, and sensible people should be able to get a member to sign them in, though a £1 donation to the club would be appreciated. Today, whilst the Ale & Arty Beer and Music Festival is on today at the wonderful nearby De La Warr Pavilion (see the festival website), the Albatross Club is open from 11am for all beer lovers to visit.

Four real ales on sale from handpumps (and blackboard behind showing some of the ales to come on soon!), all at £3.20 a pint, and as you can see, yesterday this included Yorkshire brewery Saltaire New World Red (5.2%), and local brewers Pig & Porter Temporary Truth (4.2%), one of their single hop pale ales (Centennial hops), and Bedlam Benchmark, a 4% copper coloured bitter, with a hint of roasted barley in the flavour.

The fourth ale was an incredibly sumptuous milk stout from Bristol brewery, Wiper and True, (website), their Milk Shake (5.6%). Brewed with chocolate malts, and enriched with vanilla, to present a creamy rich stout with body+++ and liquorice flavour too, sweet for my usual palate, but what an enjoyable pint, cheers! 

For more information about the Albatross Club see their website.