Congratulations to the Brickmaker's in Bexhill on Sea!

I can't believe I haven't written about this excellent micropub for over 2 years (blog), that is the Brickmaker's Alehouse, 27 Sea Road, Bexhill, East Sussex TN40 1EE (Tel: 01424 602778 - website)! But I have been back quite a few times since the first lockdown ended, and very recently I revisited again to congratulate the owners, Martin and Robin (although Robin wasn't present on the day), as the Brickmakers Alehouse has been chosen by the CAMRA South East Sussex branch as their Pub of the Year 2022, congratulations!

I include the Cider Board (image below), although, in this instance I didn't drink a cider, but I did drink a few of the ales (above), including one that I'm amazed I haven't had before, which is the one I started off with. That is, the Kent Brewery (website) Kent Golding Bitter (4.1%), a traditional style best bitter brewed with Golding (unsurprisingly) and Fuggles hops. It did what it said on the label, was an amber/copper colour, and smelt and tasted like a best bitter, my notes say "very good" but now I was not 'amazed' as Kent Brewery is one of my favourite brewers!

The second pint was of Sussex brewery Burning Sky (website) Plateau, always full of flavour and at just 3.5%! Of course, this is the brainchild of Mark Tranter, legendary fine tuner of Dark Star Hophead when he worked there, so is like a Hophead, a little weaker in alcohol, but with more flavour with thanks to hops, Mark suggests "hopped at different stages of the brew with a mix bag of US and NZ hops..." and his finesse. A very pale golden bitter, very easy to drink, with grapefruit noticeable in the aroma and taste, a wee bit hazy, and I'm not sure if Mark is brewing it that way on purpose now (as vegan friendly), but still very decent indeed.

The final ale I devoured was one of my favourite ales from another favourite brewery, Oakham Ales of Peterborough (website), who I have written quite a bit about recently, notably following the sad news of the death of their head brewer, Alex Kean, just before Christmas (blog), and after my most recent visit to Peterborough in February (blog). Anyway, I couldn't miss knocking back a pint of their Citra (4.2%), an ale brewed with the excellent Citra hop, pale golden with grapefruit in the taste and a very dry bitter finish, thankfully I see this in my local quite often, 'tis excellent!

So, to summarise, I drank ales from my 2 favourite breweries, Kent and Oakham, and another from another excellent brewer at Burning Sky, to celebrate the Brickmaker's success, cheers!

Congratulations to The Tower!

Alexandra Park

One of the advantages of walking up to The Tower from the centre of Hastings, or from the seafront, in addition to the reward of great ales on arriving of course, is the journey through one of 2 wonderful green spaces. Walking up from the seafront at St Leonards and you can ignore the roads, mostly, and come up through St Leonards Gardens (blog). So I don't really need an excuse to visit The Tower, but yesterday, following the pub's CAMRA award presentation earlier in the week, I took advantage of walking up via the alternative route, through the gorgeous Alexandra Park (older blog) from near the town centre.

So, not far from the park, across Bohemia Road, and down Tower Road to The Tower, on the corner with London Road, indeed, at 251 London Road, Bohemia, St Leonards, Hastings, East Sussex TN37 6NB, where I received a warm welcome from the landlady, Louisa...

As I suggested, earlier in the week Louisa and her colleagues had received the award from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) South East Sussex Branch Pub of the Year 2019. So, congratulations to Louisa and her colleagues, and many thanks to Louisa for allowing me to use the photograph above (I had been unable to attend on Tuesday evening), cheers m'dear!

So, 6 local (ish) ales, although Dark Star Hophead (3.8%) is not now brewed in Sussex, but up in Chiswick, presumably for more volume since Fullers took over Dark Star, and subsequently their brewing interest was taken over by Asahi (see earlier blog). Of the 4 above, I had a pint of Weltons (website) Horsham Pale (3.7%), a pale golden bitter, aroma and hint of citrus from using hops from the USA, for its strength quite a big flavour and certainly a very bitter finish.

Then I got onto the other 2 ales, apologies for the intrusion of the sun on my photograph above, but next I had a pint of the Gun Brewery (website) Zamzama IPA (6.5%), so going up significantly in strength, and CAMRA South East Sussex Branch Beer of the Year for 2 years running. More hops used from the USA, many more indeed! With tropical and citrus fruit in the aroma and taste, much more body, as you would expect, a slightly sour, dry and bitter finish, 'twas very nice! In addition, this is a 'vegan' ale, and consequently unfined; the brewery states "naturally hazy" but yesterday this was well conditioned and really quite clear, so vegan friendly doesn't necessarily mean cloudy... 

I then ventured on to a pint of the Gravesend based Iron Pier (website) 7.3% Speyside Whisky Barrel Aged Porter, possibly the longest name for an ale that I've ever drunk. What can I say, incredibly dark, a 'near-stout' (OK, I have written about this before, eg blog), opaque, with a light brown head, body +++, hint of whisky (Speysides are my favourite Scottish whiskies), roasted barley, I wrote "bl**dy gorgeous!" So there you go, I must have loved it, but I had to drink another half before I wandered home, just to make sure though. 😉

Again, congratulations to Lou and The Tower, cheers m'dears!!

Hastings: The Tower Ale & Cider Festival:

As previously mentioned The Tower on the corner of London Road and Tower Road, Bohemia, St Leonards, the reigning CAMRA South East Sussex Pub of the Year, is running a beer festival from tomorrow, Friday 23rd of February to Sunday the 25th, open 11.00 to 23.00. There will be up to 16 different ales available at any one time, with up to 25 different ales expected to be served over the weekend! 

These are the tasting notes provided (and there are about 8 real ciders and perry too!) with a bit added here and there by moi (in italics):

ORKNEY SKULL SPLITTER (8.5%)  A rich fruity wine-like complexity on the palate includes fresh & dried fruits, warm exotic spice and light summer citrus fruits. Red colour. All the way from the Orkneys, a very reliable brewery. 

FUNKY HOP (RAW) DONKEY BIG FUNKY (6.2%) A collaboration between Raw and The Pigeon Fishers. A New England IPA, packs a donkey punch. Pale

PHOENIX WOBBLY BOB (6%) An amber coloured beer, with a strong malt and fruit balance, evident in both the aroma and flavour. A slight sweetness leading to a dry finish. Amber. I remember first drinking this at the Royal Oak in Lostwithiel, Cornwall (about 1990), and TOO easy to drink for the strength, an excellent premium bitter!

LOUD SHIRT PSYCHADELIC IPA (6%) A fantastic IPA, that will take you to another plain of thought. Pale. From Brighton.

DARK STAR HOPHEAD EXTRA (5.8%) Extra describes it beautifully double hops and 25kg of citra thrown in for good measure. Pale/Light. Hophead's excellent, but this is EXTRA!

BURNING SKY AURORA (5.6%) Premium strength pale ale, US hops and big citrus and tropical flavours. Pale Amber. From Mr Tranter who consolidated the Hophead recipe at Dark Star, excellent!

ARBOR WHY KICK A MOO COW (5.5%) Big malty NZ pale ale, large quantity of southern cross and rakau hops. Dry hopped with green bullet. Pale

TRING’S COLLEYS DOG (5.2%) Dark ruby premium ale is all about the malt. It’s nutty, malty and full of body. Ruby

DANCING DUCK INDIAN PORTER (5%) A modern twist on a classic style of beer. Smokey bonfire flavours with a spicy hop and pleasant warming afterglow. Dark. Another tried and trusted excellent brewery...

TINY REBEL FULL NELSON (4.8%) Maori inspired pale ale, musty flavour of nelson sauvin, with sweet munich malt compliments. Pale. Excellent Welsh brewery from a young company of men, multiple award winners too.
DOWNLANDS MOSAIC (4.8%) Vegan friendly single hopped APA that is a festival of tropical and citrussy notes. Pale

GUN SMOKED RYE (4.7%) Vegan friendly . Beech smoked German Bromberg malt provides a subtle smokiness with the spiciness of the rye. Smokey

OLD DAIRY MAD COW (4.5%) Milk stout with coffee and cocoa nibs. Dark

ILKLEY TRIBULUS LUPULUS (4.4%) Mandarina & Huell Melon bring fresh fruit. Ekuanot from the US brings a tropical punch to the party. Pale. Another excellent Yorkshire brewery.

FYNE ALES VITAL SPARK (4.4%) A dark rich beer that shows glints of red. The taste is clean, slightly sharp with a hint of blackcurrant. Mild. Another Scottish brewery, and one of my all time favourite breweries too.

DANCING DUCK WET FEBRUARY (4.2%) A crisp, clean 4.2% pale ale with hints of lemon, lime, tangerine and sherbet,a biscuity malt characteristic and a dry finish.

SALOPIAN MATRIX (4.2%) A refreshing golden yellow ale. Prominent hop flavours are balanced by biscuit malt dry finish. Golden. Another consitent great brewery.

HUMPTY DUMPTY LEMON & GINGER (4.1%) Pale amber crisp ale, finished with a refreshing ginger and lemon tang. Golden

CAIRNGORM NESSIES MONSTER MASH (4.1%) A pleasant mahogany best bitter, malt predominating, gives a satisfying fullness of flavour. Red

RAT WHITE RAT (4%) Very pale, hoppy ale is made from low colour Maris Otter malt. A combination of three high alpha American hops produce an intensely aromatic finish. Pale

OLD DAIRY WHAT THE HECK! (3.8%) Orange pale ale. A juicy banger straight out of the cattle shed. Pale

FUNKY HOP DONKEY FUNKY LITE (3.6%) Collaboration beer, hybrid IPA. Pale

BURNING SKY PLATEAU (3.5%) A beautiful pale ale with a crisp malt edge and sharp bitterness. Pale

WANDER BEYOND PEAK (3.8%) A beautifully crafted English pale bitter. Pale

Food will be available Friday and Saturday lunchtimes, and snacks all the time, and there will be lve music on Saturday evening from 8pm, cheers!