Rye Waterworks & Happy (Chinese) New Year!

Indeed, today celebrates the beginning of the Chinese Year of the Rabbit (British Council), so Happy New Year! And what has this to do with the Rye Waterworks micropub (website)? Well, exactly a year ago today I wrote about my new year visit to the pub (blog), a favourite haunt of mine since I first wrote about it soon after it opened, getting on for 5 years ago (blog). Oh yes, and on Friday I visited for the first time this year, which meant I said 'Happy New Year' to the folks there... A roundabout way of linking my latest visit to the Chinese New Year, cheers! 😉

Anyway, like a year ago (blog), Friday was a lovely crisp day with a clear blue sky, and well worth the trip over. I started off with a few ales, 2 from Tonbridge Brewery (website), and the other brewed by the pub at their own microbrewery (blog), although this was one of the last firkins from before their brewery started functioning, when they were still a cuckoo brewery; ale from their own brewery will be available here very soon, I was assured by David. To the ales, I started off with the thirst quenching 3.9% Tonbridge Easy Street Pale, brewed with Northdown, Ernest and Fuggles, all 3 hops grown in Kent. It's a pale golden bitter with a light floral and spicy aroma, plenty of flavour considering its strength with a hint of citrus, and a lovely sharp bitter finish.

The other 2 were more traditional session bitters, the first being, appropriately, the 3.6% Tonbridge Traditional, brewed with Kent Golding and Challenger hops. I really rate this beer, indeed, I've not drunk a bad Tonbridge ale of any style recently, that I can remember, my notes say it does what it says on the label, hints of malt and citrus, very good! And the very local, also 3.6%, Waterworks Ureynal, a pun on the fact that in one of its more recent earlier lives the pub building was a public loo (blog with its history). This is another very good traditional session bitter brewed with Pilgrim hops, and, as I suggested above, I had a chat with David about this beer, and I am very much looking forward to my first taste of this, and other ales they are brewing, a pale and a darker ale too, when they are being served at the Rye Waterworks. 👍

And on to ciders... I had a couple of pints, including one of the excellent 5.8% Earl's Reserve Still Cider, made from Russet apples grown on their own 100 acre farm in Matfield, near Tonbridge in Kent, and where they've been growing apples since 1964, that is Charrington's (website). This is crisp and refreshing and so easy to drink, now this is apple juice, and one of my 5 a day! 😉

The second of my 5 a day (pictured above), and my final drink before departure to catch the train, was the slightly stronger, and crystal clear, 6.9% Perryhill Orchards Double Vision Cider (website). This is a more complex cider, with a dry bitter finish, and very good indeed, nice one; they also have a less dry version. Cheers m'dears, Happy New Year! 

Rye Waterworks, Just In Time!

I hadn't been to the Rye Waterworks micropub, Tower Street, Rye TN31 7AT, for a while after having visited quite frequently, but a combination of rail strikes and ultra hot weather made it difficult, so I returned yesterday, just in time? I'll go into that further down. 😉 Anyway, I caught the number 100 bus from Hastings, which I came to regret, I should have caught the train in both directions, notably cooler on my return. Also a rather smelly passenger (BO) on the bus transferred to the seat immediately behind me when the certainly less smelly passenger previously sitting there got off. I did make a sneaky move towards the front nearer to Rye.

But to nicer things, I walked the 5 minutes from the bus stop to the Rye Waterworks on the corner of Rope Walk and Tower Street, and was hailed by the landlord David just before I took the photograph above, hi! I had to wait a couple of minutes before taking the image as it was quite busy in the road, but soon entered the bar space. I was welcomed again by David, and by Morgan, who was working behind the bar. Soon after, Lotte turned up to work behind the bar too, and David's wife Ulla nipped in and out with various supplies during the afternoon. Indeed, the only family member who didn't appear was Eddie, who is soon going abroad and worked his last session behind the bar the night before, I believe, good luck and best wishes Eddie!

To the drinking (list of beers and ciders above), and starting with the beers, of which I drank 2, plus ate a rather tasty Scotch Egg and locally homemade chutney. I had 2 of the pale session ales, starting with Tonbridge Brewery's (website) Easy Street Pale (3.9%), brewed with 3 different Kent grown hops, Northdown, Ernest and Fuggles. I have had this in a can recently too, and was surprised how good it was, and it lived up to the promise. A pale golden bitter with a light spicy and floral aroma, full of flavour, including subtle citrus fruits, and a sharp bitter finish.

I then drank the more fruity (citrus) Scaramanga 'Extra Pale' (3.9%) from Gun Brewery (website), another pale golden bitter. Scaramanga, named after a James Bond villain, is brewed with English and U.S. hops, Goldings and the significant citrus flavour and aroma comes from the US Chinook hops in fair quantity, I imagine. Another decent session ale, but of the two, Easy Street Pale was more to my taste.

And something that amused me, and Long Man Brewery (website) brew ales that stimulate my amusement. Quite a few years ago, probably close to 10 years, I was served up a pint of their 'old ale' Old Man by Laura at the Dolphin Inn in Hastings, I had a great image of it too, sadly lost, but I labelled it "Laura serving an Old Man" which I found serving an Old Man to an old (er) man amusing. 😁 Well, another young woman at the Waterworks, Morgan, who is tall (close to 6 foot tall), was serving a Long Blonde, okay, I'm easily amused, but amused me, cheers Morgan! 

Now to the ciders, I started with the weaker (😉), only 6.9% Double Vision, they sell 2 versions at the same strength, one a "crisp dry" cider, I think they're both dry, but this is the more dry. Anyway, I have written about this before (blog) and it remains pale, complex, and dry, almost sour, I should try the other version too, just so I can compare; research is demanding!

Oh yes, and the story I alluded to above, "just in time!" Well, the slightly strong 8.4% Sussex Vintage (in the glass photographed above) is near the end, indeed, by the time I finish writing this blog it may already have run out. David has taken great delight in his buying the last bottles of the Sussex Vintage, 5 years old, so nowhere else to be found, and he was placing the last bottles into the cooler as I watched him yesterday. I cannot believe I haven't written about this before, because I've had quite a few pints of it now, though not in one session!

OK, Sussex Vintage, 8.4% as I said above, a deeper reddish colour, presumably something to do with the colour of the apple skins (?), is full flavoured, as you'd expect, with a dry bitter finish. It looks like I've had my last pint of it, but they also sell the Sussex Strong straight from a pin, I believe, also 8.4%, so I shall have to review that next time I visit the Rye Waterworks. It's a demanding job, as I say above, but someone has to do it...

I have added the image above of the Doom Bar pump clip on the flush handle in the gents loo as it amuses me, I've had plenty of amusement lately, as you'll be aware if you've got this far down the page. 😁 This is just one part of why the Waterworks is such a great pub to visit, it has a real history, sells excellent drinks and snacks, sourced locally, and is soon to open its own brewery. Most importantly, you feel welcome as soon as you walk through the door, with friendly bar staff, and customers happily chatting to each other. With thanks to everyone for making my visit another delight, cheers to David, Ulla, Morgan and Lotte, and already missing you Eddie!

If you'd like to read more about the Rye Waterworks, I first went there soon after it opened 4 years ago, this blog was the result and describes its history and how unique it is, cheers!