The Real 'If Only I Had The Time To Understand!'

The Real? Oh, have a look back to this blog for an explanation-ish. 😉 

So, enjoyed at the Hastings Jolly Fisherman (blog), from Pomona Island (website), up int' North West of England, and their 12.5% If Only I Had The Time To Understand, a 'Russian Imperial Stout' aged in Cognac Casks. The real If Only I Had The Time To Understand does have cognac and coffee in the aroma and taste, with dark fruits and chocolate much more noticeable in the taste. Unsurprisingly, smooth and luxurious, and indeed gorgeous, cheers folks! 😁

Clonakilty Whiskey...

Yes, yes, I know, I've already written about a whiskey this month (blog), but I was drinking in the Hastings Jolly Fisherman (blog) yesterday, and Oliver waved a not yet opened bottle in front of me, and tempted me to buy a glass of it. I'm easily tempted, no control! 😉 So there it was, distilled in County Cork by Clonakilty (website), their 46.0% Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, I'll have some of that, thank you very much! 

Clonakilty is quite a new distillery, set up in 2019, and they use only barley grown in Co Cork, the whiskey is triple distilled in copper pot stills, and matured in ex-Bourbon, Oloroso and Amontillado casks. This produces an aroma strongly teasing me with vanilla and hints of citrus and butterscotch, and tasting gently of vanilla with a hint of pear, orange and butterscotch, smooth, but you know the alcohol is there whilst drinking and as it goes down, good stuff, sláinte!

Happy Belgium National Day!

The 21st of July is 'National Day' in Belgium, the anniversary of the swearing in of King Leopold I, the first recognised King of Belgium nearly 200 years ago, in 1831, following the revolution the previous year against the last of many empires encompassing Belgians over hundreds of years, the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Therefore, much celebration will be had in Belgium today as it is a public holiday, nowhere more so than in Brussels (The Brussels Times). 

Sadly I cannot make it to Belgium today, although I will be making another visit in the not too distant future, consequently today I had to go shopping for Belgian beer, and this (above) is what I returned from the shops with. I had to go shopping because the first two places I would have gone to for Belgian beers in Hastings would have been the Eel & Bear (blog) and The Jolly Fisherman (blog), who both sell an impressive array of bottled beers. Sadly, both are also closed on Mondays, so woe is me, I was unprepared... 😣

BUT, next year will be different, no doubt, as Belgium National Day falls on a Tuesday! 😁

Anyway, I bought 4 bottles of an Abbey style beer this year, brewed by Leffe (website), where brewing has been ongoing only since 1240 😉 and that is their 6.0% Blonde. Sadly, not as potent as the 6.6% Leffe Blonde we drank back in September (blog), but my brother Dan had brought those back with him from Brussels, we get weaker stuff served up in Britain. 😒 This is pretty much a 'go to' beer for Dan as it's very dependable. Even though a wee bit less body and strength than the Belgians enjoy, there are still hints of caramel and spices in the aroma and taste, particularly cloves, a very gentle bitterness, and a slightly dry finish, nice one.👍

So, Happy Belgium National Day! Cheers 🍻

Inaugural UK Belgian Beer Week Now On!

I only yesterday found out that an inaugural Belgian Beer Week (24th February to 1st March Beer Today website) had been arranged in cooperation with Visit Flanders (website), I apologise for my tardiness! Knowing that Oliver at The Jolly Fisherman in Hastings (blog) stocks Belgian beers, I wandered along there in the late afternoon. So what Belgian beer did I drink?

As you can see from the image above, I drank the St Bernadus ABT 12 (10.0%), Brouwerij St Bernadus (website) being another excellent Belgian brewery situated in Watou, Flanders. This beer is a very dark deep coloured red Quadrupel, with a slightly malty/fruity aroma, a wee bit sweet with a dry slightly bitter finish, and tasting of dark plum and damson fruits, another Christmas Pudding of a beer as many Quadrupels tend to be, very rich and rewarding to drink!

There are still a few of the organised events left to visit, lucky you if you are in either vicinity 😉 they are today (28th February) Duvel Moortgat at Den Engel Bar & Restaurant in Leek, and Kasteel at Bundobust in Manchester. Tomorrow (1st March) Duvel Moortgat again, at the Neepsend Craft Beer Festival in Sheffield (beertoday).

If you go to either enjoy yourselves, and feel free to leave a comment with a review of your visit, or nip in somewhere else and buy some Belgian beer, or buy some from an off licence or supermarket, I'll likely head to Morrisons for some Westmalle Tripel (blog), love it! Cheers 👍

A Whiskey for the Road...

I have already written about my February 'Whiskey of the Month' (blog), but a few days ago I had a whiskey, or two, 'for the road' at The Jolly Fisherman in Hastings (blog), and thought it worth sharing; apologies if I'm going on about whiskey nearly as much as ale these days, but I'm enjoying them in my dotage! 😉

Anyway, this second February whiskey was again from Dublin distillery Teeling, who I wrote about back in December (blog), when I had a bottle of their 46.0% Small Batch. This time it was their Single Malt whiskey, also 46.0%, with a deep Chardonnay white wine colour, and matured in a combination of American Oak, Ruby Port, Caravelos White Port, Madeira and Bourbon casks, which add to the complexity of this whiskey!

The Single Malt has an aroma of grapes at first, then forest fruits and spices. It is nicely mellow to drink, with subtle hints of sherry and spices in the flavour. A very smooth luxurious Irish whiskey, with plenty of warmth, a slightly bitter-sweet butterscotch at the finish, and indeed, yet another very easy to drink whiskey, slainte! 👍

New Year Dark Beer Festival in Hastings!

Indeed, from today to Sunday (3rd-5th January 2025), The Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR is holding a Dark Beer Festival (facebook): Opening at 13.00 today, and 12.00 Sat/Sunday. 

There will be a large choice of styles amongst the cask and keg beers available, includes:

Stouts and Porters

Others from abroad, GB Belgian style

Mild Ales and not so strong

Whichever day you visit, enjoy this Dark Beer Festival and weekend, cheers!

St Andrews Day Chocolate and Biscoffi Stout!

Indeed, yesterday, before I had my St Andrews Day haggis, neeps and tatties (and Brussels sprouts 😉), I again visited The Jolly Fisherman in Hastings (yesterday's blog) and finished off with a stout (amongst other fine ales enjoyed) that had replaced the Celebration I had imbibed on Friday. This stout from Liverpool based Azvex Brewing Company (website) and their 5.8% Orbiting Treasure, a Chocolate and Biscoffi Stout.

It pretty much does what it says on the label, as you can see from the photograph, dark with a light brown head, met my opinion of the difference between a porter and a stout (blog), vegan friendly, but it was so rich and smooth, and dark, so that you wouldn't notice. I got the biscuit in the aroma, but not so much in the flavour, inverse with the chocolate, that came out big in the taste, finishing with a slightly bitter 'dark' chocolate taste, but subtle in the aroma. 😁

Another luxurious stout, thank you very much, cheers! 👍

Black Friday & An Imperial Stout!

Okay, it's 'Black Friday' but I have nothing to sell, let alone cheaply, so my 'bargain' is reporting on a beer that was my 'one for the road' last night, drank at The Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR (see my first blog about this atmospheric wee pub).

Brewed by Bristol brewery Left Handed Giant (website), this was their Celebration: Blender, a 12.0% Imperial Stout, a blend of Imperial Stouts aged for 12-18 months in bourbon, maple syrup and rye wooden barrels. This was a very luxurious, smooth dark beer that smelt sweet from the maple syrup, and sweet to taste too, a bit of a dark pudding of a beer, as I said, luxurious!

Definitely a beer to end the night with, cheers, now go chase those bargains! 😁

Mini Polish Beer Tap Takeover in Hastings!

Indeed, I had a chance to get in on the takeover early last night (I'll be elsewhere tomorrow), but beers from the Polish brewery Pinta Barrel Brewing (website) will be served up for this weekend (9/11th August) mini tap takeover. Beers will include Rose Wild Ale, a hazy IPA collaboration with Third Moon Brewing  Hazy Discovery,  Wild Ale, Scarlet, and Harmony (above).   

This event is being held over this weekend at The Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street, Hastings, East Sussex TN34 3AR (facebook). So far I have only tried the 12.00% Imperial Stout, Harmony, brewed with cocoa nibs, dried bananas, and peanuts, and aged for 18 months in Bourbon and Madeira barrels! It basically does what it says with chocolate being the more dominant of the flavours, but peanut and banana coming through too, luxurious, cheers!

Where to drink this weekend!

PS. I would call it an Imperial Porter (blog). 😉

Summer's Coming... However, 4 Darker Beers!

I thought I should get in a few darker beers before I became completely fixated with the paler light summer beers. 😉 2 of these I sampled as crafty keg ales at The Jolly Fisherman in Hastings (blog), and 2 in bottle; you'll be able to work out which is which. The first (above), from Scottish brewery Harviestoun (website), their 10.5% Ola Dubh (which means 'black oil' in Gaelic), which has been matured for at least 6 months in 12 year-old Highland Park whisky barrels, and is significantly stronger than their bottled version. This was the most complex of this blog's beers, brewed with East Kent Goldings, Fuggles and Galena hops, with a hint of coffee in the aroma, and chocolate in the taste, and the whisky comes through in the flavour too, pretty good!

My first bottled beer is from St Peter's Brewery (website), their 5.0% Plum Porter, with 'natural plum flavouring' added. A big fresh plummy/blackcurrant aroma and taste, slightly sweet, but surprisingly 'light' to drink. It's a very deep dark red colour, and not bad at all.

I had been quite upset when I heard, not too long ago that their London-based pub, the historic Jerusalem Tavern, had closed down. However, I'm pleased to report that I more recently discovered that the pub has reopened under new licencees as The Holy Tavern, 55 Britton Street, London EC1M 5UQ, and with longer opening hours than previous, but still selling St Peter's ales in addition to others (website). Opens: Mondays-Saturdays 12.00 noon to 23.00, and 12.00 noon to 21.30 on Sundays.

The other dark ale I had at the Jolly Fisherman was from Siren Craft Brew (website) and their 7.4% Caribbean Chocolate Cake (above), the chocolate flavour coming from adding 'hand-roasted' cacao nibs to the brew, consequently a big chocolate aroma and taste, with a hint of coffee in the aroma, and hints of orange and coconut to the taste. I thought it was 'pretty good' which is what I wrote in my notes unsurprisingly! 😉

My second bottle beer, and last for this blog, was from Guinness and their 6.0% West Indies Porter (website), not quite as impressive as the stronger Guinness brewed in Nigeria, but tasty all the same. A very deep opaque red colour, with a slight bitterness and chocolate in the taste, and a hint of coffee in the aroma. Another dark beer that was not bad at all, cheers!

Paler ales to come soon... 😁

Hastings Old Town Cider Festival 2023

The first annual Hastings Old Town Cider Festival 11-18 November 2023 begins today at 4 old town pubs, The Albion, 33 George Street TN34 3EA (website), The Crown, 64-66 All Saints Street TN34 3BN (website), The Jenny Lind, 69 High Street TN34 3EW (website), and at the Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street TN34 3AR (facebook).

This new added festival to Hastings' events has been arranged by the licensees of the 4 public houses and promises a large sample of ciders and perries, still and fizzy, and from near and far, and you have a week in which to sample the many delights on offer, enjoy, cheers! 🍻

Hastings 'Tap Takeover' Day 3 (I missed Day 2)

As I hinted in my previous blog, I would missed day 2 of Hastings Tap Takeover 2023 (website), but on day 3 I visited the Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street TN34 3AR (website), where I met up with a few friends, and Oliver (landlord) behind the bar, dishing out good beer and playing decent music as ever! Not many cask ales here, but all his beers were from Nottingham brewer Neon Raptor (website), consequently, my review is dominated by 'crafty keg' beers.

My first drink was my only pint, the rest were imbibed in two-thirds or halves, and the only cask ale I could drink here, as only the one left, Neon Raptor Filament (5.0%), an IPA brewed with Cashmere and Ekuanot hops. This was a very fruity, slightly hazy beer, tasting of citrus and tropical fruit flavours, I got melon particularly, drying out bitterness in the finish.

I then drank the wheat beer, their 4.7% Breakfast Club, with bananas and strawberries added. Sounds a bit too much fruit? But quite subtle in the taste, different...

Next was their 6.5% keg IPA No No Noise, a 'New England' IPA, dry hopped with Idaho 7, El Dorado and Citra hops, producing a big fruity aroma and taste, pale and hazy, with grapefruit and orange, and a dry finish. I then moved on to the 'dark side...'

These next 4 crafty keg beers were certainly on the 'dark side' with, well, I'll go into them in more detail, starting with the 5.2% Clusters, a peanut and chocolate stout, which I particularly enjoyed. The peanut I found to be quite subtle, but I got the chocolate much more in the aroma and taste, quite rich, but with a dry finish, stood out for me, nice one! 👍

Moving on up, next was the 7.4% (you get why I moved onto smaller glasses now) Total Eclipse, described as a 'Jaffa Cake Milk Stout' which does what it says on the tin! Brewed with cacao shells and mandarin oranges added, I detected a very strange addition to the aroma and taste, which no-one else got, maybe it was the garlic biltong I'd eaten. 😉 But certainly a subtleness from the fruit and chocolate in the taste, not as in your face as I expected.

Then to 2 of their self-named Crimes Against Brewing series, first the 8.0% Coffee, Caramel & Almond Double Pastry Stout, there's a mouthful, indeed! Maybe a wee bit too sweet for me, and I got a hint of chocolate in the taste too, probably from the malt used, coffee in the aroma, and in the taste throughout, and the almond was quite subtle, very interesting!

I finished my visit with the second from their Crimes Against Brewing series, the 10.0% Carrot and Walnut Cake Imperial Pastry Stout, what can I say?!? Had to be done 😏and I thoroughly enjoyed drinking/experiencing this. My notes aren't the easiest to read at this stage, but I wrote: Dark, sweet and nutty, plenty of body (surprise surprise), rich, chocolatey, and I gave it 3 ticks, which means I liked it, a lot... Well, that was an experience!

Sorry I couldn't make it to more venues oh well...

Here's looking froward to next years Tap Takeover, and cheers!

2 Pale Beers + 3 Very Different!

The 2 very decent pale ales I have drunk recently are, unsurprisingly, both from Kent Brewery (website). Their single-hopped Centennial (4.5%) is described as 'citrusy, lemon and floral' although I noted grapefruit rather than lemon. The Centennial hop was developed in the 1970s from Brewer's Gold, Fuggle, East Kent Golding and Bavarian hops (hopslist), and described as "earthy and floral with an element of citrus." It's a lovely pale golden colour, and I got grapefruit rather than lemon, but hey, they're both citrus! Oh yes, and a lovely dry bitter finish.

By the way, I had both of the Kent beers at The Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW (website). The second one was Kent Maia (5.0%), basically an APA as well, labelled a 'springtime IPA' and packed with hops, but I haven't been able to discover which hops yet, although certainly from the USA. Anyway, it's seasonal and named after Maia (pronounced the same as Maya), one of the Pleiades, and the mother of Hermes in Greek mythology, and you can easily guess Zeus was the other parent, as he certainly was the Johnson of his day. 😉 Indeed, it is believed that the month of May was named after Maia. Again, pale golden colour, I noticed citrus, and with a dry bitter finish, just as I like, excellent ale indeed!

Where I had the 'very different' drinks yesterday was at The Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR (website). I'll first mention my final drink of the visit, and cheers to Oliver, the landlord, for this delight from a collaboration between Sussex based breweries Burning Sky (website) and Abyss (website). Dark to the Core is a 9.5% Imperial Stout and comes from dark chocolate malts and Munich, Marris Otter and Cara malts, and with Chinook hops in the boil. Chinook is a cross between Petham Golding and a USDA male, and features pine spicy aroma and grapefruit flavour, and is regularly used for porters and stouts (hopslist). Does what it says on the tin, delightful!

Then the 2 extra-different drinks, first, another collaboration, this time from Sheffield based Steel City Brewing (facebook) and Lost Industry Brewing (facebook), and Sofia based Alchemik, although James was originally from Manchester (website). Imperial Yellowcake is a 8.5% Sour, with lemon zest and vanilla in the brew to produce a lemon meringue cheesecake 'sour' and certainly not too sweet and not too sour for me, strangely delightful too, cheers to Dave Unpronounceable and his collaborators! 👍

Finally, not a beer, but a mead from Belgium, De Meaderie (website), Experimead #15, 15.0% whisky barrel aged for 17 months, with maple syrup, I told you it was different! Look at it above, crystal clear and pale, which surprised me, and nowhere near as sweet as I thought it would be, in fact, incredibly light and easy to drink considering. If you see it anywhere, drink it, well worth it, believe me, and cheers to Oliver as well for providing beers you don't see very often!

 

Knoydart Brewery, a very remote brewery!

I had never heard of Knoydart Brewery, Inverie (website), before my brother told me he had visited it last week, and reading on you will understand why it had been way off my radar. To begin with, it is reckoned to be the most remote brewery in Britain, indeed, it cannot be reached by road, but you can catch a ferry to Inverie, on the Knoydart Peninsular and overlooking Loch Nevis, from the port of Mallaig on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands (website), or you could hike nearly 20 miles to get there! The brewery is situated in a converted chapel built in 1886 (above), and many thanks to Dan (my bro) for the photographs used here.

Before I go on, I was in the Jolly Fisherman in Hastings on Saturday, and one of the regulars, Goose, had already been planning to visit Knoydart before I even mentioned it, a coincidence, but knowing Goose I shouldn't have been surprised. Anyway, the brewery is run by Samantha and Matthew Humphrey, and was set up in 2018 and has a 5 Brewers Beer Barrel kit (nearly 1500 pints a brew). They use local pure mountain water from the Millburn as their supply liquor, and all their bottled beers are unfined, unfiltered and unpasteurised, thus vegan friendly.

They brew 2 cask ales, The Seven Men (4.5%) which is a 'best bitter' and The Old Forge Revival (4.2%), a pale ale celebrating the local community-owned pub (currently being refurbished - website). They have 6 regular bottled beers, including a light lager, the 4.1% Nevis Lager and a porter, also 4.1%, Dubh Lochain Porter, with 'hints of chocolate and coffee.'

The first beer they brewed was The Seven Men (4.5%), which is also available in bottles, a pale bitter brewed with Magnum and Chinook hops, thus providing fruit and spice to the aroma and taste, as you would expect. There is also a weaker session beer available, the 3.7% Millburn Pale Ale, 'refreshing and thirst quenching.'

The final 2 bottled beers available are the 5.1% Heavenly Blonde, a golden ale with hints of citrus' and my brother's favourite, the 4.5% IPA (Inverie Pale Ale), inspired by American East Coast IPAs, presumably meaning plenty of hops from the USA are used. 'Pine and citrus notes and tropical fruit flavours' are just what you would expect...

They also brew 'specials' and I have no idea if Dan has brought me back a bottle, but I'm seeing him in a couple of weeks time, so fingers crossed, cheers!

Oh yes, and Knoydart beers are only available locally, for details of which stockists go to their website, although I have seen hints that ordering may be available online in the future, but not right now, so maybe book yourselves a wee holiday, it looks like a beautiful place. 😉 

Hastings Jolly Fisherman: Perry, Cider & Beer

Yesterday I visited The Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR (website), a lovely wee pub that I have written about a few times now, eg blog. OK, I didn't drink cider this visit, although I had intended to, but had a couple of perries, and a significant dark beer. 

I started off with the very easy to drink Turners Cider of Marden in the Weald of Kent (website) Perry (5.5%), gluten free and vegan friendly, and made with 100% Kentish Pears. Medium dry, pale, with a big pear fruit aroma, very refreshing indeed, nice one!

But Oliver, the landlord, was a bit disappointed in me, I could tell, as he suggested I should try the "more complex" Ross on Wye Cider & Perry Company (website) Bartestree Squash & Gin Pear Perry, there's a mouthful in just the name! Made in Herefordshire blending two different pear variety perries, Bartestree Squash Perry and Gin Perry, yes, I was confused at first! A 5.6% dry perry, a wee bit bitter, pale yellow with a big fruity nose, I got peach as well as the pear you would expect, and Oliver was correct, complex and well worth drinking indeed. 👍

Then John came into the equation, well, I was halfway through the complex perry when he came into the bar, and he obviously needed company, so, after his suggestion what I should drink before I left was pretty special too, I decided to have another, just a two-thirds this time though... From WAY up int' north of England, from Wylem Brewery in Newcastle (website), and their 6.5% "Hazelnut Praline Coffee Porter" Macchiato. Personally, I got chocolate hazelnut praline more than the coffee suggested, but certainly a BIG beer, body++ and, and I've said similar before, a bit of a pudding beer, amazingly good considering the sweetness, cheers all! 👌

Dark Beer Festival at the Jolly Fisherman in Hastings... NOW!

Walking by a couple of hours ago, but across the road, and I noticed the Jolly Fisherman was open earlier than usual, surprisingly (shouldn't have been) their annual Dark Beer Festival at this excellent micropub, open now, and at 12.00 noon tomorrow (Saturday) and from 14.00 on Sunday (facebook). Some very interesting beers there, cheers!

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! 🍺

HASTINGS OLD TOWN NEW YEAR VISITS!

The Albion, 33 George Street TN34 3EA (website), plus it has an entrance opposite the seafront, sells 3 ales from Sussex and Kent brewers, normally Harvey’s Sussex Best (website) and a pale bitter and a darker beer; one usually from Bedlam Brewery (website). If visiting make sure you have a debit card with you (or other electronic payment device, how thinks change!) as they do not take cash. Oh yes, and they sell some amazing pies and Cornish Pasties!

The Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road TN34 3DW, which opens at 11.00 every day of the week, please ignore the 12.00 opening mentioned on the website, and with its South-facing balcony virtually opposite the Fish Market, has changed its ale range from 3 regular and 3 guest ales to 2 and 4 respectively, sort of 😏 The regular ales are Harvey’s Sussex Best (website) and Dark Star Hophead (website), and the guest ales have been including a dark beer (Winter/Old Ale, Porter or Stout), an equivalent to a Special/Best Bitter from local breweries, or Young's Special, I refuse to call it anything else (especially as it is no longer brewed in Wandsworth - website), and usually an APA style dry pale bitter, often from the very excellent Kent Brewery (website) or also excellent Oakham Ales (website). Live music has returned on Saturday evenings, and very decent food is usually served every lunchtime/afternoon except Tuesdays, plus special evenings, including a good value Fish Supper deal on Monday evenings.

The First In Last Out (FILO), 14-15 High Street TN34 3EY (website), which brews its own ales a short way from the pub up Old London Road, continues to sell 5 of their own beers, and 1 or 2 guest ales. Their range includes pale to darker beers, including a Porter, the award-winning Gold, and had their own dark seasonal Winter Warmer when I last visited. They also sell excellent food; open 12.00 to 14.30 and 18.00 to 21.00 Monday to Saturday, and 12.00 to 15.00 Sundays.

The Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street TN34 3AR (website), a cosy micropub, continues to sell a good range of real ales in addition to crafty keg beers, and not forgetting some very interesting bottled beers, noticeably some great Belgian ones! Just recently, in early January, they had a Dark Beer Festival, with 10 Stouts and Porters on offer; outside of festivals they have darker beers regularly too. Opening hours are a wee bit limited; 16.00 to 23.00 Wednesday to Friday, 14.00 to 23.00 Saturday and 14.00 to 22.30 on Sunday, so not the first place to visit.

The Lord Nelson, 1 East Bourne Street TN34 3DP, at the bottom of The Bourne (facebook page), sells Courage Directors (website) and Harvey’s Sussex Best (website). Live music is played here on Sundays, early evening.

Cheers! 🍻

Mallinson's Calypso delivered to my Door!

I recently wrote a blog about a couple of excellent ales I had delivered to me and enjoyed drinking immensely. Well, I couldn't resist the cask conditioned ale they provided this week either, from another excellent Yorkshire brewery, Mallinson's Brewing Company (website), and their 3.9% single hopped Calypso. Again, I was very pleased yesterday to receive a visit from the same jolly crew from The Jolly Fisherman (website) Alfred, Becky and Oliver, with respectful social distancing maintained at delivery, and it's always a pleasure to see this family; indeed, I'm looking forward to drinking at their micropub in the reasonably near future, fingers crossed...

The Calypso hop is another of my favourite hops bred and grown in the Yakima Valley in the US of A, and Mallinson's Calypso is a pale golden light refreshing ale, and so easy to drink. There is an amazingly complex fruity aroma and taste, with pears, apples, citrus and tropical fruits, and a wonderful dry bitter finish with grapefruit to the taste. It's pretty damn good, cheers!

And I can't get Suzanne Vega's Calypso (YouTube) out of my mind, which is not a bad thing. 👌

And a reminder, if you live in Hastings, or close by, and you want something delivered from The Jolly Fisherman; deliveries are made most afternoons/early evenings, with a new cask ale each week for the Friday delivery, plus they sell keg and bottled beers, ciders, wine, etc etc... Do have a look at their website for more details and to place an order.

If you don't live down here, check in your own locality for suppliers, or I provided ideas in an older blog; the links appear to work still. Good searching and drinking, and cheers! 👍

Cask Conditioned Ales, Many Thanks & Cheers!

During the first 'lockdown' I wrote a blog about ale, cider and perry delivery initiatives in Hastings, and I wrote other blogs about elsewhere too. Well, I couldn't cope with just tins and bottles for what seems a lifetime, so recently I had delivered by the same jolly crew from The Jolly Fisherman (website) Alfred, Becky and Oliver (respectful social distancing maintained at delivery, of course), 4 litres of genuine cask conditioned ale, that is, 2 x 2 litres of two very different styles. 

The first cask ale, you will have gathered from the image immediately above, was a stout from the Bristol-based Arbor Ales (website), their vegan friendly 5.8% Midnight Blue, a rather luxurious delight! Amazingly easy to drink for such a full bodied and fairly strong stout. As you can see, it was very dark, with chocolate and coffee in the aroma and taste, and just a hint of liquorice, finishing off with a dry roasted bitterness. I wrote, "not bad at all!" which means I liked it rather a lot, I just wished I'd bought more than the 2 litres of it. 😉

The second ale, as you can see, was a much paler ale from Newcastle-based Wylam Brewery (website), their 4.2% Hickey the Rake 'Limonata Pale'. This was a very pale beer brewed with 2 of my favourite hops for such ales, Chinook and Mosaic, producing a big fruity aroma and taste. Of course it's citrus fruits, initially grapefruit with a hint of lemon, as I expected from the name and hops used, dry and bitter and very refreshing and so easy to drink; I wrote "very good!" in my notes. So there you go, very good indeed, and again, not enough bought!

If you live local to Hastings, and want something delivered from The Jolly Fisherman; deliveries are made most afternoons, usually with a new cask ale for the Friday delivery, plus they sell keg and bottled beers, ciders, wine, well, look at their website for more details and to place an order.

If you don't live down here, check in your own locality for suppliers, or I provided ideas in another blog; the links appear to work still. Good searching and drinking, and cheers! 👍