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. 😉 

Griffin IPA, a Proper English IPA!

Brewed in Chiswick, West London, by Fuller's (website), and I shan't waffle about ownership (blog), but I recently drank their very English-style India Pale Ale, Griffin IPA (4.9%). Presumably named after the name of the brewery building, the Griffin Brewery, and brewed with British malt and hops, specifically Goldings and Fuggles hops, indeed, this is not an APA! A deep golden/amber colour, with a hint of orange in the aroma, slightly fruity and spicy, with a nice dry bitter finish, it's pretty darn good, and does what it says on the label, cheers!

2 years of (relative) normality...

Indeed, 2 years have gone by since Covid-19 restrictions were eased sufficiently (blog) to say life was returning to near normality, and a few years of my life in which it's still difficult to remember just how long ago other events were, our memory banks were given a right bashing...

Anyway, feeling more 'normal' now, but stay safe still, and cheers! 👌

La Belle Vue on Hastings Pier

I had to write this, although not directly relating to pubs and cask conditioned ale, but I've been waiting to drink on Hastings Pier again for quite a while now, and they do sell bottle-conditioned St Austell Proper Job, at 5.5% a beefed up and better version of the cask ale I believe, and many others agree, and which helped me through the dreaded lockdowns (blog). So I visited La Belle Vue (website) on the pier, a recently opened French bistro and bar, and chatted to the proprietor Keir a couple of days before coming here for a drink, indeed, I took the photograph above on the south facing upstairs 'outside' bar just before meeting her.

I came back on Saturday and drank in the downstairs bar, where I was served by the proficient Lucien, who I got on famously with as he had studied at the University of Exeter, and I had trained and worked in Exeter many years before, indeed, before he was born! 😁 However, when he wasn't carrying out his dealing with other customer duties we did share memories of the wonderful city that is Exeter, and which feels more like a town, and where I haven't visited since 2009, having lived here in the mid/late 1980s (blog written by Kieran).

I did drink a few pints, first, La Belle Vue Cidre (4.8%), which I believe to be from Appleshed Cider of Hereford (twitter), and made with apples that grow in their own "orchards that shelter beneath the Malvern Hills in Gloucestershire." A medium dry cider, not as dry as the usual ciders I drink, but very refreshing, and just £4.40 a pint, on a seaside pier, great value indeed!

I then drank La Belle Vue Lager, or Bière Blonde (4.0%), I haven't been able to work out where it's from, but it was very good, and tasted more like a Belgian blonde ale than a lager to me, although not quite the potency of many Belgian beers. 😁 At 4.0% I could drink this all day, and at just £4.25 a pint, I could nearly afford to drink it all day, excellent value! 😉

My final pint was of Grand Central IPA (above photo and 4.2%), which is brewed in the Manchester area, I believe by Hydes Brewery of Salford. This is what I call a 'crafty keg' beer, and 'vegan friendly' with a slight haze. Brewed with 6 different hops from the USA and Australia, consequently packed with citrus and forest fruit flavours, and quite delicious, cheers!

Oh yes, and La Belle Vue is primarily a French restaurant (website), with traditional French starters including Soupe à l'oignon, Escargot, Leek Terrine et Cuisses de grenouille, main meals as the above menu, and interesting bar snacks too (facebook).

I also briefly chatted to another couple of staff, very friendly respectful service, and met up with Keir again, which was a nice touch to end my visit, I'll be back! 👌

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! 👌

London Belgian Beer Week 28/04-07/05/23

The Craft Beer Company are holding a Belgian Beer Week from the 28th of April to the 7th of May 2023 across their bars in London with individual events at each bar (website). Belgian beers available will be from many breweries including Cantillon, Delirium, Kasteel, St Feuillion and my personal favourite Westmalle. I wouldn't normally advertise a business's event, but for those who don't visit Belgium, an excellent chance to sample their excellent ales.

So, quite a bit going on at their 8 bars (website), me? I'll be in Brussels again soon, cheers!

AwRye Visit and Ale & Cider at the Waterworks

Awrye, because my visit was meant to be on Thursday, which became Friday (& pun), but visiting Rye is always a pleasure, and Friday is a more likely day than Thursday to see David the landlord in situ at the Rye Waterworks micropub, Tower Street, corner with Rope Walk, Rye TN31 7AT (website). I first visited the Waterworks soon after it opened 5 years ago (blog), always worth visiting! Also Lotte and Morgan working at the bar is always excellent too, and 2 other members of staff popped in as well, and chatting to Paul is always a good craic, so a happy day.

I decided to drink the top 3 pale ales listed in the wall menu pictured below. From the top, first, and remembering that they only stock local beers and ciders, from Hythe based Hopfuzz Brewery (website), their 3.6% 'session ale' Fall Out. This is brewed with Bullion hops from Kent and has a zesty fruitiness to the aroma and taste, and is very light and easy to drink, nice one!

Second, from Brede based Three Legs Brewing, but soon to be moving a little further west to Bexhill (website), their 'vegan friendly' 3.7% Pale. Again, does what it says on the label, very pale with a dry bitter finish, very drinkable. Then, from their own microbrewery Waterworks (website) IPA (their pun I Pee Alot - the building used to be a public convenience amongst other things, see history @ blog). IPA (4.4%) is brewed with Challenger, Goldings and Ernest hops providing a big fruity aroma and taste, pale, and with a dry bitter finish. My first quaffing of this ale was about 6 weeks before, and I wrote 'heavy on the hops' but apparently too bitter for some of the locals, so it has been toned down a wee bit, but still nice, but not as memorable for me.

Then, as ever when I visit Rye, I finished with cider, indeed, on this occasion, 2 ciders from Biddenden Vineyards near Ashford (website), not just a wine producer, but ciders too, and much more! First their 5% Red Love (pictured above, showing its blush pink/red colour) made with red skinned and red fleshed apples, unsurprisingly called Red Love.😉 A medium dry real cider, very refreshing and with a nice dry bitter finish.

Then their more demanding 8.4%  Biddenden Dry, (above image and a more traditional colour for cider). Pale golden and made with Kent grown culinary and dessert apples, with more body and depth of flavour, and much more dry as soon as you take a mouthful, impressive!

That's all for now folks, but I will be back, cheers! 🍻