Happy New Year!

A miserable end to 2022, with rain and gale force winds the harbinger for the new year in Britain? I can't say anything other than 2022 was a miserable year, with the biggest major war in Europe beginning in February, and millions of refugees and thousands of deaths the result. Not to forget, economically, the return of high worldwide inflation.  Millions are having to survive without food, clean running water, light and heating, and not just in the developing world, but in Europe, because of the paranoid or megalomaniac designs of an individual. We thought the world had changed following 1945, at least in Europe, but not so, it appears.

And, despite my hope a year ago that we may return to some sort of normality and the defeat of Covid-19 before another year would be out, there are still millions in Britain and beyond suffering from the disease, indeed, a friend was ill with it earlier this week. Not great times indeed...

But I trust that things will improve in 2023, and I wish to share my hope for peace and true goodwill to ale drinkers, and everyone worldwide, fingers crossed...

Cheers!

Merry Christmas!

I am presently drinking I'm Dreaming of a Brown Christmas brewed by my mate Rick way up in Scotland, which I received via Royal Mail a few days ago. Very dark red/brown, loadsa body at a healthy 8.0% and with chocolate, hints of liquorice and coffee, very nice indeed, cheers!

Seasons Greetings!

OK, I admit to mostly copying this from my other blog, but appropriate here too.

Things are certainly better than for the previous 2 Christmases, despite the dreaded COVID-19 still hanging around, vaccinations appear to have done the trick, fingers crossed! But please let us all have a good and happy season and enjoy ourselves as much as we can, remembering others too. 

I give thanks to all those who have helped us to survive these last two years, too many to mention individually, but including all the keyworkers, the drivers and carers, those working in the emergency services, the police, fire fighters, ambulance staff and paramedics, the NHS, doctors, nurses, other health professionals and ancillary staff, the brave crews and volunteers of the RNLI lifeboat service, and not forgetting the scientists who helped develop the vaccines to rid us of the cause of distress and illness caused by the pandemic... Respect!

Finally, I wish to share my best wishes with you, and peace and goodwill to all, whatever one's beliefs, let's continue to work together folks. 👌

And cheers!

Stacey Marie (facebook page) sends her regards too! 😉

A Seasonal Message...

A very pertinent seasonal message, and made me giggle a wee bit, with many thanks to Planet Beer, be careful and stay safe folks, cheers!

Bridge Inn, Topsham plus another Brewery going, going...

This blog was stimulated on reading the Winter 2022 issue of the CAMRA magazine BEER, which includes an article about statutory protection of pubs in England; the article mentions 2 pubs that I have visited regularly in the past, one of which is The Bridge Inn, Bridge Hill, Topsham EX3 0QQ. My first trip to The Bridge Inn was in 1985, when I visited in the old days of different opening hours in the countryside, with similar hours to Exeter (I was working for Exeter Health Authority), in the summer (Summer Opening), but closing earlier at night from the end of the summer holidays. Anyway, fewer evening hours when I went with my girlfriend of the time, and future ex-wife Julie, presumably she knew about the pub and encouraged me to go. 

Anyway, a bit of a first when I visited, something I'd never seen before, mostly because my earlier drinking had not been in free houses, a BEER MENU. How excited I was, written up on a board, I can't remember how many ales they sold, but somewhere between 8 and 10! Now it appears, from their facebook page, that they have 7 ales; recently including mild and dark ales from West Country brewers Teignworthy (website) and Pitchfork (website), plus more paler ales, eg from Powderkeg (website). The other lovely thing was, they go to the cellar to pour the ales straight from the cask into the glass and bring them back to the customer, and I've always been dead impressed with ales delivered by gravity ever since, cheers!

This 16th century pub has been in the ownership of the same family since 1897, and what a great job they've done to keep it such a homely place to visit. My first visit was in midweek, in the early Autumn, and it was very quiet, with only us 2 and a couple of farmers in the room. I seem to remember a roaring fire, although they appear to have a stove (above, photo from their facebook page, cheers!). Although we weren't listening to the other 2 customers in the room (we were in the 'getting to know' you phase of our relationship), we couldn't understand much of what they were saying, they were speaking that fast and with heavy Devonian country accents; I'd only been living in Devon for a couple of months, but now I'd really arrived... 😉

As you can see from the top photograph (many thanks to Building Design), the pub isn't that small, although it is very homely. When I was living in Exeter, they used to open up a much larger bar/room in the summer/when more customers were there, and they served ales from handpumps in that bar. My brother, Dan, came down and stayed with us once (more than once actually) when he was attending a friend's wedding in Topsham. We drove him to The Bridge Inn to meet up with other friends of his who were also attending the wedding, and he was dead impressed with the pub too. However, what I'm getting at is that it is a wonderful old pub selling excellent ales from West Country brewers, and I do need to make a return very soon!

Not so great news though, as the Cumbrian brewer Jennings (website, and cheers for image above), which was bought out by Marston's in 2005, has stopped brewing, despite their history going back to 1828, and from 1874 at the current site, just 2 miles away from their origin. Another larger brewery switching the brewing of its subsidiary's beers to another of its sites sadly (News & Star), presumably another accountant's decision. 😞

Cheers for now folks!

Sad News that Dark Star won't be brewed in Sussex...

Since Fullers took over Sussex brewery Dark Star, we saw early problems when Fullers tried to brew Hophead at their West London Griffin Brewery to maximise production. Subsequently, brewing of Dark Star's full range of ales was returned to Partridge Green in West Sussex (website). Then Japanese giant Asahi took over Fullers (blog), and a little under 4 years later, the sad news is that the brewery at Partridge Green is to be closed down, maybe we should have seen that coming, it shouldn't be a revelation...

Because the brewery at Partridge Green is operating "significantly below capacity" it is to be closed down (not increase output there) and the brewing of Dark Star's range of beers is be moved to another Asahi acquisition Meantime Brewery in South East London. A spokesperson for Asahi suggests that the Dark Star beers will remain 'exactly as they are today' being brewed to the same recipe, but we all know what happens when beers are brewed away from their origins and water supply, 'tis not promising. A good short history of Dark Star Brewing and details of this sad news was written by Jessica Mason at the drinks business, worth reading.

Not great news, but it's what happens when accountants take charge... 😢

New Brewery Taproom near Rye opens 29th October!

I've been looking forward to writing this blog, and today is the day when David's brewery taproom opens to the public (details further down), that is, the Rye Waterworks micropub (website), which has already been brewing its own ale as a 'cuckoo' brewery, will be opening its own microbrewery and taproom! But, of course, I had to visit the pub itself earlier this week, so I shall start off with a chat about that visit. If you know nothing about the Rye Waterworks (above), and the building's 300 years history, please read a blog I wrote soon after the pub opened 4 years ago, oh yes, and the address is Tower Street (corner with Rope Walk), Rye, East Sussex TN31 7AT.

You will notice I drank some cider (above), but I started off with 3 local pale ales, and I say local because all 10 beers, and more than that number of ciders, sold here are locally produced! I drank 2 session ales, the 3.7% Three Legs Pale #3 (website), brewed with Columbus and Cascade hops providing a citrus aroma and taste, and the 3.8% Romney Session IPA (website), brewed with Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic hops, surprisingly malty considering the hops used! My favourite ale of the day was the stronger gluten free 'vegan friendly' 4.6% Gun Project Babylon APA (website), brewed with a "combination of American Hops" to produce a clear pale ale, despite what the blurb says, zesty citrus aroma and taste, refreshing, and very good indeed!

To the cider, well I didn't drink any of the stronger ciders this time (up to 8.4% - blog), nope, I left the place relatively sober. 😉 But I did have a pint of the excellent cider in the photograph above, as you can see, pale and very clear, the mere 5.8% Earl's Reserve Still Cider, made from Russet apples grown on their own 100 acre farm in Matfield, near Tonbridge in Kent, where they've been growing apples since 1964, that is Charrington's (website). What can I say, crisp and refreshing and so easy to drink, now this is apple juice!

So, to the promise suggested in the headline, and a taproom for the Rye Waterworks Microbrewery opens today, just outside Rye at The Old Dairy, Rye Road, Playden, East Sussex TN31 7UL. The photographs above are shared from their facebook page, and are of the bar, you may have guessed 😏 and they shall be selling their own session bitter URYEnal, a pun on the pub's history, and which is very drinkable and was brewed at Romney Brewery, plus other drinks of course! They should be brewing at their own brewery within a couple of weeks, and...

They will be open from 2.00-7.00pm today (29th October) and 12.00-5.00pm tomorrow (Sunday).

Then, Fridays 3.00-7.00pm; Saturdays 2.00-7.00pm; Sundays 12.00-5.00pm.

My best wishes and good luck to David and Ulla and their colleagues, cheers!