The White Horse, Maplehurst 25th May 2011

This time I was out to watch Chanctonbury Morris Men at one of my favourite pubs.

Andwell King John (4.2%): An excellent malty beer with a very bitter hop taste. The first time I've tried a beer from this relatively new brewer.
Arundel Sting in the Tail (4.7%): Tastes good if you can get away from the unpleasant smell.
Welton's Pridenjoy (2.8%): Top marks to this stunning light bitter which stands up in flavour to beers twice its strength.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): A lovely pint.

Another good night out.

The Stout House, Horsham 7th May 2011

As there was lots of morris dancing in the Carfax there was lots of drinking at the Stout House.

Welton's Broadwood (4.0%): Tasty malty decent bitter. A good local brew.
Welton's Magog (4.2%): Pleasant light coloured beer although I'm sure it used to taste more like wheat beer. Featuring me on the pump clip, oh the fame!

Come on Ray we want Black Dragon beer for Horsham's newest morris side! Talking of Ray Welton, you may be able to see him in the picture talking to Sam, a long-standing member of Broadwood Morris.  Both checking the beer quality no doubt!

Bottled beers 21st February 2009

I wouldn't normally write about bottled beer here but the two I drank this evening were both local and both excellent, so I felt compelled.

Hepworth's Sussex (3.5%): Pale, crisp, hoppy and very bitter. A lovely beer with a bite, great with curry!
Welton's Sussex Pride (4.0%): Dark, warming and mellow. A hint of sugar but overall a very tasty mild style beer.

Both brewed in Horsham and although very different in style, neither had that unpleasant fizzy taste which is common in bottled beer. The Welton's was bottle conditioned, the Hepworth's not.

Welton's Brewery "Old Friday Beer Festival" 5th October 2007

Managed to get myself invited to this free event where brewer Ray Welton opens his doors (and barrels) for some beer drinking. I did too much chatting at the start and missed out on a couple of bitters than ran out early on, but still managed to get a taste of three different beers.

The event was in aid of Ray’s daughter Shirley’s forthcoming conservation trip to New Zealand and it is likely that about £400 was raised for this during the evening. Last year’s event (see Oct 06 entry) raised over £400 for a muscular dystrophy charity.

Welton’s Horsham Old Ale (4.5%): Rather better than I remember last year, this is dark and deceptively strong.
Welton’s Bodiam Gold (4.2%): Starts mellow and very bitter but soon sweetens in the mouth.
Welton’s Old Remedy (4.8%): A very sweet and strong, with a similar background taste to the Gold.

A great evening of drinking and chat, some with acquaintances from last weekend’s Horsham Beer Festival (see 29th - 30th September entry) which was topped off with the requisite Morris dancing and revelry.

Free beer at a brewery and it’s all for a good cause. What more could you want?

Horsham Beer Festival 29th - 30th September 2007 (copy entry)

All the below test has been copied from a previous entry. In order to fully link each brewer with a searchable 'label' I have had to create another blog entry, as there is a 200 character limit in the labels field. So for the full version, please go to the previous entry. If this means nothing to you, don't worry, just ignore this entry and read the one two entries below as it contains the same information.

Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby (6.0%): Wonderful. I always look forward to drinking as much as possible of this mild at this festival. One of my favourites.
Sharp's Doom Bar Bitter (4.0%): Well balanced bitter with a good hop taste and hints of caramelly malt.
Skinners Betty Stogs (4.0%): The name put me off a bit but this was a delicious fruity hoppy bitter. An excellent find.
Thornbridge Jaipur IPA (5.9%): A lovely delicate IPA with a big hop and honey taste.
Timothy Taylor Golden Best (3.5%): Darker than most golden beers, this was thick tasting and disappointing.
Titanic Stout (4.5%): Lovely dark, bitter, roasty stout.
Wadworth 6X (4.3%): Fresh and fruity; well balanced.
Welton's Percy Bysshe (7.0%): This tastes like it’s got apples or some other fruit in it, and is good but a little strong with a strange murky brown colour.
Westerham British Bulldog (4.3%): Smells of roasted malt and tastes like excellent bitter.
Wickwar Autumnale (4.5%): A hint of burnt flavour to this popular yet thick dark bitter.
Wells and Youngs Waggledance (5.0%): Warming honey tones with some hoppiness are present in this strong bitter.

The White Horse, Maplehurst, Horsham 24th July 2007

Went down to the White Horse to watch some dancing, sample some beers and play some tunes.

Welton's Pride'n'Joy (2.8%): Had my doubts about this due to the strength but I was very impressed. Lots of flavour and a good beer from this local brewer.
Dark Star Sunburst (4.8%): Even lager drinkers might like this! Delicious fruity light coloured beer.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): Heaven in a pint glass. Mmm.
Hogs Back HBB (3.7%): Tasty session bitter.

Four superb yet very different beers. Just shows what an asset an excellent landlord is. Those lucky people of Maplehurst!

Lewes Beer Festival 23rd June 2007

As I’m now on the mend from my head injury and allowed to drink again, I was able to use my ticket to the CAMRA beer festival in Lewes.

Arriving on the Saturday after a sell-out Friday there were only 35 beers left, which I didn’t think was very well organised. Some ran out before I got to them but I managed to try all the others, 30 in total.

1648 Original (3.9%): Tasty standard bitter. 3
1648 Signature (4.4%): Very dry and a little on the insipid side. 3
Arundel ASB (4.5%): Very malty rounded tasting bitter. 3
Arundel Sussex Gold (4.2%): Interesting light fruity beer. 3
Arundel Sussex Mild (3.7%): Warm, creamy tasting mild. Lovely. 4
B&T Black Dragon Mild (4.3%): Gorgeous smooth rich mild. 4
Bushy Castletown Bitter (3.5%): Tasty, citrusy bitter with a light colour. 3
Bushy Manx Export Bitter (3.8%): Rather unexciting bitter but with a hint of hoppiness. 3
Caledonian XPA (4.3%): Not terribly pleasant bitter pale beer. 3
Custom Beers Chinook (4.2%): Sweet, fruity bitter with a tangy flavour. 3
Custom Beers Quality of Life (4.5%): Hoppy, smooth and tastes pretty strong. 3
Dark Star Mild for May (3.6%): Spicy, tasty mind, a decent drink. Why is it only available in May? 3
Dark Star Summer Meltdown (4.8%): Gingery, fruity light hoppy beer with strong grapefruit tones. 3
Elgood's Cambridge Bitter (3.8%): Excellent dry tasting crisp bitter. 4
Hampshire Wild Thing (4.2%): Incredibly dry, sharp beer. 3
Harvey's Armada Ale (4.5%): Fruity and hoppy in equal measure, unmistakably Harvey's. 4
Harvey's Olympia Golden Ale (4.3%): Just got some before it ran out! Stunningly hoppy. 5
Harvey's Tom Paine (5.5%): Not much of a flavour apart from some caramel, but very strong! 3
Hepworth's Prospect (4.5%): Crisp and hoppy. Nice. 4
King Ace of Ales (4.3%): Interesting tasty hoppy bitter. 3
Ramsgate Gadds No 5 (Best Bitter) (4.4%): Very tasty hoppy bitter. I could drink lots of this. 4
Rectory Dark Knight (4.7%): Pleasant dark bitter with a very strong grapefruit flavour. 3
Rectory Pale Knight (4.7%): Nice light bitter tasting of Goldings hops. 3
Rother Valley Hoppers Ale (4.4%): Not as hoppy as I expected but nevertheless a tasty bitter. 3
Surrey Hills Gilt Complex (4.6%): Delicious, warm and well balanced, with hop flavour. 4
Surrey Hills Shere Drop (4.2%): Not as good as I remember, but a pleasant light-ish beer. 3
Timothy Taylor Ram Tam (4.3%): Unremarkable until the aftertaste which is hoppy and tasty. 3
Welton's Mild and Bitter (3.5%): Revolting, sour off beer. Yuck. 1
White Fagged Off (3.8%): Not pleasant with a taste reminiscent of wood shavings. I think it's supposed to taste of fag ash. 2
Whitstable East India Pale Ale (4.1%): At last, an IPA which is really hoppy and strong! 4

















My beer of the festival was the local Harvey's Olympia. Fantastic.

I asked to take a picture from the gallery of the hall and was shown up by staff. As I was taking pictures I was yelled at by security and removed from the balcony. I really hope you like the pic as I thought it was going to get me arrested!