The White Horse, Maplehurst 30th April 2013

So we were out for the first official morris gig of the season: May eve.

Kissingate Chennai Premium IPA (5.0%): Interesting pale ale with a hop flavour I can't place.
Andwell's Gold (4.4%): Really yummy golden ale. One of the best of these I've had.
Kissingate Black Cherry Mild (4.2%): Very mellow, subtly sweet mild.

Always a good selection at this lovely local and tonight was no exception.

And there was some good dancing too.

St George's Church, West Grinstead 27th April 2013

So we were dancing at this fete and there happened to be a beer tent. It was only right therefore to sample their wares.

Dark Star Hophead (3.8%): Lovely fresh, fruity and cool. One of my all time favourite beers sold in excellent shape.

Hepworth's Saxon Lager (4.0%): Tried this for a change and I was pleasantly surprised.  Crisp and cool and it even tasted good when it had warmed up a bit. Very impressed as lager is not usually my thing.

The beers were good and the only downside was that there was too much to do and I didn't get around to everything before it was time to leave.

The Royal Oak, Friday Street 23rd April 2013

St George's Day and a chance to go out and watch some morris dancing. It was a lovely summer's evening, just right for sitting outside with a beer.

Regular readers may be aware that a long time ago I had an issue at this pub, well I'm pleased to say that not only did I receive a warm welcome, but to my delight I discovered that the pub sells beer in thirds (a third of a pint measure) meaning of course that you can try more beers.  In spite of this I still didn't get through all of those on offer.

Privateer Roebuck (3.8%): Grapefruit flavour hop hit but otherwise quite ordinary. In not such a bad way.
Downlands Ruskin's Ram Best Bitter (4.0%): Lots of initial hop taste to this decent drink.
Downlands Devils Dyke Porter (5.0%): This was sweeter than I expected but very pleasant.
Kent Mauri (4.5%): An eye-opener. Very much in the style of an American Pale Ale but without the strength. An usual beer that impressed me.

A lovely evening at a lovely pub. I'm very pleased I visited.

The Anchor Hotel, Horsham 21st April 2013

Finished off a beery day with a plate of food and a last beer before heading home.

Otter Amber (4.0%): Pleasant bitter with a strong hop aftertaste.
Wadworth St George & the Dragon (4.5%): Well balanced bitter, a little stronger than you might imagine.

I was pleased to be able to try the Wadworth as it was the only one I'd missed at the previous pub.

This is a bit of a cavern of a place but the beer is perfectly acceptable and the food was rather good too.

The Malt Shovel, Horsham 21st April 2013

We were a little premature in celebrating St George's Day two days early, with our favourite local border side, Mythago.

Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): Great beer in great form.

Sharp's Doom Bar (4.0%): Excellent but just not quite as good as the Harvey's on this occasion.

Fuller's London Pride (4.1%): Crisp and tangy, in a good way. Smashing beer.

Timothy Taylor Landlord (4.3%): Creamy and hoppy, another classic.

Blessed with one of the first sunny days of the year, I could have stayed here all day just checking that the beer quality didn't deteriorate.  At one stage this pub had some issues with lines but clearly that is all in the past as the beer is stunning.  I don't expect to be able to find anything this good anywhere else in Horsham... but it won't stop me looking...

The Lynd Cross, Horsham 21st April 2013

Popped in for some breakfast, and as I was having a beery day, decided to start as I meant to go on.

Rudgate Pursuit of Hoppiness (4.0%): Very drinkable, delightful light, pale and hoppy. An excellent choice for a morning beer!

I haven't been in this pub for some time and I was suitably impressed with the choice and range of beers available.

Woohoo 20,000 hits!

Just thought I'd share that with y'all!

Not bad for a blog I've not touched for years... well, here we go again, the beer blog is back in action...

The Restaurant Terrace, Amberley Museum 7th April 2013

Hey, look, I'm back!

I just noticed that this blog is approaching 20,000 hits, which sounds like a big number, and I can see that people look at it every day. Amazing. There was me thinking I was putting together a list of all the beers I've drunk for my personal reference, and there's other people reading it.

So since I had some beer today I thought I'd post.  See if anyone reads this one!

Every year Amberley Museum holds a vintage car show in April and there is usually a beer to be found.

Ballard's Polar Bear Bitter (3.8%): Well I'm sure it's not normally called this but as the museum has been on a fundraising initiative to get this loco back on the rails, usually the beer has a train connection. This was a lovely light golden refreshing beer, without being obviously over hopped. A brave choice bearing in mind the recent weather but perfect for the day.

I believe that the restoration work on Polar Bear is almost complete and it is likely to be back very soon.

The Black Horse, Amberley 29th May 2011

Another lovely pub in Amberley, this was huge and had an enclosed beer garden which was very pleasant on a summer's day.

Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): A decent brew, hard to beat.

Hop Back Summer Lightning (5.0%): Pleasant strong beer.

While a sandwich here sets you back almost £6, when it appears it's a large plate of food. The chips were the best I've ever tasted.

The Sportsman, Amberley 29th May 2011

Today it was Black Dragon Morris from Horsham who were out dancing.


Langham Flor Ale (3.8%): Delicious hoppy bronze beer with floral flavour.
Hammerpot Shooting Star (3.8%): Lovely warming malty ale. Tastes a bit darker than it looks.
Langham Hip Hop (4.0%): Sweet hoppy drinkable beer.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): A particularly good pint of this great beer.

Four lovely beers at this charming country pub with views of the Downs.  At lunchtime on Sunday they were serving plates and plates of good smelling food. And the dancers were given some free beer.

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 Six Bells, Newdigate 19th May 2011

Another Broadwood Morris evening.

Badger Googly (3.5%): A Hall and Woodhouse beer by another name (apparently it sells better) but still not great in my opinion. I couldn't finish my half pint.
Badger First Gold (4.0%): Slightly more drinkable ale.

A lovely evening at a lovely and surprisingly spacious country pub.

The Lamb Inn, Lambs Green near Rusper 12th May 2011

Once again we followed the Broadwood Morris Men to a pub in the Sussex countryside. Well actually on this occasion we got there early as we had a small celebration of my son's first birthday (where did that year go?).

Dark Star Hop Head (3.8%): Lovely drinkable sweet beer with a huge hop taste. My first three pints in a long time!
Hogs Back Spring Ale (4.0%): Pleasant and light but quite bitter.

Lovely food, beer and staff at this off-the-beaten-track pub. Oh and we had a great music session as well. Perfect.

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!

The Beer Essentials, Horsham 7th May 2011

Brighton Morris perform outside The Beer Essentials

© Barry Dewdney - used with permission

Possibly my favourite shop in Horsham, morris dancers were given free beer on Horsham Day of Dance today, arranged by Broadwood Morris Men.

Arundel Sussex Gold (4.2%): Well brewed amber nectar. Lovely.
Dark Star Victorian Ruby Mild (6.0%): Heavenly sweet strong dark mild, a beer to rival Sarah Hughes' best efforts at last! I really hope this is a regular beer as I could get very used to it.

Thank you Graham for organising such an enjoyable day for so many people, and thank you to the absent Gareth for the beer.

The Plough, Rusper 1st May 2011

Celebrated May Day with the Broadwood Morris Men who danced in Rusper church, then had a drink at the Plough, then danced outside the village shop. They went on to The Star, also in Rusper, and then further afield but I had other commitments so I couldn't follow them any longer.

Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): A good but not excellent pint of this super beer.

They also had Sharp's Doom Bar Bitter but I didn't get to try it.  These two beers seem to be everywhere at the moment but I'm not complaining because they're hard to beat.  Even though I understand Sharp's has been taken over by Coors. Ho hum.

The Dun Horse, Mannings Heath near Horsham 30th April 2011

Today is May Eve and we chose to kick off this year's dancing season with a meal followed by dancing and drinking at this excellent pub, as it is near where we practise.  Later on we had some tunes and songs and generally welcomed in the summer in morris fashion.

Sharp's Doom Bar Bitter (4.0%): Lovely mellow, well balanced bitter.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): Another excellent bitter, with slightly more hop tones.

I love this pub and wish it was my local. Lovely beer, lovely food, lovely staff, nice customers, great atmosphere. What more could you ask for? Cheaper beer I suppose.

The Jolly Tanners, Staplefield 28th April 2011

Came out to see Broadwood Morris Men's first stand of the season and discovered a beer festival.

In the bar:
Golden Valley Kenyon's Original Oatmeal Stout (4.7%): This was off and promptly returned to the bar, where it was easily exchanged for...
Kissingate Akira's Blonde (4.8%): This was the dregs of the barrel but having already changed it, I didn't feel I could do it again.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): A lovely pint. Pleased that finally something tasted as it should.

In the beer festival outside:
Elgood's Golden Newt (4.6%): Nutty and astringent decent pale ale.
Hogs Back Royal TEA (5.2%): Fruity and hoppy, a bit strong for the flavour.
Oakham Citra (4.2%): Glorious grapefruit hit. Extremely pale.
Rother Valley Wealden Bitter (3.7%): Stunning session bitter. I wish this were available everywhere.
Skinners Kate Loves Willy (4.2%): Pleasant bitter.
Thornbridge Wild Swan (3.5%): Disappointing weak beer from this usually excellent brewer.

They also had Dark Star Festival and Hop Head, Elgood's Black Dog, Grainstore Rutland Panther, Moorhouse's Black Cat and Woodforde's Wherry available, but since I've definitely tasted these before, I went for the others.

The Station Beefeater, Horsham 27th April 2011

Oh what a shame, I locked myself out of my house and the only place to wait was the local pub with real ale and ice cream sundaes available.

Once I'd finished my large chocolate sundae...

St Austell Tribute (4.2%): Smooth pale ale with honey tones. Served on the colder side of "normal" but still within range.

A pleasant pub with friendly staff, fairly quiet on a mid-week evening.

The Anchor Hotel, Horsham 23rd April 2011

This large venue was recently known as "Bar Vin" but has now reverted to its original name, "The Anchor Hotel".

Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): A super pint of bitter. Kept a bit cold for my normal liking but I was so hot this wasn't a problem.

Young's London Gold (4.5%): Cold, gold and sweet. Very refreshing drunk outside in the soaring heat.

They also had Bombardier available.