The White Horse, Maplehurst, Horsham 25th November 2006

Couldn't resist a trip to this old haunt of my parents as I was in the area.

On a Saturday lunchtime there were lots of cars in the car park outside but only nine people in the pub! I forget what rural pubs are like. I have only ever used this pub as a meeting place prior to going on elsewhere, but this time the visit was purely to inspect the beer.

Harvey's Old Ale (4.3%): Very mellow, smooth, soft beer. Not a strong flavour but good nonetheless.
Harvey's Sussex Bitter (4.0%): Excellent bitter. What can I say? Tastes exactly like I would expect a good beer to taste.
Hammerpot Red Hunter (4.3%): Very interesting and unusual bitter with a hoppy taste I haven't come across before. The hops cut through a mellow bitter flavour.

Simon, the knowledgeable and enthusiastic landlord, insisted I had a taster of the Hammerpot beer from Arundel. He explained it is a new brewery, a year old, so only appears in the most recent Good Beer Guide. Which reminds me I need to got hold of a copy.

I didn't try the fourth beer (Weltons Pridenjoy) although this seemed to be what most of the clientele were drinking. As it's from Horsham, I'm sure I'll get the chance again. All in all an interesting visit to a friendly pub.