The Malt Shovel, Horsham 8th February 2007

Eight real ales on this evening when we arrived for the monthly tunes' session, the same number as on Saturday, but with one exception they were all different beers. Amazing. A lot of beer must get drunk in this pub.

Brakspear Bitter (3.4%): This seems to be getting better all the time. Very pleasant. Never thought I'd say that about this beer in this pub!
Wychwood Hobgoblin (5.0%): Sweet and strong. Excellent if that's what you like; a little too sweet for me.
Woodforde's Wherry Best Bitter (3.8%): Light in flavour and fruity. A decent pint although quite bitter after the Hobgoblin.
Black Dog Whitby Abbey Ale (3.8%): Very pleasant although not strongly flavoured. Got boring towards the end of the pint.
Young's Special (4.5%): Surprisingly it didn't taste of much. Disappointing.
Fuller's Gale's HSB (4.8%): This has an indistinct flavour and was very disappointing. Tasted like it was missing an important ingredient, so I was glad I was testing someone else's pint.
Bass Draught Bass (4.4%): Surprisingly drinkable. Ok but a bit tasteless, would do in an emergency (i.e. no other beers on).
Adnam's Bitter (3.7%): Good standard tasty bitter. Would have enjoyed drinking it all night if I'd had the chance.

I learnt a few lessons this evening. Mainly to do with the music (most people playing don't know what the tunes are called; everyone plays everything in G) but also that even in a decent pub the beers that were tasteless last week can be drinkable today. Unfortunately the opposite also appears to be true.