Crawley Folk and Beer Festival, 28th - 30th June 2013

Advertised as over 50 beers, ciders and perries, I was hoping to be able to try a lot of these over the weekend. Unfortunately I wasn't able to be there on the Saturday but I made up for this on the Friday and Sunday.

Arundel Stronghold (4.7%): An amazing best bitter. Malty, fruity and in your face. 5
Arundel Sussex Gold (4.2%): A big citrus hop hit but mellow and refreshing. 4
Dark Star American Pale Ale (4.7%): Storming bitter sweet pale ale. 4
Downton Chimera IPA (6.8%): Pale, tangy, morish and bitingly bitter - all in a good way. 3
Exmoor Exmoor Ale (3.8%): Decent session bitter. 3
Goacher's Fine Light (3.7%): Honey tones but a little insipid. 2
Green Jack Trawlerboys Best Bitter (4.6%): Not quite ready but those flavours are in there ready to burst. 3

The band stage at the festival

Hop Back GFB (3.8%): Classy golden ale which could even be a standard bitter with a pleasant malty finish. 3
Hopdaemon Golden Braid (3.7%): Very thin and odd to start but warms in the mouth into a characterful, mellow aftertaste. A beer of two halves. 3
King Sussex Downs Ale (5.1%): Sweet and citrussy with a slightly spicy finish. 3
Kissingate Black Cherry Mild (4.2%): A massive cherry hit without being unpleasantly sweet. 3
Kissingate Mary's Ruby Mild (6.5%): My Friday notes say "A plethora of malt flavours fighting for precedence. A delight." My Sunday notes say "Tastes somewhat odd today, a disappointment." What started as a 4 dropped to a 2 so I'll give it 3
Longman Golden Tipple (5.0%): Refreshing and zesty. A lovely pint. 3
Milton Pegasus (4.1%): Very drinkable well-balanced best bitter. 3
Orkney Orkney IPA (4.8%): A strong hop character to this IPA, with enough strength to really hit that IPA definition but not so much you can't get stuck in. As it should be. 4
Skinners Betty Stoggs (4.0%): One of the very best bitters, in my opinion. 4
Surrey Hills Greensand IPA (4.6%): Sweet and pleasant. 3
Whitstable East India Pale Ale (4.1%): Delicate IPA fruitiness and a light, hoppy aftertaste. 3
Windsor and Eton Conqueror Black IPA (5.0%): Initially very like a traditional light coloured IPA but with a full-bodied maltiness. An eye-opener. 4
Windsor and Eton Windsor Knot (4.0%): The wedding was a while back and the baby's due soon, but the beer is still with us which is unfortunate as it tastes of petrol. 2

The bar was run by a private company and operated on a token system where all beers and ciders were the same price. Although some of the staff seemed inexperienced, they were all very friendly. There was a competition where you marked beers out of ten and handed in your scores, and I was furious because this was drawn before the end, without warning, so I hadn't handed mine in. Not a way to run a competition!

There were 40 real ales on offer and I was pleased to be able to try half of them. I wasn't intending to go for stronger beers but only three of the 20 were under 4% and there were no low gravity ones available at all, yet a lot of IPAs. An unusual but not unpleasant selection. It's rare to find a beer festival with seemingly no CAMRA influence these days. I liked the cask end cards as they had a large graphic of the pump clip then stated the colour of the beer in one word, "golden" or "black", although I was a bit confused by "amber", "bronze" and "copper". Not entirely sure of the difference there!

My beer of the festival was without a doubt the Arundel Stronghold. It's a regular, all year round ale from this local brewer and embarrassingly I've not tried it before. However I will now search it out.

Southwater Sports and Social Club, 27th June 2013

An unlikely night out at a sports club.

Shepherd Neame India Pale Ale (4.5%): Pleasant but lacking weight to the flavour.

Shepherd Neame Spitfire (4.2%): I struggled to get even halfway through my half. Insipid and thick tasting, although cheap at £2 a pint!
Shepherd Neame Masterbrew (3.7%): Similar to the Spitfire but better as it wasn't trying so hard.

I wasn't having the best day but a little indoor Morris dancing was an improvement.  It was good to see a range of four real ales at this club (they also had Bishop's Finger), even if they weren't what I would choose.

The Six Bells, Newdigate 16th May 2013

Out with the Broadwood Morris Men again on this Thursday evening.

Badger Brewer's Bee (4.4%): With an initial taste of honey, this has well balanced undertones. A very drinkable beer.

This is a Hall and Woodhouse pub and that's not my favourite brewer, so I was very impressed with the beer.  The staff were very helpful too, lending me scissors (I had hat issues) and generally assisting.

The Seahorse, Shalford 10th May 2013

A quiet post-gig drink at this very old pub sadly trying very hard to be a restaurant.

Adnams Broadside (4.7%): Well kept decent strong bitter.
Sharp's Doom Bar (4.0%): Served very cold with a big northern head but once it warmed up tasted almost as good as it at its best.

A good couple of beers at a friendly pub.

The Selsey Arms, Coolham 9th May 2013

Once again I was out with the Broadwood Morris Men and tonight we were in Coolham, near Horsham.  The weather was awful but like true professionals (or idiots, depending on your point of view), the dancers persisted and got soaked to the skin. The musicians were slightly better off as they sheltered in the doorway. The photographer (me) also had to brave the downpour, but not for long.

Thwaites Lancaster Bomber (4.4%): Bit of an odd chemical taste to this strong bitter.
Sharp's Doom Bar (4.0%): Good but not excellent beer.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): At its usual stunning best.

I had a really nice time at this great pub that has somehow passed me by until now.  I don't often eat food in pubs but I'd missed dinner and the jacket potato was immense and delicious.  Chicken and bacon: highly recommended!

There was a good space for a music session (usually called a restaurant I'm guessing) and the staff were great too.  I will be coming back as this pub ticks all the boxes. Apart from being easy to get to.

The Jolly Tanners, Staplefield 2nd May 2013

The Broadwood Morris Men were out for a third day in a row so once again I found myself at a cozy watering hole drinking real ale and watching dancing. I had been promised a beer festival but unfortunately it didn't start until the following day, so I had to make do with trying four out of the six beers available at the bar.

Arundel Castle (3.8%): A little woolly but this was the very first drop out of the barrel. Ok but not great.
Wharfebank Tether Blond (4.1%): Pleasant golden ale without a particular hop taste. Good but not excellent.

Longman Old Man (4.3%): Very nice old with hints of black cherry and chocolate, almost like a stout, but with a good balance of hoppiness.

Waen Jenner's Pride (4.0%): Really good standard bitter. Very impressed.

I was very tired and wasn't at my best but the beers were excellent and I was sad not to be able to sample the festival beers sitting enticingly in the garden, untapped in their barrels.

The Plough, Rusper 1st May 2013

Out again with the morris, this time for May Day. Dancing started in Horsham Carfax then progressed to Rusper church, then to the pubs in Rusper.  We stopped at The Plough for some refreshment.

Sharp's Doom Bar (4.0%): Excellent driving bitter with soft malty undertones.
Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter (4.0%): Very bitter and delicious with that unmistakable Harvey's taste.

Two excellent beers at this lovely old pub.

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.