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.