Tower Beer Festival This Weekend!

The Tower, up on the corner of London Road and Tower Road, Bohemia TN37 6NB, is holding its annual real ale festival this weekend (facebook), from Friday the 21st to Sunday the 23rd of February 2025; 11am to 11pm Friday and Saturday, 11am to 10pm Sunday... oh yes, and real ciders will be available too! Some of what will be available below:

Beer & Cider Festival at the Tower this weekend.

By Steve the Beermeister:

This weekend, Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd February 2020, sees the third Tower Beer & Cider Festival, at the reigning 2019 South East Sussex CAMRA Pub of the Year (see blog from last year): The Tower, on the corner of London Road/Tower Road, Bohemia, Hastings & St Leonards, East Sussex TN37 6NB. Opening times are 11 am to 11 pm every day.

Above are the tasting notes for the ales being sold over the weekend, and there will likely be a few more on offer, and there has always been a rather tasty stew available so you don't go hungry (there is a vegetarian option too, today {21st} I enjoyed eating a very tasty, not too spicy, bean and vegetable stew). The previous 2 years have provided a lovely range of ales, also they will be selling 9 real ciders this weekend, and you may just see me serving a few ales up too, as I shall be there every day, cheers!

Congratulations to the Tower!

By Steve the Beermeister:

Congratulations again to The Tower for being chosen as CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) South East Sussex Pub of the Year 2019! The Tower is situated on the corner of London Road and Tower Road, Bohemia, Hastings & St Leonards TN37 6NB, and I revisited on Tuesday, during which visit I congratulated Louisa the landlady, and had a few pints, of course! 

6 ales, including 2 regulars (Dark Star 4.7% APA and 3.8% Hophead), and a similar number of real ciders, and usually a perry too, are available. I concentrated on the 2 guest ales in the photograph above, Manchester-based Bootleg (website) Cheeky Monkey (4.2%), and I could only ask for it using my standard 'Northern' accent, sadly not appropriate here as it is basically South Yorkshire, sorry peeps in other parts of the North! I've seen Cheeky Monkey described as a dark ale, but to me it appeared more like an old-fashioned best bitter with a nice deep colour, and quite a good bitter too. But I mostly drank yet another an old favourite, Oakham Citra (4.2% - website), regular readers will realise I love the Citra hop, and Peterborough-based Oakham Ales is an excellent brewer too, pale, grapefruit, dry and bitter, quality as ever!

The other 2 guest ales were both darker beers, the Staffordshire-based Titanic (website) Plum Porter (4.9%) is excellent, and North Yorkshire-based Great Heck (website) Voodoo Mild (4.3%) is pretty good too, though I didn't drink either on the day, but have tried them both before!

Full Pints!

The two regular ales are from local brewer Dark Star (website), though now owned by Fuller's of West London, whose brewing business is to be taken over by Japanese group Asahi (blog), so who knows what is going to happen to the Dark Star ales! At the moment, their Hophead (3.8%) is being brewed in London and all other Dark Star beers, including their American Pale Ale (APA - 4.7%) are still being brewed in Sussex; these cost a good value £3.10 and £3.20 a pint at the Tower; the other ales cost £3.20 a pint (Cheeky Monkey and Citra), £3.30 a pint for Voodoo Mild, and £3.50 a pint for the Plum Porter. Also, a you can see in the photograph immediately above, lined oversize glasses are used, so you always get at least a full pint, great value!

Once again, congratulations to Lou and The Tower, and cheers m'dear! 

Missing Cat - Last seen in St Leonards/Bohemia.

Missing Bengal cat, lost since its humans moved, I believe, and last seen in St Peter's Road, St Leonards/Bohemia, please get in touch by phone if spotted, many thanks!

Beer Festival Final Day...

By Steve the Beermester:

OK, it's the final day of the first ale and cider festival at the Tower (also see previous blog) in Bohemia, St Leonards, and I'm hoping they have many more festivals, a great show Louisa! I worked as a volunteer there again, but had just 3 different ales this time and, sadly, the excellent Downlands Mosaic had already sold out. However, the Salopian Matrix (4.2%) was very good too, a pale golden ale with a fruity aroma, citrus taste, grapefruit and something more exotic, with a dry bitter finish, and...

Well, the Kent brewer Old Dairy provided another excellent ale to enjoy, that is, their session 3.8% What the Heck! Described as an 'orange pale ale' and it did what it said on the label, an enormous orange aroma, and taste too. This was beautiful, pale, dry and bitter, just what I love... oh yes! If you want to sample the ales, it'd be best to get there today, as they're fast running out, but, if you cannot make it, you never know what good value prices you may get tomorrow, if you're lucky enough that some of these ales are left, if not, still great ales every day anyway, starting at just £3 a pint, cheers!

Tower Ale & Cider Festival 2018...

OK, it looks like I've been preoccupied by this ale and cider festival, but that's just the way it has happened, mostly because I've visited friends elsewhere in the country for nearly a week, and because, well, it's happening right now (blog)! Also, because I've just returned from there, and, even if you don't like ale and cider, the beef & ale stew (£1 a bowl!) is very tasty, rich and great value, and you only have the next couple of hours to enjoy it, if that! I cannot wait to taste the pork & cider stew tomorrow... Indeed, both made with ale and cider available at the bar.

As to the ales, well, I volunteered to help serve at the festival bar, so didn't go over the top, but tried 6 of the ales available, all at least were very good. The first I found to be a wee bit too malty and sweet for me, but Lisa, my colleague at the time really enjoyed it, and she's a wine and cider drinker; though she liked quite a few of the ales, so a new ale drinker signed up! But two in particular were very good, the Welsh Tiny Rebel Full Nelson and, especially, the Sussex brewery Downlands Mosaic, which I noted as "gorgeous"- say no more! 

As I suggested 'hurry, hurry, hurry!'

First Hastings Ale & Cider Festival at this Pub!

Sorry I've been away, but what a great way to start off now I'm back home! As previously mentioned (blog) The Tower on the corner of London Road and Tower Road, Bohemia, St Leonards, the reigning CAMRA South East Sussex Pub of the Year, is running a beer festival from tomorrow, Friday 23rd of February to Sunday the 25th, open 11.00 to 23.00. There will be up to 16 different ales available at any one time, with up to 25 different ales expected to be served over the weekend! 

These are the tasting notes provided (and there are about 8 real ciders and perry too!) with a bit added here and there by Steve the Beermeister (in italics):

ORKNEY SKULL SPLITTER (8.5%)  A rich fruity wine-like complexity on the palate includes fresh & dried fruits, warm exotic spice and light summer citrus fruits. Red colour. All the way from the Orkneys, a very reliable brewery. 

FUNKY HOP (RAW) DONKEY BIG FUNKY (6.2%) A collaboration between Raw and The Pigeon Fishers. A New England IPA, packs a donkey punch. Pale

PHOENIX WOBBLY BOB (6%) An amber coloured beer, with a strong malt and fruit balance, evident in both the aroma and flavour. A slight sweetness leading to a dry finish. Amber. I remember first drinking this at the Royal Oak in Lostwithiel, Cornwall (about 1990), and TOO easy to drink for the strength, an excellent premium bitter!

LOUD SHIRT PSYCHADELIC IPA (6%) A fantastic IPA, that will take you to another plain of thought. Pale. From Brighton.

DARK STAR HOPHEAD EXTRA (5.8%) Extra describes it beautifully double hops and 25kg of citra thrown in for good measure. Pale/Light. Hophead's excellent, but this is EXTRA!

BURNING SKY AURORA (5.6%) Premium strength pale ale, US hops and big citrus and tropical flavours. Pale Amber. From Mr Tranter who consolidated the Hophead recipe at Dark Star, excellent!

ARBOR WHY KICK A MOO COW (5.5%) Big malty NZ pale ale, large quantity of southern cross and rakau hops. Dry hopped with green bullet. Pale

TRING’S COLLEYS DOG (5.2%) Dark ruby premium ale is all about the malt. It’s nutty, malty and full of body. Ruby

DANCING DUCK INDIAN PORTER (5%) A modern twist on a classic style of beer. Smokey bonfire flavours with a spicy hop and pleasant warming afterglow. Dark. Another tried and trusted excellent brewery...

TINY REBEL FULL NELSON (4.8%) Maori inspired pale ale, musty flavour of nelson sauvin, with sweet munich malt compliments. Pale. Excellent Welsh brewery from a young company of men, multiple award winners too.
DOWNLANDS MOSAIC (4.8%) Vegan friendly single hopped APA that is a festival of tropical and citrussy notes. Pale

GUN SMOKED RYE (4.7%) Vegan friendly . Beech smoked German Bromberg malt provides a subtle smokiness with the spiciness of the rye. Smokey

OLD DAIRY MAD COW (4.5%) Milk stout with coffee and cocoa nibs. Dark

ILKLEY TRIBULUS LUPULUS (4.4%) Mandarina & Huell Melon bring fresh fruit. Ekuanot from the US brings a tropical punch to the party. Pale. Another excellent Yorkshire brewery.

FYNE ALES VITAL SPARK (4.4%) A dark rich beer that shows glints of red. The taste is clean, slightly sharp with a hint of blackcurrant. Mild. Another Scottish brewery, and one of my all time favourite breweries too.

DANCING DUCK WET FEBRUARY (4.2%) A crisp, clean 4.2% pale ale with hints of lemon, lime, tangerine and sherbet,a biscuity malt characteristic and a dry finish.

SALOPIAN MATRIX (4.2%) A refreshing golden yellow ale. Prominent hop flavours are balanced by biscuit malt dry finish. Golden. Another consitent great brewery.

HUMPTY DUMPTY LEMON & GINGER (4.1%) Pale amber crisp ale, finished with a refreshing ginger and lemon tang. Golden

CAIRNGORM NESSIES MONSTER MASH (4.1%) A pleasant mahogany best bitter, malt predominating, gives a satisfying fullness of flavour. Red

RAT WHITE RAT (4%) Very pale, hoppy ale is made from low colour Maris Otter malt. A combination of three high alpha American hops produce an intensely aromatic finish. Pale

OLD DAIRY WHAT THE HECK! (3.8%) Orange pale ale. A juicy banger straight out of the cattle shed. Pale

FUNKY HOP DONKEY FUNKY LITE (3.6%) Collaboration beer, hybrid IPA. Pale

BURNING SKY PLATEAU (3.5%) A beautiful pale ale with a crisp malt edge and sharp bitterness. Pale

WANDER BEYOND PEAK (3.8%) A beautifully crafted English pale bitter. Pale

Food will be available Friday and Saturday lunchtimes and snacks all the time, and there will be live music Saturday evening from 8pm. Enjoy!

London ale prices outshone in Hastings!

Last weekend, as I said before, I went up t' frozen North, where it was actually quite mild, but, I went via Victoria, thanks to National Express coaches, OK, it takes ages, but I had a good book to read, and it only cost me £19.50 return from Hastings to Sheffield... Anyway, not trusting buses/coaches to get me there on time, I allowed myself a couple of hours in-between services, so had a wee pint close by at the St George's Tavern, Ebury Bridge, on the way up. This is a Nicholson's house, so usually trustworthy for us ale drinkers, and had 6 ales available, and East Sussex brewery, Dark Star's Hophead was one of them, nothing else interested me anyway, and it was in very good form, but, as would be expected, cost more than I'd usually pay, a 3.8% ale for £4.30 a pint!

Similarly, on the way back I had some time to fill, so bought a sandwich and crossed Chelsea Bridge, and ate my sandwich in Battersea Park, where there were plenty of promenaders! On my way back to Victoria Coach Station I walked via Pimlico and popped into the Cask Ale and Kitchen bar, forgetting this would likely be even more expensive, which it was, of course. Up to 10 ales here, many crafty keg beers, and loadsa bottled beers! I settled on the 6.5% Dark Star (have to support my county of abode and I'm not nicknamed 'Hophead' for no reason) Green Hopped IPA, which was excellent, and so it should have been at £5.35 a pint!

Anyway, thinking back on where you can regularly buy Dark Star ales in Hastings, other than Hophead as a regular ale at £3.60 a pint down at the Dolphin Inn in Rock-a-Nore Road in the old town, of course, but you can buy at least 2 Dark Star ales at any one time at The Tower in London Road, Bohemia, just above St Leonards. This excellent ale house has won the local CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) Pub of the Year award 2 years running, and I have previously congratulated Louisa, the licensee, before for this grand achievement, and it also sells Hophead as a regular ale, at just £2.80 a pint! I also remember it very recently having the Green Hopped IPA, which Louisa was selling at £2.05 a pint less than in London, ie at £3.30 a pint...

I know where I'd prefer to drink a pint, not in London, cheers Louisa! 

Revisiting the Tower...

By Steve the Beermeister: 

I recently walked up to the current South East Sussex CAMRA 'Pub of the Year', the Tower on the corner of London and Tower Roads in Bohemia, and, as ever, a pleasure to see Louisa the landlady, meet up with a few friends, and drink some excellent ales at good value prices! Well, I hadn't been up there for a while...  

6 real ales (and 4 ciders), mostly local to Sussex/Kent too, including 2 excellent regulars from Dark Star, ie Hophead and American Pale Ale, both of which I've talked about at length many times before, and a refreshing pale offering from 1648, the 3.7% Hop Pocket. Also, 2 dark ales, Titanic Plum Porter (4.5%) and Arundel Smokehouse Porter (6%), and an inbetweeny, Isfield Ethelred (4.4%), which was ready!

I'll have to return very soon, cheers! 

Congratulations to Louisa up at the Tower!

Congratulations to Louisa and her colleagues up at the Tower in Bohemia, on the corner of London Road and Tower Road, for winning the local Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) South East Sussex 2015 Pub of the Year! 6 Real ales, always in great form, and good value prices, Louisa has turned this pub into a real ale oasis, nice one!  

A Bohemian Rhapsody

By Steve the Beermeister 

On the corner of London Road and Tower Road is one of 3 good pubs in Bohemia, though this one is the 'bees knees', a CAMRA Good Beer Guide entry for a few years now, ie the excellent and very friendly Tower; so named as this was the last pub before the former toll gate and tower on London Road. 

The Tower Hotel first opened in 1866 with 12 rooms, 2 parlours and a bar. In 1943 the Tower was hit by an unexploded thousand pound bomb, that landed in the cellar, miraculously causing little damage. It was defused and lifted out through the cellar doors, a photograph of which event can be seen opposite the bar, to the right, as you enter. 

Now, the only danger is being a wee bit too 'merry' here, as the Tower is the best value real ale house in the Hastings area, with prices of their very well looked after cask conditioned ales starting at just £2.60 a pint, and rarely more than £3 a pint! 

The family-owned Tower was purchased in the 1990s, with Louisa the manager for 5 years now, and has been converted into just the one large room, with a lovely warm real fire in the winter. Over recent years, the different ales on offer have grown from 4 to 6 (4 usually regularly changing), with the addition of a sixth handpump just before Christmas. 

Being free of any tie to brewery or pubco makes this an ale lover's paradise, with at least 3 Sussex ales, sometimes all 6! Regular ales are from East Sussex Dark Star Brewing (website), and today they have 3 Dark Star ales: the virtually ever-present Hophead (3.8%) and American Pale Ale (APA, 4.7%), and a 'special' Hophead Vic Secret (3.8%), brewed with an Australian hop, 'Vic Secret', giving a hint of backcurrent aroma, but less fruit in the taste, pale and bitter. Both 'Hopheads' are just £2.60 a pint, nice one. 

There are also another 2 Sussex-brewed ales, the 1648 Hop Pocket (3.7%), a light pale bitter with a citrus hoppy aftertaste (website), and the most expensive pint today from Baseline Brewing (website), the strong 5.5% Dark Matter at £3 a pint, a darker full-bodied ale, with a fruity dry finish. 

The 6th ale came up all the way from one of my old abodes, Cornwall, St Austell (website) Proper Job (4.5%) at £2.80 a pint, a pale bitter brewed with malted Cornish-grown Maris Otter Pale barley and Cornish spring water. 

A great selection of ales there, and Louisa always a pleasure to meet, cheers!