Combining Ale, the FILO, Pickled Onions & Charity!

By Steve the Beermeister 

OK, I own up that the main purpose of my visit yesterday to the First In Last Out, 14-15 High Street TN34 3EY (website) wasn't just to drink real ales brewed in Hastings, indeed, close by and up the road actually, but because for a number of years now I have gladly taken advantage of the rather special spicy pickled onions (above) prepared and provided by Elina (once apprenticed to Paul; see older blog), and a wonderful puller of real ales too! Elina starts work on the onions well in advance of this holiday season, and all proceeds from the sale of the pickled onions go to the charity for homeless people in Hastings, Eastbourne and Bexhill, Warming Up The Homeless (website). So, not only have I contributed to that charity, I have excellent pickled onions to go with the cold meat, cheese and bubble & squeak that I shall be enjoying on Boxing/St Stephen's Day, quality, cheers Elina!

But, also, the beers... the 4 handpumps shown in the photograph above, plus a seasonal winter warmer that was a wee bit too sweet for me to drink more than a half of, quite pleasant, liquid Caramac came to mind, and with rum added to the cask, many thanks to Adam (whose back is in the image above) for serving it up. When I first arrived the first other customer I recognised was Eddie, who, coincidentally, I have seen a few times recently after not seeing each other for ages, great to chat, cheers Eddie! 

So my main drinks were two of the above ales, the easy to drink FILO Churches Pale Ale (4.2%), a refreshing session ale brewed with one of my favourite U.S. hops, Amarillo, and the stronger 4.8% FILO Gold,  brewed with another great hop from the USA, Cascade, their 'premium ale, nice and pale and golden, good stuff!

So, a pleasant afternoon was had, good ale, good company, and pickled onions to add to the mix, many thanks again to Elina for her time and patience, cheers! 

The FILO Brewery website.

FILOFLATION!

By Steve the Beermeister...

OK, I'm guessing that the First In Last Out doesn't make enough money from its restaurant, because, they increase the prices of their beers at least twice a year, despite having up to 50% small breweries tax relief on a pint of their own ales. So, following the tax hike in the recent Government budget, they're selling a pint of their FILO Gold (a very decent ale, indeed, and local CAMRA champion this year!) at £3.70, since they put their prices up yesterday, which is equivalent to £4 a pint, or thereabouts, taking into account small brewery tax relief. Indeed, a pint would cost you similar in the array of Hastings Shepherd Neame pubs ( which are vastly overpriced too!), yet you can buy, today, a pint of the excellent Salopian Hop Twister at the Dolphin Inn for £3.60, or 10p a pint cheaper straight up, or 40p a pint cheaper taking into account the tax relief (Indeed, you could get the same Hop Twister at the FILO very recently for the same price!)... 

Hmmm... is this profiteering, with DFLs apparently willing to pay more for a beer?

Congratulations to the FILO Brewing Company!

By Steve the Beermeister:

A little birdy told me that Gold, the 4.8% pale 'premium ale' brewed by the FILO Brewing Company (website) has won the South East Sussex Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) 2017 Beer of the Year prize! Nice one, so... 

I had to visit the 'brewery tap' and try a wee drop of the Gold there, That is, at the First In Last Out (FILO), so you may well have seen me drinking in there, or walking up/down the High Street in the old town yesterday afternoon, and, yes, it was very fine indeed, a well balanced pale golden ale, not too bitter, so meeting the needs of many drinkers, cheers!

Christmas Beer is Back!

By Steve the Beermeister...

It's that time of year and, for the past few years, we have not only had Harveys 7.5% Christmas Ale available in East Sussex, but also the, much more local Hastings brewed, FILO Our Auld Ale at 6.5%. This is a gorgeous 'Christmas Pudding' of an ale, well worth the visit to the First In Last Out in the old town High Street, rich, but not too sweet, with a dry bitter finish... I had my first pint of the year yesterday, and it's at least as excellent as previous years, cheers!

950 Years Celebrations: photographs earlier today...

The bonfire pile on the beach earlier this morning, and Saxon and Norman figures present, but why is there a St George's Cross there?

I did suggest a Longboat...

FILO bar: putting up the beers

2 Special beers from FILO Brewing Company for the anniversary, Harold's Ale and the darker, spicy William's Wallop (4.5%), a very tasty beer with hints of mace and ginger.

The paler golden Harold's Ale (4.2%) tastes much stronger than the suggested ABV, with plenty of body, a grapefruit citrus flavour and a nice dry bitter finish.

Oh yes, and the Saxons had arrived!

A bit later, and it had brightened up, with a pretty decent band over there on the stage!

And this looks even more like a longboat, we'll see what goes on top of it!

Seafood & Wine Festival 17th-18th September 2016

Following the opening Ska music this evening (see my last blog), the weekend sees the annual Hastings Seafood & Wine Festival at The Stade, 17-18 September (see website for more details). Because it is the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings this year, there will be a 1066 theme, indeed, come dressed as a Saxon or Norman and claim a free festival glass! Of course, there is much to do and see: locally caught fish, wines and other local produce, FILO bar with locally brewed real ales, seafood cooking sessions in the Classroom on the Coast, guided walks, and much music and merry making!

This all continues on Sunday, but with the added bonus of a very reasonably priced Jazz Breakfast with local, and internationally acclaimed, jazz musician and singer Liane Carroll in the morning; £15 for adults and £10 for children, I'd hate to think what you'd need to pay to see her in Ronnie Scotts or elsewhere in London! 

The price includes a free wristband for the rest of the festival, otherwise, admission is by wristband on the day costing £2, or £1 if bought in advance at the Tourist Information Centre in Breeds Place opposite the fountain, where tickets for the Jazz Breakfast can also be bought, though only limited tickets for that event, so good luck!

Ales and Jack in the Green!

By Steve the Beermeister:

Well, we all know how busy this 4-day weekend is going to be! Overall, the weather forecast is currently looking not too bad, though Monday morning may well see rain, but we are blessed with 2 special ales for Jack this year, from Harveys is Bogie Man Ale (4.3%), which will be available this weekend, and at the start of the procession on Monday, at the Dolphin Inn, Rock-a-Nore Road (opens at 09.00 on Monday). For further details of the weekend fun, go to the website.

The second ale, brewed by the FILO Brewing Company, Thirst of May (4.1%), will obviously be available at the First In Last Out (FILO) pub, High Street, over the weekend and on Monday (opens at 10.00 on Monday), and also at various other pubs, including The Crown, All Saints Street, and...

The Albion, George Street, is having another beer festival this weekend, starting Saturday evening! Ales available will be pretty similar to those available at the St George's Day festival (link to my blog detailing ales), but will be including the FILO Thirst of May and Harveys mild for CAMRA's Mild May month (website), Knots of May (3%).

I'll see if I can try the 2 ales out before Monday and report back, cheers!

Hastings Beatles Day tomorrow...

This year will see the 17th Beatles Day in Hastings, at the White Rock Theatre, starting at noon tomorrow, and going on until 10.30pm. All performers are providing their talent for free, and all profits go to Macmillan Cancer Support; for more information.

The bar will again have real ale available, supplied by the FILO Brewing Company, and may just be called something like Abbey Road, have fun, and donate loadsa money!