Monday, 17 March 2025
St Patrick's Day Music in Hastings!
Friday, 8 November 2024
Hastings Old Town Cider Festival 2024
Wednesday, 2 October 2024
Hastings Tap Takeover at 15 Venues!
Friday, 5 January 2024
Festive Cheer!
Happy/Hoppy New Beer/Year! I wandered around Hastings over the last few weeks, particularly the 'old town' with its better variety and choice of pubs, but I've included a photograph above of the tree in Priory Meadow shopping centre, taken fairly early in the morning.
I missed drinking the 7.5% Harvey's Christmas Ale (website) on my last visit, indeed, which I last drank 4 years ago now (blog), but a bit strong to start off the session! However, I did recently drink there, from another East Sussex brewery Long Man (website), their 4.3% old ale Old Man, which I joked about many years ago about a young member of bar staff at the Dolphin Inn serving up 'an old man Old Man' - amused me at the time, sadly I've lost the image of her pulling the pint... Anyway, Old Man is brewed using darker malts, of course, with Bramling Cross and Fuggles hops, producing a fine version of an old ale, dark and bitter sweet, nice one...
From my notes now: "Very very very dark! Brownish head, rich and thick/full bodied. An aroma of roasted barley, and smooth, rich and chocolatey taste... Very decent!"
HI HO! 🍻
Monday, 27 November 2023
Cider Drinking at Hastings Old Town Cider Festival!
I recently suggested I may take advantage of the Hastings Old Town Cider Festival 2023 (blog), and imbibe cider during the festival... Well, I just sort of missed it, arriving at each of the 4 venues the day after the festival ended, surely they wouldn't have run out of ciders already?!? And I was correct, I drank cider at them all, only small measures of course...
I first visited The Albion, 33 George Street TN34 3EA (website), which, unsurprisingly had many ciders left, although they always have plenty of ciders on sale anyway... So I had a couple there, first off, the 4.0% Gooseberry Cider (above) from (Sussex) South Downs Cider (website), which suggests the use of gooseberries in addition to their usual desert apples in the fermentation. It had a deep reddish colour, slightly cloudy, starting off sweet to the taste, but drying out a wee bit sharp, I wrote 'not bad' which means I was very happy to drink it! 👌
My second cider was from Herefordshire producer Gwatkin Cider (website), their 6.0% Norman Cider (above). Apparently, the Norman Cider apple was imported from Normandy, and there are 'half a dozen apple varieties of the same name' differing in size and shape, but mostly sharing a similar flavour. This cider had an orangey colour, was cloudier, and was much drier than the first cider I had imbibed, medium dry to dry in taste, and another 'not bad' scored by me! 👍
I then wandered on up to the Jenny Lind, 69 High Street TN34 3EW (website) and had the first of a few ciders/perries from Sussex based Ascension Cider (website), both cloudy here, their 4.0% Shimmy (on the left in the photogroph above). Now this is a very interesting cider to taste, my notes say a big apple flavour, as I expected, but I've since found out that it includes lemon and pineapple in the mixture! The lemon obviously offsets the pineapple to the taste, a sweet start with a dry tartness in the finish. It wasn't my favourite cider of the day, but I'd be happy to drink it if there were no other ciders available. 😉
The other cider to the right in the photograph was also from Ascension Cider (website), their 4.8% Pilot, made with 100% Pilot apples. Ascension acknowledge that this, the first ever cider produced by them, can change flavour slightly from batch to batch, as the 'sugars and acids in each apple are dependent upon their variety, their terroir and the conditions they were grown in.' This cider was dry all the way through the drinking experience, and I liked it... 👍
I then ventured over The Bourne to the Crown, 64-66 All Saints Street TN34 3BN (website) and drank yet another Ascension (website) product, but a perry this time, their 3.3% Comice (above). The pears used are descendants of Doyenne du Comice pears first introduced to the UK from France in 1858. This cloudy perry had a fair amount of flavour considering the strength, it was dry and slightly tart, and not bad at all. 👌
My fourth and the final venue, was back down to the Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street TN34 3AR (website). Here I had a cider from Welsh producer Hallets (website), their 6.0% PX Sherry Finished (above). This was a clear rusty red coloured cider with a tropical fruity aroma and hints added to the apple taste, and another that was very easy to drink, vying with the Gwatkin and Pilot as my favourites of the day 👍 I'll say equal first! 😉
Cheers 🍻
My apologies for not tasting every cider and perry in the festival!
Saturday, 11 November 2023
Hasting Old Town Cider Festival 2023
This new added festival to Hastings' events has been arranged by the licensees of the 4 public houses and promises a large sample of ciders and perries, still and fizzy, and from near and far, and you have a week in which to sample the many delights on offer, enjoy the week, cheers! 🍻
Friday, 30 June 2023
Road Repairs... And 39-41 George Street
East Sussex County Council has agreed an additional investment of £10.7 million to help improve the condition of roads in the county and protect them for the future, with a recommendation that a further £5 million be considered at Full Council in July; £5.6 million will be from 'reserves' and £5.1 million funded through borrowing (website). This would bring the Council's total spending on highways to nearly £34 million.
The additional money will go towards vital drainage work, and more patching and repair of potholes, thus ensuring roads in the county are more fit for purpose, noting that extreme weather of recent times has caused roads to deteriorate faster. I'm sure road users will be looking forward to this development! 👍
39-41 George Street, as you can see from the photograph above, is well on the way to being demolished for redevelopment, as mentioned in this blog last year. Oh yes, and George Street is still blocked off this end, you need to turn by The Albion for access.
So, some good news, fingers crossed!
Friday, 26 May 2023
39-41 George Street; It's Coming Down!
Thursday, 25 August 2022
RNLI 2023 Diary and Greetings Cards, and a very tasty pasty!
I may just have another pasty soon, just to take a photograph, obviously! 😁
Thursday, 7 July 2022
Old Town Mini Pub Crawl, Someone has to do it!
I then walked back westwards towards Hastings town centre, soon reaching the Albion, 33 George Street TN34 3EA (website), but with an entrance on Marine Parade opposite the seafront too, and which opens at 12.30. They had 4 cask ales available, all from Sussex breweries, Harvey's Sussex Best (website) is their regular, and there is usually an ale from Bedlam too (website), which, on this day, was their Phoenix, a 3.9% APA. Labelled an Extra American Pale Ale, and brewed using hops (Cascade, Citra and Amarillo) and a yeast from the USA, indeed, a nice refreshing bitter. Also, there was Yacht Rock, a 3.8% 'extra pale ale' from Only with Love (website) and the 4.2% Pale Ale from Lakedown Brewing (website). Please note that you do need to pay electronically here as they do not take cash.
Cheers!
Saturday, 15 January 2022
New Year Drinking in the Old Town
By Steve the Beermeister
Well. we've had a few gorgeous days this week, so I've been walking around Hastings, thus time to write briefly about pubs I've visited (in the Old Town) since the New Year arrived. First, the Albion, in George Street, plus they have an entrance opposite the seafront. They sell 3 ales from Sussex and Kent brewers, normally Harvey’s Sussex Best and a pale bitter and a darker beer; one usually from Bedlam Brewery. If visiting make sure you have a debit card with you (or other electronic payment device, how thinks change!) as they do not take cash. Oh yes, and great pasties too (below & blog).
I'm writing this in alphabetical order, so next the Dolphin Inn, Rock-a-Nore Road, with its balcony virtually opposite the Fish Market, and which has recently changed its ale range from 3 regular and 3 guest ales to 2 and 4 respectively. The regulars are Harvey’s Sussex Best and Dark Star Hophead (sometimes a different pale session ale from another local brewery too!), and the guest ales have been including a dark beer (Winter/Old Ale, Porter or Stout), an equivalent to a Special/Best Bitter from local breweries or Youngs Special, and usually an APA style dry pale bitter, often from Kent Brewery or Oakham Ales. Live music has returned on Saturday evenings.
The First In Last Out (FILO), up the High Street and on the right, past the old Roebuck Surgery, which brews its own ales a short way from the pub up Old London Road, and continues to sell 4 or 5 of their own beers, and 1 or 2 guest ales. Their range includes pale to darker beers, including a Porter, and had their own dark seasonal Winter Warmer when I last visited.
The Jolly Fisherman, East Beach Street, a cosy beer drinking establishment, continues to sell a good range of real ales in addition to crafty keg beers. Last weekend they had a Dark Beer Festival, with 10 Stouts and Porters on offer; outside of festivals they do sell darker beers too, not to forget some very interesting Belgian beers.
Finally, the Lord Nelson, at the bottom of East Bourne Street, sells Courage Directors and Harvey’s Sussex Best. Live music is played here on Sundays, early evening.
Cheers!
Monday, 26 July 2021
Cornish Pasties, and not just from George Street, from Cornwall!
I took this photograph a while ago, though not that much or a while, and just before this kiosk, outside the Albion, started serving up pasties... I saw Bob a few days ago and we chatted about how it was going, well...
Bob told me that they are selling their pasties, plus pastries, hot and cold drinks, and more, from 07.30 in the morning, this includes a Full English Breakfast pasty, that includes a sausage, bacon, egg and baked beans, apparently, and other variations, eg cheese & onion and curried pasties! Well, I had to return later and try one of their Traditional Cornish Pasties, sent over from Cornwall, and this was very tasty indeed, and decent value at £3.60. Now I love the excellent pasties they sell at The Cornish Bakery in George Street (website), but I will return here... and there! 😉






































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