spring 20 12 fr e - western sussex camra · spring 20 12 fr e for p eopl who lik er a la e in su...

Spring 2012Free

For people who like Real Ale in Sussex

PUBLISHED AND

FINANCED BY THE SUSSEX

BRANCHES OF THECAMPAIGN FORREAL ALE LTD (See p. 24 for full story)

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Sussex Drinker: Spring 2012

Contact Information

Sussex Branches of CAMRASurrey & Sussex Regional Director:

Chris Stringer, 01403 270505 (Horsham)[email protected]

Sussex Area Organiser:Peter Page-Mitchell, 01424 429791

(St. Leonards-on-Sea)[email protected]

Beer Festival: Hove, 8-10 March 2012POTY: Evening Star, Brighton

COTY: Albatross R.A.F.A. Club: Bexhill-On-Sea

Western SussexMax Malkin, 01243 828394

[email protected] www.westernsussexcamra.org.uk

Beer Festival: Yapton, 18-20 May 2012POTY: Maypole, Yapton

Arun & AdurJerry Marchant, 01903 214020

[email protected] www.aaa-camra.org.uk

Beer Festival: Worthing, 19-20 October 2012POTY: Sportsman, Amberley

North SussexDebbie Bullen, 07752 476649

[email protected] www.northsussexcamra.org.uk

Beer Festival: Ardingly Vintage VehicleShow, 7-8 July 2012

POTY: Jolly Tanners, Staplefield

Brighton and South DownsPete Coppard, 01273 683322 [email protected]

www.brightoncamra.org.ukBeer Festival: Lewes, 15-16 June 2012

POTY: Evening Star, Brighton

South-East SussexPhil Cozens, 01323 460822

[email protected] www.southeast-sussex-camra.com

Beer Festival: Eastbourne, 4-6 October 2012POTY: King’s Head, Hailsham

Sussex Drinker: Spring 2012. No. 69

Circulation 12,500Published by Sussex Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale

Editor:The Quaffer

Email: [email protected]

Advertising:Neil Richards MBE Email: [email protected]

Tel: 01536 358670 Mobile: 07710 281381

Next Publication Date:10 May. Copy by 10 April

Copy Submissions:The Editor invites submissions that celebrate the real ale scene in Sussex.

Please keep to a maximum of 700 words.Please use plain text or Word files.

Please send good quality pictures separately, preferably in JPG format.

Standard Disclaimer:Views expressed in this magazine are those of the individual

authors and not necessarily supported by the editor or CAMRA.

Your local Trading Standards Offices are:

East Sussex:St Mary’s House, 52 St Leonards Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 3UU

Telephone: 01323 418200 Fax: 01323 418227Email: [email protected]

Website: www.eastsussexcc.gov.uk

West Sussex:Centenary House, Durrington Lane,Worthing, West Sussex, BN13 2QB

Tel: 01903 839749; Fax: 01903 839743Email: [email protected]/gov.uk/tradingstandards

Brighton & Hove:Bartholomew House, Bartholomew Square,

Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1JPTel: 01273 292523; Fax: 01273 292524

Email: [email protected]: www.brighton-hove.gov.uk

Campaign for Real Ale Ltd230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LWTel: 01727 867201 Fax: 01727 867670

Website: www.camra.org.uk

3

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Sussex Drinker: Spring 2012 5

Festival News

T here is no doubtabout it: real aleis on a big roll.

Many pubs and clubssee real ale as a way ofgetting punters throughthe door. And this is

exactly what will be happening at the 22ndSussex Beer and Cider Festival, Hove TownHall, from 8-10 March. By the time you readthis article the Friday night session will havealready sold out - that’s a thousand ticketssnapped up in a matter of days. All the othersessions will probably be close to selling out aswell. But don’t despair as there may be sometickets available at the door on the day. Checkthe information below.

So what’s the big attraction? A huge varietyof real ales from across the UK! Some beersare flavoured with rum, herbs, spices, or agedin whisky barrels. Then there are the differentstyles: golden ales, bitters, milds, olds, stoutsand porters. Go to the Sussex LocAle barwhere hopefully all the Sussex brewers will berepresented, including those which havestarted brewing since the last festival. Visit theBottled Beer Bar to sample and take home bottle-conditioned and speciality beers fromacross the world.

But it’s not all about ales. Head for the Ciderand Perry Bar, where there will be an excellentselection of traditional ciders and perries toenjoy. Don’t forget the Wine Bar, stocked withCountry Wines, Honey Meads and FruitLiqueurs. For updated news, information onticket availability and outlets, or if you wish tovolunteer to work at the festival, check thewebsite www.sussexbeerfestival.co.uk/. Or email [email protected].

Opening times and ticket prices: Thursday 5-11pm (£4); Friday 11am-3pm (£2) and 5-11pm (£7); Saturday 11am-3pm (£4) and

5-10 pm (£6). Card-carrying CAMRA membersreceive £2 worth of beer tokens; NUS card-holders get Saturday evening entry at halfprice when buying tickets in person at thedoor or beforehand at the Brighton Centre BoxOffice. Come along and enjoy yourselves;there’s live music on Saturday night with TheCommon Tongues. Try some but not all of the240 beers available. Don’t forget the cidersand perries!

Have a great time.Peter Mitchell

Publicity Officer for Sussex Beer & Cider Festival

SEE YOU AT HOVE!

A Musical InterludeThe recently reopened Bell Inn, Ticehurstmust have the quirkiest gentlemen’s toilets inthe country! Photograph is by kind permission of Mick Slaughter.

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While the Sussex Branches of CAMRA arepleased to acknowledge the following newsitems, the Scratchings section does not constitutean exclusive list of officially recommended pubs,nor does it consist of critical customer reviews.News of new developments and updates on theSussex pub scene will be gratefully received bythe Editor for consideration in Scratchings. Thestandard disclaimer on p. 3 applies to all items.

ARDINGLYThe Oak has been closed since November. Thisis the result of Mr. Smith Inns being asked foran increase in the rent which would have ren-dered their operation there unviable. This isunfortunate since the pub is in the 2012 GBGand will now have to be withdrawn.

BEXHILL-ON-SEAThe first Beer Festival last November at the Al-batross R.A.F.A. Club was a huge success andresulted in even more real ale drinkers nowusing this club.

BOGNOR REGISThe Unicorn is apparently to reopen as a“Sports Bar”.

BRIGHTONAs well as bottle-conditioned ales, Thorne’s,Upper Gardener Street, are also selling a rangeof W. J. King beers. The Heist, West Street, isreported to be selling Dark Star APA, variousHammerpot ales and a house stout. Anotherconvert to real ale! Out in Stanmer Village, theStanmer House has been converted to a wed-ding venue, conference centre, restaurant andbar selling Harveys Best, Dark Star Hopheadand Fuller’s London Pride.

DIAL POSTThe Crown has continued its LocAle policy bystocking Ruskin’s Ram from the SouthDownsBrewery, plus Harveys Best and a seasonal from

them too. Kissingate beers will also be sold.

EAST ASHLINGThe Horse & Groom is now open all day Sat-urday, a change to the published times in the2012 GBG.

EASTBOURNEUnder father and, then, son landlords, theHurst Arms has been an outstanding Harveys’tied-house for many years. It has been in theGBG from 1978 to 2012, with the sole excep-tion of 2003, and was the local CAMRAbranch Pub of the Year in 2010. We wish land-lord David Smith and his parents well as theymove on.

GLYNDENo longer part of the Harveys tied-estate, theTrevor Arms is now owned by the same teamthat runs the nearby Ram Inn, Firle. Followingrenovations the pub reopened in December.

GORING-BY-SEAThe Bull is stocking guest beers like AdnamsExplorer and Timothy Taylor Landlord in addi-tion to regular beers from the Punch list.

HASTINGSThe Havelock (on the CAMRA National Inven-tory Part-Two) is due to reopen as a real alepub in March, with Jamie of the North Star,St. Leonards-On-Sea, as the manager. TheWhite Rock Hotel held the first HastingsBrewery Club Evening. This enabled all presentto taste their latest beer, Hastings Porter, avail-able to local pubs in February. Hastings Blondeand Hastings Special Bitter together with DarkStar Critical Mass and Rother Valley HoppersAle were available at the bar, so the huge gath-ering of members of the new Hastings BreweryClub was well pleased with their evening.

SUSSEX PUB SCRATCHINGS


Contributions from: Peter Adams, Allen Bartram, Bruce Bird, Les Campbell, Steve Colwell, Roger Coton, Stuart Elms, Terry Goodwin, Peter Mitchell, Peter

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HORSHAMThe beer lines have been restored at the MaltShovel and the hand pumps are in use oncemore. At the time of writing the pub is under a temporary tenancy and the lease is still beingadvertised. The Boars Head reopened in No-vember with new licensees.

LINDFIELDWhile the Stand Up Inn remains superb asusual, a December visit to the Red Lion foundsome well-priced interesting beers: CroptonTop of the Hops, at £2.60 per pint, alongsideAdnams Jolly and Thornbridge Pica Pica Oatmeal Stout.

LITTLEHAMPTONThe Nelson Hotel stocks a changing range oflocal beers. The licensee said that he is nowregularly selling 3-5 firkins of Dark Star Hophead and 2-3 of Hammerpot HPA, whichbodes well as does the menu.

PETTThe Royal Oak, re-opened last summer after along closure, continues to attract real aledrinkers and is now often fully-booked for diners. Similarly the excellent Two Sawyers,just up the road, remains a must for real aledrinkers; beers from the new Hastings Brewerywere recently available.

PORTSLADEThe Stanley Arms continues to have their cellar night every other Monday between 7pmand 9pm when beers purchased direct from thecellar are at a lower price and free nibbles arealso provided by Steve and Barbara, the owners. Ever-changing beers on the seven handpumps have recently included Palmers, Kissingate,Rectory and many others of interest.

SALEHURST The Halt recently held a German-themedChristmas menu which proved very popular.Hastings beers are to feature soon alongsideothers from Dark Star, Thornbridge, Marbleand Old Dairy.

S Peter Page-Mitchell, Allan Moores, Mick Slaughter, George Wagstaff and Philip Wildsmith.

continued overleaf >

Duke of Wellington368 Brighton Road, Shoreham-By-Sea

West Sussex BN43 6RE Tel: 01273 389818

Offering award winning real alesfrom Dark Star Brewery plus a

selection of guests.

Large Pub Garden with BBQ facilities, Bar Billiards, Darts, Live music

and special events.

Everchanging guest ales

All Real Ales 20% off

12 - 3pm Sunday

Meat raffle 4pm Sunday

22 Crown Street, Eastbourne Tel: 01323 724654

The CrownThe Crown

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SCAYNES HILLThe Sloop, once a regular on the Brighton andSouth Downs branch Ale Trail, is now free oftie from Greene King. The landlord, JamesButcher, is now aiming to stock a range ofbeers with the emphasis on local breweries.Harveys will be the regular with two furtherbeers during the winter and possibly moreduring the summer.

SHIPLEY The three beers at the Countryman - DarkStar Hophead, Fuller’s London Pride and Harveys Best - can always be found in excellent condition. A range of locally sourcedproduce including eggs, jams, oils and picklesetc. is a popular and growing attraction.

SOUTH HARTINGThe White Hart has reopened but the Ship isfor sale.

ST LEONARDS-ON-SEAThe Horse & Groom was one of the first pubsto have Hastings Brewery’s new beer HSB. TheSilverhill Tavern featured several ChristmasAles over the festival period, many from Sus-sex Breweries; a fifth hand pump is to be in-stalled. The North Star has introduced linedglasses; so with five real ales, excellent menuand popular loyalty cards this pub is a must.The Dripping Spring is into another change,so we must thank Lettie and Paul and theirteam for looking after this excellent local andhope that when you read this the new man-ager and team have settled in and continue tomake this a gem for real ale drinkers.

STEYNINGThe Sussex Produce Company, High Street,is selling Harveys Best, while Hartleys off-li-cence has a very good range of bottled beers,including many from Sussex breweries.

TICEHURSTThe historic Bell reopened in November with areal ale range of Harveys Best Bitter, Old Aleand a 4.2% house beer also by Harveys andcalled Pam in honour of the last landlady.

WEST CHILTINGTONBill at the Five Bells, Smock Alley, continuesto surprise real ale drinkers; a very rare Mc-Mullen AK in superb condition appeared re-cently and Ballard’s Mild is often on tap.

WORTHINGIt is not every day that a new free houseopens, so Kevin Jenkins of the Crown, Little-hampton, is to be congratulated on openingthe Spy Glass opposite the pier. It is a show-case for the fine ales produced by his brewery,Anchor Springs, and the pub also stocks beersfrom Cornwall. A good menu is available allday until 9.00pm.

Pub Scratchings continued

8

Unit G1 Railway Triangle, Walton Rd, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 1TQ Tel: 02392 389988

www.irvingbrewers.co.ukemail: [email protected]

Invincible Ales from PortsmouthInvincible Ales from PortsmouthIRVING& CO BREWERS LTDIRVING& CO BREWERS LTD

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Cat & Canary PubUpper Station Road, Henfield, West Sussex BN5 9PJ

01273 492509

4pm till 12 midnight Friday 1st June 10am till 12 midnight Saturday 2nd June

10am till 10.30pm Sunday 3rd June12 till 10.30pm Monday 4th June

We will be racking 16 Real ales and a selection of Ciders and PerriesChanctonbury Ring Morris Dancers will be dancing for us at approx. 1pm on Saturday

Friday – Live Music, Saturday - Karaoke, Sunday - Jazz, Monday – R & B, Monday 4th Children’s Day

BBQ will be available • Food served all day

Henfield’s Forth Annual Beer Festival at the Cat & Canary Pub

20 minute walk (1.3 miles) from Barnham mainline station

Five Ales always on tap • In the Good Beer GuideCask Marque ApprovedSecluded beer garden

Extensive seasonal menu with many home made specials

SIBA Local ales from Bowmans, Oakleaf and

Langham plus guest ales from further afield

Church Lane, Eastergate, West Sussex PO20 3UTTel: 01243 543380

• Historic 17th century Inn •

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Wednesday 22 February: West Sussex Explorer ‘BttP’ to Broadwater & Sompting;11.15 Compass 7 from South Street to Cricketers then Gardener’s Arms (both GBG)

Friday 2 March: East Sussex Explorer ‘BttP’to Litlington & Alfriston; 10.40 B&H 12 fromBrighton Churchill Square, or by train, to meetat Seaford Library stop to catch the 11.45 CVCommunity Bus to the Plough & Harrow thenonward walk to Alfriston

Tuesday 6 March: Mid Sussex Explorer ‘BttP’to Plumpton & Wivelsfield Green; 11.15B&H 29 from B’ton Churchill Square to LewesPrison then 10.55 Countryliner 166 to HalfMoon then onto Cock (both GBG)

Saturday 17 March: Western Sussex Explorer ‘BttP’ to Rogate, Compton & EastAshling; either by train to meet at ChichesterBus stn for the 10.46 Stagecoach 60 (or 10.05Stagecoach 1 from Worthing South Street) toMidhurst Bus stn for the 11.30 Countryliner92 to the White Horse, then onto Coach &Horses and Horse & Groom (all GBG)

Wednesday 21 March: West Sussex Explorer'BttP' to Petworth; Either 11.05 Stagecoach 1from Worthing South Street, or options onCompass 99 or Stagecoach 60 (via Midhurst)to meet Angel Hotel from noon

Tuesday 3 April: ‘BttP’ Sussex Pub of theYear (PotY) survey; to be advised (contactStuart, see details below)

Friday 13 April: ‘BttP’ Sussex PotY survey; tobe advised (contact Stuart, see details below)

Wednesday 18 April: East Sussex BttP Explorer to Glynde & Firle; meet B’ton Stn for11.52 train to Trevor Arms then walk to Ram;then return by bus to either the Trevor, the An-chor, Ringmer or other pub options in Lewes

Friday 4 May: Mid Sussex Explorer ‘BttP’ toSouth Chailey & Plumpton Green; 10.55B&H 28 from Brighton Churchill Square toLewes prison for 11.30 Countryliner 121 toHorns Lodge (GBG) then 13.27 Countryliner824 to Plough

Wednesday 9 May: West Sussex Explorer‘BttP’ to White Horse, Maplehurst (GBG); either 10.00 Stagecoach 17 to the Crabtree, or10.28 Metrobus 23 to Southwater, then walkto pub then return via Partridge

Friday 25 May: ‘BttP'’ Sussex PotY survey toSE Sx Branch PotY; to be advised (contactStuart, see details below)

Wednesday 30 May: West Sussex Explorer‘BttP’ to West Chiltington, & Thakeham;11.05 Stagecoach 1 from Worthing SouthStreet to Five Bells (GBG), then walk onto toWhite Lion (GBG); N.B. There is also an optionto go to Queens Head, Barns Green (GBG)

For more info or to join our mailing list: Email [email protected] or ring Stuarton 07817 058 928

Bus to the Pub

Support our Pubs & CountryBus Routes with ‘Bus to the

Pub’ around Sussex

If you would enjoy visiting different pubs with fine ales in friendly convivial company withoutthe constraints of the car, then our varied programme of regular daytime ‘Bus to the Pub’(BttP) socials may just appeal! With so many good pubs struggling to survive in the current

economic climate and County Council budget cuts threatening the subsidised bus services thatserve their local communities, it is now very much ‘use them or lose them’ time.

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11

We are delighted to announce the results ofthe 2011 Bus to the Pub POTY. Congratulationsto the Royal Oak, Friday Street (pictured), thewinner for the second year running. It is in-teresting to note that both the winner and therunner-up, the White Horse, Maplehurst, aretwo of the more challenging pubs to reach bypublic transport.

The top ten pubs are as follows:

Royal Oak, Friday StreetWhite Horse, MaplehurstBrewers Arms, LewesSnowdrop, Lewes Black Horse, ByworthStand Up Inn, LindfieldWilkes Head, Eastergate Quench Bar, Burgess HillCock Inn, Wivelsfield GreenWhite Lion, Thakeham

In total 25 people voted for 34 pubs that theyhad visited and enjoyed on a ‘BttP’ trip.

Stuart Elms


Bus to the Pub,Pub of the Year

• A selection of draught and bottled real ales• • Ideal for parties, weddings and functions•

• Visit our brewery shop• Open weekdays 8am- 4pm

• Free local home delivery!• • Online orders and payments•see our website for details

The Old Sawmill, NyewoodNr Petersfield, Hants GU31 5HA

Tel: 01730 821362www.ballards-brewery.co.uk

Arundel Brewery Ltd, C7 Ford Airfield Ind Est,Ford, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 0HY

Tel: 01903 [email protected]

www.arundelbrewery.co.uk

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A fine selection of real ales from around the countryand a selection of Harvey’s ales from the bar

Food Available11.30 till 2.30pm, 6pm till 9pm Fri & Sat, 12.00 till 4pm Sun & 12.00 till 2pm Mon

27 Latimer Road, Eastbourne, East SussexBN22 7BU Tel: 01323 722673

email: [email protected]

Why not visit our sister pubs?The Heath, Haywards Heath on the corner of Triangle Road

and Sussex Road

Alma Arms, Framefield Road, Uckfield

The Victoria Annual Beer FestivalEaster Weekend

Fri 6th April through until Mon 9th April

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Wassail! It’s that time of year again wheneveryone is out celebrating the NewYear, and wassailing the apple trees to

ensure good crops for the coming season.

Most wassails take place on or aroundTwelfth Night, so 5 to 17 January according towhich calendar you follow (see last year’s Sussex Drinker spring edition!), and I attendedthe Maplehurst Wassail on 6 January (pictured).This started at 7.30pm at the White Horse,Maplehurst, with the Broadwood Morris leadingthe procession of about 100 eager drinkers toJB’s cider orchard at 8.00pm in order to wassailhis two oldest apple trees. The weather was ac-commodating, staying dry and mild, and loadsof cider was drunk (and poured round the treesas an offering to Pomona), both in the cidershed and back at the pub.

There was an extra feature this year, as theBroadwood Morris Dragon also had a birthday(I think it was his 30th, and it is BroadwoodMorris’ 40th), so he was ‘wassailed’ too, withcider being poured over his feet and a piece oftoast offered to him, and Happy Birthdaysung. I suppose it should have been a slice ofbread, so that he could toast it himself, but Ithink his fire has long since been extinguished!

Another wassail took place as usual in Tarring,but the Sompting Village Morris dancers were

obliged to have their post-wassail get togetherat a new pub as the landlady of their regularwouldn’t let them sing and play while a couplewere eating in the restaurant area; rathershort-sighted of her I think, considering theamount of custom she turned away. MiddleFarm’s Wassail was on 14 January, althoughafter the Sussex Drinker copy date, so I can’treport on it, but I’m sure it was a very wellattended and enjoyable event.

The next event to look forward to is, ofcourse, the Sussex Branches Beer and CiderFestival at Hove on 8-10 March, and I amplanning to order several new ciders for this,including the National winner from last year –Virtual Orchard’s Hardcore cider, from Wolver-ton, Bucks. You’ll have to come along to findout what the others are!

Wassail!Jackie JohnsonSurrey and Sussex Regional Cider Coordinator

CIDER HOUSE NOTESCider and Perry

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Information here is mostly fromSussex Branches’ Liaison Meetingon 14 Jan, by Brewery Liaison Officers named at the end. TheBrewery Liaison Coordinator forSussex, Kent and Surrey is PeterPage-Mitchell.

1648 BREWING Coat The Kings Head, East Hoathly,01825 840830.www.1648brewing.co.ukDavid Seabrook, co-founder andHead Brewer, has left the brew-ery. Yanick, the French chef at theKings Head, has been in trainingwith David on a weekly basis sinceJuly. In December, David advisedRobert Wallace, the other co-founder, that Yanick was ready totake over as Head Brewer. Davidhas sold his 50% share of thebrewery to Robert, who feelsthere is still a way to go with1648. They brewery would like tothank David for his hard work andalso for his continued support.Phil Cozens

adurSteyning, 01903 867614.www.adurbrewery.com/ adurvalleycoop.comAdur Brewery held two opendays on 7 and 14 January, prima-rily to attract new worker/investormembers to the fledgling Co-op -and hopefully some who live inSteyning! With five ‘test brews’

under its belt it was time to finalisethe brewery purchase. A spot onBBC-TV ‘South Today’, a ‘RadioSussex’ interview and local pressarticles helped to attract a goodturn-out. The above two websitesare soon to be up and running.Meanwhile the Brighton andSouth Downs CAMRA websitecame to the rescue, offering linksto the Business Plan and Co-opinfo. There were two brews ofBlack William Stout (5.0%) as thefirst didn’t reach the required ABV– but was still very tasty! You maysee it being sold as SteyningPorter. More recent wasRopetackle Gold (3.4%). Bottledbeers are now at the Wine Standat World’s End, (Burgess Hill) andthe Sussex Produce Shop, Steyn-ing. Draught is at The Red Lion,Shoreham and a few others. Thebrewery hope to resume stalls atFarmers’ Markets soon. Adrian Towler (Provisional BLO)

anchor springsLittlehampton, 01903 715111.The Christmas ale, Rudolph’sRuin (6.0%), was very successful

and the new low-gravity beer,Low Tide (2.6%), has beenlaunched; it has a good flavour forits strength and is selling well atthe brewery tap, the Crown, Lit-tlehampton. The next special willbe brewed for St. George’s Day.There are plans to bottle anotherbeer, LA Gold. Rotating AnchorSprings beers are available at thenew free house in Worthing, theSpy Glass, situated opposite thepier; they are dispensed from bar-rel ends beside the bar. A specialWorthing beer will be brewed tocelebrate the opening of the pub.The Spy Glass will also host aMeet the Brewer Night from 8pmon Tuesday 20 March.Bruce Bird (Acting BLO)

arundelFord, nr Arundel, 01903 733111.www.arundelbrewery.co.uk2011 was a good year for thebrewery, in fact, the best ever infinancial terms. The new 20-barrelbrewing plant was bedded in, withits brews attracting favourablecomment from both customersand licensees on account of it get-ting a bit more out of the hops.The new cool store – three timeslarger than its predecessor – wascommissioned and fitted with twonew 20-barrel stainless steel con-ditioning tanks; already, the vol-umes passing through it exceedconsiderably what the old coolstore could manage. All of the sea-sonal beers are back in productionfollowing some curtailments in2010 to cope with high demand,especially during the summer. Following all this capital invest-ment, attention has turned recently to the badging and pro-motional side of the business, with

Bru News

14

Bru NewsThe Sussex Breweries Pages

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Bru Newsa good number of pump clips re-ceiving a facelift or re-design inorder to make them more distinc-tive. Sales of the company’s bot-tled beers are good but relativelystatic; they account for a reducingpercentage of overall production,but only because the cask beersare selling so well and in suchquantity. The company has re-cently started to expand its salesarea considerably – the beershave been well received, withseveral licensees expressing de-light at being able to get hold ofthem and thereby offer somethingdifferent on their bars.Jeff Vinter

ballard’sNyewood, 01730 821362. www.ballards-brewery.co.ukAfter a very busy Christmas period with strong sales, all stocksare now low. Best Bitter actuallysold out before the New Year.Nearly all of this year’s Meltdown(7.4%) draught barley wine hasgone with just a few remainingbottles available but it is very likelymore will brewed. Some desper-ate individuals became so thirstyover the holiday they even brokein to the brewery! The annual Ballard’s Walk on 4 Decemberwas huge success: probably thebiggest ever. The Prize Old Mummers from Portsmouth werevery well received and set thetone for a brilliant day out. Theunplanned appearance of someBag Pipers (collective pronoun?)also added to the mood. Thanksto Carola; also to Pete Brown forthe coach. A new, seasonal beer,Southdowns Bitter (3.2%) hasbeen added at the request of agood customer, Indigo Leisure. An

easy drinking session style, brewedwith Pale Ale and Crystal malt andhopped with Fuggles and Goldings,it can be found in Brighton and,currently, the Bull, Chichester.Barry Woodward

beachy headEast Dean, 01323 733603.www.beachyhead.org.ukSales have been good over theChristmas period and look to continue. Having a real-ale lover incharge at the Tiger Inn, East Dean,has made a big difference and thepub is becoming a proper brew-ery-tap. Roger is working a lotcloser with Jacques than with theprevious landlord and some jointbeery events are being planned forthe coming year. Membership ofSIBA has benefitted the brewery agreat deal so the beer is now avail-able in a much larger area.Tony Harman

BEDLAMAlbourne As is often the case in new proj-ects, timings often slip. This hashappened with the set up atShaves Thatch. There have beena number of issues to deal with atthe location but these now seemto have been resolved. Test brew-ing will hopefully start in Marchbut too late for the Sussex Beer &Cider Festival.Peter Mitchell

Black cat Groombridge, 07948 387718.www.blackcat-brewery.comMarcus plans to go part-time in hisairline pilot job from May so hecan spend more time brewing andwill then be able to double capac-

ity – he has two brewing vesselsbut currently only uses onethrough lack of time. Capacityshould then be about 260 barrelsper year. Hopsmack will start tobe brewed again in May throughto September, or longer if there’senough demand. It is likely to re-main a seasonal summer beer asdemand dropped off at the end ofsummer 2011. Marcus has so farhad one group of people for abrewery tour and he would beamenable to occasional grouptours by prior arrangement. He isdoing all his own deliveries to localpubs, clubs and shops.David Moore

dark starPartridge Green, 01403 713085.www.darkstarbrewing.co.uk andTwitterThe 2012 beer list is now pub-lished, although for the first time itis not ambitious enough to try andlist every beer for the year. In previous years the specials havebeen supplemented whenever anopportunity arrived for a specialhop or collaboration and evensold ahead of schedule much tothe disappointment to those whowere waiting patiently. So thisyear’s list shows the permanentbeers and the seasonals but thespecials will rely on emails, twitterand word of mouth. (Email thebrewery if you’d like updates). Already being enjoyed is the January special, an intriguing MilkChocolate Stout (4.5%); Februarybrings Black Coffee Pilsner (4.8%),brewed with Czech malt, hopsfrom the Zatec region and tradi-tional Czech yeast strain; Marchsees Rye & Juniper Hop Back

15


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(5.2%), an idea developed fromthe traditional Finnish Sahti beer.

Jenn Merrick, formerly of YorkBrewery now runs the brewingoperations. Jenn is a talented tech-nical brewer and comes with awealth of knowledge of the craft-brewed beers of her homeland,the United States. In keeping withits name, Revelation, the breweryhas launched a new permanentbeer out of the blue. The idea forthe beer comes from previouslate-late hopped beers such as lastyear’s Harvest Hop and the SixHop, all using hops after fermenta-tion while the beer conditions.This technique retains much of thehop flavour and aroma characteris-tics without over bittering. To quotethe tasting notes: “Centennial, Lib-erty, Cascade and Citra are usedby the sackful”. And to quotebrewster Jenn: “At 5.7% this is nota session beer but meant to be sa-vored and enjoyed, a great pint toend the evening with”. Hopheadmay appear in bottle later this yeardepending on the success of a trialbottling. The new mobile barscomplete with cask and handpullare ready for the Amex Stadium,so Hophead will at long last beflowing. For a number of reasonsthe project took far too long muchto the frustration of the Hopheadlovers among the Seagulls fans.Stuart Elms

fallen angelEast Hoathly, 01825 841307.www.fallenangelbrewery.comThe brewery has not been in recent contact. Many thanks go toBill Layton who is stepping downas BLO.BLO TBC

filoHastings, 01424 425079.www.filobrewing.co.ukemail: [email protected] the brewery now fully estab-lished in its new premises, FILObeers are finding their way into anumber of other Sussex pubs.Brewing of the popular latest addi-tion to the range, Churches PaleAle has had to be put temporarilyon hold, due to difficulty in sourcingthe Amarillo hops. Hopefully thiswill return shortly, meanwhile theother beers continue as normal.The award-winning Ginger Tom isto be re-named Old Town Tom,due to confusion with anotherbrewery’s products; it will, how-ever, continue to be brewed to thesame recipe as always.Bill Turner

FRANKLINSBexhill, 01424 731066.www.franklinsbrewery.co.ukIts official - Edge is no more:Franklins is now the name of thebrewery. It was too confusingworking under two names.George, a younger member ofthe team is now the main brewer.The owner of Franklins also ownsPotton Brewery in Bedfordshire;there has been a beer swop goingon and I am told Franklins beersare going down well in that part ofthe world. Look out in Februaryfor Franklins at the nationalWetherspoon Beer Festival asthey have a contract to supply.Bottled Brighton Rocks and Con-queror should be available soon.Mac McCutcheon

gribbleat the Gribble Inn, Oving, nrChichester, 01243 786893.www.gribbleinn.co.ukThe brewery had a good Xmasbrewing Santa’s Flyer (3.6%) forthe occasion. This traditional beerhas a light, nutty flavour and a softrefreshing finish and sold well. TheGinger Beer sold out but will beback. Otherwise the normal rangeof up to eight beers is available inthe pub or as two-pint takeaways.Chris Wright

hammerpotPoling, nr Arundel, 01903883338.www.hammerpot-brewery.co.ukDespite the traditional late-au-tumn lull experienced by many inthe industry, life at the Vinery continues hectically. The breweryis squeezing more from its plantthan it was probably designed toproduce, and the team has beenincreased to help cope. Six dayworking looms! The facilities havebeen improved and more spacecommanded; Head brewer andboss, Lee, has even acquired hisown office! On the beers front,Bottle Wreck Porter took Beer of the Festival at Twickenham recently and is again entered atthe National Winter Ales Festival,Manchester. It will remain availableuntil March. HPA will be availablebottled from February, replacingRed Hunter which will revert tobeing draught only. STOP PRESS!Bottle Wreck Porter has wonGold in the Porter Category at theNational Winter Ales Festival,Manchester. Full details can befound in the Spotlight on Brew-eries section. Tim Walker

Bru News - continued

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17

harveysLewes, 01273 480209.www.harveys.org.ukThis season’s Christmas Ale wasreduced in strength to 7.5%.There is no seasonal beer in Janu-ary as Ration Ale will not bebrewed this year. Miles Jenner hasmade a presentation at the Houseof Commons concerning low-gravity beers, these being SweetSussex Stout and BloomsburyBrown (formerly Nut Brown Ale),both 2.8%. These are normallyonly available in bottles. Lisa andher team from the John HarveyTavern, Lewes are only runningthe nearby Swan in SouthoverHigh Street until the end ofMarch, after which, hopefully,rather more permanent tenantswill be found. In the meantime re-

furbishment work is to take place,mainly in the kitchen and toiletareas. The Trevor Arms, Glynde isno longer part of the Harveys tiedestate.Jack Wilkinson

HASTINGS BREWERY LTD St Leonards-on-Sea, 07708259342; 01424 205437.www.hastingsbrewery.co.uk Sales are going well with the(5.5%) Hastings Special Bitter(HSB) joining the range offeredthroughout the year. Followingsome experimental brews on theprevious equipment a Porter hasbeen brewed for distribution tolocal pubs in February. The brewerywill soon be able to offer online sales. Peter Page-Mitchell

hepworth & CoHorsham, 01403 269696.www.thebeerstation.co.ukThe cask version of ConquerorStout continues to be sold by Indigo Leisure as Molly Malone’sStout and is available at Molly Malone’s pub, Brighton. Saleshave been very encouraging andConqueror Stout could soon become a regular part of Hep-worth’s portfolio. The originalcontract won by Hepworth’s tosupply stout to Russia still contin-ues. The Swan bar in the GlobeTheatre, London now takes Pull-man and Blonde. Part of the AirStudios Complex, run by GeorgeMartin, is the Strong Room Barand Night Club, which now takesBlonde and Conqueror Stout.Hepworth has a contract to brewbottled beer for M&S, which will


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Contact: Peter HusseyMob: 07779 245810 Tel/Fax: 01306-631884

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18

Bru News - continuedlast six months and may be ex-tended. Hepworth bottled salesfor 2011 are up 20% on last yearalthough Andy sounds a note ofcaution for 2012. Increases in thecost of both glass and malt arelikely to mean price rises in thebeer during the coming year.John Keller

KEMPTOWNat The Hand in Hand, Brighton,01273 699595.The brewery has been renovated,external and internal refurbishmentcontinues and there are plans tobottle the ale in adjacent premises.There is a new brewer, Gary Sillence, who will be introducingtwo new ales plus a quarterly sea-sonal. Meanwhile the bar stocksseveral guest ales from Dark Star,Hepworth and others. Jim Hawkins

w j king & coHorsham, 01403 272102.www.kingbeer.co.ukFollowing the brewery almostdoubling in size in 2011 to meetdemand, the team has further exciting plans for 2012. The latestchanges are a very smart new shop,as well as more brewing capacity.The brewery had an open day aspart of the Horsham Food andDrink festival and two more at theend of November to launch theChristmas beers. In addition to Old Ale, the seasonal ales for February will again be ScrummyAle and Five Generations, followed in March by two of lastyear’s popular new beers, Cascade and Market Porter. Cas-cade will continue through April,along with Spring Ale and IPA in

April and May, plus a Mild in May.Mike Head

KissingateLower Beeding, 07909 975664.www.kissingate.co.ukThe Kissingate Brewery continuedto grow throughout 2011, althoughthe increasing demand for theirbeers has stretched their opera-tion to the limit. Christmas orderswere high for Christmas ‘Tale’ andChristmas ‘Spirit’. Both beerswere ordered well in advance ofthe festive season and were tech-nically sold out even before theywere brewed! Two new beers,Chennai Premium IPA andSmelter’s Stout, have been extremely popular too, but overalldemand has required Gary andBunny to work unreasonably longhours: “The move to our new andmuch larger premises cannotcome soon enough”, they say. A brand new 6BBL system with inline water filtration is currentlybeing commissioned in the newbrewery building. “It will enable usto brew more beer in less time, orat least that is the plan!” It has tobe said that the new Kissingate isindeed a breathtaking building withexposed beams that support thevaulted ceiling. Indeed, you get awonderful feeling of space. Themost interesting feature is the min-strel’s gallery where visitors canlook down on the brewery fromthe safety of the upstairs lounge.Of course, Gary and Bunny arewell known for their hospitalityand have gone to great lengths toprovide a comfortable setting fortheir guests. 2012 will be an excit-ing year for the Kissingate. Thereare two new beers in the making,to be released soon. Also in the

pipeline is a collaboration ale withanother brewery (watch this space). Roy Bray

KITCHEN GARDENSheffield Park, 01825 790775www.kitchengardenbrewery.co.ukBrewester Bethan Godwin is producing small batches of bottle-conditioned ales: Mild (GentlyFuggled) (3.3%); Traditional Ale(3.4%); Stout (3.8%); Best Bitter(3.8%); Orange Hefeweizen (4.3%);Red Robin Spiced Winter Ale(4.5%); Golden Ale (5.1%). Thebeers are available at the breweryshop and at Middle Farm, Firle.BLO TBC

langhamLodsworth, Petworth, 01798 860861.www.langhambrewery.co.ukStill very busy up in Lodsworth,the last two seasonal beers soldout quite fast and seem to beshowing an up-turn for sales of thered and dark styles of ales. Autumn-ale (4.4% red ale usinglocal honey and Sussex hops fromBodiam) went to three gyles thisseason. The dark and spicedChristmas Cracker (based uponLangham Best, 4.5%) wasbrewed twice and sold out fast inthe local pubs and a few of theSurrey and Sussex Wetherspoonoutlets. The next seasonal beerwill be the Triple XXX (a 4.4%dark mild), in the pubs mid-Janu-ary and available with the fourcore beers until mid-Februarywhen the Flor-ale (3.8% pale,hoppy and zesty) comes back onbut to be brewed as a regularbeer for some seven months. Peter Luff


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19


LONG MAN Litlingtonwww.longmanbrewery.comFirst brew should be available inApril. The brewery is really begin-ning to take shape and will beusing malt grown on the farm inLitlington. An old flint barn hasbeen totally refurbished, the coldstore is nearing completion, thebrand new 20-barrel brew plant isbeing installed in early Februaryand the first 500 casks are arrivingsoon. Brewer Jamie Simm, ex-Tunbridge Wells, is busy working on recipes and doing allthe other things that brewers do!The aim is to start selling beer inMay. Look out for a core rangewhich will include a 3.8% goldenbeer, a 4.0% traditional Sussex-style best bitter and a 4.5% IPA.Peter Adams (TBC)

rectoryStreat, 01273 890570.The November Bonfire Specialwas the Bonfire Toffee Ale (4.9%).In the December-January periodwere St Michael’s Golden Christ-mas Ale (5.0%), the Old Ale / Parson’s Porter (4.9%) and aChristmas Ale (6.0%), a strong,traditional bitter beer. Godfreysaid that his most popular brewsthroughout 2011 were SummerAle, Rector’s Revenge and theMild Pilgrimage Ale (even thoughonly one Ale Trail pub - the Stan-ley Arms - ordered it). To cele-brate both Her Majesty theQueen’s Diamond Jubilee andGodfrey’s own 60th birthday, a Diamond Jubilee Ale (6.0%) willbe brewed, to be available inMarch at the CAMRA SussexBranches Beer Festival.Paul Free

rother valleyNorthiam, 01797 252922.Christmas was a busy time for thebrewery with extra brews neededof Blues and Hollydaze. Thestrong ale, Exit, is available again.New for February is ChocolatePorter (4.2%), while Nipa (5.0%)is the beer for March. Dawn Lincoln

SOUTHDOWNS Currently brewed at Kent [email protected] The brewery is run by widdi (aformer brewer with the AdurBrewery) and Geoff (owner of theShepherd and Dog, Fulking). Thebeers are currently being brewedby widdi using the facilities at theKent Brewery, but it is hoped thata permanent site will soon befound in the Small Dole area.There are currently two beersavailable – Ruskin’s Ram (4.0%)and Devils Dyke Porter (5.0%). A special Honey Porter is beingbrewed for the Selden Arms winter beer festival and may berepeated if it proves popular. A third beer, as yet unnamed, willbe added to the list and should beavailable in time for the SussexBranches Beer and Cider Festival.Regular outlets for the beers arethe Shepherd and Dog, Fulking;the Evening Star, Brighton; theRed Lion and the BuckinghamArms, Shoreham and the SeldenArms, Worthing. The beer hasalso travelled as far as Kilverts,Hay-on-Wye. Roger Coton (TBC)

welton’sHorsham, 01403 242901.www.weltonsbeer.com

Welton’s had a busy Christmasperiod selling 600 firkins of Christ-mas Ale! Support for local bluesand rock bands continues withmusic nights on Saturdays 4 Feb-ruary and 21 April, with ticketsfrom the brewery or Beer Essen-tials, Horsham. A fascinating newfeature is QR coding on bottles,which enables smart phone userswho have downloaded the QRapp, to scan the code and link tomusic and information while theysup their beer. Ingenious! Ray isbuilding a new 20-barrel fer-menter, which will see capacity in-crease to 115 barrels (460 casks)to cope with ever-increasing de-mand. He is due to visit theHouse of Commons to addressthe All Party Beer Select Commit-tee and discuss the undoubtedmerits of low gravity beer, ofwhich Welton’s Pride & Joy, at2.8% is a fine example, tastingway beyond its low strength. Un-fortunately, smaller brewers donot yet benefit from the advantageof the lower duty rate on lowergravity beers. Ray is consideringbrewing a beer at 1.5%, if de-mand allows. Bottling continues toexpand with Horsham Bitter nowin bottles and it may be availablesoon on the Internet. Now forthe particularly good bit: the forth-coming beers include Hot Chest-nuts, a (5.5%) winter porter,several beers for the Rugby SixNations, including Johnny English(4.8%), Le Coc (5.1%) and thetasty Molly Malone Stout. Lookout from the end of February toMarch for Headless Horsemanand in May for a (5.0%) Black-berry Mild.Nigel Bullen


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20 Sussex Drinker: Spring 2012

THE JOLLY TANNERS

May Bank HolidayBEER FESTIVAL

Fri 4th May to Monday 7th May

Continuing the tradition 30 plus beers & ciders

Music and FoodOpen 11am to 11pm

STAPLEFIELD RH17 6EF Tel: 01444 400335Fine ales • First class food • Large garden

Children and dogs welcome

Diamond JubileeFri 1st June to Tues 5th June

30 plus beers & cidersBands

Hog RoastHot Food served all weekend

Open 11am to 11pm

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History and Heritage

On the Brighton Road a few miles south ofHorsham stands this white-stuccoed, red brickroadhouse with superb Art Nouveau leadedand stained glass windows advertising thelong-defunct Rock Brewery, Brighton. Surviv-ing Rock brewery livery is relatively scarce andthis is by far the most spectacular example.The two identical, larger windows feature adun horse in the central panel. The left sidepanel advertises ROCK ALES; the right sidehas WINES & SPIRITS. The windows of thecentral, projecting bay present (left-side)ROCK ALES and (right-side) PRIVATE BAR. In the glass of the two doors we have, respectively, GOOD FOOD and GOOD CHEER.The emphasis on food was typical of the interwar ‘improved publichouse’, of which the Dun Horseis an example.

Photographs of the pub c.1900 show it to have then beena wooden-boarded cottage-styleinn advertising Michells Alefrom the West Street Brewery,Horsham, taken over by theRock Brewery in 1912. The pres-ent building dates from 1926, just a couple ofyears before Rock were acquired byPortsmouth United Breweries to formPortsmouth and Brighton United BreweriesLtd. The interior has two rooms and three distinct areas but it may have been built withfour rooms. The right-side door leads into anextended saloon bar with a clear spatial division to the right of the counter.

The parquet floor and matchwood dados remain from the interwar rebuild while theraked and angular matchwood counter is alsooriginal. This middle area most likely onceconsisted of two rooms entered by a now

blocked-up central doorway. On the right ofthis arrangement was accessed the Private Bar,as can be deduced from the window-glass.

The Dun Horse, 49 Brighton Road, ManningsHeath, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 6HZ, Tel. 01403 265783; http://www.dunhorseinn.co.uk

The Quaffer

The Dun Horse, Mannings Heath

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Wallops Wood, Sheardley Lane, Droxford, Hampshire SO32 3QY

01489 [email protected]

Damn Fine Beer!

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Diary Dates

Feb 17-18 Keymer & Hassocks Men’s Club,Sussex Spring Ales Festival

Mar 1-6 CWRW, Welsh Beer Festival, SpottedDog, Middle Street, Brighton, 01273 710444

Mar 8-10 22nd SUSSEX CAMRA BRANCHESBEER & CIDER FESTIVAL, Hove Centre, Nor-ton Road, Hove.

Mar 15 Train to London Pubs (TTLP) 4; NorthLondon, outing organized by Pete Brown ofWestern Sussex branch: [email protected]

Mar 20 Meet the Brewer night with Frank Mc-Cabe of Anchor Springs, from 8pm, the SpyGlass (opposite Worthing Pier)

Mar 30-31 Pub Du Vin Sussex Beer Festival,Ship Street, Brighton, 01273 718588

April 5 Meet the Brewer event with IanBurgess of WJ King, 4-8pm, Thorne’s Foods,Upper Gardener Street, Brighton

April 14 Sussex Branches Liaison Meeting, Elephant & Castle, White Hill, Lewes, 01273473797

May 4-7 Brecknock Arms Real Ale Festival,promoting local ales from small brewers plusHarveys Ales, Bells Yew Green, 01892 750237

May 5 Launch of Kings Royal Mild, 12-2pm,WJ King Brewhouse, Jubilee Estate, Horsham,01403 272102

May 12 North Sussex CAMRA Mild Day at theSwan, West Green, Crawley, as part of a SwanInn Mild Festival from 11-14 May, 01293 527447

May 18-20 23rd YAPTON BEEREX, Yaptonand Ford Village Hall (See back page advert)

June 1-3 Glastonwick 2012, Church Farm,Coombs, 01273 870875, www.cask-ale.co.uk(see p. 2 advert)

June 2 Diamond Jubilee Party, 12-2pm, WJKing Brewhouse, Jubilee Estate, Horsham,01403 272102

June 15-16 16th SOUTH DOWNS BEER ANDCIDER FESTIVAL, Lewes Town Hall

June 17 Worthing Jamboree Sussex Beer Festi-val, St. Paul’s, Chapel Road; in aid of CancerResearch UK, www.aaa-camra.org.uk

BEER FESTIVALS AND OTHER DELIGHTSCAMRA FESTIVALS IN BOLD. For FREE inclusion in these diary dates, contact the Editor; forPAID advertisements contact Neil Richards. Copy-by date and contact details on p.3.

C ongratulations to the Albatross R.A.F.A.Club, Bexhill-On-Sea, winner of theSouth-East Sussex Branch, Sussex

Branches and Surrey & Sussex Regional Club ofthe Year awards for 2011. The hat-trick of presentations was made on 17 November 2011,the Club members were delighted with theawards and CAMRA were given an excellentwelcome. Photograph shows, from left to right,Peter Page-Mitchell (Area Organiser), ChrisStringer (Regional Director), Geoff Wentworth (Club Steward) and Peter Adams (South-EastSussex Branch Chairman).

The Quaffer

Flying High

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We are delighted to announce that Hammer-pot Bottle Wreck Porter has been awardedGold in the Porter category at CAMRA’s Na-tional Winter Ales Festival, at Manchester,from 18-21 January. This superb beer, namedafter a 19th century shipwreck off the Sussexcoast, found to be carrying hundreds of bottlesof porter, was first brewed in 2007. Since thenit has won many Beer of the Festival prizesand four regional awards from both CAMRAand the Society of Independent Brewers(SIBA). Although several of their other beershave also won awards, this is the first nationalaward to be received by the brewery. LeeMitchell, the Head Brewer at Hammerpot saidthat, “despite not being driven by awards it is

very nice to be recognised and it reflects theefforts of the whole team here.”

Based in Poling, near Arundel, West Sussex,Hammerpot Brewery was established in 2005by Lee with the intention of producing distinc-tive, quality craft brewed beers. They now pro-duce at least twelve different beers throughoutthe year and continue to pursue those sameaims. With their 5-barrel plant, Hammerpotare a micro brewery in the truest sense and aredelighted to be able to show that smaller endof the independent brewery sector can makebeers worthy of national recognition. Ed’s comment: This award confirms what realale drinkers in Sussex have long thought: thatin Hammerpot Bottle Wreck Porter we have agreat beer that is worthy perhaps of even in-ternational recognition. This golden achieve-ment is testimony to the superb quality of thisoutstanding porter. Our congratulations go toall at Hammerpot Brewery.

Spotlight on breweries

A Treasure of a Beer

How many breweriesdo we now have oper-ational in Sussex? Notso easy a question toanswer as you mayhave thought. We

haven’t heard from Full Moon for a while butwe’re still hoping. Edge (ex-White) has be-come Franklins. Kitchen Garden is now pro-ducing bottle-conditioned ales from SheffieldPark. SouthDowns is up and running withbrewer widdi currently taking genuine Fulkingspring water to Kent - we’ll count that as aSussex brew! We are told to expect the first

beer from Long Man, at Litlington, from May.We’re waiting on Bedlam, based at Albourne.And we do know that Rudgwick Brewery Lim-ited has been registered and incorporated as acompany. Exciting times ahead!

It’s Getting Difficult to Keep Count!

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Horsham-based brewery WJ King has joinedforces with local charity Drop4Drop in the pursuit of providing clean drinking water in a village in India. WJ King has committed to build-ing a well in a village called the ‘Mulla Commu-nity’. It has a population of 1,032 people and isbased in East Goddavari, Andhra Pradesh, India.WJ King will provide one litre of clean drinkingwater to this village for every bottle of WJ Kingbottle-conditioned ale they sell during all of2012.

Ian Burgess, Head Brewer, commented “itseemed like an obvious connection; we will useapproximately five pints of water for every pint ofWJ King real ale we make and yet there are peo-ple in the world without a drop to drink”. WJ Kingis committed to supporting its wider community,both at home and abroad and this sponsorship ofthe well for the Mulla Community represents the50th community sponsorship undertaken sinceIan became head brewer in 2010. Said Ian, “weare very proud of our efforts to improve the qual-ity of life for those in need and with the massivegrowth we have enjoyed over the last twentymonths since taking over at WJ King, it will notbe long before the well is complete and we canlook to further projects with Drop4Drop.”

The Stand Up Inn 47 High Street, Lindfield RH16 2HN 01444 482995 web: thestandupinn.co.uk

Friendly, award winning country real ale pubserving a range of our own ales and guest alesfrom around the UK. Also a selection of real

ciders and perrys and bottled Belgian & Germanbeers, with Fine Wines from around the world.

Brighton & South Downs CAMRAVillage Pub of the Year 2009

Sussex and Surrey CAMRACider & Perry Pub of the Year

We serve homemade pasties and a range of teas and fairtrade coffee all day every day.

Traditional bar games, i.e shove ha penny, bar billiards and a range of board games available.

Email [email protected] for more details and tojoin our mailing list of forthcoming events

The 9th Four Chesnuts

BEER FESTIVAL234 Oving Rd, Chichester

(01243) 779974

Friday 24th - Sunday 26thFebruary 2012

20 Cask AlesLive Music Saturday Night

Live Six Nations Rugby

Stage coach bus route 700-Bognor RoadChichester stop

Facebook group - e Four Chesnuts

www.the4chesnuts.co.uk

Drop4Drop

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Our latest ‘Stars Behind the Bar’ are Bill andJoan Edwards who have been the convivialwelcoming mine hosts at the Five Bells, SmockAlley for over a quarter of a century in total.

...so where exactly is Smock Alley? Once acountry lane in a very rural corner of WestChiltington, some way from the old villagecentre to the north, it is now an area of mainly‘stockbroker style villas’ and a few smallhold-ings, that leads off the road from Storrington.

...and the Five Bells? The original pub of un-known origins was rumoured to have been asmugglers haunt but was rebuilt c. 1935, atsome point becoming part of the estate of King& Barnes, the Horsham brewer, until 1989when Bill & Joan purchased the freehold, al-though interestingly the K&B signage remainsto this day! A conservatory function room anden-suite B&B rooms have been added but, firstand foremost, the Five Bells still remains verymuch a pub where locals, their dogs, regularvisitors and guests alike gather around the barfor conversation, banter and friendship.

...Bill & Joan? Are charming professionalpublicans of the old school who entered thetrade in 1983 as tenants at this pub, with abrief spell at another K&B house - the RisingSun, Horsham - before returning in 1989. Bill comes from a family line of several gener-ations of Sussex publicans and he, himself,was born at the Queens Head, Barns Greenwhen it was a Rock brewery house.

...and the beer? Bill won the prestigious ‘K&BBest Kept Cellar’ award in consecutive years atboth their pubs, keeps the Five Bells a regular inthe CAMRA Good Beer Guide, and likes a dropof mild, which is an always available delight here, alongside the regular beersPalmers Copper Ale and Harveys Sussex Bestplus two ever changing guests be they LocAleor sourced from around the country.

...any food ? The pub has long enjoyed a reputation for quality freshly prepared foodfrom a small but varied menu, with their take-away fish & chips also popular with the locals

...other stars? Bill & Joan manage to run thepub themselves apart from Doug, their person-able young part-time barman who also runstheir Facebook page where he is listed as theGeneral Manager (sic)! There is also Matilda,an Airedale terrier – of the type which Joanbreeds and shows - and Dolly, Bill’s 30 yearold Welsh Cob.

Stuart Elms

InnFocus

Stars Behind the Bar

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LocAle

29

The Western Sussex branch are pleased an-nounce the launch of LocAle. The scheme hasbeen enthusiastically received by publicansand of their branch pubs so far formally ac-credited the first was the Bull Inn, Chichester.The following pubs, all in their area are there-fore additional confirmations to the lists pub-lished in previous issues:

CHICHESTER: Bull Inn; COMPTON: Coach &Horses; EAST ASHLING: Horse & Groom; ROGATE: White Horse; YAPTON: Maypole.

LocAle - the local branch initiative that be-came a national campaign – has its own sym-bol in the GBG 2012. Ask your local publicanto source any of the superb range of beersavailable within 30 miles of their pub from theSussex breweries listed in Bru News. Pubs closerto the Sussex border will naturally be able tosource beers from any of the qualifying brew-eries in east Hants, south Surrey or west Kent asappropriate to gain LocAle accreditation.

Editor,Although not a member of CAMRA I do enjoyreading Sussex Drinker. It did not register withme previously but in your winter 2011 edition I noted with satisfaction the section on LocAleUpdates. When visiting Isle of Purbeck, Dorset,several years ago I found, sampled and enjoyedTimothy Taylor but when I discovered where itwas brewed I said “never again in Dorset”. Thismade me look more closely at the consumptionof out-of-area beers and all drinkers should askthe same question "what is Cornish Doom Bar(or whatever the non-local brew) doing in Sus-sex?" Consequently I congratulate you on yourLocAle campaign and will support it wherever I choose to drink, especially where many of the"foreign" offerings are quite non-descript in taste,bite and aroma.

Keep up the good work.RegardsMike Batchelor

UpdatesAnchor Springs ‘Meet the Brewer’ NightNow we have the chance to meet Frank Mc-Cabe and sample all his excellent beers; theevent takes place at the new Anchor Springspub, The Spy Glass (opposite Worthing Pier)from 8.00pm on Tuesday 20 March. Aboutseven beers available should include Rip Tide,Undercurrent, Mild, LA Gold, IPA and BlackPearl Porter, plus the launch of the brand newbeer for Worthing. For those who fancy a bite,there will be a special ‘Meet the Brewer’ menu.

Bruce Bird,Arun & Adur Branch Chairman

Royal CelebrationsOn Saturday 5 May from 12-2pm WJ King areplanning a May Day event at the Brewhousein the Jubilee Estate, Horsham, to launchKings Royal Mild and will have the BrightonMorris Dancers and a whole host of other funevents and lashings of Mild Ale!

Also at the WJ King Brewhouse, on Saturday2 June 12-2pm, there will be a big party forthe Diamond Jubilee to celebrate the 60th an-niversary of the Queen’s coronation. We arewashing up the bunting from the last year’sRoyal Wedding and preparing to serve lots ofJubilee Ale at 5.1%. It will be a light goldenamber ale with hints of orange and citrus – aclean finish with a fruit flavour and spicycharacter – fitting for any Royal occasion. TheQueen would love it I am sure!

WJ King will also be involved in theBrighton and Hove Food and Drinks Fair inApril where Brighton Best will don the bar atthe opening event on Saturday 31 March andthe Gourmet Bus Tour will complete its tour ofSussex producers at the Brewhouse. IanBurgess will host a ‘Meet the Brewer’ event atThorne’s Foods of Upper Gardener Street,Brighton on Thursday 5 April from 4-8pm.

Orla LambeWJ King Brewery

Meet The Brewer Events

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North SussexCatch ‘Em Young!I know CAMRA have a Young Members Groupbut this is taking things a bit far! Photographcourtesy of Bob Leiper shows Nigel and Deb-bie Bullen with young Thomas on a recentNorth Sussex Branch visit to Dorking Brewery.Debbie is the Branch Contact and Nigel theVice-Chair.

Congratulations to Simon and BethOn a very well-attended evening of 5 January 2012, North Sussexbranch members presented a Commemorative Mirror to Simon andBeth Johnson on the occasion of their 30th Anniversary at theWhite Horse, Maplehurst. The White Horse has also just been votedrunner-up in the Bus to the Pub, Pub of the Year awards. Doublecongratulations!

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Ale Community

M y Grandfather’s friend outlived him.His friend outlived his own wife andhis daughter, too. When his wife

died he spoke to my Nan. He told her of hisfears of fading away. Both he and his wife hadretired a year previously, and with no job,partner, or grandchildren, he was afraid hewould stagnate. He had no hobbies. He toldNan that he was terrified that he would justend up down the pub, one of the sad oldshrunken men sat on a bar stool, alone. But that was a few years ago, when lager wasking. Thankfully those times have passed andreal ale is making a comeback. Small brew-eries are popping up in industrial sheds acrossthe country, old favourites are experiencingresurgence, and most pubs are stocking widerselections of good local ales.

One of the many beautiful things about realales is their locality. You could visit an ale festival in London and try twenty or thirty different beers in two nights. The followingday you could go to Hampshire, Sussex orKent, and find entirely new ales on tap, alesthat you would have never found otherwise -just down the road. In this way ale reflects thiscountry, a land of myth, tradition, quirks, andindividuality. Still, surprisingly, some peopledon’t like real ale. They say it tastes of ‘dish-water’, that it is too bitter and flavoursome onthe tongue. Nonetheless, I would take real alehopped to within an inch of its life from a dirtytap over some overly chilled, characterless,gassy, headache-in-a-glass lager produced bycorporations with no interest in the true art ofbrewing.

But perhaps the most important and encour-aging thing about the re-emergence of real aleis the community that comes with it: peopledrawn together by their appreciation of handcrafted, local beers, beers that upholdtraditional methods and values; people com-

paring different ales, arguing over whether bit-ters are superior to IPAs (they are), or whetherstouts are only for the colder months (they’renot); the festivals, all the different peopledrawn together by one thing, the unbeatableexperience of local ales at local pubs, or thejoy of that perfect hand pumped pint withfriends. That is what real ale is all about. Andthat is what organisations like CAMRA help tofocus. So drink as much ‘warm’ beer as youcan and be thankful. My Grandfather’s friendtook up poetry.

Samuel Davis

The Ale Community

Neeta PedersenThe illustration (depicted) is by Neeta Peder-sen, a Danish artist now living and workinglocally. It is one in a series of ‘drinkingquotes’ posters available to be purchased athttp://neetposters.co.uk/

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Instruction to your Bank orBuilding Society to pay by Direct Debit

Please fill in the whole form using a ball point pen and send to:Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. 230 Hatfield Road, St.Albans, Herts AL1 4LW

Name and full postal address of your Bank or Building SocietyTo yteicoS gnidliuB ro knaBreganaM eht

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We are a country pub situated deep in the heart of Sussex. Here you will find alarge selection of local and national ales on 8 hand pumps.

We have an extensive food menu prepared from fresh local ingredients.

Fresh local food served all day at weekends, lunch and dinner - Mon to Fri

Large Garden and field

Live Jazz in our barSecond and last Thursdays each month at 8pm

with Mr Andy Walker and friends

This Easter weekendBeers of Sussex : a celebration!

2 Church StreetWarnham

Nr HorshamRH12 3QW

Telephone: 01403 265028

In the Good

Beer Guide

2011 and

CAMRA Good

Pub Food

Guide

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spring 20 12 fr e - western sussex camra · spring 20 12 fr e for p eopl who lik er a la e in su...

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