That'll do nicely

We often bemoan the lack of interesting beer, here in Eastbourne.

Not the lack of good beer but variety.

Wednesday this week I was runnng our 3D printing club and the man of the house was out to visit his dad who lives nearer town than us so I suggested that, if he liked, he could stroll into town and I'd scoot down just as soon as I'd kicked the kids out of the lab and we'd have a couple of pints.

I have to admit it can be a bit of a risk on beer variety in the middle of the week at the Eagle but when the boy texted me to say there was a Roosters beer on and it was nice, I have to say my beer appetite was whetted.

I left the lab with almost indecent haste and was in the Eagle a little earlier than I expected.  The Roosters' beer was brilliant.

After a couple of pints we went to a back street Chinese restaurant to complete a very pleasant evening.

Yesterday is a non-working day and as there was some good autumn sun we ventured onto the South Downs for a walk.  Ultimately this led us into town again.  We passed the DewDrop which is very inconsistent in its beer but I noticed a Salopian beer on the bar.  We carried on around the corner to the Eagle but there wasn't anythng new.  Still, it wasn't a disaster since the Roosters was still on and still in perfectly good nick.

After a couple of pints we had a think about whether we wanted more beer and I decided that I really did want to try the Salopian beer around the corner.  So we went back to the Dew Drop - as it was about 5pm by then the pub was a little livelier than when we'd passed.  Oh my goodness, we were very glad we went in.  Although rather pricey, the Salopian beer was 5% and perfection in a glass.  We huddled next to the (fake) fire and nattered and it was just about as near perfect as you could imagine.

Yeah, that'll do nicely

Up 'ome

Even though I've been livng most of the time in East Sussex for the last few years, pondering a trip to stay in Bristol still feels like heading home.

The prospect of a few days in our flat in the place of my birth fills both of us with a sense of excitement - even though we'll be working a bit whilst there.

Of course the availability of superb beer is a big factor in the simple pleasure of the trip.  We mused on this the other day when we met in The Eagle for the first time in a while.  We'd been really pleased to see an upturn in the quality and interest of the beer in there and so my trip on the bus from work, and his on foot from his dad's were wraught with mild anticipation and excitement.

Sadly, the only "interesting" beer available was a tired (but not "off") Sharps Atlantic and a Wadworth's Treacle Treat.  The best we could say was that the Wadworths was as good a beer as we've ever been aware they've made (neither of us fans).  It proper took the edge off the trip.  From there we couldn't be sure we'd get a good and interesting pint anywhere in the immediate vicinity and we didn't want to be disappointed again.  SO, instead, we schlepped to the Belgian Bar and had some of their beer instead.  It was great...but it wasn't quite what we wanted, in all honesty. 

Although our Bristol trip this time will be fleeting, squeezed between work obligations in Eastbourne, I predict that even if a first-choice pub has a disappointing range, we won't have far to stroll to find something that suits us better...