Back to the Shire

 What with the busy work, the building work going on in the house and other time-drive seasonal things (like an MOT), it's getting quite tricky to slot a leisurely trip to Bristol in.

However, the call of the Orchids, together with the prospect that a new credit card will probably have arrived there, and just the need to be in a slightly more homely space (our house is really anything but, at the moment) drove our decision to do an evening journey.

I had a full day at work - including two longish meetings to attend - so we decided to aim at a 5.30pm departure from Eastbourne.

It's a very different experience than our usual late morning start but spending the evening travelling, rather than the middle of the day makes it feel a bit more useful day.

We were due to arrive at 9.30pm but the journey was delayed by faulty points and we got into the flat a little after 10pm.  Oddly, whilst we could easily have popped around the corner for lasties - we never do when we make this journey.  We go through the "arrival" ritual of preparing the place for our residency, sit down an chill with some TV and a glass of wine and then go to bed.  To be honest, I was so shattered when we arrived I'm not sure I would have been able to drag myself out to the pub.

There is something really nice about waking on on the first day here without really having to contemplate travel - even though we both like the train, and our journey had been pretty untraumatic.

I'd picked up bread, cheese, wine and milk at the Sainsbury's across the road so all the essentials are in place, and I've a grocery delivery arriving shortly.  

We work when we're here so it's not a holiday but it definitely feels like a break in the offing.  The only thing now is to decide where we're beering later...

Sharing an Enthusiasm

 Almost every time I go to St Leonards for work, my colleague there, and I take time to go out to lunch.

It's quite odd for me because I'm a hasty-sandwich-grabber for lunch as a rule.

But it started when the colleague's boss instructed her to take the Best Beer Buddy and I to lunch after we'd helped them with some stuff.  In fact, it was the first time we'd all met face to face and the rapport between us all was really noticeable.  As a result we gratefully accepted the invitation and we went to a Persian cafe which was absolutely lovely.  The second time it was just me, and it was in the middle of summer so we went to "Goat Ledge" on the seafront for fish in a bun and a soft drink.

Then I learned of Heist.

We've never been anywhere since.  The beer is fab, the food is delicious (and small portions are available for lunch) and it's jolly and friendly.

Last week, I had to go to St Leonards and the colleague wasn't going to be there, so I suggested the BBB met me and we planned a walk between St Leonards and Hastings ending the walk at the Imperial to enjoy lovely Brewing Brothers beer and pizza.

The weather, however, had other ideas.

BBB decided he'd accompany me to the appointment and do a few chores there and then we could go for walk.  But, instead, it absolutely hurled it down meaning any walk would be pretty miserable.

Once we'd finished our work there (just updating some laptops for clients who don't have them) we decided just to go straight to Heist.  I've always been wary of introducing people - even the BBB - to places I love.

I needn't really have worried.  He immediately got the place and was suitably impressed with the available beer.  We'd had a late lunch of substantial sandwiches so we weren't eating.

The only slight fly in the ointment was that doors and windows were open (steamy inside) so there wasn't really a cosy place to sit.  To be honest, I'd never really noticed it wasn't cosy - mostly because I think I've only been there in warm weather.  "We can find somewhere warmer?", I offered but he was pretty keen to stay and try the beer which pleased me greatly.

He said it was a bit more basic than he'd anticipated but he definitely liked it and it wouldn't be hard to entice him back, I think.

Since then, I've learned (from one of the builders wrecking our house at the moment) that Brewing Brothers have now added a taproom and a place on Hastings Seafront to their premises.  Definitely on the visit list!

Things as Usual

 
A couple of days after we got back from Bristol, there was a Saturday home match at Brighton.

We hadn't seen our pal, M, since his birthday in May so we suggested meeting him in Brighton before and after lunch.

Of course we did "the usual" and so had Fullers beer and lunch at The Basketmakers.  It was a lot less busy than we had expected but it was buzzing with activity and we played "upgrade your seat" until we were happy with our spot.

Chatter, beer and lunch but without the pressure on us to leave at a specific time made for a really good time.  We took a couple of old film cameras to fill the time when we were not in the pub and to help us resist the impulse of just pub-hopping all afternoon.

The beach was heaving but I could see the attraction of being there, I guess.

Eventually we headed inland and made a half-hearted attempt to find the Hole in the Wall - but failed and so we strolled through back lanes and thence back to the Evening Star.

M arrived a lot quicker than he had expected after a good result for the local team and we spent a happy couple of hours nattering about football, ecology, tech and nonsense.  For all the world, it was like there was never a gap in Saturday attendance.

The only slight blight on the evening was that, when we were back in Eastbourne events conspired to prevent the traditional purchase of special fried rice for late night beer-soaking-up.  Still, friend egg on fried bread did the job almost as well.

Since then we've not excurted for beer beyond my work-related lunches in St Leonards and Lewes - the latter reminding me that people still seem to find my real ale habit somewhat unusual - when presented with an order for one lemonade, one coffee and a half of real ale I was the last person the beer was offered to.  Sigh.

Whilst there's nothing new on the Eastbourne scene, our "usual suspects" of watering holes continue to supply beer and a bit of interaction with staff/owners.

I'm feeling the need to find somewhere new to go (or old to revisit) to ring the changes, though.

Back to Sussex

 It had to happen...we needed to get back to Eastbourne for work and builders and...well, you know because we mostly live here.

We decided on the route that avoided London but have Brighton options. Travelling on Mondays always seems a little bit strange.

A last minute leap onto a train (sorry everyone, yes, that was me dithering) at Gatwick saw us in Brighton quite early.

Frankly, whilst there are lots of lovely places in Brighton and we really must reprise a few, the interregnum between train and home will always be the Evening Star.

It went through a bit of a "phase" when Dark Star were bought out by Fullers and then Asahi and the DS beer turned shit but the last few times we've visited it has regained its status as the pub that has...well, everything.

It's like an old git's local (in that when we arrive there are loads of old gits in...and we just added to them) but with beer to die for.

6 cask beers from a variety of breweries (think Thornbridge, Downlands, Vibrant forest...) plus 12 or so keg taps covering all known (and some unknown) styles.

A bunch of loudish old gits arrived (causing me to roll my eyes) and they amused us with their confused perusal of one of the cask beers which was genuinely (and supposed to be) murky. There was quite a lot of "I'm not sure I like the look of this" and "I like my beer to be clear" but eventually, the beer was declared "alright".

The service has never been effusive but is unfailingly polite.  Trying to engage the bar staff usually gets a bit of a non-plussed look.

Now they have a kitchen serving Sri Lankan Street food.

So we stayed and drank and then checked out the train times, realising there's still only one train from Brighton to Eastbourne an hour (WTF?) and then stayed for more and some food.

Our timings could have been better so we had to leave a bit of beer and shift some to get to the train but it didn't dent the pleasantness of the afternoon/evening.

Yesterday I was working quite late (for me) so came straight home and decided maybe a rest from beer would be a good thing - so I had some apple juice that looked uncannily like an NEIPA. 

The Evening Star is probably in equal position for favourite pub along with the Barley Mow - it's just that getting home from the Barley Mow will never involve a dash for the train...

Old Friends

 It was the last chance we'd have to go to Moor.  

It was amazingly busy - then we'd learned that there'd been a brewery tour and that accounted for the extra folk.  Clearly, a considerable number of them were not seasoned beer drinkers but I love the way the bar staff served.

They even helped to curate the order in which they drank their beers:  "you're going to try the stout and the imperial stout? - have the stout first and save the imperial for your last drink".  This is the sort of bar-keeping that can really make a difference to how you perceive your time at a bar.  It was an excellent lesson in how to serve people who need some help choosing.

This is in stark contrast to some of the experiences you hear about in bars and taprooms from social media. Tales of smug thirty-something blokes mocking customers for not knowing their NEIPA from their Pilsner are not uncommon and I can't for the life of me understand why, if your job is to sell something to a customer, you wouldn't want them to feel as happy as possible about their purchase and the experience around it.

Anyhow - apart from the top notch staff, we also love the fact that Moor's beer has recognisable, and distinct styles.

So many modern craft breweries seem to riff on a basic recipe meaning there's a lot of very samey beer available in their taproom.  It's great and everything, and the beer is typically VERY good, but sometimes you might want to vary the style of what's on offer.

Yesterday there were the following:

3 Lagers:  One straight, one smoked, one Italian Pils

Then there was:

Cask light-colour bitter (4%)

1 low alcohol table beer (2.5%)

1 golden ale (4%)

1 light IPA (4.7%)

1 collaboration mid  light beer (5%)

1 "mountain" IPA (6%)

1 standard stout (5%)

1 porter (7.3%)

1 imperial stout (11%?)

1 barrel-aged sour stout (11%?)

1 cherry sour gueze 

1 cider

Not only does this mean you're pretty much guaranteed to find a beer style that you'll enjoy, your stay can lead you through a whole range of styles and strengths.  This is what makes Moor pretty much the ultimate taproom experience.

Just occasionally, I wish they had a wood-fired pizza oven with a short list of available pizzas.  Nothing fancy...ham & mushroom, red pepper and courgette, Chorizo and...well, anything really.

If they had that, I really think we might be tempted never to go anywhere else...

 

 

 

 

Further exploration

 Since our last trip to Bristol was dogged by the damnable c-plague and recovery took a little while, we hadn't really ventured very far for beer for a while.

So, Thursday had me planning a trip on the newly restored full ferry timetable.  It was lovely to be on the water.  We landed at the Cottage (no, we didn't go there) and planned to walk to the BBF taproom.  The city is really trying to encourage use of public transport and active transport like cycling but, it seems, it's forgotten the wayfinding elements for pedestrians.  So we got a tiny bit - well, not lost but not quite going the way we wanted to.

Anyhow, we arrive and settled into the taproom.  We've observed before that this is the taproom most like a pub. We had a lovely chat to the ex-bar manager of the Barley Mow who was enjoying his new role on the sales side of the business.  The place was full by the time we left and it's nice to see such a lovely venue thriving.

We decided we'd try the Old Bookshop as this has been a Christmas Day favourite.  I knew it had changed hands and the beer list is now vastly different.

There are no beer names on the pumps which means buying the first round is difficult and makes you look like a ditherer (neither of us like that, especially in the busy place) and whilst the choice of beer was interesting - it wasn't quite what we wanted.  However, with a beer in hand and a chance to read the full (VERY full) beer list we decided it might be worth another visit another day for something really different.  We also took the opportunity to try their small plates of indian food (or, chickpeas 27 ways) which had promise.

We also mused over revisiting The Strawberry Thief in town and in doing a short crawl between the Grain Barge, Bag of Cats, Three Tuns and the Lime Kiln.

A fairly painful bus journey back had us bickering about the various merits of buses. But it was a small thing.

Friday had already been planned because we needed to run some errands in town.  So after the chores we strolled up to "Basement Beer" who have been in place for a year or so.  It's a one-man band and we had a good chat to him.  Beer was tasty and we picked up a few cans, to boot.

After that a stroll around the corner to New Bristol Brewery.  There were a few people outside but it was pleasantly quiet inside.  NBB has a very homespun feel to it and I find that particularly lovely.  We had a little chat with Noel following a minor incident with leaking coolant.  He outlined his plans for the space now that he has acquired some extra storage space nearby.  I was struck by the fact that part of his decision not to pick the whole brewery up and move it to another site was largely motivated by his loyalty to his existing landlord.  I hope the local residents see it as an asset to the their neighbourhood.  I like the fact the space is an old industrial space but he's making it a place for people to want to visit.  Really looking forward to seeing his plans for the new-style taproom coming to fruition.

Our last beer of the day was a 7.4% IPA - delicious but far, far too drinkable!

We strolled home on a fuzzy high.

The beer culture in Bristol doesn't seem to have any indication of slowing.  I love it.

Recovery Phase

 Tuesday promised rain on-and-off and most of the day there was some desultory drizzle that wouldn't wet anything.

However, by mid afternoon there had been a couple of decent showers and "acuweather" was insistent that by 4pm or so there would be a deluge.

Eventually it homed in on 4.15pm as being the time of biblical precipitation.

So, we grabbed a few things to do a bit of work and a potential game.  Picked up waterproof coats and played brinksmanship on a trip to the Barley Mow.

When we were 4 mins away we reckoned that the chances were either we'd get drenched on the remainder of the walk, or it wouldn't rain at all.

We grabbed a couple of pints and took a seat.  No sooner had we settled when the heavens opened and continued doing so for about 40 minutes.

Lots of soaked customers arrived. We were smug.

It was still a bit drippy as we strolled back home but the air was a bit cooler and cleaner.

Yesterday, I wanted to make a trip to Wiper & True's new taproom but I didn't want to go the direct route.  So I made a plan to take in a bit of greenery via the cycle track and walk a way we hadn't before.

I didn't tell the Boy where we were going and, despite getting a tiny bit lost myself, managed to complete disorient him by the time we arrived at the industrial estate where the taproom is.  It was only when he say "Wiper & True" in giant letters on the rear of the building that he realised what was going on. Result.

There was an initial worry when the first thing we saw as we walked in was a bunch of middle-aged blokes seemingly forming a queue at the bar.  We needn't have worried - it was just middle-aged blokes doing the taproom equivalent of sitting at the bar (sigh).

The place is enormous with well over 100 seats inside and out (not sure I'd want to be there with 199 other people but...) with some really nice design details.

I've always like Wiper and True but never absolutely loved it. But I'm prepared to have my mind changed.

We had a cask pint to start which worked really well (even my brother might like it) and then a range of nice keg beers.

Staff were friendly.  Loos are inclusive.

The space feels airy and well thought out.

Almost best of all is the Wednesday opening - which is a rarity.

All in all, an excellent afternoon out and we'll definitely go back there.