Lee Stacey and Beer

Not a lot of people know this but there's a lot of beer brewing going on in Sussex with microbreweries and craft beer brewers popping up all over the place. Yesterday I was able to sample a few of the 36 local beer and ales made available at the Festival of Sussex Tipples at the Martlets Hall, Burgess Hill.

Kissingate Black Cherry Mild 4.2%

The first beer on my list was the Kissingate Black Cherry mild, a dark and slightly fruity, full bodied ale from Lower Beeding, near Horsham. Listening back to my audio review of this, I feel I was a little harsh in only awarding this fine ale a 7/10... by the time I had reached the bottom of the glass this was easily a 9/10. A very fine beer and one I'll definitely be ordering from Beer Matt very soon. It's like a black forest gateux in a glass!

Kissingate Black Cherry Mild - audio review

WJ King Red River 4.8%

Next up was the Red River from WJ King of Horsham. As my audio review shows, this wasn't an outstanding beer as it had no characteristics that immediately hit me in the face. I was hoping for the flavour of the Kent hops to poke through a little more than they did but that may be partly due to the fact that I'm getting over a cold. I feel I may have to try this one again but for now it's a 6/10.

WJ King Red River - audio review

Hepworth Blonde Organic Lager 5%

I'm not a fan of lager... lagers claiming to be organic, even less so but I thought I'd give the Hepworth Blonde a go anyway as I'm quite a fan of their ales (particularly the Sussex Pale Ale). Sadly, I was rather disappointed by this offering. It had very little taste and if I'm completely honest, I've tasted better from a crate of stubbies from Tesco. Not a bad effort but I expected more. 5/10 for this one.

Hepworth Blonde Organic Lager - audio review

Dark Star Best 4%

What can I say about this that hasn't already been said? Not a lot really... it's one of my favourite beers from Dark Star who are probably my favourite brewery. The audio review doesn't really say much more. I like it. I like it a lot. 8/10.

Dark Star Best - audio review

Ballards Wassail 6%

A lovely ale from Ballards of Nyewood with red berry undertones and a good full bodied taste. One of my favourite beers of the festival. This bad boy gets an 8/10.

Ballards Wassail - audio review

Beachy Head South Downs Ale 4.4%

My final review of the day and as you can hear from the audio review, I was beginning to slur my speech so I figured this would be a good one to finish on. This fine offering from Beachy Head is a good traditional ale with a nice strong palate and a slight hint of jasmine. A nice beer to finish the day and a very worthy 7/10.

Beachy Head South Downs Ale - audio review

Interview with Matthew Wright, organiser of the Festival of Sussex Tipples

I was fortunate enough to get an interview with Matthew Wright (@beermattsussex), organiser of the festival and proprietor of Beer Matt. Matt is your man if you're after a good beer or two in Sussex!

Matthew Wright interview (audio)

Overall a very enjoyable festival with some very fine beers on offer. It may have been a little on the warm side in the Martlets but I guess you just can't tell what the weather's going to do! Well done to Beer Matt for putting on a great festival. I'm looking forward to next year's Festival of Sussex Tipples already! One thing is certain, I'm going to be after some more of that wonderful Black Cherry offering from Kissingate!

On a Thursday evening, after getting out of that noisy hole they call London, I often like to go for a pint of beer or two in my home town of Burgess Hill, West Sussex. This Thursday was no exception to the rule so I toddled off to a small bar in the town centre called Mooch@76 as I'd been told they had the Dark Star Seville on tap, a beer I had tried (and enjoyed very much) previously and wanted to tell you all about.

I asked for a pint and a half (as my better half was with me) of the Seville and was told straight away by the barmaid that they were closing at 8.30... understandable, as the place was dead. I decided to stick with it, despite the impending drinking up time; I was not only thirsty but hungry for the orangey goodness of the Sussex ale.

As soon as she pulled the pump handle, the beer came sputtering out rather than pouring. This was the last of the barrel! I'll give the young lady her dues, she almost got a whole pint out of it and the beer looked reasonably clear so most of the nasty ullage remained in the cask. The good news is that I didn't have to pay for a full pint. The bad news is that my girlfriend didn't get her half pint. I asked the barmaid for a half pint glass and she pulled out a filthy looking tall glass from under the bar that had more hand prints than Hollywood Boulevard. I decided to leave that there...

After all the fuss and nonsense I finally got to sit down and drink my beer. The Dark Star Seville is made with El Dorado hops and bitter oranges (from Spain, apparently) which before you even pick up the glass, fill your nostrils with the scent of an orange grove... straight away, I'm there, in Seville... Wow! The taste of the beer is no let down either. The head (which in this case, due to sputtering was epic) is very zesty and sharp, keeping that feeling of Spain alive while the main body of the beer gives you the delicious home comforts of a good old English cask ale. Surprisingly, the Seville isn't very bitter in taste; it's sweet but in a good way. It's sharp and zesty but at the same time smooth and comforting. It's fairly safe to say that I like this beer a lot. Sady though, the venue, although not bad, left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth.

Ratings

Dark Star Seville: 8/10

Mooch@76: 6/10

If you enjoyed reading this, please feel free to leave a comment below or come and say "hi" on Twitter: @LStacey