146. The British Oak, Old Dover Road.
Fairly bog standard pub. Eerily quiet and quite tight on ale variety. Always a joy to see a dart board however.
Beers:
Upham Brewery UB5 - cloudy, fizzy, blonde, that is all.
Wadworth Treacle Treat - walnut colour, dark, stout aroma initially, coffee taste, mildly sweet unlike the name suggests, quite nutty.
145. Royal Standard, Stratheden Road.
Mix and match decor, retaining its cuboid outer shaping on the inside too. Plenty of interesting material on the walls and lively enough with a friendly barman. Nice beer selection and Del boys cousins red van parked out front.
Beers:
Saltaire Brewery Triple Chocoholic - opaque, coffee aroma, glorious, chocolatey, like a gateaux, slight roasted texture, quite heavy but not too much, delicious.
Oskar Blues Passion Fruit Pinner Throwback IPA - cloudy, quite blonde, sweet aroma, strong flavour of passion fruit but not alarmingly so.
144. The Railway, Blackheath Village.
Not highly expectant of this one but didn't do a bad job beer-wise. Not the most interesting walk around. Often a pub that welcomes entertainment and has a lively atmosphere in and around it.
Beers:
Siren Craft Yu Lu Loose Leaf - blonde, very cloudy, a socialist beer, fizzy, very bitter, uncomplicated, would be suitable as a cleaning fluid, grapefruit central.
Great Heck Brewing Mercy - pear flavours, not totally clear, light amber, like an alcoholic pear drop, bitterness coming at the end, tasty and begin bodies without setting anything alight.
143. The Hare and Billet, Hare and Billet Road.
A little walk away from the village, this one was a nice find. Lively inside but not amongst the pigeons. Good bar snacks and a nice touch with the taster beer plank which allowed us to get our buds around an extra tipple.
Beers:
Bedlam Brewery Benchmark - dark amber, cloudy, cherry aroma, medium bodied, cherry edge on the flavour, slight bitterness, harder to palette.
Bedlam Brewery India Pale Ale - clear, sweetness, consistent bitter taste, medium body.
Hare Ale Best Bitter - light and a bit cloudy, smooth and empty bodied, sweet, taste spikes around the middle, tangy, blood orange.
142. The Crown, Tranquil Vale.
Beers:
Shepherd Neame Autumn Late Red - woody red colour, quite clear, smooth, light bodied, sweet smelling, chestnut flavours, light bitter taste and thin bodied, nice autumnal beer.
Shepherd Neame Spitfire - dark amber look, a solid beer, medium bodied, punchy front, bitterness lingers on.
141. The Princess of Wales, Montpellier Row.
A really nice pub. Definitely appreciating the large numbers outside on a weekday. Narrow along the bar through to dining tables. At the near end a quiet and noble looking hole with cricket and rugby memorabilia. The skeletal remains of a man at the bar was although disconcerting, testament to the length of time one could enjoy drinking here.
Beers:
Beartown Ursa Major - near clear but a bit of sediment, fairly dull frothy head, initial taste heads towards bitter but holds off for a fairly fruity body, very tasty, bit thin.
Mole Brewery Molecatcher - reddish sediment lined appearance, quite smooth, heads to the back of the tongue, a hint of sourness, very tasty also.
