Hopefully they're all peering curiously at a firing squad. |
Some basketmakers. |
Things got off to a good start at the
Basketmakers Arms, a
charming little Fullers house in the North Laines. You know a pub is
going to be good when you walk in for the first time and feel like
you've been going there for years. The ale selection was standard
Fullers fare and I had a fine pint of the Bengal Lancer.
The star of the show is the
food and everybody in the pub was tucking into the grub. This is not
a gastro though, it's very much a pub which just happens to serve
excellent home cooked food. The menu was very appealing, and I had a
delicious and clearly freshly made burger while TLJ went for the
chilli which was “very tasty.”
A walk down the
Lanes followed where I ended up buying a vintage suit for a murder
mystery evening I was attending in Kent. As I handed over the money I
was hit by the crushing realisation that I had somehow become a
middle class middle aged man by the age of 30. Luckily I didn't
start bawling uncontrollable in front of the jolly member of staff
and just carried on my way.
The
Bath Arms was the
next stop, in a prime location in the Lanes. After dragging TLJ from the shiny jewellery shops outside we ventured inside. This was a lovely
Shepeard Neame pub with a cosy, welcoming atmosphere. I went for the WJ
King Brighton Best, which
is brewed specifically for pubs which are part of the Drink in Brighton
scheme. This was a pleasant pint, with a good hoppy aroma and taste followed with a good bitter finish coming
through. As I'm a geek I checked the Real Ale Guide on my Android
phone (yeah I know) and discovered this pub isn't featured, which
honestly surprised me. Despite the somewhat high prices this was a
great pub. Maybe it will get a mention next year.
We
then moved on to the Evening Star, a
Dark Star pub with an excellent reputation with CAMRA members. The
pub is basically the ground floor of a house, where the two front
rooms have been knocked through. A small bar has been shoehorned into
the corner with four hand pumps dedicated to Dark Star brews, and a
few extra for guest ales. If I was ever on Grand Designs I would build a house exactly like this one.
Sadly on this occasion the Dark Star
selection was unremarkable, with Hophead, Porter and the Americam
Pale Ale available. I opted for a pint of the American Pale
Ale which was excellent as
ever. This ludicrously hopped pale ale is always a pleasure to drink.
We finished our
mini trail off at the Lord Nelson. I had read many good things
about this pub but when we walked in I wanted to almost immediately
walk out and return to the Evening Star. This place appeared dead compared
to the Evening Stars bustling, jovial atmosphere. The tempting
selection of Harveys ales convinced me to venture in, ever mindful
that TLJ may kill me for bringing her to this quiet, whitewashed den
of ale. We found a table in a room at the back of the pub, and I scoped out the exits in case a quick getaway was needed. A
table across us was engaging in loud banter which thankfully drowned
out whatever the hell I was talking about with TLJ.
The Harveys Dark Mild was
on good form and was a tasty, textbook version of a Mild with a
very pleasant chocolate/coffee taste coming through. I also tried a
pint of the Armada Ale which was a delicious, hoppy treat. As
the evening went on the atmosphere started to pick up as more
regulars came in and the atmosphere picked up. The regulars were all
happy to be there which made the pub a much more pleasant place to
be. They also were wearing shirts and weren't spectacularly racist
unlike the regulars in my local pub in Edgware (which I never visit.)
I was glad to find
out that it is possible to have a pleasant evening in Brighton
without having to be surrounded by cloying hipsters, fizzy lager and
high prices. I popped my head into the Font, a converted
church that used to be a Firkin house but is now a identikit “night
spot” complete with booths, funky wallpaper and glass everywhere. I
looked at the dolled up girls and boys picking at their food and
couldn't see a happy face anywhere. I then thought of the
Basketmakers where there was plenty of chatter, plenty of characters
and good beer. I wondered why would you spend a night out in a bar
spending a lot of money in a place that doesn't really care that
you're giving them custom, and where you have to try and be the same
as every other customer there. Then I realised the ale must have been kicking in for me to think up this cod philosophy. Good night!
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