Brighton - yesterday and today*

It must be 30 years or so since I last had a beer in Brighton, and if I recall the occasion correctly, it would have been in Hove (actually!). Back then Brighton’s neighbouring town was home to a contract pharmaceutical manufacturer who produced the bulk of the vitamin and mineral tablets sold by the Tunbridge Wells-based, nutritional supplements company I worked for at the time.

I was in charge of quality control and regulatory affairs (not much change there then!), but was also responsible for formulating new products. Because of the need for close cooperation with this key supplier, I was a fairly regular visitor to their premises, on the edge of  Hove.

My contact there was a man after my own heart in so much that he enjoyed a pint or two of decent ale. Normally after the business part of our meeting was concluded, but sometimes before, he would treat me to a spot of lunch at a rather nice pub, called Hove Place. The pub is still trading, although it seems to have undergone at least one make-over since my last visit, which would have been some time in the very late 1980’s.

So far as Brighton itself is concerned I visited several of the Great British Beer Festivals, which were held in the town, round about the same time as my aforementioned business meetings. There were four such events, and I definitely remember attending at least two of them.

Prior to that, drinking in Brighton was confined to a couple of pub crawls that I help organise, on behalf of my local West Kent CAMRA branch. Three pubs from those two crawls seem to stick in my mind; all were close to the station, and all are still trading today. This trio of pubs is the Lord Nelson (Harvey’s), Basketmaker’s Arms (now Fuller’s, but back then a Gale’s tied house), and the Evening Star (Dark Star now, but a free-house in the late ‘80’s).

Fast forward to 2019, which saw son Matthew and I taking the day off work and the train down to Brighton. For the outward journey we travelled via Redhill and Gatwick, due to trains on the alternative route, via St Leonard’s, being delayed. We couldn’t have picked a better day, weather-wise, being blessed with blue skies and wall-to-wall sunshine.

After leaving the station, we headed down along Queen’s Road, in the direction of the seafront. In my rush to finish stuff off at work, the previous day, I had forgotten to download and print off a map of the town, but had an inkling there would be a tourist information office somewhere along the front, and I’d be able to pick one up there.

My family take great delight in making fun of me making a beeline for the tourist information office, every time we visit somewhere new; particularly when it’s abroad, but then are quite happy to rely on me to guide them to places of interest (mainly shops in Mrs PBT’s case). Son Matthew was content to do the same, and as luck would have it, we stumbled upon Brighton Town Hall, where the nice lady in reception handed me a free map of the town. If only things had been that easy in Guangzhou!

Now I had done a spot of planning beforehand, even if it was just looking up Brighton’s GBG entries using the Good Beer Guide App on my phone. The App threw up  just two pubs  in the town centre, despite me thinking there should be more than that, but the Brighton Bierhaus and the Brighton Beer Dispensary both looked worthy of a visit. 

It wasn’t too far to the first pub, and a quick stroll through Brighton’s famous Lanes, which were looking as colourful and diverse as ever, brought us within sight of the town’s equally famous Royal Pavilion. From there it was a short uphill climb to the Brighton Bierhaus which, with its doors all open, looked bright, breezy and welcoming.

The welcome extended to inside as well and with six hand-pumps and 12 keg lines, dispensing Brighton Bier’s own brews, alongside a number of guest ales, there was something to please everyone. After ordering our beer we sat one of the high “posing tables,” close to the window. Matthew plumped for a pint of Rothaus Pilsner, from the Black Forest, whilst I selected a very drinkable pint of South Coast IPA (3.5 NBSS), from Brighton Bier.

The Brighton Bierhaus opened in its current guise in April 2017, having previously been known as the Jury's Out – a reflection of the pub’s proximity to the local law courts. There were a handful of drinkers in, but not as many as one might expect for a Thursday lunchtime. This might possibly be due to the pub not serving food; well not it’s own food. Customers are able to order a pizza through the pub, which is sourced and delivered from a local pizza company.

We decided to stay for a second pint, with Matthew sticking to the Rothaus, whist I opted for another for Brighton Bier, in the form of the 4.0% Summit Elevation Pale Ale. This was nowhere near as good as my first choice, although I did score it at a rather generous 2.0 NBSS.

It was getting towards the bottom of then cask, but was not quite bad enough to send back, or look for a convenient plant pot to ditch it in, but it was definitely a disappointment. I can’t help thinking that with six cask and a dozen keg-lines, there might just be a little too much choice available, even for a diverse town like Brighton.

We will leave things there until next time, when we'll take a look at Brighton's other GBG-listed pub.

*Yesterday & Today.