PubsandBeer
The Berry (Free House)
[Back to most recent] [Previous Visits]
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - American Pale Ale (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) |  | 1 |
| Dale Ale - Old Chestnut |  | 1 |
| Dark Star - Summer Solstice | | 1 |
| Dark Star - Oktoberfest | | 2 |
| White Dog - Boot Hill | | 1 |
| Harvey's - Old Ale (or Sussex XXXX Old Ale) |  | 1 |
| Teignworthy - Beachcomber | | 1 |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - Summer's Day | | 1 |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | | 1 |
| Rudgate - Marston Moor Matchlock Mild | | 2 |
| Whitstable - Renaissance Ruby Mild |  | 1 |
| Ha'Penny - Gog Magog | | 1 |
| Dark Star - Summer Meltdown | | 1 |
| Hogs Back - Hop Garden Gold |  | 1 |
| Vale - Gravitas | Not Tried | 0 |
| Adnams - Kolsch | Not Tried | 0 |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - No. 5 | Not Tried | 0 |
| Wood's - Wonderful | Not Tried | 0 |
| Cottage - Silly Mid Whippet | Not Tried | 0 |
| Nelson - Press Gang | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
09 Oct 2010 (Ian)
Walked in just about midday and stumbled out at about 16.20. Great lunchtime session at their Oktoberfest, enjoyable bratwurst in a roll, good range of German and Belgian beers (very good selection of styles from Germany) and a great line up at the bar for UK beers. Sat at the bar chatting to Chris the landlord and to Andrew for his brief cameo appearance for 30 minutes. Even the bus replacement service couldn't break my good mood.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dale Ale - Old Chestnut | 4.50 | | English beer of the day for me. Great toasty flavours, brilliant condition. |
| Dark Star - Oktoberfest | 5.20 | | Difficult to drink after the Hopfenweisse with all those hops in, but still stands out as a really good beer from Dark Star. Easily drinkable. |
| Rudgate - Marston Moor Matchlock Mild | 4.00 | | Very good mild. |
09 Oct 2010 (Andrew)
First time here for me and I could only stay for half an hour unfortunately. Ian was sitting at the bar when I arrived so I joined him. It was the Berry's Oktoberfest and there was a German band in the corner keeping the customers happy. Chris, the landlord, was serving a range of German and low country bottled beers that added to the festival feel. The interior of the pub is lovely and the pub has a friendly community feel to it. Next time I'm in Deal I'll definitely be back.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - Oktoberfest | 5.20 | | Light brown colour. Intense, sharp lemon and grapefruit. Very Moreish. |
| Rudgate - Marston Moor Matchlock Mild | 4.00 | | In good condition. Dark mild. Smooth, sweet and slightly tart with a roasted finish. Very drinkable. |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Vale - Gravitas | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Adnams - Kolsch | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Dale Ale - Old Chestnut | 4.50 | Not Tried |
05 Jun 2010 (Ian)
Richly deserved CAMRA Pub of the Year for the third year running. Chris is an excellent landlord. Harveys Sussex Best Bitter and Dark Star APA on as regulars. Cider is a real feature here now too. Plenty of local CAMRA people, so I sat with Roger Marples and his wife at the bar and talked about lambic and good UK hoppy beers.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - American Pale Ale (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | 4.70 | | Unbelievably good. Love the hops on this. |
| Teignworthy - Beachcomber | 4.50 | | Tasty pale malts, very good hoppy tart citrus hops. Rather good fullish golden ale, much better than others in this class. |
| Whitstable - Renaissance Ruby Mild | 3.80 | | Dark rich brown colour, lasting thin beige head. Some biscuit, this is a pretty good biscuit malty mild. Decent mild. Little bit of sting. |
| Ha'Penny - Gog Magog | 5.60 | | Hazy orange gold. Little syrupy on the alcohol, some white stone fruit. Bit like a Belgian blond to be honest. Decent tangerine finish, just a little uncultured. |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Nelson - Press Gang | 4.30 | Not Tried |
08 Aug 2009 (Brian)
Found ourselves in Deal where there was much going on on a fine Saturday afternoon. A dreadful band were singing Abba songs on the bandstand and something looking like the Orient Express had pulled into Deal station as we parked the car. The excitement being too much, we decided to hit the pub where it was pleasingly empty
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Dog - Boot Hill | 5.80 | | The pump clip boasted the fact that this was brewed in Italy. What! So I had to try. It's an APA, but not particularly pale, in fact the colour is a bit off putting : swampy. But apart from that it's a pale ale. Smells of grapefruit, a bit of toffee in the mouth, but more citrus than anything. Really good but a bit if a hand full. Reminded me a bit of Youngs London Ale. |
| Wood's - Wonderful | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Cottage - Silly Mid Whippet | 4.20 | Not Tried |
12 Jul 2008 (Ian)
Deservedly the Dover, Deal and Sandwich pub of the year. Some people from the local Camra group were in starting here as part of a walk. Some ex-Marines too who were down for the weekend as the Marine band were playing on the bandstand on the Sunday. A few locals in too. On October 11 there will be a German Oktoberfest and their main beer festival is in February. Excellent friendly chatty landlord, who likes Dark Star beers.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - Summer Solstice | 4.20 | | Gold/orange with thin beige head. Beautifully hoppy beer. Very Dark Star-ry. Stunning spicy hop. Bit of Dark Star yeast on aroma. Piney hops, great resins. Superb. Love the hops. Bit of ginger maybe. |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - Summer's Day | 4.30 | | Munich malts and Kent grown Cascade hops in this. Reddish amber colour with thin off white head. Not a huge amount of Cascades, a hint of them on the end. Quite earthy hop. Malts are reasonably fruity. Quite a heavy beer. Lacks a bit of condition maybe. Interesting kind of candy sugar sweetness and then this growing Cascade finish. Interesting. By the end of the pint I thought I could detect same meat/pate flavour. |
| Dark Star - Summer Meltdown | 4.80 | | Pale gold, thin white head. Initial hit is ginger and elderflower. I mean it is gingery. No doubt, bit too much on the spice. Also a bit soapy. OK. Some lemon. |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | Regular beer. |
19 Jan 2008 (Ian)
Saturday lunchtime and a handful of locals in.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | | Pretty good, caramel is a bit sweet but the Harvey's yeast is nice. |
| Harvey's - Old Ale (or Sussex XXXX Old Ale) | 4.30 | | Lively, as the barman said. Very effervescent in mouth. Not at it's tip top best, but nice dark fruits/roast malt. Little nod towards the sour. |
| Hogs Back - Hop Garden Gold | 4.40 | | Bit of butter diacetyl |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - No. 5 | 4.40 | Not Tried |
About The Berry
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 6 |
| 53 |
| 33 |
| 19 |
| 4 |
The pub is found in Walmer, Kent, CT14 7EQ.
In Canada Road this used to be the Green Beret and full of soldiers from the barracks over the road. Now the barracks have been sold off for new houses and the pub has changed its character. Re-named The Green Berry for a while and now The Berry. L- shaped bar and room. Front room for seating and darts, pool table in the rear. Brick bar has 11 handpumps. What's coming soon is on the blackboard to the left of the bar. Pump clips around the top of the walls show some of the guest beers already tried. Patio at rear for smokers and better weather. The pub has won Pub of the Year for Deal, Dover, Sandwich and District CAMRA for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. CAMRA East Kent Pub of The Year 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2022. CAMRA Kent Pub of the Year 2013. There is a main beer festival in February, a cider festival in May and a foreign beer festival in October.
We have visited this pub 46 times, seen 173 different beers and tried 83 of them.
Postcode: CT14 7EQ