The Sultan (Hop Back)
Michael Croxford
Visits Details
14 Apr 2018 (ChrisE)
From mid-day opening for about four hours, a splendid pub with excellent staff and pleasant customers.
Hop Back - GFB (Or Gilbert's First Brew) (superseded by 3.5% version from about 2010) | 3.80 |  | Selling well, they got through an 18 yesterday and it looked as if they may do the same today. |
Hop Back - Fugglestone | 4.00 |  | A good traditional bitter, I stayed on this until it ran out. |
Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Downton - Dark Delight | 5.50 | Not Tried | |
Castle Rock - Screech Owl | 5.50 | Not Tried | |
02 Apr 2018 (ChrisE)
Easter Monday lunchtime and very welcoming, I could have happily stayed here all day.
Downton - Dark Delight | 5.50 |  | |
Hop Back - Fugglestone | 4.00 |  | A good traditional copper coloured beer. |
Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Castle Rock - Harvest Pale | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
Hop Back - GFB (sometimes GB) | 3.50 | Not Tried | |
04 Dec 2017 (ChrisE)
Afternoon visit, a superb pub with good value beers and a basic food offering. Unfortunately I had to leave just before happy hour.
Hop Back - Crop Circle | 4.20 |  | |
Hop Back - GFB (sometimes GB) | 3.50 |  | |
Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Hop Back - Entire Stout | 4.50 | Not Tried | Selling well and soon ran out. |
Downton - Dark Delight | 5.50 | Not Tried | This replaced the Entire when that ran out. |
Hop Back - Citra | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
22 Jun 2017 (Stephen Harris)
Early to mid-evening with Terry and Albina. It was warm and we sat in the garden.
Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 |  | Not at its best, we thought it might be a little ‘green’. |
Downton - Argento | 4.00 |  | Brewed with Argentine Cascade hops. A chestnut-coloured Bitter. In somewhat ‘green’ and flat condition. |
Downton - Dark Delight | 5.50 | Not Tried | |
Hop Back - GB (sometimes GFB) | 3.50 | Not Tried | |
Hop Back - Citra | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
17 Mar 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit, latish thus finding only the stalwart few left of our Friday evening group. Seemed perverse to me that the pub had just been awarded the local CAMRA branch Pub of Year but called the 2016 award.
Hop Back - Entire Stout | 4.50 |  | |
Hop Back - GFB (sometimes GB) | 3.50 |  | GFB on the pumpclip in the smaller front bar. Quite an average brew |
Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Hop Back - Taiphoon | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
Downton - Apple Blossom Ale | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
17 Mar 2017 (ChrisE)
Very welcoming and comfortable pub. A group of us met here for one of our regular Friday evening gatherings. Beers were good value and sandwiches available from £2.90 very good for a London pub. I was told that the brewing kit is still intact downstairs but is not currently in use.
Hop Back - Entire Stout | 4.50 |  | |
Hop Back - Taiphoon | 4.20 |  | |
Hop Back - GFB (sometimes GB) | 3.50 |  | I am sure it said GFB on the clip. |
Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Downton - Apple Blossom Ale | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
03 Dec 2016 (Stephen Harris)
Early evening and the conversation here is more polite than at the nearby Trafalgar. Very welcoming staff. Some local CAMRA top brass in the Lounge Bar. Not a sign of any homebrew on the bar.
Wimbledon - Copper Leaf | 4.00 |  | A chestnut-coloured beer in the US Red style. Very nice blend of fruitiness and hops. |
Downton - Coconut Milk Stout | 5.00 |  | Quite dry coconut tastes and lacking the sweetness I associate with a Milk Stout. Actually, there was some debate at the bar over whether this is a Milk Stout with coconut, or a Stout with coconut milk. |
Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Hop Back - Winter Lightning | 5.50 | Not Tried | |
Hop Back - GB (sometimes GFB) | 3.50 | Not Tried | |
22 Sep 2015 (Magnus Greel)
Opening time and a few regulars in already
Hop Back - GFB (sometimes GB) | 3.50 |  | Dry hoppy pale ale |
Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Hop Back - Crop Circle | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
Sultan - Traditional IPA | 5.40 | Not Tried | |
Sultan - Plackett's Mild | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
03 Jun 2015 (HSB)
15:25 On the agenda to get collective agreement for the website. Unanimous agreement on inclusion based on the surviving original fittings including the 1950s pink ribbed hardboard. The original pub sign pictured a foreign potentate but this has been replaced by a famous racehorse. Interestingly the pump clip for the pub's brewery features a turbaned figure.
Sultan - Trial No. 2 | 4.20 |  | A work in progress. I would describe the taste as brackish, not a word I have used in conjunction with beer before. |
Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Oldershaw - Newton's Drop | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
B&T (Banks & Taylor's) - Golden Fox | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
Hop Back - GFB (sometimes GB) | 3.50 | Not Tried | |
02 Apr 2015 (HSB)
12:45 Fairly busy with what appeared to be regulars. The barman told us the micro-brewery is a recent addition and has far only been used for one test brew.
Hop Back - GFB (sometimes GB) | 3.50 |  | Not drunk for many years, found it a bit thin. |
Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
Downton - New Forest Ale | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
Downton - Honey Blonde | 4.30 | Not Tried | |