PubsandBeer
Horley Lions 2026 3-Day Charity Beer & Cider Festival (Beer Festival)
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Billericay (large volume beers brewed at Brentwood) - Chapel Street Porter |  | 1 |
| Billericay (large volume beers brewed at Brentwood) - Major Smitty | | 1 |
| Copper Beech - Method in the Madness – Volume 2 |  | 1 |
| Crafty Brewing - Midnight Rambler | | 1 |
| Firebird - Heritage Sussex Best - Bitter | | 1 |
| Good Chemistry - Rock Steady | | 1 |
| Kissingate - Six Crows | | 1 |
| Leigh on Sea - Mayflower | | 1 |
| Old Cannon - Perfect Storm - Old Ale | | 1 |
Visits Details
08 Aug 2026 (Hogan Sampling)
2nd visit of the outing: The beers were all in good nick I tried and from their traditional range which I prefer of bitters, milds, dark ones as in old ales, stouts and porters, but not overly keeping their head and lacing. This, its second day, was slightly under-attended for the four hours of my visit and so no queuing necessary at the bar with some 25 real ales including also pales and IPAs, alongside 6 craft KeyKeg ales and 8 farmhouse ciders. None of the real ales had run out. The £3.00 admission and £3.00 non-returnable beaker went to local charity and the organising of the festival was assisted by East and Mid Surrey CAMRA. Seating not far from the bar at tables to be had inside Horley FC's clubhouse overlooking the football pitch which had a game on shortly after my early afternoon arrival.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billericay (large volume beers brewed at Brentwood) - Chapel Street Porter | 5.90 | | 7th beer of the visit: Came with good head and lacing for some time after its pour on this Essex-brewed porter from The Billericay Brewery established in 2012 and at Chapel Street, Billericay. A chocolatey coffee-infused first bite. A dry malty bitterness rising with dark chocolate and roasted coffee flavours shining. A fruited maltiness winning over with a subtle hint of caramel from its Malted Barley, chocolate malt and roasted grains to aid its smokiness. A touch of dark fruits tantalising my taste buds and assisted by its likely hops, Fuggles behind its minty, grassy, and woody flavours blending with the dark roasted chocolate malts, East Kent Goldings lending a sweet and slightly spicy or floral touch, Challenger behind its bittering qualities and mild cedar-like spiciness, and Northdown behind a background bitterness with piney hints. A dry fruity bitterness prevailing before its passage out. The odd bubble lasting to the end. Served in good nick with lasting conditioning. |
| Leigh on Sea - Mayflower | 4.00 | | 5th beer of the visit: Good head and lacing on being poured but not lingering on this amber-hued Essex-brewed best bitter from just outside Leigh-on-Sea and where brewing commenced in 2017 in Progress Road, on Leigh-on-Sea’s out-of-town industrial estate. A very sweetened first hit. A ripe fruitiness rising up. A touch of hoppy berry-infused fruitiness rearing from its traditional British hop varieties to balance the sweet malt with earthy, fruit-forward bitter touches. Its malty touch winning over aided by its British malted grains, typically Maris Otter and Crystal malt, lending it a biscuity sweetness. A dry hoppy bitterness prevailing for my taste buddies before its slide downwards. Served in fine nick despite even its tiny bubbles extinguishing themselves. |
| Old Cannon - Perfect Storm - Old Ale | 4.60 | | 6th beer of the visit: Good head and lacing on its pour on this Suffolk old ale from Bury St Edmunds where the site originally opened as the St Edmunds Head pub with its own brewery in 1845. Following brewing ceasing in 1917, the Old Cannon Brewery was set up in 1999 with a visible brewhouse built into the bar area at 86 Cannon Street, Bury St Edmunds. A dry smoky first bite. A sweetened fruited maltiness from its locally grown East Anglian malted barley rising aided by its chocolatey cocoa nibs flavouring. A malty bitterness prevailing with its dark chocolate, cocoa and caramelised bitter flavours. Dark fruits coming to the fore before its downwards passage aided by its traditional English hops lending it its bitterness and fruit flavours. The hops are most likely to be East Kent Goldings lending sweet, honey-infused earthiness, and Challenger or Progress lending a spicy, herbal and cedar-wood flavouring to also complement the infusion of raw cacao nibs. Served with good conditioning. |
| Billericay (large volume beers brewed at Brentwood) - Major Smitty | 4.60 | | 9th and final beer of the visit: Good head and lacing presented and semi-lasting on this oatmeal stout from brewing set up in 2012 and originally named the Billericay Brewing Company before rebranding to The Billericay Brewery in 2024 and located at 52-54 Chapel Street, Billericay, where over 95% of their beer is sold directly to the public through their on-site shop and micropub taproom. A dry malty first hit on this stout named in honour of Major Thomas Jenner Spitty, a 19th-century local landowner who hired out-of-work farm labourers to dig out the lake at Billericay's Lake Meadows. A fruity bitterness rising on this stout whose ingredients are 100% natural. The hops are likely to be classic English ones destined for its darker ales: East Kent Goldings behind its bittering and an earthy, honey-like flavours, Fuggles behind woody and minty flavours, and Challenger or Northdown aiding its bittering. A bitter maltiness prevailing. Its blend of oats and roasted malts aiding the lingering sweet mouthfeel. Very good conditioning throughout. |
| Kissingate - Six Crows | 6.60 | | 8th beer of the visit: A dry malty first hit on this stout from brewing first set up in 2009 in a home garage in Crawley, before moving to its current larger site in 2012 at Pole Barn on the Church Lane Farm Estate, within a wooded valley in Lower Beeding, Horsham, West Sussex. A fruity bitterness rising. A malty note winning over from its dark crystal malts with hints of molasses, sweet bourbon and oak from its oak ageing, and woodsmoke. A dry bitterness playing out from its English hops. This award-winning strong ale won the CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain Gold medal for London & South East. Served in good nick with conditioning sticking the course. |
| Firebird - Heritage Sussex Best - Bitter | 4.00 | | 2nd beer of the visit: Poured with not a lot of head and lacing but perfect flavours presented to my taste buds on this traditional English Best Bitter from a brewery set up in 2013 inside a renovated, old converted brickworks in Rudgwick, West Sussex. A sweet biscuity bitter first hit on this brew and one of the brewery's very first commercial releases, developed directly from a traditional family recipe passed down from one of the founder’s great-great-grandfather. A fruitiness rising alongside a good dose of malty caramel and toffee emanating from its Pale Ale Malt and Crystal Malt. A fruited bitterness prevailing from its English Goldings, Progress and Fuggles before its sail out. Tiny bubbles remaining on its downwards exit. Served in good form. |
| Good Chemistry - Rock Steady | 3.40 | | 1st beer of the visit: Good head and lacing on its first pour but not keeping it on this amber to nut-brown coloured ale. A dry bitter first bite on this traditional British bitter from the St Philip's district of Bristol where brewing was set up in a warehouse in 2015. A subtle dark fruitiness rising from its earthiness derived from its traditional English hop varieties lending a bitter finish. A malty note winning over with hints of bready, biscuity nut flavours. Not in the least too sweet from its British malted barley, and biscuit and crystal malts. A dry bitterness prevailing before its ebbing out. Served in good nick. |
| Copper Beech - Method in the Madness – Volume 2 | 3.80 | | 3rd beer of the visit: Head and lacing on being poured but not hanging about on this very dark coloured Worcestershire mild/brown ale from Worcester where brewing was set up in late 2019. A malty coffee-infused first hit. A dry bitterness winning over and where Fuggles or East Kent Goldings are typically introduced early for its subtle bitterness, and late in the boil for its earthy and floral notes. Malty flavours emerging of liquorice malt and said to be lighter than the heavy stout of Volume 1. British Maris Otter or pale malt lending it its primary sugars and a biscuit-like backbone. Its Crystal/Caramel Malts aiding those sweet toffee flavours for my taste buds. Roasted Malts including Chocolate Malt or Black Malt giving rise to its raisin and liquorice notes. Tiny bubbles evident throughout and lasting on its sailing out. Served in good form with lasting conditioning. |
| Crafty Brewing - Midnight Rambler | 4.50 | | 4th beer of the visit: Some head and lacing on being poured but not lasting but for some tiny bubbles still evident on this ruby ale from Dunsfold in the Surrey Hills and where Crafty Brewing was established in 2014 and now operating a 4,000-square-foot facility on the farm. A chewy raisin flavouring in this copper hued ale’s fruity first hit. A malty note winning over for me from its toasted and dark crystal malts aiding its copper colour and sweet, biscuit-like maltiness. A dry mildly spicy fruitiness prevailing from its traditional British hops and likely to be Goldings (East Kent or Progress) lending a gentle bitterness and a faint earthy, herbal and sweet honey-spiciness, and Fuggles lending a woody and grassy bitterness, or Challenger for its bittering and spicy flavouring. A malted fruited bitterness paddling out. Served with very good flavours of spiciness lingering. |
About the Horley Lions 2026 3-Day Charity Beer & Cider Festival
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | - |
| 4 |
| 5 |
 | - |
 | - |
The Beer Festival is found in Horley, Surrey, RH6 8SP.
Horley Lions 3-Day Charity Beer & Cider Festival held from 7th August–9th August 2026 at Horley Town FC, Court Lodge Road, Horley, Surrey RH6 8SP. 25 real ales, 6 craft and 8 ciders and supported by the East and Mid Surrey CAMRA branch.
We have visited this Beer Festival once, seen 9 different beers and tried them all.
Postcode: RH6 8SP