PubsandBeer
Imperial (Brew Pub)
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Lithic - Black IPA |  | 1 |
| Cellar Head - Single Hop: Keyworth's Midseason |  | 1 |
| Brewing Brothers - Jackson Five Pale Series ‘Rakau’ | | 1 |
| Gun - How’s the Serenity? | | 1 |
| Burnt Mill - Solar Light. | | 1 |
| Brewing Brothers - Marley Stout | | 1 |
| Brewing Brothers - Gallagher's IPA | | 1 |
| Cellar Head - Festival Pale | | 1 |
| Kiln - A Darker Shade of Pale |  | 1 |
| Cellar Head - Spring Pale Ale | | 1 |
| Brewers Brothers - Wright's Pale | | 1 |
| Brewing Brothers - Charlton's Best | | 1 |
| Cellar Head - Session Pale Ale | | 1 |
| Brewing Brothers - Ford's American Brown Ale | | 1 |
| Brewing Brothers - Table Beer | | 1 |
| Brewing Brothers - James's Pale Ale | | 1 |
| Brewing Brothers - Porter |  | 1 |
| Pig & Porter - Learning To Fly APA | Not Tried | 0 |
| Three Acre - Best Bitter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Brewing Brothers - Small Batch - Pale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Rother Valley - Furious Bru | Not Tried | 0 |
| Brewing Brothers - Attenborough’s Amber | Not Tried | 0 |
| Dark Star - Revelation | Not Tried | 0 |
| Gun - Project Babylon Pale Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Pig & Porter - All the Small Things | Not Tried | 0 |
Jason Jones
Visits Details
28 Jun 2025 (Hogan Sampling)
Quite a trek from the Old Town and inland from the seafront. An old Victorian pub that was busy but perhaps not by the average day-trippers but locals instead. A bar stool to perch on but despite pub's size, it felt quite small. Prompt service for my early evening visit after fish and chips in a café on the seafront in the Old Town. It became a free-house in September 2016 and from then onwards home to the Brewing Brothers brewery and now with a two-and-half barrel capacity producing a range of KeyKeg ales and cask ales. There are usually two cask ales on, and on my visit I spied exactly that.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brewing Brothers - Table Beer | 2.50 | | Refreshing with very good head and lacing on this home-brew of a fruity KeyKeg ale from the pub's own brew kit. I chose it as it was the most affordable at £5.60 a pint, and opting for only a half. There was their most expensive 6% KeyKeg IPA at £7.60 a pint and everything else was £6.00, and steeply upwards, a pint. A citrusy first bite. Very fruited in the mouthfeel with the odd rising grapefruit or two, strong, and no doubt capable of occasioning the odd leap or two. A citrusy fruitiness veering up, pervading and lasting. |
| Three Acre - Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | Price put me off at £6.00 a pint. |
| Brewing Brothers - Small Batch - Pale | 4.00 | Not Tried | Price put me off at £6.00 a pint on the section of the blackboard given over to cask. |
08 Nov 2019 (ChrisE)
Not on our planned itinerary but our taxi driver's sat nav could not find the 1200 Postcards so we decided to exit the cab here and walk down the hill to the next pub. Well it would have been rude not to pop in, this was my first visit to this superb pub, I dare say that I will return.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cellar Head - Session Pale Ale | 3.80 | | I did not write down the abv. It turns out that this beer is available in two strengths but I think it was the 3.8 version. |
15 Jul 2018 (Stephen Harris)
A late afternoon pizza visit with my brother and my sister-in-law.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brewing Brothers - Porter | 4.70 | | A black Porter that is good enough without hitting any real highs. |
| Brewing Brothers - Charlton's Best | 4.00 | Not Tried |
30 Jun 2018 (Stephen Harris)
Mid-afternoon for a pizza and a couple of beers.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cellar Head - Festival Pale | 4.80 | | A well-balanced, golden beer. |
| Brewers Brothers - Wright's Pale | 3.90 | | From keggery of some kind. Cloudy gold, verging on murk. Very bitter. |
| Brewing Brothers - Charlton's Best | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - Learning To Fly APA | 4.50 | Not Tried |
22 Jun 2018 (Stephen Harris)
A busy Friday evening session for a couple of beers and a pizza.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brewing Brothers - Jackson Five Pale Series ‘Rakau’ | 4.90 | | From a keg of some kind. Murky gold. Juicy. Leafy hop. |
| Gun - How’s the Serenity? | 4.40 | | A cloudy golden coloured ‘Vermont IPA’. I’m starting to get a bit NEIPA-ed out, although this is a great one. Fruity and zesty. |
| Brewing Brothers - Marley Stout | 4.20 | | A black Stout, full of dry coffee and chocolate flavours. |
| Brewing Brothers - Charlton's Best | 4.00 | | A brown, fruity, Best Bitter. |
| Gun - Project Babylon Pale Ale | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
| Pig & Porter - All the Small Things | 3.70 | Not Tried |
16 Jun 2018 (Stephen Harris)
Mid-afternoon = Pizza time.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brewing Brothers - Gallagher's IPA | 6.00 | | From key-keg. A bestseller here apparently and I can see why. This is a really lush, fresh and fruity IPA. Golden and cloudy. |
| Kiln - A Darker Shade of Pale | 5.70 | | Close to black in colour and definitely in Black IPA territory, although relatively subdued for the style. |
| Dark Star - Revelation | 5.70 | Not Tried | |
| Brewing Brothers - Charlton's Best | 4.00 | Not Tried |
30 May 2018 (Stephen Harris)
Mid-evening and nice to see the pub busy at this time.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lithic - Black IPA | 6.30 | | A superb example of my favourite beer style. |
| Burnt Mill - Solar Light. | 8.40 | | A Double IPA from keg, featuring Citra and Ekuanot hops. |
| Brewing Brothers - James's Pale Ale | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Brewing Brothers - Charlton's Best | 4.00 | Not Tried |
20 May 2018 (Stephen Harris)
Lunchtime for a pizza with my brother and nephew.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cellar Head - Single Hop: Keyworth's Midseason | 4.60 | | A very pleasant, well-balanced beer, brewed with a ‘forgotten’ hop variety. |
| Brewing Brothers - Attenborough’s Amber | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Brewing Brothers - James's Pale Ale | 5.00 | Not Tried |
13 May 2018 (Stephen Harris)
Lunchtime here with my brother. I can now confirm that it is not just the beer that is good here, the pizzas are also great.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cellar Head - Spring Pale Ale | 4.20 | | Golden and slightly hazy. A good, refreshing, lunchtime beer. |
| Brewing Brothers - Attenborough’s Amber | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Brewing Brothers - James's Pale Ale | 5.00 | Not Tried |
28 Apr 2018 (Stephen Harris)
Lunchtime and, apart from a family finishing up their pizzas, I was the only customer.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brewing Brothers - Ford's American Brown Ale | 5.00 | | A murky, brown, bitter beer. |
| Brewing Brothers - James's Pale Ale | 5.00 | | Cloudy amber in colour. Fruity smell. Very bitter taste. |
| Rother Valley - Furious Bru | 6.00 | Not Tried |
About the Imperial
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 3 |
| 10 |
| 11 |
| 1 |
 | - |
The pub is found in Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1RL.
A street corner pub in Queens Road, opened in 1869 as the Imperial Inn, at what was then the edge of town. In 2014 the name of the pub was changed to Forbidden Fruit, but this venture did not last long and the pub stood empty and forlorn for a couple of years. The pub re-opened as the Imperial in September 2016. It now has a stripped-back décor, three handpumps on the bar and a pizza oven. Also visible behind the bar is the brewing equipment of the Brewing Brothers, the new in-house brewery.
We have visited this pub 13 times, seen 39 different beers and tried 25 of them.
Postcode: TN34 1RL