PubsandBeer
Sonder (formerly The Thirty-Nine Steps Brewhouse; The Thirty-Nine Steps Alehouse) (Free House)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol Beer Factory - Milk Stout |  | 1 |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - Black Pearl Oyster Stout | | 1 |
| Kent - Prohibition | | 1 |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Jaipur |  | 1 |
| Kent - Decadence | | 1 |
| Titanic - Iceberg | | 1 |
| Northdown - Tidal Pool | | 1 |
| Lost and Grounded - Spring Protagonist | | 1 |
| Wantsum - Golgotha | | 1 |
| Wantsum - Black Pig | | 1 |
| Brew York - Lupu Lion |  | 1 |
| Wantsum - Ravening Wolf | | 1 |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - DogBolter Dark Porter | | 1 |
| Northdown - Green Hop Fuggles Stout |  | 1 |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Cat's Eyes | Not Tried | 0 |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - No. 5 | Not Tried | 0 |
| 360° - Tacoma | Not Tried | 0 |
Photos are of original site before move
Visits Details
12 Jul 2025 (Hogan Sampling)
2nd visit of the outing: Only my second visit in recent years to this former delicatessen and now too big to be called a micropub as it moved a few doors along in Charlotte Street from its smaller premises. Since 2023 it has been renamed Sonder, meaning the feeling one has on realising that every other individual one sees has a life as full and real as one's own. Three cask on, on my early afternoon visit. Pleasant and prompt service from the smiley barmaid. I made a beeline for the quietness of the gallery overlooking the main bar just in case I might overtax myself on the individuals I spied on the ground-floor. External signage reminds you of its former name, The Thirty-Nine Steps, and that it had been intended to make it a brew-pub with its own beer from Town Brewery painted on its external rounded corner. It was previously so-named because "The Thirty-Nine Steps" novel by John Buchan has strong ties to Broadstairs and with the title itself reflecting steps leading down to the beach which the author's daughter counted during Buchan's convalescence at a nursing home there. I always take the slope that the sailing dinghies use or just a few modest steps down the harbour-end of Viking Bay onto its beach. If you do take the current concrete steps halfway along Viking Bay, they consist of 108 by all accounts and so another good reason to approach the beach from the harbour-end.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Beer Factory - Milk Stout | 4.50 | | A very malty first bite to this Bristol-based milk stout. Very good head and lacing and lasting throughout. Any ice-cream out there would be only too proud of its creamy head which was something to marvel at. A rising bitterness rearing up among it moreishly sweet chocolatey notes and hints of dark fruits getting in on the act. A hoppy note or two bobbing up and down and playing a good tune aided by its Challenger and Fuggles. A lovely sweet maltiness and a coffee-infused bitter dryness pervading my palate and lingering. Not a bad price either at £4.30 for a 4.5%. |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - No. 5 | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| 360° - Tacoma | 3.90 | Not Tried |
21 Jul 2024 (Dosser)
3 beers on, but all beers were too warm.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Jaipur | 5.90 | | Fresh on, in good condition but warmish. |
08 Jun 2024 (Dosser)
Big crowd in when camra arrived. 3 beers on and changing.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent - Prohibition | 4.80 | | Fresh and and quality. |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - DogBolter Dark Porter | 5.60 | | Unfortunately this was the last one out. Started as a 3, ended as just acceptable. £4.50. |
21 May 2024 (Magnus Greel)
Early evening quiet just a couple of other folk in. We chatted to a pleasant chap sat at the bar and enjoyed travel talk.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Titanic - Iceberg | 4.10 | | Wheaty with a citrus hint.. |
| Lost and Grounded - Spring Protagonist | 4.40 | | Deep orange in colour with biscuity notes and a subtle lemony, marmalade character. |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Cat's Eyes | 4.00 | Not Tried |
28 Apr 2024 (Dosser)
A new name but similar beers...
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent - Decadence | 5.00 | | Nice porter with good head at £4.50. |
25 Feb 2024 (Dosser)
3 beers on and a pretty full pub
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wantsum - Golgotha | 5.50 | | In good nick and £4.60 a pint. |
22 Oct 2023 (Dosser)
This pub has now been sold. 5 real ales and loads of craft. Prices up significantly. Friends sent 2 of the beers back. Vinegary. Make the prices too high, you won't sell the beer.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wantsum - Ravening Wolf | 5.90 | | My friend sent his beer back, but I thought it was just acceptable. |
| Northdown - Green Hop Fuggles Stout | 4.80 | | Had to send this back. Off. |
26 Jul 2023 (Dosser)
Loud music, 4 beers, loads of craft, is it turning into a late night bar?? Don't know.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northdown - Tidal Pool | 4.60 | | Good flavour, £4.30 a pint. |
22 Apr 2023 (Dosser)
Fair few in. 4 interesting beers on draught.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wantsum - Black Pig | 4.80 | | Went down well. |
| Brew York - Lupu Lion | 5.00 | | Flavoursome, but too warm for a citrusy beer. |
26 Feb 2023 (Dosser)
3 beers on ranging from £3.30 to £4.20 a pint.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - Black Pearl Oyster Stout | 6.20 | | A very nice drop of stout. |
About the Sonder (formerly The Thirty-Nine Steps Brewhouse; The Thirty-Nine Steps Alehouse)
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | 4 |
| 39 |
| 52 |
| 17 |
| 7 |
The pub is found in Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 1LR.
First incarnation was a former Pet Food shop converted into a micropub in 5 Charlotte Street specialising in cask ales and ciders. Opened on the 30th November 2012. The casks were visible racked behind the bar behind glass frontage. High tables with similarly high wall mounted bench seating abounds. Plans to relocate to a nearby much larger street corner premise at 11-13 Charlotte Street came to fruition on Friday Friday 5th May 2017 and this originally incorporated a brewhouse for what would have been Broadstairs Town Brewery perhaps in 202??! but it never came to fruition. 8 handpumps and 10 keg beer taps in the new location. Bar billiards upstairs where is some extra seating too. The new venue is too large to be a micropub so best called an alehouse or really just a pub. Change of name in 2024 and now with 5 handpumps and 18 keg taps.
We have visited this pub 92 times, seen 163 different beers and tried 106 of them.
Postcode: CT10 1LR