PubsandBeer
Red Lion (Free House)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Crown Imperial Stout |  | 7 |
| Grand Union - One Hop Phoenix | | 1 |
| Hogs Back - Santa's Wobble (aka Still Wobbling) | | 1 |
| Goacher's - Gold Star | | 1 |
| Archers - Summer's Coming | | 1 |
| Elgood's - Black Dog Mild | | 1 |
| Dark Star - Sunburst | | 1 |
| Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | | 5 |
| Eastwood & Sanders - First Light |  | 1 |
| Hopdaemon - Golden Braid | | 1 |
| Archers - Champagne Charlie | | 1 |
| Northumberland - Northumbryan Fayre | | 1 |
| Grand Union - One Hop Bodicea | | 1 |
| Archers - Old Frostie | | 1 |
| Tring - Brock Bitter | | 1 |
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | | 6 |
| Whitstable - East India Pale Ale (or EIPA) | | 1 |
| Eastwood & Sanders - Bargee |  | 1 |
| Archers - Crystal Clear | | 1 |
| Skinner's - Heligan Honey | | 1 |
| Archers - Yule Tidings | | 1 |
| Northumberland - Gateshead Gold | | 1 |
| Hogs Back - A over T | Not Tried | 0 |
| Archers - Great Beer | Not Tried | 0 |
| Archers - Winter's Nearly Over | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hopdaemon - Skrimshander IPA | Not Tried | 0 |
| Whitstable - Oyster Stout | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hanlons (formerly O'Hanlon's) - Yellow Hammer | Not Tried | 0 |
| Whitstable - Raspberry Wheat Beer | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hop Back - Summer Lightning | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hogs Back - Hair of the Hog | Not Tried | 0 |
| 1648 - Bee-Head | Not Tried | 0 |
| Archers - Robin Red Breast | Not Tried | 0 |
| Grand Union - Old Ale II | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hogs Back - Xmas Tipple | Not Tried | 0 |
| Northumberland - Santa's Surprise | Not Tried | 0 |
| Archers - Lover Boy | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
23 Dec 2006 (Ian)
After The Woolpack in Warehorne, it took me all of 12 minutes to cycle across Romney Marsh to get to this most delightful pub. Again the first one in and I sat by the bar at the front next to the front window and chatted with Robert and then a succession of regulars until just before closing time, when I had to catch the train back from Appledore station. Wonderful, unspoilt pub where conversation is king and the beers are on gravity. Double Vision cider was also available.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Crown Imperial Stout | 4.50 | | Very similar to the pint at The Woolpack that I had earlier in the day. Very roasty/toasty dry stout. Distinctive Goacher's flavour. Nicely full and with a dry stout finish. |
| Hogs Back - Santa's Wobble (aka Still Wobbling) | 7.50 | | Ruby colour with thin off white head. According to Robert, this came on 2 days before on Thursday. Polypin (bag in a box). Sweet, raspberry/strawberry fruit is stunning. Then a decent handful of grapefruit hop, but not too much, producing a dry finish. Malt is a little bit syrupy. Bit of yeasty sourness on aroma and then this huge hit of malt, but the hop dryness never lets it get too flabby. Lovely. It took my a good 50 minutes to drink a pint of it and I can honestly say that I felt different after I finished it, to when I started. Wonderful beer. |
| Archers - Old Frostie | 4.00 | | Orangey gold colour with no head. Lovely sherberty hop aroma. Moderate fullness in mouth, more rose petal/sherbert hop on end. Really quite lovely. Hops and malt are just in the right balance and the hops never run away with it. |
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | 3.40 | | Just slightly thin and watery, but got good roasted malts and choc/coffee |
| Archers - Yule Tidings | 3.80 | | Very deep amber/chestnut colour with lasting beige head. Nutty, mature cheddar, toasty malt aroma. Cheddar's quite strong especially on the end. Dryish hop on end too. Odd, but likeable, even the cheese. |
| Archers - Robin Red Breast | 4.00 | Not Tried | But was very popular and sold more than any of the other beers, whilst I was there. |
16 Sep 2006 (Ian)
Cycled down from Ashford along the old B roads to Ham Street and then across the Marsh to this delightful pub. I sat outside on one of the seats by the front window rather than inside or in the garden as the day was so glorious. Strange woman from Philadelphia was talking at a couple who had just stopped off along the way, on a longer walk, for a drink.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Crown Imperial Stout | 4.50 | | Sour stout aroma. Oily. Drying in mouth on the end. Thick oily, charcoal flavour. Toasty, smooth, full, sour and satisfying. Really rather good. |
| Grand Union - One Hop Phoenix | 4.50 | | Golden, bubbly off white head. Grapefruit, resiny hop aroma. Slightly dry and dusty on aroma too. Fullish in mouth, with delicate grapefruit hop dancing on the tongue. Grassy. Lovely finish. Sublime. |
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | 3.40 | | Slightly acidic. Soft choc/coffee in mouth. It's alright, but doesn't hit the heights. |
| Hogs Back - Hair of the Hog | 3.50 | Not Tried | |
| 1648 - Bee-Head | 4.60 | Not Tried |
31 Jul 2006 (Andrew)
Brought Cam here as he's never been and I keep going on about how good it is. I drove (so only a half for me) but Jane and Cam could get stuck in.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | 3.70 |  | Fantastic marmalade flavours with a well rounded bitter finish. Excellent drinking beer |
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | 3.40 | Not Tried | Had a sip of Cam's and it was smoaky heaven |
| Hopdaemon - Golden Braid | 3.70 | Not Tried | Had a sip of Jane's and it was a bit flat and lifeless |
| Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | Not Tried |
11 Jul 2006 (Ian)
I cycled here from work across the marsh. It was a lovely ride on a still sunny summer's evening. One of the great parts to this pub, is that if you sit in the main bar room you end up talking to everyone. I met an Australian couple who came from north east Victoria and also an old boss of mine. Stayed for a couple of hours and tried all the beers. Wonderful pub, wonderful evening.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | 3.40 | | Two excellent dark milds in one evening. Had the first pint as this came on and the Elgood's went off. Typical Goacher's mild flavours of dark malts, roasty, toastiness and a hoppy finish. Nice |
| Elgood's - Black Dog Mild | 3.60 | | Wonderful mild. Charcoal aroma with good dark malts, grainy in mouth. Consistently one of the best dark milds. |
| Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | 3.70 | | This lasted 10 minutes. I was first in and had the first pint and downed it to quench my raging thirst from cycling. Nice malty light bitter. |
| Goacher's - Crown Imperial Stout | 4.50 | | Smokey bacon and charcoal aroma. Needs to make more of its presence in the mouth. More smoke on end and quite harsh malt. Only 3.5/5 as it is just a bit thin. If you are going to do smokey malt, then give it some body. |
| Northumberland - Gateshead Gold | 5.00 | | Hazy amber colour with disappearing white head. Sweet, syrupy aroma. Some hop. Tastes stronger than it is. Bit too syrupy to be nice for me. Dry finish. Some fruit, bit of lime/lemon citrus, bit of strawberry. But a bit muddy and muddled. |
24 Jun 2006 (Ian)
Set in the heart of Romney Marsh, this unspoilt pub always attracts a large following for its Midsummer Beer Festival. Again it was well supported by CAMRA members from across the south east as well as locals and other beer enthusiasts. The garden was a joy in the sunshine. Beer is served from cask at the bar or through a hatch in the side room.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Gold Star | 5.10 | | Or was this my last pint? I can't remember. This was good though and one of the best pints of this beer I've had. |
| Dark Star - Sunburst | 4.80 | | My last beer of the day and one of the best. Just gorgeous hops all over it. This beer matched the sunshine |
| Hopdaemon - Golden Braid | 3.70 | | Very easy drinking golden session bitter |
| Eastwood & Sanders - First Light | 3.50 | | Pale copper colour with thin white head. Nice light session bitter, some pale malt, quite juicy. Subtle hop on end. Juicy malt is good. |
| Northumberland - Northumbryan Fayre | 4.40 | | Actually a pretty good bitter. Copper colour with thin off white head. Nice herby hop. I like this bitter. Good hop/malt balance |
| Tring - Brock Bitter | 3.70 | | Deep copper colour with thin white head. Darkish malt aroma, bit of choc and red/dark juicy fruit. Good, darkish best bitter. Malt fruit is excellent. |
| Skinner's - Heligan Honey | 4.20 | | Amber colour with thin white head. Honey aroma. Honey and hay in mouth, bit of herb. OK, just a tad of urine from somewhere. Not my favourite honey beer. |
| Eastwood & Sanders - Bargee | 3.80 | | Copper colour with thin off white head. Hay, citrus bitter. Dusty hop. OK bitter, some juicy malt. Not keen on the dusty hop though. |
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Goacher's - Crown Imperial Stout | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Whitstable - Oyster Stout | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Hanlons (formerly O'Hanlon's) - Yellow Hammer | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Whitstable - Raspberry Wheat Beer | 5.20 | Not Tried |
16 Jun 2006 (Ian)
I came here to celebrate the fact that due to the volume of signatures on the petition regarding the South Central trains timetable (i.e. only the first and last trains would stop at Appledore station, 20 minutes walk from the pub), that the timetable has been amended and trains now stop here again on a regular basis. 6 beers on gravity. Spoke to Doris for 20 minutes before anyone else turned up and then to some locals. Great pub, great evening.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Crown Imperial Stout | 4.50 | | Liquorice/bleached aroma. Some choc. Then in mouth, velvety and then the finish is world class. It makes you go weak at the knees. Choc/coffee and a little dryish powder. Simply wonderful. Choc with dryness, full, velvety, superb. |
| Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | 3.70 | | Drinkable. Nice flavours, Goacher's distinctive malt and some marmalade |
| Whitstable - East India Pale Ale (or EIPA) | 4.10 | | Had the hops but not enough malt. Hop is too astringent on the end. Just too much, dusty dry and too grapefruity |
| Archers - Crystal Clear | 5.00 | | Gold with thin white head. Sweetish aroma, a bit like Summer Lightning but with more syrupyness. Some pear drop fruit. Good enough but lacks that "I want another gulp-ability" |
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Hopdaemon - Skrimshander IPA | 4.50 | Not Tried |
28 May 2006 (Ian)
It was the Sunday of a Bank Holiday weekend, so I was up early, did some reading, realigned my back wheel on my bike and headed down to the station for the train to Hamstreet. From there it took me 17 minutes to cycle across the marsh to Snargate. Although I was 10 minutes early for opening, they opened the pub earlier too. The marsh was looking fine in its late Spring verdancy. I sat in the garden reading and drinking all 6 beers on. The rest of the pub was pretty full too which was good to see. Still a cracking pub.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Crown Imperial Stout | 4.50 | | Smokey bacon and burnt malt aroma. Dark choc and espresso coffee. Bacon carries on in mouth, with lasting finish of choc/coffee/charcoal and slight sour liquorice. Beautifully balanced. |
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | 3.40 | | Ruby colour with beige head. The coffee and choc on this are so good, it makes you want to weep. Velvet in mouth, with a little hop sharpness on the end. Smellsof drinking chocolate. Fantastic |
| Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | 3.70 | | Orange copper colour, bright in appearance. Malty earthy aroma. Sweet orange marmalade in mouth. Lovely example of this beer. |
| Archers - Summer's Coming | 4.00 | | Copper colour with thin white head. Rose petal hop aroma. Satisfying in mouth. Juicy. Really great flavours. Tangy citrus tangerine and grapefruit. Ooh, this is nice. Underlying malt too. Really good and surprisingly different. The length of finish of tangerine juicy fruit is remarkable. |
| Archers - Champagne Charlie | 4.30 | | Copper colour with bubbly off white head. Slightly spiced malt aroma. Some interesting hop. Juicy malt and earthy ginger spiced hop. I like it. Quite intense. |
| Grand Union - One Hop Bodicea | 4.50 | | Hard one to pin down this. Hop is earthy and astringent. Not exactly tasty, but pleassing and definitely noticeable. Malt is fine. Hop is distinctive. Odd, but nice |
09 Apr 2006 (Andrew)
Popped in on the way to the Black Lion in Appledore where Jane and I were having lunch. Stayed for only 9 minutes as that's all the time we had spare. Great pub and it was good to see it busy.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | 3.40 | | Good burnt coffee with a bitter finish |
| Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Archers - Great Beer | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Archers - Winter's Nearly Over | 4.20 | Not Tried |
22 Feb 2006 (Ian)
My boss and I had had a particularly stressful couple of days, so we agreed to go out for lunch at the Yew & Ewe. Before that we stopped into Doris' for an aperatif. That and the fact that my boss had never been here before. And she loved it. Said she could have spent all afternoon there. Only 4 people in including us. The G&T my boss had was nice apparently. The pub is just full of rustic charm.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Crown Imperial Stout | 4.50 | | Really charcoaly with liquorice on the aroma. Oily and thick in mouth with chewy malts. Tobacco and tar in there too. Dry hoppy, oily finish. My boss thought it tasted of yesterday's wash suds, but hey what does she know? |
| Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Archers - Lover Boy | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
| Hogs Back - A over T | 9.00 | Not Tried | Really wish I had tried it though as I love Hog's Back barley wines, but I was driving. |
23 Dec 2005 (Andrew)
Ah Doris's. This is such an atmospheric pub found in a wonderful marsh setting. Got here before it opened and watched 3 sets of bin men trundle by collecting different sorts of rubbish. Left when they closed up. Great.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | 3.70 | | Fantastic session beer with the taste of fresh marmalade. |
| Goacher's - Real Mild Ale | 3.40 | | Nice subtle burnt malt flavours with a hint of chocolate |
| Goacher's - Crown Imperial Stout | 4.50 | | Slightly vinegary on the nose but tasted okay. This was the end of the barrel. |
| Grand Union - Old Ale II | 7.60 | Not Tried | |
| Hogs Back - Xmas Tipple | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
| Northumberland - Santa's Surprise | 4.00 | Not Tried |
About the Red Lion
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 27 |
| 138 |
| 99 |
| 48 |
 | 5 |
The pub is found in Snargate, Kent, TN29 9UQ.
****RE-OPENED TUESDAY 1ST JUNE 2021 AND FROM 20TH JULY HOURS ARE 12-3, 6-9 TUESDAY TO SUNDAY ONLY (CLOSED MONDAY) (seating now inside and outside permitted) ***** One of the best pubs in England. It's in CAMRA's national pub inventory because it hasn't really changed much in the last 100 years. In fact in 2011 the Jemison family celebrated 100 years of running the pub. All beers are on gravity and Goacher's is a regular. It's locally known as Doris's after the last landlady. Before that it was Alf's. A 20 minute (no more no less) brisk walk from / to Appledore railway station. Local CAMRA branch Pub of the Year 2015. The handpumps atop the pewter bar counter were used once upon a time but not now. Extensive garden for fair-weather use. Regrettably Doris died in April 2016. The pub closed for some weeks as a result of the bereavement. Re-opened, hopefully forever, on Saturday 11th June 2016. Presume it will soon become known as Kate's! Card payments now accepted here.
We have visited this pub 138 times, seen 207 different beers and tried 128 of them.
Postcode: TN29 9UQ