The River Ale House (Free House)
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Stephen Harris
Visits Details
19 Dec 2024 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close. Cutty Sark singers were still here for Trussell Trust charitable singing of Christmas Carols and songs. Great harmony, sometimes earsplittingly so.
Church End - Goats Milk | 3.80 |  | Holding up well after a few days on |
Redemption - Hopspur | 4.50 |  | Almost first pints out of a new cask on. Fresh and lacking any real body to it |
Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | 3.70 | Not Tried | Ran out |
Rooster's - All Star | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
Brew York - Clementine Chameleon | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
360° - Double Decker | 4.90 | Not Tried | |
Brew York - Cornerstone (collaboration with Overtone) | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
18 Dec 2024 (Hogan Sampling)
Noticeably busier over recent nights and in the run-up to Christmas and for my timing of the last 30 minutes of serving.
Church End - Goats Milk | 3.80 |  | Not that I have tried goat's milk and I would hope nothing like such a milk and so a strange name for this Nuneaton-based brewery's golden ale. Good head and lacing and nothing milk-like in appearance or consistency as totally clear. A very dry, hoppy mouthfeel with a lingering dryness. No sweetness in it which is not the norm for golden ales. |
Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 |  | Rather tired as has been on since last Saturday as I recall. Only a slight head and lacing now and much decanting was needed. Still fruity in flavouring with a dry aftertaste. |
Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
Rooster's - All Star | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
Brew York - Clementine Chameleon | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
Brew York - Cornerstone (collaboration with Overtone) | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
17 Dec 2024 (Hogan Sampling)
Busy footfall with a sprinkling of regulars but mostly the Tuesday fiddlers who seemed to have gone forth and multiplied compared to their usual numbers on most Tuesdays. Perhaps they largely take it in turns to show up most weeks and were having a Christmas knees-up with their fiddles and other medley of instruments?
Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | 3.70 |  | Very good head and lacing in this bitter from the Maidstone brewery. A bitter first hit with a dry mouthfeel and lingering. |
Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 |  | Good head and lacing. Think of custard and you have probably got what it tastes like but also dry and hoppy outside of its fruitiness. Just a few decants were needed to keep this barley wine awake! |
Church End - Goats Milk | 3.80 |  | Good head and lacing on this Nuneaton brewery's golden ale which is fresh on this evening. A resinous first hit with a hoppy and oily mouthfeel and a dry aftertaste. Originally brewed for just the Goat Inn in Frognall, near Peterborough, which then helps to explain its name. It became Supreme Champion Beer of Britain in 2017. |
Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.50 |  | Good head and lacing from this Bermondsey-based brewery's pale. A very hoppy mouthfeel and slightly fruity and spicy in the aftertaste. |
Brew York - Calmer Chameleon | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
Pig & Porter - Galvanise | 5.10 | Not Tried | |
17 Dec 2024 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close. More than the usual smaller following for the back room Tuesday folk musicians.
Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 |  | Had improved since Sunday. More flavour and a mouthfeel hit |
Church End - Goats Milk | 3.80 |  | New cask on today and in lovely nick |
Goacher's - Fine Light Ale | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
Brew York - Calmer Chameleon | 4.10 | Not Tried | Ran out |
Pig & Porter - Galvanise | 5.10 | Not Tried | |
Anspach & Hobday - Hop Pickers' Pale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
15 Dec 2024 (Hogan Sampling)
Busy for last 30 minutes of serving with many a Sunday regular in.
Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 |  | Good head and lacing still from trying it first the night before. A very sweet, trickle-like first hit with a maltiness and lingering bitterness. |
Brew York - Maris the Otter | 3.90 |  | Began with head and lacing and only the first day on but soon lost it and so needed a good few decants to restore it. A very malty first hit and brought back having it a week or so earlier in here as well. The mouthfeel was of spice among all the malts in it with a bitterness lingering. |
Vibrant Forest - Kaleidoscope | 6.50 | Not Tried | |
Vibrant Forest - Summerlands (was 3.5%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Brew York - Calmer Chameleon | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
Pig & Porter - Galvanise | 5.10 | Not Tried | |
15 Dec 2024 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close.
Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 |  | A timely ale for Yuletide |
Vibrant Forest - Kaleidoscope | 6.50 | Not Tried | |
Brew York - Maris the Otter | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
Vibrant Forest - Summerlands (was 3.5%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Brew York - Calmer Chameleon | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
Pig & Porter - Galvanise | 5.10 | Not Tried | |
14 Dec 2024 (Hogan Sampling)
Busy for last 40 minutes of serving with many of the Saturday regulars mixed in among the less frequent.
Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 |  | A reasonable head and lacing on this Maidstone-based brewery's strong old ale. A first hit of bitterness and maltiness in this fruited barley wine with a heaviness that comes with its gravity of 6.7%. It has a warming and a very moreish aftertaste. |
Pig & Porter - Galvanise | 5.10 |  | Good head and lacing on this Tunbridge Wells-based brewery's ESB. A very bitter first hit. Highly fruited with blackcurrant and toasted malt flavouring. A malty mouthfeel lingers. |
Vibrant Forest - Kaleidoscope | 6.50 | Not Tried | |
Vibrant Forest - Summerlands (was 3.5%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
Siren Craft - Lumina | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
12 Dec 2024 (Hogan Sampling)
Busy footfall for last 30 minutes of serving with many a regular in and some good banter to be had.
Siren Craft - Memento | 3.80 |  | Second evening on and good head and lacing on this Berkshire brew. A very bitter, bitter mouthfeel with a dry aftertaste lingering. |
Lost Pier - Oatmeal Stout | 5.00 |  | Reasonable head and lacing on this Brighton-based brewery beer. A very dry, malty mouthfeel with a hint of plum flavouring. |
Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Jaipur | 5.90 | Not Tried | |
Mighty Oak - Yellow Snow | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
Vibrant Forest - Pupa | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
Redemption - Kazbek | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
Anarchy - Movie Star | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
12 Dec 2024 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close.
Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Jaipur | 5.90 |  | Jaipur has not regained its cleanness and crispness of taste for some time now |
Lost Pier - Oatmeal Stout | 5.00 |  | Full bodied but lacked the natural carbonation to make it excellent. Multiple decantings did not really help |
Mighty Oak - Yellow Snow | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
Vibrant Forest - Pupa | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
Redemption - Kazbek | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
Siren Craft - Memento | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
Anarchy - Movie Star | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
10 Dec 2024 (Hogan Sampling)
Busy footfall for last 30 minutes of serving with some of the regulars in and fiddlers out the back.
Brew York - Maris the Otter | 3.90 |  | Still holding its head and lacing on the 3rd night but minus the full flavouring in its carbonation. A certain degree of decanting was necessary to keep its head further down the glass. Still holding on to its maltiness and with a moreishly dry aftertaste. |
Rooster's - Easy-Going Assassin | 4.30 |  | Arrived with head and lacing but soon lost it on only its second night on. Despite being packed with tropical fruits, it was only mildly fruity and with a dry finish to it. |
Mighty Oak - Yellow Snow | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
Brew York - Clementine Chameleon | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
Southwark - Homemade Salted Caramel Stout | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
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