The River Ale House (Free House)
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Stephen Harris
Visits Details
10 Oct 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening until 11pm close. Patronage on the up and up with every visit.
| Kent - Session Pale | 3.70 |  | |
| Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Über Brew | 3.80 |  | Very tasty but served flat |
| Rudgate - Ruby Mild | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Sambrook's - Wandle | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Red Top | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Gold Top | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Canopy - Green Hop Pale Ale | 3.60 | Not Tried | |
08 Oct 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening until 11pm close. A Meantime Brewery employee was enjoying cask here! Guv said he had started with 11 casks on at opening time.
| Sambrook's - Wandle | 3.80 |  | Good condition but a wishy washy taste |
| Canopy - Green Hop Pale Ale | 3.60 |  | A hazy distinctly average example of the green hopped genre |
| Rudgate - Ruby Mild | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Dark Star - Espresso Stout | 4.20 | Not Tried | Ran out |
| Bowman - Wallops Wood | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Red Top | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Gold Top | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
01 Oct 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening until 11pm close.
| Westerham - Scotney Green Hop Harvest Ale | 4.00 |  | Tired near end of cask feel |
| Ghost - Mango Reaper | 4.40 |  | Don't think this worked very well, heavy murk OK but flat |
| Redemption - Urban Dusk | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
| Hadrian and Border - Northumbrian Gold | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Five Points - Railway Porter | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Goddards - Starboard ! | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Bexley - Howbury 12 Bullion IPA | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
29 Sep 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening until 11pm close. Catching on locally now, felt like it had always been here.
| Church End - Goats Milk | 3.80 |  | Superb nick. Could understand how, in this condition, it won CAMRA's CBOB competition this year |
| Dark Star - Green Hopped IPA | 6.50 |  | Condition good but felt it lacked the usual intense hopping |
| Goddards - Starboard ! | 4.00 |  | |
| East London (ELB) - Foundation Bitter | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Westerham - Scotney Green Hop Harvest Ale | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Five Points - Railway Porter | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Bexley - Session Ruby Ale | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
24 Sep 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening until 11pm close. Some Newcastle United supporters had found the place, after a match at Crystal Palace.
| Lacons - Affinity | 4.80 |  | |
| Hadrian and Border - Farne Island Pale Ale | 4.00 |  | A bit tired and few distinctive flavours |
| Rudgate - Jorvik Blonde | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Kent - Pale | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| East London (ELB) - Quadrant Oatmeal Stout (now please use 5.5% entry | 5.80 | Not Tried | |
| East London (ELB) - Cowcatcher | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Bexley - Session Golden Ale | 3.60 | Not Tried | |
18 Sep 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening until 11pm close. Listening to the Guv this venture is clearly a labour of love. Learnt much about how a working dog helps a diabetic person by sniffing and sensing potentially dangerous changes in glucose levels and watched him in action, seemed never really relaxed.
| Westerham - Single Hop Minstrel | 4.50 |  | |
| Slater's - Maravilla Raspberry Beer | 4.50 |  | The fruit addition did not really work on this one but it left a nicely dry aftertaste, generally felt wishy washy |
| Butcombe - Bitter (or Original Beer) | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Westerham - Grasshopper Kentish Bitter | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Westerham - 1965 Special Bitter Ale | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Bexley - BOB (Bexley's Own Beer) | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Bexley - Black Prince Porter | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
14 Sep 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Early evening visit after a long bus ride locally which impressed on me how many pubs have been lost in that area so a new one is a blessing. This one did its usual micropub trick of making conversation mandatory, in this case extended on the meaning of kudos, caboodle, hubris and palaver. Time sped on for nearly 3 hours!
| Wantsum - Montgomery (was SS Richard Montgomery) | 4.00 |  | |
| Slater's - Top Totty | 4.00 |  | |
| Dukeries - Bess Hardwick | 5.70 |  | A most odd tasting caramelly APA, summat not quite right |
| North Yorkshire - Cereal Killer | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Slater's - Queen Bee | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Wantsum - Black Prince | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
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