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The Butchers Arms (Free House)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| JW Lees (see also Lees) - Harvest Ale |  | 1 |
| Dark Star - Hophead was 3.8% (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | | 5 |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - ESB |  | 3 |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Kipling | | 1 |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | | 1 |
| Dark Star - Six Hop | | 1 |
| Westerham - British Bulldog "BB" (was 4.3%) | | 1 |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - Dark Conspiracy | | 2 |
| Brains - SA | | 1 |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - No. 5 | | 3 |
| Adnams - Broadside | | 3 |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Jaipur | | 2 |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride |  | 1 |
| Adnams - Irish Dry Stout | | 2 |
| Dark Star - Saison | | 1 |
Visits Details
20 Mar 2010 (Ian)
Bit disappointed not to find Martyn in and no Hophead, but Dickie did a sterling job. Beer was in great form as always and good to see Glyn as well as the group of students drinking proper real ale.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adnams - Broadside | 4.70 | | At first I thought this looked a little out of condition, but the flavours were superb. Really excellent fruit. Lots of citrus and deeper fruit flavours as well. One of those that you drink inbetween conversations and it brings you up short and you look at your pint and go "my god, that is good." |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - ESB | 5.50 | | Always a favourite here, but this was even better than I remembered. The fruit, the crystallised tangerine and touch of lime are just out of this world. |
| Dark Star - Saison | 4.50 | | Belgian yeast fruity aroma. Very good in mouth, full. Decent hop on finish. |
| Adnams - Irish Dry Stout | 4.00 | | Black in colour, good roast flavour, bit of tar flavour, touch of juiciness for a dry stout. Pretty good I thought. |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | 4.10 | Not Tried |
20 Mar 2010 (Andrew)
Arrived at half 6 and it was already busy. No Martyn as he was in Paris watching England-France but Dickie was doing a good job standing in. Good to see a group of young fellows in drinking pints of the good stuff. Spent the evening talking to Ian, a Canadian who now lives in my old village, a group of people from Leicestershire who were on a South East tour and Glyn just before he left. A good evening even if the Hophead had run out at lunchtime!
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adnams - Broadside | 4.70 | | Really good dark fruit. Very drinkable. Probably Adnam's best beer. |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - ESB | 5.50 | | Wow this is strong (for me anyway). Excellent pale brown strong bitter |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - London Pride | 4.10 | | Nice and fruity. |
| Adnams - Irish Dry Stout | 4.00 | | Black, slightly tart. Pleasant stout. |
| Dark Star - Saison | 4.50 | Not Tried |
04 Mar 2010 (Blair)
3 months removed from my last visit, lack of money is a bit of a pain. Nothing much changes here, but it's actually a good thing. This pub has the best value for money entertainment I know, i ended up just taking a back seat.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| JW Lees (see also Lees) - Harvest Ale | 11.50 | | Introduced my brother to this and I think it rocked his world. He never wants to drink wine again, just replace it with this. I'd agree with him. |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - No. 5 | 4.40 | | I can honestly say this is the best I've ever tasted this. Perfectly balanced, malty with a subtle toffee flavour to it. Lovely. |
| Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - ESB | 5.50 | | Still the same complex, fruity strong bitter. Just a great beer. |
| Dark Star - Six Hop | 6.50 | | The recipe seems to have changed from what I remember it, still aggressively hoppy but without the bitter aftertaste. If it has changed I think I prefer this version. |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Dark Star - Hophead was 3.8% (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | 3.40 | Not Tried |
04 Mar 2010 (Ken)
Mr Bumble, Mr Fuzziwig and Mr Micawber were all of the same mind, and did declare that the ale brewed by Mr Adnam and vended under the sobriquet Broadside was of the finest body of ales known to the men of Herne in the county of Kent. After much and several discourse they also did venture to concur that such a memorable ale was best dispensed by Mr Hillier, purveyor of fine ales, also of said parish.Thus said they did then toast the good health of all severally present before weaving their way homeward, safe in the knowledge that they had imbibed the finest of ales in the finest of hostelries. And so to bed.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adnams - Broadside | 4.70 | | This ale just gets better and better. |
16 Feb 2010 (KB)
Another excellent night in this pub with atmosphere aplenty. Lots of regulars - Glyn the Roof came out of hibernation - the Tuesday nighters (with Del telling everyone of his motorbike experiences) - Andy the Onion (without Shallot - cheap night) - A newcomer who had this thing for Jeremy Kyle and then walked off into the sunset and last but not least Martyn who had a lot more colour tonight than of the last few weeks. He was beginning to look very pale - can't imagine what was draining it all !!!
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - Hophead was 3.8% (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | 3.40 | | as ever this is always an exceptional pint |
| Brains - SA | 4.20 | | Haven't tried this one before but a very nice pint - no doubt down to the way it is served as with all beers in this pub. |
03 Feb 2010 (ChrisE)
A group of us met here for a lunchtime drink. Those that had not been here before were very impressed with the place.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - Hophead was 3.8% (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | 3.40 | | This beer is always a firm favourite, but I think this benefited from being served on gravity. |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | | |
| Westerham - British Bulldog "BB" (was 4.3%) | 4.10 | | |
| Adnams - Broadside | 4.70 | Not Tried |
21 Jan 2010 (ChrisE)
A lunchtime visit with friends. A good chat with Martyn, and some excellent ales.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - No. 5 | 4.40 | | |
| Dark Star - Hophead was 3.8% (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | 3.40 | | Like all the beers I sampled in the Butchers Arms today, this was superb. |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Jaipur | 5.90 | | Delicious, and hoppy. I could easily drink too much of this stuff. |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - Dark Conspiracy | 4.90 | | |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried |
20 Jan 2010 (Glyn)
Another visit albeit flying, to the award winning micro pub. People do,and say the funniest things. I really think Spudders has spent too long en Francais and lost touch with reallity. I will say no more except to say thanks SN for one of the funniest moments in the Felchers history!!
Glad to see Beer buff Ian made the effort all the way from Ashford via Folkestone and friend Brian(Big!).Sorry to have missed Andrew also. Interesting to watch Adam in action, as he managed to get his Dad to take him home and pay for his beer, again! No wonder they call him favourite. Another night to remember.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - Hophead was 3.8% (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | 3.40 | | |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Kipling | 5.20 | |
20 Jan 2010 (Ian)
Yes it took me an hour and 20 minutes to get here from work, but you know what? It's worth it. Brian was tucking into his first ever JW Lees Harvest Ale, Glyn, Simon and Andy the Onion were on form and then Andrew arrived as well. Oh and I drank 4 pints of Jaipur. Still lots of talk about the 360 degree photo which is hailed as a great success and great promotion for the pub. My last visit was 2 months ago, it could have been 2 days ago. Oh and don't mention French TV news spoken in French to Ken.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - No. 5 | 4.40 | | Just about my favourite brown bitter. The malts are really outstanding and the finishing butter toffee is very good. So difficult to get a decent brown best bitter these days. And beautifully presented too. Only one thing to make it that bit better from the brewer would be to throw a few more hops in, but that's just me. |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Jaipur | 5.90 | | Now I'm guessing that this is from the new plant in Bakewell rather than the old plant up at the Hall. As the beer opened up on pints 3 and 4 the tell tale drinkability of Thornbridge came through. 4 pints in 2 hours and I was very happy and satisfied and blissfully coccooned in hops and alcohol |
20 Jan 2010 (Andrew)
I've not been out much recently but as Ian and Brian were coming along I made an effort to get out. Missed Brian though who apparently left before I arrived with a gleeful look on his face and a bottle of Jaipur under each arm. Also missed Glyn too. ...but I did catch up with Ian who was well into a jug of Jaipur. Me, I started with Hop Head and since I only had an hour I finished with Dark Conspiracy. Had some interesting conversation about Dorset, train timetables (yeah that wasn't so interesting) and people's dimensions. If you've not been here before start mustering yourself.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star - Hophead was 3.8% (some has also been brewed by Fuller's) | 3.40 | | Excellent beer. Quite lively and packed with what Dark Star do best - i.e. Hop Head |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - Dark Conspiracy | 4.90 | | This was an excellent beer but the recipe has changed since last year. Why I don't know because last year's recipe was out of this world. |
| Ramsgate Brewery (Gadds') - No. 5 | 4.40 | Not Tried | I didn't even know this was on until Ian ordered a 2 litre bottle of it. The lesson here is ask what's on. |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Jaipur | 5.90 | Not Tried |
About The Butchers Arms
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 241 |
| 430 |
| 93 |
 | 14 |
 | - |
The pub is found in Herne, Kent, CT6 7HL.
In the middle of Herne village in Herne Street, once the Canterbury Beer Shop selling beer straight from the cask. It is now a pub (with the same owner as before) and still does off-sales which is fantastic! Voted CAMRA Kent Pub of the Year in 2008 and East Kent CAMRA Pub of the Year in 2009 (...and not surprisingly). Regarded universally as the first micropub, which has spawned many similar ventures in East Kent and throughout the UK. Real ales are kept on gravity dispense in a cold room to the right and you will view this when you walk through it to the unisex toilet at the rear. Displays a Micropub Association Certificate of Registration warranting, annually, that it adheres to the tenets and ethics of the Association's definition of a micropub. Since post-Covid re-opening in October 2021 now open 5-8 Tuesday to Friday only. The landlord and founder of the Micropub Association, Martyn Hillier, was awarded an MBE in the 2024 New Years Honours list for services to Business and to Hospitality. Cash only accepted, no card payment facility.
We have visited this pub 382 times, seen 164 different beers and tried 135 of them.
Postcode: CT6 7HL