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The Dering Arms (Free House)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale |  | 5 |
| Goacher's - Special House Ale |  | 9 |
| Goacher's - Gold Star | | 2 |
Visits Details
20 Nov 2007 (Ian)
I had promised myself a visit to here for some time and I wanted to see if the Goachers Old Ale was on. It wasn't but I still enjoyed sitting in this lovely building with a real fire doing the crossword
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Special House Ale | 3.80 |  | Badged as Dering Ale. I was the first customer in on the stroke of 6pm. The beer was in good condition, but just lacked a certain something. I thought it was a little more caramelly than normal. Didn't stop me sinking 4 pints though. |
08 Jun 2007 (Ian)
I cycled out here on Friday evening and what a beautiful evening it was. I sat in the garden enjoying the sun going down and several pints of Goachers Special.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Special House Ale | 3.80 | | A little bit buttery for my liking, but I still sank 4 pints. |
30 Mar 2007 (Ian)
After a disappointing London Drinker BF, only a half in the Pride of Spitalfields and a complete blank at the Market Porter I decided to award myself with a pint here. Only Dering Ale on, but it was still good.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Special House Ale | 3.80 | | Very drinkable session bitter. |
23 Jan 2007 (Ian)
Tuesday evening and Andrew had been let out for the evening. End of January mid week, so very quiet. Jim the landlord had been to a wine tasting in London and was on good form. Sat in the back bar reading "Boystoys" magazine. Fun though.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Special House Ale | 3.80 | | Very easy drinking session beer. |
| Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 | | For a strong winter beer it's got the lot, strength, malt, dark fruits. The blackcurrant, blackberry are excellent with a slight sour/dry edge on the finish. |
23 Jan 2007 (Andrew)
Virtually empty on a cold Tuesday night. We sat in the rear room (first time for me) which was very pleasant. Ian and I discussed the pros-and cons of beer-ticking and beer-tickers. I was as even-measured in my arguments as always.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Special House Ale | 3.80 | | I like Goacher's Special and especially here. The initial flavours are of Goacher's Light but the finish is of Dark. What a great beer. |
| Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 | | Wonderfull marinated cherries with a sherry oak sweet tart bite. Needs just a touch more sourness to be outstanding but, by heck, this is a good beer. |
| Goacher's - Gold Star | 5.10 | Not Tried | Went off as we asked for it |
06 Jan 2007 (Ian)
I have had some excellent beer experiences at this pub (the very foggy night with Charlie and an ethereal bus ride, the Goacher's tour with Andrew and Tony to name but two), and this was another one. The funny thing is that I hadn't planned to come here. There were engineering works on the line to Rye and I didn't want to take the replacement bus service and the rainy weather put me off visiting the Kent Pub of the Year 2006, the Halfway House, at Brenchley. I sat in the quiet back bar with Bill Bryson's book about his childhood and a couple of pints of Special before moving onto the Old Ale with some exquisite Shropshire Blue cheese and bread. By 14.00 I was back in the main bar on a sofa poking at the real log fire. Wonderful. Not too busy Saturday lunchtime as it was early January.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 |  | Now I give out 5/5s very sparingly these days. Very deep brown with touch of russet and lasting beige head. Roasted nuts, coffee, strong dry malt and touch of syrup on the aroma. Some hop too. Gorgeous in mouth, exquisitely full, light choc malts and roasted nuts. Toasty more than dark roast. Some juicy dark fruits. Finish is dry, full and juicy with dry toast coming through most. The longer it oxygenates, the sourer the fruit becomes. Damson, sour dark plum, sour dark cherry, sour blackberry. All wonderful. Give it another couple of hours in the cask and it will be even more wonderful. |
| Goacher's - Special House Ale | 3.80 | | Really quite drinkable. Good typical Goacher's malt and hop flavours. A bit more light than dark in this mixture I thought. |
| Goacher's - Gold Star | 5.10 | Not Tried |
23 Dec 2006 (Ian)
Even after going to the Red Lion at Snargate, I still managed to drag myself out here. Pretty quiet, some people in the restaurant, a few regulars in the bar, but overall a nice background buzz. Real log fire was lovely and even Jim was in a good mood.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Special House Ale | 3.80 | | Slipped down like a good session beer should. Nice malt and hop balance. Quite rich in the mouth. |
| Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 | | More sour than I remembered, but with a fullness and that distinctive Goacher's flavour. Took me nearly an hour to finish a pint. Great stuff. |
30 Jun 2006 (Ian)
Alistair said he was coming here after work, so I had to pop down didn't I? I listened to the end of Germany vs Argentina on my Walkman as I cycled to the pub from Ashford. After Alistair left I sat outside on a lovely sunny evening and it really is one of my favourite places to sit with a pint, the building, the trees, the birdsong etc.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Special House Ale | 3.80 | | The first pint was disappointing, but then I think that they changed the barrel as the second pint was bright, attractive amber colour, with good head. Malty with hoppy bite on end. This is terrific. It has the Fine Light Ale taste profile of marmalade fruit with earthy hop on end. Breathtaking pint and I think the best pint of Special I've had |
| Goacher's - Gold Star | 5.10 | | Hazy gold colour. Citric and creamy in mouth, bit sharp on end. Not at its best, but fine |
23 Dec 2005 (Andrew)
Got there before it opened for the evening session and so were the first in. Very cosy pub with a real fire and flagg stone floor.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Special House Ale | 3.80 | | Good mix of Goacher's dark and light with more dark than light I'd say. Loverly |
| Goacher's - Gold Star | 5.10 | Not Tried | |
| Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 | Not Tried |
23 Dec 2005 (Ian)
Got here when it opened in the evening and sat by the fire getting increasingly drunk on some very good beer. Had 3 beers on from Goachers. This was an excellent session
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Gold Star | 5.10 | | Not always good at this pub because I don't think that they get the through put. However, this was superb. The fruit especially was stunning. |
| Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 | | Slightly sour. If I didn't know that this is supposed to have these flavours, I would have said that it was off. But this was exceptional stuff. Black with fluffy beige head, lots of dark fruit and liquorice, burnt malts and this underlying sourness. Spectacular |
| Goacher's - Special House Ale | 3.80 | Not Tried | Badged as Dering Ale |
About The Dering Arms
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 6 |
| 21 |
| 17 |
| 8 |
 | 2 |
The pub is found in Pluckley, Kent, TN27 0RR.
Old hunting lodge made of stone with Dering windows, a stone's throw from Pluckley railway station. Mostly viewed as a restaurant, but there is a bar on the left hand side. Stone flags on the floor and large real fire. Beer is Goacher's Special badged as Dering Ale. Good quality, well kept. Service can be slow. A lovely pub to visit in the winter with the fire and great in the summer to sit in the garden. Lots of character.
We have visited this pub 41 times, seen 3 different beers and tried them all.
Postcode: TN27 0RR