PubsandBeer

History: Home > The Butchers Arms

The Butchers Arms (Free House)

[Back to most recent] [Previous Visits] [More Visits]

Beer (sort)Average Score (sort)No. Samples (sort)
Adnams - BroadsideExceptional2
Kent - EnigmaExceptional2
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - ESBExcellent2
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Copper TopExcellent3
Adnams - Old AleExcellent1
Hopdaemon - LeviathanExcellent1
Time and Tide - Spratwaffler Pale AleExcellent1
Kent - Session PaleExcellent6
Marble - Manchester BitterExcellent1
Time and Tide - Smugglers StoutExcellent1
Oakham - Bishops FarewellExcellent1
Marble - Pint (was 3.9%)Excellent1
Adnams - Mosaic Pale AleGood1
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Snow TopNot Tried0
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - Gale's HSBNot Tried0
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Blue TopNot Tried0
Dark Star - Hophead was 3.8% (some has also been brewed by Fuller's)Not Tried0
Hopdaemon - IncubusNot Tried0
Adnams - Tally-HoNot Tried0
Adnams - American Style IPANot Tried0
Picture 1. The Butchers Arms, Herne, Kent
Picture 2. The Butchers Arms, Herne, Kent

Visits Details

05 Apr 2014 (Mick)
Like I had never been away, all the old locals in. Splendid evening
BeerABVScoreNotes
Adnams - Broadside4.70ExceptionalAmazing, absolutely superb, possibly the best pint(s) of broadside I have had.
Time and Tide - Spratwaffler Pale Ale3.70ExcellentSuper hops, with an excellent finish.
Time and Tide - Smugglers Stout5.20ExcellentEverything a stout should be.
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Copper Top4.10Not Tried
08 Mar 2014 (Jack William)
Late lunchtime - packed, must have been nearly twenty in. Good buzz.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kent - Session Pale3.70ExcellentBright and lively - well named.
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - ESB5.50GoodNot quite in top condition - but very acceptable none the less.
Adnams - Broadside4.70Not Tried
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Copper Top4.10Not Tried
26 Feb 2014 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening. Excellent banter throughout visit. As regulars left then a small band of Studd Hill cyclists arrived to carry on the crack (as in lively conversation!).
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kent - Session Pale3.70Excellent
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Copper Top4.10Good
Adnams - Mosaic Pale Ale4.10Good
Adnams - Broadside4.70Not Tried
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - ESB5.50Not Tried
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Snow Top6.00Not Tried
21 Dec 2013 (Andrew)
The beauty of an Explorer bus ticket is that you can explore. I was on my way back from Canterbury and got off the bus in the rain. Martyn was running the show tonight and there were a good collection of regulars in. Martyn wss telling me about the rapidly rising number of Micropubs and how some Regionals are moving away from wet-sales led pubs in response. Great pub the Butchers!
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kent - Session Pale3.70ExcellentRich hoppy session bitter in the Hophead style
Adnams - Broadside4.70Not Tried
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - ESB5.50Not Tried
Adnams - Tally-Ho7.00Not Tried
Adnams - American Style IPA4.80Not Tried
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Copper Top4.10Not Tried
09 Nov 2013 (Judy G Garland)
Lunch Time Session
BeerABVScoreNotes
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - ESB5.50Excellent
Adnams - Old Ale4.10Excellent
Adnams - Broadside4.70Not Tried
16 Jul 2013 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening. Couple of hours of good joshing. Did not expect to see ChrisE sitting on a window seat upon arrival. Martyn was off for the evening, with Gavin playing a very fine substitute.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Oakham - Bishops Farewell4.60ExcellentProbably the best Oakham beer. Obviously rare on gravity dispense
Kent - Session Pale3.70GoodVery Hopheadish
Hopdaemon - Incubus4.00Not Tried
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - ESB5.50Not Tried
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - Gale's HSB4.80Not Tried
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Copper Top4.10Not Tried
16 Jul 2013 (ChrisE)
I arrived promptly at opening time, and the place soon became comfortably full. Lots of conversation about Micro-Pubs.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Copper Top4.10Excellent
Kent - Session Pale3.70Excellent
Hopdaemon - Incubus4.00Not Tried
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - ESB5.50Not Tried
Oakham - Bishops Farewell4.60Not Tried
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - Gale's HSB4.80Not Tried
22 Jun 2013 (Stephen Harris)
Just a quick visit during this little pub’s brief lunchtime opening window. Every bit as rewarding a place as I was expecting it to be. Only a couple of other customers in and I alarmed them, when asked if I had come on the bus, by saying that I had walked here from London – which is true (although it has taken me 18 months of occasional day trips).
BeerABVScoreNotes
Kent - Enigma5.50ExceptionalFaultless Black IPA in perfect condition.
Adnams - Broadside4.70Not Tried
Oakham - Bishops Farewell4.60Not Tried
Dark Star - Hophead was 3.8% (some has also been brewed by Fuller's)3.40Not Tried
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Copper Top4.10Not Tried
15 Jun 2013 (Mick)
Always a good sign when people are waiting outside for a pub to open. Lots of regulars and much banter. Gavin in charge tonight.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Adnams - Broadside4.70ExcellentRich and malty, just like a good broadside should be.
Kent - Enigma5.50ExcellentHad a sip, very nice if you like a dark IPA, and I do. Occasionally.
Kent - Session Pale3.70ExcellentVery nice, very pale with a good hop presence, some citrus notes.
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Blue Top4.80Not Tried
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Copper Top4.10Not Tried
04 May 2013 (Mick)
Quite when we arrived became busy and then quite again.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Hopdaemon - Leviathan6.00ExcellentDark, rich, malty with christmas pudding richness, lovely and in perfect condition.
Marble - Manchester Bitter4.20ExcellentNice, a little smoother than pint and a tad less hoppy.
Marble - Pint (was 3.9%)3.40ExcellentVery nice pint of this hoppy pale beer a good hop edge and a super finish.
Old Dairy (being contract brewed after it closed) - Copper Top4.10ExcellentSmooth dark bitter, very full bodied.
Fuller's (part of Asahi Europe) - Gale's HSB4.80Not Tried

[Back to most recent] [Previous Visits] [More Visits]

About The Butchers Arms

The pub sign. The Butchers Arms, Herne, Kent

Summary of Beer Scores

 Total
Exceptional240
Excellent428
Good92
Acceptable14
Poor-

Website.

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.

We have visited this pub 380 times, seen 164 different beers and tried 135 of them.

Map location

Postcode: CT6 7HL