Monday Stu and myself set off for a journey through Sussex . First stop was Burning Sky in an impossibly beautiful village called Firle. I had hoped to meet Mark Tranter in the flesh rather than just in twitter land but he was alas busy else ware. Lead brewer Tom was a great guide however and we tasted our way through foeders and barrels, tried Girardin lambic from the barrel, tried some of their young spontaneous beer, and went and saw the coolship. We then walked across to the old church across the road and poked our noses around before setting off for Lewes. We had hoped to get a tour around the notoriously difficult to visit Harveys but unfortunately all our attempts ended up failing. One of the contacts came through the next day so perhaps I will get a visit next time ! We visited the beer shop where I stocked up on Imperial Stout and bought myself a Harveys pint glass. we then walked the town , visited a couple of pubs till we found one doing food. In England the pub Sunday lunch is a big thing. Pubs and their kitchens are often intensely busy through Sunday afternoon and as a result they often give the kitchen crews Mondays off and don’t do food. Good for the cooks but not ideal when you spent Sunday drinking vintage beer wine and whisky and started the day sampling foeders and barrels and now need something in your stomach. We finally found sustenance at the Brewers Arms a pub with a 60’s working mans club vibe. I had scampi peas and chips and it was just what was needed. We then went on to Brighton , walked the pier , met up with Jessica Mason who runs the Drinks Maven website and then visited a couple of pubs. First up was The Evening Star famous as having been the birth place of Dark Star Brewery and where Mark Tranter began his brewing career. Then we walked through lovely terraces of houses to a quirky dive bar called The Bees Mouth for 1/2s of Delerium Tremins off tap and a look at its famous Steve Buscemi toilet. As you will see from the photos the warm blue weather continued. These days set a new record for winter temperatures in Britain, and in fact summer Wellington was pretty much the same temp that day. We drove back to Kent as the sun set casting a lovely glow over Brighton.

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