The Selborne Arms

After a highly enjoyable night in the Railway Arms, Sunday morning soon came. So we (me and the misses) decided to go for a walk around the lovely countryside of Newton Valence and Selborne. Selborne Common was made famous by naturalist Gilbert White, who wrote the Natural History Of Selborne in 1789. Gilbert White as well as being one of the fist naturalists was also a vicar and part-time brewer. Tripple fff brew a beer based on his original recipe, but due to capacity and strength of the beer, is only brewed very occasionally. The beer is ‘6% ABV, smokey ale, golden in colour with a moderate hoppy bite’; sounds nice!
Luckily one of the two pubs in Selborne is a nice little boozer. This is the kind of pub that could be easily ponced up for the tourists. It hasn’t though, it has been extended but the interior has been largely unspoilt. There is a focus on food, but this equally hasn’t spoilt its character too much.
With six hand pumps I was impressed with the quantity, but what about the quality? There were no dark beers so that’s a minus. But the ‘Bitters’ available, were on the whole, good, the best being the Hogs Back Brewery’s Hop Garden Gold (4.6%). It is a beer so full of flavour, sweet beyond belief; almost syrupy, balanced with an enormous hop tang.

We washed down the beer with a healthy sized ploughman’s and enjoyed the afternoon sun in the generous beer garden. A pleasant and relaxing day.