The Three Moles, Selham is having another beer festival from June 16–18. The chances are excellent that various branch members will be in attendance throughout the weekend :)

Three years after its closure, the Earl of March, Lavant, reopened last night.

Our roving reporter tells us that the beers are Hop Back Summer Lightning and Ringwood Best on the handpumps, with Hop Back Crop Circle, Ballards Golden Bine and Hampshire Lionheart on cooled gravity dispense behind the bar. Prices are in the £2.60 — £2.80 range.

They’ve gone for a light and spacious look with leather sofas and chairs in the bar area and tropical hardwood tables and chairs for the eatery. The floor has flagstones by the car park entrance, with a wooden floor in the rest of the pub, low-level background music (no TV or machines) and a vase with an orchid on every table. One of the customers said it had a sort of “Slug & Lettuce” feel to it (although I don’t remember seeing a Slug & Lettuce with 5 ales on!)

Food-wise, it’s been described as “nouvelle cuisine”, which is a bit of a change from the previous hearty, home-made fare — and, as you might expect, the food’s a bit more expensive than it used to be.

Hopefully the locals, who’ve had three years to get used to drinking at home, will come back again — it’s hard to see how the food side of things will give them enough beer turnover to keep 5 ales on…

John Hetherington, formerly of the Elmer Inn and previously the Lamb at Bilsham, is now in charge at the Prince of Wales in Woodgate.

No news on the beer range — presumably it’s still Greene King as before.

Fuller’s and Young’s are both running what they bill as “autumn beer festivals” — what most of the rest of us would refer to as a series of special beers. That’s marketing departments for you.

The Fuller’s range is allegedly available at the Red Lion, Fernhurst, although the Fullers website doesn’t seem to think so. The Star in Petworth and the White Horse in Pulborough are listed, though. The range is Red Fox, then Mr Harry, then Trafalgar Ale. They started on September 5, so you’ll have to hurry to catch the Red Fox, as Mr Harry should be due on about now. Trafalgar Ale is expected in mid-October. I’d link to the page on the Fuller’s site, but they’ve designed it so you can only link to the front page. So you’ll have to go to the Fuller’s home page instead. (Update: yes, the Red Lion is doing the seasonals. Not cheap, though — Red Fox was £2.90! And it was on the website — under Surrey!)

Young’s are doing Ram Rod, Special London Ale (normally only available bottle-conditioned), Old Nick, and finally Burton Ale, which hasn’t been brewed for many a year. The Ram Rod and Special London have been and gone at the Waverley, but Old Nick is expected to pop up in the next couple of days. More details on the range, plus a list of participating pubs, on the Young’s beer festival page. (To save you some time, both the Waverley and the Sussex Brewery are taking part.)