The Basketmakers Arms

The Macallan is the latest Malt of the Month to grace the Basketmakers optics: “The Macallan has been distilled by craftsmen on the same estate in particularly small, hand-beaten copper stills and, while other distillers no longer insist on using oaken sherry casks, at Macallan this costly tradition is maintained. The results are shown partly in The Macallans sumptuous colour, partly in the nose and wholly in the glass.”

Our new Basketmakers Malt of the Month is the 12 year Old Pulteney, “Matured wholly in air-dried, hand-selected ex-bourbon casks, the ‘unashamedly excellent’ Old Pulteney 12-years-old is the definitive expression in the Old Pulteney family. Traditionally crafted using techniques that other distillers have long abandoned, this winner of numerous gold medals at the most prestigious international competitions is a high water-mark of quality spirits.” At 40% abv it is a deep amber and is dry, medium bodied and smooth with a clean finish: faintly salty with a slight sherry note. And its only £1.60 a measure!

Just a reminder that we now serve food 12 till 6 on Sundays. This means an extra hour to get yer roast in!

Laish & Kristin McClement at The Lewes Arms

The first of a monthly residency of Wilkommen Records at The Lewes Arms. Tickets are strictly limited to 40 and are on sale at The Lewes Arms Mount Place Lewes) and The Basketmakers Arms (Gloucester Road Brighton) £4.00 adv. £4.50 door. A great opportunity to experience incredibly intimate performances from Wilkommen artists and guest performers… Watch this space for future dates…

***TICKETS ARE SELLING FAST***

To help celebrate Mild Month this year, Fuller, Smith & Turner P.L.C. is getting in early and launching two mild ales into its seasonal ale range for April, which will both also be available throughout May. Gales Festival Mild was originally produced in the early 1990s when the North Hants and Surrey division of CAMRA asked Gales brewery to develop a mild ale for their beer festival.

Joining Gales Festival Mild as a seasonal beer for April and May is Fuller’s Hock. A 3.5% ABV cask conditioned ale, Hock is packed with subtle sweet caramel and malty flavours.

April brings Gales Festival Mild, an old favourite returning to The Basketmakers.

Full-bodied premium mild ale brewed to 4.8% ABV with a careful blend of malt and hops for a complex, moreish character that has won this famous ale many awards. The palate is rich with blackcurrant, raisins and raspberry, with citrus notes in the finish.

The Brighton Source magazine has just voted our Bloody Mary the best in Brighton. Come and enjoy our no fuss recipe, a perfect sunday recovery drink.

Last Few Firkins of this seasonal ale remaining!

A brand new Beer from Fuller’s… ‘Bengal Lancer’. Only available in Fuller’s Houses at the moment, come and try this corker of an I.P.A.  first in The Basketmakers Arms… A classic India Pale Ale from Fuller’s. Brewed to 5% ABV, this ale has been inspired by the history and character of this traditional style of beer.

A Bit of History!

Immortalised in folklore, novels and on the Hollywood screen, the real Bengal Lancers have their origins in the 1700s when the nawab of the state of Awadh, in today’s northern India, raised Bengal’s first regiments of cavalry.

By the mid-1860s, these horsemen were under the control of the British Army, which saw them expanded and reorganised into a force of cavalry regiments known collectively as Lancers: so-named for the long and lightweight bamboo lances they carried into battle. Most officers were British or Anglo-Indian; all ranks wore British uniform, often with Indian flourishes and headwear.

Bengal Lancers saw action in many campaigns and not just in British India and on the Northwest Frontier. They fought with distinction in the First and Second Afghan Wars, in Egypt, Sudan and Abyssinia – today’s Ethiopia – and as far away as China, where, in 1900, they took part in putting down the Boxer Rebellion and helped lay siege to Peking.

By the early 1900s, with cavalry becoming obsolete, their mounted days were numbered and their famous title began to disappear; but their histories and many of their traditions survive in the British and Indian Armies of today.

To achieve the accolade of Master Cellarman, licensees have to attain and then sustain a score of over 95% in four visits from the Fuller’s Beer Quality Team throughout the year.

Cellar hygiene and dispense equipment, including everything from barrel to glass, are thoroughly inspected. A sample of beer is taken away for analysis, to ensure that the customer is being given the best of the best.

Thursday 19th November is Beaujolais Day at The Basketmakers Arms and The Lewes Arms. The Beaujolais this year is reckoned to be the best in 50 years so come and celebrate with us. We will be serving a range of French Cuisine alongside our usual menu.