Piston Broke, Shoreham-By-Sea

Motor racing-themed pub with a good selection of Sussex real ales dispensed by gravity, along with some real ciders too. Formula One memorabilia is everywhere. I suspect this place gets busy when they televise the live races. You can also drink to a decent soundtrack playing at an acceptable level. Dogs are welcome. The amenable landlord had 3 cask ales to offer us - 360° When September Ends & Bluebell & Long Man Old Man. Ciders were Biddenden Strong Kentish Cider, Chiddingstone Cider & Seacider Medium Dry. Craft beers were also represented in the form of 360° Wanganui Avenue & Sussex Haze & Long Man Crafty Blonde. This bar was last in the Good Beer Guide in 2015. But I cannot understand why. Of 8 pubs and bars visited in Shoreham over a couple of days, this was just about the highlight.

A long, narrow and slightly dingy bar with an opening frontage, which sounded a bit raucous from the street. This transpired to be one noisy group, and once they had left the place improved immensely. Furnishings are mainly of bucket chairs and stools, with a few tarted-up engine block tables justifying the name. One side is slightly raised, which proved to be used as the stage for the regular live music which rather takes over the whole pub, so don't try and get in when the bands are on unless you are following them. The main attraction is a large racked stillage behind the bar, which had a pretty good selection of ales, including 5 from Langhams, Gun and Burning Sky, mostly priced around £4.50-£5. Seacider also available. I would be quite happy to drink here again.

This is a long narrow pub that is clearly a shop conversion. Inside the bar is right at the end of the room and I think there were five or six beers served by gravity. I didn't get to note what they all were as people were blocking the bar but did see Harvey's Best, Long Man American Pale Ale, St Austell Proper Job and a house beer. I went for the Long Man which was a beer in good condition but tasted nothing like the same beer I had imbibed in Hastings only two weeks earlier. It actually tasted like Long Man Sussex Pride but that may not be the pub's fault. What was more annoying was the fact that there was a large screen showing Sky Sports that no-one was watching possibly because the sound was being drowned out by loud music. Having visited three micropubs on the day this made it all doubly irritating. I would probably swerve this one if I returned to Shoreham. I certainly preferred the new micropub nearby to this one.

I found this much like previous reviewers on the beer front, it flatters to deceive. Only 4/14 available, I had two halves and one if them was poor. Interesting pub though that looks like a restaurant or wine bar from outside. The Hopback Brewery plaque outside is an indication of what's inside but the reality is somewhat different.

The Lazy Toad is a single narrow roomed pub with a bar on the left hand wall at the rear. I counted 14 gravity fed jacketed barrels on racks behind the bar, but only Shepherd Neame’s Bishop’s Finger and Spitfire were available. There are also five draught options and I didn’t notice any food advertisements, but I did visit on a Saturday evening. It was reasonably busy, but not uncomfortably so and I found the service to be very friendly. There was no music and the plasma screen above the entrance was switched off. The gent’s toilet, which consists of a single trap and urinal, is called ‘The Tool Shed’ and is found upstairs. I’m not sure if the beer jackets have solved the warm beer issue as I ended up having half a pint of Becks because I’m not very keen on SN brews. Based on my visit a month ago I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit here again.

The numerous toad-related pictures on the walls make for a slightly odd feel, but it's friendly enough all the same. Busy on my visit, but still plenty of room inside. The ale is gravity served from racks behind the bar. It's not often you encounter Itchen Valley beer in West Sussex: there were two available, as well as Spitfire, so I gave it a go. Unfortunately, a warm evening showed up the problem with this method of dispense, as the beer was just a little too warm and not as fresh as I'd have liked. There were plenty of casks not in use, which suggests that the pub may sometimes have rather more variety than on this visit. Probably worth popping into if you're ever in Shoreham - I'd give it another go if I return.

Great pub, great range of beers, spoilt because they are too warm, this could be so good with its large range of gravity beers.