Poets Ale & Smoke House, Hove

An old Sussex CAMRA guide says that as the Eclipse it was a Bass Charrington pub named after the famous racehorse. I've not always been impressed with Harvey's urban outlets but they seem to have done a good job here. It's a back street corner local that has retained two completely separate bars. I went in the right hand saloon bar as the public sounded noisy and busy. This was a nice traditional carpeted room with wooden-panelled walls and a roaring fire. The bar is on the left and had five hand pumps offering Harvey's Best, Old, IPA, Wild Hop and Armada. I went for the Armada (£3.90) and was shocked to find a beer with a big hop taste. Have they changed the recipe? It was probably the best beer I had all day in Sussex. It was expensive but I wouldn't expect anything else in the Brighton area. It's well worth a visit if you can afford it.

This Harvey’s pub was previously known as Eclipse before closing for a refurbishment and reopening as Poet’s Corner in March 2010. This area of Brighton is known as Poets Corner due to the adjacent roads being named after famous wordsmiths. The two bars in the pub also follow this theme with the Byron Room to the left and the Wordsworth Lounge to the right. In the Byron Bar there is a wood burner at the rear with a few lounge chairs around it. There is also a large plasma screen that was turned off during my recent midweek evening visit and there is no Sky at this venue. The bar supports six hand pumps for drawing Harvey’s products but the Dark Mild, Porter and Armada were all off leaving Best, Old Ale and Hadlow as the ale options. Blues music was playing in the background and the previously mentioned plasma screen has a piano under it which is probably used during the advertised live music on Friday evenings. The Wordsworth Lounge has the same traditional furnishings and décor as the Byron Room, but the music is a little quieter and there is no television. Both sides have real fireplaces that I imagine create a cosy atmosphere on a cold winters evening. There is an advertised patio garden out the back that I didn’t visit, but I did note the three picnic tables on the path out the front. This pub seems to be aimed at the older more well-heeled inhabitants of the area and jazz seems to be the main music of choice. I’m not a big fan of jazz and I thought it a little sterile in here as I’m not within the customer base that the management are aiming at.