The Snowdrop Inn, Lewes

This is a welcoming and comfortable community pub on the edge of town in the shadow of the impressive chalk cliffs. The main bar is a single room with a central island servery which helps split the room up, creating various seating areas around it. There is woodblock flooring with lots of dark beams on the walls and ceiling. The seating is, for the most part, standard tables and chairs of varying sizes, making it ideal for those who want to eat, of which there were a great many on my early evening visit. All manner of pots, pans, kettles, tankards, birdcages and the like hang from the ceiling and fill the window sills whilst an upright piano can be found in the rear corner near a collection of children’s toys. There are bits of brewerania here and there, although it’s not an overriding theme, with numerous pump clips lining the servery. There is a second seating area upstairs which, given the popularity of the pub, presumably gets a lot of use. You can access this room via a tight spiral staircase near the front door or a more conventional staircase at the rear. It’s a square shaped, wooden floor room with lots of large rugs to help dampen the sound. A large map of Sussex, split into six separate frames, hangs on one wall, whilst bunting and ship’s rigging hangs from the beams. Customers who spotted the lizard sculpture outside the pub, which is made from old car hub caps, will recognize some more of these creations on the front wall. There’s a large grandfather clock on one wall, plus a dartboard, board games, book swap and a number of sewing machines in the window sills. The ale selection is a big draw and I found six ales with two from Harvey’s (Best and Bonfire Boy), two from Dark Star (Hophead and APA) and two guests (Hammerpot Bottlewreck Porter and Oxfordshire Marshmallow). The APA was in great shape and went down very easily. The keg range was pretty good too offering the likes of Brooklyn Lager and Delirium Tremens among others. A real cider was also available. I thought this place had a really nice feel to it with the good food, beer and ambiance drawing a broad range of customers. It may be a little way out of town, but I would say it’s well worth making that bit of effort to seek out and is an essential addition to any serious crawl.

Perennially popular pub a little out of the town centre. Microbrewery ales, usually including Sussex favourite Dark Star as well as interesting imports on tap (pretty sure I remember Brooklyn Lager & Budvar Black, but don't quote me on it). Food is good quality without veering into gastro pretensions. Staff are knowledgeable and up for a chat and recommendation on both beer and food. Definitely worth the short trek down South Street (look out for the blackboard at the end of the street advising a 400 metre walk - that is pretty much the distance).

The "steel crocodile" is actually plastic and made from several dozen old wheel trims from Vauxhalls, renaults and Rovers. This superb bit of artwork kind of sums up the pub. Quirky comes to mind, but the real gem is the beer choice. I would say that in my opinion, this is the best beer pub in Lewes and not a drop of Harveys in sight! Amongst the fizzy stuf was Dilirium Tremens, a brew that I have heard much about but never tried. We asked for a sample and the bar maid was only too happy to oblige. Excellent pub, well worth the short walk from the centre of town. Will call again