The Tanners Arms, Horsham

I remember this being one of the poorer K&B pubs in Horsham, always quiet and the beer condition not that great. It's now a free house that seems to rely on being a music venue to survive. Inside the main bar (there is a smaller bar that I missed completely) the stage is a dominant and the walls are adorned with music orientated posters and pictures including a photo of a young Keith Richards. There are just three handpumps and the only beer I noted down was the one tried Firebird Brewing Old Ale XXXX. I have now tried three versions of the King & Barnes Old ale from three different brewers! The other two are Welton's Horsham Old and Kingbeer's King's Old Ale. Unfortunately I got the first one of the day and the beer hadn't been pulled through so was not that brilliant. Generally I don't go for pubs with music but this one is worth a look to see if there is an unusual beer on.

A long-overdue to the now free-of-tie Tanners. How different to a Hall & Woodhouse pub is it now? Well, if you're drinking lager, pride of place now goes to Amstel, rather than Hofbrau. Whether this is a good thing, I'm not in a position to judge. I can tell you, though, that the ales range from far and wide - on my visit, the only Sussex ale was a fine Brighton Bier 'Underdog'. The pumpclip 'wall of fame' in the smaller (usually unused) front bar shows an interesting selection from local favourites such as Dark Star & Langhams, some new London, such as Portobello, as well as a few dozen others. A slight worry on my recent visit was a complete lack of other customers - the location is a bit of an obstacle, as the pub's a bit far from the town centre, but it's worth a look-in. Don't be fooled by the drinks list on the pub website - this has clearly not been updated in ages.

Well, here's a surprise! Even when I lived nearby, I never visited the Tanners, but I was in last weekend to watch a local band. I found a small, friendly, two-roomed pub. A pub serving Badger Beers is never going to be a great hit with me, but the Sussex, while still pretty undistinguished, was probably the best I've had in town and the Hopping Hare was rather good. A tribute to the cellaring skills here and it bodes well for the forthcoming Beer Festival.

Official site of the Tanners Arms, contains beer list and forthcoming events - www.thetannersarms.com

Official site of the Tanners Arms, contains beer list and forthcoming events - www.thetannersarms.com