The Hoptimist, Dover

Facebook page of The Hoptimist - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Hoptimist - www.facebook.com

The 2017 GBG has 5 pubs in Dover listed with 3 of them being Micro pubs. At 12 noon sharp we started at the Mush Tun, which by my reckoning was the furthest from the football ground so the plan was to work our way up the High St. Almost banging on the door to get in we were greeted by the husband and wife team both ex publicans who opened this micro a little over 3 years ago. According to them this used to be a bistro and judging by the size it seems to work a lot better as a micro. Plenty of comfy seating are a mish mash of furniture still leave plenty of places to sit or stand. The bar is small with the ales in the cold room behind which is standard. 5 ales on and 13 ciders / perries, I had a pint of Hopdeamon’s Red @ 4.2%, my pal who’s a lager drinker had to make do with a bottle of Holsten, this was quite amusing. Stopped for around 30 minutes chatting to the friendly couple before moving on to the ‘spoons. A decent start to what turned out to be a very very long day.

A very pleasant micro which welcomes dogs, humans and one or two other species who occasionally wander in from the less pleasant pub next door. It's a town centre location which manages to be inviting and convivial. The furniture and décor make it look and feel like an Edwardian drawing room complete with a piano, Chesterfields and a long case clock, though an incongruous church pulpit serving as a bar counter shatters that particular image. The landlord is knowledgeable and friendly, the locals a mix of CAMRA members and retired people with nothing better to do. Four ales on gravity plus a good selection of RAIB and eight ciders. The house beer is from Hopdaemon, drinks and biscuits are available for dogs and there is a Tassimo coffee machine, a strange item for a micropub. Prices are already low and they give CAMRA discount in addition. The best bet in Dover's town centre by a long way.