Twelve Hundred Postcards, Hastings

This is a fairly conventional example of a micropub, located in a former shop unit, slightly to the North of the town centre. The pub has a tile floored room with walls painted in neutral shades, shop style front windows and a basic servery up a couple of steps to the rear. High hard bench seating extends down both sides of the room with lots of scatter cushions to ease the inevitable discomfort, whilst abundant numbers of high metal stools stand in support. The front windows have been filled with potted plants, which look pretty cool in context, and there are quirky Toby jugs full of flowers on every table. Lights are housed in metal cages suspended from the ceiling, filled with green bottles with a bulb in the centre. The bar has a rustic timber fronted counter whilst the bar back is dominated by a window through to the taproom behind, surrounded by postcards from what I presume are the pub’s regular customers. To the left is a further Toby jug collection and load of fridges full of beery delights, whilst the toilets can be found down a narrow passage to the left of the bar. Two cask options were available - Tonbridge Traditional Bitter and Downlands Annoys Pedantics – alongside three keg options from Unbarred, Lost and Grounded and Time & Tide. The Traditional Bitter was in good condition and the barman was very friendly, chatting to everyone, giving me some tips for the rest of my crawl, directions to the local football ground and some general chit-chat across the course of my visit. I liked this place, which I felt had a bit more character than a lot of shop converted micropubs of this ilk. Aside from the warm welcome, I enjoyed some decent beer and the quirky décor, with the only real let down being the uncomfortable seating, which was impossible to avoid. On balance though, there was enough here to convince me that it’s worth another look some time. Date of visit - 21st December 2024

A typically set out micropub, single room with a high table and bench/stool set up. Two cask and four keg on my visit, top beer was Partizan IPA Sabro Cashmere. A decent effort.

Decent shop-conversion micro-pub, located just outside the town centre but well worth the uphill walk. Four tall tables on each side, with high stools in the central corridor but a continuous bench along both walls for those seeking something more solid to sit on. The compact pump-less counter is to be found up a couple of steps at the back, with two real ales - Franklin's Lawless (£3.40) and Cronx Entire - being poured direct from the casks in the small glass-fronted cool room to the rear. Also has a couple of craft keg beers: Moncata Apricot Sour and Pig & Porter Whispering Bob when I visited. It's also worth noting that background music is played, but this was an excellent selection when I visited.