Haus on the Hill, Brighton

It took us quite a walk up some serious hills to get here from the previous stop, BrewDog, once getting here we were the only customers on a Friday afternoon, maybe due to the location though there are plenty of chimney pots around. A fairly traditional lay out,probably once two roomed but now sympathetically opened out with a central bar. There was a decent selection of five beers and one Cider, my pint of Tiny Rebel Hank was decent enough.Despite the hike I liked this one.

An interesting selection of beers mostly from local micros (I noted 360°, Laughing Frog, 1648, Firebird and Burning Sky - are these really the names of breweries?), priced at £3.09, £3.19 and £3.29 according to the labels below the hand pumps. However, when we ordered two halves of different beers, we were charged £3.85. I queried this, and was given the bewildering explanation that "pints are on permanent special offer". We spent the rest of our time here thinking of alternative euphemisms for "rip off", while criticising the internal décor of the pub. If we had not been ripped off (sorry, subject to the withdrawal of the permanent pint discount vis-a-vis halves) we would probably have found the pub interesting and possibly even stayed for a further half or two. My rating is accordingly permanently discounted from 7 to 5. Date of visit: 24th November 2014

The freehold of the former 'Pub with no name' recently passed from Punch to local outfit Indigo and they've sprinkled a little of their pub magic (plus a new name and a fair amount of money, I suspect). The bar has been moved to the centre of the room and faces you as you enter. A couple of seating areas (one up a couple of steps) on the right, one to the left. An upstairs room will open in due course. On my visit, the varnish could still be detected, but that will soon pass. Indigo's pubs each has a slightly different theme, and the emphasis at the newly-christened Southover is on 'craft beer'. Let's not get into any arguments about what that might mean and just describe what's on the bar. 6 pumps are available and 5 will be dedicated to locally sourced ales; the sixth will feature a micro guest from further afield: on my visit Jaipur, with Saltaire lined up in the cellar ready to go. Prices seemed competitive to me, at around £3.19 or so; it's also possible to get 3 1/3rds for a similar price. Multiple taps dispense the likes of Anchor Steam, Meantime, Brooklyn Lager and Orchard Pig cider; there's also a couple of Brewdog fonts, serving up Dead Pony and Punk at present - these are believed to be the only dedicated Brewdog lines in town. While prices for these seem reasonable, the not quite so large print reveals that £3.40 gets you a schooner (2/3, not the full, pint). There's a variety of bottles in the fridge as well. Branded beer menus help you with your selection. An important note for visitors is that the pub will not open till 3pm on weekdays. The manager was chatty and rightly enthusiastic about his new pub. I share his excitement and look forward to further visits.