Ye Olde Black Horse, Brighton

Purportedly dating back to 1513 Ye Olde Black Horse is a Greene King pub with two separate bars. To the right of the entrance is the lounge bar where there is plenty of comfortable seating and a plasma screen that was switched off during my recent midweek evening visit. Down some steps to the left of the entrance is the ‘Fisherman’s’ public bar where there is a dartboard and a TV that was also turned off. There is a quiz every Tuesday from 21:00 and there is live music every Friday night when there is a late license until 00:30, as there also is on Saturday nights. During the week this pub is open until 23:30 and on Sunday it closes at 23:00. There is an advertised projector screen and the Six Nations was being plugged, but I didn’t spot any signs for Sky Sports. Signs in the pub direct the way to the smoking area which is in fact the wheelie bin area at the rear of the public bar. There is a small bench against the wall here, but there was also an overflowing waste pipe and it wasn’t raining! From the bar a standard draught selection was available alongside Greene King IPA, Morland Original, Abbot and Ruddles from the four hand pumps. This is hardly the most interesting selection of ale, but this is a GK pub. The Guinness was on good form though and the bloke behind the bar was polite enough. I didn’t spot any food advertised, but I visited quite late and would be surprised if food is not served during the day. The locals that were propping up the bar seemed to be pleasant enough and if I lived locally this pub would be on my beer map. QI: Apparently this pub used to be called the Black Hole (not sure how long ago the name changed) and the lounge bar used to be a blacksmith’s forge.

Really glad I popped here, the new owner was really friendly and a top fella. Quality beer, quality steak (bargain at £6.95) Top Marks