Bull, Horton Kirby

It takes a leap of faith for a village pub outside London to advertise in London Drinker magazine. There are over 5,000 pubs in London so why would one want to travel any distance to visit further afield ?

One such pub is The Bull at Horton Kirby, Dartford. The pub hit my radar a month ago when some friends visited on the strength of their LD advert during their showcase of Thornbridge beers. Good reports were received, so last week we decided to take another visit, taking some copies of the magazine, to enjoy their showcase of Dark Star beers.

The pub is a half hour bus ride from Dartford (#414) but I have since discovered that the pub lies about a mile from Farningham Road station - reachable out of Victoria - for those who are fleet of foot.

Six Dark Star beers were racked up on a small stillage with four further beers available from the bar and all those that I tried were excellent.

The credit crunch food menu priced lunchtime meals at a bargain £3 for fayre such as Chilli, Goat Curry and Bacon Pudding.

One of the brewers from Dark Star was coming that evening for a talk but alas we had to leave for the last bus at about 6pm having spent the afternoon enjoying the range of beers.

The next brewery showcase is Brewdog next month from 2nd to 5th April when we are promised cask delights such as Trashy Blond, Zeitgeist, Punk IPA, Riptide, Paradox Arran and Divine Rebel.

In these difficult economic times, pubs have to make an extra effort to make a living. Garrett at The Bull is certainly stepping up to the plate and his efforts are very worthy of support.