As a lasting tribute to Horndean Special Bitter and the genius brewery that created it, I have set up a little tribute gallery - the Gales Brewery Archive. There's not a huge amount there at the moment, but it'll grow.

If you don't know, George Gale & Co was once a great local brewer based in Horndean, Hampshire. In 2005, it was taken over by Fullers of Chiswick (makers of London Pride, ESB) who immediately closed the brewery and relocated production to Chiswick. They've since rebranded all the local pubs, removing all trace of the Gales name, and the old Gales ales are gradually dissapearing from the pumps too.

It was a sad day for me yesterday, when we arrived at the pub in Catherington where the music quiz is held every week, only to find that the best beer in the world was no longer on the pumps. HSB (Horndean Special Bitter) was gone.