Eel & Bear opened on Waldegrave Street in Hastings in 2018 as an independent, family-run bottle shop and taproom, and remains the town's only outlet dedicated solely to craft beer. The range runs across bottled and canned beer from small breweries worldwide, refreshed constantly, with a standing rule that only independent producers make the shelves; wine, cider, spirits and kombucha fill out the rest of the stock. A handful of draught lines serve beer to drink in or take away, with attention paid to breweries based in Sussex alongside the wider international selection. The taproom side gives the shop a social pull beyond retail, with customers able to try a pint before deciding what to carry home. It has built its name on curation rather than volume, changing the range often enough that regulars return to see what is new.
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