The lad and I were over in Tunbridge Wells earlier this
evening, for a spot of late night shopping. Actually it only involved popping
into a well-known camera shop to collect a pre-ordered compact camera. That was
enough shopping as far as I was concerned, but mission accomplished it was time
for a bite to eat.
The town’s Wetherspoon’s outlet, the Opera House, is just a
few hundred yards from the shopping centre, and today being Curry Night it
seemed rude not to pop in for a quick ruby. We timed our visit well, arriving shortly
after 7pm, as although the pub was
starting to fill up, we still managed to find a table.
Food selection made (lamb rogan josh for me; chicken balti for
the boy), it was up to the bar. Matthew opted for a pint of Carling (don’t say
anything!), whilst I fancied a pint of the Dark Star American Pale. I hadn’t noticed
that old JDW trick of the “Coming Soon”
sticker on the pump-clip, so had to opt for something else. There at the end of
the row of pumps, was a clip advertising a beer many of us went out of our way
to drink back in the late 1980’s; Exmoor Gold.
I can’t remember the last time I drank a pint of it, but it
must have been several years ago. However, I was glad of my choice and the beer
went down very well with my curry. At 4.5%, this pioneering golden ale tasted
every bit as good as I remember it. Its floral hop notes pitched against a soft
underlying maltiness, reminded me as to why this beer was such a sensation when
it was launched back in 1986. Straw-coloured bitters, such as Boddingtons,
Stones and Shipstones had been around for many years, but most bitters back
then were brown in colour. A golden ale was a real revelation, and Exmoor Gold
set the bar for a whole host of imitators to follow.
Nowadays, Golden Ale is a recognised style, but if it hadn’t
have been for Exmoor Ales bold experiment, we might not have seen the likes of
Hop Back Summer Lightning and all the other beers which followed. I am rather
glad that the Dark Star beer wasn’t ready earlier; otherwise I would not have
renewed my acquaintance with an old favourite from my younger days.
4 comments:
I commented with the wrong account, although I don't know why it appeared twice!
I said that this beer appeared in my local for the first time in years a week or two ago, and it's still a good pint.
No problems, Nev. I’ve removed the remnants of the deleted comments.
It’s strange that we should both come across this once iconic beer at roughly the same time and at opposite ends of the country. A most enjoyable pint; it’s a shame I could only have the one, as I was driving last night.
I rarely see Exmoor beers outside the occasional Spoons festival, and that's true of quite a few respected beers from the 90s like Summer Lightning and Workie Ticket. It must be a real problem for small breweries which rely on free trade sales now that pub chains rarely stock anything outside the big sellers on a consistent basis, valuing variety over quality.
Martin, the Angel, at Swanton Morley in Norfolk, which is a five minute stroll from my father’s bungalow, seems to have Summer Lightning on as a regular beer. It’s been on every time I call in, which is admittedly only once every 6-8 weeks, but it’s good to see it’s still around. They keep it well at the Angel; which always helps.
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