A good roasting at the Nelson

Scrolling through some of the photos I’ve taken on my new phone reminded me that I hadn’t posted anything about last Sunday’s post-Christmas lunch; the one arranged by West Kent CAMRA. As referred to in an earlier post, the event took place at the recently re-vamped Nelson Arms, in Tonbridge, which ensured that a good selection of  beers would be available to go with our meal.

Twenty branch members and friends attended, and landlord Matt and his team did a brilliant job of squeezing us all in at the Public Bar end of the pub. Being mid-January the Christmas lunch option had  expired (everyone's sick of turkey by New Year's Eve), but the Nelson had its usual Sunday roast offering  available instead.

All three members of the Bailey family opted for the slow roast pulled-pork, complete with crackling, roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables. The meal was well cooked and there was plenty of it. I pushed the boat out and had ice-cream for dessert, but on reflection the apple crumble and custard would have been a better choice – even though I always seem to go for a crumble.

There was an interesting selection of beers to go with the food as well. Matt had obtained three beers from Scottish brewer, Fyne Ales; a decision taken in advance of the forthcoming Tonbridge Beer Weekend. I enjoyed two of them – Avalanche plus the legendary Jarl. The former is a 4.5% Pale Ale, whilst Jarl is a 3.8% Session Blonde. It is also one of Fyne’s flagship beers.

I later moved on to Kent Brewery’s excellent and full-bodied Porter. This 5.5% dark ale has undertones of coffee and chocolate, and was just the beer to finish the session. This was despite being tempted by the Audit Ale from Lacon’s Brewery, which was still on sale three days after I initially encountered it. Weighing in at 8%, and coming on top of the other beers, it wouldn't have been a good idea.

As I said, the turnout was good and afforded the opportunity of catching up with several old friends and acquaintances. Mrs PBT’s enjoyed the event too. She was born and grew up in a house in the next road, back from the Nelson, and was pleased to see several of her late mother’s old neighbours. I’m sure if you asked her nicely, she’ll tell you tales about sitting out on the pub step, as a child, with a bottle of pop and a packet of crisps – but perhaps not!

As us diners finished our meal, Matt and his staff cleared the area, and the big screen came down. I gather there was some sort of football match taking place between a team from Manchester and one from Liverpool. More importantly, the third Test between England and South Africa, was being screened in the other bar.

The Nelson is like that; a real community pub, catering for the Barden Road area of Tonbridge. You can fully understand why it was so important to people in this part of town, that a group of residents banded together to help save it, after Shepherd Neame called time on the pub, a few years ago. It was their determination, combined with licensees Matt and Emma’s drive, and of course, hard cash, that brought it back from the brink.