Sunday 21 February 2021

Harvey's Sussex Best - a much missed personal favourite

Apart from missing cask beer in general, I am particularly missing what is probably the most widely available cask ale, in this part of the country. I am not talking about Doom Bar, and neither am I referring to Greene King IPA both personifications of blandness, as far as I am concerned. Instead, I am looking at Harvey’s Sussex Best, a beer that without a shadow of doubt, represents all that I find enjoyable in a pint of cask-conditioned ale, and a beer that has remained consistent and reliable over the past 40 years that I have been enjoying it.

You can’t say that for many beers, especially when fads come and go, and certain beers seem to go go through periods of achieving almost cult status, only then to fall from grace, when too many outlets clamour to stock it and brewers struggle to keep up with supply. Taylor’s Landlord is a good, fairly recent example, but here are others, and let’s not forget that Doom Bar was a beer with far more character and appeal, when it first appeared on the market.

Harvey’s Best is a beer that has survived the comings and goings that have afflicted the brewing industry and has escaped the fickleness of fashion. Never quite achieving that mythical cult status – definitely a good thing and escaping to a large estate the attention of “influencers” in the beer market.

A few highly respected, beer writers have sung its praises, and have even featured the beer and its brewery in magazine articles, but fortunately the trendy Rate Beer, “you have to try this one” types have tended to ignore its charms, either because they fell it’s not hip enough, or because it doesn’t match their obsessions with the latest zingy citrus hops, barrel-aged, chili-addition or Brett-infusion that, in their eyes, marks a beer out as extra worthy of attention. Some might call them “influencers,” but the name I have for them, the one that rhymes with "bankers," is far more appropriate.

Fortunately, Harvey’s are not a company to take notice of such nonsense, but neither are they a brewery that’s afraid to move with the times. For example, they were one of the first of the family-owned brewers to introduce a range of seasonal ales, and incidentally one that never stopped production of a dark and warming winter beer in the shape of their delectable XXXX Old Ale.

Drinkers like me, who have been enjoying Sussex Best these past four decades, can confirm that the brewery have not been tempted to tinker with the recipe, or to change the brewing process.  Unlike modern breweries which have silos for bulk supplies of malt, Harvey’s still use malt supplied in sacks, and these have to be hoisted to the top of brewery before brewing can commence.

They also use whole hops, packed either in traditional “pockets” or more often now, in tightly compressed blocks, are used, as opposed to the hop pellets favoured by many breweries today. Harvey’s source their hops locally, from growers in Sussex, Kent and Surrey, and contracts are placed up to four years in advance. This ensures adequate supplies of their preferred hops, which in the main are long established varieties such as Fuggles, Goldings, Progress and Bramling Cross.

The yeast that Harvey’s use, is now unique to the brewery, although it originated from the John Smith’s Brewery in Tadcaster.  It is re-pitched on a weekly basis and has been in use for the past 60 years. The care and dedication that is applied to the ingredients, works its way through into the consistency of the finished product, ensuring that Harvey’s Sussex Best tastes as good as it did, when it was first brewed, back in the 1950’s.

I first became acquainted with the beer back in the late 1970’s, as despite living and growing up in East Kent, I had never heard of Harvey’s Brewery, or its beers. It was only after I joined CAMRA, that I discovered there was a small brewery, based in Lewes, that was turning out some interesting sounding beers.

CAMRA’s first (1974) Good Beer Guide was rather dismissive of  Harvey’s because of the company’s flirtation with top pressure dispense. The one-liner, in the sparse Brewery Section at the rear of the guide, simply read, “Difficult to find real ale,” but despite this, I began hearing only good things about the Lewes based brewery.

It was my return to Kent in 1979, following four years “exile” in Greater Manchester and three in Greater London, that gave me the chance of finally tracking down some Harvey’s. Even then, outlets for the brewery’s beers were few and far between, and the nearest outlet to Maidstone, where I was living at the time, was the Crown Point Inn, a prominent free house on the busy A25, between the villages of Seal and Ightham.

I didn’t possess a car at the time, so a visit to the Crown Point meant a cycle ride. This wasn’t a problem, as the previous Mrs Bailey and I were both keen cyclists. I have vague memories of arriving at the pub for a lunchtime drink, on a sunny Sunday. Harvey’s Best was indeed on tap, but I can’t pretend that I was overwhelmed by my first taste of the beer.

It wasn’t until my career took me to Tonbridge, and the town’s relative closeness to the border with Sussex, that further opportunities to enjoy Harvey’s presented themselves. The Beau Nash Tavern, in nearby Tunbridge Wells was one pub which regularly stocked Harvey’s, as was the legendary Sussex Arms, just off the town’s historic Pantiles area.

Slowly, but surely, Harvey’s started to grow on me, and as the years went on the company’s beers became much more widely available in West Kent. My access to them also increased measurably, following my move to Tonbridge in the autumn of 1984, as did my acquaintance with Harvey’s seasonal beers.

I will end the post here, as due to the widespread availability of Harvey’s Sussex Best - until the start of the pandemic that is, this beer has continued its regular presence on the bars of many local pubs and remained a firm favourite of mine. So much so, that I honestly can’t wait for pubs to reopen, so I can sink a few pints of this delectable beer.

 

11 comments:

Curmudgeon said...

It's interesting, as I wrote here, how Harvey's Sussex Best seems to be about the only traditional balanced bitter crafties will admit to liking.

Dave said...

It took me longer than it should have to fully appreciate their beers. Now? I think the are one of the best I have ever drunk. The whole lineup is special in my opinion.

Paul Bailey said...

Mudge, I followed the link in your comment and re-read your post from September 2019. It seems we are both saying pretty much the same thing, although I’m sometimes left wondering about the thinking that goes on behind some of these craft types.
Is it that they feel comfortable admitting they like Harvey’s, when the same might not apply to some of the other established brewers? It’s almost as if they feel their image will somehow be tarnished if they’re seen liking traditional, brown bitters.

Harvey’s, on the other hand, have pretty much ploughed their own furrow, content in doing things their own way, whilst keeping an eye out for what else is going on in the industry. They certainly don’t need the approval of the “craft glitterati” and yet I don’t suppose they’re going to ignore it either.

Harvey’s have dipped their toes into the murky waters of craft, but that’s as far as it goes, and they’re going to stick with what they do best, and the so-called “influencers” can go forth and multiply.

As you point out in your own article, they haven’t gone chasing after the supermarkets, or the major pub chains, and by not doing so have not been forced to cut down on quality. This is obvious in the finished product.

Paul Bailey said...

Dave, I suppose Harvey’s can take some getting used to. I wasn’t exactly blown away the first time I tried their beers, but it didn’t take too long for them to grow on me. I fully agree that their line-up is special; there aren’t that many brewers offering such a wide and interesting different beers.

Conversely, there are some local CAMRA members who aren’t keen on Harvey’s, but when asked about this, struggle to say why. I wouldn’t describe Sussex Best as a “Marmite” beer, but it does bring out different emotions in people.

Horses for courses, I suppose, but as I said in the blog, I’d do anything to have a nice cool, well-conditioned pint of Sussex Best, placed in front of me, at the moment!

Etu said...

Funnily enough - I'm not for drinking at home, I prefer pub life, but these are not typical times - I was just thinking along similar lines too.

I enjoy the odd bottle though, as one does, and had two last night, a Banks's Amber Bitter from Marston's, and another golden ale from a small brewery, highly rated by those who like to do these things.

I can only say that the first was faultless - I couldn't offer any suggestion at all as to how it might be improved. The second, albeit very pleasant too, was simply no match.

I don't know if being deprived of little daily pleasures makes it easier for us to be honest with ourselves about what really is good when we find it, but there was no uncertainty in my mind at all.

retiredmartin said...

Harvey's was revered, similarly to Tim Taylors and Bathams, in beer festivals in Cambridge. My own experience is that like every other great beer it lives or dies on the care of the cellarman and the volumes it sells.

In Jeff Bell's Gunmakers pub and the Royal Oak it was undeniably a classic NBSS 4+ pint, but I've had plenty of NBSS 2.5/3 OK halves in Sussex gastropubs.

I admire their unfussy approach and their own pubs in Lewes and Brighton are superb.

Paul Bailey said...

I'm sure you are correct in your assumption Etu, and what it basically boils down to, is the old adage that absence makes the heart grow fonder. The other proverb, about not missing the water until the well runs dry, is equally apt - and on those lines, I'm sure we are all missing pubs at the moment.

Martin, Harvey's Best should be idiot proof in terms of looking after, but unfortunately there are plenty of idiots who think they know about keeping cask ale. A dedicated cellar-man is a thing of the past, and someone totally superfluous in a gstro-pub.

Those halves you drank in those posh Sussex gastro's, were probably the only cask those pubs sold all day. The question is, how did these outlets make their way into the GBG in the first place?

Unknown said...

Well Paul, I'm a little puzzled about where you've been. Around most of East Sussex and into Kent I've had no trouble in getting more Harvey's than I care to drink. I have been drinking Harvey's for a long time and I believe it has changed. It used to be far more difficult to keep and went off really quick. It travelled really badly, and down here,Rye was as far as it would go. I've spoken to a few people who've been drinking it as long as I have and the consensus is it has been "London Prided". No coincidence really, where does Miles come from? My own opinion, for what it's worth. Wadworths 6X is far better, Exmoor Fox easily as good. Timothy Taylor Landlord, which is the only TT beer most Southerners know, is a pale. Boltmaker is their equivalent of Harvey's Best. It's as good, maybe better to some. Really, to sum up, despite drinking Harvey's for 55 years, it's not the best.... other than Bonfire Boy.

Curmudgeon said...

Aren't you completely missing the point there, as Paul wrote that in the middle of lockdown?

Paul Bailey said...

I hadn't spotted this one Mudge, so thanks for correcting our "Unknown" contributor.

I'm also not sure where he's coming from either, as I've been drinking Harvey's Best for over 40 years, and would say it's as good and as consistent as it's ever been.

An example perhaps of the "things ain't what they use to be," syndrome - with no connection to Max Bygraves, intended!

Duncan said...

Excellent article. I found it while searching online to see if anyone else felt that something had recently changed about Sussex Best, which has long been my favourite real ale. Alongside Black Sheep and the Reverend James it's a beer I can't pass up when I see it on tap (but it's definitely the best of the three, for me). Incidentally I must confess I've never been much of a fan of TT Landlord, but maybe it just doesn't travel well (I'm in South London).

Anyway, in the last couple of weeks I've had a few pints of Sussex Best that haven't quite hit the spot. There's been something too hoppy and slightly over-toasted about the flavour. The first was at the Dog (aka Crown and Greyhound) in Dulwich Village, near where I live, and I put that down to it either not travelling well or not being kept well. However, last weekend we were in Eastbourne where I had two pints, one actually at a Harvey's pub, and both tasted the same. I switched to the excellent Long Man Best instead, for the rest of the weekend, even though it was only available in a bottle (sorry!).

Despite what has been said about the consistency of their process, is there a possibility that they have changed the recipe? Or is it just my imagination?