Fuggles ticks all the right boxes

Sunday looked as though it was going to be a complete wash-out, and whilst the day started off OK weather-wise, it wasn’t long before the drizzle started. This put paid to my carefully laid plan for cutting the grass, after breakfast.

Like the kind and considerate husband I am, I helped Mrs PBT’s with the housework instead, hoovering the house from top to bottom.  The vacuuming is usually my job anyway, but there was the added incentive this time of using our brand-new Shark, cordless hoover.

After several frustrating months of struggling with an underpowered, under performing and slowly dying cordless Dyson, the super-efficient Shark made the hoovering a doddle; although I won’t go so far as saying it was a pleasure! I also changed the bed linen, a task I still struggle with.

I then grabbed some computer time to compose a couple of emails, before looking at options for replacing the brittle and yellowing Perspex windows on the summerhouse. So, all in all Sunday morning was what I’d call a “doing day.”

That’s enough of this domestic stuff, as with the chores out of the way, I could head off to the pub, with a clear conscience. So, after making myself a quick sandwich, I informed Mrs PBT’s that I was off down the town, to pick up a couple of items missed from the previous day’s grocery shop. She of course, knows me better than that and quickly sussed out I was going to the pub, but as I said to her, “Why not?”

Why not indeed, it had been a long hard week, and a couple of hours in one of Tonbridge’s pubs would do me the world of good, but which one to choose? One thing was certain, I wanted to avoid the football – not that I’ve got anything against the beautiful game, it’s just that this time around, the Euro’s hold no interest for me whatsoever. Nothing to do with me having drawn North Macedonia, in the work’s sweepstake – I mean they didn’t even pick up the wooden spoon and end up bottom of the pile, denying me a £7 consolation prize.

The football meant the Nelson, the Forester’s, the Chequers, the Punch & Judy, the Man of Kent, and the George & Dragon were all out, which just left the Beer Seller and Fuggles. The latter won hands down, and not just on the choice of different beers. The Beer Seller is good at showcasing cask, whilst Fuggles offers a much wider range of different beers, including keg and foreign examples. Finally, I find the Beer Seller, with its alcoves and low, artificial ceilings, slightly claustrophobic, as opposed to Fuggles, which is far more open, bright and spacious.

Fuggles it was then, but not before diving into Sainsbury’s for those missing items, followed by a quick call into Matthew’s shop, Robert Dyas, for a couple of packs of screws. Dyas wasn’t particularly busy, but had what I wanted, and with the staff discount that Matthew enjoys, well worth calling in at.

Fuggles didn’t seem that busy either, and this allowed me a choice of where to sit. The friendly and knowledgeable member of staff, allowed me to sit at one of the window tables and this gave me an uninterrupted view of the whole pub.  After taking my details – no Dido Harding, failed track & trace App for me, I made my choice from one of the printed beer menus, which adorn every table.

I opted for a pint of Session Pale Ale from Cellar Head, and this did not disappoint. Cool, well-conditioned and bursting with flavour, this pale and refreshing straw-coloured pale ale from this Flimwell-based, local brewer, really was cask ale at its finest. I’m unable to submit beer scores, these days, due to me no longer being a member of CAMRA, but his one was approaching 4.5 NBSS.

I sat there savouring his excellent pint, and watching the comings and goings, as customers entered or left the premises. I reflected that this was my first visit to Fuggles, as a drinker since last summer. I had popped in during early December, last year, when the pub was functioning as a bottle shop, but with no garden, or indeed any real outdoor drinking space, Fuggles was only able to reopen to customers on May 17^th.

Another beer was called for, and this time I went for a keg option, in the form of Milk Shake from the strangely named Wiper & True Brewery. As the name suggests, this is a milk stout, produced by this Bristol-based outfit, and along with lactose and chocolate malt, vanilla pods are included in the brew. It may sound like a real cliché, but this beer really was pure silk in a glass.

I made that my last beer as I wanted to cadge a lift home from Matthew, after he’d finished work. Before leaving, I nipped to the Gents, stopping on the way for a brief chat with one of my old customers from the off-licence.

I definitely made the right choice, calling in at Fuggles, and I will certainly be back. As an added incentive, I have a £15 voucher to
spend in the bar, as a reward for being a loyal subscriber to FUGSCLUB - Fuggles home-delivery beer service, which I wrote about here. The club has been providing me with a selection of top-class dark ales, each month, and in fact I am drinking one now, as I write this piece, Heart of Chambers, from Dublin-based Whiplash Brewery is an excellent coffee and oatmeal, double porter, but at 7.5%, it’s definitely not a session beer!