Walter Hicks Special Draught - a real blast from the past

Two or three weeks ago, a beer which many local drinkers thought had actually been discontinued, received some unexpected publicity, on the social media pages of a well-known Tonbridge pub. Its appearance on the Nelson Arms’ website, and subsequent sampling by a number of local drinkers, including me, sparked a debate amongst members of our local WhatsApp group. The beer in question was Walter Hicks Special Draught – HSD for short, and it is described by the brewery as a “truly classic ale of considerable depth and complexity.” Some admirers go further by claiming that this 5% strong, cask ale is a suitable alternative to a well-rounded premium red wine and an obvious match with steaks and other red meat dishes.

Named after Cornishman Walter Hicks, who founded the St Austell Brewery in 1851, Hicks Special Draught is brewed with plenty of malt and large quantities of English Progress and Golding hops, Hicks is today, the oldest and most traditional of St Austell Brewery’s core beer range. So why did some of us think the beer had been discontinued?

The prime reason is that HSD is rarely seen outside of its Cornish heartland, unlike relative newcomers, Tribute and Proper Job. I first heard of the beer as student, when a friend and I spent a week’s holiday in Cornwall, at a caravan site on the edge of Perranporth. We were aware that St Austell were one of the few remaining independent brewers in the county, and on a previous visit my friend had come across an extra strong beer called Walter Hicks Special.

We didn’t realise initially that the latter was a St Austell beer, until we came across it at a local pub. There weren’t that many St Austell pubs in that part of northern Cornwall, as regional brewery Devenish, along with national brewers such as Courage and Whitbread controlled many of the local pubs. But after trying a few pints of HSD, we declared this full-bodied beer with its of hints of esters and fruity biscuit malt flavours, was one well worth seeking out.

That task wasn’t easily undertaken in the Greater Manchester area, where we were living and studying, and neither was it feasible in our respective home counties of Staffordshire and Kent. For this reason, HSD specifically and St Austell ales generally, fell totally off my radar. When Eileen and I opened our Off-Licence in 2001 and started serving real ale to take away by the pint, beers from St Austell occasionally featured on our list. This was primarily due to a beer distributor, known as the Beer Seller. One particular customer had lived in Cornwall for several years, and whilst discussing local beers, as we sometimes did, St Austell was one of the breweries whose name cropped up. Interestingly, my customer friend told me the beer used o be known in Cornwall, as “St Awful!”

Things of course changed with the arrival of Roger Ryman, as St Austell’s head brewer, in 1999. Until his untimely passing in 2020, following a brave battle with cancer, Roger oversaw significant modernisation and investment in the brewery which successfully combined the company’s pride in traditional values, with modern and efficient brewing methods. He left behind a legacy that continues at the company to this day. Over the two decades that followed his appointment, Roger and his brewing team played a leading role in the company’s growth and success. He was responsible for transforming St Austell Brewery’s portfolio of brands – including its three flagship beers: Tribute Pale Ale, Proper Job IPA, and Korev Cornish Lager, but little mention was made of the company’s most legendary ale, HSD, which was eclipsed by Tribute and Proper Job.

So, like several of my drinking friends, I was surprised to see its appearance on the Nelson Arms’ website. Of course, I had to pop along to the pub and give it a try, which I did on a rather wet and windy Easter Monday, where during a relaxing afternoon session, I enjoyed a couple of pints of this legendary beer. The first thing that struck me was its traditional brown colour, especially after becoming used to the pale coloured Tribute and Proper Job. Regardless of appearance, I enjoyed this strong and full-bodied Cornish ale, brimming with rich malt flavours, and bittered with plenty of traditional English Fuggles and Golding hops. I made mention of this on the WhatsApp group, which was where a comment came back from a friend that he found the beer a bit underwhelming and rather thin to what he’s remembered.

Various comments passed back and forth until one made by a local CAMRA member, who works in the hop industry explained that he’d heard Roger Ryman describe at a conference that, over the years, he had gradually updated all of the older St Austell recipes, by making them more hop-forward, in order to give then a more modern feel.  This would make sense, as well as accounting for the change in flavour and make up of HSD, that our other friend had noticed.

Nelson landlord Matt, had acquired several casks of HSD, and the beer is still shown as “on sale” on the Real Ale Finder App. Given the transport logistics between Cornwall and Kent, it made perfect sense for Matt to order a number of casks, and judging by the subsequent, and very positive feedback, it was a gamble well worth taking. Finally, for those of us who might not have tasted HSD for a long period of time, it afforded the perfect excuse of renewing our acquaintance with this, perhaps, slightly older style of cask beer, albeit with a more modern twist.