Pre-loading before the firm's Christmas bash

Friday 1^st December, saw me in Tunbridge Wells, ahead of a Christmas Party invitation. It’s that time of year, and whilst many will think it far too early to be thinking of the festering season, my firm thought otherwise – or at least some female members of staff did. That might sound slightly sexist, but in my 40 years + experience of such events, it is invariably the ladies who like to plan and organise these get-togethers. There was one memorable year though, when myself and the works engineer, sorted out the party arrangements, but that was only because it allowed us to visit potential venues to check out what was on offer. In pre-internet days, this was often the only way of organising the Christmas Party.

I digress, but this year’s bash broke with protocol by plumping for an evening event, at a different location. Covid aside, for the majority of my 17 years with the company, our Christmas party/meal has taken place at the Little Brown Jug, a large, but cosy and comfortable pub just 10 minutes’ walk along the road, from our factory in Chiddingstone Causeway. The “Jug” is also directly opposite Penshurst railway station – an important consideration for those indulging in a glass or three of something inebriating, with their festive meal.

We have tried various combinations of afternoon or evening events, the latter having the advantage of extending the invitation to the spouses or partners of staff members. However, as the company has grown in size, we have reverted to a mid-afternoon event reserved solely for employees. The Little Brown Jug has invariably laid on a sumptuous, and almost gut-busting, three-course meal for us, and to my mind there was little need to change. Other voices prevailed though, which meant the search was on for an alternative venue. To cut a long story short, we opted for a pub-cum-restaurant in Tunbridge Wells, and for an evening function, and that is why I found myself in Tunbridge Wells, last Friday.

With a 5pm meet-up at the restaurant, I potentially had several hours to enjoy, but after deciding that with an open bar tab at the party venue, I would need to pace myself as far as drink was concerned, I left it until just before 3 pm before taking the train over to the Wells. On arriving in the town, I made my way up from the station towards the main shopping area, primarily because I wanted to stop off at the bank. From there it was just a short hop to Allkin Tap & Bottle, at the far end of Calverley Road. This recently opened establishment is a welcome addition to the local beer scene in Tunbridge Wells, and the people behind the place are Allkin Brewery, who are based in Eridge, which is just a few miles across the border into Sussex.

Allkin Brewing started life as “Good Things Brewing” back in 2018. The brewery was housed in an attractive 17^th Century barn, next door to the family home, and by generating their own electricity, drawing up their own bore hole water, re-using waste products from the brewing process and delivering beer in their own electric van, established itself as the most sustainable brewery in the UK. Things were working out fine, and the even managed to survive lock-down, until on Sunday 25^th July 2021, the brewery was tragically struck by lightning and burnt to the ground.

A period of crowdfunding then followed and has resurfaced as Allkin Brewing Company. I’m not sure if the new brewery is up and running yet, or whether some of the beers are currently contract-brewed, although looking at the website, I suspect the latter situation applies. Looking for a place to showcase their beers, the company acquired a former shop unit at the far end of Calverley Road, Tunbridge Wells, which they opened as the Allkin Tap & Bottle six months or so ago. Initially, opening was restricted to Thursday to Sunday, but recently was extended to seven days a week.

I knew the local CAMRA branch had been keeping an eye on the place, and I had seen some good reports about it on one of the WhatsApp groups. It was no surprise then to find a couple of West Kent CAMRA members sitting there, at a table next to the window, when I walked in on Friday. They were probably surprised to see me, as I don’t get over that much to Tunbridge Wells, but after exchanging a few pleasantries, I ordered myself a beer, and joined then at their table. I’d taken the trouble earlier, to select a couple of beers from the Tap’s website, and started off with Flip the Bird, a 4.5% pale ale from Allkin. It was a keg beer, in common with most of the other beers at the tap. A total of 15 keg lines serves up a mix of beers and ciders from approved brewers, based throughout the UK, but a single cask beer is dispensed by hand pump. The choice of beer changes weekly, to ensure the freshest beer is always available.

I switched to cask for the second beer, and this was Plateau from Burning Sky Brewery, who are based close to the village of Firle, in the shadow of the South Downs. Apart from me plus my two CAMRA companions, there was only a handful of people in the Tap, but as the afternoon drew on, the place started filling up. The pub interior is long and slim with bench and stool seating, looking towards the bar counter and serving area to the right of the building. It seemed quite canine friendly, with canines of varying breeds and descriptions, present, along with their human owners/handlers.

Food, at the moment, seems limited to cold meats, pate, and cheeses, in the same vein really as nearby Fuggles. My companions were enjoying some sort of spread on artisan bread, but I had a meal waiting for me, just down the road. With this in mind, I polished off my final beer, a half of London Black Porter from Ansbach & Hobday, said goodbye to my companions, and set off back down the hill, towards the station.

The venue hosting our Christmas celebration was the Barn, a rebuild of an old barn using some of the original beams and bricks, which lies just off Mount Pleasant in the middle of town and a short walk from the station. There’s not a huge amount to report, on the venue, or the meal, so I shall save that particular pleasure for another day.