Dark Beer Weekend at the Nelson

  The recent Dark Beer Weekend, held at the Nelson Arms in Tonbridge, was a roaring success, with over a dozen dark beers on sale, on a rotating basis. The beers ranged from dark milds old ales, porters, stouts, milk stouts, and even an imperial stout. The selection included a number of old favourites as well as several new ones, and amongst the former, was Harvey’s XXXX Old Ale, a well-rounded, dark, and very moreish seasonal ale. Also, present was Ebony Moon, a porter from Tonbridge Brewery. At the lower end of the strength scale, were Harvey’s Dark Mild, Marble Brewery Mild, and Watling Street Mild from Gravesend’s Iron Pier Brewery.

At the other end of the spectrum was Harvey’s Prince of Denmark, a 7.5% strong, dark, ale, described as an imperial stout. There was plenty to enjoy in between, but with just six pumps available (more than enough for most pubs), not all of the selection was on sale at any one time. When one beer was finished, another took its place, and I have it on good authority that all those on the programme, sold out by the time the weekend was over. 

This selection rotation meant I missed out on the likes of Gadd’s Black Pearl, a black and rather luscious stout, and Abbeydale Deception, a chocolate, and hazelnut stout. The latter beer was still on tap, but I’d ran out of drinking capacity by then. Also on sale, were a couple of offerings from Downlands and Lakeland.  

The Dark Beer Weekend started on Thursday, but it wasn't until the following evening that I managed to make my way down to the pub, braving the unexpected drop in temperature. With luck though, the colder weather will spell the end of the incessant rain that has plagued the whole country for the past month or so. I knew quite a few of those present in the pub, some were obviously local CAMRA members, whilst others were people I know from other areas of my life, including one of our local councillors.

I joined the seven strong CAMRA table when I arrived, and my first pint was a rather tasty dark mild from Manchester’s Marble Brewery. Last June, during a visit to the city, I was fortunate to not only visit the excellent Marble Arch pub but enjoy a very nice lunch there of burger and chips there, and all this in the company of pub ticking legend Retired Martin. The Marble Dark Mild in the Nelson was equally good, so I wasn't surprised when it became the first beer to sell out that evening. Afterwards I moved on to my longtime favourite, Harvey’s Old Ale, a beer which, so far this season, has proven quite hard to come by. I've only had a couple of pints of it, this winter, but I’m pleased I ordered when I did, because by the time I'd finished my pint, the Old had also run out.

As the evening progressed, I moved on to halves as I didn't want to have too much of a head the following morning. One beer I enjoyed was the Fairytale of Brew York, an unashamed tribute to the Christmas hit by recently departed, Shane McGowan and also the late Kirsty MacColl, who died tragically after being hit by a speedboat while scuba diving in Mexico with her two sons. The beer itself was a full bodied 4.9%, milk stout, and a fitting tribute to both Shane and Kirsty.

The next, and final beer was the 7.5% Harvey's Prince of Denmark, a strong dark beer of great complexity and depth that does exactly what it says on the label. Brewed using brown, amber, black, and pale malts, which give this beer its colouring and aroma, Prince of Denmark is described by the brewery as an “Imperial Stout Nouveau.” I've enjoyed this beer in bottle on a few occasions, but I think this was only the second time that I've drank tried the beer in cask form. For the record, the first time was on a visit, back in March 2019, to the brewery itself.

On the social side, the evening provided the perfect opportunity of catching up with friends, most of whom I hadn't seen since way before Christmas. One pal in particular had been struck down by the same bug as Mrs PBT's and I. He too had been laid up for much of December and had only just received the all clear. Another friend had contracted COVID over Christmas. Unlike me, that was his first encounter with the virus! It ended up being quite a late evening, and it was quarter past 11 by the time I left the pub, and after walking back part of the way with a friend, I arrived home just after midnight.

The event had been a tremendous success, and it was confirmed on one of the CAMRA Whats App groups that that all the dark beers sold out over the course of the weekend – as hinted at earlier. For someone like me, who really enjoys dark beers, it was like being a kid in a sweet shop. The event demonstrated that there is a demand for these beers, especially amongst beer connoisseurs, providing the right promotion is put into such an event.

Nelson landlord, Matthew Rudd made certain of this by printing some concise, but informative handbills, which were left around the pub so that people knew what to expect from each beer in advance, before ordering. I'm sure this relatively low-key, and relatively inexpensive approach is the way to go, especially as some drinkers seem to have a phobia about anything that's darker than a pint of bitter. I'm confident that as the winter progresses, this won't be the last we will see of these superlative dark ales, even though their presence in many pubs remains sketchy at best, and non-existent in most cases.

I'm wondering whether, given the success of last week’s event, Matthew might even consider repeating the event before the advent of spring. It’s certainly a thought worth hanging onto, that there might be another chance to enjoy a few more of these dark and delicious ales.  There is one dark ale though, that I normally get to enjoy at this time of year but given my “confined to quarters” status for much of December, I haven't managed to track it down yet.  

I'm talking here about Larkin’s Porter, a real belter of a dark and luscious beer, but again one that is hard to come by, as there aren't that many outlets brave enough to stock it. Crazy really, as those that do make room for the beer on the bar, find that it literally flies out the door. So, look out for it folks, and if you come across it, then please let me know.