It was all happening last weekend

There was a lot happening last weekend, and my little jaunt out to the Wheatsheaf at Jarvis Brook was only a small part of it. I mentioned quite early on in the previous post, that I was looking for a pub selling Harvey’s Old Ale, the dark and delicious seasonal offering from the Lewes based, and staunchly independent brewery. I reflected briefly on the two tied Harvey’s pubs nearest to me (Brecknock and Elephant’s Head), but the pub I really had in mind was the Queen’s Head at Icklesham.

Set high on a ridge, with extensive views over the Brede Valley, just under half way between Rye and Hastings, and dating back to the early part of the 17^th century, the Queen’s Head is a Good Beer Guide perennial. It has featured in the CAMRA guide for 30 consecutive years, an achievement in itself, but more so when those three decades have been spent under the same landlord. I knew that the pub would almost certainly include Harvey’s Old amongst its range of three regular beers, no just because of listings on What Pub, but also from a visit I made several years ago, with the family.

That was back in February 2019, and I wrote about our experience of the pub, here. Getting to Icklesham by public transport would involve a fair degree of planning, and the evening before probably wasn’t the best time to be doing this. Despite this I discovered a bus service operated by Stagecoach, running from Rye, which would take me to within a few 100 yards of the Queen’s Head. The only trouble is Rye can a bit of a pain to get to by train, and a Rail Replacement Bus Service would be covering part of the route, due to planned engineering works.

Taking account of these obstacles, a quick re-think was necessary and, as described in the previous article, I visited the excellent Wheatsheaf instead. Whilst waiting for the bus over to Crowborough, I bumped into an old friend I know from Maidstone CAMRA. Like me he was in Tunbridge Wells waiting for a bus connection in order to undertake a spot of pub exploration of his own. He asked if I was going to the Spa Valley Railway Beer Festival that was taking place that weekend? I said I wasn't, and neither was he, primarily on account of the lack of seating in the train shed at Tunbridge Wells West, where the event takes place.

I knew what he meant, and anyway the weather was far too nice to be cooped up inside a grotty old Victorian train shed smelling of diesel and hot sweaty bodies. Looking back, I haven’t attended this festival since 2018, as the event has become too much a victim of its own success. Working behind the bar became increasingly manic, and at times almost impossible with thirsty punters pressing against the bar, several deep, and all waiting to be served. This is a great shame for those of us who like to engage with customers, and chat about the various beers on offer, but obviously impossible when the place is stacked to the rafters. You would get awkward individuals wanting a beer from the other end of the bar, which meant barging past your fellow bar staff, whilst trying to remember where you’ve got to return to. Even worse were those indecisive customers asking for “tasters.” After they’d had three or four, you just knew they’re taking the piss!

This constant pressure, with no proper rosters, or adequate breaks for staff, meant little or no respite for those working behind the bar. The fact that festival workers are all volunteers, shouldn't mean staff can be taken advantage of. Despite my own misgivings, and those of my friend from Maidstone, I understand the recent festival was a runaway success, with organisers having to order in extra beer, after almost running out on Saturday night.  

We parted company at the bus stop, as my friend was heading for Groombridge, where the Crown would no doubt provide a decent pint of Harvey's along with the peace and tranquillity one might expect from a traditional old inn. He hinted that he would then continue along the route of the No. 291 bus towards East Grinstead. I hopped on the No. 29 bus, and headed for the upper deck, nearly falling down the stairs as the driver pulled away sharply. Fortunately, I hung on, found a seat and sat down to enjoy the ride. The bus route took us past the Old West Station which, is adjacent to the town's main Sainsbury's supermarket. From the top deck, I could see people heading towards the beer festival, including a couple of people I knew, who also happen to belong to Maidstone CAMRA.

I was glad I was going somewhere different, somewhere more pleasant and quieter as well, but there was one aspect of the Spa Valley Railway Festival that, under different circumstances I might have enjoyed.  I’m taking here about Green Hop Beers – remember them? Well after all the publicity surrounding them when they first burst on the scene, a dozen or so years ago, beers brewed with freshly picked hops seem to have dropped off the radar in recent years. Quite possibly the novelty surrounding them has dropped off, and what at one time was a big deal – something new and exciting, seems to have lost it sparkle.

The biggest pointer that interest in this sector is starting to diminish, is there has been no all-encompassing Kent Green Hop Festival this year. Sure, there have been plenty of more localised events celebrating beers brewed with freshly-harvested hops, but with no county-wide focus the whole Green Hop thing has lost its focus. But not at the Spa Valley Beer Festival, because with almost 40 GHA’s available, the event almost certainly featured one of the largest gatherings of these special beers.

This might have been a reason for me to visit the festival, if the many factors I listed earlier had been addressed, but the upshot is fresh-hop beers are now starting to make an appearance on the bar of quite a few Kentish pubs. This more localised approach is one I am definitely in favour of, and allied to this is the mini festival of Green Hop Beers taking place at the Dovecote Inn, Capel, this coming weekend. With 12 GHA’s on sale over the Friday-Sunday timescale of the festival, this event is far more manageable, especially as it is not swamped by having too much choice.

I enjoyed the event last year, and the local CAMRA Branch have organised a visit to the Dovecote this Friday. The only trouble is I’m a week out with my timings, as I more or less promised to take Mrs PBT’s over to Dunelm to look at a long overdue replacement blind for the kitchen window, so how am I going to get around this one?