5th November - time for a pint of Bonfire Boy

It was a case of “second time lucky” on Saturday lunchtime when it came to tracking down a drop of Harvey’s Bonfire Boy. The latter is the company’s seasonal offering for the month of November and was first brewed in tribute to the fire services who extinguished the fire which threatened to engulf the brewery in 1996. The beer is now brewed each year for the bonfire boys and belles who participate in Lewes's famous November 5^th celebrations. 

Described as "Bonfire Night in a bottle" Bonfire Boy is a dark amber, malty brew, with a smoky flavour and a slightly charred, bitter aftertaste. These are just the sort of attributes one might expect from a beer brewed as a tribute to November 5^th Bonfire Night celebrations. However, despite these obvious selling points, the beer isn’t that easy to come by, especially in the free trade, so it is here that the internet and social media play their part.

I am talking here about the availability of Bonfire Boy in cask form, as the beer is relatively easy to obtain in bottles – if you know where to look, that is. Last Tuesday I noticed on the Nelson Arms’s website that cask Bonfire Boy was on sale at the pub, a good sign for sure, but something with the potential to peak too soon, if you get my drift. By that I meant now that the beer was on sale and given that many other beer lovers would have looked on the Nelson’s website, as I did, there was a very real danger that the cask might run out, before I’d been able to get down to the pub and try it.

All too often the things we guard against have an unfortunate habit of coming true, and as I entered the Nelson late Thursday afternoon, my initial optimism and joy at seeing the Bonfire Boy pump clip indicating the beer was still on sale, quickly turned to disappointment as the beer an out, before my very eyes. I’d ordered a pint of this eagerly anticipated beer, and watched in eager anticipation as the barman pulled me a pint.“Oh, it’s gone,” he suddenly said, and not quite twigging what he meant, I foolishly responded, “What’s gone?” 

It was the Bonfire Boy of course, and the cask had obviously come to an end, even as the barman was pulling it. Talk about bad timing on my part! Had I been an hour earlier, or perhaps even just 10 minutes sooner, I might have been enjoying a pint of this elusive beer, but instead I had to have something else. Surrey Hills Collusion isn’t a bad pint, by any means, but when one is anticipating a beer that is full-bodied, malty and combining a smoky flavour with a well-balanced bitter finish, it was bound to be a disappointment. I stuck with just the one pint and made my way home. 

The following morning, an announcement on my phone, flashed up on the West Kent CAMRA Facebook page. It was from the Dovecote, at Capel – the pub where the recent Green Hop Festival had taken place, and it was sharing the good news that Harvey’s Bonfire Boy had just gone on sale at the pub. Good news indeed, but every reason to get over to the Dovecote and enjoy a pint, before it runs out at that pub, as well.

As luck would have it, that morning, I’d arranged to join son Matthew for a café breakfast – not quite a “greasy spoon” one, but one not far off it. So, after a cheese omelette, plus a couple of hash browns (Matthew went for the “big boy’s" breakfast), plus a visit to B&Q, I suggested we drive home via Capel. Matthew didn’t need much persuasion, especially as I was driving, so just after 1pm, we drove into the car park of the Dovecote and stepped inside. The pub was busy, mainly with diners, and I must admit the food looked pretty good, but I only had eyes for the cask end, which sure enough was displaying a pump-clip for Bonfire Boy.

I ordered a pint and made a comment to the landlord about how I’d narrowly missed the beer the day before. “You’ll need to be quick with this one,” he replied, "it only went on yesterday and as expected, is selling well". Mine host then confessed to having a sore head that morning, having sampled one too many the previous evening, before reverently placing the full, and attractive looking pint on the bar counter before me.

I’m sure you don’t need me t tell you that the beer was pure nectar, and as you can see from the photo, well-conditioned, and clear as a bell. Knowing I could only have the one, I savoured the beer, although I didn’t dally over it either. As Matthew and I sat there, the pub filled up some more, and the arrival of a party of lady ramblers, complete with accompanying pooches helped set the scene of this charming rural pub. The group had obviously pre-booked because a large table had been set aside for them, with space beneath for their canine companions. It was the perfect lunchtime intermission, and the end of a worthy quest – temporarily, as there must be more Bonfire Boy to enjoy before its availability slackens off, in favour of the next seasonal offering.