Lucky Larkin's

After returning to the UK last Thursday afternoon, following our two-week absence, I was keen to get back to enjoying some proper English ale. I was also keen to track down some Larkin’s Porter, especially after my success, a month or so ago in coming across Harvey’s XXXX Old Ale. Both these beers are seasonal beers, whose availability is restricted to the winter months, although Harvey’s tend to “stretch” that period of sale from the start of October, right through into late March

After managing to “scoop” some XXXX Old Ale, I was left wondering would I be able to do the same with the Larkin’s Porter. The late Bob Dockerty, who was Larkin’s founder, head-brewer and proprietor, began the tradition of waiting until Bonfire Night before releasing the first batch of the season’s porter. For 30 years or more, this practice was quite strictly observed, with the majority of pubs stocking the beer, content to follow the November 5^th  rule, although since Bob’s passing, three years ago, this edict appeared to have become less strict. Bob always claimed that the beer was all the better after undergoing a six-week maturation period in cask. It is certainly well-conditioned, and pours with a really thick, creamy head.

With this in mind I was wondering when I would get the chance of enjoying my first glass(es) of porter, especially as I would be out of the country, from the last week in October through to the first weeks in November. Well-known beer-café Fuggle's have, for the past couple of years, taken up the mantle for promoting Larkin’s Porter, with both their Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells outlets holding a launch evening for the beer on 31^st October, a week earlier than previously. So, with Halloween taking place whilst I was away, my concern was that by the time I returned, stocks at both Fuggle’s outlets would be exhausted.

On Friday, I checked Fuggle’s Tonbridge website and was pleasantly surprised to discover the beer still on sale, and despite the heavy head cold that both Eileen and I seem to have picked up onboard ship, I made an excuse to head down into Tonbridge. I was relieved to find the pump clip advertising the porter, still in place, so I ordered a pint (£5.10, and worth every penny). I expressed my surprise to the bar manager that the porter was still on sale, and he replied this was because both Fuggle’s outlets had doubled up on their order from last year.

 

Suffice to say I really enjoyed my pint of this excellent winter beer, secure in the knowledge that it was as fine a beer as ever. Dark and full-bodied and brewed from a grist that includes plenty of chocolate and crystal malts, Larkin’s Porter has a rich, full mouth feel, with plenty of bitterness to match the lush sweetness of the malts. At a strength of 5.2%, it is a beer for savouring, rather than swilling. I can feel smug and content now, secure in the knowledge that this harbinger of winter is freely on sale, ready to ward off the worst that winter can throw against us. (It’s been unseasonably warm, since my return last week!)

I’m not sure this is still the case, but Larkin’s only used to produce just two brews of this superb beer each year: one in mid-September, and the other towards the end of  November. Following brewing and primary fermentation, each brew is allowed to mature, in cask, for a minimum period of six weeks before it is released to trade, and I am presuming here that this practice has not changed. If you’re lucky enough to come across a pub selling this excellent beer, than do give it a try, as I’m sure you won’t regret it.