Portsmouth - first impressions, plus a classic pub with annoying opening times

We now come to the second day of my South Coast mini-break, and despite the late-night road works going on close to the Chichester Inn (installing a Dutch-style roundabout) I had a reasonable night’s sleep. I awoke at around 7am, feeling refreshed and raring to go. The outlook from my room, across a grey and rather dreary looking Chichester, was perhaps to be expected for mid-February, but the greyness was tempered by me looking forward to travelling across to Portsmouth later that morning.

There wasn't a huge rush to get up because Stafford Paul and I weren’t due to meetup with Dave and Joan until 11am. Before doing anything else, I made myself a cup of tea, something I do every morning, regardless of where I am in the world. After a quick shower, I packed up my trusty, small red rucksack – the one that has been my faithful companion on various hikes across southern England. I’d certainly travelled light this time around, taking inspiration, from Christine Taylor’s excellent, One Small Bag website. I then headed down to the bar ready for a full English breakfast, which I knew would set me up for a walk around Portsmouth and fortify me against the chilly February weather.  

Paul was already there, and getting tucked into his breakfast. He was looking pleased because the landlord had furnished him with a nice large pot of coffee. After checking my breakfast drink requirements, mine host brought me an equally large, and most welcome pot of tea. As is common in many B&B establishments, breakfast was cooked to order, and when it arrived the plate was nice and hot, which is always a good sign! What really made it special, was the quality of the ingredients, a point I emphasise when out to breakfast with son Matthew.  

Quality comes across in the taste of the ingredients, especially the bacon and the sausages – something you just don’t get with cheap, mass-catering packs from the Cash & Carry. Mrs PBT’s agrees with me on this one, in fact she is the one responsible in our house, for the maxim, "you get what you pay for", and if we could instill this one point into our son and heir, it will be an important life lesson learned. (Cost considerations, of course, play a part here, but if finances allow, it is usually worth splashing out a little bit extra, especially where quality is concerned!). Whether young master Matt takes this on board, remains to be seen, but if he does, then maybe he will thank us one day.

Moving swiftly on, Paul and I enjoyed a leisurely, and very satisfying top-notch breakfast, which was spun out by the plentiful supply of tea and coffee we’d be provided with. There was just the two of us left in the bar by the time we'd finished, and we spent the time chatting partly about pubs, but mainly about the Campaign for Real Ale. We touched on memorable events associated with the campaign, both  past as well as present,  including various AGM’s we'd attended, (Paul is way ahead of me there), and some of the much-missed characters who seemed to come and go. CAMRA certainly attracted plenty of them and I think we both surprised each other bringing up name after name, as well as the foibles associated with many of these people, and how they helped shape the campaign, particularly in the early years.

Once the drinks were finished and the conversation had slowed down, it was time to make a move. I collected my rucksack from the room, ready to check out, but Paul was due to stay another night at the Chichester Inn and would be travelling back to Stafford the following morning. I believe he was planning to stop off in London on the way, where he had a number of carefully selected "heritage pubs" to visit. 

After handing back my room key, and thanking the landlord for a most pleasant stay, I headed off into town, with Paul, towards the station. We hadn't gone far before bumping into Dave, who was heading towards us. He was alone, as Joan had decided to enjoy a quiet day back at their Airbnb, so the three of us continued on to the station. A little grumble here regarding the new style tickets recently introduced on Southern Trains, which sees thin, flimsy paper replacing the card ones, that have been in universal use across the rail network for decades. Promoted as "kinder on the environment", but rather too easy to lose, or mislay, as Dave discovered, although fortunately he found his ticket, in the end.  

The train journey of just over half an hour, took us through the relatively flat coastal area of West Sussex, and into Hampshire. As a bonus the sun was peeping out from behind the clouds, which was the first time I’d seen it for several weeks. There was still a cold wind blowing, as we discovered when we alighted from the train at Portsmouth Harbour, but spirits were running high, and we were looking forward to getting to sampling a few of Portsmouth’s finest public houses. I'd been lazy again and had left the planning of the trip to Paul and Dave, and they came up with a good selection. The plan was to work our way from the harbour station and then make our way back slowly towards Portsmouth & Southsea - the other main rail station in the city. On the way we would be calling in at the pubs selected by the two pub men.

As mentioned in the previous post, I’d been to Portsmouth once before, but that was almost 60 years previously. Consequently, there was nothing of the city that I recognised, and that includes the iconic harbour – spiritual home of the Royal Navy. As we exited the harbour station, we could see the sea with the recently restored, Victorian warship, HMS Warrior taking pride of place. Launched in 1860, HMS Warrior was the world's first iron-hulled warship, and was larger, faster, and more heavily armoured than any ship before her. Her impressive size and firepower made her a symbol of British naval supremacy. We couldn’t see Portsmouth’s most famous preserved ship, HMS Victory because that is berthed in a dry dock, on the other side of the National Museum of the Royal Navy. The Victory is undergoing an extensive renovation so we wouldn’t have been able to have visited it, anyway. Nelson’s flagship is probably the only thing that I do remember from that 1969 visit.

As far as pubs were concerned, we were aiming for a Fuller's pub situated at Camber Dock, on the opposite quayside to the Isle of Wight car ferry terminal. It took a bit of finding, and we had to double back on ourselves at one point, but the Bridge Tavern was well worth the effort. The pub overlooks the water, and there were several boats moored up next to the quayside. Some were so close that, if you wanted, you could literally jump on board. Dave found this area particularly interesting given his experiences, several decades ago, of working on a lobster fishing boat, operating out a Maine port – possibly Portland.

We were not disappointed with the Bridge Tavern, where the nautical theme extended into the pub’s interior. There was an impressive bar counter, set towards rear of the building and a number of alcoves leading off either side. We sat, close to the window, in one of these, from where we had an excellent view of the nautical scene outside stop. I opted for a pint of Gale’s Seafarers, a beer we don't often see in Kent, but HSB was also available, alongside the ubiquitous London Pride – and before RM asks the question, I have no idea as to whether the Pride was “drinking well.”

We had an interesting chat, which included quizzing Dave about his time spent lobster fishing, before deciding to move on to the next pub. This was supposed to be the Sally Port Inn, a famous Portsmouth pub created in 1947 from a war damaged residence, dating back to the 1600's. Situated just a few yards from the seawall, in the midst of Old Portsmouth's High Street, the pub takes its name from the gate in the fortified section of the seawall, which is known as the “sally port”. There was some uncertainty regarding the pub’s opening times, but a visit to the Sally Port confirmed this was 3pm, as listed in What Pub. 

 

This was a shame, as from the outside, at least, the pub looked well worth visiting, but for those interested in the cold war, tales of espionage and the charismatic naval diver, Commander Buster Crabb RN, there’s a fascinating piece about Cdr. Crabb, who disappeared after embarking on a secret mission to investigate a Soviet warship, as part of a unauthorised spying exercise. Crabb had spent the night, prior to his disappearance, at the Sally Port. So, it was best foot forward and off to the next pub. 

 

Our route took us down to the water's edge, just below the sea defences of Portsmouth City Wall, and whilst I didn’t think to take a photo, right by the seawall, and adjacent to the Falklands Campaign Memorial, here was a small portal in the stonework, which led onto a paved walkway, overlooking the sea. Could this have been the Sally Port? (Yes, it was!) The sea looked rather choppy, and undoubtedly very cold, but there were a couple of hardy souls sea fishing off the break water. This was a hobby I dabbled in during my youth, and whilst never really catching much, it was an activity I enjoyed during my early teenage years, and it is one Matthew and I have had several attempts at, in more recent times.  You have to get used to being cold. Not just cold, but bl**dy cold!!

Well with four more pubs to write about, it make sense to draw the narrative to a close here, and continue next time, as I describe the remaining quartet of Portsmouth pubs, each with their own charm and unique character.

Chichester, second time around

Right, here we go with an account of the day that Stafford Paul and I spent in Chichester, in the company of Dave and Joan Southworth. As alluded to in the previous post, the couple were spending some time in the UK, a country I discovered they have been visiting for the past couple of decades. Paul had arranged to meet up with the pair, and had asked if I would like to join the group for a couple of days exploring the pubs of both Chichester and nearby Portsmouth. The Fountain, in South Street, Chichester, was the pre-arranged meeting point, because of its proximity to the railway station. The Fountain is bright and airy, with staff that come across as welcome and friendly.  It is also the first establishment in Chichester that son Matthew and I had visited 15 months previously, and fortunately it seemed largely unchanged, and this applies to the separate bar at the rear of the building, as well.

My train arrived, shortly after midday, so after a brisk stroll through the chilly streets, I made my way to this pleasant, Hall & Woodhouse pub. Paul was waiting for me at the pub, and through the window, I could see him waiting in the front bar. He bought me a very welcome pint of Badger Best, a beer that is something of a rarity in Kent, these days. Paul explained that due to constraints of Progressive Beer Duty (a scheme originally introduced to assist small brewer, start-ups, to get a foothold in the market),  Hall & Woodhouse have stopped selling draught beer into the free trade, and now only supply their own pubs. (They still provide bottled beer to supermarkets, though).

Shortly after, Joan and Dave arrived, and following a brief introduction, we all adjourned to a nearby table, where we could sit and chat, whilst enjoying our drinks.  We also had a good view of the various comings and goings at the bar. The couple had been in England for a while, and had spent some time in Bath, before driving across to Chichester. They’d found an Airbnb place where they would be basing themselves for next part of this particular UK trip. Dave and Joan were amicable and engaging, and it was good to make their acquaintance. Before long it seemed as if we had known each other for a long time.

Paul had sketched out a loose itinerary for us to follow, which first involved finding a pub where we could eat. That was the point where I brought up the online “ribbing” I had received from Cooking Lager, a character that Dave is quite familiar with after browsing various UK based beer blogs. The Bell Inn, at the far end of North Street, and just beyond the northern boundary of the inner ring road, was the pub earmarked for lunch, but with the pub observing the once common practice of afternoon closing, we knew that we’d have to be quick. Paul and I led the way, as we headed up passed the Chichester Cross, before risking life and limb attempting to cross the busy ring road, although had we been a little more observant, we’d have noticed the presence of a handy, and much safer underpass.

The Bell prides itself on being one of the more traditional pubs in Chichester, although that description could easily apply to several other pubs in the city. Its white-painted exterior gives way to a cosy and comfortable interior featuring exposed brickwork, wood panelling, and plenty of oak beams, but its downside was the limited opening times, during the day. According to What Pub, opening times are very much linked to performances at the nearby Festival Theatre. Paul and I arrived some time ahead of Dave and Joan and ordered ourselves a pint each. British IPA from Bowman Ales hit the spot, although I have to confess, I had completely forgotten about this Hampshire brewery, who have been around since 2006.

Aware that the Bell closes for the afternoon, we thought it wise to order lunch. Paul chose a chicken curry and knowing my fondness for pies, brought the “Pie of the Day” option on the menu, to my attention. This was when the barman reminded us of the 2pm closing time. No pressure, then? I’m not a person who likes rushing his food, so taking into account preparation and cooking time, I opted for something that was simpler, and quicker to cook. A plate of cheesy chips was a poor substitute for a pie, but it was the right choice given the way the bar staff started clearing away plates and tidying tables, as the 2 o’clock deadline approached. Dave and Joan had arrived by this time, but unfortunately, they had missed the kitchen closing deadline and had to make do with a few packets of crisps. Obviously, the pub does what it knows will work best, but such an early, end of week closing didn’t make much sense to us. This was a shame, as the Bell had a nice, cosy feel to it, and it would have been nice to have stayed a while longer.

So, where to next? And the answer came in the form of the Park Tavern located opposite the city’s Priory Park. Matthew and I had missed out last time, on this attractive, white painted Fuller’s pub, with its cosy, and welcoming, bare board interior, divided into a number of more intimate, drinking areas. As well as beers from the Fuller’s and Gales’s stable, a guest ale from Butcombe took my fancy, especially as it was a new one for me to “tick” on Untappd. Adam Henson’s Rare Breed Pale Ale ticked all the right boxes, in spite of its modest 3.8% strength, and proved a perfect mid-afternoon pint. If you’ve watched BBC’s Countryfile over the years, you will know about Adam Henson, who has inherited his father’s passion and determination to help save some of the country’s rarest breeds of farm animals from extinction.

If the Park Tavern was a relaxing place to spend a chilly, mid-February afternoon, then the same, and more, could be said of the nearby Hole in the Wall. As well as a beer range drawn from a number of highly respected, independent brewers, the pub offers several beers from Esher (posh Surrey) based, Big Smoke Brew Co. I made the same mistake as I did on my previous visit, by failing to spot the other bank of hand pulls, plus the wall of keg taps, to the left of the brick pillar that divides up the bar counter. Missing out on a half dozen or so Big Smoke beers, I opted instead for a pint of Tacoma American Pale Ale from 360° Brewing.

The pub was ticking over nicely and was just the place for a late afternoon session, except that it wasn’t a session. I was increasingly conscious that I hadn’t yet checked into my overnight accommodation, which was the Chichester Inn, on the other side of the city. Actually, not far away, at all, and as I’d phoned the pub earlier that day, to confirm I was definitely coming that day, there wasn’t any real hurry.  Apart from the fact I was feeling a little peckish, because all I’d had to eat that day was a couple of slices of toast, plus that bowl of cheesy chips.

We took the decision to head off to the Chichester Inn so that I could check in, and get a decent meal down my neck, but this is where everything becomes a little hazy. I say that because I can’t remember whether Dave and Joan came with us or headed back to their Airbnb. I suspect the latter, but remain unsure, the beer perhaps having finally addled my brain. I’ve pieced together the rest of the evening’s events from the times shown on my photos.

To start with, check-in, go up to my room, unpack (not that there was much to do there, as I travelled very lightly), phone home and catch up with Mrs PBT’s, and then go back down to the bar where I joined Stafford Paul for a chicken burger and chips, plus a pint of Langham Session IPA. We both turned in early, and in my case, I was tucked up in bed before 9pm. I’m not sure why I felt so tired, although I had experienced a rather hectic few days at work, in the run up to this trip. 

My room was warm, cosy and comfortable, as the photo shows, and the following morning I was raring to go. We’ll leave things there for now, and catch up in the next post, which is all about Portsmouth – the second, and final destination on this two-day mini-break.

Setting the scene for a welcome, south coast break

Late last Friday evening, I returned from a most enjoyable and eagerly anticipated short break on England’s South Coast. The break involved an overnight stay in the West Sussex town of Chichester, although seeing as there’s a rather attractive cathedral at its heart, perhaps Chichester should be described as a city. Perhaps its compact nature is more applicable to a town but whatever the description, Chichester is the county town of West Sussex.

My visit to this cathedral city, involved meeting up with legendary pub man Stafford Paul, whose intention was to spend a couple of days escorting two visitors from the United States around the pubs, and other delights of this compact Sussex town. The visitors from across the Atlantic, were Dave and Joan Southworth, who are regular visitors to these shores, sometimes in conjunction with Dave's brother Dick. This time around, Dave and Joan would be spending a month in the UK, and for the purpose of the visit had based themselves at a rented cottage to the south of Chichester. Paul had invited me to join the group for this two day, exploratory visit.

The idea for such a meet-up, had come from Stafford Paul, who had joined the couple, last year on a "Proper Day Out" in the city of Lincoln. Also present at that early autumn pub “exploration” trip was none other than Retired Martin, pub-ticker extraordinaire and someone who must surely hold the record for the number of pubs he has visited in the United Kingdom. This achievement came about as the result of his ultimately successful quest to every pub in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

After learning the Southworth’s intention to visit the English South Coast in mid-February, Paul arranged to meet up with them, and kindly suggested that I might like to join the group. Paul subsequently went ahead and booked three nights’ accommodation at the Chichester Inn, an historic pub in the heart of Chichester. After a bit of necessary prodding from Paul,  I too booked a Thursday night stay at the same inn, which would allow two days to visit both Chichester, and the neighbouring naval city of Portsmouth.

My son Matthew and I visited Chichester at the start of November 2023, which meant I was reasonably familiar with the town’s layout, and its pubs, but as far as Portsmouth was concerned, that would be a new location. But not completely new, as I had passed through Portsmouth in the summer of 1969, in order to take a ferry across to the Isle of Wight. That trip was as a member of a youth group, that was visiting the island for a walking holiday, staying overnight at a couple of the IOW’s Youth Hostels. I was only 14 at the time, so pubs weren’t of much interest to me, but I was quite keen on striking up a relationship with one or two of the girls in the party.  This involved nothing more serious than holding hand, plus a quick kiss and the odd cuddle. My endeavours were reasonably successful, although looking back I feel a little uncomfortable about unceremoniously ditching one young lady, after discovering that a more attractive looking, and slightly more mature girl, had the hots for me.

The things we do when we’re young, but my other interest was music, pop rather than rock, as my tastes back then were a little unsophisticated, to put it mildly. So the news that Bob Dylan was to play the Isle of Wight Festival as his comeback gig, following that motorcycle crash, sort of passed me by, and the fact that the event was taking place some distance from where we were staying, meant there was little chance of getting to see the legendary musician. The fact that I missed Dylan’s comeback live performance wasn’t lost upon life-long, Dylan fan Dave, during our subsequent conversation, but those were the circumstances, at the time. Besides, it’s unlikely that a group of youngsters, in their early teens could have gained admission to the festival.

As for the walking holiday, we started with an overnight stay at Cowes, before heading inland to the heart of the island. We ended up at the seaside resort of Sandown and Shanklin, where there was another youth hostel – spoiler alert, there’s only YHA hostel, remaining on the IOW! It was a week of glorious sunny weather, with nothing in the way of rain, and some wonderfully refreshing sea air. The freedom of wandering through some beautiful, and unspoilt countryside, with other young people, the same age as me, was something to behold, and whilst I have seriously digressed from the main story, I couldn’t resist slipping in that nostalgic look back, even though I failed to see Bob Dylan.

Moving swiftly on, and getting the narrative back on track, Portsmouth acted as both departure and arrival point for that trip across to the Isle of Wight. The outward journey saw us arriving in Cowes, whilst the return crossing of the Solent, saw us departing the island, from Ryde. I remember walking along Ryde pier, presumably to board the vessel taking us back to the mainland, whilst Crosby, Stills & Nash’s first UK hit, Marrakesh Express, was playing from a nearby radio. The other point of interest was the journey over from Portsmouth had been by hovercraft, whilst the return trip was by hydrofoil. Both crossings were much quicker, than by conventional ferry, but the latter was far less noisy than the hovercraft. We were also able to see out of the window without our view being obstructed by spray, from the curtain of air that raised the vessel off the water and allowed it to skim at speed, across the surface of the water.

Other memories of Portsmouth are confined to a visit to Admiral Nelson’s historic flagship, HMS Victory, plus a boat trip around the harbour undertaken by a friend and I, which allowed us to see part of the Royal Navy flotilla moored up there. During our time on the south coast, I was happy for Stafford Paul and Dave Southworth to act as guides. Both of them had visited Chichester previously and Dave had also visited Portsmouth. I travelled down to Chichester, by train, from Tonbridge, on the Thursday, and returned from Portsmouth the following day, also by rail. As mentioned earlier, the trip involved an overnight stay at the Chichester Inn, for both Paul and me.

I opted for the cross-country rail route, taking advantage of the Tonbridge-Redhill link, which allows connections with a number of mainlines heading south, away from the capital. Avoiding London meant a considerable reduction in rail fare, and by using my Senior Rail Card I was able to purchase a period return for the bargain price of £21.75.  After changing trains at Redhill and again at Three Bridges, I arrived in Chichester shortly after midday. I particularly enjoyed the journey through Sussex, from Three Bridges across to Arundel, where the line follows the gap in the South Downs, cut in prehistoric times, by the river Arun. Despite the lack of recent rain, the river seemed fairly full and was close in places to the top of the banks. The fields too, were waterlogged in places, and as we approached the village of Amberley, memories of walking the South Downs Way, came flooding back.

That section of the SDW walk took place in 2009, when with my friend Eric, and I had walked the middle section of trail from the "Jack & Jill" windmills, at Clayton, to Petersfield, just across the border into Hampshire. As the train journeyed through the Arun gap, I'm sure I recognised the footbridge across the river, and could see the footpath disappearing up the steep scarp slope of the South Downs. That was certainly a steep climb, and one that seemed to go on forever before we reached the top of the hills. 

After an overnight stay at the excellent Sportsman pub in Amberley, we ought to have been suitably rested, but I can still remember us, huffing and puffing up that hill! Enjoying the views from the window, are one of the main attractions of train travel, and this was a recurrent topic of conversation between Stafford Paul and I during our time in the two south coast towns. The memories the train journey brought back, and that I’ve just described are priceless, although I trust I haven’t bored readers too much, by recounting them!

My train pulled into Chichester station, shortly after midday, and I then made my way to the pre-arranged rendezvous at the Fountain, in South Street. The pub is owned by Dorset brewers, Hall & Woodhouse, and was the same pub that Matthew and I had visited, on our 2023 trip to the city.  It seems a convenient place to beak the narrative, before continuing, next time with the main event, which of course was exploring the pubs of both Chichester and Portsmouth. 

Credits: Isle of Wight Map:  Kelisi, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Pub photo - Dave + two Pauls - Joan Southworth

 

 

 

 

 

The Return of the Native - Thomas Hardy’s Ale makes a comeback

Thomas Hardy’s Ale is back in the UK and arriving on bars and speciality beer shop shelves, near you, from this week. This quintessential Barley Wine will be finally available on the UK market again thanks to an agreement between Italian distributor Interbrau Spa, and James Clay & Sons, the new official distributor for the United Kingdom. This is what the headlines were proclaiming the other week, but the story that precedes this announcement, and the 50 years of history behind this classic beer, is even more fascinating.

Before going back to where this all started, let’s take a look at what was happening at the end of last year. It was back in December 2024, that blogger and peripatetic master brewer, Ed Wray described on his site, how he’d been fortunate to participate in the brewing of the latest batch of Thomas Hardy’s Ale. Widely regarded as one of the greatest vintage beers ever created, Thomas Hardy’s Ale was a legendary beer, with a pedigree going back to 1968. For those not old enough to remember, Hardy’s Ale was originally brewed, at the now, sadly closed Eldridge Pope brewery, in Dorchester. It was a special and rather strong ale, brewed to celebrate one of Dorset’s most famous sons, the writer and poet Thomas Hardy.

The year 1968, saw the 40th anniversary of Hardy’s death, and to commemorate the event, some prominent members of the Dorchester Society founded a cultural association, the Thomas Hardy Society, to promote the author’s works. It was clear from Hardy’s writing, that he appreciated a decent drop of ale, and in his novel The Trumpet Major, he describes the local Dorset, Strong Ale, as follows:

“It was of the most beautiful colour that the eye of an artist in beer could desire; full in body, yet brisk as a volcano; piquant, yet without a twang; luminous as an autumn sunset; free from streakiness of taste; but, finally, rather heady. The masses worshipped it, the minor gentry loved it more than wine…”

Poetic licence, of course, but amongst the Thomas Hardy Society’s associates was a member of the Pope family, who owned the town’s Eldridge Pope brewery. The group approached Eldridge Pope and asked the brewery to produce a beer that matched Hardy’s description, above. The brewery went ahead, and came up with a sumptuous, and dangerously strong, barley-wine, weighing in at an impressive 11.7% abv. Amber in colour, sweet, syrupy, and awash with English hops due to the generous dry hopping, this was a beer designed with aging in mind. Therefore, the first batch had a label on the bottle stating, “This beer will improve if kept lying down at 13°C, and will last at least 25 years. DO NOT OPEN BEFORE JULY 1969.”

Designated a “celebratory beer,” Thomas Hardy’s Ale seemed destined to be a “one-off” until suddenly, in 1974, production resumed again. It was then brewed virtually every year until 1999 when production ceased. Eldridge Pope blamed high production costs, for the beer’s demise, but in the meantime, the bottles brewed at Dorchester had developed a cult-like status because of the complex nature that the vintages took on over time. It was claimed that at ten-plus years, Hardy’s Ale starts to resemble a fine Madeira or a port rather than a beer, with flavours such as apricot, fig, pipe tobacco, molasses, umami, and leather all sharing the stage.

Hardy’s Ale was originally packaged in pint-sized bottles which sold for a whopping one pound, a substantial sum of money in 1968! Packaged in numbered and vintage-dated bottles and given the predisposition of this Barley Wine to age in the cellar for decades, the “one off” brew of 1968, became a highly sought-after collector’s item.  When production began again in 1974, the beer was packaged in much smaller “nip” bottles, making the product easier to handle, and much more appealing to collectors. Beer enthusiasts from all over the UK, and indeed the world, began filling their cellars of with bottles, from each vintage, and this tradition continued right through to 1999 when Eldridge Pope discontinued production, again blaming rising costs. As an aside, the brewery itself closed in 2003, apparently due to “serious financial difficulties.”

At the beginning of the new century, Thomas Hardy’s Ale began another chapter in its long and illustrious history, when American importer Phoenix Imports, arranged for Devon based O’Hanlon’s brewery to produce the beer. Unfortunately, history seemingly doomed to repeat itself, and this third incarnation of Hardy’s was short-lived, with production only lasting from 2003-2008. The cause again was high production costs associated with the beer, which requires copious amount of malts and hops, an ultra-long boil, and a lengthy maturation time. It was around this time that I lost touch with what was going on with Thomas Hardy’s Ale, although some years previously, I’d purchased a bottle of the 1991 vintage. This was the year our son Matthew was born, and we decided to lay down the bottle for keeping and open it on his 21^st birthday. Spoiler alert, the bottle didn’t age well.

Next on the scene was specialist brewer and Italian beer importer Interbrau, who took ownership of the brand in 2012. It was Interbrau co-owner, Michele Vecchiato, who was inspired to rescue this great beer, explaining, “We can’t accept that one of the most important beers would be lost forever. We discovered Thomas Hardy’s Ale in 2008, which was the time when O’Hanlon’s decided to stop the production.” Michele had been thinking about importing the beer, only to discover that it wouldn’t be possible. This was the spark that inspired him to brew Thomas Hardy’s Ale at Interbrau. A brewing team was assembled in England, and three test batches followed until the final result met Interbrau’s expectations, and bottles could be shipped off to industry insiders for a sneak peek. The first vintage of Thomas Hardy’s Ale from the new owners, was released in 2015, and their commitment to such an important beer in British brewing history has ensured that it will be enjoyed well into the 21st century, and hopefully beyond.

We are now approaching the latest chapter in the story of Thomas Hardy’s Ale, and over half a century later from its first release, the reborn beer is now being produced at the Hepworth’s Brewery, in Sussex. under the guidance of the iconic brewmaster Derek Prentice. This is where we catch up once more with Ed Wray. Thomas Hardy’s Ale is finally available again on the UK market, thanks to the collaboration between the Interbrau and long-established, beer wholesaler, James Clay and Sons.

Thomas Hardy’s Ale vintage 2024 is now available in numbered and vintage dated 25 cl bottles as well as 10 litre key-kegs, and I managed to catch some on draught (key-keg) at Tonbridge Fuggle’s, last weekend. The beer was certainly attracting a lot of interest, although quite sensibly, Fuggle’s were only selling it in half, or third of a pint measures. With an abv of 11.3%, it was definitely a beer for sipping and savouring, but not surprisingly has already sold out. I’m pleased then, that 56 years after it’s first appearance, I was finally able to taste and enjoy this legendary beer, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Fuggle’s are able to get their hands on another keg of Thomas Hardy’s Ale, before too long.

Jennings to brew again!

After the last week’s bad news, regarding the insolvency of By the Horns brewery, there’s more than a glimmer of good news on a different front concerning the re-opening of a recently closed brewery. It’s a story that appears to have come out of nowhere and concerns the re-opening of the former Jenning’s Brewery at Cockermouth, Cumbria, in the heart of the English Lake District. Jennings was a much-loved independent brewery, that slowly lost its freedom and its identity after a series of takeovers and mergers, so let’s first take a look at what happened in the run up to the closure of the brewery. Mick Knapton, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>

Jennings Brewery was founded by John Jennings Sr. in 1828, in the Cumbrian village of Lorton. His son was also involved in running the brewery and the concern was later passed on to his three grandsons after the death of Jennings Sr. The business prospered and grew in size, eventually outgrowing the Lorton brewery. With an eye to the future, Jennings moved to nearby Cockermouth in 1874, where there was more room for expansion. The brewery remains there today, at the foot of Cockermouth Castle, surrounded by the Rivers Derwent and Cocker.

In 1887, the brewery went from being a family-owned business to a public limited company, which enthusiastic locals were happy to buy shares in. This ensured that when the last member of the Jennings family died, the company kept its local identity; a situation that lasted for the next 100 years.  Jennings won multiple awards across the years, with beers such as, Cumberland, Sneck Lifter plus Cocker Hoop, and in 1999 the latter brew received the ultimate accolade of Champion Beer of Britain Bitter at CAMRA’s Great British Beer festival.

Jennings brewed successfully as an independent company until 2005 when the brewery and its pubs were purchased by Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries Ltd. In 2007, W&D changed their name to Marston's, after acquiring the Burton-based company because the Marston’s name was much better known.  In 2009, Cockermouth suffered serious flooding which badly affected the brewery as well. The floods had an enormous impact on the business, forcing Marston’s to implement flood safety features and barricades throughout the site. Further changes came for Jennings in 2020, when it became part of the Carlsberg group, following the merger of Carlsberg and Marston’s. This was closely followed by the Covid pandemic, which sounded the death knell for brewing at Cockermouth. The brewery closed its doors for the last time in November 2022, bringing to an end 194 years of brewing in the town. And there the Jennings’s story might well have ended, were it not for a recent development.

Enter two local business owners, Kurt Canfield (CEO of specialist engineering business Delkia) and Rebecca Canfield (Proprietor of wine and spirits company Wine and the Wood). The pair acquired the brewery for an undisclosed sum, at the start of February, and will take ownership of the brewery site, with the intention to resume brewing Jennings beer once again, at Cockermouth. The deal involves the transfer of all rights to the Jennings trademarks, intellectual property and recipes. Bottled beer, bearing the Jennings brand, will continue to be brewed by Carlsberg Britvic until March 2025, following which beer production will transfer to Jennings Brewery Limited.

Rebecca Canfield, explained that she had long cherished the Jennings Brewery site, adding that preserving the heritage of the brewery and the maltings, was of utmost importance to her and her partner. With almost 200 years of brewing history at Cockermouth, the one element that really attracted the couple to the project, was the fact it has its own well. Ms Canfield stated that the pure, Lakeland water drawn direct from the castle well, was integral to the brewing of Jennings beer, and acted as the “secret ingredient” which gives the beer its “distinctive Cumberland flavour.” 

Kurt Canfield stated that the project the pair had embarked on, was an ambitious endeavour which will benefit the entire community. He added that there are plans to enhance the site while respecting the history and the heritage of both the brewery and the maltings. Unsurprisingly, given the time that both buildings have stood idle, certain critical repairs are necessary, and there is much to do to restore the Cockermouth brewery to its former glory. But with a small, but passionate team around them, focussed on bringing that heritage back to life, the Canfields remain confident of bringing back the great beers that Jennings was once known for.

The new company, set up by the pair, is set to create seven new jobs in the Cockermouth area, covering Head Brewer, the brewing team, plus the sales and marketing departments. Chris France, the founder of specialty beer retailer Beer Hawk, is joining as managing director of the new, Jennings Brewery Limited. David Bodily, head of properties and facilities at Carlsberg Britvic, said the Danish brewing giant was pleased to have closed the sale of the business to two new local owners, who are looking to preserve the brewery’s heritage. He finished by saying, “The brewery occupies a unique location in Cockermouth, and we wish Kurt and Rebecca every success for the future."

In the meantime, I’m sure there are lots of details still to be sorted. For a start, is the brewing equipment still in place, as normally, following a closure, the “wreckers” will be sent in, to strip out everything of value. Reading between the lines, we must assume that essential parts of the plant are still intact – mash tuns, coppers, fermenting vessels etc, plus ancillary items such as refrigeration and cooling equipment.

We must also assume that the new owners have done their homework, diligently and methodically, otherwise they might have bought the proverbial, “pig in a poke.” Assuming then, that everything is as it should be, and that brewing can recommence at Jennings, we must wish the new owners, every success with their new venture, and look forward to enjoying Jennings Lakeland Ales, on future visits to the Lake District.

Final note, much of the information regarding this most welcome of developments, came from an article that appeared on the Food Manufacture website, which you can read here. Also, there are few photos to illustrate this post, primarily because I have none of my own. My last visit to the Lake District was over 40 years ago, so there are certainly no electronic photographs taken by me. The ones that I did manage to find, are library ones, reproduced under a “Creative Commons” licence.

 

 

Letting go of the horns

The beer world woke up to some sad news earlier this week, with the announcement that By the Horns, one of London’s original craft beer names, has entered liquidation. The company, founded in 2011 by Alex Bull and Chris Mills, started with a five-and-a-half-barrel kit in Summerstown, south London, before moving production out in 2021, to a new site at Salfords, in Surrey. With the potential to produce 12,000hl a year, the company was confident about its trading future.

Unfortunately, circumstances over the last year led to its demise, as joint founder Alex Bull explained. “During Covid we were okay, we did a lot of online business and when the leases were up at our old site, we saw the opportunity to build a production unit, and it was all working. Then 2023 hit and so did a lot of turmoil. We decide to take the lease next door in a calculated gamble to push volume up and we had good sales, but then every kind of cost soared and pinned us back because we couldn’t pass it all on to our customers.”

The collapse of two companies that BtH worked with didn’t help, as between them Flavourly and Bier Nuts, owed £50k. Readers will probably remember Flavourly, a company that did well out of lockdown, before collapsing into insolvency. A further problem arose when Sainsbury’s removed BtH from their shelves, despite being a top 10 seller. According to Alex, this was because another large beer company wanted to double their shelf space with Sainsbury’s. Volumes dropped to 6,000hl and following a rent review on the second unit, cost increased by a further 30%.

An additional hit came the following year following delays by a major supermarket buying teams in deciding which BtH beers they wanted to stock. The final straw was the collapse of Union, a company which the BtH contract brewed for, adding a further £50k of debt, so last November the company in specialist to advise on options. By the Horns ceased trading on 22^nd January and entered liquidation on 3^rd February. I learned the news through the West Kent CAMRA Beer Chat, Whats App group, as one member works for a local Hop Factoring company, which supplied hops to the brewery. I found the demise of BtH particularly sad, because I had not only visited the brewery a couple of times, but also because I rather liked their beers.

In May 2017, I joined a group of West Kent CAMRA members on a tour of south London, with the purpose of presenting certificates to a number of breweries that had received an award at the previous year’s Spa Valley Railway Beer Festival. By the Horns was one of these, so we called in at the company’s original brewery, which was located on an industrial park, somewhere between Earlsfield and Tooting.  After its foundation in 2011, the brewery had expanded into adjoining units on either side of the original, which allowed room for a tap-bar, plus a bottle shop. The expansion also created space for a function room, plus additional storage facilities

By The Horns seemed very much a part of the local community, and several of the beers had a London-themed name. These included Diamond Geezer, Lambeth Walk, 2 Tone London Lager and Wolfie Smith, the latter being a reference to the 70’s sitcom, "Citizen Smith,” starring Robert Lindsay. The brewery tap was ticking over nicely when we arrived that afternoon, and after a welcoming beer or two, we were conducted on a tour around the brewery tour. This was followed by the presentation of the certificate. I wrote at the time, that I wasn’t overly interested in the technical data, such as brewing capacity etc. so after the tour, I remained outside enjoying the fresh air, the sunshine, and the excellent beer.  

Six years later, in March 2023, a slightly smaller group of us visited By The Horns Brewery for a second presentation, although by this time the company had moved out of London and were now based in the Surrey village of Salfords, a place not to be confused with the with the similarly named city in Greater Manchester. We travelled across to Redhill by train, from Tonbridge, before changing platforms and switching onto a Gatwick-bound, Thameslink service. It was then a short 5-minute walk from Salfords station to the brewery, which was housed in a new industrial unit, on an industrial estate to the west of the main London-Brighton rail line.

The move out to Surrey took place in 2021 and was a direct resulted of increased demand for BtH beers. The company commissioned a new production brewing facility, which included an enlarged, and significantly upgraded brewhouse. The company claimed the new site allowed them to brew all their beers in the most consistent way possible. The BtH brand also underwent a refresh, which gave it a much more contemporary feel.

Somewhat ominously, I wrote at the time, “Where is all this beer going?”  BtH have a serious piece of bright and shiny, stainless steel brewing kit, churning out umpteen varieties of different beers, all packed in gaudy-looking can, by the caseload, more to the point where is it being sold? Export perhaps, because beers from By the Horns have been conspicuous by their absence in local supermarkets and off-licenses, and right up to the point of the company’s collapse, I still hadn't seen any of their cans on sale locally.

Reading between the lines, BtH went for growth (they had to find some way to fill that large mash tun, and that forest of conical fermenters). I’m no business expert, but I imagine that chasing after the contract brewing market, is precarious and fraught with pitfalls. It seems that BtH also fell foul of the fickleness of supermarket buyers, with almost predictable results. So, farewell By the Horns, your beers will be missed by this drinker, even though they were rarely seen just 35 miles away from the brewery!