The Pubs of Tonbridge Part 3

I had hoped to conclude my mini-series on the pubs of Tonbridge with this article, but after having written about the remaining pubs in the town, I realised the piece was too long; (we don't want people getting bored, or worse still falling asleep!). The sensible thing therefore was to split it in two. This first section deals with the pubs south of the main railway line and along the High Street, up as far as the River Medway. The second, and still to be published section, continues in a northerly direction along the High Street, petering out in the beer desert that is now north Tonbridge.

 We finished last time at the Forester's Arms which effectively is the last pub in the southern half of the town. Continuing back down Quarry Hill towards the town centre and over the bridge in front of the station,  one comes to Mojo's, an imposing pub set back slightly from the road that forms the station approach. Mojo's started life as the South Eastern, which took its name from the railway company that originally built the line from London to the coast. Back then the line ran through to Tonbridge, via Redhill, and whilst this line is still an important secondary route, the main line today is the more direct route via Sevenoaks, which opened later on during the 19th Century. That's enough about railways for now, suffice to day that up until comparatively recent times, the South Eastern was a basic, down to earth,  two-bar town boozer.

All that changed in the late 1980's, when the pub was acquired by Colm Powell, the characterful Irishman whom we met in the previous series. Colm knocked the bars through into one, re-sited the bar counter and re-named the pub, the Station House. It carried on in this vein until Colm's unfortunate falling out with Enterprise Inns. Then after a period of closure, followed by further alterations, the pub re-opened as Mojo's, with large french-style windows at the front that open up and fold back in summer, creating a continental, cafe-style effect. Like the Station House before, Mojo's is popular with younger people, but nevertheless serves some acceptable pints of Harvey's Best and Sharps Doombar. It also has some high tables towards the rear of the pub, which are good to sit up at with friends,whilst enjoying ones pint.

Turning right out of Mojo's, and then following Barden Road back along its course parallel with the railway, one eventually comes to Cromer Street. Turn left here and then on the corner of the junction with Nelson Avenue, one reaches the Nelson Arms, a now rare example of a back-street local. Formerly a Courage house, the Nelson is now owned by Shepherd Neame. It is very much a locals' pub, but the clientele seem friendly enough, as do the staff behind the bar. Shep's Spitfire, plus seasonal beer are the offerings here.

Re-tracing ones footsteps back towards the High Street leads one to the Humphrey Bean, Tonbridge's JD Wetherspoon outlet. Transformed into a pub from the former town Crown Post Office, the "Bean" is not one of  the company's better or most imaginative conversions. The smaller section at the front is where the post office counters once were, but the much larger section to the rear was formerly the sorting office, and still maintains its shed-like appearance. To be fair, it is bright and airy, with plenty of tables, and includes a raised area on the left-hand side. This section leads through to an attractive land well laid out garden, which looks out across the River Medway to Tonbridge's imposing 13th Century castle. It is certainly large enough to easily avoid the depressing, and at times rather objectionable, groups of drinkers who seem to spend all day in the place, courtesy of the taxpayer!

Beer-wise, the Bean offers the usual JWD selection of Ruddles Bitter, Oakham JHB and Greene King Abbot, together with a varying range of guest ales. Quite often these are from local breweries such as Westerham, Weltons and Hog's Back, although some of Adnams less well-known beers such as Ghost Ship, Lighthouse and Gun Hill quite often  feature as well. The downside is the usual JDW thing: never enough staff behind the bar; pump clips showing beers that aren't yet available and, as mentioned above, some of the clientele. The pub does seem to have improved quite dramatically over the past year or so. It has been spruced up with new furniture and a long overdue total refurbishment of the toilets. Let's hope the local intelligentsia will keep it that way!

Across the road and virtually opposite the Humphrey Bean, is the Castle Gold Bar. Formerly owned by Courage and known as the Castle Hotel, this imposing red-brick building overlooks the river, but unfortunately is on the wrong bank for the outside terrace area to catch the sun. The Castle has definitely seen better times, having undergone a number of re-fits over the last twenty years. After a period as a  J and D Bernard  Alehouse which, to my mind, worked well, the pub was given a much more contemporary feel with leather sofa's and a rather minimalist look. This seemed rather incongruous for a  late-Victorian building and certainly was never in keeping with the heritage and history of the pub.

I was obviously not the only person who felt this way and consequently, despite the best efforts of a succession of owners, the Gold Bar has always seemed to struggle; certainly it lives permanently in the shadow of the Humphrey Bean just across the road, and is often virtually empty. Harvey's Best, served from an anonymous hand pump, is the solitary cask ale offering. Apart from that, there's not a lot more I can say about the Castle, except that it deserves a better fate than its current one, and that it's somewhere with a lot of potential. Given a sympathetic owner (not a greedy, grasping, penny-pinching pub company!) there's plenty of scope for a go-ahead entrepreneur to capitalise on its river frontage, central location and attractive  facade.

Crossing the river, and turning first right into Lyons Crescent, brings one to the Wharf. Again this is another establishment that has definitely seen better days. It started life as a Beefeater Restaurant, (remember them?), having been converted from a former riverside wharf building. A period as a Hogshead Alehouse then followed, and before the opening of the Humphrey Bean, this establishment was definitely the best bet in Tonbridge for a pint of something out of the ordinary. As well as a number of ales on hand pump, the Hogshead served several more from cooled, jacketed casks kept behind the bar.

This set-up seemed to work well, so it came as something of a shock when, like the aforementioned Castle, the pub was given a contemporary make-over which never seemed to work, and was totally out of keeping with the character of the building. It really makes me wonder where thee so-called interior designers are coming from. Andy Warhol meets Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen! These days the Wharf, as the pub is now called, is struggling to find its identity. It serves a strange range of cask ales, including Hancocks - a former Bass-Welsh brand, that has no connection or empathy with Kent; its one saving grace being it is cheap! It advertises cut-price lunches which look good value, although not having eaten there (I don't work in the town),  I cannot comment on them personally.

We will conclude this section on the town centre for now, and will conclude at a later, and not too distant date.

Just the one Mrs Wembley?

Well it might have been a case of  a few more than "Just the one"  for the character played by Joan Sims when she starred alongside Dennis Waterman in the 80's sitcom, "On the Up", but lunchtime today it really was "Just the one" for me.

I called into our local Wetherspoons to check out their beer festival, and all seemed  to be going well. I was down the town on my bike, so didn't want anything too heavy plus I knew that later on in the day I would be driving. Ok, I probably would have been alright on two pints, given the quite lengthy time interval between imbibing and getting behind the wheel, but I also had a lot of tidying up to do in the garden. This combined with the changing of the clocks back to GMT meant that time was of the essence; particularly as it would start getting dark at around 4.30pm. That decided it, this was definitely to be a quick visit to the pub with just the one beer!

Walking into Spoons my eye was caught by the Dutch offering Brouwerij't IJ IJBok. However at 6.0% that one was definitely out. Instead my attention was drawn to two offerings from Surrey Hills Brewery - Shere Drop and Greensand IPA. Now Surrey Hills aren't taking part in the festival, but their beers have featured  at our local Spoons a few times recently A week or so ago I enjoyed a pint of the 4.2% Shere Drop, which is the brewery's flagship beer, and  it  really was good. Knowing Surrey Hills excellent reputation, I therefore had no hesitation in plumping for the 4.6% Greensand IPA.

It was a wise choice, and I was rewarded with a stunning glass of beer. Despite the relatively modest strength for an IPA, this beer turned out to be a real hop monster delivering  an explosion of citrussy and resiny hops. It is certainly a beer well worth seeking out.The brewery's website reveals it to be a seasonal beer, but as it doesn't state which season, one can only presume autumn.

I stuck with my intention just to have the one; anything else after such a fantastic beer wouldn't have been half as good. After leaving the pub I had a ride around our local country park, before cycling home for an afternoon's labouring in the garden. I will, of course, be popping into Wetherspoons from time to time over the next fortnight just to see what else is on offer.

In search of the Dark SIde

I have this moan every year round about this sort of time. Late Autumn is traditionally the season when many old ales make their appearance, and first and foremost amongst these, so far as I am concerned, is Harvey's delectable Old Ale. This delicious, dark 4.3% abv beer is one of my all time favourites, and I look forward to its reappearance every year.

Harvey's launch their Old Ale at the beginning of October, with a "Dancing in the Old Ceremony", in Lewes. The event starts with a service of Thanksgiving at a local church, before moving on to the brewery yard, where the beer is literally "danced in" by a troupe of local Morris men. The townsfolk, together with any visitors that happen to be around at the time, are then invited into the yard and regaled with plentiful samples of the first of the season's Old. Sounds great, and were that I were there, but unfortunately, as has seemed to be the case in previous years, I was unable to go owing to other commitments

Surely one wonders, I should have tracked down some Old by now?  Unfortunately not; despite the beer now being out for almost  a month,  I've still not managed to sample a drop!  Disappointed or what? The trouble is that whilst virtually all our local pubs serve Harvey's excellent Best Bitter (a beer that is definitely a "must stock" item in this part of the country), very few stock the brewery's seasonal ales. Part of this is due to the ties imposed by the likes of Punch and Enterprise on their tenants which, whilst allowing them to stock Harvey's Best, doesn't allow for the stocking of any other of the company's beers. A large part of it though is due to the conservatism of  many pub landlords, who just want to play it safe, and not look for any variety, or be so adventurous as to stock something slightly out of the ordinary. Old Ale is available in Harvey's own pubs and that's about it!

The same applies to other brewer's dark beer. The end of next week should also see the launch of another favourite dark ale of mine, namely Larkins Porter, which unfortunately is another beer that is hard to find. Full marks though to the excellent Royal Oak in Tunbridge Wells for being one of the few pubs I know that stock the beer on a regular basis. (I'll be along there soon, especially as they've got a beer festival coming up!).

 Hopefully the situation will change next Friday, when I'm due to visit the Brecknock Arms, just along from Frant station, which is our nearest Harvey's pub these days. With Bonfire Night drawing near, who knows they might have Harvey's Bonfire Boy on as well. meaning I'll strike it double lucky.

I had a glass of Old Man, from Longman Brewery at the Spa Valley Railway Festival last week, plus a pint of Devils Dyke Porter, brewed by the Southdowns Brewery, in the Beford, Tunbridge Wells, so it's not been a complete dark ale drought!

Spa Valley Railway Beer Festival 2012

The Spa Valley Railway's second beer festival was a resounding success, with virtually all the beer sold during the three day event. Held at the heritage railway's Tunbridge Wells West base, with additional beers available at Groombridge and Eridge stations, and also on the trains, members of West Kent CAMRA at times were struggling to serve the thirsty punters quick enough, especially during the Saturday afternoon session. We coped admirably though, but by the time the bars closed at 9pm we'd hat to send out for more beer. Thankfully, Tonbridge Brewery, plus Tunbridge Well's Bitter End Off-Licence, came to our assistance, and we were able to obtain fresh supplies and get the beer tapped, spiled and conditioned ready for the following day.

Sunday was slightly less hectic, and I was able to take a train down the line to Groombridge and help out with at the bar there. Spa Valley hosted a Diesel Gala Day on the Saturday, which obviously proved a hit with railway enthusiasts, whilst on the Sunday their normal steam and diesel haulage applied. Food in the form of curry, lasagne and macaroni cheese was available at Groombridge, with an all-day barbecue in the large engine shed at Tunbridge Wells West station, where the majority of the beers were stillaged.

So what about the beers themselves I hear you ask? Well we stayed local with Kentish beers from Larkins, Kent Brewery, Old Dairy, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Westerham, plus Sussex beers from Dark Star, FILO, Hastings, Kissingate, Hepworths, Longman and WJ King. Included in amongst this lot  were some excellent "Green Hop" ales, an Old Ale (Longmans), a Smoked Ale (WJ King) plus a strong Audit Ale (Westerham). I don't think the results of the "Beer of the Festival" are in yet, but my three favourites were Dark Star Green-Hopped IPA - a stunning 6.5% beer, light in colour, but anything but light in taste and character; Westerham Audit Ale - a rich amber 6.2% ale, warming and just the thing to keep the cold and damp out on a grey October day; Old Dairy Fresh Top - the Rolvenden based brewery's take on a green-hopped ale, refreshing and not too strong at 4.0%, but dangerously drinkable, and one of the first beers to run out. (Incidentally, the same brewery's Silver Top Cream stout was also very good and proved a great hit with many of the punters.

None beery highlights were the band Rumours, who provided the entertainment on Saturday afternoon and evening, playing some excellent cover versions of late 60's and early 70's rock classics, including numbers by the Small Faces, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Guns and Roses, plus the Goth Morris Men (and Women), who put a whole new twist on this traditional form of Old English Entertainment.

Will there be another festival next year? Well, I'll be very surprised if there isn't, but we'll need to up the beer order again. In the meantime, like all the other volunteers and organisers from both West Kent CAMRA and the Spa Valley Railway, I'm taking a well earned rest and waiting for the final figures and  competition results to be announced.

A special thanks to Simon for the photo's.

Prague Beer Gardens

I wasn’t aware that Prague had any beer gardens; certainly not in the accepted view of such establishments. However, having made my previous visit during a particularly cold December, there was certainly no reason for me trying to track any down beer. My original visit to the Czech capital took place in 1984, and was arranged under the auspices of the then state-owned, Czechoslovak Travel Agency, Cedok.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say we were that strictly supervised, under the care of the latter organisation, but our itinerary allowed precious free time in which to go off exploring on one’s own. Furthermore, back then I had never been to a European beer garden, Cxezh, German or otherwise so wasn't really on the lookout for such places.
 
It therefore came as something of a surprise that whilst researching places to visit for the trip we have recently returned from, I came across a site giving details of around half a dozen beer gardens within the city. As it happened, we only managed to visit two of them and certainly when compared to our experiences of beer gardens in Munich, we were less than impressed.  I don't know what tradition of out door drinking, if any, exists in what is now modern day Bohemia, compared to neighbouring Bavaria, where the tradition of going to the beer garden dates back a couple of hundred years. Certainly the two gardens we visited in Prague were, apart from the benches and tables laid out beneath the chestnut trees, nothing like their counterparts in Munich and Bavaria.  For a start the serving area in each of them was nothing more than a small kiosk, compared to the elaborate Ausschänke typical of Bavarian beer gardens. For the record, though here’s what we found. 

Letna Beer Garden - Located inside Letna Park, a popular and attractive city park above the west bank oo the Vltava River, overlooking Stare Mesto. Letna Beer Garden is a large shady area with lots of picnic tables, directly across from Letensky Zamecek, (Letna Chateau), with arguably the best view of Prague. The beer is Gambrinus 10, served in a plastic glass from a kiosk. There is also a restaurant to the rear of the beer garden.

We visited his particular beer garden during our first afternoon in Prague. Hungry and thirsty, in equal measure, after an early morning flight, we headed for Letna after checking into our hotel, dumping of our baggage and then catching the tram back into the centre of Prague. It was a lovely, late-September day, (having left a wet and windy England far behind us), and we were determined to make the most of the good weather. The beer garden took a bit more tacking down than we’d anticipated, but whilst the Gambrinus beer was cool, refreshing and very welcome, (despite being served in a plastic glass), there appeared to be nothing available in the way of food.

Undeterred, we grabbed a seat at one of the many tables on the edge of the terrace, over-looking Prague, where we were rewarded with a spectacular view of the city. Considering the warm sunny weather there weren’t that many people sitting out, but at least the place was mercifully free from tourists! After one beer though,our hunger was starting to get the better of us. We had eaten nothing since 5.30am, and only then had a quick sandwich prior to our flight. I had noticed quite a posh looking restaurant, with an outside terrace, towards the rear of the beer garden. We decided to investigate further, and found to our delight that the prices were quite reasonable. We grabbed a table, ordered a beer from the attractive Czech waitress - Pilsner Urquell, this time in a proper glass, and were soon tucking into a plate each of Czech-style sliced beef in goulash sauce, with bread dumplings as an accompaniment.

Lentni Zahradka Prazan - Situated close to the entrance to Stromovka Park. On tap are Unetice filtered 10 and unfiltered 12, traditional Pilsner-style beers from a well-regarded new brewery in Unetice, a small town just outside Prague. Plastic glasses again, unfortunately. Quite small and squeezed into a corner, opposite the exhibition centre.

At 6.30pm on a late September evening, we didn't really pick the ideal time to visit this one, but unfortunately our itinerary, plus the need for some last minute shopping,  precluded a daytime visit. Consequently it was starting to get dark. There were still quite a few people around, and the beer garden was situated quite close to the entrance to the park, so we weren't particularly worried about our safety. What was more off-putting was the sharp drop in temperature. We ordered ourselves a beer each from the small kiosk, but unfortunately, once again it was served in plastic glasses. The unfiltered Unetice 12 was certainly well-hopped, but the place had all the atmosphere as a seafront shelter on a wet Bank Holiday weekend, so after just the one beer we left for somewhere warmer and somewhere that served food.

Obviously our two brief visits only scratched the surface of Prague's beer garden scene, and given the time of year we didn't exactly see them in their best light. I'm sure that earlier in the year they are packed with people escaping the heat of the city, enjoying each others company, plus a beer or two. Not sure about the plastic glasses though!

I would, however be interested to learn of other people's experiences of beer gardens in the Czech Republic.

Rail-Ale Beer Festival Spa Valley Railway Tunbridge Wells

Next weekend sees my local CAMRA branch involved with the running of the Spa Valley Railway Beer and Cider Festival. The festival is a joint venture between the two organisations and combines the often shared enthusiasm that exists between lovers of steam trains and real ale. This will be the second such event for the railway and CAMRA, but the first that I have been involved with. Last year's festival was something of a learning curve, but was nevertheless a great success. We hope to build on what was learnt, so that this year's event is even better.

There  are 44 cask ales on offer. plus 8 traditional ciders. All the beers and the ciders are locally sourced from Kent and East Sussex plus one from Essex and one from Surrey. The majority of the beers will be racked and on sale at Tunbridge Wells West Station - Spa Valley's headquarters, but a small hand full will be available further down the line, at Groombridge and Eridge stations. Beer will also be available on the trains that run between the three stations. The festival runs from 5pm on Friday evening until 6.30pm on Sunday (19th to 21st October).

The Spa Valley Railway is a heritage railway, operating both steam and diesel trains that run for 5½ miles through the picturesque Kent and Sussex Weald between the mainline junction at Eridge and the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, stopping off in between at Groombridge and High Rocks.  

The railway is easy to reach by public transport. Tunbridge Wells West is a short walk, via the town's famous Pantiles area, down from Tunbridge Wells mainline station. Alternatively, visitors can travel on Southern services from London Bridge, or East Croydon to Eridge, on the Uckfield line. Once at the railway, visitors can buy a £10 ticket that will allow them to travel back and forth between Tunbridge Wells and Eridge all day. Alternatively, return tickets to intermediate stations, such as High Rock and Groombridge can also be purchased.  Saturday will see trains hauled by heritage diesel units, whilst Sunday sees steam haulage


Food, in the form of  lasagne, chili con carne, curry, will be available at Groombridge station with a barbecue at Tunbridge Wells West. In addition, sandwiches, snacks and other refreshments will be available on the train and at stations along the line. 

For more information regarding the beer festival, plus the full beer list click on the link here. For an account of the branch's previous trip on the Spa Valley Railway, plus a short history of the line, click here.

Prague 2012

 

Well it’s been just over a week now since my return from Prague. I’ve lots to report and I'm pleased to say that it's nearly all good as well. Whilst this was my third visit to the Czech capital, it was my son’s first trip there and I can safely say he enjoyed it every bit as much as I did. 

So where to start? Beer wise it was all good, with some excellent brews available at prices we can only dream of here in the UK. Even in the centre of Prague one was only paying the equivalent of £1.25 – £1.50 for a half litre, working out at £1.40 – £1.70 a pint. The beer was all good, but some obviously better than others, and what I especially liked was the thick creamy head it came with. Now that’s saying something for a southerner! Memorable examples were found in the beer hall at U Medvidku, right in the centre of town, where both the light and dark versions of Budvar were served in this fashion. The food was also extremely good, very reasonably priced and served in generous portions. To the left of the beer hall is a separate room where one can sit at the bar and enjoy specialities of the house, including an un-filtered 6.1% beer, called 1466, which was quite bitter in taste, and also  the 5.2% Oldgott Barrique, a dark amber lager,  produced in a small  brewery on the premises, alongside a strong 12.% bottled beer called X-Beer 33. U Medvidku certainly got our thumbs up, providing one timed ones visit to miss the parties of visiting Americans! 

We also liked Baranicka Rychta in Mala Strana, situated in a cul-de-sac just up from the American Embassy. On a warm September afternoon we sat out on the terrace outside amusing ourselves watching tourists walking up the hill, only to find their way barred by a metal gate! The pub served excellent Svijany beer  from the town of the same name in northern Bohemia, and we also enjoyed  the traditional Czech delicacy of deep-fried cheese with  bramboracky potato cake for our lunch. The interior was every bit as traditional as well, and despite its location  in the exclusive embassy district, was very reasonably priced and with friendly staff to boot.

We were pleased to find our hotel, whilst some distance outside the centre of Prague (well five stops on Metro Line C), was just three tram stops away from the Richter Brewery Pub. This pub was a proper Czech local, but despite speaking no Czech we were made very welcome, and as no English language menus were available were provided with one in German, which at least ensured we could order some food and know what we were getting! The house pilsner was very well hopped, and again served with that thick creamy head. There was also a stronger, 6.3% beer available The food too was tasty, filling and reasonably priced and we ended up making two visits in total on those nights we didn’t fancy venturing into the city centre.

  

As well as Evan Rail's excellent CAMRA Guide, now becoming slightly out of date, and pages printed off from Ron Pattison’s European Beer Guide, we used a really good contemporary site confusingly called  Prague Beer Garden, but whilst it does contain a section on the city's handful of beer gardens, is much more  a good pub guide to Prague. This directed us to several places which we would not have found otherwise, including the cosy Prazsky Most u Valsu restaurant and brew-pub, right in the centre of the Old Town. We dined here on our first night in the city, sampling both the light and the dark beers, brewed downstairs. Interestingly, the portion of the pub underground was much more extensive than that above, and seemed a popular hangout for students and young people.

No trip to Prague, of course is complete without a visit to U Fleku, the world's oldest surviving brew-pub. This legendary establishment needs no introduction to beer lovers the world over, but unfortunately has become a victim of its own success in recent times, and is now something of a tourist trap. That said, it still produces its world-classic, house-brewed dark lager, sweet and chocolaty in taste and decidedly moreish. I first visited U Fleku on a still, warm October evening, back in 1984, whilst on a CAMRA organised trip to what was then Czechoslovakia. Back then the clientele sitting out in the rear courtyard were mainly young people, with a large proportion of them probably students. Today, most  customers are tourists, but with the weather again being kind, we were able to escape the crowded bar immediately to the left of the entrance hall, and once again enjoy the relative tranquillity of the courtyard.

That was until the wretched accordion player turned up! Actually he wasn't as bad as the waiter who persistently tried to foist  Becherovka shots onto us. Matthew thought I was being rude by refusing, until I pointed out the price of these seemingly "free" liqueurs on the menu; 79 Kc, more than double the price of the beer! The pushy waiter and the erstwhile musician eventually took the hint and went off to pester some other group of tourists, leaving us alone to enjoy a couple of glasses of the excellent beer (only 0.4l glasses though!). 

I said at the beginning of this post that it was nearly all good, and indeed it was. Our one slightly sour note wasn't really even that sour thinking back, but was probably just an unfortunate mix-up. One night finding  U Medvidku packed with the aforementioned parties of tourists, we walked along to U Bubenicku, an old fashioned, but very atmospheric Czech beer hall, a short distance away in Myslikova, and listed on the Prague Beer Garden website.  They had Pilsner Urquell plus the dark Kozel Tmavy on tap, and after managing to secure a table we sat down to enjoy our beer and order some food. The pork Schnitzel with mashed potato I ordered was excellent and very filling, but it took quite a long time to arrive. I didn't mind as the dark Kozel in particular was especially good. It was also interesting just watching the comings and goings. The problem came when we asked for the bill and found we had been charged for four beers each, rather than three. We believe this came about because more than one waitress had been working the tables and, unlike all the other pubs we visited, the staff weren't following the Czech (and German) custom of recording the number of beers served by means of  ticks on a beer mat.

We sorted it out quite amicably in the end, but I couldn't help my suspicion that this was a deliberate ploy to get a bit extra out of the tourists. That said I would still go back there as the place had a terrific atmosphere and, like I said, the beer and food were both excellent.

To sum up, the beer scene in Prague has improved even more since my last visit in December 2009. With a bit of homework and some forward planning, it is possible to drink and dine very well, and at very reasonable prices, in a capital city that is a major tourist destination for over 12 million visitors a year! I've got a few more tales to tale and experiences to relate, so keep watching these pages.

In Search of Craft

"A man who is tired of London is tired of life." So said Samuel Johnson, and whilst I could never quite tire of our capital city (I was, after all born there), I'd certainly had enough of the place on Friday evening. I had been up in town for a trade show at Excel in London's Docklands, and after leaving around 4pm decided to investigate a few of London's burgeoning "craft bars" before making my way home.

First on my list was the aptly name Craft Beer Company, in Leather Lane, just off the Grey's Inn Road. I had read about this place after it first opened its doors and had checked out its website prior to my visit. Even so I was quite un-prepared for the number of hand pumps that greeted me as I entered. I didn't count them, but there must have been round about a dozen. There was an equally large number of keg fonts dispensing "craft keg". I was rather thirsty following several hours spent looking round the trade show, so kicked off with a pint of Redemption Hopspur at 4.2%. Alongside the Redemption beer were several offerings from Dark Star, plus an inordinately large number of beers from Blue Monkey Brewery. On keg there were beers from Camden, Kernel,  Danish brewery Mikkeller, who brew Craft's house lager, plus several others that I'd never heard of.

The barman had earlier offered me a taste of the craft keg beers, should I wish to buy one, but  the pub was starting to fill up quite rapidly, mainly with what appeared to be a student crowd (where do they get the money from?), even though it was only just after 5 o'clock. I had been on my feet most of the day and really wanted to sit down, so decided to make my excuses and leave, in search of the next possible pub/bar on my list, namely the Old Red Cow. This was about 15 minutes walk away, through the rain, on the other side of Smithfiield Meat Market, in Long Lane.

If I had thought that Craft Beer was packed then the Old red Cow was doubly so. It is quite a small pub, even with its "keg only" lounge upstairs. I manged to push my way through to the bar, where I found three cask beers on sale, alongside nine keg offerings from an American-style, back bar row of taps. The cask beers were all from Ilkley Brewery. I sampled two of them; the light, 3.3% Victorian Dinner Ale, plus the much stronger 5.5% Green Goddess Belgian Green-Hopped Ale. Both were very good, but the place was absolutely heaving, and still more people were trying to squeeze in. There was precious little room to stand, let alone anywhere to sit, and anyway the clientele, in the main, were  "City nob-heads" aka Merchant Bankers, (yes the rhyming slang is appropriate!). It was definitely, yet again, time to move on, but not before I had noticed, with some amusement that the the bar staff were recommending anyone wanting lager, to try the Goldbraeu from Stiegl, a brewery from Salzburg, who are the largest privately-owned brewery in Austria. I  visited the brewery myself, along with Brauwelt, billed as Europe's largest beer experience, back in late 2006, during a short break in Mozart's home town.

I digress; the steady driving rain meant it wasn't the sort of evening to be walking around outside, so a short trip on the Underground brought me to London Bridge where I knew there was a cluster of good pubs. Making my way through Borough Market, where many of the stalls were starting to pack up for the day, I arrived at the Market Porter; always a good bet for something out of the usual on the cask front. Alarm bells started to ring when I saw the throngs of people standing on the pavement opposite the pub, sheltering under the high glass canopy of the neighbouring market, plastic (yes plastic) glasses of beer clutched in their hands. I managed to get into the pub, but it looked far too much of a struggle to get to the bar, so I didn't even bother trying. (I did see a notice explaining the use of plastic glasses for those who wished to drink outside, which is fair enough, given the size of the crowds the pub seems to attract).

Plan B was to make my way a bit further along to the Rake, although I was even less optimistic I'd be able to get served in there. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find it quite easy to reach the bar, as most of the people were standing outside on the covered decking. People rave about the Rake, and beer-wise I can understand why, but to me it always seems like drinking in a porta-kabin rather than a pub. Still, I had no complaints about the beer I had, Hackney Hopster 4.3% from the quite recently established London Fields Brewery,  and reasonably priced at £3.60 a pint. Also on sale was Oakham Inferno, one other cask ale that I couldn't get close enough to the bar to recognise, plus a variety of imported keg beers that I did manage to recognise, including Rogue Dead Guy Ale, plus Oktoberfest Bier from Hofbraeu.

I have drunk, and enjoyed, both these beers in bottled form before, so wasn't tempted to try them on draught; in actual fact I decided to call it a day. Although I obviously prefer to enjoy a pint or two amongst friends, I don't mind drinking on my own, providing it's quiet and I can find a corner to sit in and watch the world go by or, if they aren't busy, stand at the bar and engage the bar staff in conversation. When pubs are rammed full though,the whole experience is far less enjoyable and I find myself rushing my drink (probably as I am subconsciously in a hurry to leave). Friday evening as no exception, so I made my way back to London Bridge station and caught the next train home.

This article started out about being tired of London; tired of crowds would be more appropriate. It was also about trying some of London's Craft Beer Bars. That I accomplished in part, but what I didn't accomplish was to actually try any craft beers. Perhaps I did though, in the form of the offerings I had from Redemption, Ilkley and London Fields. To me they were well-crafted, representing the best that small, dynamic,innovative and up and coming brewers have to offer. They were cask and not keg, and whilst I know I'm biased, to me that makes them better!

Waverley TBS

 Shock news to me that beer wholesaler Waverley TBS have gone into administration, but judging by some of the comments on the Morning Advertiser's article it seems that those in the trade have seen this coming for some time.

When my wife and I first took over our real-ale off-licence, The Beer Seller, as Waverley TBS were then known, went out of their way to assist us. We had a visit from their local rep who arranged for all our beer lines to  be replaced, foc. We also received lots of point of sale, plus other promotional material. The company ran promotions on cask ale every month, which were often geared to the season or to sporting events and other occasions. On a more personal note, much to my wife's disapproval, I acquired numerous items of beer-related clothing such as T-shirts, rugby shirts etc as a result of buying multiple casks. Their tele-sales girls were always courteous and extremely helpful, and their draymen were invariably reliable and largely on time, (they would always call and let me know if they were likely to be late).

Personally I am sad to learn this news, and feel very sorry for anyone whose job might be under threat as a result of this action. It is nearly six years since I last dealt with the company and there have been a lot of changes since then. They had already acquired their new moniker, (Waverley The Beer Seller), having been bought by Scottish & Newcastle from former owners, Bulmers, but the changes introduced by the new regime had not really begun to take effect by the time we came to sell our business. Judging by some of the comments on the Morning Advertiser site, it seems Waverley stopped being a specialised supplier, catering to a niche market, and instead went headlong into a battle with other major distributors trying to compete on well-known and widely distributed brands.

As I said earlier, I have been out of the trade for too long now to have my ear to the ground and really know what is going on, but I can't help thinking that this news spells, in its own way, yet another nail in the coffin of the great institution that is the British pub!

Crafty KREECHR

Following on from my recent post about craft beer and the debate continuing on other people's blogs, I had an unusual bottled beer to try the other day that makes a real point  of being a "Craft Beer", so much so that even the crown cap carries the message "I Drink Craft". I acquired the beer, courtesy of  Tandleman, who kindly gave me a bottle to try, when I met him at GBBF last month.

Called KREECHR, the beer is an unpasteurised strong, 6.5% abv lager, craft-brewed in Bavaria, (name of brewery and exact location, unknown), and  marketed by an organisation called brewersandunion.com,  who are a South African/Portuguese brewing co-operative. There's a tie up with international sportswear  manufacturer Puma. "We created KREECHR in very limited quantities (600 cases) especially for PUMA in celebration of their entry in the 2011 Volvo Ocean Race.". There's also a tie up with  Oh Beautiful Beer ,  which as far as I can make out is a design house that  "celebrates remarkable graphic design from the world of beer."

As I'm not particularly sporty, I'm not that familiar with Puma's range of sportswear, but a look on their website reveals that Kreechr is the brand name of  beach shoes/sandals produced by the company, for toddlers and young children. Quite what the health police will make of this particular tie-up remains to be seen, but naming a beer after kids' shoes probably doesn't comply with ASA guidelines!

Still, that's not my problem, and as for the beer itself, I have to admit it's rather good. Smooth tasting, as one would expect of a beer that boasts a brewing time of 8 weeks, and with a nice hop character from the choice aroma hops used in its production, probably Saaz or Hallertau. Plenty of character and dangerously drinkable, despite its high strength, is my verdict on the beer. Thanks for this one Tandleman!

The Brewers and Union's website shows that they produce seven different beers, all nicely packaged and most of which are lagers. There is also a wheat beer, plus a Tripel. The website seems very keen on promoting the concept of craft beer with sections entitled "What is Craft Beer", "Craft Beer Nutrition" and "Craft Beer Care". These are illustrated by some entertaining videos, but most importantly, so far as the beer drinker is concerned , is the "Find Our Craft Beer" section; either here or in South Africa.  Most of the UK outlets are in London, as might be expected, and appear to be either up-market wine-shops or boutique-style bars. Nevertheless, I'll be looking out for when they start to become more widely available in order to give some of the other beers a try.

Well, no more blogging for a week or so. On Tuesday I'm off to Prague for a short break. No doubt I'll be enjoying a few "Craft Beers" out there! Cheers!

It's Not All Roses in the Garden of England

I count myself lucky to live in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Kent has long been known as the Garden of England, and not without some justification either. The county grows much of the nation's fruit, in particular apples and cherries, as well as soft fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. The part of the county I live in is also the home of the Kent cobnut, a large variety of hazelnut. Most importantly, for us beer lovers, until comparatively recently times, Kent was the area where most of the nation's hops were grown. Regrettably, that honour has now passed to Hereford and Worcester.

As befits such an attractive and rural county, Kent possesses some real unspoilt country pubs, and I have written about them many times in the pages of this blog. In fact I have probably written about them so much that people must think I live in a wonderful rural paradise of picture-book pubs, all  providing refreshment and sustenance in form of marvellous beer and wholesome home-cooked food, to weary travellers and hard-working country types alike.

I make no apologies for having painted such an idyllic picture, as I am proud of where I live and wart to share some of the many delights, both scenic and pub-wise, that Kent has to offer, but before I get to carried away I need to put the record straight, come down to earth a little and let people know that not everything is quite so rosy in this little corner of England as it might at first seem.

Like many parts of the country, Kent has suffered its share of pub closures, and whilst we've been spared some of the worst excesses of the ongoing cull of the nation's pubs, we've by no means been immune from it. Thankfully many of the county's rural gems have escaped, on the outside at least, but the price of their survival had often been conversion, either in part, but some times in full, to up-market eateries with prices, and clientele to match. Some pubs have even been converted into posh Indian restaurants!

At least with these conversions the building is still functioning as a licensed premises, where there is every chance that come a change of ownership, or circumstances, it can make the change back to a more traditional pub. More worrying is when a pub is deemed to be worth more as a private dwelling than as a public house, and is sold de-licensed, never to open its doors to thirsty punters again. There has of course been the piecemeal erosion of the county's stock of pubs over the years, particularly in some of the larger villages where communities that once may have been served by say four or five pubs, are now down to just two or three or, sometimes, just one. This gradual thinning down is, of course, nothing new and is a process that has been continuing for decades.

Fewer pubs, means less choice, less variety of beers and less choice between say a basic village boozer and an up-market food-led pub, but whilst this process of slimming down has been continuing slowly in rural areas, in the county's towns it has accelerated rapidly in recent years and is showing no signs of slowing down. The cull of pubs in urban areas of Kent is almost exclusively due to high (over-inflated) property prices, which is a downside of living in the affluent, but over-crowded south-east. Particularly badly affected are the larger town pubs, occupying substantial areas of land, especially where car-parking areas and  pub gardens are taken into account. Where such closures and subsequent redevelopments do occur, one almost has to admire the ingenuity of the architects and developers in being able to squeeze such a large number of (highly profitable) dwellings onto the space formerly occupied by a solitary public house. I say almost, because I, as a local inhabitant, would much rather see amenities, such as a thriving pub, remaining there for the benefit of the whole community to enjoy, rather than see a handful of greedy property developers make a quick buck at the expense of local residents!

In Tonbridge, where I live, this land-grabbing phenomenon has been responsible for the demise of several formerly thriving town locals, and reached its ultimate conclusion last year with the closure of the last pub in the northern part of the town. Thirsty residents in the most populated area of Tonbridge now have no choice but to travel into the town centre when they want a drink, or to stay at home with a few bottles or cans from the local supermarket. The ultimate irony is that one of the last pubs to close in this part of town, a former well-used and spacious roadside pub serving two local estates, has now been converted into a Sainsbury's Local - something that was not wanted, or indeed needed by the local community given that it is opposite a large parade of  independently owned and run local shops, but then when are the wishes of local residents ever taken into account by the powers that be when granting permission for such developments to take place? No-one can prove conclusively that money talks in such cases, but it surely must grease a lot of palms!

This process has also been taking place in nearby well-to-do Sevenoaks, where the worst loss arising from this property speculation was that of the Farmers. a very busy and well-run pub, opposite the town's railway station and a  favourite stopping off point for many commuters on their way home. Despite a high-profile campaign to save the Farmers, the sale went ahead, the pub closed in 2005 and was subsequently demolished. Some seven years later there is still a large hole in the ground, surrounded by hoardings, occupying the site which is now officially listed as one of the town's worst "grotspots". At least the development on the site of the former Railway and Bicycle on the opposite side of the road has gone ahead.

Equally prosperous Tunbridge Wells is also now starting to suffer the attentions of the dreaded property developers. There are two campaigns running at the moment to save a couple of community pubs that have been closed by their respective owners as unviable, when everyone knows the real reason is the development potential afforded by the large pieces of ground they both occupy. The High Brooms Tavern. in the Tunbridge Wells suburb of the same name, is owned by Greene King; whilst a short distance away, on the other side of the tracks, the Robin Hood, a substantial community pub, has been closed by our old friends Enterprise Inns. The development value of  these slices of real estate runs into significant sums of money in both cases.

So there we have it; on the one hand we've got a lot to be thankful for living in this picturesque corner of the Garden of England. But on the other hand this is small comfort to the residents of many of our local towns who are denied the opportunity of a pub of their own and have nowhere they can now go for a drink.

Stop Press: News has reached me that the Robin Hood has been bought by a brewery. No further details are available at present, but hopefully it looks as though the pub may have been reprieved.

Craft Comes to Kent

Craft comes to Kent, or to Tunbridge Wells to be precise. Last week on a CAMRA social in Tunbridge Wells, we finished our tour of the pubs in the Common-Mount Ephraim area of town by calling in at a fairly recently opened place called the Wells Kitchen. I had heard people talking about this establishment before, but mainly about the food. What I didn't know until the day of our visit was that the Wells Kitchen majors on keg craft beer. The building that houses the Wells Kitchen has been home to a number of other drinking emporiums in the past, including a night club and, more recently, a Yates. Certainly in this latter guise it had a reputation as something of a trouble spot, so it is encouraging to see it open in its new re-incarnation as a friendly and modern town pub.


As mentioned, the Wells Kitchen was our final port of call that evening, and after some excellent Harvey's at the Mount Edgcumbe, and some decidedly less excellent Dark Star at the Royal Wells Inn, I was looking forward to something a bit different to stimulate my somewhat jaded palate. We all know that feeling of walking into an unfamiliar pub for the first time and anxiously scanning the pumps for something either recognisable or novel, well my first experience of a craft-keg pub was just like this but several orders of magnitude even more unfamiliar than normal, The other members of our group had already identified what they were going for, and had made their purchases (Larkins Traditional), but I was glad that I had held back for the universal consent amongst my companions was that the beer was flat and lifeless.

In a way I was not surprised; it was dispensed direct from a cask kept behind the bar and whilst the cask was jacketed there was no evidence of any cooling. Sensing my hesitation, the manager asked if I would like to try a few samples. I had already spotted the pumps for the Freedom Brewery, and another that caught my eye was that from Chapel Down Vineyard. Also available, and one that had been spotted by several of my companions, was Liberty Ale from Anchor Brewery in San Francisco. Now I would quite liked to have gone for this, but t £6.00 a pint, no way! The manager explained that the high cost was due to the beer having been shipped halfway across the world and I could see his point, but the prices charged for some of the the other beers was also on the dear side, and we are talking in the main about local ones!

I tried one of the various Freedom brews on sale, their Pilsner I believe, but wasn't that impressed, so in the end settled for a glass of Chapel Down Curious Brew.  I have written a previous post about bottles of this company's beer being on sale at Waitrose, but this is the first time I had seen any of them available on draught. Curious Brew is the company's lager,and it is brewed using champagne yeast rather than normal brewer's yeast. Andy Hepworth, from the Horsham based brewery of the same name, is the man behind this brew. Chapel Down themselves are based at Tenterden, and are a wine producer with a serious (ie. extremely good), reputation.

I found the beer a touch too floral  for my liking, with a quite pronounced peachy flavour, but it was still pleasant enough. However. at £4.20 a pint it was definitely a beer to sip and savour rather than swill straight down. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to ask the manager his name, as he was called away to deal with a matter in the restaurant. This was a shame as he seemed really passionate about the beers he was selling.   He had twigged that we were from CAMRA and was apologetic about his single cask offering and the poor state it was in, but in his defence stated that there just wasn't the market for cask ale at the Wells Kitchen,  Apart from the Anchor Liberty Ale, and the Larkins, all the other draught offerings were craft lagers - Freedom, Curious Brew. plus one from Hepworths. They has tried craft-keg ales but like the cask they just hadn't proved popular, so the pub decided to major on craft lager instead.

I will definitely be calling back, as the Wells Kitchen is a welcome addition on the local pub scene. Also it is  good to see someone who is so passionate and enthusiastic about beer behind the bar.  My one gripe however, and this seems to apply to all craft establishments and is a question posed by many a beer blogger, "Why is the stuff so expensive"?

ps. The pub also stocks a wide range of bottled beers, which includes ales as well as lagers.

Beer as a Commodity

As more and more people switch from drinking in the pub to drinking at home,  beer is increasingly being regarded as a commodity rather than something to be enjoyed on a night out. A slab or two of canned lager now forms part of many people's weekly grocery spend, and the underlying thought process behind which band to choose is almost invariably that of price. Whatever brand of international lager happens to be on offer that particular week will usually dictate what ends up in the shopping trolley, especially when it is the lady of the house that is making the purchase. I don't mean to sound sexist about this, but I speak from personal experience when stating that is is usually women who are in charge of the weekly shopping budget, so it is inevitable they get to choose what the money is spent on.

We are all aware of the devastating effect this switch in drinking habits is having on pubs, but despite the large price differentials between the price of a pint in the local pub and that of a can from the nearest supermarket, there are other factors, apart from those of cost, that are keeping drinkers in their droves. away from pubs.  For the moment though, rather than elaborate on what these factors are, I want to address the effect this is having on consumer choice, and the availability, and indeed survival of local breweries.

Selling beer to supermarkets must be a mug's game, even for the major brewers. The former will inevitably demand substantial discounts, holding the threat of de-listing of particular brands from their shelves if the brewer(s) concerned don't play ball. Often the only way that brewers can maintain their margins is to cut costs and this is normally achieved by cuts in the brewing process. For example, lagering or maturation times might be reduced. There might be a small reduction in the alcoholic strength of the beer, meaning the brewer has to pay less duty to the Exchequer. Stella Artois is probably the best known example of a beer that has been reduced in strength in recent years, but there are also many examples of well-known ale brands having received this treatment as well (Bombardier, Old Speckled Hen to name but two).  Money saved by such reductions is rarely, if ever, passed on to the consumer. Even worse than the aforementioned, is the temptation to use cheaper and, by implication, inferior ingredients. Increasing the use of cheaper adjuncts, such as maize, rice or various sugars, rather than more expensive malted barley, is one example, as is the use of hop extracts rather than whole or pelleted hops. It is because of such practices that the commoditisation of beer has become such a cause for concern in recent years.  

This is the case in the UK at least, but what about countries like Germany, where beer is seen as part of the national psyche, as well as a matter of national pride, and where drinkers are protected by the world's oldest consumer protection law; the Reinheitsgebot? Whilst the latter undoubtedly  protects the consumer from the use of adjuncts and other inferior ingredients, the fact that it stipulates what beer can  be brewed from (malted barley, hops, yeast and water), does not prevent brewers from using either cheaper varieties of these key ingredients, or alternatively, less of them. Like in  the UK, beer in Germany is increasingly viewed as a commodity, much to the detriment of consumer choice and product variety, and is leading to beer as a drink becoming de-based and de-valued.

Fellow beer blogger Barm, I Might Have a Glass of Beer posted an article back in June about this situation using as his illustration a programme shown recently on German TV.  The programme highlighted all that is wrong with the German beer industry today, claiming that because the market is currently marked by consolidation and price wars, small breweries are closing. Cut price beer means German drinkers will not support their local breweries and buy the discounted big brands instead. Consumers in Germany take very cheap beer for granted, but although German brewing tradition is superb, German brewers have not paid enough attention to what has been happening in the rest of the world and have fallen behind. They all brew the same beer and have not kept up with the development of new hop varieties or techniques. The development is towards a monoculture such as previously existed in the USA, less hop, less aroma, less malt, less distinctive beers. 

I have seen  this discounting for myself, both recently, and also on previous trips to Germany. In supermarkets, beer is literally dirt cheap. So cheap in fact that even given the large disparities between beer duty/tax between Britain and the Federal Republic, much of what is stocked in supermarkets is sold at almost give-away prices. I have of course taken advantage of this situation, and have struggled back on several occasions with a  suitcase stuffed full of interesting bottles.  I say interesting because I have been quite discerning in my selections. For example when in Bamberg I restricted my purchases to beers from the city's 9 breweries and on a subsequent trip went so far as to buy a selection of beers directly from some of the breweries themselves. The choice of beers we noticed in shops on our recent trip to Munich though, was rather less inspired, and consisted in the main of the products of the city's Big-Six breweries, coupled with nationally available brands such as the aforementioned Becks, Bitburger and Warsteiner. Having said that it was good to be able to purchase bottles some of the stronger beer styles, such as Bock and Doppelbock, that are only available on draught at certain times of the year.

Commodity type beers were taken to the extreme at a small branch, a short distance away from our hotel, of budget supermarket NORMA, Here plastic PET bottles of "own-brand" beer were on sale at a ludicrously low price, I don't remember quite how low, as I wasn't paying that much attention at the time, but they did seem quite popular with shoppers. What did interest me was the Lobkowicz Baron Czech dark lager, sold at just 44 cents (plus 8 cents deposit) a bottle. This was a real bargain, and an excellent beer to boot, but I suspect it was a "one-off" special purchase, along the same lines as what Lidl's do over here. 

The biggest commodity market, so far as beer (and pretty much everything else) is concerned, has to be the United States. Home of the six-pack, and virtual pioneers of  lumping beer in with the groceries. It is several years since I last crossed the Atlantic, but even on my last visit I was able to witness the massive shift in people's perception of beer, from something cold and wet you buy in cans, to stick in the fridge and enjoy whilst watching  TV, or after mowing the grass in the "back-yard",  to craft-brewed, speciality beers, packed full of character and flavour that rank amongst the finest in the world.

Interestingly enough, Barm's article cites several examples where American breweries scooped awards in German beer style categories. It seems that so far as these awards are concerned, the best German style pilsener is no longer brewed in Germany, but by Sierra Nevada, in the USA, the land with no purity law, no beer culture, no centuries of tradition, where almost nobody even knows the word pilsener. What is even more disturbing is that in blind tastings, consumers had great difficulty telling apart the five best-selling German beers, (those produced by: Krombacher, Oettinger, Beck’s, Warsteiner and Bitburger), and none were able to correctly identify all five. Analysis in the laboratory at the brewing school Doemens Institut confirmed the similarity: all five beers have a similar gravity and level of bitterness..

A spokesman for the German brewing industry was forced to admit that German brewers have not been concerned  enough with what makes their product stand out among the competition. He thinks they are turning a corner and will concentrate more on regional roots. Yes, they still make cheapie brands, because they do not want to lose the consumers.

Back in the UK, despite what the Daily Mail would have us believe about it being "cheaper than water", beer is not sold at anywhere near the low price it is in Germany. This means discerning  UK consumers are prepared to pay that little bit extra for premium bottled ales, and certain lagers, whereas in Germany they expect to pay the same low prices as they would for standard everyday Helles and Pilsners.

Hopefully though, things are starting to change. In the upmarket Galeria-Kaufhof, just off Marienplatz in central Munich, we noticed an interesting display of bottles beers from both Fullers and Sam Smiths, including such delights as India Pale Ale, Porter and Imperial Stout. Perhaps even in Germany, as in both the UK and the USA,  there is hope for the stay-at-home beer drinker after all?

August Bank Holiday 2012

Well the last Bank Holiday weekend of the year is nearly over, and like the weather it's been a bit of a mixed bag. August Bank Holiday sees many beer festivals taking place, including on our own doorstep the one at the Halfway House, Brenchley. This award winning pub, and current West Kent CAMRA Pub of the Year, holds two such events each year;one over the Late Spring Bank Holiday and one over the August Holiday weekend.

 
Unlike previous years, and indeed the earlier festival, the forecast for Saturday was wet and windy, with torrential thundery downpours predicted. It certainly wasn't the weather for walking, so I joined a few of my CAMRA colleagues and caught the bus over to the pub. We arrived in the midst of a downpour, so went straight inside the pub, rather than sitting out into the garden where the majority of the beers are normally racked. Fortunately the pub was quite quiet, so we were able to grab a table and peruse the beer selection at our leisure. Compared to the event held over the Jubilee Weekend, this festival was somewhat toned down in nature, with only 50 beers available instead of the 70 on sale earlier in the year. Possibly landlord Richard Allen had seen the long term forecast, or alternatively with many people still on holiday at this time he though it wise to cut back on the beer order. Nevertheless, the beers that were available were a good selection  from Kent and Sussex brewers, which was the theme behind this  particular festival.

Beers that really stood out for me were Gravesend Guzzler from Millis Brewery and Beyond the Pale from Kent Brewery,  (my beer of the festival). I also caught up on same old favourites, including Blue Top from Old Dairy, Dark Star Original, plus a couple of beers from the Swan brew-pub at West Peckham which, although quite close to where I live, is not a pub I get to visit as often as I would like.

Round about one o'clock the sun came out, so we decided to move out into the garden, and the enjoyed the rest of the afternoon sitting outside. I grabbed a very tasty Cajun chicken burger to help soak up the beer, and whilst people began arriving as the day wore on, I can't say the festival was as busy as previous events.

On the way home we stopped off at the Bedford, in Tunbridge Wells, where alongside a selection of different beers two 5.0% offerings from Royal Tunbridge Wells Brewery caught my eye; Helles and Golden Ticket. The former is, as its name suggests, is a pale German-style beer, whilst the latter is a golden ale, with a fine slightly fruity flavour. Both beers were good, but of the two I preferred the Golden Ticket (think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roal Dahl). 

I have written before about the renaissance of the Bedford, under the careful stewardship of Simon Lewis, who is also the founder, owner and the driving force behind RTWB. Well the pub just seems to get better with each visit;  it's certainly the place to enjoy a relaxing pin in pleasant surroundings in the company of like minded people, and so it proved on Saturday. Do call in if you are in Tunbridge Wells and see for yourselves.

The rest of the holiday weekend has been pretty mundane, catching up on domestic chores, gardening and even a spot of decorating! Having got these tasks out of the way by mid-afternoon, I jumped on my bike and headed down into Tonbridge to pick up a few last minute items. I also took the opportunity of calling in at the Humphrey Bean, (our local JDW)  to see what was on offer. I was disappointed not to find Thornbridge Jaipur on sale, as this excellent beer has become a semi-permanent fixture on the bar. My disappointment was mitigated though by two beers from Hopdaemon from Newnham, near Faversham. I tried both the 4.0% Incubus and the 4.5% Skrimshander;  the latter beer definitely having the edge over the former. I bumped into a couple of friends at the pub, so was able to enjoy a pleasant interlude catching up on things over my beer.

Tomorrow it's back to work. No doubt the weather will suddenly take a turn for the better but hey, that's what English Bank Holidays are all about!

ps. Check out the purpose built shelters in the bottom photo. With the summer we've just had, these could  soon be catching on at other pubs.