A Walk to the Dovecote

On Bank Holiday Monday I joined three friends for a  walk out to the Dovecote at Capel. We were fortunate in picking what turned out to be the best day of a wet and cold Bank Holiday weekend, and even saw the sun for a few short moments along the way.

We passed through several woods carpeted with bluebells, and it was nice to hear the birds singing in the trees. The weather, whilst still cool for the time of year, at least stayed dry and was certainly a lot warmer than it had been for most of the weekend and preceding week.

 After being cooped up in doors, decorating for two days, it was really nice to be out in the fresh air!  However,  following April's record rainfall, the ground was very wet and soggy underfoot and we were all glad we'd chosen stout walking boots to wear. At least our feet stayed dry, but I have to question the Environment Agency's assertion that we are still in a drought situation, as given the saturated nature of the ground underfoot I feel that the reservoirs and underground aquifers must surely be well on their way towards being replenished by now.

Our route was a  familiar one; up past the Victorian grandeur of Somerhill House, through the woods at the back of this stately pile, and then through the estate to Tudeley. From here we followed an undulating course that took us through more woodland, the occasional orchard and a very soggy field of rape. We arrived at the Dovecote shortly after midday, and after removing our muddy boots, made our way inside and grabbed a table.

The Dovecote doesn't have a website, so a few words first about the pub itself. It is situated in the small settlement of Capel, which lies to the south of Five Oak Green, on the back road between Colts Hill and Tudeley. From the outside it is a typical Victorian building, that has been extended at the front and the side, whilst to the rear there is a part-covered terrace, plus an extensive garden and large car-park.

Being in such a rural location the Dovecote has to have something different to offer its customers. It does this by selling a wide range of cask beers (up to six), direct from the cask together with good, home-cooked food all served in comfortable and uncluttered surroundings. On the day of our visit there were four beers on tap,  and whilst some of us were slightly disappointed not to see any local beers on sale (the Dovecote is a regular outlet for beers from Tonbridge Brewery) we were compensated by the choice of a couple of beers that we don't often get the chance to drink in this area. These beers were Brakspears Bitter and Gales HSB,  served alongside Harvey's Best and Taylors Landlord.

Most of us opted for the Brakspears to start with, and it was so good that I chose it for my second pint as well. At just 3.4% this beer manages to pack in bundles of flavour combined with that unmistakable Brakspears taste that comes from the use of the original yeast and the famous "double-drop" fermentation system. It certainly is the perfect session bitter. A couple of us were bemoaning the demise of the company's Special Bitter, but with the ordinary being so good, the absence of the Special didn't seem to matter quite so much.

The pub was starting to fill up quite rapidly, with a good mixed clientele, including a couple of groups of bikers who had ridden back from Hasting following the annual May Day Run.  What is nice about the Dovecote is there is no recorded  music or other electronic distractions to disturb the gentle art of conversation.

 We ordered our food and didn't have long to wait for it to arrive. When it came it was as good as the beer; my prawn baguette being a meal in itself, especially as it arrived accompanied by a plateful of chips as well. I was going to have Landlord for my final pint, but after a friend had pointed out how good the Harvey's was I decided to go for the more local brew instead. Apart from at the brewery it's not often one gets the chance to drink this beer straight from the cask, and I have to say it really was in tip-top form.

We left the pub some time after three, but not before having a brief chat with landlord Nick. After we'd complemented him on his beer and his food, and saying how pleased we were to see the pub so busy, he told us that they had been like that for some time. It was good to see somewhere that is bucking the trend, but just goes to prove that if you give people what they really want, namely good beer, good food with fast, friendly and efficient service in pleasant surroundings, then they will come back for more. Incidentally the beer prices ranged from £3.25 for the Brakspears through to £3.40 for the HSB, which are pretty good for the area.

Our walk back followed a slightly different route and led us through both Capel and Tudeley churchyards. There had been a heavy shower whilst we were in the pub, but the weather remained dry on our homeward route, and the sun even came out for a while. All in all it was most enjoyable day out and a good way to end what would otherwise have been a disappointing Bank Holiday weekend.

Brakspear Triple III

It's a cold and slightly damp early May evening and definitely NOT the sort of weather we should be experiencing at this time of year! What better then than to crack open a bottle of Brakspear Triple III that I'd had laying around at home for ages. From memory I believe I bought it for Christmas 2010, but never got round to drinking it. By following the instructions on the label, and clicking onto the Brakspear's website, I was able to check when my individually numbered bottle was filled (4th September 2010), so it is now over a year and a half old. It is none the worse for this though, as being bottle-conditioned the beer has matured like a fine old wine.

It was very lively when poured, but not excessively so that it fobbed everywhere. Even so, and despite slow and careful pouring on my part, it formed a thick, fluffy head which meant I had to drink half of it before I could get the rest into the glass! Fortunately both halves poured perfectly clear, and I was left with a glass of  sparkling, light-mahogany coloured beer with a hoppy nose and a wonderfully complex and very satisfying taste. The notes on the label describe the beer much better than I can, viz: "Thanks to the two fermentations in the Brakspear 'Double Drop' system, this highly aromatic and satisfying strong beer delivers its rich flavour with subtlety and balance. Crystal, Black and Maris Otter pale malts provide the backbone of this outstanding rich beer. Hops are added three times to provide a good balance between bitterness and fragrance."

Whilst the head brewer adds: “This is a remarkable beer which is a challenge to brew but a pleasure to drink. It is triple hopped, triple fermented & brewed by the infamous “Double Drop” method in the brewery. A connoisseur’s beer, with a wonderfully complex flavour, aroma & bottle conditioned. Beer at its best.”

That sums up this excellent beer nicely. My bottle had certainly matured well and had developed a slightly vinous edge, reminiscent of a Madeira wine.It was also a full 500ml rather than the sissy 330ml size it is sold in today!

A Taste of Lancashire

We've a new Morrison's supermarket in Tunbridge Wells. Well it's not exactly new, it's a re-opened store; the original having been closed by the company just a few years after they acquired it as part of their takeover of Safeways.

I was looking forward to an outlet stocking a different selection of beers, but when I popped in last weekend I found what was on sale a trifle disappointing. I did however, pick up a couple of beers from Blackburn based brewers Thwaites. I don't often get the chance to drink the company's beers, as apart from a few of the better known ones, such as Wainwright, Lancaster Bomber and Old Dan, one doesn't often see them on sale in this part of the country.

The two bottles I bought were unfamiliar to me; Indus IPA 4.6% and Tavern Porter 4.7%. The former
is a well-hopped, amber-coloured beer named after a former trading ship. The profile notes on the bottle read. "When Daniel Thwaites was embarking on his brewing career, the INDUS would have been voyaging to the East Indies – trading Lancashire cotton for exotic Eastern delights. Our INDUS Pale Ale celebrates ales of that period with a refreshing brew enriched with abundant hops for flavour that stays fresh and crisp to the finish."
The latter is described as a "Traditional porter, with a slightly sour taste. Full roasted flavours with a hint of smoky liquorice."

Whilst neither beer was over exciting they were still eminently drinkable, and of the two I preferred the Porter which, incidentally, was bottle-conditioned. I do have a slight soft spot for Thwaites, as when I was at Salford University, during the mid 1970's,  Thwaites beers were served in the Students' Union bar. They were brewery-conditioned, rather than cask, but they were still a vast improvement on the Scottish and Newcastle slop that had been on sale when I first arrived on campus. The company had quite a few pubs to the north of Manchester, particularly in and around Bury, and in my final year a Salford I quite frequently drank in some of these, especially as I had a couple of friends living in the area. At the time, Thwaites brewed two milds alongside their bitter, and whilst I've never been a huge fan of mild ale, I recall that the darker of these two milds was particularly good.

Thwaites were one of the first breweries I visited. Their modern brewery in the centre of Blackburn had only been operating for 8 years at the time of our visit during the mid 1970's. Whilst modern in construction, it was still a traditional tower brewery, but apart from that I don't remember much about it. There was no sampling room as such; instead we had been taken to a nearby pub by our guide in order to sample the beers, and this was before the tour!

Given the above, I was all the more interested then to read that Thwaites are planning to build a new brewery, on a green-field site, and move out of their current home (Presumably to realise the value of what must be a prime site right in the centre of Blackburn). This represents a major investment for the company, and confirms their commitment to remain in brewing. They state that the new brewery will be "state of the art", and plan to incorporate a visitor centre as part of the development. According to their website, they are still looking for a suitable site at the moment, so brewing will obviously continue in Blackburn for the time being. When the new plant does finally open I hope to pay it a visit so I can compare the new with the old and, of course, renew my acquaintance with some of Thwaites's draught beers.

Two Good Pubs

I've been to a couple of excellent pubs these past two days; one out in the country and one right in the centre of town. Both were completely different, but both had that certain something that many pubs seem to lack nowadays.

The pub in the country was the Spotted Dog, in the isolated hamlet of Smart's Hill, between Penshurst and Fordcombe to the North-West of Tunbridge Wells. I walked there from Leigh station, with my son Matt, on what was probably the only dry day last week; our route taking us through Penshurst Place, followed by a steep climb up to the aforementioned hamlet. For such a small, isolated settlement, Smart's Hill is particularly well served with good pubs, as besides the Spotted Dog there is also the Bottle House a mile or so up the road in the other direction.

The Spotted Dog is a white-painted, part weather-boarded 15th Century inn that clings to the side of a hill. To the rear there is a terrace which affords spectacular views across the Medway valley, whilst inside are all the usual low beamed ceilings one would expect from a building of this age. There are a number of distinct drinking areas, plus a separate dining room. Despite the sun shining outside,  a log fire was smouldering away in the large open fire place,on the day of our visit, but keen to make the most of the currently very rare fine weather we opted to sit outside on the terrace in front of the pub. It was certainly very pleasant to be able to enjoy a pint with the sun beating down on our necks!.

So far as the beer was concerned the Spotted Dog had three ales on tap that day; Black Cat Original, Larkins Traditional and Skinner's Betty Stoggs. I opted for the Black Cat, which was so good I just had to have another, leaving my plans for a pint of Larkins on hold until another occasion. It was a well-hopped, amber coloured ale served with just the right degree of coolness; it certainly slipped down a treat. The pub wasn't packed but there seemed to be plenty of people coming and going. The welcome was warm and friendly and the aforementioned Black Cat beer came with the landlords recommendation, which is always a good sign.  We didn't eat at the pub, having eaten our prepared rolls en route, but the food selection looked good and would  have complement the beer well.

The town pub was the Bedford, in Tunbridge Wells, literally a stone's throw from the town's main railway station. The pub formed a welcome refuge from the wet and wind-swept streets on an unseasonably cold Saturday lunchtime; my visit being as a member of our local CAMRA branch who had gathered there to present licensee Simon Lewis with a well deserved certificate as joint runner-up in our annual Pub of the Year competition. It was my first visit to the Bedford since Simon took over the running of the pub in July of last year, and I have to say I was well impressed.

For those not in the know, Simon is the owner of the Royal Tunbridge Wells Brewing Company, and the man responsible for bringing back brewing to the town after a lapse of 25 years. As someone with over 20 years involvement in the brewing industry Simon also managed to negotiate a new lease on the Bedford, with owners Greene King, that allows him to sell beers from his own brewery, plus a range of different guest ales, alongside GK's usual offerings of IPA and Abbot. When I called in, the pub had Dipper, Royal Best Bitter and the seasonal Helles from RTWB,  together with Gadd's No.7, Tring Colley's Dog and Milestone Lion's Pride on sale, along with the aforementioned GK beers. Bushels Cider, from Biddenden was also available on hand pump.

So what about the pub itself?  Well  inside it has a contemporary feel, with several comfortable seating areas. The walls are hung with plenty of old photo's of Tunbridge Wells, pump clips, plus display boards informing punters as to what beers are coming on and which ones they've just missed. The eight hand pumps also look pretty impressive, and it was encouraging to see them being worked at a steady pace, and not just from the demands of thirsty CAMRA members! One nice touch was the bar-staff asking customers whether they wanted a straight glass or a jug? Now I've always preferred the former, but it seems that here in the "soft south" at least, the glass with a handle is making a comeback, and what's more they are proper dimpled mugs as well!

I'm still taking things a bit easy on the beer front at the moment, but the pints of Gadd's No7 and RTW Spa Helles I had were both excellent. Most of my CAMRA colleagues departed just before 2pm in order to catch the bus over to Edenbridge, where another presentation was due to take place; the town's Old Eden Inn being the other joint runner-up in our Pub of the Year contest.

I bade them farewell,  finished my pint, before crossing the road and popping into Tunbridge Well's newly re-opened Morrisons to pick up a sandwich, plus a selection of bottled beers for drinking at home later in the week It was then a short hop back to the station and the train home. All in all it's been a most enjoyable two days back on the local pub scene.

So what was it about these two very different pubs that was so good? It wasn't just the beer, the food, the architecture, the setting, the people behind the bar or the general ambiance that made them good. It was a combination of all these factors plus, and it's a big and very important plus, both pubs are run by  people who are passionate about what they do,  people who care and people who listen to what their respective, but quite different customer groups want. These factors surely are the hallmark of a good pub!
 

Taste the Difference

OK, I know this post was supposed to be about the local pub scene in Tonbridge; well I am still working on it, so in the meantime here are my thoughts and observations regarding beers from the Sainsbury's "Taste the Difference"  range, which were on special offer the other week. After giving most of them a try I was quite impressed, so here is my review of the beers I sampled. (By the way I didn't  receive  any, cash incentives or any other rewards from Sainsbury's for reviewing their products, but if they'd like to send me further samples to try, then I wouldn't say no!)



Westmorland Ale at just 4.0% is brewed by Jennings, and is described as "a lovely golden amber ale with subtle hints of toffee and caramel. beautifully balanced by hoppy notes from the Fuggles, Goldings and Challenger hops." It's also got a rather attractive label, depicting sailing boats on one of the regions many lakes.  A trifle on the weak side for my liking, but still eminently drinkable, and easy to recognise as coming from the Jennings stable.

London Porter at  5.0%  is brewed by Shepherd Neame, and whilst obviously NOT brewed in the capital, takes its name from the style of beer first made famous by the City's market workers. Regular readers will know that despite them being Kent's largest independent, Shep's are not my favourite brewery,   but to their credit the Porter is an excellent beer. Back in the late 1990's the company had a draught Porter available as a seasonal beer and I'm wondering whether this bottled version is based on the same brew. The tasting notes describe it as "A rich, dark beer packed with intense  flavours of  chocolate  and spicy liquorice.", whilst the front label promises a beer that is  "Rich and aromatic with notes of chocolate. Dark and intense with a hint of spicy liquorice". I have to say I wholly agree with these descriptions, and thoroughly endorse this particularly fine beer.


Yorkshire Bitter 5.0%.  Brewed in Masham by Black Sheep, this beer is described as "a classic and beautifully balanced Yorkshire bitter combining hoppy notes with bittersweet malty undertones and a dry, refreshing finish.". The front label also highlights "Demerara sweetness with full malt body and citrus overtones." I don't have anything else to add to that, except that this is a pleasant and highly quaffable bitter, instantly recognisable as coming from Black Sheep and, yes I can detect the Demerara sugar lurking in the background.


Celebration Ale 6.0%. Another offering from Black Sheep; not a company noted for the brewing of dark ales. This 6.0% rich dark winter warmer certainly hits the mark on a cold, mid-April evening. Described as "a dark, velvety stout with a complex chocolate and spice finish. Beautifully balanced with sweet raisin notes.", it is still currently on offer at three bottles for just £5.00.


India Pale Ale 5.9%, brewed by Marstons at their brewery  in the home of IPA's, Burton-on-Trent. I'd been saving this beer until last as I thought it would be a cracker. At 5.9% it ought to be, but  I found it rather disappointing. Described on the tasting notes as a "Traditional IPA with fresh aromas of and citrus with a clean, bitter hop flavour.", this beer unfortunately doesn't quite deliver for me. On paper it's got everything that a proper IPA should have; the right colour, strength, plenty of bitterness, so why am I not enthusing about it? The beer was perfectly drinkable, but was nothing out of the ordinary, and I'm sorry to say wasn't a patch on the Fuller's Bengal Lancer IPA that I'm sitting here enjoying at the moment!

There are three other beers in the "Taste the Difference"  range, but for various reasons I gave them a miss. The first is  Scottish Craft Lager, brewed by Harviestoun and presumably based on their well-known Schiehallion brand, but at just 4.1% abv, a touch on the weak side for a decent lager. The other was the Suffolk Golden Ale, from St Peter's Brewery. I gave this one a miss as the tasting notes make clear it is a wheat beer, and I've never been a fan of wheat beers.Somehow I just can't get on with them; I can dink one, at a pinch, but one is invariably enough and after that I have to switch to a more traditional.style, based on barley malt.

The final beer is Traditional Kentish Ale, a 4.5% beer brewed by Shepherd Neame. I've already made my views on Shep's quite clear, and whilst their Porter is very good, this paler offering is unlikely to be any better than their run of the mill Master Brew or Spitfire, both of which I avoid drinking.

So that sums up the current "Taste the Difference" range. From a personal point of view I am disappointed that Sainsbury's dropped the continental styles of beers that were formerly part of the range. They were all brewed by Meantime and included a Helles, a Franconian-style Dunkel, a Kolsch style beer plus, I believe, a couple of Belgian-style ales. These beers disappeared from the shelves several years ago. I'm not quite sure why, but perhaps the great British beer drinking public were just not quite ready for them  at the time. Possibly they were just that bit too esoteric and  too far outside  their comfort zone. During the last few years however,  drinkers do seem to have become  more adventurous and discerning in their choice of beer, so if Sainsbury's were to re-launch them they would probably fare much better than they did first time around.

CAMRA - A Local Perspective

I attended my first CAMRA meeting of the year last night. It was an open business meeting, and whilst I'm no longer on the  committee, it was good to get along and find out what's been happening in the branch, and also what is planned for the future. It was good as well to meet up with old friends, many of whom I hadn't seen since before Christmas.

I'm pleased to report that the West Kent Branch is doing alright. On the campaigning side LocAle is continuing to be rolled out, with more and more pubs being signed up to this noteworthy scheme. Preference is being given to outlets serving beers from micro-breweries, rather than larger regional concerns. The branch's involvement with various beer festivals also continues to gather pace, with the SIBA South-East Beer Festival again being held at Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club in July, and the successful beer joint festival, held in conjunction with the Spa Valley Railway, (which I unfortunately missed last year), going ahead again this coming October. In addition there is the Pantiles Food & Drink Festival taking place in Tunbridge Wells next month, plus the beer tent at the Neville Cricket Ground in Tunbridge Wells, during Kent's forthcoming games there as part of the town's cricket week.

I learnt at the meeting that there are some 480 odd members in the branch,  most of whom we unfortunately don't see, but I'm sure they all do their bit by belonging to the Campaign and drinking real ale whenever they can. Of  those who do make their presence known, only a small hand full  are active which means, as in many clubs and similar organisations, the workload falls on just a few shoulders. Understandably people often have other more pressing commitments, but it would be nice to see some new faces becoming more involved in branch affairs. This particularly applies to younger members, especially as none of us are getting any younger, and there's a real danger there will be no new blood to replace committee members like myself who, for whatever reason, have decided to stand down. I'm certain we're not the only CAMRA branch facing this issue at present, and it's one that needs to be addressed before it becomes too serious a problem.

On a more positive note there are some interesting socials planned for the coming months, including several trips by bus to outlying pubs that we don't often get a chance to visit, a trip on the recently extended Spa Valley Railway across the Kent-Sussex border to Eridge with a couple of pub stops on the way, a circular pub walk in the Darenth Valley again taking in a number of pubs, an historical pub tour conducted by one of our members who is a qualified tour guide, a couple of joint socials with neighbouring branches plus, later in the year, trips further afield to both Hastings and Lewes.

This all ties in with my belief that CAMRA should be fun and not all hard campaigning. Looking at the national website I can't help thinking that there are just too many irrelevant and distracting campaigns running at the moment, ranging from National Cask Ale Week, Mild Month (a waste of time if ever there was one!), Cider and Perry Month (we're the Campaign for REAL ALE for heaven's sake!), Below Cost Alcohol Sales (nothing to do with CAMRA what retailers charge for off-sales in their own shops), Clubs Campaigning (why should we have anything to do with outlets that operate a policy of restrictive entry?) and the Take it to the Top, Full Pints Campaign (ask for a top-up if you get a short measure pint, don't get the Government involved on this or heaven only knows what we'll end up with!!).

Anyway, that's enough griping, on the whole there are far more positive things to be said about CAMRA than negative ones. On top of that I had a most enjoyable evening the other night and have some interesting observations regarding the local pub scene to report on in my next post.

Getting Back into the Groove

I'm just getting back into the swing of things with regard to beer drinking, but at the moment am still taking things slowly. There are two reasons behind this; the first is my system has become unaccustomed to alcohol over the last nine months or so and needs a bit of time to re-adjust. The second is I'm slowly weaning myself off the medication with another four weeks to go at the lowest practical dose, before I can say goodbye to the tablets. GP's really need to act more responsibly, and think of the consequences, before dishing out what after all are powerful psycho-active drugs! However, that's another story and one I don't wish to dwell on; onwards and upwards is the motto!

One thing I'm very pleased to report is that I haven't lost my taste or appreciation of good beer during the intervening period; in fact abstinence has made my enjoyment of a decent glass of beer all the more satisfying. Talk about "absence making the heart grow fonder"!  I have noticed though that beer prices have shot up, even in the supermarkets!  There are still bargains out there, but one must be prepared to look around for them.

I posted some time ago about the excellent cut price Oyster Stout from Marstons, on sale in Lidl's, and the other week I picked up some 500ml bottles of Czech Boheme 1795 (incorrectly labelled as a Pilsner!)  for 99p each in Tesco's. Last weekend the same supermarket was offering Pilsner Urquell at 3 bottles for the price of 2, and I noticed on their website such delights as Adnams Broadside, Fullers Bengal Lancer and 1845 at 4 bottles for £5.50. Our nearest Tesco though is one of their smaller stores, and doesn't stock the full range of beers; hence I was unable to pick up the White Shield which was also on the same 4 bottles for £5.50 offer.
   
Not to be outdone Sainsbury's also had some of their "Taste the Difference" beers on special offer over the Easter weekend. Two in particular caught my eye, so I decided to purchase them. The first was Porter, whilst the other was  Celebration Ale. I've yet to try the latter, which is a 6.0% dark beer from Black Sheep, (unusual for then to be brewing an ale of this sort). However, I have sampled the Porter which is brewed by Shepherd Neame. Many of you will know that I am not a huge fan of Sheps but to give credit where it's due their Porter is a cracking beer. I'm not sure if it's the same beer that was available on draught some 10-15 years ago, which allegedly had liquorice root added to the copper, but tasting notes for this 5.0% bottled version describes the beer as having "intense spicy liquorice flavours alongside chocolate ones". It was certainly a good example of the style.

The Easter weekend saw me enjoying a range of different beers at the mini-beer festival organised by the Nevill Bull pub at Birling - see previous post, but apart from that, and the odd pub stop on recent walks in the country side, I haven't done a lot of drinking in pubs. One beer probably more than any others that I am looking forward to sampling again is my old favourite, Harvey's Best. There are plenty of pubs around selling it, I just haven't had the opportunity to pop into one to try a pint recently.

Hopefully this will change at the weekend, especially as its my birthday. I will let you know how I get on.