The Taste of Things to Come

Apart from an enforced day off from work last Tuesday, due to heavy snow, there’s not been much for me to blog about just recently. It’s a strange time of year, with winter continuing to drag on despite an all too brief hint of spring the other week. On the local CAMRA front there’s not been a lot happening either, apart from a bit of a spat over one of the choices for next year’s (2014) Good Beer Guide. In a nutshell, if people can’t be bothered to turn up to the selection meeting, then they can’t really expect to be taken notice of after the pub’s been chosen. Even more to the point, all branch members were contacted, either by e-mail or snail mail, prior to our AGM, which took place back in November, and were asked to nominate pubs for possible selection, and also for feedback on current entries. No excuses there then, although two somewhat self-opinionated people, one of whom is no longer a member, did manage to stir up an awful lot of trouble which, quite frankly, my colleagues on the committee could have done without.

This withstanding, we’ve got a bus trip scheduled for next Saturday, see here, and then the following Friday I will be joining friends and colleagues from Maidstone & Mid-Kent CAMRA for their annual Good Friday Ramble. This will start from a convenient railway station, and then take in a rural watering hole along the way. (I understand this year's choice is a pub which majors on Goacher’s beers, served straight from the cask). In between these two events, I’ve got a trip planned to the wilds of Norfolk, in order to visit my parents. Mum and dad are both in their early 80’s, and I’ve not seen them since the autumn, so it will be good to spend some time together catching up on things. Doubtless there will be the chance of visiting a local pub or two and sampling a few of Norfolk’s impressive selection of locally-brewed ales.

 The following month will see me returning to Norfolk, this time for the CAMRA Member’s Weekend and National AGM, which takes place from 19^th to 21^st April, in Norwich at St Andrew’s and Blackfriars’ Halls. I attended the Member's Weekend three years ago, when it was held on the Isle of Man, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Despite numerous visits to Norfolk over the past 20 years or so, Norwich is a city I have never really had the chance to drink in. My parents live some 20 miles from the city, and on the occasions I have visited, I have always been driving. It will therefore be a pleasure to explore a few of the city’s many fine alehouses, including such gems as the King’s Head, the Gardeners Arms (Murderers), Kett’s Tavern and the legendary Fat Cat. It will also be good to meet up with friends from other CAMRA branches, and to spend some time in the member’s beer exhibition which is being held in Blackfriars Hall.

Later in the year, the third week in July to be precise, I will be attending the legendary Annafest, which takes place every year around this time in the small Franconian town of Forchheim, between Bamberg and Nuremberg. Although billed as a folk festival, beer is one of the main features of Annafest, where around 20 Kellers (beer gardens) offer beer from Forchheim’s four breweries, alongside others from the surrounding area. Most of the breweries brew a special festival beer at around 5.5 to 6.5%. The Kellers are situated in a wooded area just outside the town; some are open all year (within season), whilst others open just for the ten day duration of Annafest. As well as various live music acts, there are fairground attractions, including a large Ferris wheel, plus plenty of stalls selling food to help soak up all that beer!

Annafest is an event I’ve wanted to attend for some time, but for a number of reasons I’ve never quite managed it. This year though I’ve booked the flights and have also secured a holiday apartment for son Matthew and myself, right in the centre of Forchheim.  As well as attending the festivities at the Kellers, we’re planning to explore the local area, which is home to a number of small, local breweries, most of which produce beers that are both flavourful and full of character. A return visit to Bamberg will also be on the cards.

So, as March drifts along and Easter fast approaches, there is plenty to look forward to on the beer and pubs front.

A Night in the Bedford

There was a great selection of local ales on sale in the Bedford last Wednesday evening. Around a dozen West Kent CAMRA members had pitched up for a social, and to take advantage of the pub's weekly Cask Ale Club, when all cask beers are sold for just £2.50 a pint.

Since drinks consultant and  brewery owner Simon Lewis, took over this Tunbridge Wells pub a couple of years ago, the Bedford has gone from strength to strength, and is now rightly regarded as one of the town's premier alehouses. When we arrived, fresh off the train, we were greeted with a packed pub, and a choice of eight different beers, from three different Kentish breweries. Two of these breweries are not often seen in this part of the county, so close to the border with neighbouring Sussex. Goacher's of Maidstone are the oldest micro-brewery in Kent, having been established in 1983.  Hopdaemon of  Newnham near Faversham, whilst not quite so old, have still been around since 2000.

Three Goacher's beers were on: Real Mild,  Fine Light and Best Dark Ale, and there were also three from Hopdaemon: Golden Braid, Incubus and Skrimshander IPA. Complementing the above were a couple of beers from relative newcomer, Kent Brewery, who pitched in with Black Gold and Porter. I started with Goacher's Mild, a traditional dark mild with a pronounced grainy taste, before moving on to the Kent Brewery  Black Gold, a well-hopped "Black IPA". Light-coloured, session beer, Hopdaemon Golden Braid followed, and I was going to finish with the Kent Brewery Porter, but unfortunately this, together with the other Kent beer, ran out. Hopdaemon Skrimshander was therefore my final pint of the evening, a clean-tasting, aromatic copper-coloured pale ale.

It was good to see a pub so busy mid-week. The Cask Ale Club undoubtedly helped, but the Bedford has become a welcome addition to the drinking scene in Tunbridge Wells and is popular with a wide range of people. It is also good to see a pub putting so much weight behind local breweries, and long may this continue.

Getting to the Pub

Our local CAMRA branch covers a wide area of West Kent, taking in not only the major towns of Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, but also smaller ones such as Edenbridge and Westerham. There is a considerable amount of countryside in between,  interspersed with picturesque rural villages and, as might be expected, some attractive country pubs. Covering this rural chunk of the county can be a bit of a logistical nightmare, but during recent years the branch has adopted a policy of holding socials in the easy to reach  towns on weekday evenings, and then at the weekend, (usually during daylight hours), getting out to some of the much less accessible villages.

Despite its largely rural makeup and in spite of  cutbacks to local government subsidies, West Kent does still have a half decent public transport network. It may be fragmented, with a host of different bus companies (both large and small) covering the different routes, but with a bit of forward planning and a bit of additional effort, it is possible to reach most parts of the area and, more importantly, the majority of its pubs without  resorting to the private motor car.

It always amazes me just how lacking in knowledge the majority of the largely car-owning general public are when it comes to using public transport. It seems people have become so used to the convenience, and comfort, of jumping into their vehicles and driving off to wherever it is they want to go. For beer lovers and pub goers alike this simply isn't an option, not unless one wishes to severely curtail ones consumption or just plain stay off the beer altogether. None of us seriously want to follow that option though, which is why as a branch, we have always made as much use as we can of public transport. Our award winning "Gateway to Kent " guide not only includes public transport information for all the rural pubs (providing it is available), but also includes a section at the rear of the guide about getting to the pub, either by train, bus or a combination of the two. For the more energetic there are articles on both walking and cycling, with suggested "refreshment stops" along the way!

In three weeks time we've a Saturday outing, by bus, to a couple of remotely situated pubs we don't normally get out to. I wrote about one of them, the Kentish Horse at Markbeech, here, but we'll also be visiting the isolated Greyhound a Hever, before catching the bus on to Edenbridge where the Good Beer Guide-listed Old Eden, awaits us. Between Christmas and New Year, whilst looking for some possible pubs to visit with a group of friends, I came up with several  possibilities, all involving bus journeys, to different points of the compass. The pubs it was possible to visit by these bus routes, include the Crown at Groombridge and the Dorset Arms, Withyham Bus 291); the Spotted Dog and Bottle House, Smart's Hill, plus the Chafford Arms, Fordcombe (Bus 231); and the Fountain, Cowden (234). Last year we also visited a number of pubs to the north of the branch area, such as the Golding Hop at Plaxtol and the National Inventory-listed Old House at Ightham Common (Bus 222).

Don, who is acting Social Secretary for the branch, and a mine of information about bus travel and the various ticketing options, made a point in his report to our 2012 Branch AGM that many members, as well as the general public, are unaware that public transport IS available to most of our more remote pubs, and spoke of the need to emphasise these options more, together with likely costs, in our publicity for such outings. This lack of knowledge has been brought home to me on a number of occasions by comments posted on this blog. Some people appear incredulous that it is possible to visit most of the rural gems I write about, using either buses or train. One correspondent wasn't even aware that there is a regular train service between Tonbridge and Frant (the Hastings Line), which enables evening visits to the Brecknock Arms, our nearest Harvey's pub.

It is important not only to support our rural pubs by visiting them as often as possible, but also equally important to travel to them using public transport wherever possible. Many of these bus routes operate at a loss, and most are  very under-used. There have been occasions when were it not for us CAMRA members, the bus would have been running empty. I mentioned near the beginning of the article about the importance of subsidies from the local authority, in our case Kent County Council. Most of these rural bus routes rely on subsidies to keep going, At a time when the reins on spending are continually being tightened, the old adage of "use it or lose it! is more appropriate than ever. It would be a tragedy if, through a mixture of apathy and ignorance, we were to lose these rural links. It would certainly make going to the pub a whole lot harder!

Club Festival Scoops Rare Beers

Orpington Liberal Club seems an unlikely venue to hold a beer festival, but as a small group of West Kent CAMRA members found, when they attended on Saturday afternoon, it turned out to be a really good event. We had been alerted to the festival, via Facebook, by club chairman Duncan Borrowman, and were previously aware that cask ale features very high on the clubs' agenda. Three of us therefore took the opportunity to make the 20 minute journey to Orpington, by train, on one of the coldest days of the winter so far to see what was on offer.

Because of the freezing temperatures we were glad that Orpington Liberal Club was just a five minute walk, downhill from the station. The club itself wasn't that easy to spot as it's basically a converted 1930's suburban house, with a period style garage attached on one side, but once in we announced our presence at the bar and collected, and paid for, our pre-ordered tickets.

There were around twenty beers on offer, the majority of which were housed in the adjoining function room. With the exception of an American IPA from Adnams, all the beers were locally sourced from breweries in London, Surrey, Kent, Sussex and Essex. They were divided into the following categories: Milds; Traditional English Bitters and IPA's; Golden Ales; American IPA; American Brown Ales; Black IPA's; Porters and Stouts. Amongst the beers were a number of rarities and one-offs, including #4 American Brown Ale from Shamblemoose Brewery - the first beer, from a new brewery, that was launching at the festival; another American Brown Ale, called Altered States, this time from Kent Brewery of Birling, launched the previous week and the 2013 recipe for Gardenia Mild, from Kissingate Brewery, again launching at the festival. The latter has rosemary and rose petals added to the cask to give a floral and somewhat unique flavour. There was also a couple of beers from new brewery Clarence & Frederick of Croydon. All in all some pretty interesting and unusual beers.

For much of the afternoon there was a variety of different folk acts playing in the function room. Some were quite good, others were not, so we adjourned next door, where we found ourselves a bit of space literally propping up the bar. We made regular forays into the other room to re-fill our glasses, and late on to procure some solid refreshment in the form of cheeseburgers.

Shortly after six o'clock, another of our regular members arrived, freezing cold from sitting on the terraces watching Charlton Athletic lose to Nottingham Forest. Having previously lived in Orpington, and been a member of the local CAMRA branch, Don was able to introduce us to a group from Bromley CAMRA, who were sitting at a nearby table; they even had a few empty chairs and invitied us to join them. After standing for a couple of hours, it was nice to take the weight of ones feet!

I'm not quite certain as to the exact time we left, but I think it was around 9pm. It had certainly been a good festival, with some new and interesting beers to sample. I found the following beers particularly noteworthy: Brentwood Marvellous Maple Mild, Clarence & Frederick's Golden Ale, Portobello Pale,
Shamblemoose #4 American Brown Ale, Franklin's Pudding Stout  and Ramsgate Oatmeal Stout. There were three others I would liked to have tried: A Head in a Hat - Titfer, Canterbury Ales Black IPA and Late Knights Hairy Dog Black IPA. However, as my head told me next morning I had sampled enough, so it was probably just as well that I ended up saving these beers for another day!

Bloomsbury Brown Ale

There's been quite a bit of talk recently about low-gravity beers. Tandleman, in particular, posted about a couple of them; one dark and the other light - both produced by well respected brewers, Dark Star and Saltaire respectively.

I experienced an almost "Road to Damascus" - like conversion the other night, whilst drinking one of the beers I was given for Christmas. Amongst several beer-related festive gifts, was an eight bottle presentation box of Harvey's beers. Harvey's are quite unusual in that they still offer a wide range of beers in traditional half pint (275ml), returnable, multi-trip  bottles. Twenty or thirty years ago there would have been nothing remarkable about this, but those breweries that still produce bottled beers today, do so in non-returnable, one-trip 500ml bottles, designed to fit on supermarket shelves.

I've been gradually drinking my way through them. and indeed the other day drank, and reviewed, their Diamond Jubilee Elizabethan Ale. Lurking in the box was one called Bloomsbury Brown (formerly Nut Brown). It weighs in at just 2.8% yet is bursting with flavour, and proved to be a remarkably pleasant drink. The bottle features a picture of  the artist Duncan Grant, who was a member of the influential "Bloomsbury Group" of  writers, painters and intellectuals, during the 1920's. Along with his partner Vanessa Bell,   Grant made his home at  Charleston Farmhouse,  on the South Downs, not far from Lewes. With his long greybeard, straw hat and farmers smock, he looks every bit the bohemian artist of legend. The blurb on the bottle tells us that Harvey's Nut Brown was reputed to be one of  Grant's favourite drinks.

It certainly is very pleasant and, given the right mood,  is a beer I could quite happily drink all night. I'm wondering whether this beer is a bottled version of Harvey's Sussex Mild, in the same way that their Blue Label is a bottled version of their Best Bitter. Anyone got any thoughts on this?

Czech Out This Porter

I've just been enjoying a bottle of Porter I brought back with me from my visit to Prague last September. Pardubicky Porter 19 Originalni Tmave Pivo - Original Dark Beer.  I can't remember exactly where I bought it, but I think it may have been in Tesco's large outlet in the centre of Prague, of all places!

It's a bit of a mouthful both in name and beer wise, but seeing as I'd be saving this one for some time. it was well worth the wait when I finally opened it. Rich, velvety-chocolate overtones, balanced with a background of roasted barley and brewed at a decent strength of 8.0% abv. There is a nice warming feel to the beer as well, despite my serving it chilled.

From a land famed for its golden, Pilsner-style lagers, this dark, traditional porter is a real eye-opener, and a thoroughly excellent beer.  I noticed that Boak and Bailey posted on this beer, amongst others, back in 2008, so it's not that new.

Whilst on the subject of  non-indigenous beers, I remember now that I enjoyed a 6.3% IPA at the Strahov Kloster Monastery,  near Prague Castle, on the same trip, so it looks as if the Czechs are, like other nations, experimenting with other beer styles. Interesting!

Black Malt

I don't like black malt in a beer. It imparts a nasty burnt, acrid taste to the finished product and I wish brewers would stop using it to colour their dark beers! Actually, I think most have, preferring instead to add chocolate malt, which not only imparts the desired dark colour, but also contributes a lush chocolate-coffee flavour which is much more acceptable to my palate.
  
I am writing this because the other day I cracked open a bottle of Harvey's 2012 Elizabethan Ale, which was included in a selection box of the brewery's beers that I received as a Christmas present from a work colleague.The blurb on the side of the bottle states "An exact replica of the "Coronation Ale" brewed by Harvey's Brewery in 1952 and marketed as Elizabethan Ale. In contrast to its modern counterpart, the original recipe includes flaked barley and black malt. This dark barley wine with its full, rich malt character is well hopped with local Fuggle and Golding hops and is brewed in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.".

I instantly recognised the black malt, which was hardly inconspicuous and lurking in the back ground! My familiarity, and dislike of this ingredient, dates back to my home brewing days, when having just mastered the technique of full-mash, rather than extract, brewing I keenly followed some of the recipes in the late Dave Line's "Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy". A number of recipes, particularly those for darker beers, included a proportion of black malt in the grist. I think this was more because the vastly superior chocolate malt just wasn't available for the home brew market but, unfortunately, black malt was.

I remember being disappointed with both the flavour and overall balance of beers brewed using this malt, and made a resolve not to use it in the future. Later, when Graham Wheeler's brewing books appeared, chocolate malt had become available to home brewers, so I was able to recreate a whole variety of porters, stouts, old ales, dunkles etc. that were much more in agreement with my palate.

The taste of Harvey's 2012 Elizabethan Ale therefore brought back a few slightly unpleasant memories, but was for me, as well as for the brewery themselves, an interesting look back on the world of brewing 60 years ago.

Black Malt - made by roasting high nitrogen malt at a temperature marginally below that which would carbonise the grain. Used to add flavour and colour to mild ales, porters and stouts. Black malt should  not be used in high quantities else its flavour becomes overpowering.