Windmill's Hat-Trick

For the third year running, the Windmill at Sevenoaks Weald has won our local CAMRA Branch Pub of the Year award. The award reflects the hard work licensees Matt and Emma plus their team have put in over the past year to ensure customers receive the best possible pub experience. As in the previous two years, a group of branch members visited the pub to present the award, and this took place last weekend.

Whilst the majority of our party travelled to the Windmill either by bus, or by car, five of us walked over from Hildenborough station. The route we took was along country lanes to begin with, but before long we left the road and set off across some gently undulating countryside. We followed the same footpaths we had taken last year, although a look back at the diary shows that we were a month earlier this time round.

The bluebells were again in full bloom, and I imagine the mild winter had played a part in their early appearance. Like last year, I took some photos, but they don’t really do justice to the vivid blue carpet lining the banks on either side of our path.

It was much muddier underfoot this year, and we had to pick our way through some boggy conditions in a number of places. We skirted the local golf course before descending down a track past a couple of isolated cottages. We then walked through some thicker woodland (and more bluebells), towards railway line, where we crossed under the tracks by means of a narrow pedestrian underpass.

After crossing a couple of fields, we came out onto the intriguingly named Egg Pie Lane, but not before having to negotiate the wettest and muddiest spot on the entire walk We passed a riding stables, and then a farm before reaching a T-Junction, and turning right into the equally intriguing Scabharbour Road.  Some fifteen minutes later we arrived at the Windmill keen to see which beers were on offer in order to quench our thirst.

The pub was busy with diners when we arrived, so some of us decided to sit out in the garden and make the most of the sunny weather. Before doing so we grabbed ourselves a beer. My first choice was Gun Extra Pale; a well-hopped 3.9%, light-golden coloured beer, which was just the sort of thirst-quenching beer I needed after my walk. Gun Brewery beers are un-fined, but mine only had the faintest of hazes. The brewery are based deep in the Sussex Weald, to the north-west of Hailsham, and pride themselves on “small batch beers”, which are big on taste. This is the second time this year I have enjoyed this beer, and I thoroughly recommend it to all concerned.

We moved back inside shortly afterwards, as our pre-booked table had just become free. There we joined the rest of the group. What with various people coming and going, as not everyone was eating, we must have numbered around a dozen members and friends all told. My second pint was Goacher’s Dark, a 4.1% full-bodied bitter, which is quite dark in colour due to the incorporation of a high proportion of crystal malt in the mash. Billed as “The original Goacher’s Ale”, this was the first beer the company produced, when they started brewing back in 1983. It was another fine beer, and one which I knew would go well with my dinner.

We had a bit of a wait for our food to arrive, as the pub was rather full that day and the kitchen kept very busy, but it was worth the wait as my fish pie was very tasty indeed and packed full of cod, salmon and prawns. The period waiting for the food to arrive, also meant more time for drinking and chatting, but once we had all been served and were tucking in to our food, it was amazing how quiet our two tables became.
I moved up a notch for my third beer. This was In Yer Face; a 5.8% limited edition, American Pale Ale from Oxfordshire based, Loddon Brewery. The beer was aptly named, as there were hops aplenty ready to jump out at you and, like the previous ale, this too went down well with my meal.

I didn’t have room for a sweet, and besides I was ready for another beer. The rarely seen Goachers 1066 Old Ale fitted the bill nicely. Named after the beer’s original gravity, this rich and fruity 6.7% barley wine strength ale has been brewed by Goacher’s, in small quantities every winter since 1983. It was the perfect beer to finish on; dark mahogany red in colour, with a fine mellow taste to it, reminiscent of Madeira wine.

The presentation of the Windmill’s certificate took place shortly after; with the obligatory speeches and photo opportunities. The award was richly deserved though, demonstrating how attention to customer service and providing an all-inclusive atmosphere have paid off for this reborn village pub.

We left some time after 6pm. We were down to just four for the walk back, as one of our party had accepted a lift home to Leigh. Our route back to Hildenborough station was along the lanes, rather than cross-country, and basically it involved heading down Scabharbour Road, Egg Pie Lane and then into Philpotts Lane.  I’m sure I remarked on this last year, but there are some really impressive and, at times, quite stunning multi-million pound properties tucked away down these lanes, and we all wondered what sort of people possess the money necessary to buy such places.

There was a 15 minute wait for our train back to Tonbridge, but this gave us time to rest our feet, and catch out breath. As I have said before, do give the Windmill a try if you are ever in the area. I promise you won’t regret it.

Musket Brewery - Meet the Brewer Evening

Last Thursday, Barry Dennis, the inimitable landlord of the Anchor in Sevenoaks, held another of his “Meet the Brewer Evenings". As the name of these events implies, the evening revolves around a brewer, normally a fairly local one, who gives a short presentation about his or her company, and the beers it produces.

At the same time, Barry will have one or more beers on tap, from the brewery concerned. There is normally a short question and answer session at the end of the presentation. As can be imagined, these evenings are popular with both the Anchor’s loyal regulars and occasional visitors, like me. Thursday’s presentation had a particularly relevance as far as I was concerned, as the brewer giving part of the talk was an old friend of mine.

Musket Brewery is a microbrewery based at Loddington Farm at Linton in the heart of the Kent countryside. It started production in October 2013 producing a range of cask ales using the finest malts and Kentish hops and now sells to more than 115 pubs and clubs throughout Kent.

Musket director Tony Williams and his wife, Linda were present, with Tony talking about how the brewery started, the premises and the type of brewing plant equipment used, but the presentation on the actual brewing side of the operation was given by their head-brewer, Nigel Deas.

I have known Nigel for the past 30 years, since I first met him at an MMK CAMRA meeting, shortly after my then wife and I had moved to the area. In April 1981, Nigel  and I travelled up to Durham for our first CAMRA National AGM, and in the summer of that same year we went out on a couple of beer collecting expeditions; picking up casks of beer from breweries in Dorset and the Thames Valley for the 1981 Maidstone Beer Festival.

These expeditions were back in the days before the advent of Beer Agencies, when it was necessary to go to the brewery itself in order to pick up beer. On one trip we visited Palmers down in Bridport, and then called in at Hall & Woodhouse, in Blandford Forum, on the way back. The second trip saw us collecting beer from Brakspears, in Henley-on-Thames, and Whitbread subsidiary, Wethered’s of Marlow.

The Musket team - Nigel is in the middle

I mention these trips because we were both interested in breweries, and were passionate about beer. Nigel had developed this passion further and had become a dedicated home-brewer; turning out some excellent and highly quaffable full-mash brews. He was later able to apply his skills further by working full time as a brewer; initially for Goachers in Maidstone and later for Larkin’s out at Chiddingstone.

It was only natural then that Tony and his business partner, Mark Stroud should select Nigel to be their head brewer at Musket. I only found about the presentation at the Anchor the night before, thanks to social media, so forsaking my own branch’s social in Tonbridge, that same evening, I took the train over to Sevenoaks to catch up with Nigel, and with Musket Brewery. Nigel’s wife, Christel was also there, and it was nice to spend some time chatting, as I hadn’t seen her in ages.

As I said earlier, Tony and Nigel covered the presentation between them, but for the technically minded amongst you Musket brew on a five barrel plant, using pre-crushed malt, obtained from Crisps Maltings, whole leaf hops and dried yeast. Their site is a converted building which was once used to grow mushrooms. Five standard beers are brewed, ranging from a pale ale, right up to a porter, with a best bitter, a dark and a golden ale in between. Nigel told us that they will be shortly launching a mild; in fact he had brewed the beer that very day.

There were three Musket beers on at the Anchor that night - Fife & Drum, an easy drinking 3.8% golden ale; Flintlock, a darker 4.2% Best Bitter and One Shot Bitter, 4.0% ABV. The latter is a “house beer”, brewed specially for a local free-house. My personal favourite of the three was the Fife & Drum. In case you hadn’t already realised, all the beers have a “musket” theme, but for further information, check out the brewery’s website here.

Thanks, as always to Barry for setting up this informative, enjoyable and, for me, nostalgic evening.

 

Aylesford - with acknowledgements to retiredmartin

Aylesford, Kent

Martin Cambridge writes an excellent beer and pubs blog, under the name of retiredmartin. In his blog, Martin describes his visits to towns and villages throughout the UK, with the underlying theme of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and a good walk to unite his posts.

If I have understood his modus operandi correctly, Martin aims to visit all new entries in the GBG, each year, as well as returning to some old favourites. With the view of keeping his fitness levels up, and to prevent himself falling victim to the lethargy which afflicts many retirees, Martin combines these visits with a long walk. He is a prolific blogger; often posting on a daily basis, and whilst I don’t know where he finds the time to visit all these different towns, let alone write about them, I always look forward to reading his latest post.

retiredmartin was uppermost in my thoughts this afternoon when I visited Aylesford, a small settlement on the River Medway, to the north of Maidstone. I was in the area as my car was due its annual service. I bought the vehicle, a year ago, from a main dealer on the Quarry Wood Estate, just off the A20, and as the package included a complimentary major service, it was worth taking half a day’s leave and dropping the car off at the dealership whilst the work was carried out. The only dilemma was what to do during the 2-3 hours the service would take.

It was a work colleague who had suggested a walk into Aylesford, and looking at the map it didn’t seem that far. As it happened the walk took about half an hour, as I set off in a roughly northerly direction, past the Royal British Legion Village, under the M20 motorway, and the across the Medway Valley rail line by means of a level crossing.

The tide is high - Aylesford Old Bridge

When I lived in Maidstone, during the early 1980’s, I would sometimes cut through Aylesford on my way to work in Tonbridge. Back then the village was something of a bottleneck, with northbound traffic routed over the picturesque, but rather narrow 14^th Century stone bridge; whilst southbound vehicles traversed the river by means of a Bailey Bridge to the east of the village. Today, a modern, permanent bridge, close to the site of the temporary structure, carries two-way traffic, in quite large volumes across the river.

These “new” arrangements allowed me to cross over the ancient stone-arched bridge in complete safety; but not before stopping to take a few photographs. I had, of course, visited Aylesford on quite a few occasions, but I think this was the first time I had witnessed the tide being in. Although the Medway flows through some tranquil rural countryside on its journey to the sea, the river is tidal as far south as the sluices at Allington Lock; a few miles upstream from Aylesford. There is a considerable tidal rise and fall on this stretch of the river, and at low water, the river resembles little more than a narrow stream with mud banks either side. It was therefore good to see it at high water, with the waterway full and encroaching right up to the margins of the banks.

The former George Inn - now a private residence

After crossing the river, I turned immediately right, pausing for a look at the long closed George Inn. A former coaching inn, the pub is said to have closed some time in the 1970’s. The old etched glass is still in place, with windows advertising the presence of the Public Bar, Private Bar and the Smoking Room. It looks as though it was a really good pub, back in its heyday, but it had been closed for several years before I moved to the area.

When the George closed, its licence was transferred down the road to a restored 12^th Century property, which had operated as a café for many years. Known as the Little Gem, this tiny pub offered, in its heyday, a wide and varying range of different cask ales and ciders. The Gem was reputed to be the smallest pub in England, so it is extremely sad to see it in its present state for unlike the George, which looks well maintained and properly cared for; the Little Gem has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair.

Sad and falling into disrepair - the Little Gem

The pub closed its doors for the last time in 2010, and has since become increasingly more derelict, as it seems no one is prepared to give the asking price of £230,000 for the building. An online petition and Facebook page was launched last December, with the aim of rescuing the pub, but the owner, who does not live locally, has applied to the local authority for change of use to a private dwelling. Whatever the building’s fate, it will require a lot of work before it can be restored to anything like its former condition.

I walked along from the Little Gem towards the edge of the village, as my work colleague had said I would find a tea-room. However, after passing the upmarket Hengist restaurant, I reached the conclusion that, like the Gem, the tea-room must have shut up shop. I retraced my steps and after crossing the road, climbed the hill for a look at the Parish church, which is dedicated to both Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

The church stands on higher ground, overlooking the village, and I suspect its elevated position was chosen to protect the building from flooding. The church dates back to Norman times, but with obvious later additions. It was unfortunately locked; a sad indictment of the times we live in, but I was rewarded with some fine views over the village and across the river, from the churchyard.

The Chequers - Aylesford

Thwarted in my attempt to find a tea-room and my desire to look inside the church, I followed a series of steps leading back down into the village and made my way to the one place where I knew I could find some refreshment; the Chequers. This Grade II listed timber framed, former wool merchant’s house, dates from 1511. The main attraction for me though was the terrace area, overlooking the river, at the rear of the building.

The Chequers has the sort of beamed interior one would expect from a building of this age, and is a bit of a maze of interconnecting rooms on different levels. There were a handful of people in the pub; either playing pool or watching the golf on the tele, but apart from the dreaded Doom Bar, there was little to tempt the serious beer drinker. Undeterred I ordered myself a coffee and took it out onto the terrace to enjoy the views.

View from the terrace - Chequers

The tide was still coming in, and it seemed strange to see the water flowing in the opposite direction to the normal flow of the river. The terrace obviously doubles up as the pub’s smoking area, although there is no obvious shelter for inclement weather. The pool players were taking advantage of it, and the language was a bit colourful at times. It didn’t bother me, but I imagine it might put some people off; however, it was nice to take the weight off my feet for a while and to sit there watching the odd boat going down the river and the people walking over the old medieval bridge.

A look on WhatPub reveals one other pub in Aylesford; the Bush, which is situated on the Rochester Road. I am not sure if I have ever been there, but I wasn’t tempted to give it a try on this visit. I had some shopping to do back at the Quarry Wood Retail Park, along with some investigative work relating to a sat nav we are looking to buy for the car.

I therefore decided to retrace my steps and head back towards the A20. It had been an enjoyable interlude, and a good way of spending time whilst waiting for the car to be serviced. As I walked around Aylesford earlier, I had been thinking about retiredmartin, and I now mused on the fact that it is sometimes nice to look around a place I wouldn’t normally think of going to. I might be back there, in a year’s time, when the car is due its next service, but who knows. For an interesting little stop-over though, I can thoroughly recommended Aylesford.

Old Family Brewers of Britain. Part Nine - Adnams of Southwold

Adnams, who brew in the genteel Suffolk resort of Southwold, are known as the “seaside brewery”. Their Bitter, to my mind, is one of Britain’s finest “quaffing beers”, and on top of this, the company own some excellent and unspoilt pubs.

I first became familiar with the name of Adnams after reading “The Death of the English Pub”; the excellent, and pioneering exposé of Britain’s big brewers, written in the early 1970’s by Christopher Hutt. Adnams were praised by Hutt for retaining traditional cask beers, brewed to suit local palettes, and for their policy of keeping open many marginal rural pubs. This was in stark contrast to the activities of Watneys, who as well as phasing out traditional beer, had also closed scores of village locals throughout East Anglia.

The Brewery

Shortly afterwards I met up with an old school friend of mine, who was studying at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich. My friend informed me that the bar in the Students’ Union at UEA sold Adnams, and it was on a subsequent visit to my friend’s university that I first sampled Adnams. I must confess that it didn’t strike me as anything special at the time, but I put this down partially to inexperience on my part and to possible poor cellarmanship on behalf of the students union. More to the point if the students’ union bar was using plastic “glasses”, as was the practice at Salford where I was studying, then even the best kept pint would have tasted pretty dire.

Several years later, I visited Southwold itself, in order to sample Adnams ales on their home territory. This was not my first visit to the town however. As a child, I had been taken there, on a day’s outing, along with my sister. We had both been spending part of the summer holidays with our grandparents, at their bungalow in Friston; a small Suffolk village not far from Saxmundham. Towards the end of our stay, our grandmother announced that she would be taking us to Southwold, by bus.

Where's the sand?

Apart from the journey seeming to take an absolute age, I remember little of our visit. What I do recall though is that there was precious little sand at Southwold, a fact that came as something of a disappointment to two children used to the sandy beaches along the Kent coast.

When I returned, nearly twenty years later, it was not sand but some of Southwold’s finest ales that I was after. En route to Southwold, I had stopped in the coastal town of Aldeburgh, famous for its connections with the composer Benjamin Britten. Here, in the unspoilt Cross Keys, my companion and I enjoyed an excellent seafood lunch, washed down with Adnams Bitter, before travelling on to Southwold itself.

The Sole Bay Inn and Southwold lighthouse (Ian Brereton) / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Sole Bay Inn, which acts as the brewery tap afforded the opportunity of sampling Adnams Old Ale for the first time, as well as being an excellent pub in its own right. Later, during that same visit to Suffolk, the classic and unspoilt Jolly Sailor in the tiny town of Orford was visited, which again afforded the opportunity of trying yet more Adnams, including their mild. Orford is a quaint little settlement on the River Alde. It is over-looked by an imposing medieval keep; all that remains from a once extensive castle. As a child, I had visited the castle with my parents, and my sister and I had also fished for crabs from the jetty, using hand-lines baited with bacon rind.

Subsequent visits to Southwold, this time in the company of my new wife, allowed more time for exploring this well-preserved Victorian town. On one occasion we enjoyed a superb lunch, plus some excellent Adnams, in the Lord Nelson, overlooking the seafront. Another visit showed just how much the Adnams Brewery had been expanded. Walking back from the seafront, along a side street, we were surprised to notice a gleaming row of fermentation vessels behind the window of what appeared to be an ordinary terraced house. A closer inspection revealed that the whole row of houses had been adapted for brewery purposes. As much of Southwold is a designated conservation area, where redevelopment and new building are subject to strict planning regulations, Adnams had simply bought up the houses, and converted them to the purpose described above; a neat solution to a tricky problem.

It’s been 20 years or more since I last visited Southwold, and since then there have been even more changes at Adnams. For example new fermenting vessels were installed in March 2001 to cope with increased demand, and the brew-house was completely re-equipped in July 2006, making it one of the most energy efficient in Europe. In addition the company opened a brand new, eco-friendly, distribution centre in the nearby village of Reydon, in order to expand its business

The beer range has also been substantially expanded, and now includes a keg beer called Spindrift, alongside a range of seasonal beers, plus a whole host of one-off commemorative and collaborative beers. Unfortunately, Adnams Extra, my favourite of the company’s beers, was inexplicably dropped several years ago. The decision to axe this beer was all the more puzzling in view of the fact that it was awarded the title of Champion Beer of Britain at CAMRA’s annual Great British Beer Festival in 1993. From memory it was a lovely hoppy beer with a tremendous depth of flavour.

In 1999 Adnams introduced its famous "ribbons" logo and successfully relaunched Broadside in award-winning bespoke 500ml bottles, and in 2005 the company refreshed its brand with new-look pump clips and a stylish bespoke pint glass. In 2013 a new range of beers was introduced under the Jack Brand label, including Adnams first ever lager – Dry Hopped. The company have also produced a range of exclusive beers for Marks & Spencer, including both a Summer and a Winter IPA. Both are excellent, but after many samplings I still can’t decide which of the two I prefer.

What I find most fascinating is the company’s decision in 2010, to open their own distillery, which sits in the room where the old brewing coppers once stood. Initially set up to produce gin and vodka, two additional still were added in 2015 to allow whisky to be distilled. This surely is a first for any UK brewery.

Adnams have only around 50 pubs, but their beers are quite widely distributed. A number of free-houses in this part of the country stock the company’s beers, and Broadside seems to be a permanent fixture on the bar of our local Wetherspoon’s. Adnams Ghost Ship also seems a pretty regular guest ale in the same outlet as well.

So there we have it; Adnams have become one of the country’s most innovative and forward-thinking brewers, whilst at the same time maintaining a fine range of traditional ales and traditional pubs, in which to drink them. They have achieved this by invest heavily both in their future  and the people who work for the company, so long may they continue to brew their fine Suffolk Ales!

For a much more detailed look at the company, its history, its philosophy, its beers, its pubs and now its spirits, log on to Adnams excellent and highly informative website.

Ightham Common Re-visited

I am pleased to report that the CAMRA National Inventory listed, Old House at Ightham Common is alive and well. It was certainly busy when I called in at lunchtime today, and with a fine range of beers on offer, and customers in both bars, it was definitely worth my stopping by.

I don’t often get over that way; even though Ightham Common is only about eight miles drive from my house; but this could all change. Our son has recently started dating a girl who lives in nearby Ightham village. She has a car, but he doesn’t; in fact he has yet to book himself some driving lessons, let alone take his driving test! The upshot of this was dad’s taxi had to run him over to Ightham at lunchtime, and with the time being just after 1.30pm, it seemed an ideal opportunity for me to make a slight detour on the way back and see how the Old House was doing.

I noticed a number of racing bikes lined up against the wall when I arrived, but there was only one other vehicle parked outside. I think this 4 x 4 belonged to the landlord, who was sitting outside, having a crafty cigarette. I said hello, and made my way inside; choosing, as always, the left-hand public bar, which is the larger of the two bars.

The owners of the bikes were sat in the adjacent saloon, all looking very professional in their black and yellow cycling gear. There were four or five of them, all looking older than me, but much fitter and leaner. They were all drinking pints, but as I’ve heard beer is isotonic, it was probably just the right drink to replace lost body fluids after all that exercise. I later discovered they were from the Sidcup area, and from their conversation, they appeared to be real ale enthusiasts, or possibly fully paid upCAMRA members.

There were a couple of old boys, dressed in their Sunday best, sat at the bar in the public enjoying the plate of sausage rolls and scotch eggs laid out on the counter. They acknowledged my presence and shouted for the landlord, but as he had already seen me, he soon appeared on the scene. I can’t remember all the beers on sale, but I did see Harvey’s Best, Dark Star Cappuccino plus a Red Ale whose name escapes me, Titanic Bitter, Mr Swift’s Pale Ale from West Berkshire Brewery, plus Oakham Inferno.

It was a toss-up between the latter two, but with the landlord recommending the Inferno, I went with that. It was pale golden in colour and bursting with citrus flavours from the North American hops used in the brewing. I had quite liked the sound of the Mr Swift’s as well, but as I was driving I wisely limited myself to just the one pint.

The public bar began to fill up soon after my arrival. Everyone seemed on first name terms with both each other and mine host, so they were obviously all locals. I was offered some sausage rolls, which went well with the beer, as did the peanuts on the bar. It was a nice fairly warm spring day outside, so the door had been left open.

The cyclists filed in from the other bar for refills (thirsty work riding up and down all those hills between South London and Ightham!). Most opted for the Cappuccino, although Titanic also seemed a popular choice. In contrast, the regulars were drinking Harvey’s, to a man, but Sussex Best is regarded as a “must stock” beer in this part of the South East, so this wasn’t surprising.

As I said, I restricted myself to just the one, secure in the knowledge that, providing the romance lasts, I’ll be making a few more trips over to Ightham. It was good to see the Old House nice and busy, and I thoroughly recommend a visit if you ever find yourself over that way. Just remember though that it has limited opening times, as it is something of a “hobby pub” and the landlord has a full-time job elsewhere.

Rifle Volunteers - Maidstone

As a side note, whilst sitting there, enjoying my beer, I picked up a copy of Maidstone & Mid-Kent CAMRA’s newsmagazine - Draught Copy. One of the articles was about the Rifle Volunteers, a back-street Maidstone pub, which has just been placed on the CAMRA National Heritage list as it has an historic interior of regional importance. This is just a step down from a listing for being of national importance.

I know the Rifle Volunteers well, as I used to live in Maidstone.  Back then it was a Shepherd Neame tied house, but more recently it has belonged to local brewers, Goachers. It is well worth a visit, but check it out first, either on WhatPub, or here on the National Inventory website.

A Cunning Plan?

In case people hadn’t noticed there’s been a lot of coverage in both the national press national television over the last couple of days about the Campaign for Real Ale’s “Revitalisation Project”. 

As might have been expected, the press got the story spectacularly wrong by claiming that CAMRA would be dropping its focus altogether on “Real Ale”, in favour of campaigning to protect the country’s dwindling pub stock. Some publications even made out that CAMRA had reached the end of the road and was calling “time” on itself.

If the story had surfaced yesterday (1st April), then the stories might just have been seen as noting more than an April Fool hoax, but the truth is that after 45 years of campaigning CAMRA has reached something of a crossroads; so much so that it is looking to re-invent itself.

Since the organisation was founded in 1971, there have been some huge changes in the beer and pub industry. Back then the brewing industry was consolidating and contracting at an alarming rate, following the emergence of the “Big Six”, national brewers. In 1973, Frank Baillie’s pioneering “Beer Drinkers Companion" listed just 88 independent brewers, plus around 30 plants belonging to the national brewers. Between them, these breweries produced around 1,000 different beers, which were mainly restricted to a small handful of styles, (mild, bitter, best bitter and lager on draught, plus an assortment of bottles, which included light, pale and brown ale, stout plus the occasional strong ale or barley wine).

According to the Campaign For Real Ale’s own figures, there are now 1,424 breweries across the UK. This is the largest number since the 1930s, and the UK now boasts more breweries per head of the population than any other country in the world. There are estimated to be 11,000 beer choices available in the UK, including one-off specials and seasonal beers. Many of these “new wave” brewers were responsible for re-introducing long lost beer styles, such as porters, Imperial Stouts and Stock Ales, whilst others looked further a field to other brewing nations, such as Belgium and Germany for their inspiration.

Interest in beer today is unparalleled in its long history and the choice of brews and variety of styles has never been greater. No longer is beer seen as the drink of the “lower orders” or the “working man”. Beer can now hold its head high and compete with wine at every level

But CAMRA’s legacy doesn’t end there, as drinkers in countries such as the United States and Australia, as well as many other parts of the world, owe CAMRA a huge debt of gratitude for showing them the way forward, and inspiring them to start up new breweries and re-create long-lost beer styles. Obviously, many others played a part in this process, not least of which was the huge contribution of the late and great, pioneering beer-writer Michael Jackson. 

On the minus side, the UK has been losing pubs at an increasing rate. For example, in 1969, there were 75,000 pubs in the UK; a number that fell gradually to 69,000 by 1980. It finally slipped below the 60,000 mark for the first time in 2004. The worst year for the industry came in 2009, when a combination of changing social habits and other demographic factors, plus the effects of the economic downturn which followed the banking crisis of the previous year, saw 52 pubs closing every week. Today, the carnage continues but at the slightly lesser rate of around 27 closures a week.

Pub closures aren’t exactly a new phenomenon; the British pub has been in slow, decline since as long as anyone can remember. The number of public houses per head peaked in the late 19th century and has been falling ever since, but to get some idea of the decline, there were 99,000 pubs in 1905 but just 77,500 by 1935, as a result of a series of government policies including deliberate suppression, restrictive opening hours, stringent regulations and higher taxes, many accelerated by the First World War.

The trouble for CAMRA is that Real Ale is primarily only sold in pubs, and although there has been a welcome increase in new drinking establishments opening up, such as micro-pubs, cafes and continental-style bars, specialising in craft beer, the majority of these newcomers do not serve cask beer; with the honourable exception of micro-pubs, of course.
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This is essentially the dilemma facing CAMRA today. On the one-hand there has been this huge rise in the number of new breweries with a proportionate increase in the choice of beers available, but there has also been this corresponding large decline in the number of outlets selling cask beer. Combine this with the rise of so-called “craft-beer” and the phenomenal increase in interest of all things “beer related”, and you have the perfect storm; especially as many amongst the "craft glitterati” have given “real ale” and CAMRA the cold-shoulder, in much the same way that many CAMRA diehards want nothing to do with craft beer and all it entails (key-kegs, cans, unfined “murky beer” etc).

The organisation is therefore embarking on a consultation of as many as possible of its nearly 180,000 members to ask them who and what it should represent in the future.  One of its four founders, Michael Hardman, has returned to lead the "Revitalisation Project" – a wholesale review into the purpose and strategy of CAMRA.

The idea behind the “Revitalisation Project” is to make sure the Campaign for Real Ale remains relevant in the future. CAMRA wants to ensure that the organisation, founded in 1971, reflects the opinions and wishes of its members. In order to achieve this, members will be invited to share their views about the future of CAMRA by completing surveys and attending around 50 consultation meetings across the UK this summer.

They’ll be asked whether CAMRA should move away from promoting and protecting traditional real ale and become more inclusive, or shed subsidiary issues which have become attached to the organisation over the years – such as pubs heritage, cider and foreign beer – in order to narrow its focus exclusively on cask-conditioned beer.

Michael Hardman

Revitalisation Project Chairman Michael Hardman said: “This could mark a fundamental turning point for the Campaign for Real Ale. So fundamental, it may no longer continue as the Campaign for Real Ale and instead become a campaign for pubs, or a campaign for all drinkers.

“It’s not up to us though. It’s up to our members to tell us what they want the Campaign to do in the future.
“CAMRA has sometimes been criticised for failing to move with the times, being old-fashioned and reactionary, and failing to embrace developments in the pub and beer industry such as craft beer. This is the chance for our members to tell us who we should represent in the future and what we should be campaigning for.

“Who do we represent now, and who should we represent in the future to help secure the best outcome for the brewing and pub industry? If we want to play a key part in driving the beer market back into growth and to help create a thriving pub sector, do we continue with our narrow focus, or should we become more inclusive?

“I’ve always been immensely proud to be a founding member of CAMRA. I’m just as proud to be able to return to head up the Revitalisation Project to ensure the organisation we launched in 1971 is relevant and effective for the next 45 years.

“When we founded the Campaign the most important thing was choice and combating poor quality beer. Now our members need to tell us what is important to them. We need to hear from as many CAMRA members as possible to tell us what they think the organisation should look like in the future.”

I have commented and posted on this subject in the past; both here and here, so I won’t be adding my four penneth for the moment. I will be looking out for the surveys and the consultation meetings, and seeing as next year’s AGM will be taking place, just down the road from me, at Eastbourne, I will probably go along, as that is when the results of the Revitalisation Committee findings are due to be debated.

There are definitely some interesting times ahead for the Campaign for Real Ale; even if the press have written the organisation off.

My First London Pub Crawl - Part One

Not on this crawl, but still one of London's finest

I wrote the piece below some 20 or so years ago, when things were much fresher in my mind. I have re-visited it several times since; the last time being the Easter weekend just gone, when I thought it should finally see the light of day. Obviously there have been many changes in the world of beer and brewing, and also the Capital’s pubs and I have tried to reflect some of these changes whilst remaining true to the original article.

The post describes seven landmark London pubs; five of which are still trading, but the important thing for me, is that pub-crawl I undertook, back in 1974 represented the first time I had visited these pubs and I have tried to convey both the sense of joy, and the thrill of discovery that I experienced at the time.

I won’t go so far as to pretend that visiting these pubs proved a life-changing experience, but it did open my eyes to the variety and diversity of public houses available in London at the time. It also bears witness to the emergence of “real ale” as both a force to be reckoned with, and an attraction in its own right; something several of the Capital’s pubs were quick to seize on.

My intention is also to provide the reader with an interesting narrative and to provide a “snapshot” of what a small selection of London pubs were like 40 years ago. If I have managed to convey some of the excitement I felt at the time, then this article will have done its job.

Lovely old Bass mirror

In the summer of 1974 I embarked on a crawl around some of the leading pubs of London’s burgeoning Real Ale scene. Several of these pubs were quite famous and well-known in the capital, and some have remained as personal favourites to this day.

My companion and guide on this tour was a school friend who, like me, had just completed his first year at university. We had met up again during the summer vacation, and had both ended up working in the same summer job. I owe this particular friend an enormous debt of gratitude, as he was the person responsible for sparking in me, what has remained a life-long interest in beer, pubs, brewing and all things related. He was also instrumental in my joining CAMRA, but that's another story!

We discussed the idea of a London crawl, and even though it meant taking a day off work, we decided that a break would do us good. My friend had managed to obtain a copy of the first CAMRA Guide to Real Ale in London, so armed with this vital source of information we set off for London, by train, from our home town of Ashford, alighting at Waterloo East for the first stop on our itinerary.

Hole in the Wall - Waterloo

The pub in question was the Hole in the Wall, a pioneering free house occupying a railway arch, opposite Waterloo Mainline station. Here we both renewed our acquaintance with Youngs Ales, although some forty years later I am uncertain whether it was the Ordinary or the Special that we sampled that day. I described the pub as “pioneering”, and for its time it certainly was, offering beers which weren’t widely available in Central London. For example, just over a year after my first visit to the Hole in the Wall, I got to drink Brakspears beers there for the first time.

Forty years on and it’s good to know the pub is still trading; even though it's many a year since I last set foot in the place. There are mixed reviews on-line, but the Hole in the Wall retains its obvious appeal for homeward bound commuters, wanting a quick pint before their train home.

The second port of call was a Charrington's pub, called the Goldsmith's Arms. The plan was to make our way towards London Bridge in order to visit one of the capital's most ancient and historic pubs, but after consulting my friend's guide, we decided to break our journey approximately halfway, at this typical south London local. The warm summer weather, plus the brisk walk involved, had ensured that we worked up quite a thirst.

During the mid 1970's, Charrington's supplied the bulk of the Real Ale in London; with hand pumps relatively common throughout their tied estate. This was at a time when most of the other big brewers had removed them from their pubs, in favour of top-pressure forms of dispense. The fact that Charrington's had retained hand pumps was probably due more to inertia on their part, rather than a genuine desire to continue selling the real thing, but so far as the drinker was concerned it represented a welcome bonus.

Charrington's famous Toby Ale trademark

In 1974 Charrington's were still brewing at the Anchor Brewery; their original home in London's Mile End Road, but that situation that was to change a year later when that historic plant closed and production was switched to Birmingham. This was a great pity as the London brewed IPA was a vastly superior drink to the imitation version produced, until its final demise, at various Bass breweries in the Midlands. From what I remember, it was much paler in colour (as an IPA should be), and was considerably more bitter, with a good hoppy nose to match.

Our first pint at the Goldsmith's slipped down a treat, and having sparked the landlord’s interest by showing him his entry in the guide, we were persuaded to stop for a further pint. This was contrary to our aim of sticking to one pint per pub, and only having more than one when a pub had several different beers on tap. The beer however, was in tip-top form and we ended up having an interesting chat with the typically “old school” guvnor who ran the place. Forty years on and the pub has undergone a few changes, and is now known as the Goldsmith Pub & Dining Room. It has had a contemporary makeover, but looking at the website, it all looks very nice. My friend would be pleased to know that the Goldsmith's still served traditional beer, but not Charrington’s IPA!

That was to be my first and only visit to the Goldsmith's; subsequent visits to London never seemed to take me near the pub. Besides, as mentioned above, Charrington's IPA took a turn for the worse following the closure of their London brewery; a situation which was partially compensated for by the company significantly increasing the availability of Draught Bass throughout their estate in the South East. Given my well known appreciation of this classic Burton-brewed ale, I regret to say I never missed IPA as much as I might otherwise have done.

George Inn, Southwark

The subject of Draught Bass leads nicely on to the third pub on our itinerary, namely the George Inn, situated just off Southwark High Street. The George is famous for being London’s last surviving galleried coaching inn, although even this splendidly preserved old pub is incomplete. The George was just one of the many such inns which once graced the capital, and it was from inns, such as this, that the mail coaches set out daily. The George is now owned by the National Trust, and is a popular tourist attraction, perhaps even more so today than it was back in the mid 1970's, when I first visited it.

I was instantly impressed with the George. It was like stepping back into a bygone age, with its picturesque, galleried upper stories overlooking the courtyard and with its narrow entrance leading to the busy thoroughfare beyond. I thought I knew London reasonably well, but was surprised that such an ancient old building was still standing, given the ravages of the Great Fire, the Blitz and modern day property developers!

Interior - George Inn

Stepping inside the pub too, for the first time, was equally impressive. With its bare wooden floors, low-beamed ceilings and the serving hatch for a bar, the interior was every bit as good as the exterior. The beer was dispensed from an unusual set of beer pumps resembling a cash register. They were reputed to be over 200 years old. The pumps dispensed two different draught beers, namely Draught Bass (or Bass Pale Ale as it was then called) and London-brewed Whitbread Bitter. However, the splendid surroundings must have made more of an impression on my memory than the beer itself, as I fail to remember which of the beers we sampled, or whether we did actually try them both.

I was reluctant to leave the George, but was determined to return as soon as possible. For quite a few years after I managed to achieve this when in the vicinity of London Bridge Station, but today the pub seems to have become even more of a tourist trap. The ancient “cash-resister style” beer pumps have been taken out (presumably they were either beyond repair, or were constructed from “non-approved” materials such as leather or brass), but despite this, the George is still worthy of a visit, especially if you are a lover of old inns.

After our lengthier than planned stopover at the Goldsmith’s, my companion was anxious to press on. This was ironic as it was his decision to stop for a second pint there! Nevertheless, even with the generous lunchtime opening hours which prevailed at the time in the capital, closing time was drawing ever closer. We therefore left the George, crossed Southwark High Street and found our way to the legendary Becky's Dive Bar.

This establishment, as its name suggests, was a basement bar. It was situated below a rather dingy looking building, which I later found out was the London Hop Exchange. According to my friend's guide, Becky’s was a rare outlet for Thwaites Bitter, all the way from Blackburn, and we were both looking forward to sampling this Lancastrian beer for the first time.

We were somewhat taken aback by the Dive Bar itself. The steps, which led down to it, seemed to have an unnatural springiness to them; as if their timbers had rotted and were about to give way. The bar itself was dimly lit, furnished with a number of worn out chairs and littered with umpteen up-turned casks. To make matters worse, the air smelt dank and reeked of tom cats. We were to be disappointed in our quest for Thwaites, but not by the beer on offer in its place, namely the legendary and revered Ruddles County.

Hop Exchange - London

Despite the reverence attached to this beer, the Ruddles County my companion and I drank, for the first time that day in the Dive Bar, was not exactly in the best of condition. Mine pint was rather cloudy, whilst my friend's glass appeared to contain an inch or two of sediment! I discovered the reason for the cloudy beer on a subsequent visit to the Dive Bar (about a year later to be precise), when, if anything, the place seemed even more down at heel.

I was on a similar crawl to the one I am describing, with a friend from university, but one which was somewhat more limited in scope. Becky’s was quite unusual for a city-centre outlet in that all the cask beers were dispensed direct from casks perched up on the bar. As my friend and I sat at the bar that night, we noticed that one of the casks had run dry. We then watched, fascinated as the barman removed it and replaced it with another, taken from the customers’ side of the bar. The replacement cask had been left standing up-ended, with the tap already in place. It was heaved, unceremoniously, onto the bar, manhandled onto a stillage and then, more or less straight away, the barman began serving from it. It had obviously received a considerable amount of disturbance by this treatment, with the ensuing effect on its contents. At this point, my companion and I decided it was high time to drink up and leave!

To return to the main story, I finished my pint of Ruddles, whilst my friend wisely left the bottom third of his before departing for the final port of call of the lunchtime session. Before describing the next pub, it’s well worth mentioning that veteran Beer Bloggers, Boak & Bailey posted a lengthy and very informative article about Becky's Dive Bar back in 2012, which drew on interviews with people who drank there along with detailed and extensive research which the pair conducted into this legendary establishment. You can read their article here.

Our next pub was a tube ride away, so we took the Underground to Hyde Park Corner, and then made our way, past the various foreign embassies and consulates which abound in Belgravia, to what is still one of my favourite London pubs. It is, of course, the Star Tavern, and it is hidden away off Belgrave Square. It is reached via an archway which leads into Belgrave Mews West. The Star at the time, was a lone outpost in Central London for Fuller's excellent ales, and what was even better was the fact that the beers were dispensed by hand pump, rather than the more usual top-pressure system favoured by the brewery at the time.

Star Tavern - Belgravia

I have returned to the Star Tavern on many occasions, and have spent some really good times in there. What appealed to me at the time, and what still does today, is the Star's location; one simply does not expect to find a gem of a pub like this in such a salubrious neighbourhood. It is also the sort of pub I’m sure my grandfather would have liked visiting. He worked as a chauffeur for a wealthy Hampstead businessman, until forced to retire through ill-health, and I can imagine him enjoying a drink in a pub like the Star whilst waiting for his employer to emerge from one of the smart houses nearby.

What we didn’t know was that a decade or so earlier the Star was the haunt of some of London’s most notorious master criminals who hob-knobbed there with various stars of stage and screen. It is said that the planning for much of the Great Train Robbery took place in the pub, but this recent (at the time) history was unknown to us as we sat near the window, enjoying the excellent Fuller’s beer. We of course had to sample both the London Pride and the renowned ESB. The latter, at the time, was the strongest draught beer available on a regular basis, anywhere in the country.

We had now reached the end of the lunchtime session, and “Time” had been called at the Star. There were now two hours to wait until the pubs re-opened at 5pm. This then seems as good a place as any to break off the article, and to resume the story of the evening session next time, in part two of this narrative.