Black Cat Proves a Worthy Winner

It seems a long time ago now, but at last October’s Spa Valley Railway Beer Festival; a joint venture between this heritage railway group and West Kent CAMRA,  the award for “Beer of the Festival” went to the Sussex-based Black Cat Brewery.

Keeping with the tradition of previous festivals, it was only fitting that Black Cat should be presented with their award after the festival, with branch members in attendance. Black Cat Brewery owners, Paul and Kate Wratten, were obviously delighted with the news of their award, but were in the middle of both moving house and upgrading the brewery. With all this going on, our social secretary’s attempts at arranging a get-together hit a bit of a brick wall.

Finally, it was decided that rather than local CAMRA members travelling to the brewery, Paul and Kate would come to us. The couple suggested bringing a few casks of Black Cat beer over to the Spa Valley Railway’s HQ, at Tunbridge Wells West station, for members to sample, and this seemed an excellent idea.

As in previous years, members and friends who had worked at the Beer Festival were given first refusal, but after our Social Secretary had confirmed this arrangement with Paul, at Black Cat, he discovered the brewery would be bringing four casks over. The invitation was therefore extended to  neighbouring North-East Sussex CAMRA, as Black Cat Brewery is located within the area covered by that branch.

Spa Valley Railway agreed that we could use the part of their engine shed, normally reserved for functions, but the snag was they are only permitted a limited number of liquor licenses each year, and one of them is for the actual beer festival. In the end this turned out not to be a problem, as Black Cat would be making the beer available for free, so no money would be changing hands; the only remaining stumbling block was how to distinguish between CAMRA members plus friends, and those members of the general public who, after wandering in and seeing beer being served and enjoyed, might be tempted to join in.

Our ingenious social secretary solved this by issuing the CAMRA contingent with self-adhesive “Smiley” badges, which they had to wear and sign for when they first arrived.  (No badge, no beer!).

Paul & Kate with West Kent CAMRA chairman, Iain Dalgleish

I turned up a bit after the advertised start time of 2pm, as I had some domestic matters to attend to. The bad news was I had just missed the presentation, but the good news was there was plenty of beer left. Paul and Kate had brought over four different beers for us to enjoy; Original, Hopsmack, Nine Tails and a new ale-lager cross, called Crossale. The first and last of these beers were in 9 gallon firkins, whilst the middle two were in four and a half gallon pins. All beers were bright, having been racked off that morning and with the help of some wet towels and a few bags of ice, were served nice and cool.

I am already a massive fan of Black Cat Original, and I remember enjoying Hopsmack at the Kent Beer Festival in Canterbury, a couple of years ago. Nine Tails, is a dark winter beer, reminiscent of the late-lamented King & Barnes Old, and I’d had the pleasure of enjoying a few pints of it in the Crown at Groombridge the winter before last.

All the beers were good, but I particularly enjoyed the Hopsmack and the Nine Tails. I managed to chat with Paul and Kate, who were both very pleased with their award. They also told me about the awards they had picked up at the recent SIBA South East Competition, held at Tonbridge Juddians. Their excellent Tzar Imperial Stout not only picked up top of its class (Gold) in the Premium Strong Beer category, but also went on to win Gold as Overall Champion of the Competition!

Paul found out about these awards via our West Kent CAMRA Twitter feed as, due to work commitments, he was unable to be present when the awards were announced; although he had asked his parents to go along on his behalf. This was a fantastic achievement for Black Cat, and a worthy win for a stunning beer. Fortunately I was able to try a glass on the opening night of the Juddians Festival and found it a lovely mellow dark beer, with chocolate and roast notes, plus just the right amount of bitterness. Its 6.8% ABV was just right, as some Imperial Stouts weigh in at 10% plus, and are far too strong for anything more than just a small glass!

Paul and Kate are pleased with the way the brewery is developing; although at the moment, Paul still has a full time job which often takes him to London. Hopsmack has been selected for this year’s Great British Beer Festival, which meant the couple had to invest in four kilderkins (18 gallon casks), as for logistical reasons the more usual 9 gallon firkins, are too small for the festival. If you are planning to go along to Olympia, it would be well worth sampling this refreshing 4.0% golden ale, brewed from 100% pale malt, and flavoured with a blend of Athanum, Cascade and Amarillo hops.

Our Branch Publicity Officer managed to get the local press to turn up for the presentation, so look out for the story in  Kent Online. By early evening, things had started to wind down, and with the vast majority of the beer drank, people started to drift off. I stayed a while to assist with the clear up, before joining a few fellow members at the Pantiles Tap, for yet more beer. Paul and Kate were there as well for a few quick beers before catching their bus back to deepest Sussex.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the couple for their very generous supply of beer. It was also a genuine pleasure to meet them both, and to learn of their recent successes. I would also like to thank the Spa Valley Railway for allowing us the use of their premises and for them continuing to finance and partner us in the annual autumn beer festival. (See below).

Further Information:

Black Cat 

Black Cat Brewery began life in the village of Groombridge, back in 2011,  as the brain-child, and part time project of commercial airline pilot, Marcus Howes. Marcus developed a range of fine traditional ales on his 2.5 barrel brewery, but juggling the demands of  running the brewery, with his duties as a pilot working for Monarch Airlines, became too much so a few years ago Marcus sold the business to Paul and Kate Wratten, who have since relocated the brewery to Palehouse Common, near Uckfield. The couple are in the process of increasing the size of the brewing plant to 10 barrels to enable future expansion.

 Beer Festival

6th Annual CAMRA Real Ale & Cider Festival & Autumn Diesel Gala in association with West Kent CAMRA. Friday 21^st – Sunday 23^rd October.

The Spa Valley Railway’s major Real Ale and Cider Festival is back for its 6th year and will be bigger than ever before with a planned 130 Real Ales and 30 Ciders. The event will also feature a large number of Green Hop Ales.  The main festival takes place in the railway’s Victorian Engine Shed at Tunbridge Wells West where you can enjoy a pint or two throughout the day in between train rides if you wish.

Entry to the main festival at Tunbridge Wells West is FREE and will be open from 11:00 each day until late evening. The ales and ciders for this event are spread out between three station bars, Tunbridge Wells, Groombridge & Eridge and also bars on two of their train sets. 

To reach all the locations Spa Valley recommend a day rover ticket, which allows unlimited travel on the day. For CAMRA members there is a special CAMRA Day Rover ticket available for just £15!  (Proof of CAMRA membership must be provided upon purchase & this offer cannot be booked in advance).

Photographs

The photos featured in this post appear courtesy of Iain and Carole Dalgleish, and the Spa Valley Railway.

Carpenter's Arms, Tonbridge

It’s said that people don’t notice things on their own doorstop, and this is often true when it comes to pubs. People will sometimes travel miles to drink, missing out on the fact there’s quite often something equally as good closer to home.

The Carpenters Arms, in Three Elm Lane, isn’t exactly on my doorstep; in fact it lies just off the Hadlow Road in a rural setting on the northern fringe of Tonbridge. However, it’s a pub I don’t visit that often, being too far to walk to from my house; although it is just a short hop from the nearest bus route.

My wife and I took a taxi out to the Carpenter’s last Saturday evening. One of the building firms she does book-keeping for were hosting a summer get-together for their workers, so Eileen and I were invited along. I had driven past the pub many times during the 30 plus years I have lived in Tonbridge, but for some reason had rarely ventured inside.

This may have been due to the Carpenter’s having once been a Courage pub; or it may just have been due to the fact it was always a place we passed en route to somewhere else, and never a destination in its own right. I knew a lot of money had been spent on the place; in fact I remember a customer telling me, back in the day when we had our off-licence, that it was a decent place to go for both food and drink, but as I just said, it was never somewhere to stop off at.

Well I have to see we were both really impressed with what we found after the taxi had dropped us off, as the pub has a Tardis-like interior, which has been tastefully fitted out in a style which is just right and not over-powering. We were the first couple to arrive, so we grabbed a drink, before going to sit outside on the front terrace, which had been reserved for our party.

After a baking hot afternoon, it was just right sitting outside under the shade of the large, square parasols as we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. My beer (Harvey’s Sussex Best) too was nice and cool. The other cask ales were rather safe and predictable, in the form of Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen and the dreaded Doom Bar; but the pub did have keg Brew Dog Punk IPA on tap.

I was tempted to try a pint, but with a strength of 5.5% ABV, combined with a long evening ahead and an open tab behind the bar, I decided it would not be a good idea. A couple of other guests did try it though, and reported it was very good.

As well as plenty of decent beer (Harvey’s), there was plenty of decent food to go with it, in the form of mini-burgers and those posh fresh-cooked scotch eggs, with the bright yellow yolks that are so beloved by all trendy craft-beer bar owners, and their hipster customers. There was also a really nice platter of salade niçoise, which went well with the rest of the food.

It was nice to meet with Eileen’s boss, his wife; the company’s associated workers and sub-contractors. They seemed a good down to earth bunch with a number of real characters amongst them, and keen to let their hair down, metaphorically speaking.

We left sometime after 11pm, after Eileen had persuaded our son and his friend to pick us up. It had been an excellent evening, with good beer, good food and good company. We also discovered that the Carpenter’s Arms is well worth a return visit, which we plan to make in the not too distant future.

It is also worth noting that the pub offers accommodation and also serves breakfasts which, looking at the menu, are very reasonably priced. I gather booking is essential; especially at weekends.

Footnote: The Carpenter’s Arms is constructed in a rather unusual “Dutch Barn” style. Whilst sitting outside the other evening I realised that the building reminded me of another similar pub at the other end of the county; the World’s Wonder, in the village of Warehorne, on the edge of Romney Marsh.

A spot of research revealed that the latter pub was rebuilt in this rather distinctive style in 1932, by the former Maidstone brewers Style & Winch. The new building replaced the two old cottages, which had formerly housed the pub.

The former Bell Inn, at Coxheath – to the south of Maidstone, was another pub constructed in this “Dutch Barn” style. The pub is now a curry house, but the distinctive style of the building is still very evident.

Style & Winch were bought by the London brewers, Barclay Perkins shortly before the Warehorne pub was rebuilt, but the company continued brewing their distinctive “Kentish Farmer” brand beers until well into the 1950’s when Barclays merged with their Southwark neighbours, Courage. The Maidstone Brewery then switched to producing Courage beers, until its closure in 1966.

The site was used as a bottling and distribution site for a further decade, before the whole area was redeveloped to make way for a second road bridge over the River Medway. I can just about remember the old brewery, during its last years of existence as a bottling plant.

Putting it into Practice

After my last post about the benefits of  walking, I took the opportunity on Sunday to join three friends on a ramble to the Windmill at Sevenoaks Weald; one of our favourite pubs and West Kent CAMRA pub of the year. I have previously walked to the pub from either Hildenborough or Penshurst railway stations, but Sunday’s ramble followed a different route as it started off from Sevenoaks station.

We caught the 11.10 train from Tonbridge and 10 minutes later alighted at Sevenoaks. We exited from the opposite side of the station to normal, and after ascending a series of steps found ourselves heading towards the Kippington area of the town. Now if you thought Sevenoaks was posh, Kippington is posher still, and as we followed the road steadily upwards, in an approximate south-westerly direction, the houses became larger and more and more ostentatious. One particularly large pile had formerly belonged to Winston Churchill; as a plaque on the wall outside testified.

Who lived in a house like this?

This was new territory for me, but two of my companions knew the area quite well. It was certainly interesting to see how the other half live, even in a town which I thought I knew quite well! After climbing some more steps, and passing through the churchyard of the Victorian Kippington church, and walking past yet more grandiose properties, we eventually passed into more open countryside.

We followed an underpass under the main A21 trunk-road, before passing into Mill Bank Wood; an extensive area of mature pine trees. A slightly winding path led us steadily upwards in a southerly direction allowing us to slowly ascend the dip-slope of the Greensand Ridge. It was nice and cool walking through the pine forest, although there were more open areas where the sun was able to penetrate. In one such sunlit glade we even noticed a dragoon flies buzzing delicately around.

What goes up must come down, and after reaching the top of the Greensand Ridge, we began the steep descent of the scarp slope, passing a few more substantial looking properties; each blessed with spectacular southward looking views across the Weald of Kent.

I hadn’t really been following the map, as I was relying on my companions for guidance, so I was quite surprised when after a further mile or so, we suddenly emerged in Sevenoaks Weald, virtually opposite the Windmill. We walked in through the open door to find the pub practically deserted, but soon realised most people were sitting out in the garden enjoying the fine weather.

Licensees Matt and Emma were behind the bar and greeted us in their usual friendly manner, as we perused the beers which were on offer. At the lower end of the scale were Larkin’s Traditional and Rockin’ Robin – Robin Reliant; whilst at the top end was Fellowship Porter from Redemption Brewery. In between were two beers which none of us had come across before; Lytham Brewery Gold 4.2% and North Cotswold Shagweaver 4.5%. (Both 3.0 NBSS).

I started on the Lytham before working my way upwards to the North Cotswold offering, preferring the later out of the two. We joined the majority of the pub’s customers out in the garden, which is a real suntrap. None of us were sufficiently hungry to warrant a main meal, but we noticed from the menu that the Windmill offers smaller portions of most of the mains options, as starters. I opted for the pulled pork, with new potatoes and salad, which was just about right, but I must say my companions’ scampi and chips also looked rather appealing.

Apart from one member of our party who was knocking back the 7.0% Turner’s Sweet Cider, we decided to end with the Redemption Porter, but after bringing it back from the bar we realised it was on the turn, with a definite sourness lurking in the background. I took mine back and Emma changed it changed it straight away. Matt then came and found us in the garden and apologised for the beer, and offered us the excellent Gun Brewery Extra Pale, by way of replacement. Now if only more licensees were as honest and accommodating as that, a beer drinker’s life would be a lot easier!

We decided to walk back to Hildenborough station, along the well-trodden route of Egg Pie and Philpots Lanes and arrived with plenty of time to spare before our train arrived. There is only an hourly service from Hildenborough on a Sunday, so we had allowed ample time for the walk back.

Wherever I lay my hat......

I enjoyed both the outward and return walks, but as the former was through unfamiliar territory and along paths I had not trodden previously, that was the best part of the day for me. I logged it on my “Map My Walk” phone-App at just under four and a half miles. A walk like that through the lovely Kent countryside certainly takes some beating, and when there’s a top notch pub waiting at the far end, then what more could a rambling beer lover want?

Staying Healthy

A few months ago comments surfaced on a number of different blogs which got me thinking about the health issues associated with excess drinking. One comment in particular read, “Anyone who reads as many CAMRA branch obituaries, for blokes in their 50s and 60s, as I do will know that not all committed drinkers make it to their 80s in good health.”

This unfortunately is only too true; as these days it seems hardly a month goes by without yet another obituary appearing in the pages of the CAMRA newspaper,. “What’s Brewing”. Given that the Campaign has approaching  180,000 members, this perhaps comes as no surprise, and it could also be said that whilst CAMRA started out primarily as a young persons’ organisation, many of those original members have now reached an age where the statistical odds of them shuffling off this mortal coil have significantly increased.

I was 19 years old when I first joined CAMRA, back in 1974. I celebrated my 61^st birthday a few months ago, so I not only fall into the category of someone who has spent the majority of his adult life as a member of Europe’s most successful consumer organisation, but I am reaching a time in my life where it would be prudent to pay more attention to my health and general well-being.

I don’t feel old, and I certainly want to carry on enjoying a few glasses of beer for as long as possible. So, given the gloomy comment in the opening paragraph, how can I achieve this modest desire whilst at the same time live to a ripe old age?

I would like to think I am sensible enough to not abuse my body and put my health at risk by over-indulging; but would imagine that more than a few of those sadly departed CAMRA members thought the same thing. So without turning this into some kind of moral crusade about the adverse affect “heavy” drinking has overtime on the human body, I want to take a different tack; one which I believe is equally important when it comes to ensuring longevity.

I have enjoyed walking since my early teens. Living in a small village, with poor or non-existent public transport links, meant it was quite often necessary to resort to shank’s pony as a means of getting about. I’ve also got the leader of the youth group I was a member of to thank for taking us on Youth Hostelling holidays to places like the South Downs, the Peak District and North Wales. These holidays involved a fair amount of walking and, whilst it may on occasion have seemed hard-going at times, just being out in the fresh air and enjoying the local scenery, instilled a love of the great outdoors which I still have today.

Several years ago a friend and I walked the entire length of both the South Downs Way and the Weald Way, and I still enjoy a ramble whenever the opportunity arises - especially if a stop at a country pub is involved en route!

About a year ago, I heard an article on the radio entitled, “It’s the sitting down that kills you”. Apparently research has shown that sitting down in excess of six hours a day makes you up to 40% more likely to die within 15 years than someone who sits for less than three hours. This applies, even if you exercise.

Fortunately, as stated earlier, I’ve always been fairly active and my current job allows me to walk around the factory on a regular basis. I also go for a walk most lunchtimes, covering between a mile and a mile and a half. This allows me some exercise before getting back to my sandwiches and a cup of tea. I really enjoy being out in the fresh air and getting away from the factory, whilst the rural setting surrounding my workplace adds to my enjoyment. Following a small number of set routes also allows me to appreciate the changing seasons; something which is obviously far more noticeable in the country than it is in a town.

Taking regular exercise is just one of a number of ways to improve one’s chances of remaining fit and healthy into old age. I touched briefly on the importance of moderating one’s alcohol intake, but of equal importance is the food we eat and the type of diet we follow.

A discussion on nutrition is beyond the scope of this post, and possibly even this blog, so to end I would like to return to the subject of walking, and mention one regular and prolific blogger whose efforts don’t just put my lunchtime strolls to shame, but positively dwarf them.

I am referring of course to Retired Martin whose excellent blog chronicles his quest to visit every new entry in the current CAMRA Good Beer Guide, whilst combining his visits with as much walking as possible. I have been an avid reader of Martin’s blog, since he started it a couple of years ago. During this time he has introduced readers to the delights of towns they would never have thought of visiting; places as diverse as Altrincham, Stourbridge, Weston Super Mare, Leicester and Wigan, to name but a few.

With an eye for the off-beat and even outright eccentric, which he captures with a dry sense of humour on his blog,  Martin often includes details of the walks he undertakes as part of these pub visits. So I take my hat off to this fellow pub-lover and walker, and trust that once I am work and mortgage free I too will be able to emulate him, albeit in a slightly smaller and less intense way.

 

Footnote:

For those wishing to read further about the perils associated with a sedentary lifestyle, the following website provides useful information on how to change your routine in order to moderate, or even prevent these dangers.

Supplies Running Low

The other night I noticed to my dismay that my beer stocks are running dangerously low. Not the end of the world I hear you say, as surely I could just pop down to my nearest specialist beer shop or supermarket and stock back up. 

Well you are correct of course, and I will be doing just that, but what I wanted to illustrate is that over the course of a normal year I manage to build up quite a stock of different bottles. I acquire many of these on my travels, and last year, for example brought back quite a few bottles from Austria, the Czech Republic and Belgium. The latter visit proved a particularly lucrative source, as I was in the country for the European Beer Bloggers Conference and as well as bottles readily available in the shops (often at bargain prices), there were a lot of samples handed out by brewers eager to promote their wares.

The run up to Christmas is another time when I always accumulate a lot of bottles; not only stock I build up in the run up to the festive season, but bottles which family, friends and sometimes work colleagues buy for me as presents. Most of the major supermarket chains run promotions during December, and I obviously take advantage of these. Fuller’s beers are often discounted during this period, enabling me to build up stocks of beers such as 1845 and London Porter, but sometimes I get it wrong and go a bit overboard. For example, I still have a couple of 500ml bottles of Fuller’s Golden Pride, which I acquired the Christmas before last. I still haven’t found a suitable occasion to drink them, but I will be taking one, at least, with me to Amsterdam next month, for the bottle sharing session at this year's European Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference which takes place in the city. 

Being left with an abundance of porters, strong ales, barley wines, Imperial Stouts and a few Trappist and Abbey beers, is part of the problem at the moment, as basically this is what my stock consists of. However, in over 30˚ of heat these beers have a very limited appeal, but at least they will keep until the weather turns colder again.

I will normally have a stock of paler, and slightly weaker beers to balance to balance the strong stuff, but the recent high temperatures have seen my stash of Pilsner Urquell almost vanish, and with just a couple of bottles of St Austell Proper Job remaining, I really do need to replenish my stocks as a matter of urgency.

There are, of course, other sources of bottled beers, including a couple of the growing number of companies which specialise in supplying bottles by mail order. In the past I have received, and reviewed bottles from both Beer52 and Beer Hawk, (disclosure time, just in case anyone’s bothered about such things). Both companies’ offering s were interesting and varied, with bottles from countries as far away as Iceland and Norway, as well as samples from closer to home. Beer52 even supply a well written and informative magazine, called Ferment, with each shipment.

Goodies from an overseas trip

Probably the granddaddy of all the mail order suppliers is Beers of Europe, who operate out of a large unit on the edge of Kings Lynn in Norfolk. The company also supplies the licensed trade and customers can also turn up in person to browse the shelves and make their own selections.

Finally I want to cover the question of long to medium term storage, and where best to keep your beers. The best place to store beer is in a cool area, away from direct sunlight, sources of heat, and in conditions of constant temperature, and relatively low humidity. To store a beer perfectly can be tricky, but a good rule to follow is higher alcohol beers need warmer temperatures, while lower alcohol beers require cooler conditions. This is why a cellar or basement is the ideal place to store beer, as the temperature generally remains fairly constant.

Unfortunately few modern houses in the UK have cellars, although many older ones do. My first house, a two-up, two-down Victorian terrace cottage in Maidstone had a large and roomy cellar which extended under both front and rear parts of the house, but my current home, a 1930’s semi does not. In fact, very few properties in Tonbridge possess cellars, because until quite recently, the town suffered from regular flooding.

Someone else's beer cellar

I keep my bottles in the shadiest and coolest room in the house, which just happens to be the ground floor of our extension. They are stored in stackable cardboard boxes, with integral dividers, which I acquired from the aforementioned mail order companies, Beer52 and Beer Hawk. The boxes provide protection from light; which along with heat is the main source of spoilage and premature ageing of a beer.

It’s obviously rewarding building up a stock of different bottles to drink and enjoy at a later date, and if the range includes a variety of different types and styles, then there will surely be a beer available to suit every occasion. Even my own current situation of virtually only strong dark stuff left, is not the end of the world, as these beers will come into their own later in the year.

If you’re a craft aficionado then the sky’s probably your limit, given the huge variety of different bottles (and cans) available these days, but if like me, you prefer something a little more traditional, then even better as you’ve got the whole world to choose from.

Happy Beer Hunting!

 

Under Pressure

Bar-top boxes for Top-Pressure dispense

In my previous and rather lengthy article about cask-conditioning, I touched upon the limited shelf life of cask ale. I also mentioned how careless handling and disgusting practices, such as returning “slops” to a cask, had led brewers to look at ways to improve and maintain the quality of the beer, as served to the customer in his or her glass. 

The development of “keg” beers, filtered, pasteurised and then stored in sealed containers, and dispensed, under pressure, using carbon-dioxide gas, was one solution, but it was expensive. The equipment needed for processes such as filtration and pasteurisation was not cheap, so brewers looked at an alternative “half-way house” solution in the form of “Top Pressure” systems.

Top Pressure dispense systems undeniably improved the keeping qualities of cask beer, and extended its shelf life. It stands to reason that if oxygen is excluded from the cask, then the contents will last longer, as oxidation cannot take place so, to many brewers and publicans, top-pressure seemed like the answer to a maiden’s prayer. 

As above

There was a downside however, as in order to force the beer from the cask and up to the taps on the bar, it was necessary to apply an appreciable amount of pressure. If there was a long pipe run from the cellar to the bar, a considerable amount of pressure was necessary in order to dispense the beer and due to some of the CO2 being absorbed and dissolving in the beer, this had the unfortunate side effect of making the beer fizzy. In the worst cases, the beer absorbed so much CO2 that it resembled keg, rather than cask beer.

When I started drinking in the early 1970’s (not at a legal age to begin with), top-pressure dispense was pretty much the norm; in fact seeing hand-pumps on the bar, and especially ones still in use, was quite a rare sight, apart from in Shepherd Neame pubs, and my friends and I tended to avoid those anyway. 

CAMRA too in those days, viewed pressurised dispense with as much disdain as it had for keg beer, as a look through the Brewery Section at the rear of the 1974 GBG reveals. Many of the pub descriptions in the main part also specifically refer to “pressure”, or the absence of it. The Guide goes out of its way to point out that “There is always a very high risk that the beer will become gassy, sickly and sweet it carbon dioxide is re-introduced artificially”. I understand the bit about the beer becoming gassy, but sickly? And as for sweet, well CO2 obviously possesses magical properties, hitherto unknown to chemists!

One could therefore be forgiven for thinking that top-pressure was an inherently bad system, and yet it was brought in by breweries to address a major concern regarding the poor quality of much cask beer. The brewers argued that as carbon-dioxide is a natural by-product of fermentation, its use as both a means of dispense, and in providing a protective “blanket” over the beer, should be considered beneficial. One could see their point, and almost sympathise, especially as they were trying to solve a problem which had dogged cask beer for many years.

The point about providing a blanket was taken further by a number of breweries in a hybrid system known as “blanket pressure”. Here, CO2 under low pressure was applied to the top of the cask, via the spile hole, in a similar manner to that of normal top-pressure systems. The pressure of gas was kept deliberately low, so as to just provide a layer of protection to keep air away from the exposed surface of the beer. Dispense would then be achieved by normal hand or electric pumps, or even by gravity.

Cask-Breather

As carbon-dioxide is heavier than air, the logic behind this works well but, as might have been expected, CAMRA were vehemently opposed to such systems, as they claimed the blanket of CO2 above the beer prevented normal conditioning from occurring, and if the pressure applied was too high, excess gas could dissolve in the beer making if fizzy like keg.

The so-called “Cask-Breather” was a device specifically designed to circumvent these alleged problems. Cask-breathers are, in effect, demand valves, which work on similar principles to the aqualung, used all over the world by divers; although the former operate at lower pressures. The principle is that as beer is drawn off from the cask, the inside pressure falls. Instead of drawing in air, the “breather" allows sufficient CO2 to enter the cask to fill the volume created. The beauty of it is that only just enough gas is admitted, so there is no chance of excess CO2 being absorbed by the beer. 

How the thing works

Despite the device having been evaluated and approved by  CAMRA’s Technical Committee, with an irrationality based solely on a rabid aversion to the dreaded “extraneous CO2”, the Campaign as a whole said “no”. The chance to improve the quality and longevity of cask beer was therefore lost due to the rigid dogma of a handful of “stick-in-the-mud”, diehard activists. Not that this opposition stopped brewers and publicans alike installing cask-breathers in their cellars; a move which didn’t go un-noticed by CAMRA purists, and which led to an insistence of the right to inspect pub cellars, when surveying entries for the Good Beer Guide.

This confrontational approach obviously upset a lot of people in the trade, and did little to enhance the standing of CAMRA as a responsible and professional organisation. The cask-breather debacle also marked the beginning of my long-standing disillusionment with the Campaign, and this insistence on cellar inspections was one of the key reasons why I no longer have anything to do with the Good Beer Guide.

Looking back, I can understand why brewers opted for the top-pressure system as a means of improving the keeping qualities of cask beer, but was CAMRA right in opposing it? Probably yes, due to the risks of altering the mouth-feel and drinkability of the beer due to the absorption of too much CO2. As for blanket pressure, I don’t really know. What I do know though is that had devices such as cask-breathers been around in the late 1960’s-early 1970’s, then top-pressure systems would have been unnecessary, and cask ale could have continued pretty much as it was, without the need to switch over entirely to keg.

Cask-breathers in use

In my book, the brewers were definitely right to look for ways of extending the life of cask beer by preventing oxidation, for this is the Achilles Heel of “real ale”. All is well if a cask is emptied within a two to three day period, but as we all know to our cost; this is often not the case. Many pubs are far too ambitious in the number and types of cask beer they stock, leading to a slow turn-over, especially of the less popular beers or brands. Right from the start, CAMRA did recognise the inherent limited shelf-life problems associated with cask beer; that first commercial, pioneering Good Beer Guide which appeared in 1974 had a few lines in the introduction which read, “Another feature of real ale that you ought to welcome is that it can vary from superb to undrinkable; even in the same pub. Every brew has its good days, its bad days and its indifferent days. Learn to accept the off moment and revel in the times when you hit on a really excellent pint”. (I don’t know about you, but I’d be very wary of a pub where the beer was excellent one day, and undrinkable the next! Surely a case of someone not knowing what they are doing?)

The frustrating, and indeed annoying thing is that when a solution to this problem appeared in the form of the cask-breather, because of the influence of a small group of vociferous, die-hard activists, CAMRA chose to turn its back on it. For purely doctrinal reasons associated with past negative experiences of top-pressure, the Campaign went into overdrive in its opposition to this “beer saving” device. These reasons flew in the face of scientific facts and demonstrably repeatable tests which proved, beyond all doubt, that cask breathers had no adverse effect whatsoever on the beer.

Mind you if Carbon Dioxide really can make a beer taste sickly and sweet, then perhaps anything is possible and cask-breathers are the work of the Devil and the very end of civilisation as we know it!

Footnote: I wrote a similar post to this one, back in April 2014, highlighting the lunacy of CAMRA's opposition to cask breathers. You can read it here.

A Family Wedding

Hunters Hall

The main hall

The start of the new week saw me back up in Norfolk, but this time with my wife and son. We had travelled up for my youngest sister’s wedding, and with my other sister and her husband having flown over from the United States, along with a cousin up from Wales, the stage was set for a family get together.

We stayed at the wedding venue, a place called Hunters Hall, just a short hop from the village of Swanton Morley, where my parents had lived for the last 20 years. Hunters Hall is a wedding venue and farmhouse bed and breakfast complex, consisting of a large Victorian barn and associated outbuildings. 

The latter are grouped around a series of courtyards, and today form the bed and breakfast accommodation attached to the hall. It was a very agreeable and pleasant place in which to spend a few days, and with several other guests staying there, proved the ideal spot for a family wedding.

I am pleased to report there was beer available in the main barn, in the form of some well-kept Adnam’s Southwold; although on the night before the wedding, we joined the rest of the family for a meal, just down the road at Darby’s; one of Swanton Morley’s two pubs. 

Regular readers will no doubt recall that my son and I were unable to obtain a meal there, on our previous visit, about six weeks ago. I wrote about it here, but fortunately there were no such problems on this occasion, as my sister had booked the cosy restaurant area at the far end of the pub.

According to Google Maps, Darby’s is less than a mile away from Hunters Hall, but trying to persuade wife and son to put one foot in front of the other and actually walk there was proving difficult. Fortunately salvation was at hand in the form of Matthew; one half of the husband and wife team who own and run the Hall. Matthew very kindly offered to run us down to the pub, along with my cousin Susan and her friend Ray.

The meal was excellent, and so was the beer (Lacon’s Legacy NBSS 3.5), but what was even better was to be in the company of family and friends. I didn’t really take that much notice of the other beers on tap, that night in Darby’s, but I liked the way the cask beers are kept in a temperature controlled room behind the bar, and then dispensed by gravity, straight from the cask.As mentioned earlier, the bar at Hunters Hall served an excellent pint of Adnam’s, but is only open when a function takes place. The previous afternoon, not long after our arrival, we enjoyed a few lightly chilled bottles of Woodforde’s Wherry, whilst sitting outside in the garden chatting to my cousin and her friend.

This was a nice civilised touch, which sums up nicely the ambience of this rural retreat. Along with a hearty full-English breakfast in the morning, the excellent braised steak cobbler we enjoyed as part of the wedding breakfast and the size and comfort of the rooms, I would highly recommend a stop-over at Hunters Hall if you are ever in this part of Norfolk.

Finally, special mention should be made of my dear old dad, who managed to walk his youngest daughter down the aisle, and of course to my sister Phillippa and her new husband Peter. Congratulations to you both as you fly off to your honeymoon in the Maldives. I’m sure beer is the last thing on your minds, but I shall expect a full report on what was available when you return!