Christmas 2017 at the Greyhound

If going along to the local CAMRA branch Christmas meal is becoming something of a tradition, there is another one which takes place at work on the day we break up for the Christmas recess.

We normally finish work around midday, after spending the morning tidying up, cleaning and getting everything ready for an orderly return in the new-year. We then lock the factory up and adjourn to the local pub, where the company buys the first couple of drinks.

Not everyone comes along to this, as some people take the whole day off, especially if their Christmas plans involve travelling and the need for a quick getaway. Others come into work, but then forgo the pub visit, in favour of dashing off to finish last minute Christmas shopping.

I sort of fit into the second group, although I normally turn up for one drink at the pub, but this year was different. With my wife finishing work on the previous day, and the whole weekend free for any last minute shopping, I had the perfect excuse to spend a couple of hours in the pub, and with the rail option providing a safe and sensible alternative means of getting to and from work I allowed the train take the strain, and took the 07:59 service from Tonbridge to Penshurst.

There was another reason for joining in with the festivities, and that was the choice of pub. Ever since I started with my present company, we have used the nearby Little Brown Jug pub as the venue for our pre-Christmas drink. The LBJ is a nice place, with plenty of room, and has hosted our Christmas party these past six years. It is part of a small chain, which is leased from Greene King and whilst it has become more adventurous recently in its choice of beers, it tends to stick with ones which are tried and tested.

I have written about the LBJ before, and have no hesitation in recommending it to visitors to Chiddingstone Causeway, or to those just passing through. There is however, another pub close by and that is the Greyhound, in the small hamlet of Charcott, just 15 minutes walk from the Jug and Penshurst station.

Regular readers of this blog will be aware of my keen interest in the Greyhound; an interest I have channelled into regular blog updates where I have recounted the changing fortunes of this unassuming Victorian country local.

Over the past 18 months or so, I have reported the closure of the pub, its temporary re-opening under the stewardship of local brewers Larkin’s, its subsequent closure and then its sale to a local couple as a pub, following a successful ACV listing driven by the local community, with backing from CAMRA.

Since reopening back in the summer, the Greyhound has gone from strength to strength under its new owners, Fran and Richard Gilliat-Smith, and has re-established itself at the heart of the small community of Charcott. With this in mind, a couple of members of my team asked our General Manager if we could move this year’s Christmas drinks from the LBJ to the Greyhound.

He was happy to oblige, as the company is keen to help out neighbouring businesses and play its part in the local community. So shortly after midday we locked up and about a dozen of us trooped up to the Greyhound. 

The pub was looking suitably festive when we arrived and was moderately busy. We found an area to the right of the bar, where we could congregate; not too near the fire, as it was rather mild for the time of year. Larkin’s Traditional and Porter were on tap, along with a beer from Bexley Brewery. I started with the Traditional, before switching to the Porter; both were in fine form.

I also grabbed a bite to eat, as the Greyhound’s kitchen is now fully functional following a complete refit. As we sat enjoying our drinks, and our food, the pub began to fill up. It really is good to see people once again using their local pub. My colleagues drifted away in dribs and drabs. They too had errands to run, or partners to get home to.

Eventually I was the only one left, so I finished my Porter and set off to walk back to the station, taking the well-trodden and familiar route which leads across the old Penshurst airfield. There was a stillness in the air as I followed the path across the fields, and a silence too, as there was very little traffic about.

I caught the 14:31 train back to Tonbridge, nodding off with the motion of the train and the warmth of the carriage. I picked up a few bits and pieces on my way home, and once indoors sat down with a cup of coffee and seasonal mince pie, before finishing wrapping the last of the Christmas presents.

Christmas 2017 at the Brecknock

In what is now becoming something of a tradition, the Bailey family joined eleven other West Kent CAMRA members and friends last Sunday, for the annual branch Christmas meal. For the third year running, the venue was, once again, the Brecknock Arms at Bells Yew Green; a small and comfortable Harvey’s pub, just one stop on the train from Tunbridge Wells. The pub provided the perfect location, combining the relaxed informal atmosphere of a village local with good food and equally good drink.

I have known the Brecknock for the past twenty-five years. It is a small and comfortable Harvey’s pub, just one stop down the line from Tunbridge Wells, and just five minutes walk from Frant station. It is everything a village pub should be, and it is great to see this Victorian local thriving again, following the turn-around in its fortunes. This is down to the current licensees, Sally and David Fawcett, who took over the running of the pub back in February 2014.

The Brecknock has been altered a few times over the years, principally to make better use of the available space, and whilst this involved combining the former public and salon bars, the layout is such that there are still a number of distinct drinking areas.

Bells Yew Green itself is a tiny village on the B2169 road which runs between Tunbridge Wells and Lamberhurst. The pub is the focal point of the village and as well as providing a place for the local cricket team to meet, is popular with both villagers and people from further afield. Given its location on the main London - Hastings rail line, Bells Yew Green has become increasingly popular location for commuters, and in recent years a number of new houses have been built, along with a village shop.

Most of our party travelled on the 11.41 train from Tonbridge, which arrived at Frant five minutes before opening time. There were already quite a few customers in the pub, but we were the only group dining that afternoon. There was a good range of Harvey’s beers on the bar, with the Sussex Best and IPA  joined by XXXX Old Ale and draught Christmas Ale. Talk about beer heaven!

It was close to half one by the time we sat down to eat, but this allowed ample time for a few pre-dinner beers. An open log fire added to the atmosphere, and with the Christmas tree and a few other tasteful decorations, the pub was looking suitably festive.

Eileen, Matthew and I went for the traditional roast turkey, which was very good. The Old went well with my main course, and after the dessert I gave the 7.5% ABV seasonal Christmas Ale a try. This year’s vintage, good though it was, seemed to lack some of the hop character I remember from previous brews, and I was wondering whether this had been due to the surprise order which Harvey’s received for 40,000 bottles, from the Systembolaget; Sweden’s government-owned chain of liquor stores.

This entailed brewing an extra batch of Christmas Ale, so perhaps things were a little more rushed than usual. Still, it sounds like some good extra business for Harvey’s, although I wonder how much bottles of Christmas Ale are retailing for in Sweden?

After our dessert, the landlord popped over and asked if we would be staying for Christmas Carols. These would be starting at around 4pm. We of course said yes, as it seemed an excellent idea. Villagers slowly began trickling in, and the main bar went from virtually empty, to standing room only.

Song books were handed out, and an electric organ set up, and as soon as everything was in order, the carol singing commenced; led by the organist. We worked our way through most of the old favourites, our singing helped by the generous amounts of ale we’d imbibed. It was great fun and a terrific atmosphere, and good too for both the pub and the local community.

Once the carols were over, it was the turn of the local children, with the appearance no less of  Father Christmas himself. Fortunately Santa based himself in the far room, but the pub had become very crowded by then. Mrs PBT’s doesn’t do crowds, so we grabbed our coats, said our farewells and made our way to the door.

As we were leaving, to make our way to the station, another group of villagers were standing round the recently erected Christmas tree, on the village green, waiting for the lights to be switched on. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day and really good to have witnessed the true spirit of Christmas.

The Grand Tour - Part Two

In the first part of “The Grand Tour”, we looked at some of the many breweries I have visited, here in the UK. In this second part We take a look at some of the overseas breweries whose doors have welcomed me.

Before going any further, it is worth noting that the brewing process is the same the world over. There may be some variants, particularly as many continental breweries employ a two or three stage mash regime and fermentation times are typically longer; especially for lager-type beers, but the basics still remain much as they do on these shores.

First Foreign Brewery Visit:

There were actually two of these,  which followed each other in quick succession. Both took place in the summer of 1975, when I was travelling around Europe, by train with a friend from university.

We were travelling on an InterRail ticket, journeying in a roughly circular route in a clockwise direction; a route which took in Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Both cities are home to world famous breweries, although today both companies have move out of their inner city homes to green-field sites. Anyway, let’s get started.

Heineken – Amsterdam

The Dutch giant’s original home was right in the centre of Amsterdam, and even 40 years ago was offering brewery tours on a daily basis. The tour cost the princely sum of one Guilder; I haven’t got a clue what that equated to back then, but it was  token amount, and anyway the money was donated to charity.

Unfortunately I remember very little from the tour, apart from the brewery being an impressive brick-built brewery, which was just a short walk from the city centre. The tour, which was conducted in English, ended with at least one complementary beer and possibly two. The brewery closed in 1988, when Heineken opened a much larger complex on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

Carlsberg- Copenhagen

Carlsberg’s original Copenhagen home was a bus ride away from the city centre, in what appeared to be a well-heeled leafy suburb. Like the Heineken tour it’s all rather blurred now, but I do remember the enormous bottling hall, and the famous “Elephant Gate”, with its ornate carvings. The photo below, shows a rather youthful me standing at the gate.

First and only visit behind the Iron Curtain

This trip involved a visit to Pilsner Urquell, in the southern Bohemian city of Plzeň (Pilsen). It took place in 1984, when Czechoslovakia, as the country was then called, was firmly in the Eastern bloc, and controlled by a totalitarian communist government. The trip organised by CAMRA Travel, a short-lived subsidiary of the Campaign.

Our tour took place in the morning, when many of us were already suffering from the previous night’s over-indulgence, and I’m pretty sure we had glasses of beer plonked in front of us before the tour even commenced.

I remember the impressive brew-house with its polished copper kettles, but the highlight was a trip underground to the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the brewery. Here the beer slowly fermented in open wooden vats, before being transferred into massive wooden casks, where it underwent a period of extended maturation. The tunnels maintained an even temperature of 6ºC  all year round.

In 2012, I re-visited Pilsner Urquell, over a quarter of a century later from that original tour. The brew-house looked much the same; although  it has been extended, but most of the fermentation and maturation now takes place on a forest of massive, vertical stainless steel tanks. We were again taken underground, as a small number of the wooden vessels are still in use, for taste comparison purposes, and we were even “treated” to a small sample of the unfiltered beer, straight from one of the wooded casks.

Largest overseas brewery:

This was a visit to the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, whilst I was in the Irish capital for the 2014 European Beer Bloggers Conference. We’d been invited to the brewery for a sneak preview of Guinness’s brand spanking new No. 4 Brew-House which, at the time, was not fully commissioned.

Guinness’s Dublin site was not at all like I expected. It occupies some 64 acres, but it wasn’t until we approached the maze of streets leading to the brewery that I realised just how old parts of it are. On the way to the new brew-house we passed the No.3 Brew-House, constructed in the 1980's. This was still in operation, but was due to be de-commissioned once the new plant came on-stream. With so much land available to them, Guinness simply mothball one plant, before moving on to a new one.

Despite us being sworn to secrecy and forbidden to take any photos, there was precious little to see. I have to say new, hi-tech breweries don’t do much for me; in fact they’re a huge turn-off. Give me a working Victorian brewery any day, complete with levers and pulleys, plus various wheels to turn, rather than a soul-less steel-framed shed, and I’m much more interested. The new brew-house is extremely versatile and is capable of brewing both ales and lagers, but that’s about all there is to say about it.

Most interesting overseas brewery:

Rodenbach was a brewery I had desired to visit for many years; having seen photos and read descriptions of the place in books by the legendary Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson.  Roger Protz also wrote about it. What really inspired me were the photos of row after row of massive oak vats, all containing beer which was quietly maturing away.

Rodenbach is a Flemish Red-Brown Beer. These beers are a blend of young acidified, mature acidified and oak-matured beer, which result from a lengthy maturation in oak casks. This lowers the pH of the beer and gives it a longer shelf-life. The sour beer imparts a complex and agreeably refreshing flavour, thus imparting this blended beer with a distinctive edge, and making it the perfect aperitif.

My visit to the brewery in the town of Roeselare was the final port of call on a whistle-stop tour of West Flanders, which was part of the European Beer Bloggers  post conference tour in 2015. Arriving in the evening gave a very atmospheric feel to our visit, especially whilst walking through the maturation rooms, filled with row after row of massive oak vats, and it’s no exaggeration to say the tour more than exceeded my expectations.

The Old and the New:

The visit to Rodenbach leads nicely on to the next brewery which took place the following day, in the picturesque city of Bruges. After an overnight stay, in a rather swish hotel, we were treated to a trip round De Halve Mann Brewery, which is right in the heart of Bruges.  De Halve Maan brews beers under the names of  Brugse Zot and Straffe Hendrik, and prior to our tour, we were able to try both beers over a very nice lunch.

We were first shown the new brew house, which has been shoe-horned into the rather cramped city-centre site, and now occupies much of the downstairs area. Of more interest was the old brewery, which is constructed on a traditional tower principle.

The old equipment has been left in situ, and gives a fascinating insight into days gone by. It is open to the public as a museum, but we were given special access right to the very top of the tower, and out into the open, from where we had an amazing view over the rooftops of Bruges.

Sumary

I have undertaken several other tours around foreign breweries, including two back in May, as part of the trip I made to Düsseldorf. Our group visited Schumacher, which is one of the oldest and certainly one of the most traditional Altbier breweries in Düsseldorf, and we also visited Brauerei Sünner; a Kölsch brewery in the neighbouring city of Cologne.

Two years previously, with the same group of people, I visited two quite contrasting breweries in the Czech Republic. The first was Bernard, one of the country’s most respected breweries, who brew in the small town of Humpolec. The second  was Chotěboř Brewery in the town of the same name.

Bernard is an old established brewery which has been given a new lease of life, following significant investment; some of which came from overseas. Chotěboř, on the other hand, is a brand new concern, but still no less interesting. You can read more about these trips, here.

This just about sums ups the overseas breweries I have been privileged to visit. They were all good and interesting in their own way proving, as I said earlier, that the brewing process is much the same the world over.

All of these breweries are in Europe, but next year I am planning a trip to the United States, so possibly I may end up touring a brewery or two over there.

Hungry for a horse!

Thursday evening, in what was a first for me, I visited a “Hungry Horse”. The latter is a nationwide chain of 225 pub-restaurants, owned by Greene King of Bury St Edmunds. It was founded in 1995, and promotes itself as offering low cost meals for families and groups.

There are only a handful of Hungry Horse establishments in Kent, but the nearest is now only around 15 minutes drive away, thanks to the completion recently of the road improvements to the A21 between Tonbridge and Pembury.

The Hungry Horse pub in question is the Robin Hood, a large estate pub to the east of Tunbridge Wells town centre, and the other side of the rail tracks from the suburb known as High Brooms. It is a former Whitbread pub which was quite well known to me during the later 1980’s, when I worked on the nearby North Farm Estate.

The company I worked for at the time, used the Robin Hood quite regularly, taking advantage of the pub’s function room which they would hire for presentations or meetings; and one year it even hosted our Christmas party as well. It was a pleasant enough place which at the time I was familiar with it, sold a very acceptable pint of Fremlin’s Bitter, but when work took me  elsewhere, I rather lost touch with it.

The pub was built at the end of the Edwardian era and started life as a private residence. It became a public house in 1971, and was named the Robin Hood because of its proximity to the Sherwood housing estate. The latter estate has had a bad reputation amongst Tunbridge Wells residents over the years; somewhat unfairly in my book, but I suppose every town has its less salubrious side, which locals will look down their noses at.

After Whitbread stopped being a brewer and started running coffee shops instead, the Robin Hood passed into the hands of Enterprise Inns, and in 2007 a major refurbishment of the premises was carried out. It was all the more surprising then when, just six years later, Enterprise closed the pub and put it up for sale. This was where Greene King stepped in and rescued the pub, converting it into a Hungry Horse in the process.

Back in the late summer of 2013, I wrote about how another nearby pub had been given a new lease of life after somewhat ironically being closed by Greene King. At the end of my article about the Brick Works pub in High Brooms, I hinted that another local pub was due to re-open, but this time GK were the saviour, rather than the villain.

I deliberately didn’t name the pub, as I said I wanted to visit the place first, and see the developments and changes for myself, before writing about them, and also revealing the pub which was, of course, the Robin Hood. Little did I think it would be over four years until I managed a visit.

That opportunity came on Thursday evening, when my son and I were over at the North Farm Retail Park. After spending rather a long time in PC World, looking at new laptops, we were both feeling hungry and keen to find somewhere to eat. Matthew had over-dosed rather on MacDonald’s during the week, and didn’t fancy a KFC either. It was his suggestion to try the Hungry Horse a.k.a. the Robin Hood.

The car park seemed pretty full when we arrived, but we managed to find a space in the over-flow area. We entered towards the rear of the pub, close to the section which formerly housed the function room. It seemed strange stepping back inside after a gap of almost 25 years, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.

The former high ceiling had been replaced by a lower, false one, and the open plan layout had been divided up into a several separate areas, creating a much more comfortable and cosy feel to the place. As both of us were strangers to the Hungry Horse concept, we took a little time perusing the menu, but soon realised that the offering was quite similar to Wetherspoon’s.

There are deals available which are day specific ( “Big Plate Specials” on Tuesday Curry on Wednesday, free dessert on Thursday). The option we selected was the burger one, which is available Monday to Friday and allows customers to add a drink to any burger selection for just £1. The choice was little limited of course, I had a pint of GK IPA, whilst Matthew chose a pint of Carlsberg. 

As with Spoons, we ordered at the bar, both choosing the “Pit Burger” option (a beef burger topped with smoked streaky bacon, cheese and slow cooked BBQ pulled pork rib meat).  The food arrived quickly, was piping hot and nicely presented; although Matthew wasn’t keen on the chips being stuffed into a small metal bucket. For the princely sum of just under £9 each, it was a good deal all round.

The pub was less busier than the car park suggested, although its Tardis-like interior seemed capable of accommodating lots of people without appearing over-crowded. We were both pleasantly surprised, and whilst my pint of IPA wasn’t exactly over-flowing with character, it was still well-kept and in good condition.

The verdict is that we will definitely return, and next time bring Mrs PBT’s along with us. She was out with a group of her girly mates that evening, trying out the Rose Revived, a lovely old pub on the edge of Hadlow which has recently received a full re-vamp and revert to its original name.

I collected her and a couple of her friends just before closing time, so was able to see for myself the work that had been done. The Rose looks well worthy of a return visit and Eileen and her friends were singing the praises of the food there as well.

So with a budget price “fill your boots” establishment and a tastefully renovated 400 year old inn for the Bailey family to visit, what's not to like?

Best Before End?

It seems hard to believe now that “Use By” and “Best Before” dates haven’t always been a feature of food labelling, but incredibly what most consumers would now view as eminently sensible, or even essential information, only made its appearance in 1970, and that was on a voluntary basis.

I am certainly old enough to remember the days before shelf life information first appeared on foodstuffs, even though I’m unsure how people consumers managed, and why there weren’t more instances of food poisoning.

We take these things for granted these days, and even drinks like beer have a “Best Before” date (BBE) somewhere on the container. One thing worth bearing in mind is that unlike a “Use By” date which is a safety warning to be heeded, a BBE  is only a guideline. The foodstuff might not taste as fresh if you exceed the latter, but it will not harm you.

I put this to the test the other day, when I came across a bottle of Fuller’s Golden Pride, with a BBE date of 19^th Feb 2016, lurking in my cellar. (I haven’t really got a cellar, just a stack of beer crates and boxes, in the coolest part of the extension). Described as a “Superior Strength Ale”, and with an ABV of  8.5%, this high strength beer was nearly two years past its “Best Before” date. So was it still drinkable?  

There was only one way to find out, and that was to crack open the bottle and taste the contents. The beer was still nice and clear, with plenty of condition. It had an attractive, deep amber colour, which was topped by a sticky-looking head.

Taste-wise, the beer had taken on a distinct sherry-like character, which reminded me of Oloroso Sherry or Madeira wine. It still possessed a fair amount of residual sweetness, but it wasn’t cloying or unbalanced. It obviously wasn’t a beer for rapid consumption, but drank slowly over the course of an hours or so, it was quite pleasant. 

The other surprising thing was this Golden Pride had thrown quite a sediment, despite it being a filtered and pasteurised beer. This resulted in the last couple of inches pouring with a bit of a haze, but the beer was none the worse for that.

I wouldn’t intentionally age a brewery-conditioned beer in this way, but it does prove that a beer of this strength is able to survive and remain perfectly drinkable, long after its BBE date has passed. Had it been a bottle-conditioned beer, then I feel it might have retained a bit more of its original character, but that’s not meant to be a criticism of  this particular bottle.

There is still another bottle left in my store; this time slightly younger, with a BBE May 2016, along with a bottle of Woodforde’s Norfolk Nip, ABV 7.0% BBE November 2015. I really must get myself a bit more organised!

The Grand Tour - Part One

Every Spring, West Kent CAMRA organise an outing or two to present awards to those breweries whose beers scooped a prize at the previous year’s Spa Valley Railway Beer Festival.

Not only do these presentations show  appreciation for the particular brewer’s beer, but they also provide an excuse for local CAMRA members to visit the brewery, to see for themselves how the beer is brewed, and find out what other beers may be available. They also act as a “thank-you” for the volunteers who have given up their time in order to work at the festival.

I always enjoy these outings and even though I’ve visited dozens of breweries over the past four decades, I always learn something new from each one. This got me thinking, and after doing a spot of totting up, I estimate I’ve been to 44 breweries; some more than once. Of these breweries, 34 have been here in the UK, whilst the remaining 10 have been overseas.

For those who like statistics, 20 of the home-based breweries are old, established family brewers – the type of firm which predates CAMRA and which, in most cases, can trace its origins back to the 19^th Century, or even before.  Sadly, eight of these companies are no longer in existence; their brewery buildings either converted for other uses, or demolished altogether.

The remaining 14 UK breweries are what might be termed “micro’s”, even though in some cases they are now quite substantial concerns. Most of these “new kids on the block” are based in industrial units, although a few occupy buildings which once had other functions, such as farm-buildings or, in one case, old army Nissen huts.

I’ve obviously got some personal favourites amongst the above groups, so I thought I’d share a few of them, but in order to prevent this post running away with itself I’m going to concentrate on breweries here in the UK for now, and write about the foreign ones separately. Right, here we go.

First Brewery Visit:

This was to the Marston’s Brewery at Burton-on-Trent, and took place during my first year as a student, at Salford University in 1974. It was organised by one of the university societies, and involved a return coach trip to Burton.

I honestly don’t remember that much about it, apart from visiting a pub next to the brewery, prior to the tour, and then stopping at another, somewhere in Cheshire on the way back. There was no sample room at Marston’s back then, so instead we were “refreshed” after the tour in the adjoining company sports & social club.

The beer was all pressurised, but of course, free, and to an impoverished student, that was important. The fact that the club also provided us each with a ploughman’s, also helped eke out my student, leaving me with more money for beer.

Most Recent Brewery Visit:

The visit by our CAMRA branch to the Dark Star Brewery at Partridge Green, West Sussex took place back in May, and was actually my second visit to the brewery. The first tour had been back in 2011, shortly after the company moved into the large 16,000-square-foot unit, which is now their home.

Last May’s tour was one of the best I have been on in a long while, as it was conducted by two members of the Dark Star brewing team. It was also good to see how much Dark Star have expanded in the space of six years, as they now utilise virtually every square foot of space of  their current home. For more information  about this brewery visit, please  click on the link here.

Most Interesting Visits:

There are two of these - Harvey’s of Lewes, a brewery which needs little in the way of introduction; and the former Bass No 2 Brewery in Burton-on-Trent.

Harvey & Sons(Lewes) Ltd

I have been round the brewery three times, and possibly a fourth; but I have always learned something new each time. This is because on each occasion the tour has been conducted by Miles Jenner,  Harvey’s Head Brewer. Miles has the ability to hold his audience spellbound, as he relates the history of the brewery in conjunction with an explanation of the brewing process.

The sample cellar beneath the brewery, is the other  obvious highlight of a tour around Harvey’s.

Bass No. 2 Brewery.

The Bass No. 2 Brewery has now sadly been demolished, but it was housed in a delightful group of Victorian red-brick buildings. With its teak-clad mash tuns and gleaming coppers, it  was as traditional as any brewery you could wish for. I was fortunate to tour the brewery back in the late 1970’s, when I worked for the Wines & Spirits division of Bass.

I also saw the famous Union Rooms, where Draught Bass, fermented away in a series of interlinked oak casks. The only sound audible was that of the gentle hissing of the fermenting beer as it forced its way out of the swan-necked pipes at the top of each cask and into the collecting "barm troughs". It was certainly a magnificent sight. Afterwards I enjoyed some excellent Draught Bass, direct from the cask, in the brewery sample room.

Best Country Brewery Visit:

T.D. Ridley & Sons were based in the small hamlet of Hartford End, to the North-west of Chelmsford. The brewery itself stood on the banks of the River Chelmer, in a truly delightful and very rural setting, and the sight of the brewery emitting clouds of steam, whilst working away in such idyllic surroundings, was one to behold.

Just over a quarter of a century ago, I visited Ridley’s with a group of local CAMRA members, and was shown round by the head brewer.  Much of the plant was of a very traditional nature and the tour, of course, ended in the sample room where we were able to try several others of the brewery's range of beers, including a number of interesting bottled ones. Sadly in 2005, the Ridley family sold the brewery and its 67 pubs to Greene King, who ceased all production at this charming, old, country brewery.

Most Memorable Brewery Visit:

Ruddles.

My visit to Ruddles was basically a PR tour of the company’s new brew-house, which coincided with the launch of their new Best Bitter. Ruddles were based in the village of Langham, just outside Oakham, and after our look around we were entertained to lunch by company chairman, Tony Ruddle, in the hospitality centre, where a substantial spread of food had been laid on.

The food was excellent, consisting of local delicacies such as Melton Mowbray Pork Pies, Red Leicester and Stilton Cheeses, with chunks of freshly baked crusty bread to soak up the beer; the latter flowing freely from jugs which were replenished at regular intervals.

Best Small Brewery Visit:

Hogs Back Brewery is housed in a group of 18th century farm buildings, just outside the Surrey village of Tongham, and close to the famous Hog’s Back ridge which gives the brewery its name.

I visited Hogs Back around 15 years ago, on a coach trip with a group of local CAMRA members. This was a tour with a difference, as after a brief introductory talk, we were given a free souvenir half pint glass which was filled with the first of several different Hogs Back beers.

As we progressed round the brewery, looking at different stages of the brewing process,  our glasses were recharged at each interval with a progressively stronger beer. So after starting off with one of the brewery’s weakest beers, we steadily worked our way upwards through the range (TEA, Hop Garden Gold, OTT), finally ending up on the 9.0%  A over T.

We’re running out of time here, and also out of space, but there’s just room to mention a couple more breweries:

Most Missed Breweries:

Young’s & Co of Wandsworth and Fremlins of Faversham; both gone to that great brewery graveyard in the sky. 

A trip round Young’s was always going to be good; what with the antique mash-tuns, the old steam engine and the menagerie of farmyard animals. The latter included the magnificent, working dray-horses plus the large ram, who acted as the brewery mascot.

Young’s was a brewery dear to the hearts of many CAMRA members, and was one which should never have been allowed to close. I did two tours, and thoroughly enjoyed them both.

The Fremlins Brewery in Faversham was a massive old brewery which was almost certainly operating way under capacity before its closure. Whitbread, who owned the plant, probably hadn’t spent a penny on the place in years, but it was still a fascinating brewery to look round, and a fine example of a provincial 19^th Century, town brewery. The beer (Fremlins Bitter), was good too, and one of my all time favourites.

I could go on, but for brevity’s sake, will draw things to a close now. Next time we will be looking at some of the overseas breweries I have visited.

Saturday morning in West Kent

“Rejoice, we’re on our way out”; so screamed the banner headline on the front of the Daily (hate) Mail. I wasn’t sure what we were supposed to be rejoicing about, but I had a good inkling, so without further ado I inverted and turned round the stack of Little England’s favourite daily, leaving would be purchasers to be greeted with an upside-down sports page, and carried on with my shopping. I doubt many residents of Kings Hill would bother buying Middle England’s finest rag anyway, but there’s nothing like making sure.

I don’t expect many of you will have heard of Kings Hill, so to put you out of your misery, it is one of several new villages built in Kent since the 1950’s. It occupies the site of the former RAF West Malling airfield, which was one of the front-line airfields during the Battle of Britain.

The airfield was decommissioned by the RAF in 1969, but it remained in civilian use until the late 1980’s, when work started to transform the site into a new village community of mixed residential and commercial properties. The latter are mainly fancy-looking office buildings; some of which are corporate headquarters for faceless companies. The development work began in 1989 and seemingly continues to this day.

As its name suggests it is situated on a hill, close to the small market town of West Malling. It is a cold and windy place and I don’t like it at all, but it does have a reasonably-sized ASDA, and that was the attraction, for Mrs PBT’s at least, which led to us making the 20 minute journey over from Tonbridge.

The drive over was the second best part of the morning, with the drive home being the best, but at least this did allow us to appreciate the Kent countryside on a cold winter’s day; even if it was from the warmth of the car.

Now Mrs PBT’s prefers to do supermarket shopping on her own.  She is quite insistent on this, so there are no joint moments of indecision in the aisles whilst Thursday evening’s meal choice is debated. This suits me perfectly, but what to do with the time, before I receive my summons to assist her at the checkout?

Shopping locally in Tonbridge, poses no problems as I can head off into the town on errands such as banking, man-shopping or just generally having a look around. With Fuggles now open I can also pop in for a swift half depending, of course, on the time of day.

The other food-shopping destination are the Tunbridge Wells retail parks at North Farm; a destination which is now much easier to reach following completion of the upgrade to the A21 between Tonbridge and Pembury. Whilst Mrs PBT’s is in ASDA, I normally head over to Gregg’s where I can pick up a half-decent cup of coffee and take advantage of their free Wi-Fi.

Kings Hill is a different proposition altogether. Cold and draughty, even during the height of summer, there is nowhere to sit out and watch the world go by. The only other shops are an opticians, a Chinese restaurant and a Costa Coffee. I have resorted to the latter before, out of desperation, but it is pricey and full of “yummy mummies” and their “charming” children. Perhaps they make up the bulk of the Daily Fail’s target audience in Kings Hill, in which case they may have had to look a bit harder on Saturday for their fake-news fix.

 

After disposing of our household’s collected re-cycleable items in the correct bins, I popped into ASDA, to pick up some cheap beer and sort out their newspaper display.  I took my purchases back to the car, and then wandered around aimlessly, not relishing the prospect of handing over my money for an over-sized cup of frothy coffee; but also not keen on returning to the supermarket.

My wanderings took me past Kings Hill’s only pub and it was here that an “A” board caught my eye. Fresh coffee and tea available inside at prices a lot more amenable than Costa’s. The pub in question is called the Spitfire, which is highly appropriate in view of the role played by the aircraft and also RAF West Malling in the nation’s history. The name is doubly appropriate as the pub belongs to Shepherd Neame, and Spitfire is their top-selling ale-brand.

This would be the first time I’ve set foot inside the Spitfire, but given my known aversion to Shepherd Neame beers this is hardly surprising. A decent cup of coffee was a different proposition though, so I decided to bite the bullet and step inside.

As the photo’s show, the Spitfire is a monument to brutalist modernism. This means it does not look out of place amongst the rest of King’s Hill’s buildings. The modernist look extended through to the interior as well, but the pub seemed well patronised, and after ordering my coffee I had difficulty in finding an empty seat and a spare table.

I was happy to hand over my £2.00 for what was a very reasonable cup of coffee. I much prefer to give my money to a “local” brewery such as Shepherd Neame, rather than a multi-national chain like Costa Coffee. The only thing was it seemed as though some of the “yummy mummies” thought the same too. Perhaps it was my fault for choosing to sit in the raised area with the comfy sofas, but there really wasn’t anywhere else free.

Fortunately, the group with the noisiest and worst behaved child departed, not long after I’d sat down, leaving me free to people-watch and skim through the emails accumulated on my phone. I didn’t see much cask being served; Spitfire (obviously), plus Whitstable Bay Pale were the beers on offer, but I didn’t witness that much lager being poured either. Most of the customers were either like me and having a quick coffee or were larger groups who had called in for lunch.

To end, I can think of far more enjoyable and productive ways to spend a few hours on a Saturday, but needs must and all that. I will remember the Spitfire though as a place to retreat to, the next time Mrs PBT’s decides  to shop at Kings Hill.