Return from Köln

I arrived back to a wet and very windy Ebbsfleet at 9.20 pm last night, and after collecting the car, driving back along a surprisingly busy M25, I was back in my house 40 minutes or so later. It had been wet and windy at times in Cologne, but not to the same extent as the UK; the stormy weather in Britain seeming to match the tempestuous  political situation the country faces.

It was good to be away from the goings on at Westminster,  even though at almost every opportunity we were being pressed by people from our Japanese parent company, and also quite a few customers (both existing and potential)  as to what was happening with  regard to the dreaded “B” word.

In case you missed my post of 9^th March, I was in the Rhineland city helping to man my company’s stand at the International Dental Show (IDS) and,  as I hinted in that article, it meant long days, with little time to oneself – even in the evenings.

On the whole though the week was enjoyable, and certainly made a change from being at work. At the risk of sounding a bit corny, it also afforded the opportunity of some “team bonding”, especially between  myself, my management colleagues and our new General Manager.

There’s lots I want to write about, including the “joys” of international train travel, the aforementioned long days on the exhibition stand and the rather hectic rush back to the hotel in the evening, prior to going out for something to eat. Eating is another subject worth more than a passing mention, as Cologne has some fine restaurants, ranging from traditional Rhineland beer halls, through to establishments serving different  cuisines from all over the world.

And then there’s the beer, and Cologne is of course famous for Kölsch; it’s own, internationally recognised style of beer. Kölsch can be enjoyed in bars and restaurants all over the city, but on our last night we dined at a very traditional beer house which offered draught Löwenbräu, from Munich. This certainly made a pleasant change, and was particularly enjoyed by the Japanese colleagues we enjoyed a meal with.

For now though, I’m off to bed as it’s back to the office tomorrow. In addition, with my normal weekend activities crammed into just one day I’m feeling more than a little washed out.  So as the Germans would say, “bis später”.

A real Home Bargain

Well if the previous post was a short one, then this one will be even shorter. But before I head off to continental Europe, possibly for the last time as a citizen of the European Union, I want to tell you briefly about a beer from a different continent, and one which I picked up at an incredibly low price.

I’ve written several previous posts about cut-price beer, but the one I came across this time was not only the cheapest I found so far, but it was on sale in the most unlikeliest of places.

The beer in question is an American Pale Ale from the well-known Californian brewery, Lagunitas, and the store where I found it on sale, at just 79p a bottle, was somewhere I called into with Mrs PBT’s in order to buy a bath mat.

The Tonbridge branch of  Home Bargains was the retail outlet which was selling the beer, and was not a place I would even have thought to look in; especially for something decent. At that price I bought a half dozen bottles, but looking back I now wish I’d bought more.

Lagunitas Day Time Ale,  is an “easy-drinking beer", which might well be where the day-time moniker comes from. Described as a “Fractional IPA”, whatever that might mean, this 4.6%  pale-coloured and well-hopped ale, is just the sort of beer to be expected from Lagunitas. 

However, if I might be just a little critical, I feel this offering is slightly too "hop-driven"  and, for me at least, a little more juicy malt just to balance things out, would have been a nice touch. However, for a beer which cost just 79p for a 355ml bottle, I can’t really complain, and I will certainly be paying a return visit to Home Bargains, the next time I’m in that part of Tonbridge.

International Dental Show 2019 - IDS

Just a quick post, as I’m busy packing for a week away in the Rhine-land city of Cologne. It’s a business trip that I’m embarking on, and it’s as part of a team to represent our company at the International Dental Show (IDS).

This event takes place every two years, and this will be my fifth time at what is, by far, the world’s largest dental show. Occupying several halls of the Köln Messe (the Cologne city exhibitions halls), just about every company  involved in the field of dentistry will be there.

We are travelling over in a number of separate, and staggered groups, with some staff members swapping over with others who will be arriving mid-week, but I’m in for the long haul, as I’m there from Monday to Saturday. We’ll be catching the Eurostar from Ebbsfleet on Monday morning, changing onto one of Deutsche Bahn’s  high-speed ICE trains at Brussels. If all goes well we’ll be pulling into Köln Hauptbahnhof at 16:15, local time.

 

Now I don’t want people to get the impression that it’s all glitz and

glamour, as it’s a long day on stand. The show opens each day at 9am, and runs through to 6pm. Being stuck inside a vast complex of inter-linked exhibition halls, means there’s little chance of enjoying much daylight, although I do endeavour to go outside when it’s my turn to grab some lunch, or as a means to take a short cut across to another hall.

The evenings too will be similarly busy and they are an opportunity to entertain customers, or meet up with colleagues from elsewhere in the group. The latter traditionally involves a lavish evening hosted by our parent company, at the Hyatt Regency, over-looking the River Rhine, but this year, our party of five has been invited out for dinner with the company president and several of the directors.

This was a last minute arrangement, and as it was proving difficult to find any restaurant in Cologne, able to accommodate a party of ten on a Friday night – with a major exhibition drawing to an end, it was left to me as the only German speaker in the company to find somewhere are make the booking.

There was also the proviso that the chosen venue had to be fairly close to the Hyatt Regency, which is where the board members will be staying. After several attempts and finding most places fully booked, I secured our party a table at the Löwenbräu Köln Hotel & Restaurant, in the city’s Altstadt, pleased that the staff member who took my call understood what I was saying, and grateful too that I understood in return.

Looking on the restaurant’s website, it looks like quite a cosy place, despite claiming it can accommodate up to 100 diners at a time. With an offering which combines both German and Italian cuisine, there should be something for everyone, and definitely a selection which will interest the Japanese board members who are hosting the event.

Beer-wise I noticed the establishment offers Löwenbräu Hell and Pils by the litre or half-litre, as well as the ubiquitous Kölsch – Cologne’s local, top-fermented pale beer, which although only normally sold in 0.2l glasses, is also sold in Bavarian sized measures.

Friday evening’s dinner may be the only chance we have of enjoying some traditional German cuisine, as on Monday evening we’ve a table booked at an Argentinean steakhouse, where we’ve eaten on a couple of past occasions, whilst Tuesday night sees us hosting a couple of Middle Eastern dealers at an Italian restaurant, close to our hotel – yours truly had to book that one too, over the phone!

Wednesday evening is still looking free at the moment, so could this be a chance for me to escape to Brauhaus Päffgen and enjoy a few glasses of Kölsch, brewed on the premises? Päffgen is somewhere I visited back in 1975, on my first visit to Cologne. I was travelling around Europe by InterRail, and spent several days in the city staying with an old school friend who was living and working in the city as part of his degree course.

It’s a real old-school sort of place, steeped in tradition, and full of atmosphere. I re-visited, with a number of colleagues, in 2009 whilst over for the dental show, but have not managed to squeeze in a further visit on subsequent trips to IDS. As well as draught, house-brewed Kölsch, dispensed from wooden casks, Päffgen offers a solidly traditional German cuisine, with a few Rhine-land touches thrown in for good measure. It would certainly be good to renew my acquaintance with the place.

I trust I’ve whetted your appetites, as I certainly have mine, but that’s all for the time being,  as I’ve things to get ready and a suitcase to pack.

The Good Pub Guide 2019

A month or so ago, I had an Amazon voucher to spend, and after choosing a couple of CD’s plus a DVD of the classic, free Hyde Park concert, given by the Rolling Stones in 1969, there was still some credit remaining. My purchases were insufficient to qualify for free delivery, so in order to take me over the threshold, I plumped for a book, in the form of the Good Pub Guide 2019.

Some might argue that the latter is a publication to rival CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, but having flicked through the pages of my purchase, I don’t think that CAMRA has anything to worry about. For a start, the two guides are totally different from one another, with one concentrating solely on beer, and the other on the outlets selling the stuff; although to be fair neither is mutually exclusive from the other.

To be truthful, I bought the Good Pub Guide as an alternative to the GBG, primarily because the latter seemed to be morphing into the good micro-pub and micro-brewery tap guide and I wanted to see what  alternatives were on offer. However, having  parted with £8.00 for my purchase I’m extremely glad I didn’t pay the cover-price of £16.00.

Running to over 1,700 pages, and listing around 5,000 pubs the GPG, is an unwieldy publication, and definitely not one for carrying around, or even leaving in the glove-compartment of the car. Apart from some mono-chrome maps at the rear, the guide is totally devoid of illustrations, making it an extremely boring read, with about as much appeal as a telephone directory, but before dismissing it totally out of hand, let’s look at what it has to offer.

Now in its 37th edition the Good Pub Guide claims to be "Britain's bestselling travel guide", and the only truly independent guide of its kind. It also claims that its yearly updates, and reader recommendations ensure that only the best pubs make the grade.

Its publishers state that  not only will you find a “fantastic range of countryside havens, bustling inns and riverside retreats, but also a growing number of gastropubs and pubs specialising in malt whiskey and craft beers,” – all very different from what CAMRA’s guide has to offer, but do the publisher’s claims stack up, and how do they compare with what CAMRA has to say about its own guide?

For a start, CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide is also truly independent and almost certainly far better researched than its erstwhile rival. It too is updated on a yearly basis, following recommendations from local CAMRA members, who monitor and provide feedback on pubs within their local branch area, over the year.

Most branches encourage members to nominate pubs for the guide, on a yearly basis, and once a list has been drawn up, detailed inspections will be carried out, followed by a democratic selection process, in order to ensure that only the top-notch pubs go into the guide.

I’m not sure how selection for the GPG works, but according to the publishers the 2019 edition contains 1,140 fully inspected main entries plus 1,931 entries recommended by readers. Interestingly these are entries which “Have yet to be inspected”. 

Personally, I found these reader’s recommendations far more interesting, and useful, than the main entries; especially as the latter place far too much focus on what’s on the menu, to the extent  of listing the dishes available. Surely that’s what the individual pub websites are for? But on the subject of on-line viewing, the Good Pub Guide maintains its own website, listing 55,000 pubs, and what’s more it’s free to access. So why on earth would people shell out for the paper and ink version?

I envisage using the Good Pub Guide on an occasional basis, mainly as a reference to find a decent pub in an unfamiliar part of the country. But with the Good Beer Guide App on my phone, plus access to CAMRA’s WhatPub; both of which give the information I am looking for in a concise, illustrated and much more portable form, I don’t really see me making that much use of it.

"A quick pint"

The Beer Seller -  the latest addition to Tonbridge’s burgeoning pub scene, has been open now for just under three months, but with just the one visit under my belt, I thought it high time to pop my head round the door and pop in to see what’s on offer.

I needed to buy some new shirts for my fast approaching business trip to Cologne, and after persuading Mrs PBT’s that we could leave the weekly food shop until the following day, headed over to Tunbridge Wells, on the train.

Travelling by rail is definitely the best option particularly on a Saturday, as not only does the town get snarled up with traffic, but parking the car is both difficult and expensive. So with a return fare costing juts £2.90, thanks to my “Senior Railcard”, I caught the 10.29am service over to the Wells, and 10 minutes later was walking up the hill to the town’s main shopping centre.

M&S was my destination, as I find their shirts both comfortable and long-wearing, but with the need to look the part whilst on the company’s stand at the International Dental Show (IDS), it was high time I treated myself to some new ones. IDS takes place every two years, and looking back I recall doing exactly the same thing back in 2017!

It didn’t take me long to select five suitable shirts, make my purchases and leave the store, calling in at a couple of charity shops on the way back to the station. With many music lovers switching to digital downloads, I find these outlets an increasingly good source of CD’s, at bargain prices. Some of us still prefer to have a physical item, rather than an electronic “virtual” one.

I struck gold, not with a CD, but with a 4-disc, special extended box set DVD of the "Two Towers"; the second Lord of the Rings film. Nicely packaged in a fold-out box, and priced at just one Pound, this had to be the best bargain of the year so far.

My return train saw me arrive back in Tonbridge at 12.20pm, with a visit to the Beer Seller firmly on my mind. I had heard via one of our West Kent CAMRA “WhatsApp” groups, that Goacher’s Old Ale would be on sale, so after striking lucky the previous weekend with Harvey’s Old, a small glass of Goacher’s finest would be just what I was after following my shopping expedition.

I headed off along the High Street, and that was where what I’d intended as just a quick drink, turned into a much longer one. A dozen or so yards from the Beer Seller I bumped into my old friend, and walking partner, Eric. I hadn’t seen him since before Christmas, and the irony was that particular meeting had also taken place in said drinking establishment.

It was rather inevitable then that we should adjourn to the Beer Seller, for that mythical “quick pint”. Of course there’s no such thing, despite the best of intentions, so after noticing that whilst Goacher’s Old was indeed on sale, its high octane  (6.7% ABV) persuaded me that something a little weaker would be much more suited for lunch-time drinking.

So spying Kent Brewery Porter at a mere 5.5% ABV, I settled for this more moderate dark ale. Eric did likewise, and we stood at the bar, enjoying a bit of banter with Wendy the barmaid and a chap sinking at the bar. Eric knew both these persons, and we were soon chatting merrily away.

The porter was very good, smooth, dark and full of lots of roast flavours. I scored it at 4.0 NBSS, but I knew full well that when two Englishmen “go for a pint”, there’s always more than one beer involved. Throwing caution to the wind, we both decided to risk the Goacher’s Old, but half-pints only!

The halves were dispensed into our empty pint glasses, which meant they were on the generous side. This was one time when I would have preferred an exact measure, but when I tasted the beer it was definitely something special. Like several other smooth, “old” beers of this nature, it didn’t drink to its strength, although it was very full-bodied.

It would have been very easy to have sunk another half, which is exactly what we ended up doing, because although I had every intention of calling it a day, Eric ordered us another half each whilst I was in the gents.

A short digression here, as I know there are quite a few fans of “toilet art” out there, and I wanted to share some of the magazine and newspaper clippings pasted on the wall above the urinals. Not as good as some, but for those of us who grew up in the late 1960’s-early 1970’s, a touch of pure nostalgia. (For something more up to date, check out the mural below, which is from the gents toilets at the Wuppertaler Brauhaus, -a former swimming baths in the conurbation  of  Wuppertal,  North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.)

I obviously finished my “unwanted” half of Old, but we definitely decided to call it a day at that point. Whilst not packed, the Beer Seller was doing a reasonable trade for early on Saturday; a time when many people would still be out shopping.

With a good selection of gravity-drawn beers on tap, and all priced at just £3.60 a pint, along with a selection of snacks from the butcher and fishmonger just down the road, you can’t really go wrong. Incidentally, the lagers are also local (Curious Brew and Westerham), and a very reasonable  £4.00 a pint.

Mrs PBT’s wasn’t entirely surprised when I breezed in, with that slight look of silliness about me. She’d guessed I’d bumped into someone and also surmised I’d been to a place where drink was sold. Son Matthew had taken her shopping, so all was right with  the world, but the Beer Seller, strong beer and an old friend I hadn’t seen in ages were probably not the best of combinations.

The Beer Drinker's Guide to Munich - revisited

One of the books I reviewed towards the end of last month, was the “Beer Drinker’s Guide to Munich”;  an indispensable guide to the best beer gardens, brew-pubs and beer halls that the Bavarian capital has to offer.

The guide is now in its 7^th edition;  the the new/current one having hit the bookstalls in 2015. Having made full use of the previous (2008) version, I was pleased to notice the new edition on sale, so ordered myself a copy for Christmas, especially as the older one had become a little out of date.

I must admit that when I first flicked through the pages of the new edition, I thought it was a little too similar to its 2008 predecessor. However, having had the opportunity to read it through more thoroughly, I realised that despite obvious comparisons with the 6^th edition, all previous entries have been revisited and, updated, where necessary.

So full marks to guide author Larry Hawthorne and his team, for whom the BDG2M has been a labour of love since the first edition appeared back in 1991. That 6^th edition of the guide I referred to earlier, was purchased prior to our 2009 trip to Munich, and we made full use of it on that, and subsequent visits in 2012 and 2014. 

If we were planning to visit the Bavarian capital this summer, then the new edition would certainly have come into its own, but given the current uncertainty regarding a certain major “own-goal” scheduled to take place at the end of this month, we haven’t finalised any plans for trips to Europe; despite having several ideas floating around.

Don't let this stop you though, as if you are thinking of a trip to the Bavarian capital, then the BDG2M comes into its own especially if, like me, you enjoy drinking outdoors, soaking up the beer and the sun in equal measures.

Larry’s guide will certainly direct you to some of the best beer gardens that Munich has to offer, each entry coming with its own set of instructions of how to get there using public transport S-Bahn or U-Bahn lines and Stops, plus bus numbers and where to get off. Also  included are handy, hand-drawn maps wherever there is some walking involved.. The guide gives details on what beer is on sale, the food offering, general ambience and, where appropriate, a bit of history as well.

What I particularly like about the guide is, as well as directing the thirsty visitor to some of the city’s larger, and  best known beer gardens, such as Hirschgarten, Munich's largest watering hole, situated in a former royal hunting preserve, and the Chinesischer Turm in the Englischer Garten , the BDG2M also lists  some smashing little, tucked-away beer gardens; places one would hardly know existed, were it not for this well-researched publication

Beer gardens such as Insel Mühle, a delightful, secluded establishment situated on the banks of the fast flowing River Würm, and Zum Flaucher, one of Munich’s oldest beer gardens, tucked away in an area of secluded park and woodland. There are plenty more beer gardens to discover, including several in the aforementioned Englischer Garten – Munich’s equivalent of Hyde Park.

An added bonus with each copy of  the guide is the inclusion, at the back, of a number of  "tear-out" vouchers entitling the bearer to a free litre of beer at selected "Five Beer Mug Rated" establishments. (The guide rates each entry on a three-five "Beer Mug" basis, with seven establishments meeting the top ranking).

The idea behind what is essentially  a "BOGOF" offer, is that when you purchase a beer at the regular price, and present your voucher (along with a copy of the guide, you qualify for a free litre, or half litre, if you've only purchased 500 ml, of beer.

All this talk of beer gardens and  summer sun is leaving me both thirsty and slightly envious of these very civilised places in which to enjoy a beer. I sometimes wonder whether the concept would work over here, but beer gardens are really very dependent on warm and dry weather. I also wonder whether they are suitable for the English temperament.

To summarise, if you’re thinking of a trip to Munich, get yourself a copy and Larry, if I ever bump into you in one of the city’s beer gardens, then I definitely owe you a beer!

The Queen's Head, Icklesham for Harvey's Old Ale

So now, without further ado, it’s time to reveal the mystery pub the Bailey family visited last Sunday, which provided me with my only pint of Harvey’s Old, so far this winter. The pub in question was the legendary Queen’s Head, at Icklesham, near Rye; a pub I have wanted to visit for many years.

I’m not sure why I never managed to call in there, as we’ve been regular visitors to Rye for the past 30 years or more and, like I said, the Queen’s Head has long been on my radar, but as I hinted at when I described my visit to that part of Sussex with Retired Martin, the local geography may have played a role in this.

To clarify, the village of Icklesham is situated on high ground, and looks out across the broad flat valley, known as the Brede Levels,  formed by the River Brede to the west of Rye. The Brede is one of three rivers which converge around Rye, the others being the Rother and the Tillingham. Our route to Rye has always been via the A268, which follows a broad ridge between the latter two waterways, which is why the Brede Levels are largely unknown to me.

This was set to change last Sunday, as I was determined to cross the Queen’s Head off my list of “must visit” pubs. Mrs PBT’s had other ideas though, as her mind was fixed firmly on the Pilot Inn at Lydd-on-Sea, for fish and chips. I managed to persuade her to try somewhere different, saying that, “If you never listen to new songs you will only know old music,” but on reflection that didn’t go down quite as well as I intended. Never mind, I would be doing the driving, so I had the final say.

My powers of persuasion obviously hadn’t fully succeeded, as my suggestion, the previous day, that we ought to phone and book a table met with more than a hint of indifference. The lady of the house countered my idea by claiming this would tie us down to a specific time which, given the  relatively isolated setting of the Queen’s Head, might not be such a good move.

Sunday morning then saw us heading down towards Icklesham, armed with map plus sat-nav, to take pot luck at finding a free table for lunch at the Queen’s Head. With the weather bright, sunny and unseasonably warm, things were very much not in our favour, as the high temperatures we were experiencing was bound to draw every Tom, Dick and Harry towards the coast. Many of them would no doubt, have the foresight to book a place for Sunday lunch.

I’d taken the time the time to study the map, so more or less knew the route we needed to take, but I still took the precaution of tapping the final destination into the sat-nav before we set off. The traffic was quite heavy, but it thinned out once we turned off the A21 at Flimwell crossroads. The sat-nav instructed us to turn south at Hawkhurst, rather than further on, at Northiam, as I’d planned, but I was pleased to note that the route took us through Broad Oak, and close to the Three Legs Brewery, which Martin and I had visited at the end of the previous week.

Turning south again, we descended down onto the Brede Levels, and after crossing the river, we turned off along one of the narrowest roads I have been on for along time. It was more like cart track, as it slowly climbed up the other side of the valley, past Doleham station; surely one of the most isolated halts on this part of the rail network.

Fortunately, the only time we met a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction, was just before a junction, where there was sufficient space for us both to pass, but looking in the mirror I noticed we were being shadowed by an Ocado delivery van. There’s obviously a lot of moneyed folk living around Doleham and Guestling!

After turning onto the busy A259, we found the Queen’s Arms, tucked away down a narrow side road at the far end of  Icklesham, close to a number of houses. There were several cars parked at the front of the pub, but fortunately there was a much larger parking area at the rear. Even so we had difficulty finding a space, which didn’t bode well so far as lunch was concerned. 

We passed the garden on the way to the entrance, and even there the majority of the table were occupied. Undeterred, we stepped inside to find the place packed; as feared. The only unoccupied tables were displaying “Reserved” signs – quelle surprise! We managed to find some space close to the bar and it was then that I spotted the Harvey’s Old. As I reported in the previous post, the beer was on top form; a situation which often arises when you’re limited to just one pint!

It was obvious that we weren’t going to get a table, and as Mrs PBT’s didn’t fancy sitting outside (there was still quite a chill in the air, despite the sunshine), we decided on  the good old British compromise. As we were there, we would have a quick drink at the Queen’s Head, and then head off towards Rye, Dungeness and Lydd-on-Sea.

The family settled on this, so I got to enjoy my first and, so far, only pint of Old of the season, and my good lady wife got her wish of fish and chips at the Pilot. In the meantime we were able to enjoy the atmosphere of  a classic and unspoilt country pub that has been in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for over 30 years.

Being so full of people, it was difficult to get a proper handle on the place, but according to WhatPub the Queen’s Head was built in 1632 as two dwellings, and has been a pub since 1831. On Sunday it was serving Old Dairy Über Brew and GK IPA, alongside the Harvey’s XXXX Old Ale. The Queen’s Head also has a reputation for serving good-value and high-quality, home-made food on a daily basis – hence it being packed.

I noticed two or possibly three inter-connected rooms, plus another section set at a slightly lower level, and close to where we were standing was a large wood-burning stove. The pub’s crowing glory is its beer garden with its far-reaching views over the Brede Valley, and beyond to the massive wind-farm on Walland Marsh, to the east of Rye.

It was here that it all went a little wrong, as after convincing myself that the view from the pub garden was to the south (it actually looks north), I turned the wrong way onto the A259, and instead of skirting Winchelsea, we found ourselves heading into Hastings. It wasn’t until I looked at the map again, later that evening, that I discovered how this elementary error had occurred.

 

Hastings afforded the opportunity to fill up with diesel, as a price significantly lower than in Tonbridge. We  then re-traced our route along other side of Brede Levels to Rye and then onto the Pilot, via Camber. Fortunately, there were several spare tables at the Pilot Inn, resulting in one happy wife and, after treating the family to lunch, one slightly poorer husband.

I thought it wise not to partake of any more beer, which was a shame as the house beer from New Romney Brewery, had been good on previous occasions, and I am pleased to report that the cod and chips  were  in fine condition this time around. As for the Queen’s Head, I will definitely be making a return visit, especially as a cross country walk from either Doleham, or Three Oaks stations, looks eminently doable.