That was the year that was - 2015

2015 was one hell of a year, packed with some amazing travel and beer-related experiences; in fact, I would say that for a number of reasons, it was the best year ever. It was a year in which I crammed in more trips abroad than any years previously, or indeed since. Looking back, I’m not quite sure how I manged it, but everything just fell into place, in a way that has since proved hard to mimic, so what exactly happened and where did I go?

Where to start though? And where better than Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, and a city I have visited half a dozen times. Two of those visits took place in 2015, and both were as preludes to spending time in other locations within the country. 

The first visit took place that May and was only a couple of days in length. Prague was the rendezvous for the tour group from Maidstone CAMRA I was joining, before heading off to the city of Jihlava, which was to be our base for the next four days. Situated in almost the exact geographical centre of the Czech Republic, Jihlava, which is well away from the tourist hot spots of Prague and Pilsen, proved to be the ideal place for exploring this lesser-known part of the country.

Unfortunately, the hot and dry weather I enjoyed in Prague, was replaced by wet, windy, and decidedly cool conditions by the time we arrived in Jihlava, but on the basis that there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing, I had a real good time in both locations. Highlights of Prague were the morning I spent exploring the area around Prague Castle and St Vitus’s Cathedral, an al fresco lunch at Klášterni pinovar Matŭska, before heading back down towards the Charles Bridge and the old town area of Staré Mésto. Although serious tourist territory, I managed a visit, to U Tři Růži; which at the time was one of Prague’s newest brew-pubs. I also made the obligatory visit to  U Fleků, Prague’s original brewpub, which claims to be the oldest brewpub in the world.

 Our stay in Jihlava, included a tour of the Bernard Brewery in Humpolec, a cultural day, visiting the well-preserved towns of Slavonice and Telč, plus a visit to the Chotebor Pivovar microbrewery,  and the Rebel brewpub in Havlickuv Brod. Special mention should be made of the bus ride back from Telč to Jihlava, which took us through some of the most pleasing countryside I have ever seen. I can still picture the rolling hills, dark forests and stretches of verdant green pasture, that make up the region, and the numerous fishponds which dot the landscape. The winding country roads we travelled along, lined by blossom-laden apple trees, completed the picture, and not for the first time, that year, I said to myself, “Life doesn’t get much better than this!”

Sticking with Prague, my second visit of 2015 to the Czech capital, took place in the autumn of that year, in October to be precise. As with the first visit, I used Prague as a staging post, and a prelude to a visit elsewhere in the country. Given the relatively small size of Czechia, flying into Václav Havel airport in Prague makes perfect sense and, as on the previous occasion, it allowed me to spend some time in this most beautiful of central European cities. This time around, I also had son Matthew for company.

Basically, our trip was a tale of two contrasting halves; spending four nights in the big city atmosphere of Prague, followed by four nights in the delightful preserved medieval town of Český Krumlov. The latter wasn’t without its share of tourists; in fact the town is now the second most popular destination for foreign visitors to the Czech Republic. Český Krumlov is people sized though, and easily seen in a day, but for me it was the perfect place to relax and enjoy a few beers - after taking in some of the impressive sights of this beautiful medieval town. It was also a town that had been on my bucket list, for more years than I care to remember.

Our time in Prague was spent visiting a variety of different brewpubs, most of which were new to us. We stayed at the same hotel that I had used back in May, although this time around, the room overlooked the street at the side, rather than the rail tracks at the rear. We also took a trip out, by train, to the Škoda car works in the town of  Mladá Boleslav, where we had a conducted tour of the factory. The weather was also disappointing, with rain at times, although by the time we reached Český Krumlov, it was characterised by sunny days, but increasingly cold nights. Autumn was definitely a week or two ahead of the UK, with some spectacular seasonal colours from the trees.

Český Krumlov certainly didn’t disappoint, and still lived up to the description given by beer enthusiast, and CAMRA founding member, Graham Lees, in his Guide to Prague & the Czech Republic. Writing in 1996, Lees described this small, southern Bohemian town as a "Time-warped, medieval beauty, built in a tight loop of the Vltava river". He went on to say that "It's as though some witch had cast a Sleeping Beauty-like spell over the entire edifice. But the spell is now wearing off, and the more tourists who "discover" it, the more it will change".

Many tourists had of course, "discovered" it during the 20 years since those words were written and the visit, in 2015, by Matthew and me. I wrote at the time that Cesky Krumlov is still well worth seeing. It's massive castle, overlooking the river, is the second largest in the country, after Prague, and the old town is still a maze of twisting, narrow streets, virtually unchanged since medieval times. There were hordes of mainly Chinese tourists, complete with their selfie-sticks, but they tended to gravitate around the castle and the old town square, and were thus easily avoided.  

At the end of August, I found myself in Brussels for the European Beer Bloggers Conference. Now despite its reputation for fine beer and equally fine chocolate, Brussels has never been my favourite city, but over the course of that visit, which happened to be my fourth, I did start to warm to the place more. I found that the city centre is surprisingly compact, and as well as visiting some new bars, along with a few old favourites, I discovered a lot more about Belgian beer and the nation’s brewing culture.

Some of that was the result of the conference itself, but I learned much more after the event, when I joined the post conference trip around West Flanders. This was a relaxed, two-day tour around the province, and included several memorable highlights. One occurred at the In de Vrede café, attached to the Monastery of St Sixtus, just outside Westvleteren. This abbey is the home of the most secretive monastic order, who are also the brewers of Westvleteren 12°, described by Rate Beer, as the best beer in the world.

Sitting outside, with my fellow conference delegates, most of whom were affable and typically outgoing Americans, soaking up the late August sunshine and Westvleteren beer in equal measures, I had another of those “Life doesn’t get much better than this,” moments. The superlatives didn’t finish there, as that evening, we enjoyed a private tour around the Rodenbach brewery, home to the world-renowned Flemish Sour Red Ales. We ended the day with an overnight stopover in Bruges, staying at a luxurious four-star hotel, just off the city centre.

I was too tired, and rather too refreshed to hit the town that night, but the following day, we were treated to a guided walking tour of Bruges, which was both interesting and a real eye opener. As if that wasn’t enough, we enjoyed an excellent lunch at the city’s De Halve Maan brewery. On way, passed through the Beguinage – a sanctuary, which offered a home to single or widowed women who wanted to live in a pious way but outside the walls of a convent or monastery. Of particular interest to fans of prog-rockers Yes, the Beguinage was the location where the promotional film for the track, Everydays was shot. Written by Stephen Stills and featured on "Time and a Word," the group’s second album, the tranquillity and calm and tranquillity of the surroundings, certainly does both the song, and the film itself, justice. Check it out below, to get the feel of the place, and you will see what I mean.

The year finished with a short family trip to Salzburg, Austria – a visit that allowed us to experience the magic of the city’s Christmas Market, whilst allowing a couple of visits to the Bräustübl at Augustinerbräu Kloster Mülln. Not only is this tavern the largest in Austria, it is also one of the finest and most traditional beer halls anywhere in the world! We arrived shortly after the 3pm opening time, and as we descended the steps from the entrance to the corridor where the food kiosks are situated, everything came flooding back, including the most important part - the ritual necessary to obtain a beer.

Just round the corner from the end of the corridor, there is a serving area, where you help yourself to a stoneware mug (litre or half litre). You then rinse it at the ornate marble fountain before queuing up and paying the person sitting behind a glass screen. You are then given a ticket, which you hand to the man dispensing the beer, in exchange for him filling your mug with beer, from one of the large wooden casks. You then wander off and find a seat in which ever of the three large, cavernous beer halls that takes your fancy, and get stuck into the beer.

The beer, which is a full-bodied lager, known as Märzen with an ABV of 4.6%, is brewed all year round, whilst from November through to Christmas a stronger Weinachtsbock (Christmas Bock) at 6.5% ABV is produced. This beer was unavailable during my two previous visits, but it was on this occasion, so I just had to try a mug full. It was everything I expected and more, being rich, malty, and strong enough to taste the alcohol. During the hour or so we were there, the hall had really begun to fill up; such is the popularity of the Augustinerbräu Bräustübl.

The absolute highlight of 2015, started with a visit to the Franconian Beer Festival - held in the incomparable setting of the castle moat of Nuremberg’s massive and imposing Imperial Castle. Fränkisches Bierfest, as it is known locally, showcases beers from around 40 of Franconia’s finest breweries, and in this respect is more like an English beer festival, than events such as Munich’s world-famous Oktoberfest, and the lesser known Cannstatter Volksfest which takes place in Stuttgart.  

I was fortunate to have local beer enthusiast, Erlangernick, as my guide, and in his company, I sampled beers from some of the 38 breweries exhibiting at the festival. These included various Helles, Vollbiers, Landbiers, Kellerbiers, plus the odd Dunkles and Pils. All were good; with some served direct from wooden casks. There was a great party atmosphere, and whilst most festival goers were within the 20–30-year age bracket, there was still a good sprinkling of people from other age groups. What was particularly encouraging was the number of female visitors, to the festival.

The following day, on one of the hottest days of the year, I met up with Nick at Roppelt’s Keller, to the north-west of Forchheim. He had borrowed his wife’s car, and his proposal was to drive us both around a few Kellers in the area. There were a couple he wanted to check out, which were well off the beaten track, and he thought I would like to visit them as well. Being chauffeured around some of the region’s best Bier Kellers, by someone with good local knowledge of them was a chance too good to miss, so after finishing my beer, we set off in his car to do just that!

Driving through the unspoilt countryside of the Steigerwald, in an open-top car, in search of good local beer, and with some vintage Yes playing on the car stereo, made me think, once again that  “Life doesn’t get much better than this.” Our first port of call was the tiny village of Aisch, where we sat out in the small shady beer garden opposite the Rittmayer Brauerei & Gasthaus. It was here that I tried Spargel (white Asparagus), for the first time.

We then visited two Kellers, both perched up on hills overlooking some really attractive rolling countryside. Herrmann Kellerbier from Ampferbach, and Müller Kellerbier from Reundorf, were the beery delights at these two stops; the latter beer being enjoyed in the grounds of the substantial Schmausenkeller, high on a hill.  It was a wonderful day out and my grateful thanks are due to Nick for acting as my guide and chauffeur.

It is no exaggeration to say that this brief snapshot, of some of Franconia’s best beer and drinking establishments, was not only the highpoint of 2015, but also remains as one of my all-time best beer experiences. It was the perfect combination of good company, fine weather, splendid scenery, and some wonderfully rustic places in which to enjoy some truly excellent beer. This then, is the perfect spot to finish my round-up of 2015’s “Year in Beer.”

Getting back in the groove

After an almost unprecedented gap of over a week, I thought I had better post something, just to let people know I am still here, haven’t signed the pledge or joined the Foreign Legion. As might have been guessed from my last post, I’ve been feeling rather sad and depressed over recent events in the world, and whilst I’m well aware that “shit happens,” this current “unpleasantness” in Ukraine is just what we don’t need – especially coming hot on the heels of Covid.

I’ve been keeping myself busy on various house and garden projects, including the ongoing revamp of the greenhouse, and the installation of spur to repair a damaged rotten fence post. All pretty mundane, but thanks to Storm Eunice, and probably several preceding storms as well, the repair was both necessary and essential to prevent further damage.

On the plus side, and it is a huge plus, I enjoyed an excellent day out in Bath on Friday, just gone, renewing my acquaintance with the city and a few of its pubs. Thirty-plus years is far too long a gap to leave when visiting a place which not only has some beautiful buildings, but also some amazing pubs.

You can read all about my trip once I have finished writing it up, but spoiler alert, I haven’t even downloaded the photos off my phone, let alone started typing up the article. There is however, a quite lengthy article that is virtually complete, and it’s one I wrote primarily to cheer myself up during this rather depressing time.

There has also been the small matter of a cruise to re-arrange, although it has to be said that our scheduled 16-night voyage around the Baltic had been cancelled sometime before Putin’s tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border. This was because Queen Victoria, the vessel we were due to sail on, was spending longer in the Bahamas, due to the availability of a suitable dry-dock.

We had toyed with the possibility of a different Baltic cruise at a slightly later date, again taking in St Petersburg, but as that was obviously not going to happen, opted for the Norwegian fjords instead. Far enough away from the Russian Bear, although close enough if the map you look at, extends up beyond the Arctic Circle!

Back on the home front, I splashed out on a case of 48 cans of “Craft Beer” from Flavourly. They’ve been pestering me regularly, ever since ordering a few cases during the first lock-down, so having the choice of something novel and interesting to enjoy with my evening meal, or to drink whilst I type away on the keyboards, broke down my resistance.

DPD chose the only day of the week when Mrs PBT’s works away from home, to deliver my case, which meant I had to pick I up from a local shop. This wasn’t a problem, apart from the weight, so much so that the chap behind the counter of our local Londis, asked me if the box contained bricks!

All joking side it should satisfy my beer wants for several weeks to come, whilst doing my bit to help small breweries. “What about the pubs, though?” I hear you say, well I am doing my best on the days off from work that aren’t purloined by Mrs PBT’s, for visiting family, or other non-beer and pub-related expeditions!

I do have to say though, that although I have drunk some pretty amazing beers over recent weeks at home, it is not the same as drinking something slightly less unique, but equally tasty in a local pub. With this in mind, I headed out this afternoon for a brisk walk, designed to blow the cobwebs away, followed by a brief visit to my nearest pub.

The pub in question was the Vauxhall Inn, a Chef & Brewer establishment, adjacent to one of two Premier Inns in Tonbridge. I am happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised, and what I found dispelled all my pre-conceptions. Full report to following due course!

What on earth is going on?

I’ve been somewhat lacking in inspiration this week, which given the events in Ukraine over the past 10 days, is not really surprising. In their regular weekly round-up, veteran bloggers, Boak & Bailey, said pretty much the same thing, stating that, “It feels like a strange time to be thinking about beer with the Russian invasion of Ukraine still underway.” It certainly does, and it’s almost as if by allowing a despot and a tyrant to flourish in Russia, we have failed to learn the lessons of history.  

As a person who was born just 10 years after the end of the most devastating and cataclysmic war the world had ever seen, recent events are not only deeply disturbing, but they are also of major concern. I was seven years old when the United States and the Soviet Union faced each other in a tense stand-off over missiles, equipped with nuclear warheads, stationed in Cuba – just 90 miles from the coast of Florida. I was too young of course, to know what was going on, but I’m sure it must have been a worrying time for my parents, along with the rest of the world.

We now have a situation where the paranoia of one increasingly isolated and unstable man, is allowing the totally unwarranted attack and full-scale invasion of a neighbouring state. A country which has no quarrel with Russia, and one which poses no threat to it either. Instead, Ukraine is facing death and destruction on a scale not seen in Europe since the Second World War, and all because of the insecurity and gross miscalculations of one man.

How on earth did we come to this, especially following hot on the heels of Covid? Hasn’t the world suffered enough Mr Putin, without you inflicting yet more misery on the planet? Fortunately, Putin’s crazed aggression has been met with a concerted, and almost unprecedented show of unity by the rest of the world, with even China – the Kremlin's new-found ally, holding back any support for Russia.

Feeling the need to do our bit, and show solidarity with the people of Ukraine, Mrs PBT’s and I, joined the “Stand in Unison with Ukraine” event, held at Tonbridge Castle. On a cold and damp March midday, we stood in a circle, with a hundred or so fellow Tonbridge residents, listening to stories from people forced to flee their homes, and from others with loved ones, still trapped in Ukraine and desperately worried about their safety.

A small effort perhaps, and some might say a token one, but for those attending it was important, and it meant something. I don’t know where we go from here, apart from saying that as someone who grew up during a time when memories of the previous devastating conflict were still fresh in people’s minds, I never expected to be seeing war breaking out, once again on the European mainland.

The dragon roars again

 

It’s always good to see a closed pub come back from the dead, especially after the two, very tough years endured by the licensed trade, due to Covid. The pub I’m going to write about here though, had closed prior to the pandemic, and the encouraging thing is its new owners made full use of the time when pubs were not allowed to trade, to carry out a complete renovation and restoration of the pub in question.

The pub in question, is the George & Dragon at Tudeley, although for the pedants amongst us, the pub is actually between the villages of Tudeley and Five Oak Green, on a bend of the busy B2017. It’s an attractive weather-boarded pub, and one that I have been familiar with since moving to Tonbridge, 37 years ago. Despite this familiarity, it is not a pub I have visited that often, partly because it is not the easiest pub to get to on foot, but also because it has been overshadowed somewhat by the Dovecote Inn, at nearby Capel, as a destination, when cross-country walks out from Tonbridge, were being considered.

The George & Dragon dates from the 15th century and has the typical low ceilings and inglenook fireplaces that one might expect from a building of this age. It is located in some attractive countryside, next to a stream and surrounded by orchards. When I first moved to Tonbridge the pub was a Courage house (remember them?), but a decade or so later, it passed into the hands of Greene King. This was at the time when the latter first acquired a presence in Kent, following the purchase of pubs from the likes of Allied Breweries and Courage. Apart from the beer, nothing much changed.

Fifteen years, and several jobs later, the company I was working for at the time held their annual staff Christmas party at the George & Dragon, and from memory the Greene King beers were very good, as was the food. As alluded to above, visits to the George & Dragon, were fairly infrequent, and prior to my most recent one – at the end of January, this year, the last time I recall setting foot in the pub, was in April 2015, whilst walking back with a group of friends from a visit to the aforementioned Dovecote.

I wrote about that visit briefly, on the blog, which is why I was able to establish the date, and I reported that I was pleased to discover that not much had changed at the pub. On that day, my companions and I based ourselves in the saloon bar, which is larger than the public and, at the time, was less busy. We sat down by the window, glad to take the weight off our feet for a second time that day, but not before ordering a beer each.

The choice was restricted to Greene King Abbot, or Fuller’s London Pride, with the latter being the selection of all four of us. It was nice to sit there observing the goings on in the bar against the backdrop of the view of the fields from the window. The pub had only recently changed hands (this seems to be a recurring theme), so it was good to see it nice and busy. As an added treat, there were hot roast potatoes in dishes on the bar, and these were most welcome seeing as we’d had little else to eat apart from the odd packet of crisps or nuts.

One final thing worth mentioning, before I describe the brief visit son Matthew and I made at the end of January, is the traditional Kentish game of Bat & Trap that used to be played at the George & Dragon. Not long after I moved to Tonbridge, I became involved with re-establishing the former Tonbridge & Tunbridge Wells branch of CAMRA (today’s West Kent branch). One activity designed to attract new members to the fledgling branch, was a game of bat & trap with neighbouring Maidstone CAMRA. This was my former branch, so there was little difficulty in persuading them to accept the challenge. I’m not sure whether the bat & trap pitch is still there, behind the pub, so I won’t go into the intricacies of the game here, but the link here, will reveal all, to the morbidly curious.

Returning to the present day, the George & Dragon re-opened in September 2021, after a year of hard work by its new owners. The pub was closed for the first four months of the year anyway, due to Covid, and following the recent renovation, the pub’s weatherboarding has been renewed, where necessary and painted an attractive shade of pale lime green. Matthew and I called in at lunchtime, on a quiet Thursday, more from curiosity than anything, but also with a desire to witness any changes and to show our support for the new owners.

We sat in the raised area, to the right of the counter, overlooking what used to be the public bar. There were sufficient customers in to preclude me from taking photos – a subject that Matthew gets quite wound up about. What I can report is the George & Dragon has been redecorated internally, as well as externally, with the walls and exposed woodwork (but not the large beams), painted a light pastel shade of blue. The other bars appeared quite busy with diners, so again I felt I couldn’t go taking photos, without the risk of upsetting people.

As mentioned above, the pub seemed quite popular with diners and the menu appeared competitively priced for the area.  Taylor’s Landlord and Tonbridge Traditional were the cask beers on sale, and I am pleased to report that the former was in good condition.  So, just a fleeting visit, but as the G&D is a pub I can now access using my bus pass, I’m sure I will be back. The main thing though is the pub has been brought back from the dead and, judging by January’s visit, and the number of cars parked outside when I have driven past, appears to be doing alright.