For a brief moment I was wondering whether I was wrong to
have completely ditched
WordPress, the writing platform I used for my late, but
not particularly lamented website,
Paulsbeertravels.com. I say that, very much
tongue in cheek, because writing sufficient material for a self-hosted website,
on top of this current blog, was just that little bit too much effort. I was certainly
spending too much time staring at a computer screen, particularly for someone who
still does this for a living, (albeit part time), and instead was wanting to
get back out exploring the towns and villages of this fair land, especially when
it involves visiting the occasional pub or two.
I mentioned
WordPress, because on several of his recent posts, prolific blogger, and pub
ticker extraordinaire, Retired Martin, has kicked off with quotes that are a
feature of WordPress, in that they appear, every time the writer commences a
new post. According to Martin, they are “prompts for the blogger with writers
block,” and whilst I realise our pub-ticking hero isn’t lacking inspiration for
things to write about, I certainly am.
 |
| Richard Boston in 1994. Photograph: Frank Martin/The Guardian |
My second brush with
COVID hasn’t helped, and whilst I have now recovered, I still feel somewhat washed out. Providing I returned
a
negative lateral flow test on
Wednesday morning, which allowed me to return to work, even though
it is only for a day. I didn’t enjoy being confined to quarters, and now that
the snow has disappeared, and the temperatures are back to normal, I was pleased
to reconnect with the outside world.
So, what to write about? Well, how about a book that first
appeared in
1976, which was the year I graduated from
Salford University. "Beer
and Skittles" wasn’t originally written as a book, instead it was a compilation
of the authors writings which first appeared in the weekly column that he wrote
for a national newspaper. The author is none other than
Richard Boston, and the
aforementioned newspaper column, was titled
"Boston on Beer," which was a feature
every
Saturday in the
Guardian for around three years, during the
mid-1970’s.
Boston’s writings told the story of the early days of what
became the fight back by drinkers against the bland and nationally promoted
keg
brands, that were often the only beers available in many of the nation’s pubs.
The column also championed the remaining small, independent, and mostly family-owned
brewers, that were still producing beers of character and flavour, that were
brewed to suit local tastes and palates.
The book is a lot more than that though, as it contains
chapters on beer and brewing, along with the factors that make up a decent
public house. This chapter takes up a significant number of pages, and is
divided up into 11 different sections, all based largely on the authors’
observations drawn from many years of pub-going. You can tell from these
descriptions, that
Boston is a dedicated pub man. Some of the pub regulars he
describes would be recognisable today, and the same applies looking back in
time, when the author refers to characters who frequented the
Boar’s Head used
by
Shakespeare as one of the settings in his play,
Henry IV Part 1.
Beer of course, forms a major part of the book, and whilst
not a member,
Boston praises the achievements of
CAMRA in persuading brewers to
either stick with traditional beers, or resurrect new ones. For example,
brewers such as
Courage, after ripping out hand-pumps from their tied estates,
in favour to keg or top pressure dispense, re-introduced their
Directors Ale –
a beer that at one point was on the verge of extinction. Numerous smaller
brewers, that were just bumping along the bottom, suddenly found their
traditional beers back in favour, and much sought after by the drinking public.
CAMRA did come in for a bit of stick in one part of the
book, for being too dogmatic and obsessed with methods of dispense, Their
fixation on
extraneous CO2. rather than what the finished product actually
tasted like in the customers glass, attracted both criticism, and a fair bit of
ridicule from the author, although he is quick to acknowledge how
CAMRA
inspired others in the food and hospitality sector, to offer artisan bread,
proper butcher’s sausages, and tasty farmhouse cheeses. He describes these
essentials as
“Good things,” so it is not surprising to see characterful traditional
beers included here.
A brief guide to the
UK’s breweries, titled,
“What’s Where:
a pub man’s gazetteer,” brought back more than a few memories, and makes
fascinating reading, especially as a significant number of the companies
listed, are no longer with us. It’s true to say this is where the majority of
the changes have occurred, and whilst the brewing sector is brighter, and significantly
larger, especially in terms of the sheer number of breweries,
(2,000 +), there
are many cherished companies which, for whatever reason, are no longer with us.
Quite a few of these breweries were favourites of the
author’s, as well as my own, including,
Adnams, Boddington’s, Brakspear’s, Gales,
Hartley’s, Hook Norton, King & Barnes, Jennings, Marston’s (the original
Marston’s brewery, not the company that emerged from the merger with
Wolverhampton & Dudley),
Morland’s, Ruddles, Yates & Jackson, and
Young’s.
Adnams, and
Hook Norton are still with us, but the others
are not, and this chapter alone provides an illuminating snapshot of the beer
and pub scene from almost half a century ago. The example of
Ruddles is
particularly poignant, and whilst tacky imitations of this once legendary
brewery can be purchased, at discount prices, in equally tacky
JDW outlets
throughout the land, the
Ruddles that
Richard Boston describes, and the one I
remember with fondness, was one that was held in high esteem by lovers of
traditional beer.
“The company (Ruddles) produces some of the best beer in the
country, and in the past few years its fortunes have been completely reversed
by the new found enthusiasm for real beer. There are nearly 50 tied houses in
the immediate area, and a growing free trade. The draught Ruddles County is a
powerful 1050 OG, which seems too much to me for midday drinking, when I would
stick to the excellent ordinary bitter. They are both outstandingly good, and I
would put Ruddle’s beer in the top half dozen in the country.”
How the mighty have fallen, but
Ruddles weren’t the only
stars of the burgeoning
“real ale” scene to make the wrong calls. I won’t bore
you with too much history for this one, apart from saying that
W.H. Brakspear
& Sons, of Henley-on-Thames, were another of
Richard Boston’s top
breweries, and a favourite of mine as well – even though I didn’t often have
the opportunity of drinking their excellent beers.
The author described both their Ordinary and Best Bitters,
as amongst the best in the country, even though he was unable to decide which
of the two he preferred. He also described the company’s pubs, which were
always signed with the words, “Henley Brewery,” as some of the most
“outstandingly attractive” country pubs in the UK, and having visited a few
myself, over the years, I certainly would not disagree.
Unfortunately, whilst
Brakspear’s beers are still available,
they are no longer brewed at
Henley, but instead are produced at the
Wychwood
Brewery in
Witney, Oxfordshire. The
Henley site ceased brewing in
2002, and the
old brewery buildings are now a boutique hotel – a sad fate indeed for such a
respected and well-loved brewery. In mitigation, some of the original
Brakspear’s kit was moved to
Witney, including the unique,
“double-drop”
fermenters, which helped give the beers their characteristic taste.
Brakspear’s
beers, are now just another brand in the already overcrowded
Marston’s
portfolio, and they are rarely seen in this part of the country.
Richard Boston died, four years after the closure of the
Henley site. He certainly would not have approved of the move, but fortunately
his thoughts and the legacy of his writing live on in
“Beer and Skittles,” plus
a handful of other publications. Somewhat fittingly, the
Guardian published an
obituary of him, which nicely summarised his life as a wit, raconteur, a bon
viveur, and above all a person with an irreverent sense of humour. If you want
to know more, particularly about the early days of the campaign for better beer
in the nation’s pubs, look for a copy of
Beer & Skittles. The book is no
longer in print, but a decent, second-hand bookshop will probably be able to
help you. Alternatively, a certain well-known online retailer has links to several
sellers, who will be pleased to provide you with a copy.
