East meets west at the George & Dragon, Speldhurst

You would have thought that my colleagues and I would have had our fill of meetings and liaisons, following five quite intense days in Cologne, at the International Dental Show, but with our imminent return to the UK due at the end of the week, we knew that there would be one final meeting to contend with. This was down to a visit to the company from our Japanese Managing Director, scheduled for our first Monday back at work.

It was long overdue, as the last time we received a delegation from Japan was in December 2019, less than three months before COVID 19 brought the entire world to a grinding halt. So, with a large group of personnel from our parent company already in Germany, it made perfect sense for some of them to fly across to Britain, to see what we’d been up to over the past three years.

 

Whilst in Cologne we found out a little more about our MD’s intentions, but more importantly came a request for an evening meal with as many members as possible, of our management in attendance. The other part of the request was the evening dinner should be held in a traditional English pub, offering traditional English food. So far, so good, and not being a person to turn down the chance of a free meal, I put my name down. Our General Manager, who was with us in Cologne, asked our Office Supervisor, who incidentally is Japanese, to arrange something along the lines requested, but attempting to find a pub open on a Monday evening was never going to be easy. Even harder, was finding a traditional “Olde World” hostelry that would meet our visitors’ expectations.  Our intrepid colleague checked various websites and made a number of phone calls, and just when her quest seemed at an end, she discovered that despite fitting the bill in respect of cosy and traditional, the otherwise very pleasant Spotted Dog, just outside Penshurst operated a "Curry Night” on Monday evenings.

Eventually her search turned up the George & Dragon, at Speldhurst, a lovely old pub which dates back to 1212, and is reputed to be one of the oldest Inns in England. The building was originally a manor house of some importance, and according to legend, a group of Kentish Archers were treated to a banquet in the Great Hall on their return from the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Today’s visitors are welcomed with warm hospitality, first class dining in an inviting atmosphere of low ceilings, open fires, and a cosy bar.

I’ve known the George & Dragon over many years, in fact ever since I first move to the Tonbridge area, in the 1980’s. As the above description so neatly puts it, with its low, beamed ceilings, stone-flagged floors and open fires, this ancient inn oozes medieval character. It seems to have had a succession of owners over the past few years, and was even closed for a while, but now, in keeping with its former reputation for good food and fine dining, it seems to have settled well and truly into the gastro-pub mold.

Still, any port in a storm, and as it appeared to be the only local, traditional, old inn, offering proper English food on a Monday night, it fitted the bill. So, just over a week ago seven members of our UK management team, met up with our four Japanese colleagues for a rather enjoyable meal, in the comfortable surroundings of this centuries old English inn. Despite its relative proximity to Tunbridge Wells, Speldhurst is poorly served by public transport, so combined with a spot of car sharing, where possible, it was necessary to drive there.  Our Office Supervisor picked the guests up from the Rose & Crown Tonbridge – another olde world building that they insist on staying at whilst here in the UK. I’m not sure how she squeezed them all into her car, but they were already seated in one of the pub’s dining rooms, when I arrived.

I ended up driving, but after having a surfeit of Kölsch in Cologne, I wasn’t that fussed about limiting my alcohol intake. The car park was surprisingly full, and I had difficulty in finding a space, but I suppose as one of the few pubs open on a Monday evening in mid-March, word had got round. The interior of the George & Dragon looked quite different from what I remember, with rather too much white paint having been sploshed about, for my liking. Trying to “brighten up” the interior of these old buildings is a fairly recent trend that seems to continue without thought or consideration of the heritage or original character of the building, but fortunately the owners of the G&D had left the beams painted their original black colour.

The large number of vehicles in the car park, equated to a healthy amount of customers, most of whom were dining. The G&D’s menu is best described as British with a modern twist, but with old favourites, such as cod and chips, sausage and mash, roast belly pork, and venison & Guinness pie, there was plenty of solid fayre to satisfy our overseas visitors. There were also three cask ales for our guests to try (Brakspear’s, Harvey’s, and Larkin's). These were dutifully sampled, although Guinness ended up as the all-round favourite. I enjoyed a well-kept pint of Sussex Best with my rather large beef burger, a choice dictated by thought that the venison might be a touch too "gamey" for my liking.

The aspect of the G&D that really stood out, was the service. The two young men taking the orders, and bringing the food to the table, were first-rate. Nothing was too much trouble, and the thing that impressed me was the way the entire tables’ order, was all delivered at once. There was none of the waiting for certain dishes to appear, so everyone was served together and on time. The quality of the food was top notch as well, so much so that I think the pub will get further business from the company, the next time they wish to entertain visitors. The moral of the story then, is get things right, and people will want to come back.

A quick word about the photos – most of the interior shots were taken on the night, but the exterior ones were taken several summers ago, and well before the pandemic. I also haven’t included any pics of the assembled company, for professional reasons - although I’m sure no one really would have minded,

Grabbing Garibaldi By The Horns

On Saturday, I joined a select group of fellow beer enthusiasts on a visit to By The Horns Brewery. The company was holding an open day, and seeing as one of their beers scooped an award at last year’s Spa Valley Railway Beer Festival, members of my local CAMRA branch went along to present the company with a certificate, in recognition of this. I decided to join them and as several key members were unable to attend, for a variety of reasons, it’s just as well I did.

By The Horns Brewery are now based in the Surrey village of Salfords, a place not to be confused with the with the similarly named city in Greater Manchester. Salfords is situated three miles to the south of Redhill and is a location I have travelled through many times by rail, on my way to and from Gatwick Airport. We travelled across to Redhill by train, from Tonbridge, before changing platforms and switching onto a Gatwick-bound, Thameslink service. It was then a short 5-minute walk from Salfords station to the brewery, housed in a new industrial unit, on an industrial estate to the west of the rail lines.

For three of us, this was not our first visit to By The Horns, as back in May 2017, West Kent CAMRA stopped off at their original brewery, located on an industrial park, in the Summerstown area of South-West London, between Earlsfield and Tooting. We were there to present a certificate, again in recognition of a BTH beer, receiving a prize at the previous year’s SVR Beer Festival. 

By The Horns was founded in 2011 by Alex Bull and Chris Mills, and by the time of our 2017 visit had already expanded into adjoining units on either side of the original one. There was talk back then, that the brewery might still have to relocate to even larger premises, such was the demand for its beers, so at the beginning of 2021 the company commissioned a new production brewing facility at Salfords. As part of this expansion, they upgraded their brewhouse and most of the original brewing equipment. This new site allowed them to brew all their beers in the most consistent way possible. At the same time, the BTH brand underwent a refresh, which brought a contemporary feel to the brand.

The new facility was easy to find, and there was already a reasonable crowd of people there when we arrived. A pizza van was parked outside, along wit a makeshift bar further inside, close to the main production facility. There were two cask ales on hand pump, a variety of craft offering on key-keg dispense, plus several fridge’s packed full of cans. The later including examples of BTH stronger, and more esoteric beers, including Imperial Stouts, porters, and strong IPA’s, so as I’d come equipped with a rucksack, I ended up taking a few tinnies home with me.

There were two additional WK CAMRA members already present, when we arrived, so our little party numbered a respectable eight people in total. Amongst our group was a member who works in the sales department of a locally based, well-known hop factors, so with Will already familiar with several members of the BTH brewing team, we ended up with our own private tour of the facility. This was conducted by Alex Bull, who as mentioned above, was one of the company’s founders. I wasn’t taking notes, so you’ll be please to know that I won’t bore you with facts and figures, but BTH have a serious piece of brewing kit, that is all bright and shiny, stainless steel. 

At the far left of the brewhouse, are two large malt silos, which contain the pale malt, that is the basis of all the company’s beers. We climbed up onto the brewing platform for a closer look, not just at the malt silos, but at the mash-tun/lauter-tun, where the brewing sugars are extracted from the crushed malted barley, but also the adjacent brew-kettle, and hop whirlpool. Hop pellets are added to the former, before the standard 90-minute boil, and the spent hops are removed in the latter vessel, along with the precipitated protein, known as “trub.”

After descending from the platform, we made our way around the forest of closed, conical fermenting vessels. Alex drew a few samples off for us, including the brewery’s iconic Lambeth Walk Porter, and Cosmic Warrior.  After thanking our host, we returned to the table we’d grabbed earlier, and then went to recharge our glasses. I’d already enjoyed a pint of cask Hopadelic, so I moved on to the West End Pils, followed by Cosmic Warrior, again. The Pils was my favourite - crisp and clean tasting, this beer takes it inspiration from a Czech Pilsner, although one that is brewed from UK Extra Pale malt, and then flavoured with classic Czech Saaz and US Centennial hops. Definitely one to look out for.

A few of us were getting hungry, by this time, and whilst the food truck was offering some rather tasty-looking woodfired pizzas, few of us wanted to eat a whole one. The sensible thing, of course would have been to share one, between two or even more people, but that was too sensible, and also needed some organising. Instead, we decided to leave the brewery, take a bus into Redhill, and grab a bite to eat at a local pub. Two members of the group had already decided on the GBG-listed Garibaldi, a Victorian pub, situated on a steep hill, to the south of the town centre.

With the majority of us possessing concessionary travel passes, the bus was a good idea, and after walking across to the main A23 road, we didn’t have to wait long for one to take us into town. The beer guide was correct about the steep climb, but the pub towards the top of Mill Street, was well worth the effort. Saved from demolition in 2017 by a community group, the Garibaldi is now run on a not-for-profit basis, with any money made put back into improving the pub facilities. It has a single room with a long central bar, and a small side-room with a dartboard. The large pub garden has views across Redhill and there are also tables and a smoking area to the front of the building.

There was a good selection of cask ales, including two from Pig & Porter, who are based in Tunbridge Wells! There were also offerings from Gadd’s, Gun Brewery and Firebird. I chose Forever Lost, a 5.3% English IPA, from Pig & Porter. It was an interesting beer, although with hindsight, the 4.1% Slave to the Money from the same brewery, might have been a better bet. Whilst ordering my pint, I inquired about food, only to be told the pub didn’t do any, but sensing my disappointment, the landlady straight away said that if I ventured into the garden, at the ear of the pub, I would find a pop-up food bar, serving burgers and chips – just the thing for a hungry Paul.

Sure enough, tucked away behind the pub was a lock-up converted shipping container, where myself and another friend were able to grab a rather nice cheeseburger with some equally nice fries. We sat and ate our food under the shelter of the porch at the front of the pub, as the landlady had warned us that the garden itself was closed, due to slippery conditions – it was rather steep.

Looking at my watch, I saw there was train back to Tonbridge at 6pm. It’s only an hourly service from Redhill, so three of us decided to make a move and walk along the station.  The other two members of our group, said they would catch us up, although on reaching the station, and boarding our train, we received a What’s App message they were in the Garland, a particularly nice Harvey’s pub, just a short distance from the town centre.  

Back at Tonbridge, two of us rather foolishly decided to call in at the Nelson where, amongst other goodies, we found Larkin’s Porter on tap. That’s a story for another time, though!