Closed for Business

I’m sure we’ve all experienced this at some stage in our drinking careers, and I know that certain bloggers have written about it as well; including retiredmartin who described the problems he encountered on Exmoor, back in the summer.

For my part it wasn’t too much of a problem; licensees after all are entitled to a holiday, like the rest of us and when I got home I did find the pub had given due notice of the closure on its website.

I was out for a bike ride - the first time I’ve been in the saddle since my visit to Brabant, back in August. There was no reason why I would have checked the Plough’s website before setting off, especially as the pub normally attracts quite a crowd on a Sunday. If truth be known, I wasn’t exactly sure as to where I was heading when I left home, but having ended up near the pub, I fancied a drink and the chance to rest my legs for a short while.

I cycled back into Tonbridge and whilst I did toy with the idea of popping into the  local Spoon’s, the moment had passed and I really couldn’t be bothered to chain up my bike and join the Sunday lunchtime crowd, three or four people deep at the bar. Instead I continued home and had a nice cup of tea instead.

An Evening in Kentish Town

A Trade Show brought me to London’s Docklands on Friday afternoon, and whilst the exhibition wasn’t particularly up to much, my visit did at least afford the opportunity to meet up with an old friend and work colleague in the evening.

My wife and I worked with Andrew, back in the early 1980’s when we were all employed by one of Tonbridge’s largest companies. We went our separate ways, work- wise, when the major part of the firm's business was sold off in 1985. Andrew gravitated up to London and we lost touch; until last year, when we arranged a reunion back in Tonbridge.

It seemed a good idea for me to meet up with him, on his home-patch this time; particularly as he was always a totally committed pub and beer man, so on Friday evening we met at Kentish Town tube station, close to Andrew’s home. Just across from the station is a large, handsome looking pub called the Assembly House, and it was there that we headed to first.

The Assembly House is Grade II listed, and according to WhatPub, it was built in 1896. With its large and prominent French chateau style tower, it is quite a landmark locally.  The interior is large, having been opened out in recent years, and is naturally lit by clear windows. There is a large bar counter which extends from the front room, round the side and into the back room, but the most striking feature is the etched glass to the right hand side of the large single room. There is also a skylight in what was once the billiard room, at the back of the pub.

We found a table close to the door, after first grabbing ourselves a couple of pints. There was a selection of interesting beer on sale, including offerings from Old Dairy, Truman’s and Windsor & Eton. We both opted for the latter in the form of the brewery’s light and refreshing Parklife. Coming in at just 3.2% ABV, this pale light ale manages to pack plenty of flavour for its low strength, and in view of this it was a good beer to start on. What’s more, it was served in a dimpled jug.

Andrew had already told me about the Assembly House’s popularity, and on a Friday evening, the pub was bound to be busy. With this in mind, we decided to leave, but primarily to ensure we got a seat at the next pub. This was a short bus ride away and was the legendary Southampton Arms; a pub I had read a lot about and had always wanted to visit.

I wasn’t disappointed when we walked through the doors of this small, traditional London boozer with its long thin bar and pew style seating. Anyone who has been there will be aware of the pub’s policy of only stocking beers from small independent breweries, along with a range of 8 traditional ciders. There are also two lagers from the Meantime Brewery of Greenwich.

The ales are dispensed from a line of hand-pumps on the bar, whilst the ciders come from a further set of hand-pulls along the back wall. The latter is covered with some original white tiles, and to complete the Southampton’s authenticity there are two fine old pub mirrors; one advertising beers from Lacon’s of Yarmouth and the other, that former great ale of old England, Draught Bass.The pub also offers a limited range of bar-snack type food, in the form of pork pies, sausage rolls, scotch eggs, roast pork in baps plus various vegetarian options.

We were lucky to find a seat on the end of one of the benches, and having secured this, decided to stay put for the rest of the evening. We drank our way through three of the beers; or rather I did, as my friend stuck with the first one, which was Howling Hops Pale XX 5.0% ABV. I also tried the same brewery’s 3.8 % Pale Ale, and an interesting 5% dark, seasonal beer from Salopian, called POGO.

There was a good crowd in the pub, with the small garden area at the rear providing a welcome overspill. We couldn’t help noticing that we were by far the oldest two people there; not that it mattered and I have to say the service from the knowledgeable bar staff was friendly and exemplary, allowing us to try the beers before deciding which to have.

We were, of course, had lots of catching up to do, and the time was slipping away, so shortly before 10pm I resisted the temptation of a final pint, and we departed. We crossed the road and caught the bus back to Kentish Town station, where Andrew and I parted company. I took the tube to Charing Cross and then the train home to Tonbridge. Despite falling asleep a number of times I managed not to miss my stop.

We have arranged a further night’s sampling in Kentish Town, where my friend has promised to take me to his local; a pub with the strange name of Tapping the Admiral. As far as Friday’s session was concerned, the beers in both pubs were good, and I scored them at either 3.5 or 4 NBSS on the WhatPub site. My only slight grouse was that London prices take a bit of getting used to; with £4 a pint at the Assembly House and a slightly more reasonable £3.80 at the Southampton Arms.

Photos: I didn’t have my camera with me and, given the poor light conditions on Friday evening, the few photos I took with my Smartphone were grainy and out of focus. The photos accompanying this post therefore appear courtesy of WhatPub.

Spitalgarten Regensburg

With its setting just off the end of the centuries old Steinernen Brücke (Stone Bridge), on an island in the River Danube, Spitalgarten ranks as one of my favourite German beer gardens. I can think of few better ways of spending a summer’s evening than sitting at one of  Spitalgarten’s  tables next to the river, and enjoying the view of old town Regensburg and its imposing cathedral. With a half litre mug of Spital Helles, fresh from the brewery behind the beer hall and restaurant, a hearty Bavarian dish of roast pork and the company of friends or family, then it’s safe to say, life doesn’t get much better than this.

  

I first visited Spitalgarten in 2008, when my son and I took a week’s holiday in Regensburg. Matthew was only 16 at the time, but under Germany’s liberal licensing laws was legally allowed to drink beer. We made several visits there, including one memorable evening when Germany were playing Turkey in the semi-finals of the Euro's Football Championship. A large screen TV had been erected at one end of the garden, and the place was absolutely rammed. We enjoyed chatting with the German fans and joined in their delight as their team went through to the finals. (They  subsequently lost to Spain, but that’s a different story!).

Spitalgarten viewed from the Stone Bridge

 I was determined to re-visit Spitalgarten on our recent holiday, so on a baking hot late September day, my wife, son and I walked over the ancient stone bridge across the Danube, and found ourselves a nice shady table with views back across the city. This was Eileen’s first experience of a German beer garden and she got into the spirit by ordering half litre mug of Spital’s alcohol-free beer. Matt and I had a couple of mugs each of the brewery’s tasty Helles, and we all enjoyed some equally tasty and filling local dishes.

 

The garden was quite empty when we first arrived, but soon began to fill up; mainly with pensioners, it 

has to be said. This was in contrast to what I remembered from our previous evening visits, when the clientele had been mainly students and other young people. With reasonably priced food, good beer and a pleasant outlook, it is easy to understand Spitalgarten’s attraction for both age groups.

None of us had room for any more beer after our meal, so we paid the bill and wandered off. Eileen was impressed by the way the waitress remembered exactly what we’d had to eat and drink, and also by the way she totalled it up on a slip of paper.

Looking back towards the city

On the way back I made a detour to the brewery, to pick up some bottles, whilst wife and son went and got an ice-cream each. For the oldest brewery by far, in Regensburg, with a history dating back to 1226, Spitalbrauerei are very much a go-ahead modern company. They have started brewing English-style beers, such as Pale Ale, IPA and Stout.

As far as I am aware, these are only available in bottle form, and it was to purchase some of them that I headed to the brewery shop. There will be more about the shop and the beers in a later post.

Can the Can

Before I write further about my recent trip to eastern Bavaria, I want to pick up on a beer-related story which is much closer to home, and one which broke the day we flew out of the country.

In case you haven’t guessed already, I am referring to the Campaign for Real Ale’s decision to declare that canned beers, produced by Bristol-based Moor Beer Company qualify as “real ale”. This accreditation comes about following tests carried out at the recent Great British Beer Festival which apparently demonstrated that the beer in the Moor cans still contained live yeast. Additional tests also showed that the carbonation in the beer was created by natural secondary fermentation. CAMRA thereby concluded that the beer in these cans qualified as “real ale” under the Campaign’s own definition.

Before attempting to refute these claims I want to say that like many other drinkers I have been aware that several of the new wave of “craft brewers” have been selling unfiltered beer in cans for some time. Beavertown are one company which springs to mind, as are the London Beer Factory; but I am sure there are many others. Just what these breweries are trying to achieve is beyond me as, if we are honest, no-one really likes cloudy beer irrespective of whether it meets CAMRA’s definition of "real ale" or not.

As an illustration of this, during our recent holiday I drank several bottles of Zoigl – an unfiltered “natural”  beer, brewed by Regensburg’s largest brewery, Bischofshof. This was the sole beer brand stocked in the bar of our hotel, and whilst it was pleasant enough, it was cloudy, rather than just slightly “hazy”. The end result was an underlying note of yeast which, although not totally dominating the overall taste of the beer, was still there in the background masking the much more desirable flavours expected from the malts and the hops.

Contrast this with the much more subtle flavours of the Original 1649 and Urhell, from the same brewery, and available in many of Regensburg’s pubs and bars and you will get some idea of what I am talking about. Both these beers are filtered, and are much "cleaner" in taste than the Zoigl, with aromas and flavours derived primarily from malt and hops.

It may be heresy to some, but I can’t help thinking that canned beers from the likes of Beavertown, Fourpure, London Beer Factory et al, would be better without all that suspended crud in them. (I can’t really comment on the Moor Beer Company’s cans, because I haven’t yet drunk any of them). Surely this is just a trend started by a handful of “craft breweries”, which many others are now blindly following?

So why exactly, has CAMRA decided to get in on the act and endorse the canned products of one, relatively small micro-brewer as “real ale”? And why did they select Moor Beer Company from amongst all the rest?

Returning to the results of the tests carried out by CAMRA at their “quality control laboratory” at GBBF for a moment, I would like to know how they distinguished between the carbonation produced by the claimed “natural secondary fermentation”, and that already present in the beer from the main primary fermentation. I fully understand how the presence of live, viable yeast cells could be demonstrated, in the beer, but attempting to claim these cells were capable of producing anything more than a minimal amount of additional carbonation in the finished beer really is pushing the envelope and smacks to me of desperation.

As a scientist, I would challenge CAMRA to publish the results of their tests in the form of a proper scientific paper, rather than just attempting to hoodwink the drinking public with this amateurish, and rather laughable piece of “pseudo-science”.

I was going to go on and list some of the drawbacks of trying to pour a clear beer from an opaque can, but the Pub Curmudgeon has done an excellent job on this on his own post, which can be read here. I am certain that we are both in agreement that CAMRA’s backing of so-called Real Ale in a Bottle (RAIBs), or "bottle-conditioned beers", to the exclusion of many otherwise excellent "brewery-conditioned" bottled beer, has been a prime example of dogma triumphing over common sense and best brewing practice; something which gives little credence to the Campaign and confuses the hell out of the average beer drinker.

To apply the same sort of crooked thinking to cloudy, unfiltered canned beer takes things to a whole new level; one which will only cause yet more confusion amongst the public at large, and one which could even backfire against CAMRA.

Regensburg 2016

The family and I arrived home in the early hours of Monday morning, following a very pleasant four day break in Regensburg. We were extremely lucky with the weather, with temperatures in the low to mid twenties, and wall to wall sunshine for virtually the whole of our stay, and this really enabled us to see this lovely old city in its best light and to experience a little of the “café culture” for which Regensburg is famed.

I chose our hotel carefully; picking a location right in the heart of the old city, or Alt Stadt. As virtually the whole of this area is pedestrianised, it was easy getting around on foot, especially as the heart of Regensburg is fairly compact anyway. Before going any further, I want to stress we were there for a family holiday, which of course meant fitting in with everyone’s needs, so despite enjoying quite a few local, and not so local beers, it was not an endless pub-crawl. 

I will be writing about our time in Regensburg, in more detail, over the next few days, but as one might expect for a town which is the fourth largest city in Bavaria, good beer and decent pubs were not hard to come by. In addition there was also a nice sprinkling of more cosmopolitan establishments, with Italian restaurants and ice-cream parlours leading the way.

During our stay, the city was thronged with tourists, but the fact that Regensburg is out on a bit of a limb, on the edge of the Bavarian Forest, does mean it is necessary to  make a special journey there in order to experience its charms; but this only adds to its appeal. I believe that during our stay there we only heard two other English accents, and they were from a couple we passed in the street, but in contrast we noticed quite a few American visitors; including several who were staying in our hotel.

Regensburg is situated on a sharp bend of the River Danube, at the most northerly point of what is the second-longest river in Europe. The historic Steinerne Brücke (Old Stone Bridge), across the Danube, is one the oldest in Germany, and from its ramparts, one is rewarded by spectacular views of the old town which, unlike many German cities, suffered very little damage during the Second World War. Regensburg is capital of the Oberfalz region of Bavaria; even though it only became part of the latter state in 1812. Prior to this it was an Imperial Free City, with its own rulers.

We flew into Nuremberg, using Ryanair, who now operate the only direct flights from the UK. The city's airport is a nice compact affair, and from here a short journey by Underground, takes travellers into the heart of the Nuremberg. From the Hauptbahnhof, there is an hourly train service to Regensburg, with the fast Regio - Regional Express service alternating with the sleek, non-stop ICE - Inter City Express trains. Journey times vary from an hour to an hour and twenty minutes. We treated ourselves to a ride on the ICE train for our homeward journey.

If all this hasn’t whetted your appetite, then perhaps some of the photos used in this post might, and even if you are not keen on beer, I can still recommend Regensburg as a great place for chilling out and spending a relaxing few days.

A Short Break

Looking back over the past month, I appear to have been rather busy bashing out posts on a wide range of subjects. With two brewery visits to write about, a pub threatened with closure, but granted a reprieve, fish products in beer, green hops, trying to take the perfect photo of that perfect pint and the desire to enjoy that pint in peace and quiet; September’s certainly been a busy month!

It’s time for a short break now, as this week I’m heading off to foreign parts; to the city of Regensburg, in eastern Bavaria, to be precise, for some rest and relaxation with the family and the chance to chill out for a while.

My son and I have been to Regensburg before; back in 2008. It’s a lovely old city in its setting on the River Danube which, unlike many German cities, suffered very little damage during the Second World War. Today it’s a thriving university city, and is also home to substantial plants operated by both BMW and Siemens.

More importantly, for the beer lover, Regensburgis also home to three long-established brewing companies in the form of Bischofshof, Kneitinger and St Katherinen (Spital Brauerei). The latter has a beer hall and lovely shady garden, overlooking the Danube, which must rank as one of the best settings imaginable to enjoy a few beers. It is also possible to enjoy beers from the nearby Kloster Weltenburg in the city, as well as Hofbräu and Kloster Andechs from Munich.

As often seems to happen, there are a couple of events happening locally, which I will miss. The first is a “tap-takeover” by Tiny Rebel Brewery, of Fuggles Beer Café in Tunbridge Wells, whilst the second is a similar event at the Old Fire Station in Tonbridge, with Old Dairy Brewery, providing the beer.

Never mind; you can’t win them all, as the saying goes, and some tasty Bavarian beer, served and enjoyed in an historic city, should more than make up for me missing these events at home. So, no posting for a while, but no doubt there will be plenty to write about when I return.

Kent Green Hop Beer Festival 2016

Friday 23^rd September was the date for the launch of this year’s Kent Green Hop Beer Fortnight. With the weather set fair I booked the day off, and joined a group of 10 local CAMRA members and friends, to travel across the county to Canterbury to attend the launch of this now annual event, at the Canterbury Food & Drink Festival.

I was probably over-dressed for the weather, although the fleece I was wearing did prove useful towards the end of the day, when the sun started to go down; but walking through the busy streets of Canterbury, en route to the festival, it seemed as though summer was still well and truly with us.

The Canterbury Food & Drink Festival takes place over a long weekend, and is held in the city’s Dane John Gardens. This is an attractive public space which lies in the shadow of Canterbury’s medieval city walls. The festival was in full swing when we arrived, and the Gardens were thronged with people who had come along to enjoy the autumn sunshine and to sample some of the goodies on offer at the event.

The festival is Kent’s largest food festival, and with around 100 traders signed up, there was something in the culinary line to suit all tastes. I last attended the event back in 2013, and was surprised to see how much the festival has grown in the last 3 years. The types of food were too many and too varied to list, but must have covered virtually the whole spectrum of comestibles and the range of different drinks was just as wide and varied.

Cider as well as beer was available

Although we had come for the beer, there were local ciders, wines, cordials and even a stall from Kent’s first Micro-Distillery! The Green Hop Beers were housed in a separate marquee, at the foot of the ancient mound, just around the corner from the main section of the gardens. With the organisers claiming this will be the one location and occasion where all available Kent Green Hop Beers will be served in one place at the same time, it was definitely the place to be, for anyone wanting to sample these stunning beers.

Beers are normally brewed using hops which have been dried. Drying helps to preserve the important flavouring characteristics of the hops and ensures the harvested crop lasts throughout the year. Hops providing the “seasoning” to the beers and impart tanginess, bitterness and aroma which contrast with the sweetness and “body”, obtained from the malt.

Enjoying the festival and the sunshine

Green Hop Beers are made with fresh or “green” hops, and the resulting beers have a characteristic fresh taste because the green hops used contain oils and other aroma compounds that are normally lost when hops are dried. The brewers make sure the hops are as fresh as possible by using them within 12 hours of being picked. Because brewing with green hops can only be done during harvest, their use creates a very special beer with a truly unique flavour.

Brewing using green hops is a relatively new idea, and whilst some might describe it as slightly “gimmicky”, the idea has really caught on, especially as they have some amazing flavours due to the abundance of hop oils and other flavouring compounds. These are elements which are either diminished, or lost altogether during the drying process. There is a normally a resinous tang to the beer, and a distinct mouth-feel, which is noticeable in the form of a slight furriness on the tongue and the roof of the mouth.

There were around 30 Green Hop beers available at the festival; all were brewed by Kent-based breweries, with some companies producing more than one. We were disappointed not to see a beer from local hero Larkin’s, but we knew from the brewery’s Facebook page that the hops were only harvested last week (Larkin’s grow the bulk of their hops),  which would have left insufficient time to brew the beer and have it ready for sale.

There will undoubtedly be a Green Hop Beer from Larkin’s at the SpaValley Railway Festival, which my local CAMRA branch helps run ever year, in conjunction with this heritage railway organisation, which operates trains on a restored railway line, between Tunbridge Wells and Eridge. This year’s festival, which takes place between 21^st and 23^rd

October, will be the sixth such event, and like previous years Green Hop Beers will be an important feature. We have ordered 28 of these beers and so far 22 have been confirmed; so if you were unable to get to Canterbury, take a trip to Tunbridge Wells, ideally by train, for what must be the second largest collection of Green Hop Beers available, anywhere this year.

So what of the Green Hop Beers at this year’s festival? Well, according to the judges, the overall winner was Green Giant a monster 6% IPA from Kent Brewery, hopped with an enormous amount of East Kent Goldings, but my personal favourite was the 5% East Kent Brewers’ Collaboration Beer. Also good was the Gadds’ Green Hop Ale 4.8%, bittered with East Kent Goldings and the 4% Challenger Green Hop from Old Dairy Brewery. Incidentally, Old Dairy brewed three different beers; each using a different Green Hop variety.

Pork

There was talk amongst our group though, that this year’s beers seemed somewhat “tame” compared to previous years. Most seemed to be lacking the intense resinous hop oil finish which is such a characteristic of Green Hop Beers, and we put this down to a number of factors; the chief being experience.

By that I mean when brewers first started making these beers, they were unsure how many hops to add to the brew. Brewing calculations, and hence ideal hopping rates, are based on the alpha acid content of dried hops; information which is normally supplied by the grower. In most instances, figures for alpha acid content are not available for un-dried Green Hops, so it was very much a case of “suck it and see”.

or beef?

The result was these intensely oily hop bombs, which we all loved, but did the public at large? And given the high price of hops generally, were such large amounts of hops economically unviable? Brewing Green Hop Beers takes a fair bit of organisation, as the hops have to be used within 12 hours of being harvested. Several breweries have competed to set records for the fasted time from picking to adding the hop cones to the copper, but again with all hands required, Green Hop Beers can work out expensive for the brewer. At the Festival, they were all priced at £4 a pint, but there were obviously extra overheads involved in exhibiting and selling at the event.

I am looking forward to sampling many more Green Hop Beers over the coming few weeks, and especially at our Spa Valley Railway Festival, towards the end of next month, and will make a note of which I find the hoppiest and most true to form.

The obligatory visit to the New Inn

Finally, it is worth mentioning that there were some “ordinary” non-Green Hop beers available at Canterbury. It was pleasing to see relative newcomer, Romney Marsh Brewery there, with a stand selling three of their cask beers and also some of their bottled ales. The 4.1% Marsh Gold, which is normally a bottled beer only, was absolutely stunning and was enjoyed by all of us who tried it. Kent Brewery were also selling three of their non-Green Hop beers, as were Canterbury Brewers.

We left the festival shortly before it closed at 6pm, calling in at the lovely little New Inn on our way back to the station. As always it was good to visit Canterbury and the fact that we were again lucky with the weather, made it a smashing day out.