Closer to Home

Whilst there's something both highly satisfying and immensely enjoyable in flying off to foreign parts in order to sample different beers, sometimes it makes sense to pay a bit more attention to what is going on a bit closer to home.

Today, being the last day of the long Christmas break, I was determined not to waste it by sitting indoors. I was up quite early, we had taken the last of the Christmas decorations down, and now it was time to get out in the fresh air and enjoy a long walk in the countryside. My destination was the Hare & Hounds, in the small village of Bidborough, a pub which although virtually on my doorstep, was somewhere I hadn't been in a long time.

I set off following the scenic route up towards Bidborough Ridge. Although there was still frost on the ground in places, it was very pleasant being out in the bright January sunshine. I wasn't hurrying, and it took me an hour and a half to reach the pub, (I could have driven there in 15 minutes!). On the way I stopped to take in the spectacular views from the top of the ridge, right across the Medway Valley towards the Greensand Ridge.

The Hare & Hounds is a Victorian building on a cross-roads in the centre of Bidborough. Internally there are four separate drinking/eating areas ranging from a basic public bar (complete with darts and pool), a saloon with comfortable sofas, a large main bar with tables for bar food, plus a restaurant to the rear. There were four cask beers on sale: Harveys Best, Youngs Bitter, Sharps Doom Bar (a beer that seems to spring up everywhere round here!), and my choice of the day O'Hanlon's Firefly. This was a cracking beer; at just 3.7% it proved the perfect session bitter. I sat in the corner, close to the fire pleased to see that this particular village pub was thriving with a good mix of different customers.

After a couple of pints it was time to leave. I chose a different route back, following the Weald Way footpath down off the ridge. I was keen to follow this route as this is the next long-distance footpath that my friend Eric and I are planning to walk later in the year. The path was quite muddy in places, and I was glad to get back onto more solid ground.

I popped into our local Wetherspoons when I got back to Tonbridge. The pump clip for the Thornbridge Pioneer said "Available Soon" (how many times does that happen in JDW?), so I settled for a warming cup of coffee instead. After that it was time to meet my son from work and head for home for a most welcome dinner.

Christmas Beers

Unlike many fellow beer bloggers, my sampling of the juice of the barley was somewhat limited over the first couple of days of the Festive Season, and didn't really pick up until I went to Prague. Eileen's brother David came to us for Christmas and whilst he enjoys a drop or two of beer, for our Christmas meal we ended up drinking wine. We did have a largish container of Harveys Best to polish off beforehand, that had been given to me as an early Christmas present by one of the lads that works for me. Being "bright beer" I knew it wouldn't keep more than a couple of days, so after having made a sizable dent in it on Christmas Eve, it needed finishing up on the day itself.

In addition, as I was due to fly off to the Czech capital for a few days, I hadn't got too many speciality beers in for the Christmas season. I am looking at a couple of bottles of Rochefort (an 8 and a 10 degree) as I write. It would have been nice to have moved onto these with the cheese course, along with perhaps the Chimay Bleu that is also staring at me, but both David, and my son Matt were keen to get started on the port. It seemed rude not to join them, and I must confess I'm quite partial to a drop of Oporto's finest, so that was the end of the Trappist idea.

The several pints of Harveys, followed by a decent bottle of Merlot to help wash down a rather large turkey dinner would have been quite sufficient for me normally. The best part of a bottle of port between the three of us (Eileen doesn't drink!) was therefore more than enough to ensure that after the washing up was done I ended up falling asleep, and missed most of the first installment of Dr Who.

Later on in the evening, (quite a bit later on), and wanting something light and refreshing, I cracked open a bottle of Tesco's own premium Czech lager, Boheme 1795. This 4.7% beer is brewed by Ceske Budejovice's other brewery, Budejovicky Mestansty Pivovar - otherwise known as Samson. Somewhat confusingly the word "Pilsen" appears prominently on the label; surely "Budweiser" would be more appropriate? This aside, the beer itself has a good maltiness which nicely balances the fragrance and bitterness of the Saaz hops, and was just the thing to revitalise my jaded palate.

Boxing Day was a very sober affair. I had a 7.15 am flight to catch from Stansted the following morning, which would mean leaving home at around 2.45 am. For obvious reasons I wanted to be in a fit state to drive, so decided to leave my body to metabolise the remaining alcohol in my system and apart from a small glass of Boheme 1795 with my cold turkey and bubble and squeak, stuck to tea and coffee for Boxing Day.

I of course more than made up for this lack of beer when I got to Prague, but that's another story.

First Reflections of Prague

I arrived home from Prague yesterday afternoon, having enjoyed a fantastic four days of sight-seeing, and of course beer sampling in the Czech capital. Much of course has changed over the past 25 years since my first, and only, visit back in 1984 and back then it would have been almost impossible to believe that such changes could occur.

I intend to write a full description of my time in Prague on my other blog, Paul's Beer Travels, but for now here's a brief summing up of some of the best, and not so best things I found.

Best Dark Beer: Bernard Specialni cerny lezac, 5.1% - an absolutely stunning, chocolately dark lager, that I enjoyed on a couple of occasions in the Kyvadlo (Pendulum) restaurant in Prague's New Town.

Best Pale Beer: Pivovarsky dum Svetly lezak 4.0% - a stunning, unfiltered pale lager, enjoyed in the brew-pub of the same name, again in Prague's New Town.

Best Pub: U Cerneho Vola (The Black Bull) - a real basic, stand-up-to-drink, unspoilt local's pub in the shadow of Prague Castle, complete with bare-brick floors, a high, heavily beamed oak ceiling, and two noisy, smoke-filled rooms packed wih people sat on simple wooden benches, all enjoying each other's company plus the pub's excellent beer (Kozel), dispensed from a font on a free-standing bar-counter by a surly, apron-clad barman. I couldn't understand a word of what was being said, but loved every minute of it, and to think I nearly gave up on trying to find this classic pub having walked straight past it twice! Pure heaven on earth, and sited in one of the loveliest, and possibly most desiable parts of Prague in which to live.

Cheapest Beer: - the 12 degree pale and the 10 degree dark beer from Kozel, in the U Cerneho Vola pub above. At just Kc 26.5 per half litre, less than a pound a pint, I was thinking life doesn't get much better than this, given the classic, unspoilt Czech pub I was drinking it in!

Dearest Beer: St Thomas 14 degree dark lager from the Matuska Broumy micro-brewery housed in the former U Svateho Tomase beer hall, just across from the Charles Bridge. This legendary drinking establishment is now part of a very plush and upmarket hotel complex called The Augustinian. All very nice, but a real shame as I had fond memories of drinking in this beer hall on my previous visit to Prague. As for the beer, nice enough, but at Kc 55 for a 33cl glass, it is not somewhere the locals go to drink!

Most Nostalgic Moment: Drinking in the legendary U Fleku brewpub where I'd enjoyed a good evening's eating and drinking on the CAMRA Travel/Cedock organised trip to Pilsen and Prague, back in 1984. Although the beer is now on the dear side at Kc 59 for a 40cl glass, it is still a world-classic dark lager. On top of this you never quite know who you'll be sitting next to in this rambling old pub.

Best View of Prague: Forget the classic views of the Charles Bridge and up towards the Castle. After walking up Petrin Hill (which felt like the north face of the Eiger!), and then along to the small micro-brewery at Strahov Monastery - Klasterni pivovar Strahov, I was rewarded with a spectacular view of the Castle District, crowned by the Gothic towers of St Vitus's cathedral, with the Vltava River shimmering far below. This vista was worth every step of the steep ascent up from Mala Strana, as was the St Norbert beer in the aforementioned micro-brewery!

Strangest/Most Surreal Sight: Seen in an Old Town bookshop window; a book about Neville Chamberlain, the hapless British Prime Minister who disgracefully sold the Czechs out to Hitler in 1938 by allowing him to annexe the so-called Sudetenland instead of having the balls to stand up to the Nazi dictator's bullying tactics. Chamberlain even had the cheek to dismiss the whole shameful episode as "A quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing". An incredibly crass and stupid statement from someone who was responsible for the largest, and most far-flung empire the world had ever known!

First Beer in Prague: Arriving on a freezing cold Sunday, just after Christmas and being too early to check into my hotel, I took refuge in Bredovsky Dvur, a modernish pub not far from Wenclesas Square, serving excellent, unpasteurised Pilsner Urquell from cellar tanks. The roast pork lunch I enjoyed there was also very good too.

Last Beer in Prague: On my final evening, on a day when I'd probably drank more than enough, I made my way through the rain to U Medvidku (At the Little Bears), where I enjoyed a glass of Oldgott Barrique 5.2%, a half-dark amber lager, brewed on a small plant somewhere in this rambling, 500 year old pub, famed for its Budvar beer. The perfect end to a perfect winter's break.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Although the snow is slowly disappearing, and I have now reached the stage where I am glad to see the back of it, whilst it was here it did seem to bring out the best in people. We live on quite a steep hill and, as the gritters never seem to include our road on their rounds, it was impossible to get the car off the drive. No matter it was quite fun for a while going down the town on foot, and bringing as much shopping back as on can carry. What struck me on my wanderings was the number of friends and neighbours I kept bumping into; often people I hadn't seen for ages. Everyone was in the same boat, but was making the best of it, and in most cases enjoying it.

The shops seemed to be doing a roaring trade, and so did many of the pubs. The snow added an appropriate festive touch; all that was missing were the stalls selling sugared almonds and Gluehwein!

Last night I managed to get the car out, and we went down to Sainsburys and bought our turkey, plus various other bits and pieces. I also managed to drive into work this morning; even though the roads were like skating rinks! I was glad to get behind the wheel again, as after two days of travelling in by train, during which the service provided was at best erratic, I'd had quite enough of public transport.

Tomorrow being Christmas Eve, we finish work early, and adjourn to the pub - in our case the Little Brown Jug in Chiddingstone Causeway. I'll be sticking to soft drinks, as apart from not wanting to train it in again I've promised to collect Eileen from the supermarket with the last of the shopping and the all important veg.

I haven't bought too much beer this Christmas as I'm off to Prague on Sunday. I was however, given a gallon jug of Harveys by a colleague today as an early Christmas present, and seeing as it's bright beer it will only keep for a few days. No matter, I'm enjoying a couple of pints of it now.

Have a good Christmas everyone.

It's a Small World!

I had one of those really surreal moments today; something totally unexpected happened, but at the same time it was something that was perhaps bound to happen sooner or later, as I will shortly reveal..

The expected, and accurately forecast snow arrived last night. Almost right on cue it started snowing heavily around ten o'clock. By the time I went to bed there were a good couple of inches or more covering the ground. I set the alarm earlier than normal, prepared for a slightly longer journey into work, but when I looked out the window, just after six this morning, it was pretty obvious that I wouldn't be driving in. On top of that it was still snowing heavily. I turned on the radio and tuned in to BBC Radio Kent for an update on the travel situation. I was surprised to learn that South Eastern were planning to run trains into London, so I listened for further details, only to find my plans to let the train take the strain were thwarted by a broken down train blocking services between Tonbridge and Redhill. What made it worse was the stranded train had actually broken down at Penshurst - the exact same station I wished to journey to! I phoned a colleague who regularly travels into work by train. He had just returned from the station and related the same story. In fact he had been told that it could take several hours before the stranded train could be shifted.

After some toast I donned my winter attire (the same attire I am planing to take to Prague with me at the end of next week), and stepped outside to see what, if anything , was occurring. It was abundantly clear that I wouldn't be able to move the car off the drive. We live on a hill and so far as I could make out no motorised traffic had been either up, or down the road that morning. For want of a better plan I decided to walk down to the station and see for myself what was occurring.

Some traffic was moving out on the main road, but at a snail's pace, with most people choosing to make the journey on foot. En route to the station I made and received various phone calls to work colleagues, including my boss. It transpired that only those people living in the immediate vicinity had made it into work, which meant I would not be in the minority by failing to make it in. Conscience cleared, I did a bit of shopping (I don't think I have ever seen Sainsbury's so quiet on a Friday morning - certainly no the last one before Christmas). Having picked up suitable supplies I made my way home, in time to catch the last 5 minutes of Sir Terry Wogan's final breakfast show - a poignant moment if ever there was one.

Later on, after I had got a few bits down from the loft for my wife, I decided to go out again. The snow clouds had cleared leaving a beautiful bright and crisp sunny morning. so off I went with no clear cut plan, apart from picking up some Czech currency for my forthcoming trip. This accomplished, I made my way to Tonbridge's only independent book shop, MR Books, for a chat with owner Mark Richardson, and also to see if I could pick up a copy of Jaroslav Hasek's, satirical classic, The Good Soldier Svejk, ahead of my visit to Prague.

"You're not the first beer blogger in today", Mark informed me. "Oh", I replied, "who was the other?" "The Pencil & Spoon" blogger, I was told and he said he wants to meet you. "Mark Dredge" I said, slightly surprised, "in here? "Why not" said MR Books' proprietor, "he only lives across the road in one of the new flats". I responded that I too would like to meet Mark, so following a quick phone, call the winner of the British Guild of Beer Writers New Media Writer of the Year 2009 duly appeared in the shop.

I hadn't realised that Marl lived in Tonbridge; for some reason I assumed he lived in North Kent. It turned out that him and his girlfriend Lauren had recently moved into one of the newly-built flats that occupy the old market site, opposite MR Books shop. Of course, had I begun following Mark's blog earlier in the year, I would have known this, but there's nothing like the benefit of hindsight!

Mark couldn't stay long, as he was in the middle of preparing dinner, but we had a pleasant chat nonetheless. We both griped about the lack of a decent boozer in Tonbridge, and certainly the lack of anywhere selling the darker ales which ought to be about this time of year. MR Books suggested that I open a pub, but having run the Cask & Glass off-licence for five and a half years, I'd had more than enough of the licensed trade!

We parted company, promising to meet up soon for a drink. Before leaving the bookshop I had a strike of luck in finding a copy of the "Guide to the Wealdway". My friend Eric and I are considering this long distance footpath as our next venture, following the successful completion of the South Downs Way earlier this year. Guide books to the Wealdway are hard to come by; most being out of print, so picking up a copy of this hard-backed, Constable Guide was a further bonus for popping into MR Books.

On the way home I called into Wetherspoons. Mark had told me that he'd spotted a clip for Thornbridge Pioneer on the pumps, with one of JDW's "Available Soon" tags attached. My hopes that it might have been on were dashed, but were soon compensated by the sight of Hook Norton's Twelve Days. Now this is what I call a true Christmas beer, rich and dark with a reasonable strength of 5.5%. The first pint slipped down a treat, and I managed a couple more after being joined my son Matt, who'd just finished work, and by the aforementioned Eric.

It was getting dark by the time we left the pub, and the pavements had become treacherously icy. Still we made it home in one piece where a welcoming stew awaited us. All in all it was a most productive day, and certainly one worth missing work for.

Some Pre-Christmas Thoughts

Not much to report at present, apart from frantically doing the rounds of Christmas shopping, card writing and other preparations ahead of the rapidly approaching deadline that is December 25th! Personally I hate all this running about, and will be glad when it's all over. What made things worse this year was over-running by several weeks on the decorating front. Time that could have been spent in a more relaxing build up to the festive season was instead spent sanding down woodwork, wall-papering, painting etc. Still it's done now, but every year I promise that next year will be different and I will be more organised. I would also like for us all to go away over Christmas, but both wife Eileen and son Matt normally have to work over this period, so unfortunately this rules out spending Christmas away from home.

I'll be glad then that come Christmas Eve it will be time to settle down and enjoy the company of friends and family, some good festive food and some equally good beers to wash it all down with. I'll be even happier when it's all over, as each year what is supposed to be a religious festival becomes more and more commercialised. Unfortunately, Christmas lost its true meaning for most people many years ago, and I don't think that's just me being cynical in my old age.

Oh well; I'd better get back to the card writing!

Shep's Again

I had some more Shepherd Neame Monday night. Four pints of it to be precise! The occasion was our local CAMRA branch committee meeting, held this time at the Nelson Arms, a back-street local in Tonbridge.

Those of you who know me will appreciate Shep's is NOT my favourite beer, and that's an understatement. Still, needs must and as it's sometimes quite difficult finding a pub that is suitable for our meetings (for obvious reasons we don't want a place with a noisy sound-system or, worse, karaoke!), I just had to bite the bullet.

The Nelson had the seasonal Late Red on alongside the regular Master Brew, and I have to say it was in excellent nick. It's never going to be my favourite, but to give credit where it's due, this was a really tasty beer. The pub itself was nice and comfortable, with a welcoming open fire, and a section of the pub ideal for our meeting. The landlord too was pleased to see us, as the ten of us probably gave a most welcome boost to his takings on what would otherwise have been a quiet Monday night!