Which Beers to Stock?

My last post concerning the difficulties experienced by micro breweries in finding suitable outlets for their beers begs the question how do free-house owners go about selecting the beers they wish to sell? Leaving aside for the moment  issues such as loan-tie agreements and other financial incentives, should licensees play it safe and stock well known brands?, or should they be more adventurous and stock something out of the ordinary?

A good licensee will listen to what his/her regulars want and will not be  motivated solely by profit. Speaking from my own experience (running an off-licence for five years that specialised in draught ales to take away), I tried to strike a balance by stocking what the majority of my customers wanted (one would be stupid NOT to do this), but also offering a couple of regularly changing guest ales.The two most popular beers, ie. the one's requested the most,  were Harveys and Larkins. I therefore alternated between these two as my regular beers. They were complemented by a couple of guest ales, which would be on sale at the weekends when demand was at its peak. I would then gradually run stocks down over the course of the coming week, before repeating the cycle all over again. I also made a point of stocking seasonal ales, in particular old ales and porters in winter (sometimes from Harveys and Larkins), refreshing golden ales in summer and other interesting beers when they were available.

This approach worked, and as well as keeping the Harveys and Larkins drinkers happy I was able to introduce other customers to the delights of  brews from both near and far. Near, included the likes of Westerham and Hog's Back,  who's beers I took on a fairly regular basis, whilst beers from further afield were primarily sourced through Beer Seller, now known as Waverley TBS, who offered monthly promotions on a wide range of cask ales from both micro breweries and established regionals.

I was also approached from time to time by other micro's, most of whom I was happy to deal with on an infrequent basis, although I did find it annoying when pestered with phone calls by certain breweries trying to persuade me to take another firkin of their beer, particularly when I had only recently purchased one! It seems  that once some companies get a foot in the door they just won't leave you alone! (Counter productive in my case, as the more they pestered the more inclined I was NOT to take any more of their beer). Some breweries would offer substantial discounts if one agreed to take several of their beers in one hit. Whilst this made sense for  them by cutting down on their delivery costs, and was an obvious attraction for cash-strapped licensees, I seldom went down this route preferring instead to ring the changes and not tie myself down to a particular brewer's products. I also believed that such practices work against more local breweries keen for the chance of seeing their beers on sale.

There was one practice that I thoroughly disapproved of, and still do. I don't know how wide spread it is now, but six or seven years ago it was quite common. I am talking about so-called "badge brewing". This is when a brewery churns out a plethora of different beers, often with silly names, that to all intents and purpose are just a variation on a handful of basic recipes. By doing this they are catering primarily for the "tickers" market, and are duping those licensees foolish enough to believe they are getting something new and different each time. I won't name the guilty parties, but I'm certain many people, both in the trade as well as  industry observers, will know who I am talking about!

Fortunately, none of the breweries in this neck of the woods can be accused of this practice, but companies from outside the area that do indulge in it, plus pub landlords who stock their products, are doing a dis-service to local concerns by effectively tying up space on the bar with gimmicky products designed to cater for a small niche section of the market.

I appreciate things have got a lot tougher since I left the trade and that it must be tempting for free-house proprietors to either go for one or more of the deals described above or, more tempting still so far as the licensee is concerned, take out a loan offered by one of the larger regionals, (again mentioning no names!). However, as we all know these loans come at a price, as they normally require the pub to sell a certain barrelage of the company's beer in order to qualify for the low interest rates offered.

What is the way forward then? What should individuals do when they are in the enviable position of owning a free-house and able to afford the luxury of saying "no" to loan tie agreements? My answer is they should follow their hearts and their instincts, and not be afraid to go out on a limb. There is a heck of a lot of good beer out there, providing one knows where to look, and people who get this vital part right stand a very good chance of getting the rest right. I believe this is exactly what those behind the real success stories in the trade are doing, and as long as there still are people with a passion for good beer, people able to brew it, plus of course people keen to drink it, then decent pubs stand a good chance of not only surviving, but prospering as well!

What Future for our Micro's?

Whilst compiling my recent post regarding the new breweries that have commenced operations in West Kent during the past two years I was struck by the thought can they all survive? They all seem to be reporting a steady growth in sales, which is obviously good news, but with beer sales declining generally, and falling off quite dramatically in the pub trade, are they all chasing a declining market? Where are these extra sales coming from?  If beer sales in the on-trade are declining as much as we are led to believe,  this sales growth can only be coming at someone else's expense! The question is who's?

We know that cask is the one growth area in the pub trade, so hopefully our local micro's are increasing their sales at the expense of the huge conglomerates that  dominate the market. If they are taking sales away from  heavily promoted global lager brands then so much the better. However, I fear this is not the case and suspect much of this growth is either at the expense of each other, or at the expense of the remaining old established family firms. To a certain extent the latter are cushioned by their own tied estates; a luxury our small, newly established concerns do not possess, (Royal Tunbridge Wells and Westerham, both have one tied pub apiece, but this is small beer, if you'll pardon the pun, and like their competitors they rely almost exclusively on the free-trade.)

However, genuine free-houses are becoming few and far between, with the more successful of them being snapped up by larger regional firms such as Fullers, Greene King and Shepherd Neame. Even those still in private hands are often effectively tied, by way of loan agreements, to taking beer from the likes of the aforementioned. Although many will feature a "must stock" beer such as Harveys (nothing wrong with Harveys I hasten to add!), this leaves precious room on the bar for beers from our budding local entrepreneurs. Some of these firms will undoubtedly strike lucky and find a more or less permanent place on the bar for at least one of their beers. Others may find free-trade outlets taking their wares on a rotating basis with products from one or more of their competitors. Nothing wrong with that either; I am all in favour of competition, so long as it's fair, and from the drinker's point of view there's nothing better than being offered a wider choice of beers.

Rather than rely totally on the vagaries of the free-trade, one or two of our local brewers have branched out into selling bottled beers. Most successful of these is Westerham who's beers are stocked in local branches of Waitrose and Sainsburys. Moodleys appear at the moment to be concentrating solely on bottled beers (bottle-conditioned), which they sell  mainly through local farm shops, specialist off-licences, direct from the brewery and the odd pub.

With schemes like CAMRA's  LocAle in place,  a reduction in "food miles" combined with the provenance of local produce very much in favour at present, it seems more vital than ever that our local breweries be able to sell their products  into a market place that is close to home, rather than have to ship them miles outside the area. However, as pubs continue to close and more and more "free-trade" outlets are either bought up, or become tied up through loan agreements, it will become increasingly difficult for our micro's to find suitable outlets for their beers. I hope I am wrong, but I do fear for the long term future of some of them.

A Day at the Wells

Yesterday, (Friday) , I took the day off work and instead of the daily grind enjoyed a short walk over to Tunbridge Wells in the company of my good friend and walking partner, Eric. It was short in comparison with the walks we completed a few years ago (South Downs Way and  Weald Way), but for two people who haven't carried out much walking recently, it was long enough.
 
 The weather was dull,  over cast and a little chilly when we left Tonbridge, but the forecast had promised that if the sun managed to break through then we could expect temperatures in the low teens - not bad for late February! The forecast turned out correct and by the time we two-thirds of the way towards our destination it was time to discard the coats and enjoy some unseasonably warm weather.


The first half of our route was across the rolling countryside, part wooded and part grazed, that separates the two towns. It was a journey I have made countless times before, either by road or train, but never on foot. Eric on the other hand has walked the many paths in this area on numerous occasions, so much so that we didn't really need to refer to the map we had brought for reference. We passed under the impressive brick viaduct at Old Forge Farm, that carries the Tonbridge to Hastings rail line, before climbing again and making our way into High Brooms. The scenery unfortunately became steadily more built up as we approached the aforementioned, which is in effect nothing more than a suburb of Tunbridge Wells. This area is also the location of the town's industrial and retail parks, and evidence of this was especially visible when our path became sandwiched between the various car-dealerships that have sprung up in recent years and the railway.

Our path then took us round the back of the gasworks (lovely!) and on through several newly-constructed estates, before coming into Tunbridge Wells itself.  Eric, who spent his childhood years in the town can remember when all of the built up area we passed through was open countryside, but alas all that is now a distant memory, and  evidence of a rapidly increasing population in this already over-crowded part of the South East is all too  clearly visible.

Sustenance was called for, both solid and liquid; the first was supplied in the form of a bacon baguette, purchased from one of the town's bakers, the second was naturally enough a glass or two of beer. We ate our baguettes in Calverley Gardens (the local park), taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. This left us in the vicinity of one of Tunbridge Well's best pubs, the Grove Tavern. Situated in the "village" area of the town, the Grove claims to be one of Tunbridge Well's oldest pubs. Ably run by landlord Steve Baxter and his team, the Grove is the perfect place to drop into for a warm welcome, a well-kept pint (or three), plus some lively conversation.

The pub was quite quiet when we walked in, but we received a friendly welcome from barmaid Sally, who turned out to be an old acquaintance of Eric's. The Grove has Harveys Best and Taylor's Landlord as its regular beers, alongside a couple of guest ales. Yesterday these were Goddards Scrumdiggity 4.0% abv and Acorn Yorkshire Pride 3.7% abv. Normally I would have gone for one of the guest ales, (probably the Acorn), but seeing as this was the occasion of my first pint of cask ale of 2012  I wanted to drink something  I was familiar with. Although both Harveys and Taylors are personal favourites, this time it just had to be Landlord, and what a mighty fine pint it was! It's difficult to describe just how good it tasted, but when you've gone the best part of a  year without a pint of cask ale passing your lips you're hoping for something special when you finally break that drought, and I was not disappointed!

I could easily have drunk several more pints, but having been off the beer for so long made me wary of over-doing things, and besides I'm still on the medication. Eric made up for me my moderation though, and as we sat at the bar, enjoying the beer, the pub slowly began to fill up. It turned into a good afternoon, with some interesting and lively discussion, mixed in with the odd joke or two. The whole thing made me realise just how much I had missed sessions in the pub.

I risked another half, and Eric had a couple more pints., but eventually we decided to call it a day, said our farewells and walked down the hill towards the station, from where we caught a train back to Tonbridge. It had been a good day out, and a most welcome back to the world of beer and pubs!

Exciting Developments on the West Kent Brewing Scene

There's been a lot of exciting new developments on the West Kent  brewing scene over the last 18 months or so. I had other concerns during this time and unfortunately many of these developments passed me by, but as I begin to recover from my annus horriblis I'm taking note of what has occurred so that once I'm firmly back in the saddle I know which new beers to look out for.

 We now have seven breweries operating in the area, five of which have started up during the past couple of years. They join the long established Larkins Brewery, who have recently celebrated their 25th anniversary, plus Westerham Brewery, who started operations back in 2004.  Apart from the addition of a blonde summer ale, Larkins beer range has changed little over the years. The beers are full bodied, with plenty of crystal malt used in the grist. They are also well-hopped, as one would expect from a Kentish beer. Westerham, on the other hand, brew a wide range of seasonal beers in addition to their distinctive core brands, some of which are based on recipes from the original Westerham Brewery which ceased brewing in 1965. New last year were a range of continental style beers, including examples from Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic.

I've yet to try the beers from  the Black Cat Brewery, based in Groombridge right on the Kent-Sussex border, and Kent Brewery, based at Birling, a short hop from West Malling, both of which are new on the scene, but I have tried some of the beers brewed by  Moodleys, Royal Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge breweries, all of whom started operations a couple of years ago. All of these new breweries offer a wide range of interesting beers, but rather than me attempt to describe them , why not click on the links and check out the brewery websites concerned. Unfortunately, Larkins  don't have a website, but all the other breweries  listed do.

 Local drinkers are therefore spoilt when it comes to a choice of cask beers. and I look forward to sampling the new brews that are available, as well as renewing my acquaintance with some old favourites.Indeed, just reading about all them  is a sufficient spur for me to get better as quickly as possible!
 

Frustration at the Bar

Without wishing to become a bore on the subject I want to continue with the theme of my last post and look further at the options available to non-drinkers in  pubs.When reasons such  as work restraints, potential adverse reactions with medication or perhaps when one has to drive to the pub, whether as "named driver" or  just because there is no other way of getting there, not drinking alcohol in a pub can be a really frustrating experience.

Often when you're in this position Sod's law will apply and not only will the beer selection be something to die for, but the quality of said selection will also be second to none. You can just imagine your friends telling you how good the beers are, and "isn't it a shame you're unable to sample them yourself!". Small matter, we all have our crosses to bear from time to time, and hopefully on another occasion the tables will be reversed and you can get your own back. When you are in this position though the question of  "what to drink?" once again arises.

Normally I would have a pint of an average strength beer (say around 4.0%), before switching to something non-alcoholic. This is always a difficult decision as, ever since my mid-teens, when I began to acquire a taste for beer, I've not been a huge fan of  soft drinks. Drinks such as lemonade, Colas etc not only just don't do it for me taste-wise, but because they're so packed full of sugar I tend to avoid them for health reasons as well. Colas are even worse than lemonade as they're highly acidic in nature and likely to quite rapidly lead to the rotting of one's teeth. So-called "diet" versions are little better, being packed full of artificial sweeteners and additives, and still with the tooth-decay risk, especially in the case of "Diet Colas". Fruit juices provide a better option, but they once again are full of sugar, albeit in a more natural form. I once drank a  pint of pure orange juice and ended up feeling thirstier than when I started!

Often it's down to good old mineral water, but again there's only so much one can drink of this and also bottled water is expensive, particularly in pubs. I appreciate pubs have to make a living, but the mark up on soft-drinks in licensed premises is nothing sort of scandalous and does nothing to encourage non-drinkers to venture along to their local hostelry. For people in my current position, visits to the pub can therefore be not only a frustrating experience, but also an expensive one as well!

What to Drink?

 
As I mentioned in my previous post I have drunk very little beer over the last 10 months. This is hopefully a temporary state of affairs, but during this time I have obviously missed the taste, so to compensate  have tried various alcohol free and low alcohol beers. I have to admit none have been particularly enjoyable, but some have still been better than nothing! In the pub trade Becks Blue appears to be the best most widely available  alcohol free beer, having pushed the likes of Kaliber and Clausthaler to one side. However, as I haven't been feeling particularly sociable for the best part of a year, visits to the pub have been few and far between, and the majority of the alcohol free and low alcohol beers I've sampled have been consumed at home.

My thoughts on  three alcohol free/low alcohol beers are given at the end of this post, but after months of struggling with them  I've recently come across an excellent website for the Alcohol Free Shop. Based in Greater Manchester I was surprised to see that the shop stocks 24 different types of alcohol-free beer, including some interesting offerings from Erdinger, Krombacher, Maisels, Schneider, Veltins and most surprising of all Bernard from the Czech Republic. The shop also stocks a wide range of alcohol free wines (I hope they taste better than the one from Sainsbury's my wife and I tried the other weekend!), plus alcohol free ciders.

With the exception of the Bernard beer, which is an amber coloured Czech lager, all the others listed above are pilsner style beers. For ale drinkers there's virtually nothing available (I don't know whether the former Whitbread-brew, White Label is still around, but from memory it was pretty awful). Harveys  however, stock two low-alcohol beers in their pubs. Both are produced from regular Harveys beers, before some of the alcohol is removed. John Hop is produced from the company's Best Bitter, whilst their Old Ale is used to produce the dark beer, Bill Brewer.  Both have an abv of 1.0%.  I haven't tried either in many a long year, but from memory the Bill Brewer was slightly more drinkable than the John Hop.

Before ending I want to stress that the sole reason for my avoiding alcohol has been that whilst I enjoy it at the time, it seems to make my anxiety symptoms worse, particularly the following day. It is difficult to know the reasons for this; they may be purely psychological, or alternatively the alcohol may be interacting with my medication. On the other hand it could just be down to the simple fact that alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, and can enhance any feelings of depression. Whatever the reason. I don't want to turn into some rabid anti-alcohol crusader, and as I start to gradually feel better, and slowly cut back on the medication. I will start to gradually re-introduce my system to some proper beers!

Review Time:

Becks Blue -  Probably the widest available alcohol free beer, but in my opinion the worst of the lot. Thin and metallic with a nasty aftertaste to match, this beer to my mind isn't even a distress purchase. In fact when faced with this beer or no beer in a pub I would  go for a mineral water instead!


Bavaria Holland 0.0% alc Premium Original. - It has always puzzled me as to why a company in the Netherlands should adopt the name "Bavaria" for its brands, but nevertheless this alcohol; free beer is  a huge improvement on the Becks version, and quite drinkable, However, it still lacks that certain something.  Most alcohol-free beers can contain up to 0.5% alcohol-by-volume, but Bavaria claim their version is different in that it's specially brewed to contain no alcohol and is a genuine 0.00% beer.


Sainsbury's Low Alcohol Czech Lager. -  Brewed at the Staropramen Brewery in Prague which I know is more of a beer factory than a traditional Czech brewery, but this 0.5% low alcohol beer is the best of the bunch, and at least tastes like a lager.

I'm Still Here!

It's been a month short of a year since I last posted anything on this blog, but a quick look at the stats shows there are still some visitors to these pages. A word or two of explanation as to why nothing has appeared during this time is therefore long overdue.

Back in March 2011, shortly after my last post, I experienced what can only be described as a mental breakdown. Looking back, the situation had been building for several months (or even longer), prior to that, but came to a head whilst on a visit to Cologne, where I was helping to man our company's stand at the International Dental Show. This event takes place every two years, and normally is something I would have looked forward to, especially as the evenings afford the opportunity to enjoy a few Koelsches, in some of the city's unspoilt taverns. This year though was different, I felt really anxious prior to the event and  didn't want to go at all. Once there, as well as feelings of extreme anxiety, I started to experience some bizarre  physical symptoms, that included fluid retention in my legs, extreme thirst and chronic fatigue.

Convinced I was suffering from something sinister; kidney problems or diabetes sprang to mind, I took full advantage of my E111 card and presented myself at a local hospital. Here I have to take my hat off to the German Health Service, as after just half an hour's wait I was seen by a doctor who, after noticing my swollen lower legs, gave me a thorough check up. This included checking my blood pressure, heart rate and even a full ECG. A blood sample was also taken and I was told to return 24 hours later to obtain the results. (Back home this procedure takes nearly a week!) On my return, the doctor showed me the results, which were entirely normal. After informing me there was nothing physically wrong, he looked me directly in the eye and said the symptoms were almost certainly psychosomatic in nature.

When I returned to the UK my own GP carried out further tests, which confirmed the findings of his German counterpart. I was diagnosed with severe depression and  prescribed anti-depressants, primarily to relieve the anxiety symptoms I was experiencing at the time. Despite this I was reluctant to take this type of medication, but after being signed off work for a period of six weeks, did so out of desperation. Had I known then what I know now I would never have taken the tablets, especially as  this type of medication (known as SSRI's) alters one's brain chemistry. The medical profession claim that SSRI's are non- addictive, and whilst this may be true physically, one's body still gets used to this chemical poison, making it  extremely difficult to wean oneself off them, even when one is starting to feel better. (I have read of people suffering from extremely unpleasant withdrawal symptoms for several weeks when trying to do so.)

The worst thing about depression is one loses interest in virtually everything, and things that once afforded the greatest pleasure no longer matter or seem important. Included amongst this unfortunately,  has been my love of beer, and since returning from Cologne I have been virtually teetotal. Whilst the beer did help me relax initially, I found myself waking the next day, or even in the night, feeling more anxious  than ever; hence I knocked it on the head (temporarily I hope!).

Over the course of the last last year I've neglected many things. Our once neat garden, whilst not totally overgrown, is looking very sorry for itself. The house is in bad need of decorating, both inside and out, but worst of all though is the way I've neglected friends, my family and myself. Physically, although I lost a lot of weight initially, I've started to put some of it back on through a combination of unhealthy eating and lack of exercise. When I look at how my thigh and calf muscles have wasted away through inactivity I feel a deep sense of shame - these aren't the same legs that walked the Weald Way last year, or the South Downs Way a year previous to that! My upper body looks frail as well, compared to what it was just 12 months or so ago.

Mentally, I've found it extremely difficult to concentrate, and not only has this affected my work, but also more everyday tasks. Sadly I had to give up the German class I was taking, despite making good initial progress with it. In the end  I just couldn't concentrate, so despite having shelled out nearly £300 on course fees I had to call it a day, as it became just one more mental stress too many.

My not drinking, visiting pubs or socialising, combined with ongoing difficulties in concentrating, have meant that blogging has been the last thing on my mind. However, as I said at the beginning I felt I owed people a long over-due explanation as to why I stopped. I still try and keep up with developments in the world of beer, even though it's extremely difficult to read about something I formerly enjoyed so much and miss such a lot.

This year though I am determined to get myself better,  get my confidence and fitness back and to start living again. I am also determined to wean myself off this horrible medication and get back on the beer!!

Royal Oak, Tunbridge Wells.

Just recently I've enjoyed a couple of excellent sessions in the Royal Oak in Tunbridge Wells. This friendly local is sited a short distance from the town centre, and is definitely well worth a visit if you are ever in the area. With its dark-panelled walls, comfortable sofas plus a number of alcoves in which to hide away, the Oak is a welcome retreat from the outside world. The pub attracts a largely broad-based clientele and is well-known for its regular functions, including live music evenings and special culinary events.

A couple of Saturdays ago I was part of a group of local West Kent CAMRA members visiting the Royal Oak for its beer festival. We met up with colleagues from Maidstone & Mid-Kent CAMRA who were in town on a pub crawl. We joined them later on their tour, but not before we'd sampled a few of the excellent beers on sale in the Oak. These included 99 Red Baboons from Blue Monkey Brewery, Larkins Porter and Dark Star Six Hop Ale. The latter certainly got my vote, although at 6.5% it definitely wasn't a lunchtime beer!

The other night, the Oak was the venue for our CAMRA committee meeting, and once again there were some interesting beers on offer. I plumped for the Harvey's Old to begin with, especially as it's likely to be the last time we'll see this winter favourite until October. As ever, it proved a fine example of this style of beer, dark and mellow, but still with a fair degree of hopiness. I then moved on to the Larkins Traditional. This 3.4% beer certainly packs in some flavour, and is the ideal lunchtime pint. It is also by far and away the company's best seller; a fact that is probably helped by the majority of pubs supplied by Larkins being rural outlets.

As before it was a Dark Star beer that I finished up on. This time it was the company's Green-Hopped Ale, another 6.5% offering. Like the Six Hop, bitterness was certainly to the fore, but it was definitely a good beer to finish up on.

West Kent CAMRA Pub of the Year Tour 2011

Last Saturday saw a dozen or so West Kent CAMRA members embarking on a tour of of the six pubs nominated for this year's Pub of the Year award. As in previous years we travelled in a hired mini-bus, complete with designated driver.

First port of call was the Anchor, at Sevenoaks, one of a dying breed of proper town locals. we were given a warm welcome from the irrepressible Barry, who has run the pub for the past 30 years or so. Harveys Best, Sharp's Doom Bar plus Ebony Moon, a new 4.2% seasonal beer from the Tonbridge Brewery, which was only set up last year. As its name suggests, this was a dark coloured beer with plenty of roast malt flavours and a good hop finish at the end.

We then moved on to the Bricklayer's Arms in nearby Chipstead, a tardis-like Harvey's pub over-looking Chipstead Lake. The pub is unusual in that it has casks of Harvey's Best Bitter racked up on the back-bar for gravity dispense. Myself and several others though opted for the Rationale, a new beer brewed at just 2.7% and designed to take advantage of recent tax breaks for low-gravity beers.

At such a low strength it did taste a trifle on the thin side, but still had that distinctive Harvey's taste. However, with a long day's drinking ahead of us, it seemed the sensible option. Most of us opted for lunch at the Bricklayer's as well, although in my case having already enjoyed a bacon sandwich at the Anchor, a roast pork baguette (with chips and salad to accompany), was more than enough!

Our next port of call was the Royal Oak at Crockham Hill, a pub belonging to the nearby Westerham Brewery. Three draught Westerham beers were on sale alongside a range of the brewery's bottled beers. The pub though showed clear divisions of having recently been converted from two bars, and somehow the two halves didn't quite seem to go. Having said that we still received a friendly welcome from the landlady and her staff.

Travelling the relatively short distance down the road to Edenbridge, we came to the next pub on our list, the Old Eden. This comfortable old pub was originally a couple of 15th Century cottages. The landlady did give us a potted history of the pub to read, but I wasn't really paying sufficient attention to remember exactly when the cottages were knocked through to form the present pub. There were some excellent beers on sale, including Whitstable Native and Hepworth's Old. The latter at 4.8% was a fine example of the style, and just the thing on a damp, mid-February afternoon.

Our penultimate port of call was several miles away in Tunbridge Wells. The Royal Oak lies a short distance from the town centre, but it miles away from the hustle and bustle of the shops. The pub has come on in leaps and bounds over recent years, having been given a new lease of life by its current owners. There is a large central serving area, with plenty of tables, chairs and comfortable bench seating all the way round. The pub hosts regular live music sesions and other events. The clientele is mainly young, and perhaps slightly Bohemian, although that is no bad thing in my book. When we called in, Larkins Traditional and Porter were on sale, alongside Royal Tunbridge Wells Sovereign. The latter two were in excellent form.

The Halfway House at Brenchley was the our final stop. For those not in the know, this excellent country alehouse has up to a dozen cask beers on tap, all served by a clever gravity-fed arrangement from a temperature-controlled room. Virtually all the beers are from micro-brewers, and usually include a mild, as well as porter or old ale in winter. A local Kentish cider is normally available as well. If all this wasn't enough, the pub itself is a characterful former coaching inn, that dates back to 1740. There are a series of inter-connecting rooms that lead up to the main bar area, with the aforementioned gravity-served beers.

There was a welcoming log fire burning at the time of our visit, and a good mixed crowd in the main bar. The two beers I sampled, Old Dairy Gold Top and O'Hanlons Port Stout were both excellent, and were a fitting end to a really good day out.

Although I have an inkling as to which pub won Pub of the Year, I am not at liberty to divulge its name; not until the announcement is made official that is.

BCA's Revisited

I have written in the past, at some length, about Bottle-Conditioned Beers (BCA's) and after my experiences with the Woodforde's range I was sent to sample, and more recently with Beau Porter, from Royal Tunbridge Wells Brewery, have only served to endorse my earlier views. These are that bottle-conditioning is a very hit and miss affair, and that consistency is certainly NOT guaranteed with this process.

Matters came to a head the other night when I poured, or I should say attempted to pour, a glass of Beau Porter, from RTWB. Normally an excellent beer, the bottle I opened was extremely lively. Granted it did not fob all over the place, but despite slow and careful pouring I still only manged to get about a third of a pint in my glass, (the rest was all foam). Interrupting the pouring process of course led to a glass of cloudy beer; not too much of a problem with a dark beer such as porter, but nevertheless the suspended yeast still affected the taste.

For me, this was a good beer spoilt, and quite unnecessarily as well. So far as I am concerned, bottle-conditioning adds nothing to a beer, and runs a strong risk of spoiling it. I have now reached the stage where I actively avoid BCA's, and I think CAMRA has got it very wrong with their persistence in endorsing this style.

Fuller's London Porter

Just a very short post to let people know that Fuller's London Porter, in my opinion one of the finest examples of the style on the market, is currently on offer at Sainsbury's at £3.00 for two bottles. Why not treat yourself to a few bottles of this excellent beer?

Brakspear's Organic Gold

Our local Sainsbury's currently has Brakspear's Oxford Gold on offer at two bottles for £3.00. I bought a couple and have to agree with the description on the label, "Craft brewed with a zesty aroma and fruity flavour." Burnished gold in colour, rather than pale gold, the beer has a very satisfying and thirst quenching bitter finish. At 4.6%, and an Organic Beer to boot, this is definitely one to look out for.

I believe that this used to be a bottle-conditioned beer, but this is no longer the case. Readers will probably be aware of my views on BCA's, so I am not complaining; in fact I'm glad of the fact that I can stick the bottle in the fridge for an hour or so and then drink the beer straight away. No having to wait days for the contents to settle following the journey home from the supermarket!

Good Beer Guide 2012 Selection Meeting

Today our local CAMRA Branch held its selection meeting for the 2012 Good Beer Guide. We had deliberately chosen a pub a little off the beaten track, but one which was still readily accessible by public transport. That was the theory; unfortunately we had reckoned without Network Rail's plans for extensive engineering work this weekend, that would have turned a straight forward half hour rail journey, into an hour and a half bus and train marathon. Fortunately a group of us were able to travel over by car, whilst a few members who lived a bit closer were able to brave the rail-replacement bus service, so in the end we had a reasonable turnout of members.

The pub that was hosting our meeting was the Two Brewers in the picturesque village of Shoreham, to the north of Sevenoaks in the Darenth Valley. There are four pubs in the village, and in the past I always regarded the Two Brewers as the poor relation. How things have changed! When we entered the pub we were pleasantly surprised to see the alterations made by the couple who took over the pub some 15 months or so ago. The red-velvet, padded bench seats were gone, along with the jaded carpet and oppressive decor. Instead we were presented with a pub with a bright, modern contemporary feel, with a warm welcome from the landlord and his staff. In short we were really made to feel at home!

There were three cask beers on offer, Black Sheep Best, St Austell Tribute and Reverend James from Brains. Not stunning beers so far as some beer bloggers are concerned, but still a pretty reasonable selection in my book. Most of us went for the lunch option, prior to the meeting, and my chicken, bacon and leek pie was first class.

The meeting itself didn't kick off until 2pm and got off to a bit of a slow start. As is usually the case though, once the obvious candidates had been chosen there was quite a bit of wrangling over which other pubs should also be included. Eventually, we managed to whittle down the 40 pubs shortlisted to our allotted 22, and some two and a half hours later the meeting drew to a close.

For me though the best part of the day, apart from some good beer and food in the company of friends, was to find that the Two Brewers had been transformed into such a thriving, successful and vibrant pub!

Woodforde's Beer Review Week Pt. 2

The weather's turned cold again, so what better beer to go for on a frosty January night than a dark Winter Ale. Keeping with my Woodforde's review theme I've selected Norfolk Nog, a former champion beer of Britain. According to the back label the beer is "a smooth, reddish-black, rich and rounded Old Ale with a velvety texture." The label then goes on to say "The beer oozes dark and sweet roast malt flavours including hints of chocolate, treacle and liquorice."

That's enough of what the label says, so what do I think about the beer? Well, there was virtually no head when it was poured, but the beer itself seems reasonably lively. I wouldn't disagree with the brewer's description which probably sums the beer up as well, if not better, than I can. It's certainly been the best of the three beers I've sampled so far but, as with the Wherry, I imagine that this beer would be even better on draught. This aside, bottled Norfolk Nog is still a very good beer and, as I said earlier, is just right for a cold, late January night.

Next up is Admiral's Reserve, a 5.0% dark-amber coloured beer. Like the Nog, it poured with very little head, and taste-wise is rather sweet and malt-accented. Although I managed to pour a clear glass, the beer seems to have a slight yeastiness lurking in the background. I'm afraid this beer is rather too sweet for a Kentish lad like myself, and a touch more hops would certainly have not gone amiss! That aside, if you are someone who enjoys a malt-accented beer, then you would certainly appreciate this one.

So, as with the previous two beers, the first one gets the thumbs up, whilst the second gets the thumbs down from me. This now leaves me with just two Woodforde's beers to sample; Nelson's Revenge and the mighty Headcracker. At 7.0% though, I'll be taking it easy with the latter!

Elephant's Head Hook Green

On Sunday I took my promised walk out to complete the last of my surveys for the 2012 Good Beer Guide. It always amazes me that surveying has to be done so early in the year, but when you take into account the fact that the Guide is launched in October, in time for the Christmas book trade, then it begins to make sense.

The pub I visited was the Elephant's Head, situated in the tiny hamlet of Hook Green, close to Lamberhurst on the Kent-Sussex border. The pub is virtually impossible to reach using public transport, so the only alternative was to walk there, at least part of the way!

I set off from Tonbridge, in the company of two friends, catching the train as far as Wadhurst. From here we followed the myriad of minor roads and back lanes, through the rolling High Weald landscape of grassy fields and small tracts of woodland. Along the way we passed through the small, isolated settlement of Woods Green, eventually reaching our destination after an hour and a half's walking.

The pub was packed when we arrived, and we were lucky to get a seat, but after our walk we were glad of the chance to take the weight off our feet and enjoy a well-earned pint or two. The Elephant's Head is a Harveys tied pub which dates back to the late 15th Century, although the building has only been a pub since 1768! As befits an old building there are walls of bare sandstone and brick, a wealth of oak beams and a large open fireplace. There is a central serving area, with a modern conservatory to the rear, but we sat in a small alcoved area adjacent to the main entrance.

Harveys Best, Armada and Old Ale were the beers on offer; the Old being particularly good. Unfortunately the same could not be said of the Armada, and one friend ended up having to return his pint. It was promptly replaced with Best Bitter and so, this grip aside, we couldn't really fault the pub. Sunday lunchtime is obviously the busiest time, with the carvery proving extremely popular.

Looking around though we noticed that most of the diners were either drinking wine or soft drinks. The latter is perhaps understandable, given the fact that most of them had arrived at the pub by four-wheeled transport, but where were the beer drinkers? As I mentioned earlier, there were three cask beers on offer, and whilst two of them were fine, one definitely wasn't. When it came to asking the questions for the survey, the staff told us that they sometimes close early on Monday and Tuesday evenings, especially when there are few customers. All this points to a heavy reliance on the food rather than the drink trade, but if that is the price for the survival of rural gems, such as the Elephant's Head, then perhaps that is no bad thing!

Woodforde's Review Week Pt. One

Well it's time for my first review of some of the Woodforde's beers I've been sent to sample. First up is Sundew, a pale, golden ale, with an abv of 4.1%. It has a pleasant citrus aroma, with an equally pleasant hoppy-citrussy taste. It has a good hoppy finish, which balances the juicy maltiness from the Maris Otter barley used to brew the beer. According to the back label, the beer is named after the Sundew flower that grows locally in the Fens of East Anglia. This would be a good beer to enjoy chilled, on a hot summer's day. Like all the beers I've been sent, Sundew is bottle-conditioned. The yeast sediment was perhaps slightly loose, but I still managed to pour a clear glass of beer.

The second beer is Wherry; an old favourite in cask form. The beer poured with much more of a head than the Sundew, and is quite lively from the bottle-conditioning. It has a slight yeasty nose, perhaps because I didn't quite manage to pour a perfectly clear glass, although the yeastiness is overlaid by a zesty aroma from the hops. The beer itself tastes somewhat grainy, but this is balanced by a citrus-like hopiness. The beer is pale amber in colour, but whilst pleasant enough, has no features that really stand out.

I feel this is because beers of this strength (3.8%), don't really lend themselves to bottle-conditioning. This is not just a criticism of Woodforde's, but something I believe applies to all bottle-conditioned beers. I remain a fan of cask Wherry, but regrettably would not go out of my way to buy the bottled version.

So for the first two beers sampled, one gets the thumbs up, whilst the other perhaps the thumbs down. I look forward to moving up the gravity scale and tackling some of the stronger beers, later in the week.

Update on Lidl's

Following my recent post about our local branch of Lidl's being prosecuted for selling alcohol to underage drinkers, the case has now been dealt with by local licensing officials. The store has been allowed to keep its Liquor Licence, but on the strict understanding that they operate a "Challenge 25" policy.

The group claim that they already have a "Challenge 21" policy in place, but have been told they must apply the stricter guidelines. Tonbridge will now be the first Lidl's branch to operate "Challenge 25", but the German-owned chain has indicated that they now intend to roll this policy out across all their UK stores. The procedure is already in operation, as my 19 year old son found last night. He was asked to produce ID, which of course he was able to do, whilst paying for his beer at the checkout.

Woodforde's Norfolk Ales

Today, after two and a bit years of writing this blog, I received my first beers to review, courtesy of Woodforde's. Actually, I think it's their PR Agency I've got to thank, as they're the people who, after reading my blog, contacted me and asked if I'd like to review some of Woodforde's beers.

I must admit I'd almost forgotten about the matter, as it was a couple of months ago when the agency first contacted me, and when the beers didn't turn up in the run up to Christmas, as expected, I thought maybe they'd changed their mind. It was therefore a very pleasant surprise when a case turned up today at my place of work.

There's a total of six different beers to sample and write about, ranging from Wherry at 3.8%, through to Headcracker at 7.0%. In between there's such delights as Sundew, Norfolk Nog and Admiral's Reserve. I don't intend to crack the bottles open straight away, and when I do it will probably be a bottle or two a night. Look out though for my thoughts and observations, regarding these beers over the next few weeks.

It goes without saying, of course, that my reviews will be as objective as possible, and I will not let the fact that the beers arrived foc. influence me in any way.

All Quiet on the Beer Front

A bit of a quiet time on the beer front at the moment, with not a lot happening. Mind you, January's always a dull month, and often a lean one as well, after the excesses of Christmas. We've got our Good Beer Guide Selection meeting at the end of the month, which promises to be a lively event. I've still got one more potential candidate to inspect; a real gem of a country pub. I don't want to drive there, for obvious reasons, so a friend and I are planning a walk out to it next weekend.

I've still got the beer I brought back with me from Bamberg to drink, plus a bit left over from my Christmas stache, so am unlikely to go thirsty at home! So until I've got anything more exciting to report or comment on, it's bye for now.

Final Musings about Bamberg

Despite it being the main reason for my visit, I decided to give the beer a bit of a rest during the first half of my second full day in Bamberg. Whilst I hadn't been drinking all that heavily, I was feeling a bit jaded. I don't know whether it was the bitterly cold weather, or a touch of the post-Christmas blues, but whatever the cause I thought a slight break from the booze, combined with a bit of exercise and fresh air, would do me the power of good.

I therefore decided to hike up to the Altenburg Fortress, the impressive former refuge of Bamberg's ruling Prince Bishops. The Altenburg Fortress is situated on the highest of Bamberg's seven hills, and you can read all about my visit, and see some of the photo's, by clicking onto my other blog, Paul's Beer Travels.

It was definitely a worthwhile visit, even if the walk back was a lot easier, and much quicker than the outward journey! I spent the afternoon shopping, including purchasing a mixed case of bottled beers from the famous Schlenkerla Tavern, when I arrived back in Bamberg, before heading back to my hotel. I had some packing, ahead of my departure the following day! Come late afternoon though I was definitely in the mood for a beer or three!

From my hotel, I headed across the Main-Donnau canal via the new bridge that was in the process of being built during our previous visit to the city. I made my way to Spezial, slightly surprised to find the place open as I was given to understand it was closed between Christmas and New Year. It was busy, but I managed to find a seat. This is something I really love about German pubs; the willingness of the locals to make room for newcomers. There is none of the spreading out, coats on benches, "this is my space" type attitudes that are all too common back home. The willingness of people to start chatting to strangers is another thing that really impresses me, and no doubt accounts for why pubs are still so busy and well used in the Federal Republic.

As I sat enjoying my glass of Rauchbier Lager, I was joined at the table by a group of newcomers. I soon got into conversation with one of them who turned out to be a railway worker from one of the surrounding villages. He had called into Spezial for a drop of refreshment whilst his wife went shopping in the city. He spoke no English, but my German was of sufficient standard for us to have a rudimentary conversation. He reckoned that beer was expensive in Bamberg compared to some of the villages, where it could be found for as low as 1.60 Euros a glass!

Later on I decided to give the seasonal Rauchbier Bock a try. It was dark in colour, very tasty and quite moreish, but I resisted the temptation for another. My new found friend's wife and son had arrived, and after they had consumed a quick drink the family departed, but not before the railway worker handed me over a bottle of Rauchbier as a parting gift. This was a really nice gesture and just serves to illustrate my point further about how friendly the local people are in their pubs.

On leaving Spezial I crossed the road to Faessla, another of Bamberg's famous brewery-taps, where again I managed to get a seat despite the large number of people inside. I ordered a Lagerbier to drink, plus a Wiener Schnitzel to eat. The latter seemed to take an awfully long time to arrive, which was very unusual for a German pub where service is normally extremely prompt. I mentioned this to the couple sitting next to me and their reply was that the waitress must have forgotten. They called her over, explained the situation, and a short while later my food appeared. It was worth the wait, and I switched over to the stronger and darker Zwergla.

By this time I was deep in conversation with my new found friends. It turned out they were from Essen, but were holidaying in Bamberg and actually staying at Faessla. After learning about my interest in beer, Olaf recommended the region to the east of Bamberg known as Fraenkische Schweiz (Franconian Switzerland) as a particularly good area for beer and pubs. I promised I would bear it in mind for a future visit to Germany. Before leaving Olaf and his wife treated me to a glass of Schnapps, which again illustrates the friendliness and generosity of the German people.

The following day was time for me to leave Bamberg. After a last look around I lunched at Schlenkerla where, once again, I spent much of the time conversing, in German, with someone who was a regular visitor to the pub. After some soup and a couple of Rauchbiers, it was off to the station for the train back to Nuremberg Airport and my flight home. It had been a good few days seeing Bamberg at a totally different time of year, and it was especially good to have the chance of sampling some of the seasonal beers.

As I've said before, all beer lovers should make a point of visiting this beautifully unspoilt city to experience its delightful and beery charms for themselves!

Lidl's in the Dock

It looks like our local Lidl's could be in danger of losing its alcohol license, if reports in the local press are true. According to this week's edition of the Kent & Sussex Courier (our local newspaper), the store is charged with two counts of selling alcohol to persons under the age of 18. Now the supermarket's alcohol license is up for review, and could be revoked.

This would be a great shame for many of the town's drinkers, especially those on low incomes, who enjoy picking up the odd bargain from the German company's store. I am often tempted myself by some of the bargains they have on offer from time to time, and it would be a pity if local shoppers are forced to lock elsewhere for their cheap booze.

As is usually the case, the store was caught following test purchases made during "sting " operations carried out by local Trading Standards Officers. No doubt they deliberately picked tall, mature-looking "volunteers" to carry out the test purchases in order to catch staff off-guard and not to arouse suspicion. Whilst no-one would condone under-age drinking, the use of "agent provocateurs" to entrap businesses in this fashion, really needs to be called into question.

Learning the Language!

Next Monday evening, after a lay-off over the Christmas period, it's back to my evening class where I'm learning German. The class I attend is for Level Four students, which is equivalent to GCSE "O" level. There's a small, mixed bunch of seven of us in the group, ranging from a couple of retired ladies to a young female student from Kazakhstan. In between there's a car-salesman, a middle-manager who's wife is German (he's got a definite advantage!), and of course, me!

I've actually got "O" level German, obtained during my schooldays back in the early 1970's. However, despite this and frequent trips to the Federal Republic where I always do my best to converse in German, I felt an evening course would be a good idea, especially to get some of the grammar sorted out properly.

The course is very good and a lot of fun. It's ably presided over by our tutor, Gabrielle who, whilst German herself, lives locally and is married to an Englishman. It's something to look forward to each week, especially on dark winter Monday evenings.

Of course, my main reason for attending the course is to improve my German language skills, something I feel is important given the fact I take regular holidays in the country. Another way to learn a language though is through books and tapes, or a combination of both. There are also plenty of on-line resources available to help with the process.

German at about.com is particularly useful, and what's more it's free! There are also numerous pay-to-learn sites, most of which offer quite intensive courses, designed to get you up to speed in as quick a time as possible. For further information on one of these, click here!

First Full Day in Bamberg

Apart from the obvious places, such as Mahrs Braeu and Schlenkerla, I hadn't made any definite plans as to where else to visit during my stay in Bamberg, but as the first full day of my trip dawned cold and bright, a ride out to one of the surrounding villages seemed a good idea. My hotel was literally a stone's throw from the Central Bus Station, so after breakfast I availed myself of an all day ticket and jumped on a bus out to Memmelsdorf.

The latter is a large village, a few kilometres to the east of Bamberg. It is home to two brew-pubs, which of course was the main reason for my visit. I only really had time to visit one pub, so I chose the largest and the one with the widest range of beers. Drei Kronen was a very pleasant, solid-looking, yellow-painted establishment, with a number of rooms leading off from the central entrance hall. I entered the one straight ahead, and although all the tables were laid out for diners, the waitress was quite happy to serve me a beer. I selected the Stoeffla, which although described as a Kellerrauchbier, didn't taste all that smoky to me. It was pleasant enough though, but whilst tempted to stay for another, I needed to get back to Bamberg for my planned luchtime visit to Mahrs Braeu.

Two bus rides therefore saw me alighting in the suburb of Wunderburg, from where it was a short walk along to Mahrs. This excellent brewery tap is a firm favourite with visitors from Britain, and stepping inside it's not difficult to understand why. I made my way to the right hand room, complete with its low beamed ceilings and dark-stained wood panelled walls. There is also a traditional tiled stove, although the latter did not appear to be lit. To top this, the beer is served direct from a barrel perched behind the serving area.

On our previous visit, back in the summer, we had sat out in the small, shady beer garden, only venturing inside to use the toilets, so being able to soak up the traditional atmosphere inside the pub was a real treat. I was joined at my table by two visitors from outside the city. They spoke very little English, but I was able to converse with them in their native tongue without too much difficulty. To drink I enjoyed an Ungespundetes, plus the stronger Heller Bock (6.5%); both were in bottled form. For my lunch I had the local version of Leberkaes, which is called Fleischkaesse, with Spiegel Ei and Kartoffelsalat, and it was my enquiring about this dish that had brought me into conversation with the locals.

Before leaving the brewery I bought a selection of bottles from the brewery office and then caught the bus back into town. Later that evening I made the stiff climb up the Kaulberg to Greifenklau, which is the smallest of Bamberg's breweries.Greifenklau was the nearest brewery tap to the apartment we stayed in last summer, and on several occasions we ate there, in the shady beer garden at the rear of the pub. Unfortunately the room I chose this time turned out to be the wrong one. There were two quite noisy family groups inside, both of whom had fractious and badly behaved children with them. This was something new to me, as most German children I'd come across in the past seemed to exhibit exemplary behaviour. I therefore decided just to have the one drink there and eat somewhere else. The unfiltered Zwicklbier was very tasty though, so it was a shame to have to leave.

I made my way back down into the Altstadt and found my way through the narrow streets to Klosterbraeu. This is probably the most picturesque of Bamberg's breweries, although I have to agree with such illustrious writers as Ron Pattison and Gazza Prescott that the beers leave a lot to be desired. This aside I was hungry by now, so managed to grab myself a seat in the cosy restaurant. I ordered Schweinebraten (roast pork) with Kloss (dumpling) and Wirsing (purred cabbage). To wash my meal down I had a glass of Schwaerzla, a dark beer with an unpleasant phenolic taste, which reinforces the comments I've written above. I therefore just had the one, paid my bill and left.

On the way back I popped into Schlenkerla where I was able to sample the strong Christmas Doppelbock called Eiche. This dark 8.0% beer is brewed using malt smoked over oak wood, rather than the usual beechwood. It was very moreish, but at this strength I thought it unwise to have more than one! So ended my first full, and somewhat beery day in Bamberg.