SIBA South East Beer Festival 2018 at TJ's Rugby Club

It's that time of year again with the SIBA South East Regional Beer Festival taking place and hosted for the 12th year by Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club. As part of the deal between  TJ's and SIBA, the rugby club provide the premises for the the SIBA South East Region Competition, and once this brewery plus guests, trade event is over, the beers are handed over to the Juddian's so that the festival proper can begin.

The breweries, who are all SIBA members, supply the beer foc, which results in a healthy profit for the club, particularly as the people staffing the festival are all volunteers. The good people of Tonbridge are therefore able to experience and enjoy a festival which is several orders of magnitude above what would otherwise be possible, but before the festival throws its doors open to the public, the beers are judged. This after all is a contest for places in the SIBA South East Region Competition. 
 

I didn't make a note of the number of brewers exhibiting this year, but I do know that around 180 different cask ales are judged across nine separate categories. The SIBA South East Region covers a wide area which encompasses the counties of Berkshire, East and West Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, and Surrey, plus London.

The tasting and judging of the beers takes place earlier on Friday, and I know several people who volunteer as judges each year. I have been asked to judge in previous years, but as it entails taking a day off from work I normally decline. I have taken part in beer judging before, but normally I prefer to drink and enjoy my beer, rather than attempting to pigeon-hole and assess it against others.

The festival takes place on part of the playing area in front of the clubhouse, with the beers and the beers housed in a large marquee. This leaves plenty of room for people to sit out and soak up the sun, whilst enjoying the beer. In previous years we have made it a family  day out, going along, armed with folding chairs plus plenty of food. We have then met up with other family members  and friends, but this time a certain football match got in the way.

I called in on Friday evening, arriving shortly before 9pm. The crowds in the tent had thinned out, but there were still plenty of people sitting outside on the grass, enjoying the warmth of what had been probably the warmest day so far of this incredibly long hot spell. leaving plenty of space inside the marquee and ample room to move about and peruse the rows of different casks.

I met up with a few fellow CAMRA members and friends, and ended up staying until closing time. I did the same yesterday (Saturday) evening, arriving at a similar time, after the football had finished and I'd been suitably fed. It was this social side of the festival that I particularly enjoyed, as opposed to just sampling some interesting beers, although I must say there were some interesting ones.

As in previous years, all beers were priced at one token per half pint, regardless of strength, which certainly made life easier for the mathematically challenged amongst us. Tokens were priced at £1.80 each. I seriously  wish our own beer festival, a joint venture between West Kent CAMRA and the Spa Valley Railway, would adopt this eminently sensible practice, as it would make life so much easier for both staff and customers alike.

I didn’t go overboard on the sampling, but I enjoyed most of the beers I sampled and the ones which really stood out were: Twin Spring 4.0% from New River Brewery; Backstage IPA 5.6% from Signature Brewery and XPA 4.0 from Five Points Brewing. The above were all pale, well-hopped premium bitters with that refreshing, citrus-like bite. With temperatures in the high twenties, these types of beer early hit the spot in terms of their refreshment and their thirst-quenching properties.

Later, on both Friday and Saturday evenings, I got stuck into a few porters, with Bedlam Porter 5.0% from Bedlam Brewery, 1770 London Porter 4.7% from Brumaison and Smokestack Porter 6.0% from Tap East coming out particularly good.

On Saturday there was live band playing in an adjacent marquee, which got the crowd on their feet, but it was noticeable that the numbers in attendance were very much down on previous years - thanks to that football match.

Despite this rather unforeseen setback, the annual TJ's Beer Festival has really come into its own, and has been taken to heart by the good townsfolk of Tonbridge. It remains firmly fixed in the local social calendar, and is talked about long after each event – surely the ultimate accolade!

As ever thanks go to Tonbridge Juddians, and all their hard-working volunteers, for once again, putting on such an excellent and highly enjoyable festival, and to the brewers from  SIBA South-East , who provided such a fine range of beers.

Würzburg for the day

Just when I thought I’d finished recounting my recent trip to Bamberg and northern Bavaria, I realised I hadn’t written about the day Matt and I spent in Würzburg. This was on the Tuesday, which was the penultimate day of our stay in Bamberg.

Würzburg is roughly an hours journey, by rail, from Bamberg, so after buying our Bayern ticket  at the station, and purchasing a coffee plus a couple of rolls to eat on the train by way of breakfast, we boarded the Regional Express which was heading for the city.

We sat in the upstairs section of the coach, which is a feature of these double-deck trains I really appreciate. I hadn’t looked that closely at the map, but I knew our journey from Bamberg would first be in a northerly direction, following the valley of the River Regnitz, before turning towards the west, along the course of the River Main. With this in mind, I knew the scenery would be particularly interesting, and to be able to view it from our upper deck vantage point, would be a real bonus.

I was correct about the scenery, although there was a section where the train climbed up onto a plateau, presumably between the two river systems, which was less interesting. Würzburg lies right in the heart of the Franconian wine producing region, and is in fact the centre of this important industry, so as we journeyed along the course of the River Main, I was not surprised to see rows of carefully tended grape vines set out in terraces on the steep slopes of the river valley.

These became more noticeable as the train made the steep descent into Würzburg, and after a slight signalling delay, we pulled into the city’s main station. We’d arranged to meet up with my friend Ian from Tonbridge and his wife who, instead of staying with the rest of us in Bamberg, had opted to base themselves in Nuremberg. The pair had travelled by a different route, and would be arriving from the opposite direction to us, but both trains were timed to arrive within a few minutes of each other.

Our friends were waiting for us on the central concourse, and had already procured a guide plus a couple of city maps for us, but after looking at the map, and studying the tram and bus routes for a while, we decided it would be easier, and more pleasant to walk into the city centre, and then head up to our first object of interest, and the first port of call on most visitor’s itinerary.

This was the world famous Würzburg Residenz; an imposing palace, overlooking the city, which acted as the home of the Prince-Bishops, who ruled Würzburg until the late 18th Century.

It’s hard to believe that, like much of the city,  this magnificent structure was

severely damaged by a devastating air raid carried out by RAF Bomber Command, in March 1945. All of the city's churches, cathedrals, and other monuments were heavily damaged or destroyed in the raid, and the city centre, which mostly dated from medieval times, was decimated in a firestorm in which 5,000 people perished.  I won’t write too much about this act of wanton destruction, as I know there are people who, even today, will claim the raid was justified, but what I will say is this.

Unlike me, my two friends were unaware of what happened on that fateful March night, which was less than two months before the end of the war in Europe. They had read in the leaflet, picked up from the Tourist Information Office,  that around 90%  of the city had been destroyed in the raid, which only lasted for just over 20 minutes. Their only thoughts were why? What was the point of such destruction and the devastating loss of life which went with it.

I could only answer that it was man’s inhumanity to man, and before all the apologists for indiscriminate carpet bombing of civilians pipe up, “They started it,” let me remind you that two wrongs do not make a right, and by so doing there is no way in which we can claim the moral high ground.

We didn’t venture inside the Residenz. I would imagine it could take the best part of a day to fully explore all of the palace’s treasures, and time wasn’t on our side. It was also a lovely day weather-wise, so we decided to spend time looking around the extensive gardens at the rear of the building.  These were laid out in a formal style and, as might expected, were very well-maintained. The part which really stood out for all of us, including Matt who’s a bit of a Philistine regarding such things, was the topiary, with some immaculate examples , as can be seen from the photos.

It was lovely and peaceful in the gardens, and difficult to believe we were only around 20 minutes’ walk away from the city centre, but time was marching on, and there were several other attractions we wanted to see. We began our descent from the Residenz and moving in a zig-zag route, made or way towards the main thoroughfare, and the Alte Mainbrücke  across the River Main.

We stopped at the attractive looking Sternbäck pub, overlooking Dom Straβe, for a coffee at the insistence of my friend’s wife. Seeing as the weather was so good, we sat outside soaking up the atmosphere whilst watching the shoppers going about their business just yards away. 

We were to return to this particular pub, for something stronger, later in the day, but it’s worth mentioning if only for the “tickers.” The Untapped contingent from Maidstone CAMRA, who’d remained in Bamberg for the day would have cursed themselves for missing the distinctive Distelhäuser beers which are brewed in the small village of Distelhausen, to the south of Würzburg.

Suitably refreshed, we headed down towards the River Main and crossed by means of the centuries old bridge. The Alte Mainbrücke is now closed to road traffic, but was certainly busy with pedestrians when we walked across. The bridge towers high above the Main, which is quite wide at this point, and because of the height it provides a vantage point for lots of photo opportunities.  Looking along the river, we could see on the steeply sloping valley sides, the extensive terraces where the vineyards are situated, covering virtually every available square metre of free land.

We also stopped to take some photos - not selfies, I hasten to add, but shots looking back across the bridge as well as some of our next destination, the Marienberg Fortress, which dominates the west bank of the river. Rising some 200 metres from the riverside, the massive bulk of the Marienberg cannot be missed. This natural defensive mound, is crowned by the an equally imposing fortress, and climbing to the top was our next objective.

It was certainly a climb and a half, but I impressed myself by not getting out of breath as we followed the winding path, interspersed by flights of steps, inexorably upwards. My daily lunchtime walks had obviously paid off. Even so, by the time the four of us reached the summit I was ready for a nice cold beer. That was the plan, anyway!

Unfortunately much of the fortress is given over to a conference centre, which doesn’t really cater for casual visitors. We could have had a coffee, but somehow that just didn’t feel right. Fortunately I had done my homework and had looked up the location of Würzburg’s main brewery; Würzburger Hofbräu. The brewery, plus attached beer garden, lay on the far side of the Marienberg mount, at the foot of it, so after resting a short while, we began the long descent from the other side.

Eventually we found the brewery and beer-garden complex. It was a little further than it looked on the map, but was well worth the extra walk. Würzburger Hofbräu are a relatively large brewery producing over 100,00 hl per year. The  company’s products are well regarded, and easy to find, locally.

Since 2005,  Würzburger Hofbräu GmbH has been owned by the KulmbacherHYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kulmbacher_Brewery" Brewery, a subsidiary of Brau Holding International. As we discovered, there was a pleasant, shaded beer garden attached to the brewery, and it was at a table, close to the adjacent beer hall, that we plonked ourselves down. We were certainly glad of a rest after the walking and climbing we had done earlier.

We were even more glad of a nice cool beer, and the Würzburger Premium Pils did not disappoint. Something more solid to accompany the beer was also called for, and whilst it was on the dear side I grasped the nettle and went for a plate of Spargel – white asparagus served with hollandaise sauce and new potatoes. It was worth every cent. 

The Germans make a big fuss about the Spargel season, which lasts from May into June. Take a walk through any local fruit and vegetable market and you will see bundles of white asparagus piled up on display. Most pubs and restaurants will feature at least one Spargel dish on their menus, whilst this vegetable is in season, and it is definitely worth trying.

 The beer garden wasn’t particularly busy, but it was mid-afternoon on a Tuesday, so this wasn’t that surprising. It was still a very pleasant place to spend the afternoon and just chill out. After a couple more beers, we walked along to the nearby tram stop, for a ride into town.

As mentioned earlier, we called in at the Sternbäck pub we’d been in earlier, but with the threat of thunder in the air, decided to sit inside. The 5.4% Kellerbier from the Distelhäuser Brewey was particularly good. Matt and I left Ian and his wife to make their way back to the station, whilst we had a brief look around the shops. 

We got caught in a light shower as we made our own way to the station, and on the train journey back to Bamberg, the rain increased in intensity. Despite the soggy end our visit to Würzburgwas a really enjoyable day out. The city had long been on my list of places to visit, so I was glad to have taken advantage of the opportunity.

 Würzburg today is thriving after the almost total destruction which took place. It took around 20 years for the buildings of historical importance to be painstakingly and accurately reconstructed, but as most of the surrounding buildings date from the 1960’s or later, it is difficult to imagine, what medieval Würzburg must have looked like.

Distracted by the "Beautiful Game"

“Never write posts after a penalty shoot-out,” says the Pub Bloggers Manual. Fortunately after that roller-coaster of an emotional ride, I had no intention of doing so; in fact I was ready for my bed!

I posted the above comment on Retired Martin’s blog. The instruction in parenthesis was Martin’s opening line, and the fact that after issuing the warning he went on to write a full-length post, shows he’s either got a lot more staying power than me or, by virtue of being retired, he doesn’t have to get up early and go to work in the morning.

I suspect it’s a combination of the two, but the point I was trying to make was the last two night’s compelling World Cup games have kept me away from my computer, and glued to the TV set.

I’m not a huge follower of the “beautiful game,” although I do take a passing interest. For example I like to see how Gillingham FC, Kent’s only team in the Football League, do each week, but having said that, I’ve no idea how their season ended this year, or even which division they are now in!

The World Cup is different, and every four years, it’s something of a tradition in the Bailey household to endeavour to watch those games where England are playing. Mrs PBT's in particular, is both an avid, and sometimes rather noisy fan, and woe betide anyone who attempts to interrupt her viewing. Of course we’ve seen more than our fair share of upsets and disappointments, but writing as someone who not only remembers England’s historic win, back in 1966, but who sat glued to our Black and White TV set, intently watching the game in the company of his father, I probably steal a march on most of today’s football fans.

Having witnessed once, history being made I would like to see a repeat performance, as I’m sure, would the whole nation. So last night’s game, despite its nail-biting conclusion, was much more than just a step in the right direction. Instead it showed a well-disciplined bunch of talented individual players, who really gelled as a team.

This is something few England sides have achieved since that historic win, and it is that, more than anything else, which fills me with optimism. Manager (or should that now be coach?), Gareth Southgate has done a brilliant job in moulding the players under his command into this team, and his appointment, coming as it did on the back of “Big Sam” Allardyce’s foolish indiscretion nearly two years ago, was not only well-deserved, but very fortuitous for the England side.

So that was last night’s cliff-hanger, but what about Monday evening’s equally compelling game? I’m talking here about Belgium v Japan; a game which nearly caused another major upset along the lines of Germany, Portugal and Argentina’s early departures.

It was not to be, but for a while underdogs Japan, came close to upsetting the apple-cart. I was rooting for them anyway, but it would have been doubly nice to see them going through as, at the moment, we have a couple of our company directors visiting from Japan.

They watched the match in their hotel, and when we offered our commiserations the following morning, were very philosophical about the whole thing. Japanese people are renowned of course, not only for their politeness, but also for their inscrutability, so we will probably never know their true feelings but, as the World Cup carnival continues, it certainly is “ a funny old game.”

It's a gas (Pumping Back Cash)

The carbon dioxide shortage which has affected the production of beer, fizzy drinks, fresh meat and even crumpets, might be coming to an end, with the news that one major producer of CO2, has re-started production of the gas, and another is about to shortly.

As the media has delighted in informing us, there have been shortages of CO2 over the past 10 days, amid longer than expected shutdowns at ammonia and ethanol plants, key producers of the gas, across Europe. To make the situation worse, three out of five key UK producers have also been shut down, hitting the country particularly hard.

Ensus, announced that their bio-ethanol fuel processing plant at Wilton, near Redcar reopened on Friday, and Billingham based CF Fertilisers, expect production at their plant to re-start on Monday. Both companies produce carbon dioxide as a by-product of their respective processes.

The news that the CF Fertilisers plant is coming back on stream is particularly significant, as it produces 340,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. The gas is supplied to Praxair, a major distributor of food-grade carbon dioxide and dry ice to food and drink firms around the country.

The shortages of CO2 have come at a time of high demand, prompted by the continuing hot weather and the football World Cup, leaving some businesses short of stock. Pubs and retailers are therefore keeping their fingers crossed for a return to normal by the end of next week.

There have been some restrictions in place, but the biggest impact of the shortage appears to have been in meat processing, with producers warning that some production lines had been suspended. This was because there was not sufficient CO2 available for packing. (The gas is used to help preserve fresh meat in sealed packs.)

So far as the licensed trade is concerned there were shortages of certain brands, and wholesaler Bookers, have been limiting customers to a maximum of 10 cases of beer. In addition, a small number of JD Wetherspoon pubs do not have John Smiths Smooth or Strongbow cider available on draught, (no great loss there!); although the company anticipates things will return to normal early next week.

On a personal level, I did notice on Friday evening that shelves in the beer aisle, of our local ASDA, had been stripped bare, but over the weekend, both Sainsbury's and Waitrose seemed well-stocked, beer-wise.

So like all these things, a storm in a tea cup, or should that be beer glass? It's also the start of the "silly season" as far as newspaper editors are concerned, so expect more along these lines.

The British Guild of Beer Writers AGM 2018

Last Wednesday evening I took the train up to London, in order to attend the Annual General Meeting of the British Guild of Beer Writers. This was the third trip I’ve made to the capital in the space of the past two weeks, but much like buses, things often come in threes.

Wednesday evening's AGM was another number three, as it was the third such meeting I have attended, since joining the Guild in the summer of 2015. It’s no surprise that meetings of an organisation for people who write about beer, should take place in a pub, and this year’s venue was the Bishop’s Finger, a Shepherd Neame pub in West Smithfield, just a stone’s throw away from the famous Smithfield Meat Market.

I had a virtually seamless journey up from Tonbridge, courtesy of the enhanced Thameslink service. Just a simple platform change at London Bridge station, now fully operational after years of re-building and re-modelling, and I was hopping onto a sleek new 12 coach,  Thameslink train.

I must say I am really impressed by the investment that has gone into the Thameslink project, and the fact it now offers speedy travel, without having to change trains, across central London for those of us who live in the south. For example, my train, which had come from Brighton, was bound for Bedford, and I understand there are also through services to Cambridge.

I wasn't going that far, as I alighted just three stops later at Farringdon. From there it was a five minute walk to the pub. My route took me through the splendour of the Victorian buildings which make up Smithfield Market, and as I walked under the ornate,  cast-iron canopy, lorries were parking up ready to deliver their meat for the early morning trade.

I think I am correct in saying that the Bishop’s Finger was the first pub which Shepherd Neame owned in London, and for many years it represented the Kent brewery's sole presence in the nation’s capital. It’s probably getting on for 40 years since I last set foot inside the pub, but as our meeting was held in an upstairs room, I didn’t see that much of it. Downstairs there was just one open plan bar, although I’m pretty certain that back in the 70’s, the Bishop’s Finger had two bars.

The British Guild of Beer Writers was formed in 1988 to help spread the word about beers, brewing and pubs. It’s members include the cream of the country’s beer media experts – be they journalists, authors (writers or bloggers), producers, photographers, illustrators or PR people.

The Guild’s wish is for the public to be given every opportunity to learn about beer at first hand from its members, and for the public to be able to read, listen and view how beer is flourishing in Britain today. Supporters of the Guild include brewers, pub companies, and many suppliers associated with the brewing trade.

I was admitted to the Guild, as a full member, back in 2015. I qualified for membership by virtue of having written this blog (at the time), for seven years, and also for having edited, as well as written most of the copy for, two magazines/newsletters, published by local CAMRA branches.

I am proud to be a member, and although I am in illustrious company, I have found everyone I have met so far, to be friendly, engaging and helpful. You can check out the Guild’s many members here, should you wish.

I made my way upstairs, where the 30 or so members present were squeezed into the pub's function room. Fortunately the room had its own bar, and with a choice of Spitfire and Whitstable Bay Pale on hand-pump, and Five Grain Lager on keg, we were unlikely to go thirsty. There was also selection of bottles, chilling away in the fridge. Chilled beer was certainly needed as it was a very warm evening outside, although the rather fierce air-conditioning certainly kept things cool in the room.

The proceedings stuck to the usual AGM format of reports from the various officers, followed by an election for four places on the board. I say board, because a couple of years ago, the Guild changed its status from that of a members club, to that of a company. This was done primarily to place things on a firmer financial footing.

It was also time to say goodbye to Guild Chariman, Tim Hampson who was stepping down  after 12 years in the role. Addressing the assembled members, Tim reflected on his years as chairman.  “The Guild has moved from being a club to a more professional organisation,” he said. “When I took on the role, my priority was to put the Guild on a more stable financial footing and I’m delighted that, thanks to our Treasurer Paul Nunny, we have now achieved that.  This allows us to offer far more to our members  in the way of seminars, events and training.”

He continued, “I am especially proud of our Annual Awards and Dinner, which has become one of the highlights of the drinks industry calendar.”

Members extended their heartfelt thanks to Tim for his unstinting dedication to the Guild, which during his tenure has been transformed into the thriving organisation it is today.  The Guild’s individual membership has passed 300 for the first time, thanks in large part to membership secretary Matthew Curtis.

Former Secretary of the Guild and current Beer Writer of the Year, Adrian Tierney-Jones spoke fondly about the decade he worked alongside Tim Hampson, before presenting him with a bottle of Bass King’s Ale 1902 and an engraved tankard on behalf of the Guild.

In addition to Tim, three other directors stood down from the Guild Board at the meeting and elections were held. It was particularly encouraging to see that three of the four new directors are women, especially as they will be bringing some new ideas to the Guild.

Once the meeting had finished, members tucked into a buffet which went well with the beer. There was just the right amount of food, and the same applied to the beer. With work the next morning, I restricted myself  to three pints; two of Whitstable Bay and one of Five Grain.

It was a highly positive meeting and it was good to catch up with a few familiar faces from past Guild events and also a couple of past European Beer Bloggers' Conferences. I left around 9.30pm, retracing my footsteps back to Farringdon and then my rail journey back to Kent.

After the heat of the city it was rather chilly when I stepped off the train at Tonbridge, but a brisk walk home soon warmed me up.

Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference 2018,

Regular readers will recall the posts I wrote about the European Beer Bloggers & Writers Conferences. These events were held annually, in a different European city each year, and while they lasted were great fun. They drew together a diverse group of like-minded souls, all of whom write or blog, either as a hobby, or for a living.

I attended three conferences in total; the first one being in Dublin, back in 2014, and the last in Amsterdam, in 2016. The one in between took place in Brussels. The Amsterdam conference was the last “European” event, and for me was a particularly sad occasion,  as I really used to look forward to meeting up with the new beer-loving friends I had made.

The conferences were organised by Zephyr Adventures; an American-based travel company which also operates events in the food, wine, beer, and fitness industries. The European Conferences were actually a spin-off of the Beer Bloggers & Writers Conferences, which take place annually in North America. The American conferences typically attract around 150 attendees from throughout North America, and sometimes beyond, but because the European events only attracted around half that number, they were not financially viable, and the event was dropped in 2016.

The first conference was held in Boulder, Colorado in 2010, and since then the event has travelled to major cities throughout the USA. The conferences provide the opportunity for participants to learn about different beers and breweries, to taste and enjoy these beers, and also to network (hate that word!), with like-minded people.

This year’s  Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference  will take place in Loudoun County, just outside Washington DC. It will be the ninth such conference. There were a number of reasons why the organisers chose this location:

Loudoun County contains Dulles Airport, one of two major airports for the Washington DC region, making the conference easy to access.

Loudoun is considered Washington’s “wine country” with 42 wineries in the county. More to the point, the county also now boasts 22 breweries and is fast becoming the playground for the capital’s beer connoisseurs. 

Despite its proximity to the US capital, Loudoun County is described as beautiful, with many attractive rural areas, which participants will be able to visit, as part of the conference on two dinner excursions. The conference will also include a Loudoun County beer tasting event.

As with the European conferences, there are a number of pre and post-conference excursions. The post-conference excursion to Richmond, Virginia is the one I’m particularly interested in; given the city’s history and its role as the capital of the Confederacy during the American civil war. As someone who had a childhood interest in that rather bloody conflict, visiting Richmond will be a particularly special moment.

I’ve already booked my place, and have almost  finalised my travel plans. I have a sister living in the US, and after the conference I will be travelling north-west, by train, to spend some time with her and her family, in the small Ohio town where they live.

The conference is now just over six weeks away, so excitement is mounting. As I’m sure you can imagine, I’m really looking forward to it, especially as it affords the chance to get to know the thriving beer scene in north-west Virginia. I’m certain too that my American brother-in-law will have some beery delights lined up for me when I travel up to Ohio, to join him and my sister.

For more details of the Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference 2018, please click on the link below.

 https://beerbloggersconference.org/about/

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier - Part Two

In the first half of this article, I recounted my first experiences of Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier; the most intensely smoked of all the Rauchbiers produced in the Franconian town of Bamberg. I went on to promise that I would describe my first visit to this  charming, Baroque city, and how I got to enjoy a few glasses of Schlenkerla Rauchbier in the world famous Schlenkerla Tavern.

The opportunity to visit Bamberg came in late November 2007, when I spotted an ad in one of the local free newspapers. It referred to a coach  trip to a couple of German Christmas Markets, the main one of which was Nuremberg. A morning visit to the Christmas Market in Bamberg was also mentioned, and that was what really grabbed my attention.

The trip was a four day affair, with two days in Germany, plus a day either side to travel there and back. Included was three day's accommodation at a family run hotel, in a small north Bavarian village. The company organising the trip was called Travelscope - more about them later.

I was definitely interested, so went ahead and booked my place - I think it was by phone, rather than online, but that's somewhat immaterial. As is often the case with these sorts of coach trips, the company offered an overnight stay, followed by an early morning pick-up from a hotel, en route. In this case it was a Holiday Inn, just outside Ashford, so it was from there at 4.30 in the morning, that we set off, bound for northern Bavaria.

We crossed the Channel by sea; my favourite means when not in a hurry, as you can't beat a ferry trip, especially when you can dive into the restaurant and grab a Full English, after you've stood on the rear deck watching the White Cliffs slowly receding behind you.

I wasn't so impressed with the rest of the journey, especially after becoming stuck in heavy traffic on the section of the Autobahn around Frankfurt airport. The journey back by coach from former Czechoslovakia, touched on in my previous post, was extremely tiring, and I vowed at the time that I wouldn't undertake such a lengthy coach trip again. But here I was, sat on  coach again, willing the traffic to ease so that our driver could put his foot down and speed us towards our destination.

We were several hours late in reaching our hotel, but as the tour rep had phoned ahead to inform them of our delay, there was a nice hot and very welcoming meal waiting for us when we eventually arrived. After the meal, I sat in the bar with some of my fellow passengers, getting to know them whilst enjoying a few beers; Maisel Bräu from Bamberg, now sadly defunct.

I was up early the next morning for breakfast, having been woken by the bells from the nearby church clock. I wasn't the first down though, that honour went to the Yorkshire contingent, who made up a sizeable portion of the party. Having eaten their breakfast, they were busy making up rolls to eat "on t' bus." No comment!

After breakfast we boarded the coach and headed off towards Bamberg. My excitement grew as we drew closer to the city, and when the driver dropped us off on the banks of the River Regnitz, I made a beeline straight into the Altstadt, or old city. It was a bitterly cold, early December day, so I hurriedly made my way through the narrow streets of the old town in order to find my way to the Schlenkerla Tavern.

I ended up slightly lost, finding myself at the cathedral instead, so I made my way back down towards the river, bumping into a couple of Schlenkerla brewery workers along the way. They pointed me in the right direction and before long, I found myself passing through the doorway of the world famous old pub, which is the home of Schlenkerla beer.

I noticed a couple of customers sitting in the lobby, and as there were a number of spare tables, I decided to join them. I discovered that this part of the rambling old pub was self-service; something which is quite unusual in Germany; and certainly indoors. I made my way to the serving hatch and ordered myself a Seidla (a thin-walled glass in the local dialect), of Rauchbier, noticing that it was dispensed direct from a wooden cask behind the bar.

Almost coal-black in colour, and topped with a thick foamy head, this was my first experience of  Schlenkerla Rauchbier, and it did not disappoint. The gravity dispense method meant there was no extraneous gas present; the result being a rich smooth beer with an intense smokiness, both in the aroma and in the taste, underlying the whole thing. In short it was delicious.

I sat there savouring my beer whilst soaking up the atmosphere of the centuries old pub, feeling a deep-seated sense of contentment and relishing the thought that I had finally made it to Schlenkerla. My idyll was soon shattered when three, well-dressed, middle-aged women came bursting in through the door and started making themselves at home,

They ordered themselves a beer each, before unpacking some of their shopping. Their purchases consisted of a bag of bread rolls, plus some slices of ham and without further ado they started preparing some ham rolls for their lunch. I was gob-smacked as I knew the pub served food, but here were these rather forceful ladies quite blatantly stuffing their faces with food they had bought elsewhere.

It's probably quite widely known that many beer gardens in Bavaria allow customers to bring along their own food, as long as they purchase their beer there, but we are talking about outdoor establishments during the summer months, rather than the inside of a traditional old pub in the middle of winter. No-one batted an eyelid though, and when one of the waiters came along to collect the empty glasses, the ladies ended up giving him some stick over something or other.

By this time I was on my second Seidla and content to let what was happening, a few feet away, wash over me. This was when another customer walked in and ordered himself a beer. He too got some grief from the three women, who were also on their second beer by this time. I could almost sense the fear in his eyes as he looked for an escape route, so I beckoned him over to come and join me.

There was a visible look of relief about him as he introduced himself and sat down. It turned out he was from Coburg, a town in the far north of Bavaria. He was quite a regular visitor to Bamberg, and was in the city on business that day. Stopping off at the  old tavern, for a glass or two of  famous beer was a regular feature of his visits, although i don't think he'd encountered the three weird sisters of Bamberg before.

We got chatting, and as soon as he learned I was from England, he mentioned the British Royal Family and their connections to his hometown. Coburg of course, was the birthplace of Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert and until King George V changed it in 1917, the  royal family's name had been Saxe-Coburg Gotha. He said that I ought to visit Coburg, something I have subsequently done.

Time was ticking on, and the coach was due to depart at 1pm. I had time for one last beer, going this time for a glass of the stronger, seasonal Bockbier. It was basically a stronger version of the standard Märzen Bier, and whilst it was good, I still preferred the normal, everyday beer.

I bade farewell to my new found friend from Coburg, promising that I would visit his hometown as soon as time allowed. Before leaving, I made my way to the rear of the old tavern, where there is an "off-sales" department. I purchased a 5 litre mini-keg of  Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, along with a carry-out case of six bottles. This stash would see me through Christmas that year!

With my arms practically dropping off, I made it back to the coach on time. Most of my fellow travellers had visited the Christmas Market,  so I think they were quite taken aback when they saw me turn up with armfuls of beer. They obviously didn't know about the pleasures of Bamberg's most famous product, but as we were leaving it wasn't really the time to enlighten them.

As I finish writing this piece, I am enjoying a glass of Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier; one of the bottles I brought back from my most recent trip. I have been to Bamberg on several occasions in between May's trip and that first visit back eleven years ago, and on each occasion I have called in at the Schlenkerla Tavern at least once.

A few years ago I remember reading comments that Schlenkerla Rauchbier had become lees distinct; dumbded down slightly in order to broaden its appeal. Drinking this beer now, and thinking back to my most recent visit to Bamberg, I can categorically state this is not true. The beer is as good and as distinctive as it's ever been, and if you want to experience this at first-hand, I strongly recommend you book yourself a trip to Bamberg, and spend a session or two in its most famous pub.

Footnote: I'd been home from that first trip for less than a week, when the shock news broke that Travelscope had ceased trading and gone into administration. I'd had a lucky escape as two hundred people lost their jobs and 45,000 people saw their holiday plans cancelled.

You can read the full story here.