In search of good beer

Regular blogger The Pub Curmudgeon aka Mudge,  posted an excellent piece about the joys of drinking in the 1970's; a time when it was possible to tell whereabouts one was in the country, by the local beer on offer.

He describes "a patchwork of independent breweries the length and breadth of the country, ranging from regional giants such as Vaux and Wolverhampton & Dudley to tiny firms like Bathams and Burts. Each had its own territory, its own distinctive beers and very often its own style of pub. It was a lesson in geography, with strongholds, heartlands and outposts."

Now that is a situation I not only remember very well, but also empathise with strongly, and I stated as much by a comment on that particular post. Mudge certainly managed to capture the sheer joy of travelling around the country, and the sense of anticipation which went with visiting certain towns, or areas, knowing that the beers you were going to drink weren’t available anywhere else. This made travelling a fulfilling and pleasant experience, but also made the destination much more rewarding and enjoyable.

Basically providing you knew your beers, you knew where you were in the country. As a beer lover, you also knew which parts of the kingdom would offer the best choice, or the most distinctive beers, and which areas to avoid.

For example the Greater Manchester conurbation could boast one of the best selections of beer anywhere in the country, as there were around half a dozen independent brewers operating in the region, alongside a couple of national breweries which also turned out a decent drop of beer.

Contrast this with the county of Norfolk, where a series of takeovers and mergers had left most of the county's pubs in the grip of one large brewer; the infamous Watney Mann. Watney's, of course, had abandoned cask beer altogether and, as early beer campaigner Richard Boston so eloquently put it, "had placed all their kegs in one basket." If you didn't like cold, weak, fizzy and characterless beer and lived in Norfolk, you were out of luck.

Obviously things have changed over the past half century, and good beer is not only far more widely available, but comes in a myriad of different types, styles and strengths. Beer Agencies - companies that distributed a variety of different beers, from all over the country, coupled with the parallel rise of the “beer exhibition”  pubs, which served these beers meant that in many cases punters could drink beers from the length and breadth of the British Isles, just by working their way along the bar!

Whilst many drinkers welcomed this vastly increased choice, for drinkers like myself it took much of the fun and excitement out of travelling around the country. Gone were the joys of a visit to Dorset, where the delights of Eldridge Pope, Hall & Woodhouse and Palmers awaited the thirsty drinker, or pitching up in rural Lincolnshire to enjoy a few pints of Bateman's.

A weekend in Oxford meant being able to sup the much missed Morrells beers, whilst a little further back along the Thames Valley, saw one in Henley-on-Thames, where the incomparable Brakspears Ales were available, in some of the most unspoilt and picturesque pubs imaginable.

One year, the previous Mrs Bailey and I took a holiday in the Cotswolds, and based ourselves near to Stow-in-the- Wold, with the purpose of visiting and drinking in as many Donnington pubs as possible.

Even more memorable were the forays we made, by bicycle, from south London, into Surrey where there was a handful of pubs belonging to legendary Horsham brewers, King & Barnes. Their Horsham PA, pale in colour, low in strength, but packed full of flavour and crowned with a flowery hoppiness, made the effort of all that pedal-pushing worthwhile.

Further afield, a trip into the area of East Sussex, centred on Lewes, meant the chance of enjoying the delectable and, in my view the still unbeatable, Harvey's Prize Sussex Ales. Another area of interest to the beer drinker was Suffolk, where beers from Adnam's, Greene King and Tolly Cobbold were widely available.

Whilst Tolly Cobbold have gone to that great brewery graveyard in the sky, Adnam's and Greene King beers are now nationally available, and the same has happened to other well-regarded brewers, such as Timothy Taylor's and Shepherd Neame, to name just a couple.

At least these companies are still independent and still brewing, in the main, good beer, unlike Boddingtons, the iconic beer from Manchester, which was bought up by a large brewer (Whitbread), turned into a national brand, dumbded down and bastardised, before suffering the ultimate indignity of seeing its brewery and original home closed and razed to the ground.

Slowly, but surely, the uniqueness that characterised the British beer scene has been eroded, and whilst there has been an unprecedented rise in the numbers of new brewers entering the market, producing some outstanding beers (as well as rather too many mediocre ones),  the decline in the numbers of independent family brewers, coupled with the rise of voracious pub owning companies has made pub-going a real lottery for many drinkers.

Whilst the potential choice of beers available to today's drinker would seem unimaginable to one from 40 years ago, much of this choice is random in its distribution and often haphazard in nature. Like Pub Curmudgeon, I look back to the years of mid 1970’s, with a real fondness. Today too much choice really does mean less, and I feel we have definitely lost something which is both unique and rather precious.

The Dog Days of Summer

Well it’s certainly been the hottest and the driest summer we’ve had for many a long year, and it looks as though it’s set to continue for a while yet. It’s also been a rather strange summer; neither here nor there, as Bill Bryson so eloquently put it.

The strange feeling to the summer began at the beginning of June, following the sudden and totally unexpected death of our company General Manager. It’s worrying when someone who’s younger, fitter and considerably slimmer than yourself collapses suddenly and dies; especially when it was without any warning.

We’ve been rather in limbo since then, having lost a well-regarded colleague who was also a generally all-round, good bloke, who cared passionately about the company and the people who work there. For the moment we find ourselves somewhat rudderless, with no-one to pilot the ship through increasingly rocky waters, but the real tragedy is that Barry’s wife and children have lost a loving husband and father, who was looking forward to retirement in a few years time.

Still the show must go on, as Freddy Mercury sang, and we’ve had two senior people over from our parent company in Japan, not just for moral support, but to make sure the company stays on track. Our order book is at a record high, which kind of brings its own problems, but these are nice problems to have, and I’m sure that by pulling together we’ll succeed in meeting our customers’ expectations.

On the home front, Mrs PBT’s continues to improve and is busy planning a “stay-cation” for us later in the year. Regular readers will know that I’m off to America next month – in fact in just over a fortnight’s time, so I’ve been pretty busy planning the trip, and booking flights and accommodation.

The fact that I’ll be away for a fortnight, has meant I’m a little reluctant to eat further into my annual leave entitlement. There’s been quite a bit occurring on the local beer front recently, culminating in a trip which a number of my friends made on Friday to Canterbury, for the Kent Beer Festival. I gave this a miss, for the above reason, but there's also not been time for walking a few more sections of the North Down’s Way. Fortunately the high temperatures have not been conducive to long-distance walking, so I don’t feel as if I've missed out on too much.

Last weekend saw licensees Fran and Richard, celebrating their first year at the Greyhound, Charcott; an event they marked with a mini-beer festival. That unfortunately clashed with a friend’s 80^th Birthday party, which had a theme based on characters from the Beano. Eddie was born in 1938, which was the year the legendary comic first hit the news-stands, so all the guests were asked to dress up as characters who have featured in the comic.

I have to say, there were a few too many Dennis the Menaces,  but Mrs PBT’s went along as Minnie the Minx and yours truly appeared as Lord Snooty. A good time was had by all, with copious quantities of drink consumed along with  just the right amount of food to soak it all up.

Last Monday evening, I attended my local CAMRA branch’s business meeting, which was held at the recently opened Nelson Arms, in Tonbridge. We had a turn-out of 14, which was something of a record, and whilst the meeting did drag on a bit, it was good to catch up afterwards with friends I hadn’t seen for a while. 

The beer too was good, with the Young’s London Gold and Whitstable East India Pale in fine form. A beer which was well worth finishing up on was “4 Hop Men of the Apocalypse,” a strong and well-hopped IPA from Totally Brewed.

On Friday a colleague and  I called in for a lunchtime drink at the Greyhound. Having seen some of the punters enjoying a nice cool, tall and refreshing glass of Hofmeister, I decided to forgo the cask and grab a glass myself. It was good, and streets away from the brand with the same name that was flaunted about by Courage, back in the 80’s, and promoted by a “Jack-the-lad,” bear character, called George.

“For great lager, follow the bear,”  was the slogan at the time, but the re-launched and totally re-vamped Hofmeister is now a beer worthy of serious attention. Produced at an un-named brewery in Bavaria, do give this beer a try if you see it on sale. It is certainly going down a storm at the Greyhound.

The pub itself was packed with both drinkers and diners, and it is so good to see the place thriving under its current owners. It demonstrates just how important the owners and the people behind the bar are to the success, or other wise of a pub.

Yesterday evening, my wife and I were guests at yet another party; a summer one this time. The party took place at the Carpenter’s Arms, Three Elm Lane, on the outskirts of Tonbridge. It’s an annual event thrown by the boss of a building  firm who Eileen does work for, as a means of saying thank-you to the loyal and hard-working employees.

 

This was the third year running that we’ve been to this event, and I think it was also one of the best. As is previous years we sat out on the patio, at the front of the pub enjoying some excellent buffet finger food - runny Scotch Eggs, miniature beef burgers, home-made sausage rolls and a rather nice asparagus quiche. There was an open bar, and this time people were far more sensible, and in the main didn’t take advantage. Certainly there were far fewer virtually full pints, or barely tasted glasses of wine left abandoned on the tables at the end of the evening.

The beer selection was also good, with some excellent pints of Dark Star Hophead (3.0 NBS) and Harvey’s Sussex (4.0 NBSS). The Carpenters was tastefully renovated in a contemporary style, several years ago, and is now a popular destination for Tonbridge people wanting a touch of the rural life, without having to drive too far from the town centre. (There is even a bus service which operates during the day).

So the “dog days” continue on towards August, with no sign of a break in the hot weather and no sign of sense prevailing in UK politics either. The strangeness and the uncertainty from the "increasingly rocky waters", I referred to earlier, look set to continue for quite a while yet!

By train and plane across the USA

The other night I made the final booking for my forthcoming trip to the United States, and the travel arrangements are now complete. It's been a little complicated at times and I've had to make a few changes, but now with the last of five flights and two train journeys, plus hotels in two different locations booked, I can sit back and do the interesting stuff - like searching out the best bars and breweries where I can enjoy a few beers.

I won't bore people with all the details, but basically I'm flying into Washington Dulles, and then spending three nights in nearby Loudon County, Virginia, at the hotel which is hosting this year's Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference.

The conference, of course is one of two reasons for my trip; the second being spending a few days with my sister and her husband at their home in a small Ohio town to the south-west of Cleveland.

Once the conference has finished, I've got to travel between the two locations, but before doing so I will be heading south-east from Loudon for a brief visit to Richmond, on the BBW Post-Conference trip. This will be a whistle-stop tour of some of Richmond's finest breweries and bars.

I mentioned before that Richmond was the Confederate State Capital during the American Civil War, but I don't think we'll be seeing much from those times, as the city was razed to the ground by the victorious Union forces in the closing days of the conflict. I'm certain though, that in the intervening 153 years, Richmond will have had plenty of time to rise from the ashes, reinvent itself, and get brewing some amazing beers.

CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The following morning it's time to let the train to take the strain, as I'll be heading back to Washington on the first leg of a two stage journey, which will take me all the way to Chicago. So it's a three hour train ride into central Washington and then a 17 hour journey to Chicago, on the Amtrak service known as the "Capitol Limited."

CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I've booked a "roomette" for this stage of the journey, as the train will be travelling through the night, but there's a further civil war connection en route. From Washington the rail line follows the valley of the Potomac River, and passes through the historic settlement of Harper's Ferry; best known as the location of John Brown's raid on the federal armoury at Harpers Ferry.

The raid took place in 1859, and Brown's objective was to start an armed insurrection amongst local slaves. The skirmish certainly escalated tensions and alarmed many of Virginia's slave owners, and was one of the contributory factors which led to the secession, a year later, of the Southern States from the Union; an event which led directly to the  start of the American Civil War.

The rail-line then follows a winding route up through West Virginia and into Maryland, before crossing into Pennsylvania. The train reaches Pittsburgh at around midnight, and I had considered leaving the train and spending the night there, before taking a Greyhound bus to my sister's the following morning. Amtrak's poor time-keeping record (more on that later), plus the hassle of checking into a hotel in the early hours of the morning, persuaded me it was best to stay on the train, and sleep the night away in the comfort of my roomette.

The following morning we will be journeying through Ohio and up towards Cleveland. I could have asked my sister to meet me there, but as our arrival would be around 2am, it didn't really seem fair to ask her and, as I've said already, I fancy a decent night's sleep.

The train is due in to Chicago at 8:45, having travelled from Ohio, across the state of Indiana and into Illinois. In theory this should have left ample time for me to walk across to the Greyhound bus station and take the 11:15 service to Elyria; the nearest large town to my sister's place. I mentioned earlier though about Amtrak's poor time-keeping, and this somewhat threw a spanner into the works.

A friend of mine, who has travelled extensively all over the US by rail, told me that it is not unusual for delays of several hours to Amtrak services. I did some checking of my own and discovered this was indeed the case. The delays are due to the fact that Amtrak do not own any of the tracks their trains travel over. Several large railroad companies own the majority of America's remaining rail routes, and freight, rather than passengers, is their main concern.

Anyone who has travelled through America cannot failed to have been mesmerised by the sight of some of the incredibly-long freight trains, hauled by two or sometimes even three powerful locomotives as they pass by. On a still evening, you can hear them from my sister's house, as they emit their ghostly whistles whilst rumbling onwards through the night.

Although they are not supposed to, the railroad companies will normally give priority to these massive freight trains; after all they are their bread and butter and the fees they collect from Amtrak pale into insignificance compared to a lucrative shipment of coal, timber, iron ore etc. Amtrak's own site indicated that delays of up to three hours are not uncommon on the southern section between Washington and Pittsburgh, whilst from Pittsburgh to Chicago delays of up to 90 minutes may be experienced.

I decided to change my plans, swapping road transport for air, and booked a flight of just one hour 20 minutes back to Cleveland. It was considerably more expensive than what Greyhound would have charged me, but it not only gave me a lot more "slack" time to play with at Chicago, it also saved me a bus journey of almost nine hours!

So after two days and one night's travelling, I will have five and half days to spend with my sister and her husband. I know my brother-in-law has booked a few days off work, and if my last visit, nearly 10 years ago, is anything to go by, there will be quite a lot of beer drinking involved.

My brother-in-law developed a liking for decent beer during his 13 year deployment with the USAF at Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk. Returning to the states, with my sister in tow, some 20 years or so ago, he managed to track down plenty of interesting local beer, and I imagine what was a burgeoning brewing scene back in 2008, will have changed out of all recognition.

Cleveland-based, Great Lakes Brewing are now one of the major players locally, but there are plenty of others. One place I know we will be visiting, is a place called the Brew Kettle. This establishment, in the suburbs of Cleveland, acts as a place where enthusiasts can visit in order to brew their own beer, as well as enjoying a few of the multitude of different ales on tap at the Brew-Kettle bar and  restaurant.

The good news is that a branch of the Brew Kettle has opened in the town, where my sister and her family reside. We can now just stroll down the road, and all enjoy a few excellent local beers, without any of us having to moderate their consumption for the drive back.

I've left the "there and back" part of the trip until last, but it's no less interesting. I'll be flying with Icelandair, who operate out of Gatwick, and fly to both Washington Dulles and Cleveland, via Reykjavik. On the outward journey it's significantly cheaper for me to break my journey, and when I say "significantly," I mean virtually half-price!

I'll therefore spending a night and a morning in the Icelandic capital - not the cheapest place for a beer, but another destination to cross off the list.

A quick final word about the photos. Most were taken on my previous visit to America, back in 2008,and several of them relate to places described in the narrative.

A touch of Spargel

I mentioned in my post on Würzburg, about how much I enjoyed a plate of white asparagus at the beer garden of Würzburger Hofbräu. Served with hollandaise sauce and new potatoes, it really was a dish fit for a king. That was not my first experience of the seasonal vegetable the Germans call Spargel; that happened three years previously, when I was staying in Nuremberg for the Fränkisches Bierfest. 

Whilst at the festival, I met up with ex-pat American and local beer enthusiast, Erlangernick Nick. Nick acted as my guide to the best beers at the festival, as with close on 40 breweries with stands there, some were bound to be better than others. It was therefore really good to be guided by someone with both knowledge and experience of the beer scene in that part of southern Germany.

I really enjoyed Nick’s company. He encouraged me to converse with him in German, so this  provided a good opportunity to practise both my listening and conversational skills. 

The festival itself was great fun and there were lots of interesting beers to try, but it did get very busy and rather crowded; and this was on the Friday afternoon! Saturday would no doubt prove even busier, so at Nicks ’s suggestion we decided it would be nice to get out of the city and experience some of the Franconian countryside.

The following day we met up at Roppelt’s Keller, in the tiny village of Stiebarlimbach, to the north-west of Forchheim. Nick had arrived by car, and would therefore not be drinking much, but explained his proposal to drive the two of us around a few Kellers in the area. There were a couple he wanted to check out, and he thought I would also like to visit some which were well off the beaten track.

Too right; I jumped at the chance, so after I had finished my beer, we set off in his car in order to sample a few of Franconia’s finest breweries and Kellers. Driving through the unspoilt countryside of the Steigerwald, in search of good local beer, with some vintage Yes playing on the car stereo, made me think “life doesn’t get much better than this,” and when we arrived at our first port of call I was right.

This first stop was the tiny village of Adelsdorf-Aisch; set on a hill overlooking the River Aisch, and its surrounding meadows. On the edge of the village, and overlooking the flatlands is the Brauerei & Gasthaus Rittmayer Aisch. Nick  informed me that there are three breweries in the region, all sharing the Rittmayer name, but the one in Aisch is the smallest. Just up from the pub and the brewery was the village church, making up that classic combination of pub and church which is so common in English villages as well.

We both went for the Hausbrauer-Bier and to eat the obvious choice was the local white asparagus, known in German as Spargel. This was my first experience of Spargel, and wrapped in slices of ham and served with boiled potatoes, it was delicious. The beer was good too, and sitting there under the shade of the chestnut tree, against the backdrop of the pub, brewery and the splendid view was really as good as things can get, so in some ways it was a shame we had to move on.

That first experience of Spargel was memorable, as was the location plus the company, and I deliberately went into a lot more detail than was strictly necessary for this write up. A handful of fellow bloggers, who know Nick better than I do, will appreciate the reason for this, so I won’t elaborate further, but on the off-chance that he does accidentally stumble upon this piece, I want him to know that his friends in England, and I’m sure in Franconia too, are thinking of him. For my part, I would like Nick to know, just how much I enjoyed that memorable trip we took together three years ago, on that baking hot day in late May, around some of Franconia’s finest Bierkellers.

Returning now to Spargel, and a word or two of explanation. White asparagus is really no different than normal green asparagus, expect that it is grown underground in small mounds. This prevents photosynthesis from occurring, thereby keeping the stalks from turning green. The white variation has a slightly milder and sweeter flavour than green, although in a blind tasting, you would need to be a connoisseur to tell the two apart. 

Green asparagus is usually best when picked early, because it will become woody and quite tough. White asparagus, on the other hand, can be grown for a while and the thickness has no impact on the tenderness. However, white asparagus should always be peeled before cooking. I brought some white asparagus back from my recent trip to Bamberg, and whilst I did mention this tip to my wife, she obviously wasn’t listening, and our Spargel was quite chewy.

The Germans take the Spargel season very seriously, probably because, like in England, the crop is only available for a short period. This starts in May and runs through into June, and take a walk through any local fruit and vegetable market during this time,  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. It is estimated that 82,000 tons of Spargel are actually produced in Germany each year — which only meets around 60% of consumption needs. I understand the balance is imported from neighbouring countries, with France being the major exporter.

Asparagus thrives best in loose, sandy soil which is not too moist, but in theory can be grown on any soil that does not contain too many stones and is not waterlogged. Each region of Germany claims to grow the best spargel, but the states of Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony are the two most important asparagus areas. Further east,  the town of Beelitz, in the state of Brandenburg, is famed as the “AsparagusTown,” and even has a museum dedicated to Spargel.

As for me, whilst I have obviously enjoyed my encounters with White Asparagus in Germany, I still prefer the much more usual green version. I find it more tender and more subtle in taste, but this is probably down to familiarity, than anything else.

One final point, and just to muddy the waters even further, there is a much rarer purple variety of asparagus, but in order to appreciate the purple colour, it has to be eaten raw, as it turns green when cooked!

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.