Swale Ale THE FREE MAGAZINE OF SWALE CAMRA SWALE’S NEW MICROPUB

IN THIS ISSUE… A Micropub in ? Hop Festival Report Green Hops in Hidden Gems Oast Farm Visit Saloon, Snug, Bottle and Jug

AUTUMN/WINTER ISSUE 20131

THE ELEPHANT THE MALL, FAVERSHAM

Primary Business Addr ess Your Add ress Line 2 Your Add ress Line 3 Your Add ress Line 4

Phone: 555 - 555 -5555 Fax: 555 - 555 -5555 E-mail: s ome one@ exa mple.c om Freehouse Swale Camra pub of the year 2007, 08, 09, 10, 11,2012. EAST KENT PUB OF THE YEAR 2010

Excellent selection of real ales BEST FOR MILES.

01795 590157, ME13 8JN

2

There are now 17 in East Kent and several Swale more in the pipeline. To set one up is amazingly simple; find empty shop premises in an area which you Gets Micropub consider lacks choice for the real ale enthusiast; seek advice from other Micropub owners (perhaps start with the Butcher’s Arms, Herne ‘At Last’ www.micropub.co.uk) prepare your plans and provide information on the proposal and talk it he Paper Mill, 2 Charlotte Street, Milton through with the Local Planning Authority. Then T Regis opened on October 12th, proof that submit the planning application and sort out the the Micropub revolution has finally reached arrangements for obtaining the required licences Swale. Congratulations and a big welcome to for the sale of alcohol (personal and premises). Marianne and Harvey who will be running the Once you have planning approval start pub. Following best practice from other converting the shop into a Micropub. There is Micropubs in East Kent ‘The Paper Mill’ features no set layout and provided you have ensured bench seating around the walls, ensuring most there is a proper cooling system for the storage people face inwards, of , you are well and robust solid on the way. The end wooden block tables. result is the real ale So what is a drinker ends up with Micropub? A a place that provides Micropub is a pub real ale as its main without all the selling point and not overheads of the an also ran with traditional public everything else; while house. Usually just the Micropub one room for real ale landlord fulfils their and conversation to dream of running a be enjoyed by like- pub. While there are minded individuals, the inevitable costs, it together with a avoids the millstone of debt around the t e m p e r a t u r e Photo by Andrew Kitney controlled room for neck associated with the cask beer to be kept; somewhere for glass pub companies. Plus the Micropub owners washing and of course unisex toilet facilities. As choose their own hours of opening! the Micropub Association Micropubs are not to everyone's taste of (www.micropubassociation.co.uk) says ‘KIS KIS’: course and I along with many others still enjoy Keep it small keep it simple. Not a lover of real the surroundings of a traditional pub. CAMRA is beer? Well, most do stretch to selling a glass of about consumer choice. However when you wine, or real cider. However, absolutely no cannot get a well kept pint of beer, from one of food, other than a few snacks; no music; no the many small breweries, local or from far fruit machines; no pool tables and no lager or afield, at a reasonable price, then sometimes the spirits. Micropub is the only option. There are many The first Micropub opened in Herne, supposed ‘free houses’ that offer nothing other Kent in 2005 and following the Landlord Martyn than a regional or national bland brand. Well it Hillier’s presentation on the Micropub concept may be time for them to re-think because to the 2009 CAMRA AGM in Eastbourne, many competition is arriving! have taken up his advice and followed his [JW] business model to set up their own Micropub.

3

Swale Ale © Autumn/Winter 2013 Editorial

Published by Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale Ltd (CAMRA). elcome to the latest edition of Swale Ale. The W summer is now behind us and we can look Circulation: 1,000 forward to warming ourselves by a roaring fire in a cosy local with a pint or two of winter ale. This issue Editorial Committee and Contributors: is, as usual, packed with a wide variety of articles and Les Bailey, Derek Cole, Suzanne Collins, Christine Cryne, Mick Gall, reports alongside adverts for many of the fine real ale Gary Holness, Simon Ing, Paul Irving, in the area. We also report on the opening of Andrew Kitney, Keir Stanley, Jeff Swale’s first Micropub, The Paper Mill in Waller, Malcolm Winskill. .

Print Liaison: Les Bailey Advertising: Gary Holness

——————————————–—— Chairman’s Chat

All correspondence to: Les Bailey s the nights are now drawing in and the clocks 58 Wallers Road have gone back, the attention of the branch is Faversham A Kent now focused on one of our major tasks, the Good ME13 7PL Beer Guide. Over the coming months we will need to decide upon those pubs that will be considered and Email: [email protected] given a final survey to meet our allocation for the Telephone: 01795 538824 Good Beer Guide 2015. There are a few new ———————————————–— contenders but despite CAMRA national membership

Any opinions expressed within these of over 150,000 and Swale branch membership being pages are those of the individual higher than ever before, we still need your help. authors only and do not represent Any members who drink real ale can assist by those of CAMRA or any of its officials. providing information and scoring though the What Pub site (www.whatpub.com). Thanks for all your help The existence of this publication in a particular outlet does not imply an in anticipation of YOUR exciting pub news. Me? I am endorsement of it by Swale CAMRA . off to drink some lovely dark ales.

———————————————–— Simon Ing

Printed by: Trading Standards Abbey Print, Faversham

———————————————–—— If you believe that you have been treated unfairly in a local pub or bar you should contact your local trading standards Branch Details department. Trading Standards exist to ensure that Chairman: Simon Ing customers are treated fairly and neither cheated nor Secretary: Les Bailey mislead by traders. Social Secretary: Steve Bennion

Treasurer: Les Bailey The Trading Standards organisation in Swale is entitled ‘Environmental and Consumer Protection’ and can be

contacted on:

Telephone 01233 898825 Email [email protected]

4

side the company have purchased a prime outlet in Royal Tunbridge Wells, ‘The Royal Wells Shepherd Neame Hotel’ and its Beau Nash Tavern, making 26 acquisitions since 2008. There are also a number of significant refurbishments to other AGM prime sites. A few questions followed, one in The Shepherd The Shepherd Neame AGM was particular was about micro-breweries and their held on Friday18th October with shareholders effect on the company business. The answer ; gathered in St. Mary’s Church, Faversham. I yes, they are key competitors but the trend attended as a proxy for a friend. An overview towards cask ale is also good for business given by the Chairman Miles Templeman said overall. Another question about the overall Shepherd Neame had put in a solid performance reduction in beer drinking was responded to in difficult market conditions; growth in with agreement that the six pint session drinker turnover of 1.4%. So positive news. is now probably down to two pints, however, Of particular interest were the Business this reduction was being met by a move to and Board reorganisation. Business changes, increasing the ‘value’ of sales and also pubs being firstly, brought a phased exit of contract developed to cater for wider audiences. , to better utilise the plant capacity (I But, as to news of the Pilot Brewery and wrote down getting out of low margin trade). its different and varied brews: nothing. While Secondly, a ten year agreement with breweries such as Thwaites, Camerons and now ‘Kuehne+Nagel’ for distribution and even Greene King have identified a craft ale warehousing. How do they affect the real ale market and feature exciting new brews from drinker? Well in terms of real ale the contract their microplants, the Pilot Brewery remains brewing it doesn’t; as for distribution, it seems parked in the hangar waiting for the next op! the Waverley TBS beer agency collapse caused What Ho chaps stand down! problems and this is a way to ensure the [JW] products go out to market smoothly, and also reach into new areas covered by Kuehne+Nagel. The Board are reorganised into two Branch Diary divisions ‘Brewing and Brands’ and ‘Retail and Tenanted Pubs’. Interestingly the brands are Wednesday 13th November 2013 split into three categories Branch business meeting, 8pm ‘Heritage’ (connoisseurs), ‘Mainstream’ (regular The Three Hats, High Street, drinkers) and ‘Discovery/Craft’ (premium, world and craft beer markets). Heritage brands are Wednesday 11th December 2013 Bishop’s Finger, 1698 and new beers from old Business meeting, The Swan, , 8pm styles and recipes; Brilliant Ale, Double Stout th and IPA. Mainstream brands are Master Brew Saturday 14 December 2013 and Spitfire and the third category, well, decide Christmas pub crawl which one fits which heading; Sam Adams, Asahi Wednesday 8th January 2013 and….. Bay? Whitstable Bay draught Business meeting, The Elephant, Faversham brewed in the main brewery but no reference to Shepherd Neame on the pump clip. Must be Wednesday 12th February 2013 for the craft market then. Business meeting, The Red Lion, Badlesmere The other news was that the disposal of primarily wet led sales pubs is almost complete. Wednesday 12th March 2013 Quite a few old names have now disappeared Business meeting, The Bull, Newington (some 51 sold since 2008) and we still wait to hear the fate of The Mechanics. On the plus

5

THE BEAR Faversham

The Bear Inn, 3 Market Place, Faversham, Kent ME13 7AG, Tel 01795 532668

Chris & Marie Annand and staff welcome you to this historic 15th Century inn in the heart of Faversham.

Immaculately kept Shepherd Neame beers

Traditional home made lunches served every day

Join us for our popular Quiz Night held on the last Wednesday of every month

Find us on Facebook

6

was known as Oast Dodger. What was also different is that the beer was available in a lot Pub & Brewery more pubs. It is 4.5% and in pubs from 23rd September to 6th October. That’s not long, but News it should be on sale into the middle of October. LATE RED: This seasonal beer returned Shepherd Neame at the end of September for the whole winter WHITSTABLE BAY PALE ALE: This is a new period right round to March. It had been in the 3.9% cask beer that is now part of the permanent range until this year, when it permanent range. It is brewed with US Cascade dropped back to being a winter season beer and Styrian Goldings hops. The company is again. It’s a 4.5% ale made with Pale Ale and launching it under a new title “The Faversham Crystal Malts. The hops are East Kent Goldings Steam Brewery” which is a name they used in and Kent Cascades. Both of these are added the late 18th century. It is intended as an easy again right at the end of the process as the beer drinking beer and is not overly bitter, belying its is dry-hopped. golden colour. SAMUEL ADAMS BLONDE AMBITION: QUEEN COURT HARVEST This is a 4.5% pale ale designed for the summer, ALE: This 4.5% ale ran simultaneously with with a blend of English and American Cascade Goldings for a while. Unfortunately it came to hops, along with Target and First Gold, brewed the pubs some time after the in collaboration with the Boston intended launch date as it was Beer Company. It has staged a delayed by a late hop harvest come-back as you are likely to caused by the earlier variable come across it on sale in the pubs weather. It is dry-hopped with of major pub-owning companies. It hops from the National has medium bitterness with citrus Collection for which Shepherd notes in the body. It should be Neame are custodians at their Queen Court available from now right up to the Christmas farm in , near Faversham. period. I liked it very much and was impressed It is still intended to brew a special beer by the smooth finish. The main hop is Admiral for the Wetherspoon Autumn Beer Festival and from Kent and there is a hint of Cascade, also also to host a foreign brewer in Faversham for a grown around Faversham. This is a beer that further beer in the International series. could change a bit as each batch is brewed. This is because the green hops used will be the The branch Brewery Liaison Officer is Bob freshest at the time of picking, so could be of Thompson. any variety. It was available from 19th August to 18th September. Hopdaemon TALLYMAN’S SPECIAL: This seasonal The branch Brewery Liaison Officer is Howard beer was brewed for the Kent Green Hop Beer Gates. Fortnight. This is where around thirty participating Kentish breweries, each brews a Mad Cat beer using freshly-picked hops which have to be The brewery appears to be supplying a good added to the copper within number of pubs in East Kent with Platinum and twelve hours of them being Auburn Copper Ale both 4.2%. Their Jet Black harvested. Last year the vast Stout at 4.8% is in production and should be majority of the beers were available as we go to press. absolutely fabulous, I tried all twenty-four available. A change The branch Brewery Liaison Officer is Doris Munday. this year though, as Shepherd Neame’s offering was from the main plant rather than the pilot brewery as it was last year when it page 9 

7

CAMRA Kent Pub of the Year 2013

8

 page 7 been no pilot brews available. We look forward to these in the future. Pub News The Sun continues to sell a range of Shepherd Neame real ales including Master Brew and The Ship continues to serve three beers Spitfire. This pub regularly takes the seasonal including Master Brew, Adnams and a rotating beers and stocks a full range of bottled beers guest (recently including Old Diary). including the heritage ales.

East Church The Brents Tavern currently selling Wells and The Wheatsheaf at Warden Bay has been Young's Directors at £2.60 A PINT which to advertised for sale. our knowledge is the cheapest real ale in Faversham. Faversham There are lots of rumours that a new pub, Swan and Harlequin. In addition to the delicious possibly on the lines of a micro, is being planned Dark Star Hophead and APA, Mark has been in Preston Street, Faversham. Pre-planning selling Gadd’s beer instead of the Ruby Mild. discussions are understood to have been made These have included Seasider, No.3 and No.5 at with Swale Council regarding the former wet the still reasonable price of £2.70. fish shop, with an anticipated opening date before Christmas. An informed source said that Dargate the pub would make full use of the cellar The Dove. The tenancy of this pub has been put available, with a working beer engine(s) and may up for sale. The current tenants have moved to also stock wine, cider and in a deviation from the Anchor, Abbey Street, Faversham. the normal ‘Micropub concept’, possibly an unspecified single malt and a range of bottled European lagers/Belgium beers. The Carpenters tenancy currently up for sale.

The Phoenix Tavern. The Timothy Taylor Halfway Appreciation Society Christmas event with the The Heritage is a new Micropub planned to opportunity to have your picture taken both open at Halfway on the . The with Timothy Taylor and Father Christmas will pub will be taking the building that housed the be on 13th November. The Phoenix again old Post Office on Minster Road. Early thoughts guarantees that we will have snow this are that it will have a house beer by Westerham Christmas! and others as guests. The internal set-up will be a little different to other Micropubs in that there The Elephant. Jim is now back in the Elephant will not be a cold storage room due to space serving five excellent beers. Jim is now restrictions, so all the beers will be on stillage in advertising the beers in his cellar on the main room under cooling jackets. www.perfectpint.co.uk. However he still won’t tell us what's on next. The Three Tuns is holding a Christmas market The Chimney Boy. The tenancy on this on the 30th November 2013 including a range of Shepherd Neame house is currently up for sale. Christmas ales and ciders. Rumours are that Dave might be moving on to another Shepherd Neame pub elsewhere in Milton Regis Kent. The Three Hats. During cask ale week The Three Hats offered all real ales at £2.00 a pint to CAMRA members and signed up nine new The Bear continues to sell two real ales normally featuring Master Brew and a Shepherd Neame seasonal beer. Unfortunately there have page 11 

9

A pub for everyone !

The Swan & Harlequin at Faversham

Welcome to our traditional English pub. We offer real ales in two contrasting bars and we have eight en-suite bedrooms

Real ales £2.70 per pint, Seven days a week

Conduit Street, Faversham, Kent. ME13 7DF Tel: 01795 532341

www.swanandharlequin.co.uk

10

 page 9 The Fountain serves two Shepherd Neame beers and a range of bottled beers including the members as a consequence. Excellent heritage range. This pub has live music on campaigning from our Branch Pub of the Year. Friday nights.

Minster Old Oak East Street is closed and has been Harps Inn has been advertised for rent. sold. It stands bereft of any pub signs.

Newington The New Inn, , is rumoured to be on The Bull is now advertising the sale of beers the list for a refurbishment early in the New from Whitstable Brewery. Year.

Oad Street The Jenny Wren serves up to four beers from The Plough and Harrow has been advertised for the Marston’s range. sale. The Summoner is now serving up to four guest beers including those included in Wetherspoon Queen Phillippa. Boarded up at time of going to beer festivals. press. The White Horse has been advertised for sale. Old House at Home continues to serve up to three beers from the Enterprise range. Ypres Tavern has been advertised by owners Punch Taverns for tenancy. Tudor Inn and Blacksmiths Arms has now closed. The Plough. The new owners continue to sell a good selection of local real ales. In addition they Royal Hotel has been advertised for tenancy intend to vary the selection with interesting with plans for a refurbishment in the New Year. beers to match specific menus. The style is intended to have a contemporary edge but highlighting the traditional architecture Beer Festivals features including the bar counter and back bar. The refurbishment will also cover the function Wetherspoon Beer Festival rooms and toilets but will not change the hotel From 16th October 2013 for two weeks. facilities. Swan, Teynham Beer Festival The Red Lion continues to offer three beers 29st Nov – 1st Dec 2013 including local beer from Mad Cat Brewery. Three Tuns, Lower Halstow Christmas Fair with Sittingbourne Christmas ales and ciders The Billet regularly serves a guest beer – recent 30th November 2013 brews have included Skinner’s Betty Stogs along with Greene King IPA, Abbot and Speckled Hen. The 30th Pig's Ear Beer Festival, Round Chapel, Hackney, E5 0PU. 3rd - 7th December The Brickmakers Arms is likely to be replaced with houses and commercial units. 21st White Cliffs Festival of Winter Ales Maison Dieu (Town Hall), Biggin Street, , The Cherry Tree. Swale Council have approved CT16 1DL. Friday 7th February 2014 to the development of the site into retail and Saturday 8th February 2014 residential. Rumours are that Tesco is behind this development.

11

Kent Green Hop Beer Fortnight

or the second year running Kent brewers F enthusiastically embraced the idea of brewing with green hops and the event was opened to the public with a beer stall in the Dane John Gardens, as part of the Green hop beers on sale Photo by Andrew Kitney Food and Drink Festival. Hops are normally picked and then dried (hence the oast house is such a feature of this some brews were quite astringent; others area). Green hops are undried fresh hops used surprisingly sweet but all quite different. Also to brew beer within 12 hours of being picked. present was Dr Peter Darby of Wye Hops Ltd Hops lose approximately 80% of their liquid where the necessary research is carried out for content when dried and lose some of their oil the hop industry. He explained that ‘there was a flavours; so using them when green represents a cold spring, which gave a slow start to growth, ‘fresh’ challenge to the brewer but results in followed by minimal rainfall, so they didn’t catch special flavour characteristics. As with most up. The result is generally a lighter crop which harvests the crop differs each year, depending fill the frame work, however this resulted in a on the weather during the growing season. clean high quality crop with hardly any trace of This year the fortnight was launched at any disease and easy for the pickers to The Foundry Brew Pub in Canterbury and two separate’. Crops are variable however of the editorial team were fortunate to attend depending on the individual area’s micro- and taste some of the beer. A number of the 22 climate. Kent brewers involved were there to explain The green hop beers were made widely their brewing process and what particular hops available to the pub trade but if you missed out they had used. There were some very on tasting them make a note in your diary for interesting results experienced in our glasses, next year! [JW]

Kent green hop brewers toast the hop Photo by Jeff Waller

12

The Plough Inn Stalisfield, Faversham ME13 0HY

A friendly independently run pub restaurant in the picturesque Faversham area. Local beers, wines & ciders and a choice from the constantly changing selection of unique homemade dishes from our blackboard come as standard in our family-run country pub. Come and try from our selection of real ales from the local brewers in Kent.

www.theploughinnstalisfield.co.uk / 01795 890 256 /

[email protected]

13

when this part of the process is complete. Once dried, the hops are spread on the A Visit to floor of the cooling room adjacent to the drying room, then moved to the press for baling. Mockbeggar Farm Darren and Peter were involved in the moving of the dried hops, in a process known as ‘scuppering’, taken from the name of a large Oast House shovel-like tool called a ‘scup’. As the hops are scupped the outside of the pile is mixed towards the middle. This is to stop ‘come back’ which is recently had the great privilege of being the drawing in of moisture to the outside of the I shown around the Oast House at Mockbeggar Farm on the Lower Road between Teynham and Faversham. It was a real eye opener into the skill and dedication required in drying and pressing hops to the perfection required by brewers. Mockbeggar Farm fulfils this requirement superbly while still using a traditional method. During September hops are harvested from the farm’s nine hop gardens and taken to the huge barn for processing. Here the hops are stripped and separated from the bines and leaves and sent on conveyer belts to an area at the back of the kilns or drying rooms where they are put in sacks ready for drying. As John, the Head Drier, explained, six hop pile during the drying process (the drier hessian cloths are laid on the slatted floor of the hops of the middle helping to re-dry those from drying room and then up to 96 sacks of hops are the outer edges). If mixing isn’t done, one side of the hop pile will be heavier than the other and this will affect the weight of the bales. The press goes from the cooling room to a lower floor and consists of a large rectangular box and a weight – the structure is similar to a Dumb Waiter found in hotels. The hops are scupped until they are level with the top of the box, then the weight comes down and compresses the hops and depending on the variety of hop, this is done three or four times (Mockbeggar grows Goldings, Challenger and Cascade varieties). Before the final press a top sheet is laid on the hops which will make one side of the bale, precision being needed to avoid spread on the floor in 8 by 12 rows to be dried. a wonky bale being created – this is done just as Mockbeggar Farm has four drying rooms, each carefully at the bottom of the press on the producing approximately 21 bales of hops per lower floor. firing. There are two firings per day, with four Once the final press is made the box is drying rooms loaded in the morning and four in lifted up and the man on the lower floor, Aaron, the afternoon/evening. With the heat reaching swiftly and dextrously stitches up the sides to 160 degrees Fahrenheit for between 5 ½ to 7 ½ hours, John uses his skill and judgement deciding Page 17 

14

15

****SWALE CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2013****

Happy Christmas from all at The Three Hats Milton Regis

93 High Street, Milton Regis, Sittingbourne. Kent ME10 2AR

For all enquiries call Malcolm on 07764 842 478

16

 page 14 produce a perfect bale. Then he has to haul the bale of the press and weigh it (the weight can vary between 81kg – 94kg although the aim is for 87kg) and place it on a pallet. By the time this is done the next bale is waiting. Before being sent off to the brewers, three samples are taken from random bales. These are sent off to laboratories, brewers and the British Hop Association for analysis (in 2008 John won a trophy for the best dried hops in the UK and he also regularly wins awards when his hops are exhibited at shows and ploughing matches). So next time you’re enjoying a pint, raise your glass and say cheers to the unsung heroes of brewing, the hop driers, men like John, The pressed hops showing four presses

Darren, Peter and Aaron. Photos by Mick Gall [MG]

at a branch meeting for paper forms and we will enter your scores for you. Good Beer Guide Having collected thousands of beer scores over the year, we generate a report in Selection Criteria January giving the average, best and worst scores for each pub and a confidence factor ave you wondered how CAMRA selects based on the number of scores received. The H pubs for the annual Good Beer Guide? Branch Committee uses these data to draw up a Each CAMRA branch is responsible for the list of eligible pubs with the highest average entries in its area within the county and each score, supplemented by other sources of listed pub must consistently serve real ale (and information, and then visits them to update the real cider if offered) of good quality. pub details ahead of a selection meeting in To help us do this, we collect beer February. All branch members are invited to quality information through CAMRA’s National that meeting at which we select our quota for Beer Scoring System (NBSS) in which members the next Good Beer Guide. are asked to contribute scores for pubs To make this work better, we need throughout the year. It is easy to score your many more members to enter their scores. We beers in NBSS. Log in to CAMRA’s online pub value the opinions of all members whether guide, WhatPub (www.whatpub.com) using your active or not and we need as many opinions as membership number and the same password possible for as many pints in as many pubs as that you use to enter the CAMRA national possible. This is so we can have confidence in website. Search for the pub and enter a score the statistics. We ask members to score the for each beer that you drank in the Submit Beer pubs continually not just once or twice. NBSS Scores panel on the right of the screen. There is works across the country not just in our branch. plenty of help and information about NBSS on If you are not a member but would like your the Beer Scoring tab. WhatPub is optimised for opinions of beer quality in pubs to count, then use on a smart phone and a downloadable app is join CAMRA! planned, so you can score your beer in the pub [CAMRA HQ] while you drink it! If you don’t have online access at all, then ask your NBSS Coordinator

17

Faversham Hop Festival Report

his year’s beer stall at Faversham Hop T Festival went ahead only after a meeting was held between us and the Hop Festival Committee as they had informed us seven days before the event that they were going to cancel Lads Enjoying the Festival outside the Swan and our booking (which we have had for the past Harlequin fifteen years) and run their own bar. They said that this was so that they could make more Photo by Andrew Kitney money for the festival due to their fears of making a loss this year. We successfully for this year was sourced from seven Kent persuaded them that they would lose out if we breweries with notably fast sale of Mad Cat were not allowed to attend and we agreed to a Brewery beers from near Faversham small donation to their fund. and Black Prince Mild from Wantsum Brewery With the permission to attend sorted of Hersden, which were our joint second fastest out we arrived early on Saturday morning to set sellers. This was our first time selling mild at the up for what is always the busiest day of the festival and by its demand will not be the last! festival. We began selling beer and cider from a Our fastest selling beer was Hopdaemon’s little after 10.00 which by 11.00 had become a Golden Braid brewed locally at Newnham with challenge to serve as quickly as possible to the the whole firkin going inside of an hour. large queue waiting to try our excellent beers So this year’s Hop Festival was our most and ciders. The queue of people did not subside successful yet and with an estimated attendance for the best part of five hours and by 2pm it of over 45,000 people visiting Faversham over looked like we would run out of beer which the weekend a good thing for the town, which meant a quick dash back to the storeroom to benefits over a longer period than just the get more! This was our most successful Hop weekend of the festival. It remains to be seen Festival to date with an increase in sales to over what will happen next year but it would be a 1000 pints of beer and with cider sales rising to great loss to everyone if the festival does not go around 450 pints. ahead. We were back again early on Sunday [GH] morning to set up for another hopefully busy day. Though always less hectic as there are less out of area visitors, Sunday seemed hardly any Vote Now for Cider less busy than Saturday this year. Our customers startied to arrive at the bar around 11.00 which Pub of the Year grew steadily as the day wore on with groups of Morris Dancers and other street entertainers Vote at delighting the crowds. With more beer being needed to satisfy customers on Saturday it only left us with six firkins to sell on Sunday, with this www.camra.org.uk/ all being sold by 2:30pm, which left only cider ciderpotynominationform for sale for the remainder of the afternoon. Beer

18

THE SONDES ARMS FREEHOUSE

INTERNATIONAL CUISINE SPECIALITY BEERS

AROUND THE WORLD A DIFFERENT COUNTRY EVERY SUNDAY AS MUCH AS YOU CAN EAT £9.99 SUNDAY 5PM TILL LATE

SUNDAY LUNCH CARVERY 12 NOON—3.30PM

PENSIONERS LUNCH 2 COURSE MEAL EVERY DAY EXCEPT SUNDAY £6.50

ALL DAY BREAKFAST CHILDREN WELCOME TO EAT & DRINK BOUNCY CASTLE WHEN AVAILABLE

CATERING/BAR FOR OUTSIDE FUNCTIONS AVAILABLE

ALSO IN-HOUSE FUNCTIONS PLEASE CONTACT US FOR DETAILS SELLING ROAD, SELLING, ME13 9PL TEL 01227 752515

19

saying Gordon Henderson MP would try and fit in a visit on the Wednesday afternoon. Sitting at No Show of Support the bar I waited in vain in my most conservative, blue shirt. Alas no MP, no show of support for From Local MP Cask Ale Week, no contact from any of his numerous staff to say unfortunately Mr Henderson is unable to attend. ask Ale Week 2013 - only in Britain, only Now why do I feel aggrieved? I C in pubs! understand Members of Parliament are very busy Locals up and down the country people, working for the good of our country, but featured numerous events during Cask Ale have large backroom staff who can pick up a Week, well ten days between 27th September phone. Alternatively they could have walked two and 6th October. Aimed at promoting the minutes from Mr Henderson's constituency consumption of cask ale in Britain's boozers, office to visit in his place! events varied from venue to venue, ranging Please contact your local MPs, from price reductions, special offers for encouraging them to support initiatives like Cask CAMRA members, beer quizzes, food menus Ale Week, Pub is the Hub, etc. It is your local linked to beer and of course charity based Member of Parliament who can vote for or events. against legislation affecting licensed premises and Why not invite your local Member of the brewing industry. Without pressure from Parliament to visit your pub to show their the Great British Beer lover, we would be paying support of cask ale and the great British pub? even more duty on our beer than exorbitant Well that's what I thought!!! amount already paid. After contacting the office of Sittingbourne & Sheppey's MP, I eventually got Please feel free to reply and discuss your views. a reply from his Constituency Office Manager, [MW] Faversham’s hidden gem The Shipwright’s Arms, Hollowshore, Faversham

A 17th Century traditional creek side free house. Selling up to five real ales from Kentish brewers, and serving good food. Take a trip back in time and savour the delights of a truly traditional pub.

Rated by Jamie Oliver as one of the top 100 traditional pubs in the country.

Please check website or phone to confirm hours of opening.

Tel: 01795 590088

Web: www.theshipwrightsarmspub.co.uk

Directions: At School turn into Ham Road and follow the signs across the marsh.

20

Firkin Ale – 07762301364 Real Ale Wholesaler to the Licensed Trade Many Breweries – One Delivery Casks & Bottles

Presidential company for Medway & Gravesham Licensed Victuallers Association

Email: [email protected]

21

22

Hidden Pub Gems An Occasional Series

The Square and Compasses, Worth Matravers, Dorset

ucked away in a quiet corner of Dorset T just a few miles from the busy seaside town of Swanage is a rather remarkable pub, The Square and Compasses at Worth Matravers. The pub is situated on the high ground overlooking the village at the head of a valley that runs down for a mile or so to the stone ledges at Winspit on the coast where Purbeck limestone was once quarried and loaded onto ships to be taken away to be used Photos by Stephen Bennion to build many a fine building. The valley sides are covered in strip-lynchets which are evidence ciders are drawn straight from the barrel. of ancient field systems. The pub has been run by the same The low whitewashed walls and stone family, the Newmans, since 1907 and for the slated roof contain two rooms, one rather snug, past ten years has been managed by Kevin Hunt, that have many pictures of the area in times which allowed Charlie Newman to concentrate gone by which are accessed from the corridor on making cider and furthering the collection of that leads in from the garden area at the front. fossils and archaeological artefacts that his father The bar is at the end of the corridor and drinks started, which are displayed in a small museum. are served via two hatches. This often requires On fine days you can enjoy your chosen queuing along the corridor to order your drinks drink looking over the fields to the sea from the and dodging people exiting with laden trays, but large terraced garden which has many stone slab it is worth it as the excellent local real ales and tables and interesting sculptures in stone - in particular a three dimensional wooden sculpture of a square and compasses. If you get peckish the homemade pies and pasties are well worth investigating. There is live music on many nights and there are many different festivals throughout the year including a stone carving festival, pumpkin and beer festival and cider festival (see their website squareandcompasspub.co.uk for details). If you find yourself down Dorset way why not seek out this hidden gem of a pub, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. [SB]

23

24

History and Beer

t this year’s Great British Beer Festival, the A daily auction once again offered a chance to bid for a place to join the trip to two breweries. This year, it was to the heartland of British hops, Kent. So in September thirteen lucky people, from all over the UK, visited the Shepherd Neame Brewery, to see a family brewery whose history can be traced back to 1678. After a trip around the brewery, some fine Kentish Ales (of course) and a spot of lunch, Photo by Christine Cryne the group left Faversham heading south east by train to the historic city of Canterbury, to visit a was part of the Drury & Biggleston’s Foundry, brewery at the other end of the brewing which from the early 1800s to the late 1900s spectrum. The tiny Canterbury Brewers is a supplied the South East Railway and constructed microbrewery based within the city walls of one of the very first torpedoes. It comes as no Canterbury, in sight of the Cathedral. It is just surprise then that their debut brews were two years old but their premises are rather Foundryman’s Gold and Foundry Torpedo, older. The brewery, pub and restaurant are in a which the visitors were pleased to test out! stunning building known as the Foundry. This [CC]

25

26

Saloon, Snug, Bottle and Jug

reetings gentle reader. I was sitting in the G saloon bar of my local the other evening enjoying a pint of the landlord’s finest when I got to pondering why there were so many different bars in pubs. There still remain some public bars, saloon bars, snugs, smoking rooms (now day. not used for their original purpose of course) Moving up the social scale we find the tap rooms, parlours, bottle and jug rooms, Smoke Room, Lounge and Saloon. These rooms vaults and private bars. So I did a bit digging and were more refined and the probable origin of it seems to stem from the Victorian idea of the Smoke Room is a term derived from the station in life and not wanting to mix with the large country houses of the time where wrong classes. gentlemen would retire to the smoking room Prior to the 19th century pubs mainly after dinner. These rooms were better consisted of a single room, however as the furnished and often larger than the Public Bar Victorian era progressed a distinct hierarchy of and drinks were often charged at a premium. I spaces developed which reflected the status of well remember an awful faux pas when a young the different social groupings that frequented Obadiah bought a pint in the public bar of a pub them. in the North East and, not finding a seat, (a Let’s start at the bottom of the social social gaffe in itself as men did not sit to drink - pile with the Public Bar. It had various guises, they stood at the bar!!), I wandered into the also being known as the Vaults or General Bar. Saloon in search of a seat. Now nothing was said Pubs of the time were almost exclusively and I am not sure about the telepathic abilities frequented by men and the Public Bar was the of your average Geordie landlord but I felt a haunt of the poorer working classes. There was sudden guilty urge to put a few pence on the bar a subsidiary to the status of the Public Bar in before sitting down, which said landlord some pubs, which had a Private Bar, sometimes immediately put in the till and it seemed that I called the Bar Parlour. It was not necessarily had atoned for the error. better appointed than the public bar nor was it Other rooms that could be found in frequented by a better class of person but there pubs were the Commercial Room where was exclusivity to the clientele found in said presumably traders could do deals over the room. Typically the entrance to the Parlour was price of commodities, Billiard Rooms for the via a door off the Public Bar and I am sure that playing of games and Coffee Rooms which you almost needed to be invited into this room offered (not surprisingly) coffee for the more by the regulars. Imagine the glares of disapproval genteel clientele who did not want an alcoholic you would have received if you inadvertently drink. Club and Assembly Rooms were usually defiled the sanctity of this room by accidentally on the first floor and offered venues for clubs going in without said invite. and societies to meet. The name Tap Room, or as it was called Some pubs had ladies only rooms (pity in East Anglia, Porter Room, suggests that it was the poor fellow who inadvertently stumbled into a room where beer was poured and at one time this room on his way back from the gents!). this may well have been the case, but by the 19th Some bars had Public Kitchens which was century the Tap Room was usually a room set probably a place where poorer families could away from the main servery which offered a quieter area in which to discuss the topics of the Page 29

27

The PHOENIX TAVERN Abbey Street, Faversham

SIX REAL ALES Changing regularly, but always Timothy Taylor Landlord, Harvey’s and a Blond!

REAL FOOD prepared freshly daily on the premises REAL ATMOSPHERE lovely garden and open inglenook log fires REAL TRADITION - 14th century oak beamed pub Five Quality lagers and Quality Wine from Corney and Barrow, Cask and Keg Cider

Good Beer Guide 2014 'Official home of the Timothy Taylor Appreciation Society'.

@Phoenixfav The Phoenix Tavern Faversham

www.thephoenixtavernfaversham.co.uk - 01795 591462

28

 page 27 get their meals cooked. All of these different rooms were of course the pub’s way of getting as many people as possible into the pub to part with their hard earned cash, whilst ensuring that the different social classes avoided each other. This social segregation in pubs has now ceased and many pubs have swept the distinction between the various areas away, but if you look carefully there are still many indications of the status of the room in which you are drinking. If you are interested in reading more about the development of the pub may I recommend The English Alehouse: A Social History, 1200 – 1830 by Peter Clark and the English Heritage book Licensed to Sell by Geoff Brandwood, Andrew Davison and Michael Slaughter. Obadiah Spillage

29

30

A Day on the Buses Circular trip to Hythe

he plan was simple – a train to Canterbury was on a mission. Arriving at Hythe I found my T and a day bus ticket to visit a few rural way to the Three Mariners – Hythe’s Good pubs in East Kent. I thought I was doomed from Beer Guide pub. Six Kent beers were on tap. I the start as, unusually, Southeastern’s 10.29 had a half of Goachers and then, after a quick from Sittingbourne to Canterbury arrived late, wander around town to see if there were any but at least it managed to shunt into Canterbury other interesting pubs (nothing took my fancy), I and, after short stroll (canter) along Canterbury took the bus to Folkestone. City Walls, enabled me to get my first bus – the After arriving in Folkestone’s bus station number 18 – a two hourly scenic route through – which still has a gated entrance requiring a number of Kent villages. someone to lift it up – I had an hour or so My first stop before the number 17 was Bossingham, a (scenic route) back to small quiet village, 20 Canterbury. I headed minutes on the bus. I to Chambers – a arrived before 12 at basement bar with my first pub – the Hop three beers on tap – Pocket. Looking Skrimshander, through the pub Adnams Lighthouse window I could see and Wantsum 1341. I the beer selection – opted for the Hophead, Green Wantsum at £3.30 a Daemon and Adnams pint (although I only Southwold Bitter. I had a half). Again the opted for the Green beer was on good Daemon – the first form. pint of the day and on I arrived back good form. It was at Folkestone in time reasonably priced at Photo by Paul Irving for the bus to The £3.40. Kings Arms in the Refreshed, I walked the 30 minutes to very nice village of Elham. The Kings Arms was my next target – the Rose and Crown at Stelling my favourite pub – a nice location with a large Minnis. This large country pub was set back beer garden and lively banter inside the pub. from the main road and had a large camping site. Two Hopdeamon beers were on tap – Golden By the time I arrived, just before 1pm, the Braid and Skrimshander. Both were on good lunchtime rush had started. Looking at the beer form. selection I noticed three beers and opted for Like all the other buses [but not like the Goacher’s Dark (£3.10 a pint). I replenished some Sittingbourne buses], the next number 17 the energy I had used with a very nice ham was on time and delivered me back to sandwich and some chips, which I finished just in Canterbury bus station by 7pm – time for a time for the next number 18. quick drink in the Foundry before heading back The bus sped through Lyminge, Sandling home. [PI] and Saltwood but no time for me to stop as I

31

The Swan & Harlequin

Bookings taken now for our famous Sunday roast with 9 fresh vegetables! £6.50 Linda’s homemade desserts (including Gypsy Tart) from £3.50

There is always a minimum of four real ales on offer, often more! Only £2.70 a pint Some served direct from the cask. Always one Dark Star beer

The Swan & Harlequin

We have the largest covered outside drinking area in town

Do you Follow Sport ? We have all the big matches on SkySports and ESPN in HD on three big screens

32

CAMRA Needs You

ver wondered what it is like to run a pub E and serve a pint of real ale to a thirsty customer? Yes, well then why not volunteer to work at your next local or national beer festival? Anyone and everyone can sign up to do this – you do not need any previous experience or expertise in beer/cider etc (although it may help when you inevitably get that question from the The Great British Beer Festival Photo by Andrew Kitney public asking “what do you recommend mate?” or “what beer style is this and what hops are in it” or “do you serve lager!!”). Why do I do it? Well its simple – great fun, CAMRA currently has over 154,000 meet and talk to hundreds if not thousands of members and over 5000 of those volunteer all ale drinkers and brewers alike, plenty of benefits over the country, involved with doing everything including free entry to festival, heavily subsidised from running branches, organising and working food (if not free), plenty of beer vouchers to at beer festivals, lobbying MPs, liaising with swap for half pints of ale, the odd taster (or breweries, surveying pubs and a lot more. Some two!!) when serving, free festival t-shirts and roles will involve attending branch and county much more. If you volunteer to work at a meetings but many don’t. There is a job out festival but pulling pints is not your thing there there to suit all tastes and interests in the real are many other jobs you can volunteer to do – ale community. finance, glasses, CAMRA shop or behind the I have been an active CAMRA member scenes. and volunteer since February 2005 and during Give it a go, even if you only manage a those 8.5 years I estimate that I have worked at few hours, next time you attend a festival - you over 70 beer festivals serving hundreds of pints. get a feeling of achieving something worthwhile The venues include our very own Swale and giving something back to the community. supported events (Faversham Car Show and For more information about getting Hop Festival) to many others including Kent, involved visit www.camra.org.uk or look at the Peterborough, Redhill, St Albans, What’s On and Beer Festival listing pages in Drinker, Battersea, Ealing and of course the big What’s Brewing, or failing that ask a fellow one GBBF at Olympia (previously Earls Court). CAMRA member. [AK]

Swale CAMRA Branch Meetings

Your local branch holds open business meetings on the second Wednesday of each month. These meetings are held in a variety of different pubs around Swale.

At meetings we do follow an agenda, however discussions are light-hearted and we discuss ways that we can reach our campaigning objectives.

If you would like any further information about our meetings please check our website www.camra -swale.org.uk or contact Les Bailey on 01795 538824.

33

Recently branch members have been suggesting interesting and exciting methods of A New Style of communicating with people. These suggestions have included: Campaign...  branch beer mats and bar runners  post cards depicting local pubs/pub crawls Get Involved!  transport maps identifying pubs in the locality. he main objective of Swale Ale is to T campaign on beer quality, styles and the preservation of pubs that sell outstanding beer. In our branch the opportunity to purchase a wide range of real ales is improving and we are continuing to search for ways to encourage people to visit excellent pubs and try real ale. As our membership is now closing in on our 400 target (well done Alex, membership secretary) we have a number of new challenges and opportunities. How do we:

 contact our members on a regular basis  fit 20+ members into a small pub for a branch meeting We would love to have our own Swale CAMRA  encourage more people to join our cause logo and I would like to include a greater  distribute our magazine over the whole number of high quality photographs and branch. drawings created by those in the branch. If you have a skill or talent and would Our aim now is to continue increasing our like to contribute to Swale Ale or in the membership and to provide more information production of campaign material please contact to people in Swale about national and local us at [email protected]. campaigns. [KS] Since our last edition we have seen particular success in publishing Swale Ale digitally. This has enabled us to reach a worldwide audience. We have been surprised by new readers in Sweden and Australia, with our overall online operation reaching over one thousand people in the past three months. Swale Ale is now available online at www.issuu.com/swaleale and can be read on a variety of devices including laptop and desktop computers, tablets and mobile phones. Navigation around the magazine is touch sensitive and links to external content including pub websites, national campaigns and beer related sites. We are indebted to Keith at More information on campaigning: Ashford branch for introducing us to such an excellent system but are still interested in developing our own exciting ideas for www.camra-swale.org.uk campaigning. www.issuu.com/swaleale

34

35

36

perfectly good beer down the drain just because the labelling isn't clear.

Swale Mail Keef Pankhurst My problems Swale Ale Response with bottle Keef, I see that your problem is not with bottle conditioned beer but rather the lack of conditioned beer information on the label. CAMRA has introduced a scheme which adds a logo to each bottle saying “CAMRA says this is real ale”. ottle conditioned beer is a good thing isn't This logo indicates that the beer you have B it? Well of course it is... as long as you chosen is part of the Real Ale in a Bottle know you've bought bottle conditioned beer Scheme. and pour it carefully. There are at least four If you are in any doubt about whether a occasions in recent years, however, when I've beer is a real ale in a bottle, just hold it up to bought a few bottles of beer to enjoy of an the light and see if it contains any sediment – evening and not realised that one or more of the life-giving yeast that makes all the difference. them are bottle conditioned. The result is a You can also refer to CAMRA’s Good Bottled very long way from the "nearly as good as being pulled from a cask" experience that can be achieved with careful pouring. Basically one is left with the following choices:

1. Drink it cloudy and yeasty - tastes unpleasant and may well give you a touch of the runs. 2. Throw it down the drain. 3. Try to get it back in the bottle and hope it will settle out after a couple of days. Beer Guide available to buy in our online shop

at www.camra.org.uk/shop. I usually go for a combination of 1 and 2 - I'll try Almost all bottled real ales are made to drink it, get about a third of the way down, from just four natural ingredients: malted realise I'm really not enjoying it and throw the barley, hops, water rest away. So why am I ruining and wasting good and yeast – there beer? Simply because the words "Bottle are no additives or Conditioned" have been written microscopically E numbers. Some of small somewhere on the back label amongst a the main reasons lot of other stuff I'm not going to read. Why for choosing bottle can't brewers realise that it makes very good conditioned beer sense for all concerned to have such essential are: It's the nearest information clearly displayed on the label so thing to a pint of that even my weak, alcohol degraded eyes can real ale down at see it? Perhaps we need a CAMRA guideline for your local and it bottled beers to make this clear and obvious tastes great. even for idiots like me; such as where to place the words "Bottle Conditioned" and how large [KS] they should be. It's not in my interest and it's not in the brewers' interest for me to pour

37

Gravity fed ale is becoming more available now with the advent of micro pubs, but The Grumpy it wasn’t so long ago that visiting members from the less enlightened areas of the country would Landlord... go all misty eyed and wax lyrical when they saw the stillage behind the bar. One chap who hailed ...on CAMRA members from north of Watford, gazed with open mouth at the array of real ales displayed temptingly before him. “Oh my,” he said, “I shall have to ow CAMRA members are a fine body of try them all”. He did – several times each – and N people, and all in all are a force for good when he left the pub, supported on either side in the trade, but amongst their ranks you will by a burly assistant, the look on his face was find the odd one or two who take their interest enough to give any landlord that feeling of to the extreme. One chap visited us this satisfaction achieved when you know you have summer and told me that he is spending all his made a beer enthusiast happy. time off and holidays travelling around Our local branch members are pretty intending to visit every CAMRA pub in England! straight forward compared to some I’ve Then there are those who sit down with encountered, they enjoy good pubs and good their pint, pull out well thumbed notebooks and beer and are usually pretty quick to point out if proceed to tick off the beer they drink on their there is a problem and give praise where it is list, with points for presentation and taste. I due – no ‘beer spotters’ in my lot. There are call them beer spotters and award them one, however one or two whose ruddy complexion two or three ‘anoraks’ depending on their and portly figures indicate an enthusiasm for real eccentricity. One such enthusiast even asked me ale that goes beyond the call of duty! if I’d heard of the scheme where CAMRA members were given a discount. When I’d Bless ‘em all though, the long and the short and recovered from the shock of such offensive the tall, keep up the good work. language being used in my establishment, I awarded her five ‘anoraks’ and sat her in the draughtiest corner of the pub, where she sat Derek. glowering at me over her pint. Grumpy Landlord of at We also have our fair share of CAMRA Hollowshore outings, with mini buses arriving from all corners of the country. I well remember the CAMRA party who arrived all eager and enthusiastic over the gravity fed ales displayed Advertising rates: behind the bar. Beer was duly ordered and the cry went out for Fred – who was holding the whip. No Fred! After much discussion and a Half Page £25 search of the bogs, Fred failed to appear, then Full A5 Page £50 one of the party had the bright idea of Minimum circulation 1000 telephoning the previous pub. There was Fred, bless him, sound asleep in the garden with a contented smile on his face. Fred was duly retrieved by the driver Contact: and was greeted with a rousing cheer when he arrived. “Some mates you are,” he grumbled, [email protected] “I bet If I hadn’t had the whip you would never have thought about me – and now I’ve missed a round!”

38

THE THREE HATS MILTON REGIS

Ever changing selection of cask ales

Large Beer Garden

Mobile Bar and Catering Service Available for Weddings, Christenings and Birthdays

No Function too big or small

Call Malcolm on 07764 842478

Three Hats, 93 High Street, Milton Regis, Kent, ME10 2AR

SWALE CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2013

39

THE BOWL INN

Come and relax and enjoy the good company and friendly atmosphere with a glass of fine ale - always 4 available. We have a welcoming real fire & heated patio area.

Regular steak nights and live music.

For ‘what’s on’ please visit our website www.bowl-inn.co.uk

We can also offer bed and breakfast accommodation with 5 en-suite bedrooms, including a garden room which offers full facilities for disabled guests and is dog friendly

We are a 'dog and horse friendly' Inn

Alan and Sue Paine

Egg Hill Road, Charing, Ashford, Kent TN27 OHG Tel: 01233 712256 email [email protected]

40