Swale Ale - Winter 2018/19

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SWALE ALE WINTER 2018

THE FREE MAGAZINE OF SWALE CAMRA

The Australian Dream Being Bombarded Desert Island Beers

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CHAIRMAN’S CHOW Hello and welcome to the Winter 2018 edition of Swale Ale. It disheartening to say the least that sales of cask ale are on the decline in the UK this year, despite Swale having more cask outlets than for many years previously. There are many reasons for this but in my opinion, temperature is one of the main reasons for the demise. Let me explain more.

Real ale should be served at a cool, not chilled, 11 to 13 degrees centigrade. That’s cooler than red wine, but not as cold as lager or keg ales. Recent research though by cask marque and other respected bodies has shown just over two-thirds of pubs (69%) were selling pints at above 13º C in the summer. The reports also found that just under two-thirds (64%) of cask drinkers would prefer their beer served even colder than the recommended 11º.

Paul Nunny, of Cask Marque, says this finding is worth exploring, but that the first step is for pubs to get their beer to recommended specification. “If people could trust every pub serving cask to serve it at 11º to 13º C, even on the hottest day of the year, it would revolutionise perceptions. People would get the full refreshment value, and realise that far from being ‘warm’, real ale is cool — and delicious. He says that Cask Marque will be launching a ‘Making Cask Cool’ campaign to get licensees and bar staff to become beer temperature aware. “It might take only one warm pint to put someone off cask ale for life.

Pubs need to support each other by having all their staff working to the highest standards all the time, presenting cool cask and brilliant beer each and every time.”

Fortunately, many of Swale’s better pubs have sufficiently trained staff to deliver cask in the manner it should be served however we have a duty to let pubs know if the beer does not seem as it should be – and landlords should be sufficiently savvy to know if a beer has either ‘turned’ or has reached the end of a tub when they hear the words “this doesn’t taste right”. How that phrase is handled from behind the bar is paramount to the future of the industry. Imagine if the person who had been served an inferior drink was tasting their first ever pint of cask. The chances are that he or she would then turn to an alternative

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product that provides a constant taste and satisfaction – namely a keg beer or lager from one of the larger brew companies.

That is another potential cask drinker lost.

Furthermore that person could sway the opinion of friends and others. These things lead to a decline in sales of cask beer.

Enough of the in-depth analysis. In this, the winter edition of Swale’s magazine there is plenty to keep you amused and entertained during your visit to the pub. Why not take a copy of this edition and pass it around your friends and family. There is much to take from such a fine publication. Our series about venues to visit in Swale continues with three more pubs from around our region.

Why not take a trip out to one or more of them. You could even leave a “what pub” review on these or any of the other fine venues throughout the borough. Don’t forget also that “WhatPub” is where we take out reference from when looking to choose what goes into the following years good beer guide. Indeed from these reports we narrow down the top six for our pub of the year. It is your votes that make up this list over the course of a year so make sure that if you visit a venue and deem the beer worthy of a vote then log into what pub using your membership number, password and get voting. Any CAMRA member can do this and it takes only minutes.

Now it just leaves me to wish you all the best for the winter season and all that it brings.

Cheers!

John Sissons

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT YOUR LOCAL PUB OR BREWERY? Any beer-related stories to tell?

Send them to us at swaleale@gmail.com.

It’s your magazine!

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SWALE BREWERY NEWS

SHEPHERD NEAME Shepherd Neame’s legendary Christmas Ale will be available throughout the festive season.

The cask version, at 5%, will be available throughout December. It is bittered with Target hops, has Hallertau Hersbruker added to the copper for aroma and is then dry hopped with Styrian Goldings. The bottled version, which comes in at a heady 7%, features Challenger and Target for bitterness with East Kent Goldings added for aroma.

Senior Brewer Stewart Tricker said: “It’s a golden ale with warming alcohol notes and a subtle hop aroma derived from the dry hopping with Styrian Goldings.”

The brewery have also recently launched a new quarterly magazine titled Oast, which will replace Master Brewer. Oast will celebrate everything that’s great about beer, pubs and all things related. Issue 1, the Autumn edition, is already available with the Winter edition due around the end of November. The magazine, which is free, will be available in all Shepherd Neame pubs, in addition to selected bars across London and the South East. An online version is also available at: https:// issuu.com/shepherdneame/docs/shepherdneame-oast-magazine-16pp-2 And finally a number of new pubs have been acquired over the past few months. These are the Wheatsheaf at Farnham in Surrey and three new London pubs. The London pubs are all rich in history. They are: The Savoy Tap (formerly the Savoy Tup) in Savoy Hill, just off the Strand; The Cheshire Cheese in Little Essex Street, close to Temple; The Samuel Pepys in Stew Lane, beside the Thames in the City of London.

Matt Deller

MADCAT Peter Meaney reports that Mad Cat’s Jet Black Stout is going very well and is currently available at the Minster Working Man’s Club on Sheppey. Other places serving Mad Cat beers at the moment include, in Sittingbourne, the Long Hop, Donna’s Ale House and the Yellow Stocks, and, in Faversham, the Elephant. Outside our area but within easy reach are the Dead Pigeon and the 12 Degrees in Rochester. He is currently brewing a strong dark bitter, Educated Guess, at 7% and is planning a Christmas Ale. In an interesting arrangement, Mad Cat are doing a brewery ‘swap’ with the Gloucestershire brewery Goffs, as a result of which Mad Cat beers will be available in Gloucestershire pubs and Goffs beers in Kent pubs.

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ARE YOU MISSING OUR UPDATES? Every month we update our branch members with all the latest updates from across the branch, including brewery, pub and social news. There are still a number of you who will not be receiving these email updates so we would urge you to login via the CAMRA website and check your settings to allow us to contact you.

TRADING

STANDARDS If you believe that you have been treated unfairly in a local pub or bar you can report it to Kent County Council Trading Standards by calling 03454 040506.

Sign up to receive alerts www.kent.gov.uk/tradingstandards Like ‘Public Protection’ on Facebook Follow Public Protection on Twitter @kentprotect

BRANCH

DIARY www.camra-swale.org.uk

ADVERTISE WITH SWALE ALE AND REACH OVER 2000 REAL ALE DRINKERS If you own or manage a pub, bar or restaurant and serve real ales, it’s never been easier to get your business in front of more than 2,000 people.

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Wed 12 December, 8pm The Vaults, Faversham Wed 9 January, 8pm Flying Dutchman, Sheppey Wed 13 February, 8pm Three Hats, Milton Regis

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UK Brewer of the Year 2017 & 2018 Supreme Champion Design and Packaging Trophy

A LOCAL WORK OF ART

THE RETURN OF

CLOUDWATER CASK Cloudwater Brewery has announced that it was bringing back production of cask beer.

The brewery had chosen to dispense with cask a couple of years ago and instead to concentrate on keg, in a move that was widely debated in the beer industry. The brewery revealed however that dropping cask had “removed ourselves from conversations about what cask beer could be, and distanced ourselves from drinkers that are wedded to that genre of beer.”

In a recent blog on its website, Cloudwater made its case for bringing back cask, describing the merits of drinking a pint of cask in a pub: “We miss our cask Session

IPAs, Bitters, and Porters, and find ourselves drinking many a pint of cask beer and wondering just how well our Brown Ales, or Stouts, and seasonal Pale would do on cask.”

The brewery has therefore decided to bring back cask for a small number of customers experienced in looking after cask beer and have asked potential customers to contact Cloudwater directly. This emphasis on only providing cask to outlets that only serve cask beer to the highest standard demonstrates a commitment to quality that is sure to be welcomed by the wider industry as well as to beer drinkers.

John Sissons

CAMRA WINS FIGHT FOR

TRANSPARENCY The Pubs Code, introduced by the government in 2016, was designed to provide pub tenants with greater protection.

However, after the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA) declined to release information on the performance of the Code, CAMRA lobbied the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which ruled in CAMRA’s favour, calling for a full government review.

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CAMRA’s National Chairman Jackie Parker said: “We welcome the decision from the ICO, and the release of this information by PCA is an important step in our fight to secure a fair arbitration process for pub tenants, and ultimately save viable pubs from closure.

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SWALE PUB NEWS Quite a few things have been going on around the branch since the last edition of the pub report.

In Faversham, Andrew and Martin along with volunteers at Furlongs in Preston Street Faversham have been hard at work transforming what was a wilderness, into a lovely cosy garden area with plenty of seating in a paved and walled courtyard. In addition, there will be a bicycle park where for the price of a pint you can leave your machine in safety whilst you do what you need to do in town.

Whilst in Faversham, The Corner Tap team have been pressing ahead with a number of activities including fund raising via the ‘Muddy Duck’ event that raised so much money for good causes. Keep an eye out on social media for forthcoming events at The Tap.

If you happen to be reading at this point and your local pub is doing things worthy of note why not drop us a line here at Swale Ale and we can investigate what goes on and report back in the next edition. You know how everyone loves to read about their pub in print.

Lots of further detail on Swale pubs can be found on www.whatpub.com. If you notice anything that is out of date or have any pub news please let us know.

Current Branch Membership: 534

Talking of social media, if any of our pubs have an event they wish publicising just let the committee know via one of the contacts and we shall publicise it via the Swale Branch facebook app. It costs nothing to do this and you could potentially reach a much larger audience for your event.

Between Faversham and Sittingbourne in the quiet village of Doddington, The Chequers is the place to be these days with some excellent condition beers and very interesting choices. There are many events going on weekly and this really has returned to being the hub of village life.

In Sittingbourne High Street there are good reports about the beer quality at the recently opened Yellow Stocks. Donna’s Ale House has now opened its kitchen to be able to provide food. Keep an eye open inside the pub to see what is on and when.

To the Island where once upon a time finding a good pint of beer was as rare as finding a hen’s tooth. Nowadays, with more venues like Minster working men’s club and The Coppice in Eastchurch serving regular well-kept beers, and in addition to four micropubs around the area things are looking up. A Y’s Man in Sheerness has just been accredited with a five out of five on Cask Marques ‘scores on the cellar doors’ system meaning that you will find a good quality pint at the correct temperature.

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THE SHIP ON SHORE

SHEERNESS

There is a strange tale connected with the ‘Ship on Shore’, which was once a coastguard station before a sea-wall was built in front of the house.

which, even today, looks remarkably similar when you enter. A Fremlins house in that time, it had previously been one of Flint and Co’s finest houses.

The oldest surviving pub in town, it was the scene of a shipwreck in 1848, when a small vessel foundered and sank offshore. The landlord waded out to the wreck and claimed the cargo which, it turned out, consisted of barrels of cement. Nothing daunted, mine host built himself a rustic grotto next to the pub, which drew curious visitors (and still does), and is a protected building.

I have fond recollections of a great pint of Tusker for which the place was noted. There’s a lovely old 1920’s open fireplace to one end and in the 1980’s a conservatory extension was added.

My first recollection of this pub is back in the 1960’s when just a lad. My Grandfather used to take me in for a vimto and bag of salt and shake crisps.

The grotto in those days had a one arm bandit fruit machine as well as a very simple, rustic hockey table where with the choice of blue or red batsmen. I forget the cost of a game ( I think it was one old penny) but the hours it seems we played on that amusement have always lived in my memory.

Joe Park was the landlord in the 60’s and 70’s and along with his family kept a lovely pub

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Present host Fred Mawhinney has been at the reins for more years than I care to remember and still maintains the same method of cask dispense that his predecessors used with pints drawn directly from a room just to the rear of the bar which keeps the ale at ‘just the right temperature’.

The Ship on Shore is, in the nicest possible way, a bit of a time warp with its “railway carriage” style ceiling, reeded hardboard covered walls and traditional bar, always welcoming, whether you are a local out for a pint, or a visitor from afar.

Situated on the main coastal road between Sheerness and Minster with plenty of car parking, a visit is a must.

John Sissons

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FURTHER

EDUCATION In search of an academic institution to accommodate my daughter’s intellectual thirst, our quest took us to some wonderful corners of the Kingdom…..

Having reported earlier on Exeter and Durham we now ventured off to Birmingham and Glasgow.

I found myself near New Street railway station, Birmingham city centre on a rather dark, chilly winters evening with no Good Beer Guide pub in the locality. Time to follow my nose and explore.

There was a menu of beers, a food menu and a further menu of beer and food pairing recommendations. So feeling thirsty I had to have a beer (Ubu) whilst browsing the tomes of menus or is that menui?! Finally deciding to go ‘off piste’ and have a scotch egg accompanied by a pint of Tiny Rebel Cwitch.

Very nice they were too.

A few weeks later Glasgow was our destination. This time we were fortunate to stay in the city centre within easy walking distance of a GBG pub Pot Still in Hope Street.

It is a family run pub, with four hand pumps dispensing mainly Scottish beers and an

Birmingham Town Hall and the Museum and Art Gallery were splendid buildings beautifully lit up but this was not what I was really looking for.

amazing selection of malt whiskies – for which it is famed. Shelves and shelves of bottles of malt whisky covering four walls, a truly amazing collection.

In nearby Waterloo Street I found Purecraft Bar and Kitchen – in a lovely old classic building with the decor modern, bit quirky yet interesting. Purity brewery was established in 2005 in the Warwickshire countryside by Paul Halsey and James Minkin. They make Pure Ubu (4.5%), Pure Gold (3.8%) and Mad Goose (4.2%) to name some. In 2014 Paul Halsey joined forces with chef Andreas Antona to establish the Purecraft Bar & Kitchen in Waterloo Street, central Birmingham and it seems to be doing very well.

They have 6 cask and 16 craft beers on draught available which covers 14 different beer styles and if that’s not enough they have about 60 bottled craft beers from around the world. The emphasis is on the Purity beers but they also had beers from Tiny Rebel, Kirkstall, Vocation, Roosters and Fourpure.

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It was very busy with locals and visitors.

The atmosphere was friendly and the staff knowledgeable, a lovely historical pub full of character. At the time of my visit the beers available were - Cromarty Brewing Co ‘Ghost Town’ – Porter 5.8%, Merchant City Brewing Co American Pale Ale 4.7% and Harviestoun ‘Bitter & Twisted’ Golden Ale 3.8% from Scotland, all of which were good. Together with a visiting ale from Sheffield on the fourth pump - Brass Monkey Chilli Stout. The enjoyment of the beers and atmosphere was assisted by a Coal Isla Distillers Edition, single Malt from Islay.

This exercise certainly has been an education – they say learning can be fun.

Update: Exercise complete, University chosen, A-levels passed and Durham here she comes!

Which I note has 11 pubs in the DH1 postcode area listed in the 2019 GBG so I definitely will be visiting.

Mary Cross

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ed 018so fa en 2 port Op st sup gu your Au

r fo ks an Th

Agoinglocal baa to new heights Real AleS ~ Wine Vodka ~ Brandy GIN ~ Whisky ~ Rum OPENING TIMEs: Mon/Tue: Wed: Thur: Fri/Sat: Sun:

4 - 9pm 4 - 10pm 2 - 10pm 1 - 11pm 1 - 9pm

Please check our facebook page as we may occasionally be closed for private functions. facebook.com/flyingsheepmpub

The Flying Sheep Micropub 193 High Street, Sheerness, ME12 1UJ

Tel: 01795 669229

THE ALMA

PAINTERS FORSTAL They say first impressions remain in your mind. I have personally only been to the Alma once, on an autumn evening in September.

The village of Painters Forstal is one of those quintessentially English villages that people speak about and The Alma seems to be the hub of the community. Located on a triangular plot with country lanes to all sides I parked my car and headed for the beacon of light in the dark, stumbling upon a Mk 1 Ford Capri 3 litre parked just off the main road on my way. That summed it up for me, time warp England. Perfect and unpretentious.

The pub itself is a bit like that in the best possible way, quaint, a bit quirky but wonderfully traditional with a weather boarded exterior, selection of bars and smiling faces behind the counter. The place was almost full, but the space we had booked for our branch meeting was left available.

A Shepherd Neame house, the cask beers were as good as you would expect to find from Britain’s oldest brewer. Food was good quality and reasonably priced according to those who sampled the fayre on offer. There were none of the ‘glances’ that you sometimes feel when you walk into ‘someone else’s’ pub.

A comfortable place, we recommend a visit whether you are going as a couple or as part of a larger group.

One thing to remember is that traditional opening hours are observed at The Alma.

Always check the web page before going at www.almafaversham.co.uk Opening is generally daytime 11 – 3pm and evenings between 6 and 11pm but best to check anyway.

John Sissons

THANKS FOR HAVING US We offer our thanks to the following for hosting our recent Branch meetings:

The Maypole Borden The Black Lion Lynsted

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The Alma Painters Forstal The Three Tuns Lower Halstow

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THE AUSTRALIAN

DREAM For almost a year both my wife and I had been looking forward to our little Aussie getaway. Laura has always said how much she’d like to live here and that I would too, well maybe, but I’d need to test the water first.

Our holiday would be a time to catch up with friends and also a time for me to discover what the Aussies have been brewing. Much like Crete, I didn’t know what I’d be drinking, although I did know that breweries were a little better established here.

On our arrival I was greeted by a James Squires One Fifty Lashes. Our journey from Tokyo via Kuala Lumpur was arduous and this fruity pale quenched my desire.

That night I got to know this beer pretty well and I hit the sack looking forward to discovering more of what Australia had to offer.

But little did I know, this would end up being one of the most reliable beers of the holiday.

Rather frustratingly, the quality of the beer I tried varied a lot. I bought beer from a few different shops and many of them were either

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oxidised or had had something else affect them, probably heat, to the point that they were undrinkable.

From one shop in particular, where I picked up two six packs, I probably had two good beers out of the lot. All the beers were well within date too, still having six months plus left to go.

Cans seemed to be better, but they weren’t perfect. I bought a four pack of Balter IPA, a cracking little beer with all the pine and citrus you could want from an IPA, with a decent malt base and a solid bitterness too.

But, two of the cans were just teetering on the edge, with some unwanted toffee and caramel flavours just beginning to creep in. They didn’t pour as well and from the colour it was obvious that something wasn’t quite right.

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But, when bought from the right shop, I was absolutely blown away. Beers from Batch Brewing Company were incredible, their West Coast IPA being lifted straight out of the red book. With a delicate touch of grain, this dry, hop lead tropical beast quenches the heat of the day with just a light grab of bitterness to

beer in Australia isn’t cheap by any stretch.

The tax on alcohol is high which can make for some pricy drinking, couple that to the cost of single cans and bottles, and a session on a few different beers can leave a huge dent in your wallet.

follow.

Some shops do offer discounts on single cans and bottles, but buying in multiples guarantees to keep the cost down.

The Zonnebeke India Saison, brewed for Sydney beer week, is a piece of art. It sits below a duckdown head and its crisp, spicy nature will lure out the Saisonator within as you decipher this hugely hopped, IPA, saison hybrid.

Without any single discount, three individual bottles or cans are roughly the price of a four pack. High strength stuff is mainly in four packs and an individual can such as Modus Operandi Future Factory IIPA is roughly the equivalent to £10. Which is quite a price, but it is 500ml, it is also 8.5% and it is absolutely incredible. It took me straight back to a time when balance and bitterness reigned supreme.

But then came Modus..

Overwhelmed by juice at home I’d almost forgotten what it was like to taste a beer with a clawing bitterness. Future Factory IIPA and Sonic Prayer IPA had me, I didn’t have them, they had me, for breakfast. They chewed me up and spat me out, and I went back for more, MORE! I couldn’t get enough, two nights running I prayed sonically. Prayed for more, and it kept on giving. If God was to brew a beer, this would be it. Perfect in every way, heavenly almost, from the divine grain through to the gospel chorus of pine and grapefruit.

Saisonism is gonna have to take a pew at the back for a while, this IPA is preaching.

But all that preaching can come at a price,

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Would I live here? That’s a tricky question. I doubt I’d have an issue finding employment as the demand for skilled tradesmen is high. But it’s bloody hot, too hot sometimes and I like a nice crisp winter.

Parts for my 2CV would be virtually impossible to get quickly, and no, I wouldn’t have any other car in case you were wondering, wouldn’t even entertain the thought.

It’s that satisfying feeling of vigour you get from driving a 2CV with the roof off on a fresh, crisp winters day which is just unparalleled.

Actually, just the feeling you get from driving a 2CV anywhere is unparalleled.

But that Modus though……

Chris Elston, Beer Blogger

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BREWERY UPDATE:

BOUTILLIERS What up Swale! If we have not yet been introduced then: Hello, I’m Drew, nice to meet you. If we have been introduced and/ or you follow us on social media then: It’s ya boi Drewtillier! Dropping some old school print media like Johannes Gutenberg with an itchy trigger finger. I’ve been given the unique offer of getting you up to date with everything happening over here at Boutillitowers. Well, you probably know all the deets from before the new year 2018 but January is when EVERYTHING changed. I switched camps from Time and Tide with the intention of taking Boutilliers to the upper tiers of UK craft brewing. I said in my initial interview that Boutilliers will be national by the end of 2018 and, as it is, we have beer being served in York, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Reading as well as outposts that sell our bottles as far away as Scotland. This is quite the change from being almost exclusively Kent based.

This has been achieved through implementing a few changes that I hope you’re patient and,

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potentially, interested enough to walk through with me. Since you’ve made the effort to pick this publication up then I’m betting that you’re likely both.

First of all we brought small pack back in house and we started putting our beer into KeyKeg. This means that batches now yield a choice of format for different venues. Secondly, we ditched core brands and decided to bring back seasonality and experimentation, we will be turning our Kolsch-style back into a core brand but it’ll be our only one. We do this because the potential for beer is infinite, you never know what combinations of ingredients are going to yield the next big flavour sensation.

Standing in one place... It just wasn’t the thing (quite literally) that was going to take us forward. We’ve had a lot of fun playing with unconventional ingredients like fruit tea, sourdough bread and rose petals and we’ve had a lot of fun brewing different styles like patersbier, dubbel and helles.

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Thirdly we started making excursions outside of Kent for events and collaborations, giving ourselves the excuse to deliver to new pubs and shops. This helps us beyond the fiscal aspect as we gain valuable experience, valuable knowledge and we cultivate new friendships. To date we have worked with Affinity, Blackjack, Seven Sisters and Black Iris, with collaborations set up with the likes of Ridgeside, Solvay Society and Ampersand. It is my belief that beer and brewing is a community and if we all work together then we all thrive together. Ultimately a thriving, young, brewing community that has a mind set on experimentation and quality can only conclude with you having an array of top quality brews to choose from when next you go to the pub.

In the new year I intend to do more festivals, do more events, extend our reach to new places and continue to experiment, making fun beer that we love drinking and that we hope you’ll love drinking too.

Drew

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Sittingbourne’s newest micro pub, the first on the High Street

• •

•

Serving straight from cask, a choice of Kent and guest real ales Great selection of locally produced ciders and coming soon – mead Carefully chosen wines, spirits and soft drinks • • • • • •

Close to public transport facilities Beer garden with seating Dog friendly Right next to a great sandwich bar which will deliver Monthly Quiz night WiFi

Open 7 day a week – Monday – Thursday 1 – 8 pm Friday and Saturday 12 – 11pm Sunday 12- 8pm 22A High St, Sittingbourne ME10 4PD Facebook: The Yellow Stocks Twitter: @theyellowstocks www.camra-swale.org.uk swaleale@gmail.com CAMRAswale 17

PROPER JOB CARNITAS TACO WITH PINEAPPLE SALSA

Ingredients 1kg pork shoulder (with fat and skin on) 1 litre vegetable stock 250ml of Proper Job IPA 2 bay leaves Corn tortillas Lime wedges

A recipe by Jack Stein

For the pineapple salsa 1 pineapple – peeled and sliced into 1cm thick slices Olive oil 1 red chilli diced 2 tablespoons lime juice Small bunch of coriander ½ red onion, finely diced

Method

For the Mexican tomato sauce 3 tablespoons of olive oil 400g can chopped tomatoes ½ tablespoon of white vinegar 2 teaspoon of onion powder 1 teaspoon of garlic powder ½ teaspoon of cumin 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon of white sugar 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon of oregano Optional extras Jalapeños Sour cream Sliced avocado

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Mexican dishes have just the right level of spice to harmonise well with Proper Job’s powerful blend of American hops. These carnitas tacos, with pineapple salsa, corn tortillas and pork that’s been slow cooked in Proper Job are delicious and beyond simple to make at home.

1.

Preheat oven to 160 degrees

2.

Heat up vegetable stock and Proper Job with bay leaves.

3.

Place pork shoulder in deep baking tray, skin side up and rub with sea salt. Once vegetable stock is hot poor around the pork shoulder, almost covering all the shoulder. Cover with baking paper and then seal baking dish with aluminium foil.

4.

Place in oven, remove pork shoulder after 4 hours and test softness. It should fall apart when using a fork to pull the meat.

If not at this stage return to oven for another 1-2hours.

5.

Make Mexican tomato sauce, while the pork finishes cooking. Heat up oil and combine all ingredients into a pot and cook together over low heat for about 20 minutes until slightly thickened.

When pork is finished, add one cup of vegetable stock to the sauce. Remove bay leaves.

6.

Once pork is cooked and can be easily pulled apart, remove from oven. Remove pork skin and fat layer and discard.

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7.

Remove pork meat from stock and place into another baking or large bowl. Shred the meat with a fork or tongs. Add tomato sauce to meat and stir through. If requires more liquid add a little more of left over stock. *(if preparing pork in advance, refrigerate shredded pork in a container and leftover stock in another, then whilst reheating, add some stock to re add juiciness to the meat).

8.

Taste and season with salt if necessary.

9.

Heat up a griddle pan on medium-high heat. Rub the pineapple slices with a little olive oil and grill each side for a few minutes. Remove from pan and cut pineapple slices into cubes. Add to a bowl along with onion, chilli, coriander and squeeze over lime juice. Stir together.

10. Heat up your corn tortillas in a dry frying pan – 1-2 minutes each side. Top with carnitas and pineapple salsa. Add optional toppings of sour cream, avocado slices and jalapeños. Serve with lime wedges

Swale Ale © Winter 2018 - Published by the Swale Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. Circulation: 2,250 Editorial Committee and Contributors: Gary Holness, Paul Irving, Matt Deller, Steve Bennion, Tony Tippins, Mary Cross, Andy Kitney, James Cousins Advertising: Matt Deller All correspondence to: Les Bailey, 58 Wallers Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7PL Email: swaleale@gmail.com www.camra-swale.org.uk www.issuu.com/swaleale Twitter: @CAMRAswale Facebook: CAMRAswale Telephone: 01795 538824 Any opinions expressed within these pages are those of the individual authors only and do not represent those of CAMRA or any of its officials. The existence of this publication in a particular outlet does not imply an endorsement of it by Swale CAMRA. Design & Layout: Ascent Creative Printed by: Abbey Print, Faversham Branch Details Chairman: John Sissons Secretary: Linda Gates Social Secretary: Rachel Collier Treasurer: Les Bailey Pubs Officer: Andrew Kitney Press and Publicity Officer: Matt Deller Membership Officer: Alex Earl

DESERT ISLAND

BEERS

This article is a bit of fun. I am pretending to be Kirsty Young of Radio 4 fame (update: it’s Lauren Laverne now) and asking you to imagine being cast away on a desert island – all alone except for your eight favourite beers and probably a cooling system (for the beer, not you!) – let’s not get too technical ‘though…just suspend disbelief and go with me on this one please.

What beers would you take to your desert island and why? And finally, if the waves were washing away your beer, which one – your favourite - would you save from the surf?

I cast away the Chair of Swale CAMRA John Sissons and this was his response: King and Barnes Old A 4.1% brown ale full of flavour and eminently drinkable. Great for those autumnal evenings.

Sadly King & Barnes was acquired by Hall & Woodhouse in 2000 with the production being moved, from memory to Blandford, and the brewery demolished to make way for housing.

Theakston Old Peculier Don’t let me confuse anyone here, this is the original version we are talking about and not the one available post Scottish and Newcastle takeover. It has never tasted as good again, even though Theakstons have retaken ownership in Masham where this is brewed.

My first pint of this fine ale was in The Little Gem at Aylesford. A pleasant evening from what I can remember.

Pictish Brewers Gold Introduced to me by two stalwarts of English beer, Peter Moynihan and Chris Pearce one Saturday whilst we were travelling down Sheffield’s valley of beer. I can’t remember the free house in which we drank it but I certainly can remember it not lasting long. A refreshing thirst quenching pale golden session beer at just 3.8% with plenty of flavour.

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Thornbridge Jaipur

Don’t be fooled, this one does not drink its weight and is likely to sneak up on you if you are not careful. Still one of the best beers around. A citrus dominated India Pale Ale, its immediate impression is soft and smooth yet builds to a crescendo of massive hoppiness accentuated by honey. An enduring, bitter finish with an ABV of 5.9%.

Bradfield Farmers Blonde Now here is something that is perfect for a summer’s day. A well-kept pint of Blonde is a thing of immense joy. Very pale, citrus and summer fruit notes this is in my opinion, the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon with friends. If you can find it ‘down south’ then make sure you don’t miss it.

Fremlins Tusker In the mid- late seventies when I was just about old enough to drink my dad (god rest his soul) told me that if was to be a proper man I needed to drink beer, not lager! He took me proudly to his local and promptly treated me to a pint of Courage Best. Politely, I then suggested we move on to The Ship on Shore just outside Sheerness where a pint of Joe Parks Tusker was one of the best things I had tasted. After a large mouthful my dad looked at me and quoted in his thick Yorkshire accent ‘there’s nowt wrong wi’ yer taste buds’. How I miss a pint of Tusker.

Cains Formidable Three intrepid explorers in the 1990’s went off to Liverpool seeking culture. Guess where there ended up! Yes finding it in the shape of Cains brewery in Exciting news to me is that Cains is looking to be re-opened shortly as part of a Brewery village area that includes a craft brewery. The Cains brewery tap in Stanhope Street has already re opened and is run by a couple of former Cains licensees. If they restart brewing Formidable, then I think a trip to Liverpool is on the cards.

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Gales HSB Finally, in my top eight down to the mid-South of England to Horndean in Hampshire for a brewery delight.

Horndean Special Bitter or HSB was, from memory, a nutty brown beer with a distinct pleasant aftertaste.

When Fullers closed the brewery in 2006 all production moved to Chiswick and another of England’s finest was lost to progress. HSB is still brewed and marketed by Fullers today but for those of you that know – it’s just not the same!

If I had to choose one from the pack above, then it would have to be the Tusker. If nothing else, I could hop on the elephants back for a ride!!

Thank you so much John for letting us know your desert island beers.

VACANT REGIONAL POSITIONS

Two regional posts are up for re-election in March 2019, if you are interested in either of these please email us at swaleale@gmail.com and we will send you further details

KENT REGIONAL DIRECTOR KENT REGIONAL TREASURER

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THE FOUNTAIN OF ALE SITTINGBOURNE Some forty two years ago The Fountain, Sittingbourne became the birthplace of Swale CAMRA. It was then called the Fountain Hotel and though the layout wasn’t greatly different from today it has seen many changes over the years. Originally a hotel this former Shepherd Neame hostelry has had many guises over the years, including a Thai restaurant and a music bar, but always remaining a public house.

Many memorable licensees have propped up the bar at this fine establishment during this time. Legendary Sittingbourne publican Ron Hammond has his own style of excluding patrons whose custom he didn’t care for by uttering “I will serve you my friend, but I can’t serve your friend my friend!”.

Publican Ian Parker moved to France after leaving his tenure at the Fountain and removed the bar and took it to France with him.

During the noughties Steve and Sue Nanson’s name was above the door. It was frequented by a lot of the local Sittingbourne Rugby Club who Steve was involved with. During that time the pub had numerous darts, pool and

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football teams.

After the Nansons left David Foster took over the reins. With his wife Asara and their family they provided scrumptious Thai food.

It was then turned into a music bar and then reclaimed by Shepherd Neame to be run by a succession of managers.

In 2017 the pub went up for lease on a free of tie. Four friends got together and decided to take it on, renaming it The Fountain of Ale. Featuring live music every Friday night and providing a varying range of real ales and local ciders, the pub has gone from strength to strength. With the majority of the Sittingbourne regeneration roadworks now completed, it is now possible to visit without taking your life in your hands crossing the road.

Opening hours

Monday – Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

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12:00 – 23:00 12:00 – 01:00 11:00 – 01:00 12.00 – 23.00 Malcolm Winskill

CAMRAswale

SWALE CAMRA AT THE

GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVAL Promoted by CAMRA as the World’s Largest “Pub” the Great British Beer Festival impressed many thousands of real ale, cider and continental lager followers from all four corners of the UK and from across the waters.

The festival caters for all needs, tastes and age groups. Obviously the 900+ ales is always a plus point but to complement this there is always a good attendance from some of the long standing UK breweries, food stalls, CAMRA merchandise, live music and bands throughout the five day extravaganza.

It is always one of the favourites on Swale CAMRA member’s beer festival calendar because of the gathering with friends and colleagues at the event. If you have yet to visit this annual festival you must do so, if nothing else it will certainly be an experience.

CHAMPION BEERS Mild Category: XX Mild - Greene King Bitter Category: Red McGregor - Orkney Best Bitter Category: Workie Ticket - Mordue Golden Ale Category: Oracle - Salopian Strong Bitter Category: Revelation - Fullers Dark Star Speciality Category: Brazilian Coffee and Vanilla - Colchester Supreme Winner 2018: Broken Dream Breakfast - Siren

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23

THE HUMBLE

BOTTLE OPENER At beer talks I normally tell people that the start of drinking and enjoying a beer is their choice of an appropriate glass. Before they buy any beer they should first acquire a glass they enjoy drinking from as it will enhance their enjoyment of the beer. However, I now realise there is something that comes before the glass and that is the humble bottle opener. For ones pleasure in enjoying a beer does not start with a favourite glass, it begins with a favourite bottle opener!

Just like a glass, a bottle opener is a personal item and we’ll all have our favourite. For me, if I can’t use my favourite opener the beer drinking experience gets off to a bad start.

Of course, the bottle opener has no impact on the quality of the beer but it’s about the subliminal relaxation of enjoying a beer, so the very start point of opening the bottle is very important. It is the first impression that counts and that begins with the use of your chosen opener, the kiss as it breaks the seal and releases the CO2 pressure within, which leads to the expectant anticipation of the delicious contents that are about to be enjoyed.

My favourite opener is a Homer Simpson Duff Beer opener, not that I’m a big fan of The Simpsons, it was a Christmas present from my wife’s grandsons around eight years ago and I have used it ever since. I know they chose it for me so it’s something special and even though it’s now somewhat rusted, I still enjoy using it. A bottle opener is a very personal thing, much like a cherished tie or coffee mug.

inventions there is some conjecture as to who was responsible but it’s generally recognised to be William Painter in Baltimore in 1892.

Until the invention of the crown cork soda and beer bottles were round ended and mostly sealed with corks. They were then stored on their sides to avoid the corks drying out. The invention of the crown cork not only changed the seal, it also changed storage methods and bottle shapes as bottles could now be stored upright.

More importantly, the new crown cork required an opener. These were traditionally flat pieces of metal and some resembled ornate church keys, hence they become known as “Church Key” openers. There is no record as to how and when they officially came by their name but there is certainly a similarity between the church key and the bottle opener of yesteryear.

From the 1900’s onwards bottle opener designs literally exploded like an over conditioned bottle beer. Brewers and soda producers in the USA were quick to see the marketing potential of such items. Some even included a pin on the reverse so they could be spun like a spin the bottle to see who bought the next round. Other designs included the speed opener, which is now known as the bar blade and of course the wall mounted opener allowed bottled beer to be opened with one hand.

British brewers were more conservative with their bottle openers, but wonderful vintage designs for the likes of Guinness and Carlsberg are readily found via google.

What has changed very little for the past century is the design of the crown cork, so all bottle openers have the same opening mechanism. Everyone should have a favourite opener, whether it’s a traditional design or a promotional item and it should be cherished and loved as the start point of many an enjoyable beer drinking experience.

The bottle opener has been around since the invention of the crown cork. As ever with new

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Marc Bishop Beer Sommelier

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25

TO BEER OR NOT TO BEER THAT’S A DAFT QUESTION! Greetings Gentle Reader. Welcome to another of Obadiah’s sideways looks at the world of our favourite tipple. This time I want to take you back in time five hundred years to Tudor times. The inspiration for this piece came from a recent trip with Mrs Spillage to the delightful town of Stratford upon Avon.

Whilst we were there we experienced the sensation of ‘being bombarded’. This, for those who don’t know, describes an over exposure to The Bard, William Shakespeare.

Now, you may be unfamiliar with intricacies of The Bard’s works but he mentions beer, or more correctly ale (beer brewed without hops), in many of his plays. For instance in Twelfth Night, Sir Toby Belch says ‘Dost thou think because thou art virtuous there shall be no more cakes and ale?’ Cakes in this instance are not the Mr Kipling variety but a type of sweetened bread popular at the time.

Having consumed much cake and ale during my stay I am not sure what that says about Obadiah’s virtue but there you go! Plundering the depths of Mr S’s work I found further mention of the ‘tawny and glorious’ in Henry VI Part 2. We find Jack Cade, the leader of a popular revolt against the government of England in 1450, saying to the assembled company ‘I shall make it a felony to drink small beer’. This got the old grey matter churning as to what small beer was.

In researching this piece I came across an interesting snippet of information, namely, that people did not drink the water in the 15th century England is a bit of a myth. Water has always been drunk and the idea that it was avoided because it was disease ridden is a modern one. This is simply because the population did not know about water borne

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diseases at the time so did not connect water with premature death. It was thought that diseases were as a result of curses or evil spirits. The reason the population drank ale, and in vast quantities (more of which later) was generally because it was a good source of calories as well as fluid. Particularly of vitamins such as vitamin B. Given that the average Tudor labourer would burn in excess of 3000 calories per day and sweat a lot doing so, the replenishment of energy and rehydration were important. Small beer was cheap and a good way of getting the energy and fluids needed to keep going.

Undoubtedly an upshot of drinking ale was a healthier populace simply because many of the bugs (cholera and the like) were killed off by the brewing process so people came quickly to the conclusion that beer was better for you than water.

Ale was generally brewed by women at this time and was considered part of the everyday food production of a household. If the ‘alewife’ was any good at brewing the beverage she would be able to supplement the family’s income by selling any excess. Ale was sold from the ale-wife’s premises which became known as ‘ale-houses’. A small bush was hung outside the premises to indicate that ale was available. In order to get the most out of the brewing ingredients three brews were made from the same mash. The first brew was a strong ale followed by a second use of the mash producing an average strength ale and finally a third mash producing ‘Small’ ale which was somewhere between 0.5% and 2.8%. No one really knows the exact strength but this is a best guess based on the fact that children were drinking it. Ale was drunk at

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Continued on page 30 CAMRAswale

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SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

An ale

A cider

A gin or two

A wine

Some Food

A smile from you

20 WEST STREET | SITTINGBOURNE | KENT | ME10 1AB @DONNASALEHOUSES 28

DONNAS ALEHOUSE

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DONNASALEHOUSE

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Wantsum Brewery Christmas Open Day Saturday 1ST December 2018 - 12:00 Noon-20:00 There will be 10% Discount on all merchandise purchased on the day from the shop (Including preorders) T-Shirts, Jumpers, Coats, Hats, Polypins and bottles etc…..

We will have a wide selection of our beers available including our Christmas Specials: Figgy Pudding & 5 Gold Grains to enjoy in our cosy taproom Our Tap Room opening Hours are as Follows: Friday: 4:00pm – 9:00pm Saturday: 2:00pm – 8:00pm Sunday: 2:00pm – 7:00pm

We will be opening on 21ST December at 2:00pm – 9:00pm – Wantsum Hoodners will be here from 8:00pm The Taproom will be closed from Saturday 22ND December until Friday 4TH January Follow us on social media @wantsumbrewery

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Kent Barn, St Nicholas Farm, St Nicholas at Wade, CT& 0PT To pre-order or for further information call 01227 910135 Or E-mail sales@wantsumbrewery.co.uk info@wantsumbrewery.co.uk

breakfast, lunch and supper with an average weekly consumption of 17 pints a week.

However, that was nothing compared to the royal court of Elizabeth I who in 1593 drank in 600,000 gallons in the year. So much ale was consumed that, due to excessive drunkenness in the court, Liz introduced a ban on the consumption of super strength ale known as ‘double beer’. Little wonder the time was known as ‘Merrie England’!

Back to the Spillages in Stratford.

One of the interesting facts learned was that the house where Will was born was once a pub called The Swan and Maidenhead.

Formally just called The Maidenhead, I wondered about the name. Maidenhead could be a corruption of Maidenhythe which is broken down as ‘maiden’ meaning new and ‘hythe’ meaning a wharf. Given the pubs proximity to the River Avon you can see how this might be the case. The swan must have muscled in on the act a bit later but if you have ever been to Stratford you will know that the descendants of those white feathered water fowl can be rather persistent if they fancy a bite of your sandwich!!

The family Shakespeare were surprisingly well connected with ale. Anne, Will’s wife, traded in malt and in 1556 John, Will’s father, was appointed as Official Ale Taster of Stratford upon Avon. This was an important job at the time. The job of the ‘Ale Conner’ as he was known was to test the strength and quality of the locally brewed ale and more importantly ensure that it was sold at a fair price. I feel a campaign coming on to re-instate the job given the price of beer in some of the establishments I have frequented lately. Form an orderly queue for those interested in applying!

The price check was not as it first appears a philanthropic measure to ensure that the poor hard-working populace of the town were not paying over the odds but to ensure that appropriate amount of tax was paid on the brew. You knew all along that the taxman

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would be behind such a job didn’t you! The Ale Conner’s job was a serious one however.

He had to swear an oath to taste at least a mouthful of each brew and had the power to report brewers for sub-standard brews or if he found that the ale was not up to scratch (or downright foul) or if they were engaging in deceitful or underhand practices like selling a weak ale at a higher cost purporting to be a strong ale. The job is not as bizarre as it first sounds and was really a sort of quality control to ensure that the ale sold was not unfit for consumption. Given that there were no preservatives and the hygiene conditions in the brew house were likely to be less than acceptable it was not uncommon for the beer to spoil quickly and become undrinkable.

I imagine that you would have heard an unscrupulous landlord say to a complaining customer that it was supposed to taste like that ‘for tis real ale!’ when a customer complained that his pint tasted of old socks.

So having been, as I mentioned at the start, ‘bombarded’ Mrs Spillage and I decided to repair to one of the many fine hostelries in the town. We found ourselves in the Garrick Inn, purporting to be the oldest in Stratford (there is a bit of a fight between the Garrick and the Old Thatch Inn as to which is actually the oldest). The half-timbered building has been used as a pub since 1718 and is on the site of an earlier mediaeval inn. The pub is a delight of small bars, nooks and crannies.

Although some of the dividing walls have been opened out with the removal of the wattle and daub the beams are still there (presumably keeping the upper floors up where they belong) giving you a feel of what a Tudor inn would have been like. Incidentally a most splendid pint of Prescott’s Chequered Flag, a 4.1% golden ale was partaken thereof.

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Interestingly it is believed that an outbreak of plague started in the inn in 1564 when a weaver’s apprentice died of the disease on the premises. I have to say that I have frequented a number of pubs in my time that I have thought capable of starting a bout of plague!

So not to show bias towards one inn claiming to be the oldest we visited the other (the aforementioned Old Thatch Inn). I got that wonderful feeling of a continuation of history as we entered. The pub is low ceilinged, beamy and was full to the gills with a noisy crowd all eating and drinking and generally making merry (and indeed filling themselves to the gills). The landlady was genial and had that contented if slightly harassed air about her of someone who knows that although it’s all totally mad in the pub tonight the takings will be healthy! Also I found out that dire deeds have occasioned on the premises.

Namely on Christmas Day 1795 one Joseph Pinfield was murdered in the pub and his ghost is said to haunt the place to this day.

Mind you he would have to be a very noisy ghost to make himself heard over the general hubbub in the house that night!

During my readings on the subject of Tudor ale (yes believe it or not research happens for these seemingly random scribblings) I have Sources and further reading: The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century - - Ian Mortimer The myth of Medieval small beer – Ian Visits Ye Olde Inn Guide – James Moore & Paul Nero www.camra-swale.org.uk

discovered that there are some wonderful terms used in a 16thcentury pub. For example a hardy drinker was known as an ‘Ale Knight’ (arise Sir Fit of Ale). To ‘Bizzle’ was to get drunk, being ‘Cupshotten’ was to be drunk as was being Fap or the wonderful phrase Upsee-freeze and if you were ‘Lion Drunk’ you were extremely drunk, presumably where we get the modern phrase ‘roaring drunk’.

Anyhoo I hope you have found my wanderings through Elizabethan times illuminating and in true style I would like to sign off with a short parody of The Bard himself. So with many thousand apologies here goes…..

If my words they hath offended Think of this and all is mended.

That you have but slumbered here Because you drank far too much beer.

Gentles do not reprehend; if you’ll pardon I will amend.

So put aside all of your woes And please forgive my awful prose.

I’ll get my coat! Toodle Pip, ‘til next time

Obidiah Spillage Tudor Times.co.uk Worldsbeerguide.com/beer in Tudor England William Shakespeare’s Father: Official Ale-Taster of Stratford-upon-Avon – Paul Anthony Jones

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Watergate Bay, Cornwall

32

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Offering a wide range of real ale in all styles Plus World Beers - Cider - Perry

GREAT BRITISH

19 - 23 FEBRUARY

Tuesday 19th Members Preview 17:30 - 22:30 Wednesday 20th - Saturday 23rd 12:00 - 22:30

Free Entry For CAMRA Members

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE winter.gbbf.org.uk/tickets

The Halls, St Andrews Plain, Norwich NR3 1AU GBBFWinter GreatBritishBeerFestivalWinter www.camra-swale.org.uk

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THE GOOD BEER GUIDE SELECTION CRITERIA With the 2019 edition of the Good Beer Guide recently launched, have you wondered how CAMRA selects pubs for the Guide?

Each CAMRA branch is responsible for the entries in its area within the county and each listed pub must consistently serve real ale (and real cider if offered) of good quality.

To help us do this, we collect beer quality information through CAMRA’s National Beer Scoring System (NBSS) in which members are asked to contribute scores for pubs throughout the year.

It is easy to score your beers in NBSS. Log in to CAMRA’s online pub guide, WhatPub (www.whatpub.com) using your membership number and the same password that you use to enter the CAMRA national website. Search for the pub and enter a score for each beer that you drank in the Submit Beer Scores panel on the right of the screen.

There is plenty of help and information about NBSS on the Beer Scoring tab. WhatPub is optimised for use on a smart phone and a downloadable app is planned, so you can score your beer in the pub while you drink it!

for paper forms and we will enter your scores for you.

Having collected thousands of beer scores over the year, we generate a report in January giving the average, best and worst scores for each pub and a confidence factor based on the number of scores received. The Branch Committee uses these data to draw up a list of eligible pubs with the highest average score, supplemented by other sources of information, and then visits them to update the pub details ahead of a selection meeting in February. All branch members are invited to that meeting at which we select our quota for the next Good Beer Guide.

To make this work better, we need many more members to enter their scores. We value the opinions of all members whether active or not and we need as many opinions as possible for as many pints in as many pubs as possible. This is so we can have confidence in the statistics. We ask members to score the pubs continually not just once or twice.

NBSS works across the country not just in our branch. If you are not a member but would like your opinions of beer quality.

If you don’t have online access at all, then ask your NBSS Coordinator at a branch meeting

CAMRA HQ

The UK’s best selling pub guide is back!

Get your hands on a copy of CAMRA’s 46th edition of the Good Beer Guide and hunt out the best pubs in Britain, with the help and guidance of CAMRA’s 180,000+ members.

Complete the form below and discover the indispensable guide for beer and pub lovers young and old. By buying the book directly from CAMRA you’re helping support and protect real ale, real cider & real perry, and pubs & pub-goers. The new guide is published in September 2018 you can order a copy now (details below).

How To Order* Post: Complete the form on this page and send to: CAMRA, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans AL1 4LW Phone: To order by credit card please phone 01727 867201 during office hours.

Online: Please visit www.camra.org.uk/shop

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Or enter your details and complete the Direct Debit form below and you will receive 15 months membership for the price of 12 and save £2 on your membership subscription Alternatively you can send a cheque payable to CAMRA Ltd with your completed form, visit www.camra.org.uk/joinus, or call 01727 798440.* All forms should be addressed to Membership Department, CAMRA, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LW. Your details: Title ................................ Surname ...............................................................

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MUSINGS OF A GRUMPY LANDLORD Well what a great summer that was, good news for the country pub trade. Nothing like an English country pub garden when the weather is right - and being England that isn’t often. It was good to see so many people taking a stroll to the pub along the creek, enjoying the weather and the views and stopping to chill out in the garden for a spell.

Now before anyone asks, we will not be following the current trend and introducing slush cider, Peanut and Cinnamon IPA, or a Strawberry Stout with ‘hints of cherry and a follow through of plum’ on our bar list.

Not that I have anything against those that do, it’s a tough economic market out there for pubs at the moment and I don’t blame anyone one for doing whatever they need to do to capture their share of the market in the current climate. If people didn’t want these things they wouldn’t sell. Each to there own, but I reckon that my lot would question my sanity if I introduced Popcorn flavoured Stout. Nor can I see Big Ron ordering a pint of marshmallow bitter with a flake and garnish of mint. I’m just waiting for the first brewer to come up with ‘mince pie mild, with a hint of brandy butter, and believe me, it is only a

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www.camra-swale.org.uk

matter of time before they do!

Another fact-finding trip to New York, this time with some of our regulars. A very successful and enjoyable time, commonly referred to as ‘The Shipwright’s on Tour NYC.’ Many beers were sampled and enjoyed and yet again I was impressed by the quality and range of beers available.

I am struck by the American way of not legislating their bars out of existence, by keeping bureaucracy and legislation to the minimum required for a safe environment in the licensed trade. Adults are treated as just that, with the faculties to make their own decisions about where, what and when to drink and in what quantities.

Six days and I didn’t see one drunk, or more importantly no groups staggering around and generally being obnoxious a sight all too common on many the High Streets of this country. OK, so the minimum age for drinking is 21, but I’ll stick my head above the parapet here and say is that such a bad thing? Talking to my American friends, it would seem that although drunken behaviour obviously does occur, it is generally socially unacceptable.

swaleale@gmail.com

CAMRAswale

The main difference seems to be that American citizens are deemed to responsible for their own actions and are not subject to the never ending bureaucratic rules and regulations that govern our licensed trade.

In my opinion, we in the UK now live in a society where legislation is often introduced to cover the 5% of the population who don’t have the wit or intelligence to make their own decisions or take responsibility for their actions. Get drunk, fall over and bang your head and then sue the bar, bar person, local council, your parents, school or anyone else rather than accept that it was down to your own actions that you were hurt.

If the ‘we know best’ brigade had their way we would spend our time sitting at home crocheting - (actually they would probably consider that dangerous because it involves needles)! On a seasonal note, winter is upon us - (albeit a bit later than normal) - and time to light the fires.

There’s something about sitting in a centuries old pub in front of a log fire and holding a pint of ale that is quintessentially British. In our case, Poppy the cat will get pole position near

one of the fires and woe betide anyone who tries to dislodge her from her favourite chair unless of course they are prepared to offer a comfortable lap to curl up on!

Poppy has become quite a well-known character and has a following of loyal fans on our Facebook page. Being a cat, she of course accepts all the attention as her given right and makes it quite clear by her attitude that it is actually her pub but she graciously allows others to share it with her.

Woe betide the dog that gets a bit too fresh with her though. Normally she treats dogs with a sort of feline contempt and totally ignores them, but if one gets a bit too pushy, she is quite capable of taking care of herself with a well aimed swat on the nose. I hope everyone has a good Christmas and hope that you frequent your local hostelry as often as possible.

Derek AKA ‘The Grumpy Landlord’.

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

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PRIZE CROSSWORD Prize crossword compiled by R Gregory 1

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Across 1 Flow of Master Brew (6) 4 Tanks of first fine beers according to report (5) Solution to last issue's puzzle 8 The flower of German wine? (5) 9 Warren back W A slips T E R toLhave O aOglass (7) T I C 10 Failure to clean barrels maybe (7) C G N A L R A 11 It can make you run right into bar (4) HStep O into A Rpubs D whenRthey E open F Rand A I N 12 Ahave aI drink (3) E F A C N 14 Eels wriggling in the grounds (4) R A N K L E D C R E D O 15 After Watneys keg, nothing better (4) S Ein theOproduction T of kegged N 18 I Urge involved beer (3) N I TW I T H OO V E S 21 Empty barrels drinking like a fish (4) G T C R (7)I T 23 Two men could be kind of stout 25 Agitate right type of cup (7) V E R C L A with I M L A Y O 26 Open a French pub (5) R S O E A E 27 Knock back beer fit for a king (5) O M I without T T aElotRof booze M ups E L 28 Shows (6) E E

S A I I O D T Down 1 SCould I Nthese be V clutched I C TbyOdesperate R I A Thedrinkers?

(6) won by T. Lavell of London E 7.Other correc £10 prize was 2 entries Newwere edition about Susie brewing (7) W. Fullick, received by: S. Christie, L. Edwards, 3 P. He turns up to stop depicable person in Hutcheson, A. MacGregor, T. Mayhew, D. Peacock, S. the boozer (8) S. Tompkins, R. Wright Renwick, A. Sach, 4 Female, poorly after drinking this (4) 5 Send EXCLUSIVE......”Queen goes to bar” (5) or by post all entries by email to saxwords@gmail.com 6 Drink this water in season (6) Kent ME13 8DZ Saxwords 48b Newton Road Faversham 7 AllSees drinking vessel by on??/??/?? board (5) correct entries received will be entered into a 13 Influence is will an be anathema toin the draw for a prize(when of £10. on Thetop) winner announced next CAMRA members (8) issue along with other entries.

16 What a footballer may do if he’s had a few If you toohave many any(7) questions please email the above address or 17 Problem is awill blockhead send an s.a.e.drinker All queries be answered after the closing d employer (6) 19 Wine ingredient, good variety of pear (5) Name..........................................................................................

20 Drunk singer and painter (6) 22 Drink endlessly - that’s smart (5) Address......................................................................................

24 Included in inferior ale test (4)

Across Ref 1055 1 Flow of Master Brew (6) 4 Tanks fine beers report (5) Thanks toofallfirst those who according entered. to I hope you enjoyed solving it as much 8 The flower of German wine? as (5) I did compiling it. you will outa this 9 AsWarren slipssoon back find to have glassissue’s (7) offering is to for drinkers. the clue or the 10 Failure clean barrels Either maybe (7) answer has something tointo do bar with 11 It can make you run right (4)drink (not all necessarily alcoholic).

12 Step into pubs when they open and have a drink (3) 14 Eels Have funwriggling solving!in the grounds (4) 15 After Watneys keg, nothing better (4) Name: 18 Urge involved in the production of kegged beer (3) 21 Empty barrels drinking like a fish (4) Address: 23 Two men could be kind of stout (7) 25 Agitate with right type of cup (7) 26 Open a French pub (5) 27 Knock back beer fit for a king (5) 28 Shows without a lot of booze ups (6) Down All entries received by 31/01/19 will (6) 1 correct Could these be clutched by desparate drinkers? ....................................................................................................

Solutions to last issue’s puzzle: be into a draw a prize 2 entered New edition about Susiefor brewing (7) of £10. The ACROSS - 1: WATERLOO, 6: TIC, 9: HOARD, 10: prize thedepicable solutionperson will be printed 13: CREDO, 14:you NITWIT, 15: solving i 3 Hewinner turns upand to stop in the boozer (8) REFRAIN, Thanks to 11: allRANKLED, those who entered.

I hope enjoyed in the next issue, along with all other correct HOOVES, 18:I CLAIM, 20: LAYOVER, 4 Female, poorly after drinking this (4) as much as did compiling it. As you21: willOMITTER, soon find out this entries.

22: MELEE, 23: SIN, 24: VICTORIA DOWN - 2: 5 EXCLUSIVE......"Queen goes to bar" (5) issue's offering is for drinkers. Either the clue or the AGAINST, 3: END, 4: LAREDO, 5: OLFACTORY, 6: answer Entries by email to saxwords@gmail.com 6 Drink this water in season (6) has something to doSTREET, with drink8:(not all necessarily TRACE, 7:CANNON CHARING CROSS,alcoholic). or by post to Saxwords, 48b Newton Road, 7 Sees drinking vessel on board (5) Have fun solving!

12: LEITMOTIV, 16: VIVALDI, 17: CLERIC, 19: ASIAN, Faversham, Kent, ME13 8DZ. Scanned and 22: MOO 13 Influence (when on top) is an anathema to Camra emailed entries preferred but all entries The £10 prize was won by T. Lavell of London E7. members (8) welcome including photocopies.

16 What a footballer may do if he's had a few too many (7) Other correct entries were received from: If you have any questions please email the S. Christie, L. Edwards, W. Fullick, P. Hutcheson, 17 Problem drinker a blockhead above address or is send S.A.E. employer (6) A. MacGregor, T. Mayhew, D. Peacock, S. Renwick, 19 Wine ingredient, good variety of pear (5) A. Sach, S. Tompkins, R. Wright I will reply to all queries after the closing date.

20 Drunk singer and painter (6) 22 Drink endlessly - that's smart (5) 24 Included in inferior ale test (4)

Compiled by R Gregory

www.camra-swale.org.uk

swaleale@gmail.com

CAMRAswale

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SW th A e LE Ye ar 20 18 of

Pu b

Real Ale Craft Beer Bottle Shop Cider Wine Over 50 gins

Admiral's Arm Micropub Trafalgar Court West Street Queenborough , ME11 5AD Tel: 01795 668598 info@admiralsarm.co.uk

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