swale ale winter 2011

Winter Issue 2011 1

The FREE Magazine of the Swale branch of

CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale

Swale Ale Vol 4 Issue 1

T he British pub is a unique institution, but the bad news is

that there are increasingly fewer pubs

for us to enjoy. 2011 started badly for

the Swale area with the closure by Shepherd Neame of The Windmill,

London Road, Faversham. Although sold and available for letting as a pub, it

is still boarded up. The Wheatsheaf in Newington closed 13th April and is no

longer a pub; planning consent allowed

change of use from pub to a letting

agent. Pubs are, of course, businesses;

the reason they close is that the owners are either not making enough

money or feel they can make more money if the building was used for

another purpose. In many cases after a

pub closes the building stands empty

and boarded up for ages like The Prince

of Wales and The Golden Ball, Sittingbourne. They are now joined by

The Globe and Engine Sittingbourne and The Three Squirrels. Many more

examples exist in Swale and often they

are indicative of the failings of the pub

company financial model, and when

PUB CLOSURES IN SWALE Will new legislation help prevent more?

In this issue….

UK and Overseas Pub Visits including: Brussels and London

Branch and Brewery News

A Look at the first Good Beer Guide

The Sondes Arms

Selling

Winter Issue 2011 2

The Old Wine Vaults is a 16th

century pub set in the heart of historic Faversham. 75 Preston Street, Faversham

01795 591817

FOUR Cask Ales

TWO Cask Ciders Swale Cider Pub of the Year

From after work nibbles to Christmas Dinners.

Christmas Day Lunch Four Courses with Wine £60

New Years Eve Party £10 including a free Fizz, Buffet and

Raffle

20p off a pint of Plum Puddinged with a valid CAMRA card.

The pub is open Mon-Sat 11am to 11pm and Sundays pm to

10.30pm.

Winter Issue 2011 3

Pub Closures

they give up they have tried restrictive covenants on the sale to prevent

others having a go. Even more surprising to some local drinkers is the

number closed by Faversham’s own brewery; no doubt part of their

planned disposal of small community

pubs, seemingly in favour of ‘quality’

eating establishments. Recently The Sondes Arms,

Selling was suddenly closed by Shepherd Neame. It was different from

many others, as a rural pub with limited alternatives. The local residents

put up some resistance to save their

local. Our Brewery Liaison Officer Bob

asked Shepherd Neame about the closure and was told:- “The Sondes is

not being sold to a developer. We have invited the local community to express

interest. If the local community do not purchase then I would anticipate

disposal on an existing use basis i.e. as

a Free House.

U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e l o c a l community interest failed to find a

solution, a tall order in such a short space of time, but there is still hope for

the Sondes, and maybe for two other

pubs, one formerly in the Shep’s estate,

which were being sold and will hopefully reopen soon. The Ship,

Sittingbourne was sold at auction and is expected to reopen as a pub/restaurant

while the Brown Jug at Upchurch is currently being sold as a pub.

What can we do about closures?

What is CAMRA doing? Well CAMRA

has been active in facing up to the closure trend by lobbying against

closures for some years and raising public awareness. Each branch provides

information on what is happening locally and this information is used in tackling

the various aspects that cause the problem.

CAMRA has just responded to a Government consultation on the impact

that imposing restrictive covenants on the sale of pubs has on local

communities. This consultation has taken place as a result of a long-running

CAMRA campaign, via the Sustainable Communities Act.

At the same time CAMRA has been pursuing a campaign for Pub

Company reform with members recently encouraged to contact their

MPs. Recent research shows that tied pubs are twice more likely to close than

‘free of tie’ pubs. On 18th October CAMRA also

The Globe and Engine

Sittingbourne

Continues on page 5

Winter Issue 2011 4

Swale Ale ©

Winter 2011

Published by the Swale Branch of the

Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. (CAMRA).

Circulation 800

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: (01795 538824)

Editorial Committee and Contributors: Jeff

Waller, Gary Holness, Keir Stanley, Andrew

Kitney, Paul Irving, Suzanne Collins

Print Liaison: Simon Ing

Advertising: Gary Holness

———————————————

All Correspondence to: Les Bailey

58 Wallers Road

Faversham

Kent

ME13 7PL

———————————————

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 .

———————————————

Printed by:

University of Kent Press

———————————————

Branch Details:

Chairman: Simon Ing

Secretary: Les Bailey

Social Secretary: Gary Holness

Treasurer: Les Bailey

Branch Contact: Les Bailey (01795 538824)

Editorial

A nother edition of Swale Ale! If you

read the last copy (summer), you

might be forgiven for thinking that we

were shutting up shop. All organisations

have communication problems and

obviously we did. As a Branch we must

thank the previous editor for the

phenomenal amount of work and effort

he devoted to the magazine and I am

sure he will be pleased that the

publication continues.

Now back to campaigning. The

front article highlights one of the most

worrying aspects for the real ale drinker

today; the closure of pubs. At a time

when more people are drinking real ales,

the number of places available to do so

declines in number. As an individual

there are many things you can do locally

to help stem the tide of closures but the

first thing which will provide you with a

voice for consumer choice, is to join

CAMRA!

www.camra-swale.org.uk

Winter Issue 2011 5

Chairman’s Chat

H i I’m Simon and I’m the current

Chairman of the Swale branch of

CAMRA. I hope you find this free

magazine interesting. Take it with you if

you like, pass it on or leave it in the pub

for someone else to read. Now can I ask

for your help? I like good beer, and if

you’re in a pub then hopefully so do you.

CAMRA needs you to tell us if the beer

is good and tell us if it’s not.

As much as I would like to go to every

pub in the area, I don’t have the time.

But if everyone who reads this visits only

one other pub, that’s a lot of pubs.

Better than that, that’s a lot of beer

tasted. So please if you would

recommend a pub and its beer to a

friend, how about telling us as well.

Thanks,

Simon Ing

Pub Closures

issued a press release to say that they welcomed the proposed new National

Planning Policy Framework which is out for consultation and particularly the

following:

The specific instruction for local

planning authorities to "plan positively for the provision and

integration of community facilities (such as local shops, meeting places,

public houses and places of worship)."

The introduction by Councils of

policies to safeguard community

facilities such as pubs.

The encouragement of local planning authorities to consider use of Article

4 Directions to require planning permission for the demolition of

local facilities.

The application of these policies to

urban as well as rural pubs and all

pubs, rather than just pubs in local

centres for the first time.

These are some examples but others and more detail can be found on

the CAMRA website. BUT one thing we can all do is

use our locals, encourage the Landlord to have locally sourced real ale and if

you are not a member join us. Remember; the Cask Report research

shows that Britain's 7.8 million real ale drinkers are more than twice as likely

as other drinkers to visit the pub once a week or more. (The Cask Report 2011-

12, written annually by beer writer Pete

Brown and backed by CAMRA, SIBA,

Cask Marque and IFBB)

Finally I leave you with the recent words of Shepherd Neame

Chairman M H Templeman:- “It is disappointing to note that the

Government has so far failed to recognise the importance of beer and

pubs to the economy and the social and

cultural life of the UK.” [JW]

Winter Issue 2011 6

Kent Pub and Brewery News

Swale CAMRA Branch Diary

Sunday 11th December: Faversham

Christmas Pub Crawl starting at the Anchor,

Abbey Street at 12 noon.

Wednesday 14th December: Open Branch

Business Meeting: 7:30pm, Swann and

Harlequin.

Wednesday 11th January: Open Branch

Business Meeting: 7.30pm, The Swan,

Teynham.

Wednesday 8th February: Open Branch

Business Meeting: 7.30pm, The Bear,

Faversham.

Wednesday 14th March: Open Branch

Business meeting: 7.30pm, The Red Lion, Blue

Town, Sheerness.

HOPDAEMON: Brewed a beer in

November called Artic Citra, using citra

hops, for the Dartford Working Mens

Club.

RAMSGATE BREWERY (Gadds): Is

holding an Open Day on 17th December,

1- 5pm.

SHEPHERD NEAME: Christmas Ale

(5%) on draught should now be available.

Porter (4.8%): two brews were planned

for late November, amounting to 32/33

nine gallon casks only of this beer using

Pale, Crystal, Brown and Black malts. It

should be in the pubs about three weeks

later.

Seasonal Beer Availability :

Our Brewery Liaison Officer has also

been advised when seasonal beers will be

available from the brewery. (The brewery

divides them up as seasonal and event

beers but they are listed in their order of

appearance)

Late Red (4.5%) - w/c 10th October

2011 to 23rd March 2012

Christmas Ale (5.0%): w/c 21st

November to 23rd December 2011

Amber Ale (4.5%): - w/c 9th January to

24th February 2012

Double Stout (4.1%) - w/c 5th March to

23rd March 2012

Early Bird (4.3%) - w/c 26th March to

18th May 2012

Dragonfire (4.5%) - w/c 16th April to

27th April 2012

Canterbury Jack (3.5%) w/c 7th June to

28th September 2012

Whitstable bay (4.1%) w/c 21st June to

2nd September 2012

For updates visit our website at:

http://www.camra-swale.org.uk/

Winter Issue 2011 7

Winter Issue 2011 8

Winter Issue 2011 9

Beer Festivals 6-10 December (Tue-Sat): Pig’s Ear Beer &

Cider Fest, Round Chapel, Powerscroft Rd,

Hackney E5 0PU. 200-plus beers in

Magnificent English Heritage-restored venue,

w/seated Gallery area. Open: Tue-Thu N oon - 10 . 3 0p m ; F r i - S a t : N oon -

11pm.Entrance: CAMRA Members £2; Non-

M e m b e r s £ 4 . F u r t h e r i n f o :

www.pigsear.org.uk

9th - 11th December :The Elephant,

Faversham; Winter Ales Festival.

18-21 January 2012 (Wed-Sat) : National

W i n t e r A l e s F e s t i v a l 2 0 1 2

Sheridan Suite, MANCHESTER; Wednesday –

5 p m - 1 0 . 3 0 p m

Thursday, Friday & Saturday – 12noon-10.30pm. See www.nwaf.org.uk for ticket

prices

3rd - 4th February : White Cliffs : Maison

Dieu (Town Hall), Dover, Kent, CT16 1DL :

Friday 3rd from 1pm to 11pm; Saturday 4th

from 10.30am to 6pm (unless the beer runs

out). Admission £5.00 on Friday, £2.00 on

Saturday. Free to card-carrying CAMRA

members. Admission will be refunded if you

join CAMRA at the beer festival.

SHEPPEY

(The Bay View (287 Leysdown Road,

Leysdown) – no real ale

Ferry House Inn (Harty Ferry) – no real ale Wheatsheaf (Warden Road, Eastchurch) –

Abbot and Bombardier (guest). Ale may be

served in jugs and they always have a

rotating guest ale.

The Castle Inn (78 High Street, Eastchurch)

– no real ale

Shurland Hotel (Eastchurch) – London

Pride.

Harps Inn (The Lees, Minster) – no real ale

The Playa (The Lees, Minster) – Masterbrew

and Late Red (although not a Shepherd Neame pub)

SITTINGBOURNE

Golden Ball, Murston, – A planning

application has been submitted for

demolition and replacement with 9 terraced

houses.

Old Oak, – sold and currently being

converted (we understand) to wine bar/

bistro.

The Ship : We understand it is sold and will

be re-opening as a Pub/Restaurant The Cherry Tree. Is currently closed.

SELLING: The Sondes Arms: The closed

pub is for sale on the open market as a pub.

A planning application for change of use is to

be expected if it fails to sell as a pub.

Meanwhile the housing development on the

former rear garden has commenced.

LocAle:

Three Tuns , Lower Halstow and The Swan,

Teynham. These are now included in the LocAle pub scheme as local ales always

available.

Publications:

The Railway Faversham and the Rose and

Crown Perry Wood have both featured in

CAMRAs new book ‘Great British Pubs’ -

Congratulations!

Pub News

If you have any pub or beer

festival news please contact

Swale Ale at:

Les Bailey

58 Wallers Road

Faversham

Kent

ME13 7PL

[email protected]

http://www.pigsear.org.uk/

http://www.nwaf.org.uk/

Winter Issue 2011 10


T his years CAMRA Beer Stall at the

Hop Festival in Faversham was

again a great success, which was helped

by larger than normal crowds on

Saturday. Our pitch was outside Iceland

Frozen Food store in East Street as it

has been for a number of years, a great

location in my view as it offers easy

access for setting up and take down. It

also is beneficial to our customers as

there is ample space to enjoy your ale or

cider, as being off the main street it gives

a welcome break from the crowds.

Saturday was blessed with perfect

weather making us extremely busy with

queues up to eight deep at the bar as

our volunteers worked as fast as

possible to serve the thirsty throng. A

wide range of customers sought us out,

from CAMRA members who are regular

visitors, the Morris dancing groups,

people who had travelled long distances

to visit the Hop Festival and local

townsfolk enjoying the l ively

atmosphere.

Beers for the weekend were

sourced from three Kent breweries,

Gadds of Ramsgate, Hopdaemon of

Newnham and Whitstable Brewery

based at Grafty Green. Eighteen firkins

of beer were ordered for the weekend

with twelve being sold on Saturday

alone. Cider came from two producers,

Old Wife Cider from near Chilham and

Kent Cider Company from near

Teynham.

Nearly all of our stock of cider

sold out on Saturday and extra supplies

had to be obtained from Kent Cider Co.

on Sunday to meet expected demand.

Sunday’s weather stated bright

but with a gusty breeze and some small

showers of rain around lunchtime did

little to deter visitors from enjoying the

festival. The stocks of beer and cider

finally ran out around 4pm that day

much to the disappointment of

customers to our stall. A great weekend

it had been with our staff managing to

sign up nine new members to the

Campaign for Real Ale. I should lastly

like to take this opportunity to thank all

the people who assisted in planning and

running this years stall, as it has been for

a number of years run in partnership

between Canterbury & Herne Bay and

Swale Branches. And to all our

customers thank you for your support

and see you next year.

[GH]

Morris Dancers Next to

CAMRA Beer Stall

Hop Festival Beer Stall

3rd & 4th September 2011


CAMRA’S

GREAT BRITISH PUBS

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has today (1st Nov.) released a new publication which has

taken on the ambitious task of celebrating everything great about the British pub!

CAMRA's Great British Pubs is the definitive

collection of the top 200 must-visit pubs that can be found from the tip of Cornwall to the Scottish

Highlands.

The Railway Hotel, Faversham is included amongst them.

That’s nice, isn’t it? THE RAILWAY HOTEL

Preston St, FAVERSHAM, Kent. www.railwayhotelfaversham.co.uk

odd, eh?

http://www.railwayhotelfaversham.co.uk


A look back at the first CAMRA

Good Beer Guide

W ith the 2012 Good Beer Guide a must on many peoples Christmas

list here is a nostalgic look back at the

first edition. Published by CAMRA in

1974, when flares and wide lapels were all the rage, Blazing Saddles and The Exorcist

were on at the cinema and beer cost

around 15p a pint! The headline on the opening page

of editorial was “The quest for a decent

pint”, which set out the stall for CAMRA. The

two major threats to

good ale were seen to

be: “The large scale p r o m o t i o n o f

characterless keg and

tank beers at an advertising cost of

millions of pounds each

year” and “The transfer

from traditional methods of serving draught beer

to pumps using carbon dioxide pressure,

which make ale gassy and sickly”. The guide stated that: “It is designed to help

people who are searching for a decent

drop of ale anywhere in England, Wales or the Isle of Man. It is not just another

pub guide recommending the

unsuspecting traveler to places cluttered

up with horse brasses or landlords who won a runners-up medal in the 1949 FA

Cup Final. It is for the millions of people

who spend millions of pounds a year between them on beer and deserve a

product of quality.”

The guide cost all of 75p and was

96 pages long and, as well as the

introductory editorial, included an article entitled “What IS real ale?” which went

on to define what CAMRA considered to

be real ale covering ingredients, storage

and serving methods. As today the guide was split into counties and had a list of

brewers at the back (which barely

covered two pages!). The two brewers in Kent that are mentioned are Whitbread

Faversham (Fremlins) of which they

comment “Several regional brews still

retained without gas,

but quality varies” and

Shepherd Neame (Faversham) about

which is commented

“Good when it is not gassed up”

Kent had 56

pubs listed in the guide

of which 4 were in Faversham (The Bear,

The Railway, The Sun and the Willow

Tap), 4 in Sittingbourne (The Fountain, The Globe and Engine, The Milton Arms

and The Park Tavern) and 2 in Sheerness

(The Old House at Home and the Ship on Shore). Also in the Swale CAMRA

area was listed The Three Horseshoes at

Staplestreet, The Chequers at

Doddington, The White Lion at Selling and the Blacksmiths Arms at Wormshill.

A total of 14 pubs.

As the latest edition of the Good Beer Guide hits the shops “The quest for

a decent pint” carries on but it is a lot

easier in 2012 than it was in 1974! I’m off

to see if the flares still fit and dig out my old ABBA LPs. [OS]


The Old House at The Old House at HomeHome

QueenboroughQueenborough

The home of The home of live music!live music!

Bands every Sunday from 5pm also bands some Fridays & Saturdays

Jamming nights every WednesdayJamming nights every Wednesday

A great place to meet and see the sunsetA great place to meet and see the sunset

Real Ales changing regularlyReal Ales changing regularly

We serve food Monday to We serve food Monday to Saturday from 12 to 9Saturday from 12 to 9

Roast Sunday dinners 12 to 4Roast Sunday dinners 12 to 4

Real log fireReal log fire “May you come as a stranger and leave as a friend”

Children & dog's are welcome

Tel: 01795 662463

[email protected]

1, High Street, Queenborough ME11 5AA


Folkestone Leas Lift Beer Festival

T hat unseasonable scorcher of a

weekend (seems a while ago now

doesn’t it) was both a blessing and a curse for

the organisers of the Folkestone Leas Lift

Beer Festival on the 23rd—25th September.

It was such a popular event that the bar was

drunk dry on the Saturday night, meaning

those planning a Sunday session were left

disappointed.

We arrived on the Saturday

afternoon and could tell by the huge

gathering of people at the bottom of the cliff

that things were going well. We took a ride

in the lift, dating back to 1885 down to the

bottom of the cliff. The lift was free for

CAMRA members during the beer festival or

£2 return for non-members. We bought our

vouchers and duly queued for a few minutes

in the small enclosed area near the lift’s

entrance for our first pint of the day.

There was a varied selection of local

ales on offer, from mild through to some

lovely hoppy beers from Canterbury Brewers,

Abigale in Ashford, Canterbury Ales,

Wantsum and The Old Dairy Brewery.

There was also a Leas Lift Beer brewed

specially by Abigale for the festival, as well as

at least six different ciders and perries.

Other than a few straw bales strewn

around the seafront for those who were

perhaps no longer able to remain upright,

most people congregated to sup their pints

on the wide path between the lift and the

stony beach.

The next festival is planned for

February 2012, when I’m sure there will be

enough beer for the whole weekend. [SC]

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 Davington School turn into Ham Road and follow the signs across the marsh.

http://www.theshipwrightsarmspub.co.uk/


Valid from 2nd January 2012 until 29th February 2012


Thornbridge Brewery Tap

A s a build up to the Clun Valley Beer festival weekend I had the pleasure

of an overnight stop in Sheffield. Anyone

that knows anything about beer in

Sheffield will have certainly spent many an hour at the Thornbridge Sheffield Tap -

then no doubt moving on spent a few

more enjoyable hours in the Kelham Island Brewery tap (about 10 mins walk

away).

The Sheffield Tap is housed within the former Edwardian Refreshment Room &

Dining Rooms at Sheffield Station. What

is seen to visitors today is two years of

hard work and considerable investment to restore the rooms to their original

condition. They became disused in the

1960’s, with the final whistle being dealt by British Rail in the 1970’s when the

Refreshment Room was converted into a

waiting room. The original mahogany bar

top was removed and the damaged front bar pushed to the rear of the room

beneath the back bar, and the ornate

fireplace and features taken from the building. Over a few months the Grade II

listed interior was vandalised and

eventually locked-up in 1976. The interior was then left to decay with the original

ornate plaster ceiling suffering partial

collapse due to the leaking roof. Finally in 2008 after lots of ‘red tape’

Thornbridge gained access to the derelict

rooms and begin the much sought after

restoration. With private investment and grant assistance from The Railway

Heritage Trust, the brewery were able to

correct the damage caused by years of abuse. Their vision was to repair where

possible and replicate as required. The

ornate barrel plaster ceiling is a complete replica of the previous feature, taken from

moulds of the original and handmade by a

local contractor. The existing mahogany

bar was salvaged from pieces of the original, being rebuilt and polished to

detail. It is worth noting that the brewery

is the caretaker of the tap as it is Grade II listed and publicly owned.

Today the Tap offers the a superb choice

of beer sourced from all over the UK,

dispensed from 10 traditional cask hand pulls (at least 5 from Thornbridge) and 12

continental swing handled taps. This

impressive selection is complemented and set against a backdrop of over 2000

bottled world beers. DEFINITELY ONE

OF MANY PUBS TO TRY WHEN NEXT

IN SHEFFIELD.

[AK]


The Elephant Faversham’s Free House

Swale CAMRA Pub of the Year 2007 to 2011 and East Kent CAMRA Pub of the Year 2010

Normally five beers, mainly from local microbreweries and a real traditional cider

Large courtyard garden and a function room

Open: Tuesday to Friday: 3pm to 11pm, Saturday: 12 noon to 11pm, Sunday: 12.00 noon to 7pm

31 The Mall, Faversham, Kent ME13 8JN. Tel: 01795 590157


Cantillon Brewery,

Brussels

N ot far from the Gare du Midi in

Brussels, in a unassuming street,

lies one of the brewing gems of Brussels.

In fact if it weren’t for a good guidebook

and the sign outside I would have walked

straight past taking no notice. But as I

opened the door and stepped inside a

rich vinous aroma engulfed me and it

was as if I had stepped back in time.

The Cantillon Brewery is a family

brewery where Lambic, Gueze and Kriek

are made and where nothing has

changed since 1900 when it was

founded. The Van Roy-Cantillon family.

The brewery offers a self guided

tour where you will see the original

copper cooling vessels that allow the

wild yeasts in the air to naturally

impregnate the beer which is then

fermented in the barrel and stored for

up to three years. You have to remind

yourself, as you are walking through the

avenues of barrels, that you are not in

one of the famous cognac houses in

France.

The tour starts and ends in the

bar - a delightful beamed and flagged

area with an old iron pot stove in the

centre and scrubbed wooden tables and

benches. Here you can sit and sample

the beers whilst watching the bottling of

the next batch. On the tour you will see

the round copper brew kettle where

grain malts and water combine and dried

hops are added during the boil. The

entire building filled with a wonderful

aroma that is familiar to anyone who has

spent time near a brewery.

The wort is then transported to

the cooling tun. This is a large, open, and

shallow copper pan which holds 7,500

litres of wort. The tun is entirely riveted,

with no welds and is a testament to the

skill of the coppersmith who made it.

This allows a large amount of surface

area to be exposed to chilly air via

louvers in the building’s walls. This

process can only take place from the

end of October to the start of April as

The Cooling Tun

The Brew Kettle


OVER 600 OF THE FINEST

ALES SOLD NATIONALLY

AT J D WETHERSPOON

BRITAIN’S NO.1 SUPPORTER

OF MICROBREWERIES

JOIN CAMRA TODAY AND

RECEIVE WETHERSPOON

REAL VOUCHERS WORTH £20 FULL DETAILS ON APPLICATION FORM: WWW. CAMRA.ORG.UK

Join us for your Christmas meal up to 22 December.

No booking required.

Why not eat on one of our Club days? Steak Club: Tuesdays 3pm to 10pm

Curry Club: Thursdays 3pm to 10 pm

Sunday Club (Roasts): Sundays Noon to 6pm

Club meals include a free drink. See menu for details.

20-22 Preston Street, Faversham, Kent Subject to local licensing restrictions and availability at participating free houses

THE LEADING LIGHT

wetherspoon


Cantillon Brewery, Brussels

at other times the air is not cold enough

to cool the wort quickly enough. Two

things happen here: first, the liquid cools

down quickly; and second, it is produced

with natural yeasts that happen to be

airborne around the building at that time.

The resultant brew is then transferred to

oak or chestnut barrels for fermenting

and aging where they will stay for up to

three years before being blended and

bottled.

Lambic beer is somewhat of an

acquired taste due to its sourness. Some

batches are more acid and some more

bitter and some are softer and less

harsh. This is due to the natural

characteristics of the brewing process.

Batches of different aged lambics are

blended together to create Gueuze. Fruit

is added to other lambics to produce

Kriek (cherry), or Framboise

(raspberry).

Further Reading:

CAMRA Good beer guide to Belgium –

Tim Webb

CAMRA 100 Belgian beers to try before

you die – Tim Webb & Joris Pattyn

The Barrel Store

Pubs to visit in

Brussels

—————————— Delirium

4a Impasse de la Fidelite

This beer café stocks over 2000

beers.

Poechenellekelder

5 Rue du Chene

Opposite the statue of Manneken Pis,

this bar allows you to drink

surrounded by Mannequins.

Cirio

20 rue de la Bourse

This café serves excellent food, beers

and coffee.

The Becasse

Off 11 Rue Tabora

This bar serves its own sweet

draught Lambic in earthenware cups.


The

PHOENIX

TAVERN Abbey Street, FAVERSHAM

Tel: 01795 591462

REAL ALES from Around the UK and Local

REAL FOOD prepared freshly daily on the premises

REAL ATMOSPHERE lovely garden and open inglenook log

fires

REAL TRADITION—14th century oak beamed pub

Quality lagers and Quality Wine form Corney and Barrow

Good Beer Guide 2012

The Phoenix Tavern

Faversham

@Phoenixfav

www.thephoenixtavernfaversham.co.uk

90 Abbey Street, Faversham, ME13 7BH—01795 591462


Rose and Crown Perry Wood

Christmas party bookings are now being taken.

Call for details and a menu.

Regular casks are Harveys Best and Adnams Southwold along with a

changing guest.

Food is traditional using local suppliers with daily specials served in the

pub or adjoining restaurant.

Opening hours: Mon to Sat 11.30-15.00, 18.30-23.00 (not Monday

evenings)

Sunday all day 12.00-22.30

Lunch served daily 12.00-14.00 (Sunday 15.30)

Evenings Tuesday - Saturday 18.30-21.00

Perry Wood, Selling, Nr Faversham, Kent ME13 9RY.

Tel: 01227 752214 www.roseandcrownperrywood.co.uk

http://www.roseandcrownperrywood.co.uk


Selling to Perry Wood Walk

T his walk starts at Selling station

which i s s i tuated on the

Sittingbourne to Dover railway line 4

minutes from Faversham.

On arriving at Selling cross the

railway bridge and walk up the station

approach road for one minute until you

reach the sadly now closed Sondes Arms.

You will reach Crouch Lane,

Turn left and walk for about three

minutes until you reach a footpath sign

bearing right. The sign reads ‘footpath,

Selling 3/4 miles’. Take this footpath.

Follow the footpath between the

houses with garages on your left.

Continue between the tall trees and a

large hedge and you will emerge in a field

of pear trees. Follow this path straight

on as the pear trees are replaced by large

polytunnels, which on my late September

walk were full of ripe strawberries.

The walk continues straight on

following the tractor path which

undulates across the fields. At key

junctions the ground will become muddy

and will be separated by a row of large

Overview

This is a linear walk from Selling station

across fields and orchards into Perry

Wood. This walk takes in two pubs, one

with its own hop garden.

Length

50 minutes to 1 hour each way. This

walk can be extended by spending time

walking in Perry Wood.

trees. Choose the least muddy route and

continue straight on until you reach a

fenced off field that has been developed

into caravan accommodation for fruit

pickers. This small development is

hidden behind a row of tall trees.

Continue for a short while with

the fence on your left until you reach the

end of the field and a choice of stiles.

Take the stile on your left and enter a

field with a row of tall, established trees.

Follow the well-trodden path with these

trees on your left and the barbed wire

fence on your right. You will walk past a

cricket pitch on your left which on my

sunny Saturday visit was being prepared

for an afternoon game.

Cross over the stile at the end of

the field where you will meet a small

road. Turn right and follow the road past

Selling Court until you see a footpath sign

ZR652 on your left. At this point you

have a choice. Continue your walk up

the footpath towards Perry Wood or

stop for a pint at the White Lion, a

delightful Shepherd Neame pub that

serves excellent lunchtime and evening

food.

Rose and Crown, Perry Wood


Follow this path up a small hill until you reach a field full of apple trees.

Continue straight on towards the path

marker with a yellow arrow. Continue

between the rows of young apple trees under the support wires until you reach a

further marker.

At this marker turn right. Follow the tractor path down a small hill and you

will see a further marker. You will notice

that the land here has been churned by agriculture vehicles and care should be

taken when crossing this area. Turn left

and enter a well established pear and

apple orchard. Walk up hill with these trees on your left.

In the corner of this field you will

see a gap. Follow this, bearing left in order to continue straight on. You will

notice many rabbit warrens to your right

and a stile straight ahead. Cross this stile

into a small field. Walk with the small trees on your right towards a gate and a

house.

Cross the rickety stile into the front garden of Puddledock house.

Continue straight on down the driveway

until you reach the road.

At the road turn left and then quickly take the bridleway ZR654 into

Perry Wood on your left.

Follow the bridleway straight through the woods. After a short while

the route becomes more defined, After a

about 10 minutes you will reach a road. Turn left and you will see the front

entrance of the Rose and Crown.

This busy 16th Century pub has

one main U shaped bar with a small restaurant area leading off down some

steps to the rear. Inside this old pub has a

good atmosphere which has not been disturbed by the excellent food that is

served both lunch times and for dinner.

On my visit they were serving

Adnams Southwold Bitter [3.7%], Harveys Sussex Best Bitter [4.0%] and Wells Naked

Gold [4.1%].

Start

White Lion,

Selling

Rose and Crown,

Perry Wood

1

2


White Lion

Selling

Mon - Fri: 12:00 - 15:00 and 18:00 - 22:45

Sat 12:00 - 22:45 Sun 12:00 - 22:45

The Street, Selling, Kent, ME13 9RQ

Telephone: 01227 752211

The White Lion is a restored coaching inn

dating from 1703, in the village of Selling, close

to the beautiful walks of Perry Woods


Selling to Perry Wood Walk For your return journey retrace

your steps, stopping at the White Lion. The White Lion is a two bar

Shepherd Neame pub serving Master Brew

[3.7%] and Late Red [4.5%] on my visit.

The pub has accommodation above and a indoor and outdoor restaurant area to the

rear. It has its own hop garden which last

year was visited by a double decker bus

full of ex hop pickers. The pub has two

live fires - a log burner in the public bar and an open fire with a hydro powered

spit roast. Good food is offered daily, but

not always from the spit roast!

[KS&SC]

The White Lion, Selling

Quizzicale

Can you work out the brewery or beer from these cryptic clues? There is no

prize for getting them right, just the warm glow from knowing you are a clever

clogs!!

1. Does this point the way to the See?

2. This brown ale is not for the ladies

3. Aged, spattered fowl at the wheel of a sports car

4. Seasonal Flasher

5. No magic but Merlin is at the front of this high flyer

6. The Prince’s watering holes

7. Jealous Royal

8. Does this beer need to one of these to win at Crufts?

9. Would you get a pint of this bitter if you won a championship?

10. Tell the devil to jump on one leg to get this Kent brewery

11. Does Bambi’s aged friend drink this ale?

12. The pig has returned to the brewery

13. A windy brewery?

14. The PM’s brewery?

15. If you kept on building dwellings you would get this brewery.


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, curry 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 4 en-suite bedrooms, and a garden room which offers full facilities for

disabled guests.

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]


Pub Crawl - Charing Cross Station

to Victoria Station

T his is the first in a series of London

pub crawls designed to give a

flavour of the wealth of pubs and real ale

available in London.

The Harp, Chandos Place, Charing

Cross

The first port of call on the crawl is the

2011 CAMRA pub of year, the Harp

adorned with hanging baskets. Arrive

here at lunchtime for some of the best

sausages in a bun in London washed

down with a good selection of ales

including three from Dark Star (Hophead

and American Pale Ale always on),

Wandle and a range of beers from,

mainly, South East and London

microbreweries. The Harp has a friendly,

welcoming atmosphere with committed

and informed bar staff.

The Lord Moon of the Mall,

Whitehall

From the Harp it’s a five minute walk to

the Lord Moon on Whitehall near

Horseguards parade. The Lord Moon is

one of the best Wetherspoons in

London with a very good range of real

ale including the full range of festival

beers. You can often find a nice Scottish

beer (Harviestoun or Caledonian) on tap.

The Plume of Feathers, St. James’s

Cross Horseguards then St James’s Park

towards the tube and you will come

upon the Feathers. This is one of the

better Nicholson’s pubs in London with

Tribute, Jaipur, Doom Bar often on and

the full range of Nicholson’s Festival

beers (eight pumps in all).

The Speaker, Westminster

Cross Victoria Street and head down

Strutton Ground, turn left at the bottom

and you will come to the Speaker. This is

consistently one of the best pubs in

London where you can guarantee that

the beer is on good form. Tim Taylor

Landlord and Young’s Original are always

on tap with two guest beers from around

the UK usually as part of a themed beer

festival.

The Cask and Kitchen, Pimlico

15 minutes walk from the other pubs in

the guide, but well worth the walk, is the

The Harp

Lord Moon of the Mall


Pub Crawl - Charing Cross Station

to Victoria Station

Cask Pub and Kitchen, which since

opening two years ago has grown from

The Cask Pub and Kitchen

O ur annual bat & trap match was held on Saturday 13th August at The

Castle, Oare near Faversham. This year

we had eight teams, three made up from

branch members and the other teams came from the pubs’ own teams and

regulars. The weather on the day started

overcast but the cloud broke up to bathe

us in sunshine once we had started. Bob Mason the landlord organised the teams

and as we did last year we played a

shortened version of the game with each

batsman being bowled six balls each. This was done to keep the games short and to

regularly change the teams playing. At half

time break we stopped play to enjoy a

buffet which Dawn the landlady had prepared whilst the first half was played.

Into the second half and it was

Bat and Trap

strength to strength to be local branch

pub of year. When last in there you

could choose from 11 pumps of real ale,

8 kegs of foreign beer and cider and

hundreds of bottles of American Beer.

The beer is consistency good and usually

comes from small micro-breweries from

across the UK with regular Dark Star as

a staple. The Cask also has meet the

brewer evenings so keep an eye on their

website.

From the Cask it is a five minute

walk to Victoria Station. Next time

Charing Cross to Blackfriars.

[PI]

Bat and Trap, The Castle, Oare

down to two teams to play for second place as the men's pub team had won

outright by then by winning all their

games. Everyone expressed how much

they had enjoyed the day and looked forward to next year’s match. [GH]


Pub of the Year

F or the fifth year running The Elephant was selected by the Swale branch as

their Pub of the Year (POTY), and in 2010

it even progressed to the East Kent POTY

title. Prior to this excellent run The Shipwright’s Arms at Hollowshore was a

regular winner and once made it to the

Super Regional stage. How do pubs achieve POTY, what is the judging

process, and perhaps I should add why do

certain pubs win? The Flowerpot in Maidstone is currently Kent POTY

repeating it’s success in 2010.

The start of the process is the

selection of pubs in each branch area for the Good Beer Guide (GBG). Swale is

allocated a limited, but agreed, number of

entries in the GBG. These are the pubs where we have surveyed throughout the

year for real beer quality and from that

number, the branch vote for the POTY

before the end of March. The lucky winner then goes forward to the next

stage where all the East Kent branches

and West Kent branches produce a POTY for their area, which is then judged by

those Kent branches without a finalist, to

establish Kent POTY by mid-August. At this point the responsibility for marking

and judging passes away from branch level.

The next stage is to reduce the

number of Regional winners, 16 in total down to four Super Regionals by the end

of October and these last four are judged

to produce the CAMRA National POTY around the beginning of February.

The marking system is consistently

applied throughout the country; is well

documented, and guidance notes are comprehensive. All details are available

for CAMRA members on the website. The

judges visiting each selected pub use an agreed process to establish how far the

pubs meet the standard for various

criteria set out in the judging form.

The criteria marked out of ten are

Quality of Beer

Atmosphere/style /décor

Service and Welcome

Clientele mix

Sympathy with CAMRA aims, and

Good value.

The scores, hardly surprising, are slightly

weighted in favour of the Beer Quality. The judging is intended to be

enjoyable and certainly a good day or

evening out often results from the visits, but when the marking is added up it is

sometimes amazing how close the results

for the pubs can be. It may be too late for any involvement this year but maybe

next year, apart from having an input in

the GBG, perhaps a bit of judging to see

how it works in reality would bring an

insight into the competition and a new

Awarding SWALE CAMRA the Pub of

the Year to Kim and Jim Pearson at the

Elephant


Cider Pub

selection of pubs into your drinking

portfolio.

So why do some pubs feature

regularly in the competition? An

understandable question, especially if

Awarding Cider Pub of the Year to

Nuala at the Old Wine Vault

your favourite watering hole doesn’t. My

personal view is that the successful pubs

are those that do follow and understand

the CAMRA campaign and are mindful of

what the customer wants in terms of

beer, cider, atmosphere and service. In

some cases because they, as individuals,

are there in the pub, have the same aims

as us and can see the customers’ point of

view when constructive criticism is

made. How many times have you been

to a good pub, never see the licensee

and see the same old range of beers on

the handpump, from the same old pub

company list? It is those licensees that

go a bit further and try harder that

reflect successive pubs in Pub of the

Year.

[JW]


Quiz Answers

1. Bishops Finger

2. Manns

3. Old Speckled Hen

4. Summer Lightening

5. Spitfire

6. Charles Wells

7. Greene king

8. Pedigree

9. Trophy

10. Hopdaemon

11. Old Thumper

12. Hogs Back

13. Gales

14. Camerons

15. Moorhouses

Swale Pub Database

D o you want to know whether there

is a pub in a town or village near

you selling real ale? Or do you know of

any pub, selling real ale or not, but cannot

remember the name? Well the answer

may be to look at the Swale CAMRA

website and check the Kent pubs

database. It’s so easy, all you need to do

once on our website is click ‘Kent Pubs

database’ on the left-hand menu and

when you reach the database page you

make an enquiry by searching for either

location or the pub name. All the known

pubs in Swale are included as well as pubs

in our neighbouring branch Canterbury,

Herne Bay & Whitstable and also those

of Ashford, Folkestone and Romney

Marsh.

Our Swale pubs were only added

to this system in 2010 and while the

information provided for those pubs

surveyed for inclusion in the Good Beer

Guide (GBG) is fairly comprehensive for

beer, opening times and other facilities

the other pubs may be restricted to very

basic information on location and

whether selling real ale or not. The

database is being progressively enhanced

but updates have to await a visit from

our branch members.

Have you a favourite pub or local

in Swale which isn’t in the GBG? If so

perhaps you might like to take a look at

the entry and check the details. If you

can fill in some details, then send us an

email with the additional or revised

information and I will get the changes

made. [JW]


THE ALBION TAVERNA CREEKSIDE

WWW.ALBIONTAVERNA.COM

TEL: 01795 591411

MEXICAN & ENGLISH COOK HOUSE

29 FRONT BRENTS, FAVERSHAM, KENT Experience the exciting colours and flavours of Mexican and English cuisine in the water front

setting.

Relaxed, value for money dining in great surroundings.

Serving three cask ales

Open 7 days a week Till late


T his month we were lucky enough

to visit two breweries in one

weekend. I started at Ludlow Brewery

in the historical Shropshire Town.

Ludlow has just moved to an

impressive ultra-modern brewery

right next to Ludlow railway station.

The brewery bar serves the full

Ludlow range which includes Black

Knight (ruby stout), Gold, Best,

Stairway to Paradise (golden ale with a

hint of honey (5%)) and The Boiling

Well (malty and dark) all in peak

condition as you would expect.

Ludlow Brewery was established in

2006 and with its move has increased

capacity to 20 barrels. The new

bui lding embodies sustainable

principles including rainwater

harvesting, energy efficiency and has

potential for solar microgeneration. If

the brewery isn’t enough for you then

head five minutes into Ludlow town

to the Church Inn with 10 local beers

(Wye Valley, Hobsons, The Three

Tuns, Ludlow, Six Bells) and very good

food.

The next day provided the

opportunity for a trip to Bishops

Castle on the border of Wales; a

town with the oldest licensed brewery

in the country – The Three Tuns.

We were treated to a guided tour by

the head brewer around a brewery

that has remained on the same site

since it was established – some of the

buildings are still the same (albeit with

more modern fixtures such as lights).

A Tale of Two Breweries

Production capacity is limited and

therefore they don’t supply to many

festivals outside the area. It is truly a

local brewery and gets its hops from

down the road. They produce four

regular beers – 1642 (3.8% Golden

Bitter), XXX (4.3% Premium Bitter),

Cleric’s Cure (5% hoppy beer) and Old

Scrooge (6.5% Barley Wine) - all were

very nice. A visit to Shropshire is a

must, particularly combined with the

Clun Valley Beer Festival. [PI]

Three Tuns, UKs oldest licensed brewery 1642


Clun Valley Beer Festival

T he Clun Valley beer

festival, now in its

11th consecutive year, is

held over the 1st Fri -

Sun in October. Brilliantly

masterminded by ex

London pub landlord, and

now owner of The White

H o r s e i n C l u n

Jack Lemond, this event

visits 6 rural pubs over a

10 mile radius deep in the heart of the

Clun - Shropshire valley. The pubs that

subscribe to this very popular and very

well organised weekend are The Crown

Inn, Newcastle, The White Horse

and The Sun Inn, Clun, The Crown Inn,

Clunton, The Hundred House, Purslow

and the Kangaroo Inn, Aston on Clun.

E a c h p u b a l o n g t h e

route showcases at least 10 real ales and

a couple of cask ciders, the majority

being locally sourced from micros in the

area - Hobsons, Wye Valley, Three

Tuns, Salopian and Stonehouse to name

a few. To complement the excellent

selection of quality ales a superb range

of hot and cold food is available

throughout the day and evening in all

the pubs – I can personally recommend

the mixed grill option at The Crown

Inn; also live music from local bands

plays in 3 out of the 6 pubs. Jack thought

of everything when planning this

weekend so because of the distance

between the pubs a local coach firm is

contracted for the Friday evening and all

day Saturday providing a comprehensive

timetable until 11pm, running two

coaches back and forth from Newcastle

to Aston on Clun. If the beer festival is

not enough to keep most ale lovers

amused then the surrounding villages

have a lot to offer – it boasts four

breweries within 5/10 miles of each

other – Ludlow Brewing Company

(Ludlow Gold), Woods of Wistanstow

famous for their Shropshire Lass and

Lad, The Six Bells Brewery in Bishops

Castle and finally the Three Tuns (also at

Bishops Castle) which claims to be the

oldest working licensed brewery in

Britain from 1642. Our group had the

pleasure of visiting this brewery and

organised a private tour of the Three

Tuns over the Clun festival weekend

(see write up from Paul Irving) – this

being one of the many highlights of the

packed and enjoyable weekend.

I recommend this event to any ale

supporter – very well organised, heavily

supported by many CAMRA groups

throughout the country, the pubs and

their selection of beers and of course

the picturesque area of Clun and the

surrounding villages.

See you there next year... [AK]


The Editor, Swale Ale.

Sir,

I am extremely concerned at the adoption by

many hostelries in our area of the slogan

“locale” which is effectively discouraging the

promotion of beers from around the

country.

The county would now appear to be

running alive with microbreweries brewing

which I would call sub-standard beers. During

the summer I had the misfortune to visit the

Canterbury Beer Festival, where apart from

the appalling lack of hygienic toilet facilities,

the other most notable feature to me was

the preponderance of Kentish beers. There

were 59 beers from Kent breweries and just

50 from outside of Kent.

More recently I went to the beer

festival at the Flying Horse at Boughton Aluph. There were 50 beers on offer and

would you believe not one was from Kent. I

questioned why this should be the case and

was told in response that the beers were

ordered from Flying Ferkin who do not have

this ridiculous Kentish bias.

Please do not think that I dislike

Kentish beers. Indeed I find those from

Goachers and Gadds very palatable but I

would only resort to the others in the

unlikely event of a nationwide brewing strike.

However on the occasions that I visit the pub

I do not want to be drinking the same beers

all the time. Maybe the “locale” sign is

another CAMRA hobbyhorse along with the

fuss they kicked up about the use of cask

breathers, the demand a full pint campaign

etc.

I started drinking beer in my late

teens and we certainly did not have the

variety to choose from in those days.

Truman’s Best Bitter was a favourite then

along with Courage Directors from Alton in

Hampshire and Bass from Burton. As I have

A Pint of View

now probably drunk in excess of 50,000 pints

( no wonder I’m broke ) I would like to think

that I will not be denied my favourite beers

because of the impact of the “locale”

campaign.

As I write this letter I am thinking to

myself what 8 beers I would classify as my

“Desert Island Beers”. They are as follows,

in no particular order of preference :-

American Pale Ale - Dark Star

Batham’s Best Bitter

Gold Star - Goachers

Brewers Gold Extra - Crouch Vale

Double Header - RCH

Pale Rider - Kelham Island

Broadside - Adnams

Brodie’s Prime - Hawkshead

What happened, I included one from Kent !!

Yours imbibingly

Trevor Duncombe

If you agree with Trevor or have your

own view please write to Swale Ale at:

[email protected]


CHIMNEY BOY FAVERSHAM

Traditional Pub Food Served Monday to

Saturday 11:30 to 2:30pm

Sunday Lunch 11:30 to 2:30pm

Live Music Every Friday Night 8:30 PM

Home of Faversham Folk Club Every

Wednesday

Serving Shepherd Neame Largers and Real

Ales

Dave and His Team Wish Our Customers and

Friends a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year


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swale ale winter 2011

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