NOW & THEN

A LETTER FROMHACKNEY

MICRO PUB WALKSWITH A BEER OR 2

2013

Summer 2013 - 3

ContentsP4 . . . . . Pub NewsP6 . . . . . Then & NowP9 . . . . . Presentation PicturesP10 . . . . Pubs Selling Local AleP11 . . . . A Letter From HackneyP12 . . . . Name that Pub?P13 . . . . A Letter From HackneyP15 . . . . Cider NewsP16 . . . . Micro Pub Walks with a BeerP20 . . . . CAMRA Press ReleaseP22 . . . . CAMRA Press ReleasesP26 . . . . Book ReviewP27 . . . . Join CAMRA

Over thelast

couple ofmonthspeoplehave beenasking mewhethertoo manymicro pubsare open-ing inThanet. Asa real aledrinker it

is a good question. The ones we have atthe moment have been good for the realale scene in the area and has seen someareas where real ale variety had beenlacking in recent years – Westgate, Broad-stairs and Birchington spring to mind –with the range and types of beers availablemuch improved. Though I cannot seethere is room now for any more micropubs without saturating the area; quitehonestly it would be nice to see a fewmore traditional pubs start serving a bet-ter range of real ales. That said I hope that

the microsthat we dohave willsurviveand pros-per.

Finally, Iwonder

sometimesif pubswant cus-tomers, as quite a few do not advertisetheir opening hours on the outside oftheir pubs or even on their websites!Surely if want customers you wantthem to know want time you open andclose. I cannot think of any shop that Ihave visited either in person or viatheir website that does not advertisetheir opening hours. So come on pubstell the world what time you serveyour wares.

Cheers to next time,

Steve Saunders,Editor

The Loop Bus RouteThe Loop bus route has a new look, with new branding and brand new Enviro 200 singledeckers (below). There is no change to the bus times that were revised in Septemberlast year. Visit www.stagecoachbus.com/eastkent for full details.

The Thanet Loop PubGuide updates

The Star Inn at West-wood (01843 600000)not shown of LoopGuide but locatedbetween bus stops23 & 24 is now serv-ing a real ale.The telephonenumber shown forthe Wrotham Arms is incor-rect and should be 01843861788.

The Thanet Loop Pub Guide is available in pubs all over Thanet as well in local TICs.

4 - Summer 2013

The Thanet micro pub revolution continueswith the opening of not one but three new

pubs and a fourth planned to open in July.The first to open was the Wheel Ale House (left),housed in a former retail shop in Birchington’smain street, Station Road. As the name suggestsit is decked out in a nautical theme. The pubalso has an upstairs drinking area that can beused as a meeting room.Next came the Hovelling Boat Inn, York Street,Ramsgate (right),which opened onGood Friday inpremises that 104years previous hadbeen the HovellingBoat Inn. After the Inndid not re-apply for its

license in 1909 it quickly became the Perseverance Din-ing Rooms; by the late 1980s the building had falleninto disrepair. The Council refurbished it in the 90s,rebuilding the right hand wall of the pub but retainingthe remaining structure to minimise disruption to thetake away next door. After refurbishment it became aflorist and then a fancy gift shop. At one time the pubwas the last building in the row and customers can see

originaldoorway inexposed in-ternal brickwork.The last to open, over the Whit sunbank holiday weekend, was the Har-bour Arms (left), housed in two formerfisherman’s lock-ups - which have beenknocked into one - on Margate’s stonepier opened. The pub has no toiletswith patrons using the public loo's nextdoor.A planningapplication

by Carl Hilliard to change a shop (right) into a micropub in Canterbury Road Westbrook was granted bythe council in May, subject to sound proofing thepremises. Mr Hilliard has now applied for a premiseslicense for the property which he hopes to have openas ‘Ales of the Unexpected’ in July.As well as the new micro pubs, another new real aleoutlet has surfaced in the form of the Cafe Bee, locat-ed in the parade of shops in Minnis Road, Birchington,

Summer 2013 - 5

which transforms between 5 and 9pm (ish) onThursday, Friday and Satur-day evenings into Ash's AleHouse. The real ales are solddirect from the casks by gravi-ty from a glass fronted cooledcabinet in the corner behindthe cafe's bar counter. Realcider is also sold.The Foy Boat in Ramsgate hasclosed, and the lease for sale.While over in Birchington thePowell Arms is for sale.The Rose in Brodstairs has

reopened, though is no longer to let but for sale. In Cliftonville, the Ye OldeCharles is now under the management of Lisa and John, and the place has been

refurbished and renamed as the Holy Tree. Whilethe nearby Wheatsheaf has been completely refur-bished by owners Greene King.STOP PRESS As this issue was going to press, wehad news that Sinatra’s Cafe Bar in BroadstairsHigh Street was to open in the evenings as Sinatra’sAlehouse. Real ale, ciders and wine will be on offerwhen ever the place is open, but only alcohol will beavailable in the evenings. More info next issue.

If you have or know of any pub news please contactAle of Thanet on AOT@thanet-camra.org.uk.

THE KENT BREWERIESBlack Cat Brewery 07948 387718 www.blackcat-brewery.comCanterbury Ales 01227732541 www.canterbury-ales.co.ukCanterbury Brewers 01227 455899www.thefoundrycanterbury.co.uk/canterbury-brewersCaveman Brewery 07769710665www.cavemanbrewery.co.ukGoacher's 01622 682112 www.goachers.comGoody Ales 07790443810www.goodyales.co.ukHopDaemon 01795 892078www.hopdaemon.comHop Fuzz 07850441267www.hopjuzz.co.ukKent Brewery 01634 780037 www.kentbrewery.comLarkins 01892 870328Millis Brewing Co. 01322 866233www.millisbrewing.comNelson Brewing Co. 01634832828www.nelsonbrewery.co.uk

Old Dairy Brewing Co. 01580243185www.olddairybrewery.comOld Forge Brewery 01233720444www.thefarriersarms.comRamsgate Brewery 01843868453www.ramsgatebrewery.co.ukRipple Steam Brewery 07917037611www.ripplesteambrewery.co.ukRockin' Robin Brewery 07787416110Shepherd Neame 01795532206 www.shepherd-neame.co.ukSwan, West Peckham 01622812271 www.swan-on-the-green.co.ukTir Dhci Ghlas 01304211666 www.cullinsyard.co.ukTonbridge Brewery 01732366770www.tonbridgebrewery.co.ukWantsum Brewery 08450405980www.wantsumbrewery.co.ukWesterham Brewery 01959565837www.westerhambrewery.co.ukWhitstable Brewery 01622851007www.whitstablebrewery.info

6 - Summer 2013

How do CAMRA members select pubsfor the CAMRA Good Beer Guide?

Many branches use the National BeerScoring System (NBSS): an easy to usesystem that has been designed to assistCAMRA branches in selecting pubs forthe Good Beer Guide and also monitorbeer quality by encouraging CAMRAmembers from any part of the world toreport beer quality on any pub in the UK.A 0-5 point scale is used to judge thebeer quality in pubs.If you are a CAMRA member, we wantyou to tell us about the quality of beer inthe pubs you visit. If you are not a mem-ber, why not join Europe's most success-ful consumer organisation?Thanet branch has decided to adopt theNBSS system to determine which pubswill go into the 2015 Good Beer guide.HOW DO I TAKE PART?All CAMRA members [of legal drinkingage] can take part; you don't need to be abeer-tasting expert. You simply need togive your honest views of the beers thatyou try and the pubs that you visit.First of all you need to start recordingsome scores. You may choose to scoreper beer or per pub, averaging your scorefor each pub visit - this is entirely downto personal preference. Once you havecompiled your scores submit them onlineat www.beerscoring.org.ukWHAT DO I NEED TO RECORD?Your name & Membership Number ~ Thedate you visited the pub ~ The Name ofthe Pub ~ Where the pub is located ~ Ascore out of 5 including half points ~ Thename of the beer (optional)Handy score cards to take to the pub torecord the information can be download-ed from www.camra.org.uk/nbssHOW OFTEN DO I COMPLETE A CARDOR SUBMIT AN ENTRY?This is down to personal preference. Youmay choose to score per beer or per pub,averaging your score for each pub visit.In the latter case, the beer name (unlessyou've only been drinking a single beer)

can be left blank.HOW IS THE INFORMATION BEINGCOLLATED?Once you have submitted your scoresonline the Branch GBG Co-ordinatorscan contact HQ so that they can seescores for their area inwww.beerscoring.org.uk.

WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR IN APINT?The great thing about real ale is the di-versity of tastes. With over 5500 differentreal ales to choose from everyone hastheir own personal favourite. So pleasegive an honest account of what you feelthe pub or beer deserves.Here are a few things to take note of.Look: Assess the colour, clarity andfoam of the pint. Golden ales should ap-pear bright an clear while darker beers,such as stouts and porters, possess aricher colour often with a thick creamyhead. As a general rule of thumb it isbest to base your view on whether itlooks appealing.Smell: Smell is an important part of thedrinking experience. Take a short sniff ofyour drink to assess the aroma.Taste: The final proof is in the tasting. à

What do the scores mean?0. No cask ale available.1. Poor. Beer that is anything from barely drinka-ble to drinkable withconsiderable resentment.2. Average. Competently kept, drinkable pint butdoesn't inspire in any way, not worth moving toanother pub but you drink the beer without real-ly noticing.3. Good. Good beer in good form. You may can-cel plans to move to the next pub. You want tostay for another pint and may seek out the beeragain.4. Very Good. Excellent beer in excellent condi-tion.5. Perfect. Probably the best you are ever likelyto find. A seasoned drinker will award this scorevery rarely

National Beer Scoring System

Summer 2013 - 7

This page shows two views ofthe Fort Brewery Tap one takenin May 1997 (right) and onetaken in May 2013 (below left).Once called the Fountain Tapthe pub closed in 2003 andhas now been converted toflats. It was originally the tap ofWebb’s Fort Brewery, whosebrew house can still be seen atthe rear of the pub.The other pictures show theWig & Pen today (below right)and in 1996 (bottom) when itwas known as the QueensHead. This was built in 1933 toreplace an earlier pub whichdated from 1835.

ß Take a sip and let it flow around yourmouth before swallowing. Beers canreflect all taste sensations includingsweet, sour, salty and bitter. The inten-sity of the flavours, and the finish,make up the whole taste sensation. Sogive your taste buds a few seconds toregister all of the differing sensations.Evaluate: Having taken all three pointsinto consideration give your overall viewon the beer.

The ‘then’ pictures taken by Ruth Pearshouse.Have you got any pictures of pubs in the past? As we arelooking for more, so that we can continue this popularpart of Ale of Thanet.Email details to aot@thanet-camra.org.uk

8 - Summer 2013

Above is a nice picture by Albert Fuller showing The Mountain Rifleman an isolat-ed T&W pub in Luddenham a tiny hamlet near Faversham. When you went in fora drink the landlord would load a tray with glasses and disappear into the cellarwhere all the drinks were drawn straight off the barrel.By the mid 1990s the pub had became to much for the landlord and there beingno family who wanted to take the pub over it reverted back to the brewery (Whit-bread), although there was a number of interested parties with a large number ofplanning restrictions on developing or extending the pub, interest waned with thepub being sold off as a private dwelling, as it still is today.

Summer 2013 - 9

PRESENTATION PICTURE PARADEThe month of Maysaw the branchpresent cheque'sand awards to vari-ous organisationsand pubs.Left branch chair-man Julian Dungeypresents a chequefor £500 (moneyraised from unusedbeer tokens at theEaster festival) toKay Smith from thePilgrims Hospice.While right, Julianpresents a chequeto Mick Minter for£100 towards theVictory Lugger Me-morial stone ap-peal.Below, Julianpresents ThanetCAMRA pub of the

year 2013 winner’s certificate toAndy Breeze, landlord of the Mon-tefiore Arms, while below hepresents the runners-up certificateto ‘Smudge’ of the Artillery Arms

The 2013 CAMRA EastMalling Beer and Cider

FestivalSat 7th September 2013

http://www.mmkcamra.co.uk

Artillery Arms, RamsgateAsh’s Alehouse, BirchingtonBake & Ale House, WestgateBradstow Mill, Broadstairs

Brown Jug, DumptonCaptain Digby, Kingsgate

Chapel, BroadstairsCharles Dickens, BrodstairsChurchill Tavern, Ramsgate

Comfort Inn, RamsgateConquerer, RamsgateDolphin, Broadstairs

Elephant & Castle, RamsgateEverybodys Inn, MargateFour Candles, Broadstairs

Great Tree, RamsgateHarbour Arms, MargateHotel De Ville, Ramsgate

Hovelling Boat, RamsgateHoy, Margate

Knot, WestgateLifeboat, Margate

Little Albion, BroadstairsMariners, RamsgateMinnis, Minnis Bay

Montefiore Arms, RamsgateNew Inn, Minster

Oak Hotel, RamsgatePavilion, Broadstairs

Quart in a Pint Pot, MargateQueen Charlotte, Ramsgate

Queen Head RamsgateRed Lion Ramsgate

Rodney Inn, GarlingeRose of England, RamsgateSir Stanley Gray, Pegwell

Tartar Frigate, BroadstairsThirty-Nine Steps, BroadstairsWheel Ale House, Birchington

White Swan, Reading StreetWig and Pen, Margate

THANET PUBS SELLINGLOCALLY BREWED BEERS

Listed below are pubs and bars that areknown to regularly sell real ales from

breweries within 20 miles of Thanet.

Thanet CAMRA cannot guarantee theavailability of a local ale or the quality of thereal ale served in any establishments listed.

Thanet CAMRA cannot be held responsible forany errors or omissions to this list.

ALE OF THANETSummer 2013 — Published quarterly by ThanetCAMRA - the Thanet Branch of the Campaign for

Real Ale. Circulation 1000© Thanet CAMRA 2013

Printed by printcarrier www.printcarrier.com_______________________________________________________________________________

BRANCH EVENTSVisit our website at www.thanet-camra.org.uk. or

contact Debbie on 01843 591731 for further details.BRANCH DETAILS

Chairperson: Julian Dungey - julian@thanet-camra.org.uk; Treasurer / Secretary: Debbie Aris -

debbie@thanet-camra.org.uk; Membership Secretary:Jo Dungey - jo@thanet-camra.org.uk; Pubs Officerand AoT Editor: Steve Saunders - steve@thanet-

camra.org.uk_______________________________________________________________________________

All correspondence should be addressed to: ThanetCAMRA c/o 89 High Street St Lawrence RamsgateKent CT11 0QR Tel: 01843 591731 or email us at:branch@thanet-camra.org.uk or visit our website.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Any views or comments expressed in Ale of Thanet maynot necessarily be those of the Editor, Thanet CAMRA, the

Campaign for Real Ale or their officials. The taking ofadvertising does not imply that Thanet CAMRA or the

Campaign for Real Ale endorse the pub, product or serviceon offer.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Campaign for Real Ale Limited 230 Hatfield Road, StAlbans AL1 4LW Tel: 01727 867201

www.camra.org.uk_______________________________________________________________________________

Picture contributions this issue are from Steve Saunders,Ruth Pearhouse Richard Purton and Albert Fuller whilearticles were contributed by Hywel Bevan & Beery Steve.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Articles, letters, pub reports & news, photos and suggestionsare always welcome. Please email them to steve@thanet-

camra.org.uk or send to the above listed address, including forlegal reasons a full name and postal address.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Maps used in this publication are downlaoded or are based on datafrom Open Street Map

© OpenStreetMap contributors, CC BY-SA www.openstreetmap.org

TRADING STANDARDSIf you feel that you have been treated unfairly in a

pub, club or bar you should contact TradingStandards by either speaking to an advisor at

Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 or visitingthe Consumer Direct website at

www.comsumerdirect.gov.uk

Summer 2013 - 11

A Letter from Hackney: The New Micro-pub?

When my grandchildren ask of themicro-pub revolution that started

in Thanet in the noughties and teenies, Ishall tell them, “I was there”. Well, may-be the revolution started just off-Thanetin Herne but the notion was enthusias-tically and determinedly taken up by thedenizens of the jewelled Isle thereafter.Thanet again led the world as it haddone before with the bungalow, theSunday meat raffle and the bung. Manyof my fellow witnesses can, of course,trace their roots back to that other jew-elled domain, the London borough ofHackney or, to give it its full title, ‘ack-ney and it is here that I have movedhouse (going rather against the popula-tion flow). If you believe the gossip magsand estate agents’ blurb, Hackney iscurrently the capital of trend setting.One of the more significant of thesetrends is surely a logical step from themicro-pub. I speak, of course, of thebrewery tap.Micro-pubs aren’t a new idea but rathera reprise of a much older type of hostel-ry which was run by a single person orfamily often in part of their own house.

Hours were relatively short and variableand the products on offer were limited.(The one I remember was the CarpentersArms in Oxford in the 1970s which wasin front room of a terraced house in theJericho area of the city run by two oldsisters who served Morrells beer from

the cask and, I think, gin, brandy andwhisky and that was it. It could seat sixwith perhaps eight more standing. I’msurprised I never saw Inspector Morsein there.) The brewery tap is another oldentity that has died out to some extentwith the decline of pubs brewing theirown beer, larger breweries selling uptheir sites for supermarkets and newerbreweries being situated in places awayfrom their customers on, for example,industrial estates.Being in a densely populated part of theworld means that you are never far frompotential customers and the serious(and most welcome) interest beingshown in beer by the Hackney youngfogey set (beards, flat hats, tweed) cre-ates a receptive climate for a brews andbrewery taps.Until recently, there were no breweriesin Hackney, now there are five. I say fivebut reports vary so this may not be100% correct. Anyway, of the five, onlythe Hackney brewery itself appears tolack the de rigueur brewery tap. Hope-fully they’ll get the message soon. In themeantime, you can try their produce inplenty of places and American Pale Aleis definitely worth a go. The current clo-sure (for refurb and opening on 3rdJune, as I write, one week away – fin-gers crossed) of the “Wenlock Arms” hasgiven me the time and motivation to un-dertake some in depth research on therest.Howling Hops brewery has perhaps themost familiar and old fashioned feel. Itis based in the “Cock” tavern, a tradi-tional pub near the Town Hall, and theyhave put a brewery in the cellar. Great.OK, they have cleaned it a bit, a “vege-tarian Scotch egg” has crept onto thepork pie and pickle menu and the staffsport large, luxuriant beards (N.B. inHackney, the well-trimmed is out, the“Artic Explorer” is in) but that’s all. Thebeer tastes good and they don’t botherto sell it to anyone else – at least I have

The

Cock

12 - Summer 2013

We have scrambled the letters of nine Thanet pubs into the glass below. Canyou unscramble them to guess the pubs’ name? Answers on page 24.

NAME THAT PUB?

ew

ry

q

t

i

uo

Summer 2013 - 13

not seen it elsewhere. Their web sitesays that you can enquire about buyingtheir beer wholesale but “please don't beoffended if we can't sell you any, stocksare very limited”. You’ll just have to visitto try the English Light Ale or Mild Ale.Also based in a pub is the Beavertownbrewery (“Nice, Beavertown” to quoteFrank Drebin). It is in Dalston/DeBeauvoir Town at the “Duke’s Brew andCue”, the new name for the old Duke ofYork. I understand that Beavertown is atown in Pennsylvania in the USA andthe transatlantic influence is evidentand no accident. Yes, the “Cue” is bar-becue and they serve up American influ-enced ribs, hamburgers and other BBQstuff. My neighbour swears by them butI haven’t tried. When I visited the beerwas fine if a bit humdrum. It looked likea place that would come to life sometimeafter I am tucked up in bed – nothingpersonal, just coincidence. Led Zepsinger Robert Plant’s son Logan is, ap-parently, in charge but has, sadly, re-sisted the chance to use his beer namesto drop big hints (Whole Lotta Lager?Communication Breakdown Strong Ale?Led Zeppelin 4 Hop?). Instead, howabout a Smog Rocket Smoked Porter?

Where these two new brewery taps havestarted as pubs and added breweries,the other two have started as breweriesand bars. London Fields brewery is, un-surprisingly, just by London Fields park

and occupies railway arches by LondonFields station. (Another trend this, set-ting up your business in railway archesis happening all over the place.) Theybrew some good beer and you might tryHackney Hopster or Shoreditch TriangleIPA. The brewery tap has the most seri-ous atmosphere feeling a bit like a tast-ing room for the brewers (it is a bit darkbut, of course, that is the downside ofmany railway arches) but they serve

some tasty sounding home-made food.London Fields runs a very popularbrewery tour.Crate brewery is in an old industrialbuilding in Hackney Wick, by the canaloverlooking the Olympic stadium (or itnearly is, a small bridge blocks yourview but walking a few yards can reas-sure one of its presence). The bar is nextto the brewery area and has an agreea-ble industrial feel. The beer is good and

The

Crat

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The

Duke

’s B

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Tap

A Letter from Hackney: Contiued

14 - Summer 2013

EASTKENT’S

MICRO PUBEXPANSIONOther then thenew micro pubsthat have

opened in Thanet, four other micropubs haveopened in EastKent in the lastfew months.They are all inprevious retailoutlets.The first was the

Tankerton Arms in Tankerton (left). This was followed by the Firkin Frog in StationRoad Herne Bay(above). Next came an-other one in HerneBay, the Bouncing Bar-rel in Bank Street (left)and finally the Barber’sArmsinWye

(right).As well as these, twoothers have opened inKent in the last sixmonths - the FirkinAlehouse in Folke-stone and the DoorHinge in Welling.

the food is pizza. The pizzas are, though,very good indeed with very thin asym-metric bases and whacky toppings. Arecent visit from some Thanet palsprone to litotes pronounced them “NotHalf Bad”. You can sit outside, even ifyou are old you don’t feel too old as theyoungsters often bring their bemusedparents along on a weekend to showthem how life is lived today and you canpretend you are one of them and youcan enjoy some Golden Ale or Stout.

If I had to choose, Crate is my favouriteof the four with the “Cock” second.But wait, it has just been pointed out tome that, although the Crate brewery isin Hackney Wick, it is in the borough ofTower Hamlets so not really in Hackneyat all. But it is only by a few yards sowho’s counting. Personally, after all thatresearch, I’m past counting anyway.

HB

A Letter from Hackney: Continued

Summer 2012 - 15

CIDER NEWS

The Berry in Walmer has been judgedKent CAMRA Cider of the Year 2013

beating last year’s winner, the Lifeboatin Margate into second place.The pub run by Chris Barnes is alsocelebrating being judged East Kent Pubof the Year 2013.The Berry, along with the other 15 re-gional winners will now go forward tothe next super-regional stage. This isdone by selecting 4 groups of 4 pubs.The four winners from the super-region-al stages will make up the 4 finalists inthe national competition.

WALMER PUBS JUDGED CIDER PUB OF THE YEAR

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale,has announced the winners of its

National Cider and Perry Champion-ships.The winner of the Cider Gold medal isSpringfield Wobbly Munk which thejudges described as having ‘fantasticbalance with a pleasantly sharp after-taste of apple and bitter lemon’.The winner of the Perry Gold medal isDunkertons Perry which the judges de-scribed as ‘initially sweet but developsinto a dry, com-plex, whitewine-like char-acter with alasting after-taste’.The final roundof judging forCAMRA’s Na-tional Cider andPerry Championships 2013 took placeat the popular Reading Beer and Ciderfestival today. The competition featuredciders and perries from across the UK,with each cider and perry judged on itsindividual taste, aroma, flavour, after-taste and overall appeal. The top prizes

were awarded by a specially chosenpanel of judges including publicans,drinks writers and CAMRA members.Alan Wordsworth, owner of SpringfieldCider, had this to say on hearing Wob-bly Munk had taken the top spot,“I’m absolutely delighted, if anything alittle surprised because we thought theWobbly Munk we made the previousyear was even better – but it’s gratifyingto know it still pleases people!”Andrea Briers, CAMRA National Cider

and Perry Com-mittee Chair-man, wasimpressed bythe quality anddiversity of en-tries“This year it wasimpressive tosee the sheer

range of flavour within what was a veryaccomplished field of entries. The quali-ty of ciders and perries was genuinelyoutstanding in 2013, but the diversity iswhat really impresses and which makesthese beautiful beverages something wethink everybody should give a try.”

CiderGOLD – Springfield Wobbly Munk, Monmouthshire

SILVER – C.J.’s Surprise, GwentBRONZE – West Milton, Dorset

PerryGOLD – Dunkertons, Herefordshire

SILVER – Gwynt Y Ddraig Two Trees, GlamorganBRONZE – Raglan Cider Mill Snowy Owl, Monmouthshire

CAMRA NAMES THE UK’S BEST CIDERS ANDPERRIES

16 - Summer 2013

This issue we have not one not two butthree walks, though all are micro

walks, in other words – short walks frombus stops close to railway station to mi-cro pubs and back.The first is a walk to Westgate’s micros,and the second one to the Broadstairsmicros and the third to Ramsgate’s.Walk OneStarting outside bus stop outside West-gate Railway Station’s main building (theBreeze bus from Margate stops here)head left (west) until you reach St. Mil-dreds Road, cross carefully and headright - away from the railway bridge -crossing Cuthbert Road and continuingforward until the bus shelter (The Breezebus from Canterbury stops here). On theleft, between the bookmakers and theCarlton Cinema, is an alleyway - proceeddown here - ahead is the Bake & Ale-house housed in a small single storeybuilding which at one time was a baker’sshop. The place is decked out with abake and ale theme with collages of cook-ing recipes on one wall and brewery andpub related articles on another. An en-closed cool room runs half way down oneside of the premises, where three to fourreal ales are dispensed by gravity. Realcider along with wine and soft drinks arealso available as are local pork pies andcheeses. The pub is open 12-2 & 5.30 to9 (ish) Tuesday to Saturday and 12 – 2on Sunday; Closed all Monday.Leaving the pub continue along the alley,turning right at its end into Ivanhoe

Road. Walk the short distance to the endof this road and turn left into Westgate

Bay Avenue. Follow this road until youreach a T-junction where you shouldturn left in Domneva Road. Head alongthis road crossing the railway line untilyou reach the dual carriageway (Canter-bury Road). Cross this road via the Peli-can crossing and head forward intoCambourne Avenue. You soon reachsome shops - pass these and turn leftinto Lymington Road. Just ahead is TheWhy Not, named after in the pub in J.Meade Falkner book Moonfleet.It is housed in a former shop which haspreviously been a Butcher's, Flower Shopand lately a Hairdresser's. The beer cellaris housed in the former Butcher's coldstore; the beers being served directlyfrom the cask. It has been furnished withgreen and white walls and wooden diningroom tables and chairs. A separate backroom has been provided for customers touse their mobile phones – as these arebanned in the bar area - it is labelled Tel-ephone and has a seat and table. As wellas the ales, real cider is served alongwith wine, tea, coffee and soft drinks. Aselection of small bar snacks includinghomemade pasties and sausage rolls arealso offered. Open: Monday to Saturday12 – 2 (ish) & 5 – 9.45 and on Sunday 12– 2.45Leaving the pub, and head left alongLymington Road and follow this until you

M

Visit the branch website to see what we are up to at www.thanet-camra.org.uk

Summer 2013 - 17

reach a T-junction with playing fields toyour right. Turn left into Minster Roadand follow this until the traffic lights.Cross the dual carriageway via the Peli-can crossing and head forward into St.Mildreds Road. Following this roadpassing over the railway line and youshould be back at the start.

Walk TwoThis walk starts from the bottom ofBroadstairs railway station approach

road, by thebus stop; theLoop servicestops at thisstop. Headtowards andproceed un-der the rail-way bridgeon to theBroadway,crossing theroad at thetraffic lightsand heading

forward, passing the petrol station, intoBroadstairs Road and then taking thenext right into St Peters Road. Followingthis road you should soon see ahead theLittle Albion pub and across the roadthe Four Candles Alehouse.This micro pub is a conversion of aformer corner shop building with its en-trance on the corner itself. The smallbar space has a couple of high benchtables with seating around it. The alesand cider are served direct from casksin a rear stillage room; you have to passthrough this room to be access the toi-let. English wine, Kentish cheese andpork pies along with apple juice are alsoavailable in this small pub. The pub isnamed after the Two Ronnies’ TV sketch‘the four candles’. Open Monday to Fri-day 5 -10.30, Saturdays Noon to 2:30 &5 to 10:30 and Sundays & Bank Holi-days Noon to 2:30pm.Leaving the pub head left into SowellStreet and follow this road until youreach a crossroads, carefully cross theroad and pass under the rail bridgeahead, turning directly right on to aboard footpath. Follow this footpath un-til you arrive at a junction with a small-er path on the right; take this path,continuing forward when you pass anentrance to Broadstairs recreationground, and continue until the patharrives at the station. Take the steps tothe left and proceed forward into LawnRoad.Continue along this road, crossingCharlton Avenue, until you arrive at theT-junction with Vere Road, where youshould turn left and head downhill intocar and coach park. Head right and pro-ceed onto a metalled footpath. Followthis path passing allotments on the leftuntil you reach a gate, which youshould pass through and head into Al-exandra Road. At the bottom of thisroad and ahead is the Chapel (althoughnot a micro pub is worth a quick look inas it sells books as well as real ale and

yb

b]

]

Minster

Road

Lymington Road

Cambourne Ave

Domneva Road

Westgate Bay Avenue

St Mildred's Avenue

WALK ONE

Visit the branch website to see what we are up to at www.thanet-camra.org.uk

18 - Summer 2013

cider), turn right into Albion Street andhead along here, passing the Balmoral,the Rose on your right and the impres-sive Royal Albion Hotel on the left before

turning left into York Street.Just along here is found

the Thirty-nine Steps Ale-house.

This pub is housed informer pet food shop,

which has high ta-bles with high wall

mounted benchseating andstools. Thereal ales areserved di-rectly from

the

casks;these are visibleracked at the rear of the

bar behind a glass frontage. As well asthe ales, real cider along with wine, tea,coffee and a selection of soft drinks arealso available. Open Monday to FridayNoon – 10 and Noon – 11 Weekends.Returning to the end of the road turn leftand head up the High Street to return tothe station.

Third WalkThis walk we start outside Ramsgate railstation; the Loop stops outside. Headright and into Wilfred Road passing the

Royal Mail sorting office on the right,continue to the traffic lights and headinto Grange Road opposite. Follow this

road as it turnsleft then right,

then left;pass-

ingthe closedAdmiral Fox onyour right and the ValeTavern on your left be-fore arriving at a couple of rows of shopson your right. At the end of the secondrow and a little back from the road is theConqueror Alehouse.This former corner shop was convertedinto a pub specialising in real ales inNovember 2010 and was Thanet’s firstmicro pub. There is no bar, customersbeing served at there seats or whilestanding, plus no TV or fruit machines.Beers are served direct from the caskfrom a separate cold room at the rear ofthe pub. As well as the real ales, a cider,a perry, red and white wine are alsoavailable along with cheese (and bis-cuits). Open Tuesday to Saturday 11.30

]

] Sow

ell S

tree

t

St PetersRoad

The Broadway

High Street

Lawn Road

VereRd

Alexandra Road

Albi

on St

reet

WALK TWO

yb

Summer 2013 - 19

– 2.30 & 5.30 – 9.30 and 12-3 SundayClosed Mondays.Leaving the pub continue alongGrange Road until you arrive at theroundabout, turning left into WestCliff Road - follow this passing theold hospital and the Artillery Arms onthe right and the Bedford Inn on theleft, before proceeding into QueensStreet. The land that Queens House,which you pass on the left, was onceoccupied by Tomson and Wotton’sbottling store, while the land nowoccupied by Waitrose ahead, wasonce the site of Tomson and Wotton’sbrewery; the short section of wall onthe corner of Elms Avenue is all thatexist of the brewery. Pass Waitrose andcontinue forward. On reaching the pe-destrian zone, turn right into YorkStreet – a short way along this street isfound the Hovelling Boat Inn.This micropub opened at the end March2013 on the site of the Hovelling Boatpub which closed in 1909. After theoriginal Hovelling Boat Inn did not re-apply for its license in 1909 it quicklybecame the Perseverance Dining Rooms;by the late 1980s the building had fallen

into disrepair.The Councilrefurbished itin the 90s, re-building theright hand wallof the pub butretaining theremainingstructure tominimise dis-ruption to thetake away nextdoor. After re-furbishment itbecame a flo-rist and then afancy gift shop.At one time the

pub was the last building in the row and

customers can see the original doorwayin the exposed internal brick-

work. The pub servesits beers direct

from thecask froma sepa-ratecoldroomat

the

rearof the

pub. And aswell the ales, real

cider, wine, soft drinksincluding tea and coffee

plus a small selection of hot and coldsnacks are available. Open Monday –Thursday 11.30 – 9.30 (ish) Friday &Saturday 11.30 – 11 and Sunday noon –4pm (ish).Leaving the pub return to the top ofYork Street, turn right and enter thepedestrian zone, turn left into the HighStreet by Lloyds Bank. Continue up theHigh Street passing the Jekyll and Hydeand the Rose of England - this is anoth-er pub worthy visit if you have time -before turning right into ChathamStreet. Continue up this road: proceed-ing forwards at the traffic lights in Mar-gate Road and then taking second rightinto Station Approach Road. Follow thisroad and you should soon be back atthe station.Next issue’s walk I will be leaving theisland for a walk round Walmer andDeal.,Safe Walking, Beery Steve

MICRO PUB WALK WITH A BEER (OR 2)

Station Aproach Road

Wilf

red

Road

Grange Road

Westcliff Road

Queens Road

High Street

ChathamStreet

Yo

yb

]

]

WALK THREE

20 - Summer 2013

OVER 1800 BEERS FEATURED IN CAMRA’SNEW GOOD BOTTLED BEER GUIDE

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale,has today launched the new edition

of its famous Good Bottled Beer Guide,which this time features over 1800 bot-tle-conditioned beers*.

This definitiveguide showcasesbeers fromacross the UK ina plethora ofstyles, from lightthirst quenchinggolden ales toaromatic andcitrusy Indiapale ales andrich, powerfullyflavoured stoutsand porters.Jeff Evans, au-thor of CAMRA’sGood BottledBeer Guide, saysthe book repre-sents the hugerange of beers

now brewed in the UK,“The Good Bottled Beer Guide highlightsthe breadth of fantastic beer now beingproduced in the UK - as well as tradition-al British beer styles such as bitter andstout, we are now very lucky to have in-ternational beer styles such as American-style pale ales and German-inspiredwheat beers being brewed on theseshores.”Jeff added,“From world famous brews such as Full-er’s Vintage Ale and Worthington's WhiteShield, to beers that use hops from NewZealand and America such as BuxtonBrewery’s Axe Edge IPA, the range ofbeers is so great that there’s never beena better time to be a beer drinker in theUK.”

This eighth edition of the Good BottledBeer Guide features some relatively newbreweries which have quickly made aname for themselves in the beer world –the likes of The Kernel, Red Willow, andRebel, to name but a few – but also fan-tastic bottle-conditioned beers fromsome of the UK’s biggest brewers suchas Thwaites, Wells & Young's and Shep-herd Neame.Bottle-conditioned beers from 342 differ-ent breweries feature in the new GoodBottled Beer Guide, with 583 beers cho-sen for detailed profiles, complete withtasting notes, within the guide – soreaders aren’t just informed of what’savailable, but what they should opt-fortoo.Other features include star awards forthe best beers, rosettes for the bestbreweries, a comprehensive listing ofspecialist beer shops and full details ofhow to buy, store and serve bottledbeer.“The number of breweries producing bot-tle-conditioned beer, or 'Real Ale in a Bot-tle' has grown massively in recent yearsthanks to an explosion in microbreweriesacross the UK. With more and more smallbreweries looking to bottle their beersboth for local sales and in order to reachfurther markets, the traditional method ofbottle conditioning – where live yeast isused to give the beer light carbonationvia a secondary fermentation in the bot-tle – is proving a popular approach.”A sister publication to the Good BeerGuide, CAMRA’s Good Bottled BeerGuide by Jeff Evans is now availablefrom all good retailers, and the CAMRAshop (www.camra.org.uk/shop), priced£10.99 for CAMRA members, and£12.99 for non-members. The book willbe on sale throughout the Great BritishBeer Festival, Earls Court, London, 13-17 August 2013.

The Sportsman123 Sandwich Road Cliffsend CT12 5JB

01843 852547A Shepherd Neame pub

—––––––––––––––––––––

Real Ales - Fine Wines - Home Cooked Food—––––––––––––––––––––

Monthly Live Music—––––––––––––––––––––

Lovely Function Room for Parties and Family Get Together's—––––––––––––––––––––

Open Six Days a Week - Tuesday to Sunday—––––––––––––––––––––

Food Served - Wednesday 12 till 3 - Senior Citizens 2 Courses only £5.95Thursday, Friday & Saturday - 12.00 till 2.30 & 6.00 till 9.00

Sunday Roasts 12.00 till 4.00—––––––––––––––––––––

Celebrate Ronnie & Teresa Kirk first anniversary at the pubon Saturday 17 August at 7pm

Live Irish Music with Crooked Style along with a free buffet

2013

22 - Summer 2013

CAMRA has strongly welcomed Gov-ernment plans to stop large pub

companies damaging Britain’s pubs bycharging pub licensees high rents along-side inflated beer prices.A new powerful watchdog will preventlarge pub companies from taking exces-sive profits from their pubs at the ex-pense of licensees and pub goers. TheGovernment is also consulting on intro-ducing “Guest Beer” and “Market RentOnly” options. These would provide theopportunity for licensees to partially orfully opt out of tied arrangements com-bined with an independently assessedmarket rent.Mike Benner, CAMRA’s Chief Executive,commented: “It is fantastic news thatthe Government is pushing ahead withthese desperately needed reforms. Intro-ducing Guest Beer and Market Rent On-

ly options will deliver fair market rentsand ensure licensees are able to buybeer at competitive prices. These re-forms, coupled with an industry watch-dog with real teeth, are urgently neededto help safeguard the future of manythousands of valued community pubs.”“The large pub companies have beengiven repeated opportunities to delivereffective self regulation but have failedto do so. CAMRA is delighted that afternine years of self regulation failure theGovernment has decided to act.”“Guest Beer and Market Rent Only op-tions promise to be a major boost forBritain’s thriving independent brewerysector as well as the pub sector. Over1,000 small brewers who are currentlylocked out of supplying local pubs willnow be able to make their beers morewidely available to pub customers.”

FAIR DEAL IN SIGHT FOR BRITAIN’S PUBSby Neil Walker

We have a very real opportunity tohelp save the Great British pub.

Your support secured the first cut in beerduty for 50 years now please join us andcall for a:In April, after years of campaigning byCAMRA, the Government announced along-awaited consul-tation on their plansto reform the bigpub companies.These big pubcosare making lifetough for their pubsand hard workinglicensees by takingexcessive profitsfrom pubs – so licen-sees and pub goersalike suffer.

The Government is now proposing:A powerful new Code and Watchdog toensure fair dealing by big pub companiesA new choice for licensees to opt out ofrestrictive tied agreements and just pay afair market rent to their pubcoFair rents and beer prices charged to tied

publicans, allow-ing them to thriveYour support ingetting us this farhas made all thedifference. How-ever, the battle isnot won, we needto ensure theGovernment seesthrough its plans

for reform. Tomake the most of

FAIR DEAL FOR YOUR LOCAL: TIME FOR PUBCOREFORM

by Emily Ryans

2013

this opportunity there are three thingsyou can do right now:STEP 1: Complete the Government sur-vey and call for pubco reform.STEP 2: To strengthen your call for re-form please send in your own writtensubmission.STEP 3: Use our campaign website tofind out more information about the

campaign and sign up to show yoursupport.Our hope is that the proposals will ap-ply to the UK as a whole. The UK Gov-ernment is currently talking to devolvedGovernments to see how and if this canbe achieved.Visit www.fairdealforyourlocal.com tofind out more and get involved.

CHANCELLOR RIGHT TO SCRAP BEER DUTY ESCALATORby Neil Walker

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale,has today published the latest CGA

CAMRA Pub Tracker statistics whichshow that 26 pubs a week are closing inthe UK.The statistics show that the rate of pubclosures rose during the last 6 monthsup to March this year compared to earli-er in 2012, from 18 to 26 per weekacross the UK, meaning that the cut inbeer duty and scrapping of the beer du-ty escalator in this year’s budget couldnot have come at a more importanttime.

Mike Benner, Chief Executive at CAM-RA, said: “We believe that the scrappingof the beer duty escalator and the extra1p off beer duty announced in thisyear’s budget could mark a turningpoint for pubs. With a better deal onbeer tax, the Government’s plans forpub company reform and the ‘List YourLocal’ scheme, announced during CAM-RA’s Community Pubs Month, we arehopeful that the fortunes of Britain’spubs are set to change .”

24 - Summer 2013

Guess THE PUB ANSWERS1. BROWN JUG 2. LIFEBOAT 3. THEWHY NOT 4. CHURCHILL TAVERN 5.MONTEFIORE ARMS 6 RED LION 7.WHEATSHEAF 8. WROTHAM ARMS

9. SIR STANLEY GRAY

New data shows 60% of pubco licen-sees earn less than £10,000 a year

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, istoday presenting new evidence to MPsrevealing that the majority of publicanstied to the big pub companies earn lessthan the minimum wage. These newstatistics are released as pub campaign-ers visit Parliament to join a rally sup-porting Government plans to clampdown on big pub companies chargingabove market rents and inflated beerprices.A representative sample of over 600 li-censees were interviewed by researchfirm CGA Strategy*, with the resultsshowing that licensees tied to the bigpub companies are substantially worseoff than free of tie lessees. A shocking60% of licensees tied to the big pubcompanies earn less than £10,000 ayear. This compares to only 25% of freeof tie lessees who earn less than£10,000 a year.The other end of the earnings scale alsoshows a stark difference in earnings,with just one in a hundred tied pub li-censees earning over £45,000, as op-posed to one in five who run free of tiepubs.Mike Benner, CAMRA’s Chief Executivesaid:“These new figures reveal the shockingtruth that many licensees tied to the bigpub companies are struggling to survivedue to unfair business deals verging on

outright exploitation. Pubs that are in-valuable community assets are beingput at risk by pub companies forcingthe majority of their licensees to surviveon less than the minimum wage. Theinability of licensees to earn sufficientincome means money cannot be invest-ed back into pubs enabling them togrow as businesses.”“The Government should be congratu-lated for recognising the need to calltime on the abuses of the big pub com-panies. Our message today is that theymust push forward plans for an inde-pendent adjudicator and code of prac-tice without delay.”“The big pub companies are contribut-ing to the destruction of Britain’s pubsby failing to support their licensees withcompetitive wholesale beer prices andrents. Every pub failure is a disaster forthe individuals involved as well as forthe local community built around thatpub. In contrast, pub companies canprofit from pub failures by retaining li-censees’ deposits, premiums and evenselling the pub off to property develop-ers.”“Pub goers can join the charge to securea fair deal for pubs by visitingfairdealforyourlocal.com”.

PUBCOS SQUEEZE LIFE OUT OF PUBS WITHHIGH RENTS AND WHOLESALE BEER PRICES

by Neil Walker

20

1 Sowell Street St PetersBroadstairs CT10 2AT

(Opposite the Little Albion)

For opening times visit our website

ww.thefourcandles.co.uk

FOUR

CANDLESALEHOUSE

The Hovelling Boat Inn12 York Street Ramsgate CT11 9DS

Ramsgate’s town centre micro pub104 years in the making

Real ales straight from the cask - real ciderswines - tea & coffee - soft drinks

Relaxed friendly atmosphereNo TV / Games machines / MusicArt gallery showcasing local artists

07974 613030www.hovellingboatinn.co.uk

hello@hovellingboatinn.co.uk

26 - Summer 2013

Can there really be 80 outlets forgood beer in this tiny town? “Podge”

Pollard and Siobhan McGinn have foundthem in the third edition of their semi-nal guide. They have pounded the pave-ments, careened overthe cobblestones andleft no glass un-emp-tied in their quest foroutlets that serve thefinest that Belgianbrewers can offer.It’s a guide that wearsits heart on its sleeve:“If it is lager andchips you are after,put us down andmove on, as we willbe of no use you,” theduo state firmly in theintroduction. Inshort, it’s a stellarbook but not for Stel-la drinkers.As someone who findsit difficult to leaveDaisy’s bar, I mustmake a greater efforton my next trip tofollow in Podge’s and Siobhan’s foot-steps and take out some of the outletsthey have discovered. I use the term“outlets” deliberately, for this is morethan just a pub guide. It covers restau-rants, De Halve Maan’s brewery andmuseum, beer shops, hotels, a boat andeven a bookshop that sells beer – Water-stone’s take note.As well as the listings, the guide is help-fully broken down into the different cat-egories of outlets. This means that whenyour stomach rumbles you will knowwhere you can eat as well as drink. Onmy recent visit, I passed Bron in Katelij-nestraat and had no idea it was a vege-

tarian restaurant that sells the sublimebeers from Dupont, including the im-peccable Saison. I shall not make themistake again.Helpfully, the guide lists the main types

of dishes you will findin Bruges restaurants– I discover that seabass is called zeewolf,which is ratheralarming, whilemonkfish is sea devil:I’ll stick to panne-koeken or filled pan-cakes. For thefirst-time visitor,Podge and Siobhanalso run down themain Belgian beerstyles, so you cansort your Dubbel fromyour Tripel and willnever mistake an ab-bey beer for a trueTrappist.As with all Cogan &Mater guides (proprie-tor Tim Webb of GoodBeer Guide Belgium

fame), the book is also shot throughwith a dry and acerbic wit – or witte, ifyou prefer. It’s excellent value for moneyand handsomely designed by Dale Tom-linson, who enjoys a glass or two him-self.Don’t catch Eurostar without it.

Roger Protz - Molson Coors Best BeerWriter in National PublicationsBritish Guild of Beer Writers Awards2012 – www.protzonbeer.co.uk

Around Bruges in 80 Beers, Chris Pollard& Siobhan McGinn (Cogan & Mater,£9.99) www.booksaboutbeer.com

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO DRINKING INBRUGES

2013