The Spreadeagle, Croydon and a return to the General Wolfe

Croydon must have seemed amazing to visitors back in the 60's. I can imagine visitors being enthralled as they drove their Ford Cortina down a sweeping dual carriageway buffered by soaring multi storey buildings. There's even an underpass in case tall buildings scare you. It would have been a shining beacon to the adversity of Britain, that a shimmering new town can rise from the rubble of bombed out ruins. I'm probably romanticising it a bit but I like to think Croydon was exciting once. Sadly nowadays it's pretty grim, the buildings ageing and imposing, the roads unable to cope with the 21st century levels of traffic, and the people ready to stab you at a moments notice. However Croydon does have a Waitrose and an artisan bakery has recently sprung up, so maybe things are looking up.

Nestled in the rather grubby town centre, across the road from the cultural delights of Tiger Tiger and the 80's Reflex bar, is The Spread Eagle. A large Fullers Ale & Pie house it is a welcoming, cosy oasis in the wilds of Croydon. It boasts an impressive interior, with two large chandeliers above the bar and a sweeping staircase to one side. The place was busy but me and The Lovely Jemma managed to grab a seat on some sofa's in the corner. The long bar serves the standard Fullers ale range, and although a guest beer from the local Cronx brewery was advertised on a blackboard behind the bar, it appears it was off as there was no mention of it on the handpulls.

I never find the Fullers range very exciting. I usually resort to getting a Chiswick or a ESB depending on how pissed I'm willing to get, but with neither on offer I started with a HSB from Gale's. This ended up being a good choice of pint for a chilly Autumn's day. Dark in colour with a rich, fruity taste, it was in perfect condition and went down a treat. I then opted for a half of the Fuller's seasonal Black Cab Stout. This was a perfectly pleasant stout with the coffee and toffee flavours present and correct, but it seemed to play it safe taste wise. Nothing too strong or threatening, it was almost like a stout for beginners. If you're ever unfortunate to be in Croydon and want a drink I can definitely recommend this place. Good beer, good atmosphere and also less chance of bumping into the unsavoury characters you get in the The George down the road.

The General Wolfe in Westerham is a pub I have blogged about previously. Since that last post, the place has been taken over by a new landlord, has had a refurb and has lost its place in the Good Beer Guide. I made a return visit last weekend to see how the place was post-refurbishment. Walking in it was initially hard to tell the difference the refurb had made. The layout is pretty much the same and the general decor hasn't changed much. But the furniture has been replaced and is looking much fresher, and the bar appears to have been extended, with the number of handpumps increased from three to five.

The beer selection was never very exotic pre-refurb but the ale was always in good condition. Now with an expanded range I'm pleased to say the beer is still in good nick. I tried the house beer, General Wolfe from Greene King. I suspect this is a re-badged beer, I initially thought maybe Old Speckled Hen, although it was only 3.9%. It was pretty good, a full bodied bitter with a fruity hoppy finish. I also tried a half of the guest beer, Brewers Gold from Whistable Brewery, which wasn't as good but was still pleasant with gentle light bitter notes. A food menu was available but I didn't see anybody eating, even on a busy Saturday afternoon. It looks like the regulars come here for a pint rather than a bite to eat.

With the decent beer and polite, prompt service this pub was looking like a winner. But unfortunately the atmosphere was a bit like having a pint in a retirement home. Me and The Lovely Jemma were the youngest people there by a long, long way. It was all very cosy but I started feeling a bit uncomfortable and we had to leave after a couple of halves as we just felt out of place there. It was the first pub I'd been to in a long time where the clientèle was exclusively oldies. Maybe at other times the pub has more mix in the customer age group.

That's it for now. See you next Sunday!

Whitstable and Herne Bay Part Two

I wasn't too sad to leave Herne Bay and head back to Whitstable to continue my ale jaunt by the sea. Seaside resorts are never much fun in the off season and Herne Bay was no exception, with shuttered arcades, rusting Ice Cream signs swaying in the wind and bored kids skateboarding over a Victorian bandstand. Thankfully the buses in the Herne/Whistable area are pretty frequent - presumably everyone is as desperate to get out of there as I was.

As the bus trundled into Whistable I alighted near the harbour and ventured in, where I treated myself to a bowl of mussels, cockles and whelks. Very tasty, and even though it was now approaching 3pm they tasted fresh and juicy. I headed on down with my seafood bounty to the Pearsons Arms, or as it says on their website, The Pearsons Arms by Richard Philips. Presumably Mr Philips built the pub from scratch himself using his bare hands and determination. Richard Philips is a celebrity chef although I've never heard of him, although to be fair I haven't heard of a lot of people who claim to be celebrities these days. His pub was rather nice - an airy, relaxing space and the classiest pub of the ones I visited on the day, but this class also meant it was the most expensive. There was a solid selection of ales on offer. I went for the Whistable Brewery East India Pale, because being in Whistable I felt I was obliged too. This was oddly disappointing, a rather flaccid, watery brew with underwhelming flavours. Luckily it was only a half as I was getting pretty tipsy by this point of the day. To go with the ale I had a Black Pudding Scotch Egg from the tempting bar snack menu which was absolutely delicious. The Scotch Egg that is, not the menu, I was drunk enough yet to start eating paper and card.

I also opted for a half of the Gadds' Number 7, another pale ale and a much better show than the Whistable Brewery offering. Light and refreshing, with good hoppy flavours, this was a perfectly serviceable brew. The pub was quiet while I was there but the lone barman was happy to serve and very efficient. The restaurant upstairs looked like it served a nice selection of food, which I'll be sure to try if I ever make it back here.

Staggering onwards, I popped into the Ship Centurion, a much more old fashioned, traditional boozer than the Pearsons.  Straight forward wooden tables, chairs and floor was the order of the day here. The place was lively as the after work drinks crew were stopping in for a quick drink. I enjoyed a pint of the Elgood Black Dog Mild, a solid example of a mild with decent chocolate and coffee flavours, which I always find enjoyable. I parked myself into a corner and enjoyed the banter and ambiance. This welcoming pub seemed to be serving its purpose as a community boozer well. Good beer, good chat and a friendly atmosphere - what more could you ask for?

The final stop was the The Peter Cushing, a rather imposing Wetherspoons pub which has been converted from a cinema, and the only pub I visited which wasn't in the Good Beer Guide. But I had a bit of time to kill before catching the train home, and a bit of change in my pocket, so why not pay a visit? This big, vast establishment had the least charm of the pubs I had visited on my ale trail but the beer was on good form. I gave the Whitstable Brewery a second chance and tried the Kentish Reserve, a best bitter which was much better than the pale ale. It wasn't spectacular but it got the job done with a pleasant bitter finish. The interior of the pub was impressive, as you would expect from a converted cinema, with large pictures of Sir Cushing behind the bar. But this was a cold, soulless place with the usual Wetherspoon trappings of crammed together tables and some rather "undesirable" customers - I think one of them may have had a tattoo. With the other pubs on offer in Whitstable there's not much reason to come here unless you're after a cheap pint or Jaegarbomb. 

My journey at a end it was back on the train and back down to South London. I enjoyed my day out and I felt all the pubs, except perhaps the Prince of Wales, were worthy of their place in the Good Beer Guide. The Butchers Arms was something special though, and if I was a braver man I would consider opening a micropub myself. But I think instead I will just settle on visiting micropubs instead and writing pithy remarks about them online - it's just as noble!

To make up for the lack of pictures in this blog post here's a sketch of an indecisive pony in a cheese and ham shop mulling over his purchase while a crocodile tries to help, as drawn by The Lovely Jemma. Enjoy!

Whitstable and Herne Bay Part One

I'd somehow managed to have around 15 days annual leave leftover by the start of March this year. I was therefore forced into booking time off by the HR department as part of some "wellbeing" initiative. Taking time home on a weekday when I'm not going anywhere on holiday is never much fun as everybody I know is stuck at work so I just end up sitting at home watching crap TV and playing a tremendous amount of video games. I decided this time I would do an ale trail day trip to get me away from Call of Duty and Jeremy Kyle. Now that I'm living on the Kent borders I thought I'd see what the South East has to offer. The Lovely Jemma suggested I visit Whistable, partly because it's nice and partly because she's been there a few times and wouldn't feel like she's missing out by not visiting with me. A quick glance at the Good Beer Guide revealed there were a few decent pubs there and in neighbouring Herne Bay, so the decision was made to pay a visit.

After arriving at Whitstable train station I immediately hopped onto a bus and headed over to Herne, a small village about a 15 minute bus ride from Herne Bay. I'd forgotten just how expensive buses are outside of London, and grudgingly handed over the £6 for a one day bus pass. For that amount of money I expect gold plated seats and a relaxing massage while I travel, but alas it was just a boring journey on a plain bus. My reason for visiting Herne was to pay a visit to The Butchers Arms, a pub which has gained famed for being the first "micropub" when it opened in 2005. The landlord, Martin, took advantage of a change of licensing laws and converted a small former butchers into a den of real ale and banter. There's a no mobile phone policy which is why I haven't taken any pictures of the place. Although to be honest I probably would of forgotten to take pictures anyway.

Entering the pub at 12pm, I was the only customer and it stayed that way for a good hour. But it didn't matter as Martin was a very friendly and accommodating host, even though he had gout so he wasn't able to head back into the former butchers "cold room" to pour the beer. Luckily his lovely assistant poured the ales for me. A blackboard behind the tiny "bar" showed that there were four ales on offer although it looked like there was room for about six ales in the cold room.  The cold room must have magical properties as it managed to make Adnams Broadside taste great, with raisin notes I never knew existed coming through perfectly. Hopdaemon Incubus was a bit special, a very refreshing best bitter that got everything right. Lovely bitter finish, slightly sweet, with fruity and caramel undertones. Very good indeed. Finally The Ripple Steam Brewery IPA, which was marked just as IPA on the blackboard, causing Martin to curse his assistant under his breath, was the weakest of the bunch. Almost grassy flavours were coming through, and although there was a hint of fruitiness the overall flavour was disappointing to me. The final beer on offer was Dark Star Hophead, which is apparently the "regular" beer. I didn't sample it but I'm sure it was delicious as always.

The lunchtime hours are stated as 12pm - 1:30pm. I was the only person in there from 12pm - 1pm, but a couple of locals came in towards the end and there was some pleasurable banter. I can imagine this place being quite lively and a bit of fun with a few people in, as even just the six of us was enough to get a decent atmosphere going. There's no denying this is a very "blokey" place, with a sign on the toilet door asking patrons to leave the toilet seat up, and a couple of bottles of white wine in the cold room in case it's requested by a confused wife or girlfriend. This may rub some people the wrong way, but I liked the honesty of the place - it's Martins gaff and he'll run it how he wants (which is generally very well indeed) and if you don't like it there's a Shepherd Neame pub just across the road. I had a thoroughly pleasurable visit and I can't wait to go back.

If it's on a sign it must be true!

It saddened me to leave the Butchers Arms but more pubs awaited so it was on to a bus to nearby Fordwich, which claims to be England's smallest town. Clearly they like a drink as it's blessed with two pubs but I only had time to pop into the Fordwich Arms. I probably lowered the average patron age by around 40 years when I walked in and the elderly clientèle did make me think I'd walked into the local WI meeting by mistake but I soon settled in. This is a very well presented pub both inside and out, with a glorious fireplace, and probably the most tasteful decorating I've seen in a traditional pub. Naturally I forgot to take pictures, and to be honest I thought I'd scare most of the customers with my modern technology, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

The Fordwich Arms. Nice inside and out.

Most of the patrons were there to enjoy lunch which looked very good indeed. Sadly the ale selection didn't have quite as much effort put into it as the decor and the food and I ended up having a rather disappointing half of Flowers Original, a beer as old as time and it tasted like it. After the varied beers at the Butchers Arms this was a thudding return to the bad old days of the "warm, flat brown water" stereotype that ale still sometimes suffers from. However the pub was so nice that I was happy to spend 30 minutes in there quaffing this bland, lifeless beer. Again this was another pub I'd be happy to return to, probably more for a bite to eat than for a beer on it's own.

The final pub in the Herne area was the Prince of Wales in Herne Bay. 3pm on a Wednesday during the off season at a seaside resort is never going to be the most lively time for a pub but walking into here was like walking into a morgue. A couple of punters sat dreary eyed at the bar, like real life Barney Gumbles from The Simpsons. I plumped for a pint of Early Bird from Shephered Neame, one of their seasonal beers which I hadn't tried before. Sadly it ended up being the most boring beer of the day, completely lifeless with precious little flavour to it. A dreary beer for a dreary pub. The pub is large which doesn't help the atmosphere when nobody is in. A large games room in the back look promising, and I imagine with a few in this is could be quite a good boozer. However as I found Herne Bay itself entirely underwhelming I don't think I'll be able to give this pub a second chance any time soon.

That's it for now, I'll be detailing the pubs I visited in Whistable in a further blog post. I know you can't wait and quite frankly I don't blame you. Have a great Easter.