Having had a few very acceptable pints in the Rose and Crown the other night at the Tonbridge Tweetup (scroll down for that post) it occurred to me that maybe the hotel, which is smack bang in the centre of the old part of town, ought to be serving some of the wonderful local brewries' offerings. The beer in the hotel bar is acceptable, as I say, but it is, rather predictably, Harvey's and Green King. Both okay but nothing more than that. They'd do a lot worse than William Wilburforce Freedom Ale by Westerham Brewery or, better still, Coppernob and Auburn Myth by our very own Tonbridge Brewery. I've never tried Tunbridge Wells Breweries ales on tap but the bottled versions of the best bitter aren't half bad, if a little metallic for my taste. It would be a good idea for them, good to support the local producers and fabulous for the customer to be able to try out some of these less available, but excellent, beers. I don't know whether the Rose and Crown is tied to any particular big brewery but they're missing a trick if you ask me....Saturday, January 28, 2012
Local beers at the Rose and Crown please....
Having had a few very acceptable pints in the Rose and Crown the other night at the Tonbridge Tweetup (scroll down for that post) it occurred to me that maybe the hotel, which is smack bang in the centre of the old part of town, ought to be serving some of the wonderful local brewries' offerings. The beer in the hotel bar is acceptable, as I say, but it is, rather predictably, Harvey's and Green King. Both okay but nothing more than that. They'd do a lot worse than William Wilburforce Freedom Ale by Westerham Brewery or, better still, Coppernob and Auburn Myth by our very own Tonbridge Brewery. I've never tried Tunbridge Wells Breweries ales on tap but the bottled versions of the best bitter aren't half bad, if a little metallic for my taste. It would be a good idea for them, good to support the local producers and fabulous for the customer to be able to try out some of these less available, but excellent, beers. I don't know whether the Rose and Crown is tied to any particular big brewery but they're missing a trick if you ask me....
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3 comments:
Surely you can't expect an establishment like the R & C to support local businesses when they get a big discount from GK to sell their p**s.
Harveys is a lovely pint (if well kept) and comes from a hundreds of years old brewery just 30 miles away in Lewes. Why don't you take a tour of the place. Apart from the use of stainless steel, the beer is made in the same way, and with the same whole ingredients, as it was in the 18th century.
While in Lewes, look round the town. It is steeped in history and their council has preserved many fine old buildings. Look out for the White Hart hotel opposite the law courts. Thomas Paine (Rights of Man etc.) used to meet other radicals there and put the world to rights over a pint. They used to call themselves 'the headstrong club'.
Harveys certainly is an extremely good pint, Hallum and is a "must stock" item for any self-respecting pub or bar in the South-East.
Unlike the other brewery who's beer is on sale at the Rose & Crown, Harveys do no need to offer incentives to get pubs to stock their beer; it's good enough to sell itself!
I agree with TB though, that it would be good to see a more local beer, such as one from the likes of Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells or Westerham on sale at the Rose & Crown (alongside the Harveys!). Given that the said establishment are part of a large group though, somehow I don't see that happening!
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