I went out to the pub last night with some friends (yes, I really do have some). I won’t say which hostelry, but we were chatting to the owner about life in general (and beer in particular) when he announced that his establishment served the ‘best pint of  Wherry in Fakenham’. His patrons had told him so many times, he told us.

I didn’t actually agree with him, but said nowt – there was no point in debating the subject and it would have been bad-mannered to disagree with him while sitting in his own pub downing a pair of his pints. However, I thought I’d see if my fellow local beer-swillers real ale connoisieurs thought the same way. Apart from Harry Hill’s favourite method of settling an argument – “FIGHT!” – there’s only one way to do it… I’ve created a new website poll.

Woodforde’s is a Norfolk brewery and their Wherry bitter is very widely available in the Fakenham area. It’s a pretty safe choice for landlords, as it’s a well-known session bitter (ie not too strong at 3.8 percent alcohol) which sells very well. Unfortunately it can be bland and as dull as dishwater if not kept well, but when served in good condition is a wonderfully fresh-tasting ale with aromatic, floral hop qualities and citrus overtones. Beautifully light and refreshing.

So which pub in town serves the best pint of the stuff? I’m interested to hear other drinkers’ opinions, so please vote in the poll on the right. If you can’t stand the stuff yourself (I realise not everybody has a beer lover’s exquisite and refined taste) but know somebody else who does, point them to this site so they can register their vote. It’s a subject very dear to many people’s hearts

Cheers!

They’re apparently looking at opening a bar & restaurant in the Clipbush Lane area, close to the proposed Health Centre complex.

Do we need it? Is an edge-of-town site good for our town?

We were in Kings Lynn today, so we dropped into Beers of Europe in Setchey. It’s an amazing place for beer-lovers, as I’ve no doubt mentioned before on this blog. It’s the first visit of  this year for me, so I took the opportunity to look for some old favourites (like Fullers London Porter and Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen – a smokebeer from Bamberg) and also found some I’d been wanting to try for a while (Krušovice Cerne, a Czech dark lager).

They have a decent selection of ciders but I couldn’t find the one Lindsey, my daughter wanted (I texted her to ask if she had any requests). I did, however, find some different interesting ones as well as Asahi Black Japanese lager, which is her partner Al’s favourite. My wife, Mary chose a bottle of St. Peters Grapefruit beer, so everybody has something to sup and savour over the bank holiday weekend!

Is this thing turning into a food & drink blog? No, it’s purely coincidental that the last few posts have had something to do with eating and drinking. Now… what’s for dinner?

A new restaurant is about to open in Newmans Yard, off Norwich Street. D’Inacios Brasserie will serve its first dishes next Wednesday (5th May). Coffees during the day in the courtyard (don’t you just love that wisteria?) with a la carte lunches and a sophisticated-sounding menu in the evenings.

Intriguingly, the leaflet I was just handed in town says, “Fine Wines, Ales & Food”, so it’ll be interesting to see how they approach their beer menu. You’re advised to book – their number’s 01328 851247. Tell ‘em you saw it here on the Fakenham Blog and I may be able to blag some kind of discount when I drop in to check them out

The menu was in a state of flux (a new list of dishes was arriving next day) . Many dishes were ‘off’ but we managed to make a choice from what remained – my mate and I both went for a liver and onion suet pudding (I know – it sounds unusual) and his partner chose a fish dish. After being told subsequently that only one liver pudding existed, my mate chose the fish too. We didn’t have to wait long for it all to arrive, as there were only a few people in the place. I’ve never seen it choc full.

The liver & onion pudding (avec les chips ‘n’ peas) was fine, if a tad strong tasting. Maybe because it was beef liver (as we were informed). The fish dishes came served in a creamy sauce along with a single bowl of chips to share, which had been requested instead of mashed potato. Strangely no vegetables arrived to go with them, despite being included in the description we found afterwards. The desserts were fine, I was told (I didn’t have one myself) so overall the food was OK but not ideal. I’ll let them off though, due to the menu thing. Maybe next time I’ll try the Mexican Fajita Tower they were planning to introduce on the new menu. That does sound nice!

The beer: Us fellas had originally ordered a pint of Wherry, the only ale available, but when poured it was completely vinegary and undrinkable (not the first time that’s happened to me there). As the only other choice was a smoothflow-type bitter, we were offered a bottle of St. Peters each which was fine. They were the only bottled ales in the pub though!

The verdict: I quite like The Oak. The owners and staff are great and the surroundings are really nice. It’s a very pleasant place to go. However, I always leave thinking I’d really like it a lot more if they paid more attention to their beer. I think they are in a bit of a ‘Catch22′ situation as they don’t have the turnover to justify more ales – let’s face it, if the very popular Wherry doesn’t sell fast enough and goes off they’re not selling lots. I have suggested ordering smaller quantities of local brewers’ ales in the past, but maybe that didn’t prove possible. Last night I suggested that they could try ofering a wider choice of bottled beers – maybe with a local flavour or conversely a range of good Belgian beers. They need to attract more custom and a Unique Selling Point like that would provide a good reason to go there. We’ll see – I’ll no doubt be going there again soon!

OK – it’s sweepstake time! Any ideas as to the premises they’re considering? Could it be a takeover of The Hungry Horse? Could it be the old Godfrey DIY building by the town sign? Possibly the ex-Learning Centre premises?

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Back in the 13th century, it was a Belgian ale called Stout Porter, being named after an old stout porter who worked at Waterloo. This beer, being the original, was 100% true to style – which is strange, as it was a completely clear liquid (this was due to the Belgian Purity laws which dictated that all brewing had to be totally transparent).

In the 14th century it was brought over to Britain, but the style immediately became less than 100% true due to small mammals being added to the mash to provide extra fizz and fermentation (English brewers had misheard the Belgians’ accent as “stoat porter”). No matter, because the Danish brewers of Northampton quickly went to court and stopped this ale being sold due to it being too like their own lager – almost colourless, fizzy and with a slight whiff of polecat wee.

It wasn’t until the 20th century that the beer took on the dark colouring we associate with it today. Brewers had started adding clinker to the mash, which gave it a smokey flavour. Coal Porter, as it was known, became a success. Inspired by this, more variants were invented: Nyree Dawn Porter, which came to the UK from New Zealand. Gail Porter, which had a great body and a smooth head. Stout Yeoman, made with freeze-dried mashed potato, and finally Alec Guinness – which looked quite weak, but had a force which was strong.

As you can see from the photo, I found my favourite Fuller’s London Porter at Waitrose, Swaffham. They have a nice choice of beers on sale, especially from the Fullers stable. All I need now to quaff over the Xmas holiday is a bottle or two of Schlenkerla Rauschbier (yes, smoked beer really does exist, although it isn’t called ‘Coal Porter’).

The Crown

We went there this evening for a staff Xmas meal. A drink at the bar before everybody arrived gave us a choice of three ales – Woodforde’s Wherry, Adnams Bitter or Broadside. Not an inspiring choice – and I was sure they made a big thing of their ‘local ales’ on the website (how local is Suffolk?). Wherry is at least from our county (and a lovely pint if kept well) , but you find it almost everywhere. Safe but pretty dull. However, the ale was in good nick.

We ate in the room upstairs – another tastefully finished  area, although seating for our large group was a bit haphazard, with a bench as well as chairs and some unlevel tables joined together.

The food: My starter was spicy parsnip soup with a ‘hand-made’ bread roll and croutons. Quite tasty but not the best I’ve tasted.

Main course was turkey with all the trimmings. The meat was a tad sparse and dry, stuffing was a nondescript afterthought – but the bacon-wrapped banger was very flavoursome. Red cabbage, roast potatoes and carrots were good but the sprouts were the size and consistency of golf balls! They should have been cooked for twice the amount of time for beasts of that size. Only a couple of bowls of veg between us all too.

Pudding: I had ‘pineapple spring rolls’ but there seemed to be just one – cut into two parts. Not much flavour, I’m afraid. Somebody said their ‘chocolate orange torte’ was just choc flavoured with an orange ‘jus’. The descriptions of the food need to be adjusted, methinks.

Overall a nice welcoming pub (and it was good to see it being well-used by locals) but I was underwhelmed with  the meal which cost £25 a head. Last year’s Xmas dinner at The Hourglass in Sculthorpe knocked spots off it – and for less money. Knowing that the Crown’s owner is a well-known chef makes it more of a disappointment – I was probably expecting something more exciting.

Eaten anywhere good in the area recently? Post a comment and share it with us.

Disappointing choice, I must say – I’m sure it’s shrunk since the shop opened. Fakenham Morrisons’ ale section must be at least double that size! Waitrose in Swaffham usually has a decent selection too, I seem to remember.  Lidl’s is just a bit of an afterthought – they don’t even stock any good Euro beers.

So… it looks like a December pilgrimage to Beers Of Europe at Setchey near Kings Lynn is on the cards. Imagine a shop the size of Lidl, but full of hundreds of beers from all over the world, and you’ll get the picture. Absolutely amazing place. I’ll be on the lookout for Fullers London Porter and Vintage Ale, Krusovice Cerne, Bernard and Budvar Dark Czech lager and maybe some American ‘hop bombs’ too. Cheers!

Teddy, the owner, just sent me a photo of their Christmas Case of real ales to put onto the site. They sound scrummy. If you’re stuck for a Christmas prezzy for a chap who’s into his ale, you could do far worse than to get one sent to his door in time for the festivities.