We set off on a sunny Tuesday morning at the propitious time of 12:12 to have a three-day celebration of Francoise’s birthday. My car was newly serviced, pretty much full of petrol, so well-serviced that it hummed along.
I have been aware for some time that Dorset people are different from Somerset people. I’m not saying better or worse but there is something like a time warp that I experience in Dorset that I could also say I experience in parts of Cornwall.
We heard about this excellent range of beer called Gyle 59. (See previous at my meeting in Glastonbory 21 September) Yes, it is a strange appellation for a range of ale but then people in Dorset do not do normal. We decided to visit the brewery prior to our destination, three nights at Wetherspoons in Bridport. If I say that the destination was rural I would not be exaggerating. Most of the country roads and lanes are one way with passing places and when you are faced with a large tractor there is only one thing to do, reverse.
Fortunately the local population are very good at doing the sort of thing so we got lots of smiles and waves when we negotiated our way towards the designated postcode. We are so used to postcodes taking us to where we want to go almost to the actual house but this particular postcode covered an area of a few square miles yes really so I was very glad we took a map with us yes a good old fashioned Ordinance Survey map.
We arrived at the place without knowing that we had arrived and parked up and a local person pointed us in the right direction. There was no sign outside but thank goodness we arrived
If you don’t believe me about being rural have a look on Google Earth at the following: The Brewery, Sadborow Estate Yard, Thorncombe, TA20 4PW all lanes look the same and there are no distinguishing features so if you go there and get it right the first time you need a photographic memory because if you approach it from another direction you will be confused indeed
Before Tom our to be host arrived we met a lady called Emma who makes an unusual and curious blend called Kombucha. We bought a number of bottles including a raspberry and turmeric flavored drink which contains the following ‘magical’ ingredients:
spring water, organic sugar, organic green tea, kombucha culture, raspberries, turmeric, black pepper, lemon balm. On the bottle is something you don’t normally expect to read and I quote
A curious Tale.
…. once there was a young girl who felt compelled to explore and learn about the Natural World. Little did she realized that she was on a journey of discovery which would lead her to the art of fermentation.
Kombucha is a live, unpasteurized, effervescent and full of gut friendly positivity, made with organic green tea and spring water. It is naturally fermented following age old traditions,…… join us on our mystical journey
Anyone interested look at Facebook. Type in ‘ Kombucha’ and you will find 3 groups. Kombucha Homemake UK, kombucha lovers, Newbie Kombucha Homebrewers
Anyway at this point Tom and his wife Georgia turned up and we were ushered in to the ale tasting tour. I have not been the same since. Below is part of the range of ales.
SPRING FED, LOG POWERED, PROPANE DRIVEN, UNFINED, HAZY CRAZY ARTISAN BEERS.
WE WANT YOU TO NOTICE WHAT YOU ARE DRINKING
All our beers are created with one thing in mind – flavour.
We are lucky enough to have a unique supply of spring water
which we are using to good effect allowing the many different
qualities of our ingredients to shine through.
Communities organise themselves in a different way in this region. Every week the affable Tom has a beer garden session where people can meet, eat, drink and be merry. Sometimes there is music . Tom told me that up to 60 people attend. I warned him that I would continue to be my usual eccentric self and would not come if at least a third of the people did not fall into this category and he assured me it would probably be nearer 90%. That’s good enough for me.
I’m thinking of going along later this month, August, when the heat is still there. Tom and his wife ran a pub for five years so I would say they are ideally suited for this job
Tom regaling Francoise
Tom was very generous with his time and showed us around the brewery. It is quite clear that this differs markedly from the processes used in commercial brewing. I did add that when I met Tom for the first time in Glastonbury, I did buy some product from him and found that I was not sick afterwards. With my fussy stomach this is quite unusual. I guessed that this was due to the purity of the ingredients and the lack of preservatives and other chemicals.
I’ve never seen barrels like this and I have felt I was almost intruding on a very special alchemical process and I should almost take my shoes off out of respect.
This was part of the tasting area where he had featured some of the more popular libations. I seemed to have lost my ‘off’ button so I proceeded to sample more than I would normally have done, whatever the word ‘normal’ is.
Surprise surprise we ended up by buying a few liters of this and that which we will sample in the following days and weeks. I understand the beers have a limited life, but that’s the trade-off for having no chemicals. We shall have to up our rate of consuming but I reckon a small glass more often during the day is better for my constitution than say a pint.
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I suppose this blog could be seen as courting free publicity for Tom but I don’t see it that way. I see it as advertising another way of life reminiscent of the pre-industrial era where people added value by producing this ancient drink, ale, for the benefit of the community. I would love people to follow his example and take up an interest in neglected crafts and be a model of humanity and service to others.
PS What is the difference between ale and beer? Beer is the umbrella item for all fermented alcoholic drinks made from grains, hops, yeast, and water. Under that umbrella there are two main families: ale involving warm fermentation and lager involving cold fermentation. So all ales are beers but not all beers are ales. Lagers are also beers – just that they are fermented differently
We bought and paid for our order before we left, planning to pick up the produce on the return journey on Friday, fearing that warm temperatures would adversely affect the life of the drinks.
Wetherspoons have a good reputation. I had seen their hotel and pub on my previous visits to Bridport but not actually stayed there so this was a fingers crossed type of exercise.
Parking at all popular resorts can be an expensive operation so I have discovered a particular street where no parking rules apply and which is quite lengthy so the chances of getting a vacant place are quite high as indeed was the case.
We parked up and wheeled our cases for about 10 minutes to the hotel. First impressions were good and I witnessed what I can only call the smallest reception office ever, but amazingly it worked. We settle down to enjoy our evening.
I have written a full forensic report on this hotel which I will publish shortly.
Incidentally you may ask how much we paid. On a room-only basis which is the norm we paid £185 for three nights. If you want to spend stratospheric money then try a summer weekend including a Saturday night and book at the last moment.
