11/05/22 - The Good Beer Guide Pubs of Whitstable and Herne Bay

Pubs - 6

Good Beer Guide Ticks - #671 to #673

Walking the Saxon Shore Way came to an abrupt end at Seasalter's Oyster Pearl. A combination of aching legs, bad blisters and a highly efficient public transport system.

An afternoon drinking in Whitstable before heading to our digs in Herne Bay to check out the micros.

First an apology to Kent CAMRA. In planning, I used the 2022 Good Beer Guide (of course) and an old CAMRA book called "Fifty More Great Pub Crawls" to create our afternoon.  It was the latter that recommended a couple of pubs that had us asking "How the hell did this get into the Good Beer Guide?"

The answer was.... they hadn't. Our instincts to quickly leave the New Inn, Prince Albert and to a lesser extent, the rather pretty but Shep's led Smack Inn were fully justified.

I also missed a Good Beer Guide Tick at the 12 Taps.  Doh!

The Ship Centurion, High Street, Goachers Silver Staru

Perfectly located. Opposite our bus stop.

And look at this beauty....

Everything you could want from an old school boozer. A delightfully friendly welcome from an enthusiastic and knowledgeable landlady. Great beer.... I will miss Goachers in my Midland home town. Horse racing on the TV. The promise of a regular meat raffle.

Pubs are just so easy to get totally right.  It's a wonder there aren't more doing it.

Pub Life

Lunch

I'd asked on a Facebook walking group for Kentish recommendations for food and pubs. There was a general agreement that Whitstable's Chippy - V.C.Jones should not be missed.  It's all about the beef dripping, apparently

Lunch

It was an old school delight - and other afternoon patrons couldn't get enough of it. The chips were good but the fish was not a patch on any Midlands chippy. Sorry Kent, our batter is better.

Full-up and getting to the next pub with a 70l Rucksack after a week on the Goachers, was a problem.

Yes, with much hilarity, I got stuck.  Children pointed.

Old Neptune, Marine Terrace, Harveys Sussex Best

Right on the Saxon Shore Way (if you don't use a bus)

I waxed lyrical about Harvey's Sussex Best on the train down to Kent and was hoping to find it so I could prove it's quality. After two pints, my walking partner agreed it's one of the best beers money can buy. 

Liquid Perfection

The pub was a hoot. A combination of three cockneys on rose wine holding court at the end of the bar, a jukebox and a frenetic turnover of customers - most better Ramblers than us - made for plenty of banter.

#1 Thing Learned..... Johnny Cash was only popular because all of his live audiences were in jail.

Parkerville, High Street, Herne Bay, Butcombe Citra

A Former Music Shop

The evening and we are fully in the land of the micros. I counted 4, we visited 3 and 2 are in the Good Beer Guide. Including this.

A very rumbustious atmosphere full of blokes who have just clocked off work and are working their way through the top shelf, to supplement their gravity poured pints.

There was a lovely looking live comedy/music stage towards the rear but not enough interest for us to hang around to find out if anyone was playing. Wednesday night... unlikely.

Bouncing Barrel, Bank Street, Saltaire DDH Citra

Limited research has failed to establish what this once was.

I've commented before about the stares you receive when entering a MicoPub. Here, the stares started before we had crossed the threshold. The door was open, I was waiting for my walking partner to get supplies and the landlady, and associated customers, were all eye-balling me. A comment that we were visiting if the they would have us, was pleasantly received.  Personal introductions made we soon fell into quite a detailed conversation about the history of Kent Micro Pubs.  It all started in a nearby town.

This is a no bar micro, with gravity fed beers served from a cold room.

We stayed for one, in the vain hope of finding a pub with the football on.

The Firkin Frog, Station Road, Cider!

We failed to find the football..... but guess what... another Micro!

A former kitchen show room.

The first Micropub opened in Herne Bay but not in the Good Beer Guide. This had beer dispensed from proper hand-pulls but the offerings were from breweries that I had never heard off. The last two gravity pulls had put in a mind to either avoid risk or risk everything.

Spurred on my a recent Beer O'Clock Podcast on Cider, I moved to the light side. For the first time since I was a teenager.

It was like there was a party in my mouth and everyone had been invited.

Mrs M is delighted I have another poison in my armoury.