|
The ingredients of beer are so natural - water, hops, a cereal which is normally barley and the magic of yeast.
But from these simple notes it is the skill of brewers we need to create the symphony of tastes, colour and aromas that swirl around the glasses we drink from.
We are a bit perverse in this country for we laud wine makers for their abilities but what of Britain's brewers who create all those beers that some seemingly take for granted.
People should drink with their eyes and nose even before they take a sip so that they start to experience the whole spectrum of colours and bursts of aromas that is part of beer's experience.
And as you take a sip let the beer unleash its flavours as it dances on your tongue.
Then as you take a second sip and enjoy the lingering aftertaste of a good beer say a silent cheers to the skill of Britain's brewers - such as Abbott Ale's brewer John Bexon - they are true heroes of beer, creating drinks with far more variety and complexity than even the most expensive of vintage wines.
Then we must forget the notion that wine is the only drink that goes with food, or wine is the only drink that is part of a healthy lifestyle or that women do not drink beer.
Beer, especially cask ale, is a wonderfully vibrant living product, which should be celebrated in every pub and enjoyed by all.
There are many ingredients to make a perfect pub but it starts with the perfect glass of beer. And one tip for pub goers looking for a decent pint is to see if the pub is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide or has a Cask Marque plaque outside, neither is foolproof, but both are pretty good indicators that the quality of the beer the pub serves matters. At the very best pubs there is often a moment of magic as you open the door - breathe in the atmosphere - and the place becomes your own.
So don't be fooled by the down at heel exterior of the Halfway House, or the George as it is sometimes called locally after a brewery of the same name which used to own it, for inside there beats a heart of gold.
Today, the Halfway House is a fabulously eclectic two-bar pub in the middle of rural Somerset situated on the B3513 halfway between the small towns of Langport and Somerton.
However, it wasn't always like this as for many years it had earned an honest but uninspired living as a traditional roadside inn.
But, over time the cars went away. The trade dipped and many feared that last orders would soon be called.
Then in 1992 Julian Litchfield and his family arrived. The tired decorations were thrown out and replaced by simple white washed walls. The furniture was scrapped and in came comfy sofas for lounging on and large tables where people could spread their elbows.
The threadbare carpets were pulled up to reveal a fabulous flagstone floor. And in came the cask beers, and over the years there have been hundreds of them, all dispensed by gravity straight from barrels kept behind the bar.
Who knows what the motivation was for this minimalist chic - perhaps there is something new age in the family inspired by the nearby Glastonbury and its music festival?
The food includes fine locally made sausages with various mustards and bread, or bread and cheese at lunchtime with a range of mouth-watering curries in the evening.
And cider drinkers can enjoy a glass of locally produced Hecks Kingston Black cider.
There is no music or extraneous decoration for it is people - the customers - that make this place come alive with their conversation and laughter. It is a pub that defies the pat definitions that the trade so loves - for it is truly a pub for all - families with well-behaved children in tow share tables with smart businesspeople, walkers and travellers, cyclists and bikers, farmers and florists all feel at home in this smashing, special place. This is a pub where the barrow boy and the barrister can all sit, eat and talk, side by side.
Last year's winner - The Star, Lidgate in Suffolk - with its cocktail of Catalan cuisine and English beer, had set standards that I feared couldn't be matched.
How wrong I was - for the Halfway House has atmosphere in abundance.
One of the many delights the Halfway holds in store for customers is the beauty of a pint of real ale.
The pub keeps six regular ales including Teinworthy Reel Ale, Butcombe Bitter, Branscome Vale Own, Hop Back Crop Circle and Summer Lightning as well as guest ales such as RCH Pitchfork. It is not uncommon for there to be 10 or more real ales available on a Friday for the weekend.
And it is the pub's licensee, the cellar manager and the rest of the staff that keeps this beer in wonderful condition, looking after it with tender loving care until it is ready to be drunk.
The beer is good because it is stored correctly for the right length of time and at the right temperature. The beer is given the care, attention and respect it deserves.
And it is this respect that helps take a good pub, even a great pub into a higher plane.
If the pub has one rule it is that the staff would never serve what they wouldn't be happy to receive themselves. It's a rule others could well follow.
There are no half measures at this pub - for it is just perfect.
Halfway House,
Pitney Hill,
Langport,
Somerset,
TA10 9AB
Tel: 01458 252513
www.thehalfwayhouse.co.uk
Tourist information:
"Glastonbury is close by, as are many fine walks. Nearby is the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton, Wookey Hole Caves and the Haynes Motor Museum."
Back
Regional Winners 2006
Overall Winners 2005
Regional Winners 2005
|
