Jamie Cook finds a drinking hole in England that gives brewpub a whole new meaning... The Angel & White Horse - Tadcaster, England
Tadcaster is one of those fortunate English towns that is blessed with owing its livelihood to breweries. Situated close to the walled city of York, Tadcaster has two breweries that were both founded by members of the Smith family. The larger John Smith's brewery is now a part of the Scottish & Newcastle empire whilst the smaller and more traditional Samuel Smith's brewery remains an independent family owned business.
At the front gate to the Samuel Smith's brewery on the main street of the town sits the The Angel & White Horse Pub, a classic ‘brewery tap' - a pub that is usually part of the brewery that is used to showcase its wares whilst also slaking the thirsts of the brewery workers and locals.
Time appears to have passed Samuel Smiths by as it continues to operate its business by sticking to the traditions established before the industrial age. The brewery itself was founded in 1758 and is a traditional gravity brewery where the brewing process starts high up in a tower where the brewhouse is located. From there the brew flows down to the fermentation area where the almost archaic square open fermentation vessels are located. These ‘squares' were crafted from local Yorkshire slate and contribute real character to the family's fine ales. After fermentation the brew continues its downhill journey to the cellar area where it is stored prior to being racked into wooden casks.
‘The Angel' draws its range of draught ales directly from the brewery and presents them in prime condition, serving them by hand pump to customers across the bar.
The best way to experience the ‘The Angel' is by starting with a brewery tour. By spending an hour or so climbing up and down stairs amongst a labyrinth of tanks, vessels and pipes, being seduced by the sensory experience on offer you will build up a real thirst for what is a classic real ale. The sight of those slate squares filled with bubbling brews draws you in and when you put your head over the top of them to appreciate the aroma in the same way you would ‘nose' a glass of fine wine, the carbon dioxide coming off the fermenting wort makes your head spin.
By the time you reach the bar in ‘The Angel' you are almost foaming at the mouth for one of Sam's ales. As you watch the pint of Old Brewery Bitter being drawn by hand you begin to think about how this beer is going to present itself after its journey through the brewery. When you are presented with a brimming glass of deep brown ale topped with a thick, dense white head it seems calm, collected and naturally relaxed. A far cry from the breathlessness, beating chest and strained calf muscles of its expectant drinker!
The dangers of drinking real ale are completely removed in a place like this. A beer that is molly coddled from the time that grain meets water high up in the tower to when it caresses the inside of the crystal clear pint glass in the bar is a true gift. The care and attention, together with the complete lack of modern processing, makes me think of how my grandmother would have created her much loved fruit cakes. Not surprisingly the fruity characters and full mouth flavour of the ale are reminiscent of those fruit cakes, and would probably sit just as well beside a slab of aged English cheddar. The round malt character of Sam's is almost heavenly when consumed within the brewery gates.
As you sit by the side of the open fire, you can only fall further in love with the living breathing ale in front of you. Each mouthful is rewarded with a heavy lace around the glass, and each pint adds to that warming inner glow. The dizzy rapture is occasionally interrupted by the clatter of the horse drawn brewery dray taking a delivery of wooden casks out the gates to the local pubs.
Was I really that affected by the wondrous brew provided by the angel, or was my head still spinning from the carbon dioxide fumes given off by the stone squares?
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