Christmas Eve 2023. Tonbridge.
The great Taylor Family Christmas Eve pub crawl headed aimlessly south from Fuggles, their tummies full of toastie and “hot dog”,
without a clue what to now we weren’t hanging about for a family curry.
Harvey’s in a Tudor hotel ?
Looking after suspicious packages outside the fun pub ?
Nope. Let’s do one of the Top 4 pubs in the actual country, according to CAMRA.
Even the lads seemed vaguely interested, though Matt’s had reached “Are we there yet ?” levels as we wove through the back streets behind the station to the Nelson Arms.
One of four finalists for the CAMRA Pub of the Year (irritatingly the 2023 POTY in a year the 2025 is released).
I’d love to see the Trafalgar Hotel win, but I reckon the Nelson should, and it could have been produced by Artificial Intelligence in response to the request “Design me a CAMRA Pub of the Year“. Paul Bailey seems to have adopted it as his local, and rightly so.
It’s a corker, it really is, smart and welcoming but also a Proper Pub.
My closest comparison is, of course, the Tamworth Tap with which the Nelson will do battle in January.
Both multi-roomed pubs in a town with a castle overlooked in favour of a smarter neighbour starting with “T” (T. Wells and Tamworth).
Both beer focussed,
on cask, keg and can,
with the Iron Pier beers as impressive as always (NBSS 3.5),
but not SO beer focussed they don’t sell a beer that a 22 year old can drink on top of Stella.
Lots to look at on the ceiling, apparently,
and we stayed here just long enough to be tempted by the Tropical Marshmallow IPA.
Only the questionable “art” in the Gents can halt its rise to the crown.
retiredmartin 
What’s questionable about women looking through telescope?
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Probably nothing if they’re properly dressed.
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Fabulous pub, and I was one of the regional judges
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My son & his mates were there the Saturday before Christmas & messaged me “Not exaggerating.its the best pub Ive been in ! ” Can only assume he was feeling very content with his lot after a few drinks .He was also pleased to see that they show Rugby League on Friday nights -incredibly rare in these parts..We had planned to go today but the wallet was empty & we decided to have a quiet one & went to Rochester where we peered longingly into the various micro windows.It can all wait until the new year
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Not much more I can say about the Nelson, that hasn’t been said already, so we will now have to wait and see what happens in January.
The Dortmunder Union would be a good “follow on” to Stella, but apart from the bar-towels, there’s not much else advertising its preesnce.
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I’ve probably already mentioned that I know of four Stafford pubs stocking two Dortmunder Union beers.
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Is that £5.80 for a can , of a beer that costs £3 in any supermarket (but 4 get 1 free)?
Never understand folk who go to a pub and drink something so easily available.
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Because I’d rather drink in a pub than at home, street corner, car…
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Correct answer.
On odd occasion I might have ended a night impulsively getting a can of 10% imperial stout out of the fridge in the Crow or Walkley Beer Co but it would never be cans that drew me to the pub.
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That didn’t mean to sound so snotty.
If its a rare beer then I fully understand trying that. Its the ones that are readily available an so therefore well over priced, I’d rather try a cask option.
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Totally agree with you.
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It was actually triggered from a conversation I had in the pub on NYD, a chap who doesn’t drink in this particular pub very often came in, I asked him why he didn’t come here too much and the answer, because they charge him £4.95 for a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale.
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I can think of a lot of bars (often hotel bars) where the bottles/cans are the only option that isn’t international flavourless fizz. I’ve no problem with paying the bar price for stuff you can get in the supermarket at a fraction of the price. I don’t think it’s a fair comparison.
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