My Happy Eye "The Blog": The Ale Trail: on to the Waitrose Superstore in Sidmouth and then a visit to the Harbour Inn in Axmouth and then home for a taste!

Axmouth, a nice little village that when the pub and the Church were laid out adjacent to the narrow medieval road the widest thing traveling then would have been a man and his Ass. 1235, now can you for a moment imagine something surviving all those years? No, not in the States... but over here where there are forest preservation laws, property historical and heritage laws... it all makes for a joyous occasion to sit down in a pub to talk with the landlord and that pub is over 800 years old. The church “Saint Michael's” is Saxon in origin... the first vicar was there... on or about 1235... and it would have been a Catholic Church and not Church of England as it is now... thus on site hundreds of years before the Reformation.

Where ever in those times a church was built there also was an Inn built nearby, the two almost always went hand in hand. The pub on the other hand, built just across the street... a just wider than a single lane road... that you see from the church is called the “Harbour Inn”, Michael was our bartender that afternoon and the ale served me was “Badger Ale”... as we had been out on the road, my nephew Ryan and I in the Elise... we and had worked up a bit of a thirst on those not very wide English country lanes of seaside Devonshire at high speed.

It was raining cats and dogs by the time Ryan returned and parked the Elise… off we went to The Harbor Inn… yes you must watch your head entering these old pubs… this one just across the street from Saint Michaels’ Church. Axmouth is situated at the mouth of the River Axe, 10 miles south-east from Honiton, 6 south-west from Axeminster and 1 mile north-by-east from Seaton… it dates back to at least the 12th Century …

Some of the local patrons claim this pub has been here since the 11^th century. I failed to find documentation to verify… it’s old and that’s all we need to know. The harbor Inn is one of those rainy afternoon pubs I felt right at home being there. I headed for the corner at the end of the bar where I could stash my gear and look out to the street…

Ryan wasted no time ordering for me a Badger Ale, the best ale is free ale, so lucky me. I have been picking up a lot on the free ales this trip… gotta love it!

Talk about badger Ale… from their website I quote of this nectar in a pint glass... “A traditional well hopped country ale, craft brewed for a malty flavour with subtle fruity notes. Pleasantly bitter with a smooth finish... supplied to farm workers in the 1700's and later, and to the British Army in the Napoleonic Wars, “ the Original ale is a premium adaptation of the famous draught Badger Best Bitter, benefiting richly from the experience of generations of Head Brewers from those times to today. A taste of the past in the present. 3.8% Vol

Sipping the Badger I drifted to ghosts of long ago that must still be here… how many a poor chap has died by sword or strangled when caught sleeping with another man’s wife… right here on this wooden floor? What phantom curmudgeon of centuries ago still haunts this place on a cold winter’s night? England with its stone circles and ancient monuments, this land of druids… of travelers murdered on highway, where ghosts have appeared and mysterious carrying’s on are legend… crop circles… invasion from the sea… pirates along the coast… Cromwell’s New Model Army marching through on its way to Cornwall and the Irish Sea. I think I will have another one…

Michael our Land Lord said this bar is 800 years old… which put’s this place running for one of the oldest public houses in England. All these ancient places can have a rather macabre history if one only will look. So here I am working the second Badger with thoughts now running wild… to my left I swear as I drink back in time to the age of the Saxons… if only for a fleeting moment it were true… a Blonde Norse woman charges through the door way swinging a mace above her head in rage looking to kill. She’s wearing a leather skirt and is nude from the waist up… protected by an ancient hammered steel war helmet where I could only see the anger in her eyes… it was haunting as she looked at me and then with our eyes locking... she thrust forward to finish me off… a very nice older gentleman sitting next to me touched my shoulder, nodded the Badger was a good one... and then proceeded to inform he has family in the South Carolina… that and he once owned a pub in Kent, in Canterbury, older than this one... I went on to tell him all about my mother once writing to the archbishop asking permission to marry by Special License... I don't think he was interested in my story as he was in talking about his old pub.

Look to your left from this bar and there is a huge fireplace in the back room. No one is being funny when they tell you they burn an ashen faggott here. It’s an ancient custom of Devon and Somerset of the old Wassail tradition… the faggott being composed of twigs of the ash tree, bound with fiber, when the sticks burn and the fiber binding lets go… you make a toast to the faggott… there is an ancient lore about ash wood having magical powers… look this is England… my advice is you go with the flow and drink your Badger.

I am entirely indebted to Michael for good conversation and a warm welcome and highly recommend you visit this jewel of a pub in the south of England. I say this for why would one not wish to endeavor... that is to say in one's right mind... to explore to find hidden on the English countryside these wonderful ancient traditional pubs where one can taste remarkable ales, in good company, sitting in history... savoring for if only a brief moment what good Englishman call tradition. And with that said off we go back to the sanctuary of family and yes, to try those Ales we purchased at the Waitrose Superstore in Sidmouth.

The Old Speckled Hen “a Strong Fine Ale” said to be first brewed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the MG car factory and affectionately named after an old MG car used by the worksmen to run about the factory grounds... fondley titled, "The Owld Speckled Un".... Moorland Brewing Westgate street Bury Saint Edmond's, Suffolk, IP39 1QT very tasty at 5.2 % Vol

Brakespear Triple... claimed to be brewed using two fermentation's, Breakspear Brewing Company, Marston’s PLC Wychwood Brewery, Witney Oxfordshire, OX28 4DP 7.2 % Vol from the bottle we read "Highly sought after, award-winning Triple Hopped, Triple Fermented" now at 7.2% VOL... folks a couple of these at home and you will be snoring on the couch of which in Devon along the sea... with that salt air... ah yes... a beer for the ultimate connoisseur, available in a 500ml bottle... and no apologies necessary for snoring... Wychwood Brewery by the way are also the folks who make HobGoblin!

Cornish IPA “Bottled Conditioned," this is a Cornish IPA (India Pale Hale) is brewed by St Austell Brewery who are best known for their Tribute and Proper Job ales... of which I had these later in the trip and let me tell you this is one find company! Cornish IPA is brewed with local spring water and locally grown barley, this beer is brewed and bottled to be sold exclusively by Marks & Spencer a department store chain. The folks at Saint Austell's obviously have made the move for the Waitrose stores to carry it as well... and I am glad. It's still throwing a punch at ALC 5% Vol, and it is with no doubt a beautiful beer with a lovely flavour... now just think of the fun I had this afternoon back in Seaton with the family tasting all these beers?

Next up was the Spitfire Premium Kentish Ale. I need to stop here to mention in asking my brother in law Richard who is an expert about these things, “what is the difference between Ale and Beer?” He answered no difference that he could think of... this is a 4.5 % VOL "Kentish Ale" that was first brewed in 1990 to celebrate the Battle of Britain which was fought on the shores of Kent 50 years earlier. This Ale is named after the legendary Spitfire Aeroplane designed by R.J. Mitchel, and was always noted for the versatility of the aircraft in fight and the courage of the pilots were essential to win victory over Germany... they remain to this day the key symbol of the spirit of that time SPITFIRE... the “Bottle of Britain” it is characteristically refereed to as a "Kentish Ale," with a "hoppy" flavor and noted for the risque advertising campaign which the company claims has made it a firm favourite with beer lovers. It is a very "hoppy" tasting Ale for certain.

Last beer of the afternoon before my now much needed nap... Organic Old Ruby Ale 1905, it’s attributed to be a “Duchy Original” from Waitrose, as very high priced supermarket chain similar in snobbery to shopping at Albertson’s in the states but of a much higher quality of available product and display... of which my brother in law Richard says it’s made and marketed by Prince Charles adding Charles squashed the grapes barefoot himself. It’s not free... it’s made for profit! A deliciously robust rich blend of hops and malt including an English barley first used in 1905 called “Plummage Archer” Brewed in Oxfordshire, sold by Waitrose, Doncastle Road, Southern Industrial Area, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8YA