This links back to Tours (subject of another missive) Back in 1990 Taverners were on a tour of Kent playing in the general area of Canterbury. We were staying in Chilham at the Wheatsheaf Hotel. A couple of the players we met there have met up with us on subsequent UK Tours. One evening the Landlord of the hotel told us we could partake in something special. Shepherd Neame the brewer that also owned the pub were bringing out a beer to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain. This beer was called Spitfire after the name of the principal fighter plane flown by the RAF that basically prevented Hitler’s planned invasion of the UK.
That evening a new keg was put on line & we all got to taste a new pint that no others at that point had sampled. It was enjoyed by most of us but as we were leaving in a couple of days, we never really saw it again
I managed to get more familiar with it on future trips to the UK as it was available in bottles in most supermarkets.
When I started brewing beer, I acquired a number of “clone” beer recipe books & one of them had a clone of Spitfire which I have brewed many times since & it has become a favourite with many club members.
There are a couple of the anecdotes concerning this brew. The 1st was from the evening that we sampled the brew. There were 2 regulars in the bar that we had seen often & when our Pres. at the time Gwyl Evans, asked the younger looking old fart whether he had flown in the Battle his reply was “Bloody cheek I weren’t even born”. Anecdote 2 occurred during the tour but last, as we were on a pub crawl racing to get to Wales, when I could no longer drive with my legs crossed, I spied a pub. I pulled up outside & hurried in. Sid followed me & discovered that they had Spitfire on tap so he ordered one. After a quick taste he said it was shit, nothing like my version that he liked. I was not surprised as the pub was questionable. The toilets had modern urinals bolted to the wall but emptied out into the good old-fashioned trough along the floor.
So that is the story of Spitfire. In technical brewing terms it is a medium bodied Amber ale with good malt flavours & a hop flavour enhanced by dry hopping. ABV 5 -5.5%. IBU35.
Winnipeg Taverners Cricket Club 