The following article, written by landlady Becky, appeared in the April 2008 issue of London Drinker. Come and sample Havercake Ale while you still can!

 

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Timothy
Taylor's Best Kept Secret

The brewery is 150 years old, they have won Champion Beer at CAMRA festivals too many times to remember. But Landlord is not Timothy Taylor's only claim to fame. The Duke of Wellington, a Victoria Cross, and even the introduction of an everyday word into the English language are all bound into the history of one rarely distributed ale.

Havercake – which gave the world the word haversack – is, at 4.7% A.B.V., not a session beer. Savour it, one mouthful at a time. And be aware that it has history.

The Havercake, an oatmeal bread cake, was a staple of Yorkshire Pennine towns and villages. The regiment's recruiting sergeant went around with a Havercake held aloft on his sword when out looking for 'volunteers'. It seems that the promise of being fed was a real bait to the lads of the West Riding, particularly when washed down with plenty of Havercake ale. Even today, soldiers of the regiment still talk about their 'Haversack' rations, unaware of the origins of this custom.

So why is Havercake, this beauty of a beer, brewed so rarely and why haven't we heard about it? Is it really Yorkshire's best kept secret? You'll search in vain in the Good Beer Guide for any mention or reference to it. Havercake was first brewed at Taylor's in 2002 to celebrate the tercentenary of the Duke of Wellington's regiment. Timothy Taylor's chief executive, Charles Dent, is honorary colonel of The Dukes, who have always been known as the Havercake lads.

Many Taylor employees, both past and present, have served with the Duke's, including Private Arthur Poulter. In April 1918 the 1/4th Battalion fought in defence of Erquingham-Lys, during the final German offensive. The regiment suffered a total of 15 officers and 391 soldiers killed, wounded or missing. In the heart of the battle Private Poulter, a stretcher bearer with The Duke's was awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest award for bravery. On ten separate occasions Poulter returned, in full view of the enemy, to carry ten wounded comrades to safety under heavy machine gun and artillery fire. Two of them were shot again whilst being carried on Poulter's back and he only gave up when he himself was seriously wounded. When asked where he got his strength from he put it down to his days working for Timothy Taylor maltings, carrying heavy sacks of barley.

The Havercake was brought to England by our Norse ancestors and derives its name from an old Norse word, Hafrar, meaning oats. Down through the years the same simple ingredients have still been used: whole oaten meal, salt, buttermilk yeast to help them rise, and water. “We decided to use two sorts of oats in the Havercake Ale, explained Peter Eels, Head Brewer at Taylor's, “malted oats and golden oats. We also wanted to use some coloured malts to give the beer a toffee-ish flavour, and the hops are East Kent Goldings to give it some bite.”

Initially Havercake was brewed as a celebration beer for local events celebrating the Duke of Wellington's regiment's birthday. It was only distributed in Yorkshire and parts of east Lancashire. Most of it was reserved before had left the brewery which is why it isn't so well known in the south.

“We've tried extending the range of beers we produce before,” Andy Leman, Second Brewer at Taylors, explained, “notably with the Porter a few years ago. However, we've found it dilutes the impact of the rest of the range and sales suffer.”

This is a shame because response to Havercake in London has been phenomenal.

When it was last brewed in 2006 I only had room in the car to bring back one barrel from the brewery to my pub, The Bricklayer's Arms in Putney, but it was sold out in three hours! I asked Robert Clayton of Ash Marketing, who handle Timothy Taylor's publicity, if there were any plans to brew Havercake on a regular basis. “ Taylors are fortunate in that they already have a nationally recognised brand with Landlord,” he told me. Charles Dent and Peter Eels both subscribe to the 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' point of view.”

For Taylor's 150th anniversary, sixteen barrels of Havercake Ale have been delivered to The Bricklayer's Arms in Putney so enjoy it while you can!