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Marden Village Club (C.I.U. / Working Men's Club)
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale |  | 1 |
| Goacher's - Green Hop Ale - Experimental EG40 | | 1 |
| Pig & Porter - Forever Lost | | 1 |
| Long Man - Best Bitter |  | 1 |
| Shepherd Neame - Master Brew Bitter | | 2 |
| Mad Cat - Golden IPA (previously Meaney's Golden India Pale Ale) | | 1 |
| Shepherd Neame - Dragonfire | | 1 |
| Gun - Zamzama IPA | | 1 |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Lord Marples | | 1 |
| Cloudwater - Kaizen - American-style Porter | | 1 |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | | 2 |
| Daleside - Monkey Wrench (was 5.4%) | | 1 |
| Hop Back - Entire Stout | | 1 |
| North Riding Brewery - Oatmeal Stout |  | 1 |
| Heritage (formerly William Worthington Brewery, now brewed at Burton Bridge) - Charrington IPA | | 1 |
| Northdown - Bitter Seas | | 1 |
| Shepherd Neame - Christmas Ale |  | 1 |
| Shepherd Neame - Spitfire (or Spitfire Amber Ale) | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
24 Oct 2026 (Hogan Sampling)
Second visit of the outing: Buzzing for my early afternoon arrival time a little before 2pm at this Grade II-listed club for its second day of the three-day annual beer festival with some 16 cask ales on stillage in their snooker room and six real ales on at their main bar, as is the norm there and with one usually including a dark ale. A none too busy orderly queue snaked its way between two of the covered snooker tables to the festival bar. Prompt friendly service and very well organised it was. You bought your tokens at the main bar in the adjoining clubhouse with each token equalling £2.50 which was half a pint regardless of strength. I met with some fellow SE London and Bromley CAMRA members and some spare seating to be had. The club was even open to the general public as well with a line-up of live acts staged in the back of the main bar area. The club was no less CAMRA National Club of the Year in 2022 and again in 2023.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - Green Hop Ale - Experimental EG40 | 3.90 | | 1st beer of this visit: Pleased to try this again having first sampled it at Gadds’ taproom on the Broadstairs/Ramsgate borders and also in the River Ale House in East Greenwich. Served from the main bar on handpump, it presented with a very good head and lasting lacing on this golden coloured green hopped pale from brewing set up in 1983. Goacher's is the oldest independent micro-brewery in the county of Kent, in a former paper mill at Hayle Mill, on the outskirts of Maidstone, before in 1990 shifting the whole kit and caboodle down the road to Tovil Green Business Park, still in Maidstone, where they have been boiling the coppers ever since. A first hit of floral hoppiness from an experimental hop that puts a new twist on a green hopped English pale ale. An oiliness rising up with faint hints of its lychee and stone fruits detailed on its pump clip. The freshly plucked EG40 hop variety is a prized experimental and crossbred by Wye Hops using the robust British Target and a wild American male hop. Hand-picked at Brenley Farm near Faversham and rushed straight into the copper while still wet and un-kilned, a good punch of essential oils. The wild American bursts with sun-drenched notes of sweet citrus, tropical mango and exotic lychee adding great depth of flavour for me. Floor-malted Maris Otter barley, sourced from traditional masters like Warminster Maltings lending a sweet and bready biscuit base. An oily dry but fruited hoppiness prevailing with a juicy splash of tropical fruit tap-dancing on my taste buds before the plunge down my hatch with a lingering bitterness. Served in excellent nick and extremely moreish. |
| Thornbridge / Thornbridge Hall - Lord Marples | 4.00 | | 7th beer of this visit: Exceedingly good head and lasting lacing presented on this mahogany-chestnut coloured bitter from Thornbridge Brewery set up in 2005 in the old 18th-century stables and joiner’s workshop on the grand Thornbridge Hall estate, in Ashford-in-the-Water, near Bakewell within the Derbyshire Peak District before moving in 2009 to Riverside Business Park in Bakewell. A malty fruited first hit on this bitter first brewed in early 2005 and named after a colourful old squire who used to own the Hall. A hoppy bitterness rising from its Goldings hops exhibiting a floral spice, a touch of citrus orange zest, and earthy, twiggy touches. A hint of caramel and honey emerging from its malts, Maris Otter lending a sweet and bready biscuit base, Caramalt behind its light-toffee notes, Crystal aiding a caramel sweetness, and its Chocolate malts exuding a touch of bitter cocoa, hazelnut and light roasted coffee. A dark fruited hoppiness winning over for me. A dry and tangy herbal bitterness sailing out. Served in top nick condition. |
| Daleside - Monkey Wrench (was 5.4%) | 5.30 | | 4th beer of this visit: Very good head and lasting lacing on this English Strong Ale from Daleside Brewery which got its boilers fired up back in the mid-1980s, operating as Big End from 1988 before taking the grand name of Daleside in 1992. They pitched up their tent in Harrogate, the Victorian spa town famous for its healing waters in the scenic stretch of North Yorkshire, having first spent decades at Camwal Road in Starbeck. Rooster's Brewing Co bought the firm recently and tucked the production into their Hornbeam Park facility, keeping the old Daleside family yeast alive to preserve its historic character. A dry malted first hit on this ruby-mahogany coloured ale. A fruited bitterness rising. A very predominant British sovereign hop variety, Goldings, in the copper kettle aiding an aromatic spice and a wash of honeyed floral notes. Alongside a choice traditional bittering leaf, the hops are kicking up for me a spiciness and fruitiness mixed with an earthy bitterness. A maltiness climbing up from a roasted selection of Dark Malts behind bready biscuit, coffee and dark cocoa, and caramelised Crystal malts dropping a massive dollop of sticky, unctuous toffee and burnt caramel sweetness for me alongside the flavours of hazelnut and dark vine fruits like juicy raisins. Not overly malty in the least and with also a hint of banana. A red berry fruitiness lingering. Served in very good form. |
| Cloudwater - Kaizen - American-style Porter | 5.00 | | 5th beer of this visit: A very creamy top on this American porter and its lacing sticking all the way from brewing set up in 2014, and lighting the fires for their very first mash in 2015 inside an empty warehouse at Piccadilly Trading Estate, in the industrious heart of Manchester. A dark fruited malty first hit. Hoppy-infused red berries striking up from its American hops aiding a piney resin and sharp, pithy citrus to climb onto my taste buds. Hints of freshly ground coffee beans and dark chocolate and roasted malts from a marriage of Simpsons Golden Promise lending a sweet and doughy bread-biscuit base and Roasted Dark Malts throwing down bitter-sweet bursts of black cocoa and charred wood. Lingering caramel flavours for me before the slide down my hatch. Served in good nick. |
| North Riding Brewery - Oatmeal Stout | 5.00 | | 6th beer of this visit: Came with very good head and lacing on being served this Oatmeal Stout from brewing set up in 2011, with a modest two-barrel kit in the cellars of the North Riding Brew Pub in coastal Scarborough before in 2019, moving to a much grander spot down in Snainton village, just outside Scarborough in North Yorkshire. A berry-fruited first bite. A maltiness rising from its Oat malt lending a bready texture alongside roasted barley behind a hint of caramel and a bittersweet roastiness. A faint hoppiness emerging from a handful of English Bramling Cross lending a sharp, spicy kick and a blackcurrant sharpness to balance the pot before the sail out with that juicy berry aftertaste. Served with good conditioning. |
| Heritage (formerly William Worthington Brewery, now brewed at Burton Bridge) - Charrington IPA | 4.50 | | 3rd beer of this visit: Good head and lasting lacing presented on this recreated IPA by Burton Bridge Brewery which set up in May 1982, making it a proper pioneer long before the modern micro-brewery boom went completely apples and pears, and set up by a pair of brewing engineers who jumped ship from Ind Coope to strike it out on their own. Setting up their copper kettles directly behind the historic Fox and Goose pub in the very capital of British brewing, Burton upon Trent, they renamed the pub, Burton Bridge Inn on Bridge Street. They have merged with the Heritage Brewing Company. A very sweetened first hit on this reinvented 18th-century London pale ochre-hued tipple that used to sell a million barrels a year to thirsty Cockneys back in the day. A hoppy bitterness rising from the tossing in of three classic British varieties, Challenger behind a sharp resinous bite, Fuggles punching an earthy, piny, and herbal flavouring, and late-hopped Northdown contributing a floral and tangy fruit character. Behind its sweetness, its Pale malt lending flavours of morning porridge oats and a touch of warm Horlicks and its Crystal malts behind nutty, caramel flavours, alongside a dollop of traditional invert sugar which is a liquid sweetener made by splitting regular table sugar as in sucrose into its two basic parts: glucose and fructose. A hint of burnt toast and a touch of pine nuts and a floral sweet marmalade in its bitterness lingering on the sailing out. Served in good nick. |
| Northdown - Bitter Seas | 4.20 | | 2nd beer of this visit: Good head and lacing lasting at first on this traditional English Best Bitter being poured from Northdown Brewery* which set up their mashing gear in 2018, restoring commercial brewing to the seaside town of Margate in Kent for the first time in fifty years, boiling their coppers just slightly inland. A dry bitter but fruited first hit. A gentle and not tropical fruitiness rising from its Kettle hops grown on Kentish soil. Its Northdown lending a crispness and Fuggles hops unloading a woody, herbal and mossy hint. Its dry hops are from New Zealand varieties: Pacific Jade behind fresh orchard stone fruit flavours, and Rakau bringing a distinct, sweet nuttiness to the fore. Its classic Maris Otter providing a bready and biscuit-like crumb as the base, and its specialty Chestnut and Caramel malts chucking in a heavy wedge of caramel and toffee sweetness and a roasty depth I detected. A hoppy bitterness prevailing with earthy herbal notes mixed with zesty fruits aiding that lip-smacking finale for me before the slide downwards. Not keeping its head and lacing and tasting slightly tired. * Sadly, Northdown ceased brewing in September 2026 due to sluggish sales and escalating production costs. While their Margate brewhouse and taproom have closed their doors after eight and half years, the separate venture in the town, the Cockle & Hen bar, continues to pour pints and trade as usual. |
29 Feb 2024 (Dosser)
Last stop on the Chris excel bus tour. 6 beers on and what a selection. Club of year 2 years in a row. Don't think Chris went her but he would have loved it. 6 beers on maximum price £3.60 pint.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shepherd Neame - Master Brew Bitter | 3.70 | | Boss asked me to compare his masterbrew to what I tried earlier It was so much better. |
| Hop Back - Entire Stout | 4.50 | | Lovely creamy stout. |
| Long Man - Best Bitter | 4.00 | | Boss gave me this to compare to Harvey's. It was superb. |
| Mad Cat - Golden IPA (previously Meaney's Golden India Pale Ale) | 4.20 | | Fab |
| Gun - Zamzama IPA | 6.50 | | Best beer of day. And cheapest pint!! |
05 Mar 2023 (Dosser)
First visit here since 2011 and what a fab place this has become. Every box ticked here. 6 beers on, all between £3 and £3.20. Beers changed as they went off. Huge crowd here and a cider presentation given by Turners cider.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goacher's - 1066 Old Ale | 6.70 | | It doesnt get better than this. |
| Pig & Porter - Forever Lost | 5.30 | | Superb |
18 Apr 2012 (Pedro)
Evening - actually not a WMC but a villiage club
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | | a little chilly |
| Shepherd Neame - Dragonfire | 4.50 | | but a bit too cold |
| Shepherd Neame - Master Brew Bitter | 3.70 | | too cold |
09 Dec 2011 (Dosser)
Quite a big crowd in
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | | |
| Shepherd Neame - Christmas Ale | 5.00 | | Watery beer with a typical Sheps taste |
| Shepherd Neame - Master Brew Bitter | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Shepherd Neame - Spitfire (or Spitfire Amber Ale) | 4.20 | Not Tried |
About the Marden Village Club
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 3 |
| 10 |
| 5 |
| 1 |
 | - |
The pub is found in Marden, Kent, TN12 9DT.
The Club in Albion Road was founded in 1907 and the Old School rooms were used for social evenings which included, in those days, the playing of Billiards & Bagatelle and reading. After the first World War the use of the school rooms became uncomfortable, and the club moved into its current premises in 1921. Mr Fuggles had purchased The Poplar Tree public house, and he was prepared to allow the club to loan the £600 purchase price at 5% interest. It was also at about this time that the club became known as Marden Working Men's Club, and remained so until its Centenary in 2007. In 1922 there was a proposal to start selling alcoholic drinks, but after the Rev Johnston spoke strongly against the idea, the proposal was defeated. This 'teetotal' situation only remained until 1926 as the members finally had their way, and a licence was granted. In 1985 an extension was built to accommodate a function room and in 1990 the club premises was completely refurbished at considerable cost. Local CAMRA branch Club of the Year 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024. CAMRA National Club of the Year 2022 and again in 2023.
We have visited this pub 5 times, seen 18 different beers and tried 17 of them.
Postcode: TN12 9DT