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The Humphrey Bean (Wetherspoon)

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Beer (sort)Average Score (sort)No. Samples (sort)
Cotleigh - Honey BuzzardGood1
York (now brewed by and at Black Sheep) - Centurion's Ghost AleGood1
Harviestoun - Thistle DoGood1
Hanlons (formerly O'Hanlon's) - Gold BladeGood1
Hilden - Molly's StoutGood1
Horsham - Best BitterAcceptable1
Coach House - Cinnamon Special BitterAcceptable1
Nethergate (was Nethergate Growler for a while then name reverted) - Brewer's DropPoor1
Bath Ales - Golden HarePoor1
Shepherd Neame - Spitfire (or Spitfire Amber Ale)Not Tried0
Greene King - AbbotNot Tried0
Marston's - Burton BitterNot Tried0
Marston's - PedigreeNot Tried0
Shepherd Neame - Bishops FingerNot Tried0
Black Wolf (formerly Traditional Scottish Ales (TSA)) - Lomond GoldNot Tried0
Picture 1. The Humphrey Bean, Tonbridge, Kent

Visits Details

09 Nov 2008 (Ian)
Large converted barn-like building with patio at rear. The skylights and the glass at the rear make it feel light and airy. Pleasant Sunday afternoon crowd in. Martin The Mild Man from Scoopgen put me onto this as it had 6 beers on that I hadn't had yet. The guys behind the bar answered my questions about turnover of the festival beers, number of barrels etc. and seemed to take a pride in what they were doing. They even came and told one customer that a new beer had come on, which I thought was pretty good customer service.
BeerABVScoreNotes
York (now brewed by and at Black Sheep) - Centurion's Ghost Ale5.40GoodVery good dark winter beer, great malt and dark fruit flavours.
Hanlons (formerly O'Hanlon's) - Gold Blade4.00GoodI've had this several times on cask and in bottle and always enjoyed it. Good sherberty lemon hop. It's good, very drinkable and the hop is excellent.
Hilden - Molly's Stout4.20GoodBlack, ruby edges, thick creamy beige head. Decent creamy stout with blackberry flavours. It's reasonably tasty, more a cream stout than a dry roasted one. Creamy and rather good. Some hop bitterness on finish.
Cotleigh - Honey Buzzard4.50GoodMahogany colour with lasting beige head. Some malt sweetness on aroma, some choc. Not exactly full in mouth which lets it down a bit. I suppose there is some honey in there somewhere. An ok choccy honey beer which is just a little too watery in the mouth, but the flavours are overall good.
Harviestoun - Thistle Do4.60GoodVery dark brown, ruby, lasting beige head. Fullish dark beer, spicy nutmeg hop. Malts are dryish and decent, about moderate, it's got good choc, some dark fruit on aroma. I thought this was pretty good and I had it again before I left.
Coach House - Cinnamon Special Bitter4.20AcceptableHaving not liked the blueberry, I approached this with trepidation. Copper colour, thin off white head. Cinnamon hits you straight off on the aroma. Now, I like cinnamon, but not sure how it will work in a beer. It's got a lot of cinnamon in the flavour, a spicy bitter finish. The spice seems pretty well integrated. Bit too sharp on the end. It's not terrible, but I'm unlikely to drink it again.
Bath Ales - Golden Hare4.40PoorGold, thin white head. Aroma of diacetyl. OK im mouth, creamy, then ok hop on finish, but just full of butterscotch. Oh dear. Diacetyl all over it. I'm guessing I will probably like it, if I can find a non diacetyl barrel some where. Pretty undrinkable for me.
Black Wolf (formerly Traditional Scottish Ales (TSA)) - Lomond Gold5.00Not Tried
07 Jan 2006 (Ian)
Quiet hum in this high street Wetherspoons on a Saturday mid morning. Stopped off for breakfast before going to the Cask & Glass. Sky News was on a flat screen TV on the wall. Quite pleasant at this time of day, gives the appearance of being quite open, airy and light
BeerABVScoreNotes
Horsham - Best Bitter3.80AcceptableDeep chestnut with thin beige head. Nutty on nose, smooth, creamy in mouth with earthy hop finish. Easy drinking. Not a huge aroma, some earthiness. Fine if a tad dull
Shepherd Neame - Spitfire (or Spitfire Amber Ale)4.20Not Tried
Greene King - Abbot5.00Not Tried
Marston's - Burton Bitter3.80Not Tried
Marston's - Pedigree4.50Not Tried
Shepherd Neame - Bishops Finger5.00Not Tried
08 Jan 2005 (Ian)
Well decorated Wetherspoon's with a real charcoal fire and a nice garden overlooking the river and castle
BeerABVScoreNotes
Nethergate (was Nethergate Growler for a while then name reverted) - Brewer's Drop4.60PoorHad a funny taste that I did not like

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About The Humphrey Bean

The pub sign. The Humphrey Bean, Tonbridge, Kent

Summary of Beer Scores

 Total
Exceptional2
Excellent69
Good97
Acceptable55
Poor9

Website.

The pub is found in Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1AP.

Located in the High Street this vast barn-like Wetherspoon pub was a post office for most of the 20th century. Before 1908, the 'We Three Loggerheads' pub stood on this site, with Humphrey Bean as its landlord. Banks of 6 handpumps adorn either end of the long bar counter to dispense the real ales here.

We have visited this pub 153 times, seen 357 different beers and tried 211 of them.

Map location

Postcode: TN9 1AP