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Strewth, it’s hot work setting upyour own brewery

Award-winning newsletter of the Bristol & District Branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale

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www.camrabristol.org.uk

CAMPAIGNFOR

REAL ALE

No. 67Autumn

2005

CAMPAIGNFOR

REAL ALE

New brewery opensin Keynsham

And so the Keynsham Brewing Company is born.If you wish to find out more, perhaps to give the beer a try

in your own pub, you can contact John Firth by phone on0117 9867889 or 07711 131203; by emailing [email protected]; or at the following address:Keynsham Brewing Co. Ltd., Brookleaze, Stockwood Vale,Keynsham, Bristol BS31 2AL.

THE town of Keynsham, between Bristol and Bath, isonce again to have its own real ale micro-brewery.

Situated in a small trading estate off the Bristol Road, the10-barrel brewery uses equipment that lay unused for threeyears after the previous business ceased trading.

Head brewer and director John Firth says he will concen-trate on providing flavour from his beers, the first of which isthe 4.5% ABV Somerdale Gold, one of the new ‘Golden Ale’category recently recognised by CAMRA. It is a pale colouredhoppy ale, with a floral citrus taste and spicy aroma.

More regular beers will follow, including a lower-gravitybitter and something ‘dark and tasty’ for the autumn, plus anXmas Ale and later some seasonal specials.

John is an experienced Craft Brewer, long-term CAMRAmember and currently Chairman of the Bristol and DistrictTasting Panel, so he knows a thing or two about how beersshould taste. John says he especially loves the amazingvariety of flavours that can be extracted from fresh hops ofdiffering species, by combining them with the highest qualityfloor-malted barley and true brewers’ yeast.

He says, “When I heard that Colin Brook, the landlord ofthe Old Bank Inn on the High Street in Keynsham, was lookingto re-open the brewery, I leapt at the chance to turn my hobbyinto a business – every full-mash home brewer dreams ofhaving his own micro-brewery. I’ve spent the summer thor-oughly cleaning and preparing the plant, conducting testbrewing, and organising supplies; now I’m ready to go, and thenew beer will be available at the Old Bank before the AugustBank Holiday, and at the Mayor’s Arms festival in Redcliffe’.

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Local CAMRA web site : www.camrabristol.org.uk2

Beer festival round-upRedcliffe 25-29 August

A beer festival is being organised for thethe Mayor’s Arms in Redcliffe, Bristol to runfrom Thursday 25th August through to thebank holiday Monday on the 29th. Hopefullythis issue of Pints West will be out just in timefor some readers to catch this event.

This will be an important event for thepub as it will formally declare the pub as a realale establishment, not something it wasparticularly renowned for in the past – untilCyril Standbridge took the place on recently.Cyril has a good track record, having previ-ously worked at the Plume of Feathers and theMerchants Arms in Hotwells.

It is expected that there will be up to twodozen beers on offer over the weekend,featuring a wide variety of beer styles andstrengths. It will also feature some of the firstsupplies of Somerdale Gold from the newKeynsham brewery.

Give this pub your support if you can,and maybe we can get Redcliffe featuring moreprominently on the real ale map.

Cleeve 27-28 AugustThe second Cleeve Rugby Football Club

Beer Festival is on Saturday 27th and Sunday28th August 2005. Tickets are normally £6but, if you’re in time, can be bought in advanceby CAMRA members at the discounted priceof £4 from Cleve RFC, Cossham Street,Mangotsfield, Bristol BS16 9EN. Telephone

0117 9575775 for information.This year they are supporting PROPS.

This is a charity raising funds and ProvidingOpportunities and Support for disabledchildren.

Shirehampton 10 SeptemberFor the sixth year in a row, the

Lamplighters in Shirehampton willbe holding their Real Ale & MusicFestival in their spacious gardenduring the afternoon and evening ofSaturday, the 10th of September.

The Lamplighters is a pleasantlylocated riverside pub, dating from the18th century, overlooking Pill on theother side of the River Avon. The pubnormally has four beers, typically from BathAles, Butcombe, Fuller’s and others, but oneday every September sees the erection ofstillage in the garden and a great selection ofbeers from far and wide, often featuring currentor past Champion Beer of Britain finalists.

The pub is only a couple of minutes’ walkfrom the Shirehampton railway station on theSevern Beach line so not difficult to get to.Entry is by advance ticket at £6 (programme,glass and entertainment included), so pop infor yours or give them a call on 0117 9823549.

Bristol city centre 16-18 SeptemberBuilding on the success of their previous

festivals, the White Lion in Bristol’s citycentre will be holdinganother event they dub“Bristol’s smallestbeerfest”. The smallWickwar pub will beoffering 16 or so beersfrom around thecountry between the16th and 18th ofSeptember, some from

handpumps, some directly from casks stillagedin the corner of the pub.

Wedmore 23-25 SeptemberFrom 23rd to 25th September there is the

“5 & Live” Wedmore real ale festival, onceagain to be held in the Wedmore Village Hall.There will be a selection of 32 beers fromaround the UK, including medal winners fromthe Great British Beer Festival. For moreinformation on this fund-raising event checktheir web site at www.wedmorerealale.com.

Bedminster 30 September to 3 OctoberJust like its relation, the White Lion in the

city centre, Wickwar’s second pub, thePrincess of Wales in Bedminster, is gettinginto the beer festival scene. Following theresounding success of the first one in June itwill be holding its second festival from Friday30th September through to Monday 3rdOctober. The previous festival featured “beersfrom the north” – this time it will be “beersfrom the south”. Once again there will bemusic and food and to accompany the beer –from handpump and stillage – plus “guess themystery ale”.

Winscombe 30 September to 2 OctoberWrington Vale Rotary Club will be

holding their fifth Beer and Cider Festival atWinscombe Cricket Club, just off the A38 nearSidcot, where you can enjoy a large andextensive range of beers and ciders in aconvivial location.

It takes place from Friday 30th Septemberto lunchtime Sunday 2nd Oct. Opening timesand prices are Friday evening 7pm to 12pm,Saturday evening 7pm to12pm, Sundaylunchtime 12noon to 3pm. Entrance fees are £2for Friday, £4 for Saturday and £1 for Sundaylunchtime.

Prices include souvenir glass, entertain-ment, car parking etc. There will be entertain-ment on both Friday and Saturday evenings.On Friday evening there will be the gentle

The Swan InnTockington

7th, 8th & 9th October 2005Come and join us in our 1st Beer Festival

Tickets on sale now£5 per ticket

Over 20 real ales available,Live Entertainment, Hog Roast (Sat)

BBQ’s and lots moreContact Sue Chance for more details.

Tockington Green, Tockington, Bristol BS32 4NJ01454 614800

[email protected]

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National CAMRA web site : www.camra.org.uk 3

LAMPLIGHTERS(Riverside Bar)

Station Road, ShirehamptonBristol BS11 9XA Tel: 0117 9823549

(2 mins Shire station)

Sat 10th SeptemberNoon till Dusk

6th AnnualReal Ale & Music Festival

Entrance by ticket only£6.00

(includes glass & programme)

The Bag O’Nails141 St. George’s Road, Hotwells,

Bristol BS1 5UW Tel: (0117) 9406776

A Real Ale Pub

At least 12 different real ales a weekImported German wheat beersEnglish bottle-conditioned beers

Unpasteurised imported bottled lagersWeb : www.bagonails.org.ukEmail : [email protected]

Bristol & District CAMRAPub Of The Year 2000

Host to two beer festivals a year

tones of the Cliffton Jazz Band playingtraditional tunes, whilst you can savour thevaried selection of beers and ciders. OnSaturday night you can taste the beers andmaybe if you desire dance the evening away tothe excellent band the Pocket Rockets, a bandwho proved to be a great success at last year’sfestival. To calm down after two nights ofexcess, Sunday lunchtime will be a gentle affairto have a last chance to polish off anyremaining favourites. Please note any beer thatremains after the festival will be sold off atdiscount rates in 5-litre containers.

Tickets may be purchased in advance bypost from Wrington Vale Rotary Beer Festival,Highwater, Norville Lane, Cheddar, BS27 3HJ.Send a stamped, addressed envelope andcheque made payable to “Wrington ValeRotary Club”, to arrive before Wednesday 28th

September. Any enquiries call Mark on 07702589617 or directly from Thatcher’s CiderShop, Sandford.

Thornbury 28-29 OctoberThe evenings of Friday 29th and Saturday

30th October see the return of the fifth annualbeer festival held at Christ The King SocialClub in Castle Street, Thornbury.

Friday times are 7.30pm to 11pm, andSaturday’s are 5pm to 11.30pm. Entrance is£2 for each session, with twelve real ales tosample at £1.80 a pint – or three pints for £5 –plus hot food and live music.

Hotwells 17-20 NovemberThursday 17th to Sunday 20th November

are the dates for another of the ever-popularfestivals now held twice a year at the BagO’Nails in Hotwells. As in previous years,the pub will be offering forty or more differentreal ales from all over the country. The pub isnot exactly huge, so not all beers can be on atthe same time. However, if you popped alongon all four days you should get the chance tosample a good proportion of them. The pubwill be open all day from noon over the period,with snacks available much of the time. Lovers

of darker beers will be pleased to know thatstouts and milds should be featuring.

CAMRA Beer Festivals

Minehead 17-18 SeptemberDon’t miss one of the great beer festival

venues of the year as September sees thestaging of the sixth Somerset Beer Festival onthe platform of Minehead Station.

Step off the train straight into the festival.Around 90 beers and ciders from local andcountry-wide microbreweries will be available,including festival specials. Food will beavailable all sessions, with entertainment onSaturday evening (singer-songwriter Helena),and Sunday lunchtime (to be arranged).

The festival will be open from 11am to11pm on the Saturday and 12 noon to 4pm onthe Sunday. Admission is free, thoughpurchase of a commemorative glass (£2.50) orhard plastic glass (50p) will be required.

Travel by scenic West Somerset Railway(reduced fare for card-carrying CAMRAmembers) or by bus from Taunton. Plenty oflocal B&B accommodation should be available(details from Minehead Tourist Board). Forfurther information call Barrie Childs on 01935825566.

Bath 14-15 OctoberIn October we can all pop down to the

28th Bath Beer Festival at the Pavilion, NorthParade Road, just a five-minute walk fromBath Spa railway station.

The festival is open Friday evening from6pm to 11pm, Saturday lunchtime from 11amto 3.30pm, and Saturday evening from 6pm to11pm.

There will be a selection of at least 60 realales, plus traditional ciders and Belgian beers.

Admission (including programme) is £5Friday evening, £4 Saturday lunchtime and£4.50 Saturday evening. There will be a £1discount to card-carrying CAMRA membersat each session. Please note though that thisdiscount is claimed on the door – the full price

must be paid whenordering tickets inadvance.

Advance tickets areavailable from SteveHunt, 23 Clearwood,Dilton Marsh,Westbury, Wilts,BA13 4BD. Pleasestate the session(s)required and send yourcheque, made payableto Bath & BordersCAMRA, and enclos-ing a stamped, ad-dressed envelope.

Swindon 13-15October

Following thesuccess of their 2003and 2004 festivals, theSwindon branch ofCAMRA are to return

Bath Beer Festival 2005 logoas drawn by Jade Potter aged 12

once again to the Old Railway Museum inFaringdon Road for their 2005 festival.

The dates for the Swindon Beer Festival2005 are Thursday 13th to Saturday 15thOctober. There will be four sessions: Thurs-day evening 6pm to 11pm; Friday lunchtime12 noon to 3.30pm; Friday evening 6pm to11pm; and Saturday from 12 noon to 8pm.Admission to each seesion is £2, except forFriday evening which is £3. Friday evening isalso advance ticket only.

Please note there will be a restricted choiceof beers from Saturday lunchtime onwards, sogo early to avoid disappointment!

The admission fee includes a souvenir glassand there will be a free pint for CAMRAmembers. All sessions will have food availableand there will be a T-shirt and memorabiliastand.

For Friday evening only tickets areavailable in advance; all other sessions arepayment on the door. Tickets go on saleFriday 23rd September 2005.

Postal applications for beer festival ticketscan be made to Richard James, 6 Ripley Road,Swindon, Wilts. SN1 4DE. Please makecheques payable to “CAMRA Swindon & NWilts branch” and include a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

For further information keep an eye on theSwindon CAMRA web site atwww.swindoncamra.org.uk.

SP

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WHEN the brewing of Smiles was movedto Highgate there was a glimmer of hopethat a microbrewery might be opened onthe site of the Bristol Smiles brewery andthat at least some of the Smiles beerswould again be brewed in Bristol.

Firm news on this has been scarce,until the following press release wasreceived toward the end of July...

Smiles all round at property deal whichsees the return of brewing to the heart ofBristol.

Successful Bristol-based developer, UrbanCreation, has celebrated its first year inbusiness by adding yet another intriguing siteto the growing list of projects it is working onin the city. Only two months after acquiringthe historic Pro-Cathedral, in Clifton, thecompany has announced that they are topartner the Smiles Pub Company Limited inthe redevelopment of the Smiles brewery sitein Bristol.

Urban Creation, the Smiles Pub CompanyLimited and Close Venture ManagementLimited, have teamed up to work on plans foran exciting sustainable mixed-use scheme at theUpper Maudlin Street site at the top of

Colston Avenue. A Bristol team includingarchitects Narracott Oxford Mills and CSJPlanning, have been appointed to start workon a scheme, which is expected to go forwardfor planning shortly.

The long term brewing future for SmilesBeer will now be secured with the traditionalSmiles pub – The Brewery Tap - beingretained and enlarged to include a new microbrewery. Residential accommodation will beprovided in the upper parts of the renovatedbuilding.

Alistair Mort, Managing Director ofSmiles Pub Company, is delighted to bebringing back Smiles to the heart of the city,creating exciting job opportunities andsubstantially increasing the profile of theSmiles name. “We are committed to investingin and growing our business, and for thecustomer that equates to quality food, fine ale,and excellent customer service in a relaxed andfriendly environment.”

Will Fraser Allen of Close VentureManagement Limited agrees “We are thrilled tobe supporting the return of Smiles brewing toBristol. The plans for the building enablesSmiles to thrive in an environment thatrespects the integrity of the original pub, andbrings the brewing operation into the TwentyFirst Century.”

Darren Sheward, Director of UrbanCreation comments: “Our focus in the city ison delivering high quality sustainable develop-ments, and our aim here is to rejuvenate thebuildings whilst retaining the character andspecial quality that is the very essence of theSmiles name. We will certainly look forward totoasting this development in true Smilesstyle!”

Smiles to brew in Bristolagain

WHITE FRIAR, one of the occasional beersfrom Bath’s Abbey Ales brewery, goes on saleagain around the end of August. The beerproved so popular last time it went on salethat Abbey were asking customers to orderearly to avoid disappointment, as last year itsold out before the beer had even finishedbrewing.

The 5.0% ABV golden-coloured hoppy alewas originally created as ‘Jubilation’ tocoincide with the Queen’s visit to Bath in herGolden Jubilee year. As it was so wellreceived, Abbey Ales re-introduced it – underthe name of White Friar – and this year it evencomes with a new pump clip design.

Managing Director Alan Morgan com-mented, “We have always wanted to regularlybrew a range of different beers to complimentour best selling Bellringer but the need to meetthe demand for our flagship ale takes up nearly

The return of theWhite Friar

all of our production.Head brewer MartinLangham tries to fit inbrewing occasionalbeers when he can. Our regular customers areaware how quickly the guests sell and try toorder early!”

Abbey Ales started brewing in Bath in1997 and have won a number of awards forBellringer, their golden 4.2% best bitter.Delivery is strictly within a twenty-mileradius of Bath’s famous Abbey, althoughBellringer is available nationally via beerwholesalers.

White Friar was also voted the favouriteoccasional beer in a poll recently held on thebrewery web site at www.abbeyales.co.uk.

Alan says that White Friar will only besold locally to pubs in the Bath and Bristolarea.

Pint-sizedCrosswords

Handled glass--- PalaceDrip ---Mash ---(brewery vessel)

What all aleshould beAbbey AlespubQuarter pintIntimate bar

King’s ---- (pubin Kingsdown)Bath ----(brewers)Malt & hops drinkAnother pubin Kingsdown

Brewers of OldSpot & Pig’s EarLength of aleWhite ----(Wickwar pub)Dispense frombottle to glass

Handy beervolumeHop ---- (brewery)Swan ----Places to drink

India Pale Ales---- O’BellsButcombe ----Port of ---- (jointPub of the Year)

Bittering plantGerman beerstyle (meaning“old”)Brewery outlet--- Vine (defunctSomersetbrewery)

Just for fun. You decide wherethe answers to the clues go.

SP

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The Rose& Crownis no more

“The Law isan Ass”

AFTER 300 years as a public house, the Rose& Crown at Iron Acton will be converted intoa private one. Planning permission was grantedby the South Gloucester Development ControlCommittee on 21 July 2005.

The Campaign for Real Ale and many fromthe Iron Acton community campaigned longand hard to save the pub – as you may haveseen from the previous two issues of PintsWest – but ultimately to no avail.

There are apparently two criteria forallowing conversion a pub. One is that it is nota viable business. Locals and CAMRAmembers had demonstrated that this was notthe case. Indeed, there were people interestedin buying it and running it as a business,although the licensee would not sell.

The second is that there are similarfacilities nearby. This was the killer, as thereare two other pubs in Iron Acton. No accountwas taken of the style of those pubs or theclientele they attract.

So there you have it. Any unscrupulouslicensee who wants to cash in on the value oftheir public house as a private residence(regardless of the history of the pub or itsplace in the local community) can do so as longas there is another pub nearby.

Expect more rural pub closures soon!Richard Brooks

DON'TSPILL BEER

WARNINGHOPE & ANCHOR

Exceptional Public House

From the Management of the

WHAT A SURPRISE. Another day,another pub closure, as the AlbertInn faces imminent redevelopmentinto flats. Famed for its top-classjazz and folk music the pub wassometimes known as the AlbertHole. In addition to the likes of AndySheppard and Ronnie Scott, thepub had also been a venue forBristol & District CAMRA branchmeetings in years gone by.

After 25 years at the Albert,landlord Ian Storrer is not at allhappy about the way things haveworked out. The pub has had asuccession of owners who havebeen reluctant to spend any moneyon its upkeep in return for thesubstantial rent he has had to pay.And now the current owners (be-lieved to be a property company)appear to have decided to cash inon its value as housing rather thanas a viable business.

Something must be done to stopcompanies from getting planningpermission to change the use ofpublic houses, or there won’t be anylocal or individual ones left!

The Albert Inn closed on Friday,5th August. The pub has alwayshad plenty of memorabilia, much ofit musical, and they are selling thisoff.

Richard Brooks(who took the photos too)

The Albert Inn closed

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Shine on the HillEVERY issue we ask Pints West readersto let us know if there is a part of Bristol(& District) that you would like to seefeatured in this column. Well, we havebeen absolutely inundated with an emailfrom Helen Key of the Cotham PorterStores suggesting we have a little lookaround ‘The Hill’. Well Helen, only toohappy to oblige.Full details and photographs of all thepubs mentioned can be found on thewww.britishpubguide.com web site.Landlords and regulars in these pubs arewelcome to update the information on thewebsite whenever they like.

PICTURE THE SCENE: your six-year-oldson has spent the last two hours dragging youup and down Christmas Steps because hethinks it’s Diagon Alley from the Harry Potterstories, and is rather hoping you’ll buy himsomething from Quality Quidditch Supplies.Exasperated, you decide you need a drink. Butwhere to go? You can’t visit the Three SugarLoaves because your son keeps calling it theLeaky Cauldron and anyway, you covered itin the last issue of Pints West.

A shambling, slightly jaded looking figureappears next to you, and clears his throat.“Well, if you head further up the hill, there areplenty of pubs to try”. “But Dad,” says yourson “we can’t go to loads of pubs, that’s reallyboring and some of them probably don’t allowkids”.

“There there,” you reassure him “there’sno need to worry. You’re a fictitious child so Ican dispose of you in any way I see fit and thesocial services won’t be able to do a thingabout it”. So, having sold the little chap to apassing tradesman, you head on up St.Michael’s Hill.

The first pub you reach is The ScotchmanAnd His Pack, a charming little pub with asuntrap terrace and upstairs pool table. Sadly,at the time of your visit, the pub is closed, butyour guide remembers that it has been sellingAdnams Bitter, Flowers I.P.A., and WellsBombardier Best Bitter in the past. You makea note to check it out in time for the next issueand move on.

Almost immediately you come acrossMicawber’s Ale House. This is the pub where

– according to local legend – condemned menused to sup their final pint before being hangedat the top of the hill. Of course it was theColston Arms in those days, but someone sawfit to change the name to try and lend a fakeVictorian ambience to a genuinely historic pub.The beers here are Butcombe Bitter andBrain’s S.A.

Next, you move up to the Robin Hood. Alovely one-bar pub with ornate arches at thefront and, inside, stripped floorboards anddark wood furnishings. The beers on offer arefrom the Wadworth stable, plus guests, withthe 6X on particularly good form alongsideSummersault.

At the top of the hill you reach The WhiteBear. An old coaching inn complete with alarge statue of, erm, a white bear, and a cobbledcourtyard. This is a rambling old pub withpool table at the front and a myriad littlenooks – but oddly no crannies – in which tosit. An occasional Black Rat cider can be

quaffed here, as well as the London Pride andCourage Best Bitter.

Which sets you thinking… If that isCourage’s Best Bitter, what must the otherstuff have been like? Did John Courageorganise some sort of blind tasting all thoseyears ago? You picture the committee saying“Well, Beer A is full-bodied with an inviting,golden tone and a pleasant, slightly fruityflavour; on the other hand, Beer B is a lovelycrisp, refreshing ale with a lovely balance ofEnglish hops… but I think we’ll go with theone that tastes like last week’s dishwater”.(Tut tut, you are in a mischievous mood - Ed.)

Your guide tuts slightly, pointing out youshouldn’t scoff, and that an awful lot ofpeople drink and enjoy Courage Best Bitter.You tell him that an awful lot of people drinklager too, and actually pay ten pence extra ifthe word ‘cold’ appears on the dispenser.“An awful lot of people”, you add, warming tothe theme, “drink a half-pint of stale chemicalstopped up with shaving foam just because itsays ‘smooth’ somewhere on the pump clip”.

With a percipience that verges on theuncanny, your guide guesses that you’re goingto give the Courage Best a miss, and you bothenjoy the London Pride tremendously.

Time is pressing, so you hurry past Bar155, the pub that has had more name changesthan Liz Taylor, but you notice that LondonPride is available on hand pump.

Next to the Highbury Vaults, with itsheated rear garden and a myriad crannies – butnary a nook in sight – to sit and sup theselection of Young’s beers. There is Young’sBitter, Young’s Special and a particularlyscrumptious pint of Young’s Golden Zestalongside St. Austell Tribute, Bath Gem andBrain’s S.A. The Highbury Vaults is still oneof the best real ale pubs in Bristol, and you’redelighted it hasn’t changed in all the yearsyou’ve known it.

Having completed the St. Michael’s Hillsection of your walk, your Guide tells youthat next is Little Paul Street (behind thehouses opposite the White Bear). Here issomething of an undiscovered gem. The KingsArms isn’t on the way to or from anywherereally, so unless you know about it, you’reunlikely to find it by accident. It’s been theresince 1862, but has a modern feel, and looksover a small green. Bass is on tap, but youplump for a pint of Sharp’s Doom Bar whileyour guide tries the Bath Gem. Both beers arein fine fettle (is ‘fettle’ ever anything other

Micawber’s Ale House

The Scotchman and his Pack

The White Bear

The Robin Hood

The Highbury Vaults

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than ‘fine’?).From the Kings Arms you stroll down to

The Bell in Alfred Place. The Bell is acharming, old-fashioned boozer, whicheschews [bless you! – Ed] the trendy, lager-fuelled crowd for a quiet dignity whereconversation is king. The beer here is superb,with Abbey Bellringer and RCH Pitchfork onwhen you visit.

The next pub is the Kingsdown Vaults, onthe junction between Clevedon Terrace andKingsdown Parade. Here, you are pleasantlysurprised to find that they serve Thatcher’sCheddar Valley and Thatcher’s TraditionalCider on handpump. The Cheddar Valley isthoroughly gorgeous, while your guide verymuch enjoys another pint of Bath Gem.

Acutely aware that this pub crawl is takingup an awful lot of space, you pick your waydown to Fremantle Square, and past thebarriers into Hillgrove Street North and theHillgrove Porter Stores. Now this is astonking pub, and much improved over the last

The King’s Armsfew years. Everard’s Sunchaser, Butcombe,and St. Austell Tribute are all resident, whileEverard’s Tiger and the award-winningCaledonian Deuchar’s I.P.A. are the guests.The Sunchaser is to die for, and the Butcombeis as good here as anywhere in the City.

Penultimate pub is the Hare On The Hill,the excellent, flagship pub of Bath Ales, sellingthe full range of their beers, including WildHare. Your guide points out that this is Bath’snew Organic beer. It’s a citrusy, golden beerwith a clean, crisp aftertaste. If you haven’ttried it yet, then you need to.

The quest ends back on Cotham Road, inthe Cotham Porter Stores. Now, the CothamPorter Stores has long been a favourite pub ofyours, with its eclectic mix of locals, workersand even the occasional businessman. Knownfor selling considerably more traditional ciderthan beer, the Cotham Porter Stores is anarrow, one-bar pub with an extended drinkingarea to the rear. Live sport is shown on thetelly, with Test Match Cricket always

Cotham Porter StoresThe Bell

The Princess of Wales Westbourne Grove, Bedminster

presents its secondMini Beer Festival

FRIDAY 30TH SEPT through to MONDAY 3RD OCT

“RARE” BEERS FROM THE SOUTHALL BEERS @ £1.90 per pint.

No entrance fee, No door fee.10% discount on all beers

for card-carrying CAMRA members‘???? GUESS THE MYSTERY ALE ????’

BAR-B-Q/PIG ROAST (weather permitting)GREAT MUSIC

A very warm welcome from your hostsRichard & SheleenSEE YOU THERE !!

The White LionQuay Head, Bristol City Centre

presents anotherMini Beer Festival

FRIDAY 16TH through toSUNDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER

Featuring“PAST CHAMPIONS”

No entrance fee, No door fee.‘???? GUESS THE MYSTERY ALE ????’

A very warm welcome from your hostsLes & Carol

SEE YOU THERE !!

popular. The ciders on handpump areThatcher’s Cheddar Valley and Thatcher’sDry, which the regulars often augment with aslice of lemon. However, as well as the ciderthere is Shepherd Neame Spitfire and Sharp’sEden Ale, which is a far superior beer to theubiquitous ‘Doom Bar’ from the samebrewery.

You like the atmosphere at the C.P.S. somuch, you decide to stay for a second pint ofCheddar Valley. The next thing you know,you are waking up to discover you have beenturned into a mouse. You can just make outyour son walking away with a huge, hairygiant of a man who’s saying, “That’ll teach thestupid Muggle not to sell his children!”

Duncan ShineIs there an area covered by the Bristol &District Branch of CAMRA that you would liketo see featured in this column in the next issue?If so, send an email [email protected] and we’llsee what we can do.

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Brewing excellence from the Heart of Somerset since 1979It has been 26 years since Cotleigh Brewery started trading from its first home, the Cotleigh Farmhouse in Washfield near Tiverton in Devon.

Immediate success forced the brewer to move to larger premises, and in 1980 the company relocated to Wiveliscombe, 11 miles west of Taunton.Last year the business celebrated its Jubilee 25th Anniversary. Cotleigh Brewery supplies 300 Freehouses in the South West and is available in the

rest of the UK through selected wholesalers. Cotleigh Beers will now be available to the Bristol area.

Tawney Bitter3.8% abv

A West Country classic, a subtle hop palatewhich blends with the sweetness of the malt,

to give a beautiful and balanced flavour.

Barn Owl Premium Ale4.5% abv

Copper coloured with hints of toffee and nutwith a smooth malty bitter sweet finish.

Champion Beer of the Maltings Festival 1995.

Buzzard Dark Ale4.8% abv

Traditional old ale, deep copper red in colour. Thechocolate malt gives a dry nutty flavour with

hints of amarone biscuit.

Cotleigh 254.0% abv

An explosion of flavours originating from theAmerican Cascade hops gives this brilliant pale

golden beer a fresh aroma and a fruit filled finish.

Golden Eagle Best Bitter4.2% abv

Smooth and malty with a background ofhoney flavours offering a refreshing and

citrus finish.

Harrier Lite3.5% abv

A light golden low alcohol beer withadelicate floral and fruuity aroma leading to

a smooth, almost sweet finish.

Cotleigh Brewery, Ford Road, Wiveliscombe, Somerset TA4 2RETel: 01984 624086 Fax: 01984 624365 Email: [email protected] www.cotleighbrewery.com

AT the Royal Bath and West Show on Friday3rd June, Cotleigh Brewery was awarded BestDrinks Producer at a presentation of theSomerset Life, Food and Drink Awards.Somerset Life magazine asked its readers tovote for their favourite pubs, products,restaurants, food producer, farm shop, chefand drinks producer. A distinguished panel ofjudges then interviewed all the finalists.

At the award ceremony Partner FredDomellof said, “This is a fantastic award andreflects the passion and dedication of all thestaff at Cotleigh. It also shows our commit-ment to brewing excellence to which ourcustomers and consumers aspire in the SouthWest. We will continue to purchase the bestlocal ingredients and we look forward todeveloping new and exciting initiatives withinthe local community. We would like to thankthe judges, the staff and all the readers ofSomerset Life Magazine”.

Cotleigh Brewery has just celebrated its25th anniversary year and has been producingTawny for almost 26 years. The companydelivers Tawny, Barn Owl, Cotleigh 25 andGolden Eagle to more than 300 pubs andstores in the South West. Distribution to therest of the country is through selectedwholesalers. The company is owned byStephen Heptinstall and Fred Domellof.

Cotleigh Brewery Awarded ‘Best Drinks Producerof the Year’

IT IS now well known that the HighgateBrewery in Walsall has taken over the brewingof Smiles beer following the demise of SmilesBrewery. It was therefore fitting that HannahDunkerley, the Free Trade Area Manager forSmiles, and Neil Bain, the Head Brewer atHighgate, should come to Bristol to explain thereasons behind the decision to brew Smilesbeer.

It was also appropriate that the venueshould be the Naval Volunteer on King Streetas this pub was serving a number of Smilesbeers in very good condition.

Neil gave a 30-minute presentation onHighgate brewery and the techniques involvedin the brewing of the various Smiles beers(accompanied by samples of the malt and hopsand samples of each beer in the range for theaudience to try – very generous!). Thepresentation was well attended and most ofthe audience came away learning a lot aboutthe brewing process judging by the conversa-tion afterwards.

At the end of the presentation there was aquiz about beer, which was won by the bar

Smiles all round at theNaval Volunteer

staff at the Naval Volunteer – good to see suchknowledgeable bar staff (shame they didn’tshare the prize of eight pints of Smiles beeraround though!).

The beers themselves were in fine condi-tion. I particularly enjoyed the Smiles Bestand the Heritage though I must say neithertasted as I remember them (though that isprobably a good thing).

Neil mentioned that he is very keen onopening a micro-brewery at the Brewery Tapon Park Row and brew at least one of theSmiles beers on the premises.

Overall it was a great night. I wasimpressed by Highgate’s plans for Smiles and Iwould like to thank Hannah, Neil and theNaval Volunteer for their very generoushospitality.

As for the pub itself, the Naval Volunteeris a great traditional pub and was recently(August 12th) stocking two Smiles beers(Blonde and Best) and two guest beers (fromJennings and Gales) and all four were in goodcondition. I would urge people who have nottried the pub for a while to give it a go.

Dr. David Jane

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b a t h a l e sTo enjoy the full range of bath ales beers

at their best, pay a visit to one of our pubs

The Hop PoleUpper Bristol Road, Bath (opposite Victoria Park playground)

The Hare on the HillDove Street, Kingsdown, Bristol

The Merchants ArmsMerchants Road, Hotwells, Bristol

The SalamanderJohn Street, Bath

The WellingtonGloucester Road, Horfield, Bristol

The Bridge InnPassage Street, Bristol

The SwanBath Road, Swineford

Casks and beer boxes available for parties and functionsContact bath ales on 0117 9527580 or email [email protected]

www.bathales.co.uk

AFTER suffering numerous frustrations in finding a suitable pub to addto their portfolio, Bath Ales have now taken over The Swan at Swineford.

Situated half way between Bristol and Bath on the A431, The Swan iswell known to lovers real ale and genuine country pubs. The village ofSwineford developed near the point where a small tributary of the Avoncrosses the old Roman road. According to legend the river mud hasmiraculous properties. Celtic Prince Bladud, the legendary founder ofBath, and his pigs were cured of leprosy when fording the river here.

The pub is at the heart of the village on the Bath road and is con-verted from three cottages in a row of six, opposite an old flax mill on thenorth bank of the Avon and now a traditional village inn (circa 1846).

The main bar has a log fire and serves up some fine ales now includ-ing all the Bath Ales favourites, and the curving wood and leather bar ispopular with the locals. There is a no-smoking area in the pub and arestaurant area; each having a distinct atmosphere. Good, home-preparedfood is served daily, and booking for Sunday lunch is advisable. If youare just in the area visiting then you’ll love the local nearby walks. Oneexcellent circular walk can be started at the pub, details on theBristol City Council website at www.bristol-city.gov.uk/tourism/pdf/7map.pdf.

For the time being The Swan will be looked after by cellarmeister genial John Lansdale, the well-known Bath Ales character,so you’re sure to get a warm welcome and good advice on thebeers available for you to try.

Wild HareDemand for the brewery’s new organic beer, Wild Hare, has

been huge, and the brewers are struggling to make enough of thisdelightful pale hoppy beer.

More information about the brewery is available at their newlyrevamped website, www.bathales.com. This now includes an on-line shop and gives details of brewery tours.

Steve O’Shea

Swanning around with Genial John

Look out for the 2006 edition of the Good BeerGuide – coming soon to a bookshop near you.

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Bedminster – East Street CircleIT was a balmy night towards the end of Junewhen we set off on our tour of East Street,Bedminster. The Glastonbury Music Festivalhad just finished, but the most music we gotthat weekend was listening to the massed Irishfiddlers at the Princess of Wales Beer Festival,as we worked our way through the beers onoffer and tried to guess the mystery ale’sidentity.

We had decided to start our exploration atthe Bedminster Bridge end of East Street andwork our way back to the London Inn, so ifTerry Goodfield’s experience still remainedtrue, we wouldn’t have so far to get home! Wegot off the 77 bus outside of Asda and waitedfor our friend Dave to join us, but alas he wastied up.

Walking through Asda’s car park towardsthe Little Grosvenor on Coronation road, wefound a very friendly pub serving an accept-able pint of Bass (it’s what the landlorddrinks). The darts team were getting ready fora match in this small pub, and as the tableswere taken outside to the small patio at therear, we made use of them because it wascooler outside.

We leave this pub and head along the cut(that was dug in 1804 by navvies to keepBristolians out of Bedminster) where the oftensmelly, grey mud banks are covered by thetide. There are about 15 ducks having funsplashing across the water, which I guess is anindicator that the water quality is improving.Turning into Bedminster Parade, the RopeWalk is a large Young’s pub serving Young’sBitter, Special and Waggle Dance. The

enclosed courtyard at the rear was verywelcoming, and as the early evening sun caughtthe well-tended hanging baskets, we drank ourway through the beer range. This end ofBedminster has recently seen a lot of newapartments being built – we stroll past thelatest project, which is the conversion of thelibrary and the old police station with its firelookout tower, into flats and a new modernlibrary.

Across the road is the White Hart, aneighteenth-century inn that has a large functionroom at the rear, where we have been to manygreat birthday and engagement parties over theyears. The front bar is looking a bit tatty andthe Courage Best was warm, so we saygoodbye to the life-size cardboard statue ofElvis stood in the corner, and turn into PhilipStreet.

This street marks the end of BedminsterParade and the beginning of East Street. Itbegan life as a “Rope Walk” in 1840 but wassoon tightly covered in back to back housing,festering small courts and alleyways to housethe rapidly increasing population that workedin the tanneries and mines. In 1883 there were93 houses and five pubs in the street; todaythere are just five houses and one pub: theApple Tree. No real ales here, this is a ciderhouse with the likes of Taunton Traditional ondraught. Not being cider drinkers ourselves wehad to rely on the characters outside fortestimony to its quality. This pub used to becalled the Maltster’s Arms and was probablynamed after the large Malt House around thecorner (part of which is now Fiddlers NightClub). Windmill Hill City Farm is a few yards

further on down Philip Street, with Bedmin-ster Station even further over by WindmillHill.

We retrace our footsteps back to Bedmin-ster Parade where the Barley Mow sits on thecorner of East Street and still, remarkably,retains its green and brown exterior tiling (oncea common marker for a pub). TauntonTraditional cider was on offer, but no caskales. It’s hard to believe when it’s so hottonight, that on 10th July 1968, to the crash ofthunder and the flash of lightning, nearly seveninches of rain fell on Bristol. It was closingtime when the floods hit the Barley Mow; atidal wave came down Philip Street, and withthe bar five feet under water, the regulars fledup stairs.

It’s a ten-minute walk along East Street,past the old WD & HO Wills cigarette factorythat was built in 1886 on the ancient ruins ofSt. Catherine’s Hospital. This factory quicklyexpanded over the Brightbow slum area thathad grown up around this end of the Malagostream. The Malago had once been the lifeblood of Bedminster, but by this time it hadbeen turned into a cess pool, polluted by theclosely packed houses, tanneries and heavymetals of Victorian industry. This tobaccofactory was a major local employer until 1988,when it closed and Asda converted part of thebuildings to a supermarket. Our next stop is inthe pedestrianised area of East Street, whichduring the day is a busy shopping centre, butat this time of evening it’s quiet and the shopfronts are all shuttered.

We pass the General Elliot pub that has

Rope Walk

White Hart

Appple Tree General Elliot

Barley Mow

Little Grosvenor

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been boarded up since April, and finally reachthe Globe with its decorative Victorianfrontage. The Courage Best is OK and there isa script on the wall inside that claims in 1847the landlord used to hold Magistrates Courtshere, so in July when the new “ban on streetdrinking” comes into effect for the East Street/Bedminster Parade area, he may need to startholding them again!

It’s hard to imagine, but in the 1800’s EastStreet was lined with slag heaps from themany mines surrounding it.

The Bell was closed on this Mondaynight, as was the new casino in the old LloydsBank building next door, but they don’t have adrinks licence. Cameron Balloons is just behindhere giving new life to the old ES & ARobinson paper bag factory.

We had reached the end of East Street!It was still quite early, and we felt that

East Street was not as challenging as we had

Bell Inn

Globe

Robert Fitzharding

Tap & Barrel

Holy Cross & Southville Social Club Imp

Coronation

hoped, so we nipped into the RobertFitzharding where the guest ales were RevJames from Brain’s Cardiff Brewery, andSummer Sizzler from the Summer Brewery (abrewery we hadn’t heard of before). Wedebated doing North Street, but thought thatmight prove too big to complete tonight, andprobably contained enough pubs to form atour of its own.

We remembered the Tap & Barrel shouldhave reopened by now (following a refit overthe last couple of months), so leaving by theback entrance we wander around the cornerinto Dean Lane to find out. We pass thealleyway that 15 years ago was the entrance toHardington’s Brewery (until it went out ofbusiness), and avoid the temptation to popinto the award-winning Magnet fish bar,opposite Bristol South swimming baths, andstroll through the doors of the Tap & Barrel.Inside this large corner pub it looked like therefit wasn’t quite finished, but there were afew people drinking at the square bar in thecentre of the room, and no sign of any real ales.The new landlord said he hopes to have somecask ales in several weeks’ time, once he hasthe equipment in place. He told us the localssaid it used to sell real ales, and he would liketo sell a few as trade picks up. We tell him thatwhen it was first converted from the ClarenceHotel, about 25 years ago, it was packed solidnearly every night, because we spent many ofour courting evenings here. We wish him luck,and promise to return in a few weeks to see ifhe has any real ales installed in this ScottishCourage-owned pub.

We continue along Dean Lane past theDame Emily playground that now covers thesite of Bedminster’s largest coalmine – theDean Lane Colliery that had a shaft of over

1,000 feet – the sound of pit head engines longgone and now replaced by skateboardersperforming on the many ramps and slopes ofthe park. Two hundred yards on where theroad makes a dogleg turn, is the Holy Cross &Southville Social Club, which allows freeentry to CAMRA members. This large club ispacked, with skittle teams playing on thealleys, and performers and their supportersgathering for the “Talent Night”. The CourageBest had just run out, the Bass was OK, butthe Otter Ale was excellent and possibly thebest pint of Otter we have ever had. This isanother favourite venue of ours, for thefriendly staff, parties and celebrations we haveattended in these large function rooms over theyears.

From here it is a short distance to theCoronation, a Hop Back Brewery-ownedpub, and strangely, one we have never been inbefore, although it is highly recommended bymany local CAMRA members. The décorinside gives this pub a light, airy and relaxedatmosphere, but Monday night is quiz night,and it was packed to the doors, with manypeople stood outside to catch some coolbreeze on this hot night. A good range of beersfrom this Salisbury-based brewer was on offer,so we opted for Crop Circle and the heavierOdyssey. Both were very good and there wasalso the famous Summer Lightning along withGFB beer, with Janet’s Jungle Juice for thecider drinkers. This is a pub we shall definitelyvisit again.

With 30-minutes’ drinking time left, wefeel there is time to visit the Imp (previouslythe Southville) and set off along SouthvilleStreet. This area of Southville seems very quiet

(continued overleaf)

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Mayor’s Arms

and tranquil after walking along the busystreets of Bedminster. The Imp is a large-roomed pub and had a drinkable Courage Bestto offer.

Heading along Southville Place and acrossAsda car park we fleetingly entertain the ideaof crossing Bedminster Bridge and going in theMayor’s Arms, which has recently reopenedas a real ale pub. We’ve already had a few, sodecide to save it for another day (incidentally –there is a beer festival over the August BankHoliday to mark the official opening of thispub). We jump on the number 52 bus oppositeAsda and hope we’ll be fit enough for tomor-row night, when we have a Good Beer Guidesurvey trip over the Mendips.

PostscriptThe Bell was open again on the Tuesday

night but it didn’t have any real ales anyway.When we revisited the Tap & Barrel on

July 22nd there were still no real ales, but the

(continued from previous page) landlord expected to have Courage Best andGreene King IPA on in about a week’s time.

We also made it to the Mayor’s Arms; itwas Cyril’s night off (retired cellarman fromthe Plume of Feathers, Hotwells) so Robshowed us around this deceptively large,newly decorated pub while we had a couple ofpints of Titanic.

He showed us the beer list for the festivalwith over 20 ales, so we shall definitely bemaking several visits that weekend!

The large rooms offer great opportunitiesto hire for parties, and combined with theability to serve those who like a real pint, thispub’s future is looking up, and well worthkeeping an eye on.

Colin & Pennie Postlethwaite

WEDNESDAY 13th July saw the end of an era at the Highbury Vaultson St Michael’s Hill when the last Smiles beers were sold.

Although it ceased to be owned by the brewery a few years agowhen Young’s bought most of the Smiles estate, Best, Heritage and,occasionally, Bristol IPA continued to be available and indeed manycustomers thought that it was still a Smiles pub with the Young’s beingguest beers. With the passing of Smiles, Bradd will now have the chanceto stock two guest ales from a list provided by Young’s. The first twowere St. Austell’s Tribute and Everard’s Tiger, which was then replacedwith the newly elected Champion Beer of Britain, Brewer’s Gold fromCrouch Vale. Pete Tanner

Smiles leaves theHighbury Vaults A BIT of a personal gripe of mine is the now common practice of

charging more relatively for a half a pint than for a pint. I will (reluc-tantly) accept that if a beer is £2.25 for a pint then I will be charged£1.15 for a half “due to rounding”. What I find hard to accept is whathappened a few months ago in a recently refurbished pub in Bristol.Initially I ordered a pint of Banks’s Bitter and was charged £2.40. Onmy next trip to the bar I was armed with £1.20 for a half, to be told thatit would cost £1.30, more than an 8% premium.

Whilst pubs can legally do this if their price list shows the rates forboth pints and halves, this pub didn’t even have a price list to back themup, so I declined the half pint, left and contacted Bristol City CouncilTrading Standards. (Details of how to contact your local TradingStandards department on this or any other matter can be found at theback of this issue of Pints West.) Pete Tanner

Prices for halves

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Cornish Cream at the Star

Reputedly Bath’s oldest inn steeped intradition and renowned the world over.Described by The Campaign for Real Ale as a rareand unspoiled pub interior of outstanding historic

interest and listed on the National Inventory of Heritage Pubs.

Serving traditional English ales including:Bellringer brewed in Bath

and Burton’s favourite brew Bass.

23 THE VINEYARDS, PARAGON, BATH Tel 01225 425072

THE STAR INN

AT last it was Friday: we had finished workfor the start of our holidays, and the twins hadfinished school and were looking forward tomaking our life hell for the next six weeks!

We needed to do something special tomark the start of our holidays. The BristolHarbour Regatta was starting tonight but thewaterfront bars have a limited choice of realales. However, we had been emailed about aweekend of Cornish Ales at the Star in Bath –that sounded interesting.

As we were off to Kusadasi on Monday,we thought we had better fill up on real alenow, because there wouldn’t be much inTurkey. Last week the Kurds bombedKusadasi, yesterday suicide bombers hadfailed to blow up London, tonight ParkwayStation is closed due to a terror alert. The trainfrom Bristol only takes 15 minutes to reachBath, so with the twins packed off toCineworld with their school friends, and theteenagers lined up for a spot of child minding,we headed for Temple Meads station.

There were a few delays with the trains,but we made Bath by 7:30pm and set off onthe 20-minute walk to the Star through themain shopping area and past the Roman Baths.The pubs are starting to fill up as we walkpast the numerous street musicians and

thirstily antici-pate our firstpint.

We are notdisappointed.Being a CornishBeer Festival, thepub is adornedwith the black andwhite crossedflags of Cornwalland £3.50 will getyou a pint and apasty. We ordertwo pints ofHeligan Honeyfrom Skinner’swhich lubricatesour dry throats,and a couple ofCornish pasties ofcourse.

The Star is a very friendly pub, and onefamily quickly makes room for us at theirtable. The Cornish pasties are hot and tastegreat. This is effectively the brewery tap forAbbey Ales and is full of character with theunspoilt interior of dark wood panelling thatdivides the pub into many smaller rooms

remaining unchanged since1928. This pub is deserv-edly on the CAMRANational Inventory ofHeritage Pubs.

Sharp’s CornishCoaster (3.6%) has run outand while we wait for theirDoom Bar to be put on, Iopt for a pint of St AustellHSD (5.0%) while Penniesticks with the HeliganHoney (4.0%). A plate offresh crab pate on crackersis handed round whilemanager Paul Waters drawsoff the Doom Bar. Thereare three pumps dispensingCornish beers, while thefourth serves Abbey AlesBellringer.

The Doom Bar is dryand bitter after the sweeterHSD and Honey beers, buttastes good. Paul handsround another plate ofCornish fayre – this timesome type of currant Bun –and we switch back to theHeligan Honey for a lastpint (the Spingo Middlewas next up but it wasn’tgoing to appear tonight)before catching the trainhome to Bristol.

The air is close in thispacked pub and one thinks

of a Cornish tin mine, although with theamount of beer being sunk there may well be afew dead canaries at the bottom of the cagecome morning. This is an excellent pub: we hada great night out, all the beers were good, and itis well worth a visit at any time.

Postscript:Regrettably the Star ran out of Cornish

beer and pasties later on Saturday – so muchwas the success of this festival. I’m jealous ofthose that got to try the Spingo Middle onSaturday though, as I hear it was very good.

Paul had got eight barrels of Cornish ale infor Thursday’s start, and in hindsight it seemshe could easily have sold sixteen over the fourdays. With the growing popularity of thisevent, even sixteen might not be sufficient fornext year.

Colin & Pennie Postlethwaite

Paul pulls a Doom Bar

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Bob Todd R.I.P.

GREAT BEER / GREAT FOOD / GREAT WINE / GREAT COMPANYBUTCOMBE BREWERY…01275 472240

www.butcombe.comPRIDE IN EVERYTHING WE BREW

To sample perfectly kept Butcombe Bitter and Butcombe Gold,plus numerous Guest Beers, why not visit a Butcombe Pub…

THE RED TILECossington, near Bridgwater

01278 722333

RING O’BELLSCompton Martin

(A368 between Blagdon &West Harptree) 01761 221284

THE PRINCE OF WALESStoke Lane, Westbury-on-Trym

0117 9623715

THE QUEEN’S ARMSCeltic Way, Bleadon

near Weston-super-Mare01934 812080

THE OLD CROWNKelston, near Bath

01225 423032

THE SWANRowberrow

(off A38 south of Churchill)01934 852371

THE BELLHillgrove St, Bristol

0117 9096612

THE LAMBThe Square,

Axbridge01934 732253

The Kings Arms34 Little Paul St, High Kingsdown, Bristol

Live Music / Disco / KaraokeEvery Other Saturday

☺Pool Table ~ Darts

3 Real Ales (currently Bath Ales Gem,Sharp’s Doom Bar & Bass)

Patio AreaQuiz Night Monday 9pm

☺Full Lunchtime & Sunday Roast Menu

(25% Off Senior Citizens)

Open from 12.00 Noon All Day Every DayLunch served 12.00 - 2.00 pmSunday Roast 12.00 - 3.00 pm

Tel. 01179 499994

friend of Bob’s, he always greeted me as ifI was. Never surly, never overly effusive,Bob had a rare kind of easy charm abouthim. First time visitors to his pubs foundthemselves feeling instantly at home.

Sometimes, when I visited during theafternoon, Bob would be sat with someregulars, watching the horse racing on thetelly. He always paused to say hello, andshowed remarkable restraint when hishorse trailed in last. A few times, I wasthere when he won. He was alwaysgracious, but his beaming smile wasinfectious, and you couldn’t help sharinghis delight.

A self-confident man and giftedraconteur, Bob would often have regulars,staff and strangers alike chuckling at oneof his stories or jokes. You could tell thatthe staff regarded him with genuinewarmth and affection, and it was easy tosee why. Some months ago, I went intothe Bridge for a quick pint, but upongetting to the bar I realised I had left mywallet at home. I apologised to the ladybehind the bar, saying I’d forgotten mywallet, and didn’t have enough change fora pint, but before I could turn around toleave, Bob had appeared. “That’s OK,you come in quite often, give us whatchange you’ve got and pay the rest nexttime you’re in”. I was only 30p short, but

Bob’s relaxed and helpful attitude mademe feel like a regular.

But there was much more to Bob thanthe genial and affable host. In the Starand the Bridge, he had two very differentpubs, but his understanding of thecustomers’ needs shone through in bothof them. Both pubs have become favour-ite haunts for real ale and cider connois-seurs, who know that they can rely on thequality and condition of their favouritetipple. The Bass brought up from thecellar in the Star is divine, and you won’tget a better drop of Cheddar Valleyanywhere. The Star built a reputation foroffering good quality, good value food,while the Bridge’s suntrap garden withchildren’s play area was an instant hit.

But running two great pubs – andcharming every customer he met – wasn’tenough for Bob. He became a centralfigure in Pucklechurch village life. He wasa key figure in the annual PucklechurchRevel, contributing a delightful beerfestival every year, and never seemed tostop organising, promoting and cajoling insupport of one charity or another.

We should like to offer our deepestsympathies to Diane and family at thisvery difficult time. At the time of writing,both pubs are closed until further notice.But as and when they reopen, I’ll be back,and I’ll raise a pint to a charming, kind andfunny man.

Cheers Bob!Duncan Shine

IT was with great sadness that we learnedof the tragic death on August 6th of BobTodd, the landlord of the Star in Puckle-church and also of the Bridge Inn atShortwood.

I have been a semi-regular visitor tothe Star and the Bridge since I moved toEmersons Green in 1998. Although Icannot claim to have been a personal

Mon-Sat 4-11, Sun 12-10.30

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OVERALL WINNERSChampion Beer of Britain: Crouch Vale Brewer’s GoldSecond: Grainstore Rutland PantherThird: Woodforde’s WherryCategory winners:MILD CATEGORYGold: Grainstore Rutland Panther (Rutland)Silver: Brain’s Dark (Cardiff)Bronze: Elgood’s Black Dog (Cambridgeshire)BITTER CATEGORYGold: Woodforde’s Wherry (Norfolk)Silver: Holden’s Black Country Bitter (West Midlands)Bronze: RCH PG Steam (Somerset)Bronze: Belvoir Star (Leicestershire)BEST BITTER CATEGORYGold: Harvey’s Sussex Bitter (East Sussex)Silver: Mighty Oak Burntwood Bitter (Essex)Bronze: Timothy Taylor Landlord (Yorkshire)Bronze: Olde Swan Entire (West Midlands)GOLDEN ALES CATEGORYGold: Crouch Vale Brewer’s Gold (Essex)Silver: Jarrow Rivet Catcher (Tyne and Wear)Bronze: Oakham JHB (Cambridgeshire)STRONG ALE CATEGORYGold: Hanby Nutcracker (Shropshire)Silver: Bullmastiff Son of a Bitch (Cardiff)Bronze: Fuller’s ESB (London)SPECIALITY CATEGORYGold: Cairngorm Tradewinds (Inverness-shire)Silver: Young’s Waggledance (London)Bronze: Daleside Morrocco (North Yorkshire)Bronze: Ridley’s Rumpus (Essex)REAL ALE IN A BOTTLE CATEGORYGold: Durham Evensong (Durham)Silver: Young’s Special London Ale (London)Bronze: Titanic Stout (Staffordshire)

BREWER’S GOLD, brewed by Crouch Vale of Essex, wasrecently judged to be the best beer in Britain by a panel ofbrewers, beer writers and journalists.

The beer is described in the 2005 edition of CAMRA’sGood Beer Guide thus: “Striking grapefruit nose leads to a beerof generally citrus hoppy character, underpinned by a per-fumed sweetness and an aftertaste of orange wine gums.”

The Essex brewed beer was chosen as the overall winnerfrom over fifty finalists in eight categories including beers fromtiny micros to major regional brewers.

Roger Protz, one of the finalist judges and Editor of theGood Beer Guide said, “Congratulations to Crouch Vale. It isgreat to see a golden ale win this award. Golden ale is a rapidlygrowing style of beer and one that will appeal to youngerdrinkers and women as well as real ale aficionados. It’s awonderfully refreshing beer – the ideal antidote to lager!”

Olly Graham, General Manager of Crouch Vale said, “Wehave been in the final of the this competition for a few yearsnow, but to have gone one step further this year and be votedthe best beer in Britain makes me very proud. I would like tothank everybody at the brewery for all of their hard work. Theyhave all played their part in making Brewer’s Gold the best beerin the land.”

The Silver award went to Rutland Panther from Grainstore,and the Bronze to Woodforde’s Wherry from Norfolk.

Champion Beer of Britain:Gold wins Gold!

THE CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALECHAMPION BEER OF BRITAIN 2003GOLD MEDAL WINNERSTRONG BITTER CATEGORY.

ADNAMS BROADSIDE. BEER FROM THE COAST.

RECENTLY we have had Irish and English and since June we havehad an Australian.

Control of the Hobgoblin in Bath has now moved to DarrenRegister who has cleaned the place up a bit and started introducinglocal art into the main bar. The downstairs bar is now called thecrypt and has hosted a couple of photographic exhibitions.

The five hand pumps are still in use with two now reserved forWychwood Hobgoblin and a seasonal beer. The other three pumpscurrently have offerings from Brakspear, Fuller’s and Bath Ales.Darren thinks that, in the future, he will probably rotate the alesoffered on these pumps but not for the moment.

On the entertainment front there is still the jukebox but threenights a week live DJs have been introduced from two of the localnight clubs.

Phill the Pint

All change atthe Hobgoblin

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Local CAMRA web site : www.camrabristol.org.uk

“All we need to do now is to getFirst Group to run their buses

beyond 7 o’clock in the evening.”In the meantime just keep

crawling.

16

Watering Holes in the Desertnews from Weston-super-Mare

Pints Weston

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Weston Whispers(pub and beer news)MY apologies to Celtic Inns and their newpub, The Ebdon Arms, Wick St. Lawrence,for smearing their good name in the last editionof Pints West by saying that they were ownedby Coors. It is purely a contractual supplyrelationship that they have.

Happily the early signs of strong localsupport for the real ales at The Ebdon seemsto have been sustained. On a recent visit noless than seven beers were available. Asidefrom Hewish IPA and East Street Cream fromthe local RCH brewery, they also had twoWelsh beers – Cwrw Haf from the TomosWatkin brewery and the legendary strong ale,Son Of A Bitch from the Bullmastiff brewery.Both were in excellent condition. They hadbeen part of a three-beer “Welsh Weekend”but the third beer, Reverend James from Brainshad “flown out almost as soon as it went on,”according to landlord Steve Beasley.

If you haven’t been out to The Ebdon yet,I suggest you give it a try. All we need to donow is to get First Group to run their busesout to Wick beyond 7 o’clock in the evening!

Another pub on the up-and-up is TheCrown, Axbridge. This was taken over by Ianand Carolyn at the end of March 2004. Theprevious owners of this great 15th century freehouse were strong supporters of real ale,securing a place in the Good Beer Guide, sothere was inevitably some concern when thepub changed hands. Happily, The Crownappears to be going from strength to strengthunder Ian and Carolyn.

Beer-wise, they have two Sharp’s beers asregular offerings and a guest beer, usually froma micro brewery. Ian reports that real ale saleshave been growing so much that he is exploringthe feasibility of installing a fourth beer.

They have quickly tried to make the pubthe focal point of the village and there is agrowing wall display of press cuttings

recognizing their efforts. These include charityevents for the village school, a piece on aHungarian Evening held at the pub and anarticle from The Mendip Messenger with theheadline “Jewel that is The Crown.” The mainthrust of this article is the great value food.The only item on the menu that is over £5 is a£5.95 mixed grill. On my last visit I had a£3.95 steak and chips, which gave my walletsome relief after experiencing a more typicalrural pub price of £5.95 for a cheese plough-man’s the previous day. Next time I will go forone of their home-made pies with mash andliquor – Ian betraying his London roots withthat one!

Another good rural pub not too far fromWeston that I have enjoyed a couple of timesrecently is the Good Beer Guide-listedBurcott Inn, Wookey. At least three ever-changing ales. On my last visit these were TomWood’s Bomber Country, Cotleigh 25 andRCH Pitchfork. All in excellent condition.

Closer to home, a recent Weston CAMRAbranch social took in Dauncey’s Hotel on theseafront. The balcony here is possibly the bestplace in Weston to sip a pint on a summer’sday or evening. A real ale is always on offer –Red Stag Bitter from Newman’s on our visit.The local press reports that the hotel hasrecently changed hands, but the new owners,Richard Morris and Andrew Ladd, arepromising not to change it much, so hopefullythe real ale will be safe.

On the same social, we were also delightedby the range and quality of the beers at theWadworth-owned Major From Glengarryand The Raglan. The latter featured BlackPrince from the St. Austell brewery – a raresighting of a mild in Weston. It sold very well Iam assured.

More good ale sales, this time at TheAshcombe where Pete and June Boyer won aholiday paid for by the Heritage Pub Com-

pany who own(ed) the pub in recognition ofthe increase in beer sales that had beenachieved. This is deserved recognition for theBoyers who have certainly drasticallyimproved The Ashcombe in their time there.Unfortunately (or may be not) Heritage havebeen taken over and at the time of writing thefuture real ale situation is an unknownquantity.

In Steve Reed’s “Reed On…” column heurges people to visit Sainsbury’s to give thebottled beers from the Rogue Ales beercompany of Oregon, USA a try. Whilst there,I would suggest you also grab anythingavailable from the Sierra Nevada BrewingCompany. For quite a long time their superbPale Ale has been available. Happily this hasbeen joined by further beers. First was awonderful Christmas beer called CelebrationAle, full of fruit and spices and great with themince pies & Xmas pud. Then saw a porter,followed by a stout that was so thick andcreamy I had trouble getting it out of thebottle, and most recently a bottom-fermentedlager called Summerfest.

For those weak on geography, SierraNevada is also in the USA. If, like me, youused to think that the yanks could only brewstuff like Budweiser, Michelob and RollingRock, I can assure you that there are a growingnumber of American breweries producingmarvellous craft beers. Rogue and SierraNevada beers would be a good place for you tostart.

Finally, I know I am not alone in thinkingthat nowadays there is a dearth of landlordswho could be described as great personalitiesor characters. Someone who is unarguably acharacter is Di Bradley, who runs The NightJar on the Mead Vale estate in Weston. Shehas been featured on more than one occasion inthe local press recently for her many andvaried attempts to get people in and make surethe pub stays at the heart of the community.

First came a piece publicizing the monthlyreligious services that are held at The NightJar. A further article followed advertising aChristmas party at The Night Jar – in July!The basic gist of this was that Di feels thatlandlords don’t get to enjoy Christmas becauseit is such a busy time, so she now holds aChristmas party in the summer so that she canhave a good time. “Crackers landlady hostsXmas party” ran the headline in the Mercury.

Another of Di’s interests is Laurel andHardy and there is a growing display of L&Hfigurines behind the bar.

The Nightjar is owned by the Badgerbrewery and two of their beers are normallyavailable – Fursty Ferret and Tanglefoot onmy last visit.

Tim Nickolls

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Pints Weston

A Round with RobinDESPITE the extremes of weather thissummer I have got out and about samplingsome of the ales to be had at beer festivals andpubs. Just about the time when the last editionof Pints West hit the streets, I took myselfdown to the Bridge Inn at Topsham, where Ispent an hour in the old bar and the rest oflunchtime outside by the river. They had theirusual good choice of beers – all served from thebarrel, the best being Hidden Fantasy andExmoor 21st Ale.

The first mention of railways and beersmakes a few members of the Weston sub-branch sit up and take notice, and so it wasthat on June 11th Paul, Graham, Mike and Ifrom Weston-super-Mare took the train toKeynsham and walked the mile and a bit alongthe River Avon to Bitton Station for the AvonValley Railway’s 2nd Beer Festival.

Twenty-five beers and some ciders wereon sale at £2 a pint and thirteen breweries wererepresented, including the Box Steam Breweryand the new Cotswold Spring Brewery, whichhad a Mystery Ale on offer. The goodprogramme was supplemented by three beersfrom Archers which proved to be in excellentcondition, and despite the RCH PG Steam &the Breconshire Red Dragon vying forsupremacy, the Archers Crystal Clear (5%),Summer Ale (3.5%) and Six Hop (4.2%) werein my opinion the best ales there. In fact theSummer Ale was a good example of how a lowgravity ale can have as much a complex flavouras has a full bodied strong beer.

On the 28th of June I went down toPortsmouth for the huge fleet review in theSolent, and took the opportunity there ofhaving a selection of George Gale beers in threedifferent pubs. Though not one of myfavourite brews, I do try to sample localbreweries’ beers when away from home, and inPortsmouth and Southsea I had to pass a lot ofpubs to find the Gales ales.

The Canal Inn at Wrantage (six milessouth-east of Taunton), the SomersetCAMRA Pub of the Year, was the setting fora laid back beer festival (their second too) onthe 9th of July. Mike, Graham and I fromWeston-super-Mare made our way by trainand bus and a short but hot uphill walk toWrantage, where we found to our delight aselection of fourteen beers from the UK andtwo ciders all on draught, and thirteen Belgianbeers, some on draught and others bottled.Food is much recommended here by the GoodBeer Guide, (one of the owners is Spanish) andso we were a little disappointed by the foodbeing limited to pig roast or a selection of rolls.

However the beers well made up for thatand the afternoon entertainment was providedby Bryher and Heather Simmons who regaledus with a selection of summery songs asdiverse as Summertime, Roll Over Beethoven,and a Red Hot Chilli Peppers number.Bryher’s CD of her own compositions was on

sale and yours truly bought one.But what about the ales, I hear you say.

Yes, a good selection, and though I tended tostick with the UK beers it was difficult to picka favourite as all were in very good condition:twelve breweries with only St. Austell ales(Admiral’s Ale and Black Prince) having morethan one showcased. From notes made at thetime I see that Bath Ales Wild Hare, KelhamIsland Easy Rider, and Blindmans Buff wereall highly regarded.

Half way through the afternoon I led mytwo companions up to the top of Crimson Hillfor one of the best views in Somerset, passingmany WW2 pillboxes and anti-tank blocks,and the mouth of the now disused Chard Canaltunnel that the pub takes its name from. Onour return we set to sampling those ales thatwe had not had earlier. I was told that theBelgian beers were very good, and that it ismost unusual to find some of these on draughtin the UK.

With the Chalice Morris Men this summerI was fortunate enough to go on a day touraround the Dunster, Minehead and Porlockarea sampling the beers (and dancing outside)excellent pubs, the two best ones being TheStar at Watchet and the Ship Inn at PorlockWeir. At the latter the celebration ExmoorSilver Stallion was on great form, and per-suaded me that I liked it more than I hadpreviously thought when trying it at theDragon Inn at Weston-super-Mare.

Also, staying with Morris dancing, I wentfor a weekend based near the Long Man ofWilmington in East Sussex. On the Saturdayafternoon we had the luck to visit theHarvey’s brewery in Lewes where the BestBitter and Armada beers were available free,straight from the barrel! As the Best Bitter isone of my favourite beers I quaffed a few pintsof this. When in Lewes, in Cliffe High Street,it’s worth a visit to the Harvey’s shop as alltheir bottled ales are available, as well as poly-pins of bright beer and other merchandise. Allthe great pubs we visited in Alfriston, andelsewhere in East Sussex, all sold the Harvey’s

Best Bitter, although I did have a pint ofHopback Summer Lightning just once for achange!

On the last Saturday in July, a rathercloudy and drizzly day, some six of us fromthe branch went to Stroud in Gloucestershireby train, for a walk to pubs in Slad andWoodchester. Although others may refer tothis event (see Tim Nickolls’ article), I’d liketo note that two of the pubs we visited, TheWoolpack in Slad, and The Queen Victoriain Stroud, were both what one would expectfrom Good Beer Guide pubs. There was agood atmosphere and the selection of beerswas wonderful. My favourite in Slad’sWoolpack (Laurie Lee’s local) was the UleyLaurie Lee Bitter, which was very hoppy andfragrantly so. The Weston’s draught perry wasalso worth a try and the whole range of Uleybeers were available on hand pump. A myriadof interesting things were displayed, includingan early radio, old Laurie Lee photos andprints, a selection of dusty bottled beers goingback to at least the 1953 Coronation, and,bizarrely, a pommel horse.

In the Queen Victoria the five real ales anddraught Black Rat cider were almost as good aselection as you could wish for. Although I didsample two other ales there, I had my favour-ite beer of the day, which was the Dark Star’sSunburst. We also walked to The Ram inSouth Woodchester and The Royal Oak inNorth Woodchester. Despite the rain thewalk was worth it for the views and interestingbuildings both in Woodchester and on the waythere. Both pubs keep real ale, and both havebeen in the Good Beer Guide in recent years.We really could have done with more time aswe passed some likely ale houses worth avisit, in and on the outskirts of Stroud, butthen that is true of almost anywhere, isn’t it?

Robin E Wild

Entertainment at the Canal Inn

A good atmosphere at the Woolpack

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Pints Weston

A day out in StroudFOLLOWING a successful “Walking and Drinking” day last summer,when the branch visited Topsham and Exeter, we decided to do some-thing similar this year. After considering several options we decided on avisit to Stroud. The benefits of Stroud are that the town is nestled in aparticularly attractive part of the Cotswolds, with some great pubs inand around it. The down side is that despite its relatively close proxim-ity to Weston (about 40 miles), it is rather torturous getting there bypublic transport. We went by train via Swindon and returned changing atGloucester and Bristol – both journeys took over two hours.

We left Weston at 10.30 and arrived in Stroud just after 12.30. Weheaded out of town on the Slad Road, arriving at the Good Beer Guide-listed Woolpack at around 1.15. This is an excellent, 16th century innsituated in a great location overlooking the Slad Valley. Upon entering Ithought that the pub had perhaps been converted to a cider house, as thethree pump clips all offered real ciders and a perry. However, slippinginto the second bar provided the reassuring site of four ales from thelocal Uley brewery – Uley Bitter, Laurie Lee’s Bitter, Pig’s Ear and OldSpot. The great selection of drinks, accompanied by a mouth-wateringmenu, provided us with a very satisfactory couple of hours – ourplanned departure time was extended due to a heavy shower, but what aplace to be marooned! The only slightly sour moment occurred whenmy wife asked if they did coffee. “We don’t do hot drinks – we’re atraditional pub,” was the rather curt and unnecessary reply. “I supposepubs have traditionally offered their customers stuffed Portobellomushrooms and langoustine prawns,” my wife muttered on her return toour table.

We retraced out steps, heading back into Stroud town centre. Westopped off at The Queen Victoria on Gloucester Street. The 2005Good Beer Guide entry for this pub rather undersells it beer-wise,merely stating that it has Smiles Best and guest beers. In fact there was

no Smiles (possibly due to the Smiles turmoil of recent months) but ithad five excellent ales and a real cider. The beers were Fortitude from theSt. George’s brewery, Worcester, Golden Valley from the Breconshirebrewery (Welsh CAMRA Champion Beer of the Year), Hophead andSunburst from the great Dark Star brewery based in West Sussex, andOtter Bright from Honiton, Devon. All the beers were tried and all werein top-notch condition – the Sunburst, Golden Valley and Fortitudebeing particularly noteworthy beers. Not surprisingly this large, one-room pub was busy with people recovering from (or avoiding) Saturdayafternoon shopping. Some people were watching rugby on a large screen,others watching horse-racing on a smaller one, others idling their timeaway reading or chatting. We could have stayed a lot longer than timepermitted.

We headed out of Stroud in a south-westerly direction along theBath Road to Woodchester. First stop was The Ram. Unfortunately, itstarted raining again when we arrived, so we could not enjoy thesplendid views from the pub garden. However, the beers inside cheeredus up. Six on offer – Archers Village and Golden, Uley Old Spot,Wickwar BOB, Butcombe Bitter and Otter Bitter. We had noted thatthis once perennial Good Beer Guide entry was not featured in the 2005edition, but we certainly had no complaints about the beer quality.

A 10-minute stroll took us to The Royal Oak Inn. As with all thevillage pubs visited on the day, this one dates back to the 16th century.The beers here were Adnam’s Broadside, Sharp’s Doom Bar and GreeneKing IPA. The beer quality was okay and they were served in linedglasses, thereby ensuring that the customer gets the amount of beer thathe or she has paid for. However, it was disappointing to see that thepub is happy to clobber people who prefer to drink halves instead ofpints, by charging them significantly more than half the price of a pint.Regular readers of Pints West may know that the issue of “over-charging” for halves is something that regular contributors Vince Murrayand Pete Tanner feel very strongly about. Usually, it is 10p that isinvolved, e.g. £2.20 for a pint, £1.15 for a half (or £2.30 for two halves).At the Royal Oak, this policy was applied to two of the beers. For thethird, the Greene King IPA, it was a whopping 15p differential – £2.35for a pint, £1.25 for a half! We had visions of Vince and Pete having tobe peeled off the ceiling with steam coming out of their ears if theyencountered this particular piece of product pricing.

Sadly, this was all we had time for and had to forego the delights ofnumerous other appealing pubs in the Stroud area. However, a good daywas had by all. We walked about eight miles and sampled some excellentbeers. A day out in this area is highly recommended. Tim Nickolls

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Pints Weston

Reed writes ...... on ‘Rogues’

Don’t know if anyone has tried thespecialist bottled beers on sale atSainsbury’s supermarket in the last coupleof months, but if not you may be forgivenfor missing some fantastic bargains incertain stores. Having taken over fromSafeway as the “fireside ale drinker’sbestest friend”, many of Sainsbury’slargest local outlets seemed to be hidingsome hidden gems from the discerningbottled beer fraternity. Often displayedaway from the pack, and in some in-stances even near the soft drinks, afantastic selection of Rogue Ales fromOregon, USA have been sitting quietly,begging for attention.

Always distinguishable by the clever“glass-painted” style of label, in a 650clbottle, the range on offer this summerconvinced me that this brewery offersperhaps the best and most diverseportfolio of beers currently available in abottle. What’s more, because no oneseems to know they’re on sale, they aren’tselling and subsequently Sainsbury’s hasgradually been reducing them. For

example their Imperial Stout was on offerat 79p (though in a smaller than usualbottle). A strong and rich stout, unfilteredand full of body. Hmmm, nice! Also,Mocha Porter at £1.99 is chocolaty tastingand ruddy brown in colour, a bittersweetbalance of malt and hops with a lightcream finish. Lovely.

My personal favourite is RogueSmoke, a German style Rauchbier (“smokebeer”), apparently inspired by the fall ofthe Berlin Wall. Most rauch brews arebottom-fermented, however Rogue Smoke,is top-fermented. It is orange-amber in huewith a delicate smoke aroma and flavourwith an intense hop finish. This beer isabsolute nectar and at the beginning ofAugust was being sold for an incredible99p a bottle. Younger’s Special Bitter (norelation to the UK Younger) also £1.99 is aclassic rich and flavoursome EnglishSpecial Bitter full of caramel and maltflavours, fruity and hoppy in aroma. It hasbeen described as one of the “top fiveales brewed in the US”. I loved this as asummer beer. Other than at the GreatBritish Beer Festival, Rogue Ales haveonly previously been available (to my

knowledge) in the old and much lamentedSafeway stores and at a minimum price of£2.99. Who remembers the wonderful“Dead Guy Ale”? Hopefully at least someof the beers I’ve mentioned are stillavailable by the time you read this.

... on Newman’sBrewery

Works are progressing steadily at thenew brewery site (Yatton). The first floorhas now been strengthened by steels andthe gas and electricity supplies should beinstalled by the time you read this news-letter. Commissioning of the equipment isanticipated in October. Westonians keepyour ears to the ground...

... on smokingin pubs

Decided to hold on this one for thetime being. Plenty of coverage in previousissues probably sufficient for now, buthey, try a Rogue Smoke whichever side ofthe fence you’re on!

Steve Reed

Weston Diary""""" Saturday 17 September – Somerset Beer Festival, MineheadRailway Station. A party will be going from Weston. Pleasecontact Mike Coleman on 01934 631441 if you wish to join us(and hopefully take advantage of group travel rates for the returnjourney to Taunton).

""""" Wednesday 28 September – Bristol & District BranchMeeting, The Ebdon Arms. 8.00 start. Bus route 7 from townstops in Ebdon Road, then it is approx 15-minute walk alongEbdon Road. Venue TBC, so confirm first with Tim Nickolls onnumber below if planning to attend. This will be an excellentopportunity to find out what local Camra branches get up to, soplease come along.

""""" Wednesday 19 October – The Raglan. 8.30 onwards.

""""" Friday 4 November – Minibus outing, visiting 5 or 6 currentor potential Good Beer Guide village pubs. Cost £5 – Book viaMike Coleman on 01934 631441. Bus will leave Off The Rails at7.15.

""""" Wednesday 16 November – Crawl of Kingsdown area ofBristol city center. Catch 1835 route 353 bus from Weston, stopsat Homebase, Worle at 1845. We will be visiting The Hare On TheHill, Hillgrove Porter Stores, The Bell, Highbury Vaults andZerodegrees.

Non-members welcome at all of the above events.

ContactTim Nickolls - 01934 628996 (evenings)or email [email protected]

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THERE are a large number of pubs inWeston that, if you meet people of acertain age, they will fondly reminisceabout how good they used to be. In mostcases the fortunes of the pubs slumped atsome point and never recovered, oftenending up closed, ruined, taken over orstruggling along with a dwindling band ofcustomers. The Raglan is a good case inpoint.

During my first five years in Weston(1998 to 2003) I only visited it twice. Onboth occasions the beer and ambiencewere dull, with customers practically non-existent. Sometime around the middle of2003 steel shutters were put over thedoors and windows and it seemed odds-on that it would end up being convertedto flats. However, a rare good news storybegan to unfold.....

Gary Havard re-opened The Raglan onNew Year’s Day 2004. He had no previousexperience of running a pub. He felt thatthere was a dearth of traditional pubs inWeston and his ambition was to createthe kind of pub that he regularly heard thelocals reminiscing about. He was veryclear that he didn’t want to attract the“lager lout” type of clientele and quicklytook the view that focusing on real alewas the way that he wanted to go.

He began with just Bass, then addedthe local Wolver’s Ale from his friendTom Newman’s brewery based in Banwell.Gary was pleased that the real ales seemedto attract, in his words, “an interestingrange of people… the right type ofpeople.” These included a range ofmusicians who began to congregate on aFriday evening with their guitars, harmoni-cas, mandolins, accordions, fiddles and a

The Rise of The RaglanPints Weston

variety of other instruments.Encouraged by the early interest being

shown, Gary increased the number of aleson offer, usually from local breweries. Inthe early days polypins (beer boxes) wereused, which occasionally meant problemswith beer temperature. There were alsosome people who felt that striving to offera lot of beers was meaning that qualitywas being sacrificed. Those days are nowlong gone. The polypins have disap-peared and Gary phases his beers acrossthe week to match demand. Early in the

week you may onlyfind one or twobeers on, with thisfigure increasing toanything from fourto six around theweekend.

Gary doesn’tdeal with wholesal-ers for his ales, onlydealing direct withthe breweries. Onereason for this isthat, according toGary, you can payas much as £30 acask extra fromgoing through awholesaler, asopposed to dealingdirect. Given thatkeeping pricesdown has alwaysbeen an important

RCH Brewery

Guest Beers and Beer Festivals catered for

##### P.G. Steam##### Pitchfork##### East Street Cream##### Firebox

Brewers of award-wining beers including

West HewishNr Weston-super-Mare

Tel: 01934-834447

issue for Gary, dealing direct can make alot of difference.

The breweries regularly featured atThe Raglan include Butcombe, Newman’s,RCH and Bath Ales, and in recent timesSt. Austell beers have been introducedand been very popular. A typical week willsee seven to nine casks being sold, withthis increasing to twelve or thirteen whenthere is a busy weekend.

Gary still has many ambitions for thepub and his number two, Jo, has recentlybeen playing a greater role in the runningof the pub to enable Gary to get on withhis transformation plans. A major refur-bishment of the lounge bar is almostcomplete. This has included the installa-tion of a piano (all that’s needed now isthe installation of a pianist – enquiries toGary). Gary would like to convert thebasement into a dedicated music room,but this is one for the future.

The Friday night musicians are stillthere and make for a great evening,particularly on cold winter evenings withthe fire blazing away.

An attraction for some time has beenthe fact that all real ales are sold for £2,regardless of strength. Gary is keen tosustain this and has swallowed two dutyincreases to keep the price pegged down.However, for this to be sustained heneeds more people using the pub. If youlive in Weston, like your ale and haven’tgiven the new-look Raglan a try, get ondown and give it a try. You are unlikely tobe disappointed.

Tim Nickolls

Six of the best at the Raglan

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BURY St. Edmunds based brewer Greene Kingannounced in July that it has taken overRidley’s of Chelmsford for £46m (including£8.8m debt). Greene King says it intends toclose the brewery in the autumn, with somebeer brands transferred to Bury St. Edmunds.

Ridley’s has been family-owned since1842. The deal includes 73 pubs across Essex,Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

Nationally CAMRA is calling for aCompetition Commission investigation as thisdeal threatens consumer choice as GreeneKing’s dominance in the East of Englandgrows.

This acquisition appears to be GK’sresponse to rival brewery Wolverhampton &Dudley’s takeover of Jenning’s in June. A newgeneration of national brewers has been createdand is a threat to consumer choice. Takeoversrarely lead to benefits for consumers andinvariably lead to erosion of consumer choice,breweries closing and beers being axed.

Greene King and W&D would have beendefined as national brewers (ones with morethan 2,000 pubs) under the 1989 Beer Orderslegislation, which was revoked in 2002. Thatlegislation forced national brewers to allowtheir pub tenants a guest beer from a supplierof their choice. Greene King’s guest beeroffering is to permit those tenants who chooseto pay top whack in rent to then choose fromGK’s list of approved non-GK beers.

CAMRA believes that demand exists forbreweries which specialise in short-run craftbeers, following renewed consumer interest inlocal products. Ridley’s has been brewingTolly Original since 2002, brews Greene KingXX Mild under contract and brews Pale Islandfor Kelham Island Brewery, who won the

Champion Beer of Britain Award in 2004 forPale Rider.

It’s surprising that GK are rushing totransfer production to their Bury St. Edmundsbrewery as they have been saying productionthere is almost at capacity.

Locally CAMRA is particularly concernedabout the loss of the popular Greene King XXDark Mild. GK decided it could not make iteconomically any more in 2003 and contractedit out to Ridley’s, who had recently stoppedmaking their own Mild in favour of recreatingTolly Mild.

What will happen to popular beers such asGreene King XX Mild, Tolly Original and thetop Ridley’s beer, Old Bob? Greene King hasalready announced it will cease brewingRidley’s IPA as it clashes with its own award-winning IPA. Initial plans are to brew at leastfour Ridley’s brands on a rotational basis.

Surprisingly, GK says it will resumebrewing XX Dark Mild, as volumes have risensince GK acquired many Laurel pubs aroundChristmas 2004. We hope they will be as goodas their word.

Greene King closed Rayment’s brewery atFurneux Pelham in 1987, Biggleswade in 1997and Morland’s in 2000. Now it’s likely to sellRidley’s remarkable Victorian brewery site forhousing development, rather than at leastattempt to sell it to someone as a goingconcern.

About Ridley’sThe 163-year-old family brewery is at

Hartford end, near Chelmsford.Ridley’s acquired and closed the Tolly

Cobbold Brewery in Ipswich in 2002,transferring some of the beer brands to its

brewery.CAMRA has criticised comments from

Ridley’s Managing Director, Bob Wales, whowas appointed in April 2005. Following hisappointment, Mr. Wales said, “The Board andI are delighted with this announcement andlook forward to the Ridley’s business growingand developing. Ridley’s is a good businesswith some excellent and dedicated people atthe Hartford End Brewery site...” CAMRAwonders what has changed in a couple ofmonths?

Apparently a Ridley’s spokesman blamed“the national decline in cask sales” – that oldchestnut, based on inaccurate statistics andincluding the poorly-supported beers from theinternational breweries.

In a letter to Ridley’s Free Trade custom-ers, Greene King explained that Ridley’sapproached GK about a possible takeover,assuming closure of the brewery due to it beingloss-making.

Submitted by Norman SpaldingWith thanks to Cambridge CAMRA

Greene King takes over and closesyet another brewery

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Island in the Sea

Boarded upOn Tuesday 12 July 2005 the Moorend

Spout public house at Kingshill, Nailseawas boarded up. Punch Taverns plc whotook it over when they acquired theInnspired group last year have been askedby your local CAMRA correspondentwhat the future holds for the pub, but noreply had been received when Pints Westwent to press three weeks later.

Punch Taverns, in the absence of alicensee, have re-applied for a licenseunder new legislation now in force, withopening hours until the early hours of themorning to provide a late night musicvenue, in an otherwise quiet residentialarea!

The local newspapers reportedobjections by a number of local residentsvoicing their concern about loud musicand inconsiderate, unruly customersleaving the premises late at night in thepast causing disturbance and damage toproperty. A compromise must be reachedto keep this historic inn open, if it is not tojoin the 25 pubs per month closing acrossthe country. An up-market licensed inn

(maybe called the Butchers Arms Inn?)providing bed-and-breakfast accommoda-tion, a restaurant and conference facilitywould be most suitable for the location.

It would be very sad to loose theMoorend Spout, which was previouslycalled the Butchers Arms, and is stillknown affectionately as “The Butchers”in the locality. The inn is believed to havebeen licensed for hundreds of years andcertainly before any other existing li-censed premises in Nailsea.

If you wish to show your support forkeeping the pub open, contact your localcouncillor for support to prevent a changeof use to anything other than licensedpremises, and to support the provisionmaybe of B&B accommodation which is inshort supply in the town; write to yourlocal MP because the law needs strength-ening to protect historic hostelries from achange of use; also contact PunchTaverns plc at Jubilee House, SecondAvenue Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire,DE14 2WF (tel: 01283 501600, fax 01283501601).

Lorraine Flower,the licensee for thepast 18 months, hasrelinquished herlease and she held afinal-night party forcustomers onSunday evening,10th July, with a liveband, buffet, and aleat £1.50 per pint. Shehad the Monday toclear her personalpossessions out ofthe pub, and handedover the keys earlyon the Tuesdaywhen it was boardedup.

The pub com-prises a bar withthree indoor sittingareas, restaurant,upstairs functionroom, two largepatios, grassedgarden with seatingand barbecue, and aboules court. Thenon-public areasinclude kitchen,cellar, storage rooms,and staff accommo-dation, plus a privategarden.

Lorraine had plans drawn up to build,at her own expense, a three-storey guestaccommodation block on the existingboules court and toilets for bed andbreakfast which, together with convertingpart of the staff accommodation, wouldhave provided eleven rooms for guestsincluding some suitable for disabledcustomers. This was turned down byNorth Somerset Council despite beingseparated from the main listed buildingsby a glazed walkway. It is understood thata two-storey extension using part of theprivate garden and the area previouslyplanned may find favour with the plan-ners.

The pub is a substantial building andneeds a considerable cash flow to keep itgoing, it is not on a main highway andtherefore needs considerable localsupport, advertising or additional facilitiesto provide an adequate customer base.The provision of B&B accommodation, ofwhich there is inadequate provision inNailsea, appears to be vital to provide anadequate cash flow.

After about six months Lorrainerealised that the costs of operating thepub were more than the business couldbear despite considerable marketing.When Innspired sold out to Punch therent increased to about £34,000 per year(£680 per week) plus a turnover rent on allales and soft drinks, which had to bebought through the pub company, ofabout 35p per pint! Local Authoritybusiness and accommodation rates ortaxes soaked up another £11,000 per yearor £220 per week.

Punch Taverns also require theirlicensees to sign full repairing leases tofund repairs including windows, doors,roof tiles and guttering as well as internalrepairs on this, a listed building. The rentwas clearly unrealistic for a “local pub”which was off the beaten track.

Lorraine bravely took action againstthe might of the all-domineering pubcompany, most of which in the experienceof CAMRA appear to be acting with moreof an interest in property values thanpubs. Six months of attempting to get thepub co to see reason came to nothing soLorraine stopped buying ales and softdrinks through the pub co and boughtthem direct from suppliers herself. Evenwith this brave move, which could haveended up with her being evicted, thebooks would not balance and she was stilllosing money, so before she lost the valueof her home elsewhere she gave twoweeks’ notice to quit.

Island in the sea By your Nailsea correspondentLaurie Gibney

Chimera India Pale AleVoted Beer of the Festival Bristol 2005

Silver medal winner at theBeauty of Hop Competition June 2004

Brewed by the Downton Brewery Co. Ltd.(tel 01 722 322890)

who also brew Chimera Gold, Chimera Red,Chimera Quadhop and Chimera Raspberry Wheat

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Island in the Sea

B&B nowavailable

It is pleasing to see that the samePunch Taverns have invested in theFriendship pub in Nailsea, which hasresulted in them being able to provideB&B accommodation, something in shortsupply in the town.

Cath and Dave at the Friendship havethree rooms available: a double, a twin anda family room with a double bed and twosingles, at the bargain price of £20 pernight per adult with children free andairport parking available. They alsodispense Courage Best at £2.10 andThatcher’s Traditional dry cider at £1.90per pint, and provide home-cooked food.You can contact them by email [email protected] by phone on 01275 541313.

2005 NailseaBeer and CiderFestival a bigsuccess!

Nailsea & Backwell Rugby Club heldits second annual beer festival in aid ofthe Children’s Hospice South West (oftenknown as Babe’s Big Appeal) and to raisefunds for developing rugby in the area.The event took place over the weekend of15th to 17th July. Live music was spon-sored by Courage, and all beers and ciderswere kindly sponsored by local busi-nesses. The first two days were particu-larly busy, and extra beer, cider andglasses had to be bought in. The amountraised last year of £2,500 must have beenconsiderably exceeded – a sizeable andfitting tribute to all involved.

Nick Williams speaking for the festivalteam said, “I am absolutely delighted withthe support we received for this eventfrom festival goers, sponsors and the hardworking volunteers. We also have tothank the police for ensuring that therewere no traffic and parking problems andalso to thank our neighbours for theirtolerance and support for this charityevent.”

This year’s event featured live musicfrom local Bristol rock bands and a localfolk band The Acorns and singer LennySavage. The event also had lots ofchildren’s entertainment including a juniorrugby tournament, coconut shy, bouncycastle, barbecue and several other side-shows. Those not partaking of the realales and ciders gained free entry andcould use the clubhouse bar, which is

available at all time for the use of thepublic. The Real Ale & Cider tent wasavailable to those that paid £4 in advanceand £5 on the door for a glass, programmeand free half pint, after which real ale andcider cost a good-value 80p per half pint.

With over 50 different beers and cidersfrom places as far away as Cumbria andManchester, and some brought downfrom the north by local member NormanSelwood, the weekend of superb weathersaw big crowds enjoying the excellent alesand events. Breweries with ales at thefestival included Badger, Bateman,Berrow, Black Sheep, Butcombe, Caledo-nian, Scottish Courage, Elgood’s,Everard’s, Gale’s, Hampshire, Hawkshead,Holt, Hook Norton, Hyde’s, Inveralmond,Jenning’s, O’Hanlon’s, Osset, Ridley’s,Robinson’s, Skinner’s, Theakston,Wadworth, Wickwar, and Yates. Cider-makers providing eleven ciders were LongAshton Cider Co, Orchards, Thatcher’sand Wilkin’s, with two perries fromOrchards.

CAMRA would like to congratulatethe organisers of this very successfulBeer & Cider Festival, which must havedone much to promote the wide variety ofbeers, ciders and perries on the market,but not necessarily available locally. Ihave received very favourable reportsfrom CAMRA members, with thereseeming to be a few members on sitethroughout the event.

Claverham“Slurd” BeerFestival – biggerand better thanever

Now in its third (“slurd”) year,Claverham Beer Festival, held over thefirst weekend of July, was organised byYeo Valley Lions and Claverham VillageEnterprises. The festival raised £4,000 forlocal charities, thanks to the major spon-sor Stowell Concrete and also to HeritageEstate Agency, Euro Building ServicesLtd, and over thirty other private individu-als and local business sponsors whomade the event possible.

There were over 30 beers from Wilt-shire, Dorset and Hampshire, five cidersand several wines, which just lasted untilthe Sunday afternoon. Hot dogs and

burgers were cooked in the garden. Thepermanent bar, which is open to thepublic, was also open during the weekend,where Butcombe Bitter sells at £1.80 and achanging guest ale at £1.90 per pint.

Live entertainment was provided byThe Shenanigans (an Irish band) on theFriday evening. Saturday afternoonfeatured folk music with Fougere Rougeand the Willbees (a close harmony duo)and the Acorns, who are a Ceilidh bandmade up of fine young musicians fromNailsea, with the Mendip Morris and theApplejacks, an Appalachian dance troupe,bringing colour and variety. Saturdayevening saw a change of tempo with theBristol Comets playing a wide range ofmusic from the rock and roll era. A sunnySunday mellowed with the New Delta JazzBand.

Subject to confirmation, next year’sfestival, the “Froth” one, will be from 30th

June to 2nd July, and will feature beersfrom the north of England.

Cider-makingreturns toNailsea

A group of young people have formed“Hannah More Zider” with the aim ofbringing cider-making back to Nailsea, andhelp bring proper cider-drinking back tothe world! Further information may befound on their excellent web site atwww.hannahmorezider.co.uk whichcontains many web links including one tothe Apple group of CAMRA.

Their web site states: “Nailsea, aSomerset town that sits just ten miles fromBristol, spent most of the last century ashome to Britain’s second largest cider-works: Coates Cider. As Nailsea’s biggestemployer until its sad closure in 1975,Coates both established cider-making asthe heart of Nailsea life, and put Nailseaon the map as the cider-making capital ofthe world! Starting with very little cash, noapples, equipment or land – but with alove of scrumpy and a small book – we setout in 2003 to bring cider-making back toNailsea and produce the finest pint ofcider ever tasted. And have fun doing italong the way.” CAMRA wishes themwell.

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Martin Howellreports …

Tony Fey at the Old Barn in Wraxallhas replaced Bass with Fuller’s LondonPride at £2.20 a pint until, he says, thequality of the present offering from thebrewery of “mud-like” Bass improves.Also at £2.20 Tony had St Austell Tribute,Moles Best and Landlord’s Choice, plusRCH Double Header at £2.40 per pint – allon gravity dispense.

Alan Sibleyreports …

The Blue Flame at West End, Nailsea– also with gravity dispense and the onlypub in our area to win an entry in the 2005CAMRA Good Beer Guide – dispensesBass and London Pride at £2.30 and RCHEast Street Cream at £2.40 per pint.

The Ring of Bells offers Courage Bestat £2.30 and changing guest beers at £2.40per pint, and at the time of this reportthese were Sharp’s Doom Bar fromCornwall and Caledonian Deuchars IPAfrom Scotland. Bass is also available at theguest beer price, on gravity from theadjacent cellar!

Foody pubs –where food isthe dominantsevice provided

There was a time when the only beeryou found in a restaurant or foody pubwas bottled or keg, but not now it seems.Customers at pubs which appear to relymore on the sale of food than drink cannotget enough copies of Pints West and realale.

The New Battle Axe at Wraxalldispenses Courage Best and a guest ale at£2.30 per pint, and manager AndyCharlock recently decided to change fromNewman’s Wolver’s Ale to ButcombeBitter. His customers protested so muchthat he has had to reinstate Wolver’s Ale.Maybe it is time for a third pump for achanging guest ale Andy!

Kim and Hugh Dash told me that theyand their loyal staff recently served over200 meals in two and a half hours at TheStar in Tickenham. The conservatory areaof the bar has been transformed with two

coloured table cloths and matchingnapkins in glasses as well as candles onthe tables making this positively a restau-rant area. The centre bar which may berefurbished with more lounge-styleseating is the real ale bar, with WickwarBob at £2.20 per pint, Courage Best andButcombe Bitter at £2.25 (£1.15 per half),Bass at £2.30 and Speckled Hen at £2.35(£1.20 per half).

The George Inn on the A370 atBackwell has four cask-conditioned ales:Bass at £2.40, Butcombe Bitter and UshersBest at £2.30 and Wychwood Hobgoblinat £2.40 per pint. Their comprehensivemenu keeps the kitchen very busy, butthey no longer offer a Chinese takeawayservice.

All change at the Dew Drop Inn at thetop of the Long Ashton by-pass on theA370. This is now probably the mostattractive looking pub both inside and outin this area, and judging by the car park itis becoming very popular again. Thegarden has just been improved with a newchildren’s play facility featuring climbingwalls, slide and monkey bars and rope,which makes me want to be a child again!At the front a new large “umbrella” – withheaters for the evenings – shades tables.

The pub has a very full menu andunfortunately delivery of the food servicerecently has not been acceptable tocustomers or the pub owners. After littlemore than three months the managers andsome kitchen staff of the Dew Drop Innhave “left”, and a new temporary generalmanager, Tim Sawtell, arrived in mid Julyto get things running correctly, ablyassisted by assistant manager, StuartJenkins. New management will be ap-pointed and trained to take over early inthe autumn. Tim also manages the Inn OnThe Green opposite the pier at Paigntonwhere his wife and children live and willbe please to have him back!

I am pleased to report that real ale hasmaintained its good standard at the DewDrop Inn: Courage Best at £2.35 per pintand £1.20 per half is the mainstay andchanging guests at £2.50 per pint haverecently included Butcombe Gold, OtterBitter and Smiles Best.

Price of beerReaders may have noticed mention of

prices of pints of beer throughout thisarticle with half pint prices where they areother than half the pint price. This is inresponse to some people questioning meon the subject of real ale prices. The priceyou pay not only pays for the ale, it paysfor the ambience of the pub or club, livemusic, children’s play facilities, staffing,even for peace and quiet, and a host ofother things.

The club scene Clubs generally have a membership

fee, but not the Nailsea & BackwellRugby Club which is open to the publicwith Courage Best at £2.20 per pint.

The Backwell Village Club hasCourage Best and a changing guest ale at£1.80 per pint. One notable recent guestale was Slaters Best from EccleshallBrewery. Their membership fee is £15 peryear plus a £10 joining fee.

The Grove Sports & Social Club sellsCourage Best at £2 per pint. Their mem-bership fee is £5 per year plus a £2 joiningfee.

The Mizzymead Recreation Centre &Social Club has a good turnover of realales, with Courage Best at £1.70,Butcombe Bitter at £1.75, and a changingguest ale between £1.80 and £2.10 per pintdepending on strength. The guest ales arefrom the S&N Cellarman’s Reserve rangeand change about twice a week. Theirmembership fee is £9 per year with nojoining fee.

The Grove Sports & Social Club at StMary’s Grove opposite the Ring of Bellsis to host it’s first mini beer festival overthe 26-29 August Bank Holiday weekend,with about ten real ales sourced fromS&N, plus a few ciders and wines. Admis-sion will be free of charge, with a horserace on screen, barbecue, children’s playfacilities and an umpah band planned. Seeelsewhere in this Pints West for moredetails or phone the club on 01275 856892.

Elsewhere inNailsea

The White Lion dispenses CourageBest and Butcombe Bitter at £2.20 per pintand has recently introduced a thirdchanging guest ale at £2.30 per pint. Theytried Newman’s Wolver’s Ale fromBanwell which “went a bomb”. The firstfirkin (72 pints) disappeared in twenty-four hours. Four more firkins were hurriedin and they went almost as quickly. Thefood is good too at the White Lion, myfamily having tried it recently.

The Sawyers Arms was the first pubin Nailsea to introduce Newman’sWolver’s Ale, which they sell at £2.20 perpint, the same price as Courage Best andButcombe Bitter.

The Courtyard Wine Bar has Bassand Marston’s Pedigree at £2.40 per pint,and the Olde Farmhouse, being owned byBadger Brewery, dispenses their ownTanglefoot at £2.55 (£1.35 per half),Badger Best at £2.40, and Sussex Ale at£2.20 per pint.

Island in the Sea

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Away fromNailsea &District

A couple of trips to Bath recentlyfound Abbey Ales Bellringer, Bass,Courage Best and Otter Bitter at theRam, Widcombe, from where it is apleasant canal-side walk to a couple ofpubs in Bathwick. The Barley with Bass,Butcombe Bitter and a guest, which atthe time was Adnams Bitter, and thePulteney Arms with Bath Ales Gem,Fuller’s London Pride, Wadworth 6Xand Young’s Bitter.

A short walk beside Henrietta Park,the Fire Station and across the river onthe grand Cleveland Bridge to theCurfew, a Wadworth house withHenry’s IPA, 6X and Summersault, andon to the Star Inn on the Paragon foundHelston’s Slingo Special, Springhead’sMoaning Meg, and Bass on gravity andby jug, as well as Abbey Ales Bellringerand Salvation.

The Raven has become a real alelovers’ must-do pub, which has achanging range including Blindman’sDark, Raven Ale, Speckled Hen and on arecent visit Hartley’s Cumbria Way thatI found to be just my cup of tea. Thisalso applied to Abbey Ales dark Mild atThe Volunteer Rifleman which also had

Abbey Bellringer, Bass and DorsetGold.

The Old Bank in Keynsham isworth a visit. While waiting for a traina pint of City of Cambridge Darwin’sDownfall (5% ABV) at £1.50 almostmade me miss my train! Other caskales were Butcombe Gold, RCH PGSteam, and Wickwar’s BOB and IKB.Also, there was Thatcher’s Tradi-tional Cider.

Closer to home in Long Ashton Ipaid my first visit to the Bird in Handwhich has recently been refurbishedby Mentor Inns providing a light andairy ambiance. I was greeted bytenants Matthew and Gabrielle Westwho had recently taken charge. Theyhad Courage Best and CourageDirectors in cask, but hoped to beable to offer a more varied range ofreal ale in the future.

And finally inItaly

Real ales appear impossible to findin our holiday area. The best tipple inVenice was Ceres Strong Export Alefrom Denmark at 7.7% althoughChinese Tsing Tao beer, Birra Moretti

and Sans Soucislaked thethirst.

On LakeGarda at thedelightfulmedieval townof Malcesne,Crystall Beer(5.6%) and aPoretti (5%)were OK, but Isettled for HefeWeisens fromGermany in theend. ThePaulaner,Erdinger,Steigel,Schneider andHafferoderFraniskanerwere veryacceptable buttop marks wentto the MarkeWeltenburgerHefe –Weisbier Hellat 4.7% ABV, itwas a darkwheat beer andslipped downtoo easily.

Island in the Sea

THE WINDMILL INNPORTISHEAD ~ GENUINE FREEHOUSE

6Real Ales in excellent conditionincluding Courage Best, Bass,Butcombe Gold, RCH Pitchfork

and 2 other guest ales.

In fact if you are not completely satisfied with thequality of the beer served, we will exchange itimmediately for any other no questions asked.

The Windmill Inn is situated next to thePortishead Approach Golf Course on Nore Road.

To contact us please ring 01275 843677.

GlobetrottingHELLO to all fellow readers of Pints West. My nameis Mark Ashman and I help my uncle, Laurie Gibney(Island in the Sea correspondent) distribute PintsWest and taste the beer in the local pubs in Nailsea.

Here is an article I have written that I hope willenlighten you all on the different beers from aroundthe world in different continents, North America andSouth-Eastern Europe. Together with my mum, wewent to these very different countries for twodifferent holidays of a lifetime.

CanadaBack in February 2005 I went to Canada for a 10-

day skiing holiday. We started off in Toronto,Ontario for three nights and while we were there I hada few local beers, one of which was Canadian Dark.The name says it all – Canadian Dark is a typical mildwith an ABV of 4.3%, a lovely taste, no bitterness,and a beer that you could drink all night.

Next stop was Mont Tremblant in the FrenchProvince of Quebec. In the hotel, or shall I say ‘LaGrand Lodge’ as it was called, we had a very well-known beer called Leffe, which was served ondraught, a lovely way to serve such a beer in myopinion. Another beer which I was able to try wasone called La Tremblant, a 5% beer which is brewedin St. Jovite, a little picturesque village in Tremblant.It is a lovely dark amber colour and very smooth,with a lovely long lingering aftertaste which is not toodry – it makes you want another just to keep thetaste lingering forever. Another beer I bought homewas Blanche des Anges at 4%, again brewed inTremblant using natural spring water.

CyprusAnother trip, this time to the resort of Paphos in

Cyprus for a two-week relaxing holiday in the sun inJune and July. Sun, sea, sand and beer is perhaps allyou can ask for on a holiday like this. There are twobeers (though not real ales) brewed on the island ofCyprus, from Keo and Leon, both of which I had atCypria Maris Hotel.

The beer Keo at 4.5% is something like an Englishlager. When I first tried Keo I didn’t particularly rateit, and thought it tasted more like Kaliber (a non-alcoholic beer), but after a while it started to grow onme and I considered it more a drinkable session beer.

The beer Leon is a very basic, boring beer, andanother like an English lager, but this time it getsworse and worse as you drink it, and ends with avery dry aftertaste. Definitely not one I’d recom-mend.

While I was in Cyprus we went to a little placecalled the Irish Pub about a ten-minute walk towardsthe harbour. Hoping for some quality beers when wewalked in, having seen ten draught beers on the sign,we only found one decent one which wasHoegaarden, very refreshing in the hot evenings. Thepleasant surroundings and the friendly staff made itworth the wait for the best drink of the holiday. Allglasses were chilled so you did have the perfect pint.

Apart from the beer the two countries we went toare very highly recommended for anybody wanting aholiday to remember.

From your globetrotting Nailsea Correspondent...Mark Ashman

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Readers are welcome to sendletters to Pints West Editor,

Steve Plumridge,Garden Flat, 6 Royal York Villas,

Clifton, Bristol BS8 4JR([email protected])

READERS’ LETTERS

Froth Off

Dear Steve,I live in Cardiff and am fortunate that

my two children are in Bristol, one work-ing and one at university, which gives meaccess not only to a very large selectionof real ale pubs in and around Bristol butaccess to your fantastic Pints Westmagazine continuously advising what’swhere and what’s on. This is somethingthat seems lacking across here in Cardiff.Real ale festivals that are held by pubs

may go unheard of until it is too late andthen, because of lack of support, beer getssold off cheap the following week or isthrown.

I am constantly trawling for beerserved straight from the barrel. Can youtell me, are there any straight-from-barrelserving pubs in Bristol? I dont mind thebeers, the more variety the better. Myregular when visiting Bristol is either theWellington in Horfield which did well inthe 2005 Pub of the Year awards, or theHare on the Hill (I am partial to a Barn-stormer or two). I prefer to support thesmaller breweries that get it right: Brain’sis who we have across here and I don’tagree with their opinion that it is real ale!(I can think of one or two people whomight not feel the same as you here: fansof Brain’s SA as served at the HighburyVaults and Micawber’s Ale House on St.Michael’s Hill for instance – Ed.)

Keep up the excellent informative PintsWest so that we (or me – but I do passany information on in my local wateringholes) can continue to enjoy the best.

Many thanks,Lewis J RobertsCardiff (by email).

For pubs in Bristol dispensing straightfrom the cask, I can think of the followingwhich offer one or more of their beersserved that way:" Myrtle Tree, Hotwells." White Horse, Westbury-on-Trym." Swan With Two Necks, St Judes.

" Phoenix, OldMarket." Rose of Denmark,Hotwells." Humpers OffLicence, StapletonRoad.And further afield:" Crown, Churchill(multi-award-winning pub).

NATIONAL membership of the Campaign for Real Ale currentlystands at 76,666 (writing just before the Great British Beer Festival)and in the Bristol and District branch we have over 1,200 members,making it one of the top ten for numbers.

We are an active branch, with members contributing to theselection of pubs that we put forward to the top selling Good BeerGuide, campaigning to save pubs and to protect the consumer,and of course organising the hugely successful and sell-outBristol Beer Festival.

Did you know that members get advance notice of when thetickets go on sale, so they can avoid that agonising last minutepanic trying to get hold of a ticket? To join please use the form atthe back of Pints West, fill in the Direct Debit Mandate (or chequepayable to CAMRA) and send it to the membership secretary.

Pete Tanner

Malt, Hops, Yeast & Water!

Make it yours atTHE WHITE LION, Quay Head, Bristol City Centre

orTHE PRINCESS OF WALES, Westbourne Grove, Bedminster,

Bristol.Also available direct from the brewery in 18 and 36 pint polypins

or delivered direct to your door.

THE AWARD WINNING BREWERS OFGLOUCESTERSHIRE

The Wickwar Brewing Co Ltd, Gloucestershire, UK01454 294 168

[email protected]

What’s In Yours?

" Barn, Wraxall." Queen’s Arms, Bleadon." Black Horse, Clapton-in-Gordano." Hunter’s Lodge, Priddy." Star, Pucklechurch." Bell, Walcot Street, Bath." Star Inn, Paragon, Bath." Plough, Congresbury." Blue Flame, Nailsea." Prince of Waterloo, Winford.What might I have missed?Most of the pubs will serve such beers inexcellent condition. Ed.

New Inn’s first quenches thirstCongratulations must go to Steve and

Emma at the New Inn, Cross, for theirinaugural beer festival held over the MayBank Holiday weekend. The pub isalready gaining a reputation for friendlywelcoming service, and offers a goodrange of well kept real ales and cider,along with a wide selection of reasonablypriced food available all day.

Based around a West Country theme,there was a selection of over 20 ales onoffer, from 14 breweries, plus ciders. Fromtraditional favourites such as Hop BackSummer Lightning , Otter Ale, and BathGem, through to a few more unusualofferings such as Country Life Lacey’sNew Ale and Exmoor Silver Stallion.

Beer quality was good, as all ales weregravity dispensed from a suitably coolstone outbuilding, and particularlyenjoyable were RCH Old Slug Porter,Exmoor Beast and Cottage Norman’sConquest. As for the ciders, Moles BlackRat was extremely popular, and rapidlysold out.

We hear that another festival is beingplanned for some time in August, andhope that details will be available toCAMRA well in advance.

Marianne Rake & Justin Bailey(by email).

CAMRAmembership

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IF someone tells you that they’ve justseen a Silver Stallion in their local pub,don’t worry, the landlord hasn’t suddenlyset up a riding school amongst hishandpumps and bags of crisps. SilverStallion is actually the name of a brilliantnew beer created by Exmoor Ales tocelebrate 25 years of brewing inWiveliscombe, a period which has seenthem become one of the the biggest andbest-loved brewers of cask ales in Somer-set. The new beer joins a robust and well-maintained stable of Exmoor Ales’ othersuperb beers, including Exmoor Ale, Fox,Gold, Hart and Stag. These are alesavailable throughout a grateful nation ofbeer-lovers, either through direct deliveryin the southwest from Cornwall right up toBristol, or nationwide through wholesalerssuch as Waverley TBS (formerly the BeerSeller), Small Beer and Brewers Wholesale.

As well as celebrating 25 years with anew beer, Exmoor Ales have launched abeautiful new set of pumpclips, whichreflect the unique heritage and environ-ment on Exmoor National Park. “Wedecided to introduce a new range ofattractive pump-clips to celebrate our 25thanniversary and Exmoor’s gloriouscountryside,” says the brewery’s Manag-ing Director Peter Turner. “We aredelighted with the enthusiastic receptionof our new images by both the public andthe trade.”

Exmoor Ales started in 1980, when theidea of micro-breweries was in its infancy.It was originally called Golden Hill Brew-ery, after its hill-top location inWiveliscombe, and its creation broughtbrewing back to the town for the first timesince the closure of Arnold & Hancock’sin the late 1950s. Almost immediately,Golden Hill made its mark on the beerworld when the 13th brew of Exmoor Alewas voted Best Bitter at CAMRA’s GreatBritish Beer Festival in 1980. Since thencountless other brewing awards have

come their way, while bottled versions ofthe cask beers, Gold and Beast, have alsoscooped up plaudits and accolades. Earlysummer also saw the start of directdeliveries of bottled Gold and Beast to Co-op stores throughout the southwest,where they will be sold under the rousingbanner of “local produce”.

In 1986 Exmoor Ales started a newtrend with their single-malt Exmoor Gold,arguably the very first golden ale, a styleof beer which has tempted and tantalisedale-lovers. This has also been a multi-award winner and a great favouritethroughout southwest pubs and beyond.In August 1988 Exmoor Ales became theofficial name of the company. The breweryhas grown steadily since, both in and outof the county, becoming one of the UK’smost successful craft breweries, notalways an easy task given the might andpower of the big breweries.

Gorgeous beers such as Stag, Fox andBeast have confirmed the brewery’s placein the front ranks of West Countrybrewing. Peter Turner and head brewerAdrian Newman (he joined in 1992 afterspending several years at Belhaven inScotland) are currently the sole directorsof the company. The beers AdrianNewman has nur-tured and developedreflect his belief thata well-balanced beeris what drinkerswant.

“The secret ofour success is thedrinkability of thebeers,” he says.Silver Stallion isNewman’s latestinnovation; alipsmackinglydelicious bitter with acrisp and complextaste, malty withcitrus and spiceovertones, usingfour English hopsand a blend of paleand chocolate malts.It is a true thorough-bred which hasgalloped straight outof the stalls and ontothe bars of Exmoor’ssatisfied customers.

“We werelooking for a ratherspecial sessionbeer,” adds PeterTurner, “not toostrong and with a

Silver Stallion loose on ExmoorExmoor Ales celebrates 25 years of brewing

The Annexe InnSeymour Road, Bishopston, Bristol

Tel. 0117 9493931

Enjoy a Warm Welcomeand a Pleasant Atmosphere

A Real Ale Pub$$$$$ 6 Real Ales$$$$$ Large conservatory (available for private hire)$$$$$ Family room (including baby changing facilities)$$$$$ Enclosed garden open throughout the year$$$$$ Disabled access$$$$$ Lunchtime and early evening snacks - including children’s menu -$$$$$ Pool table$$$$$ All TV sports events covered$$$$$ Relaxed, friendly atmosphere

Open Lunchtimes & EveningsAll day Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holidays

Monday Night is Quiz NightYou can also enjoy various promotions

and special offers during the year

mid-brown colour. We’re really pleasedwith it and the fact that it’s gone down sowell with the trade just confirms that ourhead brewer Adrian knows how to craft agreat beer.

“We hope people will enjoy a pint tocelebrate our anniversary and here’s tothe next 25 years.”

Adrian Tierney-JonesExmoor Ales, Wiveliscombe, SomersetTA4 2NY - (01984) 623798

The Victoria(next to the Clifton Pool)

Butcombe BitterWadworth 6Xguest ales planned

2 Southleigh Road, Clifton0117 - 9745675

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SO many times we hear of pub closures in thelocal press, Pints West and What’s Brewingthat it comes as a breath of fresh air to hear ofa former pub, long closed, coming back to life,particularly when opening as a genuinefreehouse.

August 5th saw the grand opening ofBath’s newest pub, the Royal Oak. This islocated at the traffic signal junction of theLower Bristol Road with the New WindsorBridge Road.

With Becky and John Whinnerah at thehelm, real ale was confidently predicted tofeature significantly, but I was not quiteprepared for just how. Though I arrived a merehalf hour after opening, I found punters twodeep along the bar and the magical scene of tenbeer engines in use.

John had made sure that the pub’s namefeatured here as well, with O’Hanlon’s RoyalOak on sale. Others including CodringtonRoyal, Isle of Purbeck Solar Power, Fraoch,Cotleigh Barn Owl, Blindman’s Icarus,Juward’s Pale Ale and “Test Brew” fromOtley also featured. Shortly after I arrived thecrew wheeled out plates of nibbles for theincreasingly merry crowd and later FiddlerJohn & Friends entertained with music.

However, the opening has not been allplain sailing. John and Becky and family havehad to live in a caravan beside the pub whilebuilding work was in progress, and withJohn’s enthusiasm to get beer rolling it was areal struggle to get enough done to open on thepublicized date. I saw for myself that the pubsign only went up the day before and Johntold me that the bar was only installed a fewdays earlier. And work is still in progress. Abeer garden is planned; Becky was mostdistressed that there was insufficient time tocomplete this for opening even though theyhad all been working all hours. There will alsobe a no-smoking room but again there wasinsufficient time to complete this for opening.

Two other minor glitches (minor for thereal ale drinker anyway) were that there was

no wine bottle opener and that there was nolager. In the latter case this was a problemarising from success. It is John’s intentiononly to stock Bath Ales’ organic lager andapparently the good citizens of Bath andenvirons had drunk every drop.

As well and a grand, changing selection often real ales, John and Becky also intend tofeature a changing real cider or perry. To helpin deciding what to stock they contacted PintsWest’s very own Cider Sisters for advice. Thefirst cider to be featured at the Royal Oak wasone from Rich’s (Rich’s Farmhouse Cider,Mill Farm, Watchfield, Highbridge, Somerset),and indeed future ciders will be labelled “as

Royal Oak opened

Rave on

recommended by the Cider Sisters”, whichputs our Freya and Erica in the spotlightsomewhat.

It seems that this establishment is quicklygoing to become very well and widely known.During my fairly short visit there I encoun-tered folk from as far afield as Bristol, Weston-super-Mare, Reading, Canada, Australia, NewZealand and Holland. While the river tow pathis my obvious way home from work on thebike it will now be abandoned in favour of theLower Bristol Road, just to monitor progressyou understand.

Phill the PintPhotos by Andrew Swift

AT the Raven in Bath the new hierarchy havedone well enough to have the confidence to fita fifth hand pump. The other four pumps havea good rotation of beers but this fifth pump isnow reserved for an interesting innovation: theintroduction of a house bitter.

Many pubs do this by re-badging anexisting brew but Tim at the Raven has notdone this. He has contacted the Blindman’sBrewery and asked them to produce a specificand original ale as follows: “A dark ruby beerwith a bitter first taste, slightly sweet as itrolls across the tongue, with a dry smoothfinish, looking like a porter but tasting lighter.”

While it did go on sale during July theofficial launch for the beer was the 4th ofAugust. Tim has just received the second batch

of the first brew run, and the second brew runis now being planned. I certainly enjoyed mypint (half actually – it was lunchtime and I hadwork to do) and feel that Blindman’s hasproduced a good representation of thespecified style. Try it yourself to verify.Apparently you can obtain it to take away in18- and 36-pint containers.

For those that like this sort of information,the brew contains Maris Otter, Crystal andAmber malts, and a selected blend of Chal-lenger, Styrian Goldings and Chinook hops.

The Raven is also having the beer speciallymixed to produce Raven sausages. Or should itbe Raven Ale sausages? That would soundmore appetising. These complement therecently introduced specialist pies that arenow on sale there... something else for me totry.

Phill the Pint

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National CAMRA web site : www.camra.org.uk

THE Royal Oak dates from the mid-1790s. Part of the building sits overa brook, which suggests it may have been built as a mill or even abrewery. However, it does not seem to have been a pub at the start, andthe first record of it being a beerhouse comes from 1839. Although itmay have opened some time earlier, it could not have opened as abeerhouse before 1830, when the Beerhouse Act came into force. One ofits earliest landlords was a cooper called Thomas Strange.

In 1874, the Somerset & Dorset Railway, swinging down fromDevonshire Tunnel to join the Midland line into Green Park station,crossed the Lower Bristol Road so close to the Royal Oak that part ofthe building had to be set back. A detailed inventory of the Royal Oakwas prepared that same year. There was a bar (with a five-motion beerengine, four pewter beer engines, a porter pull, partition and servingcounter), bar parlour, back parlour (with chess table, ottoman, decantersand candlesticks), taproom, parlour, four bedrooms, workshop, brew-ery, skittle alley and club room.

Apart from its Somerset & Dorset connection, the Royal Oak wasalso famous for having one of the longest serving landladies in Bath.Alfred Beard had been at the Royal Oak for less than five years when hedied in 1874. His widow, Eliza Beard, took over the pub and ran it untilaround 1930.

The building was badly damaged by bombing in 1942, with a largecrack running right across the front of the building. The front wall washastily rebuilt – unfortunately marring the appearance of the building inthe process – and the pub reopened a few weeks later.

In 1976, when Fred Pearce wrote his Critical Guide to Bath Pubs, hedescribed it as: “an intimate and exceptionally pleasant well-kept house.The public (Oak Room) has black and white TV, matching woodpanelling and tables, darts and shove ha’penny. Small compact loungehas flowering plants in the window.”

In 1993 Courage’s sold the Royal Oak to Moles’ Brewery (who alsoowned the Hop Pole on the Upper Bristol Road and the Old Crown inTwerton), but it closed in 1999. In 2002, it survived plans to demolish itand build a Jehovah’s Witness Hall. Since then, extensive – and ex-tremely sympathetic – renovations have since been carried out. Thefront wall, in particular, now looks as good – if not better – than it didbefore the Luftwaffe left their calling card. In August 2005, it finallyreopened, and looks set to be one of the top real ale pubs in the area.

The Royal Oak conforms pretty closely to most real-ale drinkers’idea of the perfect pub. Ten hand pumps – and no lager, except inbottles (although Bath Ales’ organic lager is likely to come on line in thenext few weeks). The range of beer will change regularly, and there’salmost certain to be something even the most assiduous beer festivalenthusiast won’t have tried before. A recent visit found Blindman’sIcarus, RCH Old Slug Porter and Cotleigh Barn Owl from Somerset,Triple FFF Moondance Bitter from Hampshire, Heather Grozat fromLanarkshire, Country Life Golden Pig from Devon, and Butt’s BarbusBarbus from Berkshire. Cider is currently represented by Rich’sFarmhouse from near Highbridge. Card-carrying CAMRA members get10% discount off pints, and the pub is open every day from noon toeleven (10.30 on Sundays). Food will be available as soon as the kitchenis up and running, sometime in the next couple of months.

Andrew Swift

History of theRoyal Oak(From Bath’s Lost Pubs, to be published later this year)

Abbey Ales joinsSIBA’s DirectDeliverySchemeThe organisation: SIBA, the Society of Small Independent Brewers.The scheme: DDS, the Direct Distribution Scheme.The objective: To enable retailers within multiple groups todirectly source local brewers’ products inresponse to the fast growing interest in locallybrewed beer.

Abbey Ales in Bath is one of the latest brewing companies to joinSIBA’s Direct Delivery Scheme.

Managing Director Alan Morgan said: “We are late joining thescheme but after calls from local Enterprise Inns licensees in Bath andBristol we felt we would be silly not to join. So far it has provedextremely succesful and it works very well for us and the licensees weare supplying. We are now hoping to build on what we have started.”

The scheme, launched a year and a half ago, has benefited not onlythe UK’s small brewers, but also pub groups, retailers and customersalike in outlets run by Avebury Taverns, New Century Inns, EnterpriseInns, Edinburgh Woollen Mill and ASDA supermarkets.

The overall objective of SIBA DDS is to facilitate commercebetween micro-suppliers and macro-customers. It enables local deliveryand local consumption of local beers. Local pubs can build partnershipswith their local breweries and, through co-operation and marketing,increase trade to their mutual benefit.

SIBA DDS is an electronic, internet-based administration system.The key to the success of the scheme is that SIBA DDS facilitates directtrade with local pubs, but provides a single point of contact for thepubcos’ headquarters. Effectively a ‘one-stop-shop’ for retailers, SIBADDS maximizes commercial benefits and minimizes administrativeburdens.

SIBA DDS is responsible for sourcing the beers, consolidatingorders, processing payments to its members and managing deliveries toretailers. Orders can be transmitted as simple electronic files to SIBA ona daily basis. These orders are processed into ‘Delivery Notes’ andtransmitted to the brewers. Working within a strict ‘Delivery Charter’,brewers are trained to receive such documentation and deliver theproducts. By using customer-specific paperwork, all deliveries can bereconciled with ‘Proof of Delivery’ and, on confirmation of delivery,files are transmitted back to the customer.

In the time it has been running, the scheme has proven that whereretailers and pubco lessees have been given the chance to stock localbeers from small brewers, they have taken advantage of it and enhancedtheir businesses and cask beer volumes by offering their own customersa wider and more attractive product range.

Nick Stafford, SIBA’s Commercial Director, has said of the scheme:“The DDS has been so beneficial to hundreds of pubs in the UK sinceits launch that I am confident we will have scores more eager to join. Allthese developments are in line with the resurgence in real ale whichSIBA has been long been publicising.”

Wot, no Cider Sisters? We’re very sorry, but we’re afraid we’re not going to be ableto do a ‘Cider Sisters’ article for this issue. Many apologies,we’ll be back next time... Cheers, Freya and Erica McLuckie.

29

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FROM 30 July, the Royal Oak inCorsham High Street, just over the borderin Wiltshire, has closed at 6pm on Satur-day evenings. The landlord, Nick Taylor,says he took the step because of prob-lems caused by Saturday-night drinkers.To compensate, he is opening at 9.30amon Saturdays to serve breakfasts.

Wetherspoon’s, which opened its firstoutlet in Bath only last year, introduced ano-smoking rule on 9 March. Plans by thelocal council to introduce a smoking banin pubs in advance of a national ban arereported to be at an advanced stage, withproposals only needing Mr Prescott’srubber stamp before they come into effect.So far, pubs in Bath (apart from Wether-spoon’s) which have tried to introduce aban have backed down after a downturnin takings. A blanket ban, althoughopposed by many, is unlikely to have thesame effect – as the jargon-mongerswould put it, a level-playing-field scenariowill become operational.

Meanwhile, Wetherspoon’s in Bathmay be feeling slightly short-changed.Having moved into the KingsmeadLeisure Complex near Green Park Stationat the same time as the Odeon multiplexcinema, they’ve been catching the puntersnot only as they go in, but also as they goout, parched by buckets of salty popcorn.Now, Odeon have applied for a licence tosell beer themselves, so punters canguzzle away as they watch movies. Itwon’t be real ale, and the potential forlow-level yobbishness and the disruptioncaused by frequent visits to the facilitieshave left most cinema-goers distinctlylukewarm as to the proposals. Justanother unanticipated angle to thegovernment’s liberalisation of the licens-ing laws.

Pub news from the Bath areaThe Garrick’s Head in St John’s

Place, next to the Theatre Royal, closedearly in 2005, a few months short of itsbicentenary. Built around 1720 for BeauNash, the “King of Bath,” it opened as apub in October 1805, when the TheatreRoyal moved to its present site. Althoughknown as the Garrick’s Head from thestart, after one of England’s most famouseighteenth-century actor-managers, thebust above the entrance was only placedthere in 1831. It had its own brewery untilaround 1890.

Two years ago, it was taken over bythe landlord of the King’s Arms atDidmarton, a former GloucestershireCAMRA Pub of the Year, who had plansto transform it into one of Bath’s top realale pubs. Sadly, the management (whoalso run the theatre) decided that itsfuture would be brighter as a wine bar.That is what it will become when itreopens in 2006.

Nearby, on Upper Borough Walls,Sam Weller’s closed in March 2005, withmetal shutters going up a few days later.Strangely enough, the passing of a pubwhich has been there since at least 1739was marked by not a word of protest orlamentation. It did not even make it to thepages of the Bath Chronicle. The closuremay only be temporary, but, given whathas happened elsewhere in Bath, thechances of it becoming another wine barmust be alarmingly high. In the early1960s, Sam Weller’s – then known as theFull Moon – had a traditional wood-panelled interior. Then it was gutted and

revamped in the name of progress. If ithad been left alone – as the Star and theOld Green Tree were – its closure wouldhave sparked protests not just in Bath butacross the region.

Out of town, the Viaduct Inn atMonkton Combe closed in June. Openedin the 1830s when the turnpike road (nowthe A36) was opened along the LimpleyStoke valley, its name refers to the roadviaduct across Midford Brook. The leasehas been sold to Amec Developments, a

The boarded-up Viaduct Inn

The Garrick’s Head

King of Wessex WetherspoonSam Weller’s shut summer 2005

Sam Weller’s as the Full Moon c1910

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London-based property company.Although close to a canal marina, it stoodat a very busy crossroads, with littleprovision for pedestrians. It was alsohampered by lack of parking space. If thepub is converted to flats, as now seemslikely, the old three-storey brewery whichstood next door, and looks much as it didwhen operational, will be transformed outof all recognition. Railway enthusiastsmay like to note that the GWR branchfrom Limpley Stoke to Camerton branch,which ran next to the pub, featured in thefilm The Titfield Thunderbolt.

Readers with the odd £1.3 million tospare and a yearning to live in an oldcountry pub may be interested in thePackhorse Farm at Southstoke, justsouth of Bath. Until the early nineteenthcentury, this was the Packhorse Inn,supposedly dating back to medieval times.When Midford Road was rerouted, to givecoaches an easier climb out of Midford toCombe Down, the inn closed, and its nameand licence were transferred to a farm-house in Southstoke village. The newPackhorse is still in business, one of themost unchanged and characterful countrypubs in the Bath area, with a superblocation and gardens to front and rear.

One closure that did spark vigorousdebate was that of the Hat & Feather atthe top of Walcot Street. Almost certainlydating from the 1660s, and taking its namefrom the distinctive headgear of Royalistsduring the Civil War, it was rebuilt around1900.

The Hat was a Bath institution, famednot for the quality of its beer, but as“Bath’s original underground hangout –not a style bar, more a way of life – the

The King William

The Raven

The Hat and Feather

kind of pub legends are made of – or atleast tall stories.”

That’s a quote from its website, which,sadly, is no longer on line. Following adramatic rent hike by the pubco, theleaseholder, the Hat shut last year. It wentout on a high, with a spectacular fireworkdisplay. A few weeks later, when thepubco put in a temporary manager, itreopened, but then, on a miserable nightat the end of November 2004, it closed forgood.

The lease was taken by RichardFenton, who owns the Firehouse Rotis-serie in John Street and the Grappa Bar(formerly the Beehive pub) on Belvedere.After an extensive revamp it opened inApril 2005 as the Hudson Bar and Grill.Although real ale (Sharp’s Doom Bar) ison offer, the move sparked a heated, andat times vituperative, exchange of views inthe letters page of the Bath Chronicle,much of it condemning the loss of a namethat had lasted almost 350 years. In a pollorganised by the Chronicle, 66% ofrespondents said the name should nothave been changed; 29% were in favour.

In the Bath Chronicle on 11 June2005, Richard Fenton was quoted assaying: “The days of a husband goingstraight to the pub after a hard day’s workand going home to his long-suffering wifeat closing time are over. The wife wants togo out too – and she wants some grilledshrimps and a cocktail … The Hat andFeather was a traditional pub with aBohemian edge. We have maintained theedge and all the Victorian features, but ithas been smartened up.” The old Hat &Feather sign now adorns a wall inside thepub.

A little further out of town, the KingWilliam on the corner of Thomas Streetand London Road, goes from strength tostrength. A street-corner beerhouse,opened in the 1830s, there was once a pubcalled the Queen Adelaide (after William’s

wife) on the opposite corner. When itclosed in 2003, after a somewhat cheq-uered recent career, its future lookedbleak. With no car park and virtually noon-street parking, it was surely too far outof town, too small, too run down, to everbe viable again. But, against all the odds,Charlie and Amanda Digney took onchallenge and spent months revampingthe place, before reopening it – without achange of name – early in 2004. Real ale,real wine, an adventurous and upmarketfood policy, and an object lesson in howan unloved back-street boozer can bebrought bang up to date without compro-mising its essential character – or gettingrid of many time-worn fittings – hasensured that the King William has beenpopular right from the start. It’s alsomanaged what is no easy conjuring trick,managing to attract upmarket diners whilestill hanging on to regulars from the oldKing William.

The Raven on Queen Street, also inline for an early return to the Good BeerGuide, has commissioned its own ale fromBlindman’s Brewery at Leighton nearFrome. A strong dark ale with an ABV of4.7, it has already proved a firm favourite,alongside Bellringer and a constantly-changing range of three guest beers. Aswell as local ales, beers from further afield,including regular appearances from award-winning breweries north of the border, canbe found at the Raven. Foodwise, itslunchtime pies are proving popular, whilethe upstairs room, so long underused, isnow a stylish no-smoking bar with someof the best views in the city. If you’ve notvisited the pub since it was Hatchett’s, itshigh time to see what’s happened to it inthe last twelve months.

Andrew Swift

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BATH’S newest free house, the Royal Oak, ison the Lower Bristol Road, about 25 minuteswest of the city centre. However, the goodnews is that there are not only lots of busespassing the door; it is also less than a quarterof a mile from Oldfield Park station.

There are trains to Oldfield Park fromTemple Meads on Mondays to Fridays everyhour from 09.40 to 19.40 (with extra servicesat 17.08, 17.22, 18.07, 20.50 and 21.56). Thejourney takes about 15 minutes. Saturday andSunday trains are less frequent – also bewarned that buses will replace trains betweenBristol, Bath and Westbury at weekends from17 September to 6 November because ofengineering work.

Trains back to Temple Meads on week-days run hourly from 14.12 to 18.12, then at19.20, 20.14, 21.12, 22.11, and 22.51.

Once ensconced in the Royal Oak, youmay decide to stay put until it’s time to catchthe train back. You could, however, use it asthe starting point for a pub crawl into Bath,before catching a train back from Bath Spastation. One suggested crawl from OldfieldPark to Bath could look like this:

Turn left on leaving the train at OldfieldPark station, climb the ramp and turn rightdown Brook Road (named after the brook thatruns under the Royal Oak). Near the bottomyou’ll see the Charmbury Arms on the left, a

Wadworth’s pub, opened as a beerhousearound 1880. Its internal partitions have beenripped out, but otherwise it is little changedfrom when it was a cider house, owned byCourage’s, in the 1960s.

The Royal Oak is a few yards further on,on the corner of the Lower Bristol Road.(More on this pub in other articles elsewhere.)

After leaving the Royal Oak, cross theLower Bristol Road, and walk up Windsor

Bridge Road to the traffic lights on the UpperBristol Road. On the left-hand corner standsthe old Windsor Castle Inn, now convertedinto flats and offices, with only the front wallof the pub still standing as a façade to the newdevelopment. Turn right here and walk downas far as Park Lane on the left. A few yards upPark Lane is the Park Tavern, originally knownas the Blue Lodge and dating from the mid-eighteenth century. A recent visit found onlyone of the three handpumps working, withCourage Best on offer.

A little way along the Upper Bristol Roadis the New Westhall, another Wadworth’spub. A little way beyond that is the Hop Pole,once, like the Royal Oak, a Moles’ house, butnow Bath Ales’ first pub in Bath. It datesfrom the 1820s and is not only a past BathCAMRA Pub of the Year, but was also namedby the Bristol Evening Post in 2003 as havingthe best pub food in Bath – and it’s up againstsome pretty stiff competition. The patio at theback here is a particularly pleasant spot tospend a couple of hours on an autumn evening.The Hop Pole is now, like the Royal Oak,open all day.

Walking on into town, you’ll pass Mr D’sburger bar, once a pub called the Robin Hood.A little way past that – if you look carefully –you’ll come across the signboard for anotherRoyal Oak. It’s pretty faded and weather-beaten – not surprising seeing that the pubclosed in 1961, and, after being saved fromdemolition, was converted to a private house.The surprising thing is that it’s still there.

Just past the Royal Oak, on MonmouthPlace, is a pub that’s more noted for its livemusic – on Friday, Saturday and Sundaynights – than its beer, although a recent visitfound Wickwar Cotswold Way alongside theregular offerings of Courage Best and Bass.

Oldfield Park pub crawl

The former Royal Oak, Upper Bristol Road

The King’s Arms sign

The Hop Pole

The Charmbury Arms

The King’s Arms is also interesting becauseit’s the closest thing Bath has to a traditionalcoaching inn, with a tiny courtyard and acouple of well-preserved signboards.

Another Wadworth’s house, the New Inn,opened as a beerhouse around 1837, can befound further down Monmouth Place. Afterthat, a left turn at the traffic lights into ChapelRow takes you up into Queen Square. Carryon past the Francis Hotel along the south sideof the square, and head on along Wood Streetto its junction with John Street and QueenStreet. Here you are spoilt for choice. A fewyards up John Street is the Salamander, BathAles’ second pub in Bath; a few yards downQueen Street is the Raven, formerlyHatchett’s, a free house with five handpumps,an adventurous guest beer policy, and its ownbrew – called Raven – from Blindman’sBrewery. Carry straight on along Quiet Streetand down Green Street and you’ll come to thecurrent CAMRA Pub of the Year, the OldGreen Tree. The choice is so difficult, in fact,that there’s really nothing else for it but tovisit all three – after which, a 10-minute walkwill take you down to Bath Spa station, withseveral trains an hour to Bristol throughout theday, and late services at 22.49, 23.21, and23.58.

Andrew Swift

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Pub newsTwo Bristol bars, not I confess known fortheir real ale, have been among the first toapply for 24-hour licences under the newgovernment rules. All In One in Park Streetand Sukoshi in Frogmore Street have both puttheir names down for round the clock boozing.

On a similar theme, The Riverside Inn inSaltford has obtained permission to stay openuntil 1am, despite opposition from localresidents.

The Happy Cocks in Hengrove has beenclosed down by Greene King. Originally, ithad been thought that the pub was jus closingfor refurbishment, but there now seems to besome doubt as to whether it is planned toreopen at all. We’ll keep an eye on it for thenext Pints West.

The Palace Hotel (also known as the GinPalace) has been put up for sale. We hope itwill continue to be a pub.

Word has reached us that – after years ofneglect – The Rummer at one end of St.Nicholas Market is now undergoing a ‘sympa-thetic refurbishment’ with a view to openinglater in the year. More on this next time.

The Queen Victoria on Gloucester Roadhas undergone a refurbishment, with a fetchingblack and gold livery now apparent. CourageBest appears to be the only real ale here. Fansof Scottish football will be pleased to hear thatgames shown on satellite/cable channel Setantaare shown here as well as the usual Sky games.

A bit further down Gloucester Road, theGolden Lion (for a while Finnegan’s Wake) hasnow lost its mock Irish theming, inside andout. Shepherd Neame Spitfire, Morland OldSpeckled Hen and Courage Best available here.

Still further down, we come to the

Bishop’s Tavern. Originally a Hogshead pub,but sold off to the Laurel Pub Company. Thereal ale selection appears to have been reduced,with just Greene King beers available on mylast visit.

Meanwhile, back in Old Market, theoriental bar and café known as T.A.T.U., hashad to close because of a lack of trade.Hopefully it will reopen soon and, with anyluck, back under its original name of ‘TheEagle’.

The Albion in Boyces Avenue in Cliftonhas undergone a complete transformation. Nolonger a dark, dare I say slightly dingy studentbar. A total refurbishment inside and out hastaken place. It now describes itself as a “Puband Dining Rooms”. A very nice pint ofCotleigh Tawny was on offer when I tried itout, with Butcombe Bitter also available. Athird handpump sometimes dispensesButcombe Blond. I’ve yet to spot all threeavailable at the same time though. Not sureabout the clientele here yet: while I was there achap came in, order half a dozen “River YelmOysters”, which he washed down withThatchers Traditional Cider! Addlestone’scloudy cider is also available, and the food isnot all as posh as the Oysters (and QuailsEggs) would lead you to believe.

Also refurbished after a long wait is thenearby Clifton in Regent Street. They havewisely retained the charming little front bar, aswell as the larger one at the back. Interestingselection of beers too: as well as London Pride,Bass, Butcombe Blond, Bath Ales Barn-stormer or Gem, and a “Clifton Ale” also fromBath Ales, they offer Leffe Blonde and – Ibelieve almost a first for Bristol (second onlyto the Mall in Clifton) – Draught Früli fromthe Van Diest Brewery in Belgium. It isapparently “a new high quality Belgian whitebeer blended with pure fruit juice”. Curiouser

The Queen Vic

The Albion

The Clifton

The Golden Lion

The Bishop’s Tavernand curiouser, said Alice.

The Quadrant in Clifton, mentioned in thelast Pints West, now only offers ButcombeBlond for the real ale enthusiast. They do nowstock a variety of lagers – is that anoxymoron? – including Cruzcampo, SanMiguel and Amstel on draught…

Good luck to the Portcullis round thecorner in Wellington Terrace, which has justreopened to have another crack at making somemoney. This pub – with its living roomdrinking area upstairs, has had a tough time ofit in recent years. Let’s hope the ButcombeBitter proves popular.

The Lamb Inn in Iron Acton is fast takingthe mantle of being that village’s Real Ale andCider Champion after the demise of the Rose& Crown. They now have up to eight realales, with Courage Best Bitter, Sharp’s DoomBar Bitter, Morland Old Speckled Hen, UleyPig’s Ear, Bass and Taylor Landlord allavailable as I write. They also offer threetraditional ciders (currently Thatcher’sCheddar Valley, Moles Black Rat and Wes-ton’s Old Rosie). For the technophiles amongyou, there is also free wi-fi access, whateverthat may be.

Duncan Shine

Other news from Clifton: The Lansdowncontinues to serve a very decent pint of realale: three at the time of writing, in the form ofSharp’s Doom Bar, Otter Bitter, and Barn-stormer from Bath Ales. The landlord isconsidering making use of a fourth handpumpbut was not sure whether it should be foranother real ale or a traditional cider. What doyou think he should do? Two pubs makingthe most of the popularity of Sharp’s beers arethe Royal Oak and the Greyhound. The RoyalOak offers Doom Bar and Cornish Coasterand now has an official-looking Sharp’sRoyal Oak sign on the wall outside. TheGreyhound has also been selling DoomBar and also a special IPA from Sharp’s insupport of the RNLI. The Grapes Tavernhas now doubled the number of real alehandpumps to four. Three Wadworthbeers were available recently, with hopesfor guests beer in the pipeline. SP

If you’re a landlord/lady or regular with somenews about your pub, please feel free to [email protected] [email protected] (we’ll share theinfo) and we’ll be glad to consider putting it intothe next issue of Pints West.

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Just fill in the form below and send, with either acompleted Direct Debit Mandate form or a chequepayable to CAMRA, to:Bristol & District CAMRA Membership Secretary,238 High Kingsdown, Bristol BS2 8DG.Rates are:- Single: £18 Joint (at same address): £21Under 26, Unemployed, Disabled, Pensioner: £10Joint pensioners (at same address): £14Name(s)................................................................................................................................................Address..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Postcode...........................Telephone...............................................................Email......................................................................I/we wish to join the Campaign for Real Ale and agreeto abide by the Rules.I enclose a cheque for ..............OR a direct debit mandate form (tick box) &Date of birth ................................Signature.....................................................Date..............................................Where did you pick up this copy of Pints West?................................................................

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Diary Past editions of

PINTS WESTon-line and in colour

Bristol and District CAMRA would like toremind readers that we have a web site atwww.camrabristol.org.ukThis contains information on the local branchand the Campaign for Real Ale generally, aswell as details of forth-coming meetings,socials and other activities. The web site isregularly updated and so is the best place tofind out about any last minute changes toarrangements as well as some of the latest realale related stories. It is also the place whereyou can find past editions of Pints West, fromedition 50 onwards. Number 50 also containsa potted history of Pints West from the veryfirst edition in 1989, when it was then knownas Avon Drinker. Recent editions are in colour.

PINTS WEST ~ brought to youentirely by unpaid volunteers . . .Seven thousand copies of Pints West aredistributed free to pubs in and around thecities of Bristol and Bath ... and beyond.Letters: please send any correspondence to

Pints West Editor, Steve Plumridge,Garden Flat, 6 Royal York Villas,Clifton, Bristol BS8 4JR

or by email to [email protected]: contact Steve Plumridge (detailsabove). Current rates are:

6cm x 6cm £28 6cm x 8cm £368cm x 9cm £46 9cm x 12cm £6512cm x 19cm £130 (£200 on back page)Full back page £375

Other sizes may be available (not guaranteed).Published by the Bristol & District Branch ofthe Campaign for Real Ale, August 2005 ©Next edition: end of Nov 2005 (probably).Reproduction: any written article in thispublication may be reproduced provided thesource (Pints West), including the contributor’sname where applicable, is stated. (No usinglogos or pictures without prior permission.)Subscriptions: to be put on a mailing list (forUK addresses) send a cheque for £2.50 to theeditor, made payable to “Steve Plumridge” (orsome 2nd class stamps up to that value).CAMRA Good Beer Guide: suggestions forfuture entries, and comments on existing ones,can be made to our GBG Coordinator, RichardWalters, care of the editor (above).Further information on all aspects ofCAMRA can be had from Ray Holmes on(0117) 9605357 (h).Trading Standards Officers: contactnumbers for problems such as consistent shortmeasures, no price lists...Bristol: 0117 9223444S. Glos: 01454 624000Glos: 01452 426201N. Somerset: 01934 632026B.A.N.E.S: 01225 396755

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THANKS TO THIS ISSUE’SCONTRIBUTORS

Adrian Tierney-JonesPennie PostlethwaiteColin PostlethwaiteNorman SpaldingRichard BrooksPhil LuddingtonMark AshmanDuncan ShineLaurie GibneyAndrew SwiftSteve O’SheaPhill the PintRobin E WildPete TannerTim NickollsJade PotterSteve ReedDave Jane

Editor: Steve Plumridge

Diary of the Bristol & District branch ofCAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.See inside for the Weston-super-Mare sub-branchdiary and contact.

Wed 23 Aug – Branch meeting, Horts, BroadStreet, Bristol at 8pm.Tues 6 Sept – Clevedon explorer trip. Departfrom Cornubia, Bristol at 6.45pm.Wed 14 Sept – Branch committee meeting atZero Degrees (venue provisional – to beconfirmed) at 8pm.Tues 20 Sept – West Mendip GBG surveytrip. Depart from Cornubia at 6.45pm.Wed 28 Sept – Branch Meeting, EbdonArms, Worle (venue provisional – to beconfirmed) at 8pm.Tuesd 4 Oct – GBG survey trip. Depart fromCornubia at 6.45pm.Sat 8 Oct – Trip to cider works in Somerset.Depart from Cornubia at 9am. (Start time to beconfirmed – ring 0117 9678177 or 07946414129).Wed 12 Oct – Branch committee meeting atthe Cornubia at 8pm.Tues 18 Oct – Explorer trip. Depart fromCornubia at 6.45pm.Wed 26 Oct – Branch meeting, Horts CityTavern, Broad Street, Bristol at 8pm.Thurs 27 Oct – Cider Saunter. Start AppleTree, Southville at 7pm.Tues 1 Nov – GBG survey trip. Depart fromCornubia at 6.45pm.Wed 9 Nov – Branch committee meeting atthe Cornubia at 8pm.Tues 15 Nov – GBG survey trip. Depart fromCornubiaat 6.45pm.Wed 23 Nov – Branch meeting (venue to beconfirmed) at 8pm.Tues 29 Nov – GBG Survey trip. Depart fromCornubia at 6.45pm.For more information on local events either attendour branch meetings or check the diary section onour web site at www.camrabristol.org.uk

Bellringerpub crawl

Pick up your free copy of the secondissue of The Bellringer Crawlpublication – fully updated for 2005 –from any of these Bath pubs:Ye Old Farmhouse, The Star Inn, TheBell, the Pig & Fiddle, the Old GreenTree, the Porter, the VolunteerRifleman’s Arms, the Raven, theCrystal Palace, the Huntsman Inn, orLambretta’s Bar.

PINTS WEST Award-winning newsletter of the Bristol & District Branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

New Butcombe Brewery TourReaders of the summer edition of Pints Westmay recall that beer production transferred toButcombe’s new brewery in Wrington inMarch this year. On 5th July Bristol CAMRAmembers were given the first opportunity totour the new brewery with everything up andrunning. And we were very impressed.

Guy Newell, successor to SimonWhitmoor and Butcombe’s new owner,explained that beer production has increasedsteadily since the transfer and is now at arecord 22,000 barrels a year. The brewery hasexpansion capacity to 45,000 barrels per yearand, if achieved, would elevate Butcombe toone of the largest real ale brewers in the south-west.

Great care had been taken to ensureconsistency of beer taste and quality duringthe transfer. This had certainly been achievedwith many regular Butcombe drinkers com-menting on a clearly detectable improvement inbeer condition. Guy said this had beenachieved by being able to rack the beersdirectly from the fermentation vessels. At theold site beer had to be transferred via rackingtanks to the casks which caused some loss ofcondition, an old Butcombe characteristic fewof us will miss.

It was heartwarming to see that no expense

was spared in the design and specification oftop quality brewing equipment and brand newbrewery premises. While Guy was under-standably coy about revealing actual figures,we estimate that not far short of one millionpounds has been spent on new kit and a

similar amount on buildings. Investment of thismagnitude has to be for the long term and, asGuy confirmed that Butcombe will remain 100per cent committed to real ale brewing, whatbetter testimony could anyone find forCAMRA’s case that real ale is popular andprofitable.

Phil LuddingtonPhotos by Richard Brooks

From left to right: Andy Hepworth (Hepworth & Co, The Beer Station),Adam (Bath Ales), Simon Bartlett & Chris Thurgeson (Bristol Beer

Factory) at the Shambala music festival.

Bristol Beer Factory at the Keynsham Music Festival

Out and about with theBristol Beer FactoryTHE BRISTOL BEER FACTORY provided the real ale tent at therecent Keynsham Music Festival. Simon Bartlett and Jemma Walsh(which is actually two-thirds of the BBF’s total staff!) both went toschool in Keynsham so this was a proud moment for them to have theirbeers at the festival.

The beer could not have gone down any better with the very lastpint from the very last cask being sold at 9 o’clock in the evening. Gold,the Beer Factory’s 5% golden ale, became Keynsham’s favourite withthis selling out before the 4.2% No.7.

The Bristol Beer Factory decided to provide beer engines on the baras opposed to serving their ales straight from the barrel so giving the tent

a more of a friendly pub feel as opposed to just a long serving hatch.Keeping the beers cool could have been a problem but bringing them outof the cold store at the very last minute and also making sure there wereplenty of cold wet towels in place certainly did the trick.

On another story, the Bristol Beer Factory, Hepworth & Co, andthe Pipe & Slippers all joined forces to provide all of the beer at thisyear’s Shambala music festival in Plympton, Plymouth on 12th to 14thAugust. Bristol Beer Factory brewed a 4.4% Shambala Golden festivalale especially for the event and Hepworth’s provided a 5.0% organiclager called Shambolic. The festival-goers couldn’t believe their luck tohave such great products and when it was time to take the bar down at 8o’clock on the Monday morning there was still a party going on in thebeer tent.

Adam from Bath Ales gave a welcome hand making the bar andprobably gave a hand in finishing off all of the beer as well!

2005 campaign for real ale pi ts weee tcamrabristol.org.uk/pw67.pdf · pints west national camra...

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