beer around ere issue 181

ALSO INSIDE PUB & BREWERY NEWS DIARY DATES JOIN CAMRA

Peterborough & District Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale February / March 2015

181

BERMONDSEY REVISITEDJohn Temple suggests a seachange occurring in the

brewing industry

WHAT’S IN A NAMEKings Cliffe Brewery pays

homage to 20th Fighter Groupwith commemorative porter

COALIES ON TOURThe Coalheavers Arms

gang visit Ely

The ‘Hand’ wins POTY for 2015!

Ten Real Ales from £2.00 a pint

Permanent range of ales

Four Real CidersLive Sky Sports

Live Entertainment

Happy Hour Monday - Friday 5-7pm

P ETERBOROUGH CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2014 & 2011

CAMRA Gold award 2013

The Ploughman Staniland Way, Werrington Centre Tel: 01733 327696

The Dragon Hodgson Centre, Hodgson AvePE4 5EG Tel: 01733 578088

Six Real Ales from £2.50 a pint

Proud supporter of

Live Sky Sports

Live Entertainment

Cash Quiz every Sunday from 8pm

P ETERBOROUGH CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2014 Runner Up

CAMRA Gold award 2013

Both pubs are in the CAMRA GOOD BEER GUIDE 2015!

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk February / March 2015 |BEER AROUND ERE

Editor: Jane [email protected]

Published by: Peterborough & DistrictBranch of the Campaign for Real Ale.

Produced on behalf of CAMRA by:Orchard House Media LtdSuite 30 Eventus, Sunderland Rd,Market Deeping. Tel: 01778 382758

Magazine Design & Production: Daniel Speed [email protected]

Advertising Sales Manager:Jane [email protected]: 01778 382718

Distribution:David [email protected]

Proof Reading:Bob Melville - 07941 246693

Printed By:Precision Colour Print LtdHaldane, Telford, Shropshire TF7 4QQ

Circulation: 7,000 copies distributed topubs, clubs and members throughout thePeterborough and District CAMRABranch area. A digital version of thismagazine is available to view and download at issuu.com

Cover Image: The Hand & Heart, Peter-borough Branch Pub of the Year 2015

Editor’s ramblings |3

New year, new beers and new awards

Beer Around ‘Ere is publishedby the Peterborough & DistrictBranch of CAMRA Copyright© 2015, The Campaign forReal Ale Ltd.

Views or comments expressed in this publi-cation may not necessarily be those of the Editor or of CAMRA.

The next issue of Beer Around ‘Ere will beavailable on the 20th March. We must have your stories, news and advertisements by 1st March. Please sendyour stories and other copy to the editor,Jane Brown.

Greetings! Even though thefestive season is just a distantmemory, I hope it was a goodone! Pub of the Year has beendecided, Straw Bear has beenand gone, so what next? NewYear, time to look forward.

Firstly, this year there are two new, additionalbranch awards, to go alongside “Pub of the Year”.There will now be a branch “Cider Pub of theYear” and a “LocAle Pub of the Year”. Pubswithin the branch that permanently stock a realcider or are LocAle accredited are eligible for theseawards. For more information check website thewww.real-ale.org.uk or Peterborough CAMRAFacebook page.

Secondly, having a read through brewery news I cansee that there are some new beers on the horizon, plusthe re-brewing of old favourites. So I would urge youto have a look at the brewery news page and see ifanything takes your fancy and of course, give it a try!

Hopefully this year will see fewer pubs in the areaclosing their doors. Ideally, of course, none at all.

Wishful thinking? Cheers. JB

Are you missing out?Get Beer Around Ere delivered to your door! For a year (6 issues) send £3.48 for second class or £4.02for 1st Class or multiples thereof for multiple years. Pleasesend a cheque/PO payable to “Peterborough CAMRA” andyour address to:- Daryl Ling, 19 Lidgate Close, PeterboroughPE2 7ZA

IN THIS ISSUEWelcome from the editor 3Chairman’s corner 5Pub news 7–11Pub of the Year 2015 13Brewery news 14–17Farewell Stella 17Bermondsey mile revisited 18–21Coalies in Ely 23What’s in a name 25CAMRA’s NWAF 2015 26Diary dates 27Membership matters 28Join CAMRA 29Contacts 30Pub merit and gold awards 30

Chairman’s corner |5

After ten years of campaigning by CAMRA, MPsof all parties voted for tenants of the large pubcosto have a market rent only option (MRO) and theywon! The MPs were backing a CAMRA supportedamendment at the Report Stage for Small Business,Enterprise and Employment Bill, which allows tiedtenants of companies with more than 500 pubs tohave their rent reviewed independently. It wouldalso give tenants the option of being able to buybeer at competitive prices in an open market, withthe possibility of beer prices in their pubs beingreduced. The Chief Executive of CAMRA, TimPage, thanked the 8000 plus CAMRA memberswho lobbied their MPs to help make this happen.

CAMRA is now hoping the vote which should beaccepted by MPs will become law in the very nearfuture and the legislation will be finalised by theforthcoming General Election. This latest successfollows on from CAMRA’s victory two years ago inpersuading the government to scrap the destruc-tive Beer Escalator.

So what does this mean for our under pressurelicensees? If the Bill becomes law (and we see noreason why it should not) then it will give themmore flexibility in choosing a better business relationship with their pub company and a fairershare of their profits. What about us drinkers Ihear you cry? Well, with a fairer share of runningtheir business publicans may choose to pass on anysavings to customers, or invest in the business andimprove the pub. In both of these scenarios thecustomer benefits. Will it mean more pubs closing?It should stop the continuing loss of pubs by thepubcos by encouraging investment and, a fairer tiewould attract high quality licensees to run prof-itable pubs. We can but wait and see and hope thatthese reforms happen sooner rather than later.

As this is an election year we will be getting theusual bout of promises from our prospective MPs.We would hope that the present government willcontinue to support our drinks industry in their lastbudget before the election. One local brewery,regrettably, has jumped ahead and announcedprice rises from February before any budgetchanges. We would hope not to see any dutyincreases this year, if the powers that be are sincerein carrying out the reforms already mentioned.

We must congratulate our new Pub of the Year,The Hand and Heart, in Millfield, Peterborough,for coming out top in the vote that took place atthe end of last year. Bram and wife Sue havecontinued to fight a long battle to keep the pubrunning in an area that has, over the last few years,seen the closure of many a pub. A time and date forthe presentation will be announced in the near future.

I've had to rush this report due to being out ofthe country in recent weeks. Two weeks in Spain tosee in the New Year was a new experience which Ican recommend. Although a decent beer was hardto find we did discover an excellent Belhaven Stoutat 7% in one British run bar. The licensee eventook a couple of bottles from the store to make theice cold ones in the fridge more palatable. We didreturn another day.

Our holiday was only marred by some sad news.As we were about to pass through the airport onour last day I received a phone call from ourWebmaster, Harry Morton, saying that his wife,Stella, had passed away the previous night. Ourcondolences go to Harry and all the family fortheir sudden loss.

That’s it for now folks.David Murray

Branch Chairman

Chairman’s Corner


First a belated Happy New Year to all our readers. Also I’m pleased to report that CAMRA scored another historic victory at the end of last year.

BEER AROUND ERE | February / March 2015 Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

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Pub news |7

Well I said I would scour the remotest regions andyou cannot get much more remote than Weldon.That is, of course unless you live there, in whichcase it is right on your doorstep. My target was theShoulder of Mutton where I heard they hadrecently opened a new micro brewery.

Although steadily expanding, Weldon is stilltechnically a village, as established by its exquisitethirteenth century St. Mary’s church. Lured by anarc of spent tree trunks, now standing erect likeCorinthian columns, I decided to take this route tothe pub. Imagine then my astonishment as I wasgreeted by the incongruous sight of a cupolamounted on the perfectly preserved Normantower! How was I to know that some propheticsoul had anticipated that the local brewer wouldname a beer after it some eight hundred years inthe future?

For that is indeed the name of one of the fourregular beers brewed by Graham Moorhouse (norelation) in the cellar of the pub. The others areWindmill and Dragline, both at 3.9 ABV, and adelectable dark, malty beer called Rosie’s SweatBox at 4.2. Veterans of the Second World Warwill be familiar with the name of Rosie the Riveterwho was used as a recruitment figure for the facto-ries producing warplanes. All of the beers fromthe brewery are named after local landmarks and Iassume that this name is intended to reinforce theconnection with the local Deenesthorpe airstrip,which was the home of a USAAF bombardmentsquadron.

Graham has a two firkin plant and rolls his beersout in firkins and pins. Knowing that they arerelatively expensive, I asked him why he used pins.He said that quite simply landlord, Bogdan, refusesto sell beer that is not in top condition and heneeds to reduce wastage. If the beer goes stale hejust tips it.

Bogdan Vugnovic is the man responsible for

regenerating this pub and he is the most congenialof hosts. He features homemade Serbian food onhis menu and if you are lucky he will give you ataste of his own red wine made from theMontepulciano grape. I would definitely recom-mend this pub. Weldon can be reached by a 40minute ride on the X4 bus from Peterborough busstation.

Whilst there you might want to call into theGeorge, another historic coaching inn where thecourtyard has been annexed into part of therestaurant. They have two real ales, JHB andDoombar, rotating to ensure good condition. Thispub claims to date back to the eighteenth century.

Just along the road is theWoolpack. I suspectthat it dates back to the same period, althoughnobody in the pub could tell me. It is a friendly,family run pub, with a cosy, stone built main barwarmed by an open fire. Beers available wereCastle Rock Harvest Pale and a guest from thePurity stable. Another feature of the pub is theauthentic oak beams in which are lodged severalcoins dating back to the war. A local informed methat they were good luck tokens placed there bythe pilots flying from Deenesthorpe. I wonder howmany of them made it back.

Oundle outingIt is always good news when a new pub opens andeven better when it fits the description of amicropub (see page 18). The Tap & Kitchen,brewery tap of the excellent Nene Valley Brewery,opened on the 24th November. It is a refurbishedwharf side warehouse in which the proprietorshave succeeded in recreating its industrial revolu-tion ethos: chrome and wood, cogs and wheels.The pub has eight hand pumps dispensing most ofthe NVB range and plans guests in the future.They also serve craft beers and craft ciders fromacross the country and beyond. Surrounded as weoften are nowadays by a sea of citrus, it is grati-fying to find a new brewery featuring


Pub News

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8 | Pub news - continued

traditional beer styles: Dark Horse, Lone Star,Starless Stout, DXB; ruby, amber, brown, andBible Black; PBF champion beer!

Whilst in Oundle I thought I should check outthe Angel, as the last time I was here it was prettyrun down with no drinkable beer. For the past yearit has been run by Dave and Wendy Cook, and thetransformation is remarkable. No real ale when they took over, now they have upto four. But the most impressive thing is that theyhave recreated the pub in their own idiom,bringing in their own antique furniture andcreating the ambience of a rustic cottage. The useof this furniture is ably supervised by their six cats,but don’t count on getting a seat on the mostcomfortable settee as this is normally comman-deered by a local Labrador. It is truly a pub whereyou would feel comfortable enough to take yourshoes off.

Dave and Wendy informed me that on a recentpilgrimage to Great Walsingham they were incul-cated into Paul Stretton’s famous, award winningpies and in the New Year they intend to introducethree varieties: meat, fish and vegetable. The pubalso has a weekly beer raffle where completeimpartiality is ensured by allowing one of the catsto pick the winning ticket.

No visit to Oundle would be complete without avisit to the magnificent Ship Inn. Veterans of thebranch will know that this pub has been in theLangridge family for thirty years. The whole pubhas now been redecorated and there have beensignificant structural changes. The snug has beenmoved forward to allow easier access to thekitchen. It is still there but it is smaller. Thechanges have been designed sensitively and theyhave by no means altered the character of theplace, with of course the magnificent Grade 2listed fireplace still intact. I am sure this will be agreat comfort to all those who are in the habit ofinspecting their inglenook.

The Oundle jungle drums were decidedly offbeatwith their message on the George allegedly on thepoint of being swallowed up by Tesco. I am

pleased to be able to report that Enterprise at thetime of writing were interviewing prospective newmanagers. Oundle can also be reached on the X4.It is high time that this bus was nominated for agold award.

Stamford strutSimilar concerns about closure surrounded theKings Head in Stamford. The problem with therumour mill is that it spreads so wildly that theonly way to be sure is to visit the place itself. Thepub is now under the enterprising management ofDavid Waycot. David has extended the real alerange from three to five, mainly from the Marstonportfolio. He has also opened the courtyard,which provides a wall-surrounded refuge seatingabout 30 customers and will provide an attractivevenue for the warmer months. The Kings Head isthe oldest pub in Stamford, dating back to 1602. I fondly imagine that it was built for the masonswho worked on the adjoining St. Michael’s churchwhen it was rebuilt about the same time, as themasons, quite rightly, would never work withouttheir beer. Are there any local historians who canconfirm this?

The Hole in the Wall has reinvented itself asthe Groovy Club, which I suspect is the nameenvisaged for it by John Clare when he drank thereas a young man. Alun Thomas has informed methat this and the Millstone now only open atweekends.

Bourne again I am referring specifically to the Golden Lionwhich has been discarded by Sam Smiths and isabout to be born again under the ownership ofMark Richardson of White Horse (Baston) fame.Apparently this fine old pub needs a lot of work,and if the refit is modeled on the lines of theWhite Horse, we can expect a major upgrade. Is this the oldest pub in Bourne? I suspect itsantiquity could be challenged by the MasonsArms. Nobody in this pub could tell me the dateof its origin, but one customer informed me thatthere has been an inn on the site since the eleventhcentury. I can normally date a pub by the heightof the oak beams and the number of times that I


Pub news - continued |9

bang my head on them, and I never come out ofthis pub without a headache. Whether it is this orCourage Directors at £2.70 a pint I am not quitesure. This is an excellent community pub with avery warm atmosphere. Grade 2 listed, it was jointsecond in the Pub Bars and Stars (formerly Scot-tish Porridge) community pub of the year. Theyalso serve Deuchars IPA and London Pride andlandlord, Johnny Parr, is very meticulous aboutthe quality of his beer.

The Anchor in Eastgate has extended it real alerange from 3 to 6 and on my last visit had twobeers from the Dancing Duck brewery in Derby;one of these a special brew for The Anchor, andanother for The Hand & Heart, one of two pubsthat licensees Dawn and Taras own in Nottingham

The curse of Fenland I knew it would come back to haunt me. Probablybecause I failed to attend the Straw Bear Festival.Planning permission has been granted to turn the Bricklayers Arms in Whittlesey into housing,and Rose Black is retiring due to the ill health ofher husband. I am sure all her customers will joinme in wishing them all the best in the future.

A similar aura of doom settled upon me inRamsey. The occasion was the presentation of aGold Award to the Jolly Sailor, as reported in thelast issue. The photographer present on the occa-sion told me that he was working for the RamseyInformer. I was deeply troubled by this terrifyingnews as I had only just been told by some of theelderly patrons of the pub that the said person,Josef Jakobs, was the last man to be executed atthe Tower of London as long ago as 1941. I havehad many sleepless nights since.

Fortunately salvation was near at hand. I wasacting on a recommendation to visit the Railway,where landlord Keith Golightly has created a realale haven featuring on this occasion WoodfordWherry, Green King Abbot, Grainstore and aconstantly changing guest. Where also Keith hasrechristened a certain product normally known asJ*** S****’s Smooth as “the antichrist”. This wasthe turning point and did a great deal to restore

my sanity, prior to which most of this article waswritten. This is only one of two pubs that I amaware of (the other is the Coalheavers Arms inWoodston) that uses oversize glasses. Such is myfrustration with this fact that I have taken towearing a pair myself.

In the last issue I mentioned that the LittleLondon Inn in March has reverted to its originalname of theMen of March. I have since hadthe opportunity to visit the pub and meet the newlandlord and landlady Keith and Jo Foosey. Thepub has been brightened up with a major refurband has a great family atmosphere. When theytook over nobody was drinking the draught beer.Now they have up to four from the Marston’s port-folio: Banks Bitter £2.45, Pedigree £2.79,Hobgoblin Gold £2.84.

The Three Tuns in Doddington has reopenedwith a major refurb and four real ales. It is alwayscheering when a pub reopens after being closed fora couple of years, and new landlord, RobinLeonard, has big plans for the place. Theseinclude a new kitchen with real homemade food,and a beer garden. Children are always welcome.

Around townThe scarcity of pubs in the Lincoln Road area hasscarcely diminished the high esteem in which theyare held. The Crown has recently received theEvening Telegraph Best Bar in the City award.

On New Year’s Day, John Lawrence handed thekeys over to head barman Peter Turnbull, who willcontinue his policy of providing an extensive rangeof real ale, cider and bottled beers. FullersLondon Pride, Elland Ell’s Bells, Wolf 2015 and anoutstanding pint of Lacon’s Falcon were availableon my last visit.

Despite their continuing fight against demo-graphic adversity and a plethora of surroundingoff licences, and in the face of some outstandingopposition, Bram and Sue managed to pull off thePeterborough CAMRA Pub of the Year award attheHand & Heart. Congratulations. A fullreport will appear in the next issue.


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Pub news |11

December 17th saw the opening of the ArgoLounge in Bridge Street. The Argo is a goodexample of a current trend towards bar restaurants.We may not like this concept but I think it is amajor asset for an otherwise barren city centre. It is part of the Loungers group which does nothave a real ale policy at the moment, but its sistercompany – Cosy Club – most certainly does, sowhy don’t we all go in there and ask for it?

The Woodston loopNatives of the north who do not suffer fromhydrophobia might occasionally consider crossingthe water to Woodston, where at least they canhave a decent pub crawl.

Any such crawl should inevitably start at Charters. For those who are not familiar with thearea, it is a converted Rhine barge moored on thesouth bank of the Nene adjacent to the townbridge. I have had some indifferent reports on therange of guest beers available since Stuart Wrightleft, but proprietor Paul Hook has managed toprocure the services of new manager Martin Raceand things are really looking up. At the momentthe barge is offering four Oakham and four guests.Martin intends to introduce a policy of supportinglocal micros including Hopshackle, Star,Kingscliffe, Nene Valley, Tydd Steam and Grain-store. The Easter beer festival is scheduled forApril 3rd – 6th, and he has made the astute decision to rack the beers inside, thus avoiding thesharp change in temperature that has oftenaffected the beer in the past. I will keep youposted on this important event. I stand to becorrected, but I believe that this is the only bar inPeterborough to be “listed” before it appeared inthe Good Beer Guide.

Around the corner into Oundle Road and wehave four pubs within a few minutes of each other:The Cherry Tree where you will find TimTaylor’s Landlord and Oakham Inferno plus twoguests (Cottage and Tydd Steam on my last visit);the Swiss Cottage where Roosters Yankee andSharps Doombar are constantly on tap along witha guest; the New Inn which is currently offeringGrainstore Osprey, and, of course, one of the

jewels in the Oundle Road crown, the Palmer-ston Arms. Simon Benton informs me that hewill officially take over the lease on February 2ndand he is planning a winter dark beer festival fromJanuary 27th to 31st. As far as I am concernedthere is a beer festival in this pub every day of theweek, with up to twelve real ales constantly avail-able along with a wide range of ciders.

My commitment to complete impartialityprevents me from mentioning my own local, theCoalheavers Arms, in Park Street.

To complete the loop we have the Peacock, theonly thatched roof pub in the city. Predominantlya music pub, it is currently offering Sharpe’sDoombar at £2.60 a pint. It is now a family run puband licensee Cherie Burkett, who has considerablyimproved the ambience since taking over in July,has told me she is planning a beer festival in thespring. I will keep you updated on this event.

Serious issuesI trust that readers will appreciate that all of theinformation contained above was accurate at thetime of writing. However, such is the dynamic ofthe pub market that this article is out of date assoon as it is written. In consideration of this fact,and in order to protect myself against mischievousaccusations, I shall in future be writing under apseudonym.

Keep it quiet.John Temple Pubs Officer


Send us your news!Calling all landlords and landladies! Had a refurb?Got a great event on? Started selling a new rangeof ales or cider? Let us know and we will add yournews to these pages. Just email John Temple at [email protected]

Peterborough & District CAMRA are pleased toannounce that The Hand & Heart has been votedBranch Pub of the Year 2015 by local CAMRAmembers.

Each year end Peterborough & District CAMRApoll all their members for Pub of The Year. This isout of a shortlist of pubs that had been awarded aMerit or Gold award during that year. See issue180 for this years contenders.

The clear winner voted by branch members wastheHand & Heart, 12 Highbury Street,Peterborough.

Previous winners of this prestigious award are:-2014 The Ploughman, Werrington (2nd Award)2013 The Queen’s Head, Bulwick 2012 The Letter B, Whittlesey 2011 Ploughman, Werrington 2010 Mama Liz’s, Stamford 2009 Jolly Brewer, Stamford 2008 Tobie Norris, Stamford 2007 Drapers Arms, Peterborough 2006 Blue Bell, Maxey 2005 Palmerston Arms, Peterborough

2004 Coalheavers Arms, Peterborough

Peterborough & District CAMRA congratulate thestaff at The Hand & Heart on their achievement.Presentation date to be confirmed.

If you have not been to The Hand & Heartplease make a point of visiting. Not only does ithave a good selection of ales and lagers, but ithas an historic pub interior of national importance(1930’s Art Deco) and is listed on the CAMRANational Register.

Peterborough CAMRA run Award Schemesthroughout the year to recognise pubs that havedemonstrated their commitment to provide goodservice and great beer.

All pub awards are nominated by CAMRAmembers who submit their recommendations viathe form in our Branch Magazine, Beer Around‘Ere (BAE), or via email to the [email protected]

Mike Blakesley Press Officer


Pub Of The Year 2015


Bexar County Brewery 2015 looks to be a year of changefor Bexar County Brewery. Theprevious two years were used toexplore different styles and tasteprofiles that would push the enve-

lope and challenge beer drinkers. Ok, so it seemsthat not that much is going to change thisyear...except the approach. This year there willstill be innovation and collaboration, but many ofthe old recipes devised over the last year will berevisited. Expect to see a number of beers beingre-brewed this year such as Papa Steve, SanJacinto, Vaquero, I Am Not A Fruit Beer andLa Perla Negra en Fuego.

The first beers released this year included acoffee stout and the beginning of a series of beersthat will run throughout the year called“Anything Gose” (a range of salty soured wheatbeers that have the same malt bill but differentadditions are added in secondary).

Bexar County Brewery beers have also finallyfound two regular spots in Peterborough. Caskbeers can often be found at the Drapers Arms andbottles are normally at the Coalheavers Arms.

Beers Festivals still play a major role with thebrewery, with it showing at great national festivalssuch as Cambridge Winter, Colchester, and ElyWinter along with smaller local festivals such asStraw Bear.

In other news, it is time to say goodbye to theoriginal Brewery Liaison Officer (BLO) for BexarCounty Brewery, Mr Steve Williams. He servedhis time well and will be sorely missed, but unfor-tunately his commitments to the PeterboroughBeer Fest and his dedication to the Pub HistorySociety have forced him to retire from the role ofBLO for Bexar County Brewery.

With sad news comes good news though, MrDave Botton has graciously stepped up to the posi-tion of BLO. He has been a long-time friend tothe brewery and is on a constant quest to findgreat new innovative beer, in other words, a perfectmatch for the brewery.

Castor AlesDark Side of the Cometproved to be a popular addi-tion to our range of beers.The beer was conceived

before the amazing achievement of the EuropeanSpace Agency’s Rosetta Mission to land the PhilaeLander on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenkoon 12th November 2014. The name of the beercaptured the moment and seemed a perfect oppor-tunity to celebrate the scientific achievement of thehuman race.

As a dark beer, it cries out to be defined becausebeer enthusiasts love to argue over what separatesa porter from a stout. I think people agree thatthere is a difference, but nobody can agree whatthe difference is. It may simply be that originally astout was a stronger version of a porter. Today,however, the difference is probably whatever youwant it to be.

Dark Side of the Comet contains pale malt,caramalt, crystal malt, chocolate malt, black malt,roasted malt and oats and the hop additions aregenerous. So try it and make up your own mind. It is available in the usual outlets and in bottles.

The Philae Lander is currently languishingsilently on the ‘dark side’ of the comet, but as thecomet moves ever closer to the sun over the nextfew months, scientists are optimistic that theincreased solar energy will stir it into life again andthat will surely be an event to celebrate with a newbeer. Raise your glasses and celebrate with CastorAles. Cheers!

Digfield Ales2014 was a year ofsustained growth of

sales in an expanding market, helped by invest-ment in a larger delivery vehicle and bigger stockof casks. Digfield expanded their sales areas andnow have regular outlets in and aroundNorthampton and Bedfordshire. Along with largersales area they have supplied beers to many beerfestivals. Chiff Chaff an amber/gold bitter at

Brewery News

Brewery news continued |15

3.9% which was brewed for the first time in June andwhich won the Bronze Award at this year’s PBF, waswell received at both Nottingham and Falmouth beerfestivals. Merry Monk their festive version of MadMonk was brewed for Christmas/New Year season.

This year Paul and Mike are hoping to developmore new beers as and when time allows.

Elgoods Straw Beer is still availableand the seasonal beer forFebruary will be an Evolutionbeer called Eros at 4%.

February will also see the launch of bottled, fruitflavoured, Lambic beer at the Craft Beer Risingfestival in London. The beer will be called Coolshipand has been flavoured with blackberries and rasp-berries. March will see the return of Goatbustersas the seasonal beer. This is a 3.9% session ale.

On the pub front, The Bell Inn at Murrow has hadnew tenants since 6th January. Finally, Brewery Toursrecommence on the 28th April with the visitor centreand gardens being open to the public. See thebrewery website for further details.

Kings Cliffe Brewery (KCB)KCB have brewed a commemo-rative beer (see page 25) KCBP51 which is a traditional

English porter ABV 5.1% and dark ruby in colour.It has been brewed using an 1896 recipe and

refined for the modern palate.

Roasted and chocolate malts give a smooth anddistinctive roast malt and fruit feature to the palate.The finish is very lightly hopped with a hint of bitterchocolate lingering.

KCB P51 will be available from February. Pleaseask for it at your local. Bottles and mini-kegs of P51will be available from the brewery in March 2015.All of KCB ales will be showcasing at the CambridgeWinter Ales Festival 22nd – 24th January 2015 andthe Colchester Winter Ales Festival 28th – 31stJanuary 2015.


Mile Tree BreweryMile Tree continue to openup new markets for theirales through the use of

their Travellin’ Tavern. The Tavern has provedvery popular at the many Christmas Marketswhere sales of 1850 Porter and Reclamationexceeded demand. Richard and Karen will nowconcentrate on bottling more of their ales inreadiness for the regular farmer’s markets beingheld in Ely and Peterborough throughout spring.Bottled beer is available for purchase online fromThe Ale Room.

The beers have also been appearing in caskform in some outlets new to the breweryincluding:- Prince Albert, Ely; The Black Bear,Walsoken, Wisbech; Tharp Arms, Chippenham,Ely; Oliver Twist, Guyhirn

Their beers will also be showcased at the forth-coming Ely Winter Beer Festival.

Nene Valley BreweryThe Brewery had a goodChristmas with increased salesfrom the shop and into pubs.The Tap & Kitchen is alsodoing rather well with 75 of 90

covers pre-booked for the evening of Friday 9thJanuary. There are tentative (at the moment)plans to extend the rear of all of the units in thebrewery block (Gorilla Firm Cycling and Trek Kitsoutdoors shop included) with the brewery utilisingthe additional space to increase the number offermentation vessels and add cask storage.

Nene Valley have been invited to theCambridge Winter Ales Festival from 22nd to24th January where they will be showcasing 4beers including Bible Black and Dark Horse.Hunts CAMRA visited recently to present thebrewery with the Beer of the Festival Award fromBooze on the Ouse St Ives Beer Festival 2014 forBible Black.

The brewery will once again be represented atCraft Beer Rising, in London, from 19th to 22ndFebruary. There are plans for a number of F


t. 01780 755141 w. jollybrewer.comFoundry Road, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 2PP

• Food Served Daily •12-3pm Monday - Sunday6-9pm Friday & Saturday

Sky HD and BT showing Football and Rugby

For further information on live events or for room reservations please call 01572 822302

14 High St East, Uppingham, Rutland LE15 9PY

Glyn and Alan would like to welcome you to their old fashioned community pub. Serving a family

friendly menu full of pub classics with ingredientssourced, where possible, from local suppliers.

We offer a great range of two permanent and twochanging guest real ales alongside two real ciders.

We also offer 3 Star AA rated accommodation.

Now taking bookings for Mothers Day

Please call 01572 822302 for details

Brewery news continued |17

new beers in 2015 including a citrus saison andanother version of Double JIP, this time at 9.9%.

Oakham Ales 2014 was a record year for OakhamAles with total beer productionapproximately 24,000 brewer’s barrels

(36 gallons) up a sprightly 15% on 2013. Perennialfavourite J.H.B. still tops the charts for beer salesaccounting for roughly 40% of production. As themessage gets clearer that they do brew other beerssales of Citra are rapidly on the increase. Some ofthis possibly due to the silver medal success in theChampion Beer of Britain 2014.

Ten per cent of beer sold is now bottled withsupermarket sales on the up. Two per cent ofbottle sales go abroad with hotspots Scandinaviaand Eastern Europe. Both are rapidly growingmarkets and Italy with its new found thirst forGreen Devil, not ‘a like a mama used to drink!’

For this year there will be some changes to theseasonal and Oakademy of Excellence beers.There will be twelve beers in total with six newOakademy beers alternating with six seasonals.January sees the start of the Oakademy beers for2015 with The Opportunist a 4.1% OatmealStout, followed in March by The Racketeer a5% beer bursting with Kiwi hops. Good feedbackfrom Dolphin Dance last year means a Februaryreturn for this straw coloured beer with Germanhops. Mompesson’s Gold will also be around inthe early part of the year as an addition to theaged and vintage range.

Tydd SteamThe recent return ofPiston Bob was a successwith the batch selling out

quickly, as did the Christmas beer Yooligan.Beartown returned for the Whittlesey Straw

Bear Festival and has sold very well.Cock is now being brewed as the latest offering

from the brewery's occasional portfolio.Sales have been very good lately with a successful

Christmas period and the brewery is continuing inmuch the same vein as last year.

There are no new beers in the pipeline at themoment.

Xtreme AlesThings at the brewery continueto grow at a good pace. Brewinghas now stepped up to a full

brew once a week on the new big kit and brews onthe smaller kit for one off festival specials whenneeded. The brewery has received a brand newcask washer with a new batch of casks on the wayto keep up with demand.

The Straw Bear Festival, in Whittlesey, was ahuge success for the brewery. A total of 15 caskswere sold to various pubs around the town, withThe Letter B doing a fantastic job of promotingour Straw Bear Festival beer, Dancing Pigeon.

Mike and Neil had the pleasure of helping outand serving on The ‘Grufton’ Real Ale bar at theLetter B, which also had our Winter Warmerand Funky Pigeon beers and which sold outearly on.


Farewell StellaIt is with great sadness that we have to report thedeath of another of our long-standing members.Stella Morton, wife of Harry, our Webmaster,passed away suddenly on the 9th of January at herhome in Torremolinos near Malaga in Spain. Shehad been in poor health since just beforeChristmas when she was confined to a wheelchair.My wife and I visited the couple twice during ourrecent New Year holiday.

Although Stella was never a ‘leading member’ orheld any committee position, she did help on manyoccasions at the Peterborough Beer Festival, alongwith her daughters. She also assisted Harry insome of his duties when he was our Branch Secre-tary. When they retired they took the decision tolive in Spain in the Malaga area. Harry informedme of Stella’s death as we were about to leaveMalaga airport to return to the UK. We send ourcondolences, and our thoughts are with Harry andfamily. Rest in peace, Stella.

David Murray

A recent edition of The Morning Advertiser haspublished an article on the growth of a phenom-enon now referred to as the micropub movement.In it the founder of the movement, Martin Hiller,predicts that there will be over a hundred of theseestablishments open by the end of the year. Mr.Hiller goes on to state that “regular pubs are goingdownhill”.

Now I am not sure what a “regular” pub is, but Ican see that there is a distinction to be madebetween a micropub and the wide variety of pubsand hotels that we have traditionally drunk in.And whereas in the recent past we have becomeaccustomed to a new microbrewery being attachedto an established pub, what now seems to behappening is that licensed premises are beginningto be attached to new microbreweries (see Tap &Kitchen, Pub news). Many will say that this move-ment takes its inspiration from the craft beermovement in the United States. But it is just aslikely that it is driven by a changing customer baseand a changing expectation of what a pub shouldprovide. With the current proposed reform of thetied pub system and pub chains clamouring tothreaten more closures, perhaps it is time toreassess the situation.

First let us understand a plain fact. The law isabout to change as a result of action taken by theelected representatives of the pub chains’customers and potential customers. Now let usunderstand another plain fact. As the nature ofthe brewing industry is radically changing as smallbrewers grab more of the market, so is the natureof the drinking venue. Cask Matters have recentlyreported that there are now 1472 brewers inBritain. So where do they sell? Surely they cannotall thrive on beer festivals? And with the openingup of guest beer options under the proposed statu-tory code, what difference will this make to thepub industry?

I should like to make the tentative suggestion thatthere is a sea change occurring in the beer industryin this country parallel to that which occurred inthe 1830s, when the country was faced with aproblem of gin consumption amongst the lowerclasses. To counter this problem the governmentof the time passed the Beer Act, a piece of legisla-tion which had the effect of promoting thedevelopment of a type of drinking establishmentwhich became the prototype of the modern townpub. The Act allowed the acquisition of a licenseto sell beer in private houses and within 8 years ofits introduction 46,000 beer houses were estab-


The BermondseyMile Revisited

Anspach & Hobday’s entrace, with the Shard in the background

Bermondsey Mile revisited |19

lished, some of them brewing on site. In super-seding the number of traditional taverns theyclearly had a massive impact on the commerciallandscape.

Inspired by Dave Botton’s pioneering article inIssue 178, I thought that the ideal place to test outthis theory was the Bermondsey Mile, otherwiseknown as the craft beer pilgrimage. For what wehave on the Mile is a series of microbrewers whohave managed to secure a retail license for theirproducts and have attracted what amounts to acult following of beer drinkers.

Keen to investigate the commercial backgroundto this unique drinking phenomenon, I contactedDaniel Lowe of Fourpure and arranged to meethim on a Saturday afternoon at his brewery inSouth Bermondsey. It is situated in an industrialestate and difficult to find, but once inside theambience changes. Surrounded by fermentingand conditioning vessels with ample seating roomfor his many visitors, I put several questions toDaniel which he was only too pleased to answer.He and his brother Tom had acquired their kitfrom the Purity Brewery Company after theirrecent expansion. They have a brew length of 23barrels and a fermentation and conditioningperiod of 21 days!

I was also keenly interested in the licensing issues.They have a license to sell beer for 7 days a weekuntil 11.00 pm, although they have no plans at themoment to open other than Saturdays. Danieltold me that he had received enormous supportfrom the Southwark licensing authorities and fromlocal trading standards, with whom he has acted inan advisory capacity. Both of these have used hispremises for social events, which indicates thatthere is a substantial amount of communitysupport and activity in the area and goes some wayto explaining why it is so successful in attractingnew brewers.

As a working brewery, did they have plans toexpand this as a viable retail outlet? Daniel wasquite adamant that he had no intent ion ofcreating a bar but preferred to regard the facility as

a showcase for his beers. What then was hismarket? He explained that craft brewers wereexploring all kinds of markets and his beers arecurrently available at the Tate Modern, theNational Theatre and in an exclusive restaurant inthe Tower of London!

I turned the corner into the Partizan brewerywhere the premises are much smaller and there isclearly no room to expand. The beer was againexcellent and the venue well supported. Partizan,like virtually all of the premises on the Mile, isbuilt into the arch of the overhead railway, whichitself imparts a certain architectural attraction.Beer and railways seem to go together as naturallyas bubble and squeak.

I arrived at the Kernel too late - you need to getthere before 2.00p.m if you want to taste theirbeer. I was, however, cordially welcomed by one oftheir employees, Chun Lee, who told me that theyhad a “market style of trading”. I did not quiteunderstand what this meant until Chun told methat his full time job was in Borough Market. Itseems then that the remarkable ambience of thismarket is now spreading deep into Bermondseyand having a significant impact on the culture ofthe Mile.

Although some of the people I had spoken toprofessed to have no plans to expand, many ofthem had the facilities to do so. At the momentmicrobrewers in this country only claim 1.7 % ofthe total beer market, whilst in the U.S. this runs to11%. The overwhelming impression I was gettingon this trip was that given the quality of theproduct and its growing popularity, there are bigmarket opportunities here and it is only a matter oftime before they are exploited.

I was delighted therefore to find my view vindi-cated the closer I got to London Bridge. My nextstop was the Bottle Shop in Druid Street. Thisbusiness started as a retail shop in Canterbury. It was born out of proprietor Andrew Morgan’spersonal love for beer and I am so glad he hasdecided to share it. He and his partners havebeen in possession of the current premises for


F

just over eight months. Four months ago theyinstalled a mezzanine floor (do you see what Imean about potential?) and this has provided anextensive and comfortable drinking area. Mostof their business is still wholesale, but they havecreated a drinking establishment with a real buzzto it.

I spoke to events manager Laura Hunter whoclearly shares Andrew’s passion and was, thank-fully, most enthusiastic about this article. Lauraarranges bi-weekly tasting events and has openedthe premises to events rented out to the public.Laura also mentioned that they are starting toforge relationships with other brewers, which Iam pleased to say reinforces my long held viewthat pubs and breweries flourish better in clustersthan they do in isolation.

In Anspach & Hobday (virtually next door) Ihad the good fortune to speak to one of thebrewers, Paul Anspach, who also spoke about thehigh level of co-operation amongst the localbrewers. He told me they had plans to expandthe brewery into bigger premises and retain thecurrent site as a drinking venue with an experi-mental two and a half barrel plant.

I have spoken a great deal about the premisesand very little about the beer, as this was morethan adequately covered by Dave Botton. Iwould, however, like to mention an 8.5 ABVbottle conditioned dark beer called 1204 Tradi-tional barrel aged porter from Beer by Numbers.It was deep and sweet with a perfect balancebetween the black malts and the roasted barley.

The label on the back of the bottle carried thefollowing useful instructions: “Store this bottleupright and pour gently into the glass leaving thesediment behind”. Of course there is nothingnew about bottle conditioned beer and this pieceof advice reminded me of an article onWorthington White Shield written by the lateRichard Boston, who did so much to promoteCAMRA in its early days.

20 | Bermondsey Mile revisited - continued


Bermondsey Mile revisited - continued |21

Now Worthington White Shield, as everyschoolboy knows, should be poured with the bottleand the glass virtually level with each other. Theglass should then be gently lowered, ensuring thatthe beer is poured with perfect clarity and the sedi-ment stays in the bottle. After pursuing this ritual,Boston would then promptly pour the sedimentinto the glass. He did this, he said, for threereasons. First it made pouring the beer an art initself. Second he preferred the taste. But mostimportantly he loved the look of consternation onthe faces of the people watching him.

By this time I was suffering from multiple visionas I seemed to be seeing faces I had seen furtheralong the mile. This affliction was so severe that Ialmost missed my last stop, recently opened by theSouthwark Brewing Company. I spoke tohead brewer Andy Nichol who told me that theBrewery was the brain child of Peter Jackson.Peter is a retired consultant with 30 years experi-ence in sales and marketing. So my obvious firstquestion was what made them choose Southwark?Their researches revealed that the London Bridgearea was precisely what they were looking for: upand coming, hybrid and with a rich tradition inbeer and brewing. Hops from Kent were tradition-ally delivered to London Bridge (something Ishould have known) and it is the home of the HopExchange, a building dating back to the 1860s.There are several free houses in the area whichthey have identified as their key market. Thebrewery is a ten barrel plant and all the beers areconditioned in the cask. They brew three days aweek, currently have a retail license for Thursday,Friday and Saturday and have plans to open abrew pub. It is precisely the kind of new brewingventure that will benefit from the new businessrelationship that will develop from the MROoption.

I began this article by suggesting that there is aradical change in the nature of our drinkingvenues and that the Bermondsey Mile would bethe ideal location to test it out. I also challengedMr. Hiller’s assumption that the traditional pub isin decline. I am now left with the uncomfortablefeeling that this theory has yet to be tested by the

reception of the proposed new law. Will the pubcompanies start to produce new business plans andexplore the opportunities to encourage investment,as suggested in What’s Brewing? Or will theyrevert to type and cast a cloud over the industry bythreatening even more pub closures.

It was Shelley who said that there are periods inour history when “the cloud discharges itscollected lightning”. If I was a pubco I think Ishould be reaching for my umbrella.

John Temple

The Jolly Sailor, 43 Great Whyte,

Ramsey PE26 1HH

Tel 01487 813388

OPEN ALL DAY EVERY DAY FROM 11amFive Real Ales on permanently

FOOD SERVED DAILY Monday to Friday: 12 to 2.30, 6 to 9pm

Saturday: 12 to 9pm Sunday: 12 to 4pm

Sunday 1st December8pm Karaoke

Look out for our special

Valentine’s MenuBooking now being taken!




The AngelO U N D L E

4 S T O S Y T H ’ S L A N E • O U N D L E • P E 8 4 B G • 0 1 8 3 2 2 7 3 7 4 7 w w w. a n g e l o u n d l e . c o . u k

9 High Street, Easton on the Hill, PE9 3LR. Tel: 01780 763003 Email: [email protected]

Find us on Facebook: The Blue Bell

3 real ales, 1 real cider and 6 draught beersGame room, Sky & BT sport

Freshly prepared food Tuesday to Sunday.Our garden, bars and restaurants are available

for your Wedding, office or birthday party.

Celebrate St Valentine with us!Wednesday 11th to Saturday 14th

3 courses + coffee set menu £15.00 each

All Six Nations rugby matches showing4 pint Ale Pitcher £10 every day any time.

Monthly Open Mic night

This Coalheavers mini trip took us to Ely. Maybenot a place you would normally associate with alarge choice of beers, but we did pretty well. Theticket was £11.90 which is a bit steep for a 25minute journey but you can book in advancewhich will bring the price down a bit and groupsave tickets will knock a pound or two off.

The day’s first pub was The Fountain, anAdnams pub with three Adnams beers and acouple of guests including Purity Mad Goosewhich I had and really enjoyed. The pub was fairlyquiet but then we were there at midday.

The next pub we came to was a Greene Kingpub, The Prince Albert. We just walked straightpast as we don’t drink Greene King beer!

However, as we passed, I noticed a sign sayingnine beers available and was pretty sure GreeneKing do not do nine beers so they must have someguests, they did. Alongside four of their own beerswere Tim Taylors Landlord, Skinners CornishKnocker, Hogs Back TEA, and Milton Sparta, allof which were really good but were all £3.90 perpint. Sparta is always on in The Coalies and isonly £2.90! Nevertheless the pub was very busyand worth a visit.

Pub three was The West End House, an old, low-beamed pub with four or five beers on. Thelow beams are very low, so, if you are six feet tallor over, be very careful. Draught Bass was avail-able which I haven’t seen for a long time,alongside Sharp`s Doom bar, Purity Gold andAdnams Ghost Ship.

Our next pub was The Townhouse which hasbeen a good beer guide entrant for many years.This was quite a large pub with a separate eatingarea. 8 hand pumps awaited us with beers such asNethergate Suffolk County, Cliff Quay Clipper,Brighton Bier Fall Guy and Milton Tiki. Thebeers here were £3.40 a pint, but card carryingCAMRA members got a 20p discount. All thebeers in here were in very good nick.

Pub five was not really a pub but a deli that soldgreat looking food and had a menu of well over100 bottled beers. It is called 3At3. These were notyour run of the mill beers! I had never come acrossmost of them and virtually all were local beers,apart from the beers under the heading “RareSpanish Beers”. I had never heard of 3At3 but wasadvised to pay a visit. The prices were not too badconsidering the beers were all bottled and we werein Ely. One of our group had a Black WidowReserve at 12% for £6.95. It was lovely. If you goto Ely you must find 3At3.

Final pub of the day was The Liberty Belle. A fairly recent addition to the Ely pub scene, thiswas a great little pub with 7 beers waiting for us.Again, all the beers were fairly local with NewbyWyke Kingston Topaz, Grain Porter (fantastic), Jo C’s Norfolk Kiwi and Wolf Mild. There are nopumps here, you just place your order at the bar,pay and the chap goes out the back and pours thebeer straight from the cask and then brings it toyour table. Great.

That was the end of our trip to Ely and I waspleasantly surprised. Definitely worth a visit especially if you go to the Ely Beer Festival or thewinter festival.

Dave Botton


Coalheavers on tour |23

Coalies in Ely



PALMERSTONARMS82 Oundle Rd

www.palmerston-arms.co.uk

14 Ever-changing, gravity fed real ales Wood burner for winter

Opening Times

Mon - Thurs3-12pm

Fri and Sat12 - midnight

Sun12-11.30pm

VINYL NIGHTBring down your favourite records

Check Facebook for next event

UKELELE NIGHTEvery Thursday from 7.30pm

PHILOSOPHY NIGHTCheck Facebook for next event

LIVE MUSIC WEEKLY

from 4pm

For information on live entertainment go to:

Palmerston Arms

Check Facebook & local gig guides

The Rose & Crown in March

Easter Beerfest Friday 3rd – Monday 6th April 2015

PUB OPENING HOURSFriday, Saturday & Sunday:

12noon-midnight Monday: 12noon-11pm

Pub food served 12noon-8pm 41 St Peters Road, March, PE15 9NA Tel: 01354 652077 www.theroseandcrownmarch.co.uk

20+ Real Alesand Real

Ciders

LIVEMUSIC

(Sat & SunEvenings)

New beer from Kings Cliffe Brewery |25

2015 will see the 70th anniversary of the end ofWorld War II. To mark this occasion and alsorecognise the support and sacrifice made by theUSAAF 8th Air Force a Northamptonshirebrewery Kings Cliffe Brewery has produced a styleof beer that would have been available in 1945.

The Kings Cliffe Brewery is located less than amile from the end of the runway at RAF KingsCliffe or USAAF Station 367 as it was known to

US Army Air Force personnel. The Airfieldwas constructed in December 1942. It wasthe most northerly and furthest west of allEighth Air Force fighter stations. It was inthe 1st Air Division heavy bomber base areaand more than fifty miles west of any otherfighter airfield.

Major Jack Ilfrey 31 July 1918 - October 15,2004Promoted to Captain, in March1944 he went back to combat inEngland as commander of the79th Fighter Squadron, 20thFighter Group, based at RAF

Kings Cliffe. Aerial Victories: 7.5 confirmed and 2damaged. (ACE). Medals: Silver Star, Distin-guished Flying Cross with 5 OLC's and the AirMedal with 13 OLC's.

On 26 August 1943, the 20th Fighter Grouparrived from March AAF California. Aircraft ofthe 20th were identified by black and white stripesalong their cowlings and tails. The 20th becameknown as the “Loco Group” because of itsnumerous and successful attacks on locomotives.Aircraft from the 20th flew patrols over the EnglishChannel during D-Day in June 1944, andsupported the invasion force later that month byescorting bombers that struck forbidden targets inFrance, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The 20thFG converted to North American P51 Mustangs inJuly 1944 and continued to fly escort and fighter-bomber missions as the enemy retreated acrossFrance to the Siegfried Line. The group participatedin the airborne attack on the Netherlands inSeptember 1944, and escorted bombers toGermany and struck rail lines, trains, vehicles,barges, power stations, and other targets in andbeyond the Siegfried Line. The unit took part inthe Battle of the Bulge by escorting bombers to thebattle area. Flew patrols to support the airborneattack across the Rhine in March 1945, andcarried out escort and fighter-bomber missions.The USAAF departed RAF Kings Cliffe inOctober 1945.

Kings Cliffe Brewery’s commemora-tive beer, a porter called P51 payshomage to the North AmericanP51D Mustangs operated by the20th Fighter Group. KCB P51 is acollaboration between Jez O’NeilKCB Owner and David Smith a

home brewer from Cambridgeshire.

Working from an 1896 recipe found inan old book in Cambridge, the new beer has beenbrewed to suit a modern tastes and local water.After the ABV was checked, the porter came out at5.1% which dovetailed nicely with the name Porter5.1. Another homage is paid to the 20th FighterGroup on the pump clip as the P is Black with awhite outline which were the identifying coloursfor the squadrons aircraft.

Mike BlakesleyKCB Brewery Liaison Officer

Jack M Ilfrey North American P51D Mustang HAPPYJACKS GO BUGGY 1942 - 1944 Kings Cliffe

What’s in a name?

26 | CAMRA NWAF 2015

Where: The Roundhouse, Derby, DE24 8JEWhen: Open from Wednesday 11th – Saturday14th February 2015

In 2015 CAMRA’s flagship National Winter AlesFestival will return to Derby for the second yearrunning, with over 400 beers available the Festivalwill showcase some of the very best ales, ciders,perries, bottled world beers and mead in 3 sepa-rate areas.

Located beside the Pride Park exit of DerbyRailway Station (just 93 minutes from London)Derby’s historic Roundhouse could not be in amore convenient location.

Four Brewery Bars have been agreed: multi awardwinning Blue Monkey from Nottingham; innova-tive North Star from Derbyshire both in the MainHall, Derby’s very own Brunswick BrewingCompany in the Music Marquee and Yorkshire’sshinning gem Brass Castle in the Carriage Room.

The National Winter Ales Festival is home toCAMRA’s prestigious Champion Winter Beer ofBritain Competition which sees the 4 winter styles

of beer (porters, stouts, old ales/strong milds andbarley wine/strong old ales) being gathered fromacross the UK to be judged and a winner declared.Though the festival itself has lots of pale beers andgolden ales to choose from too.

The website www.nwaf.org.uk will be updatedregularly with details of admission prices, liveentertainment, tutored tastings and special hotelrates thanks to our partners atwww.visitderby.co.uk. There are no advancetickets as this is a pay on the door event. Wellbehaved and supervised under 18s are welcomeduntil 19:00 each evening, after which they mustleave due to a licencing requirement.

The feedback from 2014 revealed that ourcustomers loved the building, the beer quality andselection as well as the hot and cold food whichwas available. So why not join them and comeand see Derby at its beery best!!

Cheers!

Gillian Hough Organiser National Winter Ales Festival

CAMRA’s National WinterAles Festival 2015


Diary dates |27

Diary datesJanuaryFri 30th - Sat 31st 6th CAMRA Elysian WinterBeer Festival. Venue: Maltings Ship Lane Ely. Location is next to the riverapproximately 5 minute’s walkfrom Ely railway station.Opening hours: Friday 10:30 to22:00 Saturday 11:00 to 20:00.There will be 70 beers onincluding a bar run by Ely’s veryown 3 Blind Mice brewery.There will also be 14-16 ciders.

FebruaryTuesday 17th Committeemeeting The Cherry Tree,Woodston PE2 9PB. 8.30pm.

All branch members welcome,please bring membership card.

Monday 23rd Pie Night atLetter B, Whittlesey. DepartBrewery Tap at 7pm return by11pm. Cost: £16 (transport+meal). Please contact SocialSecretary John Hunt to bookplaces.

MarchTuesday 10th Committeemeeting The Blue Bell,Werrington. PE4 6RU. 8.30pm.All branch members welcome,please bring membership card.

Wednesday 11th - Friday13th - 31st London DrinkerBeer And Cider FestivalCamden Centre BidboroughStreet London WC1H 9AU.150 real ales imported beers(including American beers) cidersand perries.

CAMRA meetings, socials and beer festivals in the coming months

FebruaryMon 2nd Unplugged Charters, City Centre

Fri 6th Code Red Fayre Spot, Bretton

Mind the Gap Swiss Cottage, Woodston

Revolver Stone Loach, Market Deeping

Sat 7th Frankly My Dear Swiss Cottage, Woodston

The Recruits Charters, City Centre

The Expletives Ploughman, Werrington

Redemption Prince of Wales F, Castor

Wed 11th Pint of Poetry & a Dash of Drama Charters, City Centre

Fri 13th Children of the RevolutionPalmerston Arms,Oundle Rd

Cuttin’ Loose Swiss Cottage, Woodston

Sat 14th Hooker Cook Inn, Werrington

Radius 45 Ploughman, Werrington

Sat 21st Doghouse Prince of Wales F, Castor

Dave Ellis Blues Charters, City Centre

Sat 28th Greg McDonald Prince of Wales F, Castor

Dizzy Miss Lizzy’s Charters, City Centre

MarchMon 2nd Unplugged Charters, City Centre

Sat 7th CJ Hatt Prince of Wales F, Castor

Sat 14th DB5 Prince of Wales F, Castor

The Lazoons Charters, City Centre

Fri 20th Mainstreet Charters, City Centre

Sat 21st Mistreated Prince of Wales F, Castor

Sat 28th Pandora’s Box Prince of Wales F, Castor

Gig guide

29 North Street, Stanground PE2 8HR.

Tel: 01733 753544Friendly village pub with riverside mooring.

Up to 4 Real Ales availableLarge Garden • Dogs Welcome

BT SportFood Served:

Tues to Sun 12 - 2.30pm Mon to Sat 6pm - 8pm

BEER FESTIVALFRI 17 APRIL - SUN 19 APRIL

28 |

Are you one of those people for whom friends andfamily find it difficult to buy gifts? Did you receiveunderwear and socks for Christmas again? Do youhave a “special” birthday this year? If you haveanswered “Yes” to any one of these questions thenmaybe it's time to ask for CAMRA Membership, oran upgrade to CAMRA Life Membership, as a gift.

Membership rates for Full Single Members startat £24.00 and concessions (under 26 or over 60)start at £16.50. (See advert on page 29). Lifemembership is somewhat more expensive startingat £432 for Full Life Membership and £297 forOver 60 Life Membership. With all of the benefitsaccruing to CAMRA Members(www.camra.org.uk/benefits) it represents excellent

value for money. Even so, I’m just so glad that Ibecame a Life Member when it only cost around£100 to do so.

Go on! Join the country’s most successfulconsumer organisation (with 168,553 members atthe time of writing). You know it makes sense!

Bob Melville

Membership Matters


30 | CAMRA ContactsBranch CommitteeSecretary: Dickie Bird4 Cissbury Ring,WerringtonPeterborough, PE4 6QH01733 574226 (tel & fax)07731 993896 [email protected]

Chairman: David Murray01733 [email protected]

Treasurer: Paul Beecham01733 31198107710 [email protected]

Vice Chair:Matthew Mace07809 [email protected]

Social Sec: John Hunt07923 [email protected]

Pubs Officer: John Temple07905 051 [email protected]

Press Officer:Mike Blakesley01733 390828 (h) 07747 617527 (m)[email protected]

Young Members: Kara [email protected]

Membership: Bob Melville07941 [email protected]

Festival Org:Mike Lane07850 [email protected]

LocAle Officer: Dave McLennan01733 346059 (h) 07854 642773 (m)[email protected]

Webmaster: Harry [email protected]

Brewery Liaison OfficersBlue Bell: John Hunt07923 489917

Bexar County Brewery: Dave Botton01733 345475

Castor Ales:Mike Lane07850 334203

Digfield: Dave Waller07821 912605

Elgoods: John Hunt07923 489917

Hopshackle: Noel Ryland07944 869656

Kings Cliffe Brewery:Mike Blakesley07747 617527

Melbourn:Vacant

Mile Tree Brewery:Steve Williams07756 066503

Nene Valley: Bob Melville07941 246693

Oakham Ales: Dave Allett07966 344417

Tydd Steam: John Hunt07923 489917

Shoulder of Mutton Brewery:John Temple07905 051 312

Star Brewing Company: Dave McLennan - 07854642773

Xtreme Ales:Matt Mace07809 629241

Trading Standards08545 040506www.consumerdirect.gov.ukCheck out our website at:www.real-ale.org.uk

Pub Merit Awards & Gold AwardsDoes your local pub have excellent beer, friendly staff, a great atmosphere/ community spirit, or havethey introduced additional hand pumps? If so nominate them for Gold or Merit Award. The newMerit Award is for pubs that are continuously outstanding, so if you know of a deserving pub withinthe branch area, please complete the form below indicating Gold or Merit Award and post to thesecretary or email nominations to [email protected]. Pub name:

Pub address/town/village:

Reason for award:

Your name:

Your phone number or e-mail address:

Your membership number:

A great welcome awaits you at The Farmers, Yaxley. We are famous for our fresh vegetables and great carverymeats, succulent and served with all the trimmings, then finished off with a tantalising hot or cold dessert!

Check out our lunch-time grill menus and our ever-changing specials boards. Put it all together with three fine cask ales and you have the perfect place to enjoy dinner with friends or a family celebration. We have a self-contained function suite which is ideal for parties, weddings and all of life’s celebrations.

So if you’ve not been before give us a try and you’ll bepleasantly surprised.

More than just a Carvery!

At Least Three

Real Ales!

Open Every Day10am - 5.30pm All Day Menu & Coffee

Midday - 2:30pm Carvery & Specials Menu5:30pm - LATE Carvery & Grill MenuSunday Open From 12 Noon - 9pm

All Day Carvery

Big

Breakfast

every

Sat 8

to 11

am

Help yo

ursel

f fro

m the c

arve

ry,

as m

uch a

s you

can

eat f

or

only £5.95!

200 Broadway, Yaxley Tel: 01733 244885Email: [email protected] www.thefarmersyaxley.co.uk

Planning a wedding or special family event? We have lots of packages available including our new

Green Room facility. Please call for further details.

beer around ere issue 181

Documents

new year

locale pub

pmp eterborough camra

behalf of camra

brewery news page

new beers

real ales

peterborough branch