FREEplease take one

Peterborough & District Branch of CAMRA | www.peterborough-camra.org.uk

Also inside Pub News • PBF 2013 PreviewGigs Guide • Local Brewery Update and more!

Are you ready?Issue 172 | August / September 2013

b a eBeer Around ’Ere

Third week in August, Embankment, beer,cider, wine, food and loads of happy faces.What’s this all about? Well unless you’ve

been on the planet Venus for the last few years, itmeans the Peterborough Beer Festival has rolledinto town. All details regarding the Festival areincluded in this issue of BAE. Application formshaving been sent out to our members, the eagerband of unpaid volunteers are awaiting thestarting gun. Please note that we have introducedsome changes to the staffing conditions this yearand the deadline for registering applications isAugust 2nd.

It seems that CAMRA have upset the bigcheese at pubco, Enterprise Inns. A surveyconducted earlier this year by CAMRA foundthat more than half of lessees tied to buying beerfrom large national pub companies earn less thanthe minimum wage. Over 50 per cent earned lessthan £10,000 a year with only a minority makingover £45,000. The higher earners were mainlythose able to buy beer from any supplier. Boss ofEnterprise, Ted Tuppen, was none too pleasedthat the survey presented by CAMRA and the AllParty Parliamentary Save the Pub Groupappeared ‘flawed, perhaps misrepresented informa-tion’. Well he would of course. He stated that“profit potential” of an Enterprise pub was£34,000 before taking into account the benefit of“free living accommodation”. He omitted tomention the fact that there was a huge gapbetween “average profit potential” and actualearnings.

Representations have been made to the government in order to implement a new code ofpractice and an adjudicator, to settle disputesbetween licensees and pub owners. This hascome about because in spite of four officialreports in a decade highlighting the problemsfaced by publicans, so called self -regulation wasnot working. The proposals are designed toensure tied pubs are no worse off than free-of -tie

pubs and allow them to sell a guest beer. CAMRAsays the reform was needed because the bigpubcos had failed to deliver effective self-regulation.

We have read over the last year or so about thethreat to one of Werrington’s popular communitypubs. I refer to The Ploughman (or WerringtonCentral ) as it’s also tagged. Giant supermarketTesco wanted to flatten it so they can park acouple of their artic lorries overnight on the site.They also appear to want the land currently occu-pied by The Boro Bar (formally The Boys Head)on Oundle Road Woodston, and turn it into oneof their Tesco Express stores. Point 1; this appli-cation was kept very quiet from local residents.Point 2; is there a need for another supermarketin that area when, only a couple of hundred yardsdown the same road there’s an extremely well runfamily store as big as any Tesco Express? In theother direction, less than a quarter of a mile sitsanother supermarket. Question. Why did ourlocal council not object to this proposal? Theyobviously don’t care about the loss of yet anotherpub to the bulldozers!

So folks, start saving your pennies and comealong to the PBF starting on Tuesday 20thAugust. Who knows it may be dry for a change!

See you there.

David Murray - Branch Chairman.

Peterborough Branch Website |www.real-ale.org.uk

Chairman’s Corner | 3

Chairman’s Corner

ARE YOU MISSING OUT?Only the beer-stained copy left?

Get Beer Around Ere delivered to your door!For a year (6 issues) send a £3.30 for second

class or £3.90 for 1st Class cheque/POpayable to “Peterborough CAMRA” and your

address to:-Daryl Ling, 19 Lidgate Close, OrtonLongueville Peterborough PE2 7ZA

It’s that time of year again, Beer Festival time!But what to do when the Festival isn’t open?How about visiting some of Peterborough’s

fantastic real ale pubs. Here is a quick guide to aselected choice .

Charters, River Nene, PE1 1EHClosest Pub to the Festival open from midday.Large beer garden if the weather is kind. 12 realale Hand Pumps, normally 5 Oakham and 7guest beers. 3 Ciders or Perry also available.

The Cherry Tree, Oundle Rd, PE2 9PBA fantastic community pub with a large beergarden and covered area. Well-known forsupporting local music for decades. A very wellkept pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord on permanently with a rotating selection of LocAles. Food served lunchtimes.

Palmerston Arms, 82 Oundle Road, PE2 9PAOpening from 10am during the Festival. The pubwill have 18 real ales to choose from. The Pubs’Ukulele Band will be playing at the Beer Festivalon Friday afternoon.

Coalheavers Arms, Park Street, PE2 9BHThe Pub will open from 11am during the Festival.8 real ales will be available with a split betweenMilton Beers and Guest Ales. Tom the Landlordhas also announced the dates for the nextCoalheavers Beer Festival which will be 19th –22nd of September.

The Draper’s Arms, 29-31 Cowgate, PE1 1LZand College Arms, 40 Broadway, PE1 1RSWetherspoon pubs open from 9am to serve realale and breakfast. A wide selection of ales avail-able across both pubs. The Drapers is veryhandy for the Bus & Train Stations.

The Ostrich, 17 North Street, PE1 2RAThe new Gold Award pub opens from 11am andhas 5 real ales available mainly from LocAle brew-

eries. Peterborough CAMRA members can get adiscount on Ales, just ask behind the bar fordetails.

Hand & Heart, 12 Highbury Street, PE1 3BEA quick ride on the Citi 1 bus takes you to thisreal ale mecca! Opening at 11am on the Tuesdayof the Beer Festival and normal hours for theremainder of the Festival. The date for the nextHand & Heart Beer and Music Festival has beenannounced and is from the 26th – 30thSeptember, a must for your diary.

Other NewsIn the last issue of BAE it was reported that theLime Tree, Paston, had closed. This has nowreopened under the stewardship of Pauline Klein& Mike Thomson. The Lime Tree is anEnterprise Inn pub and in the past has served noreal ale.

The Office on Oundle Road, also reportedclosed in the last issue of BAE, has been boughtby Enterprise Inns. It is still unclear when thepub will reopen.

The Boy’s Head, also on Oundle Road, looksset never to be a pub again. Strong rumours anda report in the Peterborough Telegraph suggestthat Tesco are planning to turn the pub into oneof its Express stores.

The Shoulder of Mutton at Weldon continuesto prosper. Landlords Bogdan and Rada (no,she’s not an actress) have been there now for sixmonths and have converted the old backbar/games room into a smart new restaurant.Four real ales on offer from Potbelly, JulianChurch and other guest ales.

At Gretton there has been a change of licenseeat the Bluebell. Former landlord Jim Caulfieldsadly passed away late last year and until recentlythe pub has been run by regulars on a rota basis.

Pub News Around ‘Ere

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However Jim’s widow Barbara is now the landladyand a beachwear party to celebrate the grandreopening was held at the start of June. Three alesare on offer, all from the Greene King stable.

After a long period of closure the White Swanat Harringworth was due to reopen in mid-June.Details are a little on the sketchy side but it looksas though an awful lot of money has been spenton this splendid old inn, set in the shadow ofBritain’s longest viaduct. The Royal Oak inWalton has now been demolished.

The George Hotel, Whittlesey, held a ‘Meet theBrewer’ night on the 27th of June with the Brewerfrom Adnams talking about real ale.

Residents in West Town are campaigning to stopthe transformation of the old Westwood Pub andturning it into shops and takeaways.

Neil Holmes - Pubs OfficerEmail: pubs-officer@real-ale.org.uk

Pub News| 5

www.real-ale.org.uk

Sharon and Jim Trevor of Jim’s Yard in Stamfordand The Beehive in Peterborough have recentlypurchased the freehold of the Six Bells inWitham-on-the Hill, between Stamford andBourne, from Punch. ‘It needs a little TLC, sowon’t reopen until January at the earliest’ saidSharon. ‘It will be first and foremost a warm andwelcoming pub, serving great local ales and a fairlysimple menu. It will have a casual atmosphere andwill include three letting rooms and an authenticwood burning oven’ she added. Business at theother two establishments will be unaffected.

The Bridge at Crowland reopened on June29th. Currently offering two changing real ales,this could increase depending on demand.Licencees Kev and Lez can be contacted on 01733

688232 or yeoldbridgeinn@hotmail.co.uk

The Ruddy Duck at Peakirk hold their annualone-day beer and music festival on August 10thfrom 2pm. Bands include the Rocket Dogs, TheNuggets and DB5.

A fortnightly Folk music club has been intro-duced at the Tobie Norris in Stamford. TheSunday night events alternate between acousticconcerts and jam sessions

The Five Horseshoes at Barholm haveannounced two summer ‘Groovy Foods’ barbe-cues, on Saturday August 17th (with music from

Continued Overleaf

SOUTH LINCS NEWS

The White Horse, Baston

Inside the Five Horseshoes, Barholm

PLOUGHMAN SAVED ! Plans by Tesco to demolish The Ploughman pubin Werrington have been scrapped! The pub hasbeen under threat for the last four years. Tescomade the decision not to proceed with their plansdue to ‘economical factors’. Licensee of The Ploughman, Andy Simmonds was over themoon with the news and, can now look forwardto continuing his good work in turning this pubinto a true community venue for locals.

‘Pennyless’) and Bank Holiday Monday, 26th(with ‘The Collaborators’).

The White Horse (formerly the Spinning Wheel)at Baston reopened as a freehouse on July 13th.New owner Mark Richardson has installed fivefull time and several part-time staff, and hope tomake it ‘a great British pub at the centre of thecommunity’. Four real ales are available includingtwo ‘LocAles’.

The Hare and Hounds at Greatford now offersan extensive lunchtime and evening food menu ona daily basis, including Sunday roasts. Don’t tryto book a table though – owner Steve Rigby said‘we’re a proper pub, not a restaurant. Just comealong find table and order at the bar’. With anever-evolving range of 7 real ales available, there’sno shortage of choice for something to wash it alldown with.

The Grimsthorpe Festival to be held in thecastle grounds on August Bank Holiday Monday

will include a beer festival concentrating on localmicro-breweries. Commencing 10am, the eventalso features up to 100 bands on five stages,classic cars and a fly past by the memorial flight.Music and bar starts at 11. There’s an £8 entry fee(£6 concessions, £4 kids) but parking is free.

RIP SectionBatemans have been given planning permission toturn the Hit or Miss in Foundry Road, Stamfordinto a four-bedroom house, and build a furtherthree houses on the car park.

North of Bourne, the long-closed Kings Headat Morton is to be demolished to make way for asupermarket. The building is situated within aconservation area but is not listed, and was seri-ously damaged in an arson attack several yearsago. The developers have promised to design thenew building in a style to ‘respect the history andcharacter of the area’

Chris Shilling

6 | Pub News - continued

SOUTH LINCS NEWS - CONTINUED

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The latest instalment of The Coalheaversnational quest to find beer heaven onceagain took us to West Yorkshire. This

time it was Wakefield. I didn`t really know what toexpect from Wakefield, my image of it was a placewhere they talk funny, love Tetley Bitter and playthe wrong sort of rugby. I`m happy to say we wereall very much taken with Wakefield. Great pubs,people and beer. It’s only £16 on the train and isonly a 70 minute journey.

Pub number one was two miles out of Wakefieldbut it had been recommended so a quick taxi rideand we were at The Kings Arms in Heath. This isa great Ossett owned pub with eight beers on,four Ossetts, Tetley Bitter of course and threeguests. The smallish bar is covered in oakpanelling and there is a nice smell in the pubcoming from the gas lighting that is still used here.

Pub number two was The Black Rock in centralWakefield. I liked this pub, a typical town centreboozer, but in a good way. The Good Beer Guidesays they have three beers on but there were actu-ally four, which was a bonus. Unfortunately thechoice wasn`t great. Tetley, Adnams Bitter,Kelham Island Pale Rider and Oakham Bishop’sFarewell. They get everywhere don`t they ? This isa former Tetley house and anyone from up North

will tell you the Tetley around there is muchbetter than anywhere else. To test this theorymyself and Urch decided to try a pint, and doyou know what? It was just as bland and boringas any other Tetley bitter I`ve had anywhere else. Ifyou ever visit this pub, go while still fairly sober asthe steps down to the gents toilet are really steepand there is even a danger sign at the top.

The next pub was possibly the best pub of theday. It was the Wakefield Labour Club, locallyknown as The Red Shed, and for obviousreasons. It is a large wooden shed and it ispainted bright red. It looks quite big from outsidebut a third of it is cellar, kitchens and toilets,another third is the function room and the rest isthe bar. A small bar yes but well armed with fivebeers only 1 of which I had come across before. I would tell you what the others were but I lostmy notes. Again. All I can remember is Geevesand Five Towns and all the beers were top notch.The people in there were very friendly and thelandlord came from behind the bar and had a longchat with us about beers and pubs locally andgenerally. One of the locals, slightly worse for wearwas trying to direct us to a bar with 10 beersalways on. He couldn`t remember what it was

www.real-ale.org.uk

Coalies crew go north | 7

Continued Overleaf

Wakey, Wakey!! Coalies go to West Yorkshire (Again)

The Red Shed

called but gave us directions and then he gave usthe directions again and then again. So off wewent and came across The Fernandes BreweryTap. His directions were spot on all three times,though I didn`t have the heart to tell him that wasour next destination anyway.

The Fernendes Brewery Tap was excellent andhad 10 beers on. There were four Fernandes beerson, a couple from Ossett, an Orkney, a Fullersand a couple more. You have to go up two flightsof stairs to get to the bar which is quite dark witha wooden floor but is quite spacious and isadorned with old local pub signs, some of whichwere huge. The first floor of this pub was a lagerand continental beers bar but didn’t open untilthe evening so we missed it.

Next stop was a quick walk to The Bull andFairhouse. I`m sure the name has some historicalmeaning. This was an ok pub. There were notmany people in so there was not much of anatmosphere but the beer was okay. This pub isthe brewery tap for Great Heck Brewery. Not toosure what beers were on but there were four GreatHeck beers, an Ossett and three other guestbeers so a good selection really.

Next pub was Harry`s Bar, which doesn’t openuntil 4pm on a Saturday. We got there about fiveish and it was packed. Luckily there was a nicecourtyard so we sat outside and enjoyed beerssuch as Leeds, Ossett (again) Bobs BrewingCompany and a couple of others. Can’t really saywhat it was like inside as there were so manypeople in there.

A short walk round the corner and we came toThe Hop which is one of a small chain of pubsowned by Ossett. I think there was an Ossettbeer in every pub we visited, but I`m notcomplaining. This looked quite old from outsidebut very new inside and was once again very busywith three Ossett beers and five guests. Yes, theguests out numbered the house beers. It’s ashame a lot more tied pubs can’t or won’t havemore guest beers. Even half and half would begood.

Time to head to our last pub for the day, HenryBoons, brewery tap for Clarks Brewery and rightnext to the station. It is quite an old looking pubbut quite nice inside with five or six beers on. I`venever really been a fan of Clarks but I had oneanyway. It was okay. Better than one of the guestbeers a couple of our tour party had which wasquite undrinkable but the pub is still definitelyworth a visit if you are ever in Wakefield and isvery convenient for the station.

One thing to remember when drinking inYorkshire is that you are in sparkler country. If you ask they will take it off but you will getcomments such as “ Oh you must beSoutherners” or even more sneeringly “ only if youreally want a flat pint”. People’s views are dividedon sparklers but I think they squeeze the life outof the beer and the taste. That was the only slightdown to a great day in Wakey and we all said wewould go back again.

Dave Botton

www.real-ale.org.uk

8 | Coalies crew go north - continued

Kings Arms - Heath

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12 Highbury Street, Millfield, Peterborough PE1 3BE01733 564653 www.thehandandheart.com

Celebrating 75 years of trading, this back-street local is a well kept secret just one milefrom Peterborough City Centre! Citi One Stagecoach Bus stops on Lincoln Rd, just

200 yards from the pub.

The only pub within Cambridgeshire to belisted in CAMRA’s National Inventory

of Historic Pub Interiors.

Real Ale is our passion with five ales on tapand a micro brewery opening soon!

Well maintained, family friendly garden.

Well behaved dogs and walkers welcome.

What’s On at ‘The Hand’Tuesday 20th August

Opening 12 noon so visitors to the Peterborough Beer Fest 36

can have a drink while waiting.

Monday 26th August

Open 12 noon, and it’s Bram’s 55th Birthday Party, numerous

special beers & live music on offer (bands to be confirmed)

Thursday 26th - Monday 30th September

4th Autumn Beer & Music Fest - In aid of Help 4 Heroes,

approx 75 beers & ciders (inc from all new LocAle breweries)

Live bands in the garden every evening.

Scan to find uson Facebook

10 CONSECUTIVEYEARS

in the GoodBeer Guide

Castor AlesCastor Ales thoroughly enjoyed hosting CAMRA’sMighty Micros Tour on 1st June, supported byfriends and family with entertainment provided bythe brewery band Captain Backwash and theBarley Boys and Girl Rafter Raisers. It has been abusy time for the brewery following beer festivals atBury St Edmunds and Cambridge. CastorwareMild featured for the first time at Bury StEdmunds and a new beer was brewed for the 40thCambridge beer festival called Life Begins At…..!

Castor Ales also supported the Ploughman’sbeer festival by brewing a special beer for theoccasion called Hopping Toad. 10 pence per pintfrom the sales of this brew at the festivalcontributed to The Ploughman’s Kelly SimmondsFund for the Respiratory Sleep Study Unit atPapworth Hospital. Over £4000 was raised, welldone to everyone. The Castor KyneburghaFestival will be featuring Castor Ales over theweekend of 12th/13th July and we are all lookingforward the 36th Peterborough Beer Festival.

Oakham Ales Oakham Ales will be celebrating 20 years in thebusiness on the 13th September yes 20 yearssince John Wood unleashed his liquid delightsupon us. Things have changed dramatically sincethen, the size of the operation unimaginable fromthose days. A full feature on the 20 years willappear in BAE later in the year.

Amongst other snippets from the brewery Citrawas voted Champion Beer at the recent Rail AleFestival at Barrow Hill Roundhouse nearChesterfield whilst Eugene's Lair picked up asilver at the Nuneaton Beer Festival.

Endless Summer at 3.4% abv is now available tillSeptember & Brigand at 5% will be the nextOakadamy beer. Green Jack the latest guestOakadamy brewery has come up with PeachWheat at 3.9% abv, this will be followed byGilbert’s Fridge at 4.1% abv in September.

Sales of Oaple the draught cider have goneremarkably well with half the total stock sold injust five weeks. A visit to the brewery for localCAMRA members & associates is booked in forSaturday 26th October with full details of time &numbers in the next issue of BAE.

Blue BellThe brewery is doing well at the moment and isgaining sales in the private market for weddingsand parties. Emma has been looking to increaseher cask beer sales and has been looking toexpand sales to the Stamford and Bourne area.Bottle-conditioned beer sales are still very healthyespecially in the Lincoln Co-op branches. Emmahas done a tasting at their Long Sutton store.Emma has recently bottled some Ingle Dingle ona trial basis.

ElgoodsThe current seasonal beer is Easy Spider and willbe replaced next month by Prawn Free at 3.7%,Double Dog at 6.5% is being bottled as is aversion of Double Dog with Port added. The kegIrish stout trialled in Peterborough was deemed asuccess and is now on sale in a further eightElgoods tenancies. The bulk of the initial orderwas for export.

The keg wheat beer with added apple juice thatwe tried during the recent branch visit to thebrewery is going on trial in a free trade pub inNorthampton called the Wig and Pen. At themoment there is no further news on the Lambicstyle beers currently under development.

Tydd SteamWill is currently developing a recipe for the PBFspecial but it is likely to be around 5% and willcontain honey. White Rabbit is being brewed forthe third time and this will see donations toBreast Cancer Care exceed a thousand pounds.

The beer will not be brewed in the near futureas Will has exhausted his supply of Eldorado

Brewery News

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10 | BLO Reports

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BLO Reports | 11

hops with this batch and will have to wait till nextyears harvest before he can buy any more. Salesare still very strong with the beers generally sellingout within a couple of weeks of brewing

Bexar County BreweryThe brewery has continued to make its presenceknown both locally and further afield. Thebrewery is now producing beers both on the fullsized plant and the much smaller experimental kitallowing for a wide range of beers to be created.This use of the smaller plant has enabled thebrewery to create suitably smaller quantities forlocal pubs and festivals.

Bexar County was fortunate enough to havefour beers at the recent Cambridge Beer Festivalwith another four different ales on tap at theMaypole pub which was situated next door to thefestival. Other beer festivals to take the beers haveincluded Newark, Just Beer Micropub in Newark,Green Man in Grantchester and the Dragon pubfestival in Werrington. Comments towards thebeers have been entirely positive and they havebeen well received.

Future beer festivals to take the beers willinclude the Ploughman in Werrington, Ely andthe Peterborough Beer Festival in August whichwill have five beers available.

There have been collaborations with HandDrawn Monkey in Huddersfield where two beerswere produced in two days with recipes’ comingfrom Bexar and HDM. The first beer to beproduced and released to the wild was named123.45 which is an indication of the ’bitteringunits’ attained in the brew. The second is currentlybeing matured over pine needles and yarrow in anoak cask in Huddersfield! It will be a 6.8% beer.

The brewery has played host to a number ofvisiting parties including ESP Magazine, ‘Pints &Pubs’ the internet bloggers, The CambridgeUniversity Real Ale Society and the Gruftons (agroup of local beer enthusiasts) who helped in thebrewing of a festival special for the PeterboroughBeer Festival.

A recent arrangement with Liberty Beer ofLondon secured the availability of 18 firkins to thespecialist beer market within the capital. Furtherarrangements may follow. A similar amount hasbeen shipped to a specialist pub in London SW2.

The number of beers is increasing and recentcreations have so far included:-No Tengo Leche (I don’t have milk). A 5.8% milk

stout. Negra Como tu Corazon (Black like yourheart). 5.8%. Humo y Feugo (Smoke & Fire) a3.9% ale dry ‘hopped’ with Lapsang Souchong teaand Vanilla Coffee Mild at 3.9% which containscoffee and Tonka beans.

www.real-ale.org.uk

8th -11th August 2013

50+ Ales, Craft Keg,Ciders & Perries

Food served all day

Live Music

Foundry Road, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 2PPt. 01780 755141 w. jollybrewer.com

12 | Please support our advertisers

Enjoy real food at The Rose and Crown in Thorney, an old fashioned, welcoming, Victorian country pub only a short journeyeast of Peterborough, past Eye on the A47. Our food is cooked by professional chefs using fresh products and served by attentive staff.

We have lovely summer seating to the front and a grassed area to theside to enjoy the sunshine. Also well-behaved dogs are welcome

outside and in the public bar.

While the weather is cold, fires are blazing in the hearths and the pubis candle lit at night, and offers a good selection of real ales and

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To reserve, call us on 01733 270546.

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REAL ALES • REAL FOOD REAL FIRES • REAL PUB!

In the top 3 ‘Restaurants in Peterborough’ reviews

The annual solstice trip to Southwoldconsisted of the usual CAMRA membersand so with a barrel of Broadside kindly

donated by Adnams, we settled down for a week ofexcellent Adnams Ales and donated our beermoney to the RNLI.

One evening in the campsite, the discussionarose of a potential brewery trip to Lacons inGreat Yarmouth. After our chairman had attendedthe recent opening ceremony for Lacons, WillWood (formerly of Oakham) offered the solsticecampers a brewery trip. Hands quickly went up tosee who would be interested in a trip to GreatYarmouth to frequent the brewery.

The following day the whole of the Solsticecampers invaded the brewery. Members turned upby car, bus pass & one intrepid cyclist did the 30miles to Great Yarmouth on his pushbike.On arrival, Will presented us with a choice of two

of his beers. Encore 3.8% and Legacy 4.4%. Bothvery quaffable.

After an absence of 45 years, Lacons brewery hasreturned home to Great Yarmouth. Over 250 yearsof rich brewing history has been combined withthe expertise of acclaimed, multi award winningbrewer Will Wood to create a contemporary rangeof fine craft ales. Will has crafted a range of alesfrom the highest quality ingredients sourced from

around the world. The ales are brewed with theoriginal Lacons yeast which has been preserved inthe National Yeast Bank for many decades. Threedistinct ales have been brewed to create theirpermanent range, these are Encore 3.8%, Legacy4.4% and Affinity 4.8%.

The refurbishment of the brewery had beencarried out to an excellent standard with a BreweryTap which was mainly being used for functions,museum, visitor centre and a courtyard area withbenches where you can to enjoy a pint.

Within the confines of the courtyard lies a visitorcentre that embraces the unique story of Laconsthrough the centuries. Along with a museumwhich houses an extensive range of artefacts andmemorabilia. The collection maps the rich journeyfrom the establishment of Lacons in 1760 in GreatYarmouth’s medieval rows, through to itssuccessful move into a purpose built brewery thathad foundations laid in June 1895.

On discussion with Will he is in the process ofcreating a special brew for the Peterborough BeerFestival.

Definitely a recommendation for anyone in theSuffolk area, an excellent pint! Thanks again toWill and all at Lacons brewery.

Kevin & Jackie Fordham

Trip to the East | 13

Falcon swoops on Southwold Solstice

The LocAle scheme is a successful initiativeby CAMRA to highlight pubs servinglocally brewed ales. The Peterborough &

District branch of CAMRA also likes to highlightthe brewers of these fine local ales and we do thisby running our Mighty Micros trips.

In total, 39 CAMRA members departed fromthe Brewery Tap, Peterborough at 11am andheaded for our first visit to Castor Ales in theeponymous village. Duncan Vessey, the ownerand brewer had already prompted the SocialSecretary to give an advance order for the complimentary beers and this was phonedthrough en route! This high level of organisationcontinued on arrival where we were all greetedwith pints of Roman Gold and the new and excel-lent mild, Castorware. The beers were splendid aswas the welcome from Duncan and his wifeGillian. More was to come as they had organisedbacon and sausage rolls for us all served by a veryfriendly team. Also we were fortunate to haveCaptain Backwash to entertain us with traditionalfolk music.

Gillian is a member of Captain Backwash andthe music proved to be a perfect background to awonderful visit. We all stayed in the back gardenmingling with some of the villagers and enjoyingthe rare English sunshine, fine food and tastybeer while Duncan showed small groups around

his tiny but perfectly formed brewery. The visitwas almost reminiscent of a traditional CountryFayre and was greatly enjoyed by all. Castor Alesmay be small but the welcome we received wasvery big indeed.

We then re-joined the coach for a pleasant driveover the Northamptonshire border to Oundle andthe next visit. Due to increasing demand, DigfieldAles have recently re-located to bigger premiseson the outskirts of Oundle and we were met thereby Mike Cohrs and Paul Waring. Firstly we wereshown to three casks in the store room andencouraged to try samples of Fools Nook, MarchHare and Shacklebush. The beers were all inexcellent form and it is easy to see why demandfor Digfield beers is so high. Paul then proudlyshowed us around the new brewery kit and gavean entertaining talk on how the Digfield beers areproduced. Finally we were treated to French breadand cheese and pickles etc. This was a perfectaccompaniment to the beers of which there was avery generous supply! Mike and Paul then madesure we all took away a brewery glass as asouvenir of the visit. This was a gesture that wasin keeping with the welcome that we received, andthat was much appreciated by everyone.Finally we took a short drive to the last of our

brewery visits. Nene Valley Brewery are situatedon the main road into Oundle and are found in avery smartly renovated building. Here we were

Micro Breweries Trip | 15

met by one of the owners and brewer DickSimpson. Dick sensed that we did not needanother talk on the production of beer and aftermaking sure that we all had a pint in hand he gavea very informative talk on the brewery's recenthistory and its ethos. Dick also highlighted theambitious plans for the site. Dick and his teamare determined to embrace the community ofOundle and along with fellow brewers Digfield, arevery proud to have brought brewing back to whatwas once a major brewing town. This local pride isapparent in the amount of visitors from the townand surrounding area coming to buy beer in eitherbottled or mini keg formats. This gave Dick a bitof a headache when we all turned up as thebrewery had sold a lot more beer than anticipatedthat day limiting his choices for us. However Dickand his team of fellow business partner DavidBurnett and Sales Director Jacky Rees workedvery hard to supply us with excellent samples ofBSA, DXB, and MLD. Finally the link withOundles brewing past was shown clearly when JimIrving, former Head Brewer of Smiths of Oundle (Closed in the 1960’s) visited. Jim is a very youngninety seven and a fascinating person to talk to as

Karl our Press Officer found out. The breweryhave even named a beer JIP or Jim Irving Paleafter him. It was then back to Peterborough aftera very successful trip.

Whilst pubs nationally seem to be in seriousdecline, local breweries are bucking this trend andachieving growth. This shows a real preferenceamongst drinkers for locally produced beers.Mighty Micros Two proved that our local brewersare in very good health and producing some fineales. The continued growth in local brewing will befurther highlighted with Mighty Micros Threewhich will be held sometime in the not toodistant future.

From a personal point of view I would like topublically thank everyone from the breweriesinvolved for their help and generosity on the day.I am sure everyone on the trip had a superb timeand I believe that my goal of helping branchmembers to gain a better insight into the produc-tion of their local beers was achieved.

John Hunt, Social Secretary

The Cherry Tree9 - 11 Oundle Road,

Peterborough PE2 9PB

Tel: 01733 703495

FOUR Real Ales available includingOakham Inferno, Timothy Tayor

Landlord and two changing guest ales.

OPEN ALL DAY EVERYDAY

Traditional Meals

Served Mon - Thurs and Sundays

Private Function room holds up to 40 people

Ideal for small meetings, weddings and parties

Covered Smoking Area

AMPLE PARKING • CAMRA GOLD AWARDwww.cherrytree-inn.co.uk

www.real-ale.org.uk

Real traditional ale house in the heart of the city

North Street, behind Westgate House, Peterborough Tel: 01733 746370www.facebook.com/ostrichinn

5 Regularly Rotating AlesOpening Times :- Sunday to Thursday 12noon - 11pm

Friday to Saturday 11am - 1.30am

Live Music Fridays and Saturdays - ring or check facebook for details!

IN THE CAMRAGOOD BEERGUIDE 2013

Peterborough

CAMRA

GOLD AWARD

WINNER 2013

16 | Please support our advertisers

Friday 28th June saw the annual trip toElgoods Brewery in Wisbech and as usualthis popular event was fully booked. Hosted

by head brewer Alan Pateman the team at Elgoodsonce again made us feel very welcome with both thebeer and the BBQ to look forward too.

After something of a “round the houses” trip enroute from Peterborough to Wisbech the branchmembers who endured the minibus ride were gladof the first pint on arrival. On the pumps wereBlack Dog, Cambridge and new offering Houndof Music - clearly the canine naming convention isstarting to bite. A new addition was also availablein the form of Easy Spider which looked pale,hoppy and very on trend.

The invitation to have a look around the brew-house was eagerly taken up by at least half of thecontingent. With Alan being in charge of brewingat Elgoods for over twenty years it’s always worththe guided tour with the master brewer. Even afterprevious visits you always seem to discover some-thing new, whether it’s about the brewing processitself or just the history and workings of the place.

As we wandered back to the bar it was time forthe poignant moment of the trip. This was ofcourse going to be the last occasion that Elgoodsveteran Paul Marshall would prepare his famousBBQ. It was indeed sad: we will miss all the jokesabout burnt offerings and food poisoning (mostlycourtesy of Alan!). However, on this, the final dayof catering for Peterborough CAMRA, Paul againdid us proud and we are all extremely grateful forthe hospitality shown over the years. So, Paul, ifyou are reading – “three cheers” – and we sincerelyhope you enjoy your well deserved time off.

The evening was suitably rounded off by a fewsurprises which Alan had alluded to earlier. Firston was the Black Eagle Imperial Stout. This is agreat beer and needless to say the large oversizedjugs didn’t last long. Second up was the extrastrong version of Black Dog known as “DoubleDog”. Strictly speaking it’s not quite double the

strength but not far off and for me it was the beerof the evening.

To finish we were presented with two experi-mental and unfinished beers. If memory servesme right (and it was starting to haze by now!) thefirst was an apple wheat beer which was drinkablebut a little too sweet to imbibe in large quantities.The second one was a Belgian lambic style beerwhich could best be described as a work inprogress. Although both beers weren’t toeveryone’s tastes it is interesting to see Elgoodsstarting to develop new styles as they’ve seen theevolution of the beer consumer.

After a few words of thanks from John Hunt,social secretary of Peterborough CAMRA, it wasback off to Peterborough on a slightly less convo-luted route home. All in all another enjoyable socialand its not hard to see why the Elgoods events arealways a popular feature in the CAMRA diary.

Karl Simpson - Press Officer

Summer Evening at ElgoodsBrewery Visit | 17

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The Prince of Wales FeathersCastor, Peterborough Tel: 01733 380222

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FESTIVAL

PREVIEW

Yes, it’s that time of year again; one of the mostanticipated events in the Peterboroughcalendar will be appearing on an Embankmentnear you in a few short weeks. On the followingpages you will find all the information you willneed to plan your visit. We have loads offantastic live acts for your entertainment whiletrying one (or three) of the 350 draught real aleson offer, see pages 22-23 for the full line up. Forthose of you yet to be converted to fine ale, wealso have a fantastic range of ciders, perries,wines and soft drinks. Read on and get excited!

Entry at lunchtime sessions is only onepound and is free to CAMRA members (withcard proof of membership). Afternoon /Evenings (from 5.30pm) are £4 or £5 dependingon the day and only £2 for CAMRA members.On Friday and Saturday when we have all dayopening it won’t cost you any extra to stay in ifyou arrived during the lunchtime sessions.

SO WHAT’S ON OFFER? The full lists won’t be published until towardsthe end of July however, as a festival, we sellaround 350+ real ales, 150+ world bottled beers,over 80 different ciders and perries and 35different English wines each year.

A lot of the specialty beers are within thebottled/world beers bar. Here you will find allmanner of ever popular fruit beers such ascherry, strawberry, banana, honey and evenchocolate. There are many styles of bottledbeers here from wheat beer, Trappist, Lambicto more traditional lagers and everything in

between. This year we have introduced twodraught beers on this bar as a trial. Somethingfor every taste!

WHAT’S THE LINE-UP IN TERMS OF LIVE MUSIC?We will be having live music every night of theweek and there will be a wide variety. Theshowstopper is always the Saturday headlinerwhich this year is the return of Think Floyd.Full details of all the bands can be found onthe next few pages or on the website atwww.beerfest.org.uk

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FORPEOPLE TO SUPPORT CAMRA?The beer festival is organised and run byunpaid CAMRA volunteers who all sharepassion not just for real ale & ciders, but alsothe pubs where people can socialise and drinkin a responsible and friendly environment.Real ale has had something of a revival inrecent years, with a huge number of smallmicro-breweries emerging; giving drinkers thechoice and variety they want. However, thissuccess story is in contrast to the steep declinein public houses which have been hit hard formany years by repeated hikes in alcohol duty,competition from supermarkets selling belowcost and unfair pub company tenancy agree-ments to name but a few factors. With fewerpubs to sell brewers’ products, there is adanger that real ale could decline again as oncethey are gone, they are usually lost forever. So,we’re urging people to support CAMRA intheir fight to save the British public house.Anyone who isn’t a member could help simplyby filling in the form at the Membership stand.

WHAT BENEFITS DO PEOPLEGET FROM JOINING CAMRA?As well as reduced or free entry to over 160 UKbeer festivals, members also get £20 worth ofJD Wetherspoon vouchers, an exclusivemembers’ newspaper and a quarterly “Beer”magazine, discounts off top leisure deals andmore. Several local pubs offer a discount toCAMRA members. Full details can be found athttp://www.camra.org.uk /benefits

Your local branch will more than likely runsocials and brewery trips throughout the yearwhich provide a great opportunities tosample new beers that you just might notencounter that often in your local.

HAVE YOU FOUND ANINCREASE OR DECREASE INMEMBERSHIP?The total UK membership now stands atover 141,000 members. Peterborough is one ofthe largest branches in the UK with anaverage membership of around 3,000. This ispartly due to the large geography of thebranch area and also because a lot of peoplejoin at the festival for the reduced entryprices. Although we love saving peoplemoney we’d also like people to use theirmembership positively by raising the aware-ness of what is going on in the pub trade intheir local areas.

IS REAL ALEBECOMING TRENDIERAMONGST YOUNGPEOPLE?Absolutely! According to the Cask AleReport for 2011/2012 there are about 1.6million regular cask ale drinkers under theage of 35 with the number under the age of 25growing year on year. Far from being thestereotypical “old man’s drink” it could nowbe described as having an element of “retro-cool” about it. In addition out of 7.8 millionregular cask ale drinkers 1 in 6 is female.This number has doubled in recent years.

FESTIVAL

PREVIEW

High Street, Maxey, Peterborough PE6 9EE Tel: 01778 348182

Our usual range of NINE hand pulledbeers will be supplemented with TENEXTRA ALES with a careful selection

from the SHEFFIELD area

So if the likes of ABBEYDALE,KELHAM ISLAND,

THORNBRIDGE etc...strike achord, come along and enjoy!

~£3 a pint all weekend

~BBQ on both days

~Opening Hours

Saturday 1-11pm & Sunday 12-11pm

In honour of the landlord's forthcoming ‘significant’ birthday and SouthYorkshire heritage

PRESENTS OUR

The Blue Bell Maxey

BEERSWe will be serving more than 350 draught real alesincluding favourites, beers from very small micros,many from new breweries, some produced speciallyfor the festival and beers from our LocAle breweries.Almost all of the beers will be served by gravity –straight from the cask. Our aim is always to haveevery beer ready and available from the opening session – we do not hold any beers back. Asalways we will be serving beers of many stylesincluding milds, bitters, porters, stouts, speciality flavoured beers and a few real lagers.

GLASSESCommemorative half-pint and pint sleeve glassesand half pint tankards bearing the festival logo willbe available and all will be oversized so that we canguarantee that you get a full measure when theglasses are filled to the line. Festival wine and bottleglasses will also be available at the same price.

CIDER & PERRYThe cider bar is with us, as always, serving one ofthe best selections of traditional cider and perryto be found anywhere.

WINE BARThe wine bar will be selling traditional countrywines and still and sparkling grape wines fromEnglish vineyards.

BOTTLED BEERSThe popular bottled beer bar will be selling anextended range of traditionally made bottled beers from around the world.

SOFT DRINKSOur soft drinks bar, the Escape Bar, will be selling arange of soft drinks, non-alcoholic beer, crisps, icecream, sweets and cigarettes. We will also be sellingchildren’s drinks at a mere 50p.

FOODThere will be a wide selection of foods availableincluding German sausages, French crepes, pizza,fish and chips, hog roast, doughnuts, toasties,oriental, biltong, olives, burgers, bacon rolls,pasta, hot dogs, Cornish pasties, pittas, pork pies,waffles, fruit smoothies, tea & coffee.

THE WORKERSThe Festival is organised and run by members ofCAMRA who are all unpaid volunteers. Wealways need more help so why not give us a fewhours of your time if you are a member. See thewebsite for more details on how to register.

CHILDREN AT THE FESTIVALChildren, accompanied by a responsible adult, arefree. Lunchtime or early evening is the ideal timeto bring the family, as there is always an easygoing, friendly atmosphere. You can bring the dog(on a lead), the picnic table, food and soft drinksbut you must not bring your own alcohol.

VENUEThe 36th Peterborough CAMRA Beer Festivalwill be held in massive marquees on the RiverEmbankment, Bishops Road, PeterboroughPE1 1EF and as it proved popular in 2012 we areretaining the traditional horseshoe layout. Thesite is only a few minutes walk from the citycentre, bus, rail and coach stations. A taxi rankwill be provided to enable you to get homewithout driving. Beer festivals and cars don’t mix.

OTHER STALLSOn site you will find tombola, pub games, ourlunchtime pub quiz, the CAMRA shop, a T-shirtstand, beer and brewing books, glass engraving andthe RNLI will be at the front gate asking for yoursmall change. This year we welcome back Tipplefair.If you’re interested in beermats, pump clips, glasses,pewter, brewery playing cards or any other memora-bilia related to the ‘Trade’ then come along onSaturday between 12 – 5pm for a pleasant afternoonbrowsing.

DISABLED ACCESSThe site is on one level on grass and disabled toiletsare provided at the front and back of the site.Wheelchairs can be sourced but we do need advancewarning – please call 01733 896555. Taxis and carscarrying disabled passengers are permitted to crossthe Embankment and drop off at the festivalentrance.

CAMRA MEMBERSCAMRA members get FREE entry to the festival forall of the early sessions and reduced entry prices atall evening sessions. There are many other benefitstoo including free or reduced entry to over 160 beerfestivals throughout the UK. To find out more or tojoin online visit www.camra.org.uk/benefits

If you’re not a member you can alsojoin or find out more at our member-ship and information area or simply havea chat about what we do, ask about beer,pubs, brewing, etc

CONTACT INFORMATIONGET IN TOUCH:01733 896555info@beer-fest.org.uk

FOR FURTHER INFO:www.beer-fest.org.uk

@BoroBeerFest

Tuesday 20th August 5.30 - 11pm £4

Wednesday 21st August 12 - 2.30pm £1 5.30 - 11pm £4

Thursday 22nd August 12 - 2.30pm £1 5.30 - 11pm £5

Friday 23rd August 12 - 3pm £1 3 - 11pm £5

Saturday 24th August 12 - 3pm £1 3 - 11pm £5

CAMRA MEMBERS Early sessions FREE, Late sessions £2

Open All Day Friday and Saturday. No additional admission cost if you stay

beyond the early session times.

FESTIVAL

PREVIEW

TUESDAY 20th AUGUST7.30pm to 10.45pm

Open MicA great new experience for Peterborough BeerFestival with an Open Mic night hosted byStacey offering an opportunity for ALL toshow off their abilities on the Festival MainStage. If you wish to contact Stacey, please e-mail to vocalsoulmate@hotmail.co.uk

Wednesday 21st August8.15pm to 9.15pm and 9.45pm to 10.45pm

Mojo TriangleA bunch of musicians from the Cambridgeareas who just love to play great, honest bluesand rock music. The name Mojo Trianglecame from an old saying that "all the bestmusic came from a mojo triangle betweenNew Orleans, Memphis and Nashville". Wellthat spirit has been transported to the deepOuse Valley delta! Originally meeting at theWillingham Jam Club, their interpretation ofclassic blues and rock goes down a treat.www.mojotriangle.co.uk

Thursday 22nd August7.30pm to 9.00pm

The LibrariansThe Librarians are three brothers, born to avillage idiot and his horse. They began playing

instruments at theirlocal infant school andhave somewhatprogressed since then.

9.15pm to 10.45pm

Children of the Revolution

One of the busiest and most successful coverbands working in theUK today, currentlyplaying an average of110 gigs a year coveringall four corners of thecountry. A massivelypopular choice forweddings and func-tions, COTR also

have a dedicated fan base in their hometownof Peterborough that comes from almost adecade on the local scene. Their repertoire isexpansive, covering the likes of The Who,Elvis, Foo Fighters, Fleetwood Mac and evena Dolly Parton track to name but a few.Always an energetic, entertaining and excitingshow. www.childrenoftherev.com

Friday 23rd AugustExpected on stage from about 4.00pm

PeterboroughUkulele Band

This is a bunch of guys and gals from thePalmerston Arms who just formed up for a bitof fun. Got to be worth a listen.

BANDS LIST

7.30pm to 9.00pm

The MistreatedThe Mistreated createdsuch a positive reactionfollowing their Saturdayafternoon set last yearthat we just had to havethem back for anevening slot. They are afour-piece classic rockcovers band based in Cambridgeshire. Frontedby the powerful vocals of Doc, The Mistreatedpresent well-known rock songs from the ‘70s,‘80s and ‘90s to the present day, delivering thehighest standard of musicianship, but with astrong emphasis on entertainment.

Come early and support this great bandperforming a diverse range of tunes from thelikes of Thin Lizzy, Muse, Van Halen, Ozzy,AC/DC, The Cult, Whitesnake and many,many more. www.themistreated.co.uk

9.15pm to 10.45pm

HookerHooker are a locally based, 5 piece rockcovers band and are one of Peterborough’slongest established bands, celebrating 20years together this year. Formed in 1993, theyhave played their energetic, entertainingbrand of rock classics all over the area andbeyond. They have established themselves asa regular feature at the prestigious BritishMotorcycle Federation (BMF) events up anddown the country. Hooker last played here atthe Peterborough Beer Festival on a memo-rable Friday night 6 years ago, when theyshared the stage with another ofPeterborough’s finest… Aladdinsane.

Consisting of “Forever young” Rob on thedrums & vocals, “Lightning fingered” Steve onguitar, “Infinitely versatile” Sean on the bass &vocals, “Mr. Charisma” Pasky on thekeyboards, and “Madder than a box of frogs”front man Trev, in his trademark Orange

Boilersuit... you’re guaranteedsomething for everyone in aHooker performance!! www.hooker-uk

Saturday 24th August7.00pm to 8.00pm

BrotherhoodsRoundabout

Brotherhoods Roundabout contains somepremier members of the Peterborough musiccommunity; parts of bands such as "TheMotivators", "Citizen Smith", "Canada","0898" & "The Junk Puppets". Chris Allen,Keyboards. Ken Norman, Bass. John Haire,Guitar. Steve Dunmore, Drums. Colin Smith,Vocals. Their reputation is founded on playingat the progressive end of the rock spectrum,songs that many other bands simply don'tattempt, whilst still aiming for a little bit ofradio friendliness so you know there willalways be some tunes you recognise.

8.30pm to 9.30pm and 9.45pm to 10.45pm

Think FloydThis extraordinary band, dubbed TheDefinitive Pink Floyd Experience, isrenowned for its stunning celebration of oneof the world’s greatest musical phenomena. Now in their 20th year, the incredibly talentedmusicians who make up Think Floyd havemanaged to faithfully recreate all the atmos-phere, visual magnitude and musicalexcellence of Pink Floyd live on stage. It’s nowonder they have long been regarded as TheUK’s finest tribute to Pink Floyd. The new Think Floyd production for 2013celebrates the 40th anniversary of one of themost inf luential albums of all time: Dark Sideof the Moon. Think Floyd will be featuring aselection of tracks from this as well as thewhole range of Classic Pink Floyd includingThe Wall, Animals, Wish You Were Here,Meddle, The Division Bell and more. This is a must- see for all Pink Floyd fans!

FESTIVAL

PREVIEW

It started as a casual conversation along thelines of “When you are up and running Steve?Can the Gruftons ( a motley crew of real ale

fans from the Letter B in Whittlesey) come overfor a Brewery trip?”

When reminded of this some time later Stevesaid to Neil Holmes (our CAMRA Pubs Officer)“Why don’t you come along and brew a beer? Itcan be whatever you wish to brew!” Now here wasa challenge as those who know the Bexar Countyofferings will be used to verystrong dark beers with a hint ofchillies, cherries and anything elsethat takes his fancy at the time!We decided to take Steve wellout of his comfort zone and brewa light hoppy beer and wouldlook for a strength of around4.4% The plan was to use avariety of hops with the mainone being Simcoe. We have likedthis hop ever since we“persuaded” JC to buy a bottlebrewed with Simcoe at the Cambridge WinterFest a few years back but we neglected to tell himit was £8 a bottle till we gave him his change!

The great day dawned and four Gruftons arrivedbang on 8 in the morning at Bexar CountyBrewery. First job was to get the liquor at thecorrect temperature to begin the mash. We wereusing mainly a light Lager malt to give us thecolour we required but also added a bit of wheat.

This was then mashed for an hour until itlooked like a big bowl of porridge. In the mean-time we discussed what to do next over a beer!

Once this was completed it was time for hops,hops and more hops! These were gradually added

over the next hour in accordance with Steve’srecipe. He left us very much to do this stage toourselves with the proviso that we write every-thing down so that if he ever needed to repeat thebrew (really?) he knew what went on. Againanother period of inactivity which we used to havean impromptu BBQ until it was time to transferthe brew to the fermenter. This was washed overmore Simcoe cops to give it that final hoppiness!!!

Once transferred it was in with the yeast! Andnow wait for 10 days or so to see howit comes out. By the time you readthis it will have been on sale and thegeneral public will have tasted the resultof our efforts! We did a quick calcula-tion at the end and reckon it will comeout around 5% so at least Steve cantake some satisfaction from that!

The Gruftons brewat Bexar!

www.real-ale.org.uk

26 | Brewing at Bexar

The jolly brewers after their hard days work!!

QUIZ NIGHTEvery Sundayfrom 7.30pm

Cash jackpot and a gallon of ale!

LIVE BAND ON SAT 24TH

See Facebook for details

Open 10am - midnight

all week

Cheese boards and

lite snacks available

UKELELE SESSIONS

Every second Thursday

from 7.30pm

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and offers

CAMRA GOLD AWARDCASK MARQUE

4 REAL ALES AND CIDER Never the same beer twice! Takeaway available!

BOTTLE STORE100 + bottled beers, changed every month,

drink in or take away!

Pool Table & Dart Board • Whisky RackBig Screens - Live Sports

749 Lincoln Rd, New England PE1 3HD

www.thecrownonline.co.uk Tel: 0843 523 5181

MonDAYSBEER CLUB

ALL REAL ALES JUST £2.00 A PINT!TUESDAYSWINE CLUB

ALL JUST £2.00 A GLASSWICKED WEDNESDAYSMUSIC WITH A THEME

TWISTED ThursDAYSKICKSTART THE WEEKEND

FriDAYSFREE LIVE MUSIC 9PM

SatURDAYS ANYTHING GOESCheck website for full detailsSunDAYS

QUICK PUB QUIZ 8pmFree, teams of 4 max, drinks prizes

OPENING TIMESMonday - Thursday 12 - 3pm & 5 - 11pm

Friday - Sunday 12 - 11pm

Peterborou

gh

Beer Festival

FREE

ENTR

Y

details on we

bsite

AUGUST

BANK HOLIDAY

CROWN CARNIVAL

MUSIC - DRINK - FOOD

check website for details

On one of the hottest days of the yeararound thirty brave souls gathered inPeterborough Cathedral Square for the

start of the annual CAMRA Cycle Rally/Treasurehunt. Organiser Peter Challis (Swampy to hisfriends) handed out the sheets with clues anditems to collect to the eager participants. I taggedalong as his assistant in case of any hitches.

The first party headed off in the right direction(sigh of relief), with the rest following soon after.Due to the sweltering conditions it was a relief tofind the first pub was not far away from thestarting line. The pub was in fact The BurghleySquare Club. The Bluebell in Dogsthorpe was thesecond port of call with the clue actually outsidethe pub. Wheeling along for a short distancebrought the parties to The Old John Clare inPaston, which for some of us was the second visitto this welcoming watering hole in a week?

Another Bluebell came on the scene, this onebeing in Werrington. This was the start of the

Werrington part of the rally, as the next threepubs were all within that area. The Ploughmanand The Dragon (both part of the Simmospoonsempire) was a welcome shelter from a surprisingheavy thunderstorm shower. By seeking shelter ina bus shelter I just avoided getting drenchedbefore entering The Cock Inn. Leaving there aftera quick half and heading to the penultimate pub,The Crown on Lincoln Road, where yet anotherheavy lashing of rain descended on that area.Waiting for nearly an hour for the first sign of anycyclists before the next rain came down, thenheading for the final destination, The Hand &Heart in Millfield.

Due to the inclement weather which wasentirely unexpected, some participants haddecided to call it a day and go home to dry out.Of the rest that completed the course we had awinner after adding up all the scores. Previouswinners Chez Hansel, Ross Parton and PaulBerrisford achieved a remarkable 27 points from atotal of 30. They now have the enviable task oforganising next year’s rally ! Me? Well I did most ofthe route by foot and bus, so did not get wet!One odd fact I did notice. Very few of the pubshad the licensee there – on a Saturday. Oh well Isuppose they’re entitled to a night off sometime.

DMM.

CAMRA Cycle Rally 201328 | Beer and bikes

Photo shows The Winning team of Chez Hansel, RossParton and Paul Berrisford with in the centre organiserPeter Challis.

From Peking to Peakirk, Ruddy hell its a DUCKFEST !!!

BEER FESTIVALSat 10th August

2pm till late10 Real Ales, Ciders & BBQ

Live Music featuringThe Rocket Dogs

D B 5& The Nuggets

The Ruddy Duck12 St Pegas Road, Peakirk,

Tel: 01733 252426 www.theruddyduck.co.uk

DIARY DATESAUGUST

Aug 3rd Gold Presentation at The Crown,Lincoln Road

Aug 5th PBF final Committee meeting,Brewery Tap, 8.30pm

Aug 19th Beer Festival 2013 VolunteersEvening Trip to Cambridge. Depart KeyTheatre 17:40. £15 including Beef Madras orChicken Balti meal (£10 if no curry). ContactMick Slaughter 01733 390598 or 07766 213240or m.slaughter7@btinternet.com

SEPTEMBERSept 9th Commitee Meeting, Cherry Tree, 8.30pm

BEER FESTIVALSAUGUST

Aug 8th - 11th Jolly Brewer Beer Festival,Stamford

Aug 10th Duckfest, 10 real ales, ciders andBBQ - Ruddy Duck, Peakirk

Aug 13th - 17th THE GREAT BRITISHBEER FESTIVAL 2013 - Olympia,London

Aug 16th - 18th Cider Fest! 10plus ciders,BBQ and Real Ales - Woolpack, Stanground

Aug 20th - 24th PETERBOROUGHBEER FESTIVAL, Embankment,Peterborough

Aug 20th - 24th Mini Beer Fest, PalmerstonArms, Woodston

Aug 23rd - 26th Beer and Cider Fest, MamaLiz’s, Stamford

Aug 25th 2nd Birthday Bash, Kings Head,Apethorpe

Aug 28th - Sept 1st Beer Festival and BBQ,Dove Street Inn, Ipswich

Aug 31st - Sept 1st Steel City Beer Fest,The Blue Bell at Maxey

Sept 9th - 22nd 20th Anniversary BeerFestival, Charters, City Centre

Sept 19th - 22nd Coalheavers beer festival,over 50 ales, real cider and perries

Sept 26th - Sept 30th 4th Autumn Beer &Music Festival, Hand and Heart, Millfield

Diary Dates and Festival Listings | 29

It was our annual summer solstice trip to beau-tiful Southwold and a group of us werediscussing the price of Broadside in one of our

favourite Southwold pubs The Lord Nelson,when who should walk in but our old friend fromPeterborough. He had moved to Southwoldmany years ago after taking a job as anaccountant for Adnams. John Blades is his realname, no mention of his Peterborough nicknamein Southwold!

John joined us and told us he had taken on anew venture and had become a Publican forAdnams. He is running a pub at a nearby villageof Wesleton, The White Horse with his businesspartner Rob who was an actor. John invited us allto visit the pub the next day. Some of us hadplanned to cycle from Southwold to Westleton,however the English weather, rain and wind,affected this!

A group of us arrived at the pub on Saturdaylunchtime and John kindly brought us all a drink.The White Horse had the full range of Adnamsbeer including Ghostship, Regatta, Fat SpratSouthwold Bitter and of course Broadside. Thebeer was in superb condition. John then gave us atour of the pub including the tale of their residentfriendly and intelligent ghost. John and Rob havecompletely changed the menu and although wedidn’t have a meal the food served looked great.

The White Horse also offer bed and breakfastand being only a few miles from Minsmere itattracts many ‘twitchers’ as well as visitors to thearea. The pub is in a lovely village and is next tothe village pond. It also has a pretty garden forthose sunny days.We would recommend you callin if you are in the area and mentionPeterborough or The POSH as John is a big fan.

Peterborough Summer Solstice Campers

Peterborian becomes aPublican in Wesleton

| 31

www.real-ale.org.uk

32 | Please support our advertisers

Freehouse

London Street, Whittlesey PE7 1BH Tel: 01733 351001

3 Cask Ale pumps with at least 1

LocAle and others from far and wide

Food served every day • Sunday CarveryFunction rooms available to hire for all occasions

Quiz Night every Wednesday 8.30pm start

GREAT OFFERS - Monday to Friday 12 - 6pmGreene King IPA, Thatchers or lager - only £2.20 a pint

Burger and a Pint only £4.95!

Saturday the 10th of August is the “HamptonCrawlers” Pub Crawl. Starting at The Granary onOundle Road at 3pm the “crawlers” will set offand follow a planned route down Oundle Roadvisiting venues like The Windmill, the PalmerstonArms and The Cherry Tree, finishing at Charters.The dress code is “Superheroes!” To representthe "incredible care" we give. Sue Ryder wantpeople to accept the call for a “hero”.

The pub crawl, whilst an excellent excuse todrink beer (as if we needed one!) is also to raiseawareness for an excellent cause. Sue Ryder havebeen providing specialist palliative and respite carefor people living with incurable illnesses from theirbeautiful, Grade 1 listed building at Thorpe Hallfor over 20 years. They now have planning permis-sion to build a state-of-the-art hospice in thegrounds of Thorpe Hall and as a result havelaunched the Thorpe Hall £6 million capitalappeal. For more information see:www.sueryder.org /Get-involved/Fundraising /Thorpe-Hall-Appeal.

Why is Thorpe Hall so important?Thorpe Hall is the only hospice providing free,specialist end of life care across Peterborough and

large parts of the surrounding counties wherethere are an estimated 75,000 people living withincurable illnesses. We care for around 400 inpa-tients each year at Thorpe Hall. We also run aday centre for over 100 outpatients each year.There is much more we could do.

What we will build at Thorpe hallOur future lies in a new, energy-efficient building,adjacent to the existing building. The newbuilding will enable us to provide a communityhospice service, including bereavement support, aSanctuary and more efficient and comfortablecare to our patients in 20 private, speciallydesigned rooms. The new building will offer awider range of end of life care services thananywhere else in the region.

If you can’t make it to the the pub crawl you canalso help the appeal by buying trolley tokens at acost of £1 from all of their stores in the area. Or ifyou have some spare time perhaps you couldbecome a volunteer. You get to make new friends,learn new skills and be part of something incred-ible. There are many volunteer opportunitiesavailable in many different aspects of the charitycan you “donate” 2 hours a week?

If you want to get involved, pub crawl or otherwise, please contact Kellie or Susan on01733 247210

Drink Beer AND RaiseMoney for a Good Cause!

www.real-ale.org.uk

Charity Shout out | 33

)The pub crawl, whilstan excellent excuse todrink beer (as if weneeded one!) is also toraise awareness for anexcellent cause.(

34 | Please support our advertisers

The summer’s hottest weekend coincidedwith the Cricket Teams annual tour, thisyear to Worcester. Last year saw no play

as record rain fell, this year we managed three fullgames, two brewery tours and a drink in all GoodBeer Guide pubs in the city of Worcester.

Leaving by minibus on Friday morning our firstport of call was the Birds Brewery of Bromsgrove,this successful brewery has recently won a compe-tition with Sainsbury’s to supply their stores withbottled beers over the next year. Watch out fortheir beers flying out of both stores and at PBFthis year. Following hotel check-in and a quickdrink at the Plough Inn we drove to Shenstone toplay Stone Cricket Club, drink a firkin of BewdleyBrewery’s Worcesteshire Way and partake in aBBQ. Chasing 174 set by Stone in 20 overs,CAMRA achieved a win with three balls to sparethanks to unbeaten 25+ scores from Bradbury,Wright, Mace and Geldart. This was followed upwith a swift few drinks back in the city with mostfinishing up at the Firefly brew pub.

Unusually with no sore heads on Saturdaymorning, the team had a quick walk around thecity before leaving for our second match against

Clent CC. Despite Bradbury’s 41 and Voiseymaking his second score over 20 CAMRA wererestricted to 174 in their 40 overs. Clent battedwell and secured the win in 32 overs for the loss ofsix wickets, Bradbury taking four and Wright two.Drinks in the local Social Club followed before theteam headed to the City again for some moreGBG pubs including the Dragon and Firefly. Theyoungsters Hart, Wright, Evans and Vitas thenwent clubbing until light.

Sunday saw the team play Lenches CC.CAMRA won the toss and inserted the hometeam who could only make 101 in 28 overs thanksto three wickets for Rowe, and two apiece for Jexand Geldart. CAMRA scored 104 in 20 overslosing just Voisey (12) and Masheder (26), beforeVitas (18) and Evans (31) sealed the win. A fewmore pubs visited back in Worcester that evening,including the Swan with Two Nicks andCricketers. Monday morning started with a bang,well at least a rude awakening as fire alarmssounded throughout the hotel, requiring evacua-tion well before anyone had thought of going tobreakfast! With no idea why the alarms wereraised the players went back for food and bedbefore leaving for a quick tour of St GeorgesBrewery in Callow End on the way back.

So another successful tour with two wins and aloss, together with hard CAMRA campaigning inthe local pubs / breweries. We are always on thelook out for new players or teams to play, soplease contact our Secretary Matt Mace on07809 629241, or Fixture Secretary Ian White on07966 439960 if interested. Results and furthernews can be found on the ECB Play Cricketwebsite.

Matt Mace

Peterborough CAMRACricket Tour – Worcester

www.real-ale.org.uk

Campaigning and Cricket | 35

Cricket Team outside sponsors The Coalheavers Arms

36 | Please support our advertisers

Pub Merit Awards & Gold AwardsThe committee feel that pubs outside of Peterborough are missing out on Gold Awards and so they

have introduced a new Merit Award for pubs that are continuously outstanding. If you know of a pubin our area that deserves a Merit Award or Gold Award then please complete the following form andsend it to our Secretary.

Pub name:

Pub address/town/village:

Reason for award:

Your name:

Your phone number or e-mail address:

Your membership number:

27 July The Limit - Cherry Tree, Woodston27 July 10.30pm - One Eyed Cats - Charters, CityCentre31 July Open Mic - Pig and Falcon, St Neots2 August Leon - Dragon, Werrington2 August 10:30pm - Last Echoes - Charters, City Centre2 August On the Ceiling - Ploughman, Werrington3 August Control - Dragon, Werrington4 August 3:30pm - The Gangsters - Charters, CityCentre6 August Staceys Open Mic - Dragon, Werrington9 August The Guards - Dragon, Werrington9 August Lloyd Watson - Fayre Spot, Bretton9 August 10:30pm - I’m Spartacus - Charters, CityCentre9 August - Be Bop A Lulas - The Dragon, Werrington10 August Charity Band Day with several localbands including Children of the Revolution - Dragon, Werrington10 August Rocket Dogs, DB5 and The Nuggets -Ruddy Duck, Peakirk10 August Collaborators - Golden Pheasant, Etton10 August Hooker - Ploughman, Werrington10 August Twenty 4 - Blue Boar, Eye11 August - Motor City Vipers - Charters, City Centre16 August 10:30pm - The Influence - Charters, CityCentre16 August Citizen Smith - Ploughman, Werrington16 August Mullered at the Mill - Dragon, Werrington17 August 12noon till late - Peterborough Folk RootzFestival - Charters, City Centre17 August The Nuggets - Ploughman, Werrington18 August 12noon till late - Peterborough Folk RootzFestival - Charters, City Centre23 August 10:30pm - Lexie Green & the IndigoBlue - Charters, City Centre24 August - 9pm - Joe Solo - Palmerston Arms, Woodston24 August Faster Mutley- Dragon, Werrington25 August 8pm - Children of the Revolution -Brewery Tap, City Centre

25 August 3:30pm - Pete ‘n’ Tom - Charters, City Centre30 August 10:30pm - Lee Major - Charters, City Centre30 August High Rollers- Dragon, Werrington14 September 8pm - Limehouse Lizzy and LooseRocket - Corn Exchange, Bourne21 September The League of Mentalmen - Dragon,Werrington21 September The Overdubs - Ploughman,Werrington27 September Hooker - Dragon, Werrington

Please send any details for October / Novembergigs to info@orchardhousemedia.co.uk before15th September.

The GigGuide

Gig Guide | 37

38 | Contact Details

The next issue of BAE will beavailable on: 27th SeptemberWe must have your stories,news and advertisements by: 2nd SeptemberLate copy cannot be guaranteed entry.

Please contact Jane Michelson01778 420888Mobile: 07732 393621jane@shillingmedia.co.ukor Chris Shilling01778 421550Mobile: 07736 635 916 for all of your advertising needs.

Neil Holmespubs-officer@real-ale.org.uk or 07886 974977 isalways looking for pub news.

Please send stories and othercopy to bae-editor@real-ale.org.uk

Beer Around ‘Ere is published by Peterborough &District Branch of CAMRA Copyright © 2013, TheCampaign for Real Ale Ltd.

Views or comments expressedin this publication may not necessarily be those of theEditor or of CAMRA.

Beer Around ’Ere

Editor: Jane Brownbae-editor@real-ale.org.uk

Distribution: David Murray(See Chairman on the left)

Advertising: Jane Michelson01778 420888Mobile: 07732 393621jane@shillingmedia.co.uk

Magazine & AdvertisingProduction: Daniel Speed01733 211001info@orchardhousemedia.co.uk

Proofreader: Bob MelvilleSee details below

Brewery Liaison Officers

Blue Bell: John Hunt07923 489917Bexar County Brewery:Steve Williams07756 066503Castor Ales: Mike Lane07850 334203Digfield: Dave Waller07821 912605Elgoods: John Hunt07923 489917Hopshackle: Noel Ryland07944 869656Melbourn: Lew Clayton01780 765063Nene Valley: Bob Melville07941 246693Oakham Ales: Dave Allett07966 344417Tydd Steam: John Hunt07923 489917

Trading Standards08545 040506www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

Check out our websites at:www.real-ale.org.ukwww.beer-fest.org.uk

Branch Committee

Secretary: Dickie Bird4 Cissbury Ring,WerringtonPeterborough, PE4 6QH01733 574226 (tel & fax)07731 993896 info@real-ale.org.uk

Chairman: David Murray01733 560453chairman@real-ale.org.uk

Treasurer: Paul Beecham01733 31198107710 0086930870 7620848 (fax)treasurer@real-ale.org.uk

Vice Chair: Matthew Mace07809 629241vice-chair@real-ale.org.uk

Social Sec: John Hunt07923 489917social-sec@real-ale.org.uk

Pubs Officer: Neil Holmes07886 974977pubs-officer@real-ale.org.uk

Press Officer: Karl Simpson07737 297072press-officer@real-ale.org.uk

Young Members: Katie Barrett07951 919451young-members@real-ale.org.uk

Membership: Steve Saldana07988 067260membership@real-ale.org.uk

Festival Org: Mike Lane07850 334203festival-organiser@real-ale.org.uk

LocAle Officer: John Rice07759 342702locale@real-ale.org.uk

Webmaster: Harry Mortenwebmaster@real-ale.org.uk T

T

Th

THE DRAGON Hodgson Centre, Hodgson Ave PE4 5EG Tel: 01733 578088

THE PLOUGHMAN Staniland Way, Werrington centre PE4 6NA Tel: 01733 327696

The Ploughman

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 Menu

Sunday Open From 12 Noon - 9pmAll 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: thefarmers@btconnect.comwww.thefarmersyaxley.co.uk

Introducing our new Green Room,available for parties and weddings.We are now taking booking

for 2013/14!