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Peterborough & District Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale June / July 2015

183

DEATH OF A BEERThe sad tale of

Draught Burton Ale.

HERON GOES FOR GOLD!The Stanground Community

pub under threat of demolition,worth its weight in Gold.

MORE GRAVY PLEASE!Peterborough rail ale trippers

off to explore Harrowgate and Knaresborough.

A guide to ACV’s p21

SAVE YOUR LOCAL!

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

Editor’s ramblings |3

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

Views or comments expressedin this publication may not necessarily bethose of the Editor or of CAMRA.

The next issue of Beer Around ‘Ere will beavailable on the 28th July. We must have your stories, news and advertisements by 3rd July. Please sendyour stories and other copy to the editor,Jane Brown.

By the time this is being readthe election will be history andthe “fun” will have started!Just hope we have a govern-ment that is “pubs and drink”friendly! Well can but hope!

April was community pubsmonth and one of the pubs we visited on ourCommunity Pubs Crawl, was The Heron, in Stan-ground, so I was saddening to hear that once againThe Heron is under threat! Planning permission isbeing sought to demolish the pub and to erect ninedwellings. The current landlord and landlady, Roband Meri Hyde, have turned this pub around andit has become the hub of the community, sellingreal ales, most of which are LocAles, and goodfood, plus, holding quizzes and live music sessions.

In fact providing what the community requires, atrue Community Pub. An ACV (Asset of Commu-nity Value) is being raised, with the council, sohopefully this will be added protection for the pub.For more info on ACV’s, see page 21. A petitionhas also been instigated on Facebook and as I writethis there are just under 600 signatures. Fingerscrossed that the powers that be do the ‘right thing’and enable the pub to continue trading.

April was a very good month for local beer festi-vals and for once the weather was kind. Therewere lots of LocAles on sale, which is always goodto see. More to look forward too over the summer,so get out there and enjoy!

Cheers!JB

IN THIS ISSUEWelcome from the editor 3

Chairman’s corner 5

Pub news 7–11

Real ale pub guide 13

Brewery news 14–17

Death of a beer 18

Presentations 19

Assets of community value 21

Membership matters 23

More gravy please! 24-27

Gig guide 28

P51 ready for take off! 28

Diary dates & Beer festivals 29

Contacts 30

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

4 | Please support our advertisers

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

29 North Street, Stanground PE2 8HR.

Tel: 01733 753544Friendly village pub with

riverside mooring.

Up to 4 Real Ales available Large Garden

Dogs Welcome • BT Sport

Food Served: Tues to Sun 12 - 2.30pm Mon to Sat 6pm - 8pm

Chairman’s corner |5

Within this issue we have a tale of great sorrow. I refer to the article about the Death of a Beer,which tells the short history of the rise and fall ofone of our great real ales, Draught Burton Ale(DBA) see page 18. It illustrates how, when a goodpopular product gets in the hands of one of themajor brewers, life expectancy can be diminishedrapidly. With news that another of our regionalbrewers, Daniel Thwaites of Blackburn has beensold to Marston’s for a cash deal of £25 million,the question arises as to the future of some of thelesser brews. Included in the deal are two of theflagship ales, Wainwright and Lancaster Bomber.Marston’s has been brewing most of Thwaitesbeers since early last year and will continue tocontract brew some of the Thwaites beers it didnot buy. In 2013 Thwaites announced the closureof its 200 year old main brewery. Plans to movehave not happened due to a doomed deal to redevelop the site. They still have a micro brewingplant installed in 2011, however this could bemoved to a new site. Marston’s do have a rela-tively good history of respecting brewing heritagewhen they have previously acquired beer brands orbreweries, for example, Wychwood and Jennings.We shall be keeping a close eye on the plans for theThwaites brands they have just acquired!

Of course this is not a new scenario to ourbrewing industry. Over the years we have seen thedecimation and disappearance of much of ourbrewing heritage by takeovers and developmentdeals. Remember the days of the Whitbread‘umbrella’ deals, in which one of the worstdestroyers of regional breweries persuaded thevulnerable regionals to come under their ‘protec-tion’. Then just like a rogue cuckoo in the nest,

took steps to shut them down as being “unviable”.The UKs biggest brewer Heineken has almost nocask ale brewing facilities, the exception being theCaledonian Brewery in Edinburgh. It has eithersold its cask ales to other brewers; Charles Wellsbrew most of the ex-Scottish & Newcastle beerssuch as Courage, McEwan’s and Youngers sold tothem by Heineken. The list goes on; Carlsberg,Molson Coors, AB InBev are all global brewinggiants with very little or no interest in our brewingheritage. Three major regional groups dominatethe real ale production on a national level. GreeneKing, Charles Wells and the aforementionedMarston’s. It is just as well that we have an ever-growing independent micro brewing sector to keepour enthusiasm for real ale.

As the summer days draw longer and our pubscontinue to entice us through their doors, it’s a factthat there are very few weekends that some localpub has not organised a beer festival. If you findone, go along to support them! To the publicans Isay let us know of your plans, if you intend to holda beer festival – we can only support you if we areaware of it!

We have made an effort to encourage ourmembers from out of the city to come along to ourBranch/Committee meetings by holding some atour other towns. Starting in May we held ourmeeting in Oundle at The Ship. We hope to go outand about more during the course of the year. Anymember is entitled to attend any of our meetings.

See you in a pub this summer. Cheers.

David Murray Branch Chairman

Chairman’s Corner


No more footie on a Saturday, no more having to listen to electioneering‘promises’ and hoping that whichever bunch of politicos are now sittingcomfortable in their cosy Westminster seats, we can rely on them tohave some thought for our pubs and drinks industry.



Over 25 cask ales, pluscraft lagers and real ciders

Live music in the eveningsFriday night: Forty Fiver and Rapture

Saturday night: The John Noakes Experience plus other supporting acts.

Gorefield Gala on Saturday with lots of stalls and attractions

Camping available, £5 per pitch, with toilets on site and showerblock. please book in advance.email: [email protected]

www.hall.gorefield.com

Gorefield Community Hall, Wolf Lane,Gorefield, Wisbech, PE13 4NE

Pub news |7

Why is it that when I travel to outlying towns inthe branch I find something which is missing fromthe City, a visible centre around which the culturaland social life of the town revolves? Is it any coin-cidence that these places have the best preservedpubs and the best pub crawls: Market Deeping,Bourne, Oundle, Stamford, Wisbech, and March?This is clearly not the case in Peterborough, and Iam continually reminded by older residents of thedemise of several city centre pubs by the arrival ofQueensgate. Call me old fashioned if you like, butI would much rather shop in a traditional highstreet with several stopping off places to relieve theennui than be trapped in 1,750,000 square feet offloor space without a pub in sight. Like it or not,the domination of the town by this monument tothe retail gods hardly makes it a place that youwould recommend to visitors for a pub crawl.

Around townSurrounding this philistine destruction there are,thankfully, some compensations and visitors justarriving in the city get the best deal. Just across theroad from the station is the Great NorthernHotel, one of Peterborough’s unrecognised treas-ures. The hotel opened on April 1, 1852 at a costof £2,500 and has an illustrious history. It wasdesigned by architect Henry Goddard in the styleof a Venetian palazzo, the hallmark the GreatNorthern Railway frontages at the time (comparethe Kings Cross frontage and the sister hotel inLeeds). Children are welcome in the sumptuouslounge alongside what used to be the Poacher’sbar, now renamed the Sleeper’s, not so much toaccommodate comatose topers as to reinforce theassociation with the railway. The ethos has posi-tively changed as the hotel now has a talented andproactive management team in the persons ofNatalie Davey and Catherine Batley.

I met them recently to discuss their plans for thefuture, the effects of which are already visible.They have redesigned the lounge and the restau-rant (open to non-residents) with a visual

presentation recording the hotel’s timeline inhistory, looking back on such illustrious residents asthe American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne,Charles Dickens, the Prince and Princess ofPrussia and in 1952 Laurel and Hardy stayed atthe Hotel for 2 weeks at the start of their UK tour.The hotel now has a policy of supporting localbusiness with the suppliers of interior design andall of the food in the restaurant locally sourced.They have also have created a strong relationshipwith the Grainstore brewery in Oakham - thebeers available on my last visit were Rutland Bitterand Ten Fifty. Music events will be featured in thebar area whilst the locally famous Jazz Club willcontinue in its spot on the last Sunday of everymonth.

The bus station is equally well served. Just to thenorth is the iconic Brewery Tap. A spacious pubon two levels, it offers eight real ales, mainly fromthe Oakham range, and an excellent, reasonablypriced Thai cuisine. This was the originalOakham brewery when head brewer, John Bryan,moved it into Peterborough. Oakham are nowdistributing their beers across the world with amajor expansion and relocation on the MaxwellStreet site, but they have retained an experimental10 barrel plant in the pub which provides anattractive, glass fronted feature to embellish thebrewery tap theme. Fortunately the functionalminds of the 1970s have given way to a moresensitive consideration of the communal value ofpublic houses as I am delighted to discover that theTap will be incorporated into the forthcomingWestgate development.

Just to the south is the Drapers Arms. ChrisParkes has been running this pub for several yearsand it is one of the most congenial Wetherspoons Ihave visited. Local members will be thankful forhis support of the Campaign and in 2007 hereceived the Peterborough pub of the year award.So far this year he has featured 200 different realales. At this rate, by the end of the year they


Pub News

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8 | Pub news - continued

will have reached well over 700. It may be worthconsidering that whereas the local branchmembership is just over 2700, the readership ofthis magazine is far in excess of that number.Those readers who are not already members mightconsider joining, especially if they are Wether-spoons customers. For Wetherspoons give us 40coupons a year with a value of £20, which makesmembership virtually self financing. All this andreduced prices at beer festivals.

If you are on a visit to Peterborough and by nowfinding the hunger pangs irresistible, I can stronglyrecommend the Beehive, further down BourgesBoulevard, on the corner of the Asda car park.Another pub rescued from extinction, it had acomplete overhaul about four years ago andquickly established a reputation for high qualityfood. It is an attractive, modern L shaped buildingwith a substantial bar area, a function room andan extensive seating area for diners. Beerscurrently available are Castor Nectar, Lacon’sEncore, Star Meteor and a constantly changingguest.

Broadway“Strive for perfection in everything that you do” isone of the oft quoted remarks of Sir Henry Royce,and this appears to be a mantra instilled in the pubof that name. Formerly Yates’s, it officially openedon the 20th March and I took the opportunity tomeet area manager James Bancroft to investigatetheir future policy. Jennings Cumberland(rebadged as the eponymous house bitter), GreeneKing Abbot, Grainstore Ten Fifty, Draught Bass,and Wychwood Hobgoblin were available alongwith a draught cider and two craft beers. He toldme that he intends to move away from the currentportfolio to promote local brewers. On asking himabout his target audience, he replied simply,“anyone who walks along Broadway.” As I haveargued elsewhere in these columns, the nature ofthe public house is changing, and it is my view thatwe will never properly broach the issue of pubclosures unless we relate it to its social and culturalcontext, and quality of service is one of the waysin which pubs are improving. The Ipsos Mori/

Mintel survey published in 2014 lists this as secondin priority of the reasons why people visit pubs.

I have heard the term “licensed warehouses”used with some disdain recently in the movement,but as a superannuated Londoner I feel comfort-able in these places as they remind me of the oldVictorian gin palaces in which I was weaned.

Those readers who do not might choose to turnoff to the left, past the Central library and acrossthe car park to the Ostrich, the last remainingback street pub in the city, where landlord LiamScanlon always offers four beers in top condition.In 2009 the pub was redesigned and the facilitiesconsiderably enhanced. The floor space wasincreased and there has been a major improve-ment to the toilets. If I may be forgiven fortemporarily descending into the lavatorial, I, forone, consider this a most important factor in anypublic house. Remember the old proverb, if thetoilets are clean, so is the cellar. Fourth in order ofpriority in the Mintel survey.

Stamford splendourStamford is so steeped in history that it is perfectfor a day out, and I make no excuse for making it aregular feature of this column. I have in pastissues concentrated on the southern part of thetown but would now like to point potential visitorsto its well defined town centre.If you arrive bytrain the town cascades before you in layers oflocal stone and the central square is easily locatedby the spire of All Saints church. Nestling along-side it and easily identified by its brewery tower isthe Melbourn Brothers bar. The brewery itselfis typically Victorian but the building which housesthe pub within it is clearly much older. The bar ison the top floor selling the whole of the SamSmiths range at the usual moderate prices. It haspreserved the original timber-framed roof withtwo skylights peering out onto the All Saints spire.I am particularly intrigued by the bolthole in thepit of the building, possibly a refuge for priestsduring the days of religious persecution, or merelya drinking den for those absconding from churchduties?


Pub news - continued |9

Skirting the church to the left through thecobbled streets of All Saints Place you could beforgiven for thinking you are in the midst ofMiddlemarch, for this is one of the locationschosen for the BBC series of that name. Adjacentto it is the Crown Hotel. This hotel has suffered arefurbishment much to the disapproval of somelocal residents, but it has opened it up into aspacious bar overlooking Red Lion Square. Youcan catch the original character of the place in thestonework of the dining room to the rear of themain bar. Four real ales are normally available. I normally settle for a pint of Landlord whoseperfect balance between the hop and the malt hascoerced my palate over the years. This is the idealplace for a group to meet with the Periwig justalongside and the Millstone just opposite.

A few hundred yards away, further north intoBroad Street, past the 14th century Browne’shospital, I am recommending the LordBurghley. Enter this pub in the winter and youwill be greeted by the warm glow of an open fire,but don’t count on getting a seat near it. Smokersare provided with a similar comfort in the stonebuilt enclosed back yard, probably the bestsmoking facilities I have seen since the lawchanged. This fine, multi-roomed pub offers sixreal ales with Tim Taylor’s Landlord and FullersLondon Pride and ESB as regulars.

Turning back off Broad Street into St. Paul’s Streetyou pass St. Paul’s bookshop, one of several in thetown. Bibliophiles should beware of being sirened intothis beguiling venue as it will almost certainly interrupttheir beer Odyssey. Fellow semi – literates shouldproceed directly to the Toby Norris, surely the jewelin the Stamford pub crown. Originally a private housedating back to 1280, it is an award-winning conversionthat has preserved many of the original featuresincluding the original timber framed vaulted ceiling onthe third floor. There are five hand pumps andanother four beers are served from the cellar.

I assume that many visitors will travel by train, so Iam recommending two pubs across the town bridgein High Street St. Martins: the George Hotel andthe Bull and Swan. This was originally the Old

Great North Road, exactly where you would expectto find traditional coaching inns. The George islegendary as having once harboured Charles theSecond. Local poet John Clare is known to havemade four journeys to London and would undoubt-edly have lubricated himself here prior to catchingthe coach. Daniel Defoe chose this place “out ofcuriosity, for it is reckoned one of the greatest inns inEngland “. I have chosen it for the more mundanereason that it is close to the station; out of the rearexit, past the old stables and into Gresley Drive. A word of warning; Cross Country Railways havelittle compunction about cancelling a train andleaving an hour’s longer wait than anticipated. Just time to check out the Bull and Swan.

North and SouthIn the last issue I reported on the Blue Bell. As promised, I have returned to Werrington to

research another promising pub crawl. Just alongthe road from the Blue Bell is the Three Horse-shoes. This is a friendly traditional local of tworooms with the public bar more or less a dedicatedgames area. Adnams Ghost Ship, Sharp’sDoombar, and St Austell Tribute are regularlyavailable. With Sky television all around thesaloon bar, the pub is popular with sports fans.Dave and Louise have invested a lot of money tocreate a very comfortable ambience and I am surethat it will continue to prosper.

Further to the north it was time I revisited theSimmospoons chain. Andy, in the Ploughman, iscontinuing his policy of serving ten real ales andseven ciders with his happy shopper still availableat £2.00 a pint. He tells me that he is experi-menting with a super-chilled line controlled at 7-8degrees centigrade. Those of us who have drunkin semi- tropical holiday resorts will see the logic ofthis experiment if we are lucky enough to getenough sunshine. Andy will rotate speciallyselected summer beers and is well aware that hewill need to be circumspect to avoid the chill haze.He has been in this pub for 5 years now, andhaving done so much to keep it open, deserves ourcontinuing support. Brother Stuart at the Dragonhas helped him raise over £50,000 over thepast few years for the special needs school,


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Pub news - continued |11

Heltwate and will continue the campaign with acharity band day on 24th May. He has promisedlive music from 3.00pm with up to eight bands andin excess of ten real ales. The Dragon is one of thebest designed estate pubs I have ever seen, with along bar in the shape of a semi hexagon facing outto a surrounding grass verge. The Cock Inn willalso be hosting a charity beer festival on 5-6th July inaid of Peterborough Cancer Cure. I have heard thatthe Crab and Winkle is being converted to asports bar. It is a pleasant roadside pub with a familyatmosphere and a Greene King tied house, and Iwas pleased to find Belhaven available on my visit.

Jungle drums I am please to be able to confirm my prediction inIssue 181 that the George in Oundle will remainopen. It is now being run by Erin Barrett,formerly supervisor of Yates’s (now the Sir HenryRoyce) in Broadway. The Peacock in Woodstonhas changed hands again. New managers Amandaand Colin will continue the music policy andcontinue serving a real ale at £2.60 a pint. I willkeep you posted on their plans for the future.

Chris Moxon informs me that “the Decoy inMilking Nook is now attracting back its real alecustomers who quite often are finishing theirsession by ordering a superb Indian takeaway oractually sitting down to eat in the restaurant andwashing down their meal, often with an Oakhamor a Tydd. The takeaways are proving to be verypopular. Owner Abu has listened to his regularsand always has at least two quality ales on the go.He also has plans for an inaugural beer festivalwhich will include special deals on beer and currieson the weekend of 26 -28th June.”

George Sakkali has sent an update on theExeter Arms, Helpston. Refurbishment wasdelayed by structural problems and after sendingthe council’s listed buildings department into a“frenzy”, plans to open in June. So look forwardto a comprehensive review in the next issue. TheBlue Bell in Dogsthorpe is closed and issurrounded by a security fence. Elgoods have reas-sured us that this is principally to secure thepremises until a suitable licensee is found.

I previously reported that the Golden Lion inStanground is closed, but it seems to be lingeringon as a public house. Such is the state of disrepair,however, that I suspect its demise is close at hand.Whilst in Stanground, the Fenman has resumedits policy of serving real ale in the form of Sharp’sDoombar.

Serious omissionsAttentive readers will have noticed that the mostserious omission in my recent survey of MarketDeeping pubs was the Walnut Tree in Horsegate.I suspect that this was due to the onset of someform of dementia as I had mislaid my notes anddid not have the opportunity to revisit the pubbefore deadline date. It was therefore with somerelief that I managed to get served when Ireturned to apologise. Daron and Lynn havecreated such a warm and friendly atmosphere thateven I was made welcome. I have in the pastunderestimated the range of beers available inPunch Taverns as Daron informed me thatamongst the beers available to him are BlueMonkey, Andwell, Bowland, Bushys, Abbeydale,Skinners, Northumberland and Mr. Grundy’s.

Apologies are also due to Richard in the IronHorse as I failed to advertise his music and beerfestival on 28th March supporting Macmillan andFirst Century Legion. On entering this uniquevenue your nostrils are assailed with the delightfularoma of barbecue sauces and the food is highlyrecommended. Richard has a policy of promotinglocal ale, frequently showcasing beers from BexarCounty Brewery.

I would like to reassure those readers who lovesuperlatives that I intend to keep this most seriousomissions feature in future issues. So keep thecomplaints coming!

John Temple - Pubs Officer


Send us your news!Calling all landlords and landladies! Had a refurb? Got agreat event on? Started selling a new range of ales orcider? Let us know and we will add your news to thesepages. Just email John Temple at [email protected]


The all day venue – Open for meals and snacks 12pm to 9pm daily

A conservatory restaurant with food served all day, nooks and crannies in the old stables, outdoor seating and extensive parking, plus a selection of

Real Ales.

Real food, Real ales, Real pubBEST WESTERN PLUS Orton Hall Hotel

& Spa, The Village, Orton Longueville, Peterborough, PE2 7DN

Tel: 01733 391111

The Ramblewood Inn‘The pub in the woods’

For special offers, news and travel directions visit www.traditionalinns.co.uk

All foodpurchased whenyou spend £25

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Terms and Conditions - Coupon valid only when £25 or more is spent on food, cannot be exchanged for cash, does not apply to spend on drinkscannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, not valid for parties in excess of 8 people. Valid until Thursday 30th July 2015.If you do not wish to receive further promotions please tick here.


Real ale pub guide |13

Peterborough and District CAMRA haveproduced a Real Ale Pub Guide to help both localsand visitors to our fair city seek out Peterboroughpubs which serve real ale. Our aim is to presentyou with an easy to use, handy guide, that bothacknowledges the importance of the micro brew-eries and small pubs, but also the contribution beingmade by some of the larger breweries and retailchains , who are playing their part in keeping theavailability of traditional fine British ales alive!

All the data contained in the guide is obtainedfrom CAMRA’s WhatPub website which in turn isupdated on a regular basis by CAMRA members.

Whilst carrying out my survey for the guide Iidentified 43 pubs in the Peterborough area whichserve real ale on a regular basis. As you can seefrom the example each pub in the guide will havethe following details:-

1. Map number2. Address and telephone number3. Nearest bus route4. Opening hours5. Website (where available) 6. Description

In producing the guide, we are not looking tocompete with the Good Beer Guide, or provide a defacto list of every pub in Peterborough. We arelooking to provide a handy Guide to Peterboroughpubs that serve real ale.

An electronic version of this guide will also be available via the Peterborough CAMRA websitewww.peterborough-camra.org.uk

It will be available from the Peterborough VisitorDestination Centre, City Museum, City Libraryand Railway Station, also from Peterborough Pubs.

Mike BlakesleyPress Officer


COCK INN1305 Lincoln Road, WerringtonPeterborough PE4 6LWP�(01733) 322006cock-inn.net

Bus RouteCiti 1

Opening Hours11-11 (Midnight Thu; 1am Fri & Sat)

Large pub, thought to date from1418. Olde Worlde bar/lounge with three fireplaces, stonepillars and low beamed ceiling. Separate restaurant. Reputedly haunted by “Fred”.

COLLEGE ARMS40 BroadwayPeterborough PE1 1RS�(01733) 319745jdwetherspoon.co.uk

Bus RouteCity Centre

Opening Hours8-Midnight; 8-1am Fri &Sat

Formerly a technical college that opened in 1903 and hasgiven the name to the pub. Large and busy Wetherspoonpub opened in May 1996.

CRAB & WINKLE3 LoxleyWerringtonPeterborough PE4 5BW�(01733) 322377thecrabandwinkle.co.ukBus RouteCiti 1

Opening Hours11-11; 11-Midnight Fri &Sat; 12-11 Sun

Named after a nearby disused railway line that carriedseafood to London from the east coast. Good value mealsserved daily including steak nights, curry club and Sun-day roasts.

CROWN749 Lincoln RoadPeterborough PE1 3HD�07415 624262thecrownonline.co.ukBus RouteCiti 1

Opening HoursU12-3, 5-11 Mon-Thu; 12-11 Fri-SunPopular corner local established in 1867 and became apublic house in 1885. Major alterations and mock Tudor fa-cade added in the 1920s. The large, refurbished mainbar/lounge has a fireplace and TV, and detailed postersabout the history of the pub and the New England area.Presented with a CAMRA Gold Award in August 2013 forits good range of well kept real ales.

DRAGONHodgson Centre, WerringtonPeterborough PE4 5EG�(01733) 578088thedragon-werrington.co.ukBus RouteCiti 1

Opening Hours4-11.30 Mon-Thu; 12-Midnight Fri & Sat; 12-11 SunA community pub that hosts four darts teams, three poolteams and a crib team. Traditional pub food served Thu-Sat afternoons and Sunday lunch. Received a Peterborough CAMRA Gold Award in October 2013.

CUCKOO20 Oundle RoadAlwalton PE7 3UP�(01733) 239638vintageinn.co.uk

Bus RouteCiti 24 and X4

Opening Hours12-11 Mon-Thu; 12-2am Fri & Sat; 12-10.30 SunStone built 17th century pub in picturesque village. Singlebar divided into separate areas allowing local and foodcustomers to mix easily. Paintings, caricatures and oldphotos of Peterborough adorn the walls. Large beer gar-den, popular in summer.

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Produced by the Peterborough & District branch of the Campaign for Real Ale

Peterborough Real Ale Pub Guide

Available June 2015


Bexar CountyThe Chupacabra, brewer Steve’s40th birthday beer was wellreceived at Coalheavers BeerFestival. The 12 months storage ina wooden rum cask really brought

out some great flavours. The only other cask ofthis beer will be at Nottingham Beer Festival laterthis year. The next beer to go into the rum caskwill be a freshly brewed Papa Steve which will have3 months in the wood before going to Peterbor-ough Beer Festival.

Recently, Bexar County have supplied beers toseveral local beer festivals including Coalheavers,Hand and Heart, Heron and Rugby club. Beerswill also be going to Cambridge Beer Festival inMay and will include a peanut butter beer. Hope-fully it will taste better than it sounds. One of thenext beers is to be a jalapeno and Margarita beerand there is still some pressure on Steve to do achilli, chocolate and sprout stout!

The next project is to be flavoured non-alcoholicsodas (pop in English). Apparently these are verypopular in the U.S. with flavours such as orange,lavender and Earl Grey and vanilla. Also comingsoon is Kombucha which is a tea that isfermented with sugar, yeast and bacteria and isusually about 1.5% but this will be added to a basebeer of 5 to 6%. Again, very popular in the U.S.You certainly can’t accuse Bexar County ofproducing boring stuff.

Bakers DozenJust outside of our branch area, thenew brewery venture from the teambehind the Jolly Brewer pub in Stam-

ford looks likely to be off the ground with beeravailable from early June. For further updatescheck out www.bakersdozenbrewing.co.uk.

Castor AlesThe decision has (sadly) been taken that Castor-ware mild will not be brewed this year. Theresimply isn’t the capacity due to the continued

popularity of Hopping Toad and Durobrivae. 12th Man and Old Scarlett are currently“resting” but fear not, they will be back in the nearfuture. Having said that, they have just passed themilestone of their 200th brew and wanted to markthe occasion with something special. The resultwas a 5.5% hop monster called CC IPA whichwent down a storm at all their local (and loyal)outlets. It even made an appearance at theCoventry Beer Festival. Speaking of festivals, theyhave featured at many, both local and furtherafield, in the last few weeks and they producedsome specials for the Prince of Wales Feathers’festival.

The last six months have seen a major investmentin brewery equipment, including new hoses andfittings, making that final clean just a little easierand improved the brewing process. But they justwish they were able to get hold of the “finest ingre-dients” that virtually every other brewer seems tobe using, then who knows what accolades wouldcome their way—-we might even make it to thejudging table at the PBF. As it is they say they willhave to be content with producing damned fine alefrom the great ingredients that seem to be all thatis left by the time they get to the suppliers.

“Thanks again to everyone who supports CastorAles, a select few, because we’re only little and wedon’t make a lot.”

Digfield AlesIt has been a very busy year so far for DigfieldAles, with a vintage Mad Monk proving espe-cially popular. Their beers were well received atboth Leicester and St Neots Beer Festivals, aswell as closer to home at The Heron, Stangroundand The Coalheavers, Fletton. The full range ofDigfield’s Ales will be available at theNorthampton Beer Festival at Delapre Abbey.

Elgood’sCambridge IPA, the firstnew beer in the permanentrange for ten years waslaunched on Friday 10th

Brewery News

Brewery news |15

April at the Rising Sun, Leverington. Peterboroughbranch was invited and sent a small party who werevery well looked after by Landlady Maggie Sharman.A curry lunch was provided and the event gave newpubs officer John Temple a good opportunity to makecontacts with Elgood’s. All in all a good day was had.The beer has already been deemed a success with salesdoing well in both free trade, especially the Wether-spoons estate, and the tied trade. Saturday NightBeaver is the current seasonal beer.

Kings Cliffe Brewery KCBSee P51 Ready for Take Off article on page 28.

Mile Tree BreweryMile Tree’s new ale, CrescentAle 3.9% a copper browntraditional English bitter

brewed with classic English hops, has proved to bevery popular and” flew out” within a few days.Larksong continues to sell well.

Due to demand for their beer, more storage spacewas required to accommodate bottles and casks.This extra space will enable an increase in the rangeof bottled beers. In the near future they plan tobottle beer that has been aged in oak casks and arecurrently looking at a range of Italian made bottles.

Mile Tree will have a presence at several eventsduring June and July, namely:-June 7th Ely Sunday Market selling bottled beer.June 27th Secret Garden Touring Park annualMidsummer Fair, where they will be running the bar.This will be the Fair’s 2nd year with many moreexhibitors. July 10th & 11th Ely Folk Festival.

The Travelin’ Tavern will be making appearancesat Wimblington Fun Day on July 19th selling draughtand bottled beer and in Peterborough CathedralSquare on July 23rd selling bottled beers.

Nene Valley BreweryNene Valley beers are attracting afine following in the home ofBritish brewing, Burton-upon-Trent, thanks to the efforts of salesdirector, John Blythin, whose home


is in the area. They are also being seen more inCambridge where Bible Black and the newgrapefruit saison, Pulp Fiction (5.2%) will be inevidence at the forthcoming CAMRA BeerFestival. Bible Black and Release the Chimpshave also appeared at the Coalheavers ArmsSpring Beer Festival in April.

Nene Valley’s own version of the Large HadronCollider, a Large Hop Collider, to go with theirexisting beer, Big Bang Theory, has been usedon the latest gyle, and reports from the brewerysuggest that the result has a “bigger bang”. Lookout for it in your local soon.

Just in time for the barbecue season the Tap &Kitchen is to introduce an Argentinian Barbecue,a wood-fired grill, on the wharf next to the moor-ings. If the wind is in the right direction we mayeven smell the cooking here in Peterborough.

In the week leading up to the May Day BankHoliday Nene Valley Brewery recorded itshighest ever level of sales to pubs to date, astatistic that is causing a problem, of the goodkind, for the brewery staff. They just do not haveroom for either Fermentation Vessels or coldstorage to satisfy the demand for their beers.Expansion will be going ahead and it is hopedthat the added space will be in operation by theend of this year. Beers are being distributed by awholesaler and will be appearing in Brighton andBristol as this issue goes to press.

Jim Irving Pale was brewed in May and willbe out in local pubs soon. The brewery is alsoparticipating in the 50th anniversary celebrationof the launch of Maris Otter barley by brewing anumber of special beers. Other plans include aspecial for Peterborough Beer Festival in August,and a full brew (15 bbl) of the 2015 instalment ofDouble JIP at 9.9%. Much of the Double JIPwill be bottled with customers as far away asJapan expressing interest.

F

Brewery news continued |17

Oakham AlesAs reported in last edition of BeerAround ‘Ere, Green Devil IPA wasnamed Champion Cask Ale at The

International Brewing Awards 2015.More than 400 people attended the celebration,among them many of the brewers and cidermakers from all over the world who had enteredthe bi-annual competition. The Forger is atpresent on bar tops and getting good reviews as itpacks a fair hop punch for its abv of 3.5%. Thiswill be followed in June by the next seasonalPreacher at 4.5%. The July Oakademy beer willbe The Robber at 4.8%. Endless Summer willthen return as the August seasonal. For the agedand vintage range Hawse Buckler is now available and Tranquility will be around frommid-July.

Shoulder of Mutton BreweryIt has been a busy time for the small but perfectlyformed Shoulder of Mutton brewery with recentappearances at the Heron Stanground, Hand andHeart and Poppies Burton Park Beer Festivals asword about this gem of a brew pub continues tospread. The stories about all the different beerscan be found on flyers in pub and there is certainlysome imagination about the beer titles which areall named after local places, events and stories.Following a similar theme used for their popularDark Ale named Rosie’s Sweat Box, after a wartime bomber that crashed nearby, the May special,a 5% American Pale Ale was improbably called401 BG after the 401st US Air Force bombergroup based at nearby Deenethorpe in the SecondWorld War. Made with two fruity American hopsand a very special live yeast flown from the Statesit was an instant hit that seems destined to berepeated. An experimental cask Kölsch will makean appearance in June as the monthly specialscontinue to generate great enthusiasm withcustomers keen to try new beer styles. The breweryhas increased its cask stock to cope with demand.

Star Brewing CompanyStar reported that their year onyear sales have increased by 30%.They are just coming to the endof their JD Wetherspoon’s proba-tionary period and should they

pass, as expected, this will allow them to supply upto 30 more JD Wetherspoon’s outlets. The seasonalbeer for next month sees the return of Lightyear.

Tydd Steam Sales have been steadyrecently with Armageddoncurrently available from the

occasional portfolio.The main item of news is rather disappointing.Yeovil Brewery have been in touch and informedWill, the brewer, that they have patented the nameStargazer and have ordered him to cease using thename for his beer, even though the two tradingareas are miles apart. The beer will now be calledStjarnskadare which is Swedish for Stargazer.The word will be superimposed on the currentpump clip background!

Xtreme AlesApril saw the Beer Fest seasonstart with a bang! Xtreme Aleswere pleased to support local

beer fests at the Rose and Crown in March, TheHeron, The Coalheavers Arms and The Hand andHeart, where all their beers were greeted withgreat reviews. May saw their beer appear at theever popular Peterborough Rugby Club Beer Festwith Pigeon Ale selling well. They also made theirfirst appearance at the Cambridge Beer Festival.The beer on show was a fest special called VogonPoetry, named in-line with the festival’s HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy theme. Surprise,Surprise - this beer was brewed with Galaxy Hops.June will see the release of a new beer called 50Shades of Pigeon. July will see Xtreme’s beersappearing at The Ploughman, Town House, Elyand The Deepings Beer Festivals.


Are you missing out?Get Beer Around Ere delivered to your door! For a year (6 issues) send £3.54 for second class or £4.08for 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 the mid 1970’s the big six brewery companies inthe UK had all but given up on real ale. Londonbrewers Watneys and Truemans didn’t even brewany. There were limited supplies of superbregional real ales such as Young’s Special, Bank’sMild and Marston’s Owd Roger but, these wereoften hard to get hold of and many beer miles hadto be travelled to sample one.

Then in 1976, in response to mounting pressurefrom the newly formed CAMRA, Allied Breweriesspecially developed new real ale at their Ind Coopebrewery. Being brewed in Burton, it was fittinglycalled Draught Burton Ale (DBA), and of coursethe local gypsum-rich waters were used. It wassuccinctly described in the 1977 Good Beer Guide as“light and well hopped” and by 1981 it was a“sweetish malty bitter”. It steadily rose to stardomand in 1990 DBA was crowned CAMRA’s Cham-pion Beer of Britain, the only real ale of anynational brewer ever to have done so.

The 1998 Good Beer Guide still sung the praises ofDBA, but now as “A full tasting hoppy beer with arich mixture of malt and fruit in the aroma andflavour”. However several years earlier, Carlsberg-Tetley had got their hands on the brewery and theGood Beer Guide added “…a pioneer amongst bigbrewery real ales, now looks in danger of beingdiscontinued”.

Sure enough, the brewery was sold to Bass andshut down. Marston’s Brewery up the road in

Burton was given DBA to look after. This closurewasn’t an isolated event. Carlsberg also closeddown operations in Wrexham and Alloa with a lossof at least 550 jobs and leaving it with only twofunctioning breweries in the UK, one in Leeds andone in Northampton. Then in 2001 DBA wasevicted from Burton altogether and sent to Tetley’sbrewery in Leeds. Carlsberg insisted that theywould still be using the same recipe and yeast butthe 2004 Good Beer Guide said,” lacking some hoppi-ness, compared to its Burton original”. Simply put,the DBA of Leeds was just not the same as theDBA of Burton. How can a beer, brewed inBurton using world renowned Burton waters, besuccessfully reproduced in a completely differentcounty with completely different waters? How canthat beer be called a “Burton” beer? Salesinevitably plummeted. DBA was moved again, thistime to J.W. Lees in Manchester. Detached from itsparentage, miles from its birthplace and rapidlylosing its fan-base, DBA has now been unceremo-niously tossed onto the scrapheap, because asRoger Protz quotes on his blog (Gone for aBurton”, 6th January 2015). Carlsberg say,“Demand has fallen to an unsustainable level”.

Well surprise, surprise. If the phrase “wilfulneglect” could ever be thrown accusingly at abrewery, this is surely the occasion to do it. What awaste…

DBA (1976-2014)Ian Boyd

(This article was first published in Pints of View, theNewsletter of CAMRA’s Hertfordshire Branches)


The Death of a Beer

Presentations |19

The Heron, once under the control of a PubCo,is now a freehold. Free-of-tie tenants Rob andMeri have turned the pub around, sellingLocAles on 4 hand pumps. For this achieve-ment they received the first Peterborough andDistrict Gold Award of 2015. The presentationwas made on 18th April, which was during theirfirst beer festival.

Pictured are landlord and landlady, Rob andMeri, with Dave McLennan who nominatedpub for the Gold Award, and a cake replica ofthe pub baked by a customer.


Bram and Sue were presentedwith their POTY award onThursday 23rd April, duringtheir St. Georges Day beerfestival. Chris Hooton andGraham Simms, co-sponsors oforiginal nomination, said a few congratulatory words.

Pub of the Year Hand & Heart

Gold Award The Heron, Stanground



Traditional East Anglian cider

Handcrafted cider and perry madeusing local Huntingdonshire apples

Available from selected local retailersand pubs, farmers’ markets and at local

country fairs and events

‘Olivers Choice’

Best East Anglian

Bottled Cider

Cambridge CAMRA

2009- 2010

‘Olivers Choice’

Cider of the

FestivalCambridge CAMRA

2013

Guide to ACV’s|21

There is nothing inevitable about pub closures.They are probably the result of a deregulatedmarket. Fortunately Members of Parliament of allpersuasions understand that there needs to besome legal constraints and they have provided uswith the Localism Act and Assets of CommunityValue. I should like to draw your attention to someof the important updates recently received fromCAMRA head office:

From 6th April 2015 pubs that are listed as Assetsof Community Value (England only) will requireplanning permission to be demolished or changedto any other use. In effect existing permitted development rights will be removed for pubs listedas ACVs for as long as the pub is on the localauthorities list.

In a second landmark decision a First TierTribunal concluded that the London Borough ofLewisham were correct to conclude that a localCAMRA branch is a valid nominating body. Assuch, local CAMRA branches can now nominatepubs to be listed as Assets of Community Value intheir name.

Some important factsPubs listed as ACVs will require planning

permission to change their use or be demolished.This includes pubs already listed as ACVs.

In addition to this planning permission will berequired to change the use or demolish a pub fromthe point of nomination.

Planning permission will be required for changeof use and or demolition for the period that thepub is listed which is five years from the date oflisting.

As part of the changes, pub owners and devel-opers will be required to ascertain whether pubsnot on the asset list have actually been nominated.This must be done formally in writing.

The local authority has 56 days to confirmwhether the pub is listed or nominated. Thismeans that the owner cannot change use ordemolish a pub lawfully within the prescribed 56day period.

Please note that the nomination of a pub willprevent any immediate change of use or demoli-tion. There is now an obligation to go through afull planning application if the owner now wishesto demolish a pub.

How do I nominate a pub?1. Decide who you are nominating on behalf of.You can either nominate as an unincorporatedgroup of 21 local people, as a Parish Council, onbehalf of the CAMRA Branch or in connectionwith another local group.

2. Go to your Council website and look up thesection on Assets of Community Value or Right toBid. Here you can download a nomination form (thetemplate is also available on the CAMRA website).

3. Fill in the form with as much detail as you canon why the pub should be classified as a community asset.

4. If nominating as an Unincorporated Group,demonstrate that at least 21 people from the localcommunity support the listing of the pub.

5. Check your local council website to see wherethe nomination needs to be submitted. Manycouncils have produced guidance explaining howthey are accepting nominations.

6. Request a receipt from the local authority toacknowledge they have received the form as planning protection will be granted at the point ofnomination.

If you have any questions or require further assistance please contact Matt Brown, PlanningAdvisor [email protected] or call on01727 337 851.

Assets of Community Value. A Guide


MembershipMattersHave you been missing your copy of What’sBrewing, and the quarterly magazine Beer? Is itsome time since you had any written, or email,communication from CAMRA? Are you sure thatCAMRA holds your current contact details? The Peterborough & District branch currently has25 individuals for whom the centrally held contactinformation is known to be incorrect. Could yoube one of those individuals?

If you are experiencing any of these problemsthen perhaps you are amongst the “Incommuni-cado 25”. Let me know via the contact details onpage 30 if you think you may be on the list. I’ll doall I can to ensure that communication lines arerestored.

Meanwhile, the “Old Gits” are facing a re-matchwith the “Young Members” at the Dragon,Werrington at 20.00 on Tuesday 26th May. WhilstI shouldn’t take sides, and as an Old Git myself, letshope that the 2015 event provides the same resultas last year, a resounding win for the Old Gits.

Bob MelvilleMembership Secretary


Update your details |23

CAMRA Gold Award 2015Great selection of Real Ales

Large Open Beer Garden

BT and Sky Sports

Function Room to Hire

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.

Motorcycle and ScooterMeet + BBQ

23rd June from 7pm £1 entryIn aid of Warwickshire & Northamptonshire

Air Ambulance Service

The Peterborough rail ale trippers got off to agood start to 2015 on Saturday 17th January witha trip to Harrogate and Knaresborough. As usualMick Slaughter sorted trains, tickets and food, allwe had to do was turn up, drink and eat.

Our first stop was the Harrogate Tap, just offplatform 1 on Harrogate Station. This place is wellworth a visit; 11 hand pumps and all beers in tiptop condition. When we got off the train at11:03am the log fire was burning, the snow wascoming down outside and I thought, ‘Can I pleasejust stay here?’ The Tap had Hallets HeartbreakerDry Cider on hand pump at 7%, but the beerswere a 5% Sunny Republic Stout Porter which myhusband Rob said was good and smokey. He thensaw Arbor Oyster Stout (4.6%), so decided on theway back that would be his drink before the trainhome. I had Collingham Winter Warmer (4.6%); a

nice brown beer with a good taste. Other beersincluded Thornbridge Brother Rabbit (4.0%),Diverse Music Presents Golden Looking Ale(4.5%), Roosters Blind Jack (3.7%), Sky’s EdgeYellow Rose (4.5%) and Black Edge Gold (4.0%),plus more.

Half of the party chose to take the bus to BiltonLane for a visit to the Gardeners Arms, a pub witha regionally important historic interior consistingof four small rooms. These included a tap roomon the left of the corridor separated only by aboarded partition with old bench seating and anancient hearth with a log fire. Being a SamuelSmith’s pub it only had their one real ale on sale.As we walked to the bus stop the snow was fallingquite hard.

More gravy please!A trip by train to Harrogate(& Knaresborough)


Back in Harrogate with the snow still falling wewalked to The Winter Gardens, now a Wether-spoons pub. It used to be part of the VictorianRoyal Baths, with a great staircase leading down toa large bar. The problem with Weatherspoons isthat they are always advertising beer as ‘ComingSoon’! Both beers I wanted to try, Birra Armada(4.8%) had just gone, so I asked for Doom Bar but,again, it had just gone. I was left with a choice ofAbbot, Ruddles, Roosters YPA (4.1%) or SaltaireTrio Ale (3.7%). I finally got the YPA which wasok. It’s a great building, but I do wish they wouldsort the beers better.

Mick took a small group off to visit Blues CaféBar. Robert thought it was a great bar and thewalls where decorated with pictures of all the greatBlues singers. It’s well worth a visit just to seethem, plus an eclectic mix of memorabilia. Robdrank Rudgates Aunt Mary Mild.

Lunch was at Hales Bar where most ofthe party ordered the freshly preparedsteak pies which were wonderful, withMick asking “more gravy please”. I wassorry I ordered the veggie option of goatscheese tart. Hales Bar dating from 1827 isone of the earliest inns in Harrogateoffering stops and refreshments for the

Spa visitors. I really liked the Bunsen burner typefeatures on the bar (would not be allowed today)for use of lighting cigarettes etc. It’s a nice darkpub with old gas lighting. The choice of beer onthe day was Draught Bass (4.4%), RobinsonsBlond (3.8%) Robinsons Voodoo Dawn (3.9%),and my beer choice was Daleside Legover (4.1%).This pub with a regionally important historic inte-rior is a great pub for beer, food and atmosphere,worth a visit.

The next port of call was the nearby Old BellTavern. Half of the pub is the former Farrah’stoffee shop with bare floorboards and a splendidold shop back fitting with words at the top “We arethe Sole Makers of Farrah’s Original HarrogateToffee Known the World Over as the Purest andthe Best”. This place had an extensive choice ofbeers, priced £3.18 to £4.60 and ABV 3.5% to4.5%. Okells Resolution Dark Winter Ale (4.5%)

had a wonderful coffee taste, you couldn’t fault it.Also on offer were Marstons Oyster Stout (4.1%)always a good fall back for dark beer drinkers andHawshead Windemere Pale (3.5%), more likeOakham Citra. I was taken up by the sign on thepub wall, a quote from Charles Dickens whichread, “HARROGATE is the queerest place withthe strangest people in it, leading the oddest lives”Well, I think on that Saturday we added to that!

Harrogate and Knaresborough |25


The Blues Café Bar F

Above: Hales Bar

26 |Harrogate and Knaresborough - continued

We then ventured along the road to Major Tom’sSocial in The Ginnel. You need to keep a sharpeye out for it or you’ll walk past it. Look for theretro/antique shop - it’s above it. I loved this place.You walk upstairs past a vinyl record shop called‘Wall of Sound’ and through a metal door andwow, you’re taken back to the 60s with the furni-ture inside. You could be back at your mum’s (ornana’s house dependent on your age). I was trans-ported back to the house I grew up in, it was justwonderful.

The bar has paintings on the walls for sale fromNicolas Dixon, and prices start at £200 and go upto £900. One rather apt title had been sold called‘Dicquot’ and we were sat with Dickie Bird. Thechoice of beer here was Blond Star Blond Beer(4.7%), Roosters Humble Pie (3.7%) BlackjackVanilla Stout (5.2%) and Bad Co, CommunicationBreakdown Double Pale (7.4%). The bar staff arewonderful and chatted to us about where we hadbeen. It was well worth the effort of finding theplace and spending some time there.

The next pub was a bit of a letdown. We walkedpast the Coach and Horses, a free house in theGood Beer Guide that sells snacks in the pub in aid ofthe Hospice in Harrogate, to go to Tap and Spile,Tower Street. I would love to say something niceabout the place, but found only one thing, the pubdog, Molly.

A number of the party took the bus to Knares-borough which stops on the High Street and ashort walk to the Market Place is Blind Jack’s

which is a 1980s creation but this multi-roomedpub with wooden floorboards looks like it has beenopen for decades. It has an on-site brewery -Knaresborough Brewing Company and the pubhas been listed in the Good Beer Guide since 1993 forits range of real ales, which included, on our visit,one from Magic Rock.

Just around the corner is the Cross Keys, Cheap-side, which has been refurbished as a traditionalpub by Ossett brewery and sells a range of realales from Ossett related breweries. It is also in theGood Beer Guide. Walk downhill and you will findthe Half Moon, 1 Abbey Road, a carefullyrestored free house selling 4 real ales from York-shire micro breweries and another guide entry.Across the bridge is the Mother Shipton Inn with amulti room layout selling two real ales from theHeineken UK / S & N stable such as CaledonianDeuchars IPA.

There are so many other real ale pubs in Knares-borough that it warrants a pub crawl on its own – theMitre Hotel situated near the railway station is also inthe Good Beer Guide selling 5 guest real ales frommicrobreweries; there are two Samuel Smiths pubs ofcharacter – Commercial Hotel (was Borough Bailiff)and Marquis of Granby Inn; near the market placeare SO! Bar and Eats and the George and Dragonwhich sells 4 real ales. Also Wetherspoons haverecently taken over the Crown Inn.

Back in Harrogate there are two more pubsworth a visit – some of us jumped off the bus from


Major Tom’s

The Half Moon, Knaresborough

Harrogate and Knaresborough - continued |27

Knaresborough just before it reached the largepark called ‘The Stray’ and a short walk brings youto the Swan on the Stray a Good Beer Guide refurbished pub with up to 8 real ales; and virtu-ally next door the Devonshire Arms, now 10Devonshire Place, has a traditional dimly-lit interior including a rare screened bar and sells upto 8 real ales but please note it doesn’t open until4pm each day. From here it is a short walk back tothe railway station where we all met up at theHarrogate Tap for its great choice of beer. It wasbusy, warm and a welcoming place for the finaldrink before the train back to Leeds and thenPeterborough.

Train tickets from Peterborough to Harrogate canbe bought at a good price, if booked 12 weeks inadvance, on East Coast’s website; the HarrogatePlusBus ticket is a bargain at £2 and enables you totravel to the Gardeners Arms and Knaresborough.

Roz Fountain (with additional information by Mick Slaughter)

Photos by Mick Slaughter, Ross Parton, Roz Fountain


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

28 | Gig guide


JuneFri 5th Tallawah Heron, Stanground

Sat 6th Streve Johns Conservative Club

Mark Shelby Conservative Club

Sun7th ShakeRattle ‘n’ Roll Conservative Club

Fri 12th That’s Armore (The Rat Pack) Conservative Club

Porky Pig Heron, Stanground

Sat 13th Lenny ‘G’ Duo Conservative Club

Ian & Kat Bluebell, Helpston

Sun 14th Dixie Mix Conservative Club

Fri 19th Off The Record Conservative Club

New Generation Crash & Burn Heron, Stanground

Sat 20th The HailStones Conservative Club

Fri 26th Kenny Rich Conservative Club

Sat 27thMark Steele Conservative Club

Ramshackle Serenade Heron, Stanground

JulyFri 3rd Lawrie Haley Duo Conservative Club

Arc Nation Heron, Stanground

Sat 4th Thomas Jay Trio Conservative Club

1970’s Glam rock night Bluebell, Helpston

Sunday 5th The Jazz Beens Conservative Club

Fri 10th Denny Lane Conservative Club

Sat 11th Paul Copestake Conservative Club

The Unknown Heron, Stanground

Sun 12th Rick Roberts Conservative Club

Sat 18th Response Conservative Club

The Lazoons Heron, Stanground

Fri 24th Trev ‘Bugie’ Walton Conservative Club

Sat 25th Kickback Heron, Stanground

Fri 31st Subway 77 Heron, Stanground

JAYNE Conservative Club

Gig guide

P51 Ready for Take OffWe have further success to report for Kings CliffeBrewery’s Flagship Ale P51. The managementteam at Sywell Aviator Hotel contacted thebrewery in early April after they had seen theKCB P51 pump clip and its link to the KingsCliffe USAAF P-51D Mustang’s article in theinternational aviation magazine Flypast.

After some discussion, two cask’s of P51 weredispatched for the Hotel Bar. The Aviator Hotel &Restaurant has been fully restored to its 1930’s ArtDeco splendour and KCB P51 fits perfectly withthe aviation theme alongside Shepard Neame’sSpitfire. If you have not visited The Aviator Hotelplease make a point as it is a real hidden Art Deco

gem, and at weekends the Aviation Museum isalso open which has a fine display of the 20thFighter Group’s operations from Kings Cliffe.

Paul Fussellmanager of theAviator Restaurantaccepting a signedP-51D MustangPrint from CarronMulqueen and Mike

Blakesley representing Kings Cliffe Brewery.

Mike Blakesley BLO Kings Cliffe Brewery

JuneSaturday 6th Bavarian Beer Festival, TheKings Head, Apethorpe.German food, lagers, games andoompah music plus a selection oflocal English ales. Bouncy castleand children’s sing- and- playalong to The Collaborators.Further details: www.kingsheadapethorpe.co.uk

Sunday 7thPeterborough Conservative ClubBeer Festival and Barbeque. 8 Real Ales, 2 Real Ciders - RealMusic by ‘Shake Rattle ‘n’ Roll.’Everyone welcome. Open at 11am

Friday 26th - Sunday 28thPeterborough Town Sports ClubBeer Festival, Bretton Gate.

JulyFriday 3rd – Sunday 5thBeer Festival & BBQ at TheBluebell, Helpston.

Friday 3rd – Sunday 5thThe White Horse 2nd AnnualBeer Festival, 4 Church Street,Baston, PE6 9PE. 20+ beersand ciders. Live music - BBQ.

Saturday 11th – Sunday 12th Gorefield Beer Festival. Commu-nity Hall and Pavillion, WolfLane, Gorfield PE13 4NE.

Featuring beers from local anenational breweries. Also craftlagers and 10+ ciders + musicand food. Further details: www.hall.gorefield.com

Friday 24th – Saturday 25thDeepings Beer Festival. Deep-ings RUFC, Spalding Road,Deeping St. James. Real ales,scrumpy ciders, premium lagers

and country wines, hot food andsnacks plus live Bands.Further details.www.deepingsbeerfest.co.uk

AugustTues 11th - Sat 15thGreat British Beer Festival.Olympia, Londonwww.gbbf.org.uk

Tue 25th – Sat 29thPeterborough Beer Festival. The Embankment, EmbankmentRoad, Peterborough, PE1 1EFwww.peterborough-camra.org.uk

Diary dates and beer festivals |29


Diary datesJuneMonday 8th at 8.30pmBranch Committee Meeting atthe Crown, 749 Lincoln Road,New England PE1 3HD.

All members welcome, pleasebring membership card.

Saturday 13th Campaigning Crawl by bus andtrain to Coates, Eastrea andWhittlesey. Meet at Queensgate

bus station by 11.00am to catchthe 11.05 Stagecoach 33 bus toCoates. Here we will visit the Vineand possibly the Carpenters Arms.Stagecoach Dayrider is £6.40.

We will then travel back toEastrea to visit the Nags Headand finally back to Whittlesey.The last bus (31) back from Whit-more Street, Whittlesey is at18.36, but there are trains up to9.28 pm and an anytime single

from Whittlesey to Peterboroughby train costs £4.50.

Please book places throughJohn Hunt, Social Secretary

JulyWednesday 8th at 8.30pmBranch Committee Meeting,venue to be confirmed. Allmembers welcome, please bringmembership card.

CAMRA meetings, socials and beer festivals in the coming months

Beer festivals

Branch 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: Don Rudd07806 731765

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 11am

Help yourself from the carvery,

as much as you can eat for

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.

Now servingcider on

hand pump

Download - Beer Around 'Ere Issue 183

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