Download - Beer around Ere issue 186

ALSO INSIDE PUB & BREWERY NEWS DIARY DATES JOIN CAMRA

Peterborough & District Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale December 2015 / January 2016

186

ABSTRACT JUNGLEEx Blue Monkey opens newbrewery in Peterborough

KNOCK DOWN PUNKNene Valley Brewery launch

new creation at O2 Brooklyn Bowl

AWARDSBruce and Denise at the

Letter B bag Cambridgeshire Cider Pub of the Year

The Ploughman Staniland Way, Werrington Centre Tel: 01733 327696

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

Editor: Jane [email protected]

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

Produced on behalf of CAMRA by:Orchard House Media LtdEventus Business Centre, 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] Reading:Bob Melville - 07941 246693Printed By:Precision Colour Print LtdHaldane, Telford, Shropshire TF7 4QQCirculation: 7,000 copies distributed topubs, clubs and members throughout thePeterborough and District CAMRABranch area. A digital version of thismagazine is available to view and download at issuu.com

Cover Image: Duncan from Castor Aleswith a group of supporters at this yearsGreat British Beer Festival.

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 29th January. We must have your stories, news and advertisements by 8th JanuaryPlease send your stories and other copy tothe editor, Jane Brown.

Greetings!Well here we are again. It’llsoon be Christmas! Stilllooking for ideas for presents?Why not buy CAMRAmembership for that “haseverything” person, who likes topartake of a real ale or two? Youknow it makes sense!

A date for your diaries: Tuesday 8th December isthe Branch AGM 8.30pm at the Brewery Tap; allmembers are welcome; please bring your member-ship card. Please come along!

Beat the New Year blues with a trip to WhittleseaStraw Bear Festival 15th – 17th January. Apartfrom pubs with lots of real ale and ciders there’ssomething for the whole family to enjoy. For moreinformation go to the Official Straw Bear Festival w ebsite www.strawbear.org.uk.

We are always on the lookout for ‘active’members. As well as the prestigious PeterboroughBeer Festival, there are social events throughout theyear and all members are welcome on these trips.So take a look at Diary Dates at the back of thispublication or visit the branch website for details.There may be something there or in future editionsto take your fancy!

All that remains is to raise a glass and wish allreaders a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2016!

Cheers!JB

IN THIS ISSUEWelcome from the editor 3

Chairman’s corner 5

Pub news 7–11

Brewery news 12–15

Death and life 17

Abstract Jungle 19

Awards 21

Castor Ales at GBBF 23

Get the Good Beer Guide 2016 25

Not Noah’s arc 28

Diary dates 29

Gig guide 29

Branch contacts 30

Join CAMRA 31

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk DECEMBER 2015 / JANUARY 2016 |BEER AROUND ERE

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

BEER AROUND ERE | DECEMBER 2015 / JANUARY 2016 Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

4 | Please support our advertisers

Chairman’s corner |5

How many years have you gone down to your localfor a pre-Christmas dinner pint, only to find thepub jam packed with total strangers from otherparts of the country – and they have even beensitting in your favourite seat! Two hours later theyhave disappeared into the mist never to be seenagain until possibly the next Christmas. Bahhumbug, eh! Then again many a pub wouldwelcome anybody if it meant a packed pub.

Our annual letter to our members is on its way asI write this. Please cast your votes for our POTY(Pub of the Year) and your selections for the 2017Good Beer Guide. It is important that we get as manymembers to vote as possible. Application forms forour Christmas Social are also with the form. Notethe closing date.

The debate on “craft beers” continues as towhether you are for ‘em or against ‘em. There arenow a great many available in many of our pubswho seem quite happy for them to sit alongsidetheir real ales. Recent experience tells me thatsome of these craft beers are quite tasty. The downside for me is, firstly, they come in tin cans orbottles, secondly, they tend to be more expensivethan draught cask beers, and usually are servedvery chilled and fizzy. Nevertheless it would appearthat this market is still growing as more micro craftbrewers try their hand at producing them. We usedto call our micros, micro brewers but, the craftrevolution has come across the ‘pond’ from thegood ole USA. I think the jury may still be out onthis one, let’s see if it is still around in a few years!

As to the state of our ‘home brewers’ a few factshave emerged in detail within the new 2016 Good

Beer Guide. For the third year running Britishbrewing of cask beer has grown by a whopping10%. We now have 1,424 breweries in the UK.There are 204 new breweries featured in the GoodBeer Guide 2016. Over 11,000 different real ales arenow brewed. Around one in six pints sold inBritish pubs is now real ale. Good Beer Guide EditorRoger Protz says:” The great British beer revolu-tion rolls on and appears to be unstoppable. Moreand more new breweries have been launched tokeep up with the demand for full – bodied, full-flavoured beers. Britain now has more breweriesper head than any other country and the range ofbeers on offer is the best in the world, rangingfrom the palest golden ale to the darkest, pitch-black stout.”

Another point to illustrate the growth of real aleis that when the Good Beer Guide was first publishedin 1975 only a third of pubs sold it. Now thatfigure has risen to a record 70%. The newspawning of the Micropub has also increased therise in real ales (and craft beers) with almost 200throughout the country.

So during this coming festive season raise a glassor two to our brewers for the hard work and effortthat they have put into reviving our brewingheritage. By supporting them in one of ourremaining pubs, you will be helping them tosurvive and helping them in turn to knock theglobal giants of the brewing industry into touch.Compliments of the season to all our readers.Thank you for your support over the last year.

David MurrayBranch Chairman

Chairman’s Corner


Jingle, jingle, - not bells but, hopefully the tills of our local pubs over the festive season. The old cliché “a pub is not just for Christmas” springsto mind.

Pub news |7

In the absence of any feedback on my feature onthe Nene Way in the last issue, I am assuming thateither nobody read it, or that silence normallymeans assent. I have therefore taken the liberty ofextending the sequence and suggesting the walkcontinues to Southwick. So those imaginedreaders waiting with bated breath in Nassingtoncan now gird their loins and progress along theNene Way to Woodnewton. For those, however,whose loins do not rule their head, I am proposingan alternative route from Warmington through thebeautiful village of Fotheringhay.

The Nene WayThe number 24 bus will take you from eitherPeterborough or Oundle to Warmington. I amstarting the walk at the Red Lion, a pub I havepreviously reported on in Issue 184. In fact, if youdo this walk in reverse, this is the perfect place tofinish up in as the food here is excellent. Readerswho have been bored to extremity by my previousroute descriptions have my permission now to skipthe next few paragraphs.

FotheringhayTurning left out of the Red Lion, you take the firstleft. Pass through the gate, avoiding the path tothe right, on to the Nene Way. Then through atunnel and past the dovecote until you reach themill. Turn right at the mill and then cross thebridge. Left at the gate and across another woodenbridge and head for the lock. As you enter the nextfield, the twin towers of the church are immediatelyvisible on the horizon. Once sighted, the image ofthis imposing edifice sinks into the reflective mindlike the mountain that shadowed the boyWordsworth. Except that if, like myself, you are oneof the redeemed, it augurs comfort rather thanterror. The path from now on is well marked andruns diagonally across the field until you reach themound of the castle. Now in ruins, you can lookforward to seeing the original stone which wastransported to rebuild the Talbot Inn in Oundle.Turn right here into the village and right again tothe Falcon, where you will find Digfield FoolsNook, London Pride and Greene King IPA.

Turn left out of the Falcon and follow the road toa country lane on the right hand side that runsthrough a little copse. You pick up the public foot-path along to the left, follow it diagonally across afield until you reach a gap in the hedge. Cross theroad and through the arch of the hedge opposite,hug the wire fence until you reach a slattedwooden bridge. Turn left on to the track whichloops around the fields until you pick up the foot-path again on the right hand side. The path nowruns diagonally across the field to a bridge acrossthe stream. On to a lane and past the sewageworks and into the Oundle Road. This leads toMain Street and on to the village.

WoodnewtonAnother charming, isolated village adorned bystone houses with thatched roofs, it has an excel-lent local in the White Swan which has reopenedafter a brief closure. This is an attractive brickbuilt pub with a long bar and a restaurant area toyour right. It was reopened by landlord IanSimmons in March, after a refurbishment. Ian hasstripped the wood panelled floor back to its orig-inal condition and relacquered it so, with the newlighting, there is an effect of clarity and continuitythroughout. Claret is also apparent in the attrac-tively redesigned entrance foyer which is nowpanelled with empty Bordeaux wine cases adver-tising Premier Grand Cru Pauillac and Pomerol.Eat your heart out. The pub is well frequented bywalking groups and Ian will adapt his menu totheir requests if they order in advance. His regularbeers are Woodforde’s Wherry, Doombar and onefrom the Nene Valley Brewery.

It is at times like these when that old demon, theromantic imagination, takes over and urges me toruminate on the pub in its original condition.Fortunately, a local was on hand to give me book,chapter and verse. The foyer and new toilet blockhas been built on to the original entrance. Thiswas brick walled either side with a staircase leadingup to the living area. Doors to the right and leftled to two bars, one of which had a skittle alley. I can imagine this as a place of recreation for a


Pub News

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8 | Pub news - continued

robust, local farming community as this is the moststrenuous pub game I have ever played. Purenostalgia of course, for it is impossible to recon-struct pubs of this character. Or is it?

Turn right out of the pub and past the churchuntil you come to an ornamental stone bridgecrossing the stream. You then cross another bridgeover a gently flowing brook and into the fields.The route now is straight, well trodden and clear.You will come to a pair of gate posts, through awood and straight on to the path to another gate.From the crest of the hill you descend until youreach a wooden slatted bridge. You are nowentering an umbrageous glade which will take youto a wooden post forbidding horse riding. Turnright here onto the bridle path and then left at thetwin posts into another wood of tall coniferscasting their spiky shade to obscure the route.Finally into a leafy lane which takes you to theexquisite St. Mary’s church in Southwick.

SouthwickFor the infirm there are seats along the way to easethe journey. I found a prop for my own infirmityat the Shuckburgh Arms, just to the right fromthe war memorial. This is an occasion when I donot have to expand on the area and its history asthis is thoughtfully provided on the lintel above thebar. There is also an attractive mural illustratinglocal walks in the room to the left of the main bar.Landlord Roger Gutteridge serves a selection ofreal ales in excellent condition from Brewsters,Church End, Woodforde’s and Nene Valley. Thispub is yet another success story for the Plunkettfoundation as it was saved from extinction and isnow run by the local community. Roger tells methat the profits are channelled back into the pub,the church and the village hall.

OundleIt is a straight road that will take you back intoOundle to the George, at the top of the hillbeyond the famous school. The route is easilynegotiated but, as the grass verge is fairly uneven,will involve some road walking. Since Erin Barrettand her partner Steve have taken it over they havebrightened up the bar considerably replacing the

purple, black and red décor with sage green andivory. Erin specializes in beers from the Oakhamrange and guests of a similar pale and hoppy style.

You can get back into Peterborough by the X4 or24 bus, but if you wish to stay overnight there isthe Talbot Hotel by the Market Square, whichhas a comfortably furnished main bar serving tworeal ales including some from Nene Valley Breweryand Digfield.

The wood panelling on the staircase is claimed tohave been recovered from Fotheringhay Castle andthe scratch marks which are still visible from MaryQueen of Scots as she was dragged to her death.As the chronicles claim that she went to the blockwith dignity and reconciliation, I wonder whichone of Elizabeth’s rackmasters was responsible forthis hideous piece of propaganda.

Local newsLiam Scanlon will be leaving the Ostrich in thecity centre with the expiry of his lease. Liam hasdone a great job here and his infectious wit andgood humour will be missed by regulars and occa-sionals alike. I have been informed that Marstonsintend to sell the Anchor in Wimblington and thatthe locals have raised an ACV. Work is in progressat George’s in March. They have re-layed thefloor in the main entertainment area and extendedthe beer range to four hand pumps. The Wool-pack in Weldon is closed and has a ‘To Let’ signoutside, whilst the Hero of Aliwal in Whittleseyis on the market. This establishment wouldprovide the perfect premises for a local microbrewer and I have referred this to a potentialinvestor. Great news from the Elm Tree Inn inElm. Seriously underperforming the last time Ivisited, it has been taken over by Neil Niquitta whois currently serving Lincoln Gold, Bomber County-from Tom Woods and East Coast I P A fromGreene King. Further plans include installing theirown micro brewery on site for cask ales.

Meanwhile, over in Stamford, The GoldenFleece is undergoing a major resurrection as atraditional public house under the partnership ofMick Purvis and his daughter and son in law,


Pub news - continued |9

Carol and Paul Frith. They are removing the stageto create more seating space, restoring the openfireplace and working on a new design for the exte-rior. Hopefully this will gel with the monument tothe Kebab Stick which adorns the Sheepmarket;although some locals insist that this is a replicationof one of the crosses which King Edward erectedfor his Queen Eleanor on his mournful journeyhome. Mick now serves Everards Tiger, hasrestored the Old Original and has BishopsFarewell as the guest.

Checking out ChatterisWhen I originally committed to visit even thedarkest corners of the branch, I took some accountof remoteness and none of accessibility. Citizens ofChatteris wishing to check out Peterborough cando the whole thing by bus there and back in a day,but for some reason you cannot do the reversefrom Peterborough, such is the parlous state of ourcountry bus services! I have finally made it, and ahard going I had of it too. Not the best time ofthe year to go travelling. The weather hot and theroute devious. Queue for a ticket at the station -twenty minutes. Train to March - twenty minutes.Walk to Fountain Square - twenty minutes.Number 35 bus to Chatteris - twenty minutes.Well over an hour excluding waiting time. But Istand by this commitment.*

The town itself is now blessed with only fivepubs, two of which were closed on a Saturdayafternoon, so I hope they will pardon me for notreporting on them. This is a pleasant, unspoiltFenland market town. The first pub that you meetas you enter is The Ship; a proper beer housewith proper games: dominoes, crib and shoveha’penny. When I was a lad, nearly all of the pubsin London had a shove ha’penny board andseveral along the Wessex coastline where we usedto spend our holidays. I still have my Dad’s boardwhich I have kept in pristine condition, havingnever seen a wet cloth. This precise protocolappears to have been respected on the Ship’sboard as I noticed that all of its contours are nowfirmly secreted with chalk dust to maintain theeven flow of the ha’pennies and to enhance theglancing technique that us aficionados of the game

have perfected over the decades. The Ship has fourhand pumps featuring two beers from Fullers andtwo from Greene King. It has an attractive,enclosed patio area to the rear with a wood burnerproviding warmth and comfort to smokers.Having spent the previous day in London payingbetween £3.90 - £4.50 a pint, I was surprised tohear that the Sun newspaper (?) reported this asthe first pub in England to charge £1 for a pint.This was under the stewardship of one HaroldJessop and must have been in the late seventies tothe early eighties, as just before decimilisation Iwas paying only half a crown!

The people of Chatteris are so friendly that I wasoffered lifts from pub to pub by people I had nevermet before. This was just as well, really, as my nextstop was the Sportsman on Fairway, a largemodern estate pub on the outskirts of town. It wasoriginally built as a social club for the estate by thenearby Fairleeds Engineering Works and has beentransformed into the perfect community pub. Thebar was sparsely populated when I arrived but thebarmaid reassured me that it would be throngingwith customers when the two football teams thatthey sponsor arrived after their games hadfinished. They have started up a cycling club forall ages and customers raise funds by runningmarathons for charities such as MAGPAS andAutism. The pub has a large function room to therear which was alive with the noise of boisterousand excited children at a birthday party. Sharp’sDoom Bar was available at £2.80 a pint.

The focal point of the town is the GeorgeHotel on the High Street. Originally a coachinginn, this is a large friendly pub with a roomy Lshaped bar leading to a mezzanine floor which isthe restaurant area. It has Shepherd Neame Spit-fire on hand pump and is popular for its goodquality, traditional pub food served in generousportions.

If, on the way back through March you are inneed of sustenance, you can do no worse than visitthe Acre, just to the left off the High Street oppo-site Lloyds Bank. This is a pleasant, riversideGreene King pub serving IPA, Abbot and a


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Pub news - continued |11

guest, and one of the reasons I recommend it is itsselection of char grilled steaks; £15 – £18 with allthe trimmings; sirloins, T-Bones and fillets; awelcome refuge from the vegan tyranny.

Crowland chronicleThis important historical document was written atthe Benedictine Abbey of Crowland on and offbetween 655 and 1486. Unfortunately, diligentperusal of this document does not bear much fruitif you are searching for Inns and Taverns whichare still trading. It does, however, mention onebuilding which is just about intact, the Abbey itself,which was sacked by Parliamentary forces in 1643.To celebrate this glorious event, they now performan annual commemoration when several matureadults dress up as Cromwellian soldiers and re-enact the scene on the weekend of 18th – 19thSeptember. Dean Parker, new landlord of YeOlde Abbey, seized this historical opportunityand organised a beer festival to celebrate the occa-sion offering 20 – 25 beers from micro brewers.He has presided over a complete overhaul of whatwas a “dark and dingy” pub, now with three handpumps, one of which is dedicated to a local micro.

Pub closuresWith the disappointing news that the BlackHorse at Elton is yet another pub in the branchthat is closing, I am becoming increasingly circum-spect about the value of pub beer festivals to thetrade. Not least because of all the usual suspectswho turn up to them and then disappear to getseriously panda – popped at home until the nextevent. At the risk of sounding naïve, I should liketo make the audacious suggestion that the onlyway to keep a pub open is to go into it on a regularbasis. This serious apostasy is just one of severalchallenges to the pub trade by competition andalternative sources of recreation: supermarkets,coffee houses, home entertainment. And one canunderstand the excitement generated by suchattractions. Just imagine the banter the next day atthe supermarket checkout, that irreplaceablecentre of convivial conversation:

“Don’t talk too loud. I’ve got a splittingheadache. Sunk eight Lattes in Starbucks

yesterday. All with an extra shot.”

Or even:

“ Had a great night in last night. Got welllagered up watching the Eurovision Song Contest.Can’t wait to add it to the box set.”

How can a night in the pub compete against this?

*With apologies to Lancelot Andrewes.

JT


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

12 |

Bexar CountyProbably the most important devel-opment at Bexar County is thearrival of Mr. Simon King, formerhead brewer and then operationsmanager with Blue Monkey,

proprietor of and head of everything at the brandnew Abstract Jungle brewery. Simon will be sharingthe space and equipment with Steve Saldana.Between them they will be bringing in some newequipment such as a couple of fermenters, condi-tioning tanks and a new mash tun. No more riskinglife and death adding ingredients. They will be runas two separate ventures though there will be manycollaborations I’m sure.

Bexar County has produced a new brown beer ataround 3.7 to 3.9% abv, which is soured and thenleft in an oak cask for a couple of months. Afterwhich cherries will be added. It will be calledTimanfaya and should have plenty of contrastingflavours.

The next beer to be available is a 6% abv lightand very hoppy beer called Death in a Sea ofMediocrity.

There are now three core beers to be availableyear round. They are Papa Steve, Phantas-magorical and Un Poquito Pequeno, althoughthis last one will be slightly different each time, eachwill have the same malt bill but the brewing timesand temperatures and hops will differ for eachbrew.

There is to be a beer festival of sorts, in MeltonMowbray with a theme of Victorian beers andBexar County will be producing an old Truman’srecipe at 7.6% abv though this one will only be7.4% abv to keep under the strong beer taxthreshold. It will be a black, very hoppy IPA typebeer.

There will be two collaborations with Three BlindMice in the near future. One beer will be a 10% +Imperial Russian Stout type beer and the other willbe around 2.5 % abv but using the same ingredi-ents, only the brewing times and temperatures willvary. You will be able to taste them side by side atEly Winter Beer Festival. There will be othercollaborations later, including one with AlphabetBrewing Co.

Castor AlesInvestment in the breweryinfrastructure hascontinued, culminating thismonth with a new mallet.

Talking of investment, last month the CastorAles management team, Duncan, was contactedby two London based financiers who were lookingto invest in a micro-brewery. The pair had tastedthe beer at the PBF and having tracked down thebrewer were keen to discuss further investment.Duncan, owner and brewer said, “Quite honestlythe figures they were talking about were inter-esting, but at the end of the day the timing was notquite right. Besides, I would be losing overallcontrol of the brewery-and that is something I justcouldn’t face”. Rest assured, any fears thatHopping Toad would be doing a “Doom Bar”have now been put to bed, at least for the foresee-able future.

Durobrivae 3.7% abv, Hopping Toad 4.0%abv, Full Tilt 4.3% abv and Old Scarlet 4.6%abv continue to be brewed regularly, whilst RomanGold is discontinued.

Seasonal brews include Castorware 4.4% abvandDark Side of the Comet 4.5% abv andanother two seasonal brews are making an appear-ance as we go to press. The new ImperialPalace Ale (IPA) 4.5% abv is in the fermenterand looking (and smelling) fantastic. This was lastbrewed a few years ago, but is back by populardemand and will soon be available in all the usual


Brewery News


Brewery news |13

outlets. As the name suggests, it is a pale ale,jammed full of Cascade, Amarillo and Comethops, all courtesy of the new contracts signed withour suppliers.

Posh’s recent change in management and upturnin fortunes has prompted the reappearance of12th Man 4.5% abv, to help give that final pushfor the rest of the season. It will be available onmatch days at the usual outlets.

To coincide with a college reunion weekend inLiverpool, we ensured that Hopping Toad madean appearance at the Belvedere pub in the Geor-gian Quarter, where it went down a storm, andwas sold out in one session.

With less than two months to Christmas, it is agood job that the brewery has been brewing tocapacity for the past month.

Seasonal greetings to everybody.

Digfield AlesThe brewery are celebrating their10th anniversary this November.A special anniversary beer, thelong awaited Old Crow Porter4.3% abv, has now been brewed.

The feedback so far has been excellent and it willbe available in their regular pubs, plus others, fromNovember onwards.

Elgood’sCoolship Blonde has justwon the Best Sour Lambic inEurope Award at the WorldBeer Awards.

Plum Porter has been re-released due topopular demand and North Brink Porter is nowavailable.

A new beer called Hicka Thrift at 4.3% abv,with added ginger, has also been released. Thisbeer is available in Weatherspoon’s, plus at bothfree and tied outlets and will be available duringNovember and December.

Hopshackle BreweryThe new brewing plant isworking well, and as designed, isallowing a lot of flexibility in thebrewing schedule. This means

batch sizes of 5bbl up to 10bbl can be madedepending on the strength and demand of certaintypes and styles of beers.

Lots of bottling has been done over the last fewweeks getting everything ready for Christmas.Hopshackle beers will be available at MarketDeeping Christmas Market on Sunday 29thNovember between 10am - 4.30pm, selling variousgift packs of bottled beers. There will also be giftpacks and festive mixed cases of 12 x 500ml bottlesavailable directly from the brewery throughoutDecember. Free local delivery is also being offered.

Hopshackle Christmas beer Jingle 5.2% abv ismade with the addition of Christmas cake spicesand fruit. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, plusorange and lemon peel have been used along withsome black treacle. This has given a rich, malty,spicy beer with a lovely orange and lemon finish.This beer will be available in cask and also inbottles.

Mile Tree BreweryMile Tree beers are suppliedto various local outlets andinclude The Swan on the

River, Littleport, (cask beers), also Market Bistro,Kings Lynn and Nisa Store, Ely, who are bothsupplied with bottled beers.

If you are in Ely and looking for bottled 1850Porter, this can be found in 3 at 3, Allgoods Deliand Nisa Store. It is also available at MarketBistro, Kings Lynn.

The brewery are pleased to announce that theyhave received another award for Larksong, thistime, Gold, in the best bitter category at the recentNorwich Beer Festival!

Whittlesey Lions enjoyed a brewery tour andBBQ on 1st November to mark the end of theseason for The Secret Garden Touring Park. F


14 |

Winter Ale is now available in bottles and isready for the Christmas season. Mile Tree will bemaking appearances at the following ChristmasMarkets, where they will be selling their bottledbeers:- March, Market Square, Sunday 6thDecember; Nene Park Trust, Ferry Meadows,Peterborough, Saturday 12th December andWisbech, Sunday 13th December.

Nene Valley BreweryNene Valley are now able to brewthree times a week on a regularbasis allowing the brewery tokeep up with demand for theirproducts.

At the Maris Otter 50 Festival Nene Valley tooksilver with their 7.4% abv brew, Mid-WeekBender. This rich dark brew is available ondraught at the Tap & Kitchen and there are plansto bottle some of the remainder for Christmas.

Judging for the CAMRA East Midlands Best Bittertook place at the 8th Hinckley Beer Festival in mid-September, and Nene Valley Bitter beat CastleRock Elsie Mo and Belvoir Beaver to take the title.

On Friday 23rd October, Nene Valley's newestcreation, a 4.4% abv lager called Knock DownPunk, was launched as the first house beer at theO2 Brooklyn Bowl. In keeping with the bowlingtheme of the venue, the tap is a bowling pin with acarnival punk doll design.

Dick Simpson, brewer and co-owner at NeneValley said : “The Brooklyn Bowl team took acentral role in developing the beer – testing andtasting and sampling until venue and brewery hadsomething both were happy with. Together we’vecome up with a crisp, pale ale with enough body tosatisfy but at 4.4% abv light enough to remainrefreshing. We’ve used an array of hops designedto give great flavour, complexity and balance.”

Although Nene Valley have been bottling beersalmost from the beginning, they are looking to startcanning some of their brews in the near future.

Nene Valley were also celebrating at the Carls-berg UK Northamptonshire Food and DrinkAwards 2015/16 where the Tap & Kitchen wasthe winner in the Restaurant of the Year category.

Steelwork erection has commenced on thebrewery site for the extension to create additionalstorage and office space with completion scheduledfor early December.

Oakham AlesAll Greek to Oakham!Oakham Ales’ latest push for worlddomination took them to Greece during

June as a first consignment of their bottled and kegbeers landed. As a nation whose beer heritagedoesn't exactly set the world alight they must haveliked what they drank as August saw the secondshipment arrive. It’s a shame cask beer gets sea sickif they’ve liked the keg they’d certainly like the caskbeers. Hopefully Mrs. Merkel didn’t have to stumpup a loan as payment!

Pub groups have embraced Oakham beersrecently with Wetherspoon's taking a festival special,The Owl and the Pussycat 4.5% abv, as part oftheir recent autumn national beer festival. Therewill be a festive return for Raucous Reindeer 4%abv which will also be available in Oakham’s freetrade outlets.

Punch Taverns have also extended listings forJ.H.B. and Bishop’s Farewell. Citra was itsbiggest selling cask beer in the first quarter of 2015giving the brewery further listings during Novemberand December.

Brewery news - continued |15

A new beer The Car Thief 3.6% abv rich blackbeer with tonnes of roast malt will feature forNovember in The Oakadamy of Excellence. Yetanother top award was won by Green DevilI.P.A. taking the title of Champion Beer of theFestival at the recent St. Albans Beer Festival.Wonder if the Romans drank anything as goodwhen they were there? Doubt it!

Star Brewing CompanyBeers being brewed in the nextfew weeks will include two corebeers Comet 3.8% abv andMeteor 4.0% abv along withFinal Frontier 4.3% abv. Also

set to return are Dark Matter 4.4% abv, which istheir seasonal stout and Lilith 4.3% abv, achestnut coloured best bitter.

A new beer soon be produced will be a coppercoloured hoppy ale at 4.2% abv, but so farunnamed.

Tydd SteamCock has been brewedagain, due to populardemand and Stjarn-

skadare has also been available recently.Piston Bob will make a comeback from mid -November, with Yooligan being brewed again forthe Christmas period.

Shoulder of Mutton BreweryThe brewery has acquired the premises of theformer Copper Kettle craft brewery on the bordersof Bedford and Northants. This is a 3.5 barrelplant with three fermenting vessels, temperaturecontrol and a bottling machine. All bottled beerswill be bottle conditioned and the additionalbrewing capacity will allow them to sell externally.

Brewer Graham Moorhouse intends to retain theplant at the pub for test brews and they are consid-ering a change of name to the Weldon Brewery.He intends to develop a new range of beers, whilstretaining his best seller, Dragline.The monthly special will be suspended during thetransition period.

Xtreme AlesThe brewery remains busy withbeer festivals having a majorimpact on sales. They recently

sent a wide variety of beer to Booze on the Ouse,Bedford, Hitchin, Nottingham and MeltonMowbray festivals. They were delighted to be toldthat Bodysnatcher, a beer brewed for BramBrammers 57th Birthday had won a Silver awardat Melton Mowbray, their first ever! The awardwas presented by John Arthur and a number ofMelton stalwarts at a very pleasant evening at theHand and Heart in October.

Sales to local pubs continue and a beer has beenbrewed for the Noel’s Arms Melton Mowbray beerfestival 4th-6th December. Melton Mowbray arealso holding a Victorian street market and the pubasked six local breweries to produce a special beer.Xtreme’s offering is a winter warmer style beer at6% abv. Early tastings indicate it is very good! Alsolooming on the horizon is Whittlesea Straw BearFestival, with Dancing Pigeon and Goldilocksbeing available in the local pubs. A specialcommemorative Dancing Pigeon badge will alsobe available!


For further information or room reservationsplease call 01572 822302

19 High Street East, Uppingham, Rutland LE15 9PY

Festive Menu now available1st December - 23rd December

£11.99 2 courses £13.99 3 courses

We offer 3 star rated AA accommodation and a breakfast menu available 10am-11:45am.

Save your local |17

The traditional English pub is dead. It has run itscourse. No longer fit for purpose. This is thecontinuous refrain you will hear from propertydevelopers lurking in the corridors of our preciousassets. The reason is quite simple. There are hugeprofits to be made from converting pubs into flats.Across our branch it is estate and roadside pubsthat are in danger because of the substantialamount of land which surrounds them. But inLondon it is quite different. Most vulnerable arethe glorious Victorian gin palaces which give manyinner city areas their most valuable legacy. Andmany of them are in areas where housing is at apremium and the flats will fetch a high price. Sothe property developer is likely to tell you that thepub no longer serves the public in the way that itused to and is no longer sustainable.

There is something wrong with this reasoning. It is difficult to deny that some pubs outlive theirnatural lives because of radical changes in thesurrounding society which they have served. Butif this was generally the case, why is it necessaryfor developers to resort to the clandestine methodsto secure healthy pubs that many of them do. Thepub would die naturally and the developer haveaccess to the property on the open market.Amongst these are the familiar tactics of raisingthe wholesale prices of the pub’s products, renego-tiating insurance premiums to the point that theyare unaffordable, sending the bailiffs in when thetenants default, anything which will prove the pubto be “unlawful, inflexible, unaccessible, unsafe,

insecure, inconvenient and unsustainable”. Andwhat is it that makes a property developer or estateagent qualified to judge on these criteria?

These are the questions raised by Tom Lamontin his recent article in the Guardian newspaper:“The Death and Life of the Great British Pub”. Thisarticle meticulously documents the recent historyof the Golden Lion in Camden and the chal-lenges that its proprietors withstood in order tofend off their predators. Mr. Lamont goes on toexpand on some very important facts regardingpublic awareness:

“It is a condition of development bids that docu-ments submitted to the council may be uploadedto the internet for common scrutiny. It isn’t clearhow much the public knows of this opportunity toread along as efforts are made to reshape theneighbourhoods around them.”

The article has some very incisive observationson the behaviour of these pub predators and thepeople who are determined to stand up againstthem. It is accessible on the Guardian website forthe dates 13th -14th October. I am recommendingit to all of our readers who are passionate aboutsaving pubs. It does, however, carry a healthwarning. Because once you have read it you will soburn with resentment that you will need toadjourn to your local for a period of convales-cence. That is if it is still open!

JT


A Case Study



CAMRA Gold Award 2015Great selection of Real Ales

Large Open Beer Garden

BT and Sky Sports HDshown on the big screen

Up to 4 Real Ales available • Friendly village pub with riverside mooring

• Large garden • Dogs welcome

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

LIVE MUSIC SUNDAY 13 DECEMBER

Steve Bean plays classical guitar - 4pm Til 6pm

New brewery in the ‘borough |19

Abstract JungleBrewery is the latestbrewery to open inPeterborough.

Simon King(formerly of BlueMonkey Brewery -Nottingham) is

looking forward to developing his innovativebrewing ideas and launching an exciting range ofreal ales from this 8 Barrel plant located in theEastern Industry area of Peterborough.

Working closely with the established BexarCounty Brewery, Simon and Steve will expand theexisting facilities and increase the brewing capacityallowing BOTH breweries to optimise and sharethe equipment to full potential; in effect AbstractJungle Brewery is not a “cuckoo” brewery, but acoming together of two breweries sharing theequipment and facilities of the one site.

This will allow each brewer to maintain theirindependence in terms of product and branding,but at the same time offer the opportunity to puttheir heads together and develop some more“interesting” brewing collaboration ideas in thefuture.

Simon will have the following beers available justas soon as possible following the start-up process atthe beginning of November.

Pride - 3.9 abv Pale AleJackal - 4.2 abv PorterRestless - 4.5 abv GoldenCasual - 4.6 abv Breakfast StoutSturdy- 5.6 abv IPA

Tasting notes for the five beers will be availableshortly, as will the website (currently in develop-ment), but in the meantime, please keep up to datewith Abstract Jungle Brewery on Facebook.

For details on availability of the above andtimescales do please contact Simon directly on07481 849332


Nottinghamshire brewer opens brewery in Peterborough

PresentationsSaturday 17th October saw a group of localCAMRA stalwarts board a minibus to travel toCoates then onto Whittlesey. The reason for thisexcursion? Well apart from sampling a few excel-lent ales and/or ciders, it was to present awards totwo deserving pubs. First stop was the Vine inCoates where a Gold Award was presented toStuart and Toni Cross.

Second stop was at the Letter B, Whittlesey towitness Bruce and Denise Roan receive TheCambrdgeshire Cider Pub of the Year from Andy Shaw, CAMRA County Coordinator forCambridgeshire. There are usually eight or morereal ciders and perries available at the Letter B.

It was a most enjoyable evening; good ales, cidersand company, plus a tasty buffet provided by Bruceand Denise.

JB

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.

Festive Menu Available from the 1st of December

Three Courses £21.00Two Courses £16.00

See website or call for details

|21


LocAle Pub of the YearWe are pleased to announce the contenders for the“John Rice LocAle Pub of the Year” award.The award is based on an outlet’s commitment toserving a variety of ales, brewed within a 30 mileradius of their premises. It is also based on theirindividual willingness to partake in this importantCAMRA campaign, and display promotionalmaterials which are available for this worthwhilecause.

The Hostelries under consideration for thisaward, are, in no particular order:- the Letter BWhittlesey, the Heron, the Palmerston Arms,the Ostrich, and Charters in Peterborough, thePloughman, Werrington, the Jolly Brewer,Stamford, the Vine, Coates and the Shoulder ofMutton, Weldon.

The winner will be decided by the branchcommittee and will be announced at the AnnualGeneral Meeting on Tuesday 8th December 2015.

A presentation evening will be arranged in theNew Year.

Dave McLennanLocAle Officer

Cider Pub of the YearContenders for Peterborough and District CiderPub of the Year Award are:-

The Letter B, Whittlesey, Charters, theCrown, Brewery Tap, the Drapers Arms andthe Coalheavers Arms in Peterborough, plusthe Ploughman, Werrington. These pubs perma-nently stock and promote real cider and perries.

The winner will be decided by the branchcommittee and will be announced at the AnnualGeneral Meeting on Tuesday 8th December 2015.Arrangements will be made to present the awardin the New Year.

Bernidette GilbertCider Officer

Two new awards for Branch area pubs

ThePublicanThanks to the Castle Tavern inInverness where I saw it thissummer. DM

The publican stood at the Golden GateHis head was bent and low,And then he asked the roan of fate The way that he should go.“What have you done”, St Peter cried“That you should enter here”?“I kept a public house below For many and many a year.”St Peter opened wide the gate“My son you have done well,Now come inside and choose your harp, YOU’VE HAD YOUR SHARE OF HELL!”



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 recordsLast Friday of the month

UKELELE NIGHTEvery Thursday from 7.30pm

Winter beer fest2nd - 7th February

LIVE MUSIC WEEKLY

from 4pm

For information on live entertainment go to:

Palmerston Arms

Check Facebook & local gig guides

The Jolly Sailor, 43 Great Whyte,

Ramsey PE26 1HH

Tel 01487 813388

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

Karaoke 1st Sunday each month 8pmFOOD SERVED DAILY

Monday to Friday: 12 to 2.30, 6 to 9pmSaturday: 12 to 9pm Sunday: 12 to 4pm

CHRISTMAS PARTY MENU

£18.95 PER PERSON

NEW YEARS EVE MENU£27.50 PER PERSON

BOOKING NOW BEINGTAKEN FOR:

Castor Ales at the Great British Beer Festival |23


Ask any brewer, and it is a fair bet that their “100things to do before you hang up your malt shovel”list includes being invited to showcase their beer atthe Great British Beer Festival (GBBF). DuncanVessey, owner and Head Brewer of Castor Ales, isno exception and getting the call to send beer toOlympia this year was another item ticked off thebucket list.

To mark the occasion, the marketing budget wasstretched to bursting point, and some twenty plusfriends and supporters descended upon Olympiaresplendent in their Hopping Toad T shirts, as itwas Hopping Toad that the good folk of Peterbor-ough CAMRA wished to unleash on theunsuspecting public. (By the way, please don’t beoffended by the title to the article since knob, knot,lump and nest are all recognised as collectivenouns for toads.)

Sadly, despite being the beer of choicethroughout the day for the group, Hopping Toadfailed to win an award; the ultimate accolade goingto Tiny Rebel Brewery (and richly deserved too).However, if there had been an award for sartorialelegance, it is a certainty that the unruly mobsupporting Castor Ales would have swept theboard.

It seemed bizarre, given there were over 500beers to talk about, that the topic on most people’slips seemed to be, “Where can I get one of thoseHopping Toad T shirts?” Sadly they were instrictly limited supply, and yet remarkably, nonehave yet appeared on E-bay.

The GBBF proved to be a great day out, and asalways, beer was the winner, with the T shirtscoming a very close second.

What a knob!

24 | CAMRA members weekend

There will be many more reasons to visit Liverpoolin April for CAMRA’s Members’ Weekend, whichincludes the annual general meeting and confer-ence.

This year you’ll get the chance to learn muchmore about campaign activity, developments andbest practice across the organisation with up to 19workshops planned to take place across theweekend.

And to help us plan how many workshops goahead, we need you to let us know which you'reinterested in attending via our Workshop Survey(www.surveymonkey.com/r/liverpoolworkshops) -and how you can contribute to make them assuccessful as possible.

A host of experienced volunteers and experts willbe coming to Liverpool to host the workshops. Theworkshops will give practical advice and encourageattendees to make their views known on some ofthe issues vital to the success of the Campaign. If you’ve got some great experience to share, orstories to tell about any of the subjects of theworkshops, please let us know via the WorkshopSurvey:

www.surveymonkey.com/r/liverpoolworkshops

Subjects range from making beer festivals moresuccessful, to mounting successful campaigns tosave pubs, to running branch websites. Make sureyou secure your place on the workshops by regis-tering to attend the Members’ Weekend by visitingcamraagm.org.uk/register - we’ll be getting incontact with all those who have pre-registered overthe next few months to give them the chance topre-book places on the workshops.

The workshops will play a central part to what isplanned to be an exciting and stimulating weekendof conference discussion and getting the chance tosocialise with members from across the UK in thevibrant setting of Liverpool. See camraagm.org.ukfor full details of the event, travel advice andguides to the city’s pubs and breweries.

Workshops1. Making your beer festival more successful

2. Building relationships with local MPs & councilors

3. Branch magazines - sharing ideas and best practice

4. Assets of Community Value

5. Recruitment by branches

6. Fighting planning applications

7. GBG pub selection - sharing best practice

8. Community Pub Ownership

9. Branch communication tools

10. Social media - how to engage members

11. First time Members’ Weekend attendees

12. Member retention

13. Local pub guides and ale trails

14. Champion beer competitions - an alternativeapproach

15. Beer management at beer festivals

16. Promoting your local events

17. Running a branch website

18. Being an effective branch press officer

19. Campaigning in Europe

Extra reasons to attendCAMRA’s Members’Weekend 2016


WOOLPACK29 North Street, Stanground PE2 8HRThe Woolpack, which received a gold award for ‘serving consistently good RealAle, running a Beer Festival and being a great community local’, is a smallvillage pub with a lovely large garden and riverside mooring on abusy river route. The Woolpack is well used by the community withthree darts teams and a dominoes team, as well as boaters, cyclistsand walkers visiting regularly.

HERONSouthfields Drive, Stanground PE2 8QB

The Heron, Stanground, received a Gold Award for ‘reviving a

former Community Pub into a thriving Real Ale venue’. This estate

pub opened in 1959 with one large bar/lounge. Pool table

and TVs. Patio area. Function room. Following specula-

tion that the pub was to be demolished and turned into

flats, it reopened in April 2014 after a refurbishment by a

real ale loving team.

VINE4 South Green, Coates PE7 2BJThe Vine, Coates received a Gold Award for ‘turning a pub into a “FreeHouse” and having a great range of quality Real Ales’. Livelybar/lounge and separate restaurant (with bar). Large outdoorarea with petanque court. The pub is now officially a free house having been signed over from CharlesWells with the backing of a private investor, and will undergoa £100k refurbishment.

SHOULDER OF MUTTON

12 Chapel Road, Weldon NN17 3HP

Shoulder of Mutton, Weldon, who received a Gold Award for

‘increasing the variety of Real Ale and the addition of a LocAle

Brewery’. This large, friendly pub has recently been refur-

bished providing two large bars. The front bar was

originally three rooms which have been made into one, with

an open fire at one end. The rear bar leads onto the

enclosed outside area which is separated into areas for

smokers and non-smokers.

Peterborough & District CAMRAPub of the Year 2016 NomineesThese are the contenders for 2016 Peterborough and District Pub of the Year, with citations. All Branch members are eligible to vote (forms have been sent out to allmembers). Closing date for votes is 30th December 2015.

You know how it is sometimes. There you are quitehappy nursing a pint, thinking about the great resultyour team has had that day, and mine had done justthat, but you want to prolong the merriment, youwant to seek some entertainment to embrace yourgood mood and quaff some pints too.

So with my trusty drinking buddy in tow weupped sticks, and before long the taxi had dulydropped us off at a venue not known forhosting live music but certainly for pouring qualityale, and the aforementioned pint or in our casepints!

With this being their annual September beerfestival, stepping through the door of The Coal-heavers, still a somewhat hidden gem of a pub,meant we were greeted by a throng of people. All of which were eagerly quaffing the delights ofXtreme’s Plum Mild, Bexar County's Phantas-magorical (try saying that after two) and a wholerake of superb ales and craft beers.

The evening’s crowd, which were equally as keento see one of the three festival bands that Tom andMichelle hosted over the weekend, were expectant.So step forward - Arc Nation.

I had heard of their name before but never hadthe chance to see them, something that wasn't todisappoint. The band play an eclectic mix ofcovers, everything from a northern soul classicRight Track, through to the Arctic Monkeys,whilst dipping into some Rolling Stones along theway.

Featuring Michael, Sam and the statuesque yetsuperb bass playing of Katie Bacca, this fine youngband of twenty somethings relaxed and grew intotheir set.

Indeed with a heady mixture of fine songs, andothers amongst the crowd enjoying the bandsefforts, a night of good vibes and musical appreci-ation ensued.

So from what is normally a haven for alequaffing and chewing the proverbial fat, the“Coalies” became a musical hive of activity, andmightily enjoyable it was too.

I never did find out where the band’s namecame from, but that's not important. What is, is thefact that as a first date Arc Nation can play, andplay well.

As for the football result earlier in the day, wellthat will remain a season’s highlight, much like thiscracking little beer festival.

Lez Wheeler

Not Noah’s arc


28 | Music and Gigs

Diary dates |29


DecemberThur 3rd Park Lane Cherry Tree, Woodston

Fri 4th Soul Runners Charters, Peterborough

Retrolux Cherry Tree, Woodston

Sound Injectors G and A, Crowland

Children of the Revolution Ploughman, Werrington

Sat 5th Gangsters Dragon, Werrington

Lazoons Charters, Peterborough

Tallawah Cock Inn, Werrington

Sound Injectors Stage, Market Deeping

Children of the Revolution Ploughman, Werrington

Overdubz Blue Boar, Eye

Sun 6th CJ Hatt Charters, Peterborough

Fri 11th Hooker Cherry Tree, Peterborough

Returns Ploughman, Werrington

Frankly My Dear Cock Inn, Werrington

Sat 12th Gone to the Dogs The Ship Inn, Oundle

Velocity Cherry Tree, Peterborough

White Spirit Cock Inn, Werrington

The Guards Ploughman, Werrington

Overdubz Dragon, Werrington

Lizzie on the Loose Charters, Peterborough

Thurs 17th One Eyed Cats Cherry Tree, Woodston

Fri 18th Children of the Revolution Prince of Wales Feathers, Castor

707 Dragon, Werrington

Miscellaneous Cock Inn, Werrington

Rocket 57 Charters, Peterborough

Crash and Burn Fayre Spot, Bretton

Sat 19th C J Hatt Prince of Wales Feathers, Castor

Groove Cartel Charters, Peterborough

Electric Warriors Cock Inn, Werrington

High Rollers Ploughman, Werrington

Gone to the Dogs Ex-service and Social

Club, King’s Cliffe

Gig guide

Diary dates CAMRA meetings, socials and beer festivals in the coming months

DecemberTuesday 1st - Saturday 5th 32nd Pig’s Ear Beer Festival,Lower Clapton Rd, Hackney.Over 230 Real Ales plusciders,perries and bottled beers.www.pigsear.org.uk

Friday 4th Gold Award Presentation toShoulder of Mutton, Weldon.Mini bus will depart BreweryTap at 6.30pm and return by11pm. Cost £7. Please bookplaces through Social Secretary,John Hunt.

Tuesday 8th 8.30pm. Annual General Meeting of thePeterborough and District

Branch of CAMRA will takeplace at Brewery Tap, PE1 2AA.All members welcome to attend,but please bring your member-ship card.

Saturday 12th from 7pm.CAMRA Branch ChristmasParty at the Heron, StangroundPE2 8QB.

Sunday 20th Mystery Tour. Depart BreweryTap at 11.30am and return by8pm. Cost £12.00 to include alight buffet at the last venue.Please book places throughSocial Secretary, John Hunt.

JanuaryTuesday 5th at 8.30pm.Branch monthly meeting at

Three Horseshoes, WerringtonPE4 6QE. All members welcometo attend, but please bring yourmembership card.

Friday 15th - Sunday 17thWhittlesea Straw Bear Festival

Sunday 17th Sunday Lunch Social and MiniPub crawl of Werrington Village.Meet at the Blue Bell,Werrington at 12.00.

Please book places throughSocial Secretary, John Hunt,indicating whether or not youwish to have lunch in the BlueBell. Sunday lunch prices rangefrom £6.50 to £10.50

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]

Cider Officer: Bernidette [email protected]

Young Members: Kara [email protected]: Bob Melville07941 [email protected] 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 489917Bexar County Brewery: Dave Botton01733 345475Castor Ales:Mike Lane07850 334203Digfield: Dave Waller07821 912605

Elgood’s: John Hunt07923 489917

Hopshackle: Noel Ryland07944 869656Kings Cliffe Brewery:Mike Blakesley07747 617527Melbourn: Don Rudd07806 731765Mile Tree Brewery:Steve Williams07756 066503Nene Valley: Bob Melville07941 246693Oakham Ales: Dave Allett07966 344417Tydd Steam: John Hunt07923 489917Shoulder of Mutton Brewery:John Temple07905 051 312Star Brewing Company: Don Rudd 07806 731765Xtreme 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, orhave they introduced additional hand pumps? If so nominate them for Gold or Merit Award. Thenew Merit Award is for pubs that are continuously outstanding, so if you know of a deserving pubwithin the branch area, please complete the form below indicating Gold or Merit Award and post tothe secretary 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 Menu5:00pm - 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 £5.9

5!

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 takingfestive

bookingsNow licensed to conduct Civil Marriage ceremonies on the premises

Download - Beer around Ere issue 186

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