I n s i d e . . .

KalamazooBeer town travels

Loosening the TieTied house system explained

plus much more...

Pubs of LancasterChurch Street & Market Street

WWW.LUNESDALECAMRA.ORG.UK

Issue 00Issue 25 | January - March 2015

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2 | Issue25

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ChairmanMichael Dillon

Branch SecretaryMartin Sherlocke: secretary@lunesdalecamra.org.ukTel 01524 66131

TreasurerJohn Slinger

Lunesdale Drinker EditorCliff Lainee: editor@lunesdalecamra.org.ukTel 07810 507602 (from where a postal address can be provided)

Enquiries: drinker@lunesdalecamra.org.ukThe Editor reserves the right to amend or shorten contributions for publication.All editorial copyright © Lunesdale CAMRA 2015.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in articles are those of individual contributors and are not necessarily the views of the Lunesdale Branch, The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. Lunesdale CAMRA accepts no liability in relation to the accuracy of advertisements; readers must rely on their own enquiries. It should also be noted that acceptance of an advertisement in this publication should not be deemed an endorsement of quality by Lunesdale CAMRA.

© 2015 Capital Media Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted, reproduced, recorded, photocopied or otherwise without the express written permission of the copyright holder.

Branch Contacts

PUBLISHED BY Capital Media Group

Central Buildings, Middlegate, Newark-on-Trent,Nottinghamshire, NG24 1AG

t: 01524 220 230 • e: lunesdaledrinker@thisiscapital.comwww.thisiscapital.com

We have had a bit of the old London Buses syndrome this quarter, with

much to report on, and in order to save space you may be relieved to know that I have asked Taddy – last seen pestering (his word was “charming”) a young lady in a bus stop somewhere in County Durham – if his ramblings (in more ways than one) can be held over until the next issue.

It is most welcome to see more people taking the initiative to get in touch with news and information. We’ve even had a letter. I can only reiterate that whilst we try to keep our eyes and ears open, the magazine does rely on what we can garner from you. A special mention for effort this time must go to Barry Young, whose letter from America appears in this issue. Barry is up to the minute with information technology – that minute being sometime in 1978 – and he went

to the trouble of writing his report out by hand and delivering it via a perfumed footman to my door. That is, I thought the postman could have done with a bit of a scrub when he arrived at my house.

So without further ado we will commence with this quarter’s thrills and spills. I wish you a Happy New Year and trust you’re not going to make any silly resolutions like giving up drink for January. I tried that malarkey in November and I have to say that if that is “feeling better” then I’d rather feel worse, thanks.

Cliff Laineeditor@lunesdalecamra.org.uk078 1050 7602

EDITOR’S COLUMNCliff Laine

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As I write this to catch the printers deadline Christmas is still a few weeks

away, but by the time you read this the Christmas festivities will all be over so I hope you all had a good one! I can however wish you all a Happy New Year and look forward to some good drinking of real ale in 2015.

As I write this it looks as if we will have a new venue for the 2015 Morecambe Beer Festival as we have had some problems with the Winter Gardens and are unable to continue using this as a venue. To ensure the festival can go ahead more

volunteers are needed to be on the committee and help with the planning of the festival so if you feel you can help please get in touch.

Can I remind CAMRA members to keep their email address up to date both with the branch (lunesdalecamra@gmail.com) and CAMRA HQ to ensure you receive appropriate notifi cations and the monthly branch email.

Happy Drinking

Michael DillonChairman

JANUARY• Monday 5th : 8pm : Branch Meeting, George & Dragon (Lancaster)

• Tuesday 13th : Joint Lunesdale / University Real Ale and Cider Soc social, including Bowland, Furness and then Grad Bar. It will start at 730. Please see our website or ring Martin after Christmas for more details.

• Wednesday 21st - Saturday 24th : Manchester Beer and Cider Festival. Five hundred (no, that is not a misprint) beers, ciders and perries in the Velodrome, which will be being used for training as the festival is on, so a date not to be missed for skintight lyrca enthusiasts. More info at manchesterbeerfestival.org.uk.

• Monday 26th - Sunday 1st February : Dark and Winter Ales Week. Details to be announced - provisional date - see publicity nearer the time. FEBRUARY• Sunday 1st : Hike & Pint to Glasson. Catch bus 40 to Galgate, departs Euston Rd 1147, or Lancaster Bus Station 1204

• Thursday 5th - Saturday 7th : Fleetwood Beer Festival. 33rd year for one of the best festivals in the northwest, held in the Marine Hall on the prom. Info from www.blackpool.camra.org.uk • Thursday 5th - Saturday 7th : Pendle Beer Festival in Colne Municipal Hall. Info at pendlebeerfestival.co.uk • Tuesday 17th : 8pm : Branch Meeting, Eric Bartholomew (Morecambe) MARCH• Thursday 5th - Saturday 7th : Wigan Beer Festival at Robin Hood Sports Centre – courtesy bus from the town centre. For details see www.wigancamra.org.uk • Wednesday 11th : 8pm : Branch Annual General Meeting, Borough (Lancaster)

FUTURE EVENTS

Please send details of future events as early as possible please to Martin Sherlock at secretary@lunesdalecamra.org.uk or ring them through to 01524 66131

For more details keep an eye on our website at www.lunesdalecamra.org.uk

CHAIRMAN’S NOTEMichael Dillon

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CHURCH STREET

A very old street, Roman in origin, linking the Castle and Priory Church

to Stonewell, it continued in ancient times to York, and has seen many pubs along its way.

Starting at Stonewell, the Stonewell Tavern, formerly the White Horse c1806, occupying two older buildings, one is rare surviving 17th century building, becoming the Stonewell Tavern in 1982, renamed Paddy’s Mulligan’s in the 1990s and then reverted back to its present name in 2005. A popular live music venue, run by the Caterina family, it is closed Monday & Tuesday, opening 5pm on Wednesday & Friday, 3pm Thursday, Saturday & Sunday. Pizza is served along with a range of local guest beers.

Passing the Beer Store, we come to the Study Room, formerly the Nag’s Head. This pub dates back to 1768 but was rebuilt in 1898,

renamed the Last Orders, but recently reopened selling real ale and food.

Almost opposite is Yates, formerly the Litten Tree, a modern pub dating from 2006. Real ale is usually available, although I think food and keg beers are favoured by the clientele.

Behind Yates, was the Mitchell’s Central Brewery, whose old entrance was on Market Street by the old New Inn. Dating from 1871, it closed in 1988, when Mitchell’s took over the old Yates & Jackson Brewery.

After passing several bars and restaurants, none of which serve real ale, we come to the Sun Hotel, Lancaster Brewery tap, now owned by Matt Jackson’s C2 Investments. The pub dates back to c1680, making it one of the oldest inns in continuous existence. It was greatly extended in 2006 and provides accommodation, plenty of excellent food and the full range of Lancaster Brewery beers along with several guests.

At the corner at the top of Church Street is the Duke of Lancaster, formerly the Black Bull until 1977. It dates back to 1743, but was rebuilt in 1907. It is currently closed.

Andrew White’s excellent “Lancaster’s Historic Inns”, mentions many other old pubs along Church Street -- the Bee Hive, Blazing Tub, Crooked Billet, Fox & Goose, George & Dragon, Grapes, Horse & Farrier, Mermaid (Mare Maid), Mitre, Naked Taylor, Queen’s Head, Red Lion, Union Flag and White Hart (Thistle & Crown).

TOWN & CITY PUBS OF LANCASTERby Lawrence Bland

1725

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MARKET STREET

I n the historic centre of town, Market Square, we fi nd the museum in the old

Town Hall, the library, and the ‘1725‘, which is the date of the present building. There may have been a medieval inn on the site, and so is possibly the oldest building in Lancaster continuously used as an inn. It was extensively refurbished in 1990 and known as the Blue Anchor until 2007, when Mitchell’s turned into primarily a Spanish Tapas bar, although real ale is available. Outside seating is available.

Moving up Market Street, is the (Ye Olde) John O’Gaunt, not as old as it appears, dating from 1871, a traditional pub with music, especially jazz.

Further along, the Royal Kings Arms no longer has a public bar, although there are plans to bring back a ground fl oor bar and restaurant. It dates back to the 17th century but was totally rebuilt in 1879, and is mentioned in some works of Charles Dickens.

Opposite is the Robert Gillow, named after the famous Lancaster furniture maker, probably Victorian or earlier, which may have been the Market Street Coffee Tavern. In recent times it was Elliott’s Restaurant, until taken over by Hydes in 2007. Mark Cutter opens for breakfast (and food all day), and also runs an extensive music programme. It is well worth a visit.

Almost next door is the Merchants 1688, at the bottom of Castle Hill in historic old wine cellars. It’s a popular pub with food, jointly run by Tim Tomlinson with the White Cross, offering an interesting choice of guest ales.

Being such an historic thoroughfare, many pubs have closed, including the Blue Stoops, Brown Cow, Commercial

Inn (later a police and fi re station, and replaced in 1932 by the library), Cross Keys (replaced by British Home Stores in 1970), Duke of Cumberland, Eagle & Child, Feathers Hotel (Prince of Wales), George, George & Dragon (in Market Square), Golden Ball (on the site of the present HSBC bank), Masonic Tavern, New Inn (closed in 1987 and demolished as part of the redevelopment of the old Mitchell’s Brewery site), Old Sir Simons’s, Red Cross, Royal Oak, Shovel & Broom, Talbot and the White Bull.

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Merchants 1688

A Beer & A BookCome and browse a �ne selection

of new and secondhand books, including a shelf of CAMRA and

beer-related books

Also cards and jigsaws

Assembled Booksat the Assembly Rooms, King Street,

Lancaster LA1 1JN(opp the Primark building site!)

Open, Tues - Fri10 am to 4.30 pm & Saturdays10 am to 5.30 pm

10% DISCOUNT on any purchase with an up-to-date CAMRA card

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8 | Issue25

Martin Sherlock is the newsreader

PUB NEWS

The Ship at Overton has closed without an opening date being set. Will it

stay as a decaying hulk like the Roof Tree (Middleton) up the road? It would certainly be a shame if the Victorian fi xtures and fi ttings were just allowed to rot.

Two closed pubs must now be permanently written off: the King Edward (Lancaster) has been turned into a shop, and the Inn at Wray (formerly the New Inn) has had planning permission applied for to turn it into housing. Things are slightly more hopeful for two others: it seems the Dragons Head (Whittington) is to be bought by a nightclub owner in Kendal and reopened as a pub. The Parish Council decided, at their November meeting, to apply to have the pub declared a Community Asset. Meanwhile, the owner of the Royal (Silverdale) has applied to turn most of the property into housing but keep a bar.

Some refurbishments to report: The bar of the Lounge (Lancaster) has been extended and refurbished and the whole renamed “Apothecary”. The bar sports a single handpump. The Fleece (Dolphinholme) has been comprehensively redecorated and now has a stone fl oor, white-painted walls and

fewer handpumps. The previous layout has been kept, however. It is now a true free house owned by a Garstang builder and let to a tenant. Hopefully, it is in for a spell of stability and improvement. The Morecambe Hotel, though, is having such thorough work done that it is unlikely to reopen before the next Drinker comes out.

A couple of bits of wheeling and dealing: Greene King have taken over the pubco Spirit, owners of the Station (Morecambe) and the Strawberry Gardens (Heysham). Their beers will presumably appear in these pubs soon, which might even be an improvement for the Station. And the pubco James Places, with a few gastro-pubs in the Ribble Valley and the Royal in Kirkby Lonsdale, have acquired Bowland Brewery.

Finally, Kirkby Lonsdale brewery’s attempt to move into the town has failed because they have not gained planning permission.

PUBS WITH CAMRA DISCOUNT

MORECAMBE• Kings Arms (LA4 4BJ) - 20% Off• Royal Hotel (LA4 4BJ) - 20p Off a pint• York (LA4 5QH) - All cask ales @ £2 a pintGARSTANG• Wheatsheaf (PR3 1EL) - 20p off a pintGALGATE• Plough (LA2 0LQ) - 40p off a pint

This list is believed to be accurate, but may of course change without notice. Some pubs don’t give discount on half pints. Email any errors or omissions to editor@lunesdalecamra.org.uk

LANCASTER• Bobbin (LA1 1HH) - 30p off a pint• The Borough (LA1 1PP) - £1 off a pint• Fibber McGee’s (LA1 1UP) - 30p off a pint• Greaves Park (LA1 3AH) - 30p off a pint• Lord Ashton (LA1 1NY) - 20% Off• Merchants (LA1 1YN) - 10p off a pint• Penny Bank (LA1 1XF) - 10p off a pint• Penny Street Bridge (LA1 1XT) - 30p off a pint• Robert Gillow (LA1 1HP) - 10% Off• Study Room (LA1 1LH) - 10% Off• Tap House (LA1 1UH) - 10% Off• Three Mariners (LA1 1EE) - 10p off a pint• Water Witch (LA1 1SU) - 30p Off a pint

LANCASTER Continued• White Cross (LA1 4XT) - 10p Off a pint

Members need to be in possession of a current valid CAMRA membership card to claim the discount.

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9Issue25 |

The Snug Micropub

at Carnforth Station

Open Tuesday to Saturday 12 noon - 2pm & 5pm - 9pm

Call: 07927 396861Blog: thesnugmicropub.blogspot.co.ukEmail: the.snug.carnforth@gmail.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/thesnugmicropub

We serve Real Ale, Wine & Soft Drinks

No lager, spirits, music, TV

or gaming machines

The York Hotel

• Quality Beers, Spirits and Wines•Cask Ales •Darts and Pool

• Outside Patio • Quality Food• Full Sky Sports/ESPN Package

• Free wireless internet

87 Lancaster RoadMorecambe

LA4 5QH01524 425353

www.yorkhotelmorecambe.co.uk

ALL CASK ALES £2 ON TUESDAYS

• Six Cask Ales• Regular Folkfest evenings, �rst Friday of every month

• Open Monday lunchtime for foodSmall function room available on request

THE THREE MARINERS

Bridge Lane, Lancaster, LA1 1EE. Tel: 01524 388957

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A century ago, Burton-in-Lonsdale, the first and last village in Yorkshire --

depending on the direction in which one is crossing the border -- had thirteen pubs. There remains only one, the Punch Bowl, currently owned by Thwaites. In 2009 and again in 2014 they put it up for sale as part of its disposal programme for some of its least profitable pubs.

It is the subject of an attempted buy-out by a group of locals, who want to see the pub thrive as an independent, not-for-profit organisation, following the example of the twenty-three other pubs in the country which are operated under such a model. The process, as I gathered from a fascinating talk with Susan Gregory, a member of the steering group involved, is far from straightforward.

A period in which it was listed as an Asset of Community Value, thus preventing Thwaites from entering into discussions with any other prospective buyer, expired in September but the registration continues for another year, in the face of no more serious offers. The pub can be viewed on rightmove.com listed at Thwaites’s optimistic price of 275K, which is a good deal more than the valuation than the group, formally known as the Burton Community Pub Ltd., obtained from an experienced licensed premises agent. The cost of works required to bring the listed building up to

modern standards – again derived from an independent firm, this time of surveyors who deal exclusively in old and listed buildings – is between 130 to 150K.

The advert (as at 27th November 2014) also tempts prospective buyers with a local primary school. The school is no more, due to a sharp decline in pupil numbers which was not reflected in the village’s under-11 population. The loss of the school makes a vibrant pub at the centre of village life even more important, in order to maintain Burton as an attractive place for people to live.

The group has managed to raise 60K towards their target, and the next step is to open a survey from which the group is to decide, at a meeting in January, whether lowering the minimum price for a share in the pub from its existing £500 to £100 might make investing possible for more people. The meeting to discuss this, like all meetings concerned with the pub’s future, has to take place in another venue, as the pub itself has not proved overly welcoming to the group hitherto. Grants for such initiatives are very hard-won, but the more that the group can raise, the more favourably they will be received by Trusts and other bodies which have funds available to help the group reach their target.

I said goodbye to Ms Gregory and her charming dog, hardly living up to his

Will Burton-in-Lonsdale’s last remaining pub find its way into the villagers’ hands? by Cliff Laine

ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES

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billing on her gate. As I walked out on a drizzly day to take pictures of the pub, someone drew up in a car. “Are you thinking of buying it?” “Well, only if I find a few hundred grand down the side of the sofa.” “It’d be best,” he said, “if we find a commercial buyer. I don’t think the community round here has the spirit to run it.” I said something non-committal, knowing that his assertion is untrue. The group hopes to find a way for the community to buy the pub; and I hope one day that readers of this magazine will be able to meet up for a pint of real ale in The Punch Bowl when it joins the select group of pubs in community ownership.

Further information about the project, including information for prospective shareholders, can be found on the Burton Community Pub Ltd’s website at www.burtoninlonsdalecommunitypub.com

LETTER TO THE EDITORDear Sir,

Shortly after it reopened, I ventured into the Apothecary and was charged £4.20 a pint for Greene King IPA. Needless to say, I didn’t stay long.

Can I challenge your readers to find a cask ale that’s worse value for money in this area?

Yours

“Grumpy” (name and address supplied)

Send your thoughts to: editor@lunesdalecamra.org.uk

Letters are welcome, but should not be taken as reflecting CAMRA policy at national or local level.

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Barry Young fi nds plenty of gals in Kalamazoo

GO WEST YOUNG MAN

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Watching an old re-run of the Glenn Miller Story, I heard this tune called

“I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo”, so I thought “Where is Kalamazoo?” Next, I heard that the 200th member of the Lunesdale Branch of CAMRA was an American university student from that city. Hearing that this was a beer town, I went off to investigate.

I took a train from Chicago Union Station for what is an hour-and-a-half journey of one hundred and sixty miles. The timetable shows it as a four hour journey, but like the TARDIS it’s the time changes through different States.

First impressions upon leaving the railway station to discover Kalamazoo’s city centre are that it’s about the same size as Lancaster, but instead of the usual shops of mediocrity, there are ten brewpubs, all located in the city

cent re , part of the two

hundred and twenty that exist in Michigan. The fi rst visit was to Bells, the oldest brewpub in town, dating back to 1985. I got there at 10.55am to fi nd a queue a mile long of mainly young female drinkers, who proceeded to set to with the fi fty-two beers with these long wooden sampling paddles.

I didn’t have time to do all ten pubs, and as you may know American craft beers are all from 6% up. I start on The Oarsman Ale at 6.7%, described as a “tart, refreshing wheat beer,” very nice. Next it was The Old Peninsula IPA at 6.7% which was very pleasant. Across the road I came to Gonzo’s Biggdog Brewery, where I drank Dogdays Ale at 5.8%. Finally, within distance of the railway station I found Burdicks Bar, which is not a brewpub, but boasts two hundred and fi fty craft beers, and has the full range of Goose Island including my favourite of the tour, the 312 Bitter.

I was then informed that I should take the train further up the line to Grand Rapids in Michigan. This is truly a beertown, with thirty-six brewpubs in the city centre. However, I did not have time on this visit but I will back next year. There are several beertowns in Michigan, including Ann Arbor, so as they say in the brochure, why not take a “beercation”?

[Editor’s note: My photographs of Barry’s snaps did not produce usable images so apologies for using stock photos. We will look down the side of the sofa and see if we can fi nd enough to invest in a scanner for future issues and should this come off we will include one or two next time].

Bells Brewpub & Bells Eccentric Cafe

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Westmorland CAMRA POTY 2011

Traditional Real Ales

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In November, this country’s drinkers enjoyed a little good news: Parliament

voted to allow some pub tenants a “Market Rent Only” option. It seems, though, that many people don’t really understand what this means. I hope this article goes some way towards clarifying the situation.

First, let’s clear up what is not happening. It is not the end of the tied house system. It is not even the beginning of the end. It should not have any impact on the small family brewers and small pubcos, as it only affects companies with more than 500 pubs. Nor should you expect any dramatic changes soon. Parliament has merely instructed the minister to make the necessary regulations. No date has been set for them to come into force. Even when they do, the initiative for change lies with individual pub tenants. No one who is happy with the arrangement they have with their landlord (or is afraid to act for fear of something worse) will be required to change it.

A little history is perhaps in order. By the late nineteenth century, the great majority of the pubs in England and Wales were owned by brewers, a situation which persisted for most of the twentieth century too. Some were managed directly by the firms that owned them, but most were let to tenants, who ran businesses independent of the brewers but closely supervised by them. Of course, the brewers insisted on a monopoly of beer supply to their houses (hence “tied house”) and frequently of many other products too.

One effect of the tied house system was that new brewing companies

stopped appearing. As brewing concerns failed, for whatever reason, they were snapped up by one of their competitors. The result was ever-greater concentration of brewing in fewer and fewer hands, so that by the end of the 1960s, about three-quarters of British beer was brewed by just six companies - the “Big Six”. It was mainly to combat the policies of the Big Six that the Campaign for the Revitalisation of Ale (as it was originally called) was formed.

Although the immediate plans of the Big Six were thwarted by brilliant campaigning and ridicule, their essentially anti-competitive nature remained, and remained an issue. Eventually, the Government of the day tried to tackle this with the 1989 Beer Orders. Amongst other things, these compelled the Big Six to free most of their pubs from the beer tie. In effect, they were to become normal landlords, collecting the rent and performing essential maintenance and repair, but otherwise staying out of the way. The intention was to create thousands of tenanted free houses. It was not to be. Because the legislation referred to brewing companies, the brewers simply transferred the pubs to non-brewing companies (mostly set up for just this purpose), so the pubs remained as tied as ever. They clearly had little reluctance to do this, as five of the six subsequently got rid of all their pubs (and, in a truly bizarre twist, got out of brewing as well, but that’s another story).

There was now a novel organisation on the scene: the giant non-brewing pub-owning company, or “pubco” for short. Although the new pubcos at first acted

Martin Sherlock explains the changes to the tied house system

LOOSENING THE TIE

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mainly as stooges of the big brewers, this didn’t last long. New firms and new personalities appeared and there was a bewildering succession of mergers and demergers, accompanied the while by a much higher rate of buying and selling pubs than was usual among brewery tied houses. The new small pubcos have a wide variety of business models, some (from our point of view) very good, some less so. It’s much easier to generalise about the big pubcos. Most are now really property companies whose property happens to be licensed houses. When they do see their business as running pubs, their approach is to try to cram each pub into one of a few pre-defined “brands”, which is hardly an improvement.

The past twenty years might fairly be described as a golden age of brewing, but disastrous for pubs. Between 20 and 30 pubs a week closed in 2013 (truly accurate statistics don’t seem to exist). This has slowed in 2014, but not by much.

The old-style family brewers were not perfect, but at least they had some sense of responsibility to the communities they were based in. Also, they tended to see their pubs as vehicles to sell their beer rather than as capital which should yield a maximum return. So although they overcharged for the beer, rents were usually low. Most tenants could make a living and good ones could stay for many years or even decades. Modern pubcos, though, try to overcharge for everything. The result is that many tenants struggle, and leave after a few months with a considerable loss, or they succeed but eventually find their rent jacked up to unaffordable levels and have to leave anyway. The result is lots of perfectly good pubs being condemned as “unviable” and closing.

Finally Parliament has acted, against Government wishes, to add a clause to the Small Business Bill. This provides that, under certain circumstances, any tenant of a pubco with more than 500 pubs can apply for a “Market Rent Only” option. This means, once again, that big tied

house companies are being asked to act as ordinary landlords (see above). The outcome should be as many tenanted free houses as there are tenants who want to run them.

I have a few observations:

1. The pubcos claim that the system as it works now is in everyone’s best interests. Well, if it’s in the best interests of their tenants, very few will apply for a Market Rent and they have nothing to worry about.

2. What’s wrong with being an ordinary commercial landlord? The owners of shopping parades, industrial estates and so on seem to do perfectly well. The only possible reason why the pubcos are so keen to keep the tie is that they make more money that way - money that can only have come from tenants or pub customers. I leave it to you whether you would insert the word “unfairly” into that last sentence.

3. If history is any guide, the pubcos will try to find a way to evade the intentions of this legislation. Pressure certainly needs to be kept up. One way the pubcos might act is to offer sweeteners to their tenants, It these sweeteners are good enough to stop the tenants switching, we might consider the goal of the legislation achieved.

We have won a significant battle, and CAMRA can claim much of the credit. Locally, however, we don’t have so much to be pleased about.

All these MPs voted against the amendment: David Morris (Morecambe & Lunesdale), Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster & Fleetwood), Ben Wallace (Wyre & Preston North), Julian Smith (Skipton & Ripon). Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale), voted against the wishes of his party and supported the new law.

Call 01524 220 230or visit www.lunesdaledrinker.com

Reach 6000+ real ale drinkersand pubgoersThe Lunesdale Drinker is the only local magazine to reach more than 6000 discerning real ale drinkers and pubgoers in North Lancashire. Best of all, advertising costs as little as £3.45 per week.

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Our fi rst-rate micropub, The Snug, at Carnforth Station (thank Beamans it

wasn’t named “Brief Encounter”) held a beer festival in November and a great success it was too. There aren’t many festivals, or pubs, that receive some of their beer by train but that’s how Three Peaks Brewery from Settle transport their beer to the Snug, and how pleasing it is that their Ingleborough Gold won Beer of the Festival. It is notable that several local and regional brewers turned up, aware of The Snug’s importance in promoting independent brewers from the northwest.

The Borough Brewery’s First Birthday went swimmingly, with a packed Borough enjoying Rory’s beers brewed under the fl oorboards. A special mention to the bar staff that night – it was full on, but there were no stabbings or strangulations, on the premises.

Down at the Green Ayre, Tom Rossall arranged a Cumberland Breweries night. John Turner from the brewery roved

around the pub giving away samples of their ale and talking to the lager drinkers in the pub, enticing them with the full bottled range at the table. The brewery has made great strides since opening just outside Carlisle in 2009 in a building dating from 1833, after a residential planning application was refused. Wetherspoons locally are excellent supporters of nearby breweries and I don’t sign up to some of the snobbery that the chain attracts from people who don’t realise that we haven’t all got £3.50 a pint to spend when we go out.

Tim Tomlinson’s PubFest was a great success. I’ve never seen such generous prizes offered for completing a beer trail (apart perhaps from Matt Jackson’s European passport idea from about fi fteen years ago in which the fi rst prize was a weekend in Helsinki, won in somewhat questionable circumstances by an associate of Matt’s, a result which brought a new meaning to the term “random draw” – not that after two decades I am the slightest bit resentful or can recall much about it).

A full-colour leafl et was accompanied by an app by which one could log in at the participating pubs. The long list of pubs he managed to sign up is a testament to his diplomatic and persuasive skills. Tim’s idea is now is that Lancaster will now present itself

Or is it just too much Old Shipbuilders Armpit?

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World Premiere of the Snug Ukelele Orchestra

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Tim’s idea is now is that Lancaster will

Stu Ball (left) and Johnny Read from Marble Brewery at the Snug

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as “Northern City of Ale”. Once other pretenders to this title – Sheffi eld? Huddersfi eld? Newcastle? – hear of our arrogation of this title, it’s bound to provoke more healthy real ale tourism in the North.

In the photo you can see Sophie at the White Cross during PubFest, standing in one of the little dips behind the bar which have been dug out in order to make very tall people look short.

A very interesting hour or so was passed with Anthony Rooker at The Station, in Caton. Anothony took over at the end of August and his existing and future plans fi ll a page and a half of my notes. It’s easy for anyone to say, as Anthony did, that his pub “is very much about a community,” but this is defi nitely backed up, with almost every kind of pub team you can imagine, including Pensioners’ Lunches, Bingo, a folk night, bike rallies on the fi eld behind, which attract folk from as far afi eld as the Isle of Mull and Bournemouth, two bowling teams and a Jaguar Car and Beer Fest scheduled for April. Money from the regular raffl es is donated to local charities. There are also exciting plans to develop the adjoining

barn, which is an obvious music venue. Before then, the village school’s Christmas Party is to be held in the pub instead of at school. Oh that I had such an elightened licensee down the road during my school Christmasses. Anthony is a dynamic and progressive licensee and we look forward to The Station thriving.

We’re very short of space this time round and I apologise to those mentioned, in that all of these items deserve an article to themselves, but it is of immense credit to the real ale community in the area that your Editor has had to condense them into a single report.

Sophie at the White CrossSophie at the White Cross

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On a day which won’t make her miss Lancaster, I went to the Water Witch

to talk to Emma May, who was moving with her boyfriend Mark to take over a pub and restaurant in Minster in her home county of Kent. Emma and her team – a couple of whom have been there for six years – have taken The Water Witch into the A-list of Lancashire’s pubs. I’ve had many happy times down there. I chose it for my first date with the Welsh Rarebit, knowing that it would be a place which would show off my home town well, and would be able to cope with anything from a stylish afternoon on Pimm’s, to a couple of hours of drunken blather after several pints of strong ale.

Without wishing to stereotype, but ploughing into them nonetheless, the young, female, well-dressed, and articulate Emma is perhaps not the likeliest candidate for someone with such a keen professional interest in real ale. In the interests of group harmony, and just in case anyone in Leicestershire ever reads this, I won’t mention the beer of which she said “I’ve told them – ‘even when I’m gone I don’t want you stocking that’.” I checked last week and it’s still not on.

Emma succeeded in several intiatives for the pub. One of the last nights of her beer club featured a night in collaboration with Moorhouses in which a three course menu of dishes including their beers –

Black Cat Cassoulet for one – could be had for £20. Similar events were held with Coniston, Hawkshead, York and Kirkby Lonsdale. The pub also hosted the Old School Brewery launch night, for which everyone dressed in school uniform, producing sights from the delightful to the disturbing, both made a great deal better as more of OSB’s first class ale was consumed.

At that point in our conversation there serendipitously emerged from the cellar one of the longest-standing members of staff at the pub, an unsung hero of the real ale scene in Lancaster – Ian Palmer. It’s no accident that Ian has worked in two of the best real ale pubs Lancaster has ever had – the John O’Gaunt in the Steve Thorn Era, and now the Water Witch. Ian will be continuing to look after the ale as we welcome Victoria Gilmour and Steve Morgan as the new managers, who have a pedigree of AA rosettes earned from working with a hotel chain in the Lake District, and Ben van den Brink from the Sun who is coming to carry on with the good food. (With a name like that I wonder if we’ll see a couple of Flemish beers in the fridge?)

It was time to get soaked again – with rain, unfortunately, rather than with the ales across the Water Witch’s enticing bar. We wish you well in Kent Emma, and send you off with all our thanks.

Emma May goes back to her roots

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Westmorland CAMRA Cider & Perry Pub of the Year 2013/2014Westmorland CAMRA Real Ale Pub of the Year 2014

THE GEORGE & DRAGON HOTEL

Discounts on Real Ale given upon production of valid CAMRA Membership card.

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