mines a pint 29
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The CAMRA Magazine for Reading and Mid Berkshire - Spring 2014. Pub and brewery news plus a preview of the 2014 Reading Beer Festival!TRANSCRIPT
CAMPAIGN for REAL ALE
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THE CAMRA MAGAZINE FOR READING AND MID BERKSHIREISSUE TWENTY NINE • SPRING 2014 • FREE - PLEASE TAKE A COPY
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IN THIS ISSUEPub & Brewery News Pub ReviewThe Grumpy Goat Beer and FootballReading Beer Festival
OUR NEWEST PUB - THE GREYFRIAR
Contact UsUseful contact details for this maga-zine, CAMRA and other importantthings…Mine's a Pint Circulation: 2,500.Outlets: Over 70 across the region.
Editor: Phil [email protected] 455 029381 Addison Road, Reading, RG1 8EG
Magazine published on behalf of Readingand Mid Berkshire CAMRA by:
Orchard House Media [email protected]
For advertising enquiries please contact Jane Michelson:01733 211 [email protected]
Reading & Mid Berkshire CAMRAwww.readingcamra.org.uk
Branch contact: Katrina [email protected] 401 9437
Social Secretary: Jon [email protected] 483 334
Local Trading StandardsReading Borough Council:www.reading.gov.uk 0118 937 3737
West Berkshire Council:www.westberks.gov.uk 01635 519930
Royal Borough of Windsor &Maidenhead:www.rbwm.gov.uk 01628 683800
Wokingham Borough Council:www.wokingham.gov.uk 0118 9746400
The next issue of Mine's a Pint will be published in June. Please feel free to submit copy or ideas by 15 May.
The opinions expressed in Mine's a Pint arenot necessarily those of the editor or theCampaign for Real Ale. © Campaign forReal Ale 2014.
MARCHThu 13: Branch meeting. 20.00 start at Eldon Arms, 19 EldonTerrace, Reading, RG1 4DX. CAMRA members only, please.
Sun 16: Caversham Ale Trail social. 16.00 at Gardeners Arms, 48Surley Row, Emmer Green, RG4 8NA. Then move to Fox andHounds, 51 Gosbrook Road, Caversham, RG4 8BN.
Fri 28: Southall Curry Night. Meet 19.30 onwards for drinksat the Conservative Club, High Street, Southall, UB1 3HB,then Nagina Karahi restaurant at 20.45. Contact JohnRobinson on 0118 940 2787 / 0790 434 3187 / [email protected]
APRILThu 3: First Thursday of the Month Social. 20.00 at Greyfriar,53 Greyfriars Road, Reading, RG1 1PA.
Tue 8: Branch meeting. 20.00 start. Venue TBC – check website. CAMRA members only, please.
MAYThu 1 – Sun 4: 20th Reading Beer and Cider Festival at KingsMeadow, Reading. See the festival website www.readingbeer-festival.org.uk for full details.
Mon 12: Branch meeting. 20.00 start at Park House, WhiteknightsCampus, Reading University. CAMRA members only, please.
See www.readingcamra.org.uk for updates.
For details of an event with no contact listed, to suggest an eventor to receive regular e-mail updates of the branch diary, contactJon Parish: [email protected] / 07977 483 334.
Branch DiaryEvents are open to all unless specified.
Contents From the Editor 4Pub News 5 - 9Butchers Arms Pub Review 11Beer and Football 13Small Beer 14 - 15Reading Beer Festival Preview 16 - 17Grumpy Goat 19Supermarkets 20-21Community Pubs Month 22Then and Now 23Beer in Bahrain 26-27Join CAMRA 30
I make no apologies this time for trumpetingthe opening of a new pub in Reading – theGreyfriar.
Set on the corner of Greyfriars Road andTudor Road, this is a pub that we thoughthad been lost forever. Its former incarnationas the gay pub the Malthouse ended a fewyears ago, since when the place had beenboarded up and the upper floors refurbishedas flats. Word was that the owners wantedto let the ground floor bar area as a shop.
But that didn't happen. Instead, AshleighHarris, who used to work at the NagsHead, took over and set about turning itback into a pub. Much time and effort later,it reopened on 13 February as a real ale puband was an instant success. Six handpumpsgive a choice of microbrewery beers andthere's real cider available, as well as craftbeers on keg. So far the beer quality hasbeen excellent.
This is a real success and is just one part ofthe flourishing real ale scene in Reading.
Late last year the Grumpy Goat off-licenceopened to much acclaim – you can readmore about it in this magazine. Local pubsare adding more handpumps and extendingtheir real ale range. As Jody Oates from theNags Head said on the Greyfriar's openingnight: “The more pubs there are in a localityserving quality beers, the more reason thereis for real ale drinkers to go there”.
Another reason is that CAMRA membersget a 20% discount at the Greyfriar. Justshow your valid membership card at the bar.That's a developing theme as well, andyou'll spot other CAMRA member dis-counts dotted throughout this issue.
The Greyfriar is a success story that weshould all be proud of. And it's a goodreminder that we need to support all ourlocal pubs by going and drinking in them. Inour case, that just got a little easier!
Phil Gill - [email protected]
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From the Editor
Opening night at the Greyfriar
Pub News
CAVERSHAMThe GRIFFIN inChurch Street suf-fered a serious fireon Christmas Eve.With this Chef and Brewer pub out ofaction for some weeks, landlord Anne-MarieMcCarthy took the opportunity to have thebar refurbished while repairs were going on.The pub reopened at the start of February andwas soon full of customers again, with thebeer and food well up to standard. New flooring and decoration make the placeseem a little lighter. It’s great to see the pubback open again and we wish Anne-Marieand her team every success.
Chef and Brewer pubs are just finishing amonth-long beer festival and offer a 10% dis-count for CAMRA members (seewww.chefandbrewer.com/offers/camra). Apartfrom the Griffin, you should be able to getthat discount at the GEORGE on LoddonBridge Road, Earley, and the OLD BELL inGrazeley Green.
Down the road at theFOX AND HOUNDS(Gosbrook Road),there are now eighthandpumps dispens-ing a variety of localales and beers fromfurther afield. Realcider and perry is
available too, and Kevin has introduced aLandlord’s Special: Beer of the Week. Quiznight on Thursday continues to be well-attended and fun.
BRIDGES Club by Caversham Bridge isclosed until further notice owing to flooding.The bar appears intact but is seldom, if ever,seen to be open. We’d like further reports onthis so please keep an eye out and let usknow.
EARLEYThe SPORTSMAN on Shinfield Road hasbeen serving real cider from boxes. We believeit’s from Westons but don't know the name.
At the MAIDEN OVER in Silverdale Road,landlord Warren Heskins is offering customers on the ale trail entry into a prizedraw, plus 15% off the pie menu. The pies aregetting good reviews, and the full range ofTutts Clump ciders is now available in bottles.
READINGThe NAGS HEAD on Russell Street celebrat-ed its win in our branch Pub of the Yearaward by hosting the latest of its TapTakeover nights. This time the beers werefrom Pixie Spring and Hopcraft breweries inWales. A wonderful night was had by all.
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Pub and Brewery News
CONTINUED OVERLEAF
Ted and Jody from the Nags Head, with Tomand Gazza from Pixie Spring / Hopcraft
© T
im T
homas, W
est Berkshire CAMRA
Savills has sold the freehold of the closedWOODLEY ARMS on Waldeck Street toOakmount Property Investments for£305,000. The buyer is a property develop-ment company and we expect a proposal forresidential use of the site. With the area suffering from parking problems, it’s likelythat there will be local objections. This former Greene King pub was a 1970s-builtreplacement for an earlier pub in the areathat was demolished, and inside it wasalmost like a time capsule. If Sam Tylerfrom Life on Mars had had his car crash inReading rather than Manchester, he’d prob-ably have woken up in the Woodley Arms.
Also for sale on behalf of Greene King is theQUEENS ARMS in Great Knollys Street.£695,000 was the asking price for the free-hold at the time of writing.
O'NEILLS on Friar Street has gained twohandpumps. Doom Bar and BrakspearOxford Gold were available on a recentvisit. Both were served through sparklersand both a bit cold, but the quality wasgood: 3 on the National Beer ScoringSystem. This scale runs from 0-5 and consis-tent scores of 3 equate to “good enough forentry in the Good Beer Guide”.
The ALLIED ARMS on St Mary's Butts isholding its next real ale festival between 28-31 May. 25 ales and ciders are promisedover the course of the four days.
Paul Gabbott has taken on the lease of theRETREAT in St Johns Street. 3-4 ales andnormally a real cider are available. We hopethat the future of this iconic pub is nowmore secure and wish Paul every success.
The ELDON ARMS in Eldon Terrace hasnew beer lines and pumps, and is now offering a guest beer alongside the regularales from Wadworth. CAMRA members geta 5% discount on real ale and cider.
SULHAMSTEADThe SPRING Inn on the A4 is reported asclosed and boarded up.
TILEHURSTMark and Chrissie East are doing an excel-lent job at the BUTCHERS ARMS in LowerArmour Road. The place has been redeco-rated throughout, there’s a bar billiardstable, they have just received Cask Marqueaccreditation, and Mark says that real alenow makes up 28.5% of sales. Three hand-pumps are in use – for Doom Bar, Good OldBoy and a guest ale.
At the ROYAL OAK in Westwood Glen,building works have uncovered a fireplacethat now takes pride of place in the upperbar. Four ales are available with often alocal offering, and CAMRA members get adiscount.
PUB NEWS CONTINUED
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Some of the previous ales on offer at theRoyal Oak
WARREN ROWThe planning application to convert theSNOOTY FOX into a private house wasrefused by the Royal Borough of Windsorand Maidenhead, on the grounds of loss ofthe only pub in the village. We understandthat an appeal is likely to be submitted tothe Planning Inspectorate.
BREWERY NEWS
ASCOT ALESAnastasia’s Exile Stout won Silver in theStout category in the Champion Winter Beerof Britain contest, held at the NationalWinter Ales Festival. This means it’s beenjudged as the second best stout in the coun-try. It came after Ascot swept the board atthe regional South East judging round,where the 5% Exile Stout came first and the8% Imperial Stout came second.
The 1,000th brew at Ascot was AlligatorAle (4.6%). To celebrate, there's a limitedstock available of a special dry hopped ver-sion of Golden Ale. In addition to the regu-lar Cascade hops, 1 kg of Waimea wereadded to give an extra citrus aroma.
BINGHAMSThe latest beer from Binghams of Ruscombeis a 5.0% porter – Bricks and Mortar. Thisis a malty, smooth-drinking porter with adeep tawny colour. The name is inspired bythe fact that the brewery is built on the siteof a former brickworks.
Brewery tours are available on Saturdays at3pm. For £10 per person you get a guidedtour plus four pints of beer. These tours arevery popular and so they need to be pre-booked. See the advert in this issue for con-tact details.
LODDONThe monthly special for March is a 4.0%golden ale, Hare Brained. You'll just have
missed the SpringOpen Night but thedate for theSummer eventshould be availablesoon. The priceincludes beer andhot food, and youcan chat to the teamabout the brewery and brewing process.Plus the Kennet Morris Men should bedancing there.
SHERFIELD VILLAGEIn the last issue wereported that studentsfrom the ReadingUniversity Real AleSociety had been collab-orating with SherfieldVillage Brewery to pro-duce their own beer. Theresult was ExtraCurricular at 5.4%.
There's more about this excellent brew inthe Small Beer section of this magazine.
SIREN CRAFTThe “beer cellar” is home to some brewslaying down in barrels re-used from else-where, that should add some amazingflavours to the already excellent ales. We’retold that among the barrels used are thoseinfused with bourbon, armagnac, tequilaand madeira. This is a brewery that, whenthey do a particular flavour, they do a full-on version of it. The beers have been morewidely available in goodfree houses in Readingrecently.
WEST BERKSHIREGood Old Boy will beavailable as a trial atthree Reading FC homegames this season. See
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BREWERY NEWS
CONTINUED OVERLEAF
elsewhere in this issue for more details.This year the monthly special beers are allnamed after old English insults. Coming upfor April is Jargogle (one who is likely toconfuse, jumble; jargogle your thoughts) –this is an espresso porter at 4.3%. May’sspecial is Cousin Betty (a deranged woman),which is a 3.4% mild – pale, low in hopcharacter and with a gentle maltiness.
On the bottled front, we’re told thata range of bottled special beers is indevelopment, two of which are to bereleased in April: Maharaja’s IPA(5.9%) and Gold Star (a honey beer).
The other big recent news is the brew-ery share offer which, unfortunately, hasnow closed.
WINDSOR AND ETONMembership of the brewery’s Knight Club isnow available, offering special events, dis-counts and unique merchandise to members.
Meetings are held on the third Tuesday ofevery other month from 7pm to 9pm. As well as enjoying the beers and chatting,members are able to learn more about thebrewery, plus listen to occasional guestspeakers and enjoy guest ales. Look atwww.webrew.co.uk/main/knight-club for
more details.
Zinzan’s drop (4.0%), an “allblack” beer, has been available tocelebrate the Six Nations rugby.5p for every pint is donated toWindsor Youth Rugby.
ZERO DEGREESGolden Ale is now available in 5 litre
mini kegs alongside the brewery's otherbeers. This 5% ABV brew is dry hoppedwith hand selected German hops. Theycome from the Bavarian brewery ofSchoenram and their famous brewmasterEric Toft.
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BREWERY NEWS CONTINUED
The suburban local is becoming an endan-gered species and taking one on must beseen as a challenge. In November, Markand Chrissie East accepted this challengeand took over The Butchers Arms inTilehurst. Before the month was out, therewere rumours of high quality ale to befound on Lower Armour Road. I decided tocheck out these stories for myself.
For those unfamiliar with The ButchersArms, it is a traditional two-bar back-streetlocal. They have no issues with unfamiliarfaces; I’ve visited a couple of times and beenwarmly greeted by the customers as if I wasa regular. There are TVs for those who liketo watch sports with their pint and dartsand bar-billiards for those who prefer toparticipate.
Three ales are on hand pump; Sharp’s DoomBar and West Berkshire’s Good Old Boy arethe regulars, with a guest from Enterprise’slist. Some wonderful news here is that theyhave permission to offer local ale as theirguest once a month and real cider may fea-ture in the future. I found that not onlywere the tales of great ale true, if anything,they didn’t do justice to the very high stan-dards I experienced. The first Good OldBoy that Mark served me proved the excel-lent quality and also raised my opinion ofWest Berkshire’s beers!
Mark and Chrissie have risen to thechallenge of running a suburban local.Their increasing proportion of real ale salesis testament to the expertise and passionthey brought with them. Their previous pub(the Rowbarge in Guildford) regularly fea-tured in the Good Beer Guide and wasSurrey’s Pub of the Year in 2012. Mark isdetermined that The Butchers Arms will getsimilar recognition and, from what I’veseen, they’re well on the way. In conclusion,it’s well worth a visit – several visits in fact!
Cheers,
Badger
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The Butchers Arms, Tilehurst
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2 Broad Street Reading, RG1 2BH
01189 [email protected]
A Community pub in theheart of Reading
Follow us on twitter @AlehouseReading
3 West Berkshire Ales5 Guest Ales
Real Cider, Perry and Mead
Local CAMRA Pub of theYear 2014 Runner Up
Local CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year 2013
Pub quiz first Monday of themonth
e e
READINGDue to popular demandfrom supporters, a three
match trial of West Berkshirebeer will be in place for
Reading FC’s home games againstYeovil, Huddersfield (29 March) and Burnley(3 May). Fans can find the pop-up brewerybar outside the East Stand at the Madejskifrom midday on these match days, and it willbe open until half time if stocks last. Pints ofGood Old Boy will be priced at £3.50.
Royals Head of Commercial Sales AdamBenson said: “As a club we are proud of ourstrong links with the town, and this will be alocal beer brewed using local products.Breweries have been part of our local area forhundreds of years, there was even a brewerysponsoring our shirts when we lifted theSimod Cup! We hope fans will enjoy samplingGood Old Boy and that this is something wecan continue with in the long term.”
Head of Sales at West Berkshire Brewery,James Tomlinson said: “As a Brewery we arevery excited to supply the fans of Reading FCwith our award winning beer, Good Old Boy,at these three games. Our fermentation tankswere purchased from the Old Courage siteand we feel that we are bringing our beerback home. We are sure that you will enjoythe beer and the matches too!”.
BRACKNELLBracknell Ale and WineFestival, sponsored by
Think Ford, returns for its fourth year onSunday 25 May 2014 at Bracknell Town FC’sLarges Lane ground. This is not a CAMRAevent – it's run by volunteers to raise moneyfor the football club – but looks worth a visit.
Over 20 beers from local breweries are prom-ised, together with an expanded range ofcider, and wine from Wokingham basedTheWinePlace.co.uk . Windsor & EtonBrewery will brew a special festival beernamed in honour of club secretary Darrell‘Dudley’ Freeland who is waiting on a hearttransplant. All money raised from its sale willgo to a charity of his choice.
For the first time, the festival will take placein marquees on the club's pitch, and livemusic will continue all day with a range ofacts to suit all tastes.
Tickets are priced at £5 adults, £2.50 forOAPs and FREE entry to CAMRA memberswith a valid membership card. Visitwww.bracknellalefestival.co.uk for moredetails.
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Sport and ale always go hand in hand, and here’s some excitingnews for fans of both Reading FC and Bracknell Town FC.
NATIONAL PUB OF THE YEAR
The Swan with Two Necks in Pendleton,Lancashire, has beaten off competition fromover 57,000 pubs across the UK to becrowned CAMRA’s National Pub of the Year.
Landlord Steve Dilworth said: “We’ve beenat The Swan with Two Necks for twentyseven years and think of it as our hiddengem. This is a fantastic achievement notonly for ourselves but our dedicated staff -and a great boost for our community.”
Pubs are judged by CAMRA on a variety ofcriteria such as atmosphere, level of service,value for money and community focus, withextra weighting of course given to the quali-ty of their real ale, cider and perry. Any landlords looking to make their pub thebest in Britain might want to take note ofSteve’s somewhat unorthodox advice on get-ting the best out of his real ale, as he claims:“Talking to the barrels has finally paid off!".CAMRA’s Pubs Director Julian Hough said
that being named the overall Pub of theYear is a massive achievement: “The Swanwith Two Necks really is the best of thebest, having beaten rival pubs at every step.
It is a wonderfully welcoming pub thatserves a fantastic pint, and is popular withregulars and visiting tourists alike, in a quin-tessentially British, rural setting.”
To win the National Pub of the Year compe-tition The Swan with Two Necks first hadto win its local competition, then fight offtough competition at the regional stage, tofinally be put forward as one of four final-ists – and then of course be named overallwinner. A process which takes a full 12months and hundreds of hours of judging bydedicated CAMRA volunteers and competi-tion judges. In our area, we're proud to saythat Reading's Nags Head won the regionalround of the contest and reached the final16 in the country, a fantastic achievement.
LOCAL PUB OF THEYEARAnd now the process startsall over again! Earlier thisyear local CAMRA mem-bers visited the contendersfor our Branch Pub of theYear award 2014. After allthe scores were added upthe winner emerged as …the Nags Head. This is aperennial favourite andwell-deserving of the award.
Pushing the Nags close in runner-up spotwas the Alehouse. It's nice to see some good
Small BeerA roundup of news and information...
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They’re going toneed a new sign
Colin Valentine, CAMRA Chairman (left)presenting a plaque to celebrate the Swanwith Two Necks winning National Pub ofthe Year.
competition for this award and the scoresreflect the continual improvements Katrinahas made to her pub since taking over.
Other pubs in the running but who missedout this year were (in no particular order):the Swan in Three Mile Cross; the RoyalOak in Tilehurst; the Hop Leaf in Readingand the Bell in Waltham St Lawrence. Allsix are well worth a visit.
The Nags, as before, now goes through tothe regional round of the competition.
LOCALE UPDATEThe initial list of accredit-ed LocAle outlets for 2014
in our branch area is:
Caversham Baron CadoganCaversham Fox and HoundsEarley Maiden OverHurst CastleKnowl Hill New InnPangbourne ElephantReading AlehouseReading Allied ArmsReading Bel and the DragonReading GreyfriarReading Grumpy GoatReading Monks RetreatReading Nags HeadReading ZerodegreesRuscombe Royal OakStreatley Swan HotelTheale CrownThree Mile Cross SwanUpper Basildon Red LionWaltham St Lawrance BellWargrave GreyhoundWoodley Good Companions
The criterion for accreditation as defined bythe local CAMRA group is “Real alebrewed within 30 miles of Kings Meadow isordinarily on sale at all times”. Outletswanting promotional information should getit soon, if they haven't already. We will berefining and adding to the list as they yeargoes on so, if you know of somewhere thatmeets the criterion above, and isn't on thelist, please let us know.
STUDENTSAs reported in Pub andBrewery News, theReading University RealAle Society (RURAS)
has been busy working with SherfieldVillage Brewery to produce their own beer.Extra Curricular at 5.4% was the result,and word soon spread that this was the firsttime that a beer brewed by students hadbeen on sale at a university.
Such was its fame that BBC South Todaybroadcast live from the university SeniorCommon Room. JD from RURAS, PeteCook from the brewery and Brian Jonesfrom CAMRA tasted the beer on air, pro-nouncing it to be “the intelligent drinker'spint”.
The rest of us got to try it a few days laterin pubs in town. As an unfined beer it canbe a bit cloudy, and that may put some peo-ple off, but on the flip side it does make itsuitable for vegetarians. Experience showsthat it's a beer that benefits from being laiddown for a while – beer from a cask tried afew weeks later had a much more smoothand mellow taste. We're looking forward toRURAS’s next collaboration.
SMALL BEER
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The Reading Beer and Cider Festival will bereturning to King’s Meadow from Thursday1st May to Sunday 4th May, for our 20thfestival! This year we hope to have a rangeof over 500 real ales and 150 real cidersfrom across the UK, including a good selec-tion of locally produced products.
An impressive selection of Foreign Beersfrom across Europe and Great British Wine,including locally produced Stanlake Parkwill also be available.
A pub quiz will be running on Thursdaywith a range of great prizes to be won. OnFriday and Saturday sessions a full line-upof local live music and entertainment will beprovided. Festival games and the Tombolastall will be running throughout the dura-tion of the festival.
Sunday is family day with a more relaxedenvironment suitable for families with
younger children, entertainment for childrenis provided through the “half pints” club.Although we have a more family focus onSunday, anyone of course is welcome toattend.
OPENING HOURSThis year we have no split sessions onFriday 2nd May, however due to demandthe split sessions on Saturday will remain.
Thursday: 4.30pm to 11pmFriday: 11am to 11pmSaturday: 11am to 4.30pm and 6pm to 11pmSunday: 12pm to 8pm
Please note that under 18s are not allowedinto the festival without an accompanyingadult and must vacate the festival by 8pm.
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Reading Beer and Cider Festival 201420th
TICKETS PACKAGESTwo types of ticket can be purchased for thefestival.On the door tickets can only be purchasedon the day at the festival entrance. The tick-et package includes entry, a complimentaryfestival glass and programme. Prices are£7.50 on Thursday, £10 on Friday andSaturday sessions, and £7 on Sunday.
Advance Tickets are available to purchasethrough the festival website www.reading-beerfestival.org.uk . The advance packageincludes entry, a complimentary festivalglass, programme and vouchers totallingtwo pints of real ale or cider. Prices are£14.30 on Friday, £17.30 on Friday andSaturday sessions, and £18.80 on Sunday.Vouchers can be used towards real ales ofup to 6.0% or towards the cost of higherpriced beer over 6.1%, foreign beer andGreat British wine.
CAMRA, EBCU and RURAS members willbe entitled to an extra ½ pint upon produc-ing their valid membership card at theentrance. A special offer this year will allowup to 250 members of the groups listed, an
upgrade from a free ½ pint to one full pint.The total number will be split over the fivetrading sessions.
Full details can be found on our website.
GROUP BOOKINGSArrangements can be made for group book-ings of 15 or more people. Please [email protected] tomake an enquiry.
VOLUNTEERINGA number of volunteers will be required tohelp staff the festival. If you are a CAMRAmember and are interested in helping us outthis year please take a look at the festivalwebsite for more information, or alterna-tively e-mail:[email protected]
FOR MORE INFORMATIONWebsite – www.readingbeerfestival.org.ukFacebook – readingbeerfestTwitter - @readingbeerfest
Mark Johnston
© Alison Cross©Mike Taylor -
www.catchlight.co.uk
Christmas saw the open-ing of a new ale andcheese shop at theHarris Arcade inReading, which wasgreeted enthusiastically
by locals, with punters at one point queueingoutside to get in!
The Grumpy Goat is the brainchild of Anne-Marie Whitehouse and Charlie Beatty, whosaw an opportunity to fill a gap in the market:“Reading has an up-and-coming beer scene,”says Ann-Marie. “There are loads of newbreweries opened over the last few years whobrew tremendous beers but they don’t havemuch of an outlet for permanent off-sales inthe area. Plenty of people would love to drinkthe beers but can’t find them stocked locally,so it made sense to give this a try”. Pairing itwith fine cheese “seemed like an obvious com-bination, as the two go together so well!”
Since opening, the Grumpy Goat has expand-ed its range to over 100 different beers andcontinues to grow. “We’ve got most of thelocal breweries now, there aren’t many left tosource”, she says. Whilst most breweries areable to deliver direct, the ladies are happy togo the extra mile to source rarer brews “I wasin touch with Adkins brewery the other day,and they said they were very small and didn’t
have the capacity to deliver bottles to us regu-larly. But the brewer did mention that hewould be going to catch the game at theMadjeski on the coming Saturday and hewould bring a case of beer down in his carwhich he’d hand over in the car park!”
Shop stock won’t end up being static though,as the ladies are keen to source new brews asthey appear, as well as having regional thememonths (the Midlands was first to be hon-oured). There are also plans to hold tastingsessions, with the beardy boys at Siren Craftbeing signed up to help host the first.
So, the obvious question; why call it theGrumpy Goat? “It was something thatpopped up early on and stuck! It's goodbecause people seem to remember it!”
We wish them well with the venture, andwe’re sure that most local CAMRA memberswill be delighted to visit – often!
Address: 8 Harris Arcade, Reading, RG1 1DNPhone: 0118 958 1765E-mail: [email protected]: www.facebook.com/TheGrumpyGoatOpen: Monday to Saturday 10:00 - 18:00
Quinten Taylor
The Grumpy Goat
Anne-Marie and Charliein the shop
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More than 200 pubs across England, Walesand Scotland have been converted intosupermarkets during the past two years.Tesco has been responsible for more thanhalf of the 208 conversions identified sinceJanuary 2012.
In that period, Tesco has converted 110pubs into convenience stores. Sainsbury hastaken 29 and the Co-op 23, with smallerchains and independent operators makingup the rest. The trend of about two conver-sions per week has remained steady foraround four years.
Two conversions a week – that means that,every week, two communities lose their pubfor ever. In the Reading area we're notimmune from this trend. Three recent conversions are shown in the pictures. Alsothe Rising Sun at Burghfield Common hasrecently been converted to a Tesco store, andReading's Kings Tavern is now Davina’scorner shop.
CAMRA is lobbying the government totighten planning restrictions that currentlyallow pubs to be converted into restaurant,financial services or shop use without need-ing planning permission.
Chief executive Mike Benner said:“Allowing pubs to be converted to super-markets without planning permission is ludicrous, and something which the govern-ment need to address as a matter of urgency.The big supermarket chains appear to betargeting pubs for conversion despite thefact that these pubs are often profitable andpopular. This behaviour shows a remarkabledisregard for the wellbeing of communitiesthat face losing their valued pubs – leavinglocal people powerless to step in."
This isn’t the first time that CAMRA hascalled on the government to tighten planningrestrictions. So far the government appearsnot to be listening, instead pointing towardsother powers that it says local authorities canuse to stop conversions, but which in practiceare weak and ineffective. We need to keep upthe pressure on this issue.
One useful step a community group cantake is to register its local pub as an Asset of Community Value. More than 300 pubshave been registered so far, including theRetreat and the Foresters in Reading. TheACV regulations offer local people a six-week window to lodge an expression ofinterest if a pub is ever put on the market,
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Shinfield Road, Reading
WAS: The Maidens PH
NOW: Sainsbury
Star Road, Caversham
WAS: The Star PH
NOW: Co-op
Tilehurst Road, Reading
WAS: The Westside PH
NOW: Tesco
Supermarkets
followed by a four-and-a-half-month periodfor a full bid to be prepared. It only comesinto play if a pub is to be sold, and it doesn’t override the planning system. But itdoes provide powerful evidence that the
community needs, wants and valuesits pub – and any decent council will belooking for evidence like that if it has todetermine a planning application for publoss.
Royce Longton (pictured left), who is acouncillor in West Berkshire, has recentlyput a motion to his council in favour of protecting pubs. All bar one of the pointswas approved. This strengthens the positionof any community wanting to save its pubin the West Berkshire Council area – can wehope for something similar in other councilareas?
Phil Gill
Mine’s a Pint21
Royce Longton
Call: 01628 826622 / 2781 Email: [email protected] Visit: www.birdinhand.co.uk
The Bird in Hand, Bath Road,Knowl Hill, Twyford,
Berks RG10 9UP
A charming 14th Century Country Inn betweenMaidenhead and Reading. The Inn serves a host
of regularly changing Real Ales.
The beautifully refurbished Restaurant overlooksthe garden and the Inglenook fire provides a
warm and cosy setting.
The Inn has 22 en-suite bedrooms - standard,superior and suites. One room is adapted forthe disabled. Free wifi available throughout.
Join us for ourQuiz NightsWinning team get a free
round of drinks.No charge just a bit of fun! 8pm start
16th March, 6th & 27th April,18th May, 8th & 29th June.
CAMRA will again be organising Community PubsMonth in April following the success of 2013’sevent. This month of action gives pubs a campaignto focus promotions around and try some newmarketing initiatives to attract more custom.
We would like all pubs to take part by organis-ing some fun events for the local community toenjoy in April and encourage pubs to try a vari-ety of different communication methods ofinforming the locals of what is planned includ-ing press releases, social media such as Facebook& twitter, website, collecting local email address-es and sending regular e-newsletters, leaflet drops,adverts in other local amenities etc
26 pubs close every week. We do not want thissituation getting any worse, so please encourageyour friends (especially those that do not visitpubs regularly) to have a night out in one ofyour local pubs in April to show your support.Imagine if your local was one of the 26 to closenext month!
How will CAMRA support this event?We have produced some free promotional packs for pubs to use that will remind peoplehow great pubs are.
All pubs that feature in the Good Beer Guide2014 will automatically be sent a promotionalpack. Other pubs can order one by visitingcommunitypubsmonth.org.uk.
The promotional packs will be sent out inFebruary and March. CAMRA’s national pressoffice will also issue a number of press releasesto raise the profile of pub-going.
Community PubsMonth - April 2014
Mine’s a Pint22
Serving London Pride permanentlywith weekly changing guest ales
Friday Fish Supperonly £7.50
Bar Food Served Monday - Friday noon until 2pm
Hog Roast SpecialistsRing for details
Regular Jazz Nights27th March, 17th April
and 8th MayMarquee available for events
Arborfield Road,Shinfield,Reading,Berkshire,RG2 9EA
Tel: 0118 9884130
A UNIQUE, TRADITIONAL BAR
Elephant & Castle01189 340886Completely refurbished
inside and out.
Serving two permanent ales alongsidetwo changing guests on handpull.
Freshly prepared home made mealsserved all week.
See our website for serving times.
Family friendly with patio, deckedarea and children’s garden.
Dogs welcome in the bar and gardens.
Children EatFREE
Lodge Road, Hurst, Reading, Berkshire RG10 0EH www.theelephantandcastlepubhurst.co.uk
with any main meal orderMonday to Thurs lunchtimes*
OVER 60’S
with any main meal orderMonday to Thurs lunchtimes
2 meals for £9.95Mon - Sat*
*excl Bank Hols
In January, CAMRA members from acrossthe region made their way to London for apub crawl. Organised exceptionally well byJohn and Sue Thirlaway, this is an annualevent and always features some fantasticpubs as well as letting us see parts ofLondon that most people don’t normallythink about.
This year’s destination was Bermondsey andthe first stop was the Kernel Brewery. It's setin railway arches and there is a definite feel-ing of the “good and bad side of thetracks”. The walk from Bermondsey tubewas though a 1980s council estate but, assoon as you crossed under the railwayviaduct, it was full of smart types buying
artisanal goods and car-rying them away in jutebags.
Seating was on trestletables and there’s noway the brewery could be described aswarm and cosy, but the beers made up forthat and we found it difficult to drag our-selves away for the pub crawl proper! Plentyof good pubs and beer ensued, all within asmall area just south of Tower Bridge.
It’s interesting to contrast our experiencewith a visit made over 40 years ago. JohnDearing takes up the story here, using hisoriginal notes made at the time:-
Mine’s a Pint23
Then and Now- A Visit to Bermondsey
16 December 1972
“…Thence to Blackfriars Bridge, over the river,
under the railway bridge by the echoful eerie subway
and by way of Bankside to the Anchor. An attrac-
tively olde-worldified pub where the Courage which
appeared [to] but probably did not come from the
wood was drinkable, quite pleasant forsooth. Thence
to the George, a much more genuine old pub, famous
of course for its gallery on which we trod; the beer,
Trophy, was less praiseworthy. Next to the Rose on
Weston Street, a Bass Charrington house. Beer fair,
a “hand operated juke box” as Dewi put it being
operated by the bar staff; that old Bosley Farm
favourite “Every trick in the book” being included.
Next to two musical pubs in the Old Kent Road,
“The World Turned upside Down” (Watneys) and
“The Castle” (Ind Coope). The former had a pianist,
also the latter with drummer and Peter Promises III
(a would-be pub entertainer in Bournemouth during
the writer’s youth).
Finally… the Charlie Chaplin at the Elephant and
Castle was visited – all I can say is ghastly – if
Chaplin were dead he’d be stirring in his grave; some
would-be comic in love with the sound of his voice
shouting jokes into a mike. We saw a peculiar pub
name, the Valentine and Orson on our rounds, but
did not venture in.”
John adds: The Valentine and Orson has been
boarded up for years it would seem. Named after a
mediaeval French romance as a recently graduated
BA in Eng Lit ought to have known!
©Ka
ren Sc
utter
When I said farewell to my brother atReading Moat House and headed off towork in Bahrain, I wondered what I was let-ting myself in for. Would I ever visit a pubagain or drink real ale that I had so got usedto in the UK as a CAMRA member? Would Iever get to read “Mine’s a Pint” or attend aBeer Festival like those I enjoyed so often asI worked around the UK? How would I copewithout bacon, pork sausages, and carvedham at Christmas and snow and log fires?
Well if any readers are wondering or consid-ering a move to the Middle East the answeris that it is not as depicted in the Westernmedia. From the start I have been made verywelcome here by the Bahrainis and theexpat community.
We do have shops selling pork, and real aleto non-Muslims, and when my brother visit-ed from Reading for my 50th birthday Iorganised GBBF1 – the first Great BahrainBeer Festival! We had tee shirts with ourlogo designed by local artist Seana Mallen,beer glasses and even our own programme.As we raised funds for a local dog charitythe suppliers all donated beer and the localChinese restaurant donated the food at adiscounted price. My colleagues set up barsin our Car and Sailing club, our companyrestaurant provided ice and some old bathsmysteriously appeared to hold the beer bot-tles (we were unable to get draft real ale
sadly). The football and tennis club joinedin with different beers sold at each.
One of our suppliers, BMMI, provided avariety of raffle prizes and turned up on theday with their banners and promotionalteam, to let everyone know about theirhome delivery service of bottled real ale(London Pride, Abbot, Old Speckled Hen,Ruddles County and so on). Advertising wasa little tricky as we have to be careful not toupset the locals and so we set up a websitewww.greatbbf1.com to advertise and a seriesof teaser posters were made by my colleagueJohn with the website address on.
Artwork, beermats and more were dis-patched by a good friend of mine and astaunch CAMRA supporter, Mark Johns(who also saves “Mine’s a Pint” and sendsme a year's worth every Christmas, thanks
Mine’s a Pint26
Life in the Middle East – all Camels and no real ale?
Mark!). Overall it was a great night and mycolleague John, who was in the UK at thetime of the event held a simultaneous pubcrawl with former real ale publican friendsof mine, Dave and Lynda Green and gavethem all our tee shirts to wear.
Sadly we never got round to repeating theevent but it certainly created an interest inreal ale here. As for the pubs and the snow– they are in short supply here – but I reallyenjoy the sun and warmth, good workinghours (7- 3.30 pm 5 days a week) and myfree house and, best of all, working for twopetroleum companies … free fuel! In factbottled water is more expensive than petrolhere. What more of an excuse do you needto drink real ale than that?
So all in all expat life has a lot going for itand of course I am able to channel moneyback to the UK for my brother to invest so Ican retire when I return to the UK in 2020.You can rest assured I will be visiting anyremaining real ale pubs in your area thenand attending your Beer Festivals.
Finally I would just like to use your maga-zine to thank two people who make my lifehere so rewarding and keep me up to datewith the real ale world. They are my brotherRichard who lives in Reading, for lookingafter my investments so well, and MarkJohns for sending me the latest CAMRA
news from the UK. Cheers guys. I will buyyou a pint when I get back!
Neil Porter
Mine’s a Pint27
Mine’s a Pint28
Award-winning, family Cider makers since 2006
Tel: 0118 974 4649or 07836 296996
