Swiggin in Wiggin : September 2012 - Wigan

Swiggin in Wiggin
Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) : Wigan Branch Newsletter, September 2012
FREE
SIBA Great Northern Beer Festival - 250 cask ales on handpump !! (see page 28)
IN THIS ISSUE
Wigan CAMRA Annual Pub & Club Awards
Beers of Wigan Beer Festival Awards
Pub of the Season - Summer 2012
GBBF 2012 ; GBBF - a volunteers perspective
Cask Ale Week 2012 ; Good Beer Guide 2013
Double top for Bank Top ; SIBA Great Northern Beer Festival
A Liverpool walk ; A stroll around Chester
What do you know about beermats ?
1

BeerÊWarsÊFestival
FridayÊ19thÊ&ÊSaturdayÊ20thÊOctober
OverÊ80ÊGreatÊBritishÊAles
15ÊTraditionalÊCidersÊ&ÊPerries
WideÊRangeÊofÊContinentalÊBeers
HotÊ&ÊColdÊFood
LiveÊMusicÊEveryÊSession
WiganÊNeedsÊYOU
TicketsÊ£5Êeach
IncludesÊglass,ÊbrochureÊ&ÊfirstÊ
halfÊpintÊfree!
(CAMRAÊmembersÊ£4)
TicketsÊavailableÊat:
www.octoberfestwigan.co.uk
alsoÊavailableÊonÊtheÊdoor
2
SessionÊTimes:
FridayÊ4pmÊ-Ê11pm
SaturdayÊ12noonÊ-Ê5pm
SaturdayÊ6pmÊ-Ê11pm
PriceÊList:
CaskÊ(underÊ5.5%)Ê£2.50
CaskÊ(aboveÊ5.5%)Ê£2.75Ê-Ê£3.00
CidersÊandÊContinentalÊBeers
fromʣ2.75
RobinÊParkÊArena
(IndoorÊRaceÊTrack)

Welcome to our latest edition of our quarterly
publication ‘Swiggin in Wiggin’. Once again we can
report a busy quarter.
At our Annual General Meeting, Pete Marsh was
elected as our new Chairman, for the third time in
his illustrious CAMRA “career” which has seen him
previously being a member of CAMRA’s national
executive. At the AGM, the Masons Arms at Billinge
was voted as our branch’s Pub of the Year and
Cider Pub of the Year, the first time that one pub
has been awarded both awards. You will see on
the following details news of the other awards
as the branch has been busy since making these
presentations, sometimes three in a week!
In August, CAMRA held the Great British Beer
Festival, which this year returned to Kensington
Olympia due to Earls Court, the venue for the last
7 years, being used for another event happening
in London, Now what was that? Oh aye, London
2012 Olympics!
Real ale, or more often known as Cask, still bucks
the trend of beer consumption and the number of
outlets selling “the real thing” continues to grow
and this has been reflected in CAMRA’s membership
which now exceeds 143,000.
CAMRA has devoted most of its energies so far this
year on supporting the “Save your Pint” campaign
by calling for the beer duty escalator to be
scrapped. The beer duty escalator was introduced
by the last Government in 2008, and is currently
in place until 2014/15. It means that beer duty
is automatically increased by 2% above inflation
every single year. In simple terms if inflation is
running at 3%, beer duty goes up 5%!
Around £1 of every pint sold in a pub is duty
and VAT. Licensees must raise their prices to
levels where they can’t compete with heavily
discounting supermarkets which, in-turn, pushes
people to drink at home and other unregulated
environments. Britain’s pubs therefore face an
impossible situation with a stagnant economy and
a crippling level of duty being placed on every
pint. This affects all beers, not just real ale, but
lagers, stouts and keg products also!
Editorial
3
At a time when many of our pubs are already
struggling to survive, tax on beer has increased by
40% since 2008. CAMRA is calling for the Chancellor
to abandon the unfair beer duty escalator in the
next Budget, and by obtaining 100,000 signatures
we can a trigger a high profile debate in Parliament
before the next budget.
The campaign has enjoyed lots of success, with
over 89,000 signatures but we need more, not
only to get over the 100,000 to force a debate,
but to show the depth of public feeling. So, if you
haven’t signed up yet, please do it today!
Between 28th September and 7th October, its
National Cask Ale week and, along with pubs
supporting this event, CAMRA and our Wigan
Branch will be out and about trying beers in our
locality. Watch out for any press releases as we are
hoping explore opportunities for you to be able to
try a new beer. Remember, variety is the spice of
life!
During the next few months there are local CAMRA
beer festivals at St Helens, Southport, Lytham,
Burnley, and Chester as well as those organised
by local pubs including Crooke Hall, and the Ship
at Lathom plus a new non-CAMRA festival at Robin
Park in October.
Keep your diary out and make a note about the
SIBA Great Northern Beer Festival at the Mercure
Hotel Manchester (previously known as Piccadilly
Plaza) from the 25th to the 27th October.
The best way to keep up-to-date is our Booze
News, e-mailed free to all our members, or by
visiting our website. Hope to see you there!
Alan Robinson, Editor

My previous report in Swiggin in Wiggin started off
with the town centre pubs so this time I shall start
with out-of-town pubs and work towards the town
centre.
The Mulberry Tree in Wrightington has changed
hands and is now called Corner House. Previously
they only sold one cask ale but their new website
states “expansion of the range of real ales on
offer”.
Moving towards town a little, in a reversal to the
information in my last pubs report, the Rose &
Crown in Orrell is now selling real ale again, with
up to three bitters and a mild available. Still in the
area, a short update about the Unicorn in Billinge
as it is no longer selling real ale but is keeping the
hand pump and may reintroduce it in future. Not
too far away in Pemberton saw the reopening of
a pub as the White Lion opened its doors, no beer
survey yet but a board outside advertising drinks
has no mention of real ale. We have quite a few
clubs in the Wigan CAMRA area so it was good to
see that St Aidans Parish Social Club in Winstanley
is now selling a cask ale.
Still well outside town, Sam’s Bar in Ashton-In-
Makerfield (formerly the Angel) has started to sell
cask ale, “Sam’s Ale”, brewed specially by Tetley’s
for Sam’s. Reports are that it is selling very well.
A short walk away Fifteens of Ashton has now
reverted to its previous name of the Cross Keys
and is for sale. No real ale was available since the
change but that may change once
ownership settles down.
Over in Platt Bridge there has
been a distinct lack of cask ale
for some time, this has now
changed with the news that Owd
Kess’s is now selling cask ale
and proudly advertised the fact
with a large banner outside the
pub. An addition to our real ale
outlets is Kirkless Hall Inn (Aspull)
as it has started to sell cask ale.
Two hand pumps sit on the bar
with both selling Jennings Bitter
on the survey day. Another new
cask outlet this time in Hindley is
Local Pub News
4
the Spinners Arms, Castle Hill Road, following it’s
reopening but has had a name change and is now
called Castle On T’Hill.
New cask outlets are often balanced with the news
of pubs ceasing to sell our favourite tipple and
news is that the Wiend Bar (Wigan centre) and
Rock Ferry (Lower Ince) are no longer selling real
ale.
Worse still than no beer is news of pub closures
and the past months have seen more pubs fall by
the wayside - the Griffin Hotel (see photo below)
on Standishgate is closed and boarded up ; the
Hesketh Arms at Shevington Moor is now a house
; the Wakes Hotel in Hindley was demolished ; the
Park Hotel in Ince was also demolished at the end
of July. A possible further loss is the Belle Green
Hotel, Ince as a planning application to convert
the closed pub into a shop and flats has been
submitted. A bit of activity for another long shut
pub happened at the Golden Ball (Landgate) as it
was sold by auction in July.
The cask ale additions and pub closures have seen
the number of pubs selling cask ale stay almost
static at 139 outlets. Let’s hope this figure does
not reduce so keep on drinking cask ale and keep
our pubs open.
Mark Davies, Wigan CAMRA Pubs Officer

ALL GATES BREWERY
The monthly special brews for June were : Nelson
Sauvin Pale (4.1%), a single hopped Kiwi pale
ale “with strong antipodean hop flavours” ;
Golden Aeld (4.2%), “Light golden in colour with
elderflower flavours predominating”. July monthly
specials were : Pacific Jade (4.0%), a pale ale
with strong herbal hop flavours ; Apollo (4.3%),
a single hopped pale ale using American hops to
give a pale amber beer, and return of a seasonal
special Brigantia (4.0%).
In August the re-appearance, as a one-off, is
True Blonde cask lager (4.6%), the flavours from
natural cocoa nibs and mandarin peel to give a hint
of orange.
A new brew, Hopgate (IPA) (4.9%) using Kiwi hops
was represented at the Great British Beer Festival
in the form of 3 x 18 gallons. This beer has malty
sweetness and sold well, selling out early on
Saturday afternoon. Favourable comments found
on several blog sites describing it as “Golden
colour, small white head. Aroma is fruity, floral,
sweet malts with some mild bready notes. Flavour
is fruity, nectary, caramelly and nice. Balanced and
nice.”
The brewery are busy at present with the
September specials - single hop Southern Cross
and Tutti Cancelli Pils (Allgates Pils) a classic
German Pils. Further staffing changes have
resulted in Jonathan Provost being appointed new
head brewer. There has been no progress with
identification of alternative premises and nothing
likely for the foreseeable future. The brewery are
brewing 6 or 7 days a week.
No Amarillo hops are available until the harvest in
late October after which there should be a supply
for the next 12 months. In the meantime, California
will be replaced by Pretoria.
Allgates have now opened their eighth pub by
agreeing leasehold for The Union Arms, Castle
Street, Tyldesley on a “reverse tie” deal with
Thwaites Brewery. The pub will have 1 Thwaites
beer and 6 handpumps for Allgates beers plus
guests. At the time of writing, Sharon and David
should have started serving food.
Local Brewery News
5
The company’s other pubs are doing really well.
Their Diamond Jubilee initiative was successful with
60 beers that went well and hopefully a repeat next
year. Crooke Hall is doing excellent food with Greg
and Jenny moving over from Hindley pushing the
real ale scene. A beer, boat and music festival has
been planned for 21st to 23rd September with over
35 beers, 12 bands and canal boats with a large
marquee and beer tent in car park.
PROSPECT BREWERY
The brewery remains busy and an additional
fermentor has now been installed, increasing
brewing capacity by another 14%. They have
recently completed entry forms for Great Northern
beer competition (SIBA) being held in Manchester
in October and will be entering 7 or 8 beers in
various categories.
The Brewery Bar still opens as usual Thursday and
Friday afternoons from 4:00 p.m.and continues to
be busy. However, the current premises are affected
by the potential building of 500 houses on the site
after the current lease finishes in December 2014
leaving Patsy and John searching for new premises
if the plans are passed, as seems likely.
The Silver Tally pub is going very well and is now
open daily 12 noon to 11pm. They have been
approached to take on a second pub in the Wigan
area and Patsy and John are currently considering
this option.
MAYFLOWER BREWERY
Continue to brew using their 2.5-barrel brewery
plant at Sandbrook Road, Orrell, but no further
updates from husband and wife team Alan and
Tracy Branagan. Mayflower continues to supply a
number of outlets in the North West, including the
close-by Delph Tavern.
Also, Alan still continues brewing at Burscough
Brewery.
PROBLEM CHILD BREWERY
Planning permission has now been granted for a
new brewery at The Wayfarer in Parbold. Further
details in next edition of Swiggin.

From the mists of time ....... a glimpse of the Wigan pub scene
THIRTY YEARS AGO
Greenall Whitley converted several real ale outlets
to chilled and filtered beer. These included the
Running Horses, Aspull ; the Beech Tree, Beech
Hill ; and the Unicorn, Billinge.
Tetley Walker, on the other hand, were due to reopen
a number of inns as Peter Walker houses by
18th August 1982. Those in the Wigan area were
the Imperial, Higher Ince ; King’s Arms, Ashton-in-
Makerfield ; and the Springfield Hotel, Springfield.
Walkers mild, bitter and best bitter were usually on
sale.
Tetley Walker also converted the Ball & Boot in
Scholes to cask mild and bitter and installed
handpumps in the Golden Lion, Ashton-in-
Makerfield.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO
The Manley Hotel, Lower Ince was selling Vaux
beers; a rarity for the Wigan area. The beers were
keg, alas, but the landlord suggested that this
might change.
Handpumps appeared in two redecorated Appley
Bridge inns: the Railway (Tetleys) and the
Wheatsheaf (Greenall Whitley).
The Bellingham Hotel, Swinley, got rid of its
Tetley Walker range of beers, replacing it with
Boddingtons bitter and Thwaites best mild and
bitter.
TWENTY YEARS AGO
Cains bitter was available at the Hare & Hounds,
Skelmersdale but was dropped from the Pagefield
Hotel, Springfield, due to poor sales.
The new mild from Theakstons was on sale at the
Crown Hotel, Worthington, alongside other Scottish
& Newcastle beers and the occasional guest ale.
Handpulled Chesters bitter was now available at
the Guardians Inn, Springfield, alongside cask
Tetley bitter.
6
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO
The Eagle & Child, Billinge, reopened as a
Wilderspool Tavern, selling real ale for the first
time in light years: Greenalls mild and bitter, plus
guests.
Lees bitter came to Kitt Green, with the Latham
House Inn and the Old Engine selling the beer
alongside Tetley mild and bitter.
The Fox Tavern, a Greenalls eatery in Roby Mill was
now selling guest beers: Rebellion IPA when your
scribe called in. Well worth the ascent from Appley
Bridge.
TEN YEARS AGO
Fires had been started six times in two months at
the long-closed Britannia Inn near Bryn railway
station.
The Eckersley Arms in Poolstock reopened after
a much-needed revamp, with the interior now just
one big room. Still no real ale, however.
Cask beer returned to the Old Springs, Kitt Green
in the form of Burtonwood bitter, although it had
to compete with the nitrokeg version of the stuff.
Not far away, Lees bitter was the sole real ale at the
Brookhouse Inn, up against gassy Tetleys.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The Raven Hotel at the top of Wallgate reopened,
serving Theakstons best bitter and Courage
Directors on handpumps (no pumpclips, though).
At the other end of Wallgate, the once-mighty
Seven Stars Hotel closed, having served Thwaites
fizz for some years.
In Hindley, the Imperial hotel reopened as Georgia
Brown’s with beers from the Milestone brewery of
Nottinghamshire on sale; a rarity for Hindley and,
indeed, Wigan.
Real ale – Tetley bitter - was on sale at the
Freemasons Arms, Goose Green, for the first time
in living memory.
Dave White

The number of breweries in the UK has topped
1,000 - the highest figure for more than 70 years,
according to new research.
A record 158 new breweries has opened in the
past year. There are now twice as many breweries
in operation than a decade ago and around one
brewery for every 50 pubs.
Many micro-breweries have opened in recent
years, but smaller ones have expanded despite a
steady flow of pub closures.
As such, beer drinkers in the present day are faced
with an enormous variety and choice like never
seen before on these shores.
Whilst historically there were more breweries in the
UK pre-1930s, the distribution and communication
networks of the modern day mean that real ale
has never been so accessible to consumers, or to
pubs wanting to meet demand for serving locally
produced beer.
You’ve never had it so good !!
8
In the Wigan area alone, we have three breweries
that are prospering despite the current climate
of pub closures. Allgates Brewery in Wigan are
looking for larger premises to keep up with
demand whilst Prospect Brewery in Standish has
just added an extra fermenter to increase their
production capacity. Mayflower Brewery in Up
Holland completes the trio and has recently relocated
to premises behind the Delph Tavern.
The Wayfarer in Parbold has just received planning
permission for a brewery to increase choice for
local drinkers even further.
Another brewery in Haigh (Jones Brewery) startedup
fleetingly in the past 12 months or so. On the
fringes of our area, breweries have opened up in
Burscough and Horwich in recent times.
There’s never been a better time to drink locallyproduced
beers in your local pub. What are you
waiting for ?

Do you ever wonder what goes on in Wigan CAMRA
branch? Well, here is a brief summary of some of
the things we have been up to since the last edition
of “Swiggin in Wiggin”
• Monday 11th June – Monthly Branch Meeting was
held at The Bellingham Hotel.
• Tuesday 26th June – our Presentation of
Community Pub of the Year to the Running Horses,
Orrell.
• Friday 13th July – We presented the Dark Beer of
the Festival award from the Wigan Beer Festival to
Prospect Brewery at their newly opened pub, The
Silver Tally, Shevington Moor.
• Tuesday 17th July – We held our monthly branch
meeting at Standish Unity Club and whilst there
presented them with their branch Club of the Year
award.
• Saturday 21st July – We presented the Light Beer
of the Festival award from the Wigan Beer Festival
to Thornbridge Brewery at their newly opened Bath
Hotel is Sheffield.
• Tuesday 24th July – We presented the CAMRA
Champion beer of Britain heat winner Bank Top with
their certificate for the winning beer at the Wigan
Beer Festival, Flat Tap, along with our colleagues
from the Bolton branch who also presented their
Pub of the Season award.
• Thursday 26th July – Our young members officer,
Jo Whalley, organised a brewery trip by coach to
the Peerless Brewery in Birkenhead.
• Saturday 28th July – We held Beer Festival
planning meeting followed by a barbecue at The
Masons Arms Billinge, and presented both the Pub
of the Year Award and the Cider Pub of the Year to
John and Ian.
• Monday 6th to Saturday 11th August. A team of
trusty volunteers travelled down to London to work
at the Great British Beer Festival at Olympia in a
variety of roles. Hard work but well worth the effort
keeping 47,500 visitors happy!
• Tuesday 21st August – We held our monthly
branch meeting at The Douglas Bank, Woodhouse
Lane and selected our Pub of the Season for
summer, The Berkeley.
• Thursday 13th September – The 2013 Good Beer
Guide was launched and we presented the Pub
of the Season (Summer 2012) to The Berkeley,
Wallgate, Wigan.
Social Scene & Branch Diary
9
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
• 23rd October - Branch meeting at The Berkeley,
Wigan at 8.00 p.m.
• 19th November - Branch meeting at The Railway,
Garswood at 8:00 p.m.
BEER FESTIVALS
• 20th-22nd September : St Helens Beer Festival,
Volunteer Hall, Mill Street, St Helens.
• 28th-30th September : 11th Nantwich Beer
Festival.
• 29th-30th September : Taste of Cumbria Beer &
Cider Festival at Jennings Brewery, Cockermouth.
• 3rd-6th October : 38th Sheffield Beer Festival.
• 4th-6th October 6th : Lytham Beer Festival.
• 10th-13th October : 19th Westmorland Beer &
Cider Festival, Town Hall Kendal.
• 11th-13th October : Warrington Rotary Club Beer
Festival at Parr Hall (non CAMRA)
• 18th-20th October : Stoke on Trent Beer Festival
• 19th-20th October : Beer Wars festival at Robin
Park Wigan (non CAMRA).
• 25th-27th October : SIBA Great Northern Beer
Festival at Mercure Hotel, Piccadilly, Manchester.
• 25th-27th October : 13th Sandgrounder Festival
at St. Johns Hall on Wright Street, Southport (3
mins walk from Railway station).
• 26th-27th October : Chester Real Ale Festival
• 1st-3rd November : Carlisle Beer Festival,
Hallmark Hotel, (adjoining Railway station).
• 8th-10th November : Wakefield Beer Festival.
• 15th-18th November : 1st Beer Festival at The
Silver Tally, Shevington Moor, Standish.
Keep up to date with our social diary at
www.wigancamra.org.uk and regional news at
www.camragreatermanchester.org.uk.
So, you can see we try to meet on various days
and try to alternate meetings between Wigan Town
Centre and “The sticks” to accommodate as many
people as possible – why not give us a try (you
may even enjoy it!)
If you have any observations or comments for
social events, please contact me, Ian Prior - The
Social Secretary on 07505 123554 (ianprior52@
hotmail.com) who will be pleased to discuss most
things of mutual interest.

Standish Unity Club - Wigan CAMRA Club of the Year
Our Club of the Year for 2011/12, as voted by
Wigan CAMRA members at our Annual General
Meeting, is The Unity Club at Standish, for the
second consecutive year.
Tucked away off Cross Street in Standish town
centre, in part of the building that was at one
time “Northern Diver” Dive shop, the club is a
true community organisation that was founded in
August 2000 with donations from local sponsors
and the hard work of the local community to
refurbish the building.
It describes itself on its website as “The friendly
place in the heart of the village for the people of
the village”.
The club only moved over to cask beers 4 years
ago, but since then sales have continually increased
and demand has now outstripped that for lager and
“fizzy” beers. This has led to a third hand pump
being installed to expand choice.
Our presentation was made during a
branch meeting on Tuesday July 17th
2012 by Chairman Pete Marsh to head
barman Phil Bond, who was joined by
the club’s bar staff.
Whilst Phil looks after the beer and
organises the bar, committee member
Mathew Bullen helps choose the beer
that is ordered and they are both proud
of the quality of beer that they serve.
10
The club is the base for the local branch of the
British Legion who meet regularly, and have
entered 3 teams in the Standish Quiz league.
Live entertainment is provided most Friday and
Saturday nights, and CAMRA members are most
welcome to visit the club.
In accepting their award, Phil thanked CAMRA
members who have voted for the club, and
expressed his appreciation for recognising the
club’s efforts.
The club is now entered into the competition for
Greater Manchester Regional Club of the Year
where it will face some stiff competition.
The other Clubs in contention for the title are:
Altrincham Conservative Club.
Bolton Ukrainian Club,
Leigh RUFC,
Poynton Royal British Legion Club,
Springhead Liberal Club,
Who’s your champion drinking buddy ?
According to a national poll conducted by CAMRA,
Daley Thompson is the British sporting hero the
nation’s pubgoers would most like to share a pint
with down their local. The survey targeted over
650 pubgoers from right across the UK.
Thompson pipped Sir Steve Redgrave (2nd), Dame
Kelly Holmes (3rd), Linford Christie (4th), Sir Chris
Hoy (5th) and Rebecca Adlington (6th).
Who would be your drinking buddy ? Let us know
via e-mail at buddy@wigancamra.org,uk. If enough
of you respond, we’ll publish the results in the
next Swiggin.
Bradley Wiggins lives fairly locally in Eccleston and
regularly visits the Original Farmers Arms - not far
to go for a pint. Although Sheffield is very worthy
of a real ale visit - Jessica Ennis anybody ?

Running Horses, Orrell - Wigan CAMRA Community Pub of the Year
Every year Wigan CAMRA, selects a pub that doesn’t
necessarily sell the most beers, doesn’t have
the biggest or best beer garden or any cosmetic
facilities, but one that we feel best embraces the
local community!
The award for the Community Pub of the Year for
2012 was voted for by members at the Annual
General meeting and the winner was the Running
Horses in Orrell.
Clive and Glynis Frodsham took over the pub
in 1996 and over the years it has become an
important and central part of Orrell and the local
community.
Refurbished in 2004, it gave them an open area in
front of the bar ideal for holding charity events, quiz
nights, and family parties. There are also separate
pool room and darts rooms which are put to good
use for the local darts and dominoes league run on
Mondays and the pool league on Thursdays. Clive
and Glynis’ son Neil and daughter-in-law Emma
take lead roles in running the pool league.
The pub runs charity events through the year and
the highlight is the Christmas Quiz which raises
money for charities local and nationwide such as
Alder Hey, Help for Heroes,
Wish FM’s local charity and Dr
Naqvi Heart Fund. Neil spends
several weeks on the run up
to Christmas contacting local
businesses and sports teams
to gather donated items for
the auction, also run on the
night, which has raised several
thousands of pounds over the
last few years.
The Running Horses provide
bar facilities for the local
schools for their fetes and
fairs, and take part in the
annual cricket competition.
Along with the Delph Tavern
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and The Robin Hood they play for a trophy. Sadly
this year they lost the trophy but lay claim to
winning the drinking competition!
The running of the pub is a team effort with Neil,
Janet, Jenna and Liz backing up Glynis and Clive. It is
very much a family and pet friendly establishment.
As well as providing a great selection of real ales
on 4 handpumps – Banks Bitter being a regular
with 3 rotating beers, Glynis makes a great cuppa
and Janet, a mean bowl of water and a dog biscuit.
Excellent food is provided on pool, darts and
quiz evenings and they are always happy to
cater functions from christening to funerals and
birthdays to weddings.
No matter what you are drinking you can always be
assured of a warm and friendly welcome.
Our presentation was made on Tuesday 26th June
by new branch Chairman Pete Marsh along with our
branch Membership Secretary Michelle Slater, a
regular at the pub. (see photo below).
Licensee Glynis was keen to praise her staff and
the regulars for making this pub what it is, now
rightly recognised as Branch Community Pub of the
Year!

The Berkeley - Wigan CAMRA Pub of the Season, Summer 2012
At our branch meeting held in late August, our
members voted on the Pub of the Season for
summer, and the clear favourite was the Berkeley
situated in the Town Centre on the corner of
Wallgate and King Street.
In its previous life the building was called the
Minorca Hotel, and WiganWorld website shows
photos of trams in the 1890’s advertising “Minorca
Grill Room” and “Ladies Tea Room”, as well as one
in the 1930’s having Magee’s Ales adverts on
the outside walls, from Magee-Marshalls Crown
brewery in Bolton
It will be remembered by many as a Berni Inn in
the 1960’s and 70’s, before having a short period
as “Blairs” in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, and
more recently Berkeley Square, before settling on
it’s current name as The Berkeley.
The pub has received several awards previously
since being presented with best new cask outlet in
July 2006 and under the management of Jon and
Victoria Ambrose won Pub of the Season in Spring
2008.
The Pub was also entered into the Good Beer
Guide, was given LocAle accreditation, and under
Jon’s management from October 1992 as “Blairs”
through to February 2011 had a growing reputation
for serving quality beer.
In January 2011, the pub closed for refurbishment
but Jon chose to move out of the licensed trade
after 19 years. While a new manager was sought,
the pub was run by one of the directors of the
owners, Amber Taverns, for a short while until a
new manager was appointed.
This break in continuity meant that the under
CAMRA policy the pub had to be removed from the
Good Beer Guide until the required standards had
been confirmed. This has now been achieved and
the pub returns to the 2013 Good Beer Guide.
The new management couple, Cliff and Shirley
Beech moved from another Good Beer Guide entry
pub - The Steamer on Queens Terrace, Fleetwood.
A Blackpool and Fylde entry, they took over in
March 2007 having previously been in charge of
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the Old Bridge Inn and The Rose and Crown on
Birley Street in Blackpool.
Cliff is a lover of real ale, and likes a wide choice
of beers but admits his favourite tipple to be Old
Peculiar. He rotates a wide variety of beers and
the pub averages 14 x 9 gallon firkins a week,
ensuring a healthy throughput but confirms that
the amount sold is growing.
Although born in the east end of London, one time
Blue coat and entertainer at Pontins Blackpool,
Cliff gained a Bass Cellarmanship award at both
The Steamer and the Old Bridge Inn so knows
how to take care of cask-conditioned beer and
insists on cleaning the lines himself. The couple
will celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary next
March with a well earned holiday to Mexico on the
cards!
The character of The Berkeley changes as the
week and hours of the weekend roll by. At times
a major hub for watching the big game sports on
probably the largest screen in a Wigan pub, plus
many smaller TV screens, changing to a lively disco
mode on the weekends as part of the busy King
Street - for the young and not so young at heart.
Live music is also on some Fridays and Sunday
evenings.
Making the award to Cliff and Shirley, branch
Chairman Pete Marsh commended the couple for
the quality of beers and the giant steps made in
promoting cask ales. Proving once again that there
is a place and growing demand for our treasured
tipple in town centre pubs.

The Great British Beer Festival (GBBF), also known
as the ‘World’s Biggest Pub’, organised by CAMRA,
opened its doors at London’s Kensington Olympia
on Tuesday 7th August and ran until Saturday 11th
evening.
The festival returned to Olympia for the first time
since 2005 due to Earls Court being used for part
of the London 2012 Olympics. This meant that the
festival had to be scaled down to approx three
quarters of last years size. Frustratingly, another
part of Olympia was scheduled for a separate
event but that was cancelled late otherwise the
Beer Festival could have been scaled closer to that
of Earls Court. The number of CAMRA bars had to
be reduced from 13 to 10, and several trade bars
sadly could not be accommodated.
Despite the reduced size, the GBBF was a fantastic
showcase for all the best that British brewing and
cider making has to offer, plus the chance to taste
beers from the USA Cask Ale Bar, the Belgium and
Dutch Bar, the German and Czech Bar and if that
wasn’t enough, the New World Bar with a further
selection of foreign beers. In all over 800 drinks
from around the world. To accompany this heady
range, the festival offered a great choice of food
from traditional cuisine to classic pub snacks,
popular live music, and a wide variety of traditional
pub games.
Although a smaller venue, the Olympics events
taking place, no direct tube link to Kensington
Olympia and hoteliers hiking up room prices,
47,500 drinkers attended - the highest number of
visitors ever to the Olympia venue.
After a year of local tasting panels and regional
heats, Coniston Brewery’s ‘No.9 Barley Wine’ was
crowned the ‘Best Beer’ in Britain. No.9 Barley
Wine, which has an ABV of 8.5%, was described by
the judges as ‘having fantastic finesse, reminiscent
of a fine cognac.’
The Coniston-brewed real ale was judged the
Supreme Champion over a host of other finalists
in 7 different beer categories (Bitters, Best Bitters,
Strong Bitters, Golden Ales, Milds, Winter Beers,
and the Speciality class), including beers from both
small microbrewers and large regional brewers.
GBBF 2012
14
OVERALL WINNERS
Gold : Coniston, No.9 Barley Wine
Silver : Green Jack, Trawlerboys Best Bitter
Bronze : Dark Star, American Pale Ale
MILD CATEGORY
Gold : Rudgate, Ruby Mild
Silver : Hobsons, Hobsons Mild
Bronze : Son of Sid, Muckcart Mild (from Little
Gransden, Bedfordshire)
BITTER CATEGORY
Gold : Purple Moose, Snowdonia Ale
Silver : Tintagel, Castle Gold
Joint Bronze : Flowerpots, Bitter ; Fuller’s, Gale’s
Seafarers Ale ; Salopian, Shropshire Gold.
BEST BITTER CATEGORY
Gold : Green Jack, Trawlerboys Best Bitter
Silver : Salopian, Hop Twister
Joint Bronze : Oakwell, Senior Bitter ; Milton,
Pegasus
GOLDEN ALE CATEGORY
Gold : Dark Star, American Pale Ale
Silver : Cumbrian Legendary Ales, Langdale
Bronze : Hobsons, Town Crier
STRONG BITTER CATEGORY
Gold : Dark Star, Festival
Silver : O’Hanlon’s, Stormstay
Bronze : Highland, Orkney IPA
SPECIALITY BEERS
Gold : Dunham Massey, Chocolate Cherry Mild
Silver : Little Valley, Hebden’s Wheat
Bronze : Nethergate, Umbel Magna
CHAMPION BOTTLED BEERS
Gold : Stewart, Embra
Silver : Great Gable, Yewbarrow
Bronze- : Molson Coors, Worthington’s White Shield

4.0% ABV
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3.8% ABV
PRIORY GOLD
www.burscoughbrewery.co.uk
Watch out for our Brand New
BLACK CANON STOUT 4.5%
Launched at the National Winter Ales Festival
Our beers are available now in pubs around the region. Ask in your local or contact us for details
robin.gibson@burscoughbrewery.co.uk or telephone 0754 7672836
15
4.5% ABV
mug billy
www.burscoughbrewery.co.uk

Masons Arms wins top Wigan CAMRA awards
The Masons Arms in Billinge has won both Pub
of the Year and Cider Pub of the Year ..... two of
Wigan CAMRA’s most prestigious awards in 2012.
Described by many as Billinge’s hidden gem, the
building dates back to 1779 and was built by local
stonemasons using stone from the local quarry on
Billinge Hill. This is the second time the Masons
has won the award, previously winning two years
ago.
Apart from a period of 20 years, the pub has
been in the hands of the same family for nearly
240 years - all descendants of the first licensees,
a couple local to Chadwick Green, Henry Fairhurst
and Sarah Birchall.
True to the tradition of ‘keeping it in the family’ the
Mason’s current tenants are Ian Smith, descendant
of the Fairhurst family, his wife Gill, and Gill’s
brother-in-law, John Ruffell. Sadly, Gill’s sister, Sue
died two years ago.
The current ‘family’, with tender nurturing and
gradual progression, has advanced cask sales from
‘a decent pint of Tetley’s’ from the pubs solitary
handpump seven years ago to the current 5 cask
beers whilst maintaining their reputation for a
consistently good pint throughout.
16
On Saturday July 28th, Wigan CAMRA turned up to
present the pub with their much deserved Pub of
the Year (POTY) shield and certificate and were
delighted to find that additional beers, to the 5 on
handpump, were being offered on gravity from the
pub’s cellar.
However, it was a double celebration as the pub
had also been chosen as Wigan CAMRA Cider Pub
of the Year - the first time that the same pub
had won both awards in the same year, a unique
‘double’.
In honour of the occasion we ran two minibuses
from Wigan and Ashton-In-Makerfield.Branch
members turned out in force to celebrate and join
in the barbecue. It was pleasing to see so many
in attendance.
Branch Chairman, Pete Marsh, firstly awarded
the POTY shield and certificate to Ian and John in
appreciation of the work they have undertaken in
putting the pub firmly on the real ale map and in
improving the facilities of the pub without spoiling
it.
Not being a cider lover, Pete handed over to Vice
Chairman - Alan Robinson, to award the ‘Cider Pub
of the Year’ award whilst recognising the massive

Masons Arms win top Wigan CAMRA awards
rise in sales of real, otherwise known as ‘scrumpy’,
ciders, including the current range of five tubs on
sale at the Masons.
The Masons is LocAle accredited and there are
generally five beers on handpump, with at least
one being a LocAle. On Wednesdays there is a
quiz night followed by ‘Play your cards right’ ;
Thursdays a well established folk music session
(any sort of instruments welcome) ; and on Fridays
Burchalls famous pork pies are available, but they
don’t last long!
The Masons is a regular award-winner having
previously won Wigan CAMRA Community Pub of
the Year in 2009 and 2011. Other non-CAMRA
awards include EU Community Pub Award in April
2011, presented by the British Pub and Beer Group
in the European Parliament.
A recent addition at the pub is The Masons Arms
Community Garden which has been established on
the land behind the beer garden. Used for various
community events including bonfire nights, and
the Queen’s Jubilee, the area has been regularly
used for the pub’s special events.
Following extensive ground work, re-fencing
and landscaping a natural small pond has been
extended that attracts various forms of wildlife.
Bird activity has become quite lively with swifts,
house martins and mallards becoming regular
visitors, a place intended as being for peace and
tranquillity, where one can sit and reflect or just
watch the birds and other wildlife.
The pub is also Billinge’s gateway to the splendid
woodland walks through the Goyt Valley and
Carr Mill Dam. Garswood, Crank, Kings Moss and
Rainford are all within a few miles radius and
ramblers and cyclists are always assured of a warm
welcome. As the pub does not do food, they are
quite happy for guests to bring their own butties
and eat outside and enjoy “Billinge’s best suntrap
with its own micro climate”.
17
There is a detailed history of The Masons on
the pub’s website compiled by Sue Ruffell, from
information collected by Margaret M. Whittle,
granddaughter of G.F. Crank. It provides an
interesting insight into almost 250 years right up
to 1961 when the tenancy reverted once again to
members of the family, when Ernest and Emma
Smith took over the lease. Their son Vincent and
his wife, Barbara, took over the tenancy in 1974 for
the next thirty three years. Their son, Ian Smith, in
partnership with his wife Gill and her sister Sue and
husband, John Ruffell, became the current tenants
in 2007.
Clearly the history of The Masons is one of strong
family and community links: long may it remain so!
The Masons has been lovingly restored over the past
two years reversing the 1960’s ‘modernisation’ it
underwent with so many other pubs of the era. Its
small cosy atmosphere is enhanced by wooden
beams, growing collections of memorabilia
much of it with a local interest including historic
photographs, maps and a large collection of rugby
league artefacts including stunning rugby league
player sketches by local artist Bill Bradburn on
display in the bar.
The event also provided Wigan CAMRA with an
opportunity to present a cheque to Pat Rayner
of Wigan and Leigh Hospice who explained it
cost £6,400 a day to run. Our £800 cheque was
based upon the proceeds of fundraising at Wigan
Beer Festival and was presented by branch Social
Secretary, Ian Prior. Ian and John from The Masons
kindly topped this up to a four figure amount with
a further £200 cheque of their own - another
generous act!
Wigan CAMRA Branch are proud to support Wigan Hospice, providing specialist
care, for those who are at the end of their life, to hundreds of people every year.

So you know about beer, but what do you know
about beer mats?
When beer mats were first made? Where first beer
mats were made? What is a collector of beer mats
called? Who were the first presidents of the British
Beermat Collectors Society? What is the world
record for flipping beer mats?
During the 19th Century, folk in Saxony popularised
the beer tankard, a hefty, moulded mug with tin lid
that was highly effective in protecting beer from
intrusion by insects or debris from the surrounding
trees. But many could not afford such luxuries and
began the practice of covering their drinks with
a felt mat. After absorbing beer spillage, water,
and debris, the odours that developed in the
felt became noxious after a few days, and newer
solutions were sought.
In 1880, the first beer mats made of cardboard
were introduced by the German printing company,
Friedrich Horn. In 1892, Robert Sputh of Dresden
manufactured the first beer mat made of wood
pulp. In 1900, brewery names appeared on the
beer mats in single colours; then expanded in
multi-coloured, eye-catching appeal with the
advent of the letterpress. Wetness brewery were
the first known British brewery to produce a beer
mat in 1920 to advertise their pale ale.
Beer mats are usually adorned with a customized
image, usually mentioning or advertising a brand
of beer, although they can also be used to
promote a drinking establishment, businesses or
special events. Over 20,000 different styles have
been produced in UK, with over 1,000 of these
representing Guinness alone.
Beer mats are used not just to protect the surface
of the table, but, because they are usually made
of paper, they also absorb condensation dripping
along the glass or serve as an ad-hoc notepad.
The newest development in the beer mat alerts
the bartender when the glass of the patron needs
a top up. This computerized beauty detects the
weight of the glass and flashes a blinking light at
the bar when the drink is nearly finished.
What do you know abour beer mats ?
19
The Katz Group, based in Weisenback, Germany,
produces 75% of the estimated 5.5 billion beer
mats in the world, including about two-thirds of the
European market and 97% of the US market. In
addition to the 2 factories in Germany there are
2 other factories in the U.S, one in Sanborn, New
York and the other in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Tegestology is a term defined as the practice of
collecting beermats or coasters, with practitioners
known as tegestologists. Some will joke about the
reasons to collect beer mats (to use in games of
Frisbee, for levelling tables, or to have something
to read that won’t stress the brain), but serious
tegestologists concentrate on historical and social
changes within designated time periods, the
processes used in production, the organization
of sets, beer mat graphics and design, and the
maintenance necessary to preserve extensive
collections.
In 1960 the British Beermat Collectors Society
was established and its first presidents were Eric
Morecambe and Ernie Wise. Yes honestly. Now
we know why their sketches had the comedy duo
playing snap with beer mats and using beer mats
as substitute medals on formal uniforms.
And did you know:
According to Guinness World Records largest
collection belongs to Leo Pisker of Langenzersdorf,
Austria: 152,860 different beer mats from 192
countries
In July 2010 Dean Gould of Felixstowe flipped
and caught 35 beer mats with two fingers whilst
blindfolded – more than doubling the previous
best of 16. He also set a new ‘flipping’ record
with 800 successful flips in just 41.06 seconds. To
make sure he then set a record by catching 108
beer mats after dropping them from his elbow,
beating the old ‘snatch’ record of 107. You can
have a good night out in Felixstowe!
Ivor Pintglass
(with grateful thanks to Guinness Book of Records,
Wikipedia, Google and other internet facilities)

Cask Ale Week 2012 - “only in Britain, only in pubs”
Cask Ale Week will this year run between Friday
28th September and Sunday 7th October . It is a
campaign jointly organised by Cask Marque and
CAMRA with assistance from many of the Country’s
breweries. The aims are to encourage :
• non-real ale drinkers to try real ale for the first
time.
• inexperienced real ale drinkers to try more
varieties of real ale.
• experienced real ale drinkers to visit real ale pubs
throughout the week.
• non-real ale pubs to stock real ale for the first
time.
• pubs to organise a number of real ale events to
encourage more real ale trade.
This year CAMRA are producing posters and
beer mats for CAMRA branches to distribute to
participating pubs to raise the profile of Britain’s
national drink. Wigan CAMRA Branch are looking
to organise several events along with our local
breweries so keep a watch out for posters and
keep checking our website for updates.
One of our regional brewers, Thwaites are
targeting 10,000 new cask ale drinkers in it’s
“3 Thirds for Me and 3 Free for You” promotion
combines the popular “Try Before You Buy” theme
with “Introduce a Friend” activity. It allows cask
ale drinkers to buy a flight of three thirds of
their choice, and to match them, free of charge
with a further flight of three thirds to introduce a
friend to the delights of, and differences between,
cask ales. There will be at least 8 Thwaites ales
to choose from and the promotion is all part of
the effort to get people thinking about taste
and discussing Britain’s national drink. Thwaites
are also encouraging pictures of the non-cask
ale drinker to be ‘Suploaded’ and shared on
the Thwaites Facebook page for a chance to win
branded goodies!
Black Sheep Brewery will be celebrating its 20th
anniversary during Cask Ale Week. This includes a
very special celebratory ale. Progress is a 4.0%
abv rich, pure single-hopped anniversary ale
with the classic Black Sheep dry and bitter finish.
The brewery will be hosting tutored beer tasting
sessions and food and beer matching sessions.
20
The Caskfinder app, which has 50,000 uses a
month, will also be used to drive trade into pubs
participating in Cask Ale Week, and prizes for
pubgoers using the highly successful World’s
Biggest Ale Trail will be doubled during the week.
Nearly 1,000 Punch Taverns pubs up and down the
country will be taking part in a Free Pint promotion.
CAMRA members will be able to download their
voucher for a pint of cask ale from the www.
freedrinkspubs.co.uk website, and check out their
nearest participating pub.
Marston’s are rallying over 2,000 pubs across their
entire pub estate, as well as free trade customers,
to get involved with Cask Ale Week. The brewery
will be supplying ‘Only in Britain, Only in Pubs’
kits to pubs and encouraging activity ranging from
beer festivals to tutored tastings.
‘Try Before You Buy’ will be operating in Cask
Marque accredited outlets following-on from the
same theme last year.
There is still a huge gap of knowledge in the
industry, let alone among the general public, about
what makes the beer from a handpull special.
Cask Ale Week, dedicated to raising the profile of
cask-conditioned beer, can help plug that gap in
knowledge, and entice drinkers back through the
doors of their locals.
Enjoy!

During the Wigan Beer Festival in Spring, we had
the privilege to host a regional heat of CAMRA
National’s Champion Beer of Britain Competition
(CBOB). The national finals of this most prestigious
award takes place at the Great British Beer Festival
in London each August.
A panel of “blindfolded” judges representing a
variety of roles - brewers, licensees, media and
CAMRA members had to choose their favourite beer
from the Best Bitter category.
Beers can qualify for CBOB in three ways:
• CAMRA tasting panels judge the beers in their
geographic area of the UK. The recommendations
of these panels are put forward to 6 regional
panels, with the winners of these qualifying for the
finals in August.
• Votes from CAMRA members via a form in What’s
Brewing, the CAMRA newsletter.
• Winning one of the 150 Beer Of The Festival
awards from CAMRA beer festivals held throughout
the year
Nominated beers are then grouped into categories
and go through several rounds of blind tasting at
the Great British Beer Festival. Category winners
are then re-judged to determine the supreme
champion - the Champion Beer of Britain.
The winning beer at our heat was “Flat Cap” from
Bank Top Brewery in Bolton, a
beer brewed as a tribute to the
town’s famous steeplejack,
Fred Dibnah.
Whenever a CAMRA branch
visits a pub or brewery in
another’s area, it is normal
to contact that branch to
keep them “in the loop”. As
such, upon arranging the
CBOB certificate presentation,
we were advised by our
colleagues at Bolton CAMRA
branch that Bank Top’s own
pub, the Bank Top Brewery
Tap had won their own “Pub
of the Season”.
Double top for Bank Top
21
Plans were therefore put in place to make both
awards and hold a joint branch social on a sunny
July evening.
Dave Sweeney, popular brewer and brewing guru
and owner of both the brewery and pub, proudly
accepted both awards. Dave commented “it means
so much to finally have this recognition” in relation
to the award for Flat Cap, and “it is not only the bar
staff who work hard, but the brewery team who
deserve respect. Once again I would like to thank
you all very much on these awards from CAMRA”.
The Brewery Tap on Belmont Road, close to the
Ainsworth Lane Brewery, was formerly known as
the Carters Arms before being refurbished and reopened
under Bank Top banner in April 2010.
In true Bank Top style, our host laid on a hospitable
buffet and we mixed with our friend from Bolton
CAMRA branch before our minibus whisked us back
to Wigan in time for our last buses.
In August, Dave attended the Great British Beer
Festival, but sadly Flat Cap didn’t win its category
due to the high standards of the competition but I
am sure he was proud to have reached the pinnacle
of CAMRA’s year.

Our last outstanding tasks from the busy spring
quarter was to award the two winning certificates
from our very own Wigan Beer Festival where we
invite attendees to vote in two categories, light
beer of the festival and dark beer of the festival.
The two clear winners were Thornbridge Brewery
in the light category for Brother Rabbit a 4.0%
golden ale, and closer to home Prospect’s Nutty
Slack 3.9% in the dark category.
Thornbridge branded beers were first brewed in
early 2005 with the establishment of a 10 barrel
brewery in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall.
However, to meet demand and an increase in
product range, a new 30-barrel state-of-the-art
brewery and bottling line was opened at Bakewell
in September 2009. Since that time the brewery
have won over 200 awards and now have a growing
collection of pubs.
Brother Rabbit is described as being hopped with
three classic American hops: Cascade, Chinook and
Centennial. Gold in colour with tropical fruits and
orange sherbet dominating the aroma. Medium
body with a clean firm bitterness to balance – a
great thirst quenching beer.
Having made contact with Thornbridge,
arrangements were made to make the presentation
Beers of Wigan Beer Festival Awards
22
at the brewery’s latest pub, the Bath Hotel in
Sheffield. A party of volunteers made the trip over
the Pennines to meet with Thornbridge’s Marketing
Manager, Alex Buchanan and to present the award.
Hidden just off West Street on the corner of
Convent Walk and Victoria Street, the Bath Hotel
is a CAMRA heritage listed pub and is one of
Sheffield’s best kept secrets. The pub features 3
Thornbridge hand-pulled beers and 3 guests beers
and is a Grade II listed pub dating back to 1867. It
is situated on the sharp angle of the streets with
a triangular shaped bar with fixed seating and a
hatch servery.
The main counter serves a bar on the opposite side
which also appears to retain its original seating.
The counter front is unusual in that it is faced with
orangey-brown tiles.
We were made most welcome by Alex and the
Bath’s team. So much so that we barely had time to
see much of the Steel City’s other excellent pubs
and a planned visit to Kelham Island was cancelled
- meaning a repeat visit to the city is a must!
On our way back to the railway station we did
visit the nearby Devonshire Cat, a landmark in
the vibrant Devonshire quarter, The Lord Nelson,
a real locals pub and the Rutland Arms, another

Grade II listed pub recently given a new lease of
life. Finally, the Sheffield Tap, a former Edwardian
Refreshment Room & Dining Rooms on Sheffield
Station, recently renovated into a lovely bar having
been boarded up for over 30 years!
Our dark beer of the festival involved considerably
less travelling. Just a few miles to Shevington Moor
in fact. When we told Patsy Slevin of Prospect
Brewery that her beer, Nutty Slack, had won the
dark category, she asked us to delay presenting
the award until their first pub, the Silver Tally, had
opened.
Not being superstitious, our presentation was
made on Friday, 13th July which also gave some of
our members their first view of the pub although
many had been to the opening on the June 3rd and
half a dozen times since!
Nutty Slack is a delicious dark mild with hints of
liquorice and a smooth malty taste, and is part of
Prospect’s core beer range. Named after a type
of coal much prized for its slow-burning qualities,
it has won several previous award including SIBA
National Silver Medal 2009, in the Mild Category.
The Silver Tally, formerly known as the Foresters
Arms, is a ground breaking partnership between
Blackburn regional brewer, Daniel Thwaites and
Prospect. The ‘Tally’ sells a wide range of cask
ales from Prospect’s own range together with freeof-tie
guest beers from other micro-breweries.
One cask ale from Thwaites is always available
- normally Wainwrights. In addition, cask cider is
also served and a selection of Thwaites-supplied
lagers, wines and spirits. It also serves locally
sourced, traditional home-cooked food but there is
no jukebox, satellite TV or gaming machines.
The new name of the pub relates to the local
mining industry as a tally was used by a miner in
exchange for a lamp prior to going down into a coal
Beers of Wigan Beer Festival Awards
23
pit. However, according to some, a silver tally was a
token given to miners as a meal voucher after they
had finished an overtime shift.
Prospect Brewery was founded in 2007 and, being
based in the Wigan area with its long history of
mining and prospecting, it’s apt that most of their
beers are named with a mining or prospecting
theme.
Our photos : presentations by Wigan CAMRA
Chairman, Peter Marsh, to Alex Buchanan of
Thornbridge and to Patsy and John Slevin of
Prospect.
WIGAN BEER FESTIVAL 2013
28th February to 2nd March

The Pavilion, Ashworth Lane, Bank Top,
Bolton. BL1 8RA
Tel: 01204 595800
www.banktopbrewery.com
Putting it Mildly
We’re over the moon !
24

These mobile phones are great aren’t they?
Without them, one Saturday we would not have
known where to meet up with the others when we
caught a later train from Wigan to Liverpool Lime
Street. No surprise that the response was “We are
in the Fly in the Loaf on Hardman Street, get over
here quick”. The was the starting point of our visit
to Liverpool taking in 9 pubs in 6 hours, a pleasant
circuit, working our way down the hill back towards
the station ready for the last dash for the train,
visiting some classic pubs with great beer.
Of course, by the time we got to the Fly in the Loaf
everyone was ready to move on so, with apologies
to the pleasant bar staff, who came to take our
order of drinks, we didn’t linger.
Up the hill into the Philharmonic, with its entrance
on Hope Street. Its impossible not to be impressed
with the décor and ambience of the Phil and is
worth a visit. The beer was good as well with a
choice of 6! Again there were 2 helpful members
of staff behind the bar who knew their beers,
always a good sign.
From there we turned right and walked along Hope
Street, past the Philharmonic Hall, and turned right
into Rice Street to call in at Ye Cracke. This old pub
looks like it’s in the wrong place. In a side street,
newish houses opposite but, once inside, it’s a
busy place, lots of original features, a neat beer
garden at the back, and again good beer. Beer is
served in plastic glasses for customers going out
to the beer garden but this seemed a hit-and-miss
system with people walking outside with glassware
and the bar staff clearly thinking we should have
gone outside as we got plastic glasses at first.
On emerging, we realised we had not visited the
Belvedere. So it was back to Hope Street, cross
the road into Falkner Street (past the bistro on
the left) and the gorgeous Georgian buildings to
Sugnall Street. There is a surprise immediately;
it’s a cul de sac with the Belvedere being the only
occupant. Because of the location they have tables
and benches outside, which is a good job – it’s a
very small pub but with good beer.
Liverpool walk
25
Next on the list was the Pilgrim, so we retraced
our steps past Ye Cracke, and called into the
Pilgrim. Busy as ever with students, we raised the
average age of the customers by about 20 years.
Undeterred, we found some seats outside rather
than in the pub (which is actually in the cellar).
Our next pub was the only pub to let us down all
day. Leaving the Pilgrim it was turn right, turn
right, turn right and we walked into the Grapes on
Roscoe Street. Unfortunately, we were met with a
row of empty hand pumps so with a (hopefully)
friendly “thank you” we walked out again.
To get over our disappointment we turned left,
walked back toward the main road, crossed Leece
Street into the other end of Roscoe Street and
found ourselves in the Roscoe Head which has
justly won numerous awards from CAMRA and other
organisations. Gorgeous beer, knowledgeable bar
staff, good atmosphere what more could you ask
for! Back onto Leece Street, to the bottom of the
hill and the Dispensary in Renshaw Street was to
be our last pub before getting the return train to
Wigan. One day I will understand why it’s called
the Dispensary. Have the grapes in the tiles on the
floor and on the wall behind the bar anything to
do with it ? It all felt a bit unsure of itself but one
thing was certain, the beer was great.
Finally, we headed off along Renshaw Street to the
station – oh but what’s this we spot - a new bar
serving real ale. Time for a quick half in The Inn
Liverpool Beer Emporium – served in the classic
barrel glasses. A very different venue to all our
other locations that afternoon, we wish them luck
with their new venture.
On the train back we agreed that every beer we had
was good, some were very good, and some were
excellent. We had Cornish beer, Yorkshire beer,
Lancashire beer, local beer, light beer, dark beer,
all sorts. We tried to sample the range of beers
in each pub and between the 6 of us, we enjoyed
every one - not a bad pint (or half) all afternoon is
a great testimony to the pubs of Liverpool.
Why not try out our route – a walking distance of
less than 2 miles. It’s well worth it.

The 40th edition of the UK’s best-selling beer &
pub guide, the Good Beer Guide, is fully revised
and updated each year and features pubs across
the United Kingdom that serve the best real ale.
This pub guide is completely independent, with
listings based entirely on nominations from CAMRA
members and no paid placements. This means you
can be sure that every pub and pint deserves their
place, plus they all come recommended by people
who know a thing or two about good beer. The
unique ‘Breweries Section’ lists all the breweries
– micro, regional and national – that produce real
ale in the UK, and the key beers that they brew. The
Good Beer Guide 2013 is the complete book for
beer lovers and a must have for anyone wanting to
experience the UK’s finest pubs. Features include:
• Britain’s best-selling and fully independent beer
& pub guide is back with updated listings for 2013,
this 40th edition features over 1000 pubs that did
not appear in last year’s Good Beer Guide.
• A beer lover’s best friend, featuring 4,500 pubs
from around the UK all nominated and reviewed by
CAMRA members.
• The easy-to-use listings are grouped
geographically so you can find a friendly watering
hole wherever you are.
• The ‘Breweries Section’ lists over hundreds of
breweries of all over the nation of all shapes and
sizes.
• Tasting notes and a ‘Beer Index’ help you find
and enjoy your own perfect pint.
• Previous edition:- Good Beer Guide 2012, finalist
in the Gourmand World Cook Book Awards 2012
(978-1-85249-286-1).
• Available to CAMRA members for as little as £10
(online www.camra.org.uk/shop) or £11 mail order.
This year to coincide with the publication of the
2013 edition of the GBG a new version of the
highly successful Good Beer Guide Mobile app will
be launched for Apple and Android compatible
devices. This new evolution of the app will go live
on 13th September 2012 and will incorporate
a basic version which will be free to download
and allow limited ‘near me’ searches and restrict
available functionality without a paid subscription.
Good Beer Guide 2013
26
Once the basic version is installed a 12 month
subscription can be purchased for just £4.99
and will allow access to enhanced searches by
pub name, postcode and street address and will
provide a greater number of pubs for the user
to browse full listings of when looking for a pint.
Detailed information on all UK real-ale breweries
and their key beers will also be made available.
Subscribers will also be able to record the pubs
they have visited and input their own review notes
using their unique subscribers account.
CAMRA will also be releasing an e-book edition of
the Good Beer Guide 2013 that will be available on
numerous platforms, including Kindle, i-Pad and
numerous e-pub compatible devices. The e-book
will be specially formatted to ensure that all the
GBG’s unique features are fully represented in
the digital edition. The e-book will also include a
‘jump-to’ places index and interactive web links
(where supported by the e-reader device).
Point of interest (POI) files for TomTom, Navman
and Garmin satellite navigation systems will also
available. You simply upload and get on the road.
(Users should always remember to enjoy alcohol
responsibly, especially when driving, and respect
the legal limits!)

Chester has long been a favourite Wigan CAMRA
branch members and, of course, is the birthplace
of CAMRA!
In September 2009 there were 39 pubs serving
Cask in the City Centre alone, but by June 2012
that had grown to over 50, excluding several
new outlets just over the river, near the weir at
Handbridge.
Arriving in Chester, our first port of call was the
Old Harkers Arms which is on the bank of the
Shropshire Union canal and part of the Brunning
and Price chain. Here the permanent beers are
Brunning and Price Original (brewed by Phoenix
Brewery at Heywood) and Weetwood Cheshire Cat
with six constantly changing beers. Bookcases
adorn the walls and the ceiling is made of port
wine boxes!
Next door is another excellent venue called
Canalside which stocks five changing real ales. It
opened in November 2011 and is known locally
as “Swiftys” after the owner Gary Swift, who also
runs the Eaton Hotel above the pub. I tried two
house beers “Swifty’s Golden Glow” and “Swifty’s
Barley Mo” both of which were on fine form from
the recently opened Swifty’s brewery. This 2.5
barrel plant is situated on the ground floor and
can viewed from both inside or outside of the pub,
whilst walking along the canal pathway. The pub
also has a lovely glass-walled outside area giving
great views of the canal life going by!
Proceeding along the canal,
about a 10 minute walk, is
Telford’s Warehouse at the Canal
Basin Tower Wharf. A lovely pub,
particularly in the Summer if you
are able to sit out. Inside this
converted warehouse, with large
windows overlooking the canal, is
a crane that used to lift the barges
from the canal when they entered
the warehouse. Now it stocks three
changing guest beers and a guest
cider, with live music featured
every week and is Chester and
South Clwyd CAMRA joint Pub of
the Year 2012.
A stroll around Chester
27
Passing through the city and down toward the
River Dee, other pubs to look out for include : the
Pied Bull, the 2011 Pub of the Year for the Chester
branch, which stocks six changing guest beers and
has a micro brewery in its cellar ; the Bear and
Billet, owned by Okell’s Brewery from the Isle of
Man and close-by, one of my favourite pubs, the
Spitting Feathers Brewery Tap which was converted
from an old Jacobean Hall with a high ceiling and
walls hung with tapestries. When it opened it
won an English Heritage award for the best pub
conversion and it serves seven changing beers and
a guest cider. A truly wonderful pub and one not to
be missed when visiting the city, especially as it is
the other joint winner of the local CAMRA branch
Pub of the Year for 2012.
Across the road, the Cross Keys has been sold
by Punch Taverns to Joules Brewery from Market
Drayton, and now serves their Pale Ale and Blonde
Beers, both of which were on good form on my
visit.
Cross over the river and in Hartington Street, tucked
away you will find The Carlton Tavern, a Hyde’s pub
that also has three guest beers although I stuck to
Hyde’s Original, a perfect end to my day in Chester.
Article by Barry Seale.

The SIBA Great Northern Beer Festival is
approaching fast and CAMRA with SIBA North
(Society of Independent Brewers) are hosting a
beer festival of some difference at the Mercure
Hotel, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester (formerly
the Piccadilly Plaza Hotel) between Thursday
25th October from 4pm till 10:30pm and again on
Friday and Saturday 26th and 27th from noon till
10:30pm.
SIBA North is the largest of the SIBA Regions.
Different? It certainly is as all of the 250+ beers
will be served via any one of 64 hand pulls, every
one of which will be fitted with a tight sparkler and
served the way God intended them to be served -
with a typical “Northern Head”.
How do we get 250 beers through 64 hand pumps?
Easy!, experienced CAMRA bar managers from
Greater Manchester based in the beer cellar are in
radio contact with the bar and within minutes of
a beer being sold out that pump is cleaned and a
replacement beer put on. A rolling slide show on
the stage shows the new beer that is available and
the pump number where it is available.
This means that there is an ever changing beer
menu available over the 3 days, and the same beer
is only once. What better excuse for visiting all
three days!
Unusually, as the hotel have fantastic glass
washing facilities, every pint will be served into a
fresh, clean glass.
The event is open to the public after SIBA have
judged the best beers from the region in their
8 categories. The winners of which are judged
against each other to decide the best beer in
the region. All category winners will then go on
to a further National SIBA Competition later on.
There are some 150+ brewer members of SIBA
in this region so the range will be awesome!
You may think that this would be an expensive
event? Well no! Entry is a MERE £3 (50p
discount to CAMRA members) which includes a
refundable deposit on a souvenir glass. Food
will be available throughout as well as soft
drinks and snacks. In addition for those who like
SIBA Great Northern Beer Festival
28
their ciders and perry there will also be a selection
available as well!
There will be a selection of bottled beers (not all
real ale in a bottle) as SIBA also run their bottled
beer competition on the same day. The prices of
the drinks will be VERY competitive!
Entrance to the festival is via the hotel side
entrance on Portland Street, just around the corner
from Piccadilly gardens bus station and Metrolink
stop. Remember that you can travel on Metrolink
trams for free within the city zone when you buy
a train ticket to Manchester city centre from any
station within Greater Manchester. So you can get
the train into or out from Manchester Victoria,
Deansgate, Oxford Road, or Piccadilly stations and
use the trams for free as long as your ticket shows
MANCHESTER CTLZ. You can also use Manchester’s
free Metroshuttle bus services - linking shops,
businesses, and stations in the city centre.
Both Allgates and Prospect breweries have enjoyed
success in the various competitions in recent years
despite increased competition, and so with many
Wigan branch members working as volunteers
during the festival there’s going to be lots of local
interest. Last year Allgates won silver for All Black
in the Standard Milds category, whilst Prospect
also picked up a silver for Whatever in the Standard
Bitters section.
Hope you can visit this beer festival with a
difference!

Great British Beer Festival ... a volunteer’s perspective
If you attend any CAMRA beer festival, you will
most likely see the bars, games stalls, admissions
desks, and stewards etc “staffed” by a variety of
people. All sorts of ages, shapes and sizes, all
linked by one thing - a themed “t-shirt”, and most
importantly a desire to support, like many have
done for 40 years, our cause to stop the demise
and now promote the growth of real ale.
They are in fact unpaid volunteers, save that
precious t-shirt and a few pints of beer if and
when time permits. While the majority of CAMRA
members spend their time drinking, once you have
served on the other side of a bar, many find that
having bitten by the bug, you can’t resist wanting
to help out on more beer festivals.
The pinnacle of the volunteer’s year though has
to be Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) in August.
As London isn’t just around the corner for us in the
North West and although you need to pay your own
train fare to get down there, CAMRA do provide
you with accommodation either free in student
accommodation or subsidised should you wish to
book your own in the numerous hotels around that
years venue.
I was bitten by this particular bug 5 years ago, and
despite other disruptive factors this year, I for one
found the thought of returning to work there again
irresistible!
The scale of GBBF means that CAMRA need over
a thousand members to staff the various bars
and elements. Having chosen a preference for bar
work, for the last four years I have been proud to
be part of the permanent volunteers on “Ben’s
bar”, and what a team it is!
This year, all the bars were named after famous
sportsmen and Ben the bar manager was allocated
Bar 7, “Hutton’s Bar”, named after Sir Len Hutton,
the English test cricketer, who played for Yorkshire
and England before and after the Second World
War as an opening batsman.
We served a wide range of beers from our own
branch’s Allgates brewery “Hopgate” through to
Yates “Tropicale” from the Isle of Wight. Although
29
the Hopgate was in good condition and enjoyed by
many, it was the Ramsgate “She Sells Seashells”
(even though most customers could hardly say the
name) that even outsold the popular Wye Valley
“Dorothy Goodbody’s Wholesome Stout”.
The festival opens to the public on most days
at noon until 10:30 p.m., and the working day
is divided into two “shifts”. However, seasoned
volunteers tend to work straight through on at
least a couple of days and either have a day off,
or a couple of shifts off to be able to visit some of
London’s visitor delights, be it the theatre, or just
being a tourist and seeing the famous sights.
All work and no play definitely wouldn’t suit Ben’s
bar. So after the formality of the Tuesday trade
day, the team don fancy dress on the Wednesday
including most of the “bigger” lads in short
skirts. Thursday is “hats” day for all including the
customers. Friday and Saturday are the busiest
when it literally is “all hands to the pumps”.
On the eve of the festival a pub crawl around
London is now well established for the team and
as they come from all over the country we have
had reunions in Chester, Bishops Castle and later
this year the team are due to meet up again in
Birmingham.
Not all CAMRA members venture as far as GBBF,
but if you do fancy helping out a CAMRA festival,
I can assure you it is a rewarding experience.
Why not try
it even by
just helping
for an hour
or two,
which would
enable the
stalwarts
a needed
and much
appreciated
break.

Online with Wigan CAMRA Branch Contacts
Do you know that a third of Wigan CAMRA Branch
members keep in touch with happenings within the
branch via email?
We send out monthly bulletins about what is going
on within the real ale scene locally plus beer lists for
local festivals and other ‘hot off the press’ news.
If you are a Wigan CAMRA member and do not
currently receive our e-mails, please contact our
Membership Secretary and let us know your e-mail
address. This will only be used for internal CAMRA
communications – we do not forward our e-mails
list to any other organisation.
Check our website at : - www.wigancamra.org.uk
Advertising Rates
Size Location Cost
Full Page Back cover £150
Full Page Inside pages £100
Half Page Inside page £60
Quarter Page Inside page £35
Half Page Back cover £85
3000 copies distributed 5 times a year to over
120 pubs, clubs, libraries around Wigan and beer
festivals across North-West England.
To book your colour advertisement, or further
details, please contact Alan Robinson (Editor)
telephone : 07840 007784 or e-mail at
editor@wigancamra.org.uk
Trading Standards
30
Pete Marsh : Chairperson
email : chair@wigancamra.org.uk
Alan Robinson : Vice-Chair / Newsletter Editor
email: editor@wigancamra.org.uk
Brian Gleave : Treasurer
email : treasurer@wigancamra.org.uk
Michelle Slater : Membership Secretary
email: membership@wigancamra.org.uk
Ian Prior & Sandra Cottam : Social Secretary
email: social@wigancamra.org.uk
Mark Davies : Pubs Officer
email: pubs@wigancamra.org.uk
Robin Gibson : Public Affairs Officer
e-mail : publicaffairs@wigancamra.org.uk
Roy Pearson : Media Officer / Webmaster
email: webmaster@wigancamra.org.uk
Brewery Liaison Officers :
Alan Wass (All Gates Brewery)
Ken Worthington (Mayflower Brewery)
Julie Atha (Prospect Brewery)
Team Swiggin
Editor : Alan Robinson
Editor (Design, Production & Print) : Roy Pearson
Contributors : Alan Robinson, Mark Davies,
Dave White, Roy Pearson, Ian Prior, Barry Seale,
Lynda Gibson
Proofreaders : Michelle Slater, Joe Walker
Have you ever ... received a short pint ? Deliberately been overcharged for your beer? Been to a pub that
serves only keg beers despite advertising cask ales? Firstly let the publican know about the problem but
if you don’t get a satisfactory response these matters should be reported to Trading Standards, which
exists to protect the rights of consumers.
Contact :- Wigan Council Trading Standards, Unity House, Westwood Park Drive, Wigan, WN3 4HE.
Telephone : 01942 827476, E-mail : ts@wigan.gov.uk

Set in the picturesque village of Parbold in the Lancashire countryside The Wayfarer is an authentic old
English Country Pub where beer drinkers can be assured of a warm welcome.
T:Ê01257464600
www.wayfarerparbold.co.uk
We have four hand pulls; one for local ales, one premium national favourite,
good ‘ol Tetleys and one from the more obscure micro
breweries from across the country. Visit our
website for more details.
31
THEÊÊÊWAYFA R E R
PubÊ&ÊRestaurantÊ