Pints West 92, Winter 2011 - Bristol & District CAMRA

PINTS WEST
News from Butcombe Brewery
A
very pleasant time was had by
visitors to the Butcombe Brewery
Open Day on October 1st, with
those serving behind the bar experiencing
a very busy few hours! Free beer and
nibbles, brewery tours, Mendip Morris
Men and the sun (!) all contributed to the
convivial atmosphere.
December sees the all too brief return
of Christmas Steps (4.2% ABV), Butcombe’s
light ruby seasonal ale.
Adam Henson’s Rare Breed (4.2% ABV), Butcombe’s new
partnership beer, will launch into the free trade on January 1st 2012. A
launch party for licencees, and attended by Adam Henson, will be held
on January 4th at Calcott Manor, in Gloucestershire. (Official invitations
are available from Butcombe area sales managers.) The beer will also be
available nationally via Heineken Cask Orders throughout February.
A very welcome piece of news is that Old Vic Bristol Porter (4.7%
ABV) will be making a return during February and March. A new
venture for Butcombe last winter, this porter made quite an impression
on CAMRA members, so if you didn’t try it then, do catch it this time
The ‘Ringers’
reopens
round!
Butcombe Bitter has just had a fourweek
promotion via Greene King, resulting
in sales of around a thousand nine-gallon
casks. Fuller’s will also be promoting it in
London and the Home Counties during the
first two weeks in December.
A new 150-barrel conditioning tank is
currently being installed at the brewery to
keep up with demand. Bottled beer sales
are up 300% from last year and Fuller’s are
now botttling 150-barrel runs of Butcombe Bitter, Gold, Brunel IPA and
Adam Henson’s Rare Breed.
A new concept from Butcombe is the establishment of a femalefriendly
room, with attractions such as soft cushions, named ‘The Green
Room’, in their new pub in Cheltenham, the Frog & Fiddle. This
sounds like an interesting idea in this large male-orientated pub.
The ‘Brewer of the Month’ promotion to the free trade will feature
beers from Tring brewery in January and Hop Back brewery in
February.
Margaret Evett
“Christmas comes but once a firkin.....
And when it does we’re firkin workin!”
One of Nailsea’s longest established local
pubs, the Ring of Bells on Whiteoak Way,
reopened on 5 th November after a three week
closure following the departure of the previous
tenant. The popular Enterprise Inns pub has
been taken on by local Dave Green who knows
it well having spent 19 years on the other side
of the bar!
Dave is a true real ale and cider enthusiast,
and one of his first moves was to remove
the old top-pressure system from the cellar.
His current three pumps will carry Butcombe
Bitter, Bath Ales Gem and Doom Bar, with the
latter two being rotated with a guest ale chosen
by customers. He will also be looking to try
stocking a real cider, which the pub has never
offered.
Dave intends his seven-day-a-week food
offer to be a major attraction of the pub. A
confessed ‘foodie’ he is offering high-quality
traditional English snacks and meals prepared
from local fresh produce at affordable prices.
Look out for his themed food nights. Sundays
will see the return of the popular carvery.
He plans to bring back some traditional bar
games including bar billiards and shove halfpenny
and to regularly feature live traditional
music.
Alan Sibley
Have a great Butcombe celebration
with the best
Christmas Beer around
Christmas Steps
(available now)
Back by CAMRA demand
Old Vic Bristol Porter
(available February and March)
A new Butcombe beer for 2012
Adam Henson’s Rare Breed
(available from 1st January)
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