special report beer festival focus - Norwich and Norfolk CAMRA

FREE 

No.146 September - November 2008 

The partners in Humpty Dumpty Brewery at the Reedham Beer Festival in July 

REAL BEER AND CIDER 

IN YARMOUTH - 

SPECIAL REPORT 

BEER FESTIVAL FOCUS - 

NORWICH, GBBF, 

REEDHAM AND THE ROSE 

Newsletter of the Norwich and Norfolk Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale

Chris and Glynis invite you to the 

Trafford Arms 

Cask Ale, Good Food 

and Great Customers. 

61 Grove Road, Norwich 01603 628466 

www.traffordarms.co.uk email: mail@traffordarms.co.uk 

welcome 

iwent to a beer festival last 

week, along with a couple 

of thousand others. Of 

course it didn’t just have 

beer, it had Cider too, and a 

band, hog roast, and working 

steam locomotives. It also had 

beers from about twenty 

different breweries, and in 

about ten different styles. 

The one thing it didn’t have 

was beer from the major 

national breweries and Pub 

companies – and the reason? 

Well there are a couple really, 

the first is that their beer is no 

longer up to it, and the second 

is that they can’t be bothered 

with one-off beer festivals. If 

pressed, their marketing men 

would tell you that ‘we’ve 

practically withdrawn from the 

market as nobody drinks the 

stuff anyway’, before moving 

quickly on to ‘have you seen 

our new Alco pop ad?’ 

Nothing illustrates this problem 

so well as this example: not so 

long ago many of our micro 

brewers would have given their 

eye teeth to brew anything 

that could get near a premium 

beer such as draught Bass, but 

now Bass is abandoned, a 

remnant of a beer, brewed by 

another brewer completely at 

the bottom end of their range 

and offered to pubs at ‘special 

discount prices’. It, and many 

others like it, are no longer 

worth drinking at any price, in 

my view. 

Meanwhile the micros have 

now surpassed their former 

heroes. Their IPAs and porters 

and many more fill the stillage 

at pub and village beer festivals, 

each vying with each 

other for that little bit of extra 

quality, subtlety and flavour, 

while completely new brews 

are almost routinely trotted 

out. If you haven’t been to a 

beer festival in the past four 

years, you’ve really rather 

missed the point……….! 

In late October CAMRA will be 

holding its 32nd, and some say 

final beer festival at the St 

Andrews and Blackfriars venue 

in Norwich. The site is under 

threat of new ownership and 

extensive re-development, 

which casts a long shadow 

over its future as Beer Festival 

venue. 

We intend to make it the best 

ever festival regardless. We’re 

always very well supported 

with customers (!), but if you 

can spare time to help out in 

any way, even if only for a day, 

then I’d really like you to give 

us a ring. You won’t need 

experience, just enthusiasm, a 

willingness to learn (fairly 

quickly!) and an ability to enjoy 

yourself. (Oh, and liking real ale 

helps as well). 

Whether as a volunteer or 

customer, I hope to see you 

there! 

Des O'Brien 

NORFOLK NIPS | Chairman’s Letter 

Norwich & Norfolk Branch 

Chairman: Des O’Brien 

Tel: 01603 270588 

Email: chairman@norwichcamra.org.uk 

Secretary: Graham Freeman 

Tel: 07800 690048 

Email: secretary@norwichcamra.org.uk 

Social Secretary: Tim MacDonald 

Tel. 01603 865505 

Email: socialsecretary@norwichcamra.org.uk 

Branch website: 

www.norwichcamra.org.uk 

Branch mailing list web page: 

groups.yahoo.com/group/CAMRA_N 

orwich 

Published every 3 months 

by the Norwich & Norfolk 

branch of the 

Campaign for Real Ale 

© N&N CAMRA 2008 

Norfolk Nips is produced and 

distributed by members of the 

branch in their own time 

Edited by: 

Andrea Kirkby 

Tel 0794 856 9652 

Email: norfolknips@yahoo.co.uk 

Views expressed in Norfolk 

Nips are not necessarily those 

of the editor or of CAMRA 

Advertising: 

For advertising enquiries please 

contact Chris Shilling on: 

Tel: 01778 4215050 

Mobile: 07736635916 

Email: chris@shillingmedia.co.uk 

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AUTUMNN 2008 | 3

Steady Pints | NORFOLK NIPS 

Pub News 

The Orchard Gardens in 

North Walsham which closed 

last March is reported as 

having re-opened. 

North Norfolk District Planning 

Council have recently refused 

applications to demolish The 

Hare & Hounds in Hempstead 

and The Sherry ’n’ 

Ham in Sheringham and build 

dwelling units on their sites. 

The Mill at Saxlingham 

Nethergate and The 

Dunstable Arms in Sheringham 

are reported to have 

been closed recently. The 

Rampant Horse in 

Freethorpe has also been 

reported as shut. 

The Reindeer in Norwich is 

closed and Elgood’s is looking 

for a new tenant. 

Beer Festival Diary 

4-7 September 

Mariners Tavern, Great Yarmouth, Maritime 

Beer Festival. 

11-14 September 

The Locks, Geldeston Harvest Beer, Cider and 

Music Festival, with over 30 beers and ciders. 


Carbrooke Beer Festival in Carbrooke Village 

Hall. Saturday 1700-2300 and Sunday 1200- 

2100. Details at 

www.carbrookeplaygroup.co.uk. 

4 | AUTUMNN 2008 

The Cock in Drayton, which 

has recently been closed for 

renovation, has now reopened 

as a Marston’s pub selling a 

range of Marston’s beers plus 

guests. 

Although planning permission 

to redevelop the Ferryboat 

was granted by Norwich City 

Council in March 2008, Greene 

King does not appear to be 

doing anything to implement 

the plans. Despite screens 

having been put up, there are 

now a number of houseboats 

moored along the river 

frontage; other people have 

breached the security fence and 

pitched tents in the garden. 

Norwich CAMRA is concerned 

that the site is not being looked 

after, and will be contacting 

Greene King to find out what is 

happening to the site. 

The Red Lion, St Georges 

Street, in Norwich which has 

been closed for over 2 years 

reopened on July 18th under a 

new name of “The Dog House”. 

The Old White Lion in Oak 

Street, Norwich, has recently 

been purchased by Milton 

Brewery of Cambridge. The 

brewery hopes to reopen the 

pub within a month or so, 

selling “ a full range of real ales 

and a proper lager”. This is 

particularly good news, since 

this ex-Enterprise inn had been 

on the market for a long time. 

Brewery And 

Trade News 

Wolfe Witham has retired 

from the Wolf Brewery, calling 


Ipswich CAMRA Beer Festival at the Ipswich 

Corn Exchange in King Street. The theme this 

year will be “New wave beers from 21st 

century breweries.” 

10-19 October 

Octoberfest at the Rose Tavern, 235 Queens 

Road, 1200-2300 daily. Not to be confused 

with the Munich beer festival of the same 

name! 

27 October – 1 November 

31st Norwich Beer Festival in St Andrew’s and 

Blackfriars’ Halls. 

a close on a long career in 

Norfolk microbrewing. Wolfe 

brewed at the Reindeer in the 

1980s, and founded the Wolf 

Brewery (‘howlin ‘ good beer’) 

in 1996, after selling the Reindeer 

to the Firkin chain. The 

brewery is continuing, though, 

with Wolfe’s stepson Paul 

Kerridge in charge of brewing. 

And Wolfe himself will still be 

involved with the brewing 

craft, through his association 

with a Spanish brewery. 

Brian Mayhew, who was till 

recently the landlord of the 

Beehive in Leopold Road, has 

started a new venture – Bar 

Relief Management. Landlords 

who want to take a holiday 

need to find someone who is 

not only qualified to run the 

pub, but has a personal licence. 

Now they can get in touch 

with Brian, who has run food 

operations as well as real ale 

pubs, and take off for a well 

earned holiday leaving the pub 

in good hands. 

Beeston Brewery‘s Worth 

the Wait has continued to win 

awards after becoming 

Norwich’s Beer of the Festival 

last year. It was the best 

selling beer under 4.5% at the 

East Anglian Beer Festival at 

Bury St Edmunds, and beer of 

the festival at Sheffield University 

Beer Festival. Not bad for a 

one-year-old brewery! 

South Norfolk Council has 

taken the step of surveying 

over 100 landlords on what 

they consider the main challenges 

facing their business. 

The council is concerned that 

too many villages are losing 

their pubs – leaving them 

without a meeting place for the 

community. Interestingly, 

while landlords referred to high 

rents and supermarkets selling 

cheap booze as major negative 

factors, the smoking ban and 

beer tie constraints came much 

lower down the list. The 

council will shortly be holding a 

summit meeting to discuss the 

survey findings with landlords 

to find ways that the council 

can help the local trade. 

New CAMRA Pubs 

Database for Norfolk 

The two Norfolk branches of 

CAMRA (the Campaign for Real 

Ale) have for the last four or 

five months been working on 

an online pubs database, which 

is now being made available to 

the general public. 

The database covers the whole 

of the county and lists all 

known pubs and bars. Pubs 

that are shown as serving no 

real ale have basic details only 

but the rest have varying 

degrees of information, 

depending on when they were 

last surveyed or visited. 

And that’s where you come in: 

we can’t visit every pub in the 

county on a regular basis but 

we want the database to as up 

to date and accurate as 

possible, so if the information 

about your local is incomplete 

or out of date please let us 

know what needs to be 

amended. 

We particularly want to know 

what beers are served and pub 

NORFOLK NIPS | Pubs Database 

opening times (and a proper 

description for many of the 

entries would be useful, too). 

You can email 

webmaster@norwichcamra.org.uk 

and your information will be 

passed on to the relevant 

branch. 

So, please go online and check 

out www.norfolkpubs.org.uk — 

we’re waiting for your feedback! 

Online guides 

Our branch of CAMRA also 

plans to provide a selection of 

online guides based upon the 

database entries. These will 

mostly take the form of 

themed maps with links to the 

town and villages within the 

map area. 

The first of these covers the 

Norfolk Broads area and can be 

viewed at 

www.norwichcamra.org.uk/ 

guides/broads.htm. 

Adrian Hennessy 

Branch Webmaster 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 5


FREE HOUSE 

COAST ROAD, WALCOTT, 

NORFOLK NR12 OPE 

Telephone 

(01692) 650371 

Proprietor since 1989: STEVE BULLIMORE 

OPEN FOR FOOD & DRINKS 

ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, 11am - 11pm 

Food available all day until 10.30 

10% off food and drink on production of CAMRA membership card 

FOUR REAL ALES & CIDER 

www.lighthouseinn.co.uk 

Cambridge Bitter 3.8% 

Gold Award 

Champion Bitter of Britain 2006 

Available all year round: 

SEASONAL ALES 

Thin Ice 4.7% Jan/Feb Old Wagg 4.0% March/April 

Double Swan 4.5% May/June Mad Dog 4.4% July/Aug 

Barleymead 4.8% Sept/Oct Old Black Shuck 4.5% Nov 

Snickalmas 5.0% Wenceslas Winter Warmer 7.5% Dec 

North Brink Brewery, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire Tel: 01945 583160 

GBBF - the best fun 

you can have for free! 

Norwich & Norfolk branch 

members were much in 

evidence at the Great 

British Beer Festival at 

Earl’s Court this August. 

Spectrum Brewery’s Andy 

Mitchell was managing the 

'Unusu-ale' bar, featuring 

organic and vegan beers. His 

own brewery is an organic 

producer, so his Bezants and 

celebrated Old Stoatwobbler 

were available on the bar, as 

well as rarities such as Black Isle 

Organic Wheat Beer, an 

unusual Belgian style beer (“like 

Hoegaarden on acid” was one 

comment I heard). 

Other ales from the region 

were also available at the 

festival, with a choice of 

Humpty Dumpty Brewery's 

Little Sharpie, Wolf's Golden 

Jackal and Straw Dog, Iceni 

Celtic Queen and Rapsberry 

Wheat, five Woodforde's beers 

on their brewery bar, Winter's 

Golden, Tipple's Hanged Monk 

mild, and Buffy's Norwich 

Terrier and Mild. Bar Nouveau, 

devoted to new breweries, 

featured two Norfolk brewers – 

Beeston, with Worth the Wait, 

and Grain, with Tamarind IPA. 

Wolf Brewery manager and 

branch Treasurer Duncan Ward 

was chief steward. Rob Derbridge, 

one of the key staff of Norwich 

Beer Festival, is now in his third 

year as a steward, and has 

been promoted to a deputy 

team leader, while it was Dave 

Palmer's first year. All three of 

them were there for the 

complete week. Dave says the 

training provided by GBBF is 

excellent. He attended courses 

on customer care, which 

teaches stewards “how to 

escort under control, with the 

use of minimum force”. 

He also had training in first 

aid and attended a pit crew 

training course, teaching how 

to manage the front of stage 

area. “Customer care is a 

recognised certification,” he 

says, “so it's well worth having.” 

Both Dave and Rob enjoyed 

themselves immensely despite 

the long hours. Rob says “The 

crew we work with are great, 

it's like a family, and if you need 

support, you know you can rely 

on it.” GBBF certainly wants 

Dave back next year – he was 

awarded the Steward of the 

Festival prize by the security 

team! 

Alan Edwards was also there for 

the long term, working on the 

bar. Other branch members 

came for the day – Stephen 

George of Humpty Dumpty 

brewery worked on the Welsh 

& Scottish bar for the day, 

while Eamonn Tracey & Anne- 

Marie Bruner came down for 

the day to work as stewards. 

As for me, I was having a 

baptism of fire as a trainee on 

NORFOLK NIPS | GBBF 

the bar management course. 

As well as helping the team on 

the Welsh & Scottish bar, I had 

to attend seminars on subjects 

as diverse as technical cooling 

(much more sophisticated than 

the towels and watering cans 

we use at Norwich!), health & 

safety, quality control, international 

beers, and running a 

cider bar. The latter included a 

tasting led by Mick Lewis, who 

works on our cider bar at 

Norwich – let's just say I was 

not in a completely sober state 

when we finished it! 

I'd certainly recommend the 

bar management course to 

anyone who wants to run a bar 

or a beer festival. And like Rob 

Derbridge, I found my bar 

team becoming something of a 

surrogate family for the week. 

While you'll have to pay your 

own transport costs, CAMRA 

pays for staff accommodation if 

you're working at GBBF for the 

week, and food is subsidised. 

There's also a staff discount on 

beer. If you have worked 

Norwich Beer Festival and 

enjoyed it , why not think 

about doing GBBF next year? 

Andrea Kirkby 

VIDEO LINK – go to Youtube and 

search on 'GBBF' or 'mallet dance' to 

see Andy Mitchell and the other GBBF 

bar managers making fools of themselves. 

It's impressive! 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 7

Pub Post its | NORFOLK NIPS 

Pub Post-its 

We have more post-its this month from our correspondents. Keep them coming! 

All opinions in the Post-its are of course the personal opinions of our correspondents - not of CAMRA. 

THE Woolpack, Muspole Street 

Recently re-opened with temporary management 

until August and serving three Tipples with 

consistent good quality (Lady Evelyn delicious as 

ever at £2.60), however as of early July, seems to 

have another temp landlord. 

Hare & Hounds, Baconsthorpe 

Decided to visit this country pub near Holt as an 

article in Thursday’s EDP said that the owners 

had applied for change of use to a private house 

due to poor trade. Somewhat out of the way, 

but worth the trip. Of the three handpumps 

only one was in use, Woodforde’s Wherry being 

the beer on offer, which was in excellent condition. 

The food is good and the pub is handy if 

you are visiting Baconsthorpe castle. All in all a good 

pub - I hope it keeps going. 

Kings Head, Brooke 

Very much an upmarket food establishment, 

with two dining areas. Very smart indeed with 

the tables sporting crisp white tablecloths. There 

were only three tables at one end of the pub not 

laid up for diners - but that said the Adnams 

Bitter was very good. The pub is run by the 

same people behind the Last Wine Bar in 

Norwich. Other beers available were Adnams 

Broadside and Woodfordes Wherry. 

Railway Tavern, 

Framingham Earl 

Food oriented but with enough space for 

drinkers. A smart pub with lots of separate 

areas, not like some of the barns you find. Only 

two real ales on, Adnams bitter and Wherry. 

Foreign beer featured with a snazzy InBev font 

serving four of their products on draught and a 

beer menu card on each table described three 

Leffe beers and Belle Vue Kriek, along with the 

foods that they would best accompany. 


White Hart, Foulden 

Buffys took this pub on recently after a 

chequered history and it's a great showcase for 

about three of their beers at a time including 

Terrier, Bitter and Polly's Folly with a regional 

micro guest and Aspalls real cider. Food at lunch 

was limited to sandwiches but well filled with 

tasty, home cooked meat and decent cheese. 

Service was attentive, informed, enthusiastic 

(Alex the barman) and friendly. Looks like a 

good evening menu. It's simply furnished with 

stripped pine tables in the main drinking area, a 

pleasant garden and a refurbished sun room/ 

conservatory. Well worth a run out to. 

Wheel of Fortune, Alpington 

Excellent isolated country pub with a thatched 

roof and stepped gables. Very much a locals' 

pub but we were made very welcome. The only 

sign of food appears to be Sunday lunches. Beer 

choice was Youngs Bitter, Greene King IPA and 

Adnams Explorer. 

Red Lion, Kenninghall 

Visited twice in four weeks. Lunchtime experience 

was excellent. Pleasant bar staff and 

interesting, well presented snacks. Beer was 

Abbot and Greene King IPA and a local micro 

offering. Had to exchange a dead pint and the 

barrel was changed without fuss. 

The overall experience was so good we decided 

to go there for a birthday supper. This was a real 

curate's egg of an experience! Enquiries to the 

landlord as to the beer offering by my better 

half was met with a gruff, surly and uninterested 

response. “Nul points!” The supper itself was 

good and admirably served by a waitress who 

had obviously been issued with more than the 

landlord's missing portion of charm. Even when 

he swept by to go to the living quarters above, 

baccy in hand, he made no attempt to ask how 

the meal was. He may have had toothache or 

received some bad news but professional hosts 

should really rise above such things. It was a 

disappointing end to the birthday and we won’t 

be rushing back soon. 

Garden House, Hales 

Beers on offer GK IPA Wherry and Hook Norton 

Gold. We were the only people in there at one 

o'clock on a Saturday! I had the Hook Norton 

and it wasn't very good. 

Crown, Haddiscoe 

Adnams Bitter, Explorer and Broadside I drank 

the Bitter which was OK. Bit of a mish mash of a 

pub but the food was good. 

Queens Head, Thurlton 

Community pub with 16 owners. Three beers 

on and the range changes regularly – when I 

was there it was GK Morlands Original. Wherry 

and Polly's Folly. The Polly's Folly was excellent 

and only cost £2.40. 

Captain Manby, Gorleston. Typical Toby Carvery, 

GK IPA in poor condition, Bombardier average, 

didn't bother with the Broadside. All served 

through a tight sparkler. OK if you're booked in 

at the hotel, but not worth a special visit, 

Greyhound, Hickling 

Lunch stop after a tour of the NWT nature 

reserve. Very much a traditional country pub 

with the emphasis on food; the clientele 

appeared to be a balanced a mix of regulars and 

visitors. The beers on offer were Greene King 

IPA, Adnams Bitter and Deuchars IPA. The 

Adnams was £2.80 a pint and was in good 

condition, and the beef & horseradish sandwiches 

were excellent. 

Ship, Weybourne 

Popped in mid-afternoon on a very wet August 

Saturday afternoon and had trouble finding a 

seat as the pub was full of people who appeared 

to have sought refuge from the weather. The 

beers were all from local brewers, Winters, 

Yetmans and Woodfordes. I tried the Yetmans 

which was excellent. The pub has been 

substantially renovated since I last visited it, and 

has transformed into a bistro style pub – it 

seemed somewhat sterile and souless. 

Not every pub is happy with our warts and all 

reviews. Remember, it could just be that our 

reviewers hit a pub on a single bad day, and 

some pubs are very different on Wednesday 

afternoon from what they're like on Friday 

night! 

The landlord of the Cock Inn at Dereham 

wrote in to us taking issue with our review 

and we've printed his letter below. One of 

Norwich CAMRA's committee members went 

out to the pub a while back and reports that 

he had a very nice pint served in good condition. 

“While we (The Cock Inn) may not be everyone's 

cup of tea (Or pint of IPA), we remain a popular 

and very busy venue and our clientele remain loyal 

and satisfied – and that includes IPA drinkers. I can 

safely assume your correspondents rude attitude 

towards my staff reflects upon their ignorance of 

Real Ale, therefore their opinion is irrelevant! May I 

suggest the next time these purveyors of excellence 

have a bad day 'train spotting' that they seek a 

REAL LIFE, NOT REAL ALE!! 

Yours Graham/Staff & IPA Drinkers 

The Cock (Dereham) 

NORFOLK NIPS | Pub Post its 

contributors: 

Emma Pinder, Michael Croxford, Monty Taylor, Des 

O'Brien 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 9

DUKEof WELLINGTON 

TRADITIONAL REAL ALE HOUSE 

CAMRA Good Beer 

Guide Listed 

14 REAL ALES 

GRAVITY SERVED 

available all year round from 

our glass fronted tap room 

6 MORE ALES 

ON HAND PUMP 

NORFOLK NIPS | Editor’s Piece 

Letter from the editor 

You'll notice that this issue 

we've gone all out on two 

big issues – Great Yarmouth, 

and beer festivals. 

Yarmouth was a beer disaster 

zone till fairly recently. (But 

then, Norwich was the same in 

the 1970s.) Now, it seems the 

town is getting its act together, 

with two breweries and an 

increasing number of pubs 

serving real ale. If you haven't 

been out to Yarmouth for a 

while, you may be surprised – 

there's more to it than candy 

floss, chips, and cheap lager! 

Take a trip out there and 

support its real ale trade. 

Beer festivals have become an 

important way for CAMRA to 

spread the message about real 

ale. Working at GBBF, I was 

impressed how diverse our visitors 

were - old and young, 

male and female, fat and thin, 

of different races and nationalities. 

Real ale isn't just for old 

fogeys and folk singers any 

more – at least going by what I 

saw at Earl's Court. 

We're lucky to have an excellent 

CAMRA beer festival in 

Norwich. But it's far from the 

only beer festival in the county 

– Yarmouth has a fine festival, 

and many of our best pubs 

run regular festivals. Humpty 

Dumpty brewery runs its beer 

festival as part of Reedham's 

village fete, and recently Norfolk 

CAMRA has had a number of 

enquiries from villages, clubs 

and charities who want to put 

on beer festivals of their own. I 

hope they'll get some tips for 

how to do it from this issue! 

And now for my regular appeal 

for help. Norfolk Nips is meant 

to spread the good news about 

real ale all the way across 

Norfolk. But we rely on volunteers 

to get it into the pubs 

and clubs – and some pubs are 

going without. If your local 

doesn't get Nips, get in touch – 

or better still, pop round the 

Fat Cat to pick up a box full. 

Cheers! 

Andrea Kirkby 

CAMRA Norfolk Pub 

of the Year 2003 

Open 

Monday to Saturday 

12noon to 11pm 

Sundays 

12noon to 10.30pm 

Come and enjoy our Tap Room 

with a selection of Belgian 

bottled beers, Schneider Weiss, 

Erddinger and Dunkel. 

Just 15 minutes walk 

from City Centre 

91 - 93 WATERLOO ROAD | NORWICH | 01603 441182 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 11

Great Yarmouth | NORFOLK NIPS 

Great Yarmouth pub scene 

for those readers unfamiliar 

with Great Yarmouth pubs, 

the pub scene in Yarmouth 

is very different from that 

in Norwich. For a start a much 

smaller percentage of the 

nearly hundred pubs in 

Yarmouth sell real ale. 

In Norwich well over 80% of 

our pubs sell real ale but that 

figure is much lower in 

Yarmouth - possibly just over 

half - and to the best of my 

knowledge none of the 

numerous pubs situated along 

the seafront sell any real ale. 

You may also notice that many 

of Yarmouth’s pubs, particularly 

those away from the front have 

not have had the same levels of 

investment in them as pubs in 

other parts of the county. 

However, if you delve deeper 

into Yarmouth town and travel 

down Yarmouth’s back streets, 

away from all the glittery 

tourist sea front pubs, you will 

find a few gems selling some 

excellent real ales. 

On one day this summer we 

went on a trip and visited a 

sample of five. All of which sold 

excellent beers. Below is a 

description of how we found 

them. 

Gallon Pot 

Situated at the north end of 

the Market Place this is a 

typical town centre pub. There 

has been a pub on this site 

since 1772 but the present 

12 | AUTUMNN 2008 

structure dates from 1960 as 

the original pub was destroyed 

by enemy action in 1943. 

Today’s pub consists of one 

large main split level main bar 

and a cellar bar which is used 

as a restaurant/family room. 

Real ales on sale include 

Adnams Bitter, Fullers London 

Pride Greene King IPA and 

Woodforde’s Wherry. There is 

an extensive menu offering hot 

and cold meals at very reasonable 

prices. 

Mariners Tavern 

A family run local offering a 

large range of real ales and 

ciders. There are usually up to 

seven real ales available which 

are mainly sourced from local 

breweries, although they do 

have occasional themed beer 

festivals at various times during 

the year. The interior consists of 

two bars, a main bar with 

comfortable wooden chairs 

and a large TV screen for live 

sports and a smaller wooden 

panelled bar which is now their 

cider bar. 

On the day we visited, Elgoods 

Black Dog and Pageant Ale 

were available together with 

Greene King Abbot Ale, 

Speckled Hen, and Bombardier, 

as well as a Greene King 

seasonal ale. There's also an 

extensive range of bottled 

beers. 

Red Herring 

This a back street corner local 

situated near Yarmouth’s award 

winning Time and Tide 

Museum. The interior walls of 

the main bar are adorned with 

many old photos reminding us 

of Yarmouth’s maritime history. 

There is also a small side room 

which can be partitioned off 

containing a pool table and TV. 

A range of real ales are available 

including guests from 

local micros. 

When we visited, Burton Bridge 

Golden Sovereign was available 

and served in very good condition. 

Wolf's Golden Jackal and 

Everards' Sunchaser were also 

on the bar. A board gives prices 

for current ales but also shows 

which are the next three beers 

to come on. 

Oliver Twist 

Another back street local 

situated not far from The 

Market Place. This pub, a 

former Lacons inn is strangely 

triangularly shaped. It is very 

popular with lunchtime diners. 

The beers available here, are 

supplied from local brewers 

Blackfriars plus guests. We had 

Old Habit from Blackfriars, a 

rich dark beer at 5.6%. 

Earl of Beaconsfield 

This pub, situated in 

Yarmouth’s northern suburbs is 

a one bar corner local with a 

pool table at one end. It has no 

tradition of selling real ale but 

as it is only about a block away 

from Yarmouth’s newest 

brewery, “Norfolk Square” it 

has recently started trialling 

their new beer “Stiletto”. This 

new trial appears to be going 

successfully and it is hoped that 

they will supply more of their 

beers in the future. 

This is by no means a comprehensive 

list of all Yarmouth’s 

best pubs but merely the five 

we visited on the day. For more 

pubs in Yarmouth see our mini 

guide “Real Pubs in Great 

Yarmouth, Gorleston and 

Caister on Sea” (published 

2006) or better still, visit the 

town yourself and if you search 

hard you will see what a rich 

heritage of pubs Yarmouth has 

to offer. 

Norfolk Square Brewery is pleased to 

announce that our real ale shop is now open in 

Great Yarmouth. Currently Stocking over 50 ales 

from as many as 15 East Anglian breweries. 

Please visit us at: 

Unit 7, Estcourt Road, Great Yarmouth, 

Norfolk, NR30 4JQ or visit our website: 

www.norfolksquarebrewery.co.uk 

CAMRA MEMBERS GET 5% DISCOUNT 

ON ALL ORDERS 

Tel: 01493 854484 

email: beer@norfolksquarebrewery.co.uk 

Warren Wordsworth 

NORFOLK NIPS | Great Yarmouth 

Norfolk Square 

Brewery Competition 

Pictured with Lesley from 

Norfolk Square Brewery are, 

from left to right, Mr Stephen 

Turner, Mr Graham Brighton 

and Mr Darrell King 

Norfolk Square Brewery is 

happy to announce that there 

were 3 winners of the competition 

to name our first beer, all 

with a variation to the name Pi. 

These are Mr Graham Brighton, 

aged 58, married with 2 children. 

He is an engineering 

contractor. The second winner 

is Mr Stephen Turner, aged 53, 

who also has two children and 

works for the National Grid, 

and the third winner is Mr 

Darrell King, a retired school 

teacher. All the winners are 

from the Great Yarmouth area. 

They collected their prize, of 

one third of a firkin of real ale 

each at the N²B Real Ale shop 

where they also sampled beers 

from our range, including 

Stiletto and Scroby Bitter. 

The winning name is Pi and the 

beer is a light amber bitter with 

a fresh hoppy, citrus aroma, a 

serious thirst quencher. All our 

beers are now available in 

bottles as well as on tap in 

several of the local real ale pubs 

and online via our website, 

www.norfolksquarebrewery.co.uk. 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 13

The Great Yarmouth Brewery 

01493 850578 

All beers available in bottles, 

5 litre tins and 10 and 20 

litre containers 

Opening soon 

New premises with shop, visitors 

area and licensed Brewery Tap at 

The Courtyard, Main Cross 

Road Gt Yarmouth 

01493 850578 


Beating the Budget in Yarmouth 

Budget Day 2008 and a 

visit to a couple of 

Yarmouth pubs promised 

good beer at bargain prebudget 

prices. 

Croppers (aka East Suffolk 

Tavern) has a new landlord, 

who has introduced real ale 

into this often over-looked long 

narrow single bar on the 

Cobholm side of the Haven 

bridge. Indeed until 1891 the 

pub was in Suffolk (the Yare 

forming the old county 

boundary) but the official 

name, represented on one side 

of the pub sign, shows the East 

Suffolk Regiment that once had 

a depot in the town. The other 

side of the sign shows Arthur 

Cropper the famous Norwich 

City footballer of the 30’s and 

licencee between 1934 and 1949. 

The three handpumps dispense 

GK IPA, a rotating guest (Rev 

James at £1.80 that day!) and 

Abbot (£2). The pub is open 

12-11 every day except 

Sunday, 12-6pm. There is an 

open fire and dartboard at the 

far end of the bar, and a free 

pool table by the front window. 

For stats fans, there is a board 

behind the bar keeping you 

informed of the number of 

days till Xmas. And Cropper 

also played briefly for Clapton 

(now Leyton) Orient and 

scored their thousandth league 

goal! If good cheap beer in a 

friendly atmosphere is your 

thing this pub would make a 

great local. 

On to another local with a loyal 

following, the Oliver Twist 

which offers Blackfriars beers, 

Bitter and Old Habit (5.6%) on 

the last couple of visits, at £2 to 

£2.30 a pint. Friday night 

music is usually provided by a 

skiffle band. This much 

maligned genre is enthusiastically 

enjoyed by all, including 

the two dancing cockatiels that 

live next to the model scooter 

display in the bar. As a surefire 

outlet for Blackfriars beers 

in Yarmouth now that the Two 

Necked Swan has disappeared 

from the Market Place for ever, 

the Oli T is well worth a visit. 

Beer prices will have risen by 

the time you read this but pub 

expeditions here always have 

something interesting to offer. 

Mont 

14 | AUTUMNN 2008 

The Mariners 

Ale and Cider House 

8 Real Ales 

Good Beer Guide 2007/2008 

E.D.P Pub of the week 

Real Ale Pub Guide 

Cider Lounge Now Open 

5 Draught Ciders 

20+ bottled ciders 

Selection of continental Beers 

Maritime Beer 

Festival 

4-7 September 

a selection of 20 maritime 

beers from near and far. 

Tel: (01493) 332299 E-Mail: Shaun@themarinersalehouse.co.uk 

69 Howard Street South, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. NR30 1LN

Great Yarmouth | NORFOLK NIPS 

Making beer (and cider) in Yarmouth 


Yarmouth treasure 

hunt 

Lacons Brewery closed in 

1968, and since then, 

Yarmouth had no beer of 

its own. Visit the town 

today and look into most of the 

pubs around the market place, 

and you’ll see cheap fizzy keg 

everywhere – cheap hangover 

fuel, but no real ale in sight. A 

beer desert? 

Well, fortunately, things are 

changing. In 2004, Bill Russell 

set up Blackfriars Brewery, 

giving Yarmouth its first local 

real ale for nearly forty years. 

In 2006, Blackfriars’ Yarmouth 

Bitter won beer of the festival 

at Norwich, putting the brewery 

firmly on the map. It now 

produces six house beers, as well 

as a number of seasonal specials. 

One particularly intriguing beer 

is the Audit Ale, an 8 % ABV 

barley wine. It’s based on an old 

Lacons recipe, so that Blackfriars 

has revived a little bit of local 

brewing history. But in fact, the 

audit ale history goes back even 

further than that. Traditionally, it 

was a strong beer brewed for 

Oxford and Cambridge colleges. 

Trinity College, Cambridge had 

its own brewery up till the 

1920s – and when it closed the 

brewery, it hired Lacons to brew 

its audit ale. 

The Audit Ale was available at 

the Great Yarmouth Beer Festival 

– let’s hope we can get Bill to 

save some for the Norwich Beer 

Festival in October! 

16 | AUTUMNN 2008 

Blackfriars has done well in 

distributing its beer across the 

county, and in Yarmouth pubs. 

Winning Beer of the Festival 

certainly didn’t hurt, and the 

business has now outgrown its 

existing brewery. It will shortly 

be moving on to a new, larger 

site. 

But Blackfriars is no longer the 

only brewer in town. Earlier this 

year, Carlos and Lesley Branquinho 

set up Norfolk Square 

Brewery in Estcourt Road, north 

of the centre of town. Fleeing 

careers in IT and the law for 

something a little more interesting, 

they’d already set up a 

guest house in the town and 

have now expanded into 

brewing. 

They have a bijou brewery; 

modern and clean, but limited 

in size. It’s a 2 ½ barrel plant, 

curently producing mainly for 

bottling though the cask ale is 

beginning to get some distribution 

in Yarmouth. Local pub 

the Earl of Beaconsfield was 

serving Stiletto when I was 

there - the beer that had just 

gone off, Spectrum 42, also 

came via Norfolk Square, 

which is happy to distribute 

other brewers’ beers. 

“We want to be different, not 

traditional,” Carlos says, and 

the pump clips are certainly 

different. Stiletto shows a red 

shoe, while the new Scroby 

bitter features a set of wind 

turbines. Next in the range will 

be Pi – named by drinkers who 

sent in suggestions. The 

strength will be a little more 

than 3.14%! 

It’s not just a marketing spin – 

the beer also seems refreshingly 

different. Rather than 

going for an obvious honeyed 

taste, Stiletto opens with some 

sweetness but finishes with a 

nice dryness helped along by 

Cascade hops. 

The brewery only intends to 

brew four regular beers, 

though there will be seasonals 

along the way. But dark beer 

specialists should note there 

are definite plans to brew 

either a porter or a mild as part 

of the regular range. 

The Norfolk Square beer shop 

sells beer from a large number 

of Norfolk Brewers – I noticed 

Beeston Brewery (I got a bottle 

of Norfolk Black to take home) 

and Spectrum, Elmtree, Wolf, 

Wagtail, Y not and Fat Cat, and 

that’s not a complete list by 

any means. 

A third alcohol producer is also 

set to join the ranks later this 

year – the Mariners pub. It’s a 

perfectly sensible thing for a pub 

to do; in Norwich, for instance, 

the Fat Cat has opened its own 

brewery. But unusually for a pub, 

the Mariners isn’t going into the 

brewing trade. With typical 

Norfolk cussedness and attentiveness 

to the county motto ‘do 

different’, it’s starting a cider 

business. 

Shaun Underdown has already 

arranged his apple supply, from 

orchards near Wisbech. It will 

be East Anglian style cider, 

from eleven different apple 

varieties – but with a twist. He’s 

planning to mix his ciders with 

fruit, along the lines of the 

fashionable Jacques fruit ciders 

- “but mine will all be real,” he 

says with a grin. 

Of course there’s not much he 

can do till this autumn when 

the apples are ready. Meanwhile, 

the cider lounge offers 

drinkers the chance to try a 

range of other ciders. 

I must admit that my initial 

reaction to the concept of a 

Yorkshireman or a Portuguese 

South African moving to 

Yarmouth to brew – or the idea 

of a cider maker in this utterly 

un-bucolic town – was ‘they 

must be mad!’ 

I’d expected to be impressed 

by the enthusiasm and 

doggedness of these pioneers – 

and I have been. But what’s 

also obvious is their professionalism 

– and the fact that both 

the Mariners and Blackfriars 

have shown that quality can 

lead to success, even in a town 

where you’re competing with 

John Smiths at a pound a pint. 

Maybe things are looking up in 

Yarmouth. I certainly hope so. 

Andrea Kirkby 

Gallon pot – which way do 

the handles of the gallon pots 

in the frieze point? 

Mariners – what’s the 

number of the locomotive on 

the Railway Hotel sign? 

Red Herring – what’s the 

number of the Ella Florence? 

Oliver Twist – what was the 

pub originally called? 

Earl of Beaconsfield – 

what time is in on the 

‘watch’? 

Blackfriars Brewery - 

what are the colours on Blackfriars 

Brewery’s casks? 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 17

Help Needed! | NORFOLK NIPS 

Volunteers needed 

for the 31st Norwich 

Beer Festival 

What will you be doing 

the last week of 

October? I will be at St 

Andrews Hall in 

Norwich along with an 

expected 15-17,000 visitors 

over the week! 

In fact, work starts a bit before 

the festival, as beer deliveries 

arrive the previous Thursday & 

Friday, and we start organising 

the transport of the stillage on 

Saturday. (Stillage is the construction 

that the beer sits on.). 

And there's a lot of work to do. 

So if you can spare a few 

moments to help at any point 

during the week, please let us 

know. You will get to meet 

some amazingly nice people 

who share a passion for the real 

stuff (not just beer but cider too!). 

If you can pull a pint, tap a 

cask, give directions to 

customers, drive a lorry, or are 

handy with a plaster then we 

need you, even if only for few 

hours. For further information 

on how to volunteer, please see 

our website, 

http://www.norwichcamra.org.uk/festival/festi 

val.htm, or contact our 

staffing officer at Beer Festival 

Staffing, 15a St. Augustine's 

Street, Norwich, Norfolk NR3 

3BY or e-mail 

beer.fest@ntlworld.com. 

18 | AUTUMNN 2008 

Long Term Future 

You may have seen a few 

thoughts about the long term 

future of the St Andrew's Hall 

complex in the media. From a 

CAMRA point of view, we 

would like to see some effort 

put into the refurbishment of 

the complex. Having talked 

earlier in the year with a 

representative from HEART, we 

hope to have some input into 

the plans( sound proofing 

anyone?), if they keep to their 

promises. 

At some point in the near 

future we may have to leave 

the halls for another venue, for 

at least a year, but we will be 

back. It is such a lovely building 

for a beer festival, and we 

would like to preserve a 

tradition that goes back now 

for over 30 years. The festival 

not only promotes the cause of 

Real Ale but brings in quite a 

lot of income for the city in 

general, with many visitors 

now coming from afar for most 

of the week. Let's have some 

meaningful dialogue! 

See you in October 

Martin Ward 

Festival Organiser 2008 

The Pub 

Quiz 

This month we look at the 

stories behind pub names . 

How many can you answer 

correctly? 

1. Henry VIII had six wives. 

Divorced, beheaded, died, 

divorced, beheaded, survived. 

Which TWO wives were 

beheaded? 

2. Which English King and 

which French King were 

beheaded? 

3. Which nation has the red 

lion as it’s national flag? 

4. Which English general is 

depicted by a contemporary 

cartoon showing his head 

sticking out of the top of a 

boot? 

5. Who said ‘England expects 

every man to do his duty?’ 

6. Why are so many pubs 

named after the Marquis of 

Granby? 

7. Who sits on a woolpack? 

8. What did Jason go in 

search of? 

1. Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard 

2. Charles I and Louis XVI 

3.Scotland. If you said Wales you were 

thinking of a red dragon. 

4.Duke of Wellington 

5.Lord Nelson 

6.The Marquis of Granby was once a 

popular British inn name commemorating 

General John Manners 

(1721-70). The Marquis was a gallant 

soldier said to have an unusual concern 

for his men and who provided favoured 

soldiers with funds to purchase inns on 

their retirement. 

7.The Speaker of the House of Lords 

8.The Golden Fleece 

ANSWERS

BARRELIEF 

MANAGEMENT 

NORFOLK NIPS | Survey 

Survey – Camra Social Events 

Your local Bar Relief to cover for 

your Holidays or Sickness. 

Personal Licence Holder 

Food Hygiene Cert 

Please Call Brian Mayhew on 

01603 301356 or 07714657752 

to discuss your requirements 

email: brmpubservices@aol.com 

www.brmpubservices.co.uk 

Although CAMRA 

has over 1700 members 

in the Norfolk and 

Norwich branch, only a 

very small percentage of our 

members turn up to social 

events such as the 

campaigning coach trips and 

branch meetings. 

Social secretary Tim Macdonald 

wants to hear from our 

'missing' members. What's 

stopping you coming along for 

a drink and a chat? Please fill in 

the form and return to 

If you don’t come, what's 

stopping you? 

I work unsocial hours 

the wrong day of the week 

I don’t know anybody in 

Norwich CAMRA. 

getting to and back from 

meetings is difficult. 

Are you usually able to 

book social trips (where 

we use the bus) some time 

in advance? 

almost always 

sometimes 

rarely 

And a last question that 

will help us with many 

ways of getting hold of 

our members and publicising 

our activities; do 

you have internet access, 

whether at home, at work 

or elsewhere? 

Yes 

No 

Any other comment?, 

Please write them here. 

12 Rook Drive, Thorpe 

Marriott, NR8 6XJ. 

or email Tim at 

norfolknips@yahoo.co.uk 

Feel free to add your own input! 

For meetings outside 

Norwich, our coach 

currently has a number of 

set pick-up and drop-off 

points. These don’t suit 

everybody. Do any of these 

statements apply to you? 

Do you come to CAMRA 

branch meetings or socials? 

Never 

not yet but I would like to 

sometimes 

regularly 

What's the best day of the 

week for you to attend a 

CAMRA social or branch 

meeting? 

Monday Tuesday 

Wednesday Thursday 

Friday / Saturday / Sunday 

I live outside Norwich – 

getting back home after meetings 

is a problem. 

Norwich station would be a 

useful meeting and dropoff 

point for me. 

The current pickup points 

work for me. 

I’m worried about safety if I 

have to walk home from a ring 

road dropoff point. 

22 | AUTUMNN 2008 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 23

Chairman’s Letter | NORFOLK NIPS 

Running a beer festival 

NORFOLK NIPS | Chairman’s Letter 

the Rose Tavern runs a 

number of popular beer 

festivals. How does a pub 

convert itself into a beer 

festival? Dawn Hopkins gives 

us the answers. 

1) Choose your dates 

The date of a festival is very 

important – there is no doubt 

that if you run a good festival it 

will increase trade dramatically, 

so you might want to think of 

running one at a quiet time for 

this reason, or you might feel 

you will get more people 

through the door when it is 

busy anyway. 

At The Rose we run four 

festivals a year – one for every 

season. Sticking to the same 

dates helps customers 

remember the festivals are 

coming up even if they don’t 

know the exact dates– for 

instance everyone knows the 

Trafford has a festival around 

Valentines Day and that the 

Norwich Beer Festival is at the 

end of October. We start 

preparing in earnest for our 

festivals about 6 weeks before 

the day. 

The length of your festival 

depends on the amount of 

beers you hope to have available 

and your own stamina! 

Three of our festivals are 10 

days long, taking in two weekends, 

but our Winterfest is only 

5 days – it’s usually just after 

Christmas and we don’t feel it 

would be viable for longer! A 

festival based over a bank 

holiday is a great idea and a 

good starting point for anyone 

who hasn’t tried it before. 

2) Choose Your Beer 

There is no doubt that we have 

fantastic real ale pubs in this 

city as well as superb local 

breweries – so choosing your 

festival beer is quite a task if 

you wish to come up with 

something a bit different. 

The national distributors will 

clamber over you to help 

source your beer – but we have 

found that using them, we 

would end up with a festival 

with the same beers as a lot of 

the pubs in the city. 

In the past we have also used 

local breweries with reciprocal 

deals – they sell beer from 

breweries in other parts of the 

country, who in turn do the 

same for them. 

However, we have now found 

that the best way to do it is to 

do it ourselves. We scour the 

Good Beer Guide for areas with 

micro breweries that are new 

or generally not seen in this 

area. Once we have decided 

on an area, we call round the 

breweries to find out what’s 

available and what suits the 

festival – we need to make sure 

we have a good mix of styles 

and strengths – this is often 

THE hardest part of organising 

a festival. We have to try and 

get the balance right – having 

a range to suit everyone, but 

not having a lot of beer left 

over. (And we need to make 

sure we order enough so we 

don't run out, leading to 

unhappy customers!) 

Three weeks before the festival 

starts we send out our own 

casks to be filled. A week later, 

the landlord Kevin picks the 

filled casks up – often stopping 

over the night before at a 

friends or sleeping in the car to 

save costs. If I’m lucky, none of 

the casks will have leaked, or 

worst exploded, and I won’t 

have a smelly car (as well as a 

grumpy landlord) to deal with! 

3) Choose Your 

Entertainment 

Or choose not to have any at 

all. Entertainment is a bit 

tricky, some drinkers hate it 

and others won’t leave home 

without it! Sizeable pubs do 

very well with music, but in a 

smaller venue like the Rose it 

can take up too much space 

and generally get in the way. 

We like our festivals to be for 

the whole community, not just 

ale drinkers, so our entertainment 

includes Pool 

Tournaments and Wine Tasting, 

but we also have nights for 

‘just drinking and sausage 

eating’. I think it all comes 

down to the venue (large, 

small, beer garden, killjoy 

neighbours etc), the time of 

year (for BBQs for instance) 

and what customers like. 

4) Choose Your Food 

Food is an important part of 

the festival experience – it’s 

needed to soak up all that ale 

and stop top-heavy gentlemen 

from falling over! It’s a great 

opportunity to show people 

what you can do and we like to 

showcase our sausages. The 

sausages work well for us as 

they can be served as a hearty 

meal with mash and gravy or in 

a baguette – easily held in one 

hand with a pint in the other! 

5) Promote It 

Even the most popular, most 

established festivals need 

promoting – it’s no good 

putting in all that hard work if 

no-one knows that you are 

holding a festival. Banners 

outside the pub and flyers 

inside are great, but will only 

promote the festival to those who 

already know about the pub. 

Of course the best publicity is 

free publicity, and a press 

release to the local papers and 

radio stations can work 

wonders – the Ketts even 

ended up on Radio 2 and in 

the Sun and the Guardian 

when we held a ‘Win Your 

Weight In Beer’ Competition 

during one festival –a 21 stone 

man won over 300 pints (and 

drank them!) 

Advertising in the right publication 

is also important, and obviously 

Nips is the perfect place to 

advertise to local beer drinkers. 

We also have a database of 

previous festival goers whom 

we send a draft copy of our 

festival program to, and I 

pound the streets putting 1000 

flyers through people’s doors! 

6) Serve It (Well!) 

You need a lot of space to put 

all those extra beers – we use 

an air conditioned store room, 

but at the Ketts we have a large 

enough above ground cellar to 

cope. 

On the day of the festival Kevin 

has every CAMRA members 

dream job – tasting all the 

beers! It’s a tough job, and 

after he’s tasted 30 or more 

beers we make sure he has a 

little lie down (only for 5 

minutes though, ‘cos there’s 

work to be done!). 

Staff are one of the most 

important parts of any business 

and never more so then during 

a festival – they need to be 

aware of all the types of beers, 

where they are and what to do 

if they run out. They are also 

more likely then usual to be 

quizzed about the ‘unusual 

chocolaty/fruity/smoky/citrusy 

character’ of a beer, or asked 

‘exactly where is Nether 

Pizzle?’, or can I have some 

‘How’s Your Father’ or such 

like! 

When all those six steps are 

followed all you have to worry 

about is the hard work, the fun 

times, the staffing issues, the 

beer running out, smelling of 

sausages, the headaches and 

the hangovers – just like a 

normal week really! 

24 | AUTUMNN 2008 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 25

Trafalgar Day Beer Festival - October 17th - 19th 

featuring Winter Ales 

6 Real Ales always available 

Large Beer Garden and Car Park 

Music: Folk every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday 

Regular Live Bands 

Sunday night Pub Quiz 

Sky Sports - Premiership Plus 

Watch City in the Championship 

- Find us in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2006 - 

The Fur & Feather, Woodbastwick, Norfolk NR13 6HQ 

Tel: 01603 72003 www.thefurandfeatherinn.co.uk 

Our loyal band of customers already know how good the beer & 

food is at the Fur and Feather, now you can try it at The Ingham 

Swan too. We have all the Woodforde's beers on offer, either from 

cask or bottle, and should you have a drop too much we have five 

cosy en suite rooms in which to stay! 

The Swan, Swan Corner, Ingham, Norfolk NR12 9AB 

Tel: 01692 581099 www.theinghamswan.com 

26 | AUTUMNN 2008

Hosting a Beer Festival | NORFOLK NIPS 

Hosting a Beer Festival: 

A Microbrewer’s Perspective 

Stephen George, Humpty Dumpty Brewery 

After two days of fine real 

ales and brilliant entertainment, 

calm is finally 

returning to the Reedham 

playing fields. Humpty 

Dumpty Brewery has just 

wrapped up our first brewerysponsored 

two-day beer festival 

in our own village. Reedham 

used to have an excellent beer 

festival sponsored by the 

Railway Tavern, but the festival, 

like the pub, is no more. We 

have been working closely with 

our Community Association 

over the past six months to 

bring a beer festival back to 

Reedham, and this past 

weekend we finally saw it all 

come together in the Reedham 

Beer Festival and Village Fete 

weekend. 

As an independent brewer with 

no pubs, taking responsibility 

for a major beer festival is 

full of challenges. The key is to 

make sure there are enough 

different beers to make it 

interesting, but ensuring that 

you don't tap more than you 

can sell or order more than you 

expect to shift. We started off 

with a choice of about 40 

different beers, with nine from 

our range. Most of the rest 

were arranged through swaps 

or purchases with other East 

Anglian breweries and a few 

from further afield. With so 

many local breweries oper- 

28 | AUTUMNN 2008 

ating, the challenge is to get 

the mix right - to order beers 

that people will want to drink, 

but also some of the less widely 

marketed micros and some 

from new start-ups like 

Wibblers in Essex and Norfolk 

Square in Great Yarmouth. 

With the anticipated attendance 

of many real ale 

enthusiasts, this was a great 

chance to profile some of the 

darker beers (we had a stout, 

two porters and a mild). We 

also had Raspberry Wheat from 

Milestone and Orange Wheat 

from Green Jack, both of which 

suit the summer season and 

sold very well. We found that 

we sold out of our low gravity 

beers a lot faster than we had 

anticipated. We also had a 

range of real ciders, which 

went down well with those 

who don't drink beer. 

As an outdoor festival, we were 

also at the mercy of the unreliable 

English summer, and it 

didn't disappoint. The showers 

came in just as we were raising 

our marquee on the playing 

fields, and kept coming all 

through the weekend. 

A steady rain could have 

washed out the festival, but on 

the bright side, showers sent 

the drinkers back into the beer 

tent time and again. 

The musicians John and Mario 

must be well accustomed to 

the changes in weather, as 

their set featured "Here Comes 

The Sun" and "I Can See 

Clearly (Now The Rain Has 

Gone)." Pete "Kiwi" Keegan and 

his skiffle band also carried on, 

dodging the showers on 

Saturday night thanks to a loan 

of a second marquee from our 

village church, and Norwich's 

Golden Star Morris danced out 

in fine style with their musicians 

braving raindrops and 

their "horse" Champion 

chewing up the green. 

We typically run a number of 

events through the year, from 

village fetes and school 

barbecues to town carnivals, 

farmers markets and even the 

Norfolk Show. Regardless of 

the size of the event, success 

depends on organisation. 

Good planning starts months 

in advance - selecting the dates 

taking into account other 

fixtures on the annual calendar; 

starting to advertise the event; 

arranging the required venue 

licensing; organising the entertainment 

and ordering the 

beer. It is important not to 

underestimate the lead time 

you need for some of these 

activities. 

As the event grows closer, the 

details of execution become 

more important. We work 

from long checklists, and we've 

learned from experience to 

capture the things we wished 

we'd had the last time. Do you 

need an electrical connection? 

What are your arrangements 

for handwash and hygiene? 

Toilets. Security. Parking. 

Signage. First Aid. Food. 

Staffing. There's a lot more to it 

than just sloshing some beer 

around. You are basically building 

a (busy) pub for a weekend. 

That raises a most important 

point - beer quality. Although 

the festival set-up is temporary, 

you still need to practice good 

cellarmanship. That means the 

beer needs time to settle ahead 

of the festival. If it's warm 

outside, you also need to keep 

the beer cool. Once the beer is 

in position, you need to look 

after it pretty much non-stop. 

For us, we chose to camp 

alongside the festival marquee, 

providing constant supervision 

of the bar and the beers (and 

once it's all set up, it's rather 

nice to camp close by with a 

range of 28 real ales on tap to 

choose from!). We also took 

the decision to run a glass loan 

programme, as it is so much 

more enjoyable to drink out of 

proper glasses than plastic 

cups, though we left the choice 

to our visitors. 

It's worth saying that for all the 

preparation you have undertaken 

it is still important to 

expect the unexpected. Some 

good rope, a knife and some 

duct tape can sort out a lot of 

things in a pinch. A good 

toolkit also can come in handy, 

a ladder and a torch. As 

prepared as we were, we didn't 

NORFOLK NIPS | Hosting a Beer Festival 

escape without a few hiccups. 

Tapping into one beer 

produced a geyser of foam that 

reached the top of the beer 

tent and soaked a number of 

us behind the bar. An extra 

change of clothes would have 

been a good idea. 

In all, we had a very successful 

first outing and we're hopeful 

that our partners in the 

Reedham Community Association 

and the Wherry Lines 

Community Rail Partnership 

also found the event worthwhile. 

We expect we'll be back 

on the green next year in 

Reedham, and we hope that 

word of mouth will increase 

the attendance. I'd like to add 

our personal thanks to Andrea 

and Sadie from Norwich 

CAMRA who came along to 

lend a hand behind the bar.

Looking for a new 

hobby with bells on? 

Golden Star Morris seeks 

new recruits. 

Men and women dancers welcomed by this established, 

Norwich based Morris side. We perform locally and travel 

to events and festivals around the UK and beyond. 

Meet new people and have fun. 

Free beginners sessions start October. 

No experience necessary - why not give it a try? 

For details call 07804 908531 or 

email goldenstarmorris@hotmail.co.uk 

OPENING TIMES 

Mon-Thurs 

12noon-3pm, 5.30pm-11pm 

Open all day Friday, 

Saturday and Sunday 

from 12noon. 

MUSIC AND REAL ALE 

Sunday 19th Oct, 4pm 

Geoff Sharkey 

Every second Sunday of every 

month a ‘Jam session’ is held in 

the bar, everyone is welcome to 

bring their instruments/voices 

along and join in; times may 

vary so please check our website 

for further details. 

30 | AUTUMNN 2008 

For more information see our website at 

www.goldenstarmorris.org.uk 

SCRUMPTIOUS 

AS USUAL! 

The Saracen’s Head with rooms 

Robert Dawson-Smith 

Wolterton, nr. Aylsham 

01263 768909 

www.saracenshead-norfolk.co.uk 

THE RED LION 

East Church Street, Kenninghall, Norfolk, NR16 2EP 

01953 887849 Email: theredlionltd@aol.com 

A traditional country pub with real ales and 

excellent home-cooked food. 

Restaurant open lunch and evening. 

Regular live music events. 

Open for Bed & Breakfast every night of the week. 

Featured in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 

Greene King’s Free Trade National Community 

Pub of the Year (2007) 

Greene King’s East Anglian Pub of the Year (2006) 

www.redlionkenninghall.co.uk 

NORFOLK NIPS | Real Ale Outlets 

Untraditional outlets 

Most of us are used to 

getting real ale from a 

pub. But increasingly, 

other outlets in Norwich are 

selling real ale. Here are a few 

that CAMRA members have 

noticed recently; 

The Kitchen in St Benedicts has 

Grain beer in bottles, St Peter's, 

and Whin Hill Cider. This 

restaurant has made a commitment 

to local sourcing and this 

includes local ales. Open 

Tuesday to Saturday evenings, 

The Kitchen offers reasonably 

priced food - £8.95 for main 

courses which currently include 

pan fried salmon fillet with 

couscous, butternut squash 

and ricotta risotto, and rare 

breed pork bangers with 

mustard mash and red onion 

chutney. 

Nearby, St Gregory's Art Centre 

is also reported to be selling 

Grain ales. 

The Whisky Shop doesn't 

sound as if it ought to sell beer, 

but it does! There are a number 

of ales which have been 

matured in whisky casks and 

are for sale here to complement 

the whisky and liqueur 

range. 

Olives, at the corner of Elm Hill, 

has been reported as serving 

local bottled beers alongside its 

vegetarian menu. But a recent 

visit found only Peroni and 

similar eurofizz. 

The deli at Taverham Garden 

Centre has a good selection of 

bottled beers. 

We're used to supermarkets 

having a range of bottled beers 

– but not many of them offer 

local bottled beers. Budgens at 

Holt, though, offers a selection 

of real ale in a bottle, including 

Woodfordes (Nelson's Revenge, 

Headcracker, Admirals Reserve). 

And last but not least, a very 

surprising outlet indeed – 

Norwich Cathedral! Members 

report that the refectory sells St 

Peter's ales – highly appropriate 

– as well as a rather good 

lunch. 

The Gatehouse Pub 

391 Dereham Road, Norwich NR5 8QJ 

FOUR REAL ALES 

Live Music, Friday & Saturday 

Large garden overlooking the 

River Wensum 

OPEN 

Mon - Thurs 12noon - 11pm 

Fri - Sat 12noon - Midnight 

Sunday 12noon - 11pm 

Plenty of parking space 

01603 620340 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 31

Music & Real Ale 

NORFOLK NIPS | Beer & Music 

www.whitehorsechedgrave.co.uk 

Fourth Anniversary 

Beer Festival 

Wednesday 19th to Sunday 23th 

November 2008 

Come and join us here at The Kings 

Arms for a celebration of the best 

in cask beer. Over 40 Cask Ales 

selected from regional and microbreweries 

across the UK. All styles 

of beer will be available including 

many seasonals and Real Cider. 

Simon and Karen welcome you all - 

young and old, two legs or four! 

Great selection of real ales and wines, along with 

fine dining and excellent company. 

New guest ale every Friday. 

Remembrance Weekend 

Beer Festival 

Wednesday November 5th to Sunday 9th November. 

Up to 20 real ales and ciders available with an 

entertainment schedule to boot! 

We hope to see you there. 

Phone us on (01508) 520250 to book 

or for more details 

The Kings Arms 

22 Hall Rd Norwich NR1 3HQ 

Tel: 01603 766361 

13 Real Ales always served from 

Batemans, Adnams and Wolf breweries plus 

many other local and national beers. 

Always serving a mild plus a stout, porter or 

old and real cider. 

A range of Belgian Ales and Fruit beers 

now available! 

Quiz Night! - The last Wednesday in 

every month! 

Come and try our lunchtime bar menu 

or have a night out with friends and 

order in your favourite take-away! 

Now serving Roasts every 

Sunday ! 

CAMRA GOOD BEER 

GUIDE 2008 

We are 

in it! 

TRADITIONAL JAZZ 

The ‘New Orleans to Norfolk 

Club’, which until recently held 

its sessions at the Oasis Club in 

Thorpe St Andrew, is on the 

move again. Forthcoming 

sessions are as follows:- 

The Quality Hotel (Filby 

Suite), Bowthorpe, Norwich 

(off Dereham Road) Real Ale is 

being made available 

Tuesday 2nd September – 

Mick Murphy’s Chosen Six 

Tuesday 18th November – The 

Vine Street Six 

Tickets/enquiries – Rod Playford 

01263 862168 

Acle Recreation Centre, 

Bridewell Lane, Acle 

Real Ales include Adnams 

Bitter, Theakstons and Tipples 

Redhead 

Tuesday 21st October – Yerba 

Buena Celebration Band 

Tuesday 2nd December – 

Gambit Jazz Band 

Tickets/enquiries – Brian Davis 

01493 701880 

The Wheatsheaf, West 

Beckham (Nr Holt) 

Good selection of real ales 

available 

Sunday 7th September (at 1.00 

pm) – Just Jazz Good Time Jazz 

Band – special fund raising 

event for Macmillan Nurses – 

free admission, but donations 

and support for the raffle 

greatly appreciated 

Ingleside Hotel, Mundesley 

(B1159 coast road between 

Mundesley and Trimingham) 

Real ales include Greene King 

Old Speckled Hen and IPA, plus 

seasonal guest beers. Also 

Weston’s Draught Scrumpy on 

handpump. 

Sunday lunchtimes 14th 

September, 12th October and 

9th November – Just Jazz Good 

Time Jazz Band 

Free admission, but phone 

01263 720530 to reserve table 

for special jazz carvery. 

King’s Head Hotel, Beccles, 

Suffolk 

Selection of Adnams beers plus 

Fullers London Pride and occasional 

guest ales 

Every Sunday evening - Red 

Beans ‘n’ Rice New Orleans Jazz 

Band 

Feathers Hotel, Market 

Place, Holt 

Greene King Abbot Ale and IPA 

First Friday every month – 

Lumiere Rouge Ragtime Band 

Marsham Arms, nr 

Hevingham (B1149 Norwich- 

Holt Road) 

Adnams Bitter, plus alternating 

guests including Adnams 

Broadside and Woodforde’s 

Wherry 

Third Friday every month – 

Lumiere Rouge Ragtime Band 

Tally Ho, Mettingham 

(nr Bungay), Suffolk 

Adnams Bitter and Greene King 

Abbot Ale 

Every Thursday - 

Sole Bay Jazz Band 

Dereham Jazz Society, Lakeside 

Country Club, Quarry 

Lane, Lyng (nr Dereham) 

Adnams beers plus guest beers 

on handpump 

Wednesday 5th November – 

Simon Nelson’s Dixie Mix 

Limes Hotel, High Street, 

Needham Market, Suffolk 

Real Ales available 

First Sunday evening every 

month: 

7th September – The Rose Leaf 

Ramblers, 5th October – 

Downhome Jazz Band, 

2nd November – Barry Palser’s 

Savoy Jazz 

Also, third Sunday lunchtime 

monthly in Bugs Bar – Bands vary 

MAINSTREAM/ 

MODERN JAZZ 

Green Man, Wroxham 

Road, Rackheath 

Woodforde’s Wherry, Adnams 

Bitter and Broadside plus guests 

Every Tuesday – Full 

programme consisting of 

various bands and musicians. 

For further details, phone 

Barbara Capocci on 01603 

413443, or e-mail 

b.capocci123@ntlworld.com 

Continued Overleaf 

32 | AUTUMNN 2008 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 33

THE ROSE 


Music & Real Ale continued 

Octoberfest Sausage & Beer Festival 

Friday 10th - Sunday 19th October 

New & unusual ales hand picked 

(and delivered!) by the Landlord 

16 varieties of sausage 

Entertainment including free wine and beer tasting 

The Rose Independent Freehouse, 

235 Queens Rd, Norwich NR1 3AE 

01603 767713 

THE KETTS 

NOW UNDER OLD MANAGEMENT! 

Kevin and Dawn have returned to run The Ketts with 

new manager Andrew Stallion. We hope you will join 

us to sample some really fine ales and a 

fantastic atmosphere! 

The Ketts Tavern is a Real Ale pub offering a cosy 

atmosphere, warm and welcome, with an enclosed 

garden and ample parking spaces 

We have regular events such as beer festivals and quiz 

nights (every two weeks) and are also able to offer 

(subject to status) our conservatory for 

private hire along with a buffet service for small parties 

The Ketts Tavern Independent Freehouse, 29 Ketts Hill 

01603 766868 

Dereham Jazz Society, 

Lakeside Country Club, 

Quarry Lane, Lyng (nr 

Dereham) 

Adnams beers plus guest beers 

on handpump 

Every Wednesday – Full 

programme consisting of 

various bands and musicians, 

which usually includes one 

‘traditional’ session each month 

(see above). 

NB. Closed for summer break 

from 3rd to 24th September 

inclusive. Sessions recommence 

1st October with 

Matt Wates Sextet. 

For further details phone 

01328 863511 or 01362 

696741 or visit website 

www.lakeside-jazz-club.co.uk 

Keith Chettleburgh 

Saturday November 15th 

2008, 7.30pm 

Blues and Brews 3 

Roydon Village Hall 

A live music event sponsored 

by Buffy's Brewery - who will 

be supplying the ales and 

running the bar. Live music 

from Jo Bowley and Rob Huckfield 

- an excellent combination 

of guitar from Rob and the 

fantastic vocals of Jo - delivering 

classic covers from many 

decades. Followed by Harper 

AKA - providing an exciting set 

of rocking rhythm and blues, 

guaranteed to get you on the 

dance floor - musicians 

enjoying themselves and entertaining 

the audience. 

Entrance - £10 adult and £2 

for under 16s if accompanied 

by an adult 

The event will raise money for 

Diss Thetford and District Citizens 

Advice Bureau - registered 

charity Call 01379 652 497 for 

more details. 

The Locks, Geldeston 


LOCKS INN HARVEST BEER, 

CIDER AND MUSIC 

FESTIVAL 

Over 30 beers and ciders, 

curries of the world night on 

friday 6-8.30pm. 

Thursday 11th - open folk 

session - 9pm 

Friday 12th - HOT OR WOT - 

funky blues and R&B - 9pm 

Saturday 13th - TWISTED 

ROUTES & MURPHY'S LORE - folk 

and folk/rock - 8.30pm to late 

Sunday 14th - PINKY 

UMBRELLA, BAZ & MARK & 

THE RUM BROTHERS - from 

12.30pm to 7pm - a day of 

original and classic country, 

blues, irish/american folk, bluegrass 

, klezma and cajun music. 

Regular dates: 

Thursday nights from 9pm - 

OPEN FOLK SESSION - with 

house bands on a rotation 

between MURPHY'S LORE, 

TWISTED ROUTES and BRIC-a- 

BRAC, to help things along. 

Sundays 2pm onwards - an 

array of solo acts, duos, trios 

and bands covering a host of 

musical styles such as folk, 

blues, country, pop/rock, 

folk/rock, the Eastcoast's best 

pub singers and original 

singer/songwriters. 

For up to date details on new 

bookings and on Saturday 

night acts, check 

www.geldestonlocks.co.uk. 

Folk music 

At the time of writing (Early 

August) Autumn entertainment 

isn't yet very high on anyone’s 

agenda, the non-appearance of 

Summer and a flat trading 

market have seemingly left 

many 'waiting to see what 

happens next' ah well... 

Looking back to the 'summer' 

(pause here for seriously hollow 

laughter) the Sheringham Potty 

Morris Dance Festival in July 

provided an excellent demonstration 

of how a well-organised 

event can bring benefit to a 

town or district. With fifteen 

years of festivals behind them 

they should be getting it right 

by now but it was noticeable 

that the town was packed (OK, 

more packed than usual) and 

getting served in the two GBG 

entry pubs, at certain times, 

required patience! Folk dance 

may not swing everybody's 

bucket, but this was a very 

English way to spend a day 

getting... err... 'mildly relaxed' 

while 15 sides (from Yorkshire 

to Jersey and several places inbetween) 

danced, musicians 

played and a lot of people filled up 

the designated dance areas which, 

in six of the nine areas, were 

outside pubs or clubs, go figure! 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 35


Music & Real Ale continued 

The Plough, St.Benedicts, 

Norwich is starting an 

occasional acoustic session on 

Friday evenings and is looking 

to recruit musicians - call into 

the bar for details. If you 

haven't visited this old, no, 

make that very seriously old, 

city venue in the last few years 

it has changed considerably 

with a bright, comfortable interior 

and, for a inner city venue, 

a large beer garden terraced 

into the hillside. Two handpumps 

installed but waiting a 

barrel change on my last call..... 

The Gatehouse, Dereham 

Road (near the outer ring road 

roundabout) Norwich has been 

running a Sunday afternoon 

(14.00~18.00) acoustic session 

for some time now. 

The Norwich Arts Centre 

on St. Benedict’s won't have 

their programme out till later in 

August but with two gigs in 

September bound to attract 

serious attendance, folk 

legends Martin Carthy & Dave 

Swarbrick on the 9th with 

Spiers & Boden (think BBC Folk 

awards Best Duo in 2004 & 6 

and central figures in big-band 

Bellowhead) on the 17th, I 

hope that the bar is well 

stocked for these occasions. 

The aforementioned Bellowhead 

are playing the 

Waterfront on the 26th of 

October but as, on a visit, 

admittedly some time ago to 

that venue, they had nothing 

worth spending good drinking 

vouchers on, I won't mention it 

in this august journal! 

The White Horse Inn, The 

Street, Trowse, home of the 

Norwich Folk Club, has weekly 

free singarounds on Fridays 

(performers & listeners 

welcome) from 20.30 with a 

monthly guest night; tickets for 

these nights are available from 

the club secretary on 

bridget@intermix.demon.co.uk 

. The line-up so far:- 

Sept 12th Steve Ashley, Oct 3rd 

Craig, Morgan & Robson, Oct 

24th Jez Lowe, Nov 21st Tim 

Laycock and finally Bill Caddick 

on Dec 12th. 

The Shed, Lawson Road, 

Norwich No details at the 

time of writing but always 

worth checking out, especially 

on Wednesday evenings for the 

Irish session. 

Duke of Wellington 

Waterloo Road, Norwich. 

The von Krapp Family on 

Tuesday evenings. Discover the 

true meaning of the word 

eclectic and the truth in the 

Froots magazine review of 

melodeon player Tony Hall’s 

recent and long awaited CD 

that it described as ‘a master 

class by someone who knows 

the instrument back to front & 

inside out’! 

The Nelson, Nelson Street 

Norwich. No details at the 

time of writing but with regular 

sessions on mid-week nights try 

(01603) 626362 for the latest 

up-date. 

If you want to help keep alive 

the memory of this country's 

longest strike take yourselves 

down to Burston (nr Diss) on 

Sunday 07/09 where in addition 

to the usual speakers at 

the (Strike School) annual rally 

for the left of centre inclined, 

Dick Gaughan will be providing 

some fine and usually angry 

songs. For liquid refreshment 

the GBG listed Crown on 

Crown Green, 16th century 

and Grade II listed, offers 

Adnams and guest beers served 

from the cask. 

Jon Knight 

Branch Diary Dates 

Friday September 5th 

First Friday Five. Crown (Norwich Road, Costessey) 

(8pm) then Cherry Tree, Gatehouse, Duke of 

Connaught, Alexandra Tavern. Probably the last FFF 

of the year to include so much walking! 

Sunday September 14th 

Branch social and Pub Games Day at the Queen's 

Head, Earsham (Please note, the traditional bowls 

match is not being played this year, as the green is 

being relaid.) 

Tuesday September 16th 

Branch meeting at the Humpty Dumpty brewery, 

Reedham, 8pm. A free coach will stop at the usual 

pick-up points around Norwich. 

Thursday September 25th 

Beer festival planning meeting at the Rosary Tavern, 8 pm. 

Friday October 3rd 

First Friday Five. Wig & Pen (Palace Plain) (8pm) then 

Maids Head Hotel, Dog House, Woolpack (Muspole 

Street), Old White Lion. If the White Lion hasn't 

reopened by that date another pub will be substituted. 

Monday 27 October – Saturday 1 November 

Norwich Beer Festival. Details elsewhere in this 

publication. Don't forget we always need volunteers! 

Friday November 7th 

This FFF will be arranged nearer to the date but is 

likely to be in or near the city centre. Check out the 

online calendar for details at 

www.norwichcamra.org.uk. 

Tuesday November 18th 

Branch meeting at the Horse & Dray, Ber Street. 

Tuesday 16th December 

Branch meeting and Christmas Quiz at the Railway, 

North Elmham – bus from usual pickups 

Coach pick-up points 

6.47 pm - junc. Southwell Rd/Grove Rd/West End 

Street; 6.55 junc. Old Palace Rd/West End Street; 

7.02 junc Mile Cross Lane/Eversley Rd; 7.06 Sprowston 

Fire Station; 7.10 Heartsease (Plumstead Rd bus 

stop); 7.15 Wig & Pen (Palace Plain). 

For up-to-date information about branch events visit 

the branch website at www.norwichcamra.org.uk 

36 | AUTUMNN 2008 

AUTUMNN 2008 | 37

special report beer festival focus - Norwich and Norfolk CAMRA

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