New brewery and visitor centre for Belvoir - Nottingham CAMRA
New brewery and visitor centre for Belvoir - Nottingham CAMRA
New brewery and visitor centre for Belvoir - Nottingham CAMRA
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Issue 84 February/ March 08<br />
FREE Please take a copy<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>brewery</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>visitor</strong><br />
<strong>centre</strong> <strong>for</strong><br />
<strong>Belvoir</strong><br />
Stout <strong>and</strong><br />
Porter Stroll:<br />
see <strong>centre</strong><br />
pages<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong><br />
Chairman<br />
retires
Useful Drinker In<strong>for</strong>mation<br />
8,500 copies of the <strong>Nottingham</strong> Drinker are distributed free of charge to<br />
over 270 outlets in the <strong>Nottingham</strong> area including libraries, the Tourist<br />
In<strong>for</strong>mation Centre, pubs in <strong>Nottingham</strong>, outlying villages <strong>and</strong> local towns.<br />
It is published by <strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong> <strong>and</strong> printed by Stirl<strong>and</strong> Paterson<br />
(Printers) ltd, Ilkeston.<br />
Advertising<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> Drinker welcomes advertisements subject to compliance with<br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong> policy <strong>and</strong> space availability. There is a discount <strong>for</strong> any advertising<br />
submitted in a suitable <strong>for</strong>mat <strong>for</strong> publishing, jpeg, pdf, Word etc. Advertising<br />
rates start from £30 <strong>for</strong> a small advert (1/16 of a page) in a suitable <strong>for</strong>mat. A<br />
premium is charged <strong>for</strong> the front <strong>and</strong> back page. Six advertisements can be<br />
bought <strong>for</strong> the discounted price of five (one years worth).<br />
Call Spyke on 0115 9588713 or 07751 441682 or email<br />
drinkeradvert@ntlworld.com <strong>for</strong> details.<br />
Publication dates<br />
The next issue of <strong>Nottingham</strong> Drinker (issue 85) will be published on Thursday<br />
27th March 2008 <strong>and</strong> will be available from the branch meeting at the Victoria,<br />
Dovecote Lane, Beeston. The copy deadline is Wednesday 5th March 2008.<br />
Editorial Team<br />
Editor: Spyke Golding, Sub editors: Steve Armstrong <strong>and</strong> Steve Westby,<br />
Distribution: David Mason<br />
Editorial address<br />
Spyke Golding, <strong>Nottingham</strong> Drinker, 218, St<strong>and</strong>hill Road, Carlton, Nottm. NG4<br />
1JZ Tel: 0115 958 8713, 0775 144 1682<br />
E-mail: nottingham.drinker@ntlworld.com or drinkeradvert@ntlworld.com<br />
Socials <strong>and</strong> Trips<br />
For booking socials or trips contact Ray Kirby<br />
on 0115 929 7896 or at raykirby@nottinghamcamra.org<br />
Web Site<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong>’s own web site is at<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org<br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong> Headquarters<br />
230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL1 4LW<br />
Tel 01727 867201 Fax 01727 867670 E-mail camra@camra.org.uk<br />
Internet www.camra.org.uk<br />
Registration<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> Drinker is registered as a newsletter with the British<br />
Library. ISSN No1369-4235<br />
Disclaimer<br />
ND, <strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong> Ltd accept no<br />
responsibility <strong>for</strong> errors that may occur within this publication,<br />
<strong>and</strong> the views expressed are those of their individual authors<br />
<strong>and</strong> not necessarily endorsed by the editor, <strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong><br />
or <strong>CAMRA</strong> Ltd<br />
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Useful Addresses<br />
For complaints about short measure pints etc contact:<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> Trading St<strong>and</strong>ards Department, Consumer Direct<br />
(East Midl<strong>and</strong>s) Contact Consumer Direct (East Midl<strong>and</strong>s).<br />
Consumer Direct works with all the Trading St<strong>and</strong>ards services in<br />
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For comments, complaints or objections about pub alterations<br />
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developments contact the local authority planning departments.<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> City’s is at Exchange Buildings, Smithy Row or at<br />
nottinghamcity.gov.uk<br />
If you wish to complain about deceptive advertising, e.g. passing<br />
nitro-keg smooth flow beer off as real ale, pubs displaying signs<br />
suggesting real ales are on sale or guest beers are available, when in fact they<br />
are not, contact: Advertising St<strong>and</strong>ards Authority<br />
Mid City Place, 71 High Holborn, London WC1V 6QT,<br />
Telephone 020 7492 2222, Textphone 020 7242 8159, Fax 020 7242 3696<br />
Or visit www.asa.org.uk where you can complain online<br />
Brewery Liaison Officers<br />
Please contact these officers if you have any comments, queries or<br />
complaints about a local <strong>brewery</strong>.<br />
Alcazar - Ray Kirby raykirby@nottinghamcamra.org<br />
Castle Rock - David Mason: davidmason@nottinghamcamra.org<br />
Caythorpe - Howard Clark: howardclark@nottinghamcamra.org<br />
Full Mash - Ray Kirby raykirby@nottinghamcamra.org<br />
Holl<strong>and</strong> - Chris Watkinson watkinsonchris@aol.com<br />
Magpie - Alan Ward alanward@nottinghamcamra.org<br />
Mallard - Mick (Diddler) Kinton<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> - Steve Westby stevewestby@nottinghamcamra.org<br />
East Midl<strong>and</strong>s Brewery Liaison Coordinator - Steve Westby<br />
stevewestby@nottinghamcamra.org<br />
Acknowledgements<br />
Thanks to the following people <strong>for</strong> editorial contributions to this issue of ND:<br />
Steve Armstrong, Howard Clark, Philip Darby, Lynne Davis, Colin Elmhurst,<br />
Mick Harrison, Martyn Harwood, Ray Kirby, Andrew Ludlow, Gordon<br />
Manning-Whitelam, David Mason, John Parkes, Graham Percy, Erik Peterson,<br />
Steve Rogerson, Bob Steel, Nick Tegerdine, David Thornhill, Peter Tulloch,<br />
Steve Westby, John Westlake <strong>and</strong> Colin Wilde.<br />
Front-page picture: Colin Brown at the new <strong>Belvoir</strong> Brewery Visitor Centre<br />
It takes all sorts to campaign <strong>for</strong> real ale<br />
Join <strong>CAMRA</strong> today...<br />
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call 01727 867201.All <strong>for</strong>ms should be addressed to Membership<br />
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2<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08
Phil Troop is a firm believer in real ale in real pubs <strong>and</strong> he is<br />
certainly not afraid to put this into practice. He is the l<strong>and</strong>lord<br />
of the Half Moon in the Lincolnshire village of Willingham By<br />
Stow between Lincoln <strong>and</strong> Gainsborough. This <strong>for</strong>mer<br />
Gainsborough <strong>CAMRA</strong> Pub of the Year is a music-free haven<br />
with an open fire <strong>and</strong> four h<strong>and</strong>pumps offering a range of<br />
beers. But not one to rest on his laurels he decided to listen to<br />
the encouragement of one of his regular suppliers, Phil at the<br />
Fulstow Brewery, <strong>and</strong> to start to brew his own ales.<br />
So back in October Grafters Brewery went into production,<br />
initially just to serve the Half Moon but possibly allowing beer into<br />
the free trade later this year. The 2½-barrel brew plant mainly<br />
came from Mossbrew in Sheffield although Phil added some<br />
equipment of his own such as the hot liquor tank. Be<strong>for</strong>e firing up<br />
his mash tun Phil went on a brewing course at Brewlab in<br />
Sunderl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> since then he has also had<br />
tremendous help from the other Phil over at Fulstow<br />
Brewery.<br />
Three beers are currently produced. Traditional is a<br />
3.8% light coloured session bitter, Over The Moon<br />
is a 4% traditional bitter <strong>and</strong> Brewers Troop is fairly<br />
darkish, sweeter 4.2% best bitter. Incidentally the<br />
name Grafters was a nickname given to Phil by one<br />
of his regular customers who claimed that he was<br />
never to be seen grafting behind the bar <strong>and</strong> the<br />
name stuck.<br />
Meanwhile the wave of new breweries starting up has shown no<br />
sign of abating, although I have recently heard tales of a few<br />
planned start-ups that have now been put on hold because of the<br />
sudden massive increase in malt prices <strong>and</strong> a possible worldwide<br />
shortage of hops.<br />
Amongst the newcomers is The Celt Experience set up as a sister<br />
<strong>brewery</strong> to the well-regarded <strong>New</strong>mans <strong>brewery</strong> near Bristol. This<br />
new venture in Caerphilly, Mid Glamorgan describes itself as a<br />
<strong>brewery</strong> inspired through Celtic history to produce a range of<br />
organic ales <strong>and</strong> a h<strong>and</strong> crafted lager. Also in Mid Glamorgan The<br />
Dare Brewery started brewing in December at the Falcon Inn at<br />
Godreaman near Aberdare using a 5½ barrel plant from Porter's<br />
PBC Brewery Installations.<br />
<strong>New</strong>s Brewing<br />
Steve Westby looks at the news<br />
on the micro<strong>brewery</strong> scene<br />
Down in deepest Northamptonshire another new <strong>brewery</strong> started<br />
production in January. The Cherwell Valley Brewery is another<br />
Mossbrew installation based in Brackley. It is proposed that the<br />
first brew will be a 4% beer called Cropredy Bridge 1644, named<br />
after a famous Civil War battle over a bridge on the River Cherwell.<br />
Finally <strong>for</strong> now, up in Cumbria the Whitehaven Brewery started<br />
brewing in December on a ten barrel plant based in a traditional<br />
bank barn, in the quiet hamlet of Croasdale. There was a proud<br />
tradition of brewing in the area which sadly lapsed in the early<br />
years of the twentieth century when the breweries of Whitehaven,<br />
Parton, Egremont <strong>and</strong> Cleator Moorall all closed, but this tradition<br />
has now been restored <strong>and</strong> Ennerdale Bitter is the first beer to be<br />
launched in the town <strong>for</strong> almost a hundred years. The beers are<br />
brewed using soft Lakel<strong>and</strong> spring water, rising from underground<br />
springs on Kelton Fell in the Ennerdale valley.<br />
The Grosvenor<br />
291-3 Mansfield Road, Carrington, Nottm NG5 2BY<br />
Tel. 0115 9604845<br />
www.thebell-inn.com<br />
THE BELL INN, 18 ANGEL ROW, NOTTINGHAM 0115 947 5241<br />
COMMUNITY PUBS<br />
WEEK BEER FESTIVAL<br />
Monday, Feb 18th<br />
– Saturday, Feb 23rd<br />
20 real ales available<br />
ST PATRICK’S STOUT FESTIVAL<br />
Thursday March 13th – Monday March 17th<br />
17 stouts from 17<br />
breweries on the 17th<br />
Cellar Tours every Tuesday & Thursday 7.30pm<br />
Drink in the history ofo<br />
one of fEn Engl<strong>and</strong>’s nd<br />
Oldest Inns<br />
ns<br />
Reopening on 14th March<br />
following refurbishment<br />
•Food served 7 days a week 12-9pm<br />
•Weekly curry night<br />
•Amateur National Poker night<br />
•Live entertainment weekly<br />
•Beer Garden<br />
•Function room available <strong>for</strong> hire<br />
•At least four real ales<br />
A warm <strong>and</strong> friendly pub<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08<br />
3
Outlying <strong>CAMRA</strong> Branch <strong>New</strong>s<br />
Vale of <strong>Belvoir</strong> news<br />
Happy <strong>New</strong> Year From VoB<br />
Well, another year on & deeper in debt - as long as it's all been<br />
spent on beer it's worth it.<br />
We would like, if we may, to take you back to the end of 2007 <strong>for</strong> a<br />
short time, just long enough <strong>for</strong> us to re-cap on the last remnants of<br />
the year....<br />
The 29th November saw us at Old Dalby <strong>for</strong> the <strong>Belvoir</strong> Brewery Open<br />
Night at the new Brewery premises & <strong>visitor</strong>s <strong>centre</strong>. The evening was<br />
very well attended <strong>and</strong> had a splendid buffet laid on; we can highly<br />
recommend taking a trip out to the Brewery. Colin's opening hours<br />
are Mon-Fri 12.00 - 8.00pm & Sat & Sun 12 - 6.00pm. Food is<br />
available as well as beers from the range during these times. Some<br />
recent beers are the seasonal Winter Whipling at 3.7% <strong>and</strong> Chestnut<br />
at 4.2%. Available from February is Melton Mowbray Oatmeal Stout,<br />
described as creamy, dark & smooth at 4.3% - we are looking <strong>for</strong>ward<br />
to sampling some of that ASAP! Also from February <strong>brewery</strong> trips are<br />
offered but must be booked in advance. The <strong>brewery</strong> number is<br />
01664-823455.<br />
We are planning on having a trip out to both <strong>Belvoir</strong> Brewery &<br />
Brewster’s some time later in the year. If anyone is interested in<br />
putting your name down <strong>for</strong> these please let us know & we will keep<br />
you in<strong>for</strong>med of dates.<br />
Into December <strong>and</strong> on the 13th we had our Christmas Social at the<br />
Marquis of Granby, Granby. We had a good turnout <strong>and</strong> the food<br />
was superb, <strong>and</strong> made even better by being accompanied by some<br />
splendid Norfolk Nog as well as the usual Brewster’s Marquis <strong>and</strong><br />
Hophead, both of which are excellent beers to have with a meal.<br />
Into the <strong>New</strong> Year <strong>and</strong> we made a swift return to the Marquis of<br />
Granby on the 8th Jan to present our Pub of the Year (POTY) award.<br />
This winning pub was a hugely popular<br />
choice & the evening saw an excellent<br />
turnout from both <strong>CAMRA</strong> <strong>and</strong> pub<br />
locals. Some new <strong>CAMRA</strong> members<br />
joined on the night <strong>and</strong> a raffle raised<br />
funds <strong>for</strong> the pub’s chosen charity, the<br />
Notts Air Ambulance. Beers being<br />
offered were Batemans Rosey Nosey,<br />
Ossett Black Bull, & Brewster’s Ice<br />
Queen. If you haven't already tried the<br />
food at the pub you really should, it is all<br />
home cooked using local produce & the<br />
snacks h<strong>and</strong>ed around were very good.<br />
VOB Chairman Martyn<br />
Haywood presents POTY award<br />
to l<strong>and</strong>lord Shaun Gilder<br />
Horse <strong>and</strong> Jockey<br />
1 Mill Street, Bas<strong>for</strong>d 0115 978 7883<br />
Hemlock, Black Gold <strong>and</strong> two Guests<br />
Live music - last Friday in the month<br />
Other Sundays - pop quiz - £50 prize & beer prizes<br />
Large function room available<br />
Weekday food lunch <strong>and</strong> evening<br />
Sunday carvery<br />
12 - 3<br />
The Tram friendly<br />
Horse <strong>and</strong> Jockey<br />
By Bas<strong>for</strong>d<br />
Crossing<br />
David Lane stop<br />
Sean McArdle,<br />
Brewster's Brewery,;<br />
Martyn Hayward,<br />
VoB Chairman; Eddie<br />
Fendel, VoB Pubs<br />
Officer; Peter<br />
Worsnop, VoB<br />
Treasurer <strong>and</strong> Bob<br />
Taylor, VoB founder<br />
<strong>and</strong> <strong>for</strong>mer chairman.<br />
Onto pub news, <strong>and</strong> as promised we have details of The Peacock,<br />
Redmile, that was just changing h<strong>and</strong>s as we went to press in the last<br />
issue of the Drinker. <strong>New</strong> l<strong>and</strong>lord is Alistair Graves, in partnership<br />
with Mike & Dee Brown of the Chequers, Elston. Alistair is familiar<br />
with the village as he used to run the Windmill at Redmile. The beer<br />
range will be from Wells & Young’s <strong>and</strong> no big changes in the pub<br />
are planned at the moment. Again, we have had some good reports<br />
but due to the festive season we have not had chance to get out<br />
there yet but intend to be<strong>for</strong>e next issue.<br />
The Nags Head, Harby has had a change of l<strong>and</strong>lord <strong>and</strong> is now run<br />
by John & Kathy Cox. As we go to press, the Plough, Hickling is<br />
closed, hopefully waiting <strong>for</strong> someone to take it over. We will keep<br />
you in<strong>for</strong>med.<br />
Onto Festival news, <strong>and</strong> Bingham Rugby club have their annual<br />
Festival at the Pavilion, Brendon Grove, Bingham 14th & 15th March.<br />
The Saturday once again coincides with the final day of the 6 Nations<br />
Championship.<br />
Our next meeting is at The Chesterfield, Bingham on Tues 5th Feb &<br />
our AGM is March 4th at the Black Horse, Hose. As the more<br />
perceptive amongst you may have noticed, we have changed our<br />
meeting dates from the 2nd Tuesday of the month to the 1st Tuesday<br />
of the month. We voted on this change at our last meeting as we<br />
were struggling to get our reports in <strong>for</strong> the Drinker, so it was either<br />
change the meeting dates or give you VERY old news, most of which<br />
was irrelevant by the time we went to press, so the change of date<br />
seemed logical. We are also having a meeting every month now,<br />
instead of alternate meetings & socials. All are welcome to attend<br />
VoB branch meetings, whether you are a member or not. <strong>New</strong> faces<br />
are always embraced - not physically, although this can be arranged if<br />
that's what it takes... A word of warning though, grown men have<br />
been known to get lost <strong>for</strong> days in the secretary's cleavage!! On that<br />
note we will bid you adieu - until next time, cheers.<br />
4<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08
Erewash Valley news<br />
Firstly, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very<br />
HAPPY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR from everyone at<br />
Erewash Valley Branch.<br />
Erewash goes LocAle<br />
Tuesday 18th December saw the launch of Erewash Valley joining<br />
the successful LocAle scheme implemented by <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong>. The launch took place at The Observatory in Ilkeston, one<br />
of the 10 pubs in our area that have signed up to the scheme so<br />
far, which as you may know, guarantees you a pint of local beer<br />
that has been brewed within a 20 mile radius of the particular pub<br />
that it's being served in.<br />
On the night Falstaff Smilin' Assassin <strong>and</strong> Funfair Divebomber were<br />
available <strong>and</strong> both brewers, Jim Hallows from Falstaff <strong>and</strong> Dave<br />
Tizard from Funfair along with EV Pubs Officer John Parkes <strong>and</strong><br />
Observatory assistant manager Darryl Stacey were there <strong>for</strong> the<br />
photo shoot. We were also blessed with the presence of Andrew<br />
Ludlow from <strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong>, one of the instigators of the<br />
Locale scheme.<br />
Funfair beers are regularly available at The<br />
Observatory so this seemed the ideal<br />
location from which to announce our<br />
involvement.<br />
The pubs in our area that have joined so<br />
far are: the Twitchell <strong>and</strong> the Hole in the<br />
Wall, Long Eaton, the Poacher, the Spanish<br />
Bar, the Dewdrop, <strong>and</strong> the Observatory in<br />
Ilkeston, <strong>and</strong> The Railway, Inn the Middle,<br />
Red Lion, <strong>and</strong> Conservative Club in<br />
Heanor/Langley Mill.<br />
So if you are passing by near any of these<br />
pubs <strong>and</strong> fancy a pint brewed in the local<br />
area, why not call in <strong>and</strong> see what they<br />
have to offer. If however, you find there is<br />
no local ale to be had, please get in touch<br />
with any EV branch member or direct to<br />
myself so we can investigate.<br />
In the last Edition of ND we reported that<br />
the Tiger in Long Eaton had restricted<br />
opening hours. Since then I have been<br />
reliably in<strong>for</strong>med that, following a change<br />
of licensee, this is no longer the case.<br />
Martin <strong>and</strong> Kerry have recently taken over<br />
Outlying <strong>CAMRA</strong> Branch <strong>New</strong>s<br />
<strong>and</strong> opening hours have returned to normal. Both are from Long<br />
Eaton <strong>and</strong> the Tiger used to be their local so when the opportunity<br />
arose they jumped at the chance of becoming the new licensees.<br />
They are planning to do food early evening in the hope of catching<br />
hungry early doors customers, so we would like to wish them well<br />
in their venture.<br />
December also saw the opening of Ilkeston's newest free house.<br />
The Queen's Counsel is housed in the <strong>for</strong>mer Robinson Solicitors<br />
building in the Market Place, s<strong>and</strong>wiched between The Moon &<br />
Sixpence <strong>and</strong> The Market Inn. An eight month refurbishment saw<br />
the place completely gutted, leaving only the exterior walls intact,<br />
there is now an oak panelled lounge <strong>and</strong> bar on the first floor with<br />
another bar on the ground floor, complete with air conditioning,<br />
leather seating <strong>and</strong> a mix of carpet <strong>and</strong> tiles. The new owner<br />
promised something different <strong>for</strong> Ilkeston <strong>and</strong> it certainly is - there<br />
is no dance floor, loud music, flashing lights, or plasma screen TV's<br />
<strong>and</strong> no hot food. Un<strong>for</strong>tunately <strong>for</strong> the cask ale drinkers amongst<br />
us there is nothing different in the beers with 2 h<strong>and</strong>pumps serving<br />
London Pride (as a regular) <strong>and</strong> a guest, which on our visit was Old<br />
Speckled Hen.<br />
The Queens Counsel not only has to<br />
compete with pubs like The Observatory,<br />
The Poacher, <strong>and</strong> The Spanish Bar on<br />
price <strong>and</strong> quality but a good choice of<br />
cask ales as well <strong>and</strong> with more than 20<br />
local breweries within 20 miles of<br />
Ilkeston it remains to be seen how well<br />
this latest watering hole will do in an<br />
increasingly difficult market <strong>for</strong> real ale.<br />
Talking of The Poacher, Pub People Co. who owned the pub have<br />
now sold it to Scottish Courage who have leased it back to them, in<br />
order to generate funds <strong>for</strong> further investment. We have been<br />
reliably in<strong>for</strong>med that <strong>Nottingham</strong> EPA will remain as a regular, but<br />
guest beers will now be sourced from the Scottish Courage portfolio.<br />
And finally, we would like to say 'farewell' to Gavin at The Nags<br />
Head in Sawley, who after 15 years at the helm of this popular<br />
locals pub, has decided to call it a day <strong>and</strong> will be leaving very soon.<br />
That's all <strong>for</strong> this time folks - see you next time<br />
John - Erewash Valley<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08<br />
5
Young people <strong>and</strong> alcohol<br />
alternative approaches are needed, because the current ones are obviously not working!<br />
6<br />
Nick Tegerdine, Executive Director of apas, argues <strong>for</strong> a different approach,<br />
including reducing the legal age <strong>for</strong> drinking in some pubs.<br />
There are concerns about the relationship between young people <strong>and</strong><br />
alcohol. Youthful experimentation <strong>and</strong> ‘rites of passage’ arguments aside,<br />
we don’t seem to have understood that it’s not just that young people<br />
drink, it’s about what they drink, <strong>and</strong> where <strong>and</strong> how. The context in which<br />
drinking takes place is more important in shaping behavioural st<strong>and</strong>ards<br />
<strong>and</strong> promoting health than the fact that underage drinking occurs.<br />
Underage drinking is nothing new <strong>and</strong> moral crusaders must surely be<br />
mindful of that. What has changed is the treatment of underage drinkers as<br />
consumers on the one h<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> as villains on the other.<br />
It has become fashionable to demonise young people <strong>for</strong> a series of problems that<br />
have developed over the last twenty years, not all of them alcohol-related. However<br />
it is regrettable that society seeks to blame someone else, in this case young<br />
people, whilst denying or minimising our individual <strong>and</strong> collective responsibility <strong>for</strong><br />
the situation. Denial <strong>and</strong> minimisation are, of course, two of the defining<br />
symptoms of addiction!<br />
Recently one of the more obvious consequences of young people over indulging in<br />
alcohol could be seen in the large pools of vomit on the pavements over Christmas,<br />
although it’s important to recognise that many adults directly contributed as well.<br />
The concerns are wider than that however, <strong>and</strong> this is evidenced by the many calls<br />
received <strong>for</strong> help <strong>and</strong> advice to do with noise <strong>and</strong> rowdyism in <strong>and</strong> around licensed<br />
premises. There are also calls from parents concerned that their child has been over<br />
served <strong>and</strong> had become unwell. Hospital admissions <strong>for</strong> alcohol-related illnesses<br />
<strong>and</strong> accidents <strong>for</strong> all ages are increasing fast.<br />
Whilst the person who has overindulged must take responsibility <strong>for</strong> their<br />
behaviour, most people have found their drinking limit by getting it wrong.<br />
Nevertheless, the more recent phenomenon of so many young people getting it<br />
wrong so much <strong>and</strong> so often cannot be explained in such simple terms as more<br />
people failing to accept their individual responsibility.<br />
It is after all the adults who <strong>for</strong> years have refused to acknowledge the situation<br />
that has been created in town <strong>and</strong> city <strong>centre</strong>s (<strong>and</strong> I mean created, not allowed to<br />
happen). It is adults who own the shares in (<strong>and</strong> take the profits from) the<br />
multinational brewing businesses <strong>and</strong> pub owning companies. It’s also adults who<br />
manage <strong>and</strong> deal with liquor licences <strong>and</strong> it’s adults who permit some of them to<br />
continue to trade in such a manner that, frankly speaking, they would have found<br />
themselves closed down in Dodge City in 1857, let alone any North Midl<strong>and</strong>s town<br />
in 2007.<br />
Alcohol does not aid physical <strong>and</strong> psychological development; on that the science is<br />
clear. There<strong>for</strong>e it’s a good idea to delay the onset of drinking. However, where<br />
should the line be drawn in terms of age, or perhaps even in terms of quantity? I<br />
believe that we have this badly wrong <strong>and</strong> that society is in denial of this.<br />
The major variable <strong>for</strong> determining how much people drink, particularly young<br />
people, is a cultural one. The context in which drinking behaviour is introduced <strong>and</strong><br />
in which products are marketed carries far more influence than any number of TV<br />
<strong>and</strong> cinema pieces with a ‘drink responsibly’ message.<br />
Despite the various policies in the UK that seek to delay the age of onset of<br />
drinking, I would argue that we are in fact encouraging under-age consumption by<br />
failing to deal with the situation in the round, by not dealing with the context, <strong>and</strong><br />
by denying that the drinks industry has changed. The town hall clocks appear to be<br />
stuck on 1954.<br />
I noted the old Shipstones posters in a Mapperley pub last week. I reflected on the<br />
subtle messages in them <strong>and</strong> how they contrasted with the American-influenced<br />
lager adverts of today. In the <strong>for</strong>mer the context was relaxed, social, convivial,<br />
whilst the latter is to do with individual freedom with no regard <strong>for</strong> any collective<br />
responsibility.<br />
That led me, over a second glass, to reflect on how the drinks industry <strong>and</strong> the<br />
government are involved in a tug of war. The prize is the lion’s share of influence<br />
over the British drinking culture. Who wins that competition will receive huge<br />
bonuses, either in profits or, in the case of the Government, in reduced NHS <strong>and</strong><br />
crime costs. In the middle of this is a generation of young people, either<br />
consumers, victims, or when the going gets tough, ‘the problem’.<br />
The way <strong>for</strong>ward requires a fundamental attitudinal shift. The economic drivers<br />
that sustain the present context <strong>and</strong> the belief that drinking is just about getting<br />
drunk will be upset <strong>and</strong> will continue to resist change. The responsible authorities<br />
also resist change because they are demonstrably poor at holding up h<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong><br />
saying ‘we’ve made some mistakes’.<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08<br />
What changes do we want to see? What would make a difference? A lot of<br />
research has been done on the effectiveness of the current raft of alcohol control<br />
policies. I’ll save my comments on that <strong>for</strong> another time but here is my vision of<br />
how the context can be changed <strong>for</strong> the better.<br />
• Reduce the age of beer drinking to 16 in pubs that can demonstrate responsible<br />
retailing <strong>and</strong> an appropriate context to admit younger people. I would expect<br />
that such premises would promote local products, would provide a clean glass<br />
every time, <strong>and</strong> that drinking from the bottle would not be permitted. Food <strong>and</strong><br />
alcohol-free alternatives at realistic prices would always be available. The<br />
Designated Premises Supervisor would always be present<br />
• Temporarily increase the age <strong>for</strong> purchasing all beers, wines, spirits <strong>and</strong> RTDs to<br />
21 in off licences <strong>for</strong> a period (probably five years)<br />
• Ban all alcohol advertising <strong>and</strong> sponsorships – no arguments, just do it<br />
• Strengthen the progressive beer duty (to support sustainable local industries<br />
which, by <strong>and</strong> large, demonstrate responsibility in what they produce <strong>and</strong> who<br />
they sell it to)<br />
• Increase the duty on alcopops <strong>and</strong> the so-called ‘white ciders’<br />
• Revert to a deposit scheme <strong>for</strong> all bottles (as in Belgium <strong>and</strong> Germany <strong>for</strong><br />
example). This also has environmental benefits <strong>and</strong> would be popular with<br />
younger people<br />
• Apply much stricter sanctions <strong>for</strong> servers <strong>and</strong> their employers <strong>for</strong> ‘over serving’<br />
to anyone<br />
The problems that we face are getting worse. The one thing that we can’t do is to<br />
continue to try <strong>and</strong> persuade ourselves that the current measures are effective. The<br />
responsible authorities may continue to try <strong>and</strong> do that but that merely illuminates<br />
the extent their own self-serving behaviour.<br />
We must find a new way. No doubt readers will have their own views about what I<br />
have proposed <strong>and</strong> what readers believe would make a difference. I hope that you<br />
will feel able to share those views <strong>and</strong> I welcome the debate.<br />
You can contact me on: 0115 9414747 extension 68053 E-mail: nick@apas.org.uk<br />
The worst thing that you<br />
can do about a drinking<br />
problem is nothing<br />
Drinking too much, too often, <strong>and</strong> <strong>for</strong> too<br />
long <strong>and</strong> finding it hard to change?<br />
Alcohol Problems Advisory Service<br />
AVAILABLE • ACCESSIBLE • CONFIDENTIAL<br />
0115 941 4747 or e-mail info@apas.org.uk<br />
www.apas.org.uk
Milestone Brewery prides itself on being a quality craft brewer<br />
producing fine beers in both cask <strong>and</strong> bottle. Having previously<br />
tried <strong>and</strong> enjoyed their excellent Christmas Ale (Donner & Blitzed) I<br />
decided this time to sample Lion’s Pride a session beer at 3.8%<br />
ABV.<br />
The trick with RAIB’s is to pour carefully, to<br />
ensure that the sediment stays in the bottle,<br />
<strong>and</strong> to leave the beer to st<strong>and</strong> <strong>for</strong> a few<br />
minutes to allow any excess carbonation<br />
to disperse. The end result was a traditional<br />
copper coloured beer with a modest head.<br />
Immediately I was aware of a pleasant floral<br />
hoppy aroma combined with a hint of malt in<br />
the background. The beer is well balanced <strong>and</strong><br />
whilst a genuine bitter ale there is enough<br />
‘sweetness’ to make it quite morerish. The beer<br />
concludes with a dry <strong>and</strong> bitter aftertaste <strong>and</strong> the<br />
overall impression was that of a good traditional English<br />
bitter. In many ways this is quite unusual, as most RAIB’s tend to be at<br />
the higher end of the ABV scale but in Lion’s Pride Milestone have<br />
produced a surprisingly robust session beer.<br />
Milestone Brewery can be found in Cromwell, <strong>New</strong>ark NG23 6JE <strong>and</strong><br />
started brewing in 2005. They produce a range of interesting beers<br />
including Raspberry Wheat 5.6% (a continental style fruit beer); Black<br />
Pearl Stout 4.3% (authentic Irish Stout) <strong>and</strong> an Imperial Pale Ale at<br />
4.8% ABV.<br />
Milestone beers can be purchased from the <strong>brewery</strong> <strong>and</strong> Waitrose Stores<br />
in <strong>New</strong>ark, Lincoln, Blaby, Evington (Leicester); The Friendly Farmer, Farm<br />
More Bottled Beer<br />
More Real Ale in a Bottle (RAIB - 68)<br />
Shop <strong>New</strong>ark; Doddington Hall Farm Shop Doddington Nr Lincoln;<br />
Muskham Village Stores North Muskham <strong>and</strong> Red Zebra in Derby.<br />
For more in<strong>for</strong>mation visit Milestone’s web site<br />
www.milestone<strong>brewery</strong>.com or visit their shop at the <strong>brewery</strong> that<br />
is open 9-5 Mon to Friday (01636 822255).<br />
Specialist shops like Red Zebra in Derby’s Market Hall always stock a<br />
fine range of beers so if you are looking <strong>for</strong> something special they are<br />
well worth visiting. (Open Monday – Saturday 9.00 – 5.00<br />
(01332) 242403. Website www.redzebradrinks.com<br />
Award winning local beers<br />
<strong>for</strong>tified with flavour<br />
www.castlerock<strong>brewery</strong>.co.uk<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08<br />
7
All Our Yesterdays<br />
More from the Sneinton Treasure Trove<br />
In the last edition, I published the first six of a collection of 1920s pub photos found in a Sneinton house.<br />
Sadly, I have had no letters from people who remember anything about the pubs – maybe our readership is too young!<br />
I have, however, heard that they have stimulated much discussion in pubs around the county. I did receive this letter from Dorothy Ritchie<br />
at the Local Studies section of <strong>Nottingham</strong> Central Library, which may be of interest to some of you:<br />
Colonel Hutchinson,<br />
Castle Terrace<br />
1926<br />
Admiral Duncan Inn,<br />
Coalpit Lane 1926<br />
“Looking through the recent issue of the <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
Drinker, I was really interested to see the photographs of<br />
public houses in the 1920s. As part of the <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
Local Studies collection we have a substantial, number<br />
of photographs of <strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Nottingham</strong>shire.<br />
These help to record the topography, buildings <strong>and</strong><br />
customs of the local area, <strong>and</strong> to preserve the<br />
in<strong>for</strong>mation <strong>for</strong> future generations. The collection is used<br />
by many researchers, often <strong>for</strong> academic or reminiscence<br />
purposes. I wonder if it is possible to obtain copies of your<br />
photographs <strong>for</strong> the Local Studies Collection. For several<br />
years now, we have been partners in a project to digitise<br />
our photograph collection <strong>and</strong> these are now available<br />
on the website www.picturethepast.org.uk If you<br />
would like to chat to me about this the library telephone<br />
number is 0115 9152873”.<br />
I shall be sending copies of the photos to Dorothy in<br />
batches, as soon as they have been published in the<br />
Drinker.<br />
In the meantime, here are six more from the collection<br />
<strong>for</strong> you to think about. The Nags Head <strong>and</strong> the Trip don’t<br />
seem to have changed too much in 80 years – but what<br />
is this Admiral Duncan? Coalpit Lane was the old name<br />
<strong>for</strong> Lower Parliament Street – where we still have an<br />
“Admiral Duncan” albeit now called “@D2” <strong>and</strong> part of<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong>’s gay scene. I believe it was built in 1935<br />
when a new road was cut through the slums of Cur Lane.<br />
So did the new building replace<br />
the one in the photograph I wonder? Regarding the<br />
Flying Horse, I underst<strong>and</strong> it was at 21 Colwick Street <strong>and</strong><br />
was listed as still brewing in 1930 when Frank Ward was<br />
the l<strong>and</strong>lord. <strong>Nottingham</strong> Brewery no longer owned the<br />
Colonel Hutchinson when<br />
the <strong>brewery</strong> was sold to Tennant Brothers in 1956,<br />
presumably it had been demolished by then. There was<br />
a Rose <strong>and</strong> Thistle on Upper Parliament Street that I<br />
remember well; it was demolished in 1977, but looking at<br />
a photograph of it taken in 1972 it bears no resemblance<br />
to the one in this photograph. And East Street is a long<br />
way from there – so there is clearly no connection.<br />
Rose <strong>and</strong> Thistle<br />
East St 1925<br />
Flying Horse,<br />
Colwick 1926<br />
Nags Head<br />
Mansfield Road 1924<br />
Trip to Jerusalem 1926<br />
8<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08
Chairman st<strong>and</strong>s<br />
down after<br />
13 years<br />
Richard Studeny has<br />
announced that he is to<br />
st<strong>and</strong> down from his<br />
role as Chairman of<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong>, a<br />
position that he has<br />
held <strong>for</strong> longer than<br />
anyone else in the<br />
branch’s 35 year history. Richard in<strong>for</strong>med the<br />
branch at the November meeting that whilst<br />
he would still be an active <strong>CAMRA</strong> member,<br />
due to pressure of work he had decided that it<br />
was time <strong>for</strong> someone else to take up the role<br />
of Chairman. Richard has worked tirelessly to<br />
promote <strong>CAMRA</strong> ideals <strong>and</strong> was part of the<br />
team that has helped make <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
Drinker the magazine it is today. Although<br />
unsuccessful Richard was a key player in the<br />
campaign to save Home Brewery <strong>and</strong> on a<br />
more positive note initiated the Beer <strong>and</strong> Tram<br />
guide. Over the years he has spearheaded<br />
many campaigns <strong>and</strong> been a very successful<br />
press <strong>and</strong> publicity officer <strong>for</strong> <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong>. The Committee <strong>and</strong> Branch wish<br />
Richard well in the future <strong>and</strong> although he will<br />
not be an active member of the Committee we<br />
are assured that he will continue to work to<br />
promote (<strong>and</strong> drink) real ale.<br />
Monkey Tree<br />
reopens<br />
The Monkey Tree on Bridg<strong>for</strong>d Road reopened<br />
in December after extensive refurbishment. It<br />
is now twice the size <strong>and</strong> twice as<br />
com<strong>for</strong>table, with a huge heated <strong>and</strong> covered<br />
terrace area. Whether it’s a quick early<br />
morning coffee or a Saturday night with<br />
friends there’s always a corner to make your<br />
own. The bar opens at 8am <strong>for</strong> breakfasts,<br />
coffees etc <strong>and</strong> serves a variety of food <strong>and</strong><br />
drink throughout the day. Menus can be<br />
downloaded from this website. Along with<br />
the extensive wine list, usual beers, home<br />
made snacks the bar also serves traditional<br />
ales from far <strong>and</strong> near (as part of the Locale<br />
scheme). The Monkey Tree boasts free Wifi <strong>for</strong><br />
all customers. The Monkey Tree restaurant is<br />
featured in the world-renowned Michelin<br />
Guide 2007. The upstairs a la carte eatery has<br />
a relaxed atmosphere <strong>and</strong> worldwide cuisine.<br />
Head Chef Pete Smith <strong>and</strong> his team create<br />
dishes from global influences but are careful<br />
to include locally sourced home grown<br />
com<strong>for</strong>ts <strong>and</strong> familiar favourites along with<br />
one or two surprises. The diner can usually<br />
choose from Gourmet, a la carte or fixed<br />
menus accompanied by a choice of wines<br />
from an exclusive list; samples of all restaurant<br />
menus can be downloaded from their website<br />
at www.themonkeytree.co.uk<br />
Snippets<br />
<strong>New</strong> Owners - <strong>New</strong><br />
Attitude<br />
This sign seen<br />
outside a local<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> pub<br />
(<strong>for</strong>merly owned<br />
by Hardys &<br />
Hansons) could<br />
perhaps be seen as an honest statement from<br />
Greene King over what they are planning to do.<br />
They are indeed '<strong>New</strong> owners' <strong>and</strong> their '<strong>New</strong><br />
Attitudes' include:<br />
• Selling beer masquerading as Ruddles;<br />
Morl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> Hardys & Hansons when it is<br />
clearly not the original beer. After acquiring<br />
such famous br<strong>and</strong>s as Old Speckled Hen <strong>and</strong><br />
Ruddles County GK are trying to fool people<br />
into thinking that such beers are still brewed in<br />
Ox<strong>for</strong>dshire <strong>and</strong> Rutl<strong>and</strong>!<br />
• Selling beers such as Old Speckled Hen,<br />
Ruddles County <strong>and</strong> H&H's Rocking Rudolph<br />
with lower ABV's - but despite the obvious<br />
saving on beer duty, the prices of beers in the<br />
GK estate is considerably more that when the<br />
pubs were owned by H&H.<br />
• And, of course, closing down a local <strong>brewery</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> major employer so that they can send<br />
beers 138 miles from Bury St. Edmunds. So<br />
much <strong>for</strong> carbon footprints!<br />
So well done GK you are indeed new owners -<br />
with a new attitude!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
70 Bridg<strong>for</strong>d Road, West Bridg<strong>for</strong>d,<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong>, NG2 6AP<br />
0115 981 1419<br />
www.themonkeytree.co.uk<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08 9
Snippets<br />
Cask Marque <strong>New</strong>s<br />
The following new outlets have recently<br />
received Cask Marque accreditation:<br />
The Golden Fleece, 105 Mansfield Road;<br />
The Belle Vue, 680 Woodborough Road,<br />
Mapperley; The Gladstone Hotel, 45 Loscoe<br />
Road, Carrington; The Runner, 16 Alfreton<br />
Road, Canning Circus; The Hemlock Stone,<br />
Bramcote Lane, Wollaton.<br />
Horse <strong>and</strong> Groom<br />
10th anniversary<br />
beer at 1998 price<br />
The Horse & Groom on Rad<strong>for</strong>d Road,<br />
Bas<strong>for</strong>d, is 10 yrs old on 3rd February, <strong>and</strong> in<br />
order to celebrate they are going to be<br />
offering Star Bitter (similar to Shipstone’s<br />
Bitter) <strong>for</strong> the same price that they sold it on<br />
their opening night. They are hoping that<br />
many of you will turn out to enjoy not only<br />
this special offer, but also the many other<br />
things that will be happening on this historic<br />
night – full details of which are available at<br />
www.bartschinns.com.<br />
This promises to be a great night out if it is<br />
anything like their recent launch of their new<br />
h<strong>and</strong> pump which is to be totally dedicated to<br />
LocAle. Not only was Star from <strong>Belvoir</strong><br />
<strong>brewery</strong> on sale on the new pump, but in the<br />
back room 8 other LocAle beers were<br />
availble, the most popular seller being Ouija<br />
Mild from Full Mash. I tried it myself, but my<br />
glass kept sliding around the table!<br />
During the night there was a debut<br />
per<strong>for</strong>mance from the recently <strong>for</strong>med b<strong>and</strong><br />
Park <strong>and</strong> Ride, who proved very popular <strong>and</strong><br />
kept everyone entertained. There was also a<br />
very special visit from two City Hospital Staff<br />
<strong>for</strong>m the Neonatal ward who were presented<br />
with a cheque <strong>for</strong> £1000. The management<br />
would like to say a special thank you to<br />
everyone who helped raise this money during<br />
the summer festival.<br />
Lancashire comes<br />
to <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
The Horse <strong>and</strong> Groom is holding a<br />
Thwaites Evening on Thursday 6th March.<br />
There will be at least 4 of their beers,<br />
traditional Lancashire food, <strong>and</strong> a chance to<br />
meet some of the people from the <strong>brewery</strong>.<br />
Thornbridge<br />
spread the word<br />
around the globe<br />
Thornbridge were delighted when their<br />
bottled version of Jaipur IPA was selected<br />
by the Beer Writers Guild committee to be<br />
the beer to accompany the main course<br />
(“Spiced Loin of Castlebridge Beef”) at the<br />
writers of the year awards dinner.<br />
Thornbridge have also been spreading the<br />
word <strong>for</strong> British beers across the USA after<br />
a consignment of Jaipur <strong>and</strong> Saint<br />
Petersburg were despatched in early<br />
December. Feedback on the beers has been<br />
received from North Carolina, Chicago,<br />
Pennsylvania <strong>and</strong> the following from a<br />
verbose fan in Arizona:<br />
Marks:15/20 - Jaipur poured from cask at<br />
Papago...a clear golden orange with a fluffy<br />
white head that lasts all the way down to<br />
the bottom of the glass leaving behind a<br />
trail of pillowy lacing. Aroma is a mild mix<br />
of pale malt, lemon, skunky pine hops <strong>and</strong><br />
some wood. Medium body with a creamy<br />
cask texture. Flavour is similar to the<br />
aroma...muted with some hop spice <strong>and</strong><br />
earthiness <strong>and</strong> finishing with some floral<br />
notes.<br />
<strong>New</strong> Thornbridge beers being brewed in<br />
the next month are Halcyon (7.7% - draws<br />
inspiration from the days when big hoppy<br />
pale ales were double crossing the<br />
equator), Ember (3.4% - a smoky pale ale)<br />
<strong>and</strong> a new pale ale.<br />
Norwegians at<br />
Magpie<br />
A recent visit to the Magpie Brewery had<br />
a Monty Python feel to it. Those of a certain<br />
age will remember a sketch involving a<br />
dead parrot ‘with a beautiful plumage’ - a<br />
‘Norwegian Blue’ <strong>and</strong> the photo shows Lars<br />
Flaten <strong>and</strong> ten very cold Norwegian friends<br />
enjoying a Magpie ale! Lars <strong>and</strong> friends<br />
agreed that the Magpie beers were<br />
excellent <strong>and</strong> enjoyed a range of LocAle<br />
beers during their recent weekend visit to<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong>.<br />
Editor’s note: I’m just glad one wasn’t<br />
called Lars Torders!<br />
Steve’s smashing<br />
time <strong>for</strong> Pudsey<br />
As part of the 2007 charity bash that is<br />
Children in Need, thirty six Hoveringham<br />
villagers set Steve Taylor, head chef at the<br />
village’s Reindeer Inn, the challenge to<br />
‘ready steady cook’ each of them a two<br />
course meal within 20 minutes. The diners<br />
then donated what they reckoned was the<br />
meal’s value to BBC Children in Need. And<br />
a total of £608 has duly been passed on to<br />
the charity.<br />
Steve says each brought £5 ingredients with<br />
them on the evening <strong>and</strong> the oddities<br />
included coconut, eggs <strong>and</strong> chocolate.<br />
“I have to admit the dessert ingredients<br />
proved the hardest to use within 20 minutes<br />
<strong>and</strong> I ended up making a table decoration<br />
with some,” he says. “The chocolate could<br />
have been a problem but luckily I had a<br />
marinade recipe at h<strong>and</strong> <strong>for</strong> their venison<br />
<strong>and</strong> chicken.<br />
Chocolate <strong>and</strong> chicken…!!!!”<br />
10 www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08
Real ales <strong>and</strong><br />
ciders galore<br />
Graham Smith, bar <strong>and</strong> cellar manager at<br />
the Victoria Hotel Beeston has been<br />
working out some statistics <strong>for</strong> 2007. The<br />
pub has served an impressive 549 beers<br />
from 124 different breweries, <strong>and</strong> 90 of<br />
these were LocAles. There have also been 57<br />
different ciders <strong>and</strong> perries. Keep up the<br />
good work Graham!<br />
Beware of frozen<br />
taste buds!<br />
As if real ales are not already being served too<br />
cold in many outlets, the boys at Greene King<br />
have come up with a new cask ale designed to<br />
be served at 6 - 8 o C – far cooler than the<br />
recommended 11-13 o <strong>for</strong> real beers. St<br />
Edmunds – a name apparently chosen to<br />
celebrate Bury St Edmunds, the home of<br />
Greene King – has, they tell us, “been specially<br />
brewed to be served cooler than traditional<br />
cask beers, delivering the refreshment factor<br />
of colder drinks while retaining all the depth of<br />
character, taste <strong>and</strong> aroma you’d expect from<br />
a real beer”. Furthermore, we’re told, “Our<br />
brewing <strong>and</strong> quality team have worked<br />
tirelessly over the last 18 months to create a<br />
beer that does not throw a chill haze down to<br />
5 degrees. Obviously the recipe remains a<br />
secret but it is a great marriage of the best<br />
hops <strong>and</strong> brewing innovation”.<br />
Spotting the beer won’t be much of a<br />
problem, as they have designed a new kind of<br />
beer engine (h<strong>and</strong>pump) especially <strong>for</strong> it!<br />
“Using groundbreaking technology”, we are<br />
in<strong>for</strong>med, “cask supremos at Greene King<br />
have developed a unique beer engine that will<br />
allow people to choose how their pint of St<br />
Edmunds is served”. It seems that at the flick<br />
of a switch the pump will dispense either a<br />
Northern style pint with a tight<br />
creamy head, or a southern<br />
style with “a loose bubble<br />
<strong>and</strong> soft frothier head, also<br />
creating a tingly crisp<br />
sensation on the<br />
tongue”.<br />
To their credit, Greene<br />
King tell us that they are<br />
“committed to serving<br />
a full pint” with this<br />
device.<br />
A Great Dude<br />
downed daily<br />
The Spanish Bar in Ilkeston served a 4% beer<br />
specially created by Phil Mallard during the<br />
Christmas period with 20p a pint being donated<br />
to Macmillan Nurses. "Great Dude" was brewed<br />
in memory of <strong>for</strong>mer l<strong>and</strong>lord John Elms who<br />
sadly died on Christmas Day 2006, the name<br />
coming from John's habit of calling customers<br />
"dude". The beer was sold at £1.76 a pint, the<br />
same price as their regular brew Quacker Jack,<br />
<strong>and</strong> it proved so popular that at least one firkin<br />
was sold every day until the whole batch had<br />
been enjoyed. John's daughter Hannah now<br />
runs this popular watering hole.<br />
A chance to brew<br />
your own beer in a<br />
commercial<br />
<strong>brewery</strong><br />
Following successful festivals over the past<br />
three years, the 5th April sees yet another<br />
National Craft Brewing Festival in Derby. The<br />
overall first prizewinner will be invited to brew<br />
a batch of their beer on the pilot plant at<br />
Roosters Brewery in Knaresborough.<br />
There will also be prizes <strong>for</strong> the best beer in<br />
each category, <strong>and</strong> certificates <strong>for</strong> runners-up<br />
<strong>and</strong> other beers that are<br />
highly commended by the<br />
judges, <strong>and</strong> a <strong>for</strong>m with<br />
written feedback from the<br />
judge will be given <strong>for</strong> each<br />
beer entered. There will<br />
also be an inter-regional<br />
competition <strong>for</strong> affiliated<br />
brewing clubs. The<br />
competition will take place<br />
at the The Waterfall,<br />
Railway Terrace, Derby DE1<br />
2RU ( opposite railway<br />
station ) on Saturday 5th<br />
April 2008.<br />
Full details, <strong>and</strong> an entry<br />
<strong>for</strong>m, can be found at<br />
www.craftbrewing.org.uk/<br />
extdoc/Derby08.pdf<br />
Snippets<br />
Free food <strong>for</strong><br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong> members<br />
Brian Rigby at the Bell Inn, <strong>Nottingham</strong> is<br />
putting on a free buffet <strong>for</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong> members<br />
on the Thursday night of his next beer festival.<br />
Called “The Six Nations Festival” because all<br />
the 20 beers will have a sports theme to their<br />
name, it will take place from Weds. 20th to<br />
Sun. 24th February. Entrance is free to all<br />
comers, but <strong>CAMRA</strong> members wishing to<br />
enjoy the free buffet need to bring their<br />
membership cards to gain admission to the<br />
upstairs restaurant where it will be laid out.<br />
Steve <strong>and</strong> Yvette welcome you to<br />
The Fiveways<br />
Selection of cask ales changing weekly<br />
Quality food served daily<br />
(12 - 8 Mon - Fri, 12 - 4 Sat - Sun)<br />
Meals 2 <strong>for</strong> £8, also snacks etc.<br />
Sunday Carvery<br />
Cash Bingo Tuesday & Sunday<br />
Weekly Jazz nights Tues & Weds, monthly Sun<br />
Quiz <strong>and</strong> Sticky Thirteens every Thursday<br />
Auction night every Monday<br />
Two function rooms available<br />
For details of any of the above, give us a ring<br />
on 0115 9265612<br />
Edwards Lane, Sherwood, <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08 11
Bread <strong>and</strong> Bitter opens<br />
Mapperley rocks in time <strong>for</strong> Christmas<br />
Early December saw the long-awaited opening of Castle<br />
Rock Brewery’s latest addition to its award winning chain<br />
of pubs, the Bread <strong>and</strong> Bitter on Mapperley top.<br />
Tucked away behind the Plainsman, a Greene King house at the<br />
junction of Woodthorpe Drive with Plains Road, the Bread <strong>and</strong><br />
Bitter occupies the shell of the old Judge’s Bakery, whose ovens<br />
finally went cold in 1991. Indeed, the fronts of those same ovens<br />
have been retained as a feature in the spacious, L-shaped interior,<br />
as have some of the original, white-glazed brick walls, now<br />
adorned with a wealth of interesting pieces of breweriana <strong>and</strong> the<br />
many awards won by Castle Rock beers in recent years.<br />
The floor is mostly wood<br />
but gives way to flagstones<br />
in the adjoining annex,<br />
which has more of a<br />
conservatory feel to it <strong>and</strong><br />
provides much needed<br />
space <strong>for</strong> additional seating. Another particularly attractive <strong>and</strong><br />
original feature is to be found in the ceiling panels <strong>and</strong> bar canopy,<br />
where illuminated stained glasswork<br />
has actually incorporated real bottles,<br />
specially flattened <strong>and</strong> assembled <strong>for</strong><br />
the purpose. Peer closely <strong>and</strong> some<br />
of the br<strong>and</strong>s can still be identified.<br />
James Halfpenny, an experienced<br />
member of the Castle Rock team, is<br />
the man in charge <strong>and</strong> he tells me that<br />
a cask-conditioned cider is scheduled<br />
to join the impressive array of 12 ale<br />
h<strong>and</strong>pumps be<strong>for</strong>e too long. “We have<br />
three pumps dedicated to Castle Rock beers”, James tells me.<br />
“Harvest Pale <strong>and</strong> Preservation Ale are permanent, whilst the third<br />
will rotate around the rest of the Brewery’s portfolio”. Bateman’s<br />
Valiant <strong>and</strong> the powerful Thornbridge Jaipur IPA are also regulars,<br />
which leaves space <strong>for</strong> seven ever-changing guest beers, including<br />
a pump permanently dedicated to mild. Needless to say, there is<br />
also an interesting selection of continental bottled beers <strong>and</strong> even<br />
lager drinkers have not been entirely ignored.<br />
On the food side, breakfast is served from 9.00 am to midday,<br />
when the main meal service commences <strong>and</strong> continues until 8.00<br />
in the evening. Home baked pizzas are something of a house<br />
speciality <strong>and</strong> other daily specials are displayed on a chalkboard<br />
opposite the ovens, all carefully prepared by Nulda Lewis <strong>and</strong> her<br />
team in the kitchen.<br />
“Nulda comes from Montserrat in the West Indies”, James<br />
explains. “Her Caribbean Chicken is prepared to her mum’s own<br />
secret recipe <strong>and</strong> is likely to become one of the pub’s signature<br />
dishes”.<br />
All in all, it has been well worth the wait. The Bread <strong>and</strong> Bitter<br />
represents a very welcome addition to the county’s pub stock <strong>and</strong><br />
to Mapperley in particular. It has all the hallmarks of another<br />
Castle Rock success story in the making.<br />
Barrie Judge <strong>and</strong> Betty<br />
Holmes check that all's<br />
cooking nicely at the<br />
opening of the Bread<br />
<strong>and</strong> Bitter. They are with<br />
Chris Holmes (left) <strong>and</strong><br />
James Halfpenny (right)<br />
12 www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08
Win two bottles of real ale<br />
by answering the following<br />
question about the photograph<br />
from Spyke’s world travels<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>and</strong> Derby<br />
both had ice rinks in<br />
their main squares this<br />
Christmas – but in<br />
which city is this one<br />
pictured? (In the<br />
event of there being<br />
more than one<br />
correct answer, the<br />
winner will be drawn<br />
from a hat)<br />
The answer to the last competition was Aguas Calientes, Peru.<br />
This is the town a few kilometres from Machu Pichu where you<br />
can spend the night <strong>and</strong> then get a very early morning bus to the<br />
site, be<strong>for</strong>e the crowds get there. A record number of entries<br />
were received; all said Peru, many said Machu Pichu but five got<br />
the correct answer. One clever dick even pointed out that the loco<br />
was actually on the other end of the train – oops! But he did spell<br />
my name wrongly in his email! First out of the hat was Peter<br />
Mann, Callow Hill Way, Littleover, Derby, who receives the two<br />
bottles.<br />
Quick Quiz 31<br />
Happy Hour<br />
1. Who hosts the ITV game show ‘The Great<br />
Pretender’?<br />
2. For which premiership club does Michael Owen play?<br />
3. Which star sign is the sign of the goat?<br />
4. What was the title of Britney Spears Top Ten hit in<br />
November 2007?<br />
5. Which bone in the human body is most often<br />
broken?<br />
6. Which Suffolk town is the most easterly in Britain?<br />
7. Name the author of ‘The Day of the Jackal’?<br />
8. The Cook Straits separate which two <strong>New</strong> Zeal<strong>and</strong><br />
isl<strong>and</strong>s?<br />
9. Name the captain who, in a famous novel, went after<br />
a white whale called Moby Dick?<br />
10. Where were the 2004 Olympic Games held?<br />
11. On which day of the week is Maundy money<br />
traditionally presented?<br />
12. Which country is the largest producer of cheese?<br />
13. Which car did James Bond drive in ‘Goldfinger’?<br />
14. What do the abbreviations ‘AWOL’ st<strong>and</strong> <strong>for</strong>?<br />
15. What name is given to the young of a goose?<br />
Answers on Page 31<br />
NOW OPEN!<br />
THE• BREAD• AND• BITTER<br />
THE BREAD & BITTER<br />
153 - 155 Woodthorpe Drive<br />
Mapperley. NG3 5JL<br />
Toast of the Town<br />
12 H<strong>and</strong> Pumps featuring<br />
regular beers, guests <strong>and</strong> cider<br />
Open 9am - 11pm Sun-Wed<br />
Midnight Thurs-Sat<br />
Food served<br />
throughout the day<br />
THE• BREAD• AND• BITTER<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08<br />
13
Brewery Visit<br />
In the second in a series where<br />
we visit LocAle breweries, Steve<br />
Armstrong takes a look at the<br />
newly relocated <strong>Belvoir</strong> Brewery<br />
On 29th November 2007 <strong>Belvoir</strong> Brewery<br />
moved to a new location on the east side of<br />
the village of Old Dalby, <strong>for</strong>tunately this has<br />
made it more accessible to public transport<br />
from <strong>Nottingham</strong>.<br />
To get there, catch the number 19 Oakham<br />
(Veolia / Paul James) bus from Broad Marsh<br />
bus station (st<strong>and</strong> number 12). They run every<br />
hour during the day at 25 minutes to the hour,<br />
but not in the evenings or on Sundays. The bus<br />
runs along the A606 Melton Road <strong>and</strong> on the<br />
approach to Upper Broughton there are some<br />
splendid views overlooking the Vale of <strong>Belvoir</strong>.<br />
The road winds past the Golden Fleece in<br />
Upper Broughton <strong>and</strong> on to Nether Broughton<br />
where you should alight at the Anchor (you<br />
may be lucky <strong>and</strong> pick up a number 23 bus<br />
which takes you past the Brewery – this service<br />
is due to be taken over by West End Travel on<br />
28th January <strong>and</strong> bus times could change),<br />
alternatively get off round the corner at the<br />
Red House (<strong>for</strong>merly Red Lion). Walk back to<br />
the corner towards Old Dalby <strong>and</strong> along Dalby<br />
Road <strong>for</strong> about a mile <strong>and</strong> a half, the Brewery is<br />
on the left h<strong>and</strong> side.<br />
The new Brewery has a brick frontage <strong>and</strong><br />
incorporates a bar <strong>and</strong> <strong>visitor</strong> <strong>centre</strong>, by the<br />
time you read this article it should be signed as<br />
the Sample Cellar. Colin Brown, the brewer at<br />
<strong>Belvoir</strong> explained that it has taken time to get<br />
the signing exactly as they wanted. The project<br />
is supported under the Engl<strong>and</strong> Rural<br />
Development Programme by the Department<br />
<strong>for</strong> Environment, Food <strong>and</strong> Rural Affairs <strong>and</strong><br />
the European Agricultural Guidance <strong>and</strong><br />
Guarantee Fund. Whilst the <strong>brewery</strong> remains<br />
independent, the new building <strong>and</strong> the Sample<br />
Cellar operation are a joint venture between<br />
Colin <strong>and</strong> Dianne<br />
Login. Dianne’s first<br />
involvement with<br />
<strong>Belvoir</strong> Brewery was<br />
as owner/operator<br />
of the Golden Fleece<br />
at Upper Broughton<br />
in 1995 when she<br />
was the first local<br />
publican to stock the<br />
Beaver Bitter on a<br />
regular basis.<br />
Colin began his<br />
brewing career at The<br />
Orange Brew-pub in<br />
Pimlico London. He studied <strong>for</strong> a degree in Bio<br />
Chemistry <strong>and</strong> passed brewing exams, which<br />
enabled him to become a brewer at<br />
Theakstons in Carlisle. Theakstons were taken<br />
over by Matthew Brown <strong>and</strong> following their<br />
take over <strong>and</strong> closure by Scottish & <strong>New</strong>castle<br />
Colin moved to Shipstones in <strong>Nottingham</strong>.<br />
Then Greenalls closed down Shipstones <strong>and</strong><br />
from there he took a job at Reddish Savilles<br />
who provided finings <strong>and</strong> hygiene services to<br />
the brewing trade. After a few years of<br />
collecting brewing equipment he was able to<br />
set up his own <strong>brewery</strong>. In March 1995 <strong>Belvoir</strong><br />
Brewery was born operating from an industrial<br />
unit at the top of Dalby Hill. The old <strong>brewery</strong><br />
was extended <strong>and</strong> refitted in 2002 <strong>and</strong> the new<br />
equipment purchased then has been<br />
transferred to the new site<br />
The regular <strong>Belvoir</strong> beers are all brewed with<br />
traditional English ingredients: Maris Otter<br />
malts, Fuggles, Progress, Bramling <strong>and</strong><br />
Challenger hops, <strong>and</strong> yeast from the old Hardys<br />
<strong>and</strong> Hansons strain. More exotic variations are<br />
included in one off <strong>and</strong> special brews. The<br />
beers tend to have names associated with the<br />
locality <strong>and</strong> with ballooning! Colin is an<br />
experienced balloonist having represented<br />
Great Britain on numerous international events.<br />
However the Star Bitter <strong>and</strong> Mild are named<br />
after <strong>and</strong> based on the old Shipstones recipes.<br />
The Beaver Bitter is spelt so as not to confuse<br />
non-locals, this brew also reflects his previous<br />
connection with Theakstons XB. One beer soon<br />
to join the <strong>Belvoir</strong> regulars is Melton Mowbray<br />
Oatmeal Stout a 4.3% brew packed full of<br />
cereals especially oats, rye <strong>and</strong> barley – look<br />
out <strong>for</strong> this one on the <strong>for</strong>thcoming Stout <strong>and</strong><br />
Porter trail. Bottled conditioned Beaver,<br />
Peacock <strong>and</strong> Old Dalby are available, the nonbottled<br />
conditioned Melton Red is sold in Tesco<br />
<strong>and</strong> locally.<br />
At the front of the <strong>brewery</strong> is the Sample Cellar,<br />
which from February is being developed as an<br />
Exhibition <strong>and</strong> Visitor Centre, selling <strong>Belvoir</strong><br />
beers, merch<strong>and</strong>ise <strong>and</strong> local produce, they<br />
also have a full kitchen <strong>for</strong> meals. The spacious<br />
room can easily accommodate 100 people <strong>and</strong><br />
is furnished with brewing artefacts <strong>and</strong> a bar<br />
billiards table. Two large windows look into the<br />
Brewery. Opening hours on my visit were<br />
Weekdays 12 – 8pm <strong>and</strong> Week-ends 12 – 6pm<br />
but from February these will be extended so<br />
check out the changes on the <strong>Belvoir</strong> website:<br />
www.belvoir<strong>brewery</strong>.co.uk. Bookings are<br />
currently being taken <strong>for</strong> Brewery Tours,<br />
functions <strong>and</strong> parties.<br />
Locally <strong>Belvoir</strong> beers are regularly served<br />
at The Crown in Old Dalby village (either catch<br />
the West End Travel bus or walk about a mile<br />
further on into the village) <strong>and</strong> at the Red<br />
House in Nether Broughton (<strong>Belvoir</strong> Bitter <strong>and</strong><br />
Red House Special). Buses back to <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
from Nether Broughton are on the hour but<br />
beware the last bus back is at six o’clock.<br />
<strong>Belvoir</strong> Brewery: The Sample Cellar, Station<br />
Road, Old Dalby, Leicestershire LE14 3NQ<br />
Telephone 01664 823455. West End Travel<br />
01664 563498.<br />
<strong>Belvoir</strong> regular beers:<br />
Star Mild - 3.4% abv<br />
Built on the foundations of a classic<br />
Mild Ale recipe this dark beer has a<br />
smooth character. A welcoming<br />
flow of full bodied flavours is<br />
followed by a pleasant rounded<br />
finish derived from a delicate<br />
balance of malt <strong>and</strong> hops.<br />
Star Bitter - 3.9% abv<br />
2005 GBBF Bronze Best Bitter<br />
Award. A traditional style bitter<br />
with plenty of character. Golden<br />
amber in appearance the beer<br />
combines a crisp dry flavour with a<br />
generous bitterness. Dry hopping<br />
with Goldings adds that final touch.<br />
Gordon Bennett - 4.1% abv<br />
Named after the infamous historical<br />
millionaire Gordon Bennett. A<br />
medium strength light chestnut<br />
coloured beer with a generous<br />
combination of mostly aromatic<br />
hops to give a pleasant finish.<br />
Beaver Bitter - 4.3% abv<br />
A well established favourite, being a<br />
premium full flavoured <strong>and</strong> well<br />
balanced smooth malt beer with a<br />
subtle blend of hops leading to a<br />
pleasant rounded finish.<br />
Peacock's Glory - 4.7% abv<br />
A glorious strutting display of hop<br />
flavours. This full-bodied light<br />
coloured premium beer has a<br />
generous helping of several varieties<br />
of English cone hops.<br />
Old Dalby - 5.1% abv<br />
A rich smooth ruby red coloured<br />
strong ale mingled with a variety of<br />
roasted flavours. An unusual blend<br />
of hops give this ale a complex<br />
pleasant character.<br />
14 www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08
Stout <strong>and</strong> Porter Stroll<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong><br />
Stout & Porter<br />
troll<br />
8 - 29th<br />
March 2008<br />
Stouts <strong>and</strong> Porters – a history<br />
Porter was a London style that turned the brewing industry<br />
upside down early in the 18th century. It was a dark brown<br />
beer – 19th-century versions became jet black – that was<br />
originally a blend of brown ale, pale ale <strong>and</strong> ‘stale’ or wellmatured<br />
ale. It acquired the name Porter as a result of its<br />
popularity among London’s workers who carried goods<br />
around the City. There was no mechanised transport <strong>and</strong><br />
horses were expensive so goods <strong>and</strong> supplies were simply<br />
carried around by these porters. The strongest versions of<br />
Porter were known as Stout Porter, reduced over the years to<br />
simply Stout. Such vast quantities of Porter <strong>and</strong> Stout flooded<br />
into Irel<strong>and</strong> from London <strong>and</strong> Bristol that a Dublin brewer<br />
named Arthur Guinness decided to fashion his own<br />
interpretation of the style. The beers were strong – 6% <strong>for</strong><br />
Porter, 7% or 8% <strong>for</strong> Stout. Guinness in Dublin blended some<br />
unmalted roasted barley <strong>and</strong> in so doing produced a style<br />
known as Dry Irish Stout. Restrictions on making roasted malts<br />
in Britain during World War One led to the demise of Porter<br />
<strong>and</strong> Stout <strong>and</strong> left the market to the Irish. In recent years,<br />
smaller craft brewers in Britain have rekindled an interest in the<br />
style, though in keeping with modern drinking habits,<br />
strengths have been reduced. Look <strong>for</strong> profound dark <strong>and</strong><br />
roasted malt character with raisin <strong>and</strong> sultana fruit, espresso or<br />
cappuccino coffee, liquorice <strong>and</strong> molasses, all underscored by<br />
hefty hop bitterness. Porters are complex in flavour, range<br />
from 4% to 6.5% <strong>and</strong> are typically black or dark brown; the<br />
darkness comes from the use of dark malts unlike stouts which<br />
use roasted malted barley. Stouts can be dry or sweet <strong>and</strong><br />
range from 4% to 8% ABV.<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08 15
Stout <strong>and</strong> Porter Stroll<br />
No. Pub Address Post code Tel No Opening Times<br />
1 The Bell 18 Angel Row, Market Square NG1 6HL 0115 9475241 10-11, 10-12 Thur - Sat<br />
2 Borlase Warren 1 Ilkeston Road, Canning Circus NG7 3GD 0115 9474247 12-11.30, 12-12 Fri & Sat, 12-11 Sun<br />
3 Bread <strong>and</strong> Bitter 153 Woodthorpe Drive, Mapperley NG3 5JL 0115 9607541 10-11, 9-12 Fri & Sat, 11-11 Sun<br />
4 Bunkers Hill 36 Hockley, <strong>Nottingham</strong> NG1 1FP 0115 9100114 12 - 12<br />
5 Canalhouse 48-52 Canal Street, <strong>Nottingham</strong> NG1 7EH 0115 9555060 12-11, 12-12 Thur, 12-1am Fri & Sat, 12-10.30 Sun<br />
6 Fox & Crown 33 Church Street, Old Bas<strong>for</strong>d NG6 0GA 0115 9422002 12 - 12<br />
7 Gatehouse Tollhouse Hill, <strong>Nottingham</strong> NG1 5FS 0115 9473952 11-11, 11-12 Fri & Sat, 12-10.30 Sun<br />
8 Globe 152, London Road, <strong>Nottingham</strong> NG2 3BQ 0115 9866881 11.30-11, 11.30-10.30 Sun<br />
9 Horse & Groom 462 Rad<strong>for</strong>d Road, Bas<strong>for</strong>d NG7 7EA 0115 9703777 11-11, 11-11.30 Fri & Sat, 12-11 Sun<br />
10 Kean's Head 46 St Marys Gate, Lace Market NG1 1QA 0115 9474052 10.30-11, 10.30-12.30 Fri & Sat, 12-10.30 Sun<br />
11 King William IV Manvers Street, <strong>Nottingham</strong> NG2 4PB 0115 9589864 11-11, 12-11 Sun<br />
12 Lincolnshire Poacher 161 Mansfield Road, <strong>Nottingham</strong> NG1 3FR 0115 9411584 11-11, 11-12 Thur-Sat, 12-11 Sun<br />
13 The Lion 44 Moseley Street, <strong>New</strong> Bas<strong>for</strong>d NG7 7FQ 0115 9703506 12-11, 12-12 Thurs - Sat, 12-10.30 Sun<br />
14 The Moot 27c Carlton Road, <strong>Nottingham</strong> NG3 2DL 0115 9540170 12-12<br />
15 <strong>New</strong>shouse 123 Canal Street, <strong>Nottingham</strong> NG1 7HB 0115 9502419 12-11, 12-12 Fri & Sat, 12-10.30 Sun<br />
16 The Plough 17 St Peters Street, Rad<strong>for</strong>d NG7 3EN 0115 9702615 12 - 11<br />
17 Queen Adelaide 99 Windmill Lane, Sneinton NG3 2BH 0115 9580607 12 - 11<br />
18 Reindeer Main Street, Hoveringham NG14 7GR 0115 9663629 5-12 Mon & Tue,12-2 & 5-12 Wed - Fri, 12-12 Sat<br />
19 Salutation Hounds Gate, <strong>Nottingham</strong> NG1 7AA 0115 9881948 12-12, 12-1am Fri & Sat<br />
20 Strat<strong>for</strong>d Haven 2 Strat<strong>for</strong>d Road, West Bridg<strong>for</strong>d NG2 6BA 0115 9825981 10.30-11, 10.30-12 Thur - Sat, 12-11 Sun<br />
21 Vat & Fiddle 12 Queensbridge Road, Nott'm NG2 1NB 0115 9850611 11-11, 11-12 Fri & Sat, 11-11 Sun<br />
22 Victoria 85 Dovecote Lane, Beeston NG9 1JG 0115 9254049 11-11,12-11 Sun<br />
The Stout & Porter Stroll exp<strong>and</strong>s again; we are now up to 22 pubs. This is the fourth <strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong> Stout <strong>and</strong> Porter event. It’s<br />
three weeks of campaigning in order to promote two of the oldest beer styles still supped in Britain today.<br />
The stroll will take place from Saturday, 8th March through to Saturday, 29th March 2008. To support them, just visit the pubs to find<br />
out what is available; many outlets will be stocking several different beers throughout the stroll. Once you have sampled your chosen<br />
tipple, fill in the sheet above with the date <strong>and</strong> the name of the beer sampled. Once you’ve visited six pubs you can enter our draw <strong>for</strong><br />
a prize. The prizes are bottles of, would you believe, stout or porter. Of course you can continue until you have visited all twenty-two<br />
pubs on the stroll - what could be simpler?<br />
Look out <strong>for</strong> Sooty Stout from <strong>Nottingham</strong> Brewery; Mr Toad from Castle Rock , their wildlife beer, a stout; Melton Mowbray Oatmeal<br />
Stout from <strong>Belvoir</strong> Brewery; Pitch Black from Everards Brewery; Stout Fellow from Caythorpe; Railway Porter from Brunswick; Black<br />
Pearl from Milestone; Puritans Porter from Springhead <strong>and</strong> many other stouts <strong>and</strong> porters that will be available throughout the stroll.<br />
Caythorpe Brewery’s “Stout Fellow” proved so popular with the locals when it was first tried at the Reindeer in Hoveringham that it<br />
has become a permanent fixture, replacing the Guinness on the bar.<br />
Then there are the health benefits, a pint of stout is good <strong>for</strong> your eyesight. Researchers in Canada have found that dark ales <strong>and</strong><br />
stouts may reduce the incidence of cataracts by as much as 50 per cent. Men can also benefit as stout contains high levels of vitamin B,<br />
which can help prevent erectile dysfunction.<br />
16 www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08
Stout <strong>and</strong> Porter Stroll<br />
How to get there Date Visited Beer<br />
Just off the Market Square<br />
Any bus to Canning Circus<br />
NCT bus 45 to Mapperley shops<br />
Next to the Ice Arena<br />
Near Broadmarsh <strong>centre</strong> on the waterfront<br />
Bas<strong>for</strong>d Tram Stop or NCT 70, 71, 72 bus<br />
Junction of Maid Marion Way <strong>and</strong> Parliament Street<br />
NCT Green Line bus (not No 11) opposite Meadow Lane footbridge<br />
Shipstone Street Tram Stop (Rad<strong>for</strong>d Rd stop to Nottm) or NCT 80, 81 bus<br />
Off High Pavement, opposite St Mary's Church<br />
Near junction with Carlton Road, just up from the Ice Arena<br />
Also rear entrance off North Sherwood Street<br />
Shipstone Street Tram Stop (Rad<strong>for</strong>d Road stop to Nottm)<br />
NCT Lilac line bus, just up from the Ice Arena<br />
Near Broadmarsh shopping <strong>centre</strong>, Station Street Tram stop<br />
NCT Pink Line or Trentbarton Rainbow 2, alight at junction with Triumph Rd<br />
Walk up Walker Street from Carlton Road <strong>and</strong> turn left at the top<br />
& Sun Train to Thurgarton railway station <strong>and</strong> then a mile walk along Station Road<br />
Off Maid Marian Way<br />
NCT Green line 6, 7, 8, 9 bus, near the Co-op<br />
Opposite <strong>Nottingham</strong> railway station<br />
Next to Beeston railway station, NCT 13 or Trent Barton 18<br />
Please note that all beers are subject to availability, please bear with the<br />
pubs, the beer might have just gone or the next one might not be quite<br />
ready.<br />
Also, all the pubs were asked at the beginning of January, since then<br />
the circumstances at the pub may have changed, perhaps a change of<br />
l<strong>and</strong>lord, or a pub owning company changing their minds as to what<br />
they want on the bar. If no stout is on offer, please accept the apology<br />
of <strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong> in advance - it is beyond our control!<br />
Mild times are on the way<br />
Don’t <strong>for</strong>get that May is Mild month. Throughout May the usual <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
Mild Trail will be taking place. Full details will be in the next <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
Drinker out on the 27th March, which will include the trail supplement. If<br />
you have never tried mild be<strong>for</strong>e, then May is the ideal time to find out<br />
about this style of beer.<br />
Name………………………………...................................................<br />
Address………………………………................................................<br />
…………………………………………................................................<br />
Postcode…………….... Email address………………………...........<br />
Visit any of the pubs above, <strong>and</strong> buy a half or a pint of Stout or<br />
Porter <strong>and</strong> fill in the details in the <strong>for</strong>m above. You need to visit<br />
a minimum of six different pubs. Send your <strong>for</strong>m to the address<br />
below by Saturday 5th April 2008.<br />
Stout <strong>and</strong> Porter Stroll<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong><br />
13 Amersham Rise<br />
Aspley<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> NG8 5QL<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08 17
Spyke Golding visits the Duke of<br />
Cambridge, Woodborough Road<br />
Pub Call<br />
Bus: NCT 45 (from City), 44 (to City): Every 10 mins daytime,<br />
30mins. evening, last to City: 23.48 M-Sa; 23.22 Su. Bus stop<br />
(Private Road) right outside<br />
The opening of a certain pub on Mapperley Top has renewed<br />
interest in this area, <strong>and</strong> if you are heading that way, you<br />
should not miss the Duke of Cambridge. Dating from the early<br />
1900s, this is a true local with a really friendly atmosphere.<br />
Mark <strong>and</strong> Carol Symonds have successfully run the pub <strong>for</strong><br />
over five years, <strong>and</strong> are dedicated to the cause of real ale, with<br />
three h<strong>and</strong>pumps always in use. The two regular beers are<br />
Caledonian Deuchars IPA <strong>and</strong> Charles Wells Bombardier; the<br />
third pump is reserved <strong>for</strong> a rotating guest beer. The beers are,<br />
needless to say, always kept in perfect condition <strong>and</strong><br />
reasonably priced.<br />
There is a really huge clock,<br />
presumably ensuring that no<br />
one misses last orders! A<br />
recent addition is the patio<br />
area <strong>and</strong> gazebo with proper<br />
tables <strong>and</strong> separate wooden<br />
chairs. Mark told me it cost<br />
£60 gr<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> was built<br />
both to cater <strong>for</strong> smokers in<br />
the (heated in winter)<br />
covered area, <strong>and</strong> simply as a<br />
pleasant place to sit outside<br />
Since alterations took place some ten years ago, there is one<br />
horseshoe shaped room wrapped around the central bar, but the<br />
hallway from the main door has the effect of separating it into two<br />
distinct areas, <strong>and</strong> the left h<strong>and</strong> side is still referred to as the bar, the<br />
other the lounge. It is carpeted but with bare floorboards at the bar,<br />
<strong>and</strong> there are com<strong>for</strong>table upholstered settles <strong>and</strong> stools <strong>and</strong><br />
polished wooden tables. Attractive light fittings add to the ambience<br />
of the pub – neither too dim nor too bright. The bar side has a<br />
dartboard which is still in regular use, whilst the lounge has a nice<br />
old fireplace, real potted palms <strong>and</strong> an occasionally used piano.<br />
The absolute best real ale pub in Carlton!<br />
For a warm <strong>and</strong> friendly atmosphere<br />
visit us daily, 12 noon ‘till 11pm<br />
Traditional Beers<br />
3 ever-changing guests<br />
Bombardier always available<br />
<strong>New</strong>! Covered beer<br />
garden, ideal <strong>for</strong><br />
smokers!<br />
Satellite TV showing<br />
televised football.<br />
(soon to be available<br />
in beer garden)<br />
0115 961 8118<br />
Burton Road, Carlton (near Tesco)<br />
www.theblackshead.co.uk<br />
in the summer. There is also a<br />
function room available <strong>for</strong> hire,<br />
catering <strong>for</strong> up to 50 people.<br />
A welcome <strong>and</strong> unusual feature<br />
here is that free hot chicken wings<br />
are available on a help-your self<br />
basis from 5-7pm Monday to<br />
Friday! Meals of the<br />
straight<strong>for</strong>ward pub grub kind are<br />
served at very reasonable prices at<br />
lunchtimes, except Sunday. There is a<br />
popular general knowledge quiz every Monday night, <strong>and</strong> music quiz<br />
Sunday night. The pub has its own football team too, Cambridge<br />
Knights, playing in the Midl<strong>and</strong>s Amateur Alliance division 2. The<br />
team is sponsored by the GMB (General, Municipal, Boilermakers<br />
<strong>and</strong> Allied Trade Union) whose Midl<strong>and</strong> offices are next door. They<br />
also supplied the pub with its plasma screen – but, unusually in this<br />
day <strong>and</strong> age, it does not show sports – Mark <strong>and</strong> Carol feel that this<br />
can sometimes attract the<br />
wrong kind of trade. Instead<br />
you will simply see a guide to<br />
what’s on in the pub.<br />
Oh, <strong>and</strong> by the way, the<br />
background music here is<br />
pleasant but quiet enough<br />
to be unobtrusive – a<br />
perfect place to enjoy the<br />
beer <strong>and</strong> the conversation!<br />
Do give it a try!<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08<br />
19
In Praise of PUBlic Transport<br />
No. 51 of a series in which Spyke Golding looks at the use of buses, trams, trains <strong>and</strong> planes to visit pubs<br />
A Visit to Hartshorne in Derbyshire by bus<br />
I am pleased to report that the<br />
Department of Transport is at last<br />
looking into options <strong>for</strong> strengthening<br />
bus passenger representation. Hopefully<br />
this will lead to improvements in services<br />
– <strong>and</strong> in particular to the woefully<br />
inadequate services we had to suffer<br />
over the recent holiday period. I can see<br />
no excuse <strong>for</strong> not operating buses on<br />
Boxing Day <strong>and</strong> <strong>New</strong> Year’s Day. With a<br />
major football match on each occasion,<br />
<strong>and</strong> taxis charging up to double fare,<br />
how many people, unless living on the<br />
tram route, felt <strong>for</strong>ced to drive when<br />
they may still have been over the limit<br />
from the night be<strong>for</strong>e? It is all very well<br />
to say that bus drivers deserve a break<br />
too – our buses are a public service <strong>and</strong><br />
as such should, like the Police, Fire <strong>and</strong><br />
Ambulance services, always be there <strong>for</strong><br />
us. Also, I do not <strong>for</strong> one moment<br />
believe that there would not be drivers<br />
queuing up to work during the holiday<br />
if offered an appropriately enhanced<br />
rate of pay. I intend to continue to<br />
campaign <strong>for</strong> better holiday services <strong>and</strong><br />
would seek the support of readers in<br />
this issue – let us no longer<br />
be positively encouraged to<br />
drink <strong>and</strong> drive or stay at<br />
home! Another personal<br />
campaign I shall be pursuing<br />
regards the early running of<br />
buses from certain timing<br />
points, causing passengers<br />
to miss them. It is a pity that<br />
our normally excellent bus<br />
services are marred by this<br />
practice, which achieves<br />
nothing <strong>and</strong> causes ill feeling<br />
in would be passengers who<br />
miss them. The worst<br />
offenders seem to be the<br />
Mansfield Road services,<br />
which have been known to<br />
leave from the stop opposite<br />
the Lincolnshire Poacher up<br />
to ten minutes early – a big<br />
problem if they are the last<br />
buses into town <strong>and</strong><br />
passengers have midnight<br />
connections to make. NCT<br />
do tell me that steps are<br />
being taken to deal with the<br />
problems, <strong>and</strong> have agreed<br />
to meet me to discuss the<br />
issues – so watch this space!<br />
In my last article, I asked where, in our<br />
City Centre, could you still play darts! I<br />
got egg on my face with that one when<br />
I received a call from a pub that not only<br />
do I use regularly but also advertises in<br />
the Drinker, mentioning its dartboard!<br />
So, apologies to Bob <strong>and</strong> Carol at the<br />
<strong>New</strong>s House, Canal Street, <strong>for</strong> <strong>for</strong>getting<br />
them! Incidentally, no other darts pub<br />
has yet come to light in the City Centre<br />
– could they be the only one?<br />
Hartshorne is a pleasant village on the<br />
A514 between Melbourne <strong>and</strong><br />
Swadlincote. The earliest recorded<br />
mention of the village is in the<br />
Domesday Survey of 1086 where it is<br />
described as an Anglo-Saxon settlement.<br />
The village lies below a s<strong>and</strong>stone ridge<br />
that reaches around 600 feet above sea<br />
level at its highest point, <strong>and</strong> it is from<br />
the shape of this that the village is<br />
believed to get its name. Viewed from<br />
certain angles, the hill is said to<br />
resemble the shape of a stag or harts<br />
head. Hence, it is correctly pronounced<br />
Hart’s Horn, not Hart Shorn.<br />
Getting there was pretty<br />
straight<strong>for</strong>ward when I wrote this<br />
article in December <strong>and</strong> used the<br />
Arriva airlink 69 buses from East<br />
Midl<strong>and</strong>s Airport to connect with a<br />
Skylink bus from <strong>Nottingham</strong>. But<br />
once again I was let down by public<br />
transport when I tried to return in<br />
the daytime to take the photographs<br />
on Sunday January 6th, when I went<br />
all the way to the airport only to find<br />
that the service had been changed –<br />
but their website timetables had not<br />
been updated. (I did write to Arriva<br />
about this, but, at time of writing, 8<br />
days later, I had not even had the<br />
courtesy of a reply) The timings were<br />
such as I was unable to proceed, <strong>and</strong><br />
had travelled all the way to EMA<br />
fruitlessly! Although the 69 was still<br />
running, albeit to a different<br />
timetable, <strong>and</strong> only to Melbourne<br />
where you would need to change, it<br />
is rumoured that this may be<br />
discontinued shortly. So it is more<br />
convenient to go via Derby, where<br />
an Arriva 68 will take you there. This<br />
service runs from Morledge at 3<br />
minutes past the hour all day, <strong>and</strong><br />
returns to Derby at 31 minutes past<br />
the hour until 2231 – you can use the<br />
Red Arrow to connect, or the R4 or<br />
R5 if more convenient to where you<br />
live. The journey time is 57 minutes.<br />
20 www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08
Alight at the furthest pub, the Snooty<br />
Fox (1), which is nearly in Woodville,<br />
the next village. There’s nothing snooty<br />
about this place though - it is a down-toearth,<br />
friendly sports bar with a<br />
restaurant attached. The first thing you<br />
will notice on entering is the new<br />
smokers’ conservatory stuck right on the<br />
front of the pub. The front bar has<br />
plasma screen sport, a pool table,<br />
jukebox <strong>and</strong> darts, <strong>and</strong> a com<strong>for</strong>table,<br />
carpeted seating area. The brick <strong>and</strong><br />
stone walls are painted in a lurid yellow,<br />
In Praise of PUBlic Transport<br />
with the bare floorboards. At the rear on the<br />
right is a small restaurant, specialising in<br />
“Stonegrill” meals – these involve cooking<br />
meat or seafood yourself, at your table, on a<br />
hot stone. This treat will set you back around<br />
£14-15. On the left at the back is a good<br />
public bar with barstools, darts, pool, table<br />
football, plasma screen sports, <strong>and</strong> a very<br />
nice old fireplace. There is an excellent <strong>and</strong><br />
extensive outside drinking area, with lawns,<br />
picnic tables, flowers, shrubs <strong>and</strong> cedar<br />
trees.<br />
with lots of football prints including one of a<br />
very young looking Brian Clough with a<br />
Derby team. The back room has a carvery<br />
(closed on my visit) <strong>and</strong> beyond that a<br />
children’s room with pool. There is a pleasant<br />
lawn with picnic tables at the rear, with great<br />
views over rolling farml<strong>and</strong>. The only real ale<br />
on sale when I called was Marston’s<br />
Pedigree, but I was told that guests are<br />
sometimes available too.<br />
The Bull’s Head (2) is signed “Burtonwood,<br />
but, once again, Marston’s Pedigree is the<br />
ale. It is very food orientated – early Friday<br />
evening only two tables were not set <strong>for</strong><br />
meals. The three original rooms have been<br />
partly opened out, but it is still very<br />
characterful with lots of horse brasses, prints,<br />
musical instruments, china, old bottles, <strong>and</strong><br />
vintage suitcases. In the hearth you will find a<br />
set of miniature brass chairs, an old Imperial<br />
typewriter, a last <strong>and</strong> a sowing machine. Two<br />
large old h<strong>and</strong> operated drill st<strong>and</strong>s dominate<br />
one area <strong>and</strong> there is a Guinness Toucan ad<br />
with the pub’s name on it – the toucan is<br />
sporting cow horns! The menu has a<br />
seventies feel with some up-to-date additions.<br />
The Admiral Rodney (3) is the only pub I<br />
know with its own cricket pitch at the rear –<br />
actually I think it belongs to the village, but<br />
the outside seats are on its edge. What a<br />
nice way to watch a cricket match! This very<br />
popular pub has a set of porcelain bells in the<br />
left h<strong>and</strong> room; the main room is carpeted<br />
<strong>and</strong> has com<strong>for</strong>table upholstered chairs <strong>and</strong><br />
settles, cricketing prints, <strong>and</strong> sets of stumps<br />
<strong>and</strong> bails. At the rear, up three steps, is a<br />
snug area. There’s a good range of ales here<br />
– Pedigree <strong>and</strong> 4 guests. They were just<br />
putting Thornbridge Jaipur on as I arrived –<br />
what a welcome! There was also a Burton<br />
Bridge <strong>and</strong> a Derby beer (whose name I dare<br />
not mention in this City) <strong>and</strong> be<strong>for</strong>e I left<br />
another one was going on; although I didn’t<br />
see the pump clip I did hear a rather raucous<br />
local telling the barmaid that he was looking<br />
<strong>for</strong>ward to trying her <strong>Belvoir</strong>!<br />
The Chesterfield (4) serves good Marstons<br />
Pedigree, Fullers London Pride <strong>and</strong> Greene<br />
King Morl<strong>and</strong> Old Speckled Hen. The front<br />
room has a beamed ceiling but lacks<br />
atmosphere – the furniture just does not gel<br />
There’s a micro<strong>brewery</strong> in Woodville <strong>and</strong> the<br />
place to try its beers is the Mill Wheel (5).<br />
This pub is fronted by a 24-foot diameter<br />
working water mill that used to drive the<br />
machinery to make screws. Upstairs is a<br />
popular bistro serving quality food;<br />
downstairs a smart but characterful bar with<br />
original beams <strong>and</strong> wooden support pillars. It<br />
is carpeted, <strong>and</strong> sports com<strong>for</strong>table chairs<br />
<strong>and</strong> an old fireplace containing a modern<br />
wood burning stove. There is always a<br />
Tollgate beer from down the road; the three<br />
guests on my visit were Hop Back Summer<br />
Lightning, Oakham Bishops Farewell <strong>and</strong><br />
G.K. Abbott.<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08<br />
21
Ray’s Round<br />
A lot has been happening since the last edition, new pubs opening<br />
<strong>and</strong> others re-opening after refurbishments <strong>and</strong> changes of<br />
ownership, <strong>and</strong> news of another discount (see further down the<br />
column, well it’s one way of getting you to read it!!)<br />
22<br />
So this issue is not so much of a crawl, more of a gr<strong>and</strong> tour!<br />
First up, is the new Tynemill/Castle Rock pub at Mapperley, the Bread <strong>and</strong><br />
Bitter. It’s on Woodthorpe Drive (two doors down from the Plainsman), it<br />
has been converted from old bakery buildings (hence the name) To enter;<br />
you have to run the gauntlet of the smokers in the patio area. There is one<br />
bar area, as you enter, with twelve h<strong>and</strong>pumps, <strong>and</strong> two further seating<br />
areas to the side <strong>and</strong> rear of this.<br />
The rear area has the frontage of two of the old bakery ovens, retained on<br />
one wall, the rest of the walls have old <strong>brewery</strong> memorabilia of those<br />
companies long since closed.<br />
On the bar you will find Castle Rock Harvest Pale 3.8% £2.20, Castle Rock<br />
Preservation 4.4% £2.40, Castle Rock Hemlock 4% £2.30, others that have<br />
been on are Phoenix Monkey Town Mild 3.9% £2.30, Copper Dragon<br />
Golden Pippin 3.9% £2.40, Oakham Bishops Farewell 4.6% £2.60, Hopback<br />
Summer Lightning 5% £2.60, Thornbridge Jaipur 5.9% £2.70 as with all<br />
Tynemill pubs, the beers change on a regular basis. One word of caution,<br />
when buying a half of a beer that is an odd number (i.e. £2.30) you will be<br />
charged an extra 5p (£1.20) I can only assume, that the till can’t cope with<br />
5p’s.<br />
Well worth a visit <strong>and</strong> judging by the number of people in, when I have<br />
visited, something that the locals have been waiting <strong>for</strong>.<br />
If you are going from town, get the number 45 bus from Queens Street,<br />
(you can get the 44, but that goes round through Netherfield first)<br />
My next port of call is Canning Circus; here two pubs have undergone<br />
refurbishments following changes of ownership.<br />
First The Falcon, this has been redecorated throughout, the only structural<br />
change being an opening in the wall between the main bar <strong>and</strong> the small<br />
side room <strong>and</strong> new windows put in. Upstairs, the restaurant has been reintroduced.<br />
All in all, the place now has a much brighter <strong>and</strong> friendlier feel. The bar, once<br />
again, has four cask ales available. The three regulars are: Adnams Bitter<br />
3.7% £2.50, Caledonian Deuchars IPA 3.8% £2.50 <strong>and</strong> Greene King Abbot<br />
5% £2.40. The guest beer was Black Sheep Bitter 3.8% £2.50 A welcome<br />
addition to the “circus circuit”<br />
Just across the road is The Running Horse now known as “The Runner”<br />
there has been a major change inside, with the bar being moved to the back<br />
of the pub <strong>and</strong> as a consequence, the area around the stage greatly<br />
increased. Two beers are on, Caledonian Deuchars IPA 3.8% £2.60 <strong>and</strong><br />
Fullers London Pride 4.1% £2.60 although these can change depending on<br />
customers wishes.<br />
It will continue to be a live music venue. Monday to Wednesday will be free<br />
entry <strong>and</strong> Thursday to Sunday there will be a door charge, this will vary<br />
depending on who is playing. They will open between 7pm & 11pm, but if<br />
there is sufficient trade, they have a license until 2am<br />
And they already have some interesting b<strong>and</strong>s booked, so get down there<br />
<strong>and</strong> support live music <strong>and</strong> get a decent drink into the bargain.<br />
Next, it’s down Ilkeston Road to the large isl<strong>and</strong> at the junction with the<br />
Western Boulevard (a 28 bus will get you there)<br />
The Crown is on the isl<strong>and</strong>, it has been recently refurbished <strong>and</strong> has reintroduced<br />
cask ale. Two ales are available; Courage Best Bitter 4% £1.90<br />
<strong>and</strong> Courage Directors 4.8% £2.06. (Both brewed by Wells & Young’s at<br />
Bed<strong>for</strong>d)<br />
It is a large roadhouse type pub with a central isl<strong>and</strong> bar with seating all<br />
round it, there are a number of large screen TV’s dotted about <strong>and</strong> there is a<br />
pool table to the rear. Wednesday nights are quiz <strong>and</strong> curry nights, with the<br />
curry costing just £2.<br />
Finally, I’m back across town to Wil<strong>for</strong>d Lane, <strong>and</strong> the Beeches Hotel, or<br />
more precisely, Oscars Bar <strong>and</strong> restaurant located therein. I have only<br />
recently been told about this, so if lots of people already know about it, then<br />
<strong>for</strong>give me. Two Castle Rock beers are on the bar, Harvest Pale 3.8% £2.70<br />
<strong>and</strong> Elsie Mo 4.7% £2.70 It is a very modern lounge bar, bright <strong>and</strong> airy.<br />
There is one bar with a large amount of seating area; the restaurant is off to<br />
one side. Bar meals are also served <strong>and</strong> from the evidence of the night I was<br />
in, the do a lot of them. Background music is played with a large screen<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08<br />
showing the music video, also there is a wide screen TV behind the bar<br />
showing football, but you need to be at the bar or seated close by to see it.<br />
So if you’re in the area, why not pop in <strong>and</strong> have a look. (The number 1 bus<br />
to Loughborough goes pass the door)<br />
And now on to the discount, this is available at the Black’s Head, Carlton<br />
Square, it is 20% off a pint on Monday nights only <strong>and</strong> will start on the 4th<br />
of February (<strong>and</strong> yes, that is a Monday!!) As usual, it is on production of<br />
your membership card. All beers are £2.50 a pint, regardless of strength.<br />
They had Black Sheep Emmerdale 4.2%, Wells & Young’s Bombardier 4.3%<br />
<strong>and</strong> Greene King Old Speckled Hen 4.5% on, when I was in, <strong>and</strong> they<br />
change on a regular basis. It is a very pleasant two-roomed pub with friendly<br />
staff <strong>and</strong> customers <strong>and</strong> plenty of seating to rest your weary bones. For<br />
those looking <strong>for</strong> a change from the wife’s cooking, or even your own, the<br />
pub had a curry evening on every second Thursday (it started on January<br />
10th) <strong>and</strong> you get a curry <strong>and</strong> a pint <strong>for</strong> £4.50 (buses 25 & 27 turn off just<br />
be<strong>for</strong>e the pub or the Pathfinder 100 to Southwell uses the stop outside the<br />
door)<br />
Now, a reminder of the other <strong>CAMRA</strong> discounts available:<br />
The Fox & Crown, Bas<strong>for</strong>d, 25p a pint, at all times<br />
The White Horse at Ruddington has a 20p a pint discount, which is<br />
available at any time. The Three Crowns, also at Ruddington, 25p off a pint,<br />
Sunday to Wednesday, The Queen Adelaide, on Windmill Lane is also<br />
offering a 20p off a pint, The Sun Inn at Eastwood, here we are being<br />
offered a 15p a pint discount at all times. The Navigation on Wil<strong>for</strong>d Street,<br />
is offering 10p off a pint; all day, every day. Great Northern Inns group;<br />
Fellows, Southbank, The Approach <strong>and</strong> the Globe, you can get a 20p<br />
discount on all pints (<strong>and</strong>, 10p off a half in Southbank <strong>and</strong> the Globe) this is<br />
available at all times. (The Approach has all Locale beers being offered at<br />
£1.80 a pint between 8pm <strong>and</strong> 11pm on Mondays, so no discount on this<br />
day)<br />
And The Salutation, is offering 20p off all pints over £2.19. (Don’t <strong>for</strong>get,<br />
that this is in the SIBA scheme, so a lot of micro <strong>brewery</strong> beers are now on<br />
offer)<br />
So please take advantage of these reductions, so that the various hostelries<br />
know that we do appreciate their generous offers.<br />
All the above offers can be obtained by simply showing your <strong>CAMRA</strong><br />
membership card.<br />
As the credit card<br />
adverts say, “never LEICESTER BEER ER FESTIVALL<br />
leave home without<br />
it”!<br />
12th -<br />
15th March 2008<br />
There has never We’re opening our doors<br />
been a better time<br />
again to offer at least<br />
to be a <strong>CAMRA</strong><br />
200<br />
0 Beers from<br />
member, so if you Leicestershire, Rutl<strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong><br />
aren’t a member,<br />
other areas<br />
plus 30 real<br />
Ciders<br />
you had better join,<br />
&Perries <strong>and</strong> local Wines<br />
quick!!<br />
And don’t <strong>for</strong>get<br />
that Tynemill with<br />
their ‘one over the<br />
eight’ promotion<br />
with free beer <strong>and</strong> a<br />
number of<br />
promotional items<br />
to be saved <strong>for</strong> is<br />
at the<br />
still going strong.<br />
Charotar<br />
Patidar Samaj<br />
Cheers, Ray.<br />
Entrance on Bay Street,<br />
off St Margaret's Way<br />
(behind J Farthings s&So<br />
Son<br />
Plumbers/Next to<br />
Leicester VW)<br />
Leicester LE1 3EB<br />
Contact<br />
Keith Williams 07989 272717<br />
Email: keithedmundwilliams@yahoo.co.uk<br />
CHURCH GATE GATE<br />
Festival lO<br />
Opening<br />
Times<br />
Wednesday esday 5pm-11pm<br />
Thursday 11am to 11pm<br />
1pm<br />
Friday 11am 1am to 11.30pm<br />
Saturday 12 noon to 11pm1pm<br />
Non-members:<br />
e<br />
Weds £2.00<br />
Thurs after 4pm £2.00<br />
0<br />
Fri after 4pm £3.00<br />
Sat all day £2.00<br />
Souvenir rF<br />
Festival Glass £2 Refundable<br />
Authentic Indian &Traditional English<br />
Fayre<br />
available abl<br />
le throughout the festival.<br />
CARD CARRYING <strong>CAMRA</strong><br />
MEMBERS<br />
FREE ADMISSION!<br />
SION!<br />
SANVEY Y<br />
GATE<br />
To<br />
Clock Tower<br />
<strong>and</strong> London Road<br />
Railway Station<br />
CRAVEN VEN STREET STREET<br />
STREET<br />
A459 BURLEYS<br />
WAY<br />
Y<br />
FRIDAY Y ST<br />
FRIDAY Y STREET<br />
A6 ST TMA<br />
MARGARETS ARGARETS WA<br />
WA<br />
WAY<br />
AY<br />
St Margarets rets<br />
Church<br />
h<br />
St Margarets<br />
re<br />
Bus B<br />
Station<br />
tion<br />
Leics<br />
VW<br />
SOUTH CHURCH GATE<br />
BAY Y ST. S<br />
.<br />
CANNING NI<br />
PL<br />
GRAFTON PL<br />
WE ARE<br />
HERE<br />
ST. . JOHN JOHN S<br />
STREET<br />
STREET<br />
WATLING TLING STREET<br />
For further in<strong>for</strong>mation - www.leicestercamra.org.uka.org.uk<br />
EET
Tales from the North<br />
It only seems a few weeks<br />
ago that I was writing to<br />
say that a new L<strong>and</strong>lord<br />
had arrived at the Green<br />
Dragon, Hucknall <strong>and</strong> it<br />
has just happened again.<br />
Carole Henson, previously in<br />
charge at the Yew Tree,<br />
took over towards the end<br />
of November <strong>and</strong> turned the<br />
pub back into one of the most popular venues in Hucknall. Five everchanging<br />
real ales are on offer <strong>and</strong> the pub is open 12-12 seven days a<br />
week (food available 12-3; 5-8 Mon-Sat <strong>and</strong> Sunday lunch).<br />
The pub has something <strong>for</strong> everyone including darts on Mondays,<br />
Karaoke on Thursdays <strong>and</strong> knock out pool on Tuesdays.<br />
Special charity nights are a<br />
feature of the pub <strong>and</strong> ‘Help the<br />
Heroes’ night takes place on<br />
Thursday 3rd February 2008.<br />
Darron remains in charge of the<br />
cellar, a role he has carried out<br />
<strong>for</strong> the last five years, <strong>and</strong> this<br />
ensures that all the ales are in<br />
excellent condition.<br />
The Gate at Awsworth, one of<br />
the finest examples of an<br />
unspoilt pub, now serves Greene<br />
King XX Mild. This follows the<br />
decision of GK to discontinue<br />
the ‘‘H&H’ Mild that they were brewing in Bury St<br />
Edmunds.<br />
The Badger Box, Annesley has also benefited from<br />
the arrival of Greene King XX Mild having similarly<br />
lost the GK version of H&H Mild.<br />
The Three Ponds, Nuthall has had a make over both internally <strong>and</strong> externally. The pub, which<br />
has a large food trade, has been smartened up <strong>and</strong> a new menu was launched to coincide with<br />
the pub re-opened at the end of November. Anne Lickorish, who jointly runs the pub with<br />
Anthony Lickorish, said that they were very pleased with the work <strong>and</strong> expected to attract new<br />
<strong>and</strong> old customers to the pub. Externally the garden area has been improved <strong>and</strong> a new<br />
children’s play area added. Currently the pub offers four cask ales from the Greene King range<br />
<strong>and</strong> is open 11-11 during the week <strong>and</strong> 11-12 Friday <strong>and</strong> Saturday (food 12-9). Families are<br />
welcome although children are expected to depart be<strong>for</strong>e 9.00 pm.<br />
The Victoria Hotel<br />
Next to Beeston Railway Station<br />
85 Dovecote Lane, Beeston, <strong>Nottingham</strong>, NG9 1JG Tel: 0115 9254049<br />
or visit our website at www.victoriabeeston.co.uk.<br />
Easter Beer Festival: Fri-Mon 21-24 March<br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong> <strong>Nottingham</strong> Pub of the Year 2005<br />
Thu-Sun 21-25 Feb: Local Brewers’ weekend<br />
National Good Beer Guide 1996-2008<br />
12 Real ales always on, including<br />
a mild, <strong>and</strong> a porter or stout<br />
Member of <strong>CAMRA</strong> Locale scheme<br />
Live Music every Sunday evening<br />
Jazz every Monday evening<br />
The Royal Oak has confirmed that another<br />
Beer Festival is to take place this Spring. The<br />
Festival, to be held in the Cabin at the rear of<br />
the pub, opens at 4.00 pm on Thursday 27th<br />
March. Friday <strong>and</strong> Saturday hours are 12-12<br />
<strong>and</strong> Sunday it will be open 12-7.<br />
Approximately twenty beers will be on offer,<br />
along with cider <strong>and</strong> in the evening live music<br />
is planned. Further in<strong>for</strong>mation:<br />
0115 9383110.<br />
If you have any in<strong>for</strong>mation relating to pubs<br />
in ‘the north’ please contact me at<br />
<strong>and</strong>rewludlow@nottinghamcamra.org<br />
This is a non-smoking pub both inside <strong>and</strong> out<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08<br />
23
LocAle<br />
A <strong>New</strong> Year toast with a difference…<br />
LocAle Scheme tops half-century!<br />
Local pub goers have something to celebrate <strong>for</strong> 2008…the number of participating pubs in<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong>’s LocAle Scheme has sailed way past the half-century mark!<br />
Almost 70 pubs <strong>and</strong> bars have now joined the scheme, which encourages real ale outlets to offer at<br />
least one beer from a <strong>brewery</strong> situated within 20 miles of its front door. So more <strong>and</strong> more customers<br />
are finding out just how good the ales produced by our excellent local brewers really are In fact more than that, local people are<br />
starting to take a pride in drinking our local products rather than indistinctive national br<strong>and</strong>s that have no local connections.<br />
The environment is also a winner as these local brews are delivered from just down the road rather than shipped in from such places as<br />
Bury St Edmunds, which involves a heavy truck making a round trip of 220 miles.<br />
Chilwell<br />
Dunham on Trent<br />
Heanor<br />
Chequers Inn<br />
Ilkeston<br />
Bridge Inn<br />
Red Lion<br />
Conservative Club<br />
Dewdrop Inn<br />
Langley Mill<br />
Observatory Poacher Spanish Bar<br />
Long Eaton<br />
Inn the Middle<br />
Morton<br />
Railway<br />
<strong>New</strong>ark<br />
Hole in the Wall<br />
Twitchell<br />
Full Moon Inn<br />
Southwell<br />
Fox & Crown<br />
Mailcoach<br />
Sutton on Trent<br />
Vine<br />
Wollaton<br />
24<br />
Old Coach House<br />
Bramley Apple<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08<br />
Lord Nelson<br />
Hemlock Stone
DRIVEN TO DRINK BY<br />
GLOBAL WARMING<br />
By Erik Peterson<br />
Here at the Petersen Institute of Science,<br />
we love nothing more than frying up the<br />
bacon of hypothesis, slopping it together<br />
with the baked beans of empirical<br />
research <strong>and</strong> the mushrooms of scientific<br />
method, <strong>and</strong> serving it all up with the<br />
lukewarm tea of extrapolation.<br />
But science isn't all fun, games <strong>and</strong><br />
breakfast. It also requires us to look at<br />
the larger world, at economic trends <strong>and</strong><br />
social problems <strong>and</strong> then, confronted<br />
with what we see, go drink a beer. Or<br />
several. We here at the institute are<br />
pretty sure it's your round.<br />
This leads us to Today's Important<br />
Science Question: why is my beer getting<br />
so freakin' expensive?<br />
A) Because the planet hates you <strong>and</strong> is<br />
meting out its furious punishment.<br />
Q) Ah. This'd be the global warming,<br />
then?<br />
A) Oh yes. As worldwide weather patterns<br />
continue to have something of the Book of<br />
Revelation about them, crops suffer. Crops<br />
that provide the basics many people<br />
depend upon to make that which they need<br />
to survive.<br />
Q) Like hops <strong>and</strong> barley?<br />
A) Bingo. The hops <strong>and</strong> barley farmers can<br />
hardly harvest anything in weather<br />
conditions featuring flood/drought/raining<br />
toads. So what they can harvest goes to<br />
market at a skyrocketing price, where it is<br />
then bought by the breweries, who pass<br />
the costs onto the punters, who give their<br />
money to the pub l<strong>and</strong>lord, who passes it<br />
onto the doctor in the frostbite ward he's<br />
now had installed at the end of the bar <strong>for</strong><br />
all the patrons who smoke <strong>and</strong> now have to<br />
st<strong>and</strong> outside whenever they want a<br />
cigarette. This is how Britain's healthcare<br />
system is slowly becoming privatised.<br />
Q) But hang on a minute. I went into my<br />
local 24-hour super-mega-uberstore the<br />
other evening <strong>and</strong> they were selling that<br />
Euro-lager from the TV adverts <strong>for</strong> like<br />
12p a four-pack.<br />
A) That's because they're not actually trying<br />
to make money off the beer. They're like<br />
that one kid in school who was a real loser<br />
but came from a rich family, <strong>and</strong> he'd offer<br />
to buy beer <strong>for</strong> the parties so you'd be his<br />
mate. The beer was kind of a loss-leader <strong>for</strong><br />
him; it meant your<br />
friends on the rugby<br />
team might not hold<br />
him upside down over<br />
the toilet anymore.<br />
Q) So the big chains<br />
just want to be<br />
popular?<br />
A) Totally! They're<br />
willing to give you all<br />
the beer you want as long as you hang out<br />
with them, maybe check out their produce<br />
aisles, see what you two have in common.<br />
Like, you like breakfast cereals? Omigod, so<br />
do they! Aisle three!<br />
Q) So if people can still get the big-br<strong>and</strong><br />
bottled beers cheap in supermarkets <strong>and</strong><br />
then drink them at home, what happens<br />
to the smaller breweries <strong>and</strong> local pubs?<br />
A) They assume that a discerning public's<br />
eventual thirst <strong>for</strong> quality will win the day.<br />
Q) Heh, yeah. But seriously, what do they<br />
do?<br />
A) Well, they get behind campaigns like<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong>’s LocAle, which<br />
encourages Notts punters to seek out<br />
different locally produced real ales, thereby<br />
supporting local brewers <strong>and</strong> doing their bit<br />
to cut down the carbon footprint made by<br />
all these big international beers so that beer<br />
drinkers can help improve the situation<br />
that's ruining the hops <strong>and</strong> barley crops in<br />
the first place.<br />
Q) Whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute.<br />
You're telling me that I can go out to a<br />
pub, look <strong>for</strong> a pint from Castle Rock or<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> Brewery ...<br />
A) Or Magpie or Mallards or ... well, there's<br />
a decent-sized list.<br />
Q) Right. I can look <strong>for</strong> these, sample<br />
some of them <strong>and</strong> in doing so be helping<br />
to save the environment?<br />
A) Yep.<br />
Q) I love environmentalism.<br />
A) Good. It's still your round.<br />
(This article first appeared in the<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> Evening Post)<br />
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LocAle<br />
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<br />
Young members’ LocAle<br />
pub crawl<br />
On Saturday March 1st young members will<br />
be embarking on a pub crawl of LocAle pubs,<br />
<strong>and</strong> whatsmore, each <strong>and</strong> every one taking<br />
part will receive a Locale T-Shirt. They will be<br />
meeting at the Vat <strong>and</strong> Fiddle, opposite the<br />
train station on Queensbridge road at 11a.m.<br />
Participants will have the opportunity to visit<br />
some of the pubs on the scheme to assess its<br />
success, <strong>and</strong>, of course, to drink the beers.<br />
Whilst most pubs on the crawl will be in the<br />
city <strong>centre</strong>, there will be a quick trip over the<br />
Trent to West Bridg<strong>for</strong>d, <strong>and</strong> a visit to Bas<strong>for</strong>d<br />
by tram. Participants should bring their<br />
membership cards in order to participate in<br />
the various discount schemes in some of the<br />
pubs.<br />
Here are some of the outlets they hope to<br />
visit: Bunkers Hill Inn, Hockley;<br />
Fellows Morton & Clayton, Canal Street;<br />
Gatehouse, Derby Road; Globe, London Road;<br />
Kean’s Head, St Mary's Gate; The Moot,<br />
Carlton Road, Sneinton; <strong>New</strong>shouse, Canal<br />
Street; Old Angel, Stoney Street; Salutation,<br />
Maid Marion Way; Monkey Tree, Bridg<strong>for</strong>d<br />
Road; Southbank, Trent Bridge; Strat<strong>for</strong>d<br />
Haven, Strat<strong>for</strong>d Road; Fox <strong>and</strong> Crown,<br />
Church Street; Horse <strong>and</strong> Groom, Rad<strong>for</strong>d<br />
Road; Horse <strong>and</strong> Jockey, Mill Street; Lion,<br />
Mosley Street.<br />
For more in<strong>for</strong>mation about the LocAle pub<br />
crawl, please contact, Kieran Atherton, the<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> Branch Young Members Contact,<br />
at kieranatherton@hotmail.co.uk or by phone<br />
on 07738 706518.<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08 25
Across the Pond<br />
Andrew Ludlow takes<br />
the LocAle scheme to<br />
the <strong>New</strong> World<br />
At the end of last year I gave a presentation to the Central<br />
Florida Home Brewers (CFHB) relating to the <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
LocAle scheme. Since then I have been in regular contact<br />
with members of the CFHB <strong>and</strong> was pleased to be told that<br />
the idea of ‘localness’ is causing quite a stir in the States, so<br />
much so that The <strong>New</strong> Ox<strong>for</strong>d American Dictionary 2007<br />
Word of the Year is ‘ Locavore’.<br />
According to the dictionary ‘Locavore’ was coined two years<br />
ago by a group of four women in San Francisco who proposed<br />
that local residents should try to eat only food grown or<br />
produced within a 100-mile radius (America is a big Country so<br />
100 miles over there equates to 20 miles here). Other regional<br />
movements have emerged since then, though some groups<br />
refer to themselves as ‘localvores’ rather than ‘locavores’.<br />
Ben Zimmer, Editor <strong>for</strong> American dictionaries at Ox<strong>for</strong>d<br />
University Press said “The word ‘locavore’ shows how foodlovers<br />
can enjoy what they eat while still appreciating the<br />
impact they have on the environment. It’s significant in that it<br />
brings together eating <strong>and</strong> ecology in a new way”<br />
So next time you are in the pub tell the L<strong>and</strong>lord that you are a<br />
Locavore <strong>and</strong> dem<strong>and</strong> a pint of LocAle!<br />
My thanks go to Ron <strong>and</strong> Sharon Montefusco of Dothan,<br />
Alabama <strong>for</strong> tipping me off about Locavores.<br />
Ron <strong>and</strong> Sharon run the ‘Biohazard Brewery’, although<br />
technically a home brew operation they use a half barrel plant<br />
<strong>and</strong> brew a range of different types of beers <strong>and</strong> ales. As far as<br />
I know they are the first in America to join the <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong> LocAle scheme – see photo. If you would like to know<br />
more about their brewing check out their web site<br />
http://biohazard.veriqikdsl.com/<br />
26 www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08
Tasting Notes<br />
John Westlake has a Duvel<br />
of a time in Belgium...<br />
When a shoemaker friend of Albert Moortgat pronounced the<br />
straw coloured ale he had just brewed to celebrate the end of<br />
the Great War “a true devil of a beer”, the epithet stuck <strong>and</strong> so<br />
was born Duvel, one of Belgium’s almost legendary beers.<br />
Originally founded by Albert’s father, Jan-Leonard Moortgat, in 1871,<br />
the <strong>brewery</strong> dominates the village of Breendonk, not far to the south<br />
of Antwerp <strong>and</strong> remains to this day firmly under the control of the<br />
Moortgat family. However, the Company has certainly not rested on<br />
its laurels over the years <strong>and</strong> in addition to producing a range of<br />
speciality beers, including the excellent Maredsous Benedictine Abbey<br />
range, it has also exp<strong>and</strong>ed overseas. In 2003 they purchased the<br />
Ommegang Brewery of Cooperstown, <strong>New</strong> York, a speciality brewer<br />
with a reputation across the pond <strong>for</strong> its range of Belgian style beers<br />
<strong>and</strong> more recently, acquiring a 50 percent holding in the Czech based<br />
Bernard Brewery, thus providing a firm foothold in central Europe.<br />
However, there can be no doubt that Duvel is the jewel in the<br />
Moortgat crown.<br />
Brewed using Belgian malt, seasoned with Czech Saaz <strong>and</strong> Styrian<br />
hops <strong>and</strong> interestingly, fermented with a Scottish yeast strain dating<br />
back to 1918, Duvel is an unpasteurised, bottle-conditioned beer of<br />
great depth <strong>and</strong> complexity, which undergoes a unique conditioning<br />
process at the <strong>brewery</strong>, first in a warm cellar <strong>for</strong> ten days followed by<br />
a further six weeks cold-conditioning at 5° Celsius. From start to<br />
finish, the whole brewing process takes a remarkable two months.<br />
Carefully poured into its own distinctive stem glass, Duvel radiates a<br />
clear pale gold topped with an ample, rocky head with good<br />
The Queen Adelaide<br />
99, Windmill Lane, Sneinton, <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
Tel. 0115 9580 607<br />
lacework. The fruity nose boasts a powerful smack of hops with hints<br />
of Poire William, whilst the palate is crisp <strong>and</strong> again dominated by<br />
spicy hops, balanced by sweet malt flavours. The long <strong>and</strong><br />
surprisingly dry finish belies the beer’s not insignificant strength (8.5<br />
percent abv), which can be dangerously moreish <strong>for</strong> those not fond<br />
of nursing hangovers! Incidentally, tipping in the sediment is an<br />
option preferred by many aficionados <strong>and</strong> gives the beer an<br />
inevitable, milky hue whilst imparting a more astringent, tart <strong>and</strong><br />
yeasty character on the tongue.<br />
But enough of the technicalities, it’s<br />
time to consider where a glass or two<br />
might best be enjoyed, <strong>and</strong> there is<br />
nowhere better than some of the<br />
excellent bars to be found in Brussels,<br />
Belgium’s much underrated capital with<br />
its magnificent Gr<strong>and</strong>’ Place <strong>and</strong> now<br />
so easily accessible from <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
via St Pancras International.<br />
Four real ales, mainly local breweries<br />
£2.20 pint; 20p discount with <strong>CAMRA</strong> card<br />
• Food served 7 days a week with choice of daily specials<br />
• Sunday Lunch from £6.95, two course £8.95<br />
three course £9.95 (12 - 4pm)<br />
• Happy Hours 2pm - 5pm Monday - Friday<br />
• FREE pool Monday - Thursday<br />
• Big screen T.V., Sky Sports & Setanta, Pool & Darts<br />
• Two beer gardens with superb panoramic views of City<br />
• Two function rooms available <strong>for</strong> hire<br />
• Conference facilities<br />
• Old time singalong Sats. 8.00 in the Snug Room. Wartime<br />
favourites!<br />
The iconic image of Brussels,<br />
bizarrely, is a diminutive statue<br />
of a small boy relieving himself<br />
but sadly, few of the<br />
attendant, giggling tourists<br />
realise just how good a<br />
watering hole is st<strong>and</strong>ing just<br />
behind them.<br />
Poechenellekelder, accessed<br />
via a spiral staircase, offers an<br />
extensive beer list in<br />
welcoming, simply furnished<br />
rooms festooned with an<br />
eclectic array of bric-a-brac <strong>and</strong><br />
puppetry figures.<br />
Not far away, at 55 Rue des<br />
Alexiens, Fleur en Papier Dorée<br />
is reputedly the oldest bar in Brussels <strong>and</strong> has recently benefited from<br />
a sympathetic restoration, whilst just up the hill at number 67, steps<br />
lead down to La Porte Noire, a 16th century brick vaulted wine cellar<br />
with rustic bench seating <strong>and</strong> over 130 beers to choose from.<br />
28<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08
Close to the Bourse, Falststaff,<br />
at 17 Rue Henri Maus, has a<br />
more limited selection but is<br />
still well worth a visit, if only to<br />
marvel at its gloriously<br />
authentic, fin de siècle<br />
interior, whilst on the other<br />
side of the Bourse, Cirio is an<br />
equally impressive, original<br />
Bruxellois art nouveau café.<br />
From here it is a short step<br />
to a trio of café bars tucked<br />
away up blind alleys: La Bécasse off Rue Tabora <strong>and</strong> L’Imaige de<br />
Nostre Dame off nearby Rue Marché aux Herbes, together with<br />
Bon Vieux Temps, almost next door <strong>and</strong> the oldest <strong>and</strong> more<br />
atmospheric of the three.<br />
Just a few blocks towards Gare Centrale (Central Station), at 4a<br />
Impasse de la Fidélité off Rue des Bouchers, the Delirium beer<br />
café offers an awesome choice of over 2000 beers including 14<br />
on tap. Most of the action takes place in the cellar bar where<br />
old barrels serve as tables <strong>and</strong> assorted breweriana smothers<br />
the walls <strong>and</strong> just about everywhere else. Definitely not to be missed,<br />
even if getting served can sometimes be a pain.<br />
Closer yet to Gare Centrale,<br />
A La Mort Subite can be<br />
found at 7 Rue Montagne<br />
aux Herbes Potagères <strong>and</strong> is<br />
probably the finest surving,<br />
fin de siècle long bar in the<br />
City. Mort Subite gueuze<br />
beers, Duvel <strong>and</strong> a good<br />
few others can all be<br />
enjoyed in this splendid,<br />
historic setting, complete<br />
with suitably detached<br />
waiter service.<br />
Bier Circus, at 47 Rue de l’Enseignement, is about a 20 minutes walk<br />
away beyond the cathedral but well worth the ef<strong>for</strong>t. Now more a<br />
bistro featuring ‘cuisine a la bière’ than the simple beer café it used to<br />
be, Bier Circus nonetheless continues to offer over 170 excellent <strong>and</strong><br />
varied brews. Meanwhile, closer to Gare du Midi <strong>and</strong> the Eurostar<br />
terminal, Warm Water at 25 Rue des Renards, not far from the vast<br />
edifice of the Palais de Justice is a cheerful, unpretentious sort of place<br />
<strong>and</strong> a rare outlet <strong>for</strong> draught Girardin beers.<br />
Finally, if time permits a trip further out, head west along the N8 to<br />
Schepdaal where the Rare Vos is a charming old tavern overlooking the<br />
Market Place. Girardin brew a splendid beer especially <strong>for</strong> them <strong>and</strong> the<br />
traditional Belgian cooking is both hearty <strong>and</strong> thoroughly<br />
recommendable, especially the horse steaks. And if it’s Sunday,<br />
another <strong>and</strong> very special treat lies a little further out, opposite St.<br />
Ursula’s Church in the pleasant village of Eizeringen. In de Verzekering<br />
Tegen de Grote Dorst (Insurance Against Great Thirst) is a superb<br />
example of the sort of simple beerhouse, which was no doubt common<br />
in this part of Payottenl<strong>and</strong> 100 years ago. Rescued from oblivion by<br />
two brothers when the lady who had run the place <strong>for</strong> the last 51 years<br />
finally retired on Christmas Eve 1999, its two beautifully restored bars<br />
complete with pot stove <strong>and</strong> wind-up gramophone are only open<br />
Sundays <strong>and</strong> public holidays from 10.00 to13.30. More museum,<br />
perhaps, than drinking den, ‘Dorst’ specialises in the spontaneously<br />
fermented lambic beers <strong>for</strong> which the<br />
region is so famous <strong>and</strong> offers probably<br />
the best selection to be found anywhere<br />
in Belgium, including examples from<br />
Drie Fonteinen, Hanssens, Girardin, De<br />
Cam <strong>and</strong> Cantillon. And if that’s not<br />
good enough <strong>for</strong> you, they can<br />
probably rustle up the odd bottle or<br />
two of Duvel.<br />
Tasting Notes<br />
Postscript:<br />
In November a certain celebrated local brewer, who had better<br />
remain nameless, asked a fellow curmudgeon, the Irritable Cellarman<br />
no less, to accompany him on trip to Brussels. He had never been to<br />
Belgium <strong>and</strong> was keen to sample the well-regarded beers on their<br />
own territory. However our hero had never ever travelled on a plane<br />
be<strong>for</strong>e <strong>and</strong> was underst<strong>and</strong>ably feeling a little apprehensive as they<br />
waited at the airport <strong>for</strong> their departure, having already checked in<br />
online. When they announced "please proceed to the gate with your<br />
passport” he opened up his br<strong>and</strong> spanking new passport - only to<br />
find that he had brought his wife's by mistake!<br />
Needless to say he was refused boarding <strong>and</strong> was left st<strong>and</strong>ing at the<br />
departure gate as the plane headed off towards the beery delights of<br />
Brussels. However BMI found him a seat on a later flight <strong>and</strong> his wife<br />
made a mercy dash to the airport with his passport, so he had to<br />
make his first ever flight on his own, being talked through what to do<br />
at the other end via a mobile phone. However the weekend<br />
otherwise proved a success <strong>and</strong> they were only two hours late <strong>for</strong><br />
their table reservation that evening <strong>for</strong> some splendid nosh <strong>and</strong><br />
excellent beer at the delightful Spinnekopke restaurant that<br />
specialises in beer cuisine (bizarrely the name means "In The Spider's<br />
Little Head" ). Amongst many other very good bars they also visited<br />
In de Verzekering Tegen de Grote Dorst, as mentioned above, <strong>and</strong><br />
found it fascinating. Although enjoying the rest of the many beers<br />
sampled our hero steadfastly refused to drink the various geuezes<br />
<strong>and</strong> draught lambics that were encountered along the way, including<br />
at a visit to the famous Cantillon Brewery, declaring that any selfrespecting<br />
British brewer would chuck these world-renown<br />
spontaneously fermented brews down the drain!<br />
So who is the local brewer in question? We are not saying me duck!<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08<br />
29
Post Box<br />
Cold beer<br />
Sir,<br />
As the local Cask Marque Assessor I just have to reply to the comments about Cask Marque made<br />
by the Irritable Cellarman in Issue 83 of the <strong>Nottingham</strong> Drinker. He complains that pubs that have<br />
achieved the Cask Marque accreditation dispense their beers at too low a temperature. Well, it is<br />
true that a pub serving beers below 10 o C can achieve Cask Marque status, but they are very much<br />
the exception, rather than the rule.<br />
Cask Marque score four parameters during their inspections; temperature, appearance, aroma <strong>and</strong><br />
flavour. Each parameter can be scored 5, 3, 2 or 0. Each <strong>and</strong> every beer must score a minimum of 16<br />
/ 20 <strong>for</strong> the account to pass. Two passes are required to gain accreditation. Within the temperature<br />
parameter a beer dispensed at 9.5 o C would score only 2 points. It must, there<strong>for</strong>e, score 5 points<br />
<strong>for</strong> each of the remaining parameters to achieve a 'pass' rating. This means that not only must it<br />
smell <strong>and</strong> taste perfectly acceptable, but it must not show any signs of chill haze, something that<br />
cask beers are increasingly likely to do at temperatures below 10 o C.<br />
I would agree with Irritable Cellarman that beers should not be 'warm', nor should they<br />
be 'room temperature' - which is usually about 20 o C - but they should, indeed, be<br />
served, as he asks <strong>for</strong>, at a 'good cellar temperature' - which is normally<br />
recommended to be 11 to 13 o C. A temperature of 10 to 14 o C scores the maximum<br />
5 points on our inspections. If it is 14 to 15.5 o C it scores 3 points; above 15.5 o C - nil<br />
point!<br />
If Irritable Cellarman chooses to frequent pubs that do not have Cask Marque<br />
accreditation, preferring them to those which are accredited, then he will run the risk of<br />
getting beers served at wildly varying temperatures, from very cold to very warm. In 2006<br />
we carried out an exercise whereby we checked the temperature of beers served at pubs<br />
adjacent to Cask Marque accredited pubs. I have just checked back on my score sheets <strong>and</strong><br />
Plough Monday<br />
Sir,<br />
They were celebrating Plough Monday in some of the pubs near us<br />
in the vale of <strong>Belvoir</strong> on 7th January. Do you have any idea what<br />
this is about? Geoff Wallace, Hose.<br />
Sub- editor Steve Westby replies:<br />
References to Plough Monday date back to the late 15th century, it<br />
is the traditional start of the English agricultural year, marking the<br />
resumption of work after the Christmas period <strong>and</strong> falls on the<br />
first Monday after Twelfth Day (Epiphany), 6 January. In some<br />
areas, a plough was hauled from house to house in a procession,<br />
with the ploughmen, with blackened faces <strong>and</strong> wearing white<br />
shirts, knocking on doors <strong>and</strong> asking <strong>for</strong> money, food <strong>and</strong> drink.<br />
They were often accompanied by musicians, an old woman or a<br />
boy dressed as an old woman, called the "Bessy", <strong>and</strong> a man in the<br />
role of the "fool".. In medieval times it was common <strong>for</strong> ploughs to<br />
be blessed by the church the day be<strong>for</strong>e on Plough Sunday.Plough<br />
Monday plays were popular in parts of Lincolnshire,<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong>shire <strong>and</strong> the East Midl<strong>and</strong>s, they were similar to that<br />
of Christmas Mummers Plays in that they were per<strong>for</strong>med by<br />
young men <strong>and</strong> included some of the same story elements, such as<br />
the death <strong>and</strong> resurrection of one of the characters. Does anyone<br />
have any further in<strong>for</strong>mation on this historic custom?<br />
find that the lowest temperature I recorded was 14.0 o C <strong>and</strong> the highest was 23.9 o C. One of my colleagues in Margate even found one at 30 o C. I'm surprised<br />
that he wasn't offered milk & sugar with it!<br />
Beer served too cold does loose its flavour, but beer served too warm tends to enhance all the wrong flavours - harsh bitterness, yeastiness, excessive fruitiness,<br />
sulphury aromas <strong>and</strong> so on. If I was faced with having to accept a beer at 9 o C or one at 17 o C I know which I would take. A cold beer will warm up; a cold beer<br />
won't cool down - particularly on a hot summer's day. There's nothing better than a pint of a cool (not cold) cask beer whilst watching cricket on the village<br />
green. Roll on summer!<br />
Peter Tulloch, Cask Marque<br />
The Irritable Cellarman replies:<br />
In theory Cask Marque should be an excellent scheme <strong>and</strong> I would fully support it if it were not <strong>for</strong> this issue of allowing beer to be served too cold in some, I<br />
certainly did not suggest all, of their accredited pubs. When I first worked as a Cellarman the <strong>CAMRA</strong> Guide to Cellarmanship was my bible <strong>and</strong> this<br />
recommended that the cellar should be maintained at a constant temperature of 56 o F to 58 o F (13.3 o C to 14.4 o C). I duly set my cellar thermostat to 56 o F <strong>and</strong> I<br />
believe my cask beer was always spot on – I certainly sold enough of it!<br />
By the use of the Fahrenheit scale you can tell that this was a while ago <strong>and</strong> the <strong>CAMRA</strong> book was indeed dated 1981 although that does not make it any less<br />
relevant <strong>for</strong> that. <strong>CAMRA</strong> issued a more substantial guide in 1997 <strong>and</strong> this recommends that the cellar temperature should be 13 o C to 14 o C <strong>and</strong> the latest<br />
edition, dated 2005, recommends 13 o C. Under the Cask Marque criteria pubs are going to make sure that they receive maximum score on temperature, as<br />
with modern cellars this should not be difficult, <strong>and</strong> your rules say that 10 to 14 o C scores the maximum 5 points.<br />
Now I believe that 11 o C is far too cold a temperature to serve real ale (as <strong>for</strong> 10 o C let’s not even go there!) yet this is quite acceptable to Cask Marque. Whereas<br />
to serve beer at 14.1 o C it scores just 3 points (the missing two points can be crucial in retaining accreditation) even though this is within the narrow temperature<br />
range originally recommended by <strong>CAMRA</strong> <strong>and</strong> is at a level at which the beer would be more than palatable.<br />
As a result, I suspect that many Cask Marque pubs could well be nudging the thermostat down to avoid any chance of reaching the 14 o C barrier, meaning<br />
many pubs are setting their levels nearer 11 o C than the more desirable 13 o C. This would perhaps explain my belief that overly cold beer is more often<br />
encountered in Cask Marque pubs than elsewhere. The solution is simple – alter the rules so that 5 points are awarded <strong>for</strong> 12.2 o C to 14.4 o C (54 o F to 58 o F in<br />
proper money).<br />
By the way it is true, because I don’t like cold beer, that given a straight choice, in an area I am unfamiliar with, I do tend to opt <strong>for</strong> pubs that do not have Cask<br />
Marque accreditation, preferring them to those that are accredited, but only in the case of pubs with no accreditation that are in the Good Beer Guide or have<br />
been recommended to me. Yes I don't doubt there are some pubs out there that are serving warm beer, I haven't come across many at all, but I am sure they<br />
would not survive <strong>for</strong> long.<br />
Extract from a letter<br />
to Castle Rock Brewery<br />
I wish you all the best <strong>and</strong> hope that you continue<br />
to compete with the giant ego that is Greene King<br />
within the <strong>Nottingham</strong>shire area <strong>and</strong> possibly<br />
beyond. Amusingly, in my current job I was<br />
required to contact Greene King accounts about a<br />
public house that was previously H&H, when I<br />
advised I was calling about a public house in<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> the young woman in the accounts<br />
office immediately replied "Oh, that will definitely<br />
be one of ours then". I felt the need to educate<br />
her!<br />
(Name <strong>and</strong> address withheld due to my job!)<br />
That certainly says it all! Ed<br />
Hopping mad in Notts<br />
Sir,<br />
I've been reading my December issue of What's Brewing, which contains an article about hops in the 'Beer'<br />
section. There was an interesting line in it: “... some brewers paid a premium <strong>for</strong> North Clay hops grown in<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong>shire, which were reckoned to be best <strong>for</strong> strong keeping beers.” I've never heard of this variety of<br />
hop, <strong>and</strong> I didn't realise that Notts was ever an important hop-growing region. Do you have any in<strong>for</strong>mation?<br />
Chris Curtis, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.<br />
We mentioned in "Brewery Visit" in the last edition that Magpie is to brew a beer using hops grown in a<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong> garden. However hops are certainly no longer grown in the county on a commercial basis. But a<br />
quick piece of research on the Internet reveals that a century ago hops were indeed grown in the area. We are<br />
grateful to the <strong>Nottingham</strong>shire History web site www.nottshistory.org.uk <strong>for</strong> the following in<strong>for</strong>mation: At<br />
the commencement of the nineteenth century hops were grown on the l<strong>and</strong> between Ret<strong>for</strong>d <strong>and</strong> Tux<strong>for</strong>d<br />
<strong>and</strong> sold at annual Hop Fairs at these places. They were also grown around Southwell. The planta¬tions were<br />
situated chiefly in valleys <strong>and</strong> wet situations. These hops were known in the trade as "North Clay Hops" <strong>and</strong><br />
were considered much stronger than Kentish hops. At that time an area of no less than 11,000 acres was<br />
devoted to this cultivation. In 1880 it had dwindled to 29 acres. Now they are not grown at all.<br />
30 www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08
Beer Festivals<br />
Jan 31 – Feb 02 (Thu – Sat) Magpie's Beer Festival, Meadow Club Meadow<br />
Lane. 50 + beers plus ciders. Open Thu evening, all day Fri, Sat 11 – 3 <strong>and</strong> 5 – 11<br />
Feb 1 –2 (Fri – Sat) “The Black & Gold Beer Festival 2008”, The Clubhouse,<br />
276 Loughborough Road, West Bridg<strong>for</strong>d. Fri 4-11pm, Sat 12-11pm. More<br />
than 15 beers, all at £2 a pint, no entrance fee. NCT bus 10 to ASDA <strong>and</strong> walk up<br />
hill to fire station. Arriva bus 99 to door from <strong>Nottingham</strong> <strong>and</strong> Loughborough<br />
(further info on www.wbhockey.co.uk)<br />
Feb 1 –2 (Fri – Sat) Chesterfield Beer Festival, The Winding Wheel,<br />
Holywell St. (5 mins. walk from station). Fri 5-11pm (£5) Quiet drinkers' sess;<br />
Sat 11am-3pm (£5) quiet sess (games); Sat 6.30-11pm (£5) local rock covers b<strong>and</strong><br />
Firecracker. Food avail. at all sessions. Entrance incl Fest glass, programme + 1st<br />
pint at all sessions. <strong>CAMRA</strong> concessions avail on entry. 18+ only. Tickets from<br />
Pomegranate Theatre Box office (01246 345222. Advance Tickets recommended<br />
all sessions. Entry to eve sessions advance tickets only.<br />
www.chesterfieldbeerfestival.org.uk<br />
Feb 13-16 (Wed – Sat) Johnson Arms Winter Beer Festival, Abbey St.<br />
Dunkirk.<br />
Around 25 Cask Ales over 4 days including Castle Rock. Beer vouchers 4 pints <strong>for</strong><br />
£9. Live music Thursday <strong>and</strong> Saturday. Homemade curry specials. For more info<br />
see www.johnsonarms.co.uk, email mail@johnsonarms.co.uk or call 0115<br />
9786355.<br />
Feb 13-16 (Wed – Sat) Rotherham Oakwood Legendary Real Ale Festival +<br />
Yorkshire Championship Music Festival, Oakwood Technology College,<br />
Moorgate Rd. S60 2UH. Free bus to + from Fest with valid <strong>CAMRA</strong> memb.<br />
card/ Fest Ticket/ 07 Fest Glass with First South Yorkshire from anywhere in S.<br />
Yorkshire. Visitors to Rotherham, any bus from stop A6, Rotherham Interchange,<br />
goes past Fest. 200+ Real Ales, 25+ Fine Wines, Ciders, food, Foreign Bottled<br />
Beers, 4 entertainment areas, quiet bars, rock, blues, pop, folk, dance. (Note<br />
Wed/Thu <strong>for</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong> membs + Fest invited guests only- does not incl <strong>CAMRA</strong><br />
membs guests (those not membs of Campaign). Fest bars closed 5pm-6pm Sat,<br />
<strong>visitor</strong>s can remain in warm non-drinking areas. £2 <strong>for</strong> non-returnable glass <strong>for</strong><br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong> membs only Wed + Thu. <strong>CAMRA</strong> entry on door £3 all other times (incl<br />
non-returnable glass). Advance entry tickets not needed <strong>for</strong> <strong>CAMRA</strong> membs.<br />
Membership cards essential. Other entrants, all times £6 advance ticket, £9 on<br />
door. Reduced re-entry to Fest with 08 Fest Glass.<br />
Feb 18 - 23 (Mon - Sat) Six Nations Beer Festival, the Bell Inn, Market<br />
Square, <strong>Nottingham</strong>. 20 beers, all with sports themed names. Free admission.<br />
Free buffet Thu 21 <strong>for</strong> card carrying <strong>CAMRA</strong> members.<br />
Feb 29 - Mar 1 (Fri - Sat) Horse <strong>and</strong> Groom Winter Beers Festival, 462<br />
Rad<strong>for</strong>d Road, Bas<strong>for</strong>d NG7 7EA. (7 minutes walk from NET stop Shipstone<br />
St) Up to 17 different beers including special guests from Highgate. Live music<br />
from No Fixed Abode.<br />
March 12 – 15 (Wed-Sat) Leicester Beer Festival, The Charotar Patidar<br />
Samaj, off St. Margaret's Way, Leicester, LE1 3AE. 200 Beers, incl some Fest<br />
Specials, 30 Ciders + Perries. <strong>New</strong> LocAle bar will feature 40 Beers brewed<br />
within 20 miles of Leicester City Centre. Also Wine from two local vineyards +<br />
quality apple juices. Authentic Indian Curries + English food, incl veggie choices<br />
avail all sessions. Card carrying <strong>CAMRA</strong> Membs free. Souvenir festival glass £2<br />
refundable. Wed £2; Thu (after 4pm) £2; Fri (after 4pm) £3; Sat (all day) £2.<br />
www.camra.org.uk/leicester<br />
March 13 - 19 (Thu-Fri) St. Patrick’s Stout Festival, Bell Inn, Market Square,<br />
<strong>Nottingham</strong>. 17 Stouts from 17 breweries on the 17th!<br />
Mar 14 - 15 (Fri-Sat) Bingham Rugby Club Beer Festival, The Pavilion,<br />
Brendon Grove, Bingham NG13 8TN. Fri 7 - 11pm, Sat 12 - 11pm. 12 beers &<br />
ciders. Admission £2, 1st drink free.<br />
Mar 20-23 (Thu-Sat) Canal House Beer Festival, Canal St. <strong>Nottingham</strong>. Free<br />
admission, 20+ real ales.<br />
Mar 21-24 (Fri-Mon) Victoria Easter Beer Festival, Victoria Hotel, 85<br />
Dovecote Lane, Beeston NG9 1JG (right next to railway station) Up to 60<br />
beers with 30 available at any one time, traditional ciders <strong>and</strong> festival food. Free<br />
admission, music Sunday evening from Richie Muir, Jazz Monday evening.<br />
Mar 27-9 (Thu – Sat) 18th Doncaster Beer Festival. The Hub, Chappel<br />
Drive, DN1 2RF. 80+ Beers, Ciders & Foreign Bars. Details: Thu 5.30pm entry<br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong> membs (6pm rest) to 11pm; Fri + Sat 11am-11pm. Food avail until<br />
9.30pm. Entertainment Fri night. <strong>CAMRA</strong> members free entry all times, only<br />
returnable glass hire fee payable.<br />
Mar 27-30 (Thu-Sun) Criterion Beer Festival, 44 Millstone Lane, Leicester<br />
LE1 5JN (10 minutes walk from station). The Ox<strong>for</strong>d vs Cambridge Boat Race<br />
Beer Fest. 24 beers from the 2 counties. Pizzas a house speciality. Live music<br />
Thursday night <strong>and</strong> Saturday afternoon. Free admission at all times.<br />
Beer Festivals /Trips <strong>and</strong> Socials<br />
Mar 28 - 29 (Fri – Sat) Burton-on-Trent <strong>and</strong> South Derbyshire Winter<br />
Festival, Burton Town Hall Approx 80 Real Ales + Ciders. Ales served directly<br />
from casks under cooling jackets. Drivers' Bar with soft drinks. Hot + cold food<br />
all sessions. Families welcome until 6pm. Two quiet rooms with seating. Live<br />
music both days: lunchtime Fri + Sat Martin Atterbury on the Mighty Wurlitzer<br />
organ; Fri Eve 8.30pm The Top Cats (local rock-a-billy b<strong>and</strong>); Sat Eve 8.30pm The<br />
Mick Ruther<strong>for</strong>d B<strong>and</strong> (local raw blues + covers). <strong>CAMRA</strong> members free all<br />
sessions. All sessions, all entrants £2 <strong>for</strong> fest glass.<br />
Trips <strong>and</strong> Socials<br />
The <strong>for</strong>thcoming mini bus survey trips are as follows, in February we visit East<br />
Bridg<strong>for</strong>d <strong>and</strong> Shel<strong>for</strong>d, March will take us to Linby & Papplewick <strong>and</strong> we will<br />
look at the Oxton area in April.<br />
I am running an evening trip to Lincoln on the first Saturday in March. See the<br />
diary dates <strong>for</strong> all the details.<br />
As always, your <strong>CAMRA</strong> membership card is required to obtain your discount.<br />
Quite a few people have taken me up on the reminder of up <strong>and</strong> coming trips<br />
<strong>and</strong> other events. The best way of contacting people is by e-mail, but due to the<br />
data protection act, you must give me your e-mail address.<br />
So I am producing a very short <strong>for</strong>m, which you can use.<br />
If anyone wishes to “subscribe” to this new service, then please ask me when<br />
you see me or get in touch <strong>and</strong> we will sort out the necessary details.<br />
See the diary dates column <strong>for</strong> times <strong>and</strong> dates of all the trips, socials etc.<br />
As usual, don’t <strong>for</strong>get, that EVERYONE is welcome to any <strong>CAMRA</strong> meeting or<br />
outing, you do NOT have to be a member. I might present you with a<br />
membership <strong>for</strong>m, but you can ignore it if you want, (most people usually do!)<br />
And as always I can be contacted electronically at: -<br />
raykirby@nottinghamcamra.org<br />
Quick Quiz Answers (page 13)<br />
1. Chris Tarrant 2. <strong>New</strong>castle United 3. Capricorn 4. Gimme More<br />
5. Collar bone 6. Lowestoft 7. Frederick Forsyth 8. North <strong>and</strong> South isl<strong>and</strong>s<br />
9. Captain Ahab 10. Athens 11. Thursday 12. United States<br />
13. Aston Martin DB5 14. Absent without leave 15. Gosling<br />
Canal Street, Tel. 0115 950 2419<br />
A warm welcome from Bob & Carole<br />
Canal Street, Tel. 0115 9502 419<br />
Traditional Beers<br />
Everards Tiger, 2 Castle Rock Beers<br />
plus 5 Guest Beers<br />
Guest Mild each week<br />
Quiz + Sticky 13s every Thursday<br />
Darts <strong>and</strong> Bar Billiards<br />
Open until midnight Friday & Saturday<br />
Continental Beers & Traditional Cider<br />
A great Malt Whisky selection<br />
Big screen sports<br />
A great local pub with a good atmosphere,<br />
close to Ice Arena <strong>and</strong> tram, rail & bus stations<br />
www.nottinghamcamra.org February/ March 08 31
Branch Diary<br />
NOTTINGHAM AND AREA<br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong> BRANCH DIARY<br />
• <strong>Nottingham</strong><br />
Trips <strong>and</strong> Socials<br />
February<br />
Wed 06, 7pm: Survey trip to East Bridg<strong>for</strong>d, Dept Cast. Membership card <strong>for</strong><br />
discount.<br />
Sat 23, 5.30pm: Bus trip to Lincoln. Dept Cast. Membership card <strong>for</strong> discount.<br />
March<br />
Sat 01, 11a.m: Young Members’ LocAle pub crawl, meet VAT & Fiddle. Free T-<br />
shirt <strong>for</strong> all participants! Further details on LocAle page.<br />
Contact kieranatherton@hotmail.co.uk or call 07738 706518.<br />
Mon 10, 7pm: . Survey trip to Linby Papplewick area. Dept Cast. Membership<br />
card <strong>for</strong> discount.<br />
April<br />
Tue 8, 7pm: . Survey trip to Oxton Dept Cast. Membership card <strong>for</strong> discount.<br />
Book with Ray Kirby on 0115 929 7896 or by email<br />
raykirby@nottinghamcamra.org<br />
<strong>CAMRA</strong> cards must be shown <strong>for</strong> £2 discount offered on some trips.<br />
Branch Meetings<br />
All meetings begin at 8pm. Everyone is welcome to attend<br />
February Thu 28: AGM, Canalhouse, Canal Street<br />
March Thu 27: Victoria, Dovecote Lane, Beeston<br />
April Thu 24: Gladstone, Loscoe Rd Carrington<br />
Committee Meetings<br />
February Thu 14: Globe, Trent Bridge<br />
March Thu 13: Bunkers Hill, Hockley<br />
April Thu 10: King William IV, Sneinton<br />
All details on www.nottinghamcamra.org<br />
• Erewash<br />
February<br />
Weds. 5: Branch meeting, Needlemakers, Ilkeston.<br />
March<br />
Weds. 9: Branch Meeting, Railway, Langley Mill<br />
Sat. 19: Social pub-crawl around Long Eaton. Time <strong>and</strong> start point to be<br />
advised later.<br />
April<br />
Wed. 6: Branch Meeting, Dewdrop, Ilkeston<br />
Wed. 20: AGM, Spanish Bar, Ilkeston<br />
Ring John on 07962318605 or see www.erewash-camra.org <strong>for</strong> further details<br />
• <strong>Belvoir</strong><br />
Trips <strong>and</strong> Socials<br />
February<br />
Tue. 19: GBG Survey Trip. Contact <strong>for</strong> details<br />
Tues 26: GBG Survey Trip. Contact <strong>for</strong> details<br />
Branch Meetings<br />
February Tue 5: Chesterfield, Bingham<br />
March Tue 4: AGM, Black Horse, Hose<br />
Contact: martyn<strong>and</strong>bridget@btinternet.com<br />
• Mansfield<br />
Contact: secretary@mansfieldcamra.org.uk or web site:<br />
www.mansfieldcamra.org.uk<br />
• <strong>New</strong>ark<br />
Branch meetings start at 8.00pm<br />
Call Dom Heneghen <strong>for</strong> more details on 01636 672770 87013 email:<br />
chairman@newarkcamra.org.uk or web site www.newarkcamra.org.uk<br />
Printed 'LocAlely' by Stirl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> Paterson, Ilkeston.