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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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 />
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