Crown, Beeston, is Pub of the Year see p. 18 - Nottingham CAMRA

Useful Drinker Information10,000 copies of the Nottingham Drinker are distributedfree of charge to over 300 outlets in the Nottingham areaincluding libraries, the Tourist Information Centre and pubs inNottingham, outlying villages and local towns. It is publishedby Nottingham CAMRA, typeset by Spyke Golding and printedby Stirland Paterson, Ilkeston.AdvertisingNottingham Drinker welcomes advertisements subject tocompliance with CAMRA policy and space availability. There isa discount for any advertising submitted in a suitable formatfor publishing, JPEG, PDF etc. Advertising rates start from£30 for a small advert (1/16 of a page) in a suitable format.A premium is charged for the front and back page. Sixadvertisements can be bought for the discounted price of five(one years worth). Call Spyke Golding on 0115 714 9588 or07751 441 682 or e-mail drinkeradvert@ntlworld.com fordetails.Publication datesThe next issue of Nottingham Drinker (issue 99) will bepublished on Thursday 29 th July 2010 and will be availablefrom the branch meeting at the Queen Adelaide.The copy deadline is Wednesday 7 th July 2010Editorial TeamEditor: Spyke Golding, Sub editors: Steve Armstrong andSteve Westby, Distribution: David MasonEditorial addressSpyke Golding, Nottingham Drinker, 218, Standhill Road,Carlton, Nottm. NG4 1JZTel: 0115 714 9588, 0775 144 1682E-mail: nottingham.drinker@ntlworld.com ordrinkeradvert@ntlworld.comSocials and TripsFor booking socials or trips contact Ray Kirby on 0115 9297896 or at raykirby@nottinghamcamra.orgWeb SiteNottingham CAMRA’s own web site, managed by WebmasterHoward Clark is at www.nottinghamcamra.orgCAMRA Headquarters230 Hatfield Road, St. Albans, Herts, AL1 4LW Tel 01727867201 Fax 01727 867670 E-mail camra@camra.org.ukInternet www.camra.org.ukRegistrationNottingham Drinker is registered as a newsletter with theBritish Library. ISSN No1369-4235DisclaimerND, Nottingham CAMRA and CAMRA Ltd accept noresponsibility for errors that may occur within thispublication, and the views expressed are those of theirindividual authors and not necessarily endorsed by the editor,Nottingham CAMRA or CAMRA LtdSubscriptionND offers a mail order subscription service. If you wishto be included on our mailing list please send seventeen2 nd class stamps, (standard letter @32p. each) for oneyear’s subscription (second class delivery) or fourteen 1 stclass stamps (standard letter @ 41p. each) for one year’ssubscription (first class delivery) to Nottingham Drinker, 15Rockwood Crescent, Hucknall, Nottinghamshire NG15 6PWNottingham Drinker is published bimonthly.Useful AddressesFor complaints about short measure pints etc contact:Nottingham Trading Standards Department, Consumer Direct(East Midlands) Consumer Direct works with all the TradingStandards services in the East Midlands and is supported bythe Office of Fair Trading. You can e-mail Consumer Directusing a secure e-mail system on their web site. The web sitealso provides advice, fact sheets and model letters on a widerange of consumer rights. Consumer Direct - 08454 04 05 06www.consumerdirect.gov.ukFor comments, complaints or objections about pubalterations etc, or if you wish to inspect plans for proposedpub developments contact the local authority planningdepartments. Nottingham City’s is at Exchange Buildings, SmithyRow or at nottinghamcity.gov.ukIf you wish to complain about deceptive advertising, e.g. passingnitro-keg smooth flow beer off as real ale, pubs displaying signssuggesting real ales are on sale or guest beers are available,when in fact they are not, contact: Advertising StandardsAuthority, Mid City Place, 71 High Holborn, London WC1V 6QT,Telephone 020 7492 2222, Textphone 020 7242 8159, Fax 0207242 3696Or visit www.asa.org.uk where you can complain onlineBrewery Liaison OfficersPlease contact these officers if you have any comments, queriesor complaints about a local brewery.Alcazar - Ray Kirby raykirby@nottinghamcamra.orgBlue Monkey - Nigel Johnson nigeljohnson@nottinghamcamra.orgCastle Rock - David Mason davidmason@nottinghamcamra.orgCaythorpe - Ian Barber ianbarber@nottinghamcamra.orgFlipside - Howard Clark howardclark@nottinghamcamra.orgFull Mash - Ray Kirby raykirby@nottinghamcamra.orgHolland - Andrew Ludlow acl_50@ntlworld.comMagpie - Alan Ward alanward@nottinghamcamra.orgMallard - Mick (Didler) KintonNottingham - Steve Westby stevewestby@nottinghamcamra.orgReality - Steve Hill - stevehill@nottinghamcamra.orgEast Midlands Brewery Liaison Coordinator - Steve Westbystevewestby@nottinghamcamra.orgAcknowledgementsThanks to the following people for editorial contributions to thisissue of ND: Peter Bingham, Philip Darby, Bob Douglas, BridgetEdwards, Colin Elmhirst, Martyn Harwood, Ray Kirby, AndrewLudlow, Peter Mann, David Mason, Graham Percy, Steve Rogerson,Nick Tegerdine, Peter Tulloch, Alan Ward, Steve Westby, JohnWestlake and Colin Wilde.© Nottingham CAMRA. No part of this magazine may be reproducedwithout permission.Contents2 Useful Drinker Information4 Evenin’ all5 Snippets6 apas7 Our disappearing pubs8 Amber Valley News9 Vale of Belvoir News10 Tasting Notes: Banks of Barbados12 Snippets13 All Our Yesterdays14 Fare Deals16 Cooking with Ale and Cider17 Pub Call: The Queen’s Head, Watnall18 Pub of the Year 201019 Tales from the North20 Holiday Britain: Norfolk22 Looking Back at the Seventies23 LocAle24 In Praise of PUBlic Transport: Sleaford26 News Brewing28 Great British Beer Festival29 A Black Country couple visits our City30 Pubs reopen32 Brewery Visit: Reality, Beeston34 In the Beginning...36 More Bottled Beer37 Snippets38 Snippets39 Music in the Drinker40 Ray’s Round42 Happy Hour43 Snippets44 Post Box45 Pips from the Core - our new cider page46 Snippets47 Diary48 Beer Festivals, trips and socialswww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Evenin’ allCity Centre Inspector Andy Townsend reportsver the last two years the forcehas received Home Office funding toOsupport initiatives to reduce violentcrime, particularly amongst young people.This year, allocatedfunding has reducedbut the city is gettingdirect financialsupport to continuewith this good work.As part of ongoingactivity, we areconducting high-visibility operations atpeak times to ensure areas used forentertainment, business and transportare safe. I personally have been out onpatrol, speaking to revellers enjoyingthe night life. They are pleased to seeso many officers and reassured by theirpresence.The drugs dog has been used and wasfound to be a very useful tactic, both as adeterrent and an investigative tool, whichwe intend to continue to use in the future.There are also several other initiativeswe are utilising, including hi-tech bodyscanners and searches of alleyways. Weare linking in with our partners, includingthe City Council, to ensure areas haveadequate street lighting and CCTV.In recent weeks, our licensing officers andstaff from the Security Industry Authorityvisited 56 licensed premises and checkedthe credentials of 49 door staff. Only onemember of door staff did not complywith SIA Conditions.We want the people of Nottinghamshireto have trust and confidence in theforce and bycontinuing towork closely withour licenseeswe can addressconcerns,establish local contacts and build upcommunity intelligence.We have an education programme, withyouth issues officers going into schools toinform children from an early age aboutthe dangers of carrying knives and theconsequences that can happen. We havehad some good feedback and know thishas a positive impact on large numbersof people. I am pleased to see increasingnumbers of licensees getting involved inthe Best Bar None awards which seeksto improve standards for customersand ensures their venue is providing anenjoyable and safe environment.While out in the city, you may get amessage from us via Bluetooth as weexperiment with new technology to getacross crime prevention messages andkeep the public informed. Do not bealarmed if you are approached by one ofmy officers and please feel reassured bytheir presence, they are working to makethe city a safer place for everyone.Salutation InnRock ‘n’ Ale Pub75-7, Maid Marion Way, Nottingham NG1 6AJTel. 0115 988 1948The Grill Room - Upstairs at The Horse & PloughSix Continually Changing Cask Ales from Around the CountryCharles Wells Bombardier & Deuchar’s I.P.A. Always AvailableExtensive Wine & Spirits ListRegularly Changing Seasonal MenusTHREE COURSES FOR £12.95 MARCH TO MAYOpen 7pm – 9.15pm Tue to Thurs 7pm to 9.45pm Fri & SatTraditional Sunday Lunch 12.30 – 3.00pm £14.95 for 3 Courseswww.grillroombingham.comt. 01949 839313 e. bingham@bartschinns.comLong Acre, Bingham, NG13 8AFBus: TrentBarton Xpress from Friar LaneAt least 6 Real Ales and 4 Real CidersOld English home-cooked food served(12 - 9 Mon - Fri, 12 - 8 Sat, 12 - 6 Sun.)CAMRA discount 20p on pintsHeavy Metal Karaoke Fri. nightsLive Rock Music and Disco Sat. nightswww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

State monopoly? Been there, done that, but might it be due a return?Nick Tegerdine explores one of the optionsfor reducing alcohol-related harmStrange times often produce even stranger measures, and theresistance to unit pricing paves the way for other ideas to rise upthe agenda.Few people who remember the state controlled brewery and pubs in theCarlisle / Dumfries area will look back and say ‘they were great pubs’.I can just remember seeing the outside of some of them, and less thanprepossessing is a kind description. Lack of investment in the statecontrolledtied estate was mirrored by a similar absence of investment inthe brewery, although I am assured that it produced a wide range of fineproducts until eventually being sold off in the early 1970’s.I’m not therefore making a case for nationalising breweries and pubs,although Scandinavian countries have a marked tendency to go that way.We must be mindful that anything is possible in terms of alcohol policy,and that a higher degree of state intervention at the point of sale isconsidered by some to be inevitable.Why would anyone want to go so far as to nationalise any part of thedrinks industry? Well, if alcohol-related harms are rising, and they are,and the current raft of measures, tools and powers is not impacting onthat, someone has to do something. Whether there has been rigorousanalysis of why the current tools and powers are not used effectivelyand consistently, and whether they are appropriate or not, is for anotherday. Right now we must recognise that the rate of hospital admission per100,000 of population in the East Midlands is 1560 (2009 figures). In2005 it was 1159. That rate of increase is a problem.Minimum pricing was an issue largely avoided in the recent ‘election thatnobody wanted to win’. The ScHARR report (School of Health and Relatedresearch, Sheffield University) remains hugely influential. They argue thata minimum 50p unit price would impact on high-risk drinkers by £163 pa,whereas someone drinking at low risk levels would spend about an extra£12 pa. This is, they argue, because high risk drinkers purchase moreof the cheap products that would be affected by a unit pricing policy.The outgoing PM Gordon Brown opposed unit pricing, arguing that the‘sensible majority’ of drinkers should not be punished for the excessesof a minority. I can’t see either David Cameron or Nick Clegg taking adifferent approach.The worst thing you cando about an alcoholproblem is nothingDrinking too much, too often, and for too long andfinding it hard to change?So, the likelihood of such a policy coming into force appears remote. Thatleaves the door open for other measures.A big factor in local government thinking is the impact of the minority ofdrinkers who behave inappropriately on the public’s perception of a townor street as being ‘safe’.When the Norwegians voted for a state monopoly in a referendum, amajor driver was the impact of drinking on children and the family andalso on the ‘safe feeling’ of the neighbourhood. Other Nordic stateshave either followed suit or are planning to do so. Iceland has howeverliberalised in recent years, and any comments linking that fact to thecrisis in their banking industry are unfair. However, since they liberalisedthey have had a major tourism boost but also a rise in alcohol issues.I do not wish to appear alarmist but the idea of ‘big government’ runningthe industry does not appeal to me. Imagine the prospect of every barand off licence selling the state brands of ‘a bit like Carling’ or ‘a bit likeStella’. Traditionalists may force a bit of room for ale ‘a bit like bitter’ butthat would be (no pun intended) about your limit.The recent Mandatory Code on the selling of alcoholic drinks, which cameinto force in April, targets irresponsible promotions like the ‘dentist’schair’ and ‘all you can drink for a tenner’. The Code also ensures that freetap water is available for customers, which can’t be a bad thing althoughwhat difference it will make to admission rates is highly debatable.Further conditions will come into force in October of this year, includingage checks and the ‘small measures’ clause, to resist against theprevailing trend to ‘go large’.However, the Code also promotes confusion and uncertainty over whatis banned and what is permissible. Licensing authorities have discretionover what is deemed to be ‘irresponsible’. I refer to this simply to pointout that the plan having been so diluted is unlikely to impact on thevarious indicators of alcohol-related harm. So that again leaves the dooropen for tougher measures.My personal view remains that it does not matter how many pubs thereare it is how well they are run that matters. If there are too many, somewill close as they are not profitable. If pubs are not well managed, theywill not be profitable. If they are causing a nuisance to the community,the existing tools and powers are there to deal with that, if the will isthere.With regard to off-licences, I am not so relaxed. We know thatthe products that are causing the most harm are sold from smallconvenience stores, often to people already intoxicated and without anyage verification processes being apparent. The big supermarkets arechallenged about their discounting policies, where lager is cheaper thanbottled water, but in the treatment field we know who the problems are interms of hospital admissions, the ‘frequent flyers’ we call them, and whatthey drink and where they get it. I’d like to hear someone in Governmentsaying ‘let’s start with these then’. If we did we’d be looking at controlson off sales.I’ve recently been looking at the Finnish state monopoly (known as ‘Alko’)pricing guide. They have a large range. For cider drinkers, 33cls of OldRosie in a bottle will cost you €3.03. The same sized bottle of (heavenforbid) English produced Budweiser would cost you €2.24. They don’tappear to sell the Czech Budvar, but 50cls of Pilsner Urquell will set youback €2.68. A similar quantity of Fullers ESB costs €3.69 while 50cls ofBath Ales’ Wild Hare sells at €3.88. the prices are not cheap, but thereal restriction comes in terms of security, not selling without age proof,and not selling to the customer who has already ‘researched the marketheavily’.What are the prices in the bars? That’s another story, so watch out forthe next edition.In sum, if the present strategies don’t make a difference, there is anargument that state control of off sales might. No doubt you’ll tell meyour views.Alcohol Problems Advisory ServiceAVAILABLE • ACCESSIBLE • CONFIDENTIAL0115 941 4747 or e-mail info@apas.org.ukwww.apas.org.ukPraise where praise is dueThis month we at APAS have to record that The StratfordHaven in West Bridgford has consistently demonstrated veryhigh standards of customer care.This very busy pub has highly trained and motivated staff.We congratulate them for the approach to their task andthe professionalism that is always apparent when servingcustomers, however difficult the customer may be.We hope that others will take note, but also that the ‘Strat’ willdo something about its toilets, which appeared on more thanone occasion to need some care and attention.www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Our disappearing pubsIn the sixth of a series, Derek Henshaw presents photos of some of our lost pubsas a tribute to photographer, friend and CAMRA member the late Brian HayesFox, Dale Street, SneintonHall Park Tavern, BulwellMarquis of Waterford, Ortzen StreetFox todayHall Park Tavern todayMarquis of Waterford todayGoose Fair, Hucknall RoadHearty Goodfellow, Maid Marion WayOld Moore’s Tavern (former Roebuck)Goose Fair todayHearty Goodfellow today - a curry houseOld Moore’s Tavern todayHorse and Jockey, BulwellHorse & Jockey todaySawyers Arms, Albert StreetSawyer’s Arms todaywww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Amber Valley NewsNews from the sub-branchRipley Rail Ale Festival ready to rollhursday, 30Tth September to Sunday, 3 rd October willsee the first Amber Valley CAMRA beer festival in Ripleyat Butterley Station, part of the Midland Railway HeritageTrust, and it promises to be an event not to be missed. A marqueeserving beer and traditional cider will reverberate to the sound oflive music on Friday and Saturday evenings, whilst two railwaycarriages will serve additional ales in a quieter environment. Intotal, 50 real ales should be available together with food. CAMRAmembers will enjoy free admission except on Friday and Saturdayevenings when a nominal charge will be levied. It’s hoped that thedual attractions of a beer festival and a gala diesel weekend, withtrains operating to a full timetable, will be a winning formula.Hunter’s heading in the right directionKilburn, six miles north of Derby, was, before the 20 th century,largely owned by the Hunter family of Kilburn Hall. The gabledpub across the road from the hall was named after the family, andthe Hunter’s Arms now seeks a restoration in fortune that saw itfeature in the Good Beer Guide between 1983 and 1986. In July2009, London born Paula Showers and her charismatic Canadianhusband, Mark, sold their Torquay hotel and headed north to buythe Hunters. On the evidence of a recent visit, the Church Streetpub is certainly worth frequenting with hand drawn Blue MonkeyOriginal, Oakham Bishops Farewell and Leatherbritches RoastedStout vying for attention.Meanwhile, on nearby Chapel Street, the Travellers Rest (picturedbelow) celebrated National Cask Ale Week with a Buffy’s bonanza.Watch the Word Cup in comfort atThe Commercial Inn19, Wollaton Road, Beeston NG9 2NGTel. 0115 917 8994Under new management from June 10thFour plasma screens indoorsOne in outdoorcovered smoking areaPre-match vintage England gamesAll the England songsFree half-time chip buttiesNo fewer than five of the Norfolk’s brewery’s beers were serveddirect from the cask, and, more recently, Islay brewery hasfeatured from the eponymous Scottish island.Carry your cardIt’s good to see some Amber Valley licensees emulating theirNottingham counterparts by offering discounted real ale tocard carrying CAMRA members. Declan Nixon, the enterprisinglicensee of the Fishermans Rest, Broadholme Lane, Belper, is thelatest recruit to the growing band of Amber Valley pubs offeringa discount. Declan has also been running a series of “meet thebrewer evenings” on the last Friday of the month. The George andDragon, and Cross Keys in Belper, Talbot Taphouse, Ripley, andthe George, Ripley, all offer reductions.News of the brewsAmber Ales’ second pub, The Woodman, Maple Avenue, Ripley,should be opening at the end of May. The Ripley brewery’sbeers plus guests and food will be available. The Thorn Tree,Chesterfield Road, Belper, had a fine selection of beers whenrecently visited; Ossett Optimum and Jarrow Rivet Catchercomplemented Bass, Pedigree and Abbot. The Spotted Cow,Holbrook is emphasising the provenance of its products bysourcing three beers from within a 15 mile radius, and the beefin their excellent carvery is from a named Derbyshire farm.During the run-up to the General Election the Cow featuredBlue Monkey’s Three Monkeys with mug shots of the three mainparty leaders on the pump clip. Another pub with the Giltbrookbeers has been the New Inn, Derby Road, Heanor, which waspleasingly busy on my visit. Derby Brewing Company has beencommissioned to brew house beers for two of our pubs. The WhiteHart, Duffield is serving White Hart Pale Ale at 4.2% abv, and theBear, Alderwasley has Blue Bear weighing in at 4.8% abv. BlueBear is an amalgam of the names of two pubs owned by JohnStamp, namely, the Bear, and the Blue Bell, Farnah Green, nearBelper.The John Warren, Loscoe and the Butchers Arms, Langley havereopened and I’ve heard on the hopvine that the Coach andHorses, Heanor Road, Loscoe has finally been bought and may berestored to pub usage.www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Vale of Belvoir NewsAnother Mild MayWell, here we are again, in the throes of the Mild in Maycampaign, which certainly hasn’t disappointed so far -but more of that later.April saw us at the Plough, Cropwell Butler for our branchmeeting. We were situated in one of the comfortable dining areasand had beers from Copper Dragon Brewery in Yorkshire andAdnams, amongst others. This Pub People pub is ticking the rightboxes under landlord Greg, the beer was in good form and wewere made to feel very welcome. The Plough is also participatingin the Mild Trail, with Tetley Mild being available at the beginningof the month. Chairman Mart and myself also popped out therefor a meal mid April and were very pleased with the beef andale pie (Mart) and calf’s liver and mash (me), accompanied bysome very nice Castle Rock Harvest Pale. If you are looking forsomewhere new to try during the spring or summer, it is certainlywell worth a trip out.Our May meeting had us at the Crown, Old Dalby. There was agood turn out to this southern outpost and again we were madeto feel very welcome. We just caught the end of The Belvoir DarkHorse Mild, which was excellent, and this was followed by BeaverBitter and Harvest Pale. We were then treated to some superbcrispy chilli beef and homemade chips, courtesy of landladyRachel, which was absolutely fantastic and much appreciated byall!The 1 st May saw us getting down to the serious business of themonth, Mild in May, with the launch at the Horse & Plough,Bingham. Last years winner of the Best Mild on Trail were off to aSix Continually Changing Cask Ales from Around the CountryCharles Wells Bombardier & Deuchar’s I.P.A. Always AvailableHot & Cold Food Served Mon – Sat12.00 – 2.30pm & 5 – 7pmTraditional Sunday Lunch Served 12.30 – 3 pmHorse & Plough Wednesdays – Two Meals for £10Private Dining, Meetings and Small Conference Packages AvailableFree Wi-Fi Internet AccessThe Grill Room Restaurant Upstairs serving A La Carte MenuMidweek Steak Special £7.95 in The Grill RoomOpen 11am – 11pm Sun to Thurs 11am to 11.30pm Fri & SatTel: 01949 839313 e. bingham@bartschinns.comLong Acre, Bingham, NG13 8AFBus: TrentBarton Xpress from Friar Lanegood start. An excellent Belvoir Dark Horse had been on since theday before and finished early in the evening, to be replaced byPotbelly Beijing Black. This has since been followed by NottinghamFoundry Mild, Brewsters Cheval Mort and Rudgate Ruby Mild - andit is only May 9 th as I write this, so no shortage of choice there!Still on the Mild Trail, on May 6 th we popped into the Chesterfield,Bingham for an après vote drink and more Belvoir Dark Horse,again in very good form. This is another Bingham pub that isBingham Rugby Club Summer Beer FestivalFri June 25 th - Sun June 27 thThe Main Clubhouse, The Pavilion, Brendon GroveBingham NG13 8TNTrent - Barton Xpress (evenings Radcliffe Line) to Balmoral RoadLate buses back to Radcliffe, Bridgford and NottinghamContact / Details:www.binghamrufc.co.uk20 different beers and ciders. Live Musicconsistently serving very good beer, which is excellent news for usBingham troglodytes in these times of soaring fuel prices (note toself - have letter of apology ready.)Saturday 8 th was the first of our Mild Trips - not a good turn-out,but some very good beer! We started off at the Red Lion, Stathernand some really nice Grainstore Rutland Panther. We will be outagain to the Red Lion for our meeting on June 1 st . We then moveddown to The Plough. Stathern for some Belvoir Dark Horse, againin top condition. Landlord David reported excellent Mild sales,which is always good to hear. It is worth noting that the Plough,Stathern is open all day, every day and serves food every LunchTime and Evening, so if you are taking a trip out to the Valeand are struggling to find a pub open at lunchtime you won’t bedisappointed here.We were then on to the Durham Ox, Orston for some OldershawsGrantham Dark. It is safe to say that we could very happily havestayed at any of the pubs visited that evening and the DurhamOx was no exception. The pub was comfortable and welcomingand the Mild way too drinkable to be happy with having to moveon to another pub, but such is the nature of pubs trips and it wasstraight on to the Royal Oak, Car Colston for some Hansons DarkMild. The bar area was busy as usual, but we just missed a verylarge dining party so there was room to be seated in the maineating area; we timed our visit just right in this popular food pub.We had a very enjoyable drink here before wending our way backhome.We will have two more trips to report on by the end of the monthso will fill you in on those next time.That’s about it for this month but I just want to give a quick wordof thanks to the Horse and Plough, Bingham and to editor SpykeGolding though before signing off. Thanks to the byline on lastmonth’s VoB page, I have now have my name on the wall of themen’s toilet. As far as I know this is the first time, although.....if Iam wrong I’m really not sure that I want to hear about it!Cheers! Bridget.www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Tasting notesJohn Westlake uncovers a real CaBanks breweryAkash Ragber in the new brewhouseThe old brewhouse10 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010Since some time during the 1840s, when Jose GomezD’Aguiar established a rum distillery just outsideGeorgetown, the D’Aguiar family has been deeply involvedin the business life of Guyana, formerly British Guiana. In 1896,Jose’s four sons started to diversify and made the significantpurchase of the Demerara Ice House business, whose initials aretoday still incorporated into the Company’s trading name.By 1955, Peter D’Aguiar was directing operations and seeing thepotential for a local brewery, helped to establish Banks BreweriesLimited, so called simply because of the chosen site’s closeproximity to the Demerara River. Then, in 1959, the Companydecided to expand its brewing interests to the nearby Caribbeanisland of Barbados, with a second fully equipped breweryopening the following year at Wildey, just outside the capital ofBridgetown.Banks Caribbean Lager quickly established itself as a firmfavourite with the Bajans, as the locals prefer to call themselves,but over the following years the two breweries drifted apartand during the 1970s, eventually decided to go their ownways. However, in more recent times, the threat to the Guyanaoperation of a hostile takeover led the management to seek helpfrom the Barbados brewery, resulting in mutual shareholdingsbeing agreed in order to better protect the two businesses,although they continue to be run independently.Today, the Barbados venture is a thriving concern, so much sothat plans for a brand new greenfield site brewery, close to theGrantley Adams International Airport, are already well advanced,which will allow for a much needed increase in capacity thatis simply not possible in the cramped confines of the existinglocation. State of the art Germanequipment has been ordered andit is envisaged that production willcome on stream in the latter halfof 2011, making it an exciting andchallenging time for Akash Ragbir,Banks’ ebullient Brewery Manager.Having taken the Institute ofBrewing exams in the UK andattending brewing school inChicago, Akash spent 10 yearshoning his skills with the CaribBrewery in Trinidad and Red Stripein Jamaica, prior to taking upthe reins in Barbados. It is herethat I meet him in his spaciousoffice before being given a guidedtour of the current site - a tour,incidentally, that has also becomevery popular as a tourist attractionon the island. We start in theoriginal brewhouse, its three,gleaming copper vessels standingproud, if sadly silent and empty,surrounded by assorted brewerymemorabilia.“I have insisted that they will becoming with us when we move,”Akash assures me. “They are apart of the brewery’s heritage andI would hate to see them simplysold for scrap.”The current stainless steel mashtun, lauter tun and brewing kettle,so crammed together there isbarely room to squeeze betweenthem, eloquently demonstrate whyrelocation has become essentialif the brewery is to grow. Apartfrom producing a very creditableGuinness Foreign Extra Stoutunder licence from Diageo, Bankscurrently brew just two beersunder their own banner: the ever

ibbean tale from the riverbankpopular Banks Caribbean Lager and Banks Amber Ale, a morerecent addition to the fold.“We use the city municipal water supply, which is already high incalcium,” Akash tells me. “Our hops come mainly in pellet formfrom the USA and we import two-row, pale barley malt fromBritain and Australia.”The pale gold, pilsner style lager weighs in at 4.7 percentalcohol by volume (abv) and enjoys a minimum ten days coldconditioningat the brewery in order to help develop its uniqueBajan character. There is an enticing smack of hops on the nose,whilst resiny hops also dominate the crisp, full-bodied palate,carefully balanced by grainy malt and concluding in a long, dry,utterly refreshing finish. It is ideal for a tropical climate and easyto see why the locals hold it in such high esteem.The Amber Ale is slightly stronger at 5 percent abv, burnishedgold in colour and a true, top-fermented ale, full of biscuity maltand tart hop flavours, joined in perfect harmony. Both beers areseasoned with varying blends of Yakima and Styrian Goldingshops, the latter mainly for aroma.“Once the new brewery is up and running I hope to expand theproduct range, with a Caribbean stout likely to be first in line,”Akash informs me with obvious enthusiasm for the task in hand.In 1999, the Company replaced its long-standing sailing shiplogo with a new, modern emblem in the form of a capital ‘B’representing billowing sails, and has built up a healthy exporttrade to the American market as well as other parts of theCaribbean. However, despite the close historical ties, they are notallowed to use the brand in the UK because of the long-standingwest midlands Banks’s bitter andmild ales produced by Marstons.Nevertheless, this did not stopthem signing an agreement withthe erstwhile King & BarnesBrewery of Horsham during theearly 1990s, to produce a newbeer under licence for the Britishmarket in the form of Legends– the Beer of Barbados. Followingthe sad demise of King & Barnesin 2001, production transferred toKent brewers Shepherd Neame fora time, but returned to Horsham in2006 and to Hepworth & Company,the brewery established by AndyHepworth, previously head brewerat King & Barnes, together with anumber of his previous colleagues.Spiced with Styrian Goldings foraroma and Sladek hops fromthe Czech Republic for bittering,Legends is a pale amber 4.8percent abv lager beer witha smooth palate and gentlebitterness on the tongue. Andyalso stresses the fact that Legendsis cold-filtered rather thanpasteurised, a more expensiveprocess but one that he firmlybelieves results in a longer lasting,fresher tasting beer with improvedflavour.There is no doubt that, after someyears of benign neglect, Banksare on something of a roll, withbig investment plans and futureproduct development alreadyon the drawing board. This is aCompany that has discovered anew will to succeed and perhapsone of the few banks in the worldnowadays where you can give themyour money and be sure to enjoywhat you get in return!Tasting notesTypical Barbados beach barEnjoying a sundowner!A familiar name in Bridgetownwww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201011

SnippetsMagpie Brewery NewsNick Sewter reportsMost larger breweries use live yeast which is saved frombrew to brew while many micros use dried yeast, using anew batch for each brew. This is more costly but avoids thepossible problems of yeast degradation, which can happen if itisn’t well looked after. The cost of the dried yeast is obviouslytaken into account when the beer is priced.When beer tax was increased in the budget the governmenttook quite a bit of flak, although it wasn’t huge this year. Weget a small brewery dispensation of 50%, so this would havecost larger breweries twice as much as us and would have beenmore painful for them. However, recently we were amazed toreceive notification of an increase of £17 per kilo (about 65%) inthe price of Lallemande yeast. This will make quite a differenceto breweries that use this brand of dried yeast but nobody hasyet been heard berating the company for its increase! Better tostick to moaning at the government ……Enough of this – we have been busy making our new mild,Midnight Mild, as well as Dark Secret, ready for the mild trail andhave also been trying very hard to keep stocks of our regularbeers. We didn’t have time to make a black and white stripedale to celebrate the magnificent Magpies’ promotion, probablyas well as we have no connection to the club other than thatBob Douglas sits in the Kop whenever hockey permits. We are,however, making three summer beers, First Gold and Gold whichwe have made before and Winging It (to SA) a new brew inhonour of the World Cup.Speaking of the Magpies, some readers will have noted thatNotts County has signed a new “beer” supply agreement withCarlsberg – this agreement precludes guest ales so we will nolonger be able to supply Magpie ales to Wheelers – presumablyCarlsberg are worried about the competition…The Globe is holding a Magpie Night on June 2 nd as one of theirregular brewery nights – hope to see as many CAMRA friendsTHE QUEEN ADELAIDEWindmill Lane, Sneinton, NottinghamTel. 0115 9580 607YOU’LL FIND US IN THE GOOD BEER GUIDE 2010• Freshly-made hot or chilled crusty and softcobs with a huge selection of fillings, also savourysnacks, pies and pasties from our chiller or hotcabinet available 7 days a week• Friday Fish Supper night from 4-8pm• Saturday Breakfast Club served 9am - 12noon(beer available)• Saturday New Burger day starting soon.Homemade burgers with a selection oftoppings and home made coleslaw• Traditional Sunday Lunches available in therestaurant with panoramic views of City from12 noon – 5pm• Big screen TV with Sky Sports• Beer gardens with a heated smoke shelter• Function Rooms available for hire5 Real Ales at any one time PLUS a dedicatedever-changing Cider and Perry hand pull. Comeand enjoy one of the three exclusively brewedreal ales named after the pub dog ‘Monty’.One available at all times, 20p off for CAMRAmembers• FULL MASH BREWERY - Monty’s Whistle 3.8%• NUTBROOK BREWERY - Monty’s Revenge 4.2%• MAGPIE BREWERY - Monty’s Firkin 4.6%WORLD CUP SPECIALITY BEERS & FOODS FROMCOUNTRIES IN THE TOURNAMENT. ALL GAMES ONBIG SCREEN TVs THROUGHOUT THE PUB (TWOFAMILY ROOMS OPEN) SAVE TIME AND MONEY -ENQUIRE ABOUT THE BEER DISCOUNT CARDEVERY BANK HOLIDAY WE HAVE LIVE MUSIC & DJsLOOK OUT FOR OUR SUMMER BBQsIn Good Beer Guide 2010Canalhousebar & restaurant48 - 52 Canal Street, Nottingham NG1 7EH 0115 955 5060Castle Rock Harvest Pale and Preservation always available, withGuest Beers at weekends20p per pint CAMRA members discountWacky Wednesday from 6pmEvery WednesdayHarvest Pale £2 a pint! £2 a pint!Carling, Stowford Press and various bottles £2Function room available for up to 200 peopleGOOD FOOD SERVED 12-9 Mon - Thu, 12-7 Fri - Sat, 12 - 5 Suncanalhouse@castlerockbrewery.co.ukas possible there. We also took part in the Roebuck’s MildNight recently, where Milestone, Batemans, Nottingham andourselves were all represented, both by our respective milds andalso attending brewers. Bob (who is not a mild drinker by anystretch of the imagination) exceeded his previous year’s mildconsumption over the evening and also qualified for one moretrail sticker than usual!We’ve been giving some thought to minimum beer pricing – thisis obviously a hot topic at the moment, although I doubt thata coalition government will sink or swim on it! Many (all?) ofthe supermarket chains use cheap lager as a loss leader to getcustomers into the store. Some of the prices charged are socheap that they can’t possibly be making any margin on theirsales. So why not take their average gross margin across thestore and have a condition of license that their booze mark upmust be at least that amount. Not as simple as it sounds, nodoubt, but something to think about.To end on a cheerful note, we have never been busier and havesuffered the embarrassment of almost running out of beer lastweek. The great thing is that most micros are experiencing thisupsurge in demand – it’s a seasonal thing to some extent, butthere does seem to be an increased demand for local beer andlong may it continue. Now what brewery was it that started outwith “Local beer: Local people”? (Clue – check out the front pageof our website).To the Manor WornEarly May saw the reopening of the Sherwood Manor, onthe corner of Edwards Lane, after a complete refurbishment.The interior layout remains much the same but new decorthroughout has given the place a much brighter feel. Sadly,it continues to operate under the somewhat juvenile ‘HungryHorse’ banner, but then the food offering certainly caters forfamilies with young children, although I doubt Jamie Oliverwould be too impressed with the kids’ menu! At least dad canenjoy a pint of real ale, even if the choice is restricted to theusual Greene King suspects - IPA and Old Speckled Hen at thetime of writing.12 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

All Our YesterdaysBeer mat collecting (tegestology) is a popular hobby and rare specimens can change hands for manyhundreds of pounds. In this short series of All our Yesterdays articles, Nottingham Drinkeris showcasing examples of interesting mats issued by East Midlands brewers that have long sincedisappeared.DavenportsBreweryof Bath Row,Birmingham wasfounded in 1739and suppliedseveral tied housesin the Nottinghamarea as well astheir famous “beerat home” service.Davenports becameanother victim ofGreenall Whitleyin 1986 andbrewing ceasedimmediately.Ansell’s Brewery Limitedwas established in Aston,Birmingham in 1857 andoperated many tied housesin our area. Merging with IndCoope and Taylor Walker in1959 to form Allied Breweries,and then again with Carlsbergin 1992 to create CarlbergTetley, all brewing ceased in1981 following an industrialdispute.(Beer mats courtesy of the John Westlake collection)www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201013

Fare DealsJohn Westlake samples some of the places in our arThe Plough enjoys an elevated position overlookingthe centre of Wysall, a charming rural village nestlingin the valley of Kingston Brook and very close to theLeicestershire border.Pretty soon I am eyeing a deep, white bowl of piping hotsoup, mounted on a rounded triangular plate bearing a sliced,warmed baguette and a single foil-wrapped pat of butter. Rich,thick and creamy, topped with a few crispy croutons, it is a fullflavoured, cheesy delight, with just a hint of leeks and juicyslices of mushroom lurking in the depths for added texture.Surreptitiously using a chunk of bread to mop up the last drops,I settle back to await the Cajun chicken salad (£5.95) I haveordered to follow.Another deep, white bowl soon arrives bearing a hearty helpingof finely chopped salad comprising lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber,onions and mustard cress, drizzled with a light vinaigrettedressing and topped with a sliced, pan fried chicken breast anda few accompanying, sautéed strips of red and green peppers.The generously sized piece of meat is both moist and tenderbut lacks the kick I would normally expect from Cajun spices.Nevertheless, it is very tasty in its own right and blends perfectlywith the crunchy salad items and soft, warm peppers.Fronted by a beautifully laid out patio beer garden, completewith a red telephone box and brightly coloured parasols insummer, the interior of this attractive, white painted, 17 thcentury village local has everything you might expect: lowbeamed ceilings; cosy nooks and crannies; exposed brickwork;open fires; quality paintings and prints around the walls and ascattering of antiques for good measure. Quarry tile flooringgives way to carpeted areas in a warm shade of green, matchingthe upholstery where it can be found, whilst along the bar,a fine array of handpumps sport Timothy Taylor’s Landlord,Fuller’s London Pride, Draught Bass and Greene King Abbot clips,together with two guest ales, usually sourced locally. There isalso an excellent selection of single malt whiskies.Mine hosts, Michael and Pearl Edge, have no wish to see thePlough turned into a gastropub and indeed, food is only servedat lunchtimes. But even if the emphasis is firmly on community,conversation and a pint or two of good ale, perhaps over a gameof darts or pool, this is certainly not to say the food should beoverlooked.The menu offers a selection of paninis (£3.95), omelettes(£4.95) and similarly priced curries, including a vegetarianoption, as well as burgers and baguettes, the latter served withside salad and curly fries. Rib-eye steak with mushrooms and achoice of onions or Stilton on top (£5.75) sounds good, but thereis also a short selection of homemade, typical pub grub dishesto consider, such as steak and ale pie or fresh battered fish,both £6.50 with chips and peas, as well as a choice of salads.And shall I have a starter? Soup of the day with a hot baguette(£3.75) is the only option and when I elicit that today’s offeringis Stilton and mushroom, I cannot resist giving it a try.The Woodlark Inn, LambleyChurch Street, Lambley, Nottingham NG4 4QB. Tel 0115 931 2535Fine traditional alesGood freshly-cookedfood daily andadditional Steak BarFri - SatSpecial offer Tuesday - Thursday evenings: 3 courses £11.95Copper Dragon Bitter now always available!Puddings with custard (£2.95) are listed separately but feelingreplete, I do not bother to investigate after what has been anicely relaxed and thoroughly enjoyable meal. This is simplepub fare at its best and with a great choice of cask-conditionedales to go with it, who could ask for more?When it comes to pubs and the beers they sell, I must say Ifind the centre of Arnold a thoroughly depressing place to visit.Though a few have closed, there is still no shortage of pubs inthe area but most have been blighted by very unsympatheticrenovations over the years. They can also be rowdy andunwelcoming at times and despite it being well documented thattraditional, cask-conditioned beers represent the only growthsector of the drinks industry these days, most of those in chargeof these establishments appear either oblivious to the fact or tooidle to do anything about it.To be fair, the Ernehale, a much needed Wetherspoon presencein town, has been something of an oasis for some time, but nowthere is another more recent beacon of hope to be found just afew doors further along the High Street.Its name conjuring up fond memories of the old Home Brewery,whose coppers and mash tuns once worked their magic nearbyon a site where Sainsburys now stands, the Home Loungebarand Restaurant hides behind an unassuming frontage anddescribes itself as having ‘extravagant and indulgent decor’. Theclaim may be a little exaggerated but the interior is certainlymodern and comfortable, with an Italian style tiled floor anddark wood tables and high-backed, plain chocolate colouredleather chairs contrasting pleasingly against the pale paintwork.To the front, sofas and easy chairs provide relaxed seating,whilst the bar is graced by three handpumps dispensing GreeneKing Abbot, Charles Wells’ Bombardier and Home SupremeAle, a tasty, pale gold, hoppy brew at a very respectable 5.2percent abv, created specially by Magpie Brewery, although thepump clip gives no clue as to its origin. Towards the rear, the14 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Fare Dealsea where good food and good ale go hand in handwould have been better left as an optional extra. The battercoating is more brown than golden but nevertheless crisp andtasty, while the fish encased within is moist and flaky and cookedto a tee. The chips, too, have been well done as requested butgiven their size, I find the portion somewhat more than I canmanage. The crushed minted peas, however, are a delight andthe caper packed tartare sauce is top notch too and just the jobto provide that finishing touch.kitchen can be viewed through a service opening; the upstairsgallery providing extra seating is where dinner is usually served,and right at the back, a pleasant outside patio doubles up as asmokers’ retreat. Dinner (two courses for £12.95 Monday toThursday) offers a choice of starters such as home made fishcake with Asian slaw and wasabi mayo or confit of duck terrinewith orange and apricot chutney, to be followed, perhaps, bybraised blade of beef with horseradish and chive mash, curlykale, red wine and wild mushroom jus or how about a roastedwinter vegetable and Brie Wellington with wild mushroomcream?However, it is lunchtime and once again, soup is the only starteroption, a mug of which can be had with a selection of warmsandwiches (£5.90 - £6.90) as an alternative to the house’sspecial hand-cut, fat chips. Today it is roasted tomato withbasil and I am soon presented with a lovely hot bowlful (£4.95)accompanied by two pieces of chunky white bread. Somewhatsurprisingly there is no butter, although the cheery waitress doesat least ask me if I would like some. Even more surprisingly,they cannot even rustle up a bottle of Worcestershire sauce.The Home, I conclude, is certainly somewhere to avoid if youhappen to fancy a bloody Mary! Nonetheless, the soup itself isobviously home made and creamy, with a good balance of rich,herby tomato flavours that, for me, would have been brought toperfection with that little extra ‘kick’.Lunchtime mains include a traditional cottage pie with seasonalveg and real (sic) gravy (£7.90) or maybe a roasted chicken,chorizo and parsley cassoulet (£9.90). But it is Friday and Idecide to stick with tradition and order good old fish and chips(£8.90), adding a personal request for the chips to be wellbrowned.Pollock, or colin as Sainsburys now prefer to call it,is the catch of the day, an understandably popular fish on theContinent that really deserves wider appreciation this side ofthe Channel as its meaty white flesh is ideal for most dishes. Itcomes in a crunchy jacket of Home Supreme Ale batter, restingon a neat row of some of the fattest chips I have ever seen, abit like railway sleepers, accompanied by minted mushy peas,albeit not the usual chipshop marrowfat variety, home madetartare sauce and a wedge of lemon. There is also a somewhatunnecessary dollop of tomato ketchup on the plate, which I feelThe PloughKeyworth Road, Wysall, Nottinghamshire, NG12 5QQ.Tel: 01509 880339www.plough@wysall.co.ukFood served every day 12 – 12.15 (Sunday: baguettes andsandwiches only).The Home Loungebar and Restaurant3-5 High Street, Arnold, Nottingham, NG5 7DATel: 0115 9200025www.homeloungbar.co..ukFood served: breakfast 9.30–11; lunch 12–4; dinner 6–10(Friday and Saturday ‘early bird’ dinner 6 – 7)The dessert menu (£5.50) offers such treats as strawberry EatonMess with chocolate shortbread and marinated strawberries or,perhaps, chocolate and orange Malteser cheesecake, topped withwhite chocolate vanilla sauce and Home’s own Cointreau sorbet.However, I have been defeated by the jumbo chips and round offwhat has been, on the whole, a very pleasant meal with a cup ofexcellent Italian espresso coffee.Newshouse123, Canal Street, Nottingham0115 950 2419(Very close to Nottingham Ice Arena)CAMRA Pub of the Year 2009A warm welcome from Carole, Bob and StaffA Real Traditional Pub with Traditional Pub GamesDarts, Bar Billiards, Dominoes, Cribbage, Table SkittlesBig Screen Sky SportsHot & cold food served Mon to Sat all dayQuiz Night Thurs 9pmSuperb real ales fromCastle Rock, and GuestsRoom hire and buffetsavailable for parties of over30 peopleOpening times12.00 - 11.00 Sunday - Thursday12.00 - 12.00 Friday - Saturdaywww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201015

Cooking with Ale and CiderIngredientsSlow-Cooked Spicy Beef in CiderJamie’s guest chef this time is Ray Blockley of Torkard Cider, Hucknall, who brings us this delicious dish which issuitable for a slow cooker.Note that anyone can submit a recipe for this column (but I do try them first!). Budding chefs should contact theEditor - details on p.2500g diced trimmed stewingbeef2 x 500ml / 1 pint bottlesdry English or Welsh RealCider4 tablespoons plain flour2 tablespoons dry Englishmustard powder2 tablespoons ground driedgingerFreshly ground black pepperSalt2 sliced cooking onions2 good-sized garlic cloves2 leeks, washed, trimmedand sliced4 carrots, trimmed andsliced2 parsnips, trimmed andsliced100g mushrooms, wiped andslicedButter and olive oil for fryingMethodPre-heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mk 4 or a slow cooker set to “low”. In a large freezerbag, place four tablespoons of plain flour followed by two tablespoons each of English mustardpowder and ground dried ginger. Add a good pinch of salt and plenty of freshly ground blackpepper. Close the bag tightly and give the lot a good shake to mix up the dry ingredients.Carefully open the bag and add the 500 g of diced beef. Re-close the bag and then give thelot a very good shake to ensure the beef is well and truly coated with the spicy flour mix. In alarge heavy pan, heat a knob of butter and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Lift the flouredbeef out of the bag onto a plate and then tip the beef into the hot pan, tossing and turninguntil just starting to colour. Add the two sliced onions, then toss, stir and turn the lot frequentlyuntil the onions are just starting to caramelise. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Sprinkleover a little more of the left-over spicy flour mix from the bag, stirring and cooking this fora minute or so, then turn the lot out into either the pre-warmed crock of a slow-cooker or awarmed casserole dish. Put the pan back on the heat, and in a little more olive oil, sweat acouple of fat peeled and crushed garlic cloves, then add about one and a half of the bottles ofdry cider and use this to de-glaze the pan, scraping any of the beef and onion cooking residueand flour mixture from the base and sides of the pan. After bringing the cider to the boil, addthe pan contents to the beef and onion in the slow-cooker / casserole dish, and thoroughly stirin. Follow this with the sliced leeks, carrots, parsnips and mushrooms, then cover and cookuntil the meat is really tender and melting. If using a slow-cooker, leave on low for 6 - 8 hours;if oven-cooking, reduce the heat to 160°C / 320°F / Gas Mk 3 after an hour or so, and cook for2 - 3 hours in total. Check and stir occasionally during cooking; if oven cooking check the liquidlevel and add more cider if necessary.After a thorough stir and checking the seasoning, serve the spicy cidery beef with mashedpotatoes, rice, or spooned over a jacket potato.NottmDrinkerA5AD-Nov09:Layout 1 9/11/09 15:17 Page 1Local pubs forpeopleNOTTINGHAMBread & Bitter - MapperleyCanalhouse - Canal StreetForest Tavern/The Maze - Mansfield RoadCAMRAmembers50p off!when you use yourWetherspoonvouchers in CastleRock pubsBuy better withour unique LoyaltyCard schemeHorse & Jockey - Basford (near David’s Lane tram)Kean’s Head - Lace MarketLincolnshire Poacher - Mansfield RoadNewshouse - Canal StreetStratford Haven - West BridgfordVat & Fiddle - The Brewery Tap (near Rail Station)Victoria Hotel - BeestonFor a full list of Castle Rock pubs and their locations, please visitour website or see the back page of Castle Rock Timeswww.castlerockbrewery.co.uk2009/10 Castle Rock Times available NOW in Castle Rock pubs16 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Pub CallHe liked the pub so much he bought it! The Queens Head, WatnallJust over a mile and a half from junction 26 of the M1lies the quiet village of Watnall and on its main roadThe Queens Head. The pub dates back to at least 1755,where it is mentioned in The Rolleston family deeds and wasoriginally established to meet the needs of travellers using theNottingham to Newhaventurnpike. Today it stillprovides food and drinkfor the travel wearyalthough most visitors aredrawn to the warm andinviting atmosphere thatpermeates throughoutthis truly traditional andhistoric country pub.Until about ten years agothe pub was part of S&N,having been acquired whenthe company bought HomeBrewery but is now owned by a successful local businessman.John Males heard the Queens Head was on the market andwas horrified to learn that it would probably be converted intoa gastropub and despite having no previous experience in thetrade, he immediately bought the pub. He told me some timeago that, as he lived in the village and wanted to be able tocontinue to enjoy going to the Queens Head, if that meantbuying it he was prepared to take on that challenge.On entering the pub thebar stands out with itsunusual serving area.Martin Lee explains thatthe bar front is thought tohave originally been partof the frontage of a longgone cottage and whenlooking at the passageway to the snug it is easyto see what could havebeen an outside door.The beamed bar, adornedwith old pictures andphotographs, has an old grandfather clock embedded into thewall – there is a suggestion that it actually holds up the roof! Afine table has been fashioned to fit the adjoining unusual wedgeshaped area. Winter visitors are greeted with a roaring fire.Behind the bar lies the snug which will comfortably take a dozenor so and effectively provides the drinker with a private secludeddrinking den.The lounge with its wooden planked ceiling feels like a roomyversion of a train carriage, more Orient Express than British Rail!Peter Bramley who looks after the beer (and does a verygood job from my personal experience) explained that “it wasimportant to strike the right balance between food and drink” sowhilst a good range of traditional pub food is available it is not atthe expense of keeping the Queens Head as a ‘proper pub’.Outside at the front is a small patio style drinking area withplenty of flower baskets and tubswhilst at the back is a large fencedgarden area. Children can enjoy theswings and slide whilst the moregrown up are able to take advantageof the numerous picnic benches. Witha BBQ summer expected visitors canenjoy a meal al fresco.A large marquee has been purchasedand is located at the rear (although itwas moved to the front when Kelly’sHeroes appeared one night) andcan be used for private hire or moreimportantly to house special events likethe ‘Beer in the Tent’ festivals.The first festival was last December and the second will takeplace from Thursday lunchtime 29 th July and conclude Sunday 1 stAugust.Peter has indicated that heexpects about twenty beerswith a good selection of ciders;festival food will be available andit is hoped to have live music onthe Saturday night.A large car park is adjacentto the pub and the 331 fromVictoria bus station will takeyou past the Queens Head. TheAmberline service from Hucknallalso takes in Watnall.A discreet smoking shelter has been built at the rear, completewith lights and halogen heat lamps.On the beer front there arenormally six handpulls in useserving Adnams Broadside;Charles Wells Bombardier;Greene King Old Speckled Hen;Everards Tiger and Originalplus a guest ale – on my mostrecent visit it was York Guzzler.As the pub is tied to Everardsthe beer range is linked to thosethe brewery is able to supply.The Queens Head, Main Street, Watnall NG16 1HT0115 938 6774Open: 12-12 Sun-Wed; 11.30-12 Thur, Fri & SatFood served: 12-2 Mon-Fri, 12-3 Sat & Sun, 12-4 Bank hols;6-8 Mon-Thur, 5.30-8 Friwww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201017

Pub of the YearThe Results are in…. (and it was hard work)1 st 2 ndottingham Branch Pub of the Year has beenannounced after much deliberation. This year we hadNmore nominations than ever, twenty to be precise,scattered over the branch area. All were visited by a dedicatedgroup of volunteer judges at the beginning of the year whoscored each pub. The top six went through to a second round ofjudging which was reduced to three for the third and final round.With a total of fourteen judges being involved this produced atotal number of scores of one thousand, nine hundred and eighty– thank goodness for spreadsheets! After pressing the button wehad the answer…….The results were very close; however in third place was theVictoria in Beeston whilst the runner up was the Hand and Hearton Derby Road. The winner, for the first time, was the Crown inBeeston.Since opening under the current owners the Hand and Heart hasbuilt up an enviable reputation and has recently extended thedrinking and eating area to the upstairs level. They have alsoinstalled some extra beers, served by gravity, in the cave to therear of the pub.The Crown, near the bus station, has even more recentlyreopened having been sold to Everards by Greene King. Thenumber of beers available upon opening was impressive,however this has recently been increased as demand hasrisen as word has spread. The Crown now goes through to theNottinghamshire Pub of the Year competition.It was heartening to see many of the recently reopened pubsbeing nominated for the award, showing the high standardsthat recent openings are attaining. Special mention goes to theRoundhouse, near the Castle, and the Waggon and Horses atThe Boat InnPriory St, Lenton, NG7 2NX, Tel 0115 9780267Bleasby, both of which finished in the top six along with lastyears winner, the Newshouse on Canal Street.Now it is your opportunity to follow in the judges footsteps.We will be making a presentation to the Hand and Heart onMonday 28th June 2010 and to the Crown on Wednesday 30thJune. Come along and see what impressed the judges aboutthese two pubs. The evenings will start around 7.30pm with thepresentations taking place around 9pm.6 Cask Ales At All TimesCAMRA discount10 Single Malt WhiskiesBeer GardenLunch Time menu served12-3 Mon - SaturdayEntertainment Every Saturday NightOpen 12-11.30pm Monday - Thursday,12-12 Friday & Saturday, 12-10.30pm Sunday18 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Tales from the NorthAndrew Ludlow reportsThe Three Tuns, Eastwoodbecomes the first pub inEastwood to sign up to theLocAle scheme. Blue Monkeybeers have been added to therange of beers available and Julie,the landlady, has reported thatshe is now selling between threeand four nines of Blue Monkeybeer a week. Rather than stocka single Blue Monkey beer localsare being treated to an everchangingselection as the pubgoes through the entire BlueMonkey range of beers.The Three Tuns is situated just off the main NottinghamRoad (on Three Tuns Road) and a few minutes walk fromEastwood Town Football Club. Trade is increasing and willno doubt improve significantly during the summer monthsas the pub has a large rear garden. Julie is keen to retainthe pub’s community links and often hosts special eventslike the Steam Toy Fair on 29 th May which raises moneyfor the Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People.The Green Dragon in Hucknall has applied for a changein its license so that it can open and sell breakfastsfrom 8.00am. It is expected that this new service willcommence in June. Drinkers should note that beer is notavailable though until 11.00am. The pub has a numberof regular events and has started to stage Tuesdayafternoon Bingo and ‘sticky 13’ sessions from 1.30pm.Monday and Tuesday senior citizens’ meals are on offer at£2.50 and a special pub menu is also available with mealscosting from £2.99.The Pilgrim Oak, again in Hucknall, now opens its doorsfrom 7.00am offering an early morning breakfast. Thepub is open for beer from 9am and does offer a LocAlebeer – most recently it has been one of the excellentbeers from Belvoir Brewery, although Shardlow andFunfair have also featured.If you have any information relating to pubs in ‘the north’please contact me at:andrewludlow@nottinghamcamra.org.Why Everards?Licensees spendingmore time with ourBDMs make more profit *So why run your own pub with anyone else?Call us on 0800 056 4111 orvisit www.everards.co.ukWWW.EVERARDS.CO.UK* Independent research by CGA Strategy with 85% of our pubs during August www.nottinghamcamra.org 2009.June / July 201019

Holiday BritainIn the second of a new series, Colin Elmhirst visorfolk is the fifth largest countyin England, mainly rural in nature,Nso that there are many picturesquevillages as well as the centres ofpopulation, such as Norwich, Kings Lynnand Great Yarmouth, together with a longcoastline home to seals and many birds.Once established in Caister it was timeto plan the week ahead. Happisburghseemed a good choice because mydaughter had been learning about coastalerosion and there were a number ofvillages en route along the coast road withGBG entries. Happisburgh itself is hometo the Hill House, a sixteenth centuryinn sandwiched between the church andnear the centre of a quiet village. Thisinn offered beers from Adnam’s andWoodforde’s from which I picked theNorfolk Nog, a dark porter style malt beer,again in fine form on my visit.To the west of Caister lies the Broadsand this was the next area to explore.Wroxham is known as the capital of theBroads and in appearance is like a ruralVenice with many properties havinggardens running down to the water.George Formby had a home here someyears ago. In the centre of Wroxhamis the Wroxham Hotel, a modernbuilding with a large decking area by thewater where I watched the swans whilstThe most famous sons of Norfolk are LordNelson and more recently James Dyson,James Blunt, and the cricket commentatorHenry Blofeld.We chose to explore the area aroundCaister, situated just to the north ofGreat Yarmouth, during the spring halfterm.Leaving Nottingham mid morning,lunchtime found us in East Dereham, andthe King’s Head Hotel, situated in thethe rapidly eroding cliffs, although the innshould survive for a few more centuriesif the current financial times allow. Theinn is reputed to have been a favouritewith Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and is of asize which could almost fit into one of hisbooks. I chose the Adnam’s Broadsidewhich was in excellent condition. Insummer up to six beers can be available.Heading south towards Caister the nextvillage we came to was Horsey where theNelson Head lies just off the B1159 on alane heading towards the coast. It is closesampling the Adam’s Regatta. After a boattrip on the Broads it was time to headback to base. Woodbastwick was close tothe route which gave the excuse to call inat the Fur and Feather Inn, the brewerytap for Woodforde’s Brewery. Convertedcentre of town. The weather was goodenough to make use of the large garden. Isampled the local Grain Brewery’s HarvestMoon which was in good condition to gowith a salad lunch. Later I also tried theGreene King IPA which was fine although Ipersonally preferred the Grain brew.to the Horsey Nature Reserve, Broad andMill. A large field, on the lane oppositethe inn afforded a pleasant but windyspot to have lunch to go with Woodforde’sNelson’s Revenge and I also sneaked in aWherry, both in very good condition.Continuing south brought us to Wintertonon-seaand the Fisherman’s Return,a 17 th century brick and flint built inn20 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Holiday Britainits Norfolk - and, as ever, rather a lot of pubs!from a row of three thatched cottages theinn boasts the full range of Woodforde’sbeers and an extensive menu. I triedSundew and Nelson’s Revenge whichwere both excellent but on the pricey sidebearing in mind the brewery was nextdoor.Continuing on eastwards the Bridge Innfriendly. Nelson’s Revenge and Wherrywere again in very good order, guestbeers are also available here in summer.The final area covered was the northNorfolk coast around Cromer. We startedat Blakeney which is famous for the sealwatching trips. Unfortunately when wearrived the tide was ebbing and the lastboats were returning, so we headedstraight for the hostelries. The King’sbeer on offer here in acceptable condition.The Lighthouse Inn in Walcott was thefinal stop, a very spacious inn with oneof the largest gardens I’ve ever seen,Acle provided the opportunity to sampleBuffy’s Bitter, an enjoyable malty brewwith a strong hops aftertaste, from a localbrewery based at Tivetshall St Mary.To the south of Acle is the village ofReedham where the Ferry Inn sits onthe north bank of the Yare river. Next tothe inn is the only working ferry on theBroads. The 17 th century inn has beamedceilings and stone floors and is dogArms, on the west side of the village justback from the harbour, served excellentmeals which the Marston’s Pedigreematched. On the opposite side of thevillage I found the White Horse whichserved Yetman’s Orange, a new breweryfor me based in Holt, Norfolk. All thebeers are named after colours, the Orangebeing a copper hued brew having a maltyaroma with a bitter aftertaste.In Cromer Ye Olde Red Lion Hotelattracted my attention not least for itshuge size looming over the promenadefrom the top of the cliff. Wherry was theeven the large marquee in the groundsseemed dwarfed. I chose Greene King St.Edmunds which was in very good form.All in all a very enjoyable week helped bybenign weather, excellent countryside andof course great beers that even HoratioWriters wanted!Could you write a Holiday Britainfeature for Nottingham Drinker?We would very much like to make this aregular feature, but, unlike the nationalpress, Nottingham Drinker is runentirely by volunteers, and we cannotpay to send reporters on holiday towrite the articles!If you would like to write about aholiday you have had in Britain, and thepubs and beer you had there, pleasecontact the editor first before writing itto ensure that we do not already have afeature in reserve on your chosen area.Call 0115 714 9588, 07751 441 682,write to 218 Standhill Rd. NG4 1JZ ore-mail nottinghamdrinker@ntlworld.comVictoria Tavern & Guests www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201021

Looking back at the SeventiesPart 3 of a series in which former Home Brewery Area ManagerDerek Henshaw looks back and notes how times have changedam a great fan of The Apprentice but have to smile atsome of the job titles. In one series, there was a youngI lady whose title was ‘Global Retail Manager’. She was 21,just out of university and barely out of nappies. Also recentlyon ‘The Weakest Link’ in response to Anne Robinson’s question– “How old are you?” the contestant replied, “I’m 24 Anne”and to her next question “What do you do?” “I’m a senior salesexecutive Anne.” “Mmm” said Anne. “What do you sell?” wasAnne’s next question. “Oh, this and that” replied the contestant.“Mmm” said Anne.These people are very young and often extremely intelligentbut the one thing they lack is experience and that is surely themost important asset. I bring this up solely as another majordifference between the 1970’s and today.My job as a Tied House Inspector would today be “Area Manager.’In those days, you only achieved the title ‘Manager’ if you werein charge of a department, e.g. Managed House, Tenancy, FreeTrade, Surveyors, Estates, Transport etc. It reminds me of anincident concerning the Assistant Tenancy Manager, a man inhis mid-thirties and with over ten years brewery experience.One day he was asked to bring his copy of his Contract ofEmployment to work. This was later returned to him and henoticed the word ‘to’ had been inserted between the wordsAssistant and Tenancy. As he remarked, “Isn’t it strange howyou can be demoted by the addition of two little letters”. Thetitle ‘Manager’ really had to be worked for in those days and wasawarded on experience and service.This was still borne out in the late 1970’s when the TenancyDepartment was re-structured. This was brought about bythe retirement of the Tenancy Manager. The new Assistant toTenancy Manager got his promotion to Manager and myself anda colleague were promoted to a new position of Area Supervisor.A computer was also installed at about this time and this led towhat I thought was an amusing anecdote. It meant that, whenordering, every product was represented by a code number. Onone occasion because of its non-arrival on time, I had to ring oneof my tenants in Chesterfield and take his order over the phone.At one point he said “Two bottles of sweet Martini”. This was nolonger of any use to me so I said, “Have you got the code?” towhich he replied “Ah. I’ve had it for three weeks now and I can’tget shut of it”.The re-structuring brought about a complete change in my job.Due to an ever-increasing workload, three new Area Inspectorswere engaged, adding to the one remaining one. This AreaInspector was only two years away from retirement, by whichtime he would have served fifty years with the company.Continuing with the theme of changing times, he said that whenhe was first employed everyone started at ‘the bottom’. His firstjob was cleaning out returned casks. From there you literallyworked your way through every department, including brewing,bottling and all the various offices. He eventually finished up inTenancy.This meant each inspector was now responsible for 90 pubs withmy colleague and myself accepting overall responsibility for 180each. This new position relieved the inspectors of certain duties,giving them more time to spend at each House and also relievingthe Tenancy Manager of some pressure by taking over some ofhis more mundane duties.My new duties now involved interviewing couples as prospectivetenants. It is interesting to note that on average, we receivedsix completed application forms per day. The majority of theseforms showed the couples had no idea of what being a tenantinvolved. Many entered ‘Nil’ in the Capital Available column.Others believed you only worked the eight or so hours the pubwas open, thought the stock was supplied free and the takingswere 100% profit. Hard to believe, but true. Even so there wascertainly no shortage of good prospective tenants. It seemedpeople would give their right arm for a pub. How different todaywith all the ‘To Let’ signs around!What in the past had always seemed wrong to us as inspectorswas that new, untried tenants would often be given the better22 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010Houses when they became available. It was a commoncomplaint made to us by existing tenants.As supervisors, we were given the authority to offer the betterpubs, as they became available, to certain existing tenants. Theidea of ‘Promotion Houses’ seemed a fairer system to thosetenants in the slower trading Houses who had worked hardand deserved a better pub. It was also used to sometimesencourage a particularly good tenant from another brewery. Ona question of morals, I was pleased when it didn’t work, whenthese tenant’s said “I have been with Shipstones/Kimberley/Mansfield for ten years (or whatever) now. They have alwaysbeen good to me and I wouldn’t leave them.” I always had greatrespect for them and those who said the same about HomeBrewery. I wonder how many licensees have reason to be thatloyal today?New tenants therefore were generally offered the smaller, slowertrading, and often, older properties. This, however, did not deterthe genuine applicants.It could be difficult sometimes to determine what some coupleshad that set them apart from the others. Looking smart andpresentable and having an outgoing personality was obviouslyimportant, but they also had to have a certain endearment thatattracted them to you. Having said that, there just may havebeen occasions when the wife’s endowments may have wonover their joint endearments and I am sure the majority of malereaders would agree it still is an important aspect of bringing inthe male customers.One gentleman who did not endear himself to me, or get a pub,was a Nottingham Forest player who was coming to the end ofhis footballing career. When I asked him what he thought wouldmake him a good licensee, he replied “Cus I’m famous. Aren’tI?”.“Special Commendation”Nottingham CAMRA Pub of the Year 2008Nine Continually Changing Cask Ales from Around The CountryFullers London Pride, Deuchar’s I.P.A. and Guest Mild AlwaysAvailableDedicated Hand Pump for LocAleHot & Cold Food Served Mon – Fri Lunchtimes 12.00 – 2.30Traditional Sunday Lunch Served 12.30 – 4.00Quiz Every Monday NightFunction Room Available for HireDJ Pat Plays Easy Listening from 60’s & 70’s Every Sunday NightFree Wi-Fi Internet AccessOpen 12 Noon – 11Pm Sun to Thurs 11am to 11.30 Fri & SatTel: 0115 9703777 e. basford@bartschinns.com462 Radford Road, Basford, NG7 7EATram: Shipstone Street or Wilkinson Street

Horse & Plough Food & Beer NightBridget Edwards puts on weight at a gourmet eventOn a Thursday in May The Grill Room at the Horse andPlough, Bingham was host to a Food and Beer evening.A varied five course menu was accompanied by beers fromBatemans Brewery, each course being matched with a beerintended to complement and enhance the individual flavours.Throughout the evening Lee Gunton and Adam Holmes, fromBatemans, talked to us about both the brewery, and the beersselected, explaining the reasoning behind the choices.The meal started with a choice of a robustly flavouredgame pâté, matched with Dark Lord, a 5% dark rubybeer, while the alternative tempura vegetables with a chillisauce was matched with Combined Harvest at 4.7%, amuch lighter floral beer that cut through the heat of thechilli. This first course most strongly showed the contrastbetween two radically different beers, the lighter beerwould have been overpowered by the game pâté and theroast flavours of the Dark Lord would have clashed withthe chilli.The next course was a choice of Curried Mussels or a Pesto andFeta tart. This course was matched with Combined Harvest,the beer again working very well with both choices. Being a loverof dark beers myself, it was good to have the choice taken outof my hands, only to find that a beer I would not necessarilyhave chosen complemented the first two courses so well - itis definitely worth moving out of your personal comfort zoneoccasionally.The main course was a choice of steak or a spinach roulade,matched with the 4.8% Triple XXXB. At this stage in theevening the food had to be matched with a full flavoured beersuch as this, the brew having a robust hoppiness balanced withmalt. A lesser beer would just be lost, and the Triple XB workedsuperbly - it is no wonder that this multi award winning beer islisted as one of the top 50 in the world.Onto the dessert, and I find this always the most difficultfood type to match with a beer or wine (doesn’t stop meeating way too many of them though, but that’s anothermatter!). A sublime citrus cheesecake with chocolatesauce was matched with 5% Spring Breeze, accordingto the tasting notes this is a golden, malty, crisp paleale with a delightful flowery aroma. On its own, thisbeer was probably the furthest of the selection from mypersonal taste. Chairman Mart loved it, as he is a big fanof Belgian Blonde Beers, and there is a similarity here.However, combined with the sweet & citrus flavours ofthe cheesecake this beer stunned me by holding it’sflavour throughout, without beginning to taste overly bitter,which is what I often find is the result if I have been eatingsomething sweet. This beer was an excellent choice to go withthis course, and for me was a real find.Finally, the cheese course was matchedwith Victory Ale at 6%. This full flavouredStrong Pale Ale needed to be left till last,and matched with the strong flavours ofStilton and Cheddar. Our taste buds hadbeen challenged through the evening,but the firm flavours of the Goldings andLiberty hops, combined with the MarrisOtter and crystal malts pushed through andworked very well indeed. I must confess that I also had someof the aforementioned Dark Lord to go with the Stilton, havingmissed out on this beer earlier because of my choice of starter,and that was an excellent match, but again, I am a dark beerfreak!One lucky diner won a Batemans Brewery tour of their choice inthe raffle, but I am sure that they won’t be the only one makinga trip down to Wainfleet on the back of this evening. It’s wellworth checking out www.bateman.co.uk to see what’s on offerthere, and for more information on their beer range.To sum up, it was an excellent night and I hope that this sortof event proves again how lucky we are having this wealth andvariety of brewers and beers virtually on the doorstep. The rightbeers can enhance a meal just as well as bottle of wine can andthere are pubs and breweries ready and waiting to prove it to us.SnippetsJobs and ale boost for NottinghamCastle Rock Brewery, the Nottingham real ale brewer, is totriple its capacity following a £600,000 investment in plantand premises adjacent to its existing brewery. Currently, CastleRock brews a maximum of around 110 barrels each week. Thenew plant, which will eventually lead to the decommissioningof the existing brewery, will operate five days a week with amaximum capacity of 330 barrels a week.The venture will overcome current shortages of some CastleRock ales and see the creation of six new full time jobs inbrewing and marketing and widen the availability of its regularand seasonal beers.Chairman, Chris Holmes, says thepopularity of Castle Rock’s beer portfoliocontinues to grow. “Harvest Pale,CAMRA’s 2007 Champion Bitter Thursday13th August – Sunday 16th August at theGrantham Railway Club off Huntingtowerroad Grantham. 40+Beers , Cider andPerry More details to follow. of Britain,has become so popular in the free tradethat its production is putting immensepressure on the brewery. We’ve nowgot to the stage where too many valuedcustomers, from national chains, smalllocal groups and even pubs in the CastleRock estate, are being denied their firstchoices of ale. To do nothing would havelet landlords and their customers down,”he says.The new Castle Rock Brewery will be situated in part Victorian,part 1960s workshop and office premises. The brewingequipment will be put in place in early May with the first trialruns expected in June 2010.Castle Rock currently supplies eight own brand ales rangingin strength from 3.5% abv to 5.5%. Each month, a beer iscreated to highlight and support the work of local Wildlife Trusts.“I am looking forward to the day when supplies of all our aleswill be continuous, and we won’t have to make the often difficultchoice of what to brew,” says Chris.Construction work, which makes up £150,000 of the total spend,is being carried out by the West Bridgford based Harmanbuild.Two new Wetherspoon pubs to openThe Old Bus Depot, Sherwood, formally the Oak Tree, hasbeen bought by J. D. Wetherspoon and is scheduled to openon July 16 th . The name of this pub had yet to be confirmed as wewent to press.A week later, on July 23 rd , the Free Man, at 334-336 CarltonHill, a former Co-op supermarket, opens. This is easily reachedusing the frequent NCT Lilac Line services 25 and 27, and, with aday ticket could be combined with the Black’s Head further on.Nottingham CAMRA Trips and SocialsTChris Holmes with headbrewer, Adrian Redgrove.he mini bus survey trips for the next period are as follows; InJune the trip will be to Rempstone, Costock & Bunny, July will beto Linby & Papplewick area (the previous trip was cancelled) and inAugust we will take in Kegworth Normanton on Soar and Zouch.The last two trips out weren’t particularly well supported, verydisappointing but I’m going to give you a bit of a rest to decide if youwant these to continue, so please let me know.The public transport social/survey trips have been very popular. My“Rays Round” crawl will be at the beginning of June and, this will beusing NCT buses; I’m planning to meet in the Newmarket and thencatch the no. 6 bus from Wilkinson’s at 7pm. In July we will be lookingat Ruddington catching the 6.45 NCT no 10 bus, also from Wilkinson’s.In August it will be a crawl based on my scribblings in this edition ofthe Drinker and I intend to catch the NCT no 13 bus from BeastmarketHill in the Market Square. As always, your CAMRA membership card isrequired to obtain your discount on paying for bus trips.Also, don’t forget, you can sign up for e-mail alerts for all the trips,just let me know.See the diary dates column for times and dates of all the trips, socialsetc.Don’t forget, that EVERYONE is welcome to any CAMRA meetingor outing, you do NOT have to be a member. And finally I can becontacted electronically at: raykirby@nottinghamcamra.orgwww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201023

In Praise of Public TransportNo. 66 of a series in which Spyke Golding looks atMarquis of Granby (1)The Packhorse InnMarquis of Granby (3)SIn one of our rare sorties into Lincoleaford is just 13 miles furtherthan Grantham from Nottingham.Its name was derived from theOld English “esla+forde”, meaning “fordover a muddy stream” - the muddystream now being known as the RiverSlea. However it was actually quite clearwhen I took a look at it! Unlike the roads,which were almost as bad as the M25 ona Friday afternoon! It was impossible tophotograph some pubs without a passingvehicle - and I often waited for 15-20minutes!Sleaford is now being developed as atourist and craft centre, with CogglestonMill (background photo), a working watermill, one of its biggest attractions.Getting there is very simple with hourlydirect trains from Nottingham; the lastback is at 22:00 (21:40 Sundays anddecreased frequency). An off peak dayreturn is £10.70, but Groupsave isavailable, meaning three or four can gofor the price of two.We found ten pubs selling real ale in thecentre - you may not wish to do them allor in the same order - but we kicked off atthe Marquis of Granby (1), housed ina handsome, stone building. Inside, threerooms have been knocked into one andgiven a modern look with a fawn carpet,white-painted walls and down lights. Incontrast, the settles are upholstered,finished with a dark patterned fabric, andthe stools are topped with dark red. Thereis darts, a pool table and a large sportsscreen. The well kept beers were CharlesWells Bombardier and Greene King Abbot.The Packhorse Inn (2) is the localWetherspoon pub, and a decent onetoo with a good beer range includingsome interesting microbrewery guests.There are three levels - the front oneis primarily for drinking whereas dinersseem to prefer the central, slightly moreenclosed area. The usual good value foodis served, and the chain has just starteda summer menu including a ploughmanswith cheddar and pork pie. The rear,highest section is family orientated andbehind is a pleasant beer garden. Someinteresting artistic works are on display,created by student Leslie Whelan inBirmingham Botanical Gardens.The Marquis of Granby (3) is the nextstop - not often we find two pubs of thesame name so close together! This onehas an L-shaped bar with a pool table atthe rear and a sports screen. There arecomfortable red-patterned settles, decentcarpets and very chunky wooden tables.The very well kept beers were AdnamsBitter, Charles Wells Bombardier andGreene King Abbott.You can cut through the narrow Stephen’sLane at the side of the pub, and then walkalong by the banks of the Slea to get tothe next pub, the Rose and Crown (4).A former Mansfield house, this pub sellsjust one real ale - on our visit it was TomWoods Best Bitter - in great form and atjust £2 a pint (beer is generally cheaperin Sleaford than in Nottingham, by theway). It is a rather unusual pub. Accessis only via a courtyard, which has tablesand chairs and a water feature involvinga large statue of Neptune! Inside is onesplit-level room. The rear section (bythe entrance) is a very comfortable andpleasantly decorated drinking area withfriendly staff and a jukebox that is quietenough not to interfere with conversation.Three steps lead to the pool and dartsarea at the front with rather a mishmashof decorating styles including ruchedcurtains, leafy wallpaper, old beams andwide polished floorboards.The Lincolnshire Oak (5) is actuallya hotel - the highest rated in Sleafordaccording to their advertising - but ithas a bar with real ale. It is about a halfmile walk along East Gate on the right,and handy for Coggleston Mill - if youare looking to stay overnight it will setyou back around £70 for a twin. The baradjoins the dining room and, like manyhotel bars, lacks atmosphere. It has adecent green, brown and gold patternedcarpet, leather covered settees, carverstyle chairs and red upholstered settles.The walls are painted pastel green aboveand brown below and display somemodern prints. There is just one everchangingdraught beer - it was Robinson’sDragon’s Fire when we called and in fineform, although it took ten minutes for thestaff to realise there was anyone in thereto serve! Am I that inconspicuous?Rose & Crown (4)Lincolnshire Oak (5)24 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

In Praise of Public Transportthe use of buses, trams and planes to visit pubslnshire, we take a train to SleafordThe Barge and Bottle (6) with an arrayof handpumps serving nine cask alesshould be Sleaford’s flagship real alepub - but we were to find differently! Westarted with the house beer - just £1.49 apint and in excellent form. We had askedthe bar staff who brewed it and weretold it was “a local microbrewery” butthey could not remember which one. Weasked another member of staff later whodid not know, but promised to get backto us. He was never to be seen again!Their website threw no more light on iteither - so if you go and actually findsomeone who knows please let me know!The beers were mainly from regionalbrewers with just a couple of micros sowe decided to try a pint of Tetley Bitterbefore the Leeds brewery closes. Thisturned out to be the worst pint of beer Ican remember drinking this century - youcould have cheerfully pickled shallots init! On returning it we were told that “wedon’t sell much” and they started to pull abit off, naively expecting it to get better. Ipointed out that its condition was clearlyterminal and requested a different beer. Iwas given this without problem - but thisone was not brilliant either so we gaveup! At least the house brew was goodalthough selling it so cheaply probablymeant that no one was drinking theothers. The pub, by the way, is housedin a modern building with one large,long room but three distinct drinkingareas. There is a separate restaurant atthe rear. The decor was reminiscent of aWetherspoons but not so well done.Down the road the White Horse (7) onlysells John Smith’s Cask Bitter and GreeneKing IPA but at least they are properlykept! It is a pleasant three-roomed local,with a pool table in the central area anddart boards at both ends of the pub.There is a blue-patterned carpet, woodentables, and upholstered settles and stool,including proper barstools. Various photosand prints adorn the walls, including abank note collection.The Bull and Dog (8) is a long narrowbar with a pool table at either end. Ithas a beamed ceiling and a tiled floor atthe front, carpeted at the rear. There areupholstered settles, wide wooden stools,but the windows had no curtains. Fairlyquiet music emanated from the jukebox,and there are big sports screens. Just onereal ale is on sale - Black Sheep Bitter.But it is, we were told, the only outlet forit in Sleaford.The Nags Head (9) is a Bateman tiedhouse selling just their XB. There is justone room, where heavy metal is played,but not excessively loudly. There arefloor tiles to the left and cord carpet tothe right, various forms of seating anda big sports screen. However we couldnot believe what happened when weordered our pints of XB. The barman toldus that the barrel had gone, and thatthe only person who could change it was“too busy”. Worse still, he then offeredus pints of John Smith’s Extra Smoothfor £2 instead. We never mention thatwe are CAMRA members when making acomplaint - but a quick “I wonder whatStuart Bateman would think about this”seemed in order in the circumstances andproduced rapid results so we soon hadtwo excellent pints from a new barrel!Our final stop, and very handy for thestation was the Carre Arms Hotel. Thisis a very pleasant and quite plush hotelwith two rooms for both drinking anddining. They are very tastefully decoratedwith proper curtains, wide old-fashionedfloorboards and walls with dark red paintbelow and cream wallpaper above. Thereis a really good atmosphere in here, andit was extremely popular on a Fridaynight. There is a delightful Victorianconservatory at the rear, although it wastoo cold to sit out there on a May evening!The very well kept beers are Marston’sDraught Bass and Fuller, Smith andTurner’s London Pride. Foodwise, anythingfrom sandwiches to full meals includingdaily blackboard specials is served here.We were a little hungry after visiting allthose pubs and decided to order somefood - a home cooked ham baguetteand a hot roast pork roll. Consideringhow busy the place was, we were servedremarkably quickly with high quality food,and they came with a decent salad and aportion of jacket chips too. It is £85 for atwin here - but it has brilliant reviews ontripadvisor.com!White Horse (7)Bull & Dog (8)Nags Head (9)Barge and Bottle (6)Carre Arms Hotel (10)www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201025

News BrewingThe Great Nottinghamshire Beer Boom: Steve Westby reports010 certainly seems to beshaping up as a boom year2for Nottinghamshire beer andbreweries, something that is also reflectedin adjoining counties. Perhaps the mosthigh profile news, it even made the newsheadlines on Radio Nottingham, is thatCastle Rock are close to completion ofa project to triple the capacity of theirbrewery from 110 to 330 barrels* perweek, quite amazing when less thanten years ago their capacity was just 35barrels.And by the time you are reading this,beers should be rolling out of the newBlue Monkey Brewery in Giltbrookwhich will allow production to betripled, not bad for a brewery that onlyproduced its first ever pint in October2008. Meanwhile John Hickling is stillconsidering the options for the existingBlue Monkey Brewery in Ilkeston andthere is a good chance that it couldremain in production, probably under anew name and possibly with new owners.Meanwhile down by the Trent John andSandra Stachura are also looking toincrease the capacity of their CaythorpeBrewery. The present 2½-barrel brewingequipment was cleverly installed byprevious brewery owner Geoff Slack,a former Head Electrical Technician atHome Brewery, in a tiny room at the rearof the Black Horse. But demand for theirexcellent beers has now increased sosignificantly that there are plans to installa larger six-barrel plant in an adjacentstoreroom.The new Reality Brewery in Beeston,which had its first beer on sale atthe beginning of April is featured indetail elsewhere in the Drinker, butNottingham’s other new Brewery is nowalso in production. In the last edition webrought you news of a new brewery tobe set up in Colwick by I.T. consultantAndrew Dunkin. As planned, the sixbarrel Flipside Brewery was installedon 8 th May with the first brew, SterlingPale a 3.9% refreshing pale, going intothe mash tun just 24 hours later. A secondbeer Flipping Best, a 4.6% dark brown26 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010traditional best bitter was scheduled forthe second brew run with both beers dueto be featured at Newark Beer Festival atthe end of May.CAMRA’s Howard Clark (right) assistsAndrew Dunkin with his first brewMeanwhile for the past three editions Ihave brought you updates on the newbrewery to be installed in a NationalTrust building in Hardwick Village onthe Clumber Park Estate by Rob Neal ofMaypole Brewery. Well I can now revealthat this new venture now has a name,it is to be known as the Prior’s WellBrewery. This name has not, as youmight have assumed, come from somehistoric well on the Clumber Estate,“Prior Well Brewery” was in fact operatedon Priorswell Road in Worksop by theWorksop and Retford Brewery Co. In 1959the firm was taken over by Tennant whichin 1967 was absorbed by Whitbread, andthe brewery closed in 1977. Work on thenew brewery was completed in May andas we went to press all that was awaitedwas a mains electricity connection, whichwas imminent. Hopefully, beers shouldstart to appear from Prior’s Well duringJune.The Lincolnshire coast may be well knownfor the delights of its beaches, bingo andButlins but, with the notable exceptionof some excellent Batemans pubs, itwas not known for its beer with mostholiday makers seemingly only interestedin downing copious amounts of fizzy,internationally branded, brown liquids.But in recent times things have changedfor the better and the area now boaststhree brewpubs! In 2007 the CountrymanInn in Ingoldmells, home of the LeilaCottage Brewery, was the first to fireup the mash tun followed the followingyear by the Crown Inn at Maltby le Marshnear Mablethorpe, home of the Malt BBrewery. These two ventures were set upwith the advice and encouragement ofPhil Ellis from the Fulstow Brewery andnow he is also helping with the latestone. The Bacchus Hotel at Sutton on Seawas already known for its beer festivalsbut now it has added its own brewery tooperate under the name of the BacchusBrewing Company.With Phil’s advice the small one-barrelplant was put together using variouspieces of equipment, and test brews werebeing produced during May which weretried out on some lucky customers. Oncethe brews are considered to be of a highstandard brewing will commence on acommercial basis, with the hope that thiswill be sometime in June. The Hotel has abeer festival at Spring Bank Holiday butunfortunately will not have any Bacchusbeer available for this, however thelargest of their annual beer festivals isat August Bank Holiday, when their ownbrews will feature. More details can befound at www.bacchushotel.co.ukStill in Lincolnshire, another new venture,the 8 Sail Brewery is about to start atHeckington near Sleaford, across the roadfrom the railway station to be precise.The brewery nestles in the shadow ofHeckington Windmill, Britain’s only eightsailedwindmill from where the brewerytakes its name. The six barrel plantfrom Porter Brewery Installations wasscheduled to be installed mid-May, butdelayed building work necessitated apostponement.Site of 8-Sail brewery, HeckingtonThe man behind the brewery is CAMRAmember Tony Pygott, who is currentlya deputy head teacher but intends togo part-time to run this new enterprise.

News BrewingPermission has been approved for abrewery shop as Tony intends to bottlecondition the beers as well and he alsoplans to house a small visitor attractionin the future showing how drinkingglasses have changed from Victoriantimes. Obviously the priority is to get thebrewery up and running first but the shopshould be open fairly soon.But it is not all good news on theLincolnshire brewing front as a brewerythat set up only eighteen months ago hasclosed down, albeit hopefully temporarily.Cathedral Ales was housed in the GreenDragon Hotel right in the centre of Lincolnbut when new licensees took over thepub they decided that they did not wishto carry on brewing and the plant had tobe removed. The brewery was operatedby Ken Munro of Milestone Brewery andhe is now looking for suitable premisesin the city to re-house Cathedral Ales forwhich he intends to acquire a larger brewplant. Meanwhile the old Cathedral Ales6-barrel plant is to be sold to Milestonehead brewer Dean Penney who is lookingto install it on a farm in Nottinghamshire,more of this in the next edition.Over in Derbyshire the new MarlpoolBrewery was nearing readiness as wewent to press. Situated in Marlpoolnear Heanor, the brewery is in an oldslaughterhouse and although it is situatednext to the Queens Head, it is completelyindependent. The two and a half barrelplant was originally installed at FunfairBrewery and Funfair brewer Dave Tizardhas been assisting with the set up. Thebrewery will operate on a part time basis,and the intention is to start with a choiceof a pale and a dark ale. They will alsobe supporting the Brinsley Animal Rescuecharity by donating the spent malt forBoris, their blind bull and goats to enjoy.With any luck Marlpool beers should startappearing on the pumps towards the endof June. More details can be found atwww.marlpoolbrewing.co.ukAlso in Derbyshire the new Raw Breweryin Staveley, mentioned in the last edition,is now close to starting production. Beersshould hopefully be on sale in June,starting with Dark Peak a 4.5% stout,Raw Blonde a 3.9% blonde ale and GreyGhost a 5.9% well hopped IPA.In the same county but close to Burtonon Trent a new brewery is being setup at the Tap House, Smisby, a pubowned and run by one of the sons ofJohn Thompson, who has owned theJohn Thompson brew-pub at Inglebyfor many years. The brewery is to becalled the Tap House Brewery and thebrewery building is almost complete, andmost of the equipment obtained. Whenservices (water, electricity, etc) have beenconnected, hopefully during May, workwill commence on installing the breweryequipment. If everything goes smoothly,and subject to the appointment of abrewer, it is hoped that brewing trials willstart in July.Finally Funfair brewer Dave Tizard andpartner Abigail Cutts are taking over theChequers at Elston near Newark. It isexpected to be opening in June and willoffer six real ales on handpump plus atleast two traditional ciders. A regularbrew at the pub will be Funfair Teacupstheir unique 4% cloudy traditional gingerbeer, which it is planned to serve from agiant psychedelic teapot! In due courseit is planned to move Funfair Breweryto the pub from its present location inIlkeston, so just like Blue Monkey anotherDerbyshire brewer is deserting the countyfor a far better one!* A barrel, or more correctly a brewersbarrel, is equivalent to 36 gallons. Thecasks that you see at Nottingham BeerFestival and being delivered to pubsare usually, but not always, firkinswhich hold 9 gallons i.e. a quarter ofa brewers barrel. The size of plant,e.g. 2½-barrel (or bbl), indicates howmuch beer can be produced at any oneproduction run, whereas figures quotedas barrels per week, as you would expectgive the weekly capacity. Whilst thereis some correlation between the twofigures, weekly output is dependant onother factors such as the number offermenters available and therefore howmany production runs can be fitted into aweekly period.OUR LOCAL HEROWWW.EVERARDS.CO.UKTo stock Everards Tiger call us on 0116 201 4140or contact your usual beer supplier.Proud to be the Official Beer of the Leicester Tigerswww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201027

Great British Beer Festival 2010WIN one of 25 pairs of tickets to the Great British Beer FestivalFestival detailsOpening TimesTuesday August 3 rd - 5pm- 10:30pm; Wednesday August 4 th -Friday August 6 th – 12:00pm- 10:30pm; Saturday August 7 th -11:00am- 7:00pmTicketsTickets for this year’s Festival can be purchased through theSee Tickets hotline on 0844 412 4640 or from the Festivalwebsite at www.gbbf.org.ukAdvance day tickets- £6 (CAMRA members), £8 (nonmembers)Advance season tickets£20 (CAMRA members), £23 (non-members)Day tickets- £8 (CAMRA members), £10 (non-members)Group bookings (10+)- £7 per person (CAMRA/non-CAMRAmembers), only available by phoning See Tickets on 0871 230reparations for CAMRA’s flagship event, the GreatBritish Beer Festival at Earls Court are very muchPunderway, and already the event looks to be shaping up tobe a huge success!Such is the demand for quality real ale, cider and perry fromthe UK’s 15 million beer drinkers that advanced ticket sales areup by almost a third on last year. Meanwhile, CAMRA’s Festivalorganising committees are pleased to report that a number ofBritain’s leading brewers will again be exhibiting at the event.Last year, the Festival attracted a fantastic 64,000 peoplethrough the doors over the five-day event, with drinkers keen tosample the 500 real ales, ciders and perries from across the UK.The foreign beer bar was also resoundingly popular, with brewsfeatured from nations such as Germany, Belgium, Italy, USA,Czech Republic, and the Netherlands.Louise Ashworth, CAMRA Head of Marketing, said: “Withadvanced ticket sales so far up an impressive 32% on last year,CAMRA has high hopes that the Great British Beer Festival in2010 will be one of its most successful to date. Across the UK,CAMRA beer festivals have continued to report record attendancefigures and increases in sales, and with our own researchshowing that 50% of pub goers have now tried real ale, thisAugust at Earls Court will be an exciting time for brewers tocome together and champion our national drink!”Competition Time!For a chance to win 1 of 25 pairs of tickets to the Great BritishBeer Festival 2010 please answer the following question:Which brewery’s beer was crowned overall Champion Beerof Britain last year at the Festival?a) Greene King, b) Rudgate c) Marston’sTo enter, please answer via e-mail to jon.howard@camra.org.ukwith the title ‘GBBF 2010 competition’. Please include your fullname, contact telephone number, email address and address fordelivery of tickets. Postal entries can also be sent to-:Jon Howard, Press Officer, CAMRA, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans,Herts, AL1 4LWThe closing date for entries will be Monday July 19 th 2010.A great time to join CAMRAJoin CAMRA now, using the form below, and you’llreceive £20 worth of Wetherspoon vouchers - soyou’ve got your money back! Not only are theyredeemable in all Wetherspoon and Lloyds No. 1 outlets,but also on Castle Rock beers in their tied houses and PubPeople houses.28 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

An outsider’s take on NottinghamA Black Country couple visits our CityWBy Tony and Bridget Skirvinge thought we were well off in the Black Country forreal ale pubs but Nottingham drinkers have it made.To have so many diverse pubs, mostly within walkingdistance of each other, made us very envious. Not only that, butmany had discounts for CAMRA members plus the Castle Rockpubs, “get one pint free every eight scheme,” must make theanti-alcohol lobby see red. To us responsible drinkers it was abonus.MondayAs soon as we arrived in Nottingham, we parked the car andwalked straight to the Kean’s Head. We had been before a coupleof years ago and knew we would be able to have a freshlycooked, good value meal. We weren’t disappointed and bothenjoyed our corned beef hash. We were surprised to find thecost of the meal also stamped our card and counted towards ourfree beer. As fans of Castle Rock beers we started with HarvestPale, 3.8%, moved on to Preservation, 4.4%, and then ScreechOwl, 5.5%. This took us on to our second card. Overhearing acouple of blokes sitting nearby say they had a train to catch, Icheekily asked them to get our card stamped when they orderedtheir next round. They did, twice! Although I always rate HarvestPale as one of my favourite beers I really enjoyed the ScreechOwl and so I had another pint of that, Bridget staying on HarvestPale. This took us on to our third card and we hadn’t reachedour hotel yet! We called a halt though and checked into our £9 anight Travelodge on Maid Marian Way.Unpacked, rested and refreshed we headed to the Canalhousefor our evening session. We had read that there was a canalarm inside the pub, which was an old canal warehouse, andwanted to see it for ourselves. I should imagine on a summer’sevening the place would be packed but on a Monday evening inApril there were only another six people in there. I ordered twoHarvest Pales and some food while we studied what other drinkswere available. I thought I recognised one of the two blokesdrinking at the bar, so when the barmaid collected our dinnerplates I checked with her. I was right, it was Chris Holmes,founder and Chairman of Castle Rock Brewery, Tynemill Pubsand former Chairman of CAMRA. It was in ‘In De Wildeman’,Amsterdam that Bridget and I had met Chris once before. Wehad no idea who he was then, we just got chatting and boughteach other rounds until he had to catch his flight back. When Iwent up to the bar to get my next Harvest Pale and an excellentGoose Island IPA 5.9% for Bridget, I introduced myself andhe told me about the close links between Tynemill and ‘In DeWildeman’, one of our favourite Dutch bars, another good reasonto live in Nottingham!I had e-mailed Andrew Ludlow, Nottingham CAMRA branchcontact, previous to our visit, to inquire if the Fox and Crownwas still worth a visit, as it wasn’t in the 2010 Good Beer Guide.He replied that it was, but also mentioned several other pubsthat we should have a look at. Our own branch, Stourbridgeand Halesowen, suffers in this way too. We are only allowed 11entries but have 25 worthy of note. One of his recommendationswas the Roundhouse, which was only a short walk away fromthe Canalhouse. A full description of this unusual pub was in thelast edition of Nottingham Drinker, which is the most professionalCAMRA branch magazine we have come across. It lived up toexpectations with its eclectic furniture and artwork. Only a fewin again which gave us chance to chat with the staff, particularlywith the young lady bar manager who was a mine of informationabout the building. Quite a change from the disinterested stafffound in many English pubs! Not familiar with any of the beerswe were offered tasters of each. We had a pint of each anyway,Roundhouse Gold, 4%, Nottingham Bullion, 4.7%, Blue MonkeySanctuary, 4%, Nottingham Legend, 4% and enjoyed them all.(With CAMRA discount!)TuesdayWhen we visit anywhere we go to the Tourist Office to get a towntrail. Most towns and cities usually produce a 50p pamphlet witha suggested walking route and information on their buildingsof architectural or historic interest but not Nottingham, alas.We visited the Brewhouse Yard Museum instead and weresurprised to find it free entry. Well worth a couple of hours ofanyone’s time. All that history made us thirsty so off we wentto another one of Andrew’s suggestions, the Hand and Heart,Derby Road. Owned by the same people as the Roundhouse andrun by knowledgeable and helpful staff, this boozer has beenextended by burrowing in to the sandstone, so that half the pubis underground. Like its counterpart, the food is superior to runof the mill pub food and we both loved the home made oxtailsoup. We were offered tasters of the beers again, without havingto ask and enjoyed halves of Oldershaws High Dyke, 3.9%, FullMash Excelsior, 5.2%, and Full Mash Hand and Heart, 4.1%.Other previous GBG entries we popped into were the Bunker’sHill Inn and the Moot. Both were quiet but had a good range ofbeers on, we had Harvest Pale, 3.8% and Thornbridge Jaipur,5.9% respectively and they were both in good condition. Wewere advised to try the King William IV by a couple of localsand managed to find it although it was off our town map. GreatVictorian pub with about six ales on, we drank Oakham Bishop’sFarewell, 4.6%, Beartown Kodiak Gold, 4%, Osset Copper Fox,4.1%, and what has become Bridget’s favourite, ThornbridgeKipling, 5.2%. The friendly gaffer was previously at the Moot lasttime we visited. On the way back for our afternoon siesta, wecalled in the Newshouse for Screech Owl and Brain’s Milkwood,4%. There were some strange folk in here who made us feel alittle uneasy - heavily tattooed, loud women in their 50s and avery drunk guy who thought he was Clint Eastwood and insistedon explaining the badges on his homemade GI uniform, thoughwe couldn’t understand a word he said. Later that evening weate at Petit Paris, which we thoroughly recommend. Althoughit was full, the service and food were first class and the pricesvery reasonable. We helped keep the price down by not havingany alcohol, our bills are often more booze than food! We calledin the Roundhouse on the way to the hotel but were both toostuffed to drink, just managing a Roundhouse Gold.WednesdayAfter a freshly cooked breakfast at Tuckers we had another walkaround the city, admiring the unknown buildings before settingoff for home, both agreeing we would return when the nextTravelodge sale comes up.The Air HostessStanstead Avenue, Tollerton, NG12 4EA Tel. 0115 937 7388 Bus: Keyworth ConnectionFour regular beers from Everards and a Guest beerTwo traditional cidersLive Bands Sundays,5 - 8pmFood 12 - 2 & 6 - 8 Wed - Sat12 - 2 SunMain courses from £1.99Quiz Night Wednesday 9pmGood Beer Guide 2010St. George’s Day Beer Festival: 22 nd - 25 th April (Thu - Sun)20+ Real Ales (8 at any one time), 6 Real Ciders.www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201029

Pubs reopenCross Keys, Byard LaneWith pubs closing at a rate of knots, many never toserve a pint ever again, it is good to see a few reopen- and especially when that are of such high quality asthese two: one in Nottingham - the other in Newark.The Cross Keys, more recently known as CK’s, has been inexistence since at least 1799 when it was mentioned in the PoorRate Book. The licensee, one John Levers, was said to “reside inBlowbladder Street to the north of the tavern”. I have no ideawhat that street is called now - or if it still exists - perhaps it isBottle Lane? If anyone can enlighten us, please get in touch. Thepub was actually demolished and rebuilt in mid-Victorian times- and that is the pub you see today. Always a landmark pub, it isAnd what a good job they have made of it! The interior is intwo levels - the upper section has original wide polished woodfloorboards, whilst the lower level is carpeted. The ceiling iswhite, with moulded plaster cornices painted in an attractivesalmon pink and red. The walls, painted in a similar cream, arecrammed with interesting prints, and the windows have properblinds. There are comfortable settles, old fashioned woodenchairs with upholstered seats and decent wooden tables. There iseven a stained glass window in the lower section.situated in the richly historic Weekday Cross area of Nottinghamthat was the original market place for Nottingham and the centreof the city’s council, police and law courts from the fourteenth tolate nineteenth century.It was good news when Great Northern Inns, who alreadyrun notable real ale houses such as the Globe, Monkey Tree,Approach and Southbank, took over the premises. It wastheir intention to try to restore the pub to what it was back inVictorian times.Mine Host Steve Willans pulls a pintThere are always six real ales on tap, and local brewers arewell represented. Good food is served “to hungry shoppers,workers and ne’er do wells until 8pm” - starting with a range ofbreakfasts from 8am to noon including those Victorian classicsEggs Benedict and Omelette Arnold Bennett. Lunches / dinnersinclude Lobster Thermidor with truffled new potatoes and greensalad (just £12.50 for a whole one, £7.95 half) and a massivemixed grill at £12.95. An interesting range of sandwiches isavailable too - served with salad and home made crisps.30 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Pubs reopenPrince Rupert, Newarkhe Prince Rupert on Stodman Street, formerly theWoolpack, a John Smiths house, has reopened followingTmany years of closure. The building is actually a Wealdenhouse - a type of medieval timber-framed dwelling house moreusually found in the south east of England and a real rarity inthe Midlands. Many of its original features had been covered upOn the bar, you will find four handpumps. Ufford “Rupert’s WarDog” is the specially brewed house beer - and I would highlyrecommend it too. Despite the fact that Ufford is based notfar away near Stamford, we rarely find it around here - more’sthe pity as they brew some splendid ales. The other beers areSharpes Doombar, Black Sheep Bitter, and one ever changingguest - normally from a microbrewery.- but now it is back to its former glory with the original timberand brickwork re-exposed. The upstairs rooms, the former livingquarters, are open to the public for drinking and dining, but haveno bar. Do not miss visiting these beautiful rooms - two have theoriginal timber and limewash plaster walls; the third houses aselection of framed paintings.Downstairs will not disappoint either. The original small roomsat the front have been retained complete with fireplace and old,church pew style settles, as has the microscopic snug whichseats just two people. The yard area between the original puband the old outside toilets has been covered over conservatorystyle to form an extra room, mainly for dining, and bring thetoilets indoors in keeping with modern requirements.Foodwise pizzas are a speciality - but totally unlike normalones! The base is home made and very rustic; toppings includeduck, Stilton, chorizo, Ufford Ale meatballs and black pudding.A special “happy hour” deal (6-7pm) gives you a pizza, twotoppings and a pint for £8. But don’t think that it is just a pizzaplace - there is a whole range of other dishes, all interesting andunusual.With frequent trains to Newark, and a late one back Monday toFriday, there really is no excuse not to visit this splendid pub!The Woolpack - prior to exposing the original timber framewww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201031

Brewery VisitReality Brewd Micra is an I.T. companyon the Beeston / ChilwellAborder behind theChequers, and owned by AlanMonaghan. So what, I hear youask, does that have to do withbrewing beer? Well, Alan has formany years been a keen homebrewer, and also had been thinkingthat the premises he rents for theI.T. company were under used fortheir size. The answer suddenlycame to him: open a brewery inthere! The name came to him ina flash too - put together real aleand I.T. and you get - Reality!And soon his inspirational ideaswere put into practice with his firstbrew being launched in April at thenearby Hop Pole. This was a oneoff brewed for the pub and calledAlan with Landlady KarenHop Perle.This is certainly one of the most unconventional breweries I havevisited - although it is not yet complete - to the extent whereAlan has to take the brew outside into the back yard to boil itas steam extraction facilities are not yet complete inside thebuilding.The brew kit is a mixture of items from Alan’s home brewingdays and some larger scale equipment. But this has not comefrom a ready-made microbrewery supplier and is a mixture ofitems from various sources, the most unusual of which are theplastic conical fermenters which were originally designed forfermenting sugary things to make bioethanol for fuel use! Thefive gallon heated tea urns were from his home brewing daysbut are still useful for mashing (he puts a large colander insidefor this) or providing hot liquor. Unusual as the kit may be - buthaving tried the first brew I can assure you that it works! Thebarrels are a new brand of plastic cask which are claimed tobe much more robust than other varieties - they are depictedin an advert being dropped from three metres and coming outunscathed!Alan has some rather unconventional methods too. Althoughthe basic brewing method is normal, an interesting variationinvolves Alan’s treatment of the late hops. These are flash boiledin a pressure cooker so that none of the aroma escapes, and theliquor is then added to the wort at the end of the boil. The actual32 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Brewery Visitery, Beestonhops from the process are thenplaced in stainless steel mesh bagsand suspended in the fermenters- a kind of dry-hopping I haveonly come across once before - atFuller Smith and Turner. The flashpressure cooking simply ensurestheir sterility - but the flavouredliquor from the process is notwasted.at the Hop Pole launchRegular outletsRegular BrewsThe ingredients used in Realitybeers are, however, much moreconventional and come fromMurphy’s in Alpine Street. Themalt is Fawcetts Maris Otter, fromthe traditional floor maltings inCastleton, and the hops comefrom Charles Faram, near Malvernin Worcestershire. The water isBurtonised Severn Trent, and theyeast is Danestar Nottingham.The Hop Pole is the place where you are most likely to findthe beers; but the Victoria at Beeston, The Bar on High Road,Beeston and the Hand and Heart on Derby Road, Nottinghamhave all placed orders so you may catch it there. Failing that,it will definitely be available at Newark Beer Festival, RiversidePark (by the Castle) on Bank Holiday weekend - 28 th - 30 th May.Virtuale Reality 3.8%A light coloured, hoppy brew, this is brewed withonly Maris Otter pale malt, with mainly First Goldhops and a small amount of Perle.Bitter Reality 4.4%A copper coloured bitter made with pale andcrystal malts and a little malt extract brew lengthextender, which contains Perle and Tipple malts.The hops are 75% First Gold and 25% Perle.www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201033

In the Beginning.....In the third of a new series, Howard Clarklooks at the origins of beer - and of CAMRAWant to be a beer brewer? Then OK but I would liketo remind you that if your beer is not up to scratch youwill be put on the dung-stool or fined four shillings,quite a sum in Edward the Confessor’s day and yet this was thepunishment given out for trying to sell a bad brew. Though whata dung-stool is I can only imagine. I presume if a “Ducking stool”was for ducking witches in the river a dung stool was used forducking you in something else. This shows how important beerhas been through the ages.Going back to the Anglo - Saxon period of our history (this beingafter the Romans left around 410 and before the Normans tookover after their conquest in 1066) uncovers some interestingaspects of ale history. Those of you that have read or seen thefilm ‘Beowulf’ or many of the Viking – Saxon period type filmswould have noticed that many parts of the film take part ingreat halls where they eat, drink play music and have a jollygood time whilst plotting their next pillaging session or battlewith the neighbouring village. The Anglo Saxons took their beervery seriously, even giving sacrifices of casks of ale to the Gods.Possibly most of their social life was in great halls they called“Beer Halls” and like today where we visit the pub for a pint andchat with friends, the Anglo Saxon beer hall was probably themost important building in a village. Sort of like now where thevillage pub is probably the most important building in the villagefor relaxing, enjoying a beer with friends and keeping in touch.You know that now the government and the pubcos are doingtheir best to close them down!Surviving records of charters and laws from the seventh centuryonwards have indicated that there were three main beer styles.These where “clear ale” (hlutres aloth), “mild or sweet ale”(lithes aloth) and “Welsh ale” (Waelsces aloth). (The names initalic are the Anglian dialect).The clear ale is probably the forerunner of a style in latercenturies called “stale or old ale” and was an ale left standing forlong enough for yeast and protein bits to settle, hence renderingit clear. Possibly taking four or five days, in which it may havestarted to become sour. There is some evidence that crushed ivymay have been used to quicken the clearing process.The mild or sweet ale would be a newly brewed ale without anyclearing time and hence not gone sour, but it would be verycloudy.The Welsh ale was probably a novelty honey beer, and namedafter the Welsh, who the English where continuously at war with,who had been brewing honey beer for centuries. It is interestingthat this ale could also be used as currency being used to paysuch things as rent.By the early eleventh century just before the Normans invaded,medical formulas or leechdoms may have up to twelve differenttypes of ale for mixing with medicinal herbs for various cureswith names such as: well-sweetened clear ale, sour ale, new ale,old ale, boiling or bubbling ale (possibly still fermenting), twicebrewed ale.After the Norman Conquest the importance of ale remained,the Domesday Book records that in parts of England rents and34 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010taxes could be paid in ale. Interestingly it also gives referenceto our old friend Bury St. Edmunds (where you will find thatunspeakable brewery that closed down our excellent Kimberleybrewery, Hardy’s and Hanson’s) and that at the abbey therewere 75 bakers, brewers, tailors, washers, shoemakers, robemakers, cooks, porters and bursars to serve the abbot andbrethren, proving that the abbey was also a local brewery andwould probably produce over seven barrels per week.Outside of the abbeys and monasteries throughout England,brewing would be carried out not by “brewers” but by female“brewsters”, this often taking place in kitchens using ordinarykitchen utensils, with ale-wives taking it in turn to brew for thevillage. In 1364, in the reign of Edward III, a law was passedthat decreed that men could only have one trade but womencould work at any without restriction, so would often fit brewingaround their other activities - housework, baking, spinning etc.To close this section of “In the Beginning” I want to get tosomething more saintly - in fact the English patron saint ofbrewing, the Archbishop of Canterbury – Thomas Becket.Around 1142, he was appointed priest of St. Andrews Church,Bramfield, a village about five miles from Hertford, by theAbbot of St. Albans (where CAMRA HQ is today). It is claimedby the village historians of the day that Thomas used to brewusing water from the old rectory pond, which today is knownas “Beckets Pool” This sounds pretty gruesome bearing in mindthat it is also said that Becket and his monks used to wash init as well. But in those days it was in fact common practice touse pond water for brewing. In fact the farmer-diarist JohnCarrington, whose son ran the Rose and Crown at the nearbyvillage of Tewin, took water from his farm pond at Bramfield tomake his “Harvest Ale” as late as 1800. I wonder if Castle Rockever considered using pond water to make their “Harvest Pale”?(Only kidding!)In 1162 Becket was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury byHenry II, and to Henry’s amazement and anger, Becket opposedmost of Henry’s policies. They argued, and he was tried andfound guilty of contempt of royal authority and malfeasancein the chancellor’s office. He left the country but came back in1170 to the acclaim of the people, as anyone standing up toKing was popular with ordinary people. In December 1170 hewas killed by four knights in the cathedral, most likely under theorders of the King. Three years later he was canonised, the Popein Rome naturally wanting to send a message to kings who hadarchbishops bumped off.Later the members of the Brewers’ Company in London claimedtheir saintly fellow Londoner as the guild’s founder, with rootssupposedly in the late 12 th century as the “Guild of Our Lady andSt. Thomas Becket”. When the London brewers received theirfirst charter in the 15 th century their organisation was known asthe Guild of St. Mary andSt. Thomas the Martyr.Seventy years later HenryVIII declared Becket atraitor and his shrine andbones at Canterbury wheredestroyed, and the Guildhad to remove his armsfrom it’s seal.Unknown to the King, andto this day, the crest ofthe brewing company stillhas a link to Becket. Thedark skinned woman withfair hair is said to be hisSaracen stepmother whofollowed his father homefrom the Crusades.So I like to think that, as Isit in my local supping mypint, I actually have a saintwatching over me!

The wise choice!www.castlerockbrewery.co.ukwww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201035

More Bottled BeerMore Real Ale in a bottle 81: Andrew Ludlow tries some Potbelly beersOne of the beers that stood out for me at the QueensHead, Watnall Beer Festival last December was ‘Pigs doFly’ from the Potbelly Brewery in Kettering and I wasdelighted to discover that it was also produced as a Real Ale in aBottle.Last month I had an opportunity to visit the Brewery anddiscovered that Potbelly now has 12 different RAIBs, which canbe purchased in special three or four pack souvenir cases. ThePotbelly Brewerybrewery was established in 2005 using a ten barrel plant andnow over 200 outlets are supplied with its beers.On returning home I duly waited a few days, to allow the beer tosettle, and then followed the advice that is printed on the bottlelabel ‘please pour carefully, avoiding disturbing any sediment, fora clear glass of beer’. The end result was a clear golden ale witha delicate malty nose.I always recommend that before drinking bottled conditionedbeers that it is worth letting them stand for a minute of two, tohelp any excess carbonation dissipate, and certainly this left mewith a medium carbonated ale, with a thinish head.Styrian Goldings hops are used in the brew, helping to producea hoppy and refreshing ale with citrus fruit to the fore. Whilstthe beer is 4.4% it was surprisingly ‘easy drinking’ and verymoreish. The aftertaste does not disappoint and provides apleasant dryness coupled with enough maltiness for a finelybalanced beer. The beer was excellent and proved that a goodRAIB will mirror the taste and quality of a good cask ale.Amongst the range of RAIB’s are Beijing Black a strong darkmild at 4.4%; Crazy Daze a very light golden beer weighing inat 5.5% and the imaginatively named Captain Pigwash a 5.0%porter style ale. Potbellyprovides a good range ofbeers so that a well stockedcellar can be maintained forthose days when you arenot able to get out to thepub.I thoroughly enjoyedPigs do Fly, including theimpressive bottle labelwhich appears to show aflying pig, with a black andwhite scarf – I am sure thatall Notts County fans wouldfully approve.Potbelly beers are sold in500 ml bottles and for moredetails check out their website:www.potbelly-brewery.co.uk36 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

The VAT joins the teensThe Vat and Fiddle, Castle Rock’sbrewery tap, is 13 and the celebrationsto mark its teenage birthday on Thursday25 March 2010 were attended by manyhappy customers alongside former staffand cat lovers.(l-r) The Vat’s assistant manager, TonyAram; Amie Macfarlane; Corrin Wilkinson,and manager, Sarah HoughtonMusic, from The Old Nick TradingCompany, led the celebrations with toastsenjoyed in six of Castle Rock’s permanentbeers. Manager Sarah Houghton says,“Our thanks to everyone who came downto the Meadows to join in the fun. Here’sto the next 13.” Kipper, the shy, retiringand similarly aged, pub moggie, made anappearance at the celebrations ….. and leftto pursue other interests.Rattling their cans for VCheroesTwo Crown staff, manager RachaelHiggins and waitress Ashley Fagan,have raised over £200 in a sponsored pubcrawl in aid of the Nottinghamshire VictoriaCross Memorial Fund.The cash, from regulars at their pubin Old Dalby and from drinkers at theneighbouring Golden Fleece, Anchor, RedHouse and Belvoir Brewery will be addedto the total from other events held acrossthe Castle Rock pub group.Rachael says the six mile trek passedwithout a murmur thanks to the weather,the company and generosity of those onroute. “My thanks to everyone,” she says.“Our village has a long association with themilitary and the villagers’ generosity wasoutstanding.”Ashover pub for MatlockThe Princess Victoria on the mainpromenade in Matlock Bath becomesan Ashover Brewery pub on June 11 th. .Ina deal with Batemans Brewery similar tothe Everards “Project William”, the pub isrented to the microbrewery by Batemansand becomes a totally free house, so longas one real ale from the owners is sold.Six real ales will be available, three fromAshover, one from Batemans, and twoever-changing guests. There will also becontinental beers, country fruit winesand a range of single malt whiskies. Thefirst floor restaurant will sell a rangeof home cooked dishes prepared withlocal produce, and there will be regularentertainment including quiz nights andopen mic nights.Mine hosts will be Tom Bramley andLauren Lees, both of whom havepreviously worked at the Old Poets atAshover and so are well acquainted withkeeping real ale in perfect condition.Another new real ale pubto open in NewarkFollowing the opening of the PrinceRupert (see p.4) we are pleased tohear of plans for another new real ale pubin Newark - Just Beer in Swan and SalmonYard, Castlegate.SnippetsProject2:Layout 1 [17/05/2010] [17/05/2010]15:57 Page 1Six Real Ales - Trad Ciders, Draught Continental& Fruit Beer - Single Malts and Fruit Wines174 - 176South Parade,Matlock Bath,Matlock,DerbyshireDE4 3NR01629 57462www.princessvic.co.ukRegular LiveEntertainmentTop NotchFood!!“It will be more bare bones than spit andsawdust, but we want to make it an alehouse in the traditional style. Obviously wewant to make it somewhere you’ll want tospend time in and come back to.“Our target audience is discerning real aledrinkers, young and old, male and female.It is our intention to source beers frombreweries all over the country that youdon’t see in these parts very often. We willalso try to get rarities and one-off brewsas often as we can. Of course, we will alsosupport the local breweries by serving onerotating LocAle at all times.”I’m sure all our readers would like to wishPhil, Stu and Merf all the success in theworld for what is clearly a brave but veryexciting venture, and go to visit the pub.Regular trains from Nottingham to Newarkmake this an easy journey, with a late oneback on Mondays to Fridays at 10:57pm,and Groupsave four for two ticketsproviding a very cheap journey if you aretravelling in a group of three or four.(l-r) The Crown, Old Dalby’s RachaelHiggins and Ashley Fagan at the last stepof their Vale of Belvoir crawlBefore: the original premisesThree CAMRA Newark Branch committeemembers have got together to open whatthey describe as “a pub with a difference”.Phil Ayling told Nottingham Drinker: “Itwill be a ‘micropub’ which means it will bea very small pub and it will only be sellingcask beer, mainly from micro breweries,hence the name. Just Beer (or JB’s) is anale house. Full stop. It will have no food,TV, juke box, bandits or pool tables. Alsono lager, no ’smooth’, no keg, no spirits,no softies no alcopops - just qualityhandpulled beer and conversation. Oh,and pork scratchings!www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201037

SnippetsTwo new brews from ThornbridgeKelly Ryan, Thornbridge’s brewerymanager was challenged to produce alower alcohol beer with real flavour - andcame up with “The Light” at just 2.9%.The brew uses Vienna and Caramalt maltswith Celeia, Cascade, Hallertau NorthernBrewer and Ahtanum hops. It is a lovelygolden colour with a citrus aroma and ataste providing glimpses of maltiness andan almost nutty caramel quality with someslight hop bitterness.The second is Lumford - a New WorldPale Ale. The name derives from the factthat the new brewery is on the originalsite of Lumford Mill, a historic mill builtby Richard Arkwright the IndustrialRevolution’s leading entrepreneur. Lumfordis a 3.9% pale ale using a wealth of newworld hops Ahtanum (USA), NelsonSauvin (NZ) and Pacific Gem (NZ) - thelatter two also providing the dry hops.Maris Otter and Crystal are the malts.2010 Goose Runthelightdry hopped light ale2.9% aBVLumfordNew world Pale ale3.9% aBVSaturday 17 th July is the date of this year’s Goose Run;a sponsored walk along the Erewash Canal with plenty ofrefreshment stops! The walk is in memory of Derek Goostrayfrom Heanor and all proceeds go to Leukaemia Research.Starting point is at Trent Lock (The Trent Navigation andSteamboat Inn) between 12 noon and 1pm. For a flavour ofwhat to expect last year’s walk was reported in the October /November 2009 Nottingham Drinker. Sponsorship forms can bedown loaded from the Nottingham Camra website. For furtherdetails contact Mick Hancock on 0755 442 6827The Waggon and HorsesA traditional village pub with six real ales(featuring the award winning Blue Monkey Brewery)VC heroes honouredCastle Rock customers and staff have been thanked fortheir unique role in helping create a memorial to wartimeheroes on the green at Nottingham Castle.On a cold sun lit day in May 2010, civic leaders, members of HerMajesty’s armed forces, benefactors, the public and managersand staff from the Castle Rock group, watched as the red granitetribute was unveiled in a quiet corner of the castle grounds.In his address, appeal chairman, Tony Higton, singled out thecontribution from Castle Rock and customers at pubs includingthe Canalhouse, one of many in the group that had organisedfundraising events, raffles and a beer festival for the fund. TheCanalhouse was represented by manager Yvette Storey anddeputy, Jez Hand. Charlie Blomeley represented the customersand staff at the Kean’s Head and Rachael Higgins those fromthe Crown, Old Dalby. Charlie organised a pie bake off, andRachael’s Vale of Belvoir sponsored pub crawl left her withblisters and a pot of money.Over £5,000 incash and kind hasbeen generatedby efforts inCastle Rock pubsso far and themoney continuesto come in.Gypsy Lane, Bleasby, NG14 7GGTel. 01636 830283Find us on Facebook!Open: Mon, Tue 5-11Wed, Thu 12-2 & 5-11Fri 12-2 & 4-12Sat 12-12, Sun 12-11Food available at lunchtime Wed - SunTraditional Sunday roast lunchesWalkers with muddy boots and dogswith muddy paws are welcome here!Nottinghamshireis the first countyin Britain tohonour all its VCrecipients in thisway. There are20 Nottingham and Nottinghamshire holders of the award. Forthe roll of honour see:www.nottinghamshire-victoria-cross-memorial.org.uk/news.html38 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

First Rays of the New Rising SunI Like Smoke And Lightning, Heavy Metal Thunder, Racing In The Windell the name of the last song didn’t come to many people atall, or they didn’t tell me. For those struggling, it was a littleWknown tune called Stairway to Heaven, by a fairly obscure bandcalled Led Zeppelin from their album Led Zeppelin 4 or Four Symbols as itis sometime known.I didn’t see any bands that caught my eye, probably all off to warmerclimes for the summer, so you’ll just have to force yourself to go to thepub and listen to a band for free!! See below. And if anyone else wants hisor her venue and gigs advertising, just let me know, it’s all-free. I’m onlyinterested in keeping live music, just that, LIVE!!Air Hostess, TollertonJuneSun 6 th Abandon – classic rock, Sun 13 th Dumpy’s Bluezz Intoxicated– blues & rock, Sat 20 th Devils Advocate – classic rock, Sun 27 th Rough &Ready Band – classic rockJulySun 4 th Junction – classic rock, Sun 11 th The Vampire Cowboys – classicrock, Sun 18 th Little Giants – funky country soul rock, Sun 25 th Firewire– rock & popPlease note; all gigs start at 5.30pm and finish at 8pm (except wherestated)Travellers Rest, DraycottJuneWed 2 nd 8:30 Mike Dawes & Amy Turk; Fri 4 th KC Karaoke 9pmSat 5th 9:00 Paul Jackson - local solo covers artist; Wed 9 th 8:30 GilesHedley - absolutely exceptional acoustic blues artistSat 12 th 9:00 pm The Deafiants - Classic rock covers bandWed 16th 8.30 Phil Langran Band – acoustic originals 3 pieceFri 18 th Russ’ Karaoke 9pm; Sat 19 th 9pm Mr. Rock ‘n Roll - Tony Doyle;Sun 20 th Mind, Body & Spirit Fayre 10am – 4pm free entry Wed 23 rd Jun8:30 The Old Nick Trading Co. - superb American trio; Sat 26 th Jun 20109:00 Jon Stringer – rock guitar covers Wed 30 th June 9pm Blackheart 8.30Acoustic country/folk/rock duo.CK_NottmDrinker_AD-w-bleed.pdf 1 17/05/2010 13:08JulyFri 2 nd KC Karaoke; Sat 3 rd 9pm The James Lewis Band; Wed 7 th 9pmAndrew Buckley guitar/keyboard vocalist originals; Sat 10 th 9pm SteveRhodes blues rock guitar vocalist; Wed 14 th 9pm Keith James – songs ofNick Drake & John Martin; Fri 16 th Russ’ Karaoke; Sat 17 th 9pm The Fab 2– Beatle and 60s covers; Wed 21 st 9pm Chris Chambers acoustic folk rock;Sat 24 th 9pm Swansong – Sheffield covers band; Wed 28 th Robin Auld -South African singer songwriter Sat 31 st 9pm Hayley Birch – local coverssongstress.Johnsonbury Music FestivalThe Johnson Arms, 59 Abbey Street, Dunkirk. Saturday 5 th June,1-9pm, one-day outdoor music festival. BBQ, bands and ice creams in thegarden. Line up so far: Maniere Des Bohemiens, David & the Sun, OwenHarvey & the Adeys, Old Nick Trading Company and Jim Widdup.Lion, BasfordRegular performances: Jazz Sunday Lunchtime 1.30pm – 4pmEvery Sun eve - the Last Pedestrians, then songwriters open Mic from7pm. Every Tues. eve- the Old Nick trading company and guests. EveryThurs eve- open Mic with Steve n Steve.(Free drink for all performers on these nights)Royal ChildrenEvery Wednesday from 9pm - Colin Staples Blues Jam night, an excellentevening with a variety of musicians. Come along and try your hand or justto enjoy the music(Don’t forget CAMRA discount and a collector’s card)Also, don’t forget, when you visit these pubs for theentertainment, fill in your score sheets. Scores go towardsdeciding who goes in the Good Beer Guide.So if you’re at a loose end, drop in and support these placesand tell them where you heard about them.My contact details are raykirby@nottinghamcamra.org andkeep the info coming.Thanks, Ray Kirby. (Keep on rocking)www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201039

Ray’s RoundRay Kirby keeps you up to date with changes to the local real ale scenehe summer andthe cricket seasonThave finally arrived,which is why the weatheris so bad!! But nevermind there’s still plentyof pubs to visit, well, untilthe next governmentcloses them down, that is.I won’t be doing a “round” this time, asthere are so many other things to mention.First I’ll deal with the new discountsI’ll kick off with the Newmarket on LowerParliament Street. This is a single roomedestablishment with one large bar and thehandpumps are situated in front of youwhen you enter the pub, there are twoon the bar with Heineken UK CaledonianDeuchars IPA, 3.8%, £2.75 and Wells &Youngs Bombardier, 4.3%, £2.85. CAMRAmembers will get a 10% discount (onproduction of your membership card) Alot of the seating is divided by the modernequivalent of the ‘snob screen’ and a pooltable can be found in a small room at theback of the pub. Two large screens showeither sport or sports news. Well worth alook if in the area.Next, is the Cross Keys on the junction ofByard Lane and Fletcher Gate. The nicepeople from Great Northern Inns (theyown the Approach and the Globe, amongstothers) have taken it on. The regularofferings will be Bateman XB, 3.7%,£2.30; Fullers London Pride, 4.1%, £2.90,plus one from the Mallard range (Duckling,4.2%, £2.30 was on) one from NottinghamBrewery (Foundry Mild, 4.9%, £2.70) andtwo guests, (Magpie Monty’s Firkin, 4.6%,£2.80 and Holden’s Wind Blower, 4.3%,£2.70 were available). CAMRA memberswill get a 20p a pint discount (not on ahalf) The place has undergone a completerefurbishment with wooden flooring on theupper bar level and carpets on the lowerseating area. They have a large screenin both areas. The place will open at 8amfor breakfast (finishes at 12 noon, beerfrom 10am) with a full menu from middayuntil 8pm. It will fill a hole in an otherwisebarren area of town for the discerningdrinker.Moving out of town, next, we have theVictoria at Beeston. This is a very popular2 bar traditional local tucked away onDovecote Lane, it backs onto Beestonrailway station. In here CAMRA membersare being offered 20p off a pint and 10p offa half on beer and cider (please note, thisis only available from Sunday to Thursday)40 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010There is plenty of choice as they have upto 16 beers and two ciders available atany one time. The regulars are; CastleRock Harvest Pale, 3.8%, £2.50; CastleRock Preservation, 4.4%, £2.70; EverardsTiger, 4.2%, £2.60, one from the Batemanrange (XB, 3.7%, £2.50, was on) and onefrom Holden’s (XB, 4.1%, £2.70) plusa mild and a porter will always feature.The rest are ever-changing guests (at thetime of my visit they had) Blue MonkeyAmarillo, 3.9%, £2.60; Brains SA, 4.2%,£2.70; Burton Bridge Maschine Mann,4.5%, £2.80; Adnams Broadside, 4.7%,£2.90; Castle Rock Screech Owl, 5.5%,£3; Arkells Kingsdown Special, 5%, £3;Moorhouses Black Cat, 3.4%, £2.40 andAdnams Oyster Stout, 4.3%, £2.70. Theciders will also change (Thatchers Draughtand Parsons Choice Medium, both 6%and £3.20). For those unsure of whatexactly to have, a ‘taster’ tray has beenintroduced, £2.80 will get you one thirdof three different beers (please note, thatterms and conditions apply, basically, don’texpect three of the strong beers!!)The pub is also noted for the quality of itsfood with a large menu available, subject,of course, to people not eating all theirstock! In addition to the two completelyseparate bars, two further rooms areavailable, although those dining usuallyoccupy these; the larger is also used forlive music. They also have a large coveredseating area at the rear. The pub had wonmany awards, both local and nationaland had featured in many beer and foodguides, including numerous years in theCAMRA Good Beer Guide.To get there by public transport either usethe train (as previously mentioned) theNCT no. 36 (from Victoria Centre, or LongRow, by the library) Trent Barton Indigo(to Long Eaton) (from Broadmarsh or FriarLane) both to Beeston Bus Station, TrentBarton 18 to Station Rd. or NCT 13/14from Beastmarket Hill, (alight on StationRoad) if you get the NCT 13/14 bus backtowards town, you can get off in Lenton forthe final pub that has joined the discountscheme.The Boat, on Priory Street (just round thecorner from the Johnson Arms) This is asingle bar pub situated on a quiet backstreet (but only about 50 yards from themain road) up to 6 beers can be availableat any one time. Their regular offeringsare Fullers London Pride, 4.1%; Wells &Young Bombardier, 4.3% and HeinekenUK, Caledonian Deuchars IPA, 3.8%, allat £2.80, the guests on were Black SheepBitter, 3.8%, £2.80 and Theakstons Mild,3.5%, £2.60.Plenty of seating is available with settlesround all the sides. The walls are adornedwith various Navy memorabilia and photosplus a few framed Nottingham Forestsigned items. There is a smaller area toone side that houses the dart board. Foodis served Monday to Saturday between12 noon and 3pm and includes variouscobs, baguettes, jacket potatoes, burgers,toasted paninis and a few main meals,all are reasonably priced. Backgroundmusic is playing but this does not inhibitconversation, look out for the amusing signfor directions to the toilets.Next up we have a pub that has undergonea transformation after being closed forsome time. The Riverbank (the old TownArms, for those who remember back thatfar) on Victoria Embankment (by the riverat Trent Bridge) has been turned into anup-market bar and kitchen. Two beers areavailable, Greene King IPA, 3.6% & GreeneKing St Edmunds, 4% both at £3.10. Thearea around the single bar has high stools,tables and wall shelves with a slightlyraised area with conventional seating toone side. The other side of the place hasa large restaurant area. Various lite bitescan be had in the bar area, they also havea Deli with various take-away sandwichesavailable. There is lots of outdoor seatingwhere you can sit and watch the river andthe ducks flow by.STOP PRESS: we have just heard that, dueto a burst water main, the Riverbank willbe closed until June.Another pub to reopen after refurbishmentis Spanky van Dykes (eatery andfunhouse) - it’s on corner of GoldsmithStreet and Talbot Street (just down fromRock City) as the name might suggest, itis aimed at the younger element. It nowserves 2 cask ales, Marstons Pedigree,4.3% and Marstons Draught Bass, 4.4%both at £2.70 and two draught cidersWeston’s Old Rosie and Weston’s VintageOrganic, both 7.3% at £3.20. It consists ofone large open-plan ground floor room

Ray’s Roundfilled with tables and chairs of allshapes and sizes, the walls are coveredwith numerous postcards, to one side ofthe bar, is a giant screen showing lots offootage from the 1920s. And on the backwall is a large tank with a blow-up shark init. They have more seating at mezzaninelevel and also a large first floor room. Theyhave live music on various nights, this ismainly free but they do charge for someevents.The bar of theOlive Tree Hotelhas started to docask ales, CastleRock HarvestPale, 3.8%, £2.50is always on anda Blue Monkeybeer will also be available. This is a small,very cosy place where you can be assuredof a very warm welcome. It can be foundon the bend where Mount Street joins StJames Terrace. The seating consists ofsmall settees and various tables & chairs.Lunch is served from midday till 2pm andvarious nibbles are available from noon to9pm; they also serve tapas on Friday andSaturday from 5.30pm to 8.30pm.While you are in the area, why not pop intothe Roundhouse, this has now extendedits opening hours and is now open from11am until midnight, Monday to Saturday(serving food until 9.30pm) and is alsonow open on Sundays from 12 noon to10.30pm (serving brunch from noon to9.30pm) Its sister pub the Hand andHeart, on Derby Road, has also extendedits hours and will open from 12 noon, 7days a week.Another development in here is theaddition of extra stillage in the cave atthe back of the pub. This has space for anadditional 6 beers and traditional cidersand one of the ciders will always be fromthe local area, also a permanent cask mildwill be included in the selection of alesoffered.While you are in the area, the Sir JohnBorlase Warren, at Canning Circushas recently undergone a completerefurbishment, with the bar and threeseparate seating areas (they are on threedifferent levels) having a repaint, look outfor the pictures of the pub and CanningCircus on the wall near the bar. 4 regularsbeers are served, Everards Beacon, 3.8%,£2.50; Tiger, 4.2%, £2.80; Sunchaser, 4%,£2.80; and Greene King IPA, 3.6%, £2.60;two guests (Elgoods Black Dog, 3.6% &Bateman GHA, 4.2%, guests priced at£2.80) also a traditional cider will alwaysbe on (they had Weston’s Old Rosie, 7.3%,£3)Please note that the Salutation hasextended its 20p a pint CAMRA discount toinclude traditional ciders.Also, just before I finished this piece, Ilearnt that the Plainsman has started acollector’s card, with buy six and get onefree, more details next time.Like I said at the beginning, no round assuch this issue, but I think there is plentyof places for you to have a look at.CAMRA discountsPlease take advantage of these reductions, so that the varioushostelries know that we do appreciate their generous offers.All the above offers can be obtained by simply showing yourCAMRA membership card.Approach, Friar Lane, 20p a pint at all timesBell Inn, buy 7 get one free card all beers, at all timesBoat Inn, Lenton, 10p a pint 5p a halfBunkers Hill, 15p a pint,at all timesCanalhouse, 20p a pint at all times (excludes Harvest Pale8pm offer)Cross Keys, Byard Lane, 20p off pints onlyDewdrop, Ilkeston, 10p a pint, 5p a halfEarl of Chesterfield Arms, Shelford,15p pint Tue-Thu, 10pFri-SunFellows, Canal Street, 20p a pint at all timesFox & Crown, Basford, 25p a pint, at all times.Gatehouse, Tollhouse Hill, 15p per pintGeorge, Lowes Hill, Ripley, 20p per pintGeorge & Dragon, Bridge St. Belper 20p per pintGlobe, London Road 20p a pint, 10p a halfHand & Heart, Derby Road, 10p a pint, 5p a halfHop Pole, Beeston, 15p pint Sun 12 noon - Thu 7pmLion, Basford, 15p pint 5pm Sunday to close ThursdayMonkey Tree, Bridgford Road 20p a pint at all timesNags Head, Mansfield Road, 15p off a pintNavigation, Wilford Street, 10p off a pintNewmarket, Parliament St. 10% off pints and halvesOld Coach House, Easthorpe, Southwell, 15p a pintPlough, Radford, 15p a pint, Mon to Thurs, 12 noon to 7pmPlough, Wysall, 40p off a pint at all times on LocAles onlyPrince of Wales, Beeston, 20p off a pint at all timesQueen Adelaide, Windmill Lane 20p off a pintRed Heart, Ruddington 20p a pint, 10p a half at all timesRoundhouse, Royal Standard Place, 10p pint, 5p halfRoyal Children, Maid Marion Way 20p a pint on beers over£2 a pintSalutation, Maid Marion Way 20p off all pints inc. ciderSeven Oaks, Stanton by Dale, 20p a pint at all timesSouthbank, Trent Bridge 20p a pint, 10p a halfSun Inn, Eastwood, 15p a pintTalbot Tap House, Ripley offers 20p pint 10p half (pluscider)Three Crowns, Ruddington, 25p off a pint, Sun to Wed,Trent Navigation, 10% off pint or half at all timesVictoria, Beeston, 20p pint, 10p half (inc. cider) Sun-ThuVictoria Tavern, Ruddington 20p a pint at all timesWhite Horse, Ruddington 20p a pintDiscounts available to everyoneAll Castle Rock pubs, “One over the eight”; buy eight getone free on selected products.Bell Inn, buy 7 get the 8 th free card limited to Greene Kingproducts, between Sunday and Thursday.Bunkers Hill, Castle Rock Harvest Pale £2 before 6pmCanalhouse, Harvest Pale £2.20 / pint after 8pm dailyGreat Northern Aleway, buy a pint in each of the Approach,Globe, Monkey Tree, and the Southbank and get the fifth freein any of the pubs. Must be done in one week.Old Angel, Stoney Street, £2 a pint on Tuesday & Thursday,promotion card requiredOscars Bar, Wilford Lane, buy 8 get one freePit and Pendulum, 10% off, prom. card needed from pub.Plainsman, Woodthorpe Drive, buy 6 get one free cardPub People Co, “Magnificent Seven” promotion buy 10 getone free, on selected ales, available at the Lion, Basford, theGatehouse & Bunkers, City Centre, the Plough, Radford, theLord Nelson, Sneinton and the Hop Pole, BeestonRose of England, buy 8 get one free on selected alesRoyal Children, buy 7 get 1 free collectors’ cardwww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201041

Happy HourWin two bottles of real aleby answering this question fromSpyke’s foreign travels:Spyke found this pub whilst on a tourof Carribean islands - no real ale butsome great rum! Name the island - andthe town.As usual, if no correct answer is received,the nearest geographically wins the beer.In the event of there being more thanone correct answer, the first out ofthe hat wins. Post your answer to theeditorial address on p.2 or e-mail todrinkercompetition@ntlworld.com toarrive no later than July 8 th .The last competition produced severalinteresting answers - former winner JohnMann of Gunthorpe, who went for Hanoi,was the furthest out this time - by 11,855miles! Most correctly went for Peruviantowns, although one reader thought itwas in Calero Island, Costa Rica. Thecorrect answer was Aguas Calientes,near Machu Pichu. Another former winnerGlyn Moxham was close with Puno, butthe closest, with Cusco, was Ian Brownof West Bridgford - congratulations, twobottles of beer are on their way to you.Phil’s Short historyof English Lager(Found on the website of FulstowBrewery in Lincolnshire, brewers ofFugelestou ales)In the good old days, when menwere men and beer was real, all thegood quality malt went for ale brewingand all the bad quality malt went foranimal feed. All was happy, men andbeast.Then one day, an accountant at a largebrewery said ‘ We can brew pale fizzyp**s with this and charge the earth forit’. So it was , English Lager was born.So the next time you see a mandrinking lager,explain to him itis made of animalfood.But beware, itcould be a braindead animaldrinking it!Pub QuizWe are most grateful again to reader Mick Draycott of Stapleford for supplying this quiz. Mickregularly presents quizzes at the Crown Inn, Beeston on Tuesday and Thursday nights.1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.Who wrote the novel Frankenstein?The Bosphorus is a strait in which country?Joe Strummer was lead singer in which punk band?Who won the 2008 series Strictly Come Dancing?Binary code uses which two numbers / digits?The late Grace Kelly married a prince from which Principality?In Greek mythology, what is the name of the flying horse?What is the real name of Ozzy Osbourne: Orisis, John or Peter?Who was the creator of Noggin the Nog, the Clangers and Bagpuss?What is an archipelago: flightless bird, group of islands or a music term?Alexandra Burke was the winner of which 2008 TV show?How many US states start with New?Which Desperate Housewife played Lois Lane in the TV series The NewAdventures of Superman?In which US national park is the geyser Old Faithful?Mike Gambit and Purdey were characters in which 1970’s TV series?Quiz answers1. Mary Shelley 2. Turkey 3. The Clash 4. Tom Chambers 5. 0 – 1 6. Monaco 7.Pegasus 8. John 9. Oliver Postgate 10. Group Of Islands 11. X Factor 12. 4 (NewHampshire, Jersey, York, Mexico) 13. Teri Hatcher 14. Yellowstone 15. New Avengers(Gareth Hunt, Joanna Lumley)here we are on hols...sun, sea and a bit ofculture!he’s even picked up abit of local lingo...just thebasics, mind.una cerveza© 2010 Peter Bingham.42 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Snippets‘Robin Hood’ beer isThe Sherwood ArcherCastle Rock Brewery produced abeer last month to celebrate the city’sRobin Hood month in May 2010. EveningPost readers and BBC Radio Nottinghamlisteners have helped Nottingham Castle’sofficial Robin Hood, Tim Pollard, pickthe name for the beer. From over 250entries to the online poll, Tim picked TheSherwood Archer.The name was suggested by CharlotteWhite of Mapperley. Charlotte, who joinedthe Sheriff and Robin Hood on the CastleGreen for the official naming ceremony,won a range of Castle Rock goodies and aninvitation to the Nottingham premier of thelatest movie dedicated to her hero.Can your Blooms topthe Gladstone?In 2009 The Gladstone in Carringtonwon the Nottingham in Bloom ‘BestPub’ and received a Gold Award for theirrear courtyard which was overflowingwith colour and the judges thought was aparadise for both drinkers and gardeners.(l-r) Castle Rock’s Colin Wilde, the Sheriff’slady, Adela Hampson, the Sheriff of Nottingham,Councillor Leon Unczur, Charlotte White, and‘Robin Hood’, Tim Pollard, serve newly namedThe Sherwood ArcherCharlotte says she is an avid fan of RobinHood and the folklore that surround himand his merry men. She is a leadingexpert on the tales of Sherwood Forest andhelps organise the robinhood.org website.Castle Rock’s commercial director, ColinWilde expressed surprise and delight atthe number and quality of the entriesreceived. “Other contenders were Alan AdAle, Longbow, Friar’s Frolic and Quiver;but Tim was adamant that ‘The SherwoodArcher’ was the one. We’re all pleasedthat the name has come from Charlottewho we understand is one of Nottingham’smost enthusiastic Robin Hood fans. Itcouldn’t be more fitting that someone withher understanding of the great legend hasscooped the prize.“We really took to the name because it’ssynonymous with Nottingham and thecounty and immediately identifiable withRobin Hood and we think it’s strong androbust and really memorable,” he said.Colin added that he was delighted thatbeer brewing has become another talentin the local hero’s quiver, “No wonder hiswere merry men!”The beer was officially named in aceremony at Nottingham Castle attendedby the Sheriff of Nottingham CouncillorLeon Unczur and his lady Adela Hampsonduring the family attraction day on thecastle green.The beer was brewed last month whenTim spent a day with head brewer AdrianRedgrove at Castle Rock Brewery. Thereare plans for it be available again duringthe Nottingham CAMRA’s Robin Hood BeerFestival on the castle green in October.Pubs within Nottingham city are beingencouraged to submit three photographsof their summer floral displays by 18th Julyand the short listed finalists will be visitedby judges at the beginning of August.Finalists will be invited to a presentationevent in September and the winning pubreceives £150 garden centre voucher andtrophy.So if you think you have got what ittakes to take on the challenge, enter theNottingham in Bloom Garden Competitionthis year. For an entry form and to findout more contact us on 0115 9152724 oremail: bloom@nottinghamcity.gov.uk.More details on website:www.mynottingham.gov.uk/bloomVIP World Cup suite at Bell InnAlthough not a ‘football ‘ pub as such,the Bell Inn are offering the Crown PostRoom as an executive VIP suite with tableservice for a group of 6-8 people for worldcup games. The package includes a drinkon arrival, followed by a meal and a drinkduring the viewing time of the game, plusa celebratory/condolence drink after thegame. The concept is that you will havea ‘Royal Box’ set up with prime privateviewing. Cost is £25 per head with adiscount of 10% for CAMRA membersAlso, by appointment, landlord Craigwill give any CAMRA members dining atthe Bell (in a group of 4-6) a free cellarand history tour of the sandstone cavesbeneath the pub on request.www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201043

Post BoxYoung’s BrewerySIR - In the April/May issue of Nottingham Drinker, page 7,the writer says that Young’s brewery has gone. Gone where?Because it was certainly there last week. Still brewing too!S. M. D. Joachim (by e-mail)Steve Westby replies:As the writer of the piece in question I thought I shouldreply. I was intrigued by your comment that Youngs wascertainly there last week. Young’s Ram Brewery in Wandsworthceased brewingin September2006 since whenall brewing wastransferred toCharles Wellsbrewery in Bedford,which has beenrenamed Wells andYoung’s for thepurpose. ChairmanJohn Young diedon 17 th September2006, days beforethe closure of the brewery, whilst the final brew was beingrun at the Ram Brewery. Beer from the last brew was servedat his funeral on 29 th September 2006. The old Ram Breweryhas been approved for redevelopment into a new shopping /business centre.So I think your information may be a little out of date. Howeverif you have proof that I am wrong then I will willinglyprint an apology. It is a shame that such a splendidold brewery no longer exists.The Hayloft, GiltbrookSIR - with regard to mention of the Hayloft at Giltbrookin the public transport feature in issue 97, I’m prettysure this was an old Shippo’s house and was not totallydemolished as stated. I believe that the right hand side(from the road) is original and the left part was addedon, hence the “wonky” entrance to the car park, andthe original entrance is now a side door. Perhaps otherreaders could expand on this.Frank, by e-mailThe Editor replies:Several people have commented on this. I wrote thisfrom my own memories of what Greenall’s did to theplace, but at my age I may well have forgotten thewhole story! A web search has proved fruitless - themain site on the village is called “Giltbrook, a Suburb ofIkea” and has only a photo of the current pub. So moreinformation would be appreciated.Drinking and DrivingSIR - I have just read your editorial in the April edition.You may not know that there was a deliberate alterationon medical findings on this subject. About 40 yearsago an article in New Scientist published a graphshowing the connection between alcohol and drivingability. It showed an improving ability for a time, thendeterioration as the alcohol level increased. This wasexplained by the fact that the brain is quite greedy forfuel, and works better for a time, until inebriation sets in.Some time later, the Ministry of Transport published a graphtotally distorted, showing complete deterioration, because thiswas the message they wanted to push.I don’t know if you could find the original article, but it wouldstrengthen your case, and do you think that Lord Adonis knowsabout it?R.N.Brooksbank, M.I.E.T, N.G.W.B.J. (by e-mail)The Editor replies:I have been unable to find the graph to which you refer, andwould be grateful if any reader could trace the article and thegraph.However, in the course of my research I came across the articlebelow regarding misinterpretation of drink-driving statistics inthe USA, which I think readers will find interesting:“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)falsely reports that there were 17,419 drunk driving fatalitiesin 2002. 1 That’s a gross distortion. In reality, NHTSA estimatesthat there were that number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities.Only a minority of alcohol-related fatalities are drunken drivingfatalities. Of course, any alcohol-related traffic injury or deathis one too many.“Nationally, 12.8% of all drivers involved in fatal accidentsduring 2001 are known to have been intoxicated accordingto the BAC (blood alcohol concentration) laws This number isbased on a systematic examination of the official records ofeach and every accident involving a fatality during that year inthe US. It is based on factual evidence rather than on estimatesor even guesses. 2“The higher number (about 40%) generally reported refersto accidents in which there was believed to have been somealcohol consumed by anyone associated with the accident.For example, if a person who was believed to have consumedany alcohol is stopped at a red light and is rear-ended by aninattentive completely sober driver, that accident is consideredto be alcohol-related.“The federal agency converts estimates of alcohol-related trafficfatalities into reports of drunk driving deaths. By equating“alcohol-related” with “drunk driving,” NHTSA distorts theextent of the problem with impaired motorists, creating animpression of widespread drunk driving that isn’t factuallysupportable -- but which is used with great effectiveness forpropaganda purposes by temperance-oriented groups.References:1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).August 25, 2004. www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/press/pressdisplay.cfm?year=2004&filename=pr38-04.html2. Responsibility in DUI Laws, Inc.www.ridl.us44 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

As has been the case for the last few years, so the2010 Reading CAMRA Beer and Cider Festival washome to this year’s CAMRA National Cider and PerryChampionships 2010. Now before we go any further, we needto point out that we are talking about REAL cider and perryhere - not the fizzy ‘keg’ stuff produced on an industrial scalethat has hardly ever been near an apple or pear... It is probablyalso worth reminding the reader that cider is made from apples,particularly cider-apples and that perry is made from pears,particularly perry-pears.Pips from the CoreFrom our Cider Correspondent, Ray BlockleyJust like beer, cider and perry are ancient and traditional drinksthat have also had their ups and downs; but just as the varietyand quality of beers have been increased and revitalised bysmall, independent, and micro-brewers, so has the variety andquality of real ciders and perries been given new vitality andbreadth by the renaissance of craft real cider- and perry-makersin the UK.The CAMRA National Cider and Perry Championships give thesesmaller producers a chance to be recognised and celebrated forwhat they do to produce and preserve these drinks that havebeen a long established part of our culture. The Championshipsis divided into a section for ciders and one for perries, and manyhundreds of ciders and perries from across the UK were enteredand judged, and then narrowed down to 24 ciders and 24 perriesbefore the top three in each category were chosen. Contrary topopular belief, cider is not only made in Somerset - nor confinedto the West Country, for that matter.Did you know that there is at least one craft real cider- and/orperry-maker in virtually every county of the UK...?CiderBarnaby Butterfield of Sandford Orchards, based at Fordton,near Crediton in Devon took away the Gold Award for theirSandford Orchards Farmhouse Cider. Barny is a farmer cidermaker who runs a traditional mixed farm and has been a cidermakersince 2003. He is passionate about making high-qualityciders from locally sourced fruit and was recently featured onthe Paul O’Grady TV show making cider live on-air. On hearingthe news of his win, Barny said: ‘I’m staggered, as we’vebeen making cider by artisan methods for many years, and wealways endeavour to use old fashioned methods. It’s having thisrecognition that makes all the hard work worth it- I’m totallygobsmacked!’The Silver Award was presented to a cider-making pair situateda bit North-West of Devon - in fact quite a bit North-West, beingbased near Llantwit Fardre, near Pontypridd in Glamorgan,South Wales. Gwynt Y Ddraig Cider is another young cidermakingcompany started by Bill George and Andrew Gronow in2001,but who have collected many awards for their Welsh cidersand perries. This time it was their Black Dragon Cider whichcame away with the prize. Black Dragon is a blended cider rich inKingston Black juice, which is aged in oak barrels.The Bronze Award was collected by a maker from many milesEast - Stretham in Cambridgeshire to be exact. Pickled Pigciders are made from a blend of culinary, dessert and wild crabapples to get a balance of flavour and aroma. These cidermakersinsist on using locally sourced apples and their bronzeawardwinning Porker’s Snout cider is a blended cider using fivetypes of apples that all grow within sight of Ely Cathedral.PerryMaking good perry from the small, hard and bitter perry pear isoften thought akin to a cross between alchemy and magic, butDereck Hartland has clearly cracked it with his Gold Award forhis Hartland’s Farmhouse Perry made on his farm at Tirley,near Tewksbury in Gloucestershire. Dereck is another farmercider maker who has followed in the footsteps of his late fatherRay in making quality ciders and perries on his small farm within“The Three Counties Cider and Perry Association” geographicalarea. When he was told he’d won the Gold Award for his perry,Dereck said: ‘It’s wonderful news, and to say I’m delighted is anunderstatement. I can retire a happy man and it’s the highlightof my year!’More alchemy has been clearly taking place in the neighbouringcounty of Herefordshire, where the husband and wife team ofJenny and Graham Blackmore - who just both happen to beretired research scientists - are the recipients of the SilverAward for their Rathay’s Brandy Perry. By the way, “Brandy”is the name of a very good perry-pear and this has been turnedinto an award winner at their small-holding at Sutton St Nicholas,just north of Hereford.Heading back North-West and up into the hills of Powys, Wales,brings us to the home of the Bronze Award perry of Ralph’s OldBadland Perry. Ralph and his son James have been making ciderand perry at Old Badland farm for many years and Ralph is nostranger to collecting CAMRA awards for his ciders and perries.Celebrating the range and quality of this years entrants for thecompetition, Andrea Briers, CAMRA National Cider and Perrycommittee chairman, said:‘The competition today brought out a wide range of tastes andaromas, and was a real showcase for the craft cider and perryindustry. CAMRA just hopes that any future Government puts inplace measures that will protect this historic industry, and ensurethese award winning producers are able to continue producingsuch quality.’CAMRA launches ‘Local Cider’ and‘Local Perry’ stickers and crownersAs part of its continuing campaign to promote pubs selling realcider and perry at the bar, CAMRA has launched a new pump clipcrowner initiative to make it easier for drinkers to know whetherthey are drinking local produce. Having launched the initiativethis week, CAMRA branches across the UK will be supplyingtheir local pubs that serve local real cider and perry with thesepump clip crowners, with the definition of ‘local’ varying toaccommodate for areas of the UK where real cider and perry isnot as common.So there you have it. ‘LocAle’ now has the siblings ‘Local Cider’and ‘Local Perry’. Keep your eyes open for produce from the EastMidland’s own cider and perry makers…PUBLICAN? NEW BREWERY?NEED A WEBSITE, NEW IDENTITY OR JUST A REFRESH?BUSINESSSTARTER PACK£200!WEBSITES£250!FROM ONLYThis is where Fountain Creative come in - we can do itall for you! With the minimum of stress we’ll take yourideas, hopes and dreams and turn them into a reality...To see what we can do for you call 07736 315096or visit pubs.fountaincreative.comWe’ll make you proud of your business.DESIGN, WEB, ILLUSTRATIONMAIL@FOUNTAINCREATIVE.COM10GET YOURDISCOUNTCAMRAMEMBERSWEBSITES. NEW IDENTITIES.MENUS. REBRANDING. ILLUSTRATION.POSTERS. PROMOTION. ETC...%WWW.FOUNTAINCREATIVE.COMwww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201045

SnippetsA Unique Gift IdeaNottingham Robin Hood Beer Festival, 14 th to 17 th October 2010Are you looking for a birthday present with a difference thisyear? Well how about a ticket for the beer festival, the £10price includes guaranteed admission, a commemorative glasstankard and two half-pint beer tokens. The system for ticketshas changed this year and printed tickets will be mailed out inthe post when ordered online or by telephone. Not only will thismake entry to the festival a smoother process it also means thattickets will make an ideal gift!To buy tickets online visit www.nottinghamcamra.org and clickon the link for the festival. Alternatively you can buy tickets bycalling 0871 230 1103 (All calls are charged at 10p per minutefrom a standard BT line. Mobiles & Other networks may vary)It is also possible to buy tickets over the counter in the centreof the city by visiting the Nottingham Tourism Centre at SmithyRow, Nottingham NG1 2BY. There are no transaction charges fortickets purchased in person at this Centre.The festival is not all-ticket and it will be possible to pay atthe gate as in previous years. However an advance ticket doesguarantee admission, and whilst we are increasing the volumeof beer and cider there are overall capacity limits on the castlegrounds and so, as happened on the Saturday evening last year,it MAY be necessary at busy periods to restrict entry to ticketholders only.More details of the festival will be included in the next edition ofthe Drinker, but we can promise that substantially more beer andcider will be ordered this year!Stag cellarman in Cancer Research walkHarvey Gould of the Stag, Kimberley along with a fewfriends is walking the 84 mile Hadrian’s Wall National Trailfrom Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway in 6 days from 27 th Juneto 2 nd July in aid of Cancer Research UK and St Richards Hospicein Worcester. Harvey’s father died of cancer in 2008, and oneof his unfulfilled wishes was to walkHadrian’s Wall, so Harvey decided todo it for him. After a natter over afew beers, Harvey, Stag regular Peteand few friends decided to do it asa charity event. Cancer ResearchUK was an obvious choice, as mostpeople have been affected by cancersomewhere along the line, and StRichard’s Hospice was chosen asthey took wonderful care of Harvey’sfather during his last days.Harvey and PeteThe plan is to start and end the weekat the Keelmans Lodge in Newburn near Newcastle, the home ofthe Big Lamp brewery, so there should be more than a few alestops on the way!If anyone wishes to sponsor Harvey, they can either pop intothe Stag, or visit our www.justgiving.co./4-do-hadrianswall forCancer Research UK, or www.justgiving.com/hadrianswall-strichardsfor St Richard’s Hospice.Nottingham Mild Trail updateAs Nottingham Drinker hits the streets there is still a week leftto collect your stickers on the Mild Trail. Many people have beenseen drinking mild in the area, although not all were collecting thestickers, some just enjoying the beer - and why not. Even if youhaven’t started there is still time as you only need to visit eight pubsto enter.Unfortunately there have been some problems at certain locations.Some of you who have been attempting the trail may have comeacross one or more of the following comments from certain pubs:“We haven’t had the packs” - Not correct, all packs were deliveredbefore the trail started.“We didn’t have any stickers in the envelopes”. Not correct, in facta sticker on the outside of the pack identified where it should bedelivered to.“We haven’t got any mild” - Out of our control I’m afraid, howeverwe are monitoring those pubs concerned!We hope that any of the above responses to a request for a mildhasn’t marred your enjoyment of the trail and that you have found afew pints or halves along the way.Our first entry this year is from Alan Cottingham of WesternAustralia!46 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010

Branch DiaryNottinghamTrips and SocialsJune:Wed 2 nd - Public transport crawl, catch 7pm NCT no 6 Vic CentreWed 9th - Survey trip, Rempstone area. Meet Cast, 7pm.Mon 28 th - POTY presentation, Hand & Heart, Derby Road. 7.30pmWed 30 th - POTY presentation, Crown, Beeston, 7.30 pm.July:Wed 14 th - Public transport crawl, catch 6.45pm NCT 10 Vic. Cen.Tue 20 th - Survey trip, Linby area. Meet Cast, 7pm.August:Mon 9 th - Survey trip, South Notts area. Meet Cast, 7pm.Mon 23 rd - Public transport crawl, catch 7.05pm NCT 13, M. SquareFor more details on Trips and Socials see the article on page 48.Book with Ray Kirby on 0115 929 7896 or e-mailraykirby@nottinghamcamra.org.CAMRA cards must be shown for £2 discount offered on some trips.Branch MeetingsAll meetings begin at 8pm. Everyone is welcome to attendJune: Thu. 24 th - Deux, Clumber Ave. Yellow Line buses.July: Thu. 29 th - Queen Adelaide, Windmill Lane. Bus NCT 23/24Aug: Thu 26th - Victoria, Beeston. NCT 13, Barton 18, train.Committee MeetingsAll meetings begin at 8pm.June: Thu 10 th - Lincolnshire PoacherJuly: Thu 08 th - Lion, Basford. Tram Shipstone StreetAugust: Thu 12 th - King William IV, Eyre Street, Sneintonwww.nottinghamcamra.orgAmber ValleyBranch meetingsJune: Thurs 24 th 8.30pm-Eagle Tavern, Eagle Street, Heage.July: Thurs 29 th 8.30pm Codnor Inn, Jessop Street, CodnorTrips and SocialsJune:Sat 12 th - Zig Zag crawl. 1.15pm Queens Head, Marlpool, and thenHeanor pubs. 3.20pm Thorn Tree, Waingroves. 4.15pm CodnorInn, Jessop Street. 5pm Poet and Castle, Codnor. 6pm Red Lion,Market Place, Ripley, then further Ripley pubs.Tues 15 th 8pm -inter branch social with Derby branch atPattenmakers Arms, Crown Street, Duffield. Skittles andsandwiches.Sat 19 th 7.30pm free bus-surveying pubs around Ripley andCodnor.July:Sat 17 th 7.30pm free bus-surveying pubs in South Wingfield,Higham and Shirland.(Bus trips depart from Ripley Market Place. For Alfreton andBelper pick-ups, please ring Nathan.Contact Nathan Dilley (01773 570675)BelvoirBranch MeetingsJune: Tue 1 st - Red Lion, Stathern, 8.30pmJuly: Tue 6 th Tollemache Arms, Buckminster, 8.30 pmFor details contact Martyn or Bridget on 01949 876 479 ormartynandbridget@btinternet.comErewashTrips and SocialsJune:Wed 2 nd POTY presentation, Spanish Bar, IlkestonSat 19 th - Stanton by Dale Pub Crawl - 1:15pm Ilkeston Flyerfrom Wharncliffe Road to Dale Lane End - first port of call theCarpenters Arms (or meet here at 1:30pm), then onto TheChequers and The Stanhope Inn, then The Sevenoaks. Alternativebus 14 at 2:05pm from Sandiacre to Stanton-by-Dale and meetat The Chequers. Contact Mick Golds 0115 9328042 or 0788778878www.erewash-camra.orgContact John Cooke, Secretary on 0115 9329684GranthamBranch meetingsJune: Wed 2 nd 8pm Willoughby Arms Little Bytham LincsJuly: Wed 7 th 8pm Waggon and Horses Caythorpe LincsAugust: Wednesday 4 th 8pm Welby Arms Allington LincsSeptember: Wednesday 1st 8pm Green Man Ropsley LincsGrantham Beer FestivalThu 12 th Sun 15 th August at the Grantham Railway Club offHuntingtower road Grantham. 40+Beers , Cider and Perry Moredetails to follow.Contactwww.granthamcamra.org.ukenquiries@granthamcamra.org.ukNewarkContact Duncan Neil, 01636 651131,Chairman@newarkcamra.org.ukMansfield & AshfieldContact: Roger Chadburn, socialsecretary@mansfieldcamra.org.uk07967 276805 to book trips (small charge). For pub survey tripscontact Andrew Brett, pubsofficer@mansfieldcamra.org.uk for freetransportRegional MeetingSat 19 th June - Temple Hotel, Matlock Bath. Members only.The Victoria HotelNext to Beeston Railway Station85 Dovecote Lane, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 1JG Tel: 0115 9254049or visit our website at www.victoriabeeston.co.uk.VIC FEST 2010Sat 17 th July - Sun 1 st AugustUp to 100 beers (20 on at any one time), Ciders and perriesBeer and food evenings including curries, chilli, pasties, cheeseLocal breweries, games evenings, quizzes, tombolas, rafflesLive music Saturday and Sunday afternoons(Sorry, no under 18s after 8pm)Admission & music freeAdvance booking recommended for evening eventsSee p 48 for further detailsor visit www.victoriabeeston.co.ukThe Victoria is now offering 20p per pintdiscount to card carrying CAMRA membersSun - Thu on all real ales and real ciderswww.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 201047

Beer FestivalsFestivals and beer eventsMay 27–31 (Thu-Mon) Bread & Bitter first annual BeerFestival, 153-155 Woodthorpe Drive, Mapperley. 30different real ales over the weekend, including Thornbridge,Newby Wyke, Kelham Island, Hopback, Oakham, Blue Monkey,Fullers, Wells & Youngs, Burton Bridge and Oldershaw. Charityevent in aid of the Nottingham Victoria Cross appeal.May 28-30 (Fri-Sun) Stag Inn Beer Festival, Nottm. Rd,Kimberley Trent/Barton Rainbow One and Phoenix Flyer T1 todoor. 25+ real ales plus 5 real Ciders.May 28-30 (Fri-Sun) 15 th Newark Beer Festival, RiversidePark (near Newark Castle Railway Station) Around 150beers from the length and breadth of Britain, plus ciders andperries. Entrance £5 (card carrying CAMRA members pay £2).Standard glass hire £1 (refundable), festival tankards £2.50(non-refundable). Open 10.30 - 10.30 Fri-Sat, 12-6 Sun.May 28-31 (Fri-Mon) Railway, Lowdham Beer Festival(next to railway station) Marquee, 20 - 25 beers. HarleyDavidson exhibition. Fri Karaoke. Sat afternoon falconry display.Sat eve Rod Bean. Sun lunch Kick & Rush. Sun eve quiz. BBQSat, Hog Roast Mon.May 28-31 (Fri-Mon) Seven Oaks, Stanton Second AnnualBeer Festival. Over 20 cask ales. Live entertainment, food.Admission free before 5pm, £5 after (free all day Mon)June 2 nd (Wed) Magpie Brewery night, the Globe, LondonRoad (NCT Green Line 5-10 buses) Meet the brewer and try aselection of his beers.June 3-6 (Thu-Sun) Ruddington Four Pubs Beer Festival,at the Red Heart, Three Crowns, Victoria Tavern andWhite Lion. Over 65 cask ales and ciders in all. Open 12-11pm. Morris dancing Thu, live music outside Fri-Sat, BBQ atthe White Horse. CAMRA discount, and takeaway containersavailable. Regular buses NCT 10 and Trent Barton RC.June 5-6 (Sat-Sun) Vegan Beer Festival, Sumac Centre,245 Gladstone St. NG7 6HX. (NCT Yellow Line buses toBerridge Rd. and walk along Alberta Terrace). Genuine unfinedvegan beers. Open 12 noon - late. Also Fri for members only.June 25-27 (Fri-Sun) Bingham Rugby Club Summer BeerFestival, The Pavilion, Brendon Grove, NG13 8TN. Trent- Barton Xpress (evenings Radcliffe Line) to Balmoral RoadLate buses back to Nottingham. 20 different beers and ciders.Live Music. Details: www.binghamrufc.co.ukJuly 7 th (Wed) Batemans Brewery night, the Globe,London Road (NCT Green Line 5-10 buses) Meet the brewerand try a selection of his beers.Jul 7-11 (Wed-Sun) 33 rd Derby CAMRA City Charter BeerFestival, Assembly Rooms. 5 min walk from bus station, 10min. rail station. Free all times for CAMRA/EBCU membs. SeniorCitizens free Wed Eve + all lunches. Armed forces free with MODID. Usual great entertainment. Now all day opening Thu/Fri/Sat. Wed Eve Opening Ceremony 6.15, Market Place. 6.30-11pm (£4), Ockbrook Big Band. Thu 11.30am-11pm (Lunchfreeentry), Jazz; Eve after 6pm (£5), Blondied-(Tribute). Fri11.30am-11pm (Lunch £2), Jazz; Eve after 6pm (£7) Treebeard/Horse and Jockey1, Mill Street, Basford, NG6 0JW 0115 978 7883Castle Rock Hemlock, Preservation, Black Gold and two guestsCocktails and Karaoke monthly on a Friday - call for datesLarge function room availableWeekday food lunch and eveningSunday Carvery 12 - 3pm (booking advised)Breakfast Mon - Fri 7 - 10amThe Tram FriendlyHorse and Jockeyby Basford Crossing(David Lane tram stop)Alma Boobies. Sat 11.30am-11pm (Lunch £3), Kick & Rush; Eve(after 6pm £6), Robbing Williams (Tribute)-Fancy Dress Night.Sun 12noon-2.30pm (free entry), The Bo Dudleys (Drinking-upsession).July 17-Aug1 (Sat-Sun) Victoria Hotel Summer BeerFestival, Dovecote Lane, Beeston (next to Beeston railwaystation) Up to 100 Beers (20 at any one time) Various beerand food related events every evening. Monday to Friday)including local breweries (Friday 23 rd ) beer and cheese (Tues27 th ) currys, chillies, paellas.plus much more. Saturday andSunday afternoon music from Millenium Eagle jazz band.Djangology,Ann Duggan band,Mas-y-Mas, Hot Club, Toetappers,Kellys Heroes,Acushla,Derrin Nauendorf, Robin Auld, Ritchie Muirband and Sould. For further details on events and music visitour website at www.victoriabeeston.co.uk. Sorry no under 18sallowed after 8 00pm. CAMRA members 20p per pint discountSunday- Thursday.July 22-25 (Thu-Sun) Plough, Normanton on the Wolds4 th Annual Beer Festival. 20 beers + ciders and perries, dailyentertainment. Bus: Trent / Barton Keyworth Connection toNicker Hill/Platt Lane and walk up Platt Lane, crossing the A606.Further details call 0115 937 2407July 29 - Aug 1 (Thu - Sun) Queens Head, Watnall BeerFestival Twenty real ales plus cider; festival food and live musicon Saturday night. Bus 331 to door.July 28 - Aug 1 (Wed-Sun) Unicorn Inn 5 th AnnualSummer Beer and Music Festival Repton Rd. Newton Solney.Trent/Barton Villager V3 bus from Derby or Burton. 45+ beerswith a Staffordshire brewery theme. Hog roast Sat. Open from 6Wed-Thu, 5 Fri and noon Sat-Sun. Details www.unicorn-inn.co.ukAug 3-7 Aug (Tue-Sat) Great British Beer Festival 2010,Earl’s Court, London. Huge range of Beers, Ciders, Perries,international beers. Further details on p. 28Aug 4 th (Wed) Newby Wyke Brewery night, the Globe,London Road (NCT Green Line 5-10 buses) Meet the brewerand try a selection of his beers.48 www.nottinghamcamra.org June / July 2010