E FOR PUBS WHICH SERVE THE PERFECT PINT AT THE PERFECT TEMPERATURE CASK MARQUE-ACCREDITED J D WETHERSPOON <strong>FREE</strong> HOUSES 30 AWARD-WINNING BREWERIES I N T R N A T I 5 O N A S L R B R E W E R S 25 F R K U E E W R B THE world’s biggest real-ale festival T H O M E st louis Brewery usa Birrificio mc-77 italy BROUWERIJ ’t IJ Netherlands Bodebrown Brewery Brazil bagby beer company WED 22 MAR – SUN 2 APR AWARD-WINNING ALES UP TO 30 ALES FROM THE UK AND AROUND THE WORLD usa
Editorial London Drinker is published on behalf of the Greater London branches of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, and is edited by Tony Hedger. It is printed by Cliffe Enterprise, Eastbourne, BN22 8TR. CAMRA is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and registered in England; company No. 1270286. Registered office: 230 Hatfield Road, St. Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 4LW. Material for publication, including press releases, should preferably be sent by e-mail to ldnews.hedger@gmail.com. The deadline for the next edition, April/May is Monday 13 March All contributions to this magazine are made on a voluntary basis. To advertise in London Drinker, contact John Galpin on 020 3287 2966 or mobile 07508 036835; E-Mail: johngalpinmedia@gmail.com. Prices: whole page £325 colour or £260 mono; half-page £195 colour or £145 mono; quarter-page £105 colour or £80 mono. The views expressed in this magazine are those of their individual authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the editor or CAMRA. © copyright the London Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale; all rights reserved. Subscriptions: please send either £9 for the mailing of six editions or £17 for 12 editions to Stan Tompkins, 52 Rabbs Mill House, Chiltern View Road, Uxbridge, Middx UB8 2PD. Please make cheques payable to CAMRA London Area. These prices apply to UK mail addresses only. To arrange for copies to be sent overseas, please contact us. CONTENTS Branch diaries 6 CAMRA beer festivals 10 CAMRA’s Revitalisation Project 12 News round-up – General 14 – Pub and brewery trade news 22 – Health and welfare 26 CAMRA Club of the Year competition 16 Champion Bottled Beer of Britain 16 Matters of taste 18 CAMRA’s National Winter Ale Festival 24 Low and no alcohol beers 30 The anti-alcohol lobby reorganises 32 Opinion – The B-word 36 Down the Bethnal Green Road 38 London brewery news 41 News from the Continent 43 Pub campaigning 45 WhatPub? update 18 51 Letters 57 Books and writers 58 Idle Moments 60 Crossword 62 LOOKING AHEAD I , for one, was not sad to see the back of 2016 and I suspect that I was not alone. But what might 2017 hold for us beer drinkers and pub-goers? Firstly, let me say that I am no expect but then again, we don’t listen to them anymore, do we? Around Greater London the number of small breweries continues to grow, many of them starting off by taking over equipment discarded by earlier breweries who are expanding and being supported by crowd-funding. I keep asking myself when the bubble will burst but I have been asking that for several years now and it hasn’t. If they can sell their beer then best of luck to them. Let’s be honest, not all of it is good and that is in itself a problem but one that the market ought to control. Interestingly, in the Evening Standard on 3 January, their business analyst, Nick Goodway, predicted that in October, Young & Co and Fuller Smith & Turner will announce that their families have agreed a £1 billion merger to create a dominant London brewer and pubco and that consequently CAMRA will have hysterics. This is, however, one of a number of somewhat tongue-in-cheek predictions which includes the Department for Transport reassigning the Southern Railway franchise to Ryanair. Trouble is, after 2016, who knows? Although, as evidenced by our letters page, some see that market forces also should be allowed to prevail when it comes to pub closures, it is a very distorted market, mostly due to London property prices. As reported elsewhere in more detail, it is now clear that the way forward is to give pubs their own specific (sui generis) planning class that does not carry permitted development rights involving change of use and certainly not the right to demolish. CAMRA must continue to campaign for this. Mind you, our original campaigning purpose still requires effort. One London CAMRA branch pubs officer recently found that a pub had stopped selling real ale and was told that ‘too many other pubs in the area’ were selling real ale. I don’t know if there is something in the water in the Borough of Bexley but they certainly lead the way when it comes to micropubs. It is interesting to see however that this phenomenon is now spreading to other outer London boroughs. It does, of course, depend on the attitude of the licensing authorities and shop rent levels. Closer As reported in our October/November edition, the winner of the John Young Memorial Award for 2016 was London Assembly member Tom Copley. Tom holds the award, flanked by Torquil Sligo-Young (left) and CAMRA’s Greater London Regional Director, Geoff Strawbridge (right). The presentation was made on 8 December at the Golden Lion in Camden, a pub that Tom helped to save. Geoff commented, “With the Capital still losing pubs hand over fist, we thought it was time to acknowledge someone who has been active in trying to do something about it. Tom has been a tower of strength both in the London Assembly and in local pub campaigns. This award is given in memory of John Young CBE who, as chairman of Young’s Brewery, championed the cause of real ale and community pubs from the 1960s until his death in 2006. It is given to an individual or organisation that we believe has done the most for real ale and/or pubs within the Greater London area. We think John would approve of this year’s winner and we have his nephew, Torquil Sligo-Young, once again to present it”. With thanks to Christine Cryne for the photograph. 3
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