Mine's a Pint Issue 42

THE MAGAZINE FOR READING AND MID 

BERKSHIRE BRANCH OF THE CAMPAIGN 

FOR REAL ALE 

IN THIS ISSUE 

Pub & Brewery News 

Small Beer 

Beer Festival Roundup 

Join CAMRA 

Volunteering 

History of Perry 

FREE 

BERKSHIRE 

PUB OF THE YEAR! 

ISSUE FORTY TWO • SUMMER 2017 

FREE - PLEASE TAKE A COPY

Branch Diary 

All events start at 20.00 and are open to everybody 

unless specified. 

June 

Thu 15: Pub of the Year and Cider Pub of the Year 

presentation. Nags Head, 5 Russell Street, Reading, 

RG1 7XD. This is also Beer Day Britain. 

Tue 20: Branch meeting. Bull, 41 High Street, 

Theale, RG7 5AH. CAMRA members only, please. 

July 

Thu 6: First Thursday of the Month Social. 

Bramshill Hunt, Bramshill Close, Arborfield, RG2 

9PL. Join us for the quiz night! 

Thu 20: Branch meeting. Three Guineas, Station 

Approach, Reading, RG1 1LY . CAMRA members 

only, please. 

Sun 23: Pub walk from Goring to the Bell at 

Aldworth. More details in Small Beer section. 

Contact Chris Hinton: 0118 987 3203 / chinton557@gmail.com 

August 

Thu 3: First Thursday of the Month Social. Allied 

Arms, 57 St. Mary’s Butts, Reading, RG1 2LG. 

Thu 17: Branch meeting. Retreat, 8 St John’s Street, 

Reading, RG1 4EH. CAMRA members only, please. 

See www.readingcamra.org.uk for details of these 

events as they come available. For details of an event 

with no contact listed, to suggest an event or to receive 

e-mail updates of the branch diary, contact Rich 

Croton: social@readingcamra.org.uk 

Contact Us 

Useful contact details for this 

magazine, CAMRA and other 

important things… 

Mine’s a Pint Circulation: 3,000. 

Outlets: Over 70 across the region. 

Editor: Phil Gill 

editor@readingcamra.org.uk 

0771 455 0293 

81 Addison Road, Reading, RG1 8EG 

Magazine published on behalf of Reading 

and Mid Berkshire CAMRA by: 

Orchard House Media Ltd 

daniel.speed@orchardhousemedia.co.uk 

Reading & Mid Berkshire CAMRA 

www.readingcamra.org.uk 

Social Secretary: Rich Croton 

social@readingcamra.org.uk 

Contact for all other branch matters: 

Katrina Fletcher 

contact@readingcamra.org.uk 

0779 401 9437 

Local Trading Standards 

Reading Borough Council: 

www.reading.gov.uk 0118 937 3737 

West Berkshire Council: 

www.westberks.gov.uk 01635 519930 

Royal Borough of Windsor & 

Maidenhead: 

www.rbwm.gov.uk 01628 683800 

Wokingham Borough Council: 

www.wokingham.gov.uk 

0118 974 6400 

The next issue of Mine’s a Pint will be 

published in early September. Please 

feel free to submit any copy or ideas 

by 11 August. 

The opinions expressed in Mine’s a Pint are 

not necessarily those of the editor or the 

Campaign for Real Ale. © Campaign for 

Real Ale 2017. 

Mine’s a Pint 

3

From the Editor 

The last few weeks have seen a major 

campaigning victory for pub protection, Just 

before it dissolved for the general election, 

parliament approved new regulations that 

remove the previous rights for people to 

demolish or change the use of a pub without 

planning permission. 

“The new planning 

regulations won’t stop 

pubs from closing if 

nobody goes to them” 

You can read more details inside, but to sum 

up right here: this is a massive change that 

should help give much greater protection to 

pubs and stop them being seen as a soft 

target by developers. It won’t mean that all 

pubs are protected of course, and neither 

should it, but it will mean that the proper 

planning process now has to be gone 

through and that local communities will 

have a say in the future of their pubs. 

You can read inside about the winners of 

our Pub of the Year, Cider Pub of the Year 

and Club of the Year. These are places that 

are doing well. On the flip side, also inside 

is a piece about pub closures. The new 

planning regulations won’t stop pubs from 

closing if nobody goes to them. So we (and 

that means you, and me, and everybody 

else) need to make sure that we keep 

visiting our local pubs because we “use it or 

lose it”. 

Let's raise a glass to the great British pub … 

preferably inside one! 

Phil Gill - Editor 

editor@readingcamra.org.uk 

PUBLICANS & BAR MANAGERS, 

TRY OUR FULLY MANAGED 

REGULAR BEER LINE 

CLEANING SERVICE 

IMPROVE YOUR 

DISPENSE QUALITY 

CUT WASTE 

SAVE MONEY 

LET PROFESSIONALS 

EASE YOUR WORKLOAD 

Contents 

Established 2006 

Serving over 1,000 

clients nationwide 

Contact Simon Grist today for 

your FREE first clean 

Mob: 07817 950853 Office: 0118 954 0568 

Email: SimonGrist@clearbrew.co.uk 

www.clearbrew.co.uk 

Free 

initial clean 

No commitment 

No contract 

Several of our 

customers are 

featured in the 

2017 CAMRA 

Good Beer Guide 

Branch Diary 3 

From the Editor 4 

Pub & Brewery News 5-15 

Small Beer 16-19 

Join CAMRA 18 

Reading Beer Festival Roundup 20-21 

Champion Cider and Perries 2017 22 

Protect our pubs 23 

Volunteering 26 

Pub Closures 26-27 

Brief history of Perry 28-29 

Key Keg - What is it? 30 


4

Pub & Brewery News 

Pub News 

ASTON 

This tiny village near Henley is home to 

Brakspear's longest serving tenants in a single 

pub. Back in 1992 Pat Thatcher and 

Tony Read were regulars at the Flower Pot 

when they learned that the landlord was 

leaving. They decided they would like to 

take over and run the pub themselves and 

are now celebrating 25 years behind the bar. 

Four real ales from across the Marstons 

range area available and the pub is popular 

with walkers because of its large garden and 

good food offering. Another attraction is the 

massive number of stuffed fish in glass cases 

that adorn the walls – there are over 100 

and it’s believed to be Britain’s largest 

private collection. Definitely something that 

needs to be seen in person! 

BURGHFIELD COMMON 

The BANTAM in Omers Rise remains 

closed and the owner is still trying to make 

it into a housing development. A decision on 

the latest planning application is expected 

soon. 

CAVERSHAM 

The CROWN (new name 

for Crown on the Bridge) 

on Bridge Street has been 

newly refurbished in a 

modern style with food, 

mainly speciality burgers, 

sausages and hot dogs. The 

old car park has been 

transformed into a smart 

patio area and there's a 

serving hatch straight from 

the bar for outside food 

orders. There are TV 

screens for sports but 

they're hidden when not in use, and the 

pool table and dart board have gone. A new 

glazed entrance porch – inside! – and new 

and much improved toilets complete the 

physical changes. Three beers are usually 

available from six handpumps. The regulars 

are Sharps Doom Bar and Fullers London 

Pride with a Loddon beer often featuring as 

a guest. 

The FOX AND HOUNDS on Gosbrook 

Road is due to hold its annual Hopfest from 

13 – 16 July. Expect lots of hoppy beers on 

cask and keg, together with music, food and 

a great atmosphere. The regular pizza menu 

from Barrel & Stone, and the Sunday roast 

dinners, are both recommended. Also look 

out for a blue plaque which should be in 

place from mid June, to commemorate the 

day when Lennon and McCartney played 

the pub under the name of the Nerk Twins. 

What was the Grosvenor on 

Kidmore Road is now the 

CAVERSHAM ROSE. With a 

very attractive and extensive 

refurbishment this massive pub 

has gone significantly upmarket, 

particularly on the food. 

The real ale range has reduced 

from five to three and there's 

no longer a discount for 

CAMRA members, but the beer 

CONTINUED OVERLEAF 


5

PUB & BREWERY NEWS CONTINUED 

quality is holding up so it's definitely worth 

a visit. A garden room is a new addition to 

the rear and there's a function room inside. 

The beer range has increased at the CLIFTON 

ARMS on Gosbrook Road and often features 

four ales from the Marstons range. 

KNOWL HILL 

The BIRD IN HAND on Bath Road has 

reopened after refurbishment. It’s been 

opened out and a lot of the previous homely 

touches have gone. The beer range is now 

only from Wadworth. 

READING 

A new addition to Reading's bar scene is the 

BOTANIST in the old Barclays Bank building 

on King Street (halfway between the 

Alehouse and Jacksons Corner). This is a 

new branch of a growing chain mainly 

based in the Midlands but with local 

branches in Marlow and Farnham. Gin, 

cocktails and craft beers (mainly bottles) are 

the main focus although the Marlow branch 

seems to have some cask ales. It opened 

after we went to press so why not check it 

out for yourself and let us know what you 

think? 

A pub many may not know exists – the 

FRUIT BAT – can be found in Erleigh Road 

in East Reading. It's kind of 

like a shop conversion and has 

been there several years now. 

Our reporter recommended 

the pub grub and found two 

Loddon ales on sale when he 

visited. It's near the hospital 

and in a part of Reading 

short of pubs. 

The ELDON ARMS in 

Eldon Terrace closed in 

April after brewery 

Wadworth sold the building, and licensee 

Russell MacKenzie moved on to the 

Royal Oak in Pewsey, Wiltshire. 

We wish him and his family all the best in 

their new venture. Shortly after closure a 

sign appeared in the window advertising for 

new bar staff so we hope to see the pub 

reopen, although this was a fast-moving situation 

around our press deadline. More 

news hopefully in the next issue. In the 

meantime, here's a picture of Russell and 

Carolyn on their last day in charge, receiving 

their award for being a finalist in our 

Pub of the Year competition. 

The THREE GUINEAS at Reading station 

often feature a LocAle alongside the wide 

range of Fullers beers. On a recent visit 

three Windsor & Eton beers were on offer. 

The former Wynford Arms on Kings Road is 

now the THIRSTY BEAR, an American 

themed bar and diner. There's supposed to 

be real ale but it's been rather elusive, at 

least at the start, so all we can say is that we 

believe it's a rebadged offering from 

Deuchars. On the food side, the pizzas are 

excellent and very filling. Don't make the 

mistake of ordering a whole one unless 

you're very hungry! 

The WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN 

on Basingstoke Road has been refurbished 

and reopened as a pizza and carvery restaurant 

and bar under the Stonehouse brand. 

We don't yet have any details of the real ale 

so please let us know if you 

pay them a visit. 

O’NEILLS on Friar Street 

was closed for refurbishment 

as we went to press. The plan 

is to create a new look and a 

new American Irish concept, 

with “a bigger range of craft 

ales served on tap” (which we 

guess means keg beers) and 

“stylish decor created from old 

whiskey barrels as well as a 

new menu with breakfast 

choices, burgers, sharing platters and pizzas.” 


6


It’s reported that BrewDog are actively looking 

for premises in Reading. Where do you 

think they could find? 

Featured in this issue’s article about pub 

closures, the RISING SUN in Forbury Road 

has been closed for a long time and now, 

after no interest from the licensed trade, has 

been sold to new owners who want to 

demolish it. Luckily Reading Borough 

Council refused the application for a demolition 

licence, which gave just enough time 

for new planning rules to come into force 

meaning that demolition now needs full 

planning permission. Formerly a Brakspear’s 

house, the Rising Sun had a 

chequered history for its last few years of 

trading and is surrounded by modern (well, 

1990s) offices. We don’t think the new 

owners have any specific plans for the site 

yet – it's difficult to see much happening on 

its own as the site is so small but it could 

form part of a wider redevelopment scheme 

in the future. Or it could even reopen as a 

pub – who knows? 

The BUGLE on Friar Street has stopped selling 

real ale. The previous offering of 

Courage Best had not been selling well 

enough to keep in good condition. 

Planning and listed building applications 

have been made for the closed RED COW 

on the corner of Crown Street and 

Southampton Street. They are seeking 

permission for change of use from pub to 

restaurant (ground floor) and erection of a 

single storey extension, together with 

conversion of the upper floor into three 

self-contained flats. We were awaiting the 

council’s decision as we went to press. 

A change of management at the 

GREYFRIAR on Greyfriars Road has seen 

Josh (formerly of Zerodegrees) take over 

from Andy. The beer quality has remained 

excellent and six real ales from microbreweries 

are still on 


7 

offer alongside interesting keg and bottled 

beers and a wide variety of craft gins. The 

quiz held every other Monday, now with a 

new quizmaster and starting at 7.30pm, is 

recommended and offers generous prizes. 

Don’t forget that the pub also gives CAMRA 

members a 10% discount on real ales (show 

your membership card to get this). 

The QUEENS ARMS on Great Knollys 

Street – near the Reading Buses depot – has 

been off most people’s radar for some time. 

It's been closed for six months and had a 

bad reputation before that. Now, though, 

it's set to see a new lease of life as a drop-in 

centre for the homeless and disadvantaged. 

Christian charity New Beginnings has 

started work to turn the pub into an 

alcohol-free community hub offering free 

hot meals and clothes, with estimated opening 

in July. Grace Gomez, who set up the 

charity and was once homeless herself, 

explained that the idea is to bring an empty 

community building back into use that 

would offer help to single homeless people, 

and also homeless families in B&Bs who are 

“cooped up in one room with children”. She 

said: “We thought it would be good if they 

had somewhere to go, they could drop in 

after school, there will be free food and 

drink on offer, and there will be a place outside 

for children to play – just like a pub 

without the alcohol.” While we’re sorry to 

see a pub go, it's great that it'll still be 

CONTINUED OVERLEAF

2 Broad Street Reading, RG1 2BH 

01189 508119 

thealehousereading.co.uk 

enquiries@thealehousereading.co.uk 

3 West Berkshire Ales 

6 Guest Ales 

German & Belgian Beers 

Real Cider, Perry and Mead 

Local CAMRA Pub of the 

Year 2014 Runner Up 

Local CAMRA Cider 

Pub of the Year 2013 & 2014 

A Community pub in the 

e heart of Reading e 

Follow us on twitter 

@AlehouseReading 


8


providing a useful service to the local community 

rather than being demolished and 

redeveloped as flats. 

We hear that Reading Borough Council have 

proposed to enter into a development agreement 

with H20 Urban and the Canal and 

River Trust to build a 100 berth marina, 

hotel and pub on the A33 side of the River 

Kennet opposite Waterloo Meadows. At the 

moment we know no more than that but 

more details will surely emerge over time. 

SHINFIELD 

The BLACK BOY has reopened after an 

extensive refurbishment and is now part of 

the Barons Pub Company who run six pubs 

across Surrey – this is their first venture into 

Berkshire. The focus is on food with a massive 

menu available although up to three 

ales are also on offer from the Greene King 

range. It includes a house beer that doesn’t 

state a brewer but tastes unmistakeably like 

Greene King! Outside the garden is lovely 

with smart furniture and covered seating, 

plus a fire pit. A feature is that some of the 

outside tables are designated as non-smoking. 

attempts they have now got permission on 

appeal so it looks as though the pub along 

with its rare skittle alley has been finally 

lost. The development company behind the 

scheme were also responsible for the loss of 

the Lamb in the same village. 

TILEHURST 

The VICTORIA in Norcot Road held a beer 

festival in April which we're told was a success. 

Since a refurbishment in 2014 this pub 

has broadened its clientele and is much 

more welcoming than before. There real ales 

are usually available. The bus stop on the 

17 route is White House, which reflects the 

pub's former name. 

STREATLEY 

The SWAN hotel in the High Street is undergoing 

major refurbishment works and the 

main entrance is closed with access via 

Church Lane and traffic lights in operation. 

The hotel, gym and most importantly the 

bar are still open. 

SULHAMSTEAD 

Beer quality at the SPRING INN has been 

good on several recent visits. This is a large 

pub just off the A4 and set up primarily for 

diners, but drinkers are welcome too. 

THEALE 

The owners of the RED LION in Church 

Street have been trying for ages to get planning 

permission to extend and convert the 

pub for residential use. After many failed 


9

BREWERY NEWS CONTINUED 

ASCOT ALES 

Anastasia's Exile Stout 

won its category in the 

LocAle awards at 

Reading Beer Festival. 

This 5.0% stout won 

the category for beers of 

5% and above. 

BINGHAMS 

Binghams is featured in the 

summer edition of 

CAMRA’s quarterly 

“Beer” magazine with a 

comprehensive five page 

article. CAMRA members 

can access an online version 

through the CAMRA 

website if they missed it! 

Binghams’ latest special 

is Viennese Whirl, a 

5.0% Vienna Pale Ale 

brewed with Vienna Malt 

for a golden hue and a blend of Citra, 

Centennial and Chinook hops from 

America. The ever popular Hop Project continues 

with a 4.5% Extra Pale Ale called 

Wai-iti Cascade launched in June with these 

hops providing a stone fruits and citrus hop 

character. 

BOND BREWS 

The Bell and Bottle in Shinfield recently 

played host to a Bond brews tap takeover. 

Owner and brewer Dean Bond gave an 

entertaining talk about how he came to take 

up brewing, the process and ingredients 

used as well as how he chooses which types 

of beer to brew. All rounded off with a quiz, 

it was a very good evening. Mellow Velo, a 

Dean from Bond Brews and Chrissie 

from the Bell and Bottle at their 

tap takeover 

limited edition 3.6% mild, was in 

fine form and was our beer of the 

day. 

Another recent brew has been 

Bengal Tiger, an English Style India 

Pale Ale at 4.3% ABV. It was brewed 

with a nod to the original English 

style IPA with two types of malted 

barley. East Kent Golding hops provided 

the Bitterness, Goldings the 

aroma and it was dry-hopped for 

good measure. 

CHILTERN 

For a long time we've been following the 

progress of a special beer from Chiltern – 

their 2,000th gyle (a gyle is a specific brewing 

run, i.e. it was the 2,000th time that 

they'd brewed). It's easiest to let them 

describe it in their own words: 

“On 6 January last year we celebrated our 

2000th Gyle – or brew – and to mark the 

occasion we have produced MM, a new limited 

edition bottle-conditioned ale. We think 

it is something special – a real treat; a true 

classic IPA, light gold in colour with a fruity 

aroma and set off by a dry malt middle and 


10


a long hop finish for a 6.4% strength 

sparkling ale. The bottles have matured for 

12 months to allow the flavour to mellow 

and each bottle is individually numbered. 

You can drink it out of champagne glasses 

too for that extra special touch of style. 

Please see online www.chilternbrewery.co.uk 

for details of where the bottles – and much 

more - can be ordered for delivery.” 

The seasonal special draught for June is 

Cobblestones Summer Ale 3.5% ABV. This 

draught golden ale is a firm favourite with 

those ale drinkers who enjoy a golden, light, 

crisp, refreshing and fruity beer with a hint 

of bitterness. The name was originally 

inspired by the old cobblestones in the 

courtyard of the brewery tap, The King’s 

Head in Aylesbury. 

For July and August the seasonal special 

draught ale will be Chiltern Gold 3.9% 

ABV. This light golden honeyed ale is well 

balanced and refreshing. It's hopped with 

the Cascade producing a beautiful citrus and 

grapefruit aroma. Finally for summer beers, 

the Monument Gold Pale Ale 3.8% ABV is 

now a permanent bottled ale, available 

across the year. A clear gold colour, it has 

tastes of smooth honeyed malt and citrus 

aromas and is certified gluten free. 

The brewery shop in Terrick near Wendover 

is now open for longer including every 

Monday 10am to 5pm. There you will find 

the full ranges of current draught and bottled 

ales and a great selection of locally 

made food items, often created using their 

own ales. Details are on www.chilternbrewery.co.uk. 

ELUSIVE BREWING 

A tap takeover in the Greyfriar marked their 

first birthday party at the end of April, and 

with six cask ales available it was an excellent 

evening. A fourth fermentation vessel 

arrived in May, which will mean that output 

will have more than doubled from when 

they started last spring. It should mean more 

availability of the core beers, and definitely 

also means they'll be on the hunt for more 

space soon. 

LODDON 


11 

The big news from Loddon is the release of 

their new bottle – In Yer Face American IPA 

(5.8% ABV). It's in 330ml bottles and 

packed with citra hops for a strong, punchy 

but perfectly balanced American style IPA. 

They're really excited about it, saying that 

it’s a very different beer from what they've 

made before and should appeal to an entirely 

new audience. 

CONTINUED OVERLEAF

The bottles will be available from the brewery 

and, soon, from off licences and wholesalers 

across the region. 

June sees the return of the popular seasonal 

Summer Snowflake (4.1% ABV) and in July 

the special is a brand new beer Sunny Daze 

(4.4% ABV. This is a light golden ale 

packed with hops to give a refreshing summer 

bitter. 

REBELLION 

With the brewery expansion work now 

finished, Rebellion Lager (4.4% ABV) was 

released on 19 May. This will be the first keg 

lager brewed by Rebellion, now in their 24th 

year since brewing their first beer in 1993. 

Rebellion's Charity Weekend 2017 is on 

Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 July. During 

these biennial open weekends they throw 

the doors of the brewery open, and welcome 

what has now grown to a staggering 7,000 

visitors over the weekend. 

Zebedee, the popular spring seasonal beer 

(4.7%, a straw coloured pale ale with a 

clean, fresh taste and tropical fruit aromas) 

has now joined the core range and will be 

brewed all year round. The monthly specials 

continue with: 

June – Monarch (4.2% ABV), Tawny and fruity 

July – Slapstick (4.2% ABV), Amber and citrus 

August – Rocket (4.2% ABV), Red and fruity 

For the summer they are brewing Rebellion 

White (Wheat beer) and for Autumn 

Rebellion Black (Porter) in bottles. 

The brewery shop is open Mon – Sat 08:00 

– 19:00. Friday evening is their busiest time 

of the week, putting huge pressure on the 

carpark between 16:30 and 18:00. To avoid 

the crowds they are asking people to consider 

visiting either earlier on Friday or 

Saturday morning. 


12


SIREN CRAFT 

The latest addition to the core range is Yu 

Lu, a “loose leaf pale ale” brewed with Earl 

Grey Tea. Previously available as a special 

under the name of Vermont Tea Party, this 

beer delivers subtle bergamot orange and 

lemon notes here, accentuated by the 

addition of lemon zest. Delicate hop high 

notes give a balanced flavour that belies its 

low strength. 

Because of works to expand the brewery 

and move to a new unit on the Hogwood 

Lane Industrial Estate, the brewery shop is 

now closed. They say: “Until a time when 

we’re ready to open up a new tasting room 

we’re not going to be able to serve customers 

at the brewery. Apologies in advance 

for any inconvenience this may cause. In the 

meantime, you can order from our website 

and use ‘click and collect’. If you order 

before 3pm, you will be able to collect the 

next working day. Collections can be made 

Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm. Thank you all for your 

patience in these transitional times.” 

SHERFIELD VILLAGE 

TBA (its actual name!), a 3.9% malty session 

bitter, has been seen in local pubs lately. 

English Pilgrim and New Zealand Green 

Bullet and Pacific Jade are the main hops, 

with some American 

Citra also added. 

VALE 

Seasonal specials available 

for summer are: A 

Bigger Boat: 3.8% 

American Red. A deep 

red beer with US hops. 

Contender: 4.1% Deep 

Golden. A golden thirst 

quencher with a big 

hoppy punch. 

Play it Sam: 4.3% Straw. A soft pale malt 

blended with big US hops. 

The brewery shop in Brill is open Monday - 

Friday 9am - 5pm and Saturday 9.30am - 

11.30am for a full range of Vale and ABC 

beers together with a wide selection of foreign 

bottled beers, wines and ciders. 

WEST BERKSHIRE 

West Berkshire are in the middle of an 

expansion programme which will see 

brewing, packaging, a shop and cafe all on a 

new site. The £6m project will see the 

creation of a new base on an old dairy farm 

not far from the current Yattendon site. 

Once complete, expected to be in August, 

the new site will enable the brewery to be 

more adventurous with products and 

produce greater volumes of beer to be sold 

further afield. It’ll be the fourth time the 

brewery has expanded since it was founded 

in 1995 and David Bruce, chairman, said: 

“This is a transformational time for our 

brewery and our £6million in investment in 

its future will create one of the most preeminent 

brewing and packaging facilities in 

the UK.” 

WILD WEATHER 

Saturday 29 July sees the “Midsummer 

Christmas Party” at the brewery from midday 

until late. The New Zealand Beer 

Collective are bringing in 8 lines to 

complement the brewery's own 8 keg 

lines, giving 16 great beers to try 

including new brews. You can meet the 

brewers of course, and there will be 

food from California Taco plus DJ sets. 

Best of all, entry is free. 

WINDSOR AND ETON / 

UPRISING 

The Bracknell Beer Festival at the end 

of May featured a rare cask of Uprising 

treason and another of W&E 



13


14


Kohinoor. Both were excellent. Events at the 

brewery have included beer yoga (really!) as 

well as the regular and very popular brewery 

tours, held every second Wednesday and 

starting at 19.30. 

XT / ANIMAL 

XT will be at the Great British Beer Festival 

this year with their own bar. As a special 

feature, the brewery have teamed up with 

the UK’s leading hop merchant Charles 

Faram and the most innovative English Hop 

Farmers to bring an exclusive new beer to 

the festival. The beer will be brewed with all 

new varieties of English hops and show that 

the smaller British craft breweries and hop 

growers are a serious force against the more 

trendy imported American and New World 

beers and hops. 

XT are going to brew two collaboration 

beers with Uprising Brewery. Having 

apprenticed with the masters of brewing at 

Windsor before starting XT, Russ will be 

returning to work alongside the team to 

produce two new beers under the Animal 

and Uprising brands. Look out for some 

unusual ingredients! One beer will be 

brewed at Windsor and a return visit will 

see the second beer brewed at XT 

The latest Animal beers to be sampled in 

local pubs will be: 

Swallow: East Coast Pale Ale, 4.7% ABV. 

A pale beer brewed with pale amber malt. 

Columbus and Bravo are layered throughout 

the brew which is generously dry hopped 

with Citra at the end. This ale has a fruit 

bouquet of peaches, mango and passion 

fruit with citrus and peppery notes throughout, 

all tied together with subtle hint of mild 

coffee. 

Fantail: NZ Amber 4.6% ABV. Brewed with 

no less than six different speciality malts 

and wheat then topped off with New 

Zealand Green Bullet and Motueka and a 

special dry hop addition with even more 

Motueka. Layers of lemon, lime and raisins 

throughout with a scattering of peppery 

notes. Paired sweet biscuity malts and a 

hoppy lemon / lime finish. 

Ageing since Christmas in large oak casks, 

the 8.6% ABV Imperial Stout has been aged 

in different casks including whiskey, rum, 

brandy, and sherry barrels. This will be sold 

in champagne style bottles as a bottle conditioned 

beer. 

The Brewery Tap Room now has longer 

opening hours, a wider choice of draught 

beers and there will be rolling series of 

events including wine tastings, beer and 

food matchings, a Belgian Beer night and 

many more – details available on the web or 

Facebook. 


15

Small Beer 

A roundup of news and information. 

PUB OF THE YEAR 

It’s congratulations all round at Reading’s 

Nags Head as not only did they come top in 

our branch Pub of the Year and Cider Pub 

of the Year contests, they then went on to 

beat the other champions from across the 

county to become Berkshire Pub of the Year 

2017. It's a well-deserved win for the team 

at the Russell Street pub which recently 

celebrated its 10th anniversary under the 

current owners. 

Runner up Pub of the Year was last year’s 

champion the Fox and Hounds in 

Caversham. Other finalists were the 

Alehouse, Eldon Arms and Greyfriar in 

Reading, and the Bell & Bottle in Shinfield. 

Runner up Cider Pub of the Year was the 

Bell in Waltham St Lawrence. 

Club of the Year was won once again by the 

Wargrave and District Snooker Club. 

All these “of the year” awards are judged by 

local CAMRA members who survey pubs 

and clubs and score them across a range of 

criteria including beer quality (the most 

important part!), service and welcome, 

ambience, value for money and other factors. 

If you're a CAMRA member you can 

take part so, early next year, watch our 

website or come along to a branch meeting 

and find out how. 

The Nags Head now goes forward to the 

regional stage of Pub of the Year, going up 

against the winners from Oxfordshire and 

Bucks. Good luck and we hope to report 

more good news next time! 

PUB WALKS 

The latest pub walk, led by Chris Hinton, 

goes from Goring to the Bell at Aldworth on 

Sunday 23 July. Meet outside of the 

Catherine Wheel in Station Road (not a 

drinks stop) at 11:05. 

The walk goes from Goring Car Park to 

Townsend Farm, and onto the Ridgeway to 

Aldworth Village via Westridge Copse 

(5 miles). Arrive at the Bell at 13:15 to give 

time for drinks and lunch. At 14:15 walk 

back to Streatley via Streatley Warren, the 

Ridgeway and the A417 to the Bull 

(5 miles), arriving at 16:15. Note that we 

are not going over the hill in the golf club 

but going around it. 

Once back in Goring there are plenty of 

options for more pubs and clubs, with a 

game or two of bar billiards almost a 

certainty! 

This walk is 10 miles in total and has several 

moderate climbs and descents. It follows 

a mixture of tarmac, stone and firm mud 

tracks, some of which may be slippery after 

wet weather. So please wear appropriate 

footwear. 

Places of interest on the walk include the 

Ridgeway, Goring Bridge and lock, and 

Goring Water Mill. 

Train times: leave Reading 10:45, arrive 

Goring 10:59. Return leave Goring 18:02 or 

19:02, arrive Reading 18:18 or 19:18. 


16

CIDER AND PERRY 

Jo Metcalf has stepped up to be our new 

Cider Coordinator for the CAMRA branch. 

Previously this was a vacant post but now 

Jo has joined the team we hope to be able to 

feature more about cider and perry in the 

future. To begin with Jo has written an 

article about the history of perry that you 

can read in this issue. 

GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVAL 

Britain’s biggest beer festival (yes, even bigger 

than Reading) will be returning to 

London this summer to celebrate its 40th 

anniversary from 8 – 12 August at Olympia, 

London. A paradise for beer lovers, 

CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival is an 

event not to be missed with beers to suit all 

tastes. This year to celebrate this amazing 

anniversary the festival will be expanding its 

drinks offering of over 900 real ales and 

other craft beers, real ciders and perries to 

include – for the first time – fine English 

wine from some of the best wine producers 

in the country. The festival also offers you 

the chance to sample some fantastic London 

street food and listen to live bands while 

enjoying a glass of something special. 

Buy your tickets now at gbbf.org.uk. 

MARSTONS BUYS CHARLES WELLS 

Wolverhampton-based brewer and pub 

operator Marstons has acquired the beer 

and brewing business of Charles Wells for 

£55 million. The Bedfordshire-based Charles 

Wells will retain its pub operating arm. 

Marstons already produces Ringwood, 

Brakspear, Thwaites and many other 

breweries' beers and the deal will extend 

that range even further to include over 30 

beers including Bombardier, Young’s and 

McEwan’s. They will also take on the distribution 

of non- real ale brands including 

Estrella Damm, Erdinger and Kirin. 

Tim Page, CAMRA’s Chief Executive, said 

about the deal: 

“CAMRA is always concerned about any 

consolidation in the brewing industry as it 


LOCAL FESTIVALS 

Woodcote Festival of Ales: 8 – 9 July 

Part of the Woodcote Steam Rally, which is probably the oldest steam rally in the world and 

now celebrating its 54th year. The Festival of Ale is run and managed by South Oxfordshire 

CAMRA and hosts over 30 ales and ciders plus wine and soft drinks. 

Normal rally admission prices apply. www.woodcoterally.org.uk 

Wokingham Festival: 25 – 27 August 

A music, food and beer festival, the bar here is run by the local Lions club with all profits 

going to charity. Local beers feature heavily, with cider and perry plus wine and soft drinks 

also available. Free entry before midday on Saturday and Sunday. 

www.wokinghamfestival.co.uk

SMALL BEER - CONTINUED 

could result in a reduction in choice, value 

for money and quality for beer drinkers. We’re 

also wary of one company increasingly controlling 

a larger and larger share of the market, 

which is seldom beneficial for consumers. 

“Marston’s has a positive track record of 

keeping the breweries it acquires open, in 

situ, and in many cases investing in the sites 

to increase capacity, and we urge them to 

continue that policy. We’d also encourage 

them to protect the brands that they have 

acquired and increase the range available to 

beer drinkers, by continuing to supply them 

alongside the existing beers produced by 

Marston’s owned breweries. 

It's reassuring to hear that Charles Wells 

intends to continue brewing in Bedford, ensuring 

that whatever Marston’s chooses to do 

with the brewery and brands it has acquired, 

local people will continue to be able to enjoy 

locally brewed beers in the region.” 

LOCAL PLANNING 

Reading Borough Council has published its 

new draft Local Plan for consultation. This 

is the document that plans for development 

in Reading up to 2036 and, once adopted, 

the Local Plan will be the main document 

that informs how planning applications are 

determined. We were pleased to see that it 

contains a good policy on pub protection – 

although for some reason it doesn’t seem to 

apply in the town centre. 

We’ve written to support the new policy and 

hope to see it in the next revised version of 

the plan, to be published in the autumn. 

Once the plan is finally adopted it should 

provide a good degree of protection for the 

borough’s pubs. If only some of our other 

local councils were as positive about pubs as 

Reading. 


19

Reading Beer 

Festival 

ROUNDUP 

Every year, for four days in spring, a small 

part of Reading becomes home to the 

biggest pub in Berkshire. Now settled in its 

new home at Christchurch Meadows, the 

23rd Reading Beer and Cider Festival ran 

from 27-30 April this year. 

The festival showcases a wide range of real 

ales (some 550 different types) as well as 

ciders and perries, foreign beers and English 

country wines. This year the foreign beer 

selection was much expanded and covered 

brews from seven different countries so, 

alongside the regular Belgian, Dutch and 

German offerings, visitors could sample the 

delights of the USA, Italy, Norway and even 

Japan in bottled form. 

No festival is complete without entertainment 

and this year we were pleased to 

welcome Paul “Sinnerman” Sinha from 

ITV’s The Chase to act as quizmaster for 

our massive pub quiz. A wide range of pub 

games, tombola, face painting, balloon modelling, 

Morris Dancing and a great selection 

of local bands made sure that there was 

always something to do while enjoying your 

favourite drink. 

Contests were judged and awards made too. 

The festival is home to CAMRA's National 

Cider and Perry Championship finals and 

the details of those winners are elsewhere in 

the magazine. For the winners of the LocAle 

Beer of the Festival contest, see the accompanying 

box. 


20

Unfortunately the numbers through the 

doors were down on last year, with around 

11,500 visitors counted in and out. 

A number of factors probably caused the 

decline, not least of which was that the sun 

didn’t shine for most of the festival. On the 

plus side, that did mean we sold out of 

hoodies! Around 30 people joined CAMRA 

at the festival – welcome to all of you! – and 

everyone had a good time. If you didn’t 

come then you missed out. 

Phil Gill 

LOCALE BEERS OF 

THE FESTIVAL 2017 

Beers below 4.2% ABV 

Winner - Siren Craft: Yu Lu 

Runner up - Loose Cannon: Abingdon Bridge 

Beers from 4.2% to 4.9% ABV 

Winner - Twickenham Fine Ales: Wolf of the 

Woods 

Runner up - XT: XT13 

Beers 5.0% ABV and above 

Winner - Ascot Ales: Anastasia's Exile Stout 

Runner up - Uprising: Treason 

READING BEER AND CIDER FESTIVAL - ROUNDUP 

OVERALL LOCALE BEERS 

OF THE FESTIVAL 

Gold 

Loose Cannon: Abingdon Bridge 

Silver 

XT: XT13 

Bronze 

Twickenham Fine Ales: Wolf of the Woods 

A charming country pub. The friendly 

& relaxed atmosphere welcomes locals, 

families, walkers, dogs & cyclists alike 

• Cosy seating area with wood burner 

• Ideal for walks & to hack to, very 

near the Knowl Hill bridle path 

• Home-made food served 

Mon - Fri 12-3pm & 6 - 9pm, Sat - Sun 12-9pm 

• Sunday Roast from 12 noon to 3pm 

• Beer garden overlooking fields 

01628 822 010 

Knowl Hill Common, Berkshire, RG10 9YE 


21

Champion Cider 

and Perries 2017 

The Reading Beer & Cider Festival once 

again played host to the South of England 

Regional rounds and National final of the 

National Cider & Perry Championship. 

Local cider and perry producers came out 

extremely well. 

For our region the cider winner was 

Dorset Star’s Sunset, from Dorchester. 

The runner up was Salt Hill’s Autumn 

Gold from Slough in Berkshire, with 

third place going to Cranborne Chase’s 

Farmhouse Medium. The champion 

perry is quite near at hand – Mr 

Whitehead’s Midnight Special Perry 

down the road in Hampshire. 

The regional finals were held on the 

Friday of the festival and a day later the 

winners went forward to the national 

finals. Here the national Gold award 

went to Countryman’s Medium from 

Tavistock in Devon with our own Salt 

Hill Autumn Gold taking the Silver 

award. Bronze went to Gwatkin’s 

Captain Gwatkin’s Rum Cask from 

Abbeydore in Herefordshire. The 

Nemphett Cider Company from Oxleaze 

Farm, Nempnett Thrubwell, Nr Blagdon, 

Somerset produced the Gold award for 


22 

Perry with Piglet’s Perry. Silver went to 

the Dumfriesshire Waulkmill Cider’s 

Mooseheid Perry and Bronze to the 

Gloucestershire based, Hartland Perry. 

Festival Cider Bar Manager and East 

Anglia Cider Coordinator, Chris Rouse, 

thanked the festival for hosting the judging 

and praised the judges’ dedication in 

the selection process. At the presentation 

of the award certificates to Greg Davies 

of Salt Hill Cider on 13th May, he 

observed that there were excellent ciders 

and perries now being produced all over 

the place. “Ciders from the south east of 

England are developing their own style. 

The national awards showed that quality 

cider and perry is not the preserve of any 

one region” he concluded. Pictured are 

Greg (left) and Chris (right) at Salt Hill’s 

base in Slough. 

Brian Jones

New Planning rules 

set to protect pubs 

Just three of Reading's pubs 

that have been converted to 

convenience stores in recent 

years. New planning rules 

should make that much more 

difficult in future. 

Just before parliament was dissolved to 

allow the general election to be held, regulations 

were passed that will give greater protection 

to pubs from being demolished or 

turned into shops. 

Previously national planning laws had 

allowed the owners of pubs to demolish 

them or change their use to shops, financial 

institutions or restaurants without needing 

planning permission. Now those “permitted 

development rights” have been taken away 

and full planning permission is needed to 

demolish a pub or change its use. The one 

exception is that there is a right to turn a 

pub into a hybrid A3/A4 use (a restaurant 

and drinking establishment combined) but 

any subsequent change from that – apart 

from reversion to just pub use – again needs 

full permission. 

CAMRA and campaigners have long pushed 

for this change, which will make it a lot 

more difficult for pubcos and developers to 

cash in on the value of a pub rather than 

keep running it for the benefit of its local 

community. 

During the passage of the Neighbourhood 

Planning Bill through the House of Lords in 

March, Lord Kennedy of Southwark introduced 

an amendment which was passed, 

that would withdraw permitted development 

rights from pubs. The government rejected 

the amendment but introduced one of their 

own in response, which achieves pretty 

much the same thing in practical terms. 

Now that the Bill has passed and become an 

Act, the regulations to remove permitted 

development rights have also come into 

force. 

CAMRA’s National Chairman, Colin 

Valentine, said: 

“We are delighted that Ministers listened to 

those campaigning for the removal of 

Permitted Development Rights and have 

ensured that this vital legislation was not 

overlooked in the run up to the General 

Election. It's reassuring to know that all 

pubs in England will enjoy the enhanced 

protection from development and 

demolition this legislation gives them. It’s 

also heartening to see that as a result of the 

All Party Parliamentary Pub Group and 

CAMRA's negotiations with major retailers, 

companies such as Sainsbury's and 

Enterprise Inns (Ei) voluntarily pledged to 

adhere to the principles of the legislation 

even before it became law." 

Phil Gill 


23

Volunteering 

By the time you read this, we will have just 

raised a pint to National Volunteers’ Week 

at The Swan in Three Mile Cross with lots 

of our fellow members. The week is an 

annual, national event run by the National 

Council for Voluntary Organisations in the 

first week of June. 

Self-congratulatory and back-patting you 

might think? Not so. Over 21 million people 

volunteer in the UK each year – and some 

7,000 of these are CAMRA members. They 

are first class examples of how we can all 

make a big difference to individuals and 

communities every day. CAMRA volunteers 

take on a vast range of roles and tasks – 

serving on committees, campaigning and 

lobbying, working at beer festivals, running 

events and much more. 

It may seem a small thing for someone to, 

say, submit a survey with the latest information 

about a pub but it all has a knock-on 

effect. More up to date information helps 

consumers (not necessarily just CAMRA 

members) make informed choices about 

where they want to visit and drink. This 

often means someone may be more encouraged 

to visit a local community pub which 

keeps money in the local economy, where 

they may meet new friends, try a tasty new 

beer or find out about a local event. 

Locally our volunteers keep our finances 

ticking over, collect beer scores, organise our 

Good Beer Guide entries, co-ordinate our 

Pub of the Year competition, arrange 24 

pubs to be on an annual Ale Trail, keep our 

pub information up to date, help protect 

pubs from closing, lobby our Councillors 

and MPs, keep our LocAle scheme running, 

work with the local press to generate publicity, 

organise socials, keep a website, 

Facebook page and Twitter profile up to 

date, write the very magazine in which 

you're reading this (!), deliver aforementioned 

magazine ... not to mention the hundreds 

of volunteers who make the Reading 

Beer & Cider Festival – one of the largest 

beer festivals in the country – an annual 

reality.

Why do we do it? Because we really like 

beer, cider and perry (no really, we do - 

haven't you seen us drinking it?). And we 

want others to have the chance to enjoy 

them as well, now and for years to come. So 

we also support the pubs and clubs where 

you can find them, and organise our beer 

and cider festival to showcase them. 

So raise a glass to our volunteers and all they 

do. Next time you bump into one in your 

local pub why don't you say thank you? (or 

buy them a beer). Or maybe you feel you 

could make a difference in some small way 

as well? If so, just contact us using the contact 

details in this magazine. By the way, the 

fact that you can read this magazine is due 

to the work of volunteers. 

See you for a spot of volunteering soon? 

Cheers! 

James Moore 

Vice-Chair, Reading & Mid Berkshire 

CAMRA 

get involved 

Ideas for little things you could do as 

a way into volunteering: 

• Send us a beer score. It's really easy - 

all you have to do is log in to 

WhatPub.com 

• Update a pub survey - info on readingcamra.org.uk 

– click on “surveying 

pubs” 

• Deliver this very magazine to pubs 

• Put up a beer festival poster in 

your window 

Mail contact@readingcamra.org.uk 

for more details about how to get 

involved. 


25

Pub Closures 

Britain is still losing pubs at a steady rate. 

This trend is likely to continue as changes to 

our demographics and lifestyles means that 

fewer and fewer are seen as viable (although 

of course we could point to several pubs 

which have become viable in the right hands!). 

Long gone are the days when there was a 

pub on every corner with different brewers 

vying for the trade of mill and factory workers 

downing a couple of pints after a hard 

day’s graft. Most of the old terraced streets 

have gone and with them the corner shops 

and the pubs. In the countryside it is even 

worse with many villages having lost both 

their shop and their pub – and with those 

losses goes the sense of community with no 

focal point to bring people together. Indeed, 

there are villages where the locals cannot 

even afford to buy a house. 

In Reading I think I am right in saying that 

if you get on a number 26 to Calcot, once 

the bus turns down past The Beefeater on 

Southcote Lane, you will not find another 

Reading’s Rising Sun in Forbury Road: Closed 


26 

pub on the route – which goes through three 

large housing estates. So, I assume that anyone 

living there now gets their drinks from a 

supermarket at ridiculously low prices which 

no pub could compete with. Couldn’t we 

have a system whereby pubs brought back 

their “Bottle & Jug” and were able to sell 

take-home products at a reasonable price? 

So, how can we save those pubs which are 

left? Well, a number have been bought by 

their regulars (The Craufurd Arms in 

Maidenhead being a recent example). This is 

where local drinkers club together, or get 

crowdfunding money to buy the pub and 

then run it themselves (usually employing a 

landlord sympathetic to their cause). Some 

country or small village pubs have converted 

one of the bars into a village shop or library 

and others use any spare room for meetings 

and community matters. 

Thankfully, due to pressure and campaigning 

from CAMRA, changes have been made 

to the planning laws (see elsewhere in this

PUB CLOSURES - CONTINUED 

issue) which should make it harder to convert 

pubs to shops or other uses without a 

full planning application being made to and 

approved by the local authority. This could 

help save many local, community pubs. 

An annoying issue with closed pubs is that 

often they lie derelict or boarded up for 

months if not years before being developed. 

Apart from being an eyesore they could still 

have been trading! 

I pass by The County Arms in Watlington 

Street very often and what a sad sight that 

is. Once a fine Morland pub, it must be one 

of the slowest redevelopment sites in town 

as it has been shut for years and is still a 

long way off becoming new flats. 

“An annoying issue 

with closed pubs is that 

they lie derelict or 

boarded up for months 

if not years before 

being developed” 

While the local boozer gets shut down, we 

continue to see new “venue or theme bars” 

opening up in our towns and cities. While 

they may offer something different to 

drinkers they are not proper pubs as I know 

them. However, one interesting twist on the 

subject is the rise of micropubs. These are 

small units – often closed shops – where a 

minimalistic pub is set up, usually with one 

or two people running it selling cask beers 

and cider; no lagers; no machines; no TVs 

etc., just beer and conversation. The nearest 

example is in Newbury (The Cow and Cask) 

and these new ventures often breathe life 

into areas where real ale has been hard to 

find or where the nearest pub has been converted 

to an eating house or theme bar. 

When I was in Australia recently my brother 

took me to his “local” which was a modern 

pub in a small shopping precinct (very similar 

to our estate pubs). This had two bars 

with the lounge being for drinkers with a 

small section of diners (pub grub). The old 

public bar had been converted into a bookies 

run by the Tote, where you could get a 

beer and put your bets on at the same time. 

It seemed to me a great idea – look at the 

number of bookmakers that are next to or 

very near a pub in the Reading area, so 

instead of filling in your betting slip in the 

pub and running next door to place the bet, 

you could do it all in one place. Sadly, our 

laws would not allow this, but if it did it 

might have been a way of saving some of 

our now-closed estate boozers. 

Anyway, at the end of the day the message 

from CAMRA is still “Use it or Lose it” 

British pubs are unique and admired the 

world over so let’s fight to keep as many 

open as we can. 

Dave McKerchar 

Over 96% 

of Britain’s 

real ale pubs 

featured 

whatpub.com 

Featuring over 35,000 real ale pubs 

Information 

updated by 

thousands 

of CAMRA 

volunteers 

Thousands of pubs at your fingertips! 

Created by 

CAMRA who 

produce the 

UK’s best beer 

& pub guide 


27

A brief History of Perry 

The Blakeney Red 

perry pear, one of 

the best single perry 

varieties 

The average person could be forgiven for 

thinking that perry is a fairly recent beverage 

thanks to Babycham and Lambrini. However it 

is mentioned in the 1st and 4th centuries by 

Pliny the Elder and Palladius respectively, the 

latter providing a recipe and writing that pear 

wine was preferred to apple wine. 

After the fall of the Roman 

Empire evidence of perry making 

was lost for a thousand years until 

the Norman Conquest. However, 

the Domesday Book mentions old 

pear trees as boundary markers, 

so pears were being cultivated 

before the French reintroduced 

them. 

For over 400 years perry pears 

have been produced in the Three 

Counties (Gloucestershire, 

Herefordshire, Worcestershire and part of 

Monmouthshire). 

The coat of arms of Worcester City contains 

“three pears sable” added following the visit 

of Queen Elizabeth I to Worcester in 1575. 

Apparently during her procession the Queen 

saw a pear tree which had been planted in the 

Foregate in her honour. She was so pleased she 


28 

bade the city add the emblem of pears to its 

Coat of Arms. 

The Worcestershire county flag also features 

pears prominently. Legend also has it that the 

Worcester Archers rallied under the pear trees 

before the battle of Agincourt and pear blossom 

was borne as a badge by the 

Worcestershire Yeomanry Cavalry from 

the beginning of this century 

until as recently as 1956. 

Perry grew in popularity 

after the English Civil War 

(1642-1651) when the large 

numbers of soldiers billeted 

in the Three Counties drank 

it. It reached the height of 

popularity during the eighteenth 

century when conflicts 

with France made the importing 

of wine difficult. 

The flag of Worcestershire 

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries various 

publications detailed perry pears and their 

optimum growing conditions including the 

Treatise on the Culture of the Apple and Pear 

in 1797; the Pomona Herefordiensis in 1811, 

which included pear illustrations; and the 

Herefordshire Pomona published between

HISTORY OF PERRY - CONTINUED 

1876-1885 by the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field 

Club which described 29 varieties of perry 

pear. The Rev. Charles Bulmer wrote a chapter 

on renovation of orchards and the establishment 

of cider and perry factories later taken up 

by his son, H.P. Bulmer who founded the 

famous cider making firm in 1887. 

Founding member of The National Fruit and 

Cider Institute (1903) Radcliffe Cooke MP 

“The Member for Cider” prevented the 

government of the day from imposing a tax on 

perry and cider, possibly saving these industries. 

B.T.P. Barker was appointed director of the 

National Fruit and Cider Institute in 1904. He 

established a trial orchard at Long Ashton in 

1903 which began distributing grafts in 1908. By 

1917 there were 50 trial orchards in six counties. 

In the 1920s Herbert Edward Durham 

Bulmer's director surveyed the perry pears of 

Herefordshire. The lead labels he attached to 

the trees can still be seen across the West 

Midlands. 

In the late 1940s, Showerings of Shepton 

Mallet, developed modern perry making 

processes and the market for perry sold as 

Babycham. 

However, both English perry making, and the 

orchards that supplied it, suffered a catastrophic 

decline in the second half of the 20th 

century as a result of changing tastes and agricultural 

practices. In South Gloucestershire an 

estimated 90% of orchards have been lost in 

the last 75 years. Prior to 2007, the small 

amounts of traditional perry still produced 

were mainly consumed by people living in 

farming communities. 

However, perry has had a resurgence. Old 

perry pear trees and orchards have been 

actively sought out and rediscovering lost varieties, 

many of which now exist only as single 

trees on isolated farms. “Proper” perry is a 

complex and multi-faceted drink ranging in 

flavour from light floral to barnyard funkiness. 

It is delicious. Try it! 

Jo Metcalf 

Is it the longest 

apprenticeship 

in history? 

Over the last hundred years, only three 

men have held the the title of Head Brewer 

at Timothy Taylor’s. The third of those, 

Peter Eells, retired recently. Rest assured the 

man taking over, Andrew Leman, has worked 

with Peter for 28 years, the last 20 of those as 

Second Brewer. He is one of our team of five 

full-time brewers who closely oversee the 

brewing of every cask of Taylor’s beer. In that 

time Andrew has done the daily tasting over 

7300 times. We think he’s just about ready. 

All for that taste of Taylor’s 


29

Key Keg - W hat is it? 

Roger Hart and Cambridge CAMRA / Beer Festival explain their thoughts on KeyKegs 

Lots of brewers are producing more and 

more interesting beers in kegs as well as 

casks. KeyKegs in particular are a newer 

form of keg that opens up options for delivering 

real ale with interesting characteristics. 

KEEPING IT REAL 

A KeyKeg is, at its simplest, a plastic bottle 

containing a bag full of beer. Unlike a conventional 

keg, the gas you pump in to force 

the beer out and into your glass doesn’t 

touch the liquid. It flows around the outside 

of the bag, pushing the beer out of the keg 

without it becoming too fizzy. 

As the KeyKeg isn’t open to the atmosphere, 

you get all the natural, live-yeast carbonation 

of real ale, but without the risk of the 

beer gradually going flat. It cuts down on 

the chance of off-flavours developing from 

oxidation, too. Of course, some air space 

improves cask ale as its flavour develops 

over time. So there’s a trade-off. Different 

serving mechanisms suit different styles of 

beer, and having KeyKeg gives us more 

options. 

HELPING BEER TO SHINE 

For example, most bitters, and quite a lot of 

porters and stouts, will work best in a cask. 

They’ll condition lightly, change gently over 

time, and the initial air exposure when the 

cask is tapped and vented will dissipate any 

of those odd flavours and aromas you can 

sometimes get with cask conditioning. 

But the highly-hopped IPAs, saisons, and 

really dry stouts we’re seeing a lot of now 

are a different story. They’ll often serve 

better at a much higher carbonation, and 

want to avoid losing any hop aroma to the 

air before they hit your glass. Some of them 

are better colder, too. This is where KeyKeg 

can shine. It lets a brewer put those delicate, 

intricate aromatics front and centre, or keep 

a slightly-sour saison fizzy and zingy. 

There are other ways of brewing like that, 

of course, and we’d love it if people compared. 

Thank you to Roger Hart and Cambridge 

CAMRA/Beer Festival for allowing us to 

reproduce this article. 

CAMRA’S VIEW 

ON KEY KEGS 

Not all beer served in keykegs is real ale, 

but some is. It depends on what the beer 

is to start with. In simple terms, 

CAMRA’s position on keykegs is that if 

it's real ale when it goes in, then it's real 

ale when it comes out. Two years ago a 

motion was passed at the CAMRA 

national AGM to look into setting up a 

labelling system for keykegs at point of 

sale, to allow customers to distinguish 

what they were drinking, but there 

appears to have been little or no progress 

since then. 


30

THE BELL 

Waltham St Lawrence RG10 0JJ Tel: 01189 341788 

REAL BEER • REAL FOOD 

15th Century Country Pub 

Real Ales and Ciders from smalL, independent 

brewers and exceptionalLy goOd foOd from 

fresh, seasonal ingredients. 

LocAle Accreditation 2013 

www.thebelLwalthamstlawrence.co.uk

Mine's a Pint Issue 42

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?