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
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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
Mine’s a Pint
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
Mine’s a Pint
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.”
Mine’s a Pint
6
PUB & BREWERY NEWS CONTINUED
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
Mine’s a Pint
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
Mine’s a Pint
8
PUB & BREWERY NEWS CONTINUED
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
Mine’s a Pint
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
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10
BREWERY NEWS CONTINUED
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
Mine’s a Pint
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.
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BREWERY NEWS CONTINUED
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
CONTINUED OVERLEAF
Mine’s a Pint
13
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BREWERY NEWS CONTINUED
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.
Mine’s a Pint
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.
Mine’s a Pint
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
CONTINUED OVERLEAF
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.
Mine’s a Pint
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.
Mine’s a Pint
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
Mine’s a Pint
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
Mine’s a Pint
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
Mine’s a Pint
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.
Mine’s a Pint
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
Mine’s a Pint
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
Mine’s a Pint
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
Mine’s a Pint
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
Mine’s a Pint
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.
Mine’s a Pint
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
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