Mine's a Pint Issue 43

IN THIS ISSUE... 

PUB & BREWERY NEWS 

SMALL BEER 

NEW KIND OF BEER FESTIVAL 

HISTORY OF LAGER 

FREE 

THE MAGAZINE FOR READING AND MID 

BERKSHIRE BRANCH OF THE CAMPAIGN 

FOR REAL ALE 

NEW WHARF BREWING 

COMPANY 

& MORE... 

CAMRA: THE ORIGINAL SOCIAL 

NETWORK 

ISSUE FORTY THREE AUTUMN 2017 

FREE - PLEASE TAKE A COPY 

Mine’s A Pint


Branch Diary 

All events start at 20.00 and are open to everybody unless 

specified. 

September 

Thu 7: First Thursday of the Month Social. Start at Roebuck, 

37 Auckland Road, Reading, RG6 1NY. Then moving on to 

Abbot Cook and Retreat. 

Sun 10: Pub walk to the Flower Pot at Aston (total 6 miles). 

Meet at Henley station car park at 11.15. For more details 

contact Chris Hinton: chinton557@gmail.com / 0118 987 

3203. 

Tue 12: Branch meeting. Queens Head (garden room), 54 

Christchurch Road, Reading, RG2 7AZ. CAMRA members 

only, please. 

Sat 16: South London Brewery Crawl. Meet at 12.00 at 

Elephant & Castle Underground Station (shopping centre 

entrance). For more details see SLBT17.eventbrite.co.uk 

Thu 21: Gala Awards Evening. Three Guineas (cellar bar), 

Station Approach, Reading, RG1 1LY. Meet the winners of 

our “Of the Year” awards as well as the winning breweries 

from this year’s beer festival and a few special award winners. 

October 

Thu 5: First Thursday of the Month Social. Fox and Hounds, 

116 City Road, Tilehurst, RG31 5SB. 

Fri 6 – Sat 7: Ascot Beer Festival. For more details see ascotbeerfest.org.uk 

Wed 18: Branch meeting. Royal Oak (conservatory at rear 

of pub), Ruscombe Lane, Ruscombe, RG10 9JN. CAMRA 

members only, please. 

November 

Thu 2: First Thursday of the Month Social. Bell and Bottle, 

37 School Green, Shinfield, RG2 9EE. 

Sat 11: Branch AGM. Griffin (upstairs function room), 10/12 

Church Road, Caversham, RG4 7AD. 12.00 start. AGM will 

be followed by a pub crawl. CAMRA members only for the 

AGM, please; all welcome for the crawl. 

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

they come available. 

For further details if there’s no contact listed, to suggest an 

event or to receive regular e-mail updates of the branch diary, 

contact Chris Hinton: social@readingcamra.org.uk 

Mine’s A Pint 

3 

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: 

Neil Richards MBE at Matelot 

Marketing 

01536 358670 / 07710 281381 

n.richards@btinternet.com 

Printed by Portland Printers, Bartley 

Drive, Kettering, 

Northants, NN16 8UN. 

01536 511555 

Reading & Mid Berkshire CAMRA 

www.readingcamra.org.uk 

Social Secretary: Chris Hinton 

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 December. Please 

feel free to submit any copy or ideas 

by 5 November. 

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.

From The Editor 

CAMRA MEMBER? WHY NOT 

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT STEP? 

IT’S A CAMPAIGN OF TWO 

HALVES, WITH AN ACTIVE SOCIAL 

SIDE AS WELL AS THE WORK TO 

PROTECT AND PROMOTE PUBS 

AND BREWERIES. 

You can see from the branch diary that 

there’s a lot going on locally. On the social 

side we have our regular First Thursday 

of the Month socials or, if you fancy 

something a bit more energetic, there’s a 

pub walk coming up to a lovely country 

pub that’s a bit off the beaten track – the 

Flower Pot at Aston. It’s well worth a 

visit, not least so that you can admire the 

amazing collection of fish in glass cases that 

cover the walls. 

Perhaps, like many of us, you joined 

CAMRA because you think that real ale, 

real cider, real perry and real pubs are 

something unique. Something valuable. 

Something worth fighting for. If so then 

it’s time to take a more active role in the 

campaign. We have our AGM coming up 

and you can read more in this issue about 

some specific roles that we’d like to fill. 

But however you want to help, you’ll be 

made to feel welcome and we’ll certainly 

appreciate your contribution, however large 

or small. 

So make today the day that you step up 

and give something back to the campaign. 

It’s people giving of their time and energy 

– however little or however much they can 

spare – that have got us where we are today. 

CAMRA is the most successful consumer 

organisation in Europe, and your help can 

make us better yet. 

Cheers! 

Phil Gill - Editor 

editor@readingcamra.org.uk 

PUB QUALITY 

BEER 

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including 10% OFF beer 

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Local produce 

Over 300 worldwide wines 

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Call 01628 476594 

Contents 

Shop opening hours: 

Mon-Sat 8am-7pm 

Or visit our website: 

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@RebellionBeer 

RebellionBeerCo 

Rebellion Beer Co. Ltd. Bencombe Farm, Marlow Bottom, SL7 3LT 

Branch Diary 

From the Editor 

Pub & Brewery News 

Beer Scoring 

Small Beer 

New Kind of Beer Festival 

New Wharf Brewing Company 

From the Archives 

History of Lager 

Join CAMRA 

3 

4 

5-10 

12-13 

16-18 

21-22 

23 

25 

26-27 

28-30 


4

Pub & Brewery News 

Pub News 

ARBORFIELD 

As we went to print the BRAMSHILL HUNT was 

closed due to lease renegotiations. We hope to see 

this popular pub reopen again soon. 

Further up the road, the SWAN is on the market 

as a free house. We understand that the current 

tenants Mike and Lynne plan to leave in September. 

CAVERSHAM 

The BARON CADOGAN on Prospect Street now 

hosts a weekly pub quiz, starting every Monday 

at 8pm. The house beer in this Wetherspoons 

is from the local Loddon Brewery (Ferryman’s 

Gold rebadged at Cadogan’s Gold) and other 

microbreweries are also represented, along with 

real cider and often perry. 

There’s a planning application to convert the 

upper floor of THE ISLAND into flats. This is 

the bar on Piper’s Island in the Thames, accessible 

only by river or by a footbridge off Caversham 

Bridge. Naturally, given that it’s in the middle of a 

river, the site is part of the functional floodplain so 

residential use may be a problem. That said, given 

the long history of noise and licensing issues with 

the bar, many local residents will be disappointed 

that it’s only the upper floor proposed for 

conversion. 

IMAGE © FLOWING SPRING 

Our friends at South Oxon CAMRA were so 

impressed that they awarded the Flowing Spring 

their Pub of the Season award for this summer. 

Seen here at the presentation are David Cooper, 

the Chairman of South Oxfordshire CAMRA, 

with the Flowing Spring’s new owners Hazel 

Lucas and Nick Willson. 

GRAZELEY GREEN 

The OLD BELL has been offering a regular guest 

beer from Loddon brewery. As a Chef and Brewer 

pub, it also offers a 10% discount on cask ales for 

CAMRA members – just show your membership 

card at the bar. 

PLAYHATCH 

The FLOWING SPRING has new owners. Nick 

and Hazel, who have been the tenants for the last 

six years, have bought the pub from Fullers and 

it’s now a free house for the first time in its 220 

year history. It’s been a long process but the sale 

finally completed at the end of June. 

Up to six real ales, two real ciders and a wide 

choice of gluten-free, vegan and alcohol-free 

wines, beers and ciders are on offer. The home 

cooked food also includes a wide range of glutenfree, 

vegetarian and vegan options. We hope to 

feature more about this pub in the next issue. 

READING 

The ELDON ARMS in Eldon Terrace closed in 

April after brewery Wadworth sold the building, 

and licensee Russell MacKenzie moved on to a pub 

in Pewsey, Wiltshire. Shortly after closure a sign 

appeared in the window advertising for new bar 

staff and the pub subsequently reopened in June 

– and you may recognise a couple of members of 


5

staff! As far as we are aware it is a freehouse and 

a variety of different ales have been spotted along 

the five pumps over the last few weeks, as well as 

real cider. We thought that we’d lost this place for 

good after the sale, so please do pop over and give 

them your support. Opening hours are from 5pm. 

The MONKS RETREAT in Friar Street, which 

was sold by Wetherspoons to Stonegate Pub 

Company a year or so ago, finally closed for a 

long-promised refurbishment and reopened in late 

August. We had expected a name change but it 

seems that the old name has been kept 

The pub, which opened in 1994, and the street 

it is on were both named after the Franciscan 

monks who came to Reading in the 13th century. 

The well-known “hanging monk” who could be 

seen dangling from a rope underneath the skylight 

didn’t survive the refurb – he was put up for sale 

on Ebay and raised £1,040 for the Noah’s Ark 

Children’s Hospice in London. 

Also on Friar Street, WILD LIME has had the 

latest in what seems to be its “every second year” 

refit. Real ale is available. 

SWEENEY AND TODD on Castle Street is for 

sale. This unique Reading institution has been 

advertised on websites including Daltons Business 

with a guide price of £1.5 million for the freehold 

of the whole of this listed building, including the 

shop, bar, restaurant and upper floors. The pies 

are famous across the country and we sincerely 

hope that we can continue to enjoy them in the 

future, alongside the four real ales on the bar. 

The WHITE EAGLE on Oxford Road is reported 

to have closed. Formerly the New Inn, this pub 

didn’t serve real ale but was known for a wide 

array of Polish bottled beers at reasonable prices. 

Plans have been unveiled for a new development 

in the area of the old Bristol and West Arcade on 

Friar Street / Market Place which include a new 

public house, alongside shops, a public courtyard 

and 64 flats. The pub is to replace the former 

Coopers Arms on the site, which has been vacant 

for a number of years. At the time of going to press 

no planning application had been submitted. 

TILEHURST 

News reaches us that Keith and Sharon are moving 

on after a good number of years at the ROYAL 

OAK on Westwood Glen. The transformation 

that occurred under their stewardship to what 

was a pretty moribund pub was little short of 

remarkable, from improving the range and quality 

of the real ale to cultivating a fantastic outdoor 

garden and uncovering (and utilising) the old 

fireplace in the lounge. The pub was included 

in the Good Beer Guide for every available year 

under their tenure which is an impressive record in 

itself. We hope that the new licensees will continue 

to build on the good work that has happened here. 

WOODLEY 

The BULL AND CHEQUERS in Church Road 

offers a 10% discount to CAMRA members. This 

Greene King house offers up to three real ales and 

has a large garden with seating plus a paved patio. 

Food is served until 10pm (9pm on Sundays) and 

Sky and BT Sports are on offer – plus there’s a 

darts team. 

Beers noted on a summer visit to BEL AND 

THE DRAGON on Gasworks Road (near the 

Prudential offices) were Rebellion IPA, West Berks 

Good Old Boy and Loddon Reading Best. The bar 

offers three real ales from local breweries and you 

can visit for a drink without needing to go into the 

restaurant or order food. 


6

ASCOT ALES 

The brewery has a new owner – we’re awaiting 

details of his plans for the beer range. 

BINGHAMS 

Macchiato Stout and Twyford Tipple both 

received recognition at the south east SIBA 

awards, with both winning bronze awards. Last 

year’s Champion Beer of Britain, Vanilla Stout, is 

available in bottled form from the brewery shop 

in Ruscombe. 

The latest in the Hop Project 

is Citra Southern Cross with 

a citrus and tropical fruit 

hop character dominating 

this 4.5% extra pale ale. The 

latest monthly special created 

by brewer Ricky Moysey 

isPith&Zest,a5%ABV 

orange IPA brewed with the 

addition of orange peel for 

a zesty refreshing orange 

note. Autumn into Winter 

will see the return of the 

dark side, with Woodsmoke Porter, V Old 

Ale and The Warmer all being brewed as monthly 

specials. 

The brewery shop is proving ever popular and 

customers can now click and collect from the 

online shop to save time. Brewery tours are also 

bookable online and include 3 pints and a pint 

glass to take home. 

BOND BREWS 

New limited-edition beer “Whirlybird” is an 

American style bitter. Lifting off with five types 

of malted barley and wheat whilst a combination 

of U.S. hops hover to provide the bitterness 

and finally landing with aromas of orange and 

grapefruit. Due to popular demand “Bengal 

Tiger”, a 4.3% ABV English style IPA has been 

rebrewed. 

CHILTERN 

Bottle-conditioned Bodger’s 

Barley Wine (8.5% ABV) won 

3 Gold Stars at this year’s Great 

Taste Awards. That puts it in 

the top 1.3% of the 12,500 

products entered and means 

it is put forward to a regional 

Golden Fork award and 

possibly Supreme Champion. 

Judges’ comments included 

“A rich, honeyed, brandylike 

flavour with hints of 

pear-drop sweetness and 

warming spice. A wintery, after-dinner, 

fireside beer with a brilliant head, extraordinary 

resinous hoppy notes and a full, spicy impact.” 

Bottle-conditioned Lord-Lieutenant’s Cream 

Porter (6% ABV) won one Gold Star with this 

comment “This has been made with a delicate 

touch but in no way lacking in impact or fullness” 

as did gluten free bottled 300’s Dark Old Ale (5% 

ABV) “There is a rich, toasty malt aroma giving it 

some real appeal”. 

The brewery has been voted the Central Chilterns 

Champion in The Chiltern Society Craft Beer 

Awards. Their highest rated ale was bottled John 

Hampden’s Golden Harvest Ale (4.8% ABV) and 

members of the judging panel included CAMRA’s 

Central Southern Regional Director, Carl Griffin. 

John Hampden’s, which is certified gluten free, 

was also selected as Editor’s Choice and was the 

only one of 6 ales to be awarded 5 stars in Gluten 

Free Heaven Magazine’s recent taste test. 

Autumn is a busy time for draught ales with 4 

seasonal or limited edition specials coming up 

– Kop Hill Ale (3.7% ABV), the official ale for 

the hill climb event in Princes Risborough in 

September, red and spicy Copper Beech (4.4% 

ABV) in September-October, 300’s Dark Old Ale 

(4.9% ABV) in October and mellow and fruity 

Foxtrot (3.9% ABV) for November. 

The brewery shop in Terrick near Wendover in 

Bucks is well worth a visit for some original and 

unique gift ideas – which are also available online 

at chilternbrewery.co.uk. 


7

ELUSIVE BREWING 

Collaboration brews have taken place with 

Torrside Brewing (Creature of Havoc), Weird 

Beard (Lord Nelson), Wild Weather (Fight Like a 

Dairy Farmer) and Vibrant Forest (Hazy Duke). 

A collab brew with Fiveclouds Brewco will have 

taken place by the time this goes to print. 

HOOK NORTON 

This historic Oxfordshire brewery has tasted 

success at the World Beer Awards 2017, where an 

international and highly respected judging panel 

identified the best beers from each country across 

72 styles. 

In the United Kingdom category, top honours 

went to Red Rye 4.7% ABV, a ruby red, fruity 

ale. It picked up United Kingdom’s Best Rye Beer 

and then went on to win the World’s Best Rye 

Beer, repeating its success from 2015. Further 

success came with Playing Hooky 4.7% ABV, a 

pale, amber, malty biscuit brew picking up Bronze 

in the United Kingdom, Pale Ale category. Old 

Hooky 4.6% ABV, 40 years young this year, was 

voted United Kingdom’s Best English Brown Ale, 

showing that there is still a place and recognition 

for a full bodied, classic real ale in an ever 

increasingly craft market. 

All of the award winning beers are available year 

round in 500ml and 330ml bottles direct from the 

brewery and online at hooky.co.uk 

LODDON 

The limited edition beer Golden 

Bullet was brewed for the summer 

and should still be available. This 

4.6% ABV golden ale is a favourite 

from the brewery, packed with 

flavour and character. Fuggles and 

Brewers Gold hops – an old English 

variety now grown in Germany and 

Alsace – impart a spiciness and wellbalanced 

bitterness which makes 

Golden Bullet perfect for summer 

drinking. 

the club’s bar – including a new official club beer 

called Hawks’ Gold, a 4.4% ABV golden bitter – 

and all Henley RFC members can now enjoy 10% 

off all Loddon products in the brewery shop. Shop 

opening hours have been extended to 7pm on 

Fridays, so it’s now even easier to pop in and pick 

up some beer for the weekend. 

For September an old beer is returning but it may 

be under a different name. POTUS is a lovely 

4.7% ABV American pale ale but not everybody 

wants to be associated with the President of the 

United States at the moment, so a name change is 

being considered. 

REBELLION 

The Rebellion Charity Weekend 2017 raised a 

massive £65,000 for charity. Despite some rain 

over 5,000 people attended the weekend where 

free beer and entertainment were on offer. Guests 

could donate at the entrance and managed to 

smash the 2015 figure of £58,000 raised, which 

was a fantastic surprise. Rebellion would like to 

thank everyone for coming along and making the 

weekend so enjoyable and like to thank them all 

for their generosity, along with all the bands who 

played and donated their time for free. 

The brewery have teamed up with newly-promoted 

Maidenhead United FC to offer a hospitality bar 

in the new Alan Devonshire suite for the first three 

games of the Conference season. 

The monthly specials continue with: 

September – Excalibur (4.2% ABV), pale and 

hoppy. 

October – Engineer (4.2% ABV), chestnut and 

crisp. 

November – Braveheart (4.2% ABV), amber and 

malty. 

The autumn beer for September and October is 

Red (4.7% ABV), a warming, autumnal red ale, 

rich and malty, with a balancing bittersweet hop 

character. 

The bottled version of Rebellion Lager (4.4% 

ABV) is now in the brewery shop – they are 

limiting sales to a maximum of three cases per 

customer for the time being. The shop is open 

Monday – Saturday 8am – 7pm. 

Loddon Brewery is joining Henley 

Rugby Club as an elite sponsor for the next 

three years. The brewery and the club have a longstanding 

association and are delighted to be joining 

forces. Loddon beers will be on permanently in 


8 

SIREN CRAFT 

Look out for a range of coffee-flavoured brews as 

part of the Project Barista project - “a celebration 

of the sublime flavours that coffee can impart on 

beers.” Siren have been big fans of using coffee

in beer since they started out four years ago; in 

fact they have a beer that uses coffee in their core 

range – Broken Dream. This series aims to take 

the relationship between beer and coffee in new 

directions and the beers are: 

• Crema – 4.9% ABV sweet white stout with 

German whiskey barrel aged coffee 

• AmcapHeine – 6.2% ABV kettle sour with 

Kenyan coffee and raspberries 

• Hibiscusericano – 9.2% ABV double IPA with 

Ethiopian coffee 

• Turkish – 10% ABV imperial stout with 

coffee, figs, Muscovado, nutmeg, orange zest, 

cacao nibs and vanilla. 

SHERFIELD VILLAGE 

Find their beers at the Sherfield Beer Festival which 

is being held at Sherfield Village Hall on Saturday 

30 September from 11.30am till 11pm. More than 

40 beers and ciders will be available alongside hot 

food and live music. Tickets are £4 in advance or 

£5 on the door. Free minibus to and from Bramley 

station in the evening. Info: Gilly Woodland, gillian. 

woodland@duckwood.co.uk, 07738 011 708. 

STARDUST 

Beers from this microbrewery in White Waltham 

have been seen on sale locally including at the 

Royal Oak in Knowl Hill, where our reporter 

found the 4% ABV English Bitter to be “seriously 

tasty”. Other ales from Stardust include 3.8% ABV 

Easy Pale, 4.5% ABV American Pale and a 5.6% 

ABV offering with the unusual name of PK3, which 

is a “5 hop variety … tropical, fruity and spicy.” 

WEST BERKSHIRE 

Two of West Berkshire’s 

ales won awards in 

CAMRA’s Champion 

Beer of Britain 

Competition, announced 

in August. Good Old Boy 

was awarded Bronze in 

the Best Bitter Category, 

whilst the deliciously 

rich Maggs’ Magnificent 

Mild scooped Silver in 

the Mild category. 

“This is a fantastic achievement for our beers and 

for our brewers,” said West Berkshire Brewery 

CEO Simon Lewis, delighted with the wins. “Good 


9 

Old Boy was one of our original beers and we 

believe it to be one of the very best bitters out 

there – it’s great to see that CAMRA agree with 

us! Maggs’ Magnificent Mild is deliciously rich 

and smooth, and to have been awarded silver is 

a sign of its quality and great flavour. With such 

fierce opposition from other beers within these 

categories, we’re honoured to see both ales win 

awards in such an important competition.” 

Good Old Boy (4% ABV), the company’s 

flagship ale, is notably well-balanced and packed 

with flavour. This classic bitter is brewed with 

traditional Maris Otter malted barley and fruity 

Bramling Cross and Northdown hops. Maggs’ 

Magnificent Mild (3.8% ABV), is a traditionally 

styled, dark mild. Full of roast malt flavours offset 

with a subtle sweetness which combine to make it 

superbly smooth to drink, the silver award adds to 

an already impressive list of awards to its name. 

The OktoberWest Bierfest is back, this year being 

held on Saturday 23 September. There are two 

sessions: daytime from 12-5pm and evening from 

6-11pm. More details are available at wbbrew.com 

The brewery are also looking for full time dynamic 

and proactive drivers. Successful candidates will 

have at least a year’s experience of professional 

delivery driving, a full clean UK driving licence and 

an appetite to achieve. If you think you’ve got what 

it takes to join the team, then please send your CV 

including a covering letter to: 

olly.ford-lane@wbbrew.co.uk 

WINDSOR AND ETON / 

UPRISING 

The Editor writes: 

When I changed jobs last year, one of my leaving 

presents was a pair of tickets for the Windsor & 

Eton Brewery tour. I finally got around to using 

them this summer and I was very impressed. I 

particularly liked the way that they wove a story 

around the various styles of beer, alongside the 

history of the brewery and the types of ingredients 

used. 

Brewery tours can sometimes be a case of “There’s 

the mash tun and fermenting vessel ... here’s some 

malt for you to taste ... have some random beer”, 

which are fine but this one was very well structured 

and informative. I was working out afterwards that 

I’ve been on over 40 brewery tours over the years 

but I still learnt some new things from this one.

There was a good range of people on the tour and 

I thoroughly recommend it. 

Open tours run every second Wednesday in the 

evening, starting at 7.30pm. Look at webrew. 

co.uk/tours for information and to book a place. 

XT / ANIMAL 

XT have launched a beer 

pioneering the use of new British 

hop varieties. The beer called Brit 

Hop, a 5% ABV pale ale, uses 

as yet unreleased hops as part 

of the British Hop Association 

development programme. It was 

available first at the XT Brewery 

Bar in Olympia for the Great 

British Beer Festival, and then 

had a limited release in selected 

local pubs. 

The aim of the programme is to produce varieties 

that are capable of rivalling US and other new 

world hops for flavour. The development successes 

so far have included new British varieties such as 

Jester, Olicana and Minstrel. XT have been selected 

to brew with the experimental varieties and provide 

feedback both on the technicalities during brewing 

and how the hop flavours perform in trade and 

whether the customers like or dislike the beers. 

Another area of beer R&D for XT has been the 

development of their new “craft lager” Eisbar. The 

first trial batches of the new 5% ABV Vienna style 

lager – which is both unfiltered and unpasteurised – 

sold out so fast the brewery had to limit its release. 

The beer is properly “lagered” meaning it’s held to 

condition naturally for six weeks, which presents a 

few production and capacity issues for the brewer. 

As a result of the success of the trials, and to meet 

demand, new specialist lagering vessels are being 

installed over the summer. The beer should be 

available now from a short list of selected pubs. 

The Animal cask beers have proven to be 

very popular over the years and, as a birthday 

celebration, a series of re-brews have been selected 

by landlords, beer club members and devoted 

drinkers. The first revisit was Buffalo the American 

Amber, and later will see the return of other old 

favourites such as Manta Ray and Heron. 

XT beer is on tour and travelling abroad in 

September to represent British brewing – Munich 

for DrinkTech and Slovenia with the British 

Chamber of Commerce. 

VISIT OUR BREWERY SHOP FOR TASTERS, BOTTLED BEER, 

AND CARRY OUTS DIRECT FROM THE CASK 

BREWERY SHOP OPEN 

MONDAY - THURSDAY 10AM - 6PM 

FRIDAY 10AM - 7PM 

& SATURDAY 12 - 6PM 

FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER OR UPDATES AND OFFERS! 

£1 OFF 

WHEN 


10 

YOU SPEND £15 OR MORE AT 

THE BINGHAMS BREWERY SHOP 

VALID UNTIL 31/12/17 

T&Cs: Valid for £1 off any £15 purchase in the Brewery Shop. Not valid for home deliveries, online purchases, gift vouchers or in conjunction 

with any other offer or voucher. No cash value. Void if copied or transferred. You must be 18+ to purchase alchohol


11

Beer Scoring 

Have you ever wondered about how pubs get into 

the Good Beer Guide (GBG)? Unlike those guides 

where paid individuals submit reviews, GBG 

entries are compiled from beer scores submitted by 

CAMRA members. Every single CAMRA member 

has the opportunity to contribute to the GBG, by 

submitting quality scores for the beers they have 

drunk. 

So how do you submit them? The easiest way is 

to log onto CAMRA’s WhatPub.com. The default 

login details are your CAMRA membership 

number (without any leading zeroes) as username 

and the password you created at the time of 

signing-up. If you have difficulty logging in, there’s 

help on the screen. In fact, there’s plenty of help 

for all steps in getting your pub scores entered! It’s 

up to you how you record your scores while in the 

pub - scraps of paper, notebooks, or on a smart 

phone, whatever suits you. 

While the concept of sitting at the bar with a 

notebook giving your beer a points score might 

seem a little obsessive, in fact beer scoring is a 

vital tool of CAMRA’s ongoing campaign for good 

beer and good pubs. There are over 150 pubs in 

our branch so we need members from across the 

region to help us gather information about them 

year-round. 

The scores are on an 11 point scale (0-5, by halfmark): 

0 = No cask ale available. 

1 = Beer that is anything from barely drinkable to 

drinkable with considerable resentment. Includes 

beer taken back as being poor and not taken off 

sale. 

2 = Competently kept; drinkable but doesn’t 

inspire in any way. Below what is expected for the 

GBG. 

3 = Good beer in good form. A GBG user (i.e. 

you!) would not be disappointed with it. You may 

seek out the beer again in the same session. 

4 = Very good: Excellent beer in excellent 

condition. Exceeds expectations. 

5 = Probably the best beer you are likely to find. A 

seasoned drinker will award this score very rarely. 

Don’t give a pint 5 just because it’s (say) Doom Bar 

and you happen to like Doom Bar. Think: in your 

experience is this beer in front of you a really good 

example of a Doom Bar, or a pretty poor one? And 

don’t give a pint 0 because it’s a stout and you 

happen to hate stouts. If in doubt, don’t score, or 

maybe ask a friend what they think. Most people 

can tell the difference between a beer that just 

happens to have a flavour that “isn’t for them” 

and a beer with actual defects. 

Gradually, as you walk around pubs, you’ll 

accumulate scores and begin to develop your own 

method of making comparisons. It’s like riding a 

bike. Soon it becomes second nature. 

Some people do find beer scoring confusing and 

are unsure as to the ‘correct way’ to record a 

beer score. But you don’t need to be particularly 

knowledgeable about every beer you might come 

across! The great thing about real ale is the 

diversity of tastes. Here are a few things to take 

note of when evaluating an ale: 

1. Look: Assess the colour, clarity and the foam 

of the pint. Golden ales should appear bright 

and clear while darker beers, such as stouts and 

porters, possess a richer colour and often a thick, 

creamy head. As a general rule of thumb it’s best 

to base your view on whether it looks appealing. 

If it’s got bits in it, or looks very flat (no head) it’s 

looking like a duffer. 

2. Smell: Smell is an important part of the drinking 

experience. Take a short sniff of your drink to 

assess the aroma. If it’s immediately repulsive – 

smelling of vinegar or chemicals – then it’s a fair 

bet that the pint you have is poor. 

3. Taste: Take a sip and let it flow around your 

mouth before swallowing. Beers can reflect many 

taste sensations. The intensity of the flavours and 

the finish (the ‘aftertaste’) make up the whole taste. 

Give your taste buds a few seconds to register all 

the differing sensations. Has the publican kept 

the beer well enough to allow the flavour to come 

through fully? 

4. Mouthfeel: How does it ‘feel’ in the mouth? 

Most well-kept ales will have a light carbonation 

and feel ‘alive’. Well, they are! They should be 

served at cellar temperature – that means cool, 

not cold. Ales that are warm and/or as flat as old 

dishwater are definitely not good. ‘Flat’ beers can 


12

often indicate that the beer has hit the end of the 

barrel (imagine the dregs left in a bottle of cola 

that has been open a few hours) – this is a natural 

part of the cycle of the barrel’s lifespan and a good 

publican will be happy to check if you suspect an 

ale is at ‘bottom’ and replace it with a fresh pint 

from elsewhere. 

With thousands of ales to choose from, everyone 

has their own personal favourites and things that 

they don’t like, so please try to give an honest 

account of how well-kept a particular beer is. If 

you aren’t sure then try to do your scoring based on 

beers that you know that you normally like when 

they are in good condition. 

So much for submitting the scores, what happens 

next? 

All the scores recorded for our local pubs are 

collated and entered into a master spreadsheet. 

This contains an agreed algorithm that compresses 

bulk scores and produces the overall figures for 

multiple-level scores, amongst other things. At the 

end of the year, those pubs which have scored 80% 

or above scores of 3+ and have been ‘visited’ at least 

20 times (exceptions are occasionally made for our 

more rural pubs) are presented to the GBG selection 

meeting. This is part of a general branch meeting 

so any card-carrying CAMRA member may attend! 

Usually, the top 10-14 are waived through blind; if 

they’re this good on the beer quality, they must go 

in. The rest are then opened up to a general debate 

to the floor, from which follows a vote to decide 

the remaining places. Surveys are taken, entries are 

submitted to CAMRA HQ and then they appear in 

the following GBG. Simple. 

So, your vote does count. Judging the best pubs in 

Britain is something you are uniquely placed to do. 

Please take the time to beer score and make your 

contribution to the Good Beer Guide! 

UK ’ sBest-Selling Beer& Pub Guide 

EDITED BY 

ROGER PROTZ 

So if you sent in some beer scores in the last year 

or two, why not see the end result? The new Good 

Beer Guide 2018 is out in September and lists 

the best pubs in the UK as selected by CAMRA 

members, together with the most extensive brewery 

listings of any guide. Go to shop.camra.org.uk to 

order your copy today. 

Quinten Taylor and James Moore 


13



Small Beer 

A roundup of news and information. 

CIDER PUB OF THE YEAR 

FIRST THURSDAY SOCIALS 

Do you like beer? Do you like pubs? Do you like 

meeting other people who like beer and pubs? 

Then why not come along to one of our “First 

Thursday of the Month” socials? 

Every month, on the first Thursday at 8pm, 

you’ll find a group of CAMRA members at a 

pub somewhere in the branch area. On the cover 

there’s a picture of us at the August social in the 

Allied Arms. Come down and meet us sometime 

– it’s fun and you get to drink real ale, cider or 

perry with a lovely bunch of people. The next one 

is on Thursday 5 October at the Fox and Hounds 

in City Road in Tilehurst. Everyone’s welcome, 

including partners, and we’d love to see you there. 

Following its win in our branch competition, the 

Nags Head in Russell Street, Reading has gone on 

to win the CAMRA Central Southern Cider Pub of 

the Year title, seeing off challenges from the Cross 

Keys in Thame and the Royal Oak in Wantage. 

Seen here are Elvis Evans (CAMRA’s Regional 

Cider Coordinator, left) and James Moore (Branch 

Vice-Chairman, right) presenting the certificate to 

Lola Lodge of the Nags Head. CAMRA celebrates 

cider and perry in October, and ideas are still 

under development but check back on our website 

readingcamra.org.uk where we’ll post details of 

what’s happening. 

Just before we went to press we received even 

more good news about the Nags. Not content with 

the regional cider win, the pub also triumphed in 

the prestigious Regional Pub of the Year contest. 

This time facing contenders from Oxon (the Royal 

Oak again) and Bucks (the Valiant Trooper in 

Aldbury), judges voted the Nags Head the best 

pub in the three counties. This puts it into the final 

16 in the UK, an amazing achievement of which 

the team can be rightly proud. Judging continues 

to work out which will be the supreme champion, 

and the winner will be announced next year. 

BRANCH AGM 

What can you do for CAMRA? If the article in this 

magazine has made you stop and think about this, 

why not come along to our branch AGM and find 

out more? This year we’re having an experiment – 

previously the AGMs have been held on weekday 

evenings but this time we’re trying a Saturday 

afternoon and followed up the AGM with a pub 

crawl. 

This is your chance to get more involved with 

your branch, either by taking on a committee 

post, volunteering for something like helping to 

distribute Mine’s a Pint, or just to chat to active 

CAMRA members and find out a bit more about 

what we do. At the moment we’re really looking 

for somebody to act as our young members’ 

contact, to be our liaison point with local clubs or 

to keep an eye on political activities as they affect 

CAMRA, but there are plenty of roles so if there’s 

something that you’re particularly interested in, 

come along and find out more. 

Come along to the Griffin in Church Road, 

Caversham on Saturday 11 November at 12.00. 

If you’d like to have a chat beforehand about 

what being an active volunteer might mean, please 

contact Quinno our branch chairman on 07887 

424232. 


16

CHAMPION BEER OF BRITAIN 

balanced beer with a hoppy edge. We originally 

brewed and named it for a festival taking place 

in the Goat pub, and the beer just caught on. It’s 

the first time we’ve won the competition, and we 

expect it to put us on the map.” 

Our local West Berkshire Brewery also picked up 

two awards in the contest – read about them in the 

Brewery News section. 

GALA AWARDS EVENING 

LAST YEAR’S AWARDS TABLE 

PHOTO BY TIM LLOYD 

CAMRA has crowned Goat’s Milk by Church End 

Brewery the Champion Beer of Britain 2017. The 

Warwickshire brewery, originally located in an 

old coffin shop, won the prestigious award on the 

opening day of the Great British Beer Festival at 

Olympia, thanks to its blend of pale barley, crystal 

malt oats and aromatic hops in their beer. 

The award comes after almost a year of local 

tasting panels and regional heats resulting in the 

best beers from across the UK being invited to 

compete. 

Bishop Nick Brewery from Essex took silver with 

Ridley’s Rite, a pale ale with a floral aroma and 

satisfying bitterness, while Welsh brewery Tiny 

Rebel – former Champion Beer of Britain winner 

– won bronze with Cwtch, a red ale with a blend 

of six caramelly malts and three citrussy American 

hops. 

Nick Boley, CAMRA’s National Director 

responsible for the competition said: 

“Congratulations to Church End for winning the 

Champion Beer of Britain award for Goat’s Milk, 

which is the highest beer accolade in the country. 

Goat’s Milk is a stand out beer - it has a lovely 

balance of malts and hops and a full flavour. It 

is a very fine example of a bitter and incredibly 

refreshing.” 

Paul Hamblett, sales manager from Church End 

said: 

“Goat’s Milk is our biggest selling beer - it’s a nicely 


17 

The Reading & Mid Berks CAMRA Gala Awards 

Evening is coming up and everyone is invited! 

Hosted this year by the Three Guineas at Reading 

Station in their newly refurbished cellar bar, the 

evening is a chance to celebrate the best of local 

breweries and pubs. Those receiving recognition 

will be: 

• Regional Pub of the Year 

• Our pubs and club of the year awards 

• The Beer & Cider Festival Local Beers of 

the Festival awards (category winners and 

Overall Gold, Silver & Bronze) 

• Special Awards for outstanding contributions 

Thursday 21 September is the date for your 

diary. We’ll be gathering about 8pm with the 

presentations from about 8.30pm. Entry is free so 

this is a great chance to come and meet the brewers 

and publicans that do so much to enrich our lives. 

ASCOT BEER FESTIVAL 

Watch out for the latest Ascot Beer Festival, 

this year being held on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 

October. It’s organised every year by our friends 

at Berkshire South East CAMRA at the famous 

Ascot Racecourse, just a short train ride from 

Reading. Once again this year there will be around 

200 different real ales and over 30 real ciders and 

perries to choose from. 

As well as a fabulous selection of drinks, the 

festival will also offer some top class flat racing

and the chance to have a flutter if you fancy, plus 

live music. Entry tickets are now on sale with 50% 

off for CAMRA members who use a discount 

code, and remember that this is a token-based 

festival so you also have to buy beer vouchers 

before you can enjoy your beer – they’re available 

on the day or in advance. 

There’s no dress code for the part of the Grandstand 

where the festival’s held, although the course does 

encourage all visitors to dress smartly. Of course 

if you buy one of the many premier admission 

packages that require you to dress up, you can still 

visit the beer festival and many people do. 

See ascotbeerfest.org.uk for more details of 

the festival including how to buy tickets and, 

importantly, how to volunteer to work. 

SKINNERS WIN BEST 

VEGETARIAN BEER 

Five of Skinners core range of bottled beers have 

been recognised as vegetarian and vegan friendly. 

With the exception of Hops ’n’ Honey and Penny 

Come Quick, all of their bottled ales are vegan 

and vegetarian. Lushingtons is now also available 

kegged, which is also vegan and vegetarian. 

POLITICS 

The latest general election saw some changes that 

will affect the beer and pub industry. Chair of the 

British Pub Confederation Liberal Democrat MP 

Greg Mulholland lost his Leeds North West seat, 

losing out to Labour’s Alex Sobel by 4,224 votes. 

Conservative MP Andrew Percy, who was pubs 

minister before the election, kept his Brigg and 

Goole seat with 60% of the vote, but was replaced 

in the subsequent reshuffle by Jake Berry, MP for 

Rossendale and Darwen. 

Berry said that he would ensure the pub sector was 

given his attention, despite it being only a small 

part of a wider suite of responsibilities. The British 

Beer and Pub Association welcomed Berry’s 

appointment, which is often a bad sign as far as 

drinkers are concerned. 

IMAGE BY SKINNERS BREWERY 

Skinners Brewery from Truro, Cornwall, have 

seen their Lushingtons bottled beer crowned as 

Best Vegetarian Beer at the Veggie Awards 2017. 

The judging panel included leading figures of the 

vegetarian community; best-selling cookbook 

authors of The Happy Pear, author Rose Elliot of 

New Complete Vegetarian and lifestyle blogger 

and author Niomi Smart. 

Founder Steve Skinner said: 

“We’ve worked in accordance with the guidelines 

of the Vegan Society to ensure all of our ales pass 

their guidelines and we are delighted this work has 

paid off with an award for a delicious beer!” 


18 

WYCOMBE HASH HOUSE 

HARRIERS 

While Team GB may not have set the place alight 

in the recent Athletics World Championships, 

a group from Wycombe have been enjoying a 

combination of running and pubs. High Wycombe 

Hash House Harriers (HWH3) is a running 

group with the motto “Runners with a Drinking 

Problem” who meet every Tuesday at any pub 

within a 10-mile radius of High Wycombe. This 

sees them venture regularly into Oxfordshire, 

Berkshire, and occasionally beyond, as well as 

their home county of Bucks. 

A number of them are CAMRA members and are 

keen to promote good pubs serving good beer. 

There’s a review section on their website hwh3. 

co.uk/pubs and they’d welcome any feedback 

on how to improve it and make it better for a 

wider audience. They also have their own Pub 

of the Year competition, as voted for by HWH3 

members. Winners have included the Wheel 

at Naphill in 2016, and the Royal Standard at 

Wooburn Common in 2015.

32 Supporting Real Ale, Real Cider & Real Pubs in East Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire www.swm.camra.org.uk

A GOLDEN WONDER 

FRESH MIX OF HOPS FOR A DELICIOUS ALE 

RICH RUBY ALE 

SMOOTH AND MALTY WITH A FULL BODY 


A New Kind of Beer Festival 

THE FIRST NATIONAL BEER FESTIVAL DEDICATED TO 

BEER FROM WOODEN CASKS 

BEER FROM THE WOOD 

HOOK NORTON HAYMAKER – BEER OF THE 

FESTIVAL 

You might wonder why it has taken the Society 

for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood 

(SPBW) 54 years to run its own beer festival. 

After all CAMRA, formed in 1971, held its first 

Great British Beer Festival in 1977, or 1975 if you 

count Covent Garden. The reason is mainly that 

after the advent and greater success of CAMRA, 

SPBW faded into the background, was happy to 

accept that real ale was fine in a metal as well as a 

wooden barrel (keeping the name for the sake of 

tradition) and largely reinvented itself as a social 

club. I have been informed that at one stage it 

even passed a motion that it would not hold a beer 

festival! 

In recent years, however, things have changed. 

There has been a revival of interest in beer from 

the wood (BFTW), especially north of the Wash, 

and several new branches have begun to campaign 

much more actively for BFTW, not least the North- 

East branch, headed by Rob Shacklock. 


21 

This revival has been enthusiastically greeted by 

some CAMRA notables, particularly Roger Protz, 

and in the Rugby League stronghold of Castleford, 

West Yorkshire, there is a pub called the Junction 

(‘Junkie’ for short) that serves real ale only from 

the wood. 

The first national Woodfest of BFTW duly took 

place in the first week in July in Castleford in a 

derelict pub that has been acquired by the ‘Junkie’ 

landlord, Neil Midgley, and proved to be an ideal 

location for a first, relatively small-scale event. A 

committee under Rob Shacklock organised the 

festival and the undersigned played a small part in 

helping run the tombola as well as stimulating new 

memberships and branches. Dignitaries present 

included Vivian Bairstow, past Master of the 

Worshipful Company of Coopers, Alastair Simms, 

Master Cooper and, replete in his chain of office, 

the Mayor of Wakefield. CAMRA and SPBW 

branches from far and wide attended, including a 

party from the Chesapeake Bay branch across the 

pond. 

Beers from nearly 40 breweries were on offer 

and these competed for the coveted award of 

Champion beer from the wood. The judges who 

included Roger Protz, as well as the Chairman of 

SPBW, Patrick Deller, seemed to take a long time 

reaching their decision (can you blame them?) but 

eventually a winner emerged and it was a pleasant 

surprise to find that it came from a well-established 

brewery south of the Wash – Haymaker from 

Hook Norton. This was awarded Gold while Silver 

went to Moonbeam from Half Moon and Bronze 

to Elland’s Beyond the Pale, both these Yorkshire 

breweries. As well as the overall winners, winners 

of the various categories comprised Box Social 

(porter), York (stout), Tigertops (strong dark)

and Monty’s Brewery (IPA). The beer range also 

included several brews from across the Irish Sea, 

both north and south. 

Following this initial success, Woodfest will be 

moving to the Tyne in 2018 but thereafter we hope 

that the festival will move south. 

John Dearing 

John is a former chairman of Reading CAMRA. 

He heads the local branch of SPBW (Common 

& Aldbrickham) and is also the Society’s Branch 

Liaison Officer. 


22

New Wharf Brewing Company 

Kevin has a long pedigree in home brewing and 

was the winner of the 2016 Welsh Homebrew 

Competition. The 20 barrel (5,760 pint) plant is 

large for a new brewery and the list of planned 

beers is equally ambitious, including an American 

Pale Ale, an American Amber, a Breakfast Stout, a 

Double IPA, an American IPA, a Kölsch, a Mango 

and raspberry Berliner Weisse and an American 

Cream Ale with vanilla. 

New Wharf Brewing Company is a new brewery 

based in Maidenhead and due to open in early 

September. Kevin Black from Burghfield (pictured) 

is the head brewer and intends to develop and 

create a full range of beer that will be available 

in cask, keykeg and bottle format. All beers will 

be unfined. 

Contact details: kevin@newwharfbrewing.co.uk / 

07815 717251 / @NewWharfBrewing 

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 

heart of Reading 

Follow us on twitter 

@AlehouseReading 


23

A.I. is too important 

to be left in the hands 

of machines. 

TRADITIONAL 

BEST 

BITtERS, 

WARMERS 

SUMPTUOUS STOUTS, 

WINTER 

AND SUMmER 

REFRESHERS 

The A.I. we’re referring to isn’t Artificial 

Intelligence, it’s Ale Intelligence, of course. 

We’re not technophobes, we just don’t trust 

anything incapable of smelling, feeling or 

tasting to create something as delicately 

balanced as Landlord. That’s why we have 

five hands-on, Heriot-Watt trained brewers 

involved in every step of the process, 

from barley delivery to filling the casks. 

This way, we can make sure that every sip of 

Taylor’s is as delicious as humanly possible. 

Machines may one day take over the world, just 

be thankful you won’t be around to drink their 

terrible beer. 

All for that taste of Taylor’s 

Visit our brewery and distillery 

or buy at ramsbury.com 


24

From the Archives 

Long before Mine’s a Pint existed, we had the 

Thames Valley Drinker magazine. This extract 

from an issue in 1984 illustrates just how prices 

have changed in the last three decades, with a 

pint available then for a little as 59p and no beer 

costing more than a pound. 

The reasons for price increases sound depressingly 

familiar, though. 


25

The Further History of Lager 

in the UK 

Perhaps the oldest UK 

brewery to have attempted 

to produce a genuine lager 

was Mackesons, of Milk 

Stout fame, which brewed 

at Hythe in Kent between 

1669 and 1968 and is 

known to have produced 

an ‘Anglo-Lager Ale’, an 

English beer ‘brewed on the 

German principle’. It was 

also claimed to be ‘light 

and an excellent tonic’ and 

was presumably current prior to 1929 when the 

concern was initially taken over by H G Simonds 

of Reading, before being sold on to Jude, Hanbury 

& Co. Ltd., of Wateringbury, Kent, nine years 

later. 

The same, somewhat strange, epithet of ‘Anglo- 

Lager’ was also used to promote a Dinner Ale 

brewed by the Friary, Holroyd & Healy Breweries 

Ltd. in Guildford, Surrey, but how close to an 

actual lager style this was is pure conjecture. More 

reliably, in 1896, the concern of A F Perkins & 

Co. Ltd. in Southsea, Hampshire, was registered 

specifically as a lager brewery. Having started 

life as Henry Bradshaw’s Hyde Park Brewery, it 

was occupied by John & Arthur Brickwood (the 

noted Portsmouth brewers) between 1880 and 

1887 but, by the end of the 19th century, was in 

voluntary liquidation before the company was 

finally dissolved in July 1908. 

In London, along Point Pleasant, Wandsworth, the 

Union Brewery was built as a ‘26 quarter’ (i.e. 208 

bushels of malt) steam facility by Langton & Sons 

in 1866 but passed through a number of other 

brewers during the 1890s before the last expired 

due to bankruptcy in 1900. Then, in December 

1902, the Holsten Brewery Ltd. was registered 

at the same site which had a controlling interest 

PAUL DABROWSKI BRINGS US THE LATEST 

CHAPTER IN HIS HISTORY OF LAGER BREWING IN 

THE UK 


26 

by the Holsten Brauerei of Hamburg for the first 

year or so of its existence before finally going into 

voluntary liquidation in 1920. It is inconceivable 

that a subsidiary brewery sharing its name with 

an infamous German sponsor would not have 

produced a true lager but, rather than attempt to 

brew its own, the nearby Young & Cos. Brewery 

Ltd. introduced a genuine imported lager, the 

German St. Pauli (also from Hamburg), to its pubs 

in 1907 up until the First World War. 

In March 1899, Liverpool had also got in on 

the act with the British Lager Brewery Co. Ltd., 

being registered. However, just short of a 4-year 

existence, it was wound up at the end of 1902. 

Although Walker Cain Ltd. of nearby Warrington, 

founded 1864, constructed a Clarence Street 

Brewery in Burton-on-Trent in 1883, when Peter 

Walker & Sons (Warrington & Burton) Ltd. was 

registered in 1889, it occupied two other breweries 

in that famous brewing town where lager was 

known to have been produced. Whilst the Midland 

Brewery was only used between 1890 and 1895, 

the Shobnall Brewery lasted from that company’s 

inception until 1923 when lager brewing ceased 

with its sale to English Grains Ltd. Peter Walker 

relinquished the last of its three Burton operations 

just two years later with the sale of its original 

Clarence Street premises to Atkinson’s Brewery 

Ltd. 

Amongst the many notable pubs in Scotland’s 

capital city is Bennet’s Bar which has, arguably, the 

second finest internal features of any after the Café 

Royal. Amazingly, one of the magnificent double 

entrance doorways still exhibits an intact pair 

of stained glass panels depicting flip-top bottles 

for ‘Jeffrey’s Lager’. This was brewed by John 

Jeffrey & Co., Heriot Brewery, Edinburgh (1837- 

1960). Jeffreys was subsumed by a new company, 

Northern Breweries of Great Britain Ltd., formed 

in 1959 to amalgamate their operations with those

of Hammond’s United Breweries Ltd., Bradford, 

and those of the Hope & Anchor Breweries Ltd., 

Sheffield, who, of course, a little over a decade 

earlier had usurped their own lager with Carling 

Black Label. Largely instigated by Carling’s 

brewery magnate owner, E P Taylor, this merger 

was cynically intended to widen the market for his 

Canadian lager beyond the 150 pubs that H&A 

controlled. 

Bennet’s Bar, at 8, Leven Street, Tolcross, 

Edinburgh, dating from 1891 but refitted fifteen 

years later, is Scottish Grade B (equivalent to 

between Grade II & II* in England & Wales) 

listed and is also on CAMRA’s National Inventory 

of Historic Pub Interiors. A pair of glazed doors to 

the extant ‘Bottle & Jug’ has similar panels for ‘W 

& J Jenkinson’s Bottled Beers & Aerated Waters, 

Leith’, a brewery of which little is known. Equally 

obscure was The Glasgow Lager Brewery of the 

1890s but this may have been a tradename of 

Tennent’s Well Park brewery included when that 

was registered as a Company in 1890. Similarly, 

George Younger & Co. of Alloa (closed 1960 and 

not to be confused with William Younger & Co. 

of Edinburgh) was also known to have produced 

a lager during the latter quarter of its illustrious 

215-year existence. 

Around 1900, there may have been slightly more 

than one hundred essentially small lager producers 

in the UK but this was set to wane and wax 

dramatically in the century and more that followed. 

Notwithstanding this, amongst the various turnof-the-century 

London lager outlets, one that 

survived the aftermath of The Great War was a 

famous delicatessen called Appenradts. At the top 

of Haymarket, across the road from the part-music 

hall that was the London Pavilion – where, apart 

from Spatenbräu, a dunkel Löwenbräu was served 

– Appenradts thrived in the early years of the 20th 

century and offered a splendid continental lager 

amongst other delicacies. After being taken over 

by an English firm, things were never quite the 

same there in the inter-war years. 

wagons, branded ‘Graham’s Golden Lager’, from 

Scotland to both Burton, for bottling for the home 

market, and to various victuallers, such as C G 

Hibbert, at Southampton Docks who bottled the 

premium liquid refreshment in bonded stores for 

loading onto ocean-going Cunard liners there. 

Allsopp’s also contributed its own products to this 

considerable luxury trade which was perpetuated 

from Burton up until the 1960s. 

At Kells, Co. Meath, Eire, the Regal Lager Brewery 

had been founded in 1937. A private company, it 

was registered in 1947 but closed just seven years 

later. 

Then, in 1956, when brewing ceased at the G H 

Lett & Co. Ltd., Millpark Brewery, Enniscorthy, 

Co. Wexford, Eire, almost the reverse to all the 

foregoing happened. The Pelforth Brewery in Lille, 

France, acquired the rights to continue to brew 

Lett’s Ales, previously crafted at the only Irish 

brewery to have adopted the (specialist pale ale) 

Burton Union system! 

In contrast, Barclay, Perkins & Co. Ltd., 

Southwark, produced a ‘London Lager’ 

throughout most of the 20th Century (from 1922) 

and, latterly, in both light and dark versions (in 

common with Allsopp’s) mainly for export, with 

bottles still being hand-labelled until its 1955 

takeover by Courage & Co. Ltd., through to the 

1980s. 

Paul Dabrowski 

with acknowledgements to: CAMRA, 1983 & 1984 

Good Beer Guides; Peter Haydon, Beer & Britannia; 

Where Have All the Breweries Gone?, Norman Barber, 

Brewery History Society 

CAMAL (The Campaign for Authentic Lager) may be of 

interest. Please visit www.camal.org.uk for more details. 

Next time Paul brings the story up to date with the 

emergence of micro-breweries and artisinal, ‘craft’ lager. 

During the wartime interregnum of that century, 

anti-German sentiment was predominantly 

assuaged by the promotion of Danish-brewed 

Tuborg lager, seemingly the only foreign brew to be 

advertised in the UK. But, six years after Allsopp’s 

Lager had been transferred from Burton to Alloa, 

Arroll’s developed ‘Graham’s Golden Lager’ in 

1927 from which Sköl was ultimately derived in 

the 1950s. Bulk beer was despatched in rail tank 


27

Join CAMRA… then what? 

So you’re now a CAMRA member – a member 

of the largest and most successful single-issue 

consumer group in the country. Welcome! 

• Around 40 new members joined CAMRA 

at this year’s Reading Beer and Cider 

Festival. 

• Since the start of this year almost 80 

people have joined the Reading & Mid 

Berkshire branch of CAMRA. 

Fewer than 5% of CAMRA members are 

actively involved in the campaign, so please do 

your bit! Remember, every little helps. 

Phil Gill 

Adapted with permission from an original article 

by Lyn Sharpe of Potteries Branch. Lyn is CAMRA 

Campaigner of the Year 2017. 

By now you will have received your pack 

containing your membership card and 

Wetherspoon vouchers. Now it’s time to think 

on, not just about the financial benefits to you 

but what you can do to help the campaign. 

Here are just a few examples. 

• Remain a member and move to direct debit 

if you’re not already on it. Subscription 

income is vital to the success of the 

campaign. 

• Promote real ale. CAMRA has over 

188,000 members who, by talking 

enthusiastically to friends, family and 

colleagues, can encourage them to discover 

the delights of real ale, cider and perry. 

• Recruit a new member. The larger our 

membership, the more “clout” we have, 

so let’s try to get to 190,000 and beyond. 

• Score the beer you drink using CAMRA’s 

website WhatPub (whatpub.com). Your 

data makes the Good Beer Guide better 

and helps decide our Pub of the Year 

award. 

• Update the survey details for your local on 

WhatPub – having accurate and up to date 

information helps to better promote pubs. 

• Attend a meeting or a social. We’re a 

friendly bunch – see page 3 for what’s 

going on, and remember you can always 

join us for a beer somewhere on the First 

Thursday of the Month. 

• Volunteer for the Reading Beer and Cider 

Festival next year, or another local festival 

like Ascot. It’s fun and addictive! 


28

Join up, join in, 

join the campaign 

From 

as little as 

£25 * 

a year. That’s less 

than a pint a 

month! 

Discover 

why we joined. 

camra.org.uk/ 

members 

Join us, and together we can protect the traditions of great 

British pubs and everything that goes with them. 

Become part of the CAMRA community today – enjoy 

discounted entry to beer festivals and exclusive member 

offers. Learn about brewing and beer and join like-minded 

people supporting our campaigns to save pubs, clubs, 

your pint and more. 

Join the campaign today at 

www.camra.org.uk/joinup 

*Price for paying by Direct Debit and correct at April 2017. Concessionary rates available. 

Please visit camra.org.uk/membership-rates 




Day 

Session 

12-5 

Live Music & Street Food, including Bavarian bratwurst 

Saturday 23rd September 2017 

per session and include a free pint & a stein 

(both sessions can be purchased if required) 

£10 

For more info and to book call 

Evening 

Session 

6-11 

or book online at WBBREW.COM

Mine's a Pint Issue 43

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