Mine's a Pint - Summer 2019

THE MAGAZINE FOR READING AND 

MID BERKSHIRE BRANCH OF THE 

CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE 

IN THIS ISSUE... 

PUB & BREWERY NEWS 

VOLUNTEERING 

SMALL BEER 

WALKING TO THE PUB 

THE PROMOTION 

OF LAGER IN THE UK 

& MORE... 

FREE 

Go To Pubs! 

Drink Beer! 

Have Fun! 

ISSUE FIFTY SUMMER 2019

Branch Diary 

All meetings and social events are relaxed and friendly. Nonmembers 

are welcome to all events except branch meetings. 

Please check the website before setting out in case of any 

last-minute changes. 

JUNE 

Thursday 6th: (19:30) First Thursday of the Month 

Social. Meet at Park House, University of Reading, RG6 

6UR. We will move on at c20:15, for a walk round the 

Whiteknights Campus, and stop for a drink at Three Tuns, 

191 Wokingham Road, RG6 1LT 

Wednesday 12th: (19:30) Social Curry Night. Meet at Royal 

Oak, 69 Westwood Glen, Tilehurst, RG31 5NW. We will 

move on at c20:15 to Himalayan Hot Spot, 1 School Road, 

Tilehurst, RG31 5AR. They have a 3 course meal for under 

£10. We have booked a table for 20:45 – if you would like to 

join us please email to book your place by 9 th June. 

Thursday 20th: (20:00) Branch meeting. Swan, Basingstoke 

Road, Three Mile Cross, RG7 1AT. CAMRA members 

only, please. 

JULY 

Thursday 4th: (19:30) First Thursday of the Month Social. 

Meet at Swan, Shooters Hill, Pangbourne, RG8 7DU. We 

will move on at c20:15, for a pub crawl of Pangbourne to 

include another two pubs and one club. 

Wednesday 17th: (20:00) Branch meeting. Royal Oak, 69 

Westwood Glen, Tilehurst, RG31 5NW. CAMRA members 

only, please. 

AUGUST 

Thursday 1st: (19.30) First Thursday of the Month Social. 

Fisherman’s Cottage, 224 Kennet Side, Reading, RG1 3DW. 

We will be taking part in the quiz. 

Tuesday 13th: (20:00) Branch meeting. Park House, 

University of Reading, RG6 6UR. CAMRA members only, 

please. 

This is a guide only and Reading & Mid Berkshire CAMRA 

cannot be held responsible for any loss due to the alteration 

or cancellation of any of these events. 

See www.readingcamra.org.uk for more details of events. 

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 CKN Print Ltd, 2 North 

Portway Close, Round Spinney, 

Northampton, NN3 8RQ 

01604 645555 

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 

From time to time, drinkers receiving 

poor standards of service or poor 

quality products may wish to raise the 

matter with Trading Standards. You 

now need to do this through Citizens 

Advice, an organisation which provides 

free, confidential and impartial advice 

on consumer issues. 

To contact Citizens Advice Consumer 

Service call 03454 04 05 06 or visit 

www.citizensadvice.org.uk and click on 

Consumer. 

The next issue of Mine’s a Pint will be 

published in early September. Please 

feel free to submit any copy or ideas 

by 1 st 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 2019. 

Mine’s A Pint 

3

great beers from 

oxfordshire since 2003

From the Editor 

It’s hard to believe that this is the 50 th issue 

since I started as Editor. There’s a long history 

of CAMRA newsletters and magazines for 

this area, with “The 

Thames Valley Drinker” 

and “Inn And Around 

Reading” featuring in 

the past, amongst others. 

In the current era, Issue 

1 of Mine’s a Pint was 

published in March 2007 

– see the cover here. Its 

16 pages featured news 

COUNTDOWN 

TO THE READING BEER AND 

CIDER FESTIVAL 2007 

IN THIS ISSUE 

Pub & Brewery News 

Brancy Diary 

Pub of the Year 

The Plastic Age 

Use It or Lose It 

13th Beer Festival 

Join CAMRA 

• ISSUE ONE • SPRING 2007 

The new newsletter for th R di d 

of our then-Pub of the Year (the Bird in Hand 

at Knowl Hill), a beer festival preview and an 

article explaining why glasses should be made 

out of glass, not plastic. 

We’ve come a long way since then. We’ve seen 

the local pub and brewery scene bloom and 

the Reading Beer and Cider Festival go from 

strength to strength. We’ve made a lot of good 

friends along the way and sadly lost others. 

There are dozens of people who’ve made 

major contributions to Mine’s a Pint in the 

last twelve and a half years. I’d like to thank 

all of you, including Katrina Fletcher who was 

guest Editor for Issue 44, as well as those in the 

earlier years of CAMRA who went before and 

showed the way. 

Not everything has gone so well. I remember 

once describing in these pages a pub (many 

years ago and now under different ownership) 

that I’d visited and found to be serving 

“London Pride with bits in it”. While that 

was an accurate report of my visit it didn’t go 

down well with the landlord at the time and 

I’ve learnt that there are many different ways 

you can get a point across in print – and that 

some of them will get people’s backs up for no 

good reason. 

As CAMRA members we always aim to 

promote breweries, pubs, real ale, cider and 

perry. Even though we make mistakes from 

time to time, we’ll always try to keep up that 

promotion and we’re all on the same side. It’s 

nice to get recognition now and again, so thank 

you to those in the industry who’ve taken the 

time over the years to say that they appreciate 

our work as volunteers. 

As is the way of things, I took on the job in 

2007 saying that “I’ll be the Editor for one 

issue” and then I got immediate job security! 

For recent issues we now have an editorial 

team, which has helped a lot in terms of sharing 

the workload, and that’s definitely the way 

forward. I’ll be stepping down as Editor in a 

few issues’ time so this is a perfect time for you 

to join the team if you’ve ever fancied getting 

involved and seeing your name in print. You 

could take on a specific part of the magazine 

and make it your own, or contribute across the 

board. If you fancy a chat I’m always happy to 

talk and I’m sure that the magazine will be in 

safe hands going forwards. 

As ever, please support your local pubs and 

breweries! 

Cheers! 

Phil Gill 

Editor, Mine’s a Pint 

editor@readingcamra.org.uk 

Contents 

Branch Diary & Contacts: 3 

From the Editor: 5 

Pub News: 6 & 7 

Brewery News: 9 - 11 

Small Beer: 12 - 16 

Walking to the Pub: 19 - 20 

Festival Roundup: 22 - 23 

Volunteering: 24 

The Promotion of 

Lager in the UK: 26 - 28 

Join CAMRA: 30 


5

Pub News 

Burghfield Common 

The demolition of The BANTAM in Burghfield 

Common has been granted to be replaced with 

eight two bedroomed flats. This leaves no pubs 

left in Burghfield Common. 

Caversham 

The BARON CADOGAN in Prospect Street, 

which closed its doors as a JD Wetherspoon 

on 24 March, has now been re-opened by 

Mayor Debbie Edwards and former Reading 

FC manager Mick Gooding. The new landlord 

is Darren Brett who also currently owns the 

Arrow in Yeovil, the Oak Apple in Worcester 

and the Woodman in Dudley. First impressions 

indicate that not much has changed. The layout 

remains the same and like J D Wetherspoon 

there is no music. The menu is virtually identical 

with similar meal deal options throughout the 

week. On the pumps, at a recent visit, were 

Old Empire IPA, Wainwrights’, Banks’s Mild, 

Jenning’s Sneklifter, Directors and Courage 

Best, all at extremely reasonable prices. 

Emmer Green 

Planning permission is being sought to demolish 

THE GARDENER’S ARMS in Surley Row and 

replace it with eight new dwellings. 

Reading 

An application to add a 14 room hotel to THE 

BUTLER in Chatham Street has been approved. 

An old tyre shop at the back of the property is 

one of the buildings to be converted. The pub 

is a Grade II listed building, which first opened 

in 1830. There will be strict rules to adhere to 

when the building work begins. 

On Saturday 9 March THE 

ALEHOUSE in Broad Street 

served its 9,000th pint since 

1993. Bar Eye Ecks 5.4% 

is an Orange IPA by New 

Wharf Brewing Company. The 

traditional pub boasts 9 everchanging 

ales varying from the 

local West Berkshire Brewery 

to much further afield. 

Image by New 

Wharf Brewing Co 

THE JOLLY ANGLERS, on Kennetside has 

reopened with new 

owners after a short 

period of closure. 

They open at 5:30pm 

during the week but 

are open all day at 

the weekends. They 

are serving food 

and have laid up the 

tables towards the 

back of the pub to 

accommodate this. 

They have two TVs, one on each side of bar. 

They have three hand pumps and on a recent 

visit the ales available were Flying Monk’s 

Elmers and Habit as well as Oakham’s The 

Experimentals. 

THE ELDON ARMS, on Eldon Terrace 

has recently closed. At present we have no 

information on the future of the backstreet 

local which reopened in June 2017 after being 

sold by Wadworth. 

Although SWEENEY TODD in Castle Hill 

has been on the market since June 2017, it has 

recently been changed from selling freehold at 

£1.5million to leasehold at £50,000 p/a. The 

owners June Hayward and her son Craig insist 

that the unique pie shop, that is a Reading 

institution, should be sold as is and are willing 

to wait until the right buyer comes along. June 

opened Sweeney Todd over forty years ago. At 

a recent visit they had Butcombe Gold, Adnams 

Southwold Bitter, Wadworth 6X and Hook 

Norton Old Hooky on the pumps. 


6

The QUEEN’S HEAD in Christchurch Road, 

which has recently reopened under new 

management, is now offering 7% CAMRA 

discount on Food & Drinks. They also have 

loyalty discounts. The pub is showing promise 

with an emphasis on high quality food. It 

sells three changing real ales, often from local 

breweries. 

such as bottles of Kraken and various brewery 

t-shirts and bags, by hiding raffle tickets around 

the pub for people to find. 

A new craft keg bar STROBELIGHT HONEY 

has opened in the basement of 7 Bone Burgers 

in St Mary’s Butts. More info in the next issue. 

THE FISHERMAN’S COTTAGE on 

Kennetside has a wide range of events that 

include regular themed quiz nights, a monthly 

games night and live music. 

The first May Bank Holiday 

weekend saw a BBQ with 

a DJ. The pub serves 

Mediterranean food all day 

and offer more unusual beer 

on their handpumps. Two 

of the most current beers have been Beatnikz 

Republic’s ‘2am Poet’ and Electric Bear 

Brewing’s ‘Space Opera-tunity.’ They recently 

teamed up with Elusive Brewing to brew their 

own beer to celebrate the launch of their games 

night. 

Since the last edition of Mine’s A Pint Reading 

Borough Council have granted planning 

permission to demolish THE RED LION in 

Southampton Street and replace it with flats. 

THE HOPE AND BEAR at Cemetery Junction 

has just celebrated its first birthday. The 

premises has been a pub for around 200 years 

and has been previously known as The Abbot 

Cook, The Upin Arms and The Jack of Both 

Sides. At The Hope and Bear they specialise in 

craft beers. Regular brews come from Camden 

Hells, Sierra Nevada, Tiny Rebel, Siren Craft 

and Brewdog. They also run beer festivals. To 

celebrate their birthday they gave away prizes 

Theale 

THE CROWN in Church Street has a new 

manager. They are serving West Berkshire 

Brewery’s Good Old Boy and Doombar as 

regular beers and will have one guest beer. 

Three Mile Cross 

An amendment to the last Mine’s A Pint 

issue is the beer list at THE SWAN at Three 

Mile Cross. They are currently serving the 

following: Timothy Taylor Landlord, Timothy 

Taylor Boltmaker, Adnams Ghost Ship, Fuller’s 

London Pride, Loddon Hoppit and Greene 

King Inspector Morse. The pub is a member 

of the Timothy Taylor’s Champion Club which 

is an award given to permanent stockists of 

the brewery, to celebrate their dedication in 

keeping the beer well. 

Twyford 

The GOLDEN CROSS on Station Road / 

Waltham Road is the first pub in Berkshire that 

has Ascot Beer Company beer on as a regular. 

It replaces Upham (also unique in the area) who 

appear to have ceased brewing to concentrate 

on their pub estate. 

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON on the High 

Street is now serving a guest Bingham’s beer, 

alongside the rest of their Brakspear’s range. 

Pub News compiled by Evelyn Harrison-Bullock 


7

THE 

FOX & HOUNDS 

We are a traditional pub serving a 

selection of Real Ales and pub grub with 

a large beer garden. 

We are also dog friendly! 

116 City Rd, Reading RG31 5SB 

www.thefoxandhoundstilehurst.co.uk 


8

Binghams 

Binghams Tap Room moved 

to Emma’s Kitchen in London 

Road for a successful few 

weeks but the arrangement 

has now ended and the 

brewery is looking for new 

premises in Twyford. They 

also plan to open a Tap Yard 

at the brewery on Saturdays 

in the summer starting on 

15 th June - details will be 

announced on the Binghams 

Facebook page. 

The current special 

is Viennese Whirl, a 

5% ABV Viennese 

Pale Ale brewed 

with a blend of 

Citra, Centennial 

and Chinook hops. Next will be Pith and Zest, 

which has orange zest added. 

Chiltern Brewery 

New for 2019, Hop, Spring & Jump 

(3.8% ABV) is a delightful golden ale that 

showcases the wonderful 

characteristics of a brandnew 

trial hedgerow hop 

being grown in the UK, 

producing a beer that boasts 

a lovely burst of juicy citrus 

hops with a loganberry finish, perfectly 

balanced by a rich, malt base. 

Nut Brown Mild (3.9% ABV) is one of the 

brewery’s long-standing favourites from 

their seasonal beer range. A smooth, 

traditional mild that has a luxurious 

chocolatey flavour and well-balanced 

hop aroma - making it the ideal partner 

for Hop, Spring & Jump. 

Also available from May 2019 will be 

Cobblestones, a 3.5% ABV golden, 

light, refreshing and fruity beer with a hint of 

bitterness. 

Fisher’s Brew Co. 

New England IPA has been relaunched 

with a new recipe but 

still has a huge, double dryhopped 

taste. Lighter in colour, 

still hazy and now up to 7% 

ABV where it belongs. 

Frensham 

Launched at the Farnham 

Beerex 2019 was new 

beer i.PA inter Personal 

Assistant or a light fruity 

india Pale Ale. 

Hogs Back 

Having first been brewed to coincide 

with the European Referendum, 

Hogs Back thought it seemed fitting 

to bring back their delicious red rye 

beer, Hogswallop. 

Loddon Brewery 

Loddon have unveiled two 

brand-new brews from their 

new head brewer Jake. 

And for the first time in 

their 16-year history, both 

beers are available in 30L 

key kegs as well as cask. 

From Yorkshire Wit Love is hazy and unfined, 

and Melon Quad is the second beer in their 

single-hop series, following the success of 

their Citra Quad Session IPA, which is now a 

permanent fixture in their beer range. 

Malt the Brewery 

Responsible for their first 

ever Great Taste Award, 

and the first beer they ever 

sold, Malt Dark Ale is back, 

brewed with smooth dark 

roasted malts. 


9

Rebellion 

May’s beer was Near Miss, a 4.2% ABV pale 

ale with a hoppy finish. 100% pale ale malt 

for a golden colour and light biscuit flavour. 

Motueka and Simcoe hops add a citrus fruit 

character. 

Siren Craft Brew 

One of Siren’s latest releases is 

Thousand Things IPA. Brewed 

in collaboration with TATE, to 

celebrate The EY Exhibition: 

Van Gogh and Britain. It is a 

5.5% ABV Milkshake IPA with 

Mango, Passion Fruit, Coconut & Cypress 

Wood. 

Another new release is their 6% 

Sabrage, which continues their 

ever-popular series exploring the 

Brut IPA style. This time they’re 

showcasing a new hop variety called 

Sabro, which is native to the USA and 

causing lots of excitement. Expect an 

alluring and complex blend of fruity and citrus 

flavours with the trademark bone-dry finish 

and an incredible aroma. 

West Berkshire Brewery 

West Berks have launched 

some new beers for May. 

First up, is a special edition 

of Magg’s Mild with salted 

caramel. Still deliciously dark 

with a luxurious, smooth 

mouthfeel but a little less 

traditional. They’ve added 

salted caramel to the roast malt flavours to give 

you a jazzed up Maggs’ Mild. Only available 

whilst it lasts. 

Their second cask special of 2019 

is Stay Strong, a 4.2% ABV 

American Brown Ale. American 

hops plus a British style equal a 

beer as much about the extensive 

speciality malt bill as the substantial 

tropical hop character. We were lucky to have 

this launch at our recent beer festival! 

LODDON’S NEW 

HEAD BREWER 

Having just 

started a 

few months 

ago, I got a 

chance to sit 

down with 

Loddon’s new 

Head Brewer, 

Jake Bartleet- 

Perry to hear 

about himself, 

Loddon and his general beery thoughts: 

Tell me a bit about yourself and your 

background in brewing. 

“I originally started as a cellar manager for the 

taproom at Bradford Brewery and very rapidly 

became involved in back office work, cleaning 

out the mash-tun, racking out or anything that 

needed doing. This was until I was doing none 

of the cellar management and just working on 

the brewing. The old head brewer at the time 

left and I was asked to step up at Bradford. 

Sadly the brewery had to close a year later, and 

I moved onto Nightjar Brew Co in Hebden 

Bridge, which opened my eyes to different beer 

styles and branding.” 

Were you involved in the spat that Bradford 

Brewery had with George Galloway? 

“I wasn’t personally involved, but did help with 

the stickers being made saying “Galloway-free 

Zone”!” 

What attracted you to join Loddon? 

“I could see so much potential here in such 

a well-established brewery, with amazing 

kit, great branding and location. All the 

infrastructure, contacts were in place. I saw it 

as an opportunity to breathe some fresh air into 

how things were done in terms of the brewing 

processes and styles. It’s been a long to-do list 

over the past 6 months guiding the brewery 

into some new directions.” 


10

How have you found it so far? 

“Coming from Bradford ‘down south’ was 

very much an eye-opener, I didn’t know much 

about the local beer scene. I had the northern 

impression that they ‘don’t do good beer down 

south’ but it was great to have that changed by 

visiting so many local breweries like Double- 

Barrelled, Wild Weather and Siren Craft, as 

well as the brilliant local pubs. My partner is 

even now working at Siren Craft so we get a 

great selection of take-home beer. I’ve had a lot 

of support from other local brewers, especially 

Kevin at New Wharf and from the local 

CAMRA branches, everyone has been really 

lovely to me. 

Being here at Loddon has been good for me 

as a brewer as I’m now working out far more 

scientific specifics than I did before such as malt 

extract calculations, working out the IBU and 

so on. I used to just bung a load of hops in and 

see what happens but this is very much better 

to work out how a beer is going to work out. 

I’ve had lots of honest discussions with the now 

retired head brewer Steve which has been good 

too.” 

What is your favourite beer style to drink, and 

what is your favourite beer style to brew? 

“To drink, session IPAs. As soon as I started 

here, we started the single hop session IPA 

series. I love my IPAs but I don’t like really 

boozy beers, prefer a 4.5% sort of affair. 

To brew, anything that is super malty and 

not very hoppy as it’s much easier to weigh 

out! Much of the process is very identical 

for beers, so on our brew days, the practical 

considerations are very important. Hullabaloo 

is definitely our easiest beer to brew.” 

we are now putting them into keg and seeing 

what the feedback is like from some of our 

more regular customers.” 

Have you ever had any brew or beer not go to 

plan? 

“Many new brews don’t always go entirely to 

plan but thankfully no brew has gone so badly 

that we’ve had to pour it away! Every brew 

day is a school day, because there is so much to 

learn from every time you brew. Each time you 

encounter a new complication, it’s a stepping 

stone to learning new things and improving in 

the future.” 

And finally, as you’re from the north… sparkler 

or no sparkler? 

“Sparkler, always! My first week in Loddon I 

had ask where the sparklers were. They found 

some in an old drawer somewhere, washed 

them up and now the taproom here always uses 

sparklers!” 

Brewery News compiled by James Moore. 

bus travel 

for night owls 

loads of our buses run late into the night 

and some routes are 24/7 

the perfect way to get home 

cheaper 

fares after 

6pm 

What are your brewing plans for the future? 

“Coming up in no particular order are a 

New England IPA, a smoked porter, a white 

chocolate stout, a red rye IPA, double-hopped 

pale, plus the continuation of our single hop 

series. We’ve had Citra Quad, recently Melon 

Quad and next will be Jester Quad, Mystic 

Quad, Dragon Quad and Wolf Quad. 

Everything will be available on cask, and we’ve 

just started dipping our toes into the world of 

keg. For any of our more hop-forward brews 


11 

reading-buses.co.uk/night-buses

Small Beer 

A round up of news and information 

Branch Awards 

Our branch Pub of the Year is – again – the 

Nags Head in Russell Street. The Alehouse in 

Broad Street is the runner-up this year. 

CAMRA AGM and Members’ 

Weekend 

The Nags Head went on to compete against 

the winning pubs from the other Berkshire 

branches. The results were announced just 

before we went to print: 

• 1st: Bell, Aldworth 

• 2nd: Nag’s Head, Reading 

• 3rd: Craufurd Arms, Maidenhead 

• 4th: Crispin, Wokingham 

It was a very close competition and the Bell at 

Aldworth will now go forward as Berkshire’s 

representative for the Regional Pub of the Year 

competition. 

In the branch Cider Pub of the Year contest, 

the result was exactly the same, with the Nags 

Head taking the title and the Alehouse in 

runner-up position. 

Branch Club of the Year is the Sonning Golf 

Club, with multiple previous winner the 

Wargrave Snooker Club in runner-up spot. 

This year more potential clubs to judge have 

emerged and it’s great to see the level of 

competition increase. 

Congratulations to all the finalists and, of 

course, to the winners. 

Now, some CAMRA branches have a rule that 

bars a winning pub from taking part in next 

year’s contest. The idea is that it creates a wider 

spread of winners and encourages other pubs to 

improve, rather than just thinking that the same 

pub is always likely to win. Other people think 

that rule is unfair on the winner, and ask why 

they should be barred just for being good – like 

saying “Hey Manchester City, congratulations 

on winning the league. You’re not allowed to 

take part next year”. What do you think? If you 

have a strong opinion on this then get in touch. 

We’d like to hear as many views as possible. 

This April, CAMRA members travelled across 

the country to Dundee to debate a number of 

motions and elect the Campaign’s new board 

of directors. 

Abigail Newton, known for steering the 

Volunteer Committee, was elected CAMRA’s 

vice-chairman. She will be joining new national 

chairman Nik Antona in steering the direction 

of the campaign, with Jackie Parker and Ian 

Packham officially stepping down as chairman 

and vice-chairman, respectively, at the close of 

Conference. 

In her address to members, Jackie reflected 

on CAMRA’s achievements under her tenure 

as chairman over the past year, including 

appointing a new chief executive and deputy 

chief executive, producing an equality and 

diversity policy and developing CAMRA’s 

Information, Education and Training 

programme. She also paid tribute to the 

Games and Collectables Committee, which has 

donated more than £1.3 million since 1991. 

Jackie told members: 

“Let’s not forget that the name of our 

organisation is CAMRA: the Campaign for 

Real Ale, and let’s continue to do just that - 

campaign for pubs, real ale, cider and perry. It’s 

what we do best!” 


12

Joining the national executive are four new 

members: Gary Timmins, Catherine Tonry, 

Hubert Gieschen and Jonathan Kemp. Nick 

Boley and Ian Garner were re-elected for a 

second term. 

Pub Guides 

This was also the first CAMRA Members’ 

Weekend for Chief Executive Tom Stainer since 

beginning his new role in January. Giving his 

first Campaigns Report, Tom looked towards 

the future of the organisation, saying: 

“Just as the beer landscape has changed, so has 

CAMRA, and so must it continue. Nowhere is 

this better reflected than in our campaigning. 

“We should not be afraid of welcoming bold 

new thinking and new ideas. Your ideas are 

welcomed and they are encouraged. If you 

think CAMRA needs to change, it will only 

change with people like you involved.” 

Members also debated a number of motions 

over the weekend, on topics including 

campaigning against large pub-owning 

companies converting pubs from tenanted to 

managed, campaigning for the introduction 

of Minimum Unit Pricing for England, and 

reducing the amount of single-use plastics used 

within CAMRA - all of which were carried. 

The full text of those motions is below. 

MOTION 7 – CARRIED 

This Conference instructs the National 

Executive to campaign for the urgent 

introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing for 

England (with provisos on the maximum 

amount per unit). 


This Conference instructs the National 

Executive to campaign more robustly against 

the actions of many pub owning companies that 

are detrimental both to the nation’s pub stock 

and to the consumer, while also publicising 

examples of good practice among them. 


This Conference notes the worldwide concern 

about single use plastics and instructs the 

National Executive to reduce as far as 

reasonably practicable the amount of single use 

plastics used within CAMRA. 


13 

Discover Britain’s best pubs with a CAMRA 

guide! Get out and about with the Good Beer 

Guide, explore Heritage Guide pubs or go into 

the wild with something from our Pub Walks 

collection. Whatever your preference, keep 

a CAMRA book handy to ensure you find a 

quality pub and pint of real ale, cider or perry. 

Visit shop1.camra.org.uk to explore the wide 

range of guides available and find the one that’s 

right for you. 

Changes at SIBA 

The former Chief Executive of CAMRA, Mike 

Benner, is to leave his post as Chief Executive 

of SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers, 

at the end of June after five years. He has 

accepted a new role as Chief Executive of APIL, 

the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, 

representing and campaigning for the rights of 

injured people. 

Mike said, 

“I am sad to be leaving a great organisation 

and an industry that I have worked in for 

many years, but equally I am excited about the 

opportunity to step into a new role in a different 

sector making a difference to the lives of injured 

people. SIBA continues to be an essential voice 

for independent craft brewers facing regulatory 

and market access challenges and I’m sure it 

will continue to go from strength to strength. 

We have a highly committed and capable team 

of people and it has been a real pleasure to 

work with them.”

Magic Rock Brewery Sold 

Continuing the trend of 

UK craft breweries being 

bought out and taken 

over by multinational 

companies. Magic Rock 

of Huddersfield is now 

part of Lion Global 

Markets. Australian 

company Lion, who also acquired London’s 

Fourpure Brewery last year, bought the 

company for an undisclosed sum. 

Magic Rock’s co-founder and managing 

director, Richard Burhouse, intends to stay on 

with the company in the long term. The deal 

is intended to allow Magic Rock to expand 

its reach, production and portfolio, as well as 

bring in new business skills. 

In a blog post, Richard said: 

“While there’s never been a plan to sell the 

business, we’ve had a number of approaches 

over the past few years, but none of them felt 

like a good fit until we started talking with 

Lion. Lion first approached us back in August 

2018 and we were immediately impressed with 

their ambition, pedigree and approach to beer.” 

“The only changes we foresee will be for the 

better. I’m delighted to announce that Lion are 

committed to beer production in Huddersfield 

for the long-term and there’ll be no cost-cutting; 

on the contrary there’ll be an increase in our 

commitment to the quality and innovation 

characterises our beers.” 

“The production site expansion will encompass 

the leasing of additional units adjacent to our 

Huddersfield site. We’ll be installing a state 

of the art automated brewhouse and enough 

additional tank capacity to massively increase 

capacity. There’ll also be improvements to 

our infrastructure including new offices, lab, 

quality control and sensory departments.” 

Review of Pubs Code and 

Adjudicator 

Small business minister Kelly Tolhurst MP has 

revealed that the Government has launched its 

first statutory review of the pubs code and pubs 

code adjudicator. CAMRA has been calling for 

a review for some time following increasing 

evidence of tenants being treated unfairly by 

large pub companies. 

The pubs code and pubs code adjudicator were 

set up in 2016 and were supposed to secure a 

fair environment for pub tenants and operators. 

Since then various organisations have cast 

doubt on the independence and decisions of the 

adjudicator. 

Gary Murphy, the landlord of Ye Olde Mitre 

in Barnet, has run a successful crowdfunding 

campaign to secure the funds to launch a High 

Court challenge against what he calls the “out 

of control” regulator. And last year the British 

Pub Confederation chairman Greg Mulholland 

wrote to the minister, saying that there was a 

“worrying lack of understanding about the 

fundamental nature and purpose of the pubs 

code legislation”. 

The first review covers the period to 31 March 

2019. Views are sought from all those with an 

interest in the operation of the Pubs Code and 

the effectiveness of the Pubs Code Adjudicator. 

This includes, but is not restricted to: 

• the Pub Operating Businesses covered by 

the Code 

• tied (and previously tied) tenants and 

those that represent their interests 

• trade bodies 

• the Pubs Code Adjudicator 

The consultation runs until 22 July 2019 and 

you can find out more details at www.gov. 

uk/government/consultations/pubs-code-andpubs-code-adjudicator-statutory-review 

The words are good; let’s hope that the reality 

lives up to them. 


14

Enjoy all the Benefits 

There are many reasons why you might have 

decided to join CAMRA. You might simply love 

a good pint, or perhaps wanted to get involved 

in a campaign to save a local pub from closure. 

Maybe you wanted to learn more about beer 

and brewing. 

Whatever your reason for joining, we wanted 

to remind you that you also have access to a 

huge range of partner discounts and exclusive 

benefits as a member. Whether it’s saving on 

your next cruise or discounts on a homebrewing 

kit, why not explore all the benefits available 

today? 

Discounts at CAMRA’s partners: 

• 10% off at Fred.Olsen cruise lines 

• Up to 10% off at cottages.com 

• 10% off at Home Brewtique 

• 20% off at Hoseasons holidays 

• 20% off at National Express coaches 

• 10% off at Cotswold Outdoor 

• 10% off at Runners Need 

• 10% off at Snow + Rock 

• 10% off at Cycle Surgery 

• 10% off at Brewhouse and Kitchen 

• 10% off at Original Cottages 

• 20% off at Henley’s sweets 

• 20% off at Red Letter Days 

• Up to 54% off at Merlin Entertainments 

Group 

• £10 off at Cornerstone shaving products 

And don’t forget your Wetherspoons vouchers, 

and that some pubs give a discount for CAMRA 

members. While we don’t expect a right to a 

discount, and we certainly don’t discriminate 

against pubs that don’t offer it, it’s nice when 

it’s willingly given. We’ll publish a list of local 

pubs offering discounts in a future issue. 

Beer Festivals 

Local beer festivals – some CAMRA and some 

not – that are well worth a visit. 

TWYFORD BEER FESTIVAL 

7th-8th June 2019 

NEW VENUE: Stanlake Meadow Recreation 

Ground, Waltham Road, Twyford, RG10 0AB. 

Just 2 minutes walk from the station. 

Open 5-11pm on Friday and 12-10pm on 

Saturday. Admission £5 including a glass. 70 

real ales, cider and perry, wine and gin available, 

accompanied by food stalls and music from 

a selection of 10 great local bands. Raising 

money for Orchid: Fighting Male Cancer. 

Previous festivals have managed to send over 

£60,000 in total to the Orchid Charity. With 

your help this can be the best year so far! 

twyfordbeerfest.co.uk 

orchid-cancer.org.uk 

BOND BREWS 4TH ANNIVERSARY 

BEER FESTIVAL 

22nd June 2019 

Units 3 & 4, South Barns, Gardeners Green Farm, 

Heathlands Road, Wokingham, RG40 3AS. 

Open 12-8pm. Admission is by a donation to 

Prostate Cancer UK. Featuring a selection of 

Bond Brewery beers including an anniversary 

special. Live local music and food available. 

bondbrews.co.uk 


15

MAIDENHEAD 

BEER AND CIDER FESTIVAL 

25th-27th July 2019 

Desborough College, 

Shoppenhangers 

Road, Maidenhead, 

SL6 2QB. 5 minutes 

walk from the station 

(Shoppenhangers Road 

exit). 

Open 12-10pm on 

Thursday, and 12- 

10.30pm on Friday and Saturday. Admission 

£5 (£3 for CAMRA members) which includes a 

souvenir glass. Over 100 real ales, 35 real ciders 

and perries, plus food stalls and live music. 

mbcf.camra.org.uk 

SHERFIELD ON LODDON 

BEER FESTIVAL 

7th September 2019 

Sherfield Village 

Hall, Reading Road, 

Sherfield on Loddon, 

Hook, Hampshire, 

RG27 0EZ. 

Open 11.30am – 

11pm. Featuring 

about 40 real ales plus 

cider, perry and wine. Hot food and snack food 

available, with live bands and face painting. 

Free minibus in the evening to Bramley station. 

sherfieldbeerfestival.org.uk 


16

The live beer 

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This year the Great British Beer Festival takes 

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Fresh cider 

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Over 300 worldwide wines 

Free glass hire 

Call 01628 476594 

Shop opening hours: 

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Or visit our website: 

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

Several of our 

customers are 

featured in the 

2019 CAMRA 

Good Beer Guide 


18

Walking to the Pub 

One bright sunny Sunday morning in May, local 

CAMRA members got together to walk from 

Sonning to Reading and enjoy some good pubs, 

beer and conversation along the way. 

The first step for most of us was to get to 

Sonning! Nine people gathered at the bus stop 

in Reading, where we caught the no.14 and 

enjoyed an unexpected dilemma – whether to sit 

on the sofa, at the table, under the sunroof or 

in the front window seat. Yes, the bus had all 

those things. 

Our first stop was the Sonning Golf Club, recent 

winner of our Club of the Year contest. Guests 

are allowed to use the bar and we sat on the 

terrace enjoying the London Pride which was in 

very good condition. Normally there’s a second 

guest beer – the last one was Doom Bar but it 

was off at the time we visited. Probably most 

people would have made the same choice even 

if it had been on. 

After meeting some more local CAMRA 

members a quick walk down into Sonning Village 

followed and we ended up at the Coppa Club by 

the bridge. Formerly known as the Great House 

Hotel, this is a large open plan bar / restaurant, 

recently refurbished and offering two real ale 

pumps. Unfortunately Loddon Hullabaloo went 

off as we arrived, so we enjoyed the Rebellion 

IPA instead. 

Service was slow, largely due to it being Sunday 

lunchtime and the place being very busy – and 

when lots of people are ordering complicated 

drinks it can be frustrating waiting to be served a 

simple pint. That said it was a very comfortable 

venue and clearly popular with local people as 

well as visitors – just behind us the lovely Debbie 

McGee was having a drink with a friend. 

A quick walk through the churchyard followed, 

with our next stop being the Bull. This lovely 

16th century pub is run by Fullers but actually 

owned by the church next door. Anyone tall 

will need to mind their head throughout! Four 

Fullers beers including Dark Star Hophead were 

on offer and in good condition. The food at 

the Bull is excellent and on another day we’d 

happily have eaten there, but this time we had 

other plans. 

We were up to 13 people by this point and there 

was just time for a group photo before we all 

set off along the Thames Path towards Reading. 

It’s a lovely walk in good weather, and we 

certainly had that – largely sunny and not too 

hot. Watching the swans and boats on the river 

was very relaxing and helped us towards our 

goal – the Fisherman’s Cottage on Kennetside, 

where we had a table booked. Some of the group 

dropped in to the newly-reopened Jolly Anglers 

for a quick half on the way, while the rest of us 

went straight to the Fish. 


19

Four real ales from microbreweries were on offer 

here, again in good condition. And also some 

interesting, albeit pricey, bottles in the fridge. 

As for food, those who ordered the roast dinner 

did very well, with good-sized portions arriving 

quickly and everyone enjoying their meal. Those 

ordering off the regular menu did less well, as it 

seemed that the kitchen was sending out meals 

grouped by type of food – all the roasts, then all 

the sandwiches, then all the fish and chips, then 

all the burgers – rather than grouped by table or 

by time of ordering. It meant that some people 

were still waiting for their food after others had 

finished and had their plates cleared away. Food 

disappointment aside, it was a nice pub and 

one that I’d be happy to go back to for a drink, 

particularly given the CAMRA discount offered 

on real ales. 

The group dispersed at this point, with some 

moving on to other town centre pubs and others 

going home. I had a Grand Prix to watch and 

the copy date for this magazine was looming – in 

fact it was the following day – so guess where I 

went? 

Many thanks to Chris Hinton for organising this 

walk. Chris hosts a variety of walks and other 

social events for us throughout the year so why 

not have a look for one that suits you and come 

along? There’s a diary of events on page 3 of this 

magazine. Feel free to get in touch beforehand 

if you’d like to meet somebody from CAMRA 

in advance rather than wandering into a strange 

pub and looking for us! 

Phil Gill 

 

 

 

 


20

OLIVER’S ISLAND, THE GOLDEN ALE 

FROM FULLER’S 

Enjoy the delicious flavour of floral and citrus hops 

and golden malt, subtly combined with orange peel to 

provide a crisp, refreshing ale. 

GO WITH THE FLOW... 

Cask 3.8% ABV Bottle: 4.5% ABV 

drinkaware.co.uk for the facts 

#OliversIsland 

AWARD WINNING BEERS BREWED IN HERTFORDSHIRE 

For 2019 our Monthly 

Specials will be 

raising funds and 

awareness for 

Gaddesden Row Riding 

for the Disabled. 

WEEKLY DELIVERIES IN YOUR AREA 

Dunsley Farm, London Rd, Tring HP23 6HA 

N 01442 890721 D www.tringbrewery.co.uk 


21

Festival Roundup 

This is being written just a few days after the 

25th Reading Beer Festival. If you came, thank 

you. If you volunteered to work, thank you 

even more! If you enjoyed it, let us know. If you 

didn’t enjoy it, let us know what we could do 

better. 

The festival is home of several awards, all 

judged on site in blind tastings. As well as 

Local Beer of the Festival awards we host the 

final round of the National Cider and Perry 

Championship. Read on to find out who won 

what! 

REAL ALE 

BEERS BELOW 4.2% ABV 

Winner – Elusive Happiness Dragon 

Runner up – Indigenous Silly Moo 

BEERS FROM 4.2% TO 4.9% ABV 

Winner – Loddon Ferryman’s Gold 

Runner up – Reunion Beard Tongue 

BEERS 5.0% ABV AND ABOVE 

Winner – Siren Craft Broken Dream 

Runner up – Elusive Morrisman 

Attendance over the four days, excluding 

children and trade session guests, was a little 

over 12,000. That’s a bit less than previous 

years although the site has a slightly smaller 

capacity now so that’s reflected in the planning. 

The highlight for many was that cask ale 

almost ran out on Saturday and, after an 

emergency restock overnight, almost ran out 

again on Sunday. The alternative is to pour 

away unused beer after the event, which not 

only means throwing away money but is also 

environmentally wasteful. So I think most 

people will accept that, in order to have a 

successful festival, you expect the beer range to 

decrease significantly as the festival approaches 

its close. 

Wine and foreign beer sold out on Sunday, 

there was a little cider and perry left at the end, 

and enough key keg to supply the staff party on 

Sunday night. 

OVERALL LOCAL 

BEERS OF THE FESTIVAL 

Gold – Indigenous Silly Moo 

Silver – Siren Craft Broken Dream 

Bronze – Elusive Morrisman 

LOCAL KEY KEG BEER OF THE FESTIVAL 

Winner – New Wharf DIPA 

CIDER AND PERRY 

Having one of the largest and most diverse cider 

and perry ranges of any festival, it’s natural 

that Reading is the home of the National Cider 

and Perry Championships. The competition 

followed more than a year of local tasting panels 

and regional heats, culminating in the national 

finals in Reading, and the results were ... 

CIDER 

Gold – Mayfayre’s Cider (Herefordshire) 

Silver – St Ives Forager (St Ives, Cornwall) 

Bronze – Ampleforth Abbey (North Yorkshire) 

This was the first year that card machines were 

used at all the bars. As a large-scale trial the 

machines seemed to work well and I’m sure 

we’ll be using them again in future. 


22 

PERRY 

Gold – Cleeve’s Orchard Perry (Ross-on-Wye) 

Silver – Ralph’s Medium Perry (Powys) 

Bronze – Out of the Orchard Perry (Newent)

Mayfayre’s Cider impressed judges for being 

well-balanced and more-ish, boasting distinct 

spicy and woody notes and a dry aftertaste. In 

contrast, Cleeve Orchard’s Perry won the title 

for its floral and full-bodied flavour, which had 

a hint of smoke in the aftertaste. Festival goers 

had the opportunity to sample the winning 

drinks. 

Andrea Briers, Chair of CAMRA’s National 

Cider and Perry Committee said: 

“Huge congratulations to both Cleeve Orchard 

and Mayfayre for their exemplary products. 

As we know, cider and perry flavours can vary 

significantly from year to year and harvest 

to harvest, so seeing such distinct quality is 

incredibly important.” 

“Mayfayre, which is based in Herefordshire, 

exemplifies the very essence of traditional cider 

right in the home of England’s cider country. 

Cleeve Orchard also impressed judges with its 

West Country Perry. Owner Lewis Scott has 

worked with CAMRA to campaign for greater 

support for small producers, and is a great 

example of how a local producer of the area 

can gain national recognition with a quality 

product.” 

And let’s end with a message from Dave Scott, 

our Festival Organiser: 

“I would once again like to thank the large 

numbers of entirely unpaid volunteers who 

made the event possible. All the volunteers 

(many of whom have literally spent many, many 

hundreds of hours over the last year working on 

this event), who are all by definition amateurs, 

can be very proud of the sheer professionalism 

they showed. We received a significant amount 

of praise on the high standards we achieved for 

the event as well as praise for the hard working, 

professional and enthusiastic volunteers who 

made it possible. I hope that you all enjoyed 

working at the event and had a good time – 

after all, if the volunteers don’t enjoy the event, 

our customers probably won’t either.” 

“In terms of campaign aims I think we can pride 

ourselves on another successful Beer Festival. 

We again gave over ten thousand people the 

chance to try a wide range of real ales, ciders 

and perries - and have a great time while doing 

so. Many of these people will not be regular real 

ale drinkers but will now view real ales, ciders 

and perries in a positive light associated with 

good memories. In fact we signed up 20 new 

CAMRA members. In addition, we garnered 

some good media attention including BBC 

Radio Berkshire and Thames Valley TV and 

were able to leverage this to discuss CAMRA, 

its aims and the current challenges facing pubs, 

in addition to talking about the Beer Festival.” 


23

Volunteering 

By the time you read this, we will have just 

raised a pint to National Volunteers’ Week 

after the 25th Reading Beer & Cider Festival, 

organised and run by volunteers! 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 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, and we want others to have 

the chance to enjoy them as well, now and for 

years to come. As a result, we also support the 

pubs and clubs where you can find them, and 

organise our beer and cider festival to showcase 

them. 

So please 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 

Chair, Reading & Mid Berkshire CAMRA 

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. 


24

As our farmers 

know all too well: 

no pain, no grain. 

They say nothing worth having comes 

easy. Unfortunately for our farmers 

that’s true of the barley we use to brew 

our beers. We use a classic variety 

called Golden Promise, grown to our 

own unique specification. The biscuity, 

golden malt it produces is the perfect 

partner to our natural spring water, 

and is vital to Landlord’s depth and 

delicate balance of flavour. It’s also a type 

of barley that’s notoriously hard to 

grow, and our exacting specification 

makes it even more difficult. Which 

makes it a costly ingredient and a 

real challenge even for experienced 

farmers. Luckily we can offer some 

liquid therapy. 

All for that taste of Taylor’s 


25

The Promotion 

of Lager in the UK 

PART 1 

Paul Dabrowski tells the story of how lager 

was promoted and advertised in the UK, 

starting in the late 19th century. 

Not a great deal of publicity specifically for 

lager has survived from the late Victorian period 

when the beer first gained a foothold in the UK, 

but one that had emerged was an 1886 price list 

displayed in The King’s Arms, Holywell Street, 

Oxford. For Phillip’s Tower Brewery (also of 

that city), it revealed that they had brewed an 

‘English Lager Beer’ for, possibly, a quarter of 

a century until 1910 when that concern was 

taken over by Halls’ Oxford & West Brewery, 

likewise of Park End Street. 

Described as an ‘excellent, light, summer 

beverage at a low price’, this beer, one of the 

earliest known commercially-brewed lagers 

in the UK, retailed at 10d (4½p) per gallon. 

Retaining the almost-adjacent brewery as a 

depot, Halls were themselves acquired by 

Samuel Allsopp & Son Ltd. of Burton-upon- 

Trent in 1926. 

Further north, and in common with all Carlisle 

pubs (and four breweries) then trading, The 

Howard Arms had been placed under state 

management control during the First World 

War. This was a move to safeguard munitions 

production, and lasted for the bulk of the 

20th century thereafter. As a result, the pub’s 

decorative facade was covered over due to rules 

preventing advertising outside pubs whilst 

Government-run. 

Since 1973, when the management scheme was 

relinquished, the pub has been progressively 

restored, uncovering its superbly ornate tiled 

exterior in 1979 to reveal advertising for 

‘India Pale & Mild Ales’ and ‘Wines, Spirits & 

Liqueurs’ on two of the three bays comprising 

its frontage but, significantly, ‘Lager Beer & 

Stout’ on the central one. At the other extreme, a 

few pubs such as the Queen’s Arms, at Cowden 

Pound in Kent, have proudly stated ‘Lager Not 

Sold Here’ on less permanent signage to the 

present day to proclaim themselves as (real) 

ale-only outlets! 

Grade II-listed, The Howard Arms is possibly 

one of only a handful of pubs left in the country 

that still exhibits such an elaborate promotion 

for a lager dating from the end of the 19th 

century. The blue, green and yellow exterior 

Royal Doulton tiles had been added around 

1895 to a pub rebuilt from its 16th century 

original c.1855 by the Carlisle Old Brewery 

Company, thus joining the pantheon of one 

of the earliest lager brewers in the country. 

Originally founded in 1756 as Sir Richard 

Hodgson & Co., it was the brewery used as 

the sole state management premises when 

the other breweries taken over by the state in 

1916 were shut by 1920. Thirteen years after 

purchase by T & R Theakston Ltd. in 1974, it 

too was closed. Luckily, when the state-owned 

estate, by then comprising just 206 pubs (just 

over half of those originally acquired), had 

been sold separately to a number of brewers 

and individuals from 1971 onwards, The 

Howard Arms became tied to Theakstons and 

its traditional, multi-roomed, interior was also 

preserved. 


26

‘alcoholic’ UK ships from docking at ports 

in the USA, Westminster was infuriated so 

much that Parliament even discussed the idea 

of refusing permission to allow US-registered 

ships from berthing at British ports if they 

weren’t carrying any alcohol aboard! 

Image © Paul Dabrowski 

Other, more basic, point-of-sale material that 

has also survived the passage of time includes 

drip mats (only introduced to Britain in the 

1920s having originated on the continent), 

bottle labels as well as various forms of the 

packaging itself, promotional posters and 

handbills and other items such as cigarette 

ash trays, drinks trays and even badges. For 

instance, an example of the last-but-one 

mentioned from the mid-20th century for a 

‘Pilsner Lager’ brewed by Barclay, Perkins & 

Co. can be seen affixed to an interior wall of 

The Turk’s Head micropub in Gloucester. This 

beer appears to have been a shorter-lived brew 

distinct from those comprising their core range 

marketed under the ‘London Lager’ branding 

(qv). 

The instigation of prohibition in the USA (1919- 

1933 though some states were still ‘dry’ until 

1966 and some counties there still are!) had 

one bizarre consequence which benefitted both 

lager production in the UK and its shipping 

lines. Simply because British companies, such as 

Cunard, Elder Dempster and White Star (until 

its 1934 demise through merger with Cunard), 

still sold alcohol, the transatlantic liner trade 

became sewn up between them at the expense 

of those registered in the USA which had, of 

course, to abide by the Volstead Act. 

As a result, the premium bottled lager brands, 

principally brewed at Alloa and Wrexham, 

enjoyed a resurgence when inter-war home 

demand was faltering. Such was the competitive 

hit being taken by its own shipping lines that, 

when the US Government briefly tried to stop 

Although Wrexham Lager was also sold on the 

Elder Dempster shipping line, the first record of 

any draught beer being sold aboard a UK liner, 

in fact, was in 1904 when that brewery’s main 

sponsor, Robert Graesser, had taken a cask of 

Wrexham Lager aboard the White Star liner, 

RMS Baltic, en route to the USA. And, after 

the demise of this transatlantic and subsequent 

long-cruise traffic, by the mid-1980s, Allsopp’s 

Lager (transferred to Alloa in 1921) was again 

being brewed in Burton but was being canned 

and exported to Africa despite the brand having 

all but disappeared from these shores. 

During the inter-war period of the 20th century, 

Allsopp’s had even marketed its brews in the 

UK as ‘British Lager’ and, in possibly the first 

example of dedicated product endorsement, 

all-round adverts on individual, double-deck, 

London County Council trams, at least, were 

affixed to every conceivable panel during the 

1920s. As just alluded to, Allsopp’s brewed 

more than just a single lager, one of which was 

a ‘Dark Munich Beer’ which was sold alongside 

a paler style brew to which the epithet, ‘British 

Lager Beer’, continued to be applied well into 

the 1950s. 

In addition, in 1931, prior to the opening day 

of tram-replacement trolleybus services in 

south-west London, most of the new electric 


27

London United vehicles had been adorned 

with prominent between-deck panels for the 

Danish-brewed Tuborg lager on either offside 

or nearside (paired – on the opposite side – with 

similar advert strips for the Savoy Cinema at 

the initial Teddington terminus) ready for the 

launch of operations. With other trolleybuses 

being delivered to the fleet devoid of any 

advertisements whatsoever, this was another 

early example of high-profile promotion of a 

single product on public transport and, quite 

possibly, only the second that had concerned 

lager. 

Paul Dabrowski 

Errata: In ‘The History of Lager’, Mines a Pint 

No. 43, it was suggested that Barclay’s ‘London 

Lager’ continued in production ‘through to the 

1980s’. This should have read ‘through to the 

1970s’ as the Anchor Brewery in Southwark 

was finally closed by Courage & Co. in 1972. It 

appears that this was accomplished on a staged 

basis with the other Barclay Perkins beers that 

included the famed Imperial Russian Stout – 

acquired when Thrales brewery, on the same 

Southwark site, had been bought by Barclays 

in 1781 – were moved to the adjacent Courage 

& Co.’s Horsleydown brewery in 1969 but no 

evidence has yet come to light to suggest that 

the brewing of these lagers was also continued 

‘across the road’ three years later. 

With acknowledgements to various CAMRA 

publications and Mark Forsyth, A Short 

History of Drunkenness. 

CAMAL (The Campaign for Authentic Lager) 

may be of interest. 

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


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 201. oncessionary rates available. Please visit camra.org.uk/membership-rates

REAL-ALE AND CIDER FESTIVAL 

9 –20 OCTOBER 

THE BACK OF BEYOND 

104–10808 KINGS ROAD, READING, RG1 3BY 

GREAT RANGE OF QUALITY REAL ALES AVAILABLE 

Featuring ales such as 

THE HOPE TAP 

99–105 FRIAR STREET, READING, RG1 1EP 

4.0% ABV 

Various ABVs 

5.0% ABV 

Subject to local licensing restrictions and availability at participating free houses. Photography is for guidance only. J D Wetherspoon plc reserves the right to 

withdraw/change offers (without notice), at any time. See main menu for additional details of our terms and conditions. 

323ADVERT19A5A

Mine's a Pint - Summer 2019

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