Pints West 86, Summer 2010 - Bristol & District CAMRA

PINTS WESTThe plight of pubs in south eastBristol (a personal view)It has been a concern of mine for while now that so many publichouses are closing down in the south east Bristol area. Not that manyareas have escaped from closures in recent times. I am originallyfrom north Devon and know the value of village pubs and the sad statewhere they have closed leaving the locals with no place to gather otherthan village halls.Now Bristol is no village but one area that concerns me most is theWells Road (A37) out of Bristol and its adjacent areas. I live in KnowleWest and it has been barren of pubs now for several years, for a varietyof reasons. Anyone living here mainly has to go to Bedminster for asocial night drinking.It came to my attention recently that the Happy Landings on thecorner of Hengrove Lane on the Wells Road has a ‘to let’ sign up. It hasbeen closed for over six months. There have been rumours of it becominga Chinese restaurant. It got me thinking that this will mean that, fora large distance, there will be no pubs within walking distance in thevicinity.public houses. Once again startingfrom the Three Lamps junction(Bath A4) on the right you have theThunderbolt, which is also a goodmusic venue. The Three Lamps pubwas next door but closed down manyyears ago. Other than the Black Castleand the Sandringham, which areboth within five or six minutes’ walkof the Bath Road close to the junctionwith St Phillips Causeway, you haveto go all the way to Brislington andthe King’s Arms down the bottom ofthe hill on the left. Opposite this, theHolly Bush has now been replacedby flats. There is also the Pilgrim onHollywood Road which is left at theKing’s Arms.The White Hart a little further along the A4 on the right looks likelyto become a local community theatre. From here on out on the A4 thereis not another public house until Keynsham, so not much on a busy mainroad from the Three Lamps junction.Obviously many people go into Bedminster or the city centre for anight out, but often a quiet drink with friends locally would be far moreconvenient as well as keeping up a sense of community. Do we really allwant to end up going to each others’ houses for a can or bottle? It mustbe said that often, in the right hands, failing pubs can be turned aroundand become successful community locals once again. Unfortunately, asthings stand, there are inadequate planning laws to protect them fromredevelopment.We all know what is happening with the rising costs of drinks andthe loss-leader supermarket price offers. This – allied with the woefullyinadequate planning laws and an apparent lack of policy at Bristol CityCouncil currently regarding community pubs – is leaving large swathsof our city without community pubs.Something must change urgently to stop the rot!Keith ShaplandThe not so Happy LandingsStarting from the Three Lamps junction (Wells Road), on the rightTotterdown is well served by public houses with the Shakespeare,Oxford, New Found Out and Star & Dove. On the main road close bythere is the Bush and then the George. On reaching Broadwalk at the topof the hill the situation is a bit grim. The Talbot which had closed is nowa steak restaurant. Off to the right was the Friendship in Knowle, whichrecently shut down and is to become a Tesco car park. The only otherpub I know of in this area is the Knowle Hotel which is about 400 yardsleft, off the main road.The Red Lion which was on the hill a bit further out is now flatsand then the next place is the Happy Landings mentioned above. Theclosest pub to that was the Glass Cutter in Hengrove Lane, which isnow flats. Going further up the Wells Road there used to be the LittleThatch, though not really a pub I believe, before getting to the Yeomanat the junction which turns right to Whitchurch village. Beyond that isthe Maes Knoll (formerly Black Lion) before turning left to Stockwood.This is a large suburban area which fortunately still has the Man inSpace, Concorde and Harvesters pubs.In the Whitchurch village area there is the Cartwheel (next to Asda).The Court Farm Tavern, formerly the Baccy Jar, was closed for a whilebut is now a pub with the emphasis on food. The only other here is theShield and Dagger which is in East Dundry Road on the edge of thearea.These are the only pubs in a large populated area before going backdown towards Hartcliffe which fortunately still has four pubs of varyingquality, the Fulford Hotel, the Hartcliffe Inn, the Red Hart and the Harrier.The Fighting Cocks, which became the Happy Cocks (to lose the“fighting” connotation?), closed down a while back following a fire. InHengrove Park there is the Wessex Flyer, which is the newest additionand a modern family-friendly pub.It seems a real shame that there are so few traditional public housesin some of these communities.The main Bath Road out of Bristol is also suffering with lack ofPubs closed or under threat in the south Bristol areaNo longer a community pubAntelope - Stockwood - demolished - 2004?Enterprise Inn - Bedminster - demolished - 2007Fox - Windmill Hill - converted to flats - 2009Glasscutter - Hengrove - converted to flats - 2005?Happy Cocks - Hengrove- demolished (after fire) - 2006?Hollybush - Brislington - demolished - post-2000?Mendip Gate Inn - Bishopsworth - closed 2001, demolished 2003 for flatsRed Cow - Bedminster - demolished - 2009Three Lamps - Bath Road - closed post-1999? - now flatsRed Lion - Totterdown - demolished for three houses - 2000Ship & Castle - Ashton Vale - demolished (one wall standing?) - 2009Wedlocks - Bedmister - demolished - 2009?Talbot - Knowle - closed post-2000? - now a steakhouseVenture Inn - Knowle West - demolished - post-2000? - now flatsWoods - Bishopsworth - demolished -2010Gatcombe House - Hartcliffe - demolished 2005? - now flats and dentalsurgeryPermission to convert grantedFriendship - Knowle - 2009General Elliott - Bedminster - 2010Park House - Bedminster - 2010Plough Inn - Bedminster Down - 2006 (converted to flats?)White Hart - Brislington - 2010Under threat?Golden Cockerel - Highridge - 2010 - closed, sold with potential forredevelopment and recent fire 2010Happy Landings - Hengrove - 2010 - closed 6 months - ‘Pub To Let’ signnow upCompiled by Les CooperPage 5

DON’TSPILL BEERPINTS WESTUpdate on KingsdownAfter a short closure for refurbishment, Micawber’s Ale House on St Michael’s Hill in hasre-opened under its original name, the Colston Arms. Three real ales are usually available –Bath Gem, Butcome Bitter and Whychwood Hobgoblin.Further up the Hill in High Kingsdown, the Kings Arm’s is boarded up and looking verysad. With plenty of pubs in the area, its future as a pub must be in doubt.Pete TannerThe Colston ArmsWARNINGFrom the Management of theHope & AnchorExceptional Public HousePage 6Boarded up and looking very sad – the King’s ArmsPub News• The Plough at Wrington reopened officially in May after beingclosed during the winter for a major extension and refurbishment.Beers on sale include Butcombe Bitter and Young’s Bitter.• The Good Intent at Broomhill has been closed for a while for amajor overhaul but is expected to reopen in time for the summer.• River City (formerly the Albion) on Cumberland Road in Bristol,which reopened in July 2009 after years of closure, closed againin April 2010, only to reopen in May selling Courage Best andThatcher’s Traditional at competitive prices. The intention is to addmore beers as trade picks up.• The Stoke Inn in Chew Stoke reopened under new ownershiprecently.• Three pubs in a row are closed in St. George: the AdmiralRodney, the Bell in Bell Hill Road and the Prince Albert.• The White Hart in Brislington is closed. A planning applicationto convert it into a dance school was turned down in April.• The Penpole Inn in Lawrence Weston is closed.• Over in Pill, the King’s Head and the Railway are both reportedclosed (the latter for some time now) but expected to reopen.• The Standard of England in Greystoke Avenue was reported tobe boarded up at the end of April 2010, as was the Gainsborough inGainsborough Square, Lockleaze.• Better news for the New Battleaxes at Wraxall, which is to reopenas a pub in the summer. The new owners have successful pubsin Bradford-on-Avon and Frome already.• Rumour has it that the owner of the Three Tuns in Hotwells hasalso acquired the Plume of Feathers in Hotwells and that it couldreopen in June after many months of closure.• The Queen Adelaide at Blagdon is closed and builders are in. Alocal resident thought it will reopen; can a reader enlighten us?Norman SpaldingNew licensees atthe CornubiaThe Cornubia in Redcliffe is now in capable new hands. Phil andJackie took over the reins of this popular pub, close to the fire station,earlier this year and are certainly making an impression.By all accounts both the range and quality of the beer at theCornubia is of a very high standard. This is perhaps not surprisingconsidering their pedigree. Amongst their previous pubs they can countthe Crown & Thistle in Gravesend, Kent, which won the nationalCAMRA Pub of the Year award back in 2003.SPPhil and Jackie of the Cornubia pose with chairman RichardBrooks (centre) during Cask Ale Week

News has reached Bristol CAMRA Pubs Group ofthe Phoenix and the Rummer, two pubs owned byBristol City Council. The Phoenix, we understand, mayreopen soon and “there is interest in the Rummer andtalks are progressing.” Should they reopen, it will begreat news indeed.The Phoenix was very much a locals’ pubs in past years, basic butfriendly and at the heart of the local community. Situated at the end ofa listed terrace, it’s located next to the main Bristol shopping centre(Cabot Circus). The area has lost several pubs in recent years – somewere lost as a result of the Cabot Circus development and others such asthe Seven Ways and the Sportsman have been lost through attrition.The City Council were offering the lease on the Phoenix but are nowhappy to sell the freehold. There have been interested parties lookingto reopen the pub in recent months and, hopefully, we might see thePhoenix operational again very soon. Surely if it is run as a decent freehouse it must have a positive future given its location.The Rummer has even more history. Situated in a very prominentposition on High Street abutting St Nicholas Market, the Rummer (notthe bar with an entrance in All Saints Lane that is open for business) isBristol’s most venerable pub.The Rummer had the city’s first licence, dated 1241, when it tradedas the Greene Lattis, and it is sited in the oldest part of the city, in theHigh Street, just yards from the crossroads that once formed the heart ofBristol for over a thousand years. With extensive cellars dating back toAnglo-Saxon times, the inn has played a full part in many of Bristol’smost historic events, hosting royal visitors such as Elizabeth I, Charles Iand II, William III and even Cromwell during the Republic.Politicians such as Edmund Burke made speeches from its balconyand others sparked rioting around the time of the Parliamentary ReformBill when the pub lost its shutters, door frames and even part of thecoach office. This had been created when the Rummer became the country’sfirst coaching inn when it took part in the mail coach revolutionthat ultimately went around the world. Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridgepublished his first magazine The Watchman from here and other majorepisodes of Bristol’s literary and sporting life were witnessed within.The twentieth century wasn’t very kind to the Rummer; its MedievalPINTS WESTPhoenix and Rummer to reopen?The Phoenixfaçade was bricked over and for many years of its recent past the HighStreet elevation has been boarded up and ‘improved’ with banal graffiti.The pub had a post-war renaissance under the Berni Brothers banner,when they used it as one of their many flagship Bristol inns, but sincethat time the building has been down on its luck. Now is the time to givethe inn another renaissance, using it as a cornerstone for a revival of thiswhole area of Bristol which surely deserves another chance given itshistory and location.Fingers crossed, then, that both pubs will reopen very soon!Peter Bridle and Mark SteedsBristol CAMRA Pubs GroupParadise foundOpening hours:Mon-Fri 3pm - 11pmSat 12 noon - 11pmSun 12 noon - 10.30pmwww.otterbrewery.comRelax with an OtterPage 7

PINTS WESTCAMRA calling – in Thornbury!During the early months of this yearthere has been a surge in membershipof CAMRA in the area to the north ofBristol & DistrictBristol locally recognised as the SevernVale. The members there, though, felt abranch exceedsbit remote from the main membership ofthe Bristol & District branch and set in2,000 members!train a request for a sub-branch to coverIt only seems like yesterday (well, 2002) thatthis area, so that their enthusiasm andthe branch was very excited to have reachedenergies could be directed to a more localarea, avoiding the need for travellingbit over 30 years to achieve. Following a further1,000 members, which itself only took us along distances to meetings and events.boost to recruitment at the Bristol Beer FestivalThe sub-branch comprises roughlyin March 2010, we are pleased to announce thatthe area bounded by Thornbury in thethe membership of the Bristol & District branchnorth, Severn Beach in the south, thehas succeeded in doubling in well under a decadeRiver Severn in the west and the M5 inand now stands at around 2,100.the east.Doubtless this in part reflects national campaigningand the wider awareness and promotionThe Bristol & District branch agreedof CAMRA and real ale. However, it also reflectsto this request and, at a meeting inthe local success of branch activities such as theThornbury, Neil Halsall was elected chairBristol Beer Festival and our very own Pintsand Dave Cox the secretary of this newStood in the middleWest newsletter. Then there are the many pubsub-branch. The first proper meeting ofat the back is the newsurvey trips and brewery visits and of course ourthe new Severn Vale sub-branch was heldchair of the Severn ValePubs and BADRAG sub-groups. There is even aon 19th May at the Anchor in Thornbury.sub-branch of CAMRA,thriving sub-branch in Weston-super-Mare andNeil Halsall, and stoodFurther meetings have been arranged forthe beginnings of another in Thornbury.with his arms crossed16th June at the Plough in Pilning andNo one should kid themselves that the needon the left is Dave Cox,21st July at the Fox, Easter Compton,to campaign is over, but quality real ale is plainlythe new secretary.both starting at 8 o’clock. Both membersnow very popular and we have many excellentThe picture was takenpubs and breweries in our branch area as testamentto this. Members are always welcome toand visitors will be welcome.outside the Anchor Inn,Already there are plans being madeThornbury, where theirget involved in branch activities and we encouragethem to take part in the meetings and eventsfor social events including brewery visits.first meeting was held.listed in the diary pages of Pints West and What’sBrewing and on our website www.camrabristol.Thornbury Pubsorg.uk. Richard Brooks, Branch ChairmanBook review – Thornbury Pubs by George Ford.Amberley Publishing. £12.99.Iwas aware of the launch of this book some weeks before it becameavailable and I waited with anticipation to get my copy. Though Iam not from, nor have I ever lived in Thornbury, I spent a lot of timein the 1980’s and ’90’s drinking there with a crowd of friends and morelatterly with my wife who is a “Thornbury girl”.Back in those days there were nine pubs trading in Thornbury andI am pleased to say that the same ones still trade today. The pubs holdmany memories for me so as soon as I obtained my book I jumpedstraight into the present-day pubs section. There is a lot of historycontained in nine pubs in an old market town and at first I thought therewere gaps in the time period that they have served. However, I becamemore forgiving as it emerges that pubs such as the Swan date from thelate 1400’s and the Anchor from the late 1600’s so to capture detailedchronological accounts for these two pubs alone could fill two booksin their own right. There are some fascinating facts around the currentpubs such as the naming of the Plough, the explanation for the evolvedsprawling arrangement of the Knot of Rope and the on-going controversyaround the windows of the Royal George. Who knows about theconnection of the Full Moon in Stokes Croft to Thornbury’s pubs andtown? Well it’s all recorded in this book.I then returned to the beginning of the book and read the sectionson brewing, legislation and licensing, local social and industrial historyand the Temperance movement. The changes in the breweries’ supply ofbeer during the second world war was completely unknown to me andrepresents an intriguing deviation from one’s expectation. Further, themention of breweries such as Arnold, Perrett, Cheltenham, Ashton Gateand Daniel Sykes whets the nostalgic appetite.Sections three and four are about bygone pubs and other outlets.With nine lost pubs in the high street alone plus a further known sevenPage 8in close proximity,Thornbury certainlyhas a strong historyof pub culture.And then there are afurther half a dozenof unknown location.When one considersthe small populationof the town inpre-war years thenumber of pubs tradingat any one time isan exciting prospect.It is interesting tonote that most of thebygone pubs werein buildings that stillexist in other usestoday. Then followsan historic descriptionof off-salesestablishments andbeerhouses, andseveral appendicesof supporting information.I soon warmed to this book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it andI could easily relate to it with my (limited) knowledge of the town. Butthe content would appeal to anybody with an interest in pubs, social history,breweries or licensing trends.Mike Jackson

PINTS WESTPrize CrosswordACROSS1. Signs of intelligence at the brewery (6)5. Brunette’s headline feature at Bath Ales by the sound of it (4,4)9. Pickled egg served in the pub, or, conversely, an alternative eatery (5,3)10. Local ale drinkers’ wicked newspaper? (6)11. Phone for Yetman’s fruity beer (6)12. Bartrams ‘Little Green Man’ can be beastly (8)14. I deal a plain ‘E’ blend for a classic beer style (5,4,3)17. Large brandies and rum served up at Wimbledon? (5, 7)20. Brewer’s Valhalla found in pony country (8)22. Appropriate beer for the spice girl (6)23. A first Conservative PM is served with pub food (6)25. Cunning plan for a true gin I mix (8)26. Gran’s pig upsets the brewing process (8)27. 3 down’s experience in the gents’ toiletDOWN2. What a badly-managed pub or a very successful beer festival might do(3,3)3. A frequent user of toilets, perhaps in Europe (11)4. Replacement looked after the bar where the geometric lines met (9)5. Some bender on Davenports. Not in this rare car (7)6. A bit of a hero binge drinker was a thievin’ hoodie! (5)7. Homer Simpson’s carrier for Duff beer. Doh! Spilt it! (3)8. Crashed Lada. Beer upset. Quite understandable (8)13. Drunken senile aunts are not needed (11)15. Predator likely to be seen later at Ascot Ales (9)16. One’s final drink is placed overhead (8)18. Getting the barmaid’s bra off could result in her ruination! (7)19. Exude first lager brewed to be very special (2,4)21. Accused’s cast-iron excuse for a brief libation at the first inn (5)24. Spoil pedigree brewers by removing more than half the body (3)Crossword set by Pete TabernerNews from Bath AlesRare Hare, that most elusive of Bath Ales brews, sold out in recordtime this year. It was available in cask as usual (and for the firsttime also in bottle) and according to Karin Ashwell of Bath Ales itseems to have gone down a storm: “As the comments from people whosampled it at the Bristol Beer Festival and in the pubs were so favourable,it is very likely that we’ll brew it again next year.”Bath Ales are running a number of promotions in their pubs at themoment. Things on offer include what they term a “Hare Cut” promotion.This runs from 5pm to 7pm Mondays to Fridays at the Hare on theHill in Kingsdown, the Live and Let Live in Frampton Cotterell and theSwan in Swineford, and is described as “a special offer that will benefityour bank balance, not your barnet.” At the Hope Pole in Bath the offeris four small plates for £10 and a free pint or glass of wine on your nextvisit on Monday to Friday lunchtimes. Also in Bath, the Salamanderis offering two courses for £10 Sunday to Thursday, 6.30pm to 9pm.Back in Bristol, the Wellington on Gloucester Road is doing a breakfastpromotion Saturdays and Sundays from 9am. The deal is: “Buy a fullbreakfast and you’ll receive a free latte or cappuccino. Conditions forthis offer are that you bring a copy of the latest issue of the Bath Alesonline newsletter ‘Hare and Now’. You can subscribe on the home pageof the Bath Ales website at www.bathales.com.”The annual Welly Fest (as the Wellington’s beer festival has becomeknown) is scheduled for the May Bank Holiday Weekend, just as PintsWest is at the printers, so we can’t give you advance warning of that.However, you might just catch the annual Bath Ales beer festival at BathRacecourse on Friday 4th June, offering a great choice of real ales andciders plus racing followed by live music.The Bath Ales annual ‘Biking Bonanza’ in aid of the Frenchay AfterBurns Children’s Club will be held on Saturday 19th June. Anyone canjoin this fun, family-friendly cycle from either Bristol or Bath to thebrewery in Warmley, where there will be refreshments, food and livemusic by popular local band Bill Smarme and the Bizness. Sign uponline or in any of the Bath Ales pub. It costs just £10 to join. Everyonewill receive a t-shirt and refreshment, and proceeds will be donated toFAB. Last year they managed to raise £4,000 and they hope to beat theirtarget this year.If you want to find out how the likes of Gem and Barnstormer areWin a copy of ‘Thornbury Pubs’The first correct crossword selected at random after theend of July wins a copy of the book Thornbury Pubs byGeorge Fords, worth £12.99. Send your entries to theeditor, address inside the back page, before then.brewed, Bath Ales run brewery tours during the week where you canlearn all about the process, see a short film about the history of BathAles and sample the beers themselves. Check with the brewery fordetails. Page 9

Socials ReviewPINTS WESTWatering Holes in the Desertbrought to you from Weston-super-MareOver the past three months, the Weston sub-branch has enjoyed anexcellent programme of socials. In February, our monthly eventwas a crawl starting in the Hotwells district of Bristol city centre. Partof the A370 was closed due to an accident which caused havoc with thebuses, resulting in us arriving later than expected and meant that we hadreduced time for drinking. However, we visited four pubs which wereall excellent – the Bath Ales-owned Merchants Arms, the Bristol BeerFactory-owned Grain Barge, then two of the city’s best freehouses, theBag O’Nails and the Three Tuns. All of these are very highly recommended.The main real ale event in the area in March was, inevitably, theever-wonderful Bristol Beer Festival. Several local CAMRA membershelped with the running of the festival which was good to see. Equally itwas good to see so many ale drinkers from Weston visiting the festival.Most of these are never seen at CAMRA socials in Weston. A messageto you if you are reading this: please come and join us at any of ourevents, you will be very welcome.For our March social we had a skittles evening at the White Hart,with the motley CAMRA crew taking on the Weston Lions. This was anexcellent evening, with Adnams Dry Irish Stout and Beer Rocks SpringCrazy helping things along, together with food kindly laid on by thepub. The result was, fittingly, a tie. If you are in town, the White Hart isalways worth a look.Unfortunately, the cask had been drunk dry within four hours – largelydue to the arrival of a group of Hockey supporters in town for a tournament.Mark was so pleased with the success of the initiative that he sayshe plans to do similar for every week that runs into a Bank Holidayweekend!We left the busy Regency and walked across town to RAW on StJames Street. We enjoyed Moor Merlins Magic and superb Hoppiness(6.3% ABV) straight from the cask. Unfortunately RAW proved to be ashort-lived venture and has now closed.Happily the early morning rain had completed cleared up and weenjoyed a pleasant stroll along the seafront, past the new pier rapidlytaking shape, before cutting inland and up to the Criterion. Since takingover the then-closed pub a year ago, Paul Sprackman has turned theCriterion into a cracking little pub. Features include a dartboard, barbilliards, table skittles, TV, papers (and Pints Wests) to read and an openfireplace. The beers are good too. There is usually a mix of hand-pumpand straight-from-the-cask. Theakston’s Old Peculier is a regular visitorand much enjoyed by everyone who went for it. Others had Bath AlesGem and RCH Pitchfork, which were also in very good condition. Aftera few beers and a few games we made the long, ten-yard trek across theroad to the Raglan.The week commencing 29 March was CAMRA’s National Cask AleWeek. To help mark this event in Weston, our very own Robin “Born ToBe” Wild organised a crawl of some of the town centre’s finest pubs onGood Friday. The trek began at the Regency at midday. The Regency reallydid themselves proud for National Cask Ale Week. No pub in towndid more to support the event – and they were well rewarded for theirefforts. Four of their regular beers – Butcombe Bitter, Courage Best,Flowers IPA and Bath Ales Barnstormer – were dropped for the week,being replaced by a range of guest beers over the course of the week.Tom at the RegencyThese were Adnams Bitter, Slaters Craic, Batemans Eggs B, TimothyTaylor Landlord, St Austell Proper Job, Hook Norton Old Hooky,Ringwood Fortyniner and Bath Ales Rare Hare. Landlord Mark Shortsaid that he had kept Bass on, in case his regular customers found all thenormal beers being removed as a step too far. He needn’t have worried,reporting that the mini festival had proved to be a great success. Most ofthe guests had been polished off halfway through the week. Mark hadheld back the Slaters Craic until midday on the Thursday, in order for itto be available for our CAMRA visit on the Friday (Robin had mentionedto him that he had not seen this before and was keen to try it).Weston CAMRA members undertake the arduousjourney from the Criterion to the RaglanAs with the Criterion,the Raglan was also quitebusy for mid-afternoon,which was good to see.The Good Beer GuidelistedRaglan does nothave any permanent ales,with the range constantlychanging – albeit there area few breweries that areregularly featured, suchas O’Hanlon’s, Cotleighand Moor. We enjoyedthe O’Hanlon’s Red andGold and Castle from theTaunton brewery.Next stop was theWhite Hart, tucked awayFreddie at the Raglanon Palmer Row. CourageDirectors was the ale on offer here, which felt a bit of a comedown fromsome of the day’s earlier delights.A short walk to the Red Admiral, opposite Tesco’s, another pub thatgoes to a lot of effort to provide something for everyone – a range ofales, good value food, telly, pool table, papers and a range of magazinesto read. There is also occasional live music. Most people went for SkinnersCornish Knocker. The regular Butcombe Bitter and Ringwood Bestwere also available.I had to bid farewell at this point, while those left headed, inevitably,in the direction of Off The Rails to finish off the day.This little jaunt helped to demonstrate the number of different beersPage 10

PINTS WESTavailable at any one time in the town centre. There were 20 differentbeers on across the seven pubs visited and we didn’t get to the Dragon,which would probably have ha seven or eight more. Weston is definitelynot the desert it used to be.I’m telling you, this isdefinitely not thedesert it used to beOur regular third Wednesday social in April was one of our annualshort trips to Worle. This started at the Summerhouse, close to Sainsbury’son the roundabout where the New Bristol Road starts. This is thefirst time that the local CAMRA branch has visited this pub. The visitfollowed very good feedback from a local CAMRA member and wewere not disappointed. Although perceived by many to be a food-dominatedpub (and the two main meals for £10 deal certainly makes it verypopular both at lunchtimes and evenings), the management is clearlyalso very interested in its beer offering. The pub is Marston’s ownedand has achieved Cask Marque accreditation for the quality of its cellarmanship.There are always three beers on offer – Marston’s Pedigreeand two other changing beers from breweries that Marston’s have takenover in recent years, i.e. Banks, Brakspears, Jennings, Ringwood andWychwood. The two “guests” on the night were Ringwood Boondoggleand Marston’s Dragon Tale. Both were in very good condition. There area large number of pumpclips behind the bar from previous ales that havebeen available and there were Marston’s-produced booklets on the tablesentitled “Cask Beer – everything you need to know.” This included apromotional piece on National Cask Ale week, descriptions of the guestbeers for the month, descriptions of different beer styles and guidanceon beer tasting. All in all, a heartening visit, with all the handpumps infrequent use during our hour there. I have been there on other occasionsand can vouch that the beer quality seems to be consistently good.A ten-minute walk took us to the Woodspring on Worle High Street.This is another pub that has been awarded Cask Marque. We had theButcombe Bitter and Moor Merlin’s Magic and both were in good nick.We finished the evening at the Lamb. Only one beer here – ButcombeBitter – but it is always in superb condition at the Lamb. In MrWild’s words, “If Butcombe was as good everywhere as it is here, Iwould drink much more of it.”Upcoming socials include a visit to the Old Inn at Hutton and a pubcrawl in Taunton visiting five pubs. All are welcome.Tim NickollsWeston Whisperscouple of landmark pubs in Weston town centre have been closedA for some time – the Britannia, close to the Playhouse, and theMajor From Glengarry on Upper Church Road. The latter is owner byWadworth and at the time of writing there are rumours that Freddie fromthe nearby Raglan may be taking it on.The Observatory is another Marston’s-owned pub in Worle that hasbeen awarded Cask Marque and seems to be keen on its real ales. Likethe Summerhouse, it has three beers on offer from the Marston’s stable.I particularly enjoyed the Wychwood Paddy’s Tout, brought in partly tocoincide with St Patrick’s Day, and sold at a very attractive £2 a pint.The Observatory is very different from the Summerhouse. There is littleemphasis on food, with the focus on being a genuine community pub,with darts and pool teams. If you haven’t sought it out, tucked away inNorth Worle, give it a try.Good news from the Windsor Castle. The Courage Best is beingreplaced with the locally-produced Butcombe Bitter, which will sitalongside the Sharp’s Doom Bar and Greene King Old Speckled Hen.The Windsor is a great venue for watching footie – bear this in mind forthe World Cup.Tim NickollsLiquidW H O L E S A L ETel 01934 642240OPEN FOR COLLECTION OR DELIVERY 7 DAYS A WEEK.MON - FRI 9-5 • SAT 10-1 • SUN 10-115 Bridgwater Court - Oldmixon Crescent - Weston-super-MareSomerset BS24 9AYTel 01934 642240 - Fax 01934 425686E - info@liquidwholesale.co.uk www.liquidwholesale.co.ukPage 11

PINTS WESTSIBA Beer Festival atTucker’s MaltingsOne thing everyone agreed on at this year’s SIBA Beer Festival at Tucker’s Maltings in NewtonAbbot was that the standard was higher than ever. The festival takes place every springand is an opportunity for brewers from all over the South West to promote their beers. It isvery much a social occasion as well, with many brewers turning up in person, with some of themmanning the bar. It is also a great opportunity for publicans, punters and beer festival organisers tosample the latest offerings from established breweries as well as trying out beers from new breweries.The first day of the festival is given over to a blind-tasting competition, with knowledgeable andexperienced panels of judges sampling a wide range of beer styles and strengths, with the winnerfrom each category going forward to a ‘beer of the festival’ competition. Once the winners have beenannounced, the doors are thrown open to the public, who can then see how far they agree with thejudges’ verdicts.The overall winner this year came from Forge Brewery, which opened in 2008 at Hartland, justabout the most inaccessible part of Devon – which probably accounts for most people not havingcome across it. Forge also picked up two other awards, suggesting that there will be an unprecedenteddemand for their ales in the coming months. Having sampled Forge beers a few times at the TomCobley Inn at Spreyton, I was not that surprised by their success, and the Litehouse Bitter which tookthe Gold award was a worthy winner.With so many breweries in the running, it was inevitable that most did not feature in the finalreckoning. Only one Bristol brewery – Arbor Ales – was rated, with no less than four of its beerspicking up awards – aphenomenal achievement.As for Somersetbreweries, Yeovil AlesPosh IPA was overallrunner-up, Moor’s Revivaland Northern Starboth scooped a silver,as did Cottage Goldrushand Exmoor Beast,while Isle of Avalon’sJake’s Mild picked upa bronze. Two awardswent to Wiltshire, bothin the speciality beerscategory: WadworthSwordfish was awardeda gold and Box SteamPeter Kerr presents Jon Comer (right) of Arbor Aleswith one of his four awardsFunnel Blower won abronze.Andrew SwiftThe full list of results is as follows:OVERALL CHAMPIONGold Forge Brewery Litehouse 4.3%Silver Yeovil Ales Posh IPA 5.4%Bronze Dartmoor Jail Ale 4.8%MILDS (up to 4%)Gold Otter Mild 3.8%Silver Arbor Ales Mild West 3.6%Bronze Isle of Avalon Jake’s Mild 4.0%BITTERS & PALE ALES (up to 4%)Gold Dorset Brewery Co Ammonite 3.8%Silver Moor Beer Co Revival 3.8%Bronze Forge Brewery Maid in Devon 4.0%BEST BITTERS (4.1- 4/5%)Gold Forge Brewery Litehouse 4.3%Silver Moor Beer Co Northern Star 4.1%Bronze Teignworthy Beachcomber 4.5%PREMIUM BITTERS (4.6-4.9%)Gold Dartmoor Jail Ale 4.8%Silver Cottage Brewing Co Goldrush 5.0%Bronze Forge Brewery Dreckly 4.8%STRONG BITTERS (5.1-5.5%)Gold Yeovil Ales Posh IPA 5.4%Silver Bays Devon Dumpling 5.1%Bronze Palmers Tally Ho 5.5%STRONG ALES (over 5.6%)Gold Country Life Devonshire 10der 10.0%Silver Exmoor Beast 6.6%Bronze Keltek Beheaded 7.6%PORTERS, STRONG MILDS, OLD ALES &STOUTSGold Arbor Ales Festival Mild 5.2%Silver Arbor Ales Oyster Stout 4.6%Bronze Penpont Porter 5.8%SPECIALITY BEERSGold Wadworth Swordfish 5.0%Silver Arbor Ales Hunny Beer 4.2%Bronze Box Steam Funnel Blower 4.5%BOTTLED BEERSGold Quantock Stout 4.5%BOTTLED BITTERS (up to 4.9%)Gold Skinners Cornish Knocker 4.5%BOTTLED BITTERS (over 5%)Gold St Austell Admiral’s Ale 5.0%BOTTLED GOLD BEERSGold St Austell Proper Job 5.5%BOTTLED SPECIALITY BEERSGold Downton Honey Blonde 4.3%BOTTLED PORTERS, MILDS, OLD ALES &STOUTSGold Quantock Stout 4.5%THE THREE TUNSSt. George’s Road,Bristol BS1 5URMark Farrell(previously Landlord ofThe Plume of Feathers)Introduces aGreat Range of AlesPlus Live MusicMondays, Wednesdaysand Saturdays0781 2201844Beer FestivalFri 2nd & Sat 3rd Julywith 15 real alesand live music Sat eveningPage 13

Page 14PINTS WESTBADRAG - Bristol and District Rare Ales GroupTerrific support for mild aleThe Mild Trail Passport Scheme, as reported in the last Pints West,has received enthusiastic support from both the trade and drinkers.Our thanks go to Ed Lobbett of the Bank Tavern who borethe bulk of the work involved in compiling and getting the passports,posters and scatter leaflets printed, sourcing the self-inking stamps anddistributing them all to almost fifty pubs! The over one thousand poundcost has been underwritten by Dawkins Ales and Taverns, the Bank Tavernand the New Inn at Mayshill. CAMRA is most grateful for this verygenerous support, and also to the support of those who took advertisingspace in the passports, donated prizes and took the chance of stockingthis increasingly rare style of ale, to the trail leaders who had to do ‘dryruns’ to ensure support of licensees and ensure that there would be mildale available on the day, and of course to those who have been drinkingit. This year, following suggestions from the trade, the whole mild promotionhas been spread over two months, mid April to mid June, ratherthan just the month of May.Dockside Mild TrailThe first trail took place on Thursday April 22nd starting at 6pm inthe Orchard where Arbor Mild West was enjoyed. This was followedby a walk to the Nova Scotia for Church End Gravediggers Mild, to theAdam and Eve (no mild on the night due to a communication breakdown),and to the Bag O’Nails for Brass Monkey Tamarind Mild andTeignworthy Martha’s Strong Mild, ending at the Three Tuns for somemore Arbor Mild West. We are grateful to Colin Postlethwaite who tookthe lead at the last minute because some people, including the plannedtrail leader, were delayed getting back from the national CAMRA Members’Weekend in the Isle of Man due to flight restrictions caused by thevolcanic dust cloud! This may have contributed also to the comparativelylow turnout of ten stalwarts who did this trail, with four more doing itthe following Sunday evening.Centre Mild TrailNo less than thirty-two supporters turned out for the second trail onSaturday May 1st, kicking off at noon in the Knights Templar whereunfortunately no mild ales were available. Next up was the Bridge Innwhere Arbor Mild West was enjoyed, followed by the Cornubia whichfielded Hidden Mayhem and Mild Cheddar, the Seven Stars had SevernVale’s Monumentale and Arbor Mild West. The Commercial Roomsexcelled and fielded no less than five milds: Hook Norton SDM, NethergateMary’s Ruby Mild, Otter Mild, Rudgate Ruby Mild and PhoenixBlack Shadow. The one-third-pint glasses enabled a number of these tobe enjoyed. The Three Sugar Loaves had a beautiful drop of Theakston’sMild and the trail ended at the Bank Tavern with Arbor MildWest. Many thanks to the trail leader for the day, Ed Lobbett. RadioBristol’s Ali Vowles gave us a mention on her Weekend West show forthis trail and the next one.East Bristol Mild TrailThe third trail, on Saturday May 8th, had to be re-routed to end inSt Werburghs because we realised too late that the Duke of York doesn’topen until 4pm. The number of trailers was less than the previous year,totalling seventeen. Some ate at the first pub at noon taking advantage ofthe 20% discount on food for that occasion only, negotiated especiallyfor us by Helen Bull who capably manages the Wetherspoon pub, theStaple Hill Oak, where Caledonian Mild Mayhem and Rudgate RubyMild were enjoyed, A short bus trip followed to the Van Dyke Forumwhich fielded Nethergate Mary’s Ruby Mild, Otter Mild and RudgateRuby Mild. From the bus stop outside we went to the Masons Armsat Stapleton with Hidden Mayhem and Otter Mild to quench our thirsts.The number 4 bus took us to Stapleton Road railway station and theSugar Loaf with Cotswold Spring’s Old Sodbury Mild on tap. Next wasthe Chelsea Inn with Arbor Festival Mild, Jennings Dark Mild and KeystoneDark Mild. Next we walked to Wetherspoon’s St Georges Hall atRedfield where Nethergate Mary’s Ruby Mild and Leeds Midnight Bellwere enjoyed, followed by a short walk to Arbor Ales’ brewery tap, theOld Stillage, where brewer Jon Comer treated us all to a pint, with ArborFestival Mild and Mild West on offer. The long drag to St Werburghswas undertaken by shanks’ pony, bus and taxi, arriving at the Duke ofYork to enjoy Arbor Ales FestivalMild, and finally we walked tothe original Dawkins Tavern, theMiners Arms, where Otter Mildand Rudgate Ruby Mild wereavailable. Thanks to the trailleader for the day, Henry Davies,who not only ensured that we hada minute-by-minute itinerary toensure we caught our buses, butalso entertained us on the pianosin the Chelsea and Miners.BadragBristol and District Rare Ales GroupMild TrailPassportBedminster Mild TrailColin Postlethwaite was againa trail leader for the fourth trailon Thursday May 13th, one that attracted twenty-two trailers. We assembledat 7pm in the Tobacco Factory where there was a gravity-fedcask of a one-off Bristol Beer Factory Born to be Mild for us to enjoy.Next, at the Hen & Chicken, Arbor Mild West was enjoyed, as was animpromptu visit by some of the party to the very high-ceilinged basementthat houses the pub cellar. The Robert Fitzharding was next onour walking tour with four milds available: Elgoods Black Dog, HookNorton SDM (Special Dark Mild), Leeds Midnight Bell and RudgateRuby Mild, followed by a short walk to the Assembly where Marston’sMerrie Monk was the mild on offer ... and a permanent BADRAG styleale on the bar is Theakston’s Old Peculier!Clifton Mild TrailThe fifth trail on Saturday May 15th, led by Pete Bridle, broke allrecords for a BADRAG and event. It was supported by no less thanfifty-three people at one point or another. Noon was the start time at theVittoria on Whiteladies Road where Jennings Tom Fool Mild, ArborMild West and Abbey Ales Mild were on offer (as well as Pieministerpies). There was then a short walk to the Victoria with Three CastlesMad Spring Mild and Arbor Mild West on offer. Next was a longishwalk to another Dawkins pub, the Portcullis, which had three mildfor us: Great Heck Sweet Mild of Mine, Great Orme Welsh Black andKelham Island Night Moves. The Lansdown was next with Arbor MildWest on hand pump and Arbor Festival Mild dispensed directly froma cask at the back of the bar. (Also available was Severn Vale Session,a low-strength bitter that is a regular there and is very similar to somelight milds.) The Quinton House was busy with people watching footballand had Arbor Mild West for us. The beautifully refurbished EldonHouse fielded Morgan’s Mild and Bonum Mild from the Dow BridgeBrewery in the East Midlands. The trail officially ended at the Hope &Anchor where Highgate Dark Mild and Keystone Dark Mild were onoffer. (For those that had not yet had their fill, visits to the nearby BagO’Nails and Three Tuns provided yet more mild.)Weston-super-Mare TrailThe sixth trail on Wednesday May 19th was a visit to the seaside, tojoin up with Tim Nickolls and other members of the Weston sub-branch.The Criterion was the official start with Mild Cheddar available straightfrom a cask behind the bar. (Theakston’s Old Peculier was also on taphere.) Next up was the White Hart with Arbor Mild West. The DragonInn, a Wetherspoon pub, had no less that four milds on tap in the formof Moles Double MM Mild, Elgood’s Black Dog, Thwaite’s Highwaymanand Cotleigh Nutcracker. A short stroll to the Red Admiral followedwhere a nice drop of Caledonian Mild Mayhem awaited us. The finalstop of the evening was Off The Rails at the train station (handy for thereturn journey for those from Bristol). Here we were treated to Taylor’sPinnacle Mild. (RCH Hewish Mild was due to come on when that onefinished.)As Pints West went to press we still had two trails scheduled thatwill be reported on in the next issue, namely the Kingsdown andSouth Gloucestershire trails. You may read this in time to book aseat on the coach for the latter trail which takes place on Saturday June

PINTS WEST19th, taking in the Cross Hands at Winterbourne Down, New Inn atMayshill, Lamb at Iron Acton, Beaufort Arms at Hawkesbury Upton,Salutation at Ham and Inn on the Green at Horfield, returning to centralBristol at about 7pm. (Contact Laurie Gibney on 07504 336404 or emailbadcamrasocials@blueyonder.co.uk.)It isn’t just about the aforementioned trail days though. All thepubs had milds on for a period of time, many for the whole two-monthperiod. Trailers could (and still can if you’re reading this in early June)visit any of the pubs in the scheme at any time and collect their stamps(remember, stamps mean prizes). And many of the pubs had a widerrange of milds over the period that mentioned on the particular trail daysabove.Laurie GibneyApologies to the Three Sugar Loaves and the Lansdown that had half-pintsymbols against their entries in the passport instead of full-pint ones to indicatethat they were stocking mild for the full two months, and to the Lansdown for notreceiving a stamp with their pack.Other BADRAG newsOn Thursday 11th March, the Portcullis in Clifton was filled withBADRAG supporters who enjoyed nine examples of rare alesstyles. Others drank them dry during the following weekend!BADRAG, the Bristol & District Rare Ales Group,is a campaigning group within the local branchof CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. Its aim isto promote the rarer styles of ale such as stouts,porters, old ales, strong milds, barley wines, milds,low-alcohol session ales, wheat beers, traditionalstrength IPAs and real lagers.(www.badrag.co.uk)First Bus number 49 or 7 are the main bus routes to Staple Hill, witha journey time from the City Centre of 30 minutes. For full details usewww.Traveline.com.And finally, we’re very pleased to announce that three of Arbor AlesBADRAG style ales picked up awards at this year’s South West SIBAcompetition held at the Tucker’s Maltings beer festival in Newton Abbot.The Mild West won silver for the second year running, with OysterStout also winning silver. The Festival Mild, originally brewed for the2009 Bristol Beer Festival, took gold in the same category as the OysterStout.Laurie GibneyThe April monthly social gathering was heldat the Royal Air Forces Association clubhousein Westbury-on-Trym by invitation of PhilLowndes, the chairman and his committee.Unfortunately attempts to source a mild ale werenot fruitful, but the fifteen BADRAG supporterspresent enjoyed Uley Pigs Ear (5% ABV), alight golden-coloured “Strong IPA” that had littlebitterness and drank like some barley wines. Alsoavailable and enjoyed were Uley Hogshead PaleAle (3.5%), Wadworth’s George and the Dragon(4.5%), St Austell Tribute (4.2%) and Bass(4.4%), all at £2.40 to £2.50 per pint. Five realales for a club, all in good condition, was remarkable.They have a way of encouraging membersto support real ale – they run a ‘Cask Ale Club’where members buy 20-pint cards for £40 thatoffer about 50p discount per pint!Thursday June 10th is the date for ourannual BADRAG review meeting – 7.30pm foran 8pm prompt start – upstairs in the Cornubia,Temple Street, Redcliffe. This is our opportunityto review the past year and plan the coming year.It is our only committee-style meeting of theyear, so please come and contribute ideas. Weneed people to take charge of BADRAG tasks inpreparation for Laurie’s planned retirement fromthe front line next year (after five years at thehelm), when he plans to spend a lot of time withhis wife Mary on a canal boat.Thursday 8th July is a BADRAG socialat the Highbury Vaults, St Michael’s Hill,Kingsdown starting at 8pm. The front snug barhas been reserved for us. The number 9 bus fromTemple Meads Station or the City Centre willtake you there.Thursday 12th August is a BADRAG socialfrom 8pm at the Staple Hill Oak (BS16 5HN)where you will be able to meet Steve MacDonald,the brewer at Severn Vale Brewery of Cam,Dursley. Subject to availability, Severn Vale’sSession, Monumentale Mild, Severn Sins Stoutand Severn Seas of Rye will be on tap. Pleasearrive early if you would like a cellar visit. Inaddition to the usual Wetherspoon’s menu theremay be a barbecue available for our evening.Page 15

PINTS WESTto, er, Stapleton Road.Oh no! While thatmay seem logical, itwould actually be adecision more stupidthan starting a Hot-AirBalloon Business inIceland ... because youwould miss an absolutegem. So, out ofThe Sugar Loafthe station and follow the footpath south down to St Mark’s Road where,immediately on your left, you will see the Sugar Loaf. This is a genuinelylively community pub offering some fantastic live music as well asa vision-blurring selection of ales and ciders. On my visit, The ReverendJames (Brain’s as is, Crown Buckley as was), Sharp’s Doom Bar andCodrington Old Codger were all on handpump, as well as Avon’s GurtPort Stout. Apple-fiends could also choose from Thatcher’s CheddarValley and Moles Black Rat traditional ciders. I sat listening to ThemCrooked Vultures on the jukebox and supping Gurt Port Stout and couldeasily have stayed there and forgotten all about my troubles – work, thefamily, the injunction, everything.LAWRENCE HILL RAILWAY STATIONLast stop before Temple Meads is Lawrence Hill. Although there area few pubs here, your best bit is to turn left up towards St George. At145-147 is the Old Stillage,acting now as brewery tap forArbor Ales. Although ArborAles are becoming morewidely available, they arestill quite a rare treat acrossBristol, and this is one of thebest places to try them. Theyusually have four or five ontap, maybe the eminentlyquaffable Brigstow Bitter,or deceptively drinkable OldKnobbley. The Oyster Stout isalways worth a go, and I’m aThe Old Stillageconvert to the Mild West. There are also plans to sort out the garden andkitchen.BRISTOL TEMPLE MEADS RAILWAY STATIONOK, everyoneknows where BristolTemple Meads is and,yes, it is close to thecity centre so prettymuch any pub in thecity centre is withinwalking distance.Check your CAMRAGood Beer Guide2010 for the best citycentre pints. However,there are two pubsvery close to the station that really are worth a visit. The first is at thebottom of the beautiful and historic approach to the station. Battle acrossthe road to the Reckless Engineer. Unprepossessing from the outside,it is an open-plan pub which isdark but not dingy. Best of all,the two real ales, ButcombeBitter and Otter Ale, are servedfrom barrels behind the bar!If you exit the stationto the side, and turn right tocross the river on foot, youwill come to a new residentialdevelopment and, on your left,the far-from-new Barley Mowpub. For years this pub was aThe Barley MowThe Reckless Engineerrun down, frankly unwelcomingplace, but since the BristolBeer Factory took it over it has become transformed into a welcomingtraditional pub. Expect No 7, Red and Sunrise to be available, with Redmy own favourite.BEDMINSTER RAILWAY STATIONAn easy choice here for any discerning drinker. Leave the station onthe Windmill Hill side and pop into the Windmill. This is an absolutegem of a pub, with aseparate family roomfor the kids, fantasticpictures on the wallsand a golden heronon the window shelf!Bristol Beer Factorybeers here too,including the divineBristol Stout. Not onlythat, but they haveGwynt y Ddraig DogDancer cider, as wellas Maredsous BelgianThe WindmillAbbey Beer, Weihenstaphener HefeWeissbier. Even the lager is BathAles Organic Freedom. If you haven’t been here before, or even for along while, get on the train to Bedminster, it is well worth the trip.NEXT ISSUE: Stations from Parkway out, including all stations toWeston and Bath, plus I will try and find a decent pint near ParsonStreet.Full details of all the pubs mentioned can be found on the www.britishpubguide.com web site. Landlords and regulars in these pubs arewelcome to update the information on the website whenever they like.Duncan ShineFOSBEERYour guide to the pubs alongBristol’s Suburban RailwaysIt’s worth mentioning here that the Friends of Bristol SuburbanRailways (FOSBR) have produced a leaflet giving a flavour ofsome of the pubs that can be reached taking the Severn BeachLine. Details can be found on the web at bit.ly/fosbeer.The things publicans sayMark: “I’ve been in our pub for 16 years now and when we started,Heineken in the pub was £1 a pint, and supermarkets were charging50p to 80p per pint. Now Fosters is £3.15 and Stella £3.45p, butStella in supermarkets is only 80p per pint. How come supermarketscan avoid all of the duty and producer price rises in this time?“The smoking ban seems to be the point at which pubs startedclosing in their droves. The number of pubs in the UK at that timewas about 68,000. Where are we now? 58,000? This representsa loss (conservatively, at 20 jobs per pub) of about 200,000 peoplefrom the work force – full and part time jobs. If the situation continues,and we’re down to 48,000 pubs by the end of this recession, upto 500,000 jobs will be lost from the pub trade. Are the people, andthe government, aware of this? Perhaps it’s time that we scream thismessage loud and clear. We need a radical change of direction or ourwhole way of life will be gone forever.”Glen: “Mark is right. I started in the off-trade 20 years ago andStella was then on promotion for 99p a 440ml can, equivalent to£1.27 a pint; so it has gone down by over a third in 20 years! I thinkmost publicans get mightily annoyed when the media always seemsto focus on pubs as the root cause of social disfunction. It is obviousthat much of the problem starts at home with those quarter-the-pricetins from the supermarket.”Page 17

Page 18PINTS WESTBATH & BORDERS BRANCHBATH AND SURROUNDING VILLAGESBarley, 32 Bathwick Street, BathThis attractive roadside pub near Sydney Gardens has been takenover by enthusiastic landlords Nick Etheridge and Jamie Mealing, whountil December ran the Rising Sun on Grove Street. The new landlordstook over the pub at the beginning of March and have extended openinghours to all day. Nick and Jamie promoted cask beer when they were atthe Rising Sun and are planning to do the same at the Barley. Regularbeers on offer at present include Otter. 6X and Speckled HenBath Tap (re-named the Nineteenth House), St JamesParade, BathFormer hotel manager David Rolfe has turned the Bath Tap in StJames’s Parade into the Nineteenth House. The new name comes fromits house number in the road.Mr Rolfe has spent two months refurbishing the premises. Using asingle piece of sample wallpaper as his inspiration he has restored periodfeatures and, by making maximum use of the entire building, has createda stylish but homely environment.The interior consists of a bar, cellar lounge, and (due to open ataround the time of writing)a separate dining room withSunday lunch space for sixtycovers. In July Mr Rolfe hopesto open the library on thebuilding’s second floor and bythen aims to have three roomsavailable for hire for corporatemeetings, parties and dinersfor up to thirty people.Northend Inn, BatheastonBrains Surgery, 36-37 Dafford Street,Larkhall, BathThis pub, on the easternoutskirts of Bath, has recentlybeen sold and, we believe, isnow available to let as a pub.Northend Inn, 41Northend, BatheastonThis pub serving thecommunity of Northend (justnorth of Batheaston), which reopenedin the autumn of 2009following a major campaign bylocal residents, may be underthreat of closure again. Thelandlady has sent a letter to localresidents saying, in essence,that not enough people arevisiting the pub. She is askingthem for suggestions on howto get more customers throughher door.Porter Butt, York Place,London Road, BathA group of squatters,known as the Black Cat group,have moved into this pub,closed and empty since latelast year, in the hope of settingup a social centre. Meanwhileplans have been submitted bynational firm Richer Sounds toPorter Buttconvert the premises into a hi-fi and TV store. Local Councillor DavidDixon has met with the members of the Black Cat group, who havealready been evicted from a number of other buildings, to explain aboutthe plans for the store and see if a reasonable solution could be met. Heis hopeful the council might open up a dialogue with a view to findingthe group a proper home so that they do not have to continue to squat inempty properties.Raven, 6-7 Queen Street, BathBath & Borders Branch City Pub of the YearThis popular city-centre pub has been awarded the accolade of thebranch’s City Pub of the Year for 2010, running a close second in theoverall branch Pub of the Year competition, which has been won by theGriffin in Frome. The Raven, which was also the branch’s Pub of theYear in 2006, occupies an eighteenth-century building in the heart ofthe city. It serves six real ales. Three of these are brewed exclusivelyfor the pub by Blindman’s brewery whilst the three others are regularlychanging guests often featuring many rarities. The same beer range isavailable on both the ground-floor and in the quieter first-floor bar. Thepub runs mini beer festivals throughout the year and is famous for itsselection of sausages and Pieminister pies. It’s also worth noting that theRaven is one of the few pubs in Bath to servefood Sunday evenings.White Horse, Shophouse Road,Twerton, BathIt was the perfect excuse for a drink. Regularsat the White Horse were able to justify theirextra pint by saying it was all for their localchurch. Jason Clarke, the landlord of the WhiteHorse, had managed to secure two free barrelsof beer to sell in support of the church.An open mic night was held on 2nd March,with beer selling for £2.50 a pint, to help raisefunds for St Michael’s Church, which had beenattacked by vandals two weeks before. Theincident, which saw several of the building’shistoric stained glass windows smashed, hadsaddened residents but has also had the effect ofboosting community spirit in the area.The Reverend Richard Wilson welcomedthe efforts from the pub and thanked all thosewho had offered their support. The GenesisCharity shop in High Street has set up a moneybox for donations and an art group, which meetsin Rose Cottage, also clubbed together to paintmurals with sunshine and flowers on the protectiveboards that were used to cover up windows.

PINTS WESTFrome. Effectively the brewery tap for Milk Street brewery, the Griffinis situated in the older part of Frome known as Trinity or Chinatown.The brewery itself occupies a former small cinema behind the pub. Thesingle bar retains original features including open fires, etched windowsand wooden floors. A stained glass Griffin can be seen behind the bar.Live music is played regularly at the pub and a small garden out back isopen all year. The pub has a wonderful atmosphere which, once one issettled in, makes it difficult to leave.Old Globe Inn, 31 Vallis Way, FromeThis friendly unpretentious locals’ pub, south of the town centre, hadbeen closed for some time. We understand that it has now been sold as ahouse.Hungerford Arms, Farleigh HungerfordEAST SOMERSETHungerford Arms, Farleigh HungerfordThis roadside pub with commanding views of the river Frome valleyhad closed in around early January and was for a time boarded up. Thisis the second closure in recent times. It has recently re-opened.Tucker’s Grave, near FaulklandThe freehold of this uniquely traditional pub, situated in gloriousisolation on a crossroads between the villages of Norton St Philip andFaulkland, has been on the market for some time. Recently, however, ithas been taken off the market as the owners and landlords have decidedto wait for better times.Angel Inn, 1 King Street, FromeThis town-centre pub has been closed for some time. We understandthat it is to be refurbished as a restaurant.Griffin, Milk Street, FromeBath & Borders Branch Pub of the YearWe are proud to announce that the Griffin is the Bath & Bordersbranch Pub of the Year for 2010. This a well-deserved award for thissmall, recently smartened-up, drinkers’ paradise on the outskirts ofShip Inn, Oldford, near FromeThis attractively situated roadside pub remains closed. The freeholdis still up for sale.Fir Tree Inn, 140 Frome Road, RadstockThis large roadside pub has been closed as a pub for some time. Weunderstand that a planning application for change of use has been turned.Some land associated with the pub has been sold for use by the nearbysecondary school.Sun Inn, Whatley, near FromeThis fairly isolated pub has been closed for some time. The ownerhas, we believe, attempted to lease out the building as a pub but has attractedno or little interest.WEST WILTSHIREKing’s Arms, 24 CoppiceHill, Bradford-on-AvonThis town-centre GreeneKing-owned pub closed recentlyfor a tidy-up and, much smartened,re-opened in April as amore food-orientated venue.Duke, Westbury Road,BrattonNew landlords took over theDuke in around August 2009.This two-bar pub remains essentiallyunaltered and caters wellfor locals and diners alike. Thebeer range consists normally ofthree Moles beers and a regularlychanging guest sourced from Kings Arms, Bradford on Avonother local breweries. Well worth a visit.Reputedly Bath’s oldest inn steeped intradition and renowned the world over.Described by The Campaign for Real Ale as a rareand unspoiled pub interior of outstanding historicinterest and listed on theNational Inventory of Heritage Pubs.Serving traditional English ales including:Bellringer brewed in Bathand Burton’s favourite brew Bass.23 THE VINEYARDS, PARAGON, BATH Tel 01225 425072Duke Inn, Bratton c1901King’s Head, Chitterne, near WarminsterThis pub is technically in the Salisbury branch area but only a littlebeyond the boundary of the Bath & Borders branch. The King’s Head,the only pub in the isolated village of Chitterne on Salisbury Plain, hasrecently re-opened following several months of closure. A massive refurbishmenthad to be carried out because of the damage caused by burstpipe during the recent cold winter. The refurbishment is ongoing and thelocals are returning. There are two real ales on permanently.(Continued overleaf)Page 19

PINTS WESTBATH & BORDERS BRANCH(Continued from previous page)Lamb Inn, Westbury Road, EdingtonThis pub, which was the focus last year of a major campaign byvillagers to save it from permanent closure, is undergoing a majorrefurbishment. It remains closed but should re-open in around August.The building has been completely gutted and is to undergo a completeinternal remodelling and be completely re-wired. Meanwhile planningpermission is being sought for various external alterations and additions,including a conservatory extension and the removal of the main publicentrance from the front to the side of the building.welcoming pub specialising in locally brewed real ales. As well as thetwo regular beers, Bath Ales Gem and Box Steam Golden Bolt, thereare always at least two guests available plus a local real cider. The pub,which serves very good quality food, is close to the Kennet & Avoncanal and a good spot for walkers and boaters to visit. It is also convenientlyclose to the West Wiltshire Crematorium and is a useful venue forwakes, receptions and other funerary gatherings.Plain Ales, Unit 17c, Deverill Road Trading Estate.Sutton VenyThis relatively new brewery, which was originally started up in thevillage of Chitterne, tucked away on Salisbury Plain, has recently relocatedto a small industrial unit on the edge of Sutton Veny. The movetakes the brewery out of the Salisbury branch area and into that of theBath & Borders branch.King’s Arms, 5 Castle Street, TrowbridgeThis town-centre pub, which has been closed for some time, hasbeen sold and is undergoing internal refurbishment.Somerset Arms, SemingtonSomerset Arms, High Street, SemingtonBath & Border Branch Community Pub of the YearThis handsome old village pub, which looked almost as though itmight close around a year or so ago, is the branch’s Community Pubof the Year for 2010. The pub was bought out and effectively rescuedby a local family who have turned it into a smart, upmarket, but veryKings Arms, Trowbridge c1910Stallards Inn, 15-16 Stallard Street, TrowbridgeThis pub, situated on a busy junction near the railway station,has been taken on by Milk Street brewery and is undergoing a majorrefurbishment. The revamp suffered a minor set back when a break-inoccurred during the last weekend of January. Victorian pub fittings,including a set of eight brass bull’s head bar fittings along with somecoloured glass light fittings, were among the items that were stolen fromthe 210-year-old pub. Some power tools were also taken. A burglaralarm has since been installed to prevent any more break-ins.The Grade II-listed pub, which dates back to the 1790s, was boughtby Four County Inns in 2008 after closing in late 2007. When it re-opens(which we believe will be soon) it will be run by Rik Lyall, head brewerof Milk Street Brewery, as a real ale house specialising in the microbrewery’sbeers. The pub already features a mahogany back bar withpainted, carved, wooden flowers and has had a new roof and kitcheninstalled so classic English pub fare can be served. It will also have abeer garden, where smoking will be permitted.Weymouth Arms, 12 Emwell Street, WarminsterThis cosy locals’ pub, which had closed for refurbishment, reopenedquietly on Wednesday 8th December as a dry-run for a latergrand re-opening. New landlord Ashley bought the pub, which is tuckedaway down a side street just off the town centre, from former ownersEnterprise Inns in the summer of 2009 and has completely re-vamped itready for the re-opening. The bar to the right of the main entrance has atraditional lounge feel whilst the bar to the left is much more for diners.Meanwhile, behind the latter, a third area has been opened up. The beerrange consists of good quality Butcombe Bitter and Wadworth 6X.Steve Hunt(Photos supplied by Andrew Swift)Page 20

The real ale scene in Bath is as lively as ever, witha number of festivals to look forward to over thecoming months . . .White Horse, Shophouse Road, TwertonThe White Horse is holding its 4 th Summer Beer Festival on 8-11July. For the duration of the festival the pub will be open all day fromnoon to midnight (11pm on Sunday). There will be 20+ beers availableplus cider and food. Entertainment includes the Deltics on Friday nightsand the Scout Killers on Saturday.On the afternoon of 24 July the White Horse is holding anotherCharity Bungee Jump. Last year’s event was a huge success, and evenmore participants are expected this year, so if you fancy a go contact thepub on 01225 340668 (www.thewhitehorsebath.com).Royal Oak, Lower Bristol Road, TwertonThe annual Parkinson’s Disease Fundraising Night on 24 Aprilraised over £850. Music was supplied by Dudlow Joe and a star-studdedcast of local musicians, with Magic Matt as compere. The Royal Oak’sannual Punk & Cider Fest on 13-16 May, with 20+ ciders on offer, wasas brilliant as ever. The ciders included two from Derbyshire weighingin at an eye-watering 10.5%. Other delights included Roaring Meg fromLyndown, Newton Court Perry, Mr Whitehead’s Crimson Medium, severalunusual offerings from Gwatkins and Millwhites Blackberry Blush,plus a Millwhites speciality matured in rum barrels. Next up will be theannual Folk & Beer Festival on 15-18 July. As one of the biggest andbest beer festivals in the area, this should need no introduction. Detailsof the beer line-up had yet to be confirmed at time of going to press, butthere will undoubtedly be enough – and enough rarities – to satisfy themost demanding palate. As before, there will be music on all four nights,and all day on Saturday and Sunday. Acts confirmed so far include SteveRobins & Ali Byrne, Hodmadoddery and James Hollingsworth.Star, VineyardsAnother top event in the Bath beer calendar is the annual CornishBeer Festival at the Star, which also kicks off on Thursday 15 Julyand runs all weekend. Lots of pasties, the singing of Cornish songs and(non-obligatory) Cornish costume are the order of the day. This year itis hoped there will be even more breweries represented than before, asRCH will be bringing the beers up from Cornwall. Proper job, as theysay!Cornish costumes at the Star InnBath Folk FestivalFollowing the success of the folk club at Widcombe Social Club,from 7 to 15 August Bath will play host to a Folk Festival, with over 17concerts, an Irish music summer school, workshops in music and danceas well as informal sessions. Performers booked already include JamesFagan, Nancy Kerr & Rob Harbron, Maclaine Colston & Saul Rose,Fernhill, Afterhours, Fabula Rasa, The Scoville Units, Inu, Hodmadoddery,Jon Hicks, Jennifer Crook & the Hawthorns and many more.Venues include the Widcombe Social Club (which serves a particularlyfine pint of Cheddar Potholer), St James’s Wine Vaults, the White Horse,the Royal Oak and the Hobgoblin. (See bathfolkfestival.org.)PINTS WESTNews from the city of BathOld Green Tree, Green StreetThe Old Green Tree is closedon Sunday afternoons until the endof July, opening for the eveningsession at 6.30pm. However, onthe afternoon of 4 July, the pubwill be hosting a Mad Hatter’s TeaParty, with jam tarts, sandwiches,tea served from a giant teapot. Morea tea festival, then – although beerwill be available. Anyone who turnsup in costume gets in for nothing;for those who don’t, there will be anentry charge. Details available fromthe pub.Elsewhere there have beenplenty of changes on the pub front,with plenty to celebrate on the alefront. David Derrick, who has runseveral pubs in Bath, recently bought The Nineteenth Housethe freehold of the CharmburyArms, a few doors up from Twerton’s Royal Oak, from Wadworth. Hissister, Susan Smith, is running the pub, and not only is the price of a pint20p less than before, they are determined that the Charmbury will be acommunity pub and will not be serving food. Three beers are currentlyavailable – Abbey Bellringer and two from Moles. Well worth checkingout the next time you’re in the vicinity.The Griffin on Monmouth Street, which narrowly escaped conversionto apartments a couple of years ago, has not only been smartenedup no end, it is fast establishing itself as an excellent real ale pub, withfour or more beers, mostly from local breweries, on offer. Good valuefood is also available and the pub is proving increasingly popular. As theGriffin is one of the city’s oldest pubs, probably opened in the 1730s, itis particularly pleasing that it has come back from the brink so successfully.The Westgate in Westgate Street – once a coaching inn called theAngel – is even older than the Griffin. Until recently it was the Rat &Parrot, but an extensive makeover (including the installation of a lifesizemodel of a Roman centurion!) has seen real ale introduced. Threeor four ales from local micros are available, and there are tasting notesand news of upcoming beers scattered around the pub, as well as posterspromoting real ale.The old Belvoir Castle on the Lower Bristol Road has also beensmartened up by the new owners and reopened as the Victoria Worksafter a factory that once stood nearby. Beer-wise, Timothy TaylorLandlord, Adnam’s Broadside and St Austell Tribute were available ona recent visit. Pies and pizzas are available, and the garden is likely toprove a real draw if the promised heat wave materialises.Another pub that has been totally transformed is the old Bath Tapin St James’s Parade, which has reopened as the Nineteenth House. Aswith the Griffin and the Victoria Works, months of hard work have reallypaid off, turning it into a light and airy modern pub, which will caterfor drinkers as well as diners. No real ale was on offer when I called inshortly after it reopened, but Doomb Bar and possibly another real aleare on their way.As reported elsewhere, the Barley in Bathwick Street has been takenover by Nick Etheridge and Jamie Mealing, previously at the RisingSun in Grove Street. With the excellent Pulteney Arms just around thecorner and the Curfew and King William at the other end of BathwickStreet, a pub crawl to this end of town is now a very tempting proposition.Although very much a community pub with the emphasis on realale, the Sunday lunches are going down a storm.Talking of the Curfew, the pub is having a charity day for DorothyHouse on 29 August. One of the locals used to make dolls houses,selling them to people like Paul McCartney and David Bowie. He isauctioning one off, which will be displayed in the pub after the WorldCup is over. It will be an all-day event, with a hog roast in the excellentgarden at the back and live music.Andrew SwiftPage 21

Everyone’s having a beer festival24 th April saw the first beer and cider festival at Portbury Village Hall.This historic village is just the Bristol side of the motorway roundaboutat junction 19 of the M5. It has one very successful village pub,the Priory, which supported this festival in aid of the hall itself alongwith other local pubs, the Kings Arms at Easton in Gordano and theRudgleigh which is on the A369, close to the motorway. The organiserswere also grateful to other local businesses who responded to variousamounts of arm-twisting to sponsor the beer and cider.The hall itself dates back to the 1890s, with a lovely vaulted ceiling.Ale drinkers were well looked after with beers such as Old Spot fromUley Brewery and East Street Cream from RCH, but it was clear that theorganisers had an enthusiasm for local ciders. Cider drinkers had 10 tochoose from including Port Wine of Glastonbury from Hecks, Bristol;Port Traditional Cider from the Original Cider Company; MillwhiteCider; Norton Wood Cider; Wilkins Farmhouse Cider; and the locallybrewed Portbury Poke. Having put my “ciderhead” on for the day, Ijoined the crowd on a warm Saturday which encouraged much of thecrowd to sit outside. The organisers’ enthusiasm was rewarded. I wouldguess that up to 200 people visited the hall over the day and on throughinto the night and nearly all of them were drinking cider. Somerset Paddiesentertained the crowd in the hall and a burger van entertained thepeople outside.What struck me was that the event had a friendly village feel andthere was real interest in trying the ciders which are rarely found in localpubs. No doubt the punters were also grateful for the reasonable pricesof the drinks tokens – £5 for six half pints. Let’s hope this festival willbecome an annual event. For a first attempt, it’s difficult to know how itcould have been improved.Meanwhile, over the Easter Bank Holiday, the Windmill Inn heldits traditional Easter beer festival. I have to hold my hand up here andadmit that I organised the beer list. The intention was to showcase newbreweries which had not been seen at this pub before and beers wereput on from Braydon Ales, Wootton Bassett; Avon Brewing Company,Bristol; Severn Vale, Cam, Gloucestershire; and Moor Beer and Isle ofAvalon Brewery which both come out of Ashcott, Somerset. In addition,Scottish breweries – Caledonian, Harviestoun and Brew Dog – werePage 22PINTS WESTInn and around PortisheadThe Windmill InnPORTISHEAD6 Real Ales in excellent condition including:Courage Best, Bass, Butcombe Gold,Butcombe Bitter and 2 other guest ales.The Windmill Inn is situated next to thePortishead Approach Golf Course on Nore Road.To contact us please ring 01275 843677.The Portbury Beer and Cider Festival in full swingrepresented. I have to be honest that the list was a touch experimentalfor quite a few of the customers.Over at the Poacher on Portishead High Street, landlord Mark isaiming to hold his own beer festival sometime in the Autumn, date to beannounced. Mark is very keen on his ales so his first festival should beone to enjoy. His regular live music, usually on Friday nights, continueto be successful and he is looking to erect a stage area.Neil RavenscroftBath CyderThe name Denis France is well known to cider enthusiasts aroundBath. What Denis doesn’t know about apples, pears and ciderprobably isn’t worth knowing. So there’s considerable excitementat the news that he and Erica Pease are setting up the Bath CyderCompany. The accountants have agreed a business plan, the name isregistered at Companies’ House and the official launch … well, the officiallaunch isn’t scheduled yet. Here’s the story so far.Denis has 6,000 litres of Cyder ready to go and but bottling andbrand-design are still being investigated. They are also trying to findpremises for the business. They need about 600 to 900 square feet ofspace. As Erica says, the ideal would be a lovely old stone barn witha high roof and flagstone floor – but that is a dream! Once they have abranded bottle designed for them, they are aiming to get it stocked in afew, select independent Bath pubs, restaurants and bars and independentoff licenses in the city. In future they will be selling in five-galllonpolypins, but as quantities of stock are limited this year they will berestricting circulation to specific outlets until June of 2011.One thing was intriguing me. Is there, I asked Erica, a differencebetween cider and cyder – or is the latter just a fancy spelling? It turnsout that it is not. She told me cider – with an ‘i’ – has water in it, butcyder – with a ‘y’ – was traditionally made with pure apple juice, and ismuch closer to what they are making. And the way in which Denis ismaking cider – or cyder – is very traditional indeed.So why mention this now, when the plans are still a little vague?Well, the official launch is planned for early autumn, and it would bevery sad if cider fans in the area missed it because it was too early forthe Autumn Pints West. So you can find out exactly what is happeningby going to the Bath Cyder Company blog at http://bathcyder.wordpress.com. You can even sign up to receive emails. The company is also onFacebook and Twitter, and they are working on getting a website up andrunning.And it’s not just about the company. There’s all sorts of appleynews, and even pictures of trees in bloom. Did you know that the socalledchampagne method of producing bubbly wine was cribbed fromWest Country cider makers, who had been using it for years, long beforeDom Perignon was even born? Erica and Denis are full of nuggets ofinformation like that – just the thing for pub-quiz addicts.So all you cider fans out there, that’s something to look forward toaround September time – and in the meantime, if you hear of suitablepremises, Erica would like to know. Contact her through the blog.Kirsten Elliott

News fromCotswold Springrecent visit to Cotswold Spring brewery confirmed that Old SodburyA Mild (3.9%) is once again available for Mild May, with Old SodburyPorter (4.8%) also being brewed.Brewer Nik Milo is still planning a special brew to mark the WorldCup, called It’s Coming Home (4.3%), which Nik described as a “lagerbeer”. This cask-conditioned brew is being made with American SantiumHops. Apricot Harvest (4.7%) will then follow in July and August.Cotswold Spring’s popularity is clearly spreading, as Olde EnglishRose (4.0%) is once again being supplied to Wetherspoon for the summer.Nik’s final comments were that Codrington Royal is being temporarilydiscontinued for the summer and replaced by Codrington Best(4.4%).Cotswold Spring is based in Codrington, just off junction 18 of theM4. It can be contacted by phone on 01454 323088 or by emailinginfo@cotswoldbrewery.com. The website is www.cotswoldbrewery.com.Steve MatthewsNews from Arbor AlesThe great news from Arbor Ales is that Jon Comer picked up no lessthan four awards at SIBA South West Beer Festival at Tucker’sMaltings, Newton Abbot. Festival Mild won gold in Strong Dark Beerscategory while Oyster Stout won silver in the same category. Mild Westtook silver in the under 4% Mild category and Hunny Beer was thesilver winner in the Speciality category. That brings the total awards thisyear to six.Both Mild West and Festival Mild are currently in production. Inspite of numerous requests – from people wanting to set up new micros– to come and “do a day’s brewing” (involving the setting up of a separatepilot plant) Jon has decided not to increase the brewery’s capacitybeyond the present 5.5 barrels. He does, however, intend to install afourth fermenting vessel and has just installed a cask washer – this savesa day’s work each week – and is looking to employ a part-time driver.With regard to the recent refusal by the JD Wetherspoon chain tosell Arbor beers, Wetherspoon now say that Arbor Ales can sell theirbeer to any of their outlets except those in Bristol! So much for Wetherspoon’spolicy on LocAle. The chain stopped buying from Arbor inFebruary but the brewery had its busiest month yet in March so Jon’s“not bothered”. The Old Stillage – origin of the JDW dispute – is doingwell and landlord Namaya Reynolds is recuperating at home followingrecent surgery.Henry DaviesPINTS WESTNews from theBristol BeerFactoryBristol Beer Factory celebrated the flavoursome talents of amateurbrewers at their official launch party for Bristol Beer Factory’sVisitor Centre in North Street, Bristol.There were 20 competition entrants in the inaugural home-brewcompetition. The winner was Richard Poole with his Mountain GoatIPA, a unanimous and very popular choice with the judges. Richard cannow look forward to spending a day alongside the Bristol Beer Factorybrewers, with the resulting brew sold in local pubs in Bristol. Richardwill also receive a 72-pint cask of his beer and a meal for two in theBarley Mow.Second in the competition was Chris Tazewell with his dark brewEastville AU, with And So To Bedminster winning the title of bestnamedbrew. The award for the best label went to Windmill Pale Alewhich had a picture of a windmill gaffer-taped onto the bottle.Bristol Beer Factory’s production director, Simon Bartlett, said,“The evening was a great success and we were really fortunate to havehad a wide range of quality home-brews to try. The judging panel wereimpressed with the care and ingenuity which had gone into creatingsome really interesting beers using all sorts of ingredients includingchocolate, coriander, orange peel, ginger and cardamom.”Head brewer, Chris Kay, was also full of praise for the entrants:“The home-brew industry is growing increasing popular with peoplewho appreciate the variety and quality of traditional beer, and the art ofbrewing is such a fascinating process. We wanted to encourage peopleto take part to gain experience and valuable feedback on their brews butthe competition is also a fun way to celebrate the ethos of real ale.”In other news, Bristol Beer Factory also celebrated a key landmarkrecently as it brewed its two-millionth pint, just five years after brewingits first. The brewery is apparently running flat out trying to keep upwith demand and have ordered extra fermentation tanks and new casksto meet the growing demand.RCH BreweryWest HewishNear Weston-super-MareTel: 01934-834447www.rchbrewery.comBrewers of award-wining beers including Pitchfork Old Slug Porter PG Steam East Street Cream FireboxGuest Beers and Beer Festivals catered forPage 23

Readers’ LettersReaders are welcome to sendletters to Pints West Editor,Steve Plumridge,Garden Flat, 6 Royal York Villas,Clifton, Bristol BS8 4JRsteve.plumridge@bristol.ac.ukWhite Horse, TwertonJust a quick note to comment on the abovepub. My partner and I recently spent a weekendin Bath and were impressed with all theGood Beer Guide pubs we visited. Consideringthe distance it is from the city centre we werevery impressed with the welcome we receivedfrom Jason on our arrival. As mentioned in theGuide, he is very enthusiastic and is certainlyknowledgeable on his beers. We had YeovilAles Ruby on the day of our visit.So well done for including this pub inthe Guide. It is obvious he is working hard inimproving things and hopefully local memberswill continue to support his efforts.Kind Regards,Vince Curtis,Aldermaston,Berkshire.PricingFirstly can I say what a great publicationPints West is, and long may it continue. Afterreceiving delivery of the Spring issue, I onceagain trawled through the pages consuming thelocal news, reviews and comments to find anexcellent article by Vince Murray, “2009: Terribleyear.... except for the beer”. In the pieceVince points out that some establishments,especially in the Clifton area, where charging£3 and more for standard strength beers andearmarks one (unnamed) who charges £3.35PINTS WESTfor a pint of what would be considered ‘weak’beer. I completely agree with Vince, we dopay far too much for our beer thanks to theChancellor!Speaking for ourselves, we are tied andcan pay up to and sometimes over 50% morethan a ‘free of tie’ premises for a cask of aleeven after receiving discount. Whilst I’m notin complete opposition to the tie, after all weaccepted it when we took over the Vittoria, butI am struck dumb by the cavalier attitude topricing by the pubcos (they have their take onpricing, which is somewhat different to ours).We at the sharp end can only unwillingly passon these inflated prices, or fall foul of the everlengthening list of pub closures.Some weeks ago there was a Tuesdaynight CAMRA visit at the Vittoria which wasgood to see some old friends, very pleasantand we thank you for your custom, althoughthere were one or two comments with regardsto the price of beer. I would like to apologisefor the prices, but won’t, as those apologiesshould come from other quarters. It is not ourgreed that predicts our pricing policy, it isnecessity.A little while after the visiting body leftto complete their grand tour I had a thought.Does the general CAMRA member understandwhy their national body has pursued asuper-complaint with the OFT with regards tothe anti-competitiveness of the tie or are theycomfortable drinking in ‘free of tie’ pubs whocan offer greater choice and sell their beers ata price which is unrealistic for pubs like ours?All real ale pubs should received backing fromlocal CAMRA, just because we are 10p/20p+a pint more than others, are we to be excludedfrom your attentions, one would hope not. (Youcertainly aren’t. Ed.) Let’s hope that headwayis made with the appeal and the OFT forcereforms to reduce the inflated pubco pricingpolicy. Then we can give you good beer at asensible price. This letter is not meant as arant, its to enlighten the local branch membersto the huge cost price differential there ismanifesting itself in the trade. By the way, itsalways good too see you people.Les ClaytonThe Vittoria,Whiteladies Road,Clifton, Bristol.Guinness bottle found in the CliftonRocks Railway tunnelWe have been refurbishing Clifton RocksRailway since Easter 2005. This started lifeas a cliff railway linking Hotwells to Cliftonbetween 1893 and finished operating in 1934.From 1940 it had multiple war-uses becauseit was divided into sections by the Ministry ofWorks for use by Imperial Airways to mendbarrage balloons, for use as a night time refugeshelter from bombs by the residents, and bythe BBC as a transmitting station. There arethree refuge areas, two large and one small,the large ones each having ledges for about 90people, the small one for about 40.We have been fortunate in finding manywartime artefacts including several beer bottlesas last reported in Pints West, Spring 2007.During one of our recent weekly group tripsdown the tunnel, we were going slowly backup the 300 stairs and noticed a bottle underneath.We managed to fish it out and were in-Page 24Probably the smallest andfriendliest pub in Bristol4 Real ales - 2 changing guestsREAL ALE MONDAY, £2 a pintFood served Mon-Fri, 12-3pmSunday LunchLast Sunday of the month, 12-3pm16 Passage Street, Bristol BS2 0JFTEL: 0117 9290 942The VittoriaThe “real”“” pub on Whiteladies57 Whiteladies RdCliftonBristolBS8 2LYTel: 0117 330 9414SIX CASK ALES AVAILABLEMonday is Live Traditional Jazz Night++ Courage Best @ £2.50 pt from 8pm++Come along and tap your toes to the best jazz in Clifton“Cask Ale” Tuesday, collect five loyalty points andredeem them for a pint of cask of your choice{one point per pint}.Wednesday Night is Steak Night8oz steak & pint £7.50Thursday Quiz & Curry Night.£1 a person, winning team takes all, plus other prizesand a free curry & rice at half time{grey matter preferred, not i phones}.Food served from noon{camra discount available}Some of the guest breweries featuring over the summer will be:Adnams, Wychwood, Banks, Ringwood, Hook Norton, McMullen,Caledonian & Sharp’s.A big thank you to all who turned up on the Clifton Mild Trail,we hope you had a great day.Well done to the organisers ...... Excellent job.

GB organic certification 5trigued to find it was a Bristol United Brewerybottle with part of a Guinness label. We contactedthe Guinness Collectors Club who toldus that the bottle was from pre-1945. The labelwas their own design Guinness label whichwent out of use in 1953. They kindly sent meNews from DawkinsNews of the brewsDawkins Ales (previously Matthews) brewed a mild for the month ofMay in the form of Miners Morris Mild, a dark 3.8% concoction spicedup with a hint of coriander.Next up is the Double Dawkins. Originally a 4% ABV beer, they areupgrading the recipe to a 5% malty, smooth strong ale.Over the summer they shall be brewing The Dog Delusion, a 5%true golden ale (that’s all Ned at the brewery is saying so far) and ALE-Xwhich they are describing as “a super-strong, uber-hoppy, lip-smackingvolcano of beer. For this one we intend to use a different hoppingmethod and put lots and lots and lots in.”PINTS WESTa picture of a complete label which is shownhere. Bottlers used mostly recycled bottlesduring the war due to shortages. Bristol Unitedbeer was made between 1889 and 1961, beingmerged with Georges Brewery in 1956.If you want to see the bottle alongwith all our other beer bottles, come alongto one of our open days where it will beon show. Have a look on the website atwww.cliftonrocksrailway.org.uk for moreinformation about this amazing site.Maggie Shapland,Restoration officer,Clifton Rocks Railway.Castle Green InnIssue 85 of Pints West had a note by RobinWild about Taunton’s Castle Green Inn. CarlosAlfaro, the landlord, hit the headlines last yearwhen he turned around the then failing WhiteHart at nearby Wiveliscombe, earning anaward for his labours.Since he took over the Castle Green(renamed from the Firestone, with all thatimplies) we now have an excellent proper pubwith real ale and high quality foods at modestprices.We have jazz early on Sunday afternoons,once a month, performed by talented locals ledby nationally known Dave Lunniss. Childrenare welcomed with well-behaved parents, andone of the guys even brings his mild-manneredwolfhound along from time to time to entertainthem!There is even the ‘Castle Green Beer Society’,membership of which gives us a discounton real ale after 4pm on Wednesdays.I am old-fashioned enough to think thatall these thing go together to make the sort ofplaces we all knew years ago. Good and consistenthospitality and kindliness to customersof all ages and conditioned.Yours sincerely,Jim Skeggs,Wesy Buckland,Wellington.To remind people, Robin said in his artice:“If you are in Taunton the best real ale pubsare undoubtedly the Racehorse in East Reach(try the St Austell’s Proper Job) and the CastleGreen Inn, convenient for the bus station andopen from 9am (usually with four beers fromthe West Country).”News of the pubsThe Miner’s Arms is hosting a Summer Beer Festival on 11th to 13thJune, coinciding with the nearby St Werburghs City Farm Fair. Over 20ales from near and far will be on offer.Ned and Natz at the Portcullis in Clifton celebrated their recentwedding with their own brew, Dawkins Bittersweet Symphony, a cheeky6.8% beer that got them a toast in the Evening Post.The range of guest beers in all Dawkins’ other pubs is still growing.Whilst still focussing on ‘LocAle’ brewers, they are looking at gettingin extra, rarely seen beers from further afield, as the brewery is gettinginto ‘beer swaps’ where they exchange a van load of ales with anothermicrobrewer elsewhere in the country.Now ThusNow Thus4.0% abv amber3.8% abv pale gold, hoppywell balanced andcitrussy and quenchingfresh best bitterTHE HILLGROVECAMRA BRISTOL PUB OF THE YEAR 2007Dove St, Kingsdown, Bristol BS2 8LT 9249818THE PORTCULLISCAMRA BRISTOL PUB OF YEAR 2010 RUNNER UPWellington Ter, Clifton Village, BS8 4LE 9085536DAWKINS ALES01761 472242 www.dawkins-ales.co.ukNow Thus4.2% abv mahogany, richfruity, complex best bitterTHE VICTORIAVENUE BRISTOL PUB OF THE YEAR 2009Southleigh Rd, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2BH 9745675THE GREEN MANAlfred Pl, Kingsdown, Bristol BS2 8HD 9304824Specialists in local & organic beer, wine & foodDAWKINS ALES COMING LATER THIS YEAR TO30P OFFDAWKINS PINTS ATOUR PUBS B4 9PMJOIN AT PUB/WEBSITEEnjoy at great freehouses across the West and at Dawkins pubsEnjoy a Warm Welcomeand a Pleasant AtmosphereThe Annexe InnSeymour Road, Bishopston, BristolTel. 0117 9493931A Real Ale Pub 7 Real Ales Large conservatory (available for private hire) Family room (including baby changing facilities) Enclosed garden open throughout the year Disabled access Lunchtime and early evening snacks- including children’s menu Pool table All TV sports events covered Relaxed, friendly atmosphereMonday Night is Quiz NightYou can also enjoy various promotionsand special offers during the yearOpen Lunchtimes & EveningsAll day Saturday, Sunday & Bank HolidaysPage 25

PINTS WESTWarrington – not a bad place for a holidayWarrington may seem an unlikely holiday venue. Indeed, I wasamused in December to see a text from Vince Murray referringme to the Daily Telegraph. “Warrington is ranked bottom in the UK ina quality of life survey,” the report read. We could afford to chuckle. Agroup of us were to descend upon Warrington in February to celebrateVince’s 50th birthday. For as Vince says, though he is a lifelong cricketer,his forte is with ball rather than bat, and this would be his first fifty!Why Warrington? Well, it sits between two great beery cities, Liverpooland Manchester, with easy train links to both. We had the advantage ofsecuring cheap accommodation at the Travelodge a short walk from thestation, considerably cheaper than in either Liverpool or Manchester,plus central Warrington possesses four Good Beer Guide pubs itself.So travelling by car, with the exception of a couple of us who were ona train, we left Bristol. (Our party consisted of Vince and his wifeMarilyn, Phil and Di Brooks, myself, Richard Walters, Clive Williams,Tim Proudman and Dave Bowden, aka ‘Lord Lucan’ for hispenchant for disappearing on previous forays. For once Sonic, thebeer dog, was left behind.)To counter a monotonous journey Vince had scheduled a lunch(and beer) break at a town unfamiliar to all of us, Stone. For all I knowthere maybe several reasons for visiting Stone, but ours was to visittwo intriguing Good Beer Guide pubs, the Swan Inn and the RoyalExchange. The former proved to be a traditional boozer par excellence,with nine ales on, including a favourite of mine, Slater’s, and beer fromLymestone, a local micro-brewery. We also enjoyed the open fire. Afterslaking our thirst we did the short walk to the Royal Exchange. Ownedby the splendid Titanic brewery, there were six of their own brewsavailable plus four guests including the lovely pale and hoppy RoostersYankee.Following lunch we drove on, a little later than planned, to Warrington.After meeting up those who came by train, it was off toManchester, to visit some of the city’s northern-quarter pubs. First stopwas a pub I had wanted to visit for a very long time, the Marble Arch,in Rochdale Road. This beautiful heritage pub is home to the excellentMarble brewery, and it was a delight to try some of the six of their beersavailable, whilst taking in the floor mosaics and the glazed, painted tiledceiling. I particularly enjoyed the Ginger and Lagonda IPA. Next time Ihope to have time to sample the cheese boards, a weakness of mine!From the Marble Arch it was a short walk to the Angel, a curate’segg of a gastro pub. Some headed upstairs to tackle dishes such asGuinea Fowl, while the rest of us concentrated on liquid refreshmentdownstairs. Next up was the Smithfield, serving beers from Facers andPhoenix amongst the seven ales on offer. I was surprised to see a bigscreen showing Saturday night talent shows at the far end of the bar,but to be fair there was no football to show at the time, which woulddefinitely have been my preference! After a quick visit to a packed BarFringe, time was pressing so we returned to Warrington. The LowerAngel and the Tavern proved to be busy, decent city-centrepubs, the latter’s three handpulls all being occupied byindependent brewery beers. I tried Indulgence from Toonbrewery. We finished at (or were finished off by!) PortersAle House. Open to midnight, this very lively bar, with liverock music performed in the centre of the pub, was a mostconvivial place to call it a night!the Fly in the Loaf. Owned by Isle of Man brewery Okells, this smartand efficient pub offered seven ales – Mordue’s Workie Ticket andSalopian Shropshire Gold were particularly worthy – making watchingEngland’s dire Six Nations rugby victory over Italy more watchable.We called at the Swan next. Easily spotted by its illuminated sign,this Liverpool institution is famed for its heavy-metal jukebox, incongruouslysituated next to a large picture of classical composer JohannesBrahms! The dangerously drinkable Phoenix brewery’s 6% ale WobblyBob is always available, making the pub unmissable! Prices were keentoo, and some lingered here while the rest of us headed to the Lion Tavern,another classic Grade II-listed city-centre pub, with lovely creamtiling in the bar contrasting with the cosy lounge with its large glassdome skylight. After a swift half of Spitting Feathers brewery’s ThirstQuencher, our eye was taken by a fine range of malt whiskies, always agreat way to celebrate a birthday! Vince had the 1979 independent bottlingof the classic Islay malt Ardberg, whilst I had a splendid independentbottling of Old Pulteney.So on to the Vernon, where curiously the floor seemed to be vibrating(we weren’t that drunk, honestly!) and another tasting of PhoenixPorter. Before heading for Lime Street station we had to do one morepub – this was the Ship & Mitre. Vince tells me the pub’s much smarterinside these days, though it still appeared fairly basic to me! Not that Icared really, as the fourteen hand-pulled beers took my attention, as dida particularly impressive selection of German bottled beers.Somewhat bleary eyed we all reconvened back at Porters AleHouse in Warrington. I can’t honestly say we were impressed by thefemale Meatloaf impersonator on stage – who was named Maltloaf! –but the beers were fine, with Dunham Massey Milk Stout and WinterWarmer on great form, all at £1.80 per pint! The final memory of agreat day was the gob-smacked look on the faces of the girls working inthe chippy, when they asked us where we were working in town and wereplied we were on holiday!So came Monday morning and our journey homewards, this timestopping for a break in the fascinating Shropshire town of Bridgnorth.We rendezvoused at the Railwayman’s Arms, terminus of the SevernValley Railway. Here we had a surprise for Vince, forone of our partyhad secretly brought along his yard of ale, but this is no ordinary yard,as I can say with conviction having been the first person to have todrink its four-and-a-half-pint capacity in the Anchor in Digbeth on theoccasion of my fortieth birthday. This time it was Vince’s turn! Althoughtaken by surprise he manfully tackled the yard filled with a Slater’s beer,finishing with an impressive lack of spillage. With his wife Marilyn nowbehind the wheel, the Kings Arms was our next stop. Perhaps unsurprisinglyVince’s directions were below his usual standard! So after a pint inthe impressive Kings Arms and a final stop at a Wetherspoon’s for a latelunch and a last pint we headed back to Bristol. None of us would sayWarrington ranks bottom in the UK, for sure!Phil CummingsSunday was Vince’s birthday, and Liverpool was in oursights. So after leisurely breakfasts we took a train to Liverpool,re-convening at midday at the Baltic Fleet, a stone’sthrow from the trendy and thriving Albert Dock, home ofthe Beatles Museum and the Tate Gallery. This crackinghostelry is the only brewpub in the city. A very decent lunchwas served with two courses for £11.95, washed down by thepub’s fantastic dry and bitter stout, a recent award-winnerat CAMRA’s winter ale festival. Cards and presents werepresented, in a very convivial scene.After a rest to let lunch settle we made a leisurely walkto the city centre. First up was the Philharmonic, renownedas one of Britain’s greatest historic pubs. A riot of stainedglass, spectacular tiles and carved wood, complete withmarble gents’ toilets, the beer’s also sound in the “Phil” – Ienjoyed the Glencoe stout. A short walk away (Liverpool’spubs have the advantage of being easy to get to on foot) wasPage 26Can that be Lord Lucan observing the proceedings?

PINTS WESTKelham Island Tavern -national pub of the year again!Every year a very long and exhaustive process culminates with theannouncement of the National CAMRA Pub of the Year – themost prestigious award that we can give to a pub. All branchpub of the year winners are entered into various levels of regionalcompetitions and judged by volunteers at each stage, until a smallshortlist covering the whole country is arrived at. This takes months andconsiderable effort by the judges to get to a number of pubs spread overwide areas, and pass judgement on each. From there national judges areappointed to produce an overall winner. Naturally this award is muchsought after and brings priceless publicity and new trade to the winner.A couple of pubs have managed to win the national award twiceover the years but for the first time ever a pub has won for twoconsecutive years. The pub in question is the Kelham Island Tavernin Sheffield, South Yorkshire. This a truly remarkable achievement,particularly for a pub rescued from dereliction as recently as 2002. Thepub also suffered severe flooding in the storms of 2007 and had to closefor quite a while.I had visited this pub a couple of years ago but decided to go backand see for myself what made it so special. I persuaded Phil Cummingsto accompany me on a midweek overnight visit to Sheffield in earlyMay. I offered to write the whole trip up but the editor pointed out thatthere are several other write-ups of boozy trips to the North in this edition– and he wasn’t keen on renaming the magazine “Pints North” – soI will stick to my subject!Having stopped at a few of Sheffield’s other excellent hostelries,we made our way via the excellent Super Tram service (oh for one ofthose in Bristol!) to Shalesmoor stop. From there it is a five-minute walkthrough a somewhat unpromising industrial area to Russell Street in theKelham Island district. You can’t help but notice that the very next road,Alma Street, contains another award-winning free house, the Fat Cat,which makes for an excellent two-pub crawl, but I will leave that foranother story.Upon entering the Kelham Island tavern you are greeted by thesight of a plethora of handpumps all around the bar dispensing 10 everchangingbeers, largely from small local brewers. Two of the pumps arededicated to selling a mild and a stout or porter, guaranteeing a range ofstyles at all times and to keep any visiting BADRAG members happytoo! The pub has two main indoor areas divided by an unusual glasspartition which allows a full view of each from the other. Conversationis king in both with no obtrusive music, TVs or machines. We visitedat around 7pm on a Wednesday and the pub was doing a decent trade,despite the absence of very many chimney pots in the vicinity. Thisgave it a cosy, relaxed atmosphere. People are obviously happy to walksome distance to experience this kind of quality. The beers are pricedextremely keenly at around £2 to £2.30 per pint, low even for Sheffield.My Acorn Old Moor Porter and Phil’s Barnsley Best were in excellentcondition too. Food is served lunchtimes Monday to Saturday only, sowe were not able to sample that on this occasion. To the side and rear isan excellent award-winning beer garden which is a pleasant spot in goodweather. Folk music plays on Sundays and a quiz is held on Mondays.The pub is open from 12 to 11 daily.So just how good is the Kelham Island Tavern? Our own verdict wasthat, whilst it is undoubtedly a truly excellent pub that any of us wouldbe delighted to have in our locality, it was perhaps just a little flatteredby winning the national award twice in succession. It is obviously hardto properly judge it on a fleeting visit, but that is what judges normallyhave to do anyway. It is just that, personally, we felt that we have visitedquite a number of pubs that are at least as impressive, and in somecases, dare we say, possibly more so? The award is a very difficult oneto administer, but is arrived at democratically and that is why it is so respectedand coveted. It is a considerable achievement to win the nationalaward two years running. An even more amazing fact is that, in a city offantastic real ale pubs – arguably the best choice in the UK – it has wonthe Sheffield CAMRA Pub of the Year award seven years on the trot,since soon after its reopening in 2002.I can imagine the Kelham’s long reign coming under threat soon,though, as an outstanding new pub has opened, the Sheffield Tap onPlatform 1 of the city’s main train station. It has four pumps dedicatedto the wonderful Thornbridge brewery and four more for guest brewers,plus an enormous range of draught and bottled beers from around theworld. On our visit all eight pumps featured different Thornbridge beers,with eight different beers from our own excellent Moor brewery comingsoon. An astonishingly good new venture – all stations should have a barlike this then nobody would complain about late trains again!Anyway I am venturing off topic and risking the editor’s wrath sowill stop right there!Vince MurrayBristol & District CAMRAPub Of The Year 2009MEALS SERVED EVERY DAY4 Ever Changing Guest Ales(3+ Real Cider in Summer)All Real Ales £1.95 a Pint on Sunday& Monday evenings from 6pm toCAMRA Members (show card)Since 2002Badminton Road, Mayshill,Nr Frampton Cotterell, Bristol.BS36 2NTT: 01454 773161E: dallyinns@aol.comAssociateMemberPage 27

Page 28PINTS WESTA weekend of NewcastAleweekend in the North for the Maker Faire provided an excellentA opportunity for ale sampling. We arrived with a thirst on Fridaynight and headed out into town which was as eye-opening as any city ona Friday night: lots of people out and about, wandering between venuesfor drinks and good times. We were no exception. Just around the cornerfrom the Waterside Hotel (our home for the two days) we found theCrown Posada, a lovely bar with fabulous wood panelling (unsurprisinglyon the National Inventory of Historic Interiors) and a cosy snug.We sampled Mordue’s Workie Ticket (4.5%) before heading off on thehunt for a pizza.After our hunger was sated we strolled round the corner to the NewcastleArms. This is a one-room bar which had a run of being awardedregional Pub of the Year from 2006 to 2008 and was pipped at the postfor this year. A hand-written list of all the ales through the pumps overthe years made interesting reading, not only for the variety, but also thesheer number. The list was handily broken up by the hundred. We settledin here for the rest of evening, between us trying Marston Moor’s Brick-dust (3.8%), low strength, fruity and hoppy; Mallinson’s Rocket Ship(4.1%) which had a lovely citrusy hoppiness; Thornbridge’s 5.9% Jaipur,which was on top form; and finally we tried the house beer: brewed byBig Lamp Brewery, the C’oat of Arms oatmeal stout was a delicious endto the evening.After a day at the Maker Faire, held in the Centre for Life (wherewe saw 3D printing, home-made CNC machines, robots, microcontrollers,hackers, woolly types and Tesla coils being used as speakers firinglightning into the sky), we were ready for a beer. Wanting a good qualityburger to accompany our beverage we found ourselves in the Cluny, anarts/theatre/gig venue which had the Ian Siegel band pumping out bluesrock in the back room. An eclectic and friendly clientele were enthusiasticallyconsuming the range of beers alongside their burgers. We had aLady Godiva (Warwickshire Brewing Company, 4.2%) and a Fog on theTyne (Northumberland Brewery, 4.1%). After chatting with a few localswe were pointed towards the Cumberland Arms.A short walk over the quay and up a steep set of stairs we pushedopen the doors to a packed two-room bar.The Cumberland Arms had eight handpumpsdispensing a fabulous range of ales. Alongsidethe extensive range of beer was a similarlyextensive, and popular, range of ciders deservedlyresulting in this pub being the region’sCider Pub of the Year for several years running.Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for more,but we sampled a couple of Mordue ales: IPA(5.1%) and Bunny Hop (4.5%). Despite onlystaying for such a short time we also foundout that the pub has a room upstairs for partiesand bands, had four bed and breakfast roomsand was in the 1978 Good Beer Guide. And forthose of you interested in rapping (with swords,not with words) this pub has also played host tothe Dancing England Rapper Tournament. Westrolled back to the Crown Posada for a nightcapof Festival’s Pride and Amber (3.8%) .Our Sunday started by watching Centre ForLife’s Ian Simmons use a Pepperami and oxygenblow torch to slice his way through a steelsheet – a good start to any Sunday – followedby more Making, a stroll around the Quaysidemarket and a cuppa in the sun. We headed forthe train station, only to find we had half anhour to spare. A quick pint of Jarrow’s RivetCatcher (4%) was a tasty end to the weekend inthe station’s fantastically tiled Centurion Bar.Helen Featherstone and Toby SeelyBRISTOL CIDER HOUSEPARTIESWORLDCUPCAMRA-RECOGNISED‘REAL CIDER’40 PINTCIDERKEGSFROM £49.95BAR-B-QEVENTSwww.bristolciderhouse.co.ukCider newsThe Bristol Cider House in Surrey Street,between the Georgian Portland and BrunswickSquares and only a couple of hundredyards from Cabot Circus, is selling 40-pint barrels,or “ciderkegs”, of traditional, real ciders.Each ciderkeg is of sturdy construction and hasa built-in serving tap for easy dispense. Theysay the cider will remain fresh for a monthunopened or for 10 days when opened.Their web site at www.bristolciderhouse.co.uk has more details. (Note that if youclick on the link to buy their cider, a pop-upnear the bottom of the screen asks you toconfirm that you are over 18 years of age.If you don’t spot it you may think the linkis not working, but if you scroll down thescreen you should see it.)SP

PINTS WESTPints out WestTaking the name ‘Pints West’ literally, my mate and I have recentlybeen way out west in Breckenridge, Colorado, USA and think it’sworth writing a few words on one of the local haunts, the BreckenridgeBrewery & Pub.Breckenridge is an old cowboy mining town that is a couple ofhours’ drive from Denver in Colorado. Sited conveniently on MainStreet and sitting at a somewhat oxygen-sapping altitude of 9,600 feet, itwas an unexpected holiday high in every sense.On entering you’re struck by the fact that it is a pub used by thelocals, which is always a good sign in a ski resort as this usually meansgood value and good beer. The next things that grab you are the fermentingvats and mash tuns behind the bar, all indicating that this is a pubbeyond the norm in the USA.Then a quick glance up to your left and there is the beer board.Boasting eight beers on tap, ranging in colour from golden to black andstrengths from 4.0% to a heady 9.2% Double IPA, there was plenty tochoose from.Each beer is classified bycolour and ABV (strength)and there are tasting notesadded to help with choice.For those who think thatAmerican ale is all aboutBud and Coors, then thinkagain; this is a bit of a tastesensation, a kind of minibeer festival all year long!Personal favourites wouldinclude the Christmas Ale that, like Christmas itself, was over far toosoon, and what was billed as an English-style Brown Ale, brewed tocelebrate their 20 th anniversary, coming in at a powerful 8.1% and verydrinkable. For those like me with a touch of altitude sickness, droppingdown for a couple of days to the Golden Breck Lite, a ‘cream ale withthe subtle balance of malt and hops’, did not stop the flavour fest, eachbeer having its own unique effect on the pallet.At a loss as to which beer to choose? Well why not try them all?One option was to have a taster tray with small glasses filled with eachtype of beer – a good way to start the evening and decide which beer orbeers would be the order of the day. Also, for those in a rush, there wasan off-licence trade as you could buy bottles and get them filled at thebar with your favourite draught (or draft as the Americans would haveit). All possibilities are catered for.The service was also something that some more local pubs couldlearn from. With the bar often two to three deep, the bar staff alwaysseemed to know who was next and could line up individual pints, pitchers,food orders and update the beer tabs with amazing efficiency – topguys with whom a friendly shooter to accompany the beer was certainlya good way to see the night through.Around the pub, as often found in England, there were a series ofHave you ever wished that you owned part of a brewery or one of themany pub chains now in existence? We turn that wish into a realityand, as company shareholders, we help to make a difference to policiesintroduced by their directors.We have been investing in breweries since 1989 and we have approximately4,000 members in the Club. At the end of February 2010the fund value stood at £8.67m with a unit value of £2.98.You are eligible to join us at the CAMRA Members’ InvestmentClub only if you are a member of CAMRA. You can invest any amountfrom £5 to £83 per month with an annual maximum of £1,000.The funds are invested in a wide range of companies includingBlack Sheep, Marston’s, Greene King, Fuller’s and Young’s, togetherwith a few overseas companies including Duvel Moortgat and the CantillonBrewery, both in Belgium. The Committee is actively seeking toincrease the Club’s involvement with the ever increasing micro-brewerysector.The fund and the investments are managed by an elected, ten-strongCommittee who meet on a regular basis to discuss the Club’s portfolio,Ron and Jon with bar staff Ken and JimTVs showing various sports and news channels, but nothing so loud asto stop the conversation. Around us there were many families as thereis a good mix of bar snacks and main meals. Beware the main meals asthey are really big – in our time there we saw enough doggie bags tofeed us for a couple of months.Now twenty years young, the Breckenridge Brewery & Pub is goingstrong and is a magnet for the Brits and locals. Good beer, good foodand good company – a veritable gem in a rarefied atmosphere. Here’swishing them all the best for the next twenty years ... well worth a try ifyou ever heed the advice of the Pet Shop Boys and ‘Go West’!Jon ParrCAMRA Members’ Investment Clubfuture investments andany other matters whichmay affect the Club.The Club has its ownweb site, www.CMIC.uk.com, where you canfind more details, includingplanned brewery tripsand other events, reports on past visits and the AGM which is normallyheld in June each year, usually in Beeston, Nottingham.This article has been prepared for information purposes only. It shall not beconstrued as, and does not form part of, an offer, nor invitation to offer, nor asolicitation or recommendation to buy any financial instrument. The views expressedherein are not intended to be and should not be viewed as advice or as arecommendation. The Club is not a regulated entity. The value of investments andthe income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get backthe amount originally invested.Page 29

Reasons to visit FromeOn 11th March, Frome’s Milk Street Brewery won a silver award atthe Society of Independent Brewers’ annual conference in Stratford-upon-Avonfor their Funky Monkey, a 4% blonde beer with citrusyovertones. Only 27 beers received an award at the event, out of around1,400 that entered. Funky Monkey had to get through seven regionalheats, plus the final, to win the award.National recognition was followed by the news that the Griffin, theMilk Street brewery tap, had been voted Pub of the Year by the Bath &Borders Branch of CAMRA. The award was presented on 11th May, atthe same time as one of the pub’s very popular open mic nights was infull swing.The Griffin is very much a community pub, with a staggering lineupof events (all of which can be checked out on their excellent website:www.milkstreetbrewery.co.uk. A tempting array of Milk Street beers areof course available as well. On the first weekend in May, the brewerycelebrated its 11th anniversary with a weekend-long beer festival, atwhich beers from around 20 other Somerset breweries were availablealongside Milk Street’s, plus a full programme of music.If you don’t know the Griffin, or haven’t visited since its recentmakeover (enhancing rather than altering its character) then it makes aperfect choice for a summer excursion, especially as Frome is served bydirect trains from Bath and Bristol. Opening hours are 5 to 11 Mondayto Thursday, 4 to 1am Friday and Saturday and 1 to 7 on Sunday.Frome is worth visiting in its own right as a historic weavingCAMRA launched its Beer Drinker’s and Pub Goer’s Charter during therecent General Election campaign.The document urges politicians to promote the interests of Britain’spub goers; to champion well-run community pubs; to rebalance alcoholtaxation to support beer and pubs; to reform the beer tie to deliver a fairdeal for consumers; and to support the role of well-run pubs as solutionsto alcohol misuse.Specific measures proposed in the Charter include:1) giving local authorities greater control over planning, particularly thechange of use and demolition of pubs;2) extending the Sustainable Communities Act to allow local people tosubmit proposals to protect smaller brewers, producers of traditional ciderand community pubs;3) action on irresponsible price promotions in supermarkets that encouragedrinking away from pubs by treating alcoholic drinks as a “loss leader”;4) business rate relief for community pubs;5) reforms to the taxation of beer, and particularly draught beer, to makedrinking in pubs more attractive;6) “full pint” legislation to stop short measures being served;7) protecting the changes made in the 2003 Licensing Act (e.g. more flexiblelicensing hours and powers for Councils to deal with disorderly pubs);Page 30PINTS WESTThe Griffin in Frome, Bath & Borders branch Pub of the Yearcentre, with more listed buildings than any other town (except Bath)in Somerset (see www.frometouristinfo.co.uk/town_map.asp formore information). It also has another brewery tap – the Lamb onChristchurch Street East, owned by Blindmans (www.thelambinnfrome.co.uk; open 12-3 and 5-11 Monday to Thursday, 12-12 on Friday andSaturday and 12-10.30 on Sunday). Two excellent brewery taps in oneof the most interesting towns in Somerset – what better reason couldthere be for a day out in Frome?Andrew SwiftCAMRA’s Beer Drinker’s and Pub Goer’s CharterThe Bag O’Nails141 St. George’s Road, Hotwells,Bristol BS1 5UW Tel: 07717 846 560A Real Ale PubBristol & District CAMRAPub Of The Year 2000Host to two beer festivals a yearin April and NovemberAt least 12 different real ales a weekImported German wheat beersEnglish bottle-conditioned beersUnpasteurised imported bottled lagersEmail : bagonails@brew-master.comWeb : www.thebagonails.co.uk8) reform of the “beer tie” under which pub-owning companies can telltheir landlords what they are allowed to sell and require them to buy itthrough the pub owner;9) banning the use of restrictive covenants to stop the new owner of aformer pub from reopening it as one;10) when a pub-owning company wishes to sell the building into alternativeuses, giving the current leaseholder and the community an opportunity to buy;11) strengthening consumer protection through a Consumer Minister whoattends Cabinet.Over the course of the campaign 670 election candidates committedto speak up for real ale, community pubs and consumers, and 150 ofthe candidates who signed up were elected and are now serving as MPsin the new Parliament. Signatories to the Charter include Nick Clegg,Leader of the Liberal Democrats, and other local MPs David Heath(Somerton & Frome), Don Foster (Bath), Stephen Williams (BristolWest) and Tessa Munt (Wells). All are Lib Dems.CAMRA intends to continue putting pressure on the governingparties in the hope that they will work together to deliver the policyproposals described above. Readers can help by doing the same at everyopportunity!Norman SpaldingThe VictoriaReal AleReal FoodReal PubChock Lane, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristolwww.thevictoriapub.co.uk0117 9500 441

A new venturefor WickwarThe reconstituted board of the Wickwar Brewing Company,having resolved to establish a tied estate of ten pubs, havetaken a lease on the Downend Tavern in Downend Road,Fishponds, Bristol.Reopening the pub at the end of April, the new landlordSam Glenn (previously of the White Lion in the centreof Bristol) pushed boat out with a beer festival held overthe May Day holiday weekend. This was a somewhat boldventure as the extra stillage was set up in the skittle alleywith only ice-packs to cool the casks, and the weather wason the warm side. Of the 20 casks racked up only 10 weretapped. The Sunday afternoon, which hosted a hog roast and aperformance by jazz band Henry’s Hot Six, was very well attendedbut at the end of the festival rather too much beer wasleft over. With the exception of Gales Festival Mild, whichwas on handpump later in the week, the untapped casks wentto Wickwar’s other outlet, the White Lion on the Centre.In future all casks will be racked in the cellar with theexception of the regular Wickwar BOB served directly fromcasks on cooled spring-stillages behind the bar. One bank ofthree handpumps will dispense Wickwar beers and the otherthree guest beers. Two more pumps are available for use duringfestivals.The regular Wickwar range includes Coopers (3.5% ABV)at £1.79 a pint and Station Porter (6.1%) a bargain at £2.49 apint. BOB (4.0%) and Bankers Draft (4.1%) are £2,70 a pint.Sam plans to have guest ales as ‘Beer of the Month’.Living only minutes away, I have made regular visits andhave found the beer quality impeccable. This is a fine exampleof a community local that has been a Good Beer Guideentry in past times. Let’s do all we can to make sure that theDownend Tavern stays open this time.Henry DaviesBOB (4.0%)Our brand leader, a great session bitterBANKERS DRAFT (4.0%)Pale and malty with a citrus kickCOOPERS WPA (3.5%)A golden, refreshing brew with a dry finishCOTSWOLD WAY (4.2%)Rich and well-balanced with a hoppy finishIKB (4.5%)A complex, ruby red ale with strong hints ofcherries and plums.STATION PORTER (6.1%)The CAMRA supreme winter beer 2008, arounded stout with hints of chocolatePINTS WESTGloucestershire’s largest regional brewer hasbeen brewing 20 years! Come and celebrateBOB’s birthday, or try some of our otheraward-winning ales…Historic Queen’sHead reopensAt last it looks likesome good newsfor the Queen’s Head inWillsbridge. This pub,which used to be listedin CAMRA’s NationalInventory of pubs withimportant historicinteriors, closed (again) inApril. It has had a troubledand chequered recent pastbut reopened in mid-Mayand is now in the hands ofsomeone who looks intenton respecting and takingcare of the place.It has been taken over by the landlord from the Criterion inWeston-super-Mare (itself an excellent pub). He has put in alocal manager with pub and club experience who used to run theLongwell Green social club until about eighteen months ago andbefore that had the Myrtle Tree and the Plume of Feathers – anencouraging track record. The intention is to run the Queen’s Headas a “real ale pub”. Beers on recently, in excellent condition, wereBath Gem, Cheddar Gorge Best and Cheddar Potholer, plus a realcider on handpump. He says he will have one of the Cheddar beersas a regular and a changing guest or two as well. Lots of effort hasgone into sprucing the place up. All the rooms and the toilets havebeen painted; the floor in the main bar has been sanded and sealed;they took 150 black sacks of rubbish away from the back garden(which people are now using); and it has an encouragingly positivefeel. There may even be plans to start doing food soon as well.This pub deserves your support. As the saying goes, use it orlose it!Available from:Our flagship pub-The White Lion,Quay Head, Colston Avenue, Bristol, BS1 1BEThe newly reopened Downend Tavern,125 Downend Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 5BEThe Brewery Shop,Arnold’s Cooperage, Station rd, Wickar, GL12 8NBtel: 01454 299592Web: www.thebreweryshop.comWickwar Brewing Co, The Old Brewery, Station rd, Wickwar, GL12 8NB tel: 01454 292000Page 33

It takes all sorts to campaign for real aleJoin CAMRA today...Complete the Direct Debit form below and you will receivethree months membership free and a fantastic discount on yourmembership subscription.Alternatively you can send a cheque payableto CAMRA Ltd with your completed form, visit www.camra.org.uk orcall 01727 867201.All forms should be addressed to MembershipSecretary, CAMRA, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans,AL1 4LW.Savemoney bypaying byDirect Debit!Your DetailsTitle SurnameForename(s)Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy)AddressPostcodeEmail addressTel No (s)Partner’s Details (if Joint Membership)Title SurnameForename(s)Please state which CAMRA newsletter you found thisform in?Direct Debit Non DDPINTS WEST (Bristol & District) - edition 86Single MembershipSingle Membership £20 £22(UK & EU)Joint Membership £25 £27(Partner at the same address)For Young Member and concessionary rates please visitwww.camra.org.uk or call 01727 867201.I wish to join the Campaign for Real Ale, and agree to abideby the Memorandum and Articles of Association.Single membership (UK and EU) £20 £22Under 26 and over 60 single membership £14 £16Joint MembershipI enclose a cheque forDirect DebitPartner at the same address add £5 add £5Non DDPartner at the same address add £3 add £3(both either under 26 or over 60)Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy)SignedDateApplications will be processed within 21 daysMem Form 0108Instruction to your Bank orBuilding Society to pay by Direct DebitPlease fill in the form and send to: Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. 230 Hatfield Road, St.Albans, Herts AL1 4LWName and full postal address of your Bank or Building SocietyTo the ManagerAddressPostcodeName(s) of Account Holder (s)Bank or Building Society Account NumberBranch Sort CodeReference NumberBank or Building SocietyOriginators Identification Number9 2 6 1 2 9FOR CAMRA OFFICIAL USE ONLYThis is not part of the instruction to your Bank or Building SocietyMembership NumberNamePostcodeInstructions to your Bank or Building SocietyPlease pay CAMRA Direct Debits from the account detailed onthis instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the DirectDebit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remainwith CAMRA and, if so will be passed electronically to myBank/Building Society.Signature(s)DateBanks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account.✁detached and retained this sectionThis Guarantee should be detachedand retained by the payer.The Direct DebitGuarantee■ This Guarantee is offered by all Banksand Building Societies that take part inthe Direct Debit Scheme.The efficiencyand security of the Scheme ismonitored and protected by yourown Bank or Building Society.■ If the amounts to be paid or thepayment dates change CAMRA willnotify you 10 working days in advanceof your account being debited or asotherwise agreed.■ If an error is made by CAMRA oryour Bank or Building Society, you areguaranteed a full and immediaterefund from your branch of theamount paid.■ You can cancel a Direct Debit at anytime by writing to your Bank orBuilding Society. Please also send acopy of your letter to us.

Branch diaryDiary of the Bristol & District branch of CAMRA• Wed June 2nd – Explorer/Surveyor trip to Frampton Cottrell area.Coach departs 6.45pm from Cornubia, cost £6.• Sat June 5th – The Annual Docks Cider Saunter. Start mid-day at theOrchard, then Avon Packet, Coronation, Apple Barge, and possibly BankTavern and Bristol Cider House.• Wed June 9th – Committee meeting upstairs at Cornubia, 8pm start.• Thurs June 10th – BADRAG review meeting, 7.30 for 8pm upstairsat Cornubia.• Wed June 16th – Branch meeting, Robin Hood, St. Michael’s Hill,Kingsdown. NOTE REVISED DATE.• Sat June 19th – BADRAG South Glos Mild Trail and Explorer/GBGtrip (to include the Salutation at Ham, Beaufort Arms at HawkesburyUpton, New Inn at Mayshill, Cross Hands at Winterbourne Down andLamb at Iron Acton).• Tues June 22nd – Explorer/Surveyor trip to East Mendips. Coachdeparts 6.45pm from Cornubia, cost £6.• Thurs June 24th – Meet & Greet, Portishead, probably at Poachers,but full details to be confirmed.• Thurs July 1st – Pubs Group Quarterly Social. Meet Blackboy Inn,Blackboy Hill, near the Downs, 7pm, and visiting five other pubs.• Thurs July 8th – BADRAG gathering, Highbury Vaults, Kingsdown,front snug. 7.45 for 8pm.• Tues July 13th – Explorer/Surveyor trip to Thornbury area. Coachdeparts 6.45pm from Cornubia.• Wed July 14th – Committee meeting, Cornubia 8pm.• Wed July 21st – Explorer/Surveyor trip to North Somerset. 6.45pmfrom Cornubia.• Wed July 28th – Branch AGM to be held upstairs at Horts. Pleasebring your membership cards. 7.45 for 8pm sharp.• Thurs July 29th, Pubs Group meeting, 7pm, Cornubia.• August – Full details of events will be announced on the websitewww.camrabristol.org.uk although a forward date for your diary is theAugust Branch meeting, likely to be held on August 25th at a venue tobe confirmed.Please note that pre-booking of all coach trips is essential to avoiddisappointment. To book, or for more details on any event, or to joinour ‘yahoo’ group for weekly updates please email Tim Proudman atbadcamrasocials@blueyonder.co.uk.Severn Vale diary• Wednesday 16th June, 8pm - meeting atthe at the Plough in Pilning (address PilningStreet, Nr Pilning, Bristol, BS35 4JJ).• Wednesday 21st July, 8pm - meeting atthe Fox, Easter Compton (address Main Road,Easter Compton, Bristol, BS35 5RA).Non-members welcome at the aboveevents.Severn Vale contactNeil Halsall (chair): Neil.Halsall@southglos.gov.uk (07776 236145)Weston diary Wednesday 16 June – Old Inn, Hutton,8.30pm. Wednesday 21 July – Taunton Crawl. DepartWeston 18.55. Five pubs to be visited – includingthree in current Good Beer Guide. Confirm traintime with Tim on number below. Friday 23 to Sunday 25 July – Weston LionsBeer Festival, Beach Lawns. Wednesday 18 August – Off The Rails.8.30pm onwards.Non-members welcome at all of theabove events.Weston contactTim Nickolls: 01934 644925 (evenings) oremail tim.nickolls@postoffice.co.ukThanks tothis issue’scontributorsAndrew SwiftDave GrahamDuncan ShineHelen FeatherstoneHenry DaviesJon ParrKeith ShaplandKirsten ElliottLaurie GibneyLes CooperMargaret EvettMark SteedsMike JacksonMike WilsonNeil HalsallNeil RavenscroftNorman SpaldingPete BridlePete TannerPhil CummingsRichard BrooksRobin E WildSteve HuntSteve MatthewsTim NickollsTim ProudmanToby SeelyTrevor PrideauxEditor:Steve PlumridgePINTS WESTbrought to you entirely byunpaid volunteersTen thousand copies of Pints West are distributed freeto pubs in and around the cities of Bristol and Bath ...and beyond.Letters: please email correspondence to:steve.plumridge@bristol.ac.ukor post it to:Pints West Editor, Steve Plumridge,Garden Flat, 6 Royal York Villas,Clifton, Bristol BS8 4JR.Published by the Bristol & District Branch of CAMRA, theCampaign for Real Ale, May 2010 ©Next edition: end of August 2010 (probably).Reproduction: any written article in this publication may bereproduced provided the source (Pints West), including the contributor’sname where applicable, is stated. (No using logos orpictures without prior permission.)Subscriptions: to be put on a mailing list (for UK addresses)send a cheque for £4 to the editor, made payable to “StevePlumridge” (or some 2nd class stamps up to that value).CAMRA Good Beer Guide: suggestions for future entries,and comments on existing ones, can be made to our GBG coordinator,Vince Murray: vincent.murray@blueyonder.co.uk.Further information on all aspects of CAMRA can be had fromRay Holmes on 0117 9605357 (home).Trading Standards Officers: contact numbers for problemssuch as consistent short measures, no price lists...Bristol: 0117 9223444 / S. Glos: 01454 624000Glos: 01452 426201 / N. Somerset: 01934 632026B.A.N.E.S: 01225 396755or visit www.tradingstandards.gov.ukDesign & Layout: Steve Plumridge.Printed by Caric Press Limited (www.caricpress.co.uk).Views expressed in Pints West are those of the individual authors andnot necessarily supported by CAMRA.Inclusion of an advertisement does not imply endorsement by CAMRA.Bath & Borders diary• Thursday 3rd June 8:30pm. The 2010 Community Pub of the Yearpresentation, the Somerset Arms, Semmington, nr Trowbridge. A superbpub, rescued from closure by a local family to become a hub of villagelife. Great beers as well!• Thursday 10th June. A trip to the Plain Ales Brewery. A brand newbrewery in our area but already making a mark with its fine beers. We’llprobably visit the Masons Arms later in the evening. Book a place onthe minibus!• Saturday 12th June. Cardiff Beer Festival at the Cardiff InternationalArena. Anyone for the lunchtime session?• Tuesday 15th June 8:30pm. A mini crawl in Bath, starting at theWhite Horse in Twerton and then on to the Victoria Works on the LowerBristol Rd. The former, and old favourite, the latter, newly refurbished(and renamed).• Thursday 24th June 8:30pm. A social at the Bell in Buckland Dinham.This is a fine old village pub run by a genuine real ale enthusiast.• Tuesday 29th June 8:30pm. The Branch Meeting at the Prince ofWales in Dilton Marsh, nr Westbury.Bath & Borders contactsBranch socials contact: Denis Rahilly on 01225 791399 or 07711004501, email denis.rahilly@talktalk.net.Contact for all non-social matters: James Honey on 01373 822794.Page 35

The Great BritishBeer Festival 2010Britain’s biggest beer festival3-7 August 2010, Earls Court, LondonThe Great British BeerFestival at Earls Court,Britain’s biggest beerfestival, once again bringstogether a wide range ofreal ales, ciders, perriesand international beers.There’s plenty tooccupy you at the festival:you can play on sometraditional pub games,enjoy live music, samplesome food, including goodtraditional pub snacks, andalso attend tutored beertastings.Advance day andseason tickets for thisyear’s festival can bepurchased through theSee Tickets hotline on0844 412 4640 or from the festival website at www.gbbf.org.uk. Oryou can just turn up and pay on the door.Opening times are:Tuesday 3rd : 5.00pm to 10.30pmWednesday 4th to Friday 6th : 12noon to 10.30pmSaturday 7th : 11.00am to 7.00pmVisit the web site at gbbf.camra.org.uk for more information.Seventh Annual NailseaBeer and Cider Festivalat Nailsea and Backwell Rugby ClubPage 36Friday 16 July 6pm to 11pmSaturday 17 July Noon to 11pmSunday 18 July Noon to 6pmRaising funds this year forNailseaArmyCadetsOver 80 beers, ciders and perriesFree live music all weekendAdvance ticket valid for all sessions £6.50includes commemorative glass and first half pintAvailable from Nailsea stores,the Rugby Club or via mail orderSee our website www.applefest.co.uk for fulldetails, directions and public transport linksPINTS WESTSome festivals to look out forJune 10-12 : Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival, CardiffInternational ArenaContact name: Keith Jenkins Tel: 07807609712 Web: www.gwbcf.org.ukJune 11-13 : Miner’s Arms, St Werburghs, BristolWeb: www.dawkins-ales.co.ukJune 11-12 : PucklechurchContact name: Mike Rawlings Email: mike@elec-mech.co.ukWeb: www.beer-festival.org/beer-festival.htmlJune 18-20 : Cheddar Ales Brewery, Winchester Farm,Draycott Road, Cheddar, Somerset, BS27 3RPContact name: John Magill Tel: 01934 744193 / 07786 128606Email: webmail@cheddarales.co.uk Web: www.cheddarales.co.ukJuly 2-3 : Three Tuns, HotwellsContact name: Mark Farrell Tel: 0781 2201844July 2-4 : Claverham, Village HallContact name: Barry StraughtonTel: 01934 832438 Email: jasjbs@talktalk.netJuly 2-4 : Ashcott, Whitley FarmContact name: Duncan CameronTel: 07966 133901 Email: sharkcage@btinternet.comJuly 8-11 : White Horse, Twerton, BathTel: 01225 340668 Email: www.thewhitehorsebath.comWeb: www.thewhitehorsebath.comJuly 9-10 : South Cotswold, Chipping SodburyWeb: www.yaterotary.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/beer2010July 9-10 : Newt, North NewtonContact name: Frank Clegg Tel: 01278 663059Email: frankclegg248@btinternet.com Web: www.newtbeerfest.comJuly 15-18 : Nailsea & Backwell RFC, BS48 4BYContact name: Paul Turner Tel: 07900 937287 Web: www.applefest.co.ukJuly 15-18 : Royal Oak, Twerton, BathWeb: www.theroyaloak-bath.co.ukJuly 15-18 : Cornish Beer Festival, Star Inn, BathWeb: www.star-inn-bath.co.ukJuly 16-17 : Exeter, Exeter City FC, EX4 6PXContact name: Ray DwanTel: 01395 223212 Email: devonlion@btinternet.comJuly 16-18 : Sherston Inn, Wells, BA5 1SUTel: 01749 673743 Email: info@sherstonwells.co.ukJuly 23-25 : Beach Lawns, Weston-super-MareEmail: wsmrealale@aol.com Web: www.westonlionsrealalefestival.org.ukJuly 23-25 : Cotswold Beer Festival, Postlip HallContact name: John Barrett Tel: 01242 239785Web: www.gloucestershirecamra.org.uk/cbfJuly 23-25 : Riverside Inn, Cheddar, BS27 3PXContact name: Huw Tel: 01934 742452Email: info@riversidecheddar.co.ukAug 3-7 : Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, LondonTel: 01727 867201 Email: camra@camra.org.uk Web: gbbf.camra.org.ukAug 27-30 : Brewers Arms, South PethertonContact: Duncan Webb Tel: 01460 241887Email: duncan@thebrewersarms.ecipse.co.ukSept 10-11 : Chew Valley, Ubley, Village HallContact name: Steve Blanchard Tel: 01761 462468Email: shblanchard@aol.com Web: www.chewvalleybeerfestival.co.ukSept 11-12 : Somerset CAMRA, WSR, MineheadContact name: Alan Walker Tel: 01823 330364Web: www.wsr.org.uk/camra2009.htmSept 17-19 : Wedmore, Village Hall, BS28 4EQContact name: Trevor Prideaux Tel: 01934 710004Email: trevorprideaux@hotmail.com Web: www.wedmorerealale.comCollated by Trevor Prideaux and SP

Pints West 86, Summer 2010 - Bristol & District CAMRA

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