BAE 162

Issue 162 | December 2011 - January 2012

Peterborough & District Branch of CAMRA | www.peterborough-camra.org.uk

Beer Around ’Ere

b a eFREE

please take one

SAVE THEPLOUGHMAN!

BAE 162 Prog_Layout 1 18/11/2011 13:36 Page 1


Peterborough Branch Website |www.real-ale.org.uk

So here we are again approaching the endof another year. It would be nice to saythat things within the pub and beer

industry have improved since last year butregrettably that is not the case. Pub closurescontinue at an alarming rate with nine tied pubsclosing every week compared to five free of tiepubs. National pubcos have failed miserably toimplement self- regulation and reform of the rela-tionship with their lessees. A damming report byMPs has branded the pub industry ‘wanting’ inits efforts to deliver reform and its trade bodyimpotent. The Department for Business,Innovation and Skills (BIS) says self regulationhad failed to deliver meaningful reform. This isjust one of so many reports that have appearedover the last seven years and yet nothing hasbeen done to change the unfair practices by thepubcos. They were given an ultimatum in 2010to deliver within 18 months showing that theywere working successfully within the voluntarycode. It is blatantly clear that they are not. Thegovernment is expected to respond by the(yawn) end of the year. Which one!

On a lighter note we sent out to all our localmembers in October a form and letter invitingthem to submit any pubs that we shouldconsider as entries to the 2013 GBG. The pubsthat receive the most submissions are thensurveyed by our team of adjudicators to checkthey are complying with the entry conditionsand are then put forward as our entries. Also inthe letter is the list of the four pubs that arecontenders for the Pub of the Year (POTY), anda form to apply for tickets for this years Xmasparty. Please make an effort to visit the pubsand cast your votes. When applying for partytickets make sure you enclose a stampedaddressed envelope to receive them.

Our AGM is being held on Tuesday 6thDecember at The Brewery Tap, 8-30pm start.All members are welcome but ensure you bringyour membership card. Anyone who wishes to

become a more ‘active’ member should get intouch with me before the AGM. I still at time of writing have some 2012 GBG’s

available for a considerable discount.

Finally I wish to convey my thanks to all ourmembers who over the last twelve months havehelped us in so many ways, whether it be distrib-uting this newsletter, helping at the PBF, or insupporting our social events. I wish you all thecompliments of the coming season and a happyand healthy New Year.

Cheers

David Murray - Branch Chairman.

Chairman’s Corner | 3

Chairman’s Corner

Chapel Rd, Weldon NN17 3HPTel: 01536 266453

6 Real Ales on handpumpchanging daily

Serving evening meals andSunday roast

Open noon to midnight 6 days a week

(closed Wednesday)

Happy HourMonday - Friday 5- 7pm

All Day Sunday

CAMRA

Gold Award

Pub

CAMRA

Pub of the Y

ear

2012 Finalist

We’re

in it!


Photo by M

ick Slaughter


Two well loved community pubs inWhittlesey and Ramsey have recentlyreceived HOP awards - official recognition

from Peterborough CAMRA for maintaining highstandards of product and service in public housesoutside of the city centre area. A large group ofcommittee members and supporters ventured toboth pubs to view the presentations and tocongratulate the licensees on the receipt of theawards.

The Railway at Ramsey was the destination forthe first award. The nomination was originallyreceived by CAMRA member Keith Pilkingtonwho forwarded the pub for consideration due to:“…the landlord’s commitment to continuouslyserving a selection of real ales in top condition,and for the warm, friendly environment in whichdrinkers can enjoy good beer.”

After a short speech by Peterborough branchchairman David Murray, the licensee KeithGolightly, was presented with the award. As areal-ale fan it was clear that Keith has a strongappreciation of what makes a good beer andimportantly how to serve it in the right conditionto the customer. Peterborough CAMRA hopesthat many more drinkers both in and outside ofRamsey find the time to sample the beers onoffer at this quiet, friendly local.The Letter B at Whittlesey was the second pub

of the evening to receive a CAMRA award. A staunch favourite with drinkers from bothinside and outside the town, the Letter B hasbuilt up an enviable reputation and earned a Goldaward in previous years.

The nomination for the award was put forwardby John Hunt, local CAMRA social secretary, for“…for continuously serving a wide selection of realales and traditional ciders in top condition.” Heexplained that as well as being a first rate pub forreal ales the Letter B was almost unique in thearea for its offering of the range of real ciders too.

Landlord Bruce Roan was then presented withhis award in front of the many familiar faces whovisit the Letter B, culminating in the photo’sduring which in his own words he even “smiled forthe camera”! Behind the sharp wit and wisdom ofWhittlesey’s foremost pub landlord however is adedication to maintaining an excellent pint.

As recipients of “Merit Awards” both pubs willnow be eligible to go forward into the Pub of theYear voting. If you are a CAMRA member pleasedon’t forget to cast your vote by 7th January 2012using the voting forms that you will have receivedin October. If you haven’t received yours thenplease email or telephone your branch contact.Details are on the website at www.realale.org.uk.

Karl Simpson - Press and Public Affairs Officer

Letter B and Railway featurein latest HOP awards

www.real-ale.org.uk

HOP Awards| 5Ph

oto by M

ick Slaughter

Photo by Mick Slaughter


The news that Tesco have brought forwardtheir demolition date for the Ploughmanin Werrington has not gone down well

with the regulars and local residents. Tesco areintent on having the new superstore open byNovember next year and work needs to start inthis financial year. It’s likely that the pub could bedemolished before April next year. Unless……

We change Tesco’s mind.At the moment the pub is leased to AndySimmonds on a very short lease and he wasalways aware that his time at the pub was goingto be limited. But recent amendments to theplans have shown that Tesco want to retain thepetrol station next to the pub. This being thecase, perhaps they can be convinced to amendthe plans further and incorporate the pub intothe new scheme without running a bulldozerthrough it.

An impossible task? Maybe, but there’s onething in our favour…We don’t think that Tesco are aware that the pubis a successful community pub. We think theyhave assumed it’s still the hell hole it was twoyears ago when Andy and Stuart took over.Essentially a run down dive with massive prob-lems and a blight on the local communitylandscape. Things have changed and we need to

let Tesco know about it. We need to show thatthere is a huge groundswell of support for thePloughman and especially the Simmondsbrothers who have achieved the impossible inless than two years. The pub has won a GoldAward from us, achieved Pub of the Year 2011and raised literally thousands for good causes.The introduction of real ale to the pub hasattracted drinkers from all over the country andthe pub hosts live music, charity events andpoker evenings as well as the annual beer festivalwhich raises even more money for charity. Addto all this the fact that the pub now has fourdarts teams, a crib team, a pool team and is

used by many of the groups that use the sportscentre following the closure of the Fox Covertbar. Without the Ploughman there is no place tomeet socially.

It has already been indicated that should thepub stay then there may be finance availablefrom a local brewery to refurbish the pub at nocost to Tesco. This is a win win situation for thegroup. They get an upgraded pub that doesn’tcost them a bean and they don’t need to go toall the expense of knocking the pub down. Thesuggestion that another pub will be built nearbyhas not been confirmed so this part ofWerrington could in theory have no pub at all !Besides, if another pub is built it will be a ‘foodled identikit pub’ leased to a National companywith little or no community affiliation. No thanks.

The Ploughman and Tesco

www.real-ale.org.uk

6 | Campaigning

)Besides, if another pub is

built it will be a ‘food led identikit pub’ leased to aNational company with little or no community affiliation. No thanks.(

Photos by John

Rice


What can YOU do to help?We need you to write a letter to Andy andStuart in support. Tell them that you think thepub should stay. Tell them that they have yoursupport. Sign the petition at the pub (180 signa-tures were collected in 48 hours!)

Visit the website www.savetheploughman.comand register, leave comments in the guestbook,sign the online petition. Get others to do thesame and spread the word. These letters and thepetition will then form part of the campaign toconvince Tesco that they need to retain the pub.

This is one fight I really think we can win. Itmay seem like impossible odds against us butwith enough support it’s just possible we canchange their minds. After all, Tesco do like to dotheir bit for the local community and thecompany is an Investor in People. Perhaps theycould invest in Andy & Stuart and do their bitfor this local community.

www.real-ale.org.uk

Campaigning | 7

)

Andy and Stuart with one of the awards presentedto them from Peterborough CAMRA for ThePloughman. Photo courtesy John Rice

Ye Olde Dun Cow InnBarrier Bank, Cowbit, Spalding, Lincs 01406 380543

www.yeoldeduncow.com

South Holland Overall Winner ‘Food and Drinks Award 2011 for the best

Public House & Restaurant’.

Our FoodAll our food is locally sourced including all beef, lamb andpork coming from Lincolnshire. We have used the samebutcher from the beginning which demonstrates theirunderstanding in our beliefs of only using the best meat.

Our Entertainment coming upOn a regular basis we also have a live band and always ensure thebands we have are both well known and truly professional.

coming soon are:

Porky Pig on 25th NovBurlesque rock band on Jan 27th

Our ChristmasWe are offering a Pre-Christmas Party Menu £23.75 a personAvailable from Thursday 1st December - Friday 23rd December

- please see our web site for the full menu

Photos by John

Rice


www.real-ale.org.uk

8 | Please support our advertisers

t. 01780 755141w. jollybrewer.com

Foundry Road, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 2PP

Lincolnshire CAMRA Pub of the Year 2009

Peterborough & District CAMRAPub of the Year 2009

• 5 real ales •plus Ciders and Perries. Over 30 Malt Whiskies

• Food served daily •12-3pm Monday - Sunday6-9pm Friday & Saturday

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Openings, closings and changingsAfter what seems like an age, the George inMarch is now under new management, or morecorrectly old management. The man in charge isNigel Marsh whose temporary departure causedsome confusion amongst drinkers in the fenlandtown back in April. Without going into too manydetails the affable Mr Marsh was removed fromhis premises by police (with the assistance ofpepper spray) and council officials under suspi-cion of trading without a licence. It’s taken oversix months to sort out the alleged transgressionand on the day of the court case the judgedismissed the case almost immediately. Thewhole sorry mess is the now subject to an internalpolice enquiry!

Mr Marsh is now back in his pub, trading andlooking forward to a problem free future. On myrecent visit Nigel gave me the full tour andshowed off his Cider and Ale Shed which will bedispensing a varied range of goodies in the nearfuture. The pub also sports a stylish coffee tavernwhich will no doubt attract those wanting some-thing less intoxicating. Add to this the two beergardens and we have a pub with massive poten-tial. George’s as it is now called is located on theHigh Street and is now ready to attract a wideaudience. We wish Nigel and his team all the best.See www.georges-march.co.uk for more details

The Marquis of Granby in Bourne is nowclosed and it looks like its future will not be as apub but as a beauty parlour and fitness centre. A real shame but part of a growing trend.

The White Hart in Fletton is a pub no more. In the last issue I gave a clue to its new purpose,that of a funeral parlour. The pub now has itsnew black livery as befits its new role and nowlooks like being in mourning, perhaps as a markof respect for all the other pubs that have closedin the city. Thanks to our ineffective planning laws

Fletton now has no pub to serve the community.Refreshments can be had at the Golden Lion inStanground about 500 yards away or in theWoodston pub about a mile in the opposite direc-tion. A sorry state of affairs. I am truly appalled.

Time to lift the mood a littleA couple of pub openings have surprised me overthe last few years. The first was the reopening ofthe Decoy at Milking Nook near Newboroughand the second is the Dog in a Doublet onNorth Bank (follow the Nene towards Wisbech orhead north from Whittlesey or south fromThorney - can’t miss it). The new owner JohnMcGinn is now in the process of reopening thepub following a massive refurb. John currentlyruns the Anchor in Wimblingon and the oppor-tunity to buy the Dog in a Doublet was too gooda chance to miss. There will be three ales on, onewill be Pedigree and the other two will be localales depending on what sells and what thecustomers fancy. Food will be on offer in the puband a ‘country kitchen’ is being installed as Iwrite. The opening times will be extensive andJohn has told me he’s quite likely to open early inthe morning to catch the breakfast trade (think ofall those hungry fishermen just gagging for abacon butty!). Quite simply this is the best news Icould have hoped for. Once again it shows thatthere are people out there who believe that pubsare worth opening, even ones we thought had hadtheir day. Thanks John, you’ve made my day. Theprojected opening date is the 1st December. Seewww.doginad.co.uk nearer the time for details.

The long awaited refurbishment of the LondonInn in Stamford has now finally been completed.The first customers crossed the threshold onFriday 28th of October and they appear to beimpressed. The pub operates on three floors andhas five handpumps offering Hobgoblin, London

Pub News

www.real-ale.org.uk

Pub News| 9

Continued Overleaf


www.real-ale.org.uk

10 |Pub News Continued

Pride and Doombar, plus two ciders, Weston’sTraditional Cider and Old Rosie.

It’s good to see Matt and Emma getting settledin at the Five Horseshoes in Barholm. Both ofthem have quite a bit of past experience undertheir collective belts with Emma working regularlyin the pub and Matt taking over at the Blue Bell

in Maxey to fill in for the holidays. They tell methat their first priority is to get the beer qualityconsistently spot on, and being real ale drinkersI’m sure they’ ll do it. There are six ales on, fourof which are rotated. The two permanent onesare Adnams and Oakham JHB. In the pastthey’ve had ales from Hopshackle, Oldershawsand Abbeydale as well as some of the more usualones such as London Pride, Bass and Pedigree.You’ ll also find three ciders available at anytimeany time. Matt and Emma are keen to introducesome darker beers which they feel is an area thathas been neglected in the past and they plan tohave at least one beer festival during the year.The pub doesn’t do food but they can arrangebuffets if required. Most pubs support a charityof some sort and the Five Horsehoes have hasadopted the MacMillan Nurses as theirs withfundraising events being planned. May they havecontinued good luck. We’ ll see you soon.

A couple of miles down the road the Hare andHounds at Greatford has reopened offering fivereal ales. Home cooked food should be availablefrom December

Out and AboutIt was a warm and sunny Sunday back in

October when I coaxed Mrs Pubs Officer awayfrom Bingo Blitz and Strictly Come Dancing andonto her bike with the sole intention of visiting acouple of suitable hostelries. A quick blast of airin the tyres, bike clips fitted and we were off inthe direction of Milking Nook and the Decoy.Within half an hour we were propped up at thebar with a pint of Tydd Steam Barn Ale for meand a fruit based drink for the lady. Trade can bea bit brisk in the Decoy, especially on the Sundaywe chose with lunches appearing thick and fast.There were even a couple of people waiting for atable which is always a good sign. There are threehandpumps on the bar and at least one of themwill have a local beer on. The pub has a beergarden which will be much used in the warmermonths of the year. If you’re having troublefinding Milking Nook on the map the Decoy isdirectly between Newborough and Peakirk.

A ride in the direction of Werrington was calledfor and first on the list was the Dragon. Nowpart of the ‘Simmospoons chain’ it is being runby the Simmonds Brothers as an addition to theaward winning Ploughman just around thecorner. Six handpumps are in use in the Dragonmost of which are Charles Wells although theydo have a couple free of tie offering somethingnon Bedford based. One of the reasons forvisiting the Dragon apart from the nice beer wasto have a chat with Chris the landlord who istaking part in a charity event. Somehow he andhis brothers have roped me into this evening of‘do gooding’ as well, but more of this later. A short ride south brings us to old Werringtonand the Cock Inn. The pub has had a bit of achequered past but is now on very firm groundand thriving. The pub provides good food and achoice of real ales although the beers tend to bestandard choices but very good all the same. Ourlittle jaunt took us quite predictably to the Hand& Heart in Millfield as it’s on a route back home.Here we find Bram and Sue milling about withtheir usual energy and verve. Ales by the bucketload in here with an excellent choice available. We take advantage of the beer garden and soakup a few more rays and a few more beers. Oh how we suffer!


www.real-ale.org.uk

Pub News continued | 11

Our last port of call was the new look Elm TreeTavern once known as the Comet. Money hasbeen well spent here and the place is fresh andbright. The pub is run by Amanda on behalf ofthe leaseholders and she does a superb job. A new chef has been installed and our meals wereexcellent and as I’d eaten all my vegetables I wasallowed a pudding. There is one or sometimestwo real ales available which have always been intip top condition on our visits. So, if you haven’tbeen to the Elm Tree for the food and beer go now.

A quizzical time for allIn my youth Tuesday was always band night.Nowadays weekdays tend to be more quiz orien-tated. Maybe it’s cheaper to read a few questionsand give away a gallon of beer as a prize thatbooking a band for a dozen customers. So, wherecan you go to lock antlers with fellow drinkersand argue over what is the capital of France? OnMonday you can go to the Bluebell inWerrington or the Black Swan in Farcet,Tuesday to the Bluebell in Dogsthorpe, onWednesday it’s a choice of the Drapers, ElmTree or the Ostrich and Charters, theGrapevine and the Golden Lion in Stangroundwill look after you on a Thursday. Nick at theRose offers a quiz on the first Thursday of themonth. So, there are no excuses for staying induring the week. The capital of France is F.

More beer in WerringtonThe Three Horseshoes in Werrington has nowinstalled their third handpump. The beers whichare on permanently are Adnams and Thwaite’sWainright with the third coming from the SIBAlist. Dawn the landlady intends adding a fourthhandpump soon which will be completely free oftie. My local pub spy informs me that the beersare superb in quality and condition.

Woodston, the home of scotch eggsThe Coalheaver’s Arms in Woodston held a beerfestival recently and as predicted sold out bySunday. When there isn’t a beer festival on youcan still have a wide range to choose fromincluding most if not all of the Milton Breweryrange. A speciality of the house is the humble

scotch egg ! Tom the landlord was keptdisturbingly busy during the festival up in his laircreating them by the hundred. No ordinaryscotch eggs these... black pudding, green thaicurry, tikka and even spam... you name it andhe’s probably created it.

Still in Woodston but less eggyHad a quick look in the Swiss Cottage just astone's throw from the Coalheaver's justrecently. They just happened to be holding theirbeer festival. Was this pure chance or had I readit in this magazine and forgotten about it?Anyway, a good choice of ales was on offer andeveryone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The ‘Swiss’ as far as I’m concerned is alwaysbuzzing with activity so they must be gettingsomething right.

Food but not as we know itMy thanks to Jonathon Groves of thePunchbowl in Stamford for introducing me tothe delights of oysters! That may sound like acontradiction but I thought I’d give it a go. We’dsettled ourselves near the bar on a quiet after-noon and before long we were chatting away tothe regulars. As the afternoon wore on mine hostsuggested that an oyster or two might take theday in a different direction. Never havingpartaken in such a thing before I put myselfforward to receive the oyster with some doubtand trepidation. It was nice to be reassured by alady at the bar who seemed to know her wayaround a mollusc, it was she who gave me theoyster eating crash course (or would that be asquish course?). Some chew, some force itbetween the roof of the mouth and the tongueand others just swallow and hope for the best!My experience was a combination of all three as I remember. They say that the perfect accompa-niment to oysters is champagne or stout but I found Summer Lightning to be an equallypleasant choice. Cheers to the Punchbowl fortaking me to dark and uncertain territory.

Falcon Stout and Captain BackwashAs I’m always looking for an excuse to visit the

Continued Overleaf


www.real-ale.org.uk

12 |Pub News Continued

pub I’m indebted to Duncan of Castor Ales andBram of the Hand & Heart for providing mewith one a few weeks ago. The creation of aspecial beer by Castor Ales to celebrate Bram’sbirthday was a nice idea I thought, much betterthan getting socks and hankies. The beer was achocolate stout and was 5.3% which was an indicator of Bram’s age I believe. The beerappeared at the Peterborough Beer Festival andat a few local pubs, Prince of Wales Feathers inCastor being one of them. The beer also made itto the Melton Mowbray beer festival where it wona Silver Award in the Beer of the Festival cate-gory. Well, if it won an award we’d better have aceremony and presentation (which proved to be my suitable excuse for visiting the pub).Representatives were on hand from MeltonMowbray and the local branch with SteveSaldana and Bram also waiting in the wings asthey helped out with the brewing of the beer andsubsequent mopping up and hoovering. To say agood night was had by all would be correct and itproved a perfect chance to try another ofCastor’s offerings, the Imperial Palace Ale whichwas showcased in the pub. Musical diversionswere provided by Captain Backwash & TheBarley Boy and Girl Rafter Raisers who havebeen resident in the pub on the third Thursdayin the month for a while now. That sounds likeanother excuse to visit the pub….

Straw, bells and bear wrestlingIt’s annual, it’s popular and it’s got straw all overit. Yes, January means it’s time for the StrawBear Festival in Whittlesey. 14th of January to beprecise. This is a perfect antidote to the WinterBlues which will probably have kicked in by thistime. If you haven’t been before think of morrisdancers, beer, folk music, more beer, pubs full tobursting and more morris dancing. Love it orhate it, it's here and it takes over the town.Many pubs like to put on beer festivals and thejustifiably popular Letter B usually does usproud with a choice of ales. In the past we’ve alsohad beer fests in the Bricklayer’s Arms and theNew Crown. Quite what will be on offer inJanuary 2012 is anyone’s guess but it’ll be worth avisit. Have a look at the Straw Bear website formore details at www.strawbear.org.uk.

It’s a charity thingJust occasionally I’m tempted like so many othersto do something stupid for charity. There are somany choices out there aren’t there? Should it bea fun run, sponsored walk, a toboggan ride downBen Nevis or a bungee jump?

Well, as I don’t like the idea of running amarathon dressed as a panda, walking seems toopedestrian, I don’t care much for heights and Idon’t think they make elastic strong enough formy ample frame it’ ll have to be something else.

On a cool October evening I was unfortunateenough to run into Andy Simmonds, landlord ofthe Ploughman pub in Werrington Centre whosuggested an alternative. Why not join us in aFirewalk at the nearby Dragon pub he said. Well, it was slightly chilly that evening and thethought of warming my feet up just sounded toogood to be true. For those not familiar with thisactivity it essentially means that I have to walkacross 15 ft of hot coals without so much as acorn plaster for protection. A walk in the park asthey say!

So, I have now put my name forward and I amnow on my way to rounding up sponsors who areonly too happy to see me singe my socks in thename of a good cause. The money raised will be forthe Lee Groome Fund which raises money locallyfor various worthwhile purposes including speciallyadapted wheelchairs, hearing aids and prostheticlimbs. The whole evening will be one of live music,food, beer and smouldering feet. Cheers for now,Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Steve WilliamsPubs Officer

NOO


By the time you are reading this the BurghleySquare Club will have opened its doors for the firsttime since 2008. It has had a sympathetic refit tocreate a warm and welcoming environment for allreal ale buffs to enjoy. This is a members club fiveminutes walk from the bustling town centre and isan ideal meeting place before you hit the nightlife,or to stay and enjoy the many real ales on offer,there are quite a few! Beers from Rockingham Ales,Hopshackle, RCH and Church End breweries toname a few, plus ciders, lagers, Guinness, winesand many specialised bottled beers. The club alsooffers a function room upstairs with its own barwhich can be hired by members for parties,weddings, meetings or even your Xmas do.

So if you haven’t already joined ring 01733 561541 -it’s free to CAMRA members and formermembers. It is good to see real ale pub openingwith so many closing around us, so call in and seeJoss, Nick and Harv at 7 Burghley Road,Peterborough.

Cheers!

SIBA Competitionand Beer FestivalWednesday 21st September saw the SIBA EastRegion Beer Competition 2011 take place in amarquee at Elgoods Brewery. 140 beers wereentered in the competition and the ChampionBeers were:Gold- Grain Brewery Redwood 4.8%Silver- Oakham Ales Green Devil IPA 6.0%Bronze- B&T Brewery Fruit Bat 4.5%The biggest winner was Wolf Brewery with 2Golds, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze Awards. The wholeevent was presided over by SIBA`s Chief ExecutiveJulian Grocock. Next day the Beer Festival wasopened at 12.00 with Local MP Steven Barclaypulling the first pint. Around 1,500 puntersattended over the 3 days. Thanks must go to allthose who came and tasted the beers on theWednesday and to Elgoods Management and stafffor the Festival itself.

John Rice, BLO.

Pub News | 13

Burghley Square

Club re-opens

HARE & HOUNDS A T G R E A T F O R DNO

WOP

EN

A genuine FREE HOUSE

FIVE Real Ales, real fires and a warm welcome!

This traditional English pub has just reopened after acomplete refurbishment. We now offer a wide range of Real

Ales including:- Oakham JHB, Woodfordes Wherry,Adnams Broadside, Draught Bass and one guest beerOPEN ALL DAY (11am -11pm) and late at weekends

Home cooked food available soon – please call Alex on07719 440760 for bookings or check our website:

www.thehareandhoundsgreatford.co.uk

The Hare and Hounds, Village St, Greatford, Stamford PE9 4QA


www.real-ale.org.uk



Yes yes, I know it's a long way off but weCAMRA types take a while to get aroundto things!

In the last issue I mentioned that we don’t seemto celebrate our patron saint particularly well. TheIrish make a decent fist of St Patrick’s Day if youlike the idea of green dyed Guinness, the Frenchtake to the streets on Bastille Day and theAmericans like to make it known in a fairly big waythat they are independent from this side of theAtlantic with Independence Day (available onDVD and Blueray).

So, what are we going to do about it?Well, for starters I don’t think CAMRA should doall the work here. We do after all have a wealth ofpublic houses quite capable of doing something’themed’ for the big day (April 23rd in case youdidn’t know or use the whole week with aweekend at either end).

We’ ll be able to give the pubs a platform onwhich to promote their activities with space onour website to promote individual pubs who aredoing something special. We’ve also decided thata downloadable guide to What’s On during theweek long celebrations should be produced. We also have this magazine which can be used tofurther promote the fun and frolics to thediscerning readers out there. What we need noware pubs to come up with a few ideas and plantthem firmly in the calendar in the next fewmonths. If you want something including in BeerAround 'Ere which will be out in time for StGeorge's Day you will need to be letting meknow about it by LATE JANUARY AT THELATEST. After this day you’ ll only be able tohave something included in the download and onthe website.

We already have two local pubs who’ve let meknow that they'll be holding beer festivals duringthis time. The Coalheaver’s Arms in Woodston

and the Hand & Heart in Millfield are the twopubs in question, which makes a nice start. We’vealso got a couple of local brewers who’ ll beproducing a St George’s Day beer. It might be anice idea to preview the beers at a suitable pubsomewhere?

We will of course organise something to cele-brate St George and we’ve decided it will be a bustrip. The tour will take place on Sunday 22nd ofApril and it will visit some pubs called, notsurprisingly, The George. The end of the tour willinevitably be the Dragon in Werrington! Allsubject to change as usual but if we can get a reddouble decker bus to do the honours for us Ithink it’ ll be a good day out. Book your placenow if you like! All welcome, not just CAMRAmembers.

Ideas for pubs to try.....Traditional English food and beer night.Traditional Pub Games evening.English Cheese evening. Wash it down with a

few choice English ales.“My Mother-in-Law isn’t a dragon lunch”. Bring

her along for a meal and get a discount.

Combine the activities with a charity event andraise some cash for good causes.

Whatever you choose to do the important thingis to let me know about it. We can’t do anythingto help unless we’re in the loop. Make use of us,it’s what we’re here for.

Steve Williams

www.real-ale.org.uk

St George’s Day


While many of us beer drinkers regularlyfind ourselves supping a pint or twodown at our locals, how often do we

think about doing this while having our meals? I think that it might be fairly commonplace to godown to the local curry house and have a pint ofwhatever is on to help wash down our favoritephal, but would we consider doing the same at afine dining restaurant? Would we bother to takethe time to carefully consider what we are eatingand try to match a beer to our chosen food?Would we even be able to find a place to do this,or are we stuck with a limited range of off puttinglagers at our eating establishments?

For me, pairing food with beer is as natural aspairing my socks; and it might be just as difficultas well (all you out there with mismatched sockson right now know exactly what I mean). I wouldlike to think that someone who is willing to takethe time to drink a proper real ale on a day today basis, would also be just as demanding ontheir food choices. So why not bring the twotogether. Perhaps this is easier said than done.

My first real experience with food and beerpairing occurred earlier in the year when I wasfortunate enough to attend a beer and foodpairing hosted by Brewdog down in London(issue #158 BAE). It was a good event, but I wasnot entirely sold on the idea. Fortunately, a fewmonths later when I was back in Texas, Iattended an event with a brewery call RangerCreek (see issue #160). They did an amazing jobpairing their ales with cart food. After this event, I was hooked on the idea. I had finally beenwowed by a beer and food pairing and I had anidea of what could be achieved. And thus wasborn the idea of bringing food and beer pairingsto Peterborough.

My first mission was to find a partner in crime,as I tend to drink extreme beers that may not besuited for the masses. I somehow managed towrangle in the services of one Steve Williams tohelp me set everything up. He has a keen sense

www.real-ale.org.uk

Beer and food… A matchmade in heaven!


| 17

of taste, and is very opinionated...for better orfor worse. I knew he would not shy away frombeing awkward and that he would allow fornothing but the best. Next, we needed to findan eating establishment that would be willing tolet two strange “beer snobs” take over for thenight. I had originally thought that this was goingto be the difficult part, but Nick at the Rose wasvery accommodating and let us run with ourideas. And the final part was to find a brewerythat would pair up well with the style of foodbeing served. Again, we were fortunate that ourfirst choice worked. Nigel at Hopshackle agreed tolet us serve his beers for this dinner (it would bethe only place in Peterborough to find his beer).

The dinner itself took place on the 15th ofSeptember, with 16 people in attendance. Nick’sincredible cooking paired with the nectar that isHopshackle beer was a match made in heaven.The evening consisted of five courses paired withfour beers. Out of the four beers that werepaired with food, only one was a miss. It was nota miss because the beer was wrong, or evenbecause the food was wrong, but rather because I was wrong. I had miscalculated the flavorprofiles and so the pairing was a mismatch. I guess you live and learn.

Overall, the evening was a huge success.Everyone went home full of food and beer, andwith smiles on their faces. The evening went sowell that there is a second beer and food pairingin the works now hopefully to take place in theNew Year. So the question remains, how do yougo about pairing your beer with food? You couldgo about it like we did, and go with trial anderror, or you could take the time to do researchto see what “experts” say, although because thisis a relatively new thing here in England, you willmore than likely find pairings for Belgium ales orAmerican ales. Or, you could stay tuned toBAE and try some of the pairings that will befeatured here from time to time. To get you started, you could try the following:

my take on a pairing that was served at the Roseand Hopshackle beer pairing evening.

Jambalaya (serves 4-6 people)Ingredients:1 large onion (diced)1 small carrot (diced)3 garlic cloves (diced or 1 tblsp garlic paste)1 bell pepper (diced)1 to 2 Hot Chilies (diced)link chorizo (cut into small rounds or diced)6 chicken wings1 tin chopped tomatoes1 cup rice (long grain) 2 cups mixed seafood (fresh or frozen) shouldinclude shrimp, mussels, squid, etc.3 cups good stock (fish is preferable but chickenor vegetable will do)Salt and Pepper

In a deep pot or wok (my preferred way) add alittle oil and brown the chicken wings over amedium high heat. Once the wings are brownedon both sides, remove them from the pan, butleave the oil in the pan. Add the onions, carrots,and bell pepper to the oil and reduce the heat tomedium low. Cover. After 5 minutes, add thechorizo the garlic and the chilies to the mix.Cook until the vegetables are soft and thechorizo has released it’s grease. Stir occasionallyto ensure that the mixture does not stick to thebottom.

Turn the heat back up to medium high.Uncover the pot and add the chicken wings andthe tomatoes. Cook this mixture uncovered for 1minute, then add the rice. Mix the rice in thor-oughly, ensuring that all the grains are covered.Add the stock and the seafood, mix well andsimmer for 20 minutes or until the rice iscooked. You may have to add stock or water ifthe mixture seems to be drying out. In a perfectworld, this would be served up with jalapeñocorn bread and a bottle of Tabasco sauce.

The beer that I would recommend to go withthis dish would be Hopshackle’s DoubleMomentum. It is a 7% hopmonster that seemsto go very well with this dish.

Steve Saldana


The Taste of Africa & The CaribbeanThe Only Afro Caribbean Restaurant in Cambridgshire

Real Ale, Wine, Lager, Cocktails

Open Tuesday to SundayOpen on Christmas

Day (Booking Only)

Beer and

Food Pairing

Friday 20th Ja

n 2012

(Booking Only)

Eat free on yo

ur

birthday!

Book a table

of two or more!

We are now taking Christmas Bookings

www.emberestaurant.com2 Burghley Road, Peterborough PE1 2QB

Tel 01733 873003

www.real-ale.org.uk


29 North Street, Stanground PE2 8HR. 01733 753544

Up to 4 Real Ales availableFriendly village pub with riverside mooring. Large garden • Dogs welcome • Open all day

Food served: Tues to Sun 12.00 - 2.30pm, Mon to Sat 6pm - 9pm

Quiz night Sundays - cash prizes

Sat 10 Dec - Live Entertainment from “theCountries” singing country/blues 9pm

Sunday 18 Dec 3pm - Steve Bean plays classical guitar

Hand made in CastorMob: 07828 048 664 www.castorales.co.uk

now only av

ailable in B

righton

Melton Mowbray Beer of the festival 2011

SILVERAWARDFalcon Stout

Falmouth Beer Fest Best Bitter Category 2011

BRONZEAWARDOld Scarlett


ElgoodsIndian Summer, 4.8%, is now available in bottles.Warrior, 5.5%, which is only available in bottles,won Gold in its class and Gold in championbottled beer of the Eastern Region at the SIBAcompetition in September. Greyhound, 5.2%, wonSilver in the strong beer class at the same festival.Three beers will be available in December -Feelgood Festive, 3.7%, Snickalmas, 5.0%, andWenceslas (Winter Warmer), 7.5%.

Nene Valley BreweryRupert Farnsworth, the brewer, and two others,one of whom is a chemist, are partners in theNene Valley Brewery. As reported in the previousedition of BAE, the initial equipment was sourcedfrom the now redundant Cherwell Valley Brewery.The 2.5 barrel plant, along with two 2.5 barrelfermentation vessels, was installed in July 2011,and since then a further two 2.5 barrel fermentingvessels have been added. They are now able tobrew four times per week and, at the time ofwriting, are about to commence their 25th brew.With help from those who were involved withCherwell Valley Brewery they initially producedNVB (Nene Valley Bitter), a 4.1% chestnut-coloured beer, which has gone down well. Nowavailable in selected pubs is their second beer,now on its third brew, BSA (Blonde Session Ale).This is a 3.8% offering. Rupert's aim is to even-tually produce a traditional IPA

Oakham AlesIt was March 1996 when John Bryan went inter-stellar with his new creation White Dwarf. A classic English wheat beer so dry in its finish italmost had its own climate control. It wonnumerous awards in a niche market & salesremained buoyant for years but for some reasonthe beer didn’t seem to like the move to the newbrewery and, after numerous problems, the wheatcontent was dramatically dropped and the beerwas re-launched as an English Bitter. Take up

since has been slow, so sadly for those of us thatloved it, after the present brew the end is nigh &it will be no more. A requiem mass will be said inits memory at the church of San Carmen, LaCarihuela, Torremolinos, in Southern Spain. It willbe replaced in the permanent range in January2012 by Scarlet Macaw at 4.4% abv, a beer youmay already be familiar with. So from the newyear the permanent range of five beers will beJ.H.B. 3.8%, Inferno 4.0%, Citra 4.2%, ScarletMacaw 4.4% & Bishops Farewell 4.6%. Brewing bynumbers me thinks!

Some top awards have been won recently withDreamcatcher, originally brewed for thePeterborough Beer Festival, winning ChampionBeer at the recent St. Albans beer festival. At theSIBA awards held at Elgoods Brewery, BlackHole Porter & Green Devil I.P.A. won gold intheir categories with Green Devil going on to winoverall Silver Medal. Any chance of this beer beingavailable a bit more please chaps? Well done to allwith the awards.

For more info. about Oakham Ales extensivebeer range visit the web site oakhamales.com.

Melbourn BrothersMelbourn is still producing three fruit beers onlywhich are sent up to Sam Smith's for bottlingand sale. The brewer comes down from Yorkwhen he is needed and there are no plans tochange the current arrangements.

Ufford AlesIt has been confirmed that the Brewery will nolonger be moving to Stamford. However, detailsof an alternative location are unavailable atpresent.

Local Brewery Update

www.real-ale.org.uk

Brewery News | 19



We had a jolly boys and girls outing onSaturday to the 5th Ascot BeerFestival, which was run over two days,

30th September and 1st October. The cost ofthis delight was £8.50 for CAMRA members and£14 for non- members and that is the entranceinto one of the greatest race courses in the worldand the beer festival which is held in the stands.

They had over 200 beers on sale and 28 Cidersand Perry. I but must add here that due to thevery nice weather they had sold out of some, butto give them credit had held back some just forthe Saturday meeting. All beers where priced at£1.50 for half a pint and £3 for a pint. As all saleswere ticket only, no cash needed to change hands.You can book your beer tickets on-line at thesame time as booking your entrance tickets, andall are waiting for you to collect, very efficient.

They publish a wonderful Tasting Notes bookletand this gives the beer virgins great notes andinformation in the booklet as to “How to read theTasting Notes” just as you read the form in therace card.

They have a picture of the brewery and nameand the brewery location, with the town andcounty. Beer name, style of beer, alcohol volume(ABV), bar location, description of the beer andappearance and last but not least colour codedstyles, with reference to the colour code on page11 of the guide. The colour code is a great helpwith 8 colours,

Fullers had their own bar, and whilst there onthe Saturday they had their heavy horses onshow in their dray finery.

Concrete Cow of Milton Keynes had 4 beersand a lot of people went to try and buy and the

beers were very good, with ordinary bitter, bestbitter and golden ales, 3.8% to 4.5%, good quaffingales for the weather. We went to try the AscotAles, from Camberley in Surrey, and were notdisappointed in any of them other than we couldnot get a taste of their Coconut Crocodile, it wasnot ready when we arrived Saturday and by thetime we went back it had gone, there’s always nextyear. One that we girlies liked a lot, was ItchenValley’s Godfather, at 3.8% a good drink and itsnotes say, “A citrus hop character with a maltytaste and a light body, leading to an increasinglydry, bitter finish. Pale brown in colour, and it wasonly available on the Saturday. The beers startedat 3.5% and went to a 7.0%, which was BetjemanBrewery of Wantage, and Sebastopol, a strongRussian-style stout.

So as well as the drinking we were able to watchand enjoy the wonderful racing that was going onand just to add to the day we had a few winners,so a good day all round. After the races finishedthey had music, Friday they had The CeilidhAllstars, and Saturday Adrian Edmondson andThe Bad Sheppards. If you want a good day out,with drinking and entertainment we would all say“Go to Ascot”

Many thanks to all who came on the trip withus and hope you can join us again next year, 49seats will be booked.

Roz and Robert Fountain

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Ascot BeerFestival Trip

Ascot Beer Festival | 21


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Peterborough CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2010Three ales served from the likes of Oakham,Digfield, Brewdog, Castor and GrainstoreContinental Lagers • American bottled beer

Opening Times 12 midday to 11.30pm, Sunday, Monday,

Wednesday, Thursday, 12 midday to 2am Friday and Saturday,

closed Tuesday.

9A North St, StamfordLincs PE9 1EL01780 765888

www.mamaliz.co.uk

See our web site for seasonal events

THE VINEMarket Deeping

Telephone: 07501 465 64619 Church Street, Market Deeping

Free House with 5 Real Ales

2 Regular AlesVine Ale, Sharps Doom Bar

3 Guest AlesStockist of Hopshackle Beers


Visit to Nottingham City | 23

Well maybe not strictly true as the strollwas actually in Nottingham city. Withthe guidance of two of Nottingham

branches prominent members, who accompanied us around some of the lessfrequented pubs we set off from the Castle Rockbrewery. First we had the experience of riding onone of the city trams from just above the Railwaystation to our first port of call. The Lion isperched on a hillside opposite the tram stop inthe Basford area. A fair selection of ales was onoffer. The unique attraction of this pub is thecellar which can be viewed through glass coversover what appears to be an old well. With atwenty foot drop it may have explained the dropin beer temperature at the hand pumps.

A ten minute walk from here found us admiringthe now defunct Star Brewery building of ex-brewer Shipstons. A well known landmark stillstanding with the large star motive on display. On the Radford Road stands the Horse andGroom pub serving several beers from mainlymicro brewers. Although small the pub hasseveral distinct areas on two levels. The pub is acurrant GBG entry.

Next on the trek was another GBG entry theLincolnshire Poacher where a welcome food breakwas required. At least ten hand pumps weredispensing a range of micro brewed beers rangingfrom a mild to a strong stout. Another ride on thetram took us to one of Nottingham’s newest pubsThe Organ Grinder, the brewery tap for localbrewery Blue Monkey. As you would expect therange of the brewery beers were on offer alongsideguest ales. Our final pub we just had time to visitwas The Canalside to sample some more CastleRock beers, as some had only tried the beer inthe earlier brewery visit – well they were free! Withour scheduled train times approaching wethanked our two Nottingham ‘guides’ Ray Kirbyand Colin Camidge for their valuable directives.Another visit would be most welcome from thePeterborough contingent.

DM

Strolling in SherwoodCountry

4 Cask Marque accredited real ales that includes 2 regularly changing guests

Food served - Monday to Saturday 12pm to9pm. Sunday Carvery served 12pm to 5pm

Live Music for December Friday Dec 23 Mug Jugglers -

Acoustic Duo – commences 8.30pm

NEW YEARS EVEDuane & Pete – Acoustic Duo – commences

9pm to see in the New Year!

The Dolphin InnThe Dolphin Inn60 East Street, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1QD. Tel 01780 755494


Every couple of months or so a group of15 to 20 regulars from The Coalheavershave an away day somewhere and the

latest trip was to York. Now York can be quiteexpensive to get to but if you book 12 weeks inadvance and book for a group of 3 to 9, you canmake huge savings. We got our tickets for just£18 for reserved seats on Eastcoast Trains. Theonly downside here is that you are on specifictrains and if you miss it, tough!

When we go on these trips it is always a goodidea to start the day with breakfast in DrapersArms, where for £4 you can get a filling breakfastand coffee. Fuelled up we were ready to go.Accompanying us, as always on these trips, isour bear mascot Bomber who has been in farmore pubs than your average bear, and we haveall his photos in the pub to prove it.

My main concern for the day is making sure

everyone gets the train, and if you knew some ofthe people on these trips you would understandmy concerns. Getting there is usually okay butthe return trip can sometimes be very perilousafter a few beers. Everyone managed to get onthe 10.15 so half of my concern was put to restand 75 minutes later we were in York.

Our first stop of the day was The Maltings,just 5 minutes walk from the station. We gotthere at 11.45 and it was packed. Being thenearest pub to the station, everyone goes therefirst. There was even a doorman on duty but hewas just there to deter any unruly stag or henparties. They had 5 or 6 different ales onincluding beers from Osset, Great Heck, BlackSheep and Thornbridge, all of which were good.It’s a good sized pub with a nice atmospherewhen it’s not too busy and is full of interestinglittle curios on the walls. A perfect first stop.

Coalies Go Mad(Ness) In York

www.real-ale.org.uk


Our 2nd stop was a wonderful place that Iwas told about recently with an equallywonderful name “The House of The TremblingMadness”. If you ever go to York you must visitthis place. It takes its name from the Belgianbeer “Delirium Tremens” and the beers on offerare in a similar vein with draught beers fromBelgium, Germany and USA and Marble bestbitter on hand pump and a great selection ofbottled beers from the likes of Flying Dog,Brewdog and Magic Rock. For the real hardcoredrinkers they also stock the silly strengthBrewdog beers Tactical Nuclear Penguin, SinkThe Bismarck and at a mere 60%, Start theFuture. Needless to say, several of our party didindulge. It was only 12.15! This is a great bar thatalso does very good food. Though most of thebeers are quite strong, the prices are not toobad. The only slightly unnerving thing about theplace was the stuffed animal heads on the wallsincluding a lion and a pair of moles and they arereally badly done. The bar is actually upstairsabove an off license which itself has some weird

and wonderful beers from all around the world.Well worth a look, you may want to take a ruck-sack. As this place was so unique we stayed for asecond beer here, something we don’t usually do.

The great thing about York is that there areso many pubs and all very close together, youcan fall out of one and straight into another, andso we did! The Yorkshire Terrier was about 30yards away. It’s a very small pub with a very

small doorway and very easy to miss. Look forthe pub sign. It may be small but it has a greatatmosphere and features the full York breweryrange. The Centurions Ghost was very good.There were also a couple of Osset beers. With18 of us in there it soon filled up so we didn‘tstay too long as another large group came in.One of the great things about this pub is thehog roast shop next door, a perfect stop fordinner.

A 2 minute walk round the corner and we wereat another York brewery pub, The 3 LeggedMare. A bit bigger than The Terrier, with asimilar beer range. It was very busy so wedecided to sit outside on the terrace. It mayhave been mid October, but the weather wasgreat. Once again the beer was on top form,especially the house beer, Wonky Donkey.

Next stop was about 50 yards away this time,to The Guy Fawkes, allegedly the house whereGuy Fawkes was born. Once again a very nicepub with a busy, small bar and a large room tothe side offering great views of the Minster (ifyou like that sort of thing). The beers were fromOsset, York, Castle Rock and their own housebeer, Guy Fawkes from Great Heck.

After leaving here we had a 10 minute walk toThe Ackhorne, or Acorn. This is a very difficultpub to find as it is down a small pedestriancobbled alleyway, but well worth looking for. It looks quite small from the outside but whenyou go in it is really quite big and, again, had agood range of beers on including beers from

www.real-ale.org.uk

Visit to York| 25

)For the real hardcore

drinkers they also stock thesilly strength Brewdog beersTactical Nuclear Penguin,Sink The Bismarck and at amere 60%, Start the Future.(

Continued Overleaf


www.real-ale.org.uk


Real traditional ale house in the heart of the city

North Street, behind Westgate House, Peterborough Tel: 01733 746370www.facebook.com/ostrichinn

5 Regularly Rotating AlesOpening Times :- 11am -11pm Monday to Thursday, 11am -1am Friday to

Saturday, 12 - 11pm Sunday,

Live Music Fridays and Saturdays - ring or check facebook for details!

IN THE CAMRAGOOD BEERGUIDE 2012


Hopping Mad, Hopback, Dent and CopperDragon. This pub also had an outside area andwe decided to make the most of the great weather.

Our last pub for the day was another 30 yardsaway on Micklegate called The Brigantes and isthe current York CAMRA pub of the year, andyou can easily see why. There were 8 beers onfrom York brewery, Black Sheep, Great Heck,Leeds and Thornbridge. This is quite a big puband seemed very popular with CAMRA types,two of which recognised us from PBF and TheCoalies – Hello to you if you’re reading this andsorry I can’t remember your names but it hadbeen a long day! There are hundreds of pumpclips on the ceiling showing just how many beersthey get through. Another ‘must visit’ pub, butsaying that, they all are really.

When we go on our away days we have a finessystem where anyone can incur a £1 fine forvarious offences such as drinking halves ordrinking lager, being late, spilling beer, ogling oreven telling groan-worthy bad jokes and manymore. It’s a good earner and this trip raised over£20. With 20 minutes before the train was to leaveI started herding everyone together ready to leavewhen we noticed Steve had joined a very longqueue in the chip shop. He had already been finedfor being late and now looked set to be fined formissing the train, not to mention having to payfull fare to get home, but I was worrying too muchand everybody was grateful for his chips, theywere lovely.

After a brisk five minute walk we made it to thestation - I counted them all out and I countedthem all back on to the train. We had made it withno casualties!

All in all, a great day and we will revisit York verysoon and could easily do 6 or 7 totally differentpubs. In November the York Tap should be openin an old tea room in the station, and is owned bythe same company who run the Sheffield Tap andThe Euston Tap. Should be good!

Dave Botton

www.real-ale.org.uk

York visit continued | 27

The Cherry Tree9 - 11 Oundle Road,

Peterborough PE2 9PB

Tel: 01733 703495

FOUR Real Ales available including Timothy Tayor Landlordand three changing guest ales.

OPEN ALL DAY EVERYDAY

Traditional Meals Served DailyPrivate Function room holds up to 40 people

Ideal for small meetings, weddings and parties

Covered Smoking Area • Childrens play area

Christmas menu available

AMPLE PARKING • CAMRA GOLD AWARD

www.cherrytree-inn.co.uk

3 Cask Ale pumps with atleast 1 LocAle and others

from far and wide

Food served every day • Sunday CarveryFunction rooms available to hire for all occasions

Karaoke every Friday 8.00pmQuiz Night every Wednesday 8.30pm start

BOOK NOW FOR BOXING DAY& NEW YEARS EVE!

Under New Management

Freehouse

London Street, Whittlesey PE7 1BH Tel: 01733 351001


Paul Brammer, landlord of the Hand AndHeart, Highbury Street, Peterborough,is fortunate to have a birthday that coin-

cides with the Peterborough Beer Festival. Notonly does he get to celebrate with a huge rangeof ale, and fellow ale lovers, he also manages tocoerce a local brewer to brew a ‘festival special’aka ‘Bram’s birthday special’ for the occasion.This year it was the turn of Castor Ales. Bramapproached brewer and owner, Duncan Vesseyand a few nights were spent over a pint or twodiscussing style, malt ratios, and hop varieties!Bram and Duncan decided to brew a stout, andas an ex-train driver Bram wanted to name thebeer Falcon Stout, after the locomotive ‘Falcon’,a British Rail assigned Class 53. The Falcon wasin service from 1959 until 1975. To commemoratethe train, they aimed for an ABV of 5.3%. Bramwas 53 on his birthday and Duncan is also 53!

Brew day in July: Duncan was accompanied byBram and Steve Saldana, (MembershipSecretary) and the malt ratios were duly mashedin. Along with maris otter, the other maltsincluded roasted barley, crystal malt, chocolateand black malt roasted to a coffee grain appear-ance, and a dollop of organic oats!

Steve and Bram racked the previous week’sbrew: Roman Gold, whilst Duncan ‘ran off’ thewort from the mash tun to the copper. Duncansaid, ‘ The aromas at this stage were fascinating;malty coffee tones infused with liqourice anddark chocolate and a rich dark colour.’ And soon to the boil, and in the meantime Bram meas-ured out the hops, and Steve dug out the mashtun, an unequal division of labour it wouldseem! The hops used were Phoenix andCascade.Duncan said, ‘It was certainly a chal-lenge brewing a stout and I’d like to thank SimonRaines of Ufford Ales and Mark Watch ofMoonshine Brewery for helping me fine tune themalt ratios’. Bram said, ‘Steve and I had a greatday with Duncan and we were pleased to beable to help brew the Falcon Stout. The wortwas as black as the brewery dog: Maude theblack Labrador.’

The beer was ready for Peterborough BeerFestival, and in the same week appeared in theHand and Heart, and the Prince of WalesFeathers. An extra few weeks of maturation in thecask and the remaining two casks went to theMelton Mowbray and Falmouth beer festivals.

At Melton Mowbray the Falcon Stout won thesilver award in the Beer of the Festival competi-tion. Festival organiser John Arthur, said,‘Falcon Stout won the silver award in a blindtasting session and beat off stiff competition,’Congratulations to Duncan, and to pick up thisrecognition is a true indication of his brewingexpertise, made more pleasing for me personallyas I come from Peterborough so it's great that abrewer from my hometown won one of our awards.

A few weeks later and Castor Ales along withother local brewers from the Eastern region wasrepresented at the Falmouth Beer Festival, one ofthe biggest in the South West. In the Best Bittercategory Old Scarlett, won a bronze. Elgood’sPageant won the silver. Duncan said, ‘I’m verygrateful to the people of Falmouth and Cornwall,every brewer appreciates awards and I’m veryfortunate to receive two in such a short space oftime. I’d like to thank Peterborough and DistrictCAMRA for their support, and the help andassistance I receive from other brewers in thedistrict and the pubs in area that sell Castor Ales.’

Falcon flies south via Melton Mowbray

28 | Castor Ales


www.real-ale.org.uk

Castor Ales | 29

A Traditional Ale House with an openfire

Six Real Ales with four on rotation

3 Ciders • 2 Lagers

large beer garden • Pool room

Opening Times open from 4pm week days

1pm saturday and 12pm sundays

Tel: 01778 560238 Barholm, Stamford

Lincs PE9 4RA

Winter at The

Lunchtime specials (Mon–Fri 12-2pm)

‘Early Bird’ menu (Mon-Fri 6-7pm)

1 Main Road, Etton, Peterborough PE67DA Tel 01733 252387

[email protected] Webwww.thegoldenpheasant.net

FOUR guest real ales!

Open Daily:

Mon – Thurs

11.30-3pm

and 4.30-11pm

Fri/Sat

11.30am-11pm

Sun

11.30-10.30pm

Great main food menu to choose from Daily

(Mon-Fri 12-2pm and 6-9pm, Saturday 12-9pm, Sunday 12-6pm)

GOLDEN PHEASANTGOLDEN PHEASANT


Each of the phrases is an anagram of a well-known brewery and one of their ales.All beers can be regularly found on the

pumps in Peterborough area pubs as well as beinglisted in the current CAMRA Good Beer Guide2012. The first drawn answer sheet with all 20breweries & beers correctly identified wins a gallonof beer to be drank in the Hand & Heart. Please send all entries to [email protected].

1. KEEPING IN RAGE2. A FAKE NON-ISLAM HERO3. CHOKE PIGEON, SCORN JEN4. ONE PARTRIDGE MESS5. LADIES, NAME ONE HOBBY?6. BEER? SHREWD TEASHOP!7. CARL EVERT LACKS HOP TEAS8. SO, REAL POCKET LINED THUS?9. BOLD GROWLER’S HADES ALE10. SUP-ALONG TIMES11. MADDIE’S SAD BARON12. LEN’S DOORPULL FRIEND13. SEE A SORRY TOKEN14. BANAL MASTER TEDDY15. ALERT AS OLD GROOMS CAN16. JOCK’S NEARLY GREAT BREW17. BERATE POSTMAN’S REALM18. SHOULD I DANCE IN CAP AREA?19. I DESERVE SALFORD MADE SORROW20. BEN THERE! LATE ALE MUG?

Hand & Heart:

CAMRA CambridgeshirePOTY 2010

CAMRA Gold Award Winner 2010

Up to 6 ever-changing real ales, plus traditional cider & perry

Spacious Beer Garden with 3 festivals each yearOccasional Live Music (inside & out)

Competition

www.real-ale.org.uk

30 | Anagram competition sponsored by the Hand & Heart

An Oriental Experiencefrom Chairman Mu

Greetings from the lands of dongs, clongs, hongsand thongs! Yes I’m reporting from the Far East ofour planet. On a recent trip to China, Cambodiaand Thailand I made a concerted effort to discoverthe delights (or not) of what the local brews werelike. Now anyone who has been over this neck ofthe woods will realise that you are not going tofind a pint of best ‘crudgies’ bitter to slake yourraging thirst from trailing around in 35 degreestemperatures.

So first stop China in Shanghai and Xi’an. Aftermuch hunting Pauliner wheat beer was found,albeit in the hotel bar in Xi’an. The population ofXi’an is a mere 8 million, whereas Shanghai is 26million. So it’s a miracle we found anywhere todrink at all. (The ratio of bars to population isnothing to our country).

The next stop was Cambodia and the capital,Phnom Penh, a compact city of around 2 million.When you have the luxury of a brother in resi-dence within the city it can be a great advantage.So on our first night heading downtown by thelocal preferred form of transport – the tuk-tuk,and arriving at Paddy Rice’s’ I was a bit scepticalas to what the brews on offer were to be.Surprisingly the first one I tried was a fairly recentnew brewery beer named Kingdom. Without goinginto great detail some of the other beers were asyou would expect in this part of the world. Angkorand Anchor lagers were the most popular but notthe same beers. Tiger another well-known FarEast brew was in evidence. A visit to a bar calledthe Pickled Parrot came up with world renownedale Coopers Sparkling Ale from Aussie land. Twoother surprises were discovered. Lao Dark, a brewfrom neighbouring Laos. This was a 6% dark beerwith a fairly sweet taste. ABC stout came out at ahefty 8%! At the time of bashing this out I’ve notprobably discovered all the local brews but, have Ithink discovered the most recognised ones. As it’snow reaching the ‘happy gong’ hour I’m off to seeif there are any other secrets ‘tuked’ away in thiscrazy city.

Ha So from Chairman Mu.


~ Eye ~Blue Boar

46 High Street, Eye, Peterborough PE6 7UY Tel: 01733 222234

Selection of Real Ales including Oakham Ales

Sky Sports • Pool Table • Darts

Home cooked Sunday LunchesSmall conference room available

(Weddings,Christenings and business facilities)

Christmas Menu availablethroughout December,

please book in advance

FREE

Christmas Parties Welcome!

Please support our advertisers | 31

BREWERY TAP OF CASTOR ALES details at:www.princeofwalesfeathers.co.uk

Award winning village local in historic Castor. Close to the Nene Valley Railway & Ferry Meadows.Serves 5 guest ales & real cider. Walker & dog friendly.

Home cooked food every lunchtime and NOW available midweek evenings too!!

The Prince of Wales Feathers

Castor, Peterborough Tel: 01733 380222

© Mick

Slau

ghter 2

009


www.real-ale.org.uk



25th Nov Porky Pig, Dun Cow, Cowbit25th Nov One Eyed Cats, Brewery Tap, Peterborough26th NovThe Elvis experience, Prince of Wales, Castor26th NovThe Fleeting Minds, Mama Liz, Stamford26th NovShake Hands Eric, Charters, Peterborough27th NovAdrian Duffy, Charters, Peterborough1st Dec Voodoo Unplugged, Mama Liz, Stamford2nd Dec Wholesome Fish, Mama Liz, Stamford3rd Dec Lee Major, Charters, Peterborough3rd Dec 101 Proof, Prince of Wales Feathers, Castor3rd Dec Soulweaver, Three Horseshoes,Werrington4th Dec Pennyless, Mama Liz, Stamford4th Dec Steve Bean, Charters, Peterborough9th Dec Gypsies, Charters, Peterborough10th Dec One Eyed Cats, Prince of Wales, Castor10th Dec Shakedown Blues presents ROBERTPENN (vocal /guitarist), The Village Hall, Castor.Tickets £15.00. www.shakedownblues.co.uk10th Dec Kickback, Three Horseshoes, Werrington10th Dec The Countries (Country and Blues),Woolpack, Stanground11th Dec Steve Bean on Classical Guitar, Mama Liz,Stamford17th Dec Motown Night - Three Horseshoes, Werrington17th Dec Redemption, Charters, Peterborough18th Dec 3pm - Steve Bean plays Classical Guitar,Woolpack, Stanground18th Dec Wavelength Roxxt - Three Horseshoes, Werrington22nd Dec New Orleans Jazz Mama Liz, Stamford23rd Dec Children of the Revolution, Prince of Wales,Castor21st Jan Pulse, Three Horseshoes, Werrington27th Jan Burlesque, Dun Cow, Cowbit28th Jan Karaoke, Three Horseshoes, Werrington

Brewery TapThe Brewery Tap situated in Westgate, Peterborough,recently launched its first open mic night which willnow take place on the first Sunday of every month.

Please send any details for February / March gigs [email protected] before 10th January.

Rythym and Booze

www.real-ale.org.uk

Gig Listings | 33

132 Great Whyte, Ramsey PE26 1HS

Keith and Jenny offer a warm welcome to allold and new customers.

Serving a selection of Real Ales:Abbot Ale, Lancaster Bomber, WoodfordesWherry and one ever-changing guest ale.

Open All Day Every Day! (12 Noon – 11pm )

We’re in it!

Live Music • Free WiFiLarge Beer Garden

01487 812597

Three HorseshoesChurch Street, Werrington Village

3 Real Ales

Christmas OpeningChristmas Eve 11am to 12pmChristmas Day 11.30am to 2pm

Boxing Day 12 - 11pm

New Years Eve 11 til LateNo Entry Fee - Just Fun & Frolics

New Years DayOpen all Day 12 - 11pm

Check out the Rhythm & Boozecolumn for our live music dates!


www.real-ale.org.uk


29 Scotgate, Stamford Tel: 01780 753 598

Established in 1796 as one of the ORIGINAL Stamford Ale Houseswith a large beer garden, providing accommodation with free WI-FI.

Serving eight real ales and six real ciders.

We also host two annual beer festivals in April and September.

Live Music eventsplease call for more information


www.real-ale.org.uk

DECEMBERSat 3rd - 7:00pm. Christmas Party, At theRugby Club. Ticket only. Contact Dave Murray.

Tue 6th - 8:30pm. Branch AGM, At theBrewery Tap, PE1 2AA. All members welcomebut please bring your membership card.

Sat 10th. Festive Pie & Pint Crawl to MeltonMowbray, We will be travelling by train to MeltonMowbray to sample some festive beers and localMelton Pork Pies. Meet at Peterborough Stationat 10.30 for the 10.52 train. Off peak return forthe day is £14.00. Please let Social Secretary JohnHunt know if you intend to come along on thetrip.

JANUARYThursday 12 sees the return of ourCampaigning Crawls with a midweek eveningvisit to March. Depart the Brewery Tap at6.45pm and return by 11pm Cost £7.00

Monday 16 – Committee Meeting, LocationTBC

Sat 28 - Sunderland by train with a stop atHartlepool Station for one of the new breed of‘micro pubs’. Contact Mick Slaughter ASAP fordetails.

FEBRUARYMonday 6 Pie Night at the Plough Greetham.Depart the Brewery Tap at 7pm and return by11pm. Cost to include meal is £16.00

Selected Beer FestivalsJANUARY19th – 21st January 16th CambridgeWinter Ale Festival, University Social Club,Mill Lane25th – 30th January Pig n Falcon, St NeotsWinter Beer Festival. 20 Ales and Ciders.

Diary Dates | 35

PeterboroughCAMRA CricketFollowing a mixed summer season the indoorhas started with two losses, one to Bretton andone to Orton Park. Full fixtures for the seasonare:Sunday 4th December 2011 - 18.30 Hampton CCSunday 8th January 2012 - 16.30 Castor CCSunday 22nd January 2012 - 19.30 Kashmir CCSunday 29th January 2012 - 20.30 Shiek 11Sunday 5th February 2012 - 20.30 Cabline CCSunday 26th February 2012 - 18.30 ThomasCook

A small number of the team undertook aStamford pubs crawl in October so we couldhave informed opinion on which to include inthe branch nominations for Good Beer Guideentries. Although not a comprehensive tour westill managed the Jolly Brewer, the Green Man,the Periwig, Mama Liz’s, the Lord Burghley andthe Tobie Norris.

To conclude a fine Saturday, once back inPeterborough we hit Royal Spice curry housebefore finishing at The Ostrich listening to a liveband and drinking a few pints of Castor’s IPA.Highlights of the day were the short appearanceof “Angry Al” the cricket team’s answer to Rab CNesbit in the Lord Burghley, and a localbirthday boy named Matt in Mama Liz’s, whoinvited us to eat an Orleans style buffet as hehad over ordered…..top man!!!

If you want to join us for a game or social eventplease contact me on 07809629241 or [email protected].

Matt Mace - Cricket Club Secretary

Diary Dates


www.real-ale.org.uk


Frognall, Deeping St. James, Peterborough, Lincs

Good food served lunch times and eveningsand Now open ALL DAY Saturday and Sunday

serving food.

Fine selection of real ales from around the Country, five guest beers

on at one time.

Extensive range of foreign bottled beers

70 single malt whiskies

Real Cider

Beer Gardens

We cater for functions and large parties, please call us to discuss your requirements

01778 347629www.thegoatfrognall.com

Graham, Debbie and staff welcome you to

THE GOAT


Pub of the Year 2012 NominationsPub of the Year 2012 | 37

Here are the four nominees for the Peterborough and District CAMRA Pub of the Year 2012 Award. All CAMRA members are eligable to vote and should have received a voting form in the post in October.If you haven’t received your form then please email or telephone your branch contact. Details are on thewebsite at www.realale.org.uk. Please get your votes to us by January 7th.

Letter BWhittlesey

RailwayRamsey

Shoulder ofMuttonWeldon

The GoatFrognall


The next issue of BAE will beavailable on: 26th JanuaryWe must have your stories,news and advertisements by: 6th JanuaryLate copy cannot be guaranteed entry.

Please contact Chris Shilling01778 421550Mobile: 07736 635 916 or Jane Michelson01778 420888Mobile: 07732 [email protected] all of your advertising needs.

Steve Williams [email protected] or 0775 6066 503 isalways looking for pub news.

Please send stories and othercopy to [email protected]

Beer Around ‘Ere is published by Peterborough &District Branch of CAMRA Copyright © 2011, TheCampaign for Real Ale Ltd.

Views or comments expressedin this publication may not necessarily be those of theEditor or of CAMRA.

38 | Contact Details

Branch Committee

Secretary: Harry Morten

49 St Margarets Road,

Peterborough PE2 9EA

01733 764296

07900 056940

08707 620848 (fax)

[email protected]

Chairman: David Murray

01733 560453

[email protected]

Treasurer: Paul Beecham

01733 311981

07710 008693

[email protected]

Minutes Sec: Dickie Bird

01733 574226

[email protected]

Vice Chair: John Hunt

07923 489917

[email protected]

Social Sec: John Hunt

07923 489917

[email protected]

Pubs Officer: Steve Williams

07756 066503

[email protected]

Press Officer: Karl Simpson

07737 297072

[email protected]

Young Members: Alix Botton

07806 625574

young-members@real-

ale.org.uk

Membership: Steve Saldana

07988 067260

[email protected]

Festival Org: Mike Lane

07850 334203

festival-organiser@real-

ale.org.uk

LocAle Officer: John Rice

07759 342702

[email protected]

Beer Around ’Ere

Editor: Jane Flew

[email protected]

Distribution: David Murray

(See Chairman on the left)

Advertising: Chris Shilling

01778 421550, 07736 635916

[email protected]

Magazine & Advertising

Production: Dan Speed

0845 838 7581

[email protected]

Postal Distr: Daryl Ling

01733 235881

Brewery Liaison Officers

Blue Bell: John Hunt

07923 489917

Castor Ales: Mike Lane

07850 334203

Digfield: Dave Waller

01733 348760

Elgoods: John Rice

07759 342702

Hopshackle: Noel Ryland

07944 869656

Melbourn: Lew Clayton

01780 765063

Oakham Ales: Dave Allett

07966 344417

Tydd Steam: John Hunt

07923 489917

Ufford Ales: Matt Mace

07809 629241

Trading Standards

08545 040506

www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

Check out our website at:

www.real-ale.org.uk

S

H L

K Mig

Jo The

TH Sta


Sky Sports

Happy Hour Mon - Fri, 5-7pmLive Entertainment Weekly

Karaoke every Sunday with Mighty Mouth Trev

Join our Facebook group The Ploughman

Sister pub to the Dragon, Werrington

Award winning Real Ales from £2.00!

THE PLOUGHMANStaniland Way, Werrington centre PE4 6NA Tel: 01733 327696

CAMRA Pub of the Year 2011

www.savetheploughman.com

FRIDAY 23rd DEC

Christmas Party with the ONE EYED CATS!

New Years Evewith the NUGGETS (£10 TICKET)


Agreat welcome awaits you at The Farmers, Yaxley.We are famous for our fresh vegetables and great carverymeats, succulent and served with all the trimmings, thenfinished off with a tantalising hot or cold dessert!

Check out our new lunch time grill menu’s and our everchanging specials boards. Put it all together with three fine cask ales and you have the perfect place toenjoy dinner with friends or a family celebration. Wehave a self contained function suite which is ideal forparties, weddings and all of life’s celebrations.

So if you’ve not been before give us a try and you’ll bepleasantly surprised.

More than just a Carvery!

At Least Three

Real Ales!

200 Broadway, Yaxley Tel: 01733 244885Email: [email protected]

www.thefarmersyaxley.co.uk

Last few tables available

for Christmas & New Years Eve!

Big

Breakfast

every Sat 8 to 11am

Help yourself from the carvery,

as much as you can eat for

only £5.9

5!


Documents

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