Ten Years of Maxim Brewery · hoppy ruby ale, with the branch involved in the pump clip design and recipe,. The launch will be at the festival then available as a seasonal special

CAMRA Angle 49 - Autumn 2017 - 1

Ten Yearsof MaximBrewery


Halloween Fest - Thursday 26th Oct - 29th OctMeet the Brewer : Durham Brewery Thursday

26th Oct7.30 pm. Tickets £4

THE STEAMBOAT

AFriendly Welcome

GuaranteedCAMRA BRANCH

PUB OF THE YEAR2017

REGIONALPUB OF THE YEAR

2015 and 2016

27 Mill DamSOUTH SHIELDS

NE33 1 EQ Tel: 0191 4540134

Halloween Fest - Thursday 26th Oct - 29th OctMeet the Brewer : Durham Brewery Thursday 26th Oct

7.30 pm. Tickets £4

Nine Cask Ales 70 whiskies and 40 rums

—---------------------------------------------


In this issue…A Personal Tribute to John Holland 5Pub News 6Brewery News & GBG Preview 740 Years of SST Branch 8Maxim Brewery - 10 Years 1010 pubs in Lancaster 12Pub Review - Washington Arms 15Real Ale Pubs of Washington 16London Kings Cross 19Beer Festival listings 20Champion Beer of Britain 21Great British Beer Festival 22Locale & CAMRA discount pubs 23Cider Page 25Tales from the Woodfest 26CAMRA Campaigns 27Notice Board 28Pub Quiz & Pump Clip Quiz 29Quiz Answers 30

EDITORSid Dobson

[email protected] Paul

[email protected]

FANCY YOURSELF AS AWRITER

WE are always on the lookout forreal ale related stories to be used inCAMRA ANGLE. They can behistorical or current, locally-based orinvolving travel to exotic locationssuch as Middlesbrough, Montreal,Moscow or Morpeth !

The deadline for Issue 50 isNovember 14th 2017

CONTACT USHAVE you got opinion on the pubsor beers available in our brancharea, or on any other matter? Getwriting now, and let our readersknow what you think. We alsowelcome comments about themagazine. Please email us [email protected].

****CAMRA ANGLE is published by theSunderland & South TynesideBranch of CAMRA © 2017 . Viewsor comments expressed in thispublication may not be necessarilythose of the Editor or of CAMRA.

Welcome to Issue 49 of CAMRA Angle.

We begin on a sad note. John Holland ,a CAMRA stalwart from the Tyneside &Northumberland branch died in July. Apersonal tribute from Regional DirectorDavid Brazier is given on page 5.

I never met John but communicated oftenby email. I recall him complimenting thebranch on producing the WashingtonReal Ale Trail in 2014. He took thetrouble to visit every pub listed as well asa dozen others checking if they sold realales (they didn't). See centre pages forthe latest guide.

We have a couple of anniversaries tocelebrate . Branch chairman MichaelWynne looks back on 40 years of thebranch and we also exclusively reviewthe first 10 years of Maxim Brewery.

Planning is well underway for ourSunderland Beer Festival in October..See back page for more details.

Terry Ford has been on his travelsagain, this time visiting pubs in KingsCross, London and Lancaster.

We cover the first ever Woodfest andinclude a new cider page. Coupled witha look at how the Champion Beer ofBritain is chosen is a report from theGreat British Beer Festival.

We look forward to the 2018 Good BeerGuide which is published in September..

Finally another celebration is coming inthe form of CAMRA Angle Issue 50 inNovember.

Ken Paul


ADVERTISING YOUR BUSINESSCAMRA Angle is published 4 times a year,in August, November,February and May. 3000 copies are distributed throughout the NorthEast (and beyond) and is a popular download from our website :-htt://camraangle.sst.camra.org.uk/cangle.php.

INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING IN ISSUE 50 DUE NOV 17 ?SEE RATES BELOW

ADVERTISING RATESFull page ( single issue) £90Full page (4 consecutive issues) £81 per issue

Half page ( single issue) £55Half page (4 consecutive issues) £50 per issue

Quarter page ( single issue) £35Quarter page ( 4 consecutive issues) £31.50 per issue.

A free design service for adverts is available if required. For furtherdetails please email [email protected]

In this issue we have adverts for Branch Pub of the Year 2017- TheSteamboat Sth Shields , Maxim Brewery, The Station House Durham .The Biddick Inn & The Steps, Washington, Lou’s Sunderland ,The Dun Cow Seaton, The Ivy House Sunderland.

Please support our advertisers, for without them we would not be ableto present CAMRA-Angle for your enjoyment and information.

Many thanks to The Grey Horse, East Boldon and The Avenue,Sunderland for their hospitality in hosting recent Branch Meetings.Also thanks to Mid Boldon Club for hosting our beer festivalcommittee meetings.

Thanks for having us

Members MatterSunderland & South Tyneside branch membership is 631, up from 609 in May.Other branches in the region : - Cleveland 895, Darlington 446, Durham, 817,Tyneside & Northumberland 2053.

Nationally, membership stands at 189251. Membership growth shows an annualincrease of 4.2%, while that of the North East is nearer to 8%., See page 31 fordetails of how to join..

www.sst.camra.org.uk

http://camraangle.sst.camra.org.uk/cangle.php


mailto:[email protected]



Last month came the sadnews that CAMRAchampion John Hollandhad died. John was amember of the Tyneside &Northumberland Branch,and was chairman ofCAMRA’s club advisorygroup. John had beenCAMRA North EastRegional Director directlybefore Nick Whitaker, andthen I took over from Nick.

Ask anyone who knewJohn Holland and they willmention two things. Onewas his generosity of spirit,and the other was hischeerfulness. John was atrue friend and a part timementor to me for over 25years. His knowledge andwillingness to share thatknowledge was legendary,throughout the whole ofCAMRA nationwide.

I once nicknamed him the‘eminence grise’, to try toconvey how much work hedid for CAMRA in so manycommittees and behind thescenes because of hissheer presence andbecause of how much hewas welcomed andappreciated throughoutCAMRA and the widerindustry. I alwaysappreciated his advice andhis counsel, each meetingwith John in the differinghostelries of the North East(and further afield) was apleasure.

Many people reading thisarticle will have their ownJohn Holland stories, and Ican guarantee as they tellthem that they will besmiling to recall thosemoments.

I can think of a time notlong ago, when on the wayback from a CAMRAmeeting in St Albans Istopped near Kings Crossto kill some time beforecatching the train backnorth in a (for me) new pub,The Scottish Stores ( seepage 12) . A few minutes

later, I noticed John was atthe opposite side of the bar,already conversing with thelandlord, and a lady who itturns out was the CAMRAcider rep for North London!

Another time John and Italked and talked, andconsumed a few, in theGlittering Star, letting trainafter train (thanks to theapp on my phone) departfrom Darlington toNewcastle, until said appsaid it was time togo……….

John was part of the teamfrom Tyneside &Northumberland branchthat helped to make the firstSunderland and SouthTyneside beer festivals getoff the ground and becomea success. John turned upat beer festivals throughoutthe country, working and/orchecking on beerquality……. John was wellknown for having a criticaleye and carefully scoredeach ale on its quality.

John’s favourite pub wasThe Wheat Sheaf inFelling. If you get a chance,pop in and raise a (half pint)glass to a truly unique manwho I will miss greatly.John wouldn’t want anyfuss, he’d just be glad youwere drinking good ale in agood pub.

David BrazierCAMRA North East

Regional Director

A PERSONAL TRIBUTE TO JOHN HOLLAND

John helping out at our2nd Beer Festival in SouthShields. Pic Tony Killeen

John with Roger Protz inSunderland during visit to

Maxim Brewery in 2014



As reported In the lastissue, The Smugglers inRoker has reopened witha new look and a newname ; Grannie Annie’sPub & Pantry. There are6 handpulls with Maximbeers a feature.

The Wavendon pub , inHigh Barnes Sunderlandhas been renovated andrenamed The Broadway.This Greene King pub isnow a Stirks SteakhouseBar & Grill and serves 2Greene King real ales.

The Brewers FayreCinder Path in Tyne Dockhas 2 handpulls, one ofwhich was Doom Bar atthe last visit.

The Little Haven Hotel inSouth Shields now has 1handpull in the BoardwalkRestaurant bar.

The Legacy inSunderland has reopenedunder new management.While 4 handpulls havebeen retained only 1 wasin use at the end of July.

The Three Horse Shoesnear Nissan has stoppedselling real ale.

The Copt Hill , Houghtonle Spring has closed,awaiting newmanagement.

Finally, branch memberPhil Hughes has takenover The GatesheadRailway Club. Locatednear the end of the HighLevel Bridge, it’s nowcalled The Railway, with4 real ales.

PUB NEWS

CAMRA Angle 49 - Autumn 2017 - 7Brewery NewsDARWIN/ BREWLAB

Darwin will be participatingin the Tyne & WearHeritage Open Days thisSeptember by holding anopen day on Saturday 9Sept between 1100- 1700.

There will be tutoredtastings and tours of thebrewery. Booking ispreferred.

For more information :-https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/darwin-brewery-heritage-brew-day

MAXIM

Maxim are againsupporting the upcomingDurham CAMRA andSunderland & SouthTyneside (SST) CAMRAbeer festivals. For theSunderland festival aspecial beer is planned tocelebrate the brewery’s

10th Anniversary andSST’s 40th. The workingtitle is 1040 ; a 1040 OGhoppy ruby ale, with thebranch involved in thepump clip design andrecipe,. The launch will beat the festival thenavailable as a seasonalspecial.

Seasonal beers availablerecently were -

American Fox, a newAmerican hopped 4.8%Ruby Red Ale,Eldorado, a 4% pale ale,American Amber- a new“steam beer” with ambermalts and Palisade hops.Simcoe Kid - 4.5% GoldenAle with Simcoe Hops.

The brewery website,http;//www.maximbrewery.co.uk has recently beenupgraded.

The brewery shop isusually open Tues- Fri1200- 1700, with aselection of bottles, minicasks & other brandedGifts The telephonenumber to check what isavailable is 0191 5848844.

FURTHER AFIELD

If you are wondering whythe beers of BishopAuckland based breweryBlack Paw haven't beenseen for a while, this isbecause the brewery is forsale and brewing has beensuspended.

Errant Brewery havemoved to a new railwayarch in Newcastle. One oftheir beers, Clever Girl,was nominated for the2017 CAMRA ChampionBeer of Britain competition.See how they fared onpage 22

The 2018 Good Beer Guide (GBG) will be published on 14th

September 2017. The GBG is the result of thousands ofvolunteers,over the past year, scoring beers, surveying pubs& breweries.

These entries have been collated and checked by regionalteams and pulled together at CAMRA HQ.

Edited by Roger Protz, this will be the 45th edition. The guideis updated every year and features 4500 pubs across the UKthat serve the best real ale and cider. Previous editions havecontained a comprehensive section of independent breweriesand a useful town index.

The 1977 guide listed 9 pubs in our branch area - see page 9for more information .

The new guide will be reviewed in Issue 50 of CAMRA Angle. .

http;//www.maximbrewery.co.uk)

http;//www.maximbrewery.co.uk)


The Sunderland branch ofCAMRA was formed at ameeting in the SalemHotel in Hendon in 1977.Sadly,we have noinformation about theearly days as the recordshave not survived.

In those days, the branchstructure was quite looseand the Sunderlandbranch was formed as abreakaway from theCounty Durham branch.South Tyneside joined usfrom Tyneside andNorthumberland sometimein the 1980s.My own personal

involvement dates backto 1998 when I attendedmy first meeting, an AGMat the Grey Horse in EastBoldon, when it was still aVaux pub run by the lateAlbert Coombes.

In those days, we had nomagazine, website or beerfestival. The oldSunderland beer festivallast took place atWearmouth Hall in 1992.

Unfortunately, it was thesame weekend asSunderland going to theFA Cup Final. 1937, 1973then 1992 was notsomething you couldcalculate.

Two years after my firstmeeting, I took over thechairman’s role andhave been there eversince!

When I started, we hada membership of around160. Now we have over600 and hope to reach700 at this year’s beerfestival.

So in the absence of anyother information, let’slook back at some majorevents in the last 18years.

1999 Vaux closes with aloss of well loved localbeers. One of the worstexamples of corporategreed. The rump of thecompany focused onhotels as most pubs weresold to Pubmaster.

2002, the branchcelebrates its 25th

anniversary.This also marked 25 yearsin the Good Beer Guidefor the Shipwrights inNorth Hylton, 24 of those

years under thestewardship of Tony andMaureen Attwell.

2002 also saw the launchof CAMRA Angle.

2003 Darwin Breweryrelocated from Crook toBack Tatham Street inSunderland. There was anofficial launch atFitzgerald’s in Sunderlandby Frank Nicholson.

Continued on page 9

1977 - 2017 - 40 YEARSOF SUNDERLAND AND SOUTH TYNESIDE CAMRA BRANCH.

Michael Wynne reminisces.



2004 Opening of theRobin Hood at Fellgatefollowed by JarrowBrewery. The officiallaunch was againperformed by FrankNicholson

2004 The Robin Hoodbecomes our only pub toreach the final 4 of thenational pub of the yearcompetition.

2007 Maxim Breweryopens in Houghton leSpring ( see page 10) .Our first major brewersince the demise ofVaux.

2007-08 First 2 beerfestivals organised bythe branch at SouthShields Masonic Hall

2009- 2016. SunderlandOctoberfest at the BondedWarehouse.

2013 Jarrow Breweryreopen the Isis. This gavea major boost to the city’s

real ale scene.

2014 Dun Cow reopenedas a Head of Steam asthe focus of the MACTrusts ventures as part ofUK City of Culture bid.

2016 Dun Cow picks uptwo awards at the nationalpub design awards. Therestoration of the historicinterior is stunning.

2016 Last Octoberfest atBonded Warehouse. Wesign up our 600th member.

The Bonded Warehouseclosed after last yearsfestival but we have beenfortunate in securing ThePoint in the city centre forour 40th AnniversaryFestival.

This year we will have 40beers and 10 ciders andwe would love to celebratethis landmark event bymaking it our most

successful festival ever.

1977 Good Beer Guide

Although the branch wasformed in 1977, theselection for that yearsGood Beer Guide wasdone at the beginning ofthe year when we werestill part of Durham.

The selection below isinteresting whencompared with 2017:

( the pubs in italics arelisted on Whatpub asselling real ale)

1977Cox Green Oddfellows ArmsFatfield GeorgeHetton Le Hole Caroline, Prince of WalesMarsden White HorsePenshaw Bird in HandShiney Row Travellers Rest, WheatsheafSouth Shields Adam & Eve, Harbour Lights,

Pickwick ArmsSunderland Brewery Tap, Caledonia, Jovial

Friar, Scotch HouseWashington Washington Arms



July 2nd 1999,September 1st 2007.

Two significant dates onWearside. The first iswhen Vaux Brewery inSunderland closed. Thesecond is the dayproduction started at thenew Maxim Brewery inHoughton le Spring.

When Vaux closed whatwas left were the beerbrands, which includedDouble Maxim, theflagship Maxim beer. Untilthe opening it was brewedand bottled at Robinsonsin Stockport. In 2006 thebrewhouse equipment inthe redundant S&Nbrewery in Edinburgh wasacquired.

There was nowheresuitable to establish abrewery in Sunderland butpremises were acquired inRainton Bridge justoutside Houghton leSpring. The breweryequipment, including allelectrics and plumbing ,was installed over 7months.

Nominally a 20 barrelplant ( 720 gallons) thereis flexibility to brew downto 10 barrels and up to 60.The then mayor ofSunderland officiallyopened the brewery on28th August 2007

With directors MarkAnderson, Doug Trotman

and head brewerJim Murray, thefirst beers brewedwere DoubleMaxim, Samson,Wards Best Bitterand Lambtons.These were ( and

still are) the core beers,produced for caskand bottle. Jim hassince retired. The

head brewer is now GlenWhale.

Soon regular specialswere introduced, the firstbeing Maximus in 2007 ;at 6% their strongest ale.In 2009 Swedish Blondewas first brewed , namedafter Anna who works for

the brewery. Both beershave now been added tothe core range.

Despite competition fromlocal and nationalbreweries, cask beer hassteadily grown with thebrewery always busy.Maxim distribute beerlocally, covering an areafrom Berwick to Sheffield,or through distributors.

Over the past 10 yearsthe key to their successhas been flexibility, qualityand competitiveness. It isvery rare that a brew isrejected by a pub.

A bar has been opened,mainly for privatefunctions, along with ashop selling bottles,branded material and theoccasional mini cask.

Double Maxim features inthe CAMRA book, 300Beers To Try Before YouDie ;- written by GoodBeer Guide editor RogerProtz, who visited thebrewery in 2014 toresearch an article aboutthe demise of VauxBrewery.

10 YEARS OF MAXIM BREWERY - Report by Ken Paul


Director MarkAnderson is a trusteeof SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers.Maxim has a SIBAFood Safety & Qualityaccreditation. The FSQensures the breweriesin this improvementscheme follow anongoing process ofraising standards.

At least 2 beers havefeatured at the GreatBritish Beer Festival –

Lambtons in 2015 andSwedish Blonde in 2016.

AWARDSOver the last decadeMaxim have won severalawards, including :-

Maximus –SIBA North EastChampion Gold 2016 andStrong Bottled beerSilver 2015British Bottlers Institute( BBI) Gold 2015.Sunderland OctoberfestBest Locale Beer 2013

Other BBI awards –Double Maxim – Silver2016, American PrideSilver 2013

Thanks to MarkAnderson for his help inpreparing this article.

Further reading onCAMRA Angle website -

Our fourth brewery:-http://camraangle.sst.camra.org.uk/ documents/Issue16.pdf

Day at Maxim brewery:-http://camraangle.sst.camra.org.uk/documents/Issue42.pdf

SIBA :-http://camraangle.sst.camra.org.uk/documents/Issue43.pdf


A trip with the bairn toLancaster University gaveme a chance to have apub crawl around the cityitself, a place I had notheard of since The War ofthe Roses!

First port of call was YeOlde John O'Gaunt,(another chap whoremembered the War ofthe Roses). I could hear afiddle playing so went toinvestigate ; a trio wasplaying.

The bar had a lovelyEdwardian frontage ofstained glass, a narrowpub behind it, photos ofmusicians on the wall anda suit of armour. Beerswere Titanic Plum Porterwhich was lovely,Lancaster Black, JenningsCumberland andHobgoblin.

Next up was Merchant's1688 a pub built in 300year old wine cellars.There are 3 long thin winecellars with the barhaving about 7 real ales

on and a lot of seatingoutside.

It was a very populareating establishment.

We needed somethingto eat so we went to theoddly named Butcherand Tonic which usedto be a Masonic lodgeand still had all the regaliaon the walls. Only onebeer was on sale This wasLancaster Blonde at 4%made with four differenthops, lovely with the ribeye steak.

The fourth stop - TheSun, was exactlyopposite. The Butcher &Tonic. This is a 300 yearold Georgian pub

They had 4 beers on fromthe Lancaster range:Amber, Black, Blonde,Red and another guestbeer. I had the LancasterAmber, at 3.6% its madewith Fuggles, Challengerand Sovereign hops. Thisis the LancasterBrewery’s flagship outlet.

Fifth was The ThreeMariners. It is a Grade IIlisted building dating backto the 15th Century andallegedly where peoplehad their last drink beforebeing hung in the nearbyLancaster Castle.

A Robinsons pub, it wasLancaster CAMRA's pubof the year in 2017.

The sixth pub was the

Yorkshire House aformer 18th CenturyCoaching Inn and anothermusic venue.

The Golden Lion, wasnext . I was wellimpressed to see a picture

CONTINUED OPPOSITE

Terry Ford visits 10 pubs in Lancaster

YORKSHIRE HOUSE BAR



of old blues legendCharley Patton on thewall.

They had six beers on ;this was a proper localwith beer being the focusrather than food. I had agood chat with a localwho was originally fromMarsden.

Eighth was The Boroughwhich was large andslightly up market withfood being central. Theyhad 8 hand pulls on whenI was there.

By this time the poor bairn

was sick of his lifewandering the streetswith his alcoholic father,so I allowed him to goback to the hotel.

The ninth pub was The

Robert Gillow which hadover 100 bottled beers on

and 4 hand pulls ofLancaster and Hyde'sbeers.

The last pub to visit wasimaginatively called ThePub, again a music

venue, largely heavymetal judging by the Tshirts. I had aGuinness here and itwas “time for bed” saidZebedee.

Ten pubs visited allhad music on, veryfriendly people, andnot a bad pint all night.

What more can you askfor?

Terry Ford visits 10 pubs in Lancaster - continued




One of the very first pubs Idrank in was THEWASHINGTON ARMS .In those days there wasno real ale, although itlater appeared in the 1977GBG. The pub wasowned by BassCharrington and is nowpart of the Stonegate PubChain.

This is one of theoldest pubs in our branch.Overlooking WashingtonVillage Green, recordsshow the first licenseewas in 1828 when the pubwas called The SmithsArms. It then became TheThree Horse Shoes thenThe Commercial Hotel till1937 when it changednames to the “Arms”.

Commercial Hotel c 1910

The pub sign ( picturedtop ) is quite distinctive,featuring a GeorgeWashington Coat of Armscrest. The Latin inscriptionmeans “The OutcomeJustifies The Deed”.

One of my memories ofthe Washington Arms wascelebrating Sunderlandwinning the FA Cup. Weall got very drunk on thenight of 5th May 1973. I

am surprised we didn’t getthrown out, the noise wewe were making. Ormaybe we did ?

Around that time a friendof mine was an underagebarman and his uncle wasthe licensee. Names have

been withheld toprotect the guilty.

Inside there are 3distinct drinkingareas. The bar is onthe left with a smallerroom to the right. Downa short corridor takes

you to the main eatingarea, a large comfortablelounge which leads out toa huge garden.

The pub offers 2 real aleswith a handpull in the baranother in the lounge. Onthe day of my visit, thebeers were Marston’s 61Deep and Hobgoblin Gold,served in excellentcondition and at £2.40,great value. OnTuesdays they offer realale at £2.25 a pint !Maxim beers oftenfeature.

After a very filling lunchfrom an extensive menu,we retired to the garden.From the patio, steps leadup to picnic tables dottedaround amongst the trees– a great place for familiesto lose their kids on asummer’s day. Althoughwalking up the steps with

a tray of drinks may provea challenge.

The Arms is popular withdiners during the day andlocals socialising in theevening, especially atweekends.

Thanks to theWashington HistorySociety for someinteresting photographs.

Ken PaulBass Charrington daysfrom c 1965.


10

211

7

6

3

14

129

13

8

5

This guide shows 13 pubs in Washington that sell real ale. Please note that informationcontained may change. Telephone numbers have been provided on the opposite page if youwish to check details. More details about each pub can be found on Whatpub.com.Public transport information is correct as of July 2017.

If you have any updates you wish to share we would be grateful if you could send an emailto [email protected]. Version 2.1.0. July 2017

Sunderland & South TynesideCampaign for Real Ale

Washington Real Ale Pubs

© 2017 Google

BIDDICK INN

Bonemill Lane,Washington,NE38 8AJ 01914195101.

Buses 2, 2A, 4.

SIR WILLIAM DEWESSYNGTON

Concord,WashingtonNE37 2SY0191 4180100Bus Stn Opp.

CHAMPS

Emerson Road,Washington,NE37 1LE0191 4153341

Buses 50, 81, 82

STEPS

47 Spout Lane ,Washington,NE38 7HP0191 4150733.

Bus 84

COURTYARD

Biddick Lane,Washington,NE38 8AB0191 4170445

Buses 2A,4,8

TEAL FARM

Edale Close , TealFarm, Washington,NE38 8FH0191 5800637

Bus 37 & 86 (eve)

HAVELOCK

Bonemill Lane,Washington,NE38 8AJ0191 4159739

Buses 2,2A,4,8

TOBYCARVERYEmerson Road,Washington,NE38 1LE0191 4194449

Buses 50,81,82

MILL HOUSE

B1288,Blackfell,DH3 1RE0191 4151313

Bus X25 (300m)

WASHINGTONARMS

The Green,WashingtonNE38 7HP0191 4187843

Bus 84

OX & PLOUGH

Oxclose VillageCentre,WashingtonNE38 0LZ,07890 981012

Buses 85,86

WEARSIDEFARM

Turbine Bus. ParkWashingtonSR5 3NZ0191 4171471

Bus 8, 73 ( 600m)SANDPIPER

Easby Road,Biddick,WashingtonNE38 7NN 01914160038 Buses2A, 37,83,85

2

3

1

4

5

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Our other Real Ale Trail publications ofSunderland & South Shields, can befound on our CAMRA Angle websiteunder Publications. South Shields willbe updated later this year.

6

http://sst.camra.org.uk/wordpress/?page

CAMRA Angle 49 - Autumn 2017 - 18THE STEPS5 EVER CHANGINGREAL ALES.

WE ARE IN THE 2017GOOD BEER GUIDE.

QUIZ NIGHT :TUESDAYS & THURSDAYSFROM 9 PM WITH FREEHOT SUPPER.Functions catered for.Call 0191 4150733

Real Ale, Real Pub, Real People.

Open : Mon-Fri 3.30pm-11pm, Sat Noon-11pm, Sun [email protected] Spout Lane, 2 minutes walk from WashingtonWashington,NE38 7HP. Village Green.

Open daily 11am - midnight. Food served noon - 8pm ( Sun 4pm)

Bonemill Lane Near the banks of the River Wear andWashington,NE38 8AJ. Fatfield Bridge - bus stops outside.Tel - 0191 4195101

The Biddick Inn WashingtonREAL ALE AVAILABLE

QUIZ NIGHT :MondayKARAOKE NIGHTS:Friday & Saturday

Functions catered for.

Beer Garden with BBQand children's playground


Like most Geordies, Ihave to get the train fromKing's Cross from time totime. On this occasion Ihad a bit more time thanusual so decided tomooch about the area.First stop was on thestation itself near theinfamous platform 9 3/4.

This is The Parcel Yard,a huge Fuller's pubserving the full range ofFuller's beer and a wideselection of food.

Being on the station it ishandy and has anelectronic board,allowing you to drink tothe last minute. It is abit corporate but I find itquite relaxing andfriendly and a lot ofpeople seem to meethere. I have had somelovely pints of ESB andLondon Pride but alsoa few which seemed abit thin. The prices area bit steep being a captiveaudience.

Leaving Kings Crossstation and going leftabout 100 yards then ontoCaledonian Road is TheScottish Stores.

Built in 1901 the Grade IIlisted building is a formerstrip joint. Inside it has

been lovingly restoredwith loads of gorgeouswood panelling. It has justbeen honoured withCAMRA's prestigiousConservation Award.

I have been in twice and itattracts a mix of peopleand is allegedly whereShane MacGowan of ThePogues wrote "A Pair ofBrown Eyes."

Beer this time was XTBrewing Company's 15 at

4.5% an English IPAwith three types of hopsand Truman's Attaboyan American Pale Aleof 4.6% ; both werereasonable pints.

A farther 200 yards upthe "Cally Road" andaround the corner to

Northdown Street is theKing Charles I- it used tobe called The CraicHouse.

It is a single room pubwith lots of interestingdecor including a bizarresign "The Leu Family's

Family Iron" on thewall. ( See below)

There were 4 beers onhand pull with two fromthe XT BreweryCompany ; - Truman'sBlindside andHamerton N1. All fourwere good pints andquite cheap(for London).

Continued on Page 20

Terry Ford writes about some pubs inLondon Kings Cross


This place was full oflocals and within a fewminutes I was made tofeel very welcome. I hada good "Craic" with anIrish lad who evenoffered to find my son ajob on the buildings!

Just as I was leaving alocal artist (not that sort!)came in with a superb oilpainting he had done oftwo of the customers inthe pub. The Guvnorasked the customers tovote on whether they

should hang it inthe pub - , the votewas a resounding"Yes!",; it was thatsort of realcommunity pub.

So within 300 yards ofKing's Cross two reallygood locals!

Cheers Terry


LOCAL BEER FESTIVALSThe Avenue Beer & Music Festival ,Zetland Street Sunderland

August 25th - 28th

Courtyard Beer Festival, Arts Centre,Washington

August 24th - 28th

Guide Post Beer Festival , Ryhope August 25th - 28th

Durham CAMRA Beer Festival; DunelmHouse

August 31st - Sept 2nd

Blaydon Beer & Music Festival RugbyClub Swalwell

August 25th - 27th

Berwick Food & Drink Festival , TheBarracks, Berwick

September 1st - 3rd

Tynemouth Beer Festival , Cricket Club ,North Shields

September 28th - 30th

Sunderland & South Tyneside CAMRABeer & Cider Festival , The Point,Sunderland

October 12th - 14th

It is suggested that you confirm dates before travelling. Most events havetheir own websites giving further details


An article that featured inthe online news service ofWhat’s Brewing was fromNick Boley, the NationalDirector responsible forChampion Beer of Britain(CBOB) . He describeshow CBOB voting processworks. This is an abridgedversion which is followedby a report from the GreatBritish Beer Festival(GBBF) 2017.

All cask conditioned beersavailable for 3 months,during a calendar year,can be entered into theselection process thatstarts during Septemberand October, whenmembers can vote fortheir favourite beers ineach of CAMRA’s stylecategories. Voting isusually by region.( In our region, this coversbreweries in the countiesof Tyne & WearNorthumberland, andDurham).These nominations goforward to the CAMRAArea CBOBcoordinators, responsiblefor co-coordinating Areacompetitions. The regionaltaste panels also inputtheir opinions on beerswhich deserve to goforward.These nominations arethen ranked and the topselections go forward

to the Area competitions,where Area categorywinners are selected andentered into the finalCBOB competition.This ensures that there isan even spread of beerstyles from all regions ofthe UK.CAMRA are consideringchanges to the wholesystem of what beersmembers can vote for,and this is coupled with arevamp of the votingportal ; hopefully, this yearor next. These changescould involve membersbeing able to vote for anyeligible beer produced inthe UK and/or by beersproduced within a certaindistance from themember’s home, as wellas voting along the currentregional lines.Currently, between 2500and 3000 members votein the competition – that isabout 1.5% of totalmembership and doesn’teven represent asignificant proportion of

active members andvolunteers.So, all members areurged to get involved,and have their say.At the Great British BeerFestival, the final CBOBcategory judging of theArea winners takes place,with the winning beerfrom:-Bitter (2)Best Bitter (2)Golden Ale (2)Speciality BeerMildStrong BitterThese proceed into thefinal round in order tojudge the SupremeChampion, which iscrowned the best beer inBritainThe reason for 2 beerseach from the Bitter,Golden Ale and Best Bittercategories is toaccommodate for theproportionate share of thecommercial beer marketthese beer stylescommand.4 beers that are fasttracked to the final roundare the winners of eachcategory of the ChampionWinter Beer of Britaincompetition, held at theNational Winter AlesFestival in

HOW THE CHAMPION BEER OF BRITAIN IS CHOSEN

For the North EastRegion, this takes placeat the Newcastle BeerFestival. This adds someobjectivity and integrity tothe process as themajority of the judges willbe CAMRA trained, andthe tastings are blind. Thestyle of beer being judgedis changed each year



January/February.As these beers werejudged to be theChampion Beers of theirstyle earlier in the year,they are enteredautomatically into the finalround of CBOB. Thestyles are :-

Old Ales/ Strong MildBarley Wine/Strong OldAlePorterStout

This then culminates in anannouncement on the firstevening of the festival

when the SupremeChampion and winners ofeach beer style categoryare announced.

The winner this year -Church End Goats Milk,is a 3.8% bitterSee panel below :-

is a bitter -

CHAMPION BEER OF BRITAIN 2017

SUPREMECHAMPION

Goats Milk- Church EndBrewery, Warwicks

SILVER Ridley’s Rite - Bishop NickBrewery- Braintree

BRONZE Cwtch- Tiny Rebel Brewery-Newport

For a breakdown of each style :-https://www.gbbf.org.uk/plan-your-visit/champion-beer-of-britain/

I travelled down to theGreat British BeerFestival (GBBF) for theumpteenth time, for anannual get together withformer work colleagues.We visited on theThursday, the 3rd day.

First a few statistics.Olympia is huge, with

enough space for 28 bars.900 real ales ciders &perrys were on offer, aswell as bottled beer andforeign ales..

I was keento find andtry theChampionBeer ofBritain. Inpreviousyears thewinnerwould sellout quicklymeaning await tillanothercask was ready, thenstand in the resultantqueue. Well this year thequeue was too long sodidnt bother. I visited theTitanic Bar instead.

I was looking forward totrying their 6.5% PlumPorter Grand Reserve.

Nothing grand about it inmy opinion , I prefer theoriginal.

The only beer from theNorth East region to havewon the CBOB prize wasMordue Workie Ticket in1997. A check of theguide revealed therewere no beers from ourbranch but there werebeers from 12 otherbreweries, includingWorkie Ticket, ErrantClever Girl & CameronsRoad Crew.

Best beer of the day wasthe first one I tried :-Bathams Mild. Tasty. .

Ken Paul

Photo - Terry Ford

Titanic Bar-Photo Terry Ford

https://www.gbbf.org.uk/plan-your-visit/champion-beer-of-britain/





The following take 50p discount vouchers for real ale and cider.

Cooper Rose, Sunderland.Sir William De Wessington, Washington.Wild Boar, Houghton le Spring.William Jameson, Sunderland.Wouldhave, South Shields.

Real ale loyalty card for members and non members :-Chaplins, Fitzgeralds, Guide Post, - All Sunderland.Grey Horse - East Boldon.Marine - South Shields ( NEW).

Below is a list of pubs that offer a discount off real ale for cardcarrying CAMRA members. Again, if you have any updatesplease email [email protected]

CAMRA LocAle is an initiative that promotes pubs & clubs stocking locally brewed real ale. Belowis a list of those in the Sunderland & South Tyneside branch that sell beer brewed inNorthumberland, Tyne & Wear and County Durham. If you have any updates please email thebranch Pubs Officer, [email protected].

The Avenue, Sunderland - 10% discount Ivy House, Sunderland- 10% discount

Chaplins, Sunderland - 10% discount Longship, Hebburn - 10% discount

Chesters, Sunderland - 10% discount Peacock, Sunderland - 20p off a pint

Dun Cow, Sunderland - 20p off a pint Poetic License, Roker - 10% discount

Fountain, South Shields - 10% discount Ship Isis, Sunderland - 20p off a pint

Grey Horse, East Boldon - 10p off a pint Tipsy Cow, Sunderland - 10% discount

Guide Post, Ryhope - 20p off a pint White Lead, Hebburn - 20p off a pint

CAMRA-Angle 49 - Autumn 2017 -23

East Boldon South Shields SunderlandBoldon Cricket Club Florence Bar & Bistro Museum VaultsMid Boldon Club Marine Oak Tree FarmEast Rainton Steamboat Poetic LicenseHighfield Hotel Sunderland Port of CallHebburn Chesters PromenadeWhite Lead Dun Cow Ship IsisRyhope Fitzgeralds WashingtonGuide Post Ivy House Courtyard

Kings Arms Sir William de Wessyngton




2017 will seeCAMRA celebrate 29years of campaigning forreal cider and perry.‘Real cider' is a term usedto describe traditionalcider made from freshlypressed apples. Served

still rather than forcecarbonated, real cider isunpasteurised duringproduction and notmicro-filtered to produce atruly natural and deliciousalcoholic drink.

UK cider and perryproducers were honouredat the CAMRA NationalCider and PerryChampionships at theReading Beer and CiderFestival.

Following more than ayear of local tastingpanels and regional heatsleading up to the finals,

The competitionfeatured ciders andperries from across theUK, with each one judgedon its individual taste,aroma, flavour, after-tasteand overall appeal. Thetop awards were selected

by a specially chosenpanel of both experiencedand novice judges.

The winners were:

CiderGOLD – Countryman,Medium (Devon)SILVER – Salt Hill,Autumn Gold (Berkshire)BRONZE – Gwatkin's,Captain Gwatkin's RumCask (Herefordshire)

PerryGOLD – Nempnett,Piglet's Perry (Somerset)SILVER - Waulkmill,Mooseheid Perry(Dumfrieshire)BRONZE – Hartland,Perry (Gloucestershire)

More information onCAMRA's national ciderand perry campaigns canbe found atwww.camra.org.uk/cider

CIDER UPDATE by The Inncider

PUBS IN THE BRANCH THAT SELL REAL CIDER

Houghton Le Spring Sunderland Sunderland (cont)

Wild Boar Avenue Saltgrass

South Shields Borough ( from this summer) Ship Isis

Alum Ale House Chaplins William Jameson

Dolly Peel Dun Cow Washington

Marine Ivy House Courtyard

Voyager Museum Vaults Sir William de Wessyngton

Wouldhave Peacock Teal Farm(from this summer)


http://www.camra.org.uk/cider


Although the Society forthe Preservation ofBeers from the Woodhas been around since1963, it has not venturedinto the world of beerfestivals.

Following a conversationbetween Rob Shacklock,Chair of the North EastBranch and national vicechair, and Neil Midgley,owner of The Junctionpub in Castleford, WestYorkshire, Woodfest2017 was born. TheJunction is the only pub inthe country and probablythe world to serve allbeers from wooden casks.

The venue was to be thenearby Horse andJockey pub also ownedby Neil and home of hisLagentium Brewery.(Lagentium is the Romanname for Castleford)

.So on Monday 3 July, Iset off to Castleford tohelp with set up. Othersthere for set up throughoutthe week were Rob,Angela, who is CAMRAregional director for WestPennines and Lynne andNigel from Doncaster. Sowe had two and a half

days to turn a disused pubinto a beer festival!

The festival opened to thepublic at 5 on Thursdaybut before opening, thejudging for the first everChampion Beer from theWood competition had tobe completed. Amongstthe judges were GoodBeer Guide Editor, RogerProtz and Peter Lawsonand Nick Young from theNorth East.

Following three roundsof blind tasting, the topthree beers were :-

1st . Hook Norton-Haymaker2nd. Half Moon-Moonbeam (from York)3rd Elland-Beyond thePale.

With the judgingcomplete, and an hourto go before opening, itwas time to let thelocal dignitaries in for theopening ceremony.These included RogerProtz, the Mayor ofWakefield and Sir VivianBarstow, former Master

of the WorshipfulCompany of Coopers.

We had fifty beers fromthe wood from Yorkshire,Northern Ireland, theNorth East, Cumbria,Scotland and the IrishRepublic with two beersfrom White Gypsy from CoTipperary. Surely a first!

As the bulk of the beerwas served from the pubcellar, they were atoptimum temperature.

So the doors opened at 6pm and there was anexcellent crowd on thefirst night. This was inspite Castleford Tigersplaying WakefieldWildcats in the SuperLeague .The two Fridaysessions were also wellattended but a three day

strike by Northern Railmade Saturday quite flat.Even so, 93% of the beeravailable had been sold.

There are plans to repeatWoodfest next year andnegotiations are alreadyunderway to find a venueon Tyneside.

As we go to press, it hasbeen confirmedWoodfest 2018 will be atthe Exchange in NorthShields from 5 to 7 July.

Tales from Woodfest - Michael Wynne reports


CAMRA is calling on theGovernment to stopviable community pubsfrom being driven out ofbusiness by introducinga £5,000 annualreduction on theirrocketing businessrates.Reviews of business ratesacross England areseeing many pubs hit witha massive new financialburden, which in somecases could only becovered by them sellingtens of thousands of extrapints of beer every year.CAMRA asked GBBFattendees to back thecampaign by calling ontheir MP's to address thesky-high tax burden onpubs which is contributingto 21 pub closures aweek.The campaign follows new

CAMRA research byYouGov on behalf/whichfound that the publicoverwhelmingly supportsan urgent tax break forpubs. More than two-thirds (69 %) of peoplewho expressed an opinionagree with the argumentthat pubs should receivetax relief as they providesafe, managed places forpeople to get together anddrink responsibly.While the Governmentintroduced a one-off£1,000 discount schemefor some pubs in the latestBudget, CAMRA says thisaction does not go farenough to help keep manyafloat.CAMRA’s nationalchairman Colin Valentinesaid: “Taxes now make upmore than a third of thecost of a pub pint. Even

though pubs currentlyaccount for 0.5 % ofturnover of the UKeconomy, they are stillpaying 2.8 % of thebusiness rates.“This is franklyunsustainable, and it isthe consumer that willultimately pay the price –whether it’s when theirbeloved local closes downor when the price of theirpint goes up.“It’s clear that most of usbelieve that pubs need ourhelp and recognise thevital role that they play inlocal communities. Fromcelebrating a specialoccasion to meeting upwith friends after work,pubs are an integral partof many people’s sociallives. Business rate reliefis urgently needed toensure their continuedsurvival.”

CAMRA is urging theGovernment to turnback the clock andfreeze beer duty again,as new researchconfirms most peoplesay beer duty is toohigh.YouGov research finds 55% of people whoexpressed an opinionbelieve beer duty is toohigh at 54p per pint.Taxes now make up athird of the cost of a pint –a situation made worse inthe Spring Budget whenthe Governmentannounced the first rise inbeer duty in four years.

The Spring Budget u-turnundid many of the benefitsof the three beer duty cutsand risks a return to thedays of the much-hatedBeer Duty Escalator whichother research showedhas contributed to 75,000job losses, 3,700 pubclosures and a 24 % fall inbeer sales in pubs.CAMRA’s nationalchairman Colin Valentinesaid: “Pubs are a hugepart of many people’slives. If people can’t affordto visit their local, we willsee even more pubs closetheir doors forever –

hurting jobs, the localeconomy and thecommunity.”Colin said the governmenturgently need to ease thetax burden on our pubs toensure that pub-goingremains an affordableactivity for most people.”“CAMRA is calling on theChancellor to freeze beerduty for the rest of theParliament to help cap theprice of beer, keepingmore money inconsumers’ pockets andhelping the pubs andbrewing sector to grow,”said Colin.



O DIARY DATES OAUGUST / SEPTEMBERSat 2nd Sept 1pm CAMRA Regional Mtg, Durham

Beer FestivalWed 13th Sept 8pm SST Branch Mtg, The

Peacock Sunderland. NEWVENUE

Thurs 14th Sept 1pm GBG 2018 Launch , StationHouse Durham

Tues 19th Sept Darlington Branch Meeting ,Tanners Hall

Wed 20th Sept7.30pm

Tyneside & Northumb. BranchMtg, Gosforth Hotel

Thurs 21st Sept- Sun1st Oct

Cask Ale Week :-caskaleweek.co.uk

OCTOBERThurs 12th - Sat 14th

OctSUNDERLAND BEERFESTIVAL SEE BACK PAGE

Weds 18th Oct SST Branch Meeting VenueTBC

Mon 23rd Oct,7.30pm

Tyneside & Northumb, BranchMtg,Schooner Gateshead

NOVEMBERWeds 8th Nov SST Branch Meeting Venue

TBCSat 18th Nov 1pm. NE Regional Meeting,

Darlington QuakerhouseTues 21st Nov7.30pm

Tyneside & Northum. BranchMtg ,Col. Porter’s Newcastle

W/C 20th Nov CAMRA ANGLE 50

O TRADING STANDARDS O

If you have any complaint about your beer or cider, suchas poor quality, short measures or no price list displayed,you should mention it to the pub management in the firstinstance. If you need to pursue the compliant further, werecommend contacting the local Trading Standards Office.Contact details are given below :-

SOUTH TYNESIDE 0191 4247887 forresidents or Citizens AdviceConsumer Service on 03454040506

SUNDERLAND Contact Citizens AdviseConsumer Service on03454 040506.

WANTEDReaders will have noticed that this is Issue 49 ofCAMRA Angle. Issue 50 will be out in November. Didyou know copies of all back issues of the Angle, anda comprehensive index are available online ?


All, that is, except issues 6 & 10. If anyone hascopies of these please email us at

[email protected]

Thank you

Spotted outside the White Hart Inn ,Edinburgh last year

NOTICE BOARD





C

1 Who provided the voiceover of the judge in the TV series Porridge ?

2 In which 2 countries is ANZAC DAY a national day of remembrance ?

3 Which astronaut is the only Freeman of the town of Langholm in Dumfries & Galloway ?

4 Actor Reg Varney was the first to use what in Enfield N London in June 1967 ?

5 Name the Scottish sailor who was hanged for piracy in 1701 ?

6 Jail Ale is brewed near which jail in Princetown ?

7 Which Welsh brewery makes SA Gold and Rev. James ?

8 In which Canadian province is French the majority spoken language ?

9 On a standard Monopoly board, which is the only property south of the Thames ?

10 And from which Monopoly Station would you travel to get to Waddingtons H.Q., thegames maker ?

11 Little Valley Brewery is in North Yorks, West Yorks or Derbyshire ?

12 On the 17th June 1993 Edna MacInnes claimed she ran alongside what that wasswimming in a large body of water ?

13 With a connection to an annual sunrise, where is the Heel Stone ?

14 Which Beatles song features a barber , a banker, a fireman and a nurse ?

15 Which Reservoir Dog film character is missing - Mr Blonde, Mr Blue, Mr Brown, MrOrange, Mr White ?

16 Art Garfunkel had a hit with Bright Eyes, the theme song from which film ?

17 On which island is the Okell Brewery ?

18 Which 3 colours light up the Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day ?

19 Name the Hull MP who introduced a bill to outlaw slavery in the UK

20 According to legend, what was the first name of the only man who saw Lady Godiva ridenaked through the streets of Coventry ? ( 1st act of voyeurism ?)

IDENTIFY THESE PUMP CLIPS

PUB QUIZ

A A B C

D E Fwww.sst.camra.org.uk


1 Ronnie Barker 11 West Yorks2 Australia & New Zealand 12 Loch Ness3 Neil Armstrong ( its his

ancestral home13 Stonehenge on Midsummer's Day

4 Worlds first cash machine 14 Penny Lane5 Captain Kidd 15 Mr Pink6 Dartmoor 16 Watership Down7 Brains 17 Isle of Man8 Quebec 18 Red, White and Blue9 Old Kent Road 19 William Wilberforce10 Kings Cross 20 ( Peeping) TomA Maxim ; Maximus D Hadrian & Border Tyneside BlondeB Thornbridge ; Jaipur IPA E Adnams BroadsideC Theaksons Best Bitter F Cameron’s Strongarm

PUB QUIZ AND PUMP CLIP QUIZ ANSWERS



Documents

Ten Years of Maxim Brewery · hoppy ruby ale, with the branch involved in the pump clip design and recipe,. The launch will be at the festival then available as a seasonal special