Chairman
ADRIAN SMITH
t: 07495 448555
e: chairman@centrallancs.camra.org.uk
Membership Secretary
POST VACANT
e: membership@centrallancs.camra.org.uk
Treasurer
DAVE WOOLCOCK
e: treasurer@centrallancs.camra.org.uk
Secretary & Webmaster
GORDON SMALL t: 01772 746118 e: secretary@centrallancs.camra.org.uk
Pubs Officer
RICHARD LANGFORD t: 07974 799224
e: pubsofficer@centrallancs.camra.org.uk
Pub Protection Officer
POST VACANT
e: pubprotection@centrallancs.camra.org.uk
Cider Officer
EDD FLETCHER e: cider@centrallancs.camra.org.uk
Social Media Officer
Welcome to our Autumn 2022 edition of Ale Cry. When I wrote the welcome piece for the previous Ale Cry, I talked about brewery closures and mentioned a few in far flung places. Sadly, since then, we have had closures much closer to home, with both Withnell’s in Chorley and Prospect in Wigan ceasing brewing.
Talking to a number of licensees, the situation looks bleak for pubs as well. Increasing costs from breweries, thumping great increases in the cost of utilities –and remember commercial premises do not have the same (limited) protection that residential customers do – and their customers having less spare cash, means they are being squeezed from all sides. Something has to give and we are already seeing it. On the real ale front, the pubs where real ale is a key part of their offering are continuing to have the range and numbers as before. However, we are finding a reduction in numbers (of beers) in many other pubs, in some cases with real ale being withdrawn altogether.
One of the problems (for the licensee) with real ale is that it is a demanding product. It takes more looking after and has a relatively short shelf life once the cask has been tapped. Margins on cask ale are low, but there is pressure from drinkers to keep prices low. It doesn’t help that a major pub chain is selling the stuff at just over £2 a pint, often leading to complaints about profiteering from anyone charging over £3. Our friends at Halifax CAMRA recently visited Chorley and were being actively discouraged from visiting one of the town centre pubs as it was ‘a rip-off’ according to one of the locals.
Ignoring his comments we went in – and had an excellent pint of Northern Monkey Two Blind Mice – a 5% pale retailing at a very modest £3.35. If people really consider that a rip-off then I cannot see a future for real ale. My appeal to our readers out there is, if you cannot afford to spend as much as before in the pub, please continue to use it. A six-pack from the local supermarket will be cheaper in the short term, but if we all went down that route, the British pub would be consigned to history – and I’m sure none of you want that.
As ever, if you have any thoughts, comments or feedback (about Ale Cry, the local branch or CAMRA nationally) please get in touch with us via email, you will find a contact list in this magazine, or better still, come along to one of our forthcoming meetings or events. Please also remember to visit our website www. centrallancs.camra.org.uk for all the latest information and local news and if you are on Facebook, please search for CAMRA Central Lancs and like our page. In addition, you can now follow us on Twitter, search for CAMRA Central Lancs.
We also produce a monthly newsletter which is emailed to Branch members on the 1st of each month. If you are not receiving this, it might be because we do not have an up to date email address for you or perhaps because your membership options need changing. Please go to https://camra.org.uk log in and go to edit membership details/marketing preferences in the members area to amend your details and options.
Kind Regards ADRIAN SMITH Branch ChairmanSTEWART GRIEVE e: socialmedia@centrallancs.camra.org.uk
Ale Cry Editor
ADRIAN SMITH t: 07495 448555 e: editor@centrallancs.camra.org.uk
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POST VACANT
e: youngmembers@centrallancs.camra.org.uk
www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk @CAMRA_CentLancs
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Unfortunately for the second successive issue of Ale Cry the main news from South Ribble involves a pub closure.
The pub in question is the BRIG ‘N’ BARREL in Bamber Bridge, and in May it came as a big shock to many when the owners announced its permanent closure. Going back to June 2019 the Brig ‘n’ Barrel had been the first of two micropubs to open in Bamber Bridge in quick succession, the other being the Beer Box. Together, and with the already existing Withy Arms, they made Station Road into a great pub destination for local real ale drinkers. Initially there were rumours of people being interested in taking over the Brig ‘n’ Barrel business, but nothing is known as yet.
Another pub recently closed, but hopefully only temporarily, is the NEW HALL TAVERN at Samlesbury. Not great news for Samlesbury as it was only three months ago that we reported the closure of the Nabs Head at Samlesbury Bottoms.
More news from Bamber Bridge concerns YE OLDE ORIGINAL WITHY TREES on Station Road, just a short walk from the Brig ‘n’ Barrel. In May the pub, a Robinsons Brewery house being run by Inglenook Inns, was put up for sale by the Fleurets agency with an asking price of £395,000. It was suggested in the property information, that although the premises were presently used as a pub, that they ‘may suit alternative use’. The pub is currently listed on the Fleurets website as having been sold subject to contract, so we must now wait to see what this means.
There is some good news on the horizon, with it being reported that the PLEASANT RETREAT in Lostock Hall is soon to get a £190,000 facelift. Owned by Star Pubs & Bars, their website already has an artist’s impression of what the pub will be like, re-branded as a craft house and with a new name, the ‘Tap & Barrel’. The pub overview describes the proposed establishment as ‘a quirky and stylish pub with an unrivalled drink offering in the area’ It all sounds very interesting.
As anticipated in the last South Ribble Scene, the OLD LEYLAND GATES, on Golden Hill Lane in Leyland, has now re-opened after being closed for over two years. Following a refurbishment costing a whopping £500,000, it now has ‘an upgraded kitchen and bar, a deluxe big screen TV, and an improved beer garden’. On a visit soon after the re-opening the cask beers available were Timothy Taylor Landlord, Morland Old Speckled Hen, and Greene King Abbot Ale. The new landlord is understood to be a keen real ale drinker, and it is hoped that he will be introducing some guest beers in the near future.
Many people will have watched the recent BBC TV series ‘Field Of Dreams’ which
saw Freddie Flintoff assemble a team of underprivileged teenagers to play cricket at the VERNON CARUS SPORTS CLUB in Penwortham. Not concentrating on the cricket, something I did spot in the final episode was that the refurbishment of the club house had seen the removal of the two handpumps. This needed further investigation, and following a quick visit I have to report that Vernon Carus is no longer selling real ale. Hopefully this will only be temporary, but in the meantime I’m
takes place, but it was good to see that this pub is already selling real ale. In recent years this has not always been the case, although the pub has long retained an impressive set of four handpumps. Understandably only one handpump was in use, with Wainwright Gold being the beer available.
From there I headed up towards the railway station to call in at THE VIC, a pub that had a major refurbishment in 2017, when it was re-named after previously being known as the Victoria.
sure that cricket-loving real ale drinkers will be welcomed at the neighbouring PENWORTHAM CRICKET CLUB, which has one beer always available on handpump, and which on the day of my visit was Lancaster Blonde
In each issue of Ale Cry I like to feature a particular area of South Ribble to try to make sure that pubs in all parts of the borough get at least an occasional mention, and this time it is Lostock Hall. Ale Cry readers will be well aware of the LOSTOCK ALE micropub on Hope Terrace, which was the CAMRA Central Lancashire branch ‘Pub of the Season’ for Winter 2021-22, and which serves six changing guest beers, but what of the other pubs in the locality?
I started off at the Farington Moss end of Lostock Hall visiting the ANCHOR on Croston Road, a pub that was in 2020 the first ever recipient of a CAMRA Central Lancashire branch ’10 Years In the Good Beer Guide’ award. The Anchor has five handpumps, but I was told that most recently just two have been in use, with Blackedge US Ale and Moorhouses White Witch being the beers available.
Next it was the PLEASANT RETREAT on Watkin Lane. It may be some time before the proposed ‘Tap & Barrels’ transformation
For many years, both before and after the refurbishment, it was not selling any real ale, but there are now two handpumps, with Robinsons Unicorn being the one beer available on the day of my visit.
I then looked in at OUR LADY & ST GERARD’S PAROCHIAL CENTRE on Brownedge Road, a club which has been receiving many good reports in recent months. A former CAMRA Central Lancashire ‘Club of the Year’, it is once again proving to be popular for real ale drinkers in search of interesting beers. There are three handpumps, which on my visit were dispensing Durham White Gold, Moorhouses Blonde Witch, and Ossett White Rat
Finally I completed my day’s research at the WISHING WELL. Located at the junction of Leyland Road and Brownedge Road, this is a pub which has prospered as a sports bar since a refurbishment in 2015. While the Pleasant Retreat and The Vic have had long spells with no real ale, the Wishing Well has been a pub that usually has had something worthwhile available. There are two handpumps, with Ossett Yorkshire Blonde being the one beer on sale when I visited.
All in all it was quite gratifying to find that every pub in Lostock Hall is once again selling real ale.
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The Pub of the Season for Autumn 2022 is one of three awards being given this quarter, and as you’d imagine, there has been plenty of deliberation and quality control (drinking!) going on behind the scenes by CAMRA members and the committee in concluding the winner, which is the OLD POST OFFICE in Adlington, brewery tap of Escape Brewery, who have exploded onto the scene in recent years.
As their strap-line, “From Dream to Reality” infers, this is business based on passion and determination, bound together by friendship and a common aim. Three friends, Phil, Dave and Adam came
Escape Brewery produces traditional cask conditioned beers across a range of styles, with a “gentle nod” to modern-day tastes and it’s fitting that their first commercial brew was named Erik Weisz, real name of the great escape artist, Harry Houdini. I recall this being served in the White Bull in Chorley town centre in late 2019. It is a cracking beer and afterwards I started to look out for it on handpumps across the area, but six months later, the country went into lock-down. Not to be deterred, the brewing continued, and their beers were delivered to homes across the region both quenching thirsts and securing the brewery’s growing reputation during a period when they were unable to do so through the usual pub outlets… they were real “Lockdown Heroes”.
together through a love of home brewing, initially in a garage, and this then led to the opening of Escape Brewery in February 2019. With a passion for real ale, they came up with the name, which is meant to symbolise an “escape” from the daily grind but as we know, there’s an awful lot to do in running a brewery and just 12 months before the pandemic hit this was always going to be a challenging time. Speaking to Dave about his role recently, it’s clear that multi-tasking is in the blood; not only is he one of the brewers, but he also does deliveries, looks after the cellar at the pub and regularly serves behind the bar when the need arises.
Just two years later the brewery moved to new larger premises and rumours started to circulate that they were planning to open a brewery tap in the old Post Office on Chorley Road in Adlington, and so it came to be, when the pub opened in December 2021 close to the Elephant & Castle and across from the former Ridgway Arms (now Tesco). The conversion is superb, giving the place a very traditional feel with its wooden clad walls. It’s a cosy pub and whilst on a weekend it can get busy inside, the addition of a beer garden to the side and rear, with views across the King George playing fields to Rivington Pike means there is plenty of seating and it really is a great place to while away a few hours in the late autumn sunshine.
There are three cask ales on handpumps serving Escape Brewery ales with additional keg lines for craft ales from smaller Northwest breweries such as Rivington, Chain House and Twisted Wheel, as well as quality lagers, cocktails and ciders on offer. The fourth handpump has now been turned over to a changing cider for the summer
months on a trial basis (with Hogan’s French Revelation being on during our recent visit). Depending on how this sells, they may revert to using this for a dark beer in winter. Pies from local award-winning baker, J. Greeley & Son are regularly served and prove a great companion to a pint of Escape!
It’s been a short but extremely eventful journey so far for the business, and with plans afoot to increase capacity and their footprint across the region, we’d do well to keep our eyes on this one…blink and you may miss something new! Our congratulations go to everyone involved at the brewery and pub, as this really is a well-deserved team effort. The Pub of the Season presentation will take place at the Old Post Office on 20th October at 7.30pm. Please do join us to discover what the fuss is all about and enjoy some fabulous ales in a great environment.
RICHARD LANGFORD (PUBS OFFICER)
It is ten years since I did a Riley’s Ramble that included Sowerby Bridge. In that time, much has changed and it now deserves a ramble all of its own, instead of being combined with Hebden Bridge like last time. Be warned, this is just a beer ramble as there are not many ‘shopping’ shops in Sowerby to pass the time, just good pubs.
The town itself is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley and was originally a fording point over the River Calder, taking its name from the historic bridge which spans the river in the town centre. Textile and engineering industries grew up around the bridge. A modern claim to fame is that Sally Wainwright’s acclaimed drama series for BBC1, Happy Valley, starring Sarah Lancashire, was set in Sowerby Bridge and many parts of the series were filmed in and around the town. There are pleasant walks along the canal.
There is no direct train to Sowerby from Preston, but it is easily reached by train. It just involves a change of train at Hebden Bridge, but there is only a ten minute wait for the connection. Details at the end of the article.
Exiting the station, turn left and look for a signposted path on the other side of the road about fifty yards down which points to the
you will see the COMMERCIAL, the local Wetherspoons pub on the other side of the road. Extended from the original pub on the site, the front of the building is a large glassfronted room whilst at the rear is what remains of the original pub with exposed original stonework. The long bar, serves up to ten cask ales, including the usual stuff along with guests which included on our visit Fuggle Bunny’s La La Land, an American pale ale at 3.9% for £2.10 a pint. It opens at 8am till midnight (1am Fri/Sat).
Coming back out onto the main road, turn left and shortly see on the other side of the road, down Stanley St, the HOGS HEAD BREW HOUSE & BAR, an excellent pub with its own brewery, which can be viewed from the bar. The pub is spacious and has an outside drinking area on the other side of the road. Six home brewed beers were available going upwards in strength from White Hog at 4% and £3.20
pub is part of the original canal warehouse buildings converted to other uses, reflected in the interior fittings. Three GK beers and a couple of guests are available and the pub opens at noon till 11pm (10.30 Sun)
I continued uphill on Wharf St. to the
town centre. Go down, crossing the river and then turn left again where you will see our first pub, the TURK’S HEAD, a welcoming and friendly pub with a good selection of real ales. The pub itself is partially opened out, but retains a feeling of separate rooms. There is a beer garden with views over the River Calder. There are five changing beers on sale, one of which is always a dark one. Usually you can find beers from Copper Dragon, Goose Eye, and Durham on sale and during the day it is only £2.80 a pint. It opens at noon till 11pm all days, staying open till midnight Friday and Saturday.
Leaving the pub, turn left and go up to the main road, Wharf St. Depending on what day you go, the pubs have varying opening times, so choose your route accordingly. I turned right here and after about 100yds
a pint, plus a couple of guests including Nightjar’s B sides are Better. It opens at 2pm to 10pm Monday to Thursday, otherwise noon–11pm (Sun 10pm). If you are too early you can continue up Wharf St and come back later. You will pass WILLIAMS, which has usually has three real ales, but is closed Mondays and only opens at 5 pm on Tue–Thurs, 4 pm Fri, 3 pm Sat, but noon on a Sunday, closing at 11pm all days.
Carrying on along Wharf St. on your right you will see a Greene King pub called the MOORINGS on the canal basin. The
traffic lights where you will be able to go down Chapel Lane on your right to reach the next pub, the NAVIGATION, alongside the canal. A friendly pub, said to date from the 16th Century, it has a long lounge divided into sections and an attractive beer garden. A Heineken pub, it has six real ales from their extensive list, four are regulars, with two changing guests. The regulars were Taylors Landlord, Marston 61 Deep and Wainwrights plus Oakham Citra, with guests Ossett Yorkshire Blonde and a beer I haven’t had before, Theakstons Ball Tickler. This was a cask lager at 3.4% and very nice too. There is a discount for CAMRA members; show your card. The pub is open from noon until 11pm all days, and serves food until 8.30pm Mon, and until 9pm all other days.
If you now go back up to the main road and continue upwards from the lights, you will see our next pub, the SHEPHERD’S REST. A former Whitbread pub, it was bought by Ossett Brewery in 2005 and is now a showcase for their excellent beers. Three are always on sale and usually are the Blonde and Silver King plus one other. They also have up to four guest ales on sale which included two from Phoenix on our visit: Hopsack and Arizona, with an average price of £3.50. The pub has three drinking areas around the bar and an enclosed outdoor area. The pub only opens at 3pm
during the week (it opened bang on time), and noon Sat and Sun, closing at 11pm all nights except Fri/Sat when it is midnight.
From here, you head back down Wharf St. passing the pubs you have visited on the way up to reach Hollins Mill Lane on your right. Look out for the non real ale Kuja bar on the corner. Up the lane on the right you will find HOLLINS MILL. Previously called the Works, it was converted from what used to be a joinery into a spacious open plan pub with exposed beams and floorboards. It won CAMRA’s Best Conversion to Pub Use award in 2006. The L shaped bar has 10 handpumps dispensing four regular beers in Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Knowle Spring and Boltmaker plus Phoenix Hopsack, and up to six ever changing guest ales at around £3.60 a pint. The pub opens at 2pm Mon–Thurs, otherwise noon, and closes at 9pm all days.
Our last pub is just up the road from here, the PUZZLE HALL. Just turn right coming out of the Mill and it is about 100 yards along. Take time to notice the library building opposite the Mill and its dedication to Andrew Carnegie, an American philanthropist who used his
millions made in the steel industry to build libraries all over the UK for the benefit of the people, many of which have been shut down recently due to ‘austerity’. Carnegie had become one of the richest men in the US and in the last 18 years of his life gave away 90% of his wealth to charities, foundations and universities. He called on the rich to use their wealth to improve society and expressed support for progressive taxation and an estate tax. My kind of man.
Anyway, The Puzzle Hall is situated between the canal and the river. The 17th Century building once contained a brewery and the tower is still visible. After being closed for a period, a community pub company reopened it in 2019 after extensive renovation. There is stone flagged alfresco seating outside and live music features regularly. Six handpulls serve an ever changing range of beers which always include a bitter and a dark ale. Beers such as Pentrich Quiet Little Voices, a 4% pale ale and
Salt Yarn at 4.2% could be found on the bar on our visit. It was the local Pub of the Season for Summer 2022. It opens at 4–11pm Mon–Fri, which is why I left it to last, and 3pm–midnight Sat/Sun. From here we returned to the station for our train home by going back down to the main road, turning left and crossing over and looking out for the road down to the Turks Head, retracing your steps down the alley over the river on the right and turning left to reach the station.
Travel arrangements are as follows: From Preston you book a day return to Sowerby Bridge which currently costs £17.70 each (cheaper with railcard etc). Catch the York train which usually is timed about 46 minutes past the hour and get out at Hebden Bridge. There is about a nine minute wait for the next train which takes 7 minutes to get you to Sowerby Bridge arriving about 57 min past the hour, the whole journey taking 1hour 11 minutes in total. I caught the 11.46, arriving at 12.57, because going midweek, a lot of the pubs only open at 2pm or later. Returning to Preston, the 17.34, 18.34 and the 19.34 presently do not require you to change at Hebden Bridge, running directly to Preston. If you come back at other times, you must catch the Chester bound train at approx 23 minutes past the hour and get off at Hebden to catch the 39 minutes past the hour train to Preston. You can check all times on the National Railways Journey Planner website. PAUL RILEY
When landlord Ste Hornby opened the SHED in November 2017 it was just one of a handful of micropubs in the town centre and having worked in the hospitality sector for many years this was the realisation of a long-held ambition of Ste’s. Developments since that time have seen microbars embraced by the local council and numerous other bars have followed. However, the Shed has always been a little bit different, located just yards from the site of the former Commercial Hotel on Fazakerley Street it was something totally new to the town; a quirky themed bar with its wood-lined interior that was quickly embraced by local drinkers. Live music and cask ales have played an important role from the
outset, but it was in the autumn of 2021 that the business really stepped up, expanding into the premises next door, doubling the floor space and being renamed, the SHED AND GARDEN. This is a regular live music venue, now with plenty of seating and the original rustic feel has been retained despite the extension. The addition of a pavement licence provides seating for 40–50 people outside on the pedestrianised street, which makes for lovely outdoor socialising in warmer weather. Building on the original theme, the Garden really is something special, the paving, gravel paths, picnic tables and a pergola giving a real outdoor feel and enhancing the ambience of the pub.
Ste provides an extensive range of drinks to suit all tastes but has remained true to his original ethos, with three ever-changing
cask ales permanently available on handpump. These are generally
a
and the quality and consistency of the beers is excellent. There are also a variety of events including Quiz/Open Mic nights on alternate Thursdays, Bottomless Afternoon Teas on a Saturday and Wine and Cheese every Sunday. Put this together with the regular live music on offer and this venue really is second to none. If you’ve not already been, it’s well worth a visit.
A great many venues in the area have carried out renovations, expansion and garden makeovers during and post-lockdown to great effect, so competition for this award has been really strong. It therefore gives us great pleasure to announced that the Shed & Garden has been awarded the Most Improved Pub for 2021–22 in the Central Lancashire CAMRA branch area and our congratulations go to Ste and all the staff in their achievement.
RICHARD LANGFORD (PUBS OFFICER)What is real cider? I think if you asked most CAMRA members they would say that it’s real so long as it’s served from a hand pump or maybe from a bag-in-a-box, or perhaps that it’s real as long as it’s still or cloudy. Unfortunately this isn’t the case and although CAMRA’s definition of real cider is relatively simple, the process of identifying one relies on consulting an ever-changing list of (at the time of writing) 448 UK-based cider and perry producers.
As of last year CAMRA defines real cider or perry as “Cider or Perry being fermented from the whole juice of fresh pressed apples or pears, without the use of concentrated or chaptalised juices”. Chaptalised juices refers to a process of fermenting juice to a high alcohol content by adding sugars and then diluting this down to your desired ABV. So essentially the definition means that real cider and perry must be made from the juice of fresh apples or pears with no concentrate used and without having to dilute the alcohol content.
I think this definition is spot on, it’s simple and concise and delivers what you want; real cider and perry must be made from fresh fruit juice with no messing around with concentrates. The difficulty with the definition is that unfortunately it is just about impossible to check these factors when picking out a cider in a pub or shop. You’d be hard pressed to find a pump-clip or box of cider that describes the process under which the drink was made, and although bottles or cans of cider might have a bit of a description you’re unlikely to be able to confirm for certain whether concentrates or chaptalised juices were used. Just to make things more confusing labels such as ‘100% Juice’ don’t necessarily mean no concentrate was used and many ciders that would otherwise be real are excluded by their use of fruit concentrates to flavour the finished product.
When we talk about real ale, the method of dispense is really important. However, with cider and perry this is less so, and the ‘real thing’ may be found dispensed via a traditional handpull, through a keg font, direct from a bag-in-a-box, from a glass container in a fridge behind the bar (having been drawn off earlier from a larger container) or even in cans or bottles. So unless you know who is making the real thing, it is very difficult to work out what is real and what is not.
Earlier this year myself and a few other Central Lancs committee members surveyed a number of the pubs in our area that we
previously had listed as stocking real cider. We recorded all ciders on offer at each venue we visited and I consulted CAMRA’s full list of real ciders and perrys. The outcome of this was that we have so far only been able to confirm that six pubs in Central Lancs are serving real cider or perry:
• Ale Station (Chorley) – Sandford Red
• Ben’s Tap (Chorley) – Cornish Orchards plus 3 or 4 changing
• Riley’s Taproom (Chorley) – Seacider
• Continental (Preston) – one changing handpump
• Niko (Preston) – various in bottles
• Old Post Offfice (Adlington) – Hogan’s (handpump) on a recent visit, but likely to vary
We know of a couple more places in our area that are hoping to start serving real cider in the future so things are definitely looking positive but it would be good to see more pubs offering at least one.
Judging by our recent surveys and my own experience I’d say that the real ciders you’re most likely to come across in our area are: Seacider, Sandford, Snails Bank, Little Pomona (bottles only) and Hogan’s. I would also recommend keeping your eyes peeled for Oliver’s, Gregg’s Pit, Pilton and Nightingale; all popular ciders that are becoming more widely available.
You might at this point be wondering why I’ve made no mention of big names such Thatcher’s, Sheppy’s, Aspall which regularly appear on keg and even the likes of Lilley’s, Weston’s, Gwynt Y Ddraig, Thistley Cross and Broadoak which often appear served through handpumps. Unfortunately none of these brands are exclusively real cider producers (they may have some real ciders but the majority of their range is not real) and some of the big cider brands even contain as little as 35% apple juice (the UK legal minimum for a cider). There’s certainly plenty of good cider out there that doesn’t qualify as real cider but I would like to see licensees and drinkers trying to seek out real cider and appreciating that it is a quality product.
CAMRA HQ as well as many CAMRA members and volunteers across the country have already done a lot of the leg-work of working out which producers are making real cider or perry. CAMRA’s list, as I mentioned before, boasts an impressive 448 different producers, a clear sign that cider production is thriving. The next step, I believe, should be a CAMRA campaign to encourage these real cider
producers to adopt a uniform label across their products to clearly identify CAMRAdefined real cider or perry. We should be working to make real cider and perry as obvious as possible to consumers and licensees so that everyone knows exactly where to get quality cider or perry.
Real cider under CAMRA’s definition shouldn’t be something you have to look up on a spreadsheet, it should be a mark of quality and tradition displayed proudly by cider producers. Think of ‘Award Winning Ale’ pump clips and little rosettes printed on wine bottle labels, I know these can certainly help me decide which drink to choose, it would be great to see something similar with real cider.
The other main thing I think is key in CAMRA’s campaign for real cider and perry is that as many members as possible start talking about real cider, with each other and with the landlords of the pubs they visit, whether or not they themselves drink cider. We should all be onboard with the push to champion quality cider in the same way that we support real ale. CAMRA has campaigned for cider and perry since 1985, and there is evidence that had it not been for our efforts perry would potentially have been under extreme threat of disappearing altogether. Cider and Perry bars are regular inclusions at real ale festivals up and down the country so there’s clearly an appreciation for the drinks within the community, I believe we just need to make it easier for everyone to identify what is real and what is not. Only then can we start to push for these products to be more widely available without having to point people in the direction of spreadsheets and lists.
If you think a pub you visit in the Central Lancs area might be stocking real cider or perry and we don’t know about it or if you think the landlord of your local might be interested in more information about real ciders and perrys please don’t hesitate to drop me an email at cider@ centrallancs.camra.org.uk to let me know.
EDD FLETCHER
News from the Chorley area is rather thin on the ground this quarter. The first thing to report is that Withnell’s brewery has ceased brewing. Co-owner Paul Rowe told us that they had been forced to throw in the towel, unable to absorb the continuing price increases for utilities and raw materials. The brewing kit is for sale and this brings to an end 6 years of brewing. Withnell’s started in 2016 in a small unit in Bamber Bridge, moving to Chorley in late 2019, becoming the first brewery in the town for many years. The timing could not have been worse, with lockdown hitting almost immediately and delaying the opening of their taproom for some time. Sadly, along with the closure of the brewery we have also lost the ARTISAN ALE HOUSE and the excellent Lancashire Bottle Shop.
Staying in the centre of Chorley, the IMPERIAL has reopened under new ownership, along with a new name of MR TICKLE’S BAR. There has been a smart internal refurbishment, with the new look seemingly aimed squarely at the younger end of the market. Over the years, this pub has flirted with selling real ale, without ever making it work and the new venture is not serving any, although two unused handpumps sit towards one end of the bar, leaving the possibility that real ale may appear at some time. Meanwhile, the pub is still outwardly badged as the Imperial, which will no doubt cause some confusion. On the topic of bars not serving real ale that have gone through a name change, we have the VESTRY on Chapel Street in what used to be Latch. Slightly out of town, the DUKE OF YORK on Bolton Road is up for sale. This is a pub that has not sold real ale for many years and given the fate of other pubs at this end of town, one wonders if this will end up as something else.
Up on Eaves Lane, the BRETHERTON ARMS remains closed but there is some hope here as Star Inns have it on their list of pubs they are looking to refurbish, with talk of a food offering and an extended and improved outdoor drinking area. The big caveat is that any refurbishment is subject to the ‘right people’ coming forward to take it on. Given the out-of-town location and past problems with customer behaviour, we might be waiting some time for something to happen here. Another pub where a refurb has taken place recently is the TALBOT in Euxton. The new look interior is bright and cheerful and there are four handpumps to tempt the real ale drinker to visit.
We mentioned in issue 129 that the reopening of the TOP LOCK at Heapey was imminent. It has been taken on by Greg Crabtree, who is the owner/operator of SHEPHERDS’ HALL ALE HOUSE in
Chorley and reopened in June. Due to the absence of kitchen facilities, the pub is operating on a ‘wet only’ basis at present with occasional food offerings from outside caterers. For the real ale lover, things are much improved with four cask ales available on my recent visits, with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Oakham Citra and Titanic Plum Porter among the beers on offer. The quality has been excellent and it is good to be able to report a return to form for what used to be one of the branch’s premier real ale pubs. Greg has reported that trade is very weather dependent, but he is hopeful that a deal can be done that will allow him to take the pub on a permanent basis.
Out in Brinscall, the ST JOSEPH’S SOCIAL CLUB has reintroduced real ale with one changing beer from local breweries being available. On the subject of clubs, we announced in our spring 2022 issue of Ale Cry that the CROSTON SPORTS CLUB had been selected as our Club of the Year. We presented their award in late May, by which time we had also learned that the club was
now the Lancashire Branches Club of the Year. We have found it difficult to arrange the presentation of the award for this, but hopefully it will have been done by the time this magazine is printed.
Our Summer Pub of the Season was the RIVINGTON BREWERY TAP and given the lack of public transport to this area, we hired a minibus for the visit to do the presentation. We were rewarded with a lovely sunny day and the beer garden was packed. We presented the award to Phil who is the bar manager there, and enjoyed a few excellent beers from their extensive range in the sunshine, while enjoying views across the reservoir to Rivington Pike and the surrounding hills. As we were in a part of the branch not easily reached without a car, we took the opportunity to visit the two other Good Beer Guide listed pubs that can be reached in just a short walk. The RIVINGTON had been closed for some time for an extensive refurbishment,
but it had reopened earlier in the summer. It is a little larger, somewhat smarter and still has a slightly non-pubby feel, being essentially a tea room attached to a bowling club. However the beer is still excellent, with two Abbeydale ales on tap and loads of outdoor seating to soak up the sunshine and take in the expansive views of the reservoir from the other side. The third pub on our travels was the YEW TREE , which can be reached from here in less than a mile – a very pleasant walk in the countryside. The Yew Tree needs no introduction; for many years it was famed for its good food, but the introduction of great quality cask beer in recent years has seen it become a favoured destination even if it is a little remote. Surprisingly there were only two beers available on our visit, Blackedge Pike and Bowland Hen Harrier, both of which were excellent.
In the same corner of the branch is the BLACK HORSE at Limbrick. We have heard recently that the pub has closed again although have been unable to substantiate this. The doors have been closed the last couple of times I have been past and we know that the licensee only had the pub for a short period. The pub is rumoured to be reopening on the 20th of August – hopefully this is true since it is probably the oldest pub in the branch and should be a real success, if only the right people can get hold of it.
ADRIAN SMITHIn the latest instalment of our look back at the closed pubs of Preston, we focus on the area in the vicinity of London Road, the A6 heading south from the city centre. At one time, the journey from the bottom of Church Street down to the River Ribble would have produced a decent pub crawl, but sadly today not one of the pubs still exist.
Our first port of call on this issue’s nostalgia trip is the CHEETHAM ARMS, which used to stand on the west side of London Road between Queen Street and New Hall Lane. Opened in 1837, this was a Matthew Brown pub which had not sold real ale for a number of years when it closed in 1999. It was demolished the following year with the site remaining empty until the recent redevelopment of the commercial premises in that area. The Range store now sits on the site.
Further down London Road, on the opposite side of the road, on the corner of Primrose Hill stands Manjaros, a restaurant offering African and Caribbean cuisine. In happier times this was the WILLIAM IV pub, which had been owned by the Cornbrook Brewery of Manchester (later part of Bass). In our Preston Guild beer guide of 1992, the pub was described as a spacious pub
with a plush lounge and separate games area around a central bar and serving Bass Special Bitter and Boddingtons Bitter. By the time the 2004 guide came out, real ale had been discontinued, with the pub closing in 2009.
A short walk south down London
Road and on the next street corner (Salmon Street) we come to the next pub – one which indeed had a somewhat chequered history. There has been a GREYHOUND INN on this site since 1836. The original three storey structure was destroyed by fire (date uncertain) and rebuilt to
a slightly less grand scale. The pub eventually found its way into the hands of Boddingtons Brewery. In 1960, while building work was being carried out at the property, the front of the premises collapsed killing four people inside – including the landlord’s wife. The building was subsequently demolished and again rebuilt, with landlord Eric Ratcliffe returning to continue to serve his locals for nearly 30 years. The pub had a reputation for good beer at this time, appearing in 17 consecutive Good Beer guides from 1974-1990. With changes to the area, the pub eventually closed in 2012 and is now operating as a Turkish restaurant.
Our next port of call is another Boddingtons house, the SELBORNE , which is a short walk down London Road and a right turn
onto James Street. This pub featured in the 1974 Good Beer Guide and was described as a basic working class street corner pub. A later branch-issued guide described it in a bit more detail – and mentions a stone-clad exterior, fine old windows and multiple rooms; a pub that could be very busy at times and where pub games were important. The pub closed in 2003 and is now occupied as a religious centre.
Our final pub on this route is back on London Road and a good walk further south to the banks of the River Ribble. Originally known as the Black Horse, it was renamed the SHAWE’S ARMS in 1843 and continued under that name until it closed towards the end of 2014. At the start of the 20 th century the pub was still brewing its own beer and offering accommodation for cyclists – many years before the invention of the Guild Wheel as a cycling route! The pub had a
strange layout as it is built on land which slopes away to the rear. The main bar area, complete with attractive stained glass bar canopy and bar back are at ground floor level on entry, with a flight of steps leading down (rather steeply) to a games room on the lower floor. With a large open area for use as a beer garden, this should have secured viability but sadly this last London Road pub closed towards the end of 2014. There have been subsequent rumours of the building being turned into a restaurant, but despite some building work having taken place, it was announced in the local press in January of this year that the pub was once again for sale. All activity has ceased and in June there was a fire at the premises, apparently started by youths who had used the scaffolding to gain access. What the future holds for this property is anyone’s guess.
ADRIAN SMITH
All the excellent photographs used to illustrate this series of articles come from the Jim Holderness collection, and we gratefully acknowledge this and being able to use them. Part 13 will be the final part and we will be looking at some of the outlying pubs that haven’t been covered in the previous articles.
For some time there has been talk of pubs closing down with some difficult trading conditions both during the pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis. Times have been, and continue to be difficult, but throughout the last few years there has been a steady stream of pubs bucking the trend and opening up.
Some of these are traditional pubs closed for years and reopening, some are shop conversions to micropubs, and some are new brewery taps. The thing they have in common is that they are selling real ale and we as a Branch decided to recognise this with a new award of Best New Cask Outlet. Depending on whether this trend continues, we would like this to become an annual award so if you have any thoughts please let us know.
Going back over the last 18 months we have had 12 venues opening up, with 8 having been open long enough for us to determine the consistency, quality and range of the beers they have been offering. Choosing a winner is never easy and much discussion ensued after committee members had made visits to all.
However a winner was selected and Central Lancashire Branch’s Best New Cask Outlet 2022 is the TAP END at Lane Ends, Ashton, Preston.
For decades the Lane Ends Hotel stood alone as the only pub in the area but over the years the regular changing ownership, and the subsequent changing management had resulted in a gradual decline in beer quality. What it needed was some competition, then suddenly 2 micropubs opened: the Tulketh Tap in July 2020; and the Tap End 12 months later. For a while both pubs struggled to establish themselves due to the open/closed nature of lockdowns, then the reluctance of people to return to pubs. Gradually the tide turned and both are now doing well.
In contrast to the larger Lane Ends with its food and TV sports; and the Tulketh Tap with its sports TV, loud music and outdoor seating; the Tap End is a quieter, more intimate pub where conversation and beer quality and range is of paramount importance. Manager Simon Park has stuck to those principles wanting to offer something different in the area and slowly but surely turnover is increasing.
Initially opening with 3 cask offerings including a summer only cider, plus 8 craft lines from a single supplier, Simon found that the choice was decent but fairly limited. He now has 3 suppliers so the range has increased from local breweries, to regional and national (as long as they are of good quality). Cask cider wasn’t popular enough to return this year but is still available in craft and cans but this made it possible to increase to 4 handpumps allowing him to offer a greater range of ales. There is always a darker beer on – a stout or porter in winter; a dark bitter or red in summer.
Interestingly since the increase to 4 handpumps, cask sales are going up and craft is tailing off somewhat. Whether that is down to the novelty wearing off, the price of craft or the generally higher strength, Simon doesn’t know. He does know about beer though, and will talk you through your choices if you are unsure where to start. To help visitors know what is on the bar and in the cellar, Simon is one of the growing number of licensees using the popular Real Ale Finder app.
The Tap End recently celebrated its first birthday which coincided with the highest daily takings and more importantly, the most cask ale sold in a day. It couldn’t have just been the free nibbles and complimentary glass of something fizzy that caused it – more likely the quality and variety of beer available at Central Lancashire CAMRA’s Best New Real Outlet 2022. Why not go along and see for yourselves? STEVE JACKSON
Morning departure with pick-ups (exact times TBA):
• Preston (Guild Ale House)
• Chorley (Railway Station)
• Wheelton (Red Lion)
Arrive Huddersfield approximately noon. Depart Huddersfield 6pm, with drop-offs as per pick-ups.
Bookings or further information contact Adrian Smith, chairman@centrallancs.camra.org.uk 07495448555
Having already obtained planning permission for a brewpub in Clayton’s Gate, Chain House Brewing Company are now looking at alternate premises. The new site is a former joinery workshop on Market Street West which will offer a larger space and will be better suited for their plans. A new planning application is before Preston Council and we hope to have some concrete news on this exciting new venture in our next issue.
In Chorley, the FLAT IRON has been closed for a fairly extensive refurbishment. Matt Rees has returned to run the pub. With 5 handpumps on the bar, they plan to have 3 or 4 cask ales on at any one time plus a real cider. Still closed as we go to press, it should be open again by the time you read this, so why not pop-in to see the new look.
News has reached us of provisional plans to open another micropub in the Fulwood area of Preston. It would be quite close to Crafty Beggars, and if it happens, will make the trip out of town more worthwhile.
The wait for a micropub in Longton continues. Plans to turn the vacant village Post Office into one, have fallen through. However we understand that an alternate property in the village has atracted interest from a current micropub owner, and we await developments here with interest.
With the appearance of this Ale Cry, CAMRA Central Lancashire branch enters its 50th year as an organisation.
Looking back to the formative years of the branch in the 1970s things were very different. A pub was usually tied to one brewery, and it would exclusively sell the beers produced by that particular brewery. Handpumps were quite rare, with most real ale in this area being dispensed from an electric pump. There were no fancy beer names, with customers usually being given a straightforward choice – you either drank mild or you drank bitter.
CAMRA West Lancashire branch (as we were then known) produced its first pub guide in 1975. Titled the Preston & District Real Ale Guide, it was priced at 20p and listed 116 pubs that were known to be selling real ale. The Introduction to the guide acknowledged that it may not have included every pub in the area that was selling real ale, but it was claimed ‘that each of the pubs listed generally serve an acceptable pint’.
The Preston & District Real Ale Guide contained only the most basic pub information, but what does soon become apparent is that local real ale drinkers were then largely reliant on the products of just four breweries – Matthew Brown, Thwaites, Boddingtons, and Greenall Whitley. Between them these brewing companies were supplying their beers to over 90% of the real ale outlets listed in the guide.
With 39 pubs selling beers from Matthew Brown (or Lions as it was more commonly known) this was the brewery with the most real ale outlets in the branch area. Located in Blackburn, but originally a Preston brewery, the legacy of this was that over half the pubs in the branch area were Matthew Brown houses, many of them not selling any real ale. Having acquired Theakstons in 1984, everything was looking rosy for Matthew Brown until Scottish & Newcastle
came along with a hostile takeover bid. In 1987 the take-over was completed, and within a matter of years it was almost as if Matthew Brown had never existed.
There were 25 pubs selling beers from Thwaites, another brewery located in Blackburn. All Thwaites pubs were selling real ale, and they were spread throughout the branch area, with as many as 11 pubs listed under Preston. Now based at Mellor Brook, Thwaites is still in existence, although certainly not with the presence in numbers that it had in the 1970s – most tellingly the Sun is now the last remaining Thwaites pub in Preston.
There were 23 pubs selling beers from Manchester-based Boddingtons, this being a brewery whose beers people either loved or hated. All Boddingtons pubs were selling real ale, with several of them being among the biggest beer sellers in the area – notably the Old Black Bull in Preston, the Sumners at Fulwood, and the Lane Ends at Ashton. Boddingtons was to be acquired by Whitbread in 1989, and in the 1990s Boddingtons Bitter was for a time the most commonly found beer in the branch area. You can have too much of a good thing – the brewery closed in 2005, and Boddingtons Bitter is now only available as a keg beer.
Completing the quartet of leading real ale suppliers was Greenall Whitley with 18 pubs selling their beers. Greenalls had breweries at both St Helens and Warrington. Their pubs were spread throughout the branch area, with a concentration between Preston and Southport due to them having acquired many of the pubs that had once belonged to Wilkins of Longton. Never that popular with real ale drinkers, Greenalls gave up brewing their own beers in 1991 and eight years later sold off their last remaining pubs to Scottish & Newcastle.
In addition to the above four brewing companies, there were six others who played a lesser role, supplying their beers to the few remaining real ale outlets listed in the guide.
Located at the village of that name near Warrington, Burtonwood had six pubs listed in the guide, all in the southern half of the branch area.
In subsequent years the number of Burtonwood houses was to increase, but in 2004 they chose to cease brewing to become a pub-owning company, which was then acquired by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries the following year.
Based in Liverpool, Higsons was represented with two pubs in the branch area, the Lord Nelson at Croston, and the Legh Arms at Mere Brow (the latter now a part of CAMRA Southport & West Lancashire branch). Higsons was acquired by Boddingtons in 1985, and later as part of Boddingtons it was swallowed up by Whitbread with the Liverpool brewery being closed down.
Still in existence, and still represented in the branch area with the flagship Black Horse pub in Preston. In 1975 this Stockport-based brewery also had the Myerscough at Balderstone, a pub which closed in 2016 and which has since been demolished.
The big six brewing company with the greatest presence in the branch area in 1975, due to them having acquired a number of Lancashire breweries in the 1960s. Most of their pubs were at this time keg only, but the guide listed the Royal Oak at Riley Green, a rare free house which was then selling Draught Bass. This beer continues to be very popular, although you will probably struggle to find it anywhere in the Central Lancashire branch area.
Another member of the so-called ‘big six’ brewing companies, two of their beers McEwans Bitter and Youngers Bitter were also available at the above mentioned Royal Oak.
Based at Warrington, Tetley was a part of Allied Breweries, the third of the ‘big six’ brewing companies to be represented with an entry in the guide. There was one pub listed as selling Tetley Bitter as a real ale in our branch area, the Towneley Arms at Longridge.
There were four more brewing companies whose beers could be found in the branch area in 1975, but these were breweries which were not supplying any real ale at this time. Big six brewers JOHN SMITH and WHITBREAD both had a number of pubs in central Lancashire that were selling only keg beers, while Sunderland-based brewers VAUX were then keg-only at their two Preston pubs, the Meadow Arms and the Mitre Tavern. Finally there was SAMUEL SMITH , the Tadcaster-based brewery which prided itself on its traditional brewing methods, but which at this time was supplying only keg beers to the Olde Blue Bell in Preston.
It would not be too long before things began to change, with all these brewing companies eventually making a move to put some real ale into their pubs. GORDON SMALL
If you can catch some good weather this is a great ride out for trying some of our area’s more rural pubs and their cask ales. It is mainly off busy roads and uses the Guild Wheel again and plenty of country lanes in the direction of Beacon Fell, without climbing too high. Mainly foody pubs so you might want to scope their menus out for a return visit.
Obligatory warnings – riding whilst drunk is not big and it’s not clever – know your limits (I ordered half-pints). I did this on a weekend – you will need to check opening times on Whatpub if you go midweek. Again this is a daylight ride - there is no street lighting for most of this trail. There is a little more uphill riding than the previous trail in Ale Cry 129 (another reason to get your bike electrified) but nothing too steep.
Nominal start point is the Ancient Oak at Cottam on Merrytrees Lane which was included in the previous Cycle Ale Trail because it is on the Guild Wheel. You can choose to have an optional beer in here at the start or end of your ride.
(fairly level and about 2.8 miles) Opposite the Ancient Oak is where we pick up the Guild Wheel (GW) – join it and head east then north on to Tag Lane, Lightfoot Lane and off round Preston Grasshoppers (now mostly all housing). Over the M55, then down and up over the railway line, and round the Broughton School playing field perimeter track (a bit lumpy) out on to the old A6. Leave the GW, turn left and go for 200 yards to the old traffic choke point of Broughton traffic lights. They’ve gone and it’s now a quiet junction.
Choice of two locations here – a pub or a club – the BROUGHTON INN or the BROUGHTON & DISTRICT SOCIAL CLUB (open to nonmembers). The club is only open 12-3 on weekends so your arrival time is important as to whether you actually
have a choice. I tried them both (I’ve done the trail twice). The Broughton Inn (formerly Burlingtons/Sylvesters) is on the corner of the crossroads and is a food pub with an outdoor seating area. There were two beers on when I called in – Doom Bar and Wainwright – I had a half of the latter which was nicely-kept and very refreshing. Turning right at the crossroads and 150 yards on your right is Broughton Club – the bar entrance is around the back by the bowling green. There was only one beer on when I called but beers are changed regularly. It was Reedley Hallows Old Laund Bitter on my visit and it was in excellent condition. I drank it sitting in the sun watching the tennis players at the back of the bowling green – very relaxing.
(uphill bits and about 4 miles)
Head east and carefully cross the new bypass on to Whittingham Lane. The bypass crossing is possibly the most dangerous spot on the trail. Continue under the M6 and take the next left on to Langley Lane towards Inglewhite. After a sharp right turn a bit further along is an unsignposted left turn to Silk Mill Lane – turn on to it. Half a mile further along is Inglewhite and on your left is The
This is another popular food pub with outdoor seating and a pretty wellequipped campsite out the back (I checked it out). It also has bike racks at the front. Only one cask beer on again and this was Bowland’s Boxer Blonde (also in good condition) and I drank this outside in the sun next to a rather large teepee. Unusual but very pleasant!
(more uphill bits and about 1.6 miles)
Almost opposite the Green Man is a triangular road junction – head straight across and north on to Button Street. Climbing a bit here but not too far, look out for a right turn on to Church Lane and Whitechapel –this is the highest point of the circuit so it’s all downhill from here. Almost.
Proceed along this road until you come to the CROSS KEYS INN complex on the right – next to a 40 sign. This is a recently renovated old pub that has been expanded into a restaurant, wedding/function venue and holiday accommodation. Everything looks clean and new, but
what about the cask ales? Lancaster Brewery Blonde, and Black Sheep Best Bitter. I chose the Blonde and sat outside in the sun.
(mostly downhill / flat and about 2 miles)
Exit back on to Church Lane and proceed downhill for a while until you hit a T-junction. Turn left then right a few dozen yards further on, onto Bull Snape Lane. The road bends right a bit then you reach a junction with Inglewhite Road – turn left and YE HORNS INN is about a mile further on, at a crossroads and on the right. Go around the back to get in – there is a sort of hitching post you can attach your bike to. Ye Horns Inn is another renovation project that has recently re-opened – I hadn’t been to Ye Horns for many years – and what an impressive expansion!
4 cask ales on – Bowland’s Hen Harrier , Doom Bar , Wainwright and Timothy Taylors Landlord . I chose the Landlord (in good condition) and sat outside at one of the many tables in the sun to drink it. Enjoying this ride!
(about 3 miles mostly downhill)
Exit Ye Horns Inn and freewheel down Horns Lane. Keep going when it turns into Eaves Green Lane and then Camforth Hall Lane. You will come to a junction with the B5269 –stop, then bear right onto a slightly busier road now, which becomes Whittingham Lane. Continue for about a quarter mile to the STAGS HEAD on your left. This is another pub that has expanded and changed quite a bit since I last visited. It’s a popular and busy family and food pub with a large outdoor space at the rear. Three handpumps, 2 cask ales on – Wainwright and Ossett Yorkshire Blonde. I chose the latter and went out to sit in the beer garden out back.
(about 3.5 miles, fairly flat)
All good things must come to an end and we sup up and continue down the B5269 to the Broughton bypass and retrace our route to the Broughton Inn, turn left and pick up the Guild Wheel route where we left it earlier. Carry on back around the Guild Wheel until you get to the Ancient Oak. Time for another beer?
DAVE WOOLCOCKIn the last edition we told you of the closure of the Sam Smiths OLDE BLUE BELL on Church Street. Well, the good news for all you lovers of their Old Brewery Bitter is that the pub has reopened much as it was before, with the beer still on sale at £3 a pint. It is an ideal place to go for a quiet pint, for, as we know, there is no noise of mobile phones or computers or other electronic devices allowed in Sam Smith pubs and definitely no swearing or bad language allowed at all. It has lost a lot of custom during its closure and it may take a bit of time to build up trade again, but it is a very comfortable pub inside and sells an unusual beer for round here. The pub is a Grade II listed building trading from at least 1716 and I for one am glad that it did not succumb to the rash of mysterious fires plaguing Preston lately.
Another listed building in the news is the BLACK HORSE on Friargate in Preston. Here, it is good news in that English Heritage, in conjunction with CAMRA, have collaborated to get new information on the interiors of several pubs added to their Grade II listings. One of these is the Black Horse and most Prestonians know of its
fantastic interior, and it is good to know that the project by Historic England to save rare pub interiors has included the Black Horse. The amended listing acknowledges the significance of the building and the importance of its surviving interior. Landlord Dan Taylor has said he is glad that the pub has been relisted, adding that it is important we don’t lose the historical gems in Preston. Anyone who comes to Preston must visit this magnificent pub, both to marvel at its glorious bar, and enjoy the choice of eight real ales, both Robinsons own beers and the constantly changing range of at least four guest ales from all over the country.
The GREY FRIAR pub on the corner of Friargate and Ringway has been knocked back in its plan to create a permanent outdoor seating area at the front of the pub. Apparently council planning officers say that it is ‘unacceptable from a visual amenity perspective.’ So much for ever having a continental culture of sitting outside in the lovely hot weather we are going to get. I was looking forward to watching the odd cyclist go past on the multi million pound cycle lane they are building and all the lovely traffic on the ring road that passes right through the centre of town. (No, not really.) Let us hope Wetherspoons can come up with a revised plan that will enhance the experience of the to be pedestrianised half of Friargate, with its multiplicity of eating establishments and such. Maybe some of the thousands of students would be happy for somewhere to sit while quaffing the many varying drinks on offer, imagining themselves sat on the boulevards of Paris. After all we are a city aren’t we?
Speaking of planners, let us see what happens to the latest application by the unnamed owners of the site of the
SUMNERS pub which was demolished without planning permission. They later gave permission for a community centre and shops, plus 65 flats to be built, then for the centre and 77 flats. Now the owners have said that those plans have been swapped for a residential only 90 flats plan. None of these flats will be ‘affordable’ homes, even though rules say that 30 per cent should be. The once popular Sumners was closed by Greene King and allowed to fall into a state of disrepair such that the council, instead of requiring GK to ensure the safety of the building, allowed the building to be demolished almost overnight. It seems a recurring story with pubs in our area. Just think of what happened to the Boar’s Head at Barton. That suffered a similar outcome.
Another pub that looks like it has served its last pint is the SHAWE’S ARMS, at the bottom of London Road near the river. It has been closed for a while, but there had been plans for an eating establishment or some such for the building. Mysteriously, like so many buildings in Preston, a fire broke out there, meaning the pub will have to be demolished. I’ve heard that somewhere else before. Too frequently! Another one just demolished is the LIME KILN pub on Aqueduct Street. A former Matthew Brown pub, it had a new lease of life as a Banks’s pub for many years, before turning into a Chinese Restaurant in 2008 lasting until 2014 when after some problems with the gas supply, it was forced to close. The council have now granted permission for its demolition as it is now considered unsafe.
Some good news is that the new rooftop terrace and bar at the PLAU on Friargate is now open adding to the amenities at this smart, mult-level pub with good range of changing ales. The terrace will be a dining area or bar, but can be hired for events such as wedding parties.
North of Preston and just over our branch boundary is a new outlet for real ale. The GALLEY is a canal side cafe and bar at the Swillbrook boatyard on the Lancaster canal at Catforth. On Catforth Road, it looks like it will be well worth a visit if their website is anything to go by. It shows three handpumps with unusual beers displayed
on the pumpclips including beers from Rock Solid Brewery, brewed in Blackpool. Only open at weekends (3pm–10pm Fri, 10am–10pm Sat, 11am–6pm Sun), it says it will also be serving craft ales, wines, homemade cakes and ice cream, and will be adding food to the menu.
Finally, by the time you read this, the George Lee Memorial Shield, for almost 40 years the annual award by our branch for outstanding services to real ale, will have a permanent home. First awarded in 1982 to the Olde Blue Bell, would you believe, it was our branch’s memorial to the genial bugle-blowing landlord of the Moorbrook Inn, George Lee, who was landlord there when our branch of CAMRA (the fourth in the whole country) was formed. He was instrumental in promoting real ale in our area and served as treasurer for many years. If a pub won the award, voted on by our members, it was automatically our Pub of the Year. The 2020 award filled up the last available space on the shield, and the branch decided to retire the trophy and just have a straight vote for the Pub of the Year.. The winner of the 2020 George Lee trophy was the Black Horse in Friargate, and there it has been proudly displayed ever since. The committee thought that to celebrate
our branch’s 50 years of existence, it would be a good idea, to display the shield where it all started, and thus in August the shield was handed to Richie, the landlord of the Moorbrook, for him to display in the bar of the pub. It will remain the possession of the branch, and if anything unforeseen happens at the Moorbrook, we will find an alternate home for the trophy.
PAUL RILEYWe are continuing our series on CAMRA beer styles from Ale Cry 129. This issue will cover the final 5 beer styles, and the subcategories CAMRA uses to judge the prestigious Champion Beer of Britain.
8. Session Stouts and Porters: up to and including 4.9% ABV
Porters were developed in London in the eighteenth century and named after the London Porters who worked on the docks and the City of London. It is thought to be the first global beer as, at one time, it was exported around the world. There is often confusion between stouts and porters. Once, Stout simply meant ‘Strong’. CAMRA distinguishes between the two styles by describing Stouts as typically black and less hopped than Porters.
Colour Black.
Flavour Stouts have flavours and aromas resulting from the roasted grain malts e.g. chocolate, caramel and coffee notes. They have minimal hop and fruit notes. There are a number of subsets in this category.
Minimal sweetness and a dry astringency that may come from unmalted dark roasted barley.
These do not always contain oysters, being stouts to accompany oysters. Those that do may often have salty notes, either due to adding oyster shells (for subtle semi-sweet flavours) or adding whole oysters to create a unique ocean flavour and can be slightly bitter.
Oatmeal is added during the brewing process to create a stout with a full body and creamy notes, often sweet.
Lactose (milk sugar) is added to create a smooth, sweet stout with a rounder mouthfeel, usually with subtle sweet, creamy notes and sometimes with vanilla and custard notes.
Colour Usually, dark brown to black. Flavour Roasty notes of coffee or chocolate that are balanced by a hoppy character with some fruit. This may be dark fruits e.g. damsons, black cherries, or caramelised fruits, such as raisins or sultanas. Sweetness ranges from sweet to dry.
Oatmeal is added during the brewing process to create a stout with a full body and creamy notes, often sweet.
Lactose (milk sugar) is added towards the end of brewing to create a smooth, sweet stout with a rounder mouthfeel, usually with subtle sweet, creamy notes and sometimes with vanilla and custard notes. Rich, full mouthfeel.
Colour Usually, dark brown to black. Flavour Roasty notes of coffee or chocolate that are balanced by a hoppy character with some fruit. This may be dark fruits e.g. damsons, black cherries or caramelised fruits, such as raisins or sultanas. Sweetness ranges from sweet to dry but with a rich, full body.
This style of beer derives from the strong versions of stout and porter brewed in London in the 18th and 19th centuries for export to Russia and the Baltic States.
including Imperial Stouts and Baltic Porters: 5.0% ABV and above
These are stronger versions of the Session varieties, usually with smoother, fuller mouthfeels.
Colour Black.
Flavour These beers have flavours and aromas resulting from the roasted malts e.g. chocolate, caramel and coffee notes. They should have a full mouthfeel with minimal hop and fruit notes. There are a number of subsets in this category.
Full mouthfeel with only a little sweetness and a dry astringency that may come from unmalted dark roasted barley.
These do not always contain oysters, being stouts to accompany oysters. Those that do may often have salty notes either due to adding oyster shells (for subtle semi-sweet flavours) or adding whole oysters to create a unique ocean flavour and can be slightly bitter. Being stronger, these beers have a richness on the palate.
Aromas and flavours are deep and complex with roasted grain, burnt fruit (raisins and sultanas), fresh leather, espresso coffee, bitter chocolate, molasses and liquorice. Hops may not be too much in evidence on the nose but may be peppery and spicy. The finish is long and complex, with bitter and spicy hops balancing creamy malt, roast, dark fruit, coffee, chocolate and liquorice. Warming alcohol is often noticeable due to the high alcohol content. These beers are full bodied, smooth and rich. If beers are aged in wood, there may be caramel and vanilla flavours. There is considerable overlap between these two beer styles but Baltic Porters (sometimes called Imperial Porters) tend to be fruity e.g. blackcurrant, cherries and other dark fruits. They can also be paler in colour, dark reddish copper to browny black.
10. Barley Wines and Strong Ales: 6.5% and above Strong beer used to be produced to allow it to be kept, particularly to provide beer when it was too warm to brew. Many of the beers in this category are still aged before selling leading to wine-like notes. All of them are rich, complex, full bodied with noticeable alcohol but they may vary from dry to sweet, sometimes
with honey notes. Bitterness may be medium to strong. The term Barley Wine probably dates from the late 1800’s with Bass using it in the early 1900’s.
Colour Usually, gold to tawny in colour.
Flavour Estery and ripe fruit characteristics such as pear drops or strawberry may be present as well as sweet citrus marmalade flavours.
Strong Ales – Blond Colour Yellow to dark gold.
Flavour Medium to strong malt character and some fruity notes may also be present.
• Strong
Colour Brown to black.
Flavour Roast notes of chocolate and coffee may be present as well as dark fruits and/or caramelised fruit.
Speciality Beers are those made with non-conventional ingredients or techniques. Where the effect of this ingredient or technique dominates the appearance, aroma or flavour it becomes a Speciality. However, when the ingredient/technique merely complements the ‘base beer’ then it does not fit into the Speciality category. This is a large group of beers so CAMRA has split them into two: Differently Produced and Flavoured.
Differently-produced Speciality Beers are those brewed with non-standard ingredients or techniques, as opposed to Flavoured Speciality Beers, which have flavour added. Non-conventional ingredients and techniques are only limited by the brewer’s imagination. The following covers some of the more usual ones encountered.
• Lager: Up to and including 8.5% ABV Genuine Lagers are bottom-fermented beers and are ‘lagered’ (stored) for several weeks, if not months. They can include the following:
Colour Yellow to gold.
Flavour Depending on whether it is a German or Czech style Pilsner, the beer may range from light in malt to having a noticeable bready, malt aroma and flavour. Hop flavour should be present from Noble hops, giving fruity notes. Medium to high bitterness depending on the style. Helles are lower in hop and bitter notes.
Colour Tawny to copper. Flavour A sweet malty character. Some caramel may be present but with the bitterness providing balance. Lightly hopped.
Colour Brown to black.
Flavour Roast flavours of chocolate and coffee and some malty sweetness. There is a little hop bitterness and medium to low fruit associated with the hop. This style includes Alts, Dunkels, Schwarzbier and Bocks.
Not a lager but is sometimes put into this continental style. Either top fermented or a hybrid of cold and warm fermentation. Colour Yellow to gold. Flavour Delicate and softly fruity with a clean finish.
Wheat: up to and including 8.5% ABV Colour Light in colour (yellows and golds) as in the traditional German ‘Weissbier’ or ‘Weizenbier’. They can also be darker, including dark brown, if dark malts are used e.g. ‘Dunkles Weissbier’ or ‘Dunkelweizen’.
Flavour These are beers in which a large proportion of wheat is used, resulting often in a cloudy appearance. Hops will be evident throughout balanced by the malts used. The wheat flavour softens the biscuitiness of the malted barley. Esters, clove and bananalike flavours may be particularly evident in the aroma.
• Sours: up to and including 8.5% ABV
Colour Yellow to light brown but may be darker.
Flavour Wild beers are fermented using organisms other than standard brewer’s yeasts to produce acidity as a prominent feature. The acid is usually lactic, which is odourless and tasteless but brings tartness.
Examples of ingredients/factors used include one or more of the following:
• Brettanomyces, which is a yeast and can impart a distinctive tart or rustic-wild character; for some people this is seen as a sharpness and/or reminiscent of farmyards. These include Lambics, Gueuze and beers with fruit such as Kriek and Framboise beers.
• Lactobacilli, which are bacteria imparting a sour and funky character. These may include Gose (with added salt and spices) and Berliner Weisse, which is wheat-based and typically 2.7%–3.4% ABV.
• Lactic acid
This style also includes Kettle Sours; these are beers that are developed by enzymes being added to the wort.
up to and including 7.0%
This style has been adapted from its origins in southern Belgium and northeastern France.
Colour Usually, yellow to light brown.
Flavour Traditionally Spring-brewed Saisons are light and refreshing when drunk young. However, the beer may be aged in oak bringing earthy notes and sometimes a light rustic tang. Earthy, farmyard/funky aromas may be noticeable.
• Wood-aged Beers: 6% ABV and above
These are beers that are aged for 6 months or more in wooden casks.
Colour Any colour.
Flavour Complex beers, usually full bodied and can be sweet if not fermented/aged out. Flavours associated with the cask used e.g. sherry, rum, whisky, port, wine etc. may be noticeable as well from the oxidation of the malts e.g. caramel, toffee. There may also be flavours from the wood itself. A funky character is also not unknown. A subset of this category is Sour Aged Beers with flavours associated with sour beers but these may be softer due to ageing.
• Smoked: up to and including 8.5% ABV
Any beer where a large proportion of smoked malts is used to impart a
distinct smoky flavour.
Colour They can be any colour but are often darker, browns to blacks, due to the type of the smoked malt used. Flavour Malts usually dominate but occasionally hops can balance the smokiness. Includes Rauchbier.
Flavoured Speciality Beers are beers with a flavour added, as opposed to Differently-produced Speciality Beers, which are brewed with non-standard ingredients or techniques. Flavoured Speciality Beers can be similar to all other styles in that any beer style can be adapted by a flavour addition to become a Speciality.
• Fruit: up to and including 8.5% Fruit beers may be based on any beer style including other styles within Speciality. Fruit or flavourings (syrup or extracts) are added to a base beer to produce a dominant aroma, appearance or taste of that fruit.
Colour Yellow to black but may be ‘non-beer’ colours dependent upon the base beer and the fruit being added. Flavour The character of the base beer will influence the final taste but must not dominate i.e. the fruit must be noticeably present in the flavour. The wide range of fruit available to
brewers means that the taste may range from sour (typical of lemons or some cherries), to bitter (such as bergamot) through to sweet (such as mango or strawberry). Additional sugars may be used to sweeten the beers.
• Herbs/Spices and culinary ingredients: up to and including 8.5% Colour Yellow to black.
Flavour The character of the base beer will influence the final taste but must not dominate i.e. the added ingredient must be noticeably present in the flavour. The ingredients may range from spices such as ginger and coriander, herbs or flowers such as mint and elderflower and culinary ingredients, such as vegetables, honey, coffee, chocolate and vanilla, to fortified wines and spirits.
CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE 2020Finding out more CAMRA runs a number of tutored tasting and training sessions on beer around the country, most of which are open to members and non members. Many of these take place at CAMRA’s beer festivals including the Great British Beer Festival. CAMRA members also have the opportunity to be trained to join one of its many Tasting Panels, which provide beer descriptions for CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide and put beers forward for the Champion Beer of Britain.
The coming of Autumn is always a special time in CAMRA, as we await the issue of a new Good Beer Guide. This year sees us reach the significant landmark issue – number 50. With around 4,500 of the best pubs in the country nestled within it’s pages, this is a must have book for the discerning real ale drinker.
While we don’t provide a list of our local pubs that are in the guide, I can tell you that our area will have the usual mix – with old favourites extending their stay in the guide, pubs appearing for the very first time and some making a welcome return. As always of course, there are casualties. Pubs drop out of the guide for a variety of reasons; sometimes due to quality issues at the pub, but often due to changes of licensee. Sometimes there is uncertainty over the pubs future and rather than include a pub that may well see a change of landlord, we will tend to leave it out and replace with a pub where the future seems more certain.
The pubs in the guide have been chosen after a rigorous selection process, visits by branch members to check the quality of the beer and much arguing at meetings. This is always a difficult process and once again this year we have been hit with unexpected closures and pubs being up for sale and thereby being ruled out. Please also remember that just because a pub has not been chosen for the Good Beer Guide, it does not mean that the beer they serve is not good – it is simply that we don’t have enough spaces to put all the good pubs in.
To give you a taster of what to expect in the new guide, some statistics. 28 of the entries
are the same as last year. Of the 7 new entries, 5 are appearing in the GBG for the very first time. In recent years we have seen traditional pubs reviving their fortunes, but this time round all the ‘first-time’ entries are modern micropub type operations, reflecting the welcome additions that these type of bars have made to the local real ale scene. With all the changes that have taken place in recent years with closures, refurbishments and changes of licensee, it is quite an achievement for a pub to survive for 10 consecutive years in the GBG. When this does happen, we recognize this achievement with the a special award to commemorate the fact. This year will see 2 pubs coming up for the award, with one of them having notched up a quite remarkable 20 years unbroken. Details of which pubs have achieved this will be announced on Social Media once the guide has been published.
In addition to details of where you can find the best quality real ale, there is also an extensive brewery section with details of the beers they brew and accompanying tasting notes. The 2023 Good Beer Guide will be launched on the 27th October and is on sale at all good booksellers and direct from CAMRA. The list price is £16.99, reduced to £14.99 for members. To commemorate this landmark editon, there is also a limited edition, individually numbered Hardback version of the guide, which is available to pre-order only from the CAMRA website at £25.00 + p&p. With Christmas just around the corner, this would make an ideal stocking filler for the beer lover in your life (or just buy one for yourself).
ADRIAN SMITHThese are the events we are aware of in the local area over the next few months. For full details, please refer to the festival websites/ social media. If you are holding an event, please let us know so we can promote in Ale Cry. There is no charge for this listing.
Halifax: Calderdale Beer & Cider Festival, Viaduct Theatre, Dean Clough 22nd–24th September
Broughton: Broughton & District Club, Whittingham Lane, Broughton 23rd–25th September
Leyland: Oktoberfest, St Mary’s Community Centre, Broadfield Drive, Leyland (formerly the Priory Club) 7th–9th October
Lostock Hall: Our Lady & St. Gerard’s Parochial Centre, Lostock Hall – charity festival 13th–16th October
Fleetwood: Fleetwood Beer & Cider Festival, Marine Hall, Fleetwood 27th–29th October
With a print run of 5,000 and magazines available in pubs and clubs across the area and beyond, an advert in Ale Cry is probably the best value targeted advertising around.
Quarter Page £70
Half Page £115
Full Page £210 Back Cover £230 (not currently available)
If you are interested in advertising in Ale Cry, please contact editor@centrallancs.camra.org.uk for further details.
The
Branch
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