Beer Around 'Ere issue 182

Both pubs are in the CAMRA GOOD BEER GUIDE 2015!

PETERBOROUGH CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2014 & 2011

CAMRA Gold award 2013

Ten Real Ales from £2.00 a pint

PETERBOROUGH CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2014 Runner Up

CAMRA Gold award 2013

Six Real Ales Permanent range from £2.50 a pint of ales Proud supporter of Four Real Ciders Live Sky Sports Live Entertainment Happy Hour Monday - Friday 5-7pm

Live Sky Sports ‘Simmospoons’ pubs have raised over £45,000 for charity in five years!

The Ploughman Staniland Way, Werrington Centre Tel: 01733 327696

Live Entertainment Cash Quiz every Sunday from 8pm

The Dragon Hodgson Centre, Hodgson Ave PE4 5EG Tel: 01733 578088

Editor’s ramblings | 3

Greetings!

Annual Pie Night at Letter B, Whittlesey has been and gone and as usual was a very enjoyable evening. Good food and ale, what more could you ask for! Now we have the local beer festivals to look forward to. Spring must be on the way!

IN THIS ISSUE Welcome from the editor 3 Chairman’s corner 5 Pub news 7–11 Shoulder of Mutton 12–13 Brewery news 14–17 Richard Boston remembered 18–19 Pub angels 21 Cider in May 23 Disappearing boozers of Stamford part two 24–25 Gig guide 26 Diary dates 27 Membership matters 28 Contacts 30

April is Community Pubs month and I have read recently that apparently 40% of people no longer visit a pub and only 14% of adults visit the pub once a week or more. In independent research, published by CAMRA in January 2015, 23% of pub goers said that they visit the pub less often than they did 12 months ago. Therefore, we should be encouraging people to visit their local pub and do it soon! Please support your local in Community Pubs month and/or join us on the Community Pubs Month Pub Crawl on Saturday 18th April. national celebration day for the hundreds of pubs For further information on this and other social listed as assets of community value. It also states events see Diary Dates page 27 or visit the website that due to the passion demonstrated for pubs, http://peterborough-camra.org.uk/ ministers are in the process of changing the law to give communities a say in the planning process Pubs really do need you to survive. They are not when changes are proposed to the use of their just places to drink, they are places to meet people listed locals. A step in the right direction? and to socialise. A press release in early March Let’s keep up the good work. from the Department for Communities and Local Government, Kris Hopkins MP and Stephen Cheers Williams MP stated that 23rd March would be a JB

Editor: Jane Brown bae-editor@real-ale.org.uk

Published by: Peterborough & District Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale.

Produced on behalf of CAMRA by: Orchard House Media Ltd Suite 30 Eventus, Sunderland Rd, Market Deeping. Tel: 01778 382758

Magazine Design & Production: Daniel Speed daniel.speed@orchardhousemedia.co.uk

Advertising Sales Manager: Jane Michelson jane@orchardhousemedia.co.uk Tel: 01778 382718

Distribution: David Murray chairman@real-ale.org.uk

Proof Reading: Bob Melville - 07941 246693

Printed By: Precision Colour Print Ltd Haldane, Telford, Shropshire TF7 4QQ

Circulation: 7,000 copies distributed to pubs, clubs and members throughout the Peterborough and District CAMRA Branch area. A digital version of this magazine is available to view and download at issuu.com Cover Image: Illustration by Daniel Speed

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Beer Around ‘Ere is published by the Peterborough & District Branch of CAMRA Copyright © 2015, The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. Views or comments expressed in this publication may not necessarily be those of the Editor or of CAMRA. The next issue of Beer Around ‘Ere will be available on the 28th May. We must have your stories, news and advertisements by 3rd May. Please send your stories and other copy to the editor, Jane Brown.

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

4 | Please support our advertisers

Home cooked Sunday lunches Meals served Tues - Fri lunchtime & evening and on Saturdays 2 - 5pm Bands & Discos at weekends Functions & parties catered for Conference room available for business use Four real ales, Three changing regularly Six draught lagers Large beer garden with children’s play area Large car park Sky & BT Sports (Two TV’s) Pool and Darts

Blue Boar, Eye BEER AROUND ERE | APRIL / MAY 2015

blueboareye

• Food Served Daily • 12-3pm Monday - Sunday 6-9pm Friday & Saturday Sunday Roasts 12-3pm

Brewery coming soon t. 01780 755141 w. jollybrewer.com Foundry Road, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 2PP Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Chairman’s corner |5

Chairman’s Corner Hey-ho here we are again at the start of another ‘silly season’ but I don’t mean the annual festive one.

Hey-ho here we are again at the start of another ‘silly season’ but I don’t mean the annual festive one. Every four or five years we have to endure the political elite within our society babbling on about what they will promise to do, if elected, to improve our daily lives. The word ‘promise’ features quite prominently in their speeches.

Now CAMRA has no alignment to or with any of the political parties. We do however continually lobby MPs on our main campaigns to protect the traditional drinking culture of our country. This includes pubs, breweries and real ale. The previous government were a disaster for the pub and drinks industry on the whole. The present government have in some ways eased the pressure on the pub industry by, for example, scrapping the hated duty escalator and reducing the duty again in last year’s budget. We have evidence that those two moves resulted in over 1000 pubs being saved from closure and pub beer prices may have increased, but by far less than if these measures had not been implemented. This comes from a report by the Centre of Economic and Business Research (Cebr) produced for CAMRA. With this evidence in our grasp we are calling on the Chancellor, George Osborne, to ‘make it three George’ with another duty cut.

There are still a lot of pieces of the jigsaw to be inserted to make a ‘level playing field’, for example, the pubs versus supermarket disparity.

This is a subject close to the heart of Tim Martin, chairman of the Wetherspoon chain. He has been quoted as saying “these frustrations are par for the course in a democracy, and would criticism such as mine be tolerated in several other so called democratic countries.” So we can be thankful that we can make these comments about our rulers and not get slung in prison for doing so.

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

So having got our point across to the politicians, I now make a plea to you. I am aware that many people dislike politicians and yes some may appear to look down on us mere mortals with little regard and maybe, in some cases, with contempt. I don’t care who you cast your vote for, The Raving Looney Party, The Left Handed Bottle Opener Party, The Beer is Nectar Party or even one of the main contenders – just go out and VOTE! No vote – no complaining, right. End of electioneering!

One of our local ‘spoons’ pubs has just celebrated its ten year anniversary. The Drapers Arms in Cowgate, Peterborough, was opened on the 9th March 2005, having previously been The Old Monk and before that a drapers and carpet shop.

They had sold over 100 different real ales from beginning January this year to the end of February and are continually in the top ten of the company’s pubs selling the most real ale. Another one of their pubs in the Branch area, The Hippodrome in March, Cambs has opened a hotel alongside the pub. The former cinema and bingo hall now has 13 bedrooms, comprising of 10 doubles and three family rooms, one being accessible for those with disabilities. You can read a lot more about our local pub scene in the pubs news page from our Pubs Officer, John Temple, (see pages 7-11).

That’s it for now folks. Please do make the effort to vote in the election.

David Murray Branch Chairman

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

12 Highbury Street, Millfield, Peterborough PE1 3BE 01733 564653

www.thehandandheart.com

This Art Deco, backstreet local is a well kept secret just one mile from Peterborough City Centre!

Citi One Stagecoach Bus stops on Lincoln Road, just 150 yards from the pub.

Umpteen years in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide including 2015!

The only pub within Cambridgeshire to be listed in CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors.

70+ Real Ales (including festival specials from LocAle breweries) Opening Hours for Fest Thursday 23rd & Sunday 26th - noon - 11:30pm Friday & Saturday 24th & 25th - noon - midnight Live music all evenings on the stage

Presentation of Pub of the Year 2015 Award at 8:30pm on 23rd April Home cooked food available all sessions Fri-Sun In support of Help for Heroes & Coming Home

Friends of the Hand & Heart

Pub news |7

Pub News “April is the cruelest month” said the poet. Not for me, for this is the time of the year when beer festivals resurface like spring flowers: Charters, Green Man (Stamford) April 3rd-6th, Coalheavers Arms, Hand and Heart, April 23rd-26th. If you are lucky enough to live in Castor you can follow the host of golden daffodils along Love’s Hill to the Prince of Wales Feathers. Simon and Kay are promising yet another of their festivals on the 14th-17th May, many of which I have recollected in sobriety. The theme this time will be the two hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. Meanwhile Rob and Meri at the Heron in Stanground will be showcasing Locales for the whole of April with a special focus on their anniversary on the 17th -18th when several bands will be featured. This is Rob and Meri’s gesture towards all of the local breweries who have supported them over the past year.

On the Brink I am continuously told on my travels that the problem with the branch is that we are too Peterborough centered and that we do not get about enough. Considering that it is the home of Elgood’s, the oldest commercial brewer in the branch area, and that I hadn’t been there since they brewed the celebrated Mousehole Porter for the PBF cellar team (silver medal 2005) I thought it was time I returned to Wisbech.

Elgood’s is an original Georgian brewery and is largely unchanged except for its closed fermenting vessels. It is fittingly located on the elegant Georgian terrace along the North Brink. The nearest pub to the brewery is the Rose Tavern which landlord Dave O’Connell has run for the last fifteen years. He told me, more than once, that he has the biggest “wet sales” in Wisbech, and judging by the quality of the Woodford Wherry and the London Pride which I drank I am not surprised.

Bateman’s XXXB and Slaters Premium were also available and Dave will be running yet another of his beer festivals in the last week of June.

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Along the road is the Red Lion, an Elgood’s tied house promoting most of the range and serving generously-portioned Sunday lunches. The bar is traditional with photos and prints of old Wisbech and the restaurant is to the rear with accommodation for over 50 diners. I drank the Cambridge at a reasonable £3.20 and the barmaid told me that the Wi-Fi was free. Unfortunately she couldn’t tell me who brewed it.

I hope I did something to redress my failure to attend Straw Bear by drinking Elgood’s special beer for the event, appropriately called Straw Beer, and, frankly, I was impressed. I found this in the Hare and Hounds where, unfortunately, Jackie Owens is leaving to concentrate on the farm.

Elgood’s Cambridge was also available here, and I was particularly impressed by the wood-panelled corridor which flanks the bar and reaches back to the hotel. I understand that this pub is likely to be taken over by Matthew Stewart of the Kings Head.

Over the Brink As the town has become the home of many migrant workers over the past few years I am not surprised to see some of them filtering into the licensed trade. The Kings Head is run by Aigars Bulsevics who intends to reintroduce real ale and is also considering a concessionary price for CAMRA members. He is currently domiciled in the Angel where he has an Elgood’s beer, currently Cambridge, constantly on gravity. The beer was so good here that we had to stay for a second pint - it is good to get your tongue around a traditional English bitter. Another of Aigars’ pubs is the Three Tuns on the Norwich Road, and the locals there have given him credit for completely turning the pub round. I think it is the only pub I have been in where they have two fresh roses in a small glass phial on every table in the public bar.

Another Elgood’s pub, and amongst the advertised range I noticed Greyhound which I haven’t seen for some time. Aigars informed me that the

F

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

8 | Pub news - continued

brewery intend to start brewing it again. He is an extremely congenial and enterprising host and I am sure that his pubs will continue to prosper.

Perhaps the best situated pubs in Wisbech are the Rose and Crown Hotel and the Globe, either end of the Market Square. Unfortunately there is no real ale in the former but this is more than adequately compensated by the Globe. Landlord Phil serves five beers from the Greene King stable including Golden Glow which is especially tweaked for the pub. On St. George’s Day he will rack a further five beers in the bar for a mini festival and hopes that the event will continue for about a week. Selling IPA at £1.90 a pint, Old Speckled Hen at £2.00 and Abbot at £2.30, this pub was packed on a Friday afternoon. I wonder what his secret is?

As the Great Lager Endarkenment draws to a close, it is inevitable that we visit pubs where this innocuous product is being outstripped by real beer. I am talking of course of the tasteless, gassy drink masquerading as real lager that has been inflicted on innocent drinkers in this country for the last few decades. I was therefore pleased to discuss with the manager of the Wheatsheaf, Matt Thompson, the opportunity of furthering this process by targeting the younger drinker. If this can happen in a Wetherspoons in Wisbech, I suspect in future this product will be consigned to darkest Benidorm. Just to show that Wetherspoons are aware of this invidious comparison, the chain is currently showcasing their International Craft Brewers range, which often features real lager. I found this the least food orientated Wetherspoons I have been in. Available were the usual suspects: Ruddles Bitter, Greene King Abbot, Sharpe’s Doombar and Adnams Broadside and four guests, including on this occasion Elland’s award winning 1872 Porter.

Stamford update Dean from the Jolly Brewer in Stamford has finally opened his microbrewery in Ketton.

Further details to follow. The Stamford and Rutland Mercury has awarded “Best Bar of 2014” to the Five Horseshoes in Barholm. ConsidBEER AROUND ERE | APRIL / MAY 2015

ering the competition they have in the town itself, this is a considerable achievement. The Punchbowl is still closed but I have picked up an unauthenticated rumour that it is being viewed by a microbrewer presumably intending to brew on the premises. The facilities would lend themselves easily to this kind of venture. Alun Thomas has informed me that the Millstone has now reverted to opening every day. Just as I said, this column is out of date as soon as I have written it.

North and South Those citizens of the south ready to break out of their cocoon might occasionally decide to jump on a No 1 bus and enjoy the delights of Werrington.

Werrington is blessed with a number of excellent pubs and, as time and top ups wait for no man, I hope to produce a more comprehensive survey in the next issue. For the time being I should like to focus on the recently reopened Blue Bell.

After a brief closure, Helen and Rob have arrived from the Decoy in Milking Nook and introduced a wealth of new measures. Rob is restyling the pub in the mode of “shabby chic rustic”. The cellar has been completely overhauled by the Elgood’s team. Eight hand pumps are now in place and are serving four Elgood’s and a featured guest brewery every month (St.Austell when I visited). The entire bar staff are trained in cellar hygiene and the highest standards of customer service are encouraged. Garden functions are being promoted and five weddings have already been booked for the forthcoming months.

Helen is turning the elegant entrance hall into a picture gallery with photos and prints celebrating the history of Werrington – sure to be something of a tourist attraction. She understands perfectly that a good pub is a mixture of people and this is reflected in the entertainment policy which is tailored to the varied local populace that is her potential custom. She took a business plan to Elgood’s and they have supported it. I am extremely optimistic about the progress of this venture as it strikes me as a beacon to all those who believe that growth in the pub industry depends upon innovation, imagination and a sense of mutual obligation between supplier, landlord and customer.

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Pub news - continued |9

Country matters Steve and Sheila Shreeve will be celebrating their twentieth anniversary at the Rose and Crown at Thorney with a similar sense of innovation.

As the local post office is closing they have provided it with a new home in their back bar and will also be running a cafe from 9am providing breakfasts and cakes and coffees. Steve has written to tell us that “the main function of the pub will remain serving a high standard of freshly produced and cooked cuisine alongside excellent beers including 4 superb ever changing real ales this week’s includes, Adnams Ghost Ship, Mile Tree Amber Pale, Greene King IPA and Tydd Steam Cock. We provide special menus for private functions and dinner parties as well as our bar snacks or ‘a la carte’ menus.”

Roy Baines at the Stilton Country Club has obtained a pub licence and is renaming it the Stilton Tunnels. The Waggon and Horses in Langtoft is currently closed, but as there is a “To Let” sign outside, I assume that Enterprise intend to keep it open.

The last time I was in Ramsey I was informed that the magnificent coaching inn, The George was about to close and there was some speculation that Wetherspoons had it in their sights. Leigh Shepherd, my Ramsey spy, has reassured me, reporting as follows: “The 400 year old, grade II listed George Hotel re-opened in January after a short closure over Christmas and New Year. The previous tenants left at very short notice but new tenants Sean and Janine Moon have now taken over. Sean says he has been in the pub trade since he was a lad and has moved to the George from a pub in Coventry. The pub has 3 hand-pumps and Sean and Janine are selling a variety of real ales from the Punch Taverns list. At the time of our visit they only had Sharps Doom Bar available, but Marston’s EPA and St Austell Tribute had just finished and Shepherd Neame Spitfire and Black Sheep bitter were ready to come on. This is one of the few pubs in the area that has 1/3 pint glasses available. The hotel has 10 motel style bedrooms, a restaurant offering traditional pub food and an attached coffee bar. Sean hopes to stage a beer Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

festival in the pub garden in the summer.” On my last visit to the town all of the other pubs were serving real ale: the Railway, the Jolly Sailor, the Angel, and the Three Horseshoes, and Leigh confirms that this is still the case.

Day trip to Deeping Easily accessible by the 101 bus from Peterborough, this is one of the best pub crawls in the branch. I was escorted by fellow inebriate and Beer Around ‘Ere Production Manager, Dan Speed, on one of his rare days off.

The first stop across the bridge is the Old Coach House. This is a long, stone built edifice dating back to the eighteenth century, and I am going to hazard a guess that it was originally an old coach house. Landlord Tony Cook has been there for eight years. His house beers are Adnam’s Ghost Ship and Potbelly Crazy Days. At ABVs of 4.4% and 5.5% this gives us some idea of how the market is changing. Tony also rotates beers from Batemans and Newby Wyke as guests.

Around the corner in Market Square is the Stone Loach Inn, run by Johnny Parr who also has the Masons Arms in Bourne (see Issue 181).

This is a long deep bar with attractive timber structures supporting the now popular exposed brickwork. The original snug at the front of the pub has had the bar removed and is now a dedicated pool area. Deuchars IPA and London Pride were on tap and expect another guest in the summer months. Another feature of the pub is Thai in the Square, a restaurant that runs the whole length of the upper floor and can accommodate over 50 people. It also serves take aways.

The focal point of the square is of course the Bull, which branch members will know as the founding place of our CAMRA branch in 1975.

It is still run by the ever popular Bert Murray of Chelsea and Peterborough fame and is an Everards tied house. I have always been fascinated by the “dugout”, an ancient cellar bar that was obviously ideal for keeping the beer cool in the days before controlled refrigeration. The original stillage is still there, now adorned by five orna-

F

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

10 | Please support our advertisers

BEER AROUND ERE | APRIL / MAY 2015

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

mental oak casks. Bert showed us the original cranking gear used to raise the cask as it emptied, an efficient forerunner of the modern self-tilter.

Across the road is the Deeping Stage Hotel which serves four real ales with Tim Taylor’s Landlord, London Pride and an Oakham as regulars. The hotel also has a first class Sunday carvery which is so popular that I recommend that you book. If you have children or grandchildren this is an ideal place to take them. Not only does it have a comfortable hotel lounge overlooking the Market Square, it also has an extensive, well furnished garden to the rear where the children can paddle in the shallow waters of the Welland and cut their feet on the pebbles.

Further along in Deeping St. James I regret to note that the Bell is closed. I have no way of knowing whether this is permanent and would appreciate any information. But just a few hundred yards away is the Waterton Arms. This is a splendid L shaped pub dating back to a more civilized time when houses were converted into pubs rather than vice versa. (Come to think of it, Wetherspoons do this all of the time having converted shops, banks, churches and even cinemas. Surely it is only a matter of time before they convert a tower block, with the toilets probably on the top floor). It was originally two cottages and they must have been pretty big as the foot of the L is now a restaurant area and it runs deep into a spacious bar and a dedicated pool area. It is warmed by two open fires and a wood burner and on my visit featured six real ales: Adnams Broadside, Springhead Roaring Meg, Oakham JHB, Sharps Doombar, Cottage Tornado and Tim Taylor’s Landlord.

Church Street can boast one of the finest pubs in the branch, probably in the country, in the Vine.

Worthy winner of a branch gold award last summer, landlord Frank is still serving an excellent range of beers including a specially tweaked brew from Charles Wells and a high gravity speciality from local brewer, Hopshackle. This is a typical old English pub with a main bar not quite big enough to swing a cat in. I sometimes wonder Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Pub news - continued |11

about the origin of this ridiculous phrase but need scarcely point out the hazards of such an activity to saloon bar lovers. For it has occurred to me that the centrifugal force imparted to the cat could present a nasty decorating problem in the event of a collision with the wall. Apparently it also has a traumatic effect on the cat.

Further back into town is the White Horse, which I visited for the first time. I was delighted to discover on entering that it was offering Draught Bass, which landlord, Graham was drinking himself: always a good sign. I have been reluctant to try this since the Coors intervention, but, once tasted, the memory buds were stimulated: the smell of sulphur, the Burton snatch, and of course true Draught Bass, like many if its drinkers, never keeps its head. Can anybody tell me if it is still brewed using the Burton Union method?

Serious issues On a recent trip to the Trent Navigation in Nottingham, I politely asked the barmaid to remove the sparkler. Looking quizzically at one of her colleagues, she was told: “just unscrew it and it will pour the beer flat.” Now this is a very contentious statement, the hideous fallacy of which I have often exposed in the past, but it seems that I shall have to go through it all over again.

For the plain fact of the matter is that the only way to get the head in the first place is to crush the carbon dioxide bubbles in the liquid itself, bubbles that should be exploding flavour on to the tongue; the bigger the head, the flatter the beer, the shorter the measure. It really is time that this heresy was put to bed.

I reported in the last issue that I intended to write in future under a pseudonym. I have since reconsidered this cowardly proposal and instead have decided to change my name by deed poll.

Pubs Officer

Send us your news!

Calling all landlords and landladies! Had a refurb? Got a great event on? Started selling a new range of ales or cider? Let us know and we will add your news to these pages. Just email John Temple at pubs-officer@real-ale.org.uk APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

The Should

The official opening of the New Craft Brewery at The Shoulder of Mutton public house in Weldon, near Corby, took place at 12 midday on Friday 30th January.

The event was attended by Andy Sawford, MP for Corby and East Northants, and Councillor Anthony Dady, Mayor of Corby.

Also present were the landlord and landlady, Bogdan and Rada, head brewer Graham Moorhouse, plus members of Peterborough CAMRA and of course pub regulars, who raised their glasses to celebrate past, present and future success of this revitalised Weldon pub.

Head brewer Graham Moorhouse said, “The Shoulder has always been a great pub for beer lovers. I first came here as a teenager when there was a real buzz about the place. The bar was always packed, you could hardly move as villagers and steelworkers mixed easily, exchanging the stories of their day. Nearly forty years later I still feel a great affinity to this special pub, it is unpretentious but still as proud and honest as it was then, the welcome is as warm as ever and the beer is always that little bit special. I first made beer aged 16 from malt extract from the local chemist and have continued to learn about the magic of the brewing process and enjoying the amber nectar to

New brewery |13

er of Mutton Brewery this day. To say things have moved on over the years is an understatement. There has been an explosion of available ingredients and techniques that make brewing an everyday pleasure and adventure. We have embraced these at the Shoulder and now brew all the beer the pub needs using the finest available English and Belgian Malts and hops from 4 different continents; many of the varieties that we use weren’t even cultivated when the steelworks was in its prime. Craft beer is undergoing a tremendous renaissance and yet there are precious few brew pubs or even genuine real ale pubs in the area. The Shoulder is off the main road so we see the opportunity to further develop its unique selling point as a destination pub for real ale drinkers. There is an array of wholesome home cooked food here too, well worth going out of your way for.

monthly specials including seasonal beers, red ales, auburn ales, chestnut and oatmeal stouts, mild and light ales, all of which are conditioning or planned for the next few months and all of which have a local story to tell.”

It is clear that for Graham and the dedicated landlord and landlady, Bogdan and Rada, the Shoulder of Mutton in Weldon is a labour of love.

I have tried the beer and forgive me if I stay awhile, but I quite like it here!

David Fursdon

We always offer beers from local and regional breweries but delight in our customers choosing our own beer made just below us in the basement it is always tip top fresh and hugely popular with our discerning locals who know exactly what a good pint of ale tastes like. Since the brewery started in August 2014 we are also seeing visitors from further afield, attracted by the grapevine and wanting to try both traditional and new world beers made right here in Weldon. The pub is centred on the local community but always welcomes all-comers with open arms. The beers evoke a nostalgia for the past bearing names like Dragline, a 3.9% Golden Ale named after the giant machine so often associated with the steelworks in the area. Rosie’s Sweatbox 4.2%, a sumptuous dark ale named after a World War Two bomber that crashed just a few fields from the pub in 1944. Weldon Cupola, a 3.6% ale for hopheads named after the unique cupola atop Weldon church, or the traditional Weldon Windmill 4.2% named after the last working windmill in the village that fell in 1915 following a storm.

This one evokes memories of the tastiest of bitter beers gone by. All these are supplemented by Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

Brewery News Bexar County Two collaboration beers have been brewed with Tom from Alphabet brewery in Manchester. Tom used to be with Hand Drawn Monkey.

The beers are a 6.8% IPA and a 6.5% black IPA which will have an addition of Mexican Trinity chillies. Both of these beers will be going to the Barcelona beer festival in March, but there should be some available locally too.

Another beer which should be available from April is a 7.5% stout that has been festering since last April in a large wooden cask. Had a sneaky taste, it was good and you can definitely taste the flavours from the cask. Most of this beer will be bottled, but there will be two firkins, one of which is going to The Coalheavers beer festival in April.

Other new beers include Bonfire at 4.9% which is a hoppy black beer, not a stout and not a black IPA, just a black hoppy beer. There is also a 4.9% coffee flavoured beer called Not Just Your Average Joe. In addition to these is the first in a series of Gose beers (salty and slightly soured wheat beer) which will all be flavoured differently and the first one is flavoured with cucumber and lime. Hopefully it will taste better than it sounds.

This beer and the coffee beer are destined for Leicester beer festival.

The Barcelona beer festival could be very important to Bexar County as Steve will be the brewer in question at a “meet the brewer” day and he will also be conducting a cask beer seminar, which will hopefully promote himself and his beers along with cask ale generally. Steve will be sending a pallet of beers to Spain along with beers from Xtreme, Mile Tree, Hopshackle, Three Blind Mice, Hand Drawn Monkey and Revolutions, plus Alphabet, Track and Squawk from Manchester.

There will be a new concept beer going to The Iron Horse Ranch House in Deeping and with a holding name of ‘Tastes Like Brown’.

Collaborations with Xtreme, Alphabet and 3 Blind Mice are imminent and the next edition of BEER AROUND ERE | APRIL / MAY 2015

Beer Around ‘Ere. will contain a report from the Barcelona beer festival.

Elgood’s The Blue Bell at Werrington is doing very well with 8 cask beers available. The front bar has been refurbished and the new landlady Helen seems to be doing very well. (see pub news p8).

There have been two recent brew days of the Lambic style beers on 11th and 18th February.

These beers were launched at Craft Beer Rising in London from the 19th – 22nd February. Coolship Dark, Coolship Blonde and Coolship Fruit on draught and Coolship Fruit in bottle.

Hopshackle Brewery Hopshackle’s new brewery was installed during March.

It is a replica of the existing brewery, to match the retained fermenter and to keep the feel of the old brewery and its sense of tradition and history. All the new vessels will be clad in pine with an antique finish. The existing mezzanine floor is being retained and the larger mash tun will gravity feed the copper. This upgrade includes a new electrical supply and control boxes for fermenter attemperation and water supply. It will have a maximum brewing capacity of 13 barrels (468 gallons) compared to the existing 4.2 barrels (151.2 gallons).

Nigel has designed it so that he can brew anything from 5 barrels up to the maximum of 13 barrels.

Retaining one of the existing fermenters will enable it to be used for ‘one-off ’ seasonals and specials like Restoration 9.5% and Imperial Stout 9.3%.

Double Momentum was Overall Champion East Midlands at the National Winter Ales Festival, which was held in Derby during February.

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Brewery news continued |15

Nene Valley Brewery Kings Cliffe Brewery (KCB) Craft Beer Rising 2015 proved The brewery were busy a successful outing for the throughout January and February brewery in terms of the number promoting their porter P51 at of new contacts made. They both the Cambridge and Colchester Beer Festivals. It was are looking to use a number of met with a good reception and sold out at both venues.

It is now appearing in pubs in and around Peterborough. distributors to extend the area in which the It was present at the Palmerston Arms Dark Beer Festival, brewery’s beers are available. Release the Chimps (4.4%), described as an everyday IPA, where it again sold out very quickly. was well received in the brewery shop and a limited supply has now gone into trade. It is Due to interest in the link between P51 and available at the Tap & Kitchen along with the USAAF-P-51D Mustangs of RAF Kings Cliffe in rest of the Nene Valley portfolio.

WW11, (see issue 181), an article was included in Flypast an international aviation magazine sold in Oakham Ales over 30 countries.

Those of you that have had withdrawal symptoms from a lack of After the magazine ‘hit the streets’ in early draught Green Devil, need worry February KCB P51 has now got international no longer as it will be back in April and coverage with enquiries coming from the USA, continues to chase the top awards. It was recently Canada, Europe and the Far East. awarded the Gold Medal in its category at the bi-annual International Brewing Awards 2015 at Mile Tree Brewery the National Brewery Centre, Burton-uponMile Tree Brewery beers continue to appear around the Trent. The beer had also won Champion Cask Ale at the awards in 2013. The panel of 43 area particularly at farmers judges assessed close to 1,000 beers and ciders markets and food festivals including Peterborough farmers’ market, St George’s Fayre in March and the over the three days of judging. The beer will now go through to the finals again at The Guildhall in Ely Food and Craft Market.

April.

The brewery always likes to get their beers to local “To be awarded the Gold Medal in the category beer festivals and have appeared at the Iron Horse after winning Champion Cask Ale for Green Devil Ranch festival, the Rose & Crown festival in March IPA last time the competition was held, in 2013, is and of course Charters beer fest in April. Slightly praise indeed, especially as we are competing further afield, the brews can be found at the Ely Eel internationally.” said M.D. Adrian Posnett.

Festival and the Ely Food Festival in May. All competitors completing The Eye Community Runners 10k road race on the 10th May, will be presented with a 'finishing bottle' of Mile Tree beer.

Not a bad way to put back those lost fluids!

Richard and Karen are continually looking for good quality pubs in the local area to take their beers and look forward to any suggestions for new outlets.

Chair of judges Bill Taylor said, “The standard of entries this year was again extremely high and our judging panel put in long hours tasting and debating the merits of the beers and ciders, to arrive at a consensus on the medal winners.

Brewers and cider makers who entered this competition can be confident that their product received quality consideration from our judges.”

Other beers that will be in a bar near you soon, will be the March Oakadamy of Excellence offering The Racketeer 5% and packed with

F

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

Kiwi hops. For May there will be The Forger, a 3.5% amber beer. The seasonal for April sees the return of The Hare & the Hedgehog at 3.9%.

Those of you that have enjoyed the brewery’s foray into draught cider will be pleased to know that two more will be available from Easter. Oaple will be re-launched as Oaple Original with the launch of Twisted Tree a medium sweet cider at 4.8% and Orchard Reserve at 6.8%.

Shoulder of Mutton Brewery Shoulder of Mutton brewery officially opened on 30th January. Attending were Andy Sawford, MP for Corby and East Northants and Councillor Anthony Dady, Mayor of Corby, plus a small contingent from Peterborough & District Branch.

The event was reported in The Northampton Advertiser and on local radio. Graham the brewer said that he had no immediate plans to expand but they have looked at local units. It is currently only a two firkin plant, (for further information see pages 12-13).

Star Brewing Company Star have recently won “Best Pale Beer” of the Harwich and Dovercourt Beer Festival with their 4.5% Astral. This is a beer brewed with pale malts and predominantly hopped with “Citra” and “Cascade”. Tendring CAMRA branch are planning a visit Peterborough branch on a Saturday in April, in order to present them with the award. Star are hoping to have an open day at the Brewery to accommodate them. The guest beer brewed for Jan/Feb/March is a chestnut 4.3% bitter called, Lilith.

Brewery news continued |17

Xtreme Ales Things continue to grow apace at the brewery. February saw the start of the beer festival season with Ely having two Xtreme beers on show. A new beer brewed for this occasion was Indian Black Ale which was greeted with glowing reports. This means the beer will be brewed again at some point. Pigeon Ale continues to be in huge demand, with it being seen at the Vine, Coates; Childers, Whittlesey; Heron, Stanground and The Ploughman, Werrington.

March saw the new release of Give Me 6! a light golden ale brewed with six different American hops. Leicester Beer Festival had four of our beers on show with Trouble in Store, brewed as a festival special. The Letter B, Whittlesey, will now have this on a semi-regular basis. However, the most exciting thing that happened in March was the Barcelona Beer Festival. Xtreme Ales were very proud to send a beer to this event.

So what’s coming up in the next couple of months? Easter weekend sees us make our debut at the increasingly popular Egham Beer Festival.

A special beer brewed for this is All Black IPA, a black hoppy beer brewed with three different New Zealand hops. A new beer called Milk Stout will be making its first outing at The Coalheavers Arms Spring Beer Festival. Also on the same weekend is the Hand & Heart St Georges Day Beer Festival, look out for something different and exciting from us at this one! In May we will have beers appearing at Cambridge and Newark Beer Festivals.

They have now sold beer to over 300 outlets, delivering recently to Bury St Edmunds, Letchworth and Lincoln. Sales throughout December and January were very good.

Are you missing out?

Tydd Steam Lubrication Ale 3.9%, which was one of the original beers to be brewed by Tydd Steam, is to be brewed again.

Get Beer Around Ere delivered to your door!

For a year (6 issues) send £3.54 for second class or £4.08 for 1st Class or multiples thereof for multiple years. Please send a cheque/PO payable to “Peterborough CAMRA” and your address to:- Daryl Ling, 19 Lidgate Close, Peterborough PE2 7ZA

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

Richard Boston remembered

A recent edition of What’s Brewing contained an article covering this year’s beer writer’s awards.

On reading it, I looked back on a time when this species had not yet fully evolved if you leave aside the functional writing of the trade papers. (The British Guild of Beer Writers was not formed until 1988). One of the first writers I became aware of that undertook this specialist task was Richard Boston who wrote a regular column for the Guardian newspaper and did a lot to popularise CAMRA in its earliest days. In fact it was through reading this column I was persuaded to join the movement back in 1972.

Boston was in the great tradition of British satirical journalism which cocked a snook at authority and he wrote with a compelling ironic and incisive style. His particular penchant was to undermine uniformity of all kinds and one of his targets was the Grand Metropolitan chain, which had taken over the Watney’s group. Many of us, who hesitate to remember them, will testify to the blandness of Watney’s products. With his keen sense of ridicule he found a unique angle to deliver a scathing critique on this conglomerate. By this time the company, obviously becoming aware of the unpopularity of their products, began to change the identity of their pubs. This, Boston speculated, was probably the only occasion in commercial history that a corporate identity had gone into disguise.

I had the good fortune to meet him in 1974 when I was a member of a political organization and responsible for inviting guest speakers. Tired of the normal round of cabinet ministers and local MPs, I suggested that we invite Boston. “That’s fine” said the treasurer,” but how do we justify the BEER AROUND ERE | APRIL / MAY 2015

expenses?” “Not a problem” came my prompt reply “we’ll use the pretext of the nationalisation of the beer industry”. When he arrived, I said to him, “Don’t worry about the topic, just talk about beer”. He did, and we had the best attended meeting all year.

Notwithstanding his journalistic eminence and ironic manner, I found him the most cordial and down to earth of guests. He declined to charge a fee for the talk he delivered, merely accepting his expenses. I was particularly interested in his views about writing on this minority subject and he was glad to discuss this candidly and at length. He told me that when he approached the somewhat stuffy and puritanical Guardian editorial management to write column on beer, he did not think that they would go ahead with it. They clearly knew their man better than he did.

He also confided that he found it difficult to maintain interest in his column as there is only a limited range of topics that you can cover on the subject of beer and pubs. Not so with Boston as he had a remarkable facility for improvising around an apparently limited theme. This of course not only widened his audience, but considerably enhanced the exposure of the principles of the Campaign at a time that it was desperately needed. I believe that his contribution to the growth of the movement continues to be underestimated.

And quite often he would just fly off at a tangent.

Who amongst us that read it can forget his “Castle Rising” classic? Driving past this location he could not remember seeing a castle. If there was such an item he suggested it should be called Castle Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Richard Boston remembered |19

Rising Castle. And if there had been an uprising there in the Middle Ages, Castle Rising Castle Rising. And if the then Minister of Transport (Barbara Castle) was born there, she would become Castle Rising Castle Rising Castle. And if the said person was witnessed in the act of getting up in the morning, the whole incident should be referred to as Castle Rising Castle Rising Castle Rising. “But herein”, he concluded, “begins madness”.

Boston is often attributed with the remark: “Beer, horrible stuff ! Mine’s a pink gin” and many of his fellow villagers said that whenever they saw him in the pub he was normally drinking something stronger than beer. Strangely, he drank pint to pint with me and spoke in a most informed manner on all that we drank. I am sure that all of us who religiously read his column on a Saturday morning were in no doubt about his passion for traditional beer and traditional pubs.

never changes his mind is like stagnant water and breeds serpents.

Boston’s legacy may be summarized by the wide range of publications he left to us, including the classic Beer and Skittles. But I prefer to remember him in the great tradition of satirical journalism and I wonder that nobody has considered collecting and publishing his Guardian articles, Boston on Beer. He died on 22ndt December 2006 making a point during his last days of consulting the obituaries to see if it was worth getting up in the morning. Like all good writers he provided his own epitaph. In an article which listed all of the good experiences of pub life, what better way to end than with the classic clarion call?

- “Opening time”.

John Temple Photo credit: Frank Martin, The Guardian Archive www.theguardian.com/gnm-archive/richard-boston

From what I understood of him, I suspect that this was an example of his mischievous habit of frustrating people’s expectations (witness his Worthington White Shield saga mentioned in Issue 181). He clearly enjoyed controversy. At the time when I met him, Truman’s had introduced a new beer called Tap Bitter. It was a cask ale dispensed with blanket pressure. This gave the beer some added effervescence, but also created a carbon dioxide interface. Boston correctly anticipated that this would incur some rejection from CAMRA diehards, adding that he thought that they would be missing out on some good beer. Does this strike a familiar note with the growing popularity of key keg? He suggested that a future schism in CAMRA was inevitable (remember this was 1974).

Thankfully this has never happened. But perhaps we should bear in mind that the real ale movement as we know it was preceded by the Society for the Preservation of Beer from the Wood. Although some new breweries are actively seeking to revive this ancient tradition (e.g. Ridgeside in Leeds) there are now scarcely any coopers employed by brewers and this is virtually a dead issue. Campaigning issues inevitably change with the times. I think it was William Blake who said that the man who Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

20 | Please support our advertisers

PALMERSTON ARMS 82 Oundle Rd www.palmerston-arms.co.uk

14 Ever-changing, gravity fed real ales Wood burner for winter

VINYL NIGHT

Opening Times

Bring down your favourite records Check Facebook for next event

UKELELE NIGHT Every Thursday from 7.30pm

PHILOSOPHY NIGHT Check Facebook for next event

LIVE MUSIC WEEKLY Check Facebook & local gig guides

Mon - Thurs 3-12pm Fri and Sat 12 - midnight Sun 12-11.30pm

For information on live entertainment go to:

Palmerston Arms

from 4pm

BEER AROUND ERE | APRIL / MAY 2015

THE VINE Market Deeping

Gold Award Winner

Free House with 5 Real Ales Large Patio area 2 Regular Ales and 3 Guest Ales Stockist of Hopshackle Beers

BEER FESTIVAL

Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th May Tel: 07501 465 646 19 Church Street, Market Deeping

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Pub people |21

Pub Angels

Sometimes in CAMRA we can concentrate so much on the beer and the pub we maybe don’t shout enough about the people involved in the pub trade and what an amazing difference they can make on everyday lives. I have one such story and at the same time would like to publicly thank an amazing person.

I had a friend who, like me, was a freelance designer and due to deadlines worked strange hours. Together with a few other mates, we managed to regularly set aside some time on a Friday afternoon to talk shop and relax after a week of burning midnight oil.

As we both lived in Woodston, our regular meeting spot was the Cherry Tree which always has an outstanding pint of Landlord (my favourite), and Oakham Ales Inferno (his tipple of choice). It was a handy place for both of us, and my friend could pop home easily and cook his teenage son dinner as he was a lone parent.

The landlady at the Cherry Tree for several years has been a lady called Janet, she is a hard worker and has a quick wit and an easy smile. She always had a nice word for us when we saw her on a Friday and occasionally joined us for a pint on her precious hours off before the night shift.

Over the years she has shown small acts of kindness, one such as having my friend over for Christmas dinner at the pub. At a time which can be lonely for those without close family, this meant a lot. When I was part of organizing a surprise 50th birthday party for my friend she let us use the Cherry Tree function room and laid on a massive spread of food, all unasked for but welcome nevertheless!

Unfortunately the surprise party was the last time I saw my friend, as on January 6th he passed away suddenly and quite unexpectedly, leaving behind his Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

teenage son. Janet, one of the first to find out this tragic news, was an absolute rock. Contacting people and organising help, taking his son under her wing for a few hours until othes could arrive, along with a multitude of other tasks.

In the weeks that followed, Janet increased the price of Oakham Ales Inferno by a few pence a pint and put this extra profit in a jar. These proceeds, along with kind donations from regulars, will be enough to cover the costs of driving lessons and get my friend’s young son on the road, a really important step towards his independence. Thank you Janet for all your kindness, and thank you Clive, the long-serving barman, for all you have done too.

So if any of you have a local pub hero, hold them dear, they may be involved in acts of small kindnesses, unnoticed to most, but can mean everything to some, and our world would be the poorer without them.

Daniel Speed

Pictured top: Janet, landlady of the Cherry Tree with Bar Manager Clive

29 North Street, Stanground PE2 8HR. Tel: 01733 753544 Friendly village pub with riverside mooring.

Up to 4 Real Ales available • Large Garden • Dogs Welcome • BT Sport Food Served: Tues to Sun 12 - 2.30pm Mon to Sat 6pm - 8pm

BEER FESTIVAL FRI 17 - SUN 19 APRIL Come and try a ale or two from Sussex!

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

22 | Please support our advertisers

The Ramblewood Inn ‘The pub in the woods’ The all day venue – Open for meals and snacks 12pm to 9pm daily A conservatory restaurant with food served all day, nooks and crannies in the old stables, outdoor seating and extensive parking, plus a selection of Real Ales.

Real food, Real ales, Real pub BEST WESTERN PLUS Orton Hall Hotel & Spa, The Village, Orton Longueville, Peterborough, PE2 7DN Tel: 01733 391111

50% OFF

All food purchased when you spend £25 or more

Name Email Postcode Terms and Conditions - Coupon valid only when £25 or more is spent on food, cannot be exchanged for cash, does not apply to spend on drinks cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, not valid for parties in excess of 8 people. Valid until Friday 29th May 2015.

If you do not wish to receive further promotions please tick here.

For special offers, news and travel directions visit www.traditionalinns.co.uk

BEER AROUND ERE | APRIL / MAY 2015

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Cider in May |23

Cider in May CAMRA has celebrated cider and perry during the month of October for a number of years now and, this year, we are introducing a second opportunity to celebrate this traditional drink in the month of May.

Selection of Real Ales

Large Open Beer Garden BT and Sky Sports

Function Room to Hire - very reasonable rates!

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

May might seem a strange time to celebrate a drink made from apples and pears but there is some logic in the timing. May is a time when the apple and pear trees in our orchards are in blossom and, without the orchards and tree blossom, we wouldn’t have the fruit to make the ciders and perries that are on offer throughout the year. Unfortunately many of the old traditional orchards have disappeared over the years but, thankfully, in recent years producers have started to plant new trees to keep the tradition of cider and perry production alive.

May is also the time when the juice that was pressed the previous year has fermented through and is ready to drink. Real ciders and perries differ from the more industrial products available in that they are not fizzy and the flavours of the fruit used in their production come through in the final product. So why not take the opportunity to visit some of the many pubs which now offer real cider or perry and give them a try.

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

More Disappearing Boozers of Stamford

In the Christmas issue of Beer Around ‘Ere I indulged my memories of drinking in southwestern Stamford hostelries that are no longer. In this edition I hope to repeat the dose, this time covering the rest of the town. However, I must make it clear that this is not a list of former Stamford pubs. That has already been done in Martin Smith’s seminal tome, “Stamford Pubs and Breweries”. The houses I mention are ones I remember drinking in.

The Black Bull (previously the Ostler) at the rear of the grand former Stamford Hotel at the top of St. Mary’s Hill, closed about three years ago. My youngest daughter worked behind the bar there for a while and I popped in occasionally out of paternal interest. It was only occasionally though Mansfield beers have never done it for me.

The pub is now a B & B.

Glyn and Alan would like to welcome you to their old fashioned community pub.

Serving a family friendly menu full of pub classics with ingredients sourced, where possible, from local suppliers.

We offer a great range of two permanent and two changing guest real ales alongside two real ciders.

We also offer 3 Star AA rated accommodation.

For further information on live events or for room reservations please call 01572 822302 14 High St East, Uppingham, Rutland LE15 9PY BEER AROUND ERE | APRIL / MAY 2015

Gooches Court, at the other end of St. Mary’s Street, is home to a fish and chip shop these days, but during the late 80s and early 90s it was Champs Wine Bar (ale was also available). It was a strange set-up; short of cash one night, I asked the landlord if he would cash me a cheque. He said he couldn’t as neither he nor the pub had a bank account. He lent me a score instead. Make of that what you will! He also told me a very interesting story about Noel Cantwell, Pat Crerand and the FA Cup...but I digress.

In the early 1980s, the former Greyhound pub at the far end of St. Peter’s Street reopened as the Vence Wine Bar (Vence is Stamford’s twin town) but it was as St. Peter's Inn that it really took off in the 90s. The landlord, Graham (a former Met inspector) really knew his stuff and guest ales from far and wide (anyone remember Smiles) graced the cellar bar, along with regular live music acts.

Graham had a somewhat cavalier attitude to the licensing laws - “You’ll leave when I say you can leave” was often his retort to my feeble attempts to say goodnight and on at least one occasion I remember surprising the milkman as we exited the back door into Austin Street. The building has been a private dwelling for some years now.

Just up from here was the Hit Or Miss in Foundry Road, a classic back street Batemans boozer. This was one of those pubs that should have been busy, given its large garden and car park, but in recent years it never was, despite being only a couple of minutes’ walk from two busy houses, the Green Man and the Jolly Brewer. Indeed, the last time I recall the place being truly busy was at Foundryfest, a joint venture between the Hitter and the Brewer. Successive landlords and ladies tried their utmost and I understand that Batey's were very supportive, but eventually the plug was pulled. The lovely old building, dating from the 1860s, was flattened and a small housing estate now, erm, enhances the site. A lasting memory of Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

More disappearing boozers of Stamford |25

the Hitter is the much-missed quiz nights organised by then landlord Darren Cheeseman, featuring the worst prizes in the history of the pub quiz. My team of four won one week and we were presented with three cans of Carling...

The Drum and Monkey on Casterton Road closed at Christmas. The Drum was a stand-alone pub with a large potential catchment area similar to those enjoyed by the Hurdler and the Northfields, yet (like the Hit Or Miss) it had not been viable for years. A personal view is that the pub suffered from pubco-itis ; with all due deference to the respective breweries, a relentless range of Pride or Bombardier is not going to have discerning punters beating a path to your door. The Drum and Monkey was built in the same year that I was born and I take no pleasure in realising that I will outlive it.

Heading back into Scotgate, we come to the former Gateway pub, which closed in 2000 and is currently given over to flats. I played football for one memorable season for the now defunct Stamford YMCA, who used the pub for post-match (and, in rather too many cases, pre-match) drinking. In the late 1970s this pub was known as the Mr. Dillon and Thursday night was Disco Nite.

I attended these now and again and my abiding memory is of the wild reception (and wilder dancing) that greeted “My Boy Lollipop”! Earlier in the 70s, the pub was still called the Crown and Woolpack, a former Steward and Pattesons house which had fallen into the hands of Watneys. The earliest landlord I can remember was an alcoholic (presumably he didn’t drink the Watneys) who used to take the barman off on a pub crawl, leaving regulars to serve themselves and use a pint tankard as the till. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the system worked.

Directly opposite is the Punchbowl, currently closed and awaiting its fate - which will probably be conversion to a private dwelling. For me the writing was on the wall once all three handpumps seemed to be given over to products from a certain Bury St. Edmunds brewery. Yet in the 1990s this pub, then the White Swan (and a Batemans house) was my local and a wonderful bolthole it was under Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Geoff and Beryl Barker. I really miss that pub.

Moving towards the town centre, the Scotgate closed its doors a couple of years ago. Having been Cromwell’s and Dr. Thirsty’s during the previous decade, this building, with its unique design, now houses offices. The last time I drank in there, the landlord told me conspiratorially that he was replacing the Adnams Bitter with (pause for effect) Greene King IPA! I never returned and it would seem, as the pub closed a couple of months later, that no-one else did either. Just round the corner in All Saints’ Street, the Otter’s Pocket (formerly the Albion and St. Jacques) closed a while back. With its cavernous interior, big screen tellies and eight handpumps, it's difficult to imagine what went wrong but obviously something did.

In Broad Street, the Toreador opened about ten years ago and closed after a couple of years, mourned by no-one. I can report that this basement bar is now the pre-show choice for those attending the theatre above.

So - that’s another nine community drinking establishments (not counting the Toreador) that we've lost. However, as I did in Part One, I must point out that three have opened. The Melbourn, just off Red Lion Square; the Cosy Club (ales vary) and the Stamford Poste, a Wetherspoon's house situated in the former Stamford Mercury offices in Castle Street. I reckon JDW are the Brian Clough of the beer-drinking industry - you either love ‘em or hate ‘em but you can't ignore ‘em!

I’d like to conclude with a pub that hasn't closed, but has lost its identity. The imposing Lincolnshire Poacher building gazes impassively down Ironmonger Street as it has done since the 16th century. Even Nag's Head Passage, which runs adjacent to the pub, has always been known as Poacher Passage - so why would anyone change the pub's name from that of an iconic county antihero to, erm, the Pear Tree? And to add insult to injury, real ale is no longer on offer. No call for it, you understand...

Alun Thomas APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

26 | Live Music in April and May

Gig guide April Fri 3rd Opaque Charters, Town Bridge Sat 4th Splash Conservative Club Children of the Revolution Charters, Town Bridge Grumpy Old Men Heron, Stanground Sun 5th Jimmy Doherty Charters, Town Bridge Take Two Conservative Club Mon 6th Unplugged Charters, Town Bridge Fri 10th Steve Perry Conservative Club Dave Jackson Blues Band Charters, Town Bridge Sat 11th The Skyliners Conservative Club The Buzz Rats Charters, Town Bridge Laurette Evelyn Heron, Stanground Sun 12th Fenny Stompers Conservative Club The Party Animals Heron, Stanground Fri 17th Ian Graham and Kat Moore Woolpack, Stanground

Mon 4th Savoy Jazz Band Conservative Club Unplugged Charters, Town Bridge Fri 8th Rhiannon Rae Conservative Club Sat 9th Plus One Conservative Club Rocket Dogs Heron, Stanground Charters VE day celebrations Luna Nightingale Charters, Town Bridge

Fri 15th Dale Andrews Conservative Club Sat 16th Kenny Lee & Hustler Conservative Club Junk Puppets Heron, Stanground Sun 17th Deeping Dixielanders Conservative Club Sat 23rd The Business Conservative Club Sun 24th Lexie Green & The Indigo Blue Charters, Town Bridge Sun 29th Pennyless Heron, Stanground Sun 31st CJ Hatt Folk Trio Charters, Town Bridge

Fri 17th Travis Graham Conservative Club Captain Obvious Charters, Town Bridge The Soul Sisters Heron, Stanground Sat 18th Nite Owls Conservative Club Rocket Dogs Woolpack, Stanground The Blues House(5pm) Heron, Stanground Psych-O-Bombs(9pm) Heron, Stanground Sun 19th Steve Bean Woolpack, Stanground The Storms Conservative Club Fri 24th Son of a Gun Conservative Club Ben Callanan Charters, Town Bridge Sat 25th Waddo Conservative Club Whiskey Twist Charters, Town Bridge Autumn Storm Blue Bell, Werrington Subway 77 Heron, Stanground

May Fri 1st Jello Blue Bell, Werrington Fri 1st Bianca & The Top Cats Charters, Town Bridge John David Conservative Club Sat 2nd Mike Nelson Conservative Club Soul & Ska Blue Bell, Werrington The Tunnel Heron, Stanground Sun 3rd Paul Copestake Conservative Club Autumn Storm Blue Bell, Werrington BEER AROUND ERE | APRIL / MAY 2015

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Diary dates |27

Diary dates March

Friday 27th – Sunday 29th Skool of Rock and Roll Music and Beer Festival, Iron Horse Ranch House, High St, Deeping PE6 8EB. Further details: www.ironhorseranchhouse.co.uk Sunday 29th March Northants Crawl by X4 bus.

Meet at Queensgate bus station at 11.50 am for the 12.04 bus to Oundle. Then on to Weldon and return on the 6.53pm bus from Weldon, arriving back in Queensgate bus station at 7.45pm. Dayrider Gold-£11.30.

Please book places through Social Secretary John Hunt.

April

Thursday 2nd - Monday 6th Charters Easter Beer Festival, Town Bridge, Peterborough PE1 1FT. 25+ locally sourced real ales, cider and perry available. Great entertainment throughout the festival. Entry free – all welcome.

Friday 3rd - Monday 6th Rose and Crown Easter Beerfest, 41 St Peters Rd, March PE15 9NA Featuring 20+ real ales and ciders. Live music Friday and Saturday. Open 12 til midnight.

Sunday 5th Peterborough Conservative Club Beer Festival and Fun Day in the car park. Bouncy castle, Adult Egg & Spoon Race, food and live music. Everyone welcome.

Opens at 11am.

CAMRA meetings, socials and beer festivals in the coming months

Tuesday 7th at 8.30pm Branch Committee Meeting at the Ostrich, North Street PE1 2RA. All members welcome, please bring membership card.

Friday 17th - Saturday 18th The Heron 1st Birthday Beer Festival, The Heron, Stanground PE2 8QB. Beers from Digfield, Tydd Steam, Castor Ales, Bexar County, Xtreme Ales, Star and other local breweries. Go along and enjoy beer and entertainment! Further details: www.heronpub.co.uk Friday 17th- Sunday 19th Woolpack Beer Festival, North St, Stanground PE2 8HR. Large garden. Dogs welcome.

Saturday 18th Community Pubs Month Pub Crawl. We will be visiting some of Peterborough’s finest community pubs. Meet at the Woolpack, Stanground at 12.00 midday.

(The Woolpack and Heron both have beer festivals on this date) Please book places through Social Secretary John Hunt.

Phone John Hunt on 07923489917 for a location update if you plan to join us later in the day.

Thursday 23rd (evening) Hand and Heart, Highbury Street, Peterborough PE1 3BE. Official presentation of Pub of the Year Award.

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

Thursday 23rd - Sunday 26th Hand and Heart St Georges Day Beer Festival. Highbury St, Peterborough PE1 3BE Thursday 23rd- Sunday 26th Coalheavers Arms Spring Beer Festival. Park St, Woodston, Peterborough PE2 9BH. 50+ real ales plus perry and cider.

BBQ food all weekend. Live music every night.

May

Sunday 3rd Peterborough Conservative Club Beer Festival and Barbeque.

Food and live music. Everyone welcome. Opens at 11am.

Tuesday 5th at 8.30pm.

Branch Committee Meeting, venue to be confirmed. All members welcome, please bring membership card.

Friday 22nd - Monday 25th Blue Bell, Werrington PE4 6RU May Bank Holiday Beer Festival 20 real ales and live music Monday 25th - Thursday 28th Black Horse Elton, PE8 6RU. First Beer Festival since reopening as a pub/restaurant.

20 + beers, mostly LocAle.

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

28 | Membership Matters

Membership Matters CAMRA Members’ Weekend, featuring the National AGM and Conference, takes place in Nottingham this year between 17th and 19th April. This is where members discuss CAMRA’s future policy and direction. The weekend also offers the opportunity for members to socialise with friends, visit recommended pubs and go on organised trips.

The venue is the Albert Hall Conference Centre, a few minutes walk from the Old Market Square in the centre of Nottingham. Transport links to Nottingham by car and train are fairly easy, so a day trip or weekend stay is a possibility.

The conference hall (pictured) seats up to 700 people, so should accommodate visitors in some comfort. The Members’ Bar, which will feature beers from breweries in the local area, is situated in the Osborne Suite in the same building.

If you have never beer to a Members’ Weekend then perhaps this is the year to give it a try.

Further information, for members only, is available at camraagm.org.uk. The local Nottingham CAMRA branch also have an excellent website (nottinghamcamra.org/agmnottingham2015/agm _home.php) where you can find more specific local information.

See you in Nottingham in April.

Bob Melville Membership Secretary

Please support our advertisers |29

Visit our web site for up-to-date news: www.real-ale.org.uk

APRIL / MAY 2015 | BEER AROUND ERE

Branch Committee Secretary: Dickie Bird 4 Cissbury Ring,Werrington Peterborough, PE4 6QH 01733 574226 (tel & fax) 07731 993896 info@real-ale.org.uk

Chairman: David Murray 01733 560453 chairman@real-ale.org.uk

Treasurer: Paul Beecham 01733 311981 07710 008693 treasurer@real-ale.org.uk

Vice Chair: Matthew Mace 07809 629241 vice-chair@real-ale.org.uk Social Sec: John Hunt 07923 489917 social-sec@real-ale.org.uk

Pubs Officer: John Temple 07905 051 312 pubs-officer@real-ale.org.uk

Press Officer: Mike Blakesley 01733 390828 (h) 07747 617527 (m) press-officer@real-ale.org.uk

Young Members: Kara Williams young-members@real-ale.org.uk

Membership: Bob Melville 07941 246693 membership@real-ale.org.uk

Festival Org: Mike Lane 07850 334203 festival-organiser@real-ale.org.uk

LocAle Officer: Dave McLennan 01733 346059 (h) 07854 642773 (m) locale@real-ale.org.uk Webmaster: Harry Morten webmaster@real-ale.org.uk

Brewery Liaison Officers Blue Bell: John Hunt 07923 489917 Bexar County Brewery: Dave Botton 01733 345475 Castor Ales: Mike Lane 07850 334203 Digfield: Dave Waller 07821 912605 Elgoods: John Hunt 07923 489917

Hopshackle: Noel Ryland 07944 869656

Kings Cliffe Brewery: Mike Blakesley 07747 617527 Melbourn: Don Rudd 01733 323133

Mile Tree Brewery: Steve Williams 07756 066503

Nene Valley: Bob Melville 07941 246693

Oakham Ales: Dave Allett 07966 344417 Tydd Steam: John Hunt 07923 489917

Shoulder of Mutton Brewery: John Temple 07905 051 312 Star Brewing Company: Dave McLennan - 07854642773 Xtreme Ales: Matt Mace 07809 629241

08545 040506 www.consumerdirect.gov.uk Check out our website at: www.real-ale.org.uk

Trading Standards

Pub Merit Awards & Gold Awards Does your local pub have excellent beer, friendly staff, a great atmosphere/ community spirit, or have they introduced additional hand pumps? If so nominate them for Gold or Merit Award. The new Merit Award is for pubs that are continuously outstanding, so if you know of a deserving pub within the branch area, please complete the form below indicating Gold or Merit Award and post to the secretary or email nominations to info@real-ale.org.uk.

Pub name: Pub address/town/village: Reason for award: Your name: Your phone number or e-mail address: Your membership number:

Big kfasot 11am rB eaSat 8 t ! ry 95

ree At Least Th

y, er v r r ca t fo e th ea m an fro u c f el o rs a s y e u ev lp yo uch e H as m

on

Real Ales!

.

5 £ ly

More than just a Carvery!

A great welcome awaits you at The Farmers, Yaxley.

We are famous for our fresh vegetables and great carvery meats, succulent and served with all the trimmings, then finished off with a tantalising hot or cold dessert!

Open Every Day 10am - 5.30pm All Day Menu & Coffee Midday - 2:30pm Carvery & Specials Menu 5:30pm - LATE Carvery & Grill Menu Sunday Open From 12 Noon - 9pm All Day Carvery

Check out our lunch-time grill menus and our everchanging specials boards. Put it all together with three fine cask ales and you have the perfect place to enjoy dinner with friends or a family celebration. We have a self -contained function suite which is ideal for parties, weddings and all of life’s celebrations.

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

Planning a wedding or special family event?

We have lots of packages available including our new Green Room facility.

Please call for further details.

Now taking bookings for Father’s Day

200 Broadway, Yaxley Tel: 01733 244885 Email: thefarmers@btconnect.com

www.thefarmersyaxley.co.uk