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THe MAGAZINe OF WeST BerKSHIre CAMrA
SUMMER 2018
CAMRA Award for the Catherine Wheel as Newbury’s pubs adapt On Monday 30 April, Branch Chairman Andy Pinkard presented the West Berkshire CAMRA 2018 Pub of the Year award to Warwick and Pauline Heskins.
Photo: Richard Lock
The Catherine Wheel had previously won the Branch’s Cider Pub of the Year award in 2015 and 2017. The new award confirms the successful adaptation of a pub that used to mainly serve lagers before 2014 into a lively destination for real ale and cider drinkers. The Catherine Wheel's appeal is enhanced by a large range of bottled beers, ciders and gins, an attractive courtyard and an immaculate new kitchen, for serving Pieminister pies. After four years as landlord, Warwick’s keen interest in finding the best new beers and ciders to stock, organising ale and cider festivals and arranging brewery trips contributed towards the Catherine Wheel’s latest award which also reflects the friendly service from the pub’s experienced team of staff. In recent months, other pubs in Newbury have adapted in different ways.
The Diamond Tap was rebranded as Walkabout (eat, drink, play) after Wetherspoon sold it to Stonegate Pubs. The colourful, Australian themed, transformation also introduced TV screens that appeal to sports fans. Thankfully, cask ale is still available. However, handpumps were removed when Stonegate Pubs rebranded Hogshead as Slug and Lettuce. The Dolphin, was reopened on 8 May by Buff and Bear Saloons. A sign by the front entrance calls it ‘A House for the parched, the hungry, the sleepy and the opinionated’! Just over a year since it closed, the pub has been remodelled and completely refurbished at great expense. The back garden includes three beach huts each providing shade and bench seats around a table. The relocated ‘cellar’ is now a ground floor feature. The bar has handpumps for three cask ales and one cider. See page 2 for more details and photos.
Community Pub of the Year
ON OTHER PAGES Swift Halves - Pub and brewery news Gig Guide Beer & Cider Festivals Kieran, The Lion's Quizmaster Pub Profile: Four Points, Aldworth Leuven, Belgium Cider Profile: Crazy Dave's Cider CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide Belgium Boak & Bailey + Curmudgeon columns Diary Dates, CAMRA Contacts & Festivals
Ullage June - August 2018
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Nominate by 30 June - see page 3
Reading Beer & Cider Festival
AGM - The Branch's Annual General Meeting will be held upstairs at The Newbury, 137 Bartholomew Street, Newbury on Wednesday 27 June (8pm). Elections for committee posts follow brief reports from current officers. Please contact Chairman or Secretary (refer page 12) for details of volunteer opportunities and committee vacancies e.g. Social Secretary.
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