BAE 151

b a ebeer around ‘ere | Issue 151 | February - March 2010 |FREE, please take one

Mama Liz’s Wins Pub

of the Year 2010!

Stamford ReviewReal ale scene in Stamford thrives!

Overcoming IntoleranceSearch for Gluten-free ale

Behind BarsFace to face with the Hit or Miss

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

BAE 151 Prog:Layout 1 25/01/2010 22:09 Page 1

Live music of all sorts inthe voodoo lounge music club, a perfectlyconverted victorian cellar underneath the bar, jazz,acoustic, rock, folk, stand up comedy and theregions best DJs in the bar each weekend.

The cuisine of new orleans, creole andcajun favourites such as jambalya, gumbo, blackenedcatfish and jerk chicken, ribs, wings and chilli andalso an excellent steakhouse

Mama Lizs Soul Food ShackAnd Voodoo Lounge Music Club9A North St, Stamford Lincs PE9 1EL

01780 765888 www.mamaliz.co.uk

Three ales servedfrom the likes of Oakham,

Digfield, Ufford,Oldershaw, Castor, Newby

Wyke or Grainstore

Continental Lagers

American bottled beer

Cocktails

Opening Times 12 midday to 11.30pm,

sunday, monday, wednesday, thursday, 12 midday to 2am friday and saturday, closed tuesday.

Entertainment

Food

Find Us

Peterborough CAMRA

PUB OF THE YEAR 2010!Join us at the presentation evening - Weds February 24th

• Complimentary LocAles •

• Entertainment from Tex Longhorn and Red Deadwood •

• In the Voodoo Lounge - ‘Speakeasy’ poetry evening •

• In the Restaurant -Texas Hold’em Poker - £5 buy in •


On 22nd December last year, CAMRAannounced it will issue a legal challengeto the Office of Fair Trading’s decision

to reject its super-complaint on anti-competitive practices in the UK pub market. CAMRA ispledging funds to the appeal, but is dependingon consumers helping to raise further funds toensure this vital legal challenge can stand thebest chance of success.

In October CAMRA criticised the Office of FairTrading (OFT) for failing to protect consumersby taking no further action to address consumer detriment in the pub market following CAMRA’ssuper-complaint submitted in July.

Under the Enterprise Act 2002, CAMRA is entitled to appeal the OFT’s decision to theCompetition Appeals Tribunal, and has decidedupon this course of action to continue fightinganti-competitive practices in the UK pub market.

From Tuesday January 5th 2010, CAMRA iscalling upon consumers to visit the CAMRAwebsite (www.camra.org.uk) and contribute tothe Consumers v. OFT Pub Market RulingCampaign Fund.

Mike Benner, CAMRA Chief Executive, said:“CAMRA has taken the decision to appeal due tothe inability of the OFT to deal with the problemsaffecting the UK pub sector.CAMRA’s super-complaint to the OFT was basedon securing a fair deal for the pub-goer, and buildinga sustainable future for Britain’s remaining pubs.However, we believe the OFT did not take reason-able steps to understand the pub sector, and moregenerally why over 50 pubs are closing per weekacross the UK. We’ve seen the consumer watchdogscrutinised in previous years with the success of theAssociation of Convenience Stores appeal in 2005in overturning the OFT’s decision at Tribunal.Pending the success of our appeal, CAMRAremains optimistic of Government intervention or a

referral to the Competition Commission for a fullinvestigation into the UK pub market.”

Bob Young, a former member of the Monopoliesand Mergers Commission and respectedPrincipal of Europe Economics, has said:“The OFT’s response was as inadequate asCAMRA’s super-complaint was compelling. TheOFT has not seriously considered whether there isfair competition at a local level which ensures thatconsumers, or pub landlords for that matter, get thebest deal. This is a critical shortcoming in theOFT's response to CAMRA."

Mike Benner concluded: “We now urge consumersand associated trade bodies to get behind ourConsumers v. OFT Pub Market Ruling CampaignFund in the New Year and support our appeal.”’

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is a not forprofit, independent consumer organisationwhich campaigns for real ale, real pubs andconsumer rights. CAMRA currently has over107,000 consumers as members.CAMRA’s super-complaint, ‘A Fair Share for theConsumer’, was published in July and can beviewed at www.camra.org.uk /supercomplaintCAMRA’s super-complaint centred on the needto reform beer tie arrangements to prevent largecompanies exploiting tie arrangements thatprevent tied publicans from buying beer on theopen market at fair prices. CAMRA argued thatthe wholesale prices paid by tied publicans areconsiderably higher, around £20,000 per year foran average pub, than would prevail in a competi-tive market. The lack of competition, particularlyin areas dominated by tied pub companies,mean that consumers pay higher prices, andsuffer a reduced quality of experience and arestricted range of products. CAMRA has calculated that if beer prices had only risen inline with inflation since 1990 then collectivelyconsumers would be better off by £2.5 billion a year.

The Fight for Fair Trading Continues

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

Campaigning | 3


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4 | Please support our advertisers

The Bluebell Inn10 Woodgate, Helpston Peterborough, PE6 7ED 01733252394

traditional country Inn set in the beautiful village of Helpston. Offering a warm welcome and a typical English

pub atmosphere. The antidote to uncluttered “cool”.

We serve up to six real ales from national breweries and localmicrobreweries including Tydd Steam, Elgoods, Adnams, Fullers,Wells and The Grainstore Brewery. All changing weekly. Permanently available, exclusive to us John Clare Bitter 4.3%from the Grainstore. Also sold in bottles.

Good home cooked food served Tuesday to Sunday. Traditional Sunday roast served 12 - 5pm and daily 2 courselunchtime specials. New Menu Available.

Small parties can be catered for Funerals, christenings, birthdays etc...

Ample customer parking. Also conveniently close tothe hourly Peterborough - Stamford bus route (mon - sat)

Pict

ures

by

Mich

ael S

laugh

ter

A


Hello folks. Looking out of the window at the snow coveredroads and footpaths whilst writing this, remindme of the reason why that during the festiveseason my travels were somewhat limited. OhI’m not saying that I didn’t manage to get to thepub but, having slipped over three times, thelimbs were crying out to the brain saying nodon’t even think of going out afar. Two of thosebone jarring falls were on the way to the pubbefore some jump to conclusions!Many of our pubs did make a positive effort toattract customers in spite of stakes beingstacked against them. If the continuing recession, bad weather and the return of VAT toprevious levels were not enough to make anylicensee cry in their beer, the traditional NewYear slim period most likely will. These next fewweeks are when our pubs need your supportmore than ever.

We come to the serious bit now. At our branchAGM in December we found ourselves in theposition of being a bit short in numbers both bythe attendance of members, and volunteers toserve on the committee. As we are supposed tobe the largest branch of CAMRA in the countryI found that very disappointing. We need somenew members to join in the activities of thebranch. Positions currently vacant are a vice-chairman (or woman), a social secretary tohelp organise our social events, and a PublicityOfficer to liaise and communicate with themedia. All of these posts can be taken on by anymember of our branch with the appropriateguidance from the main officers. We also have adedicated band of volunteers who take on thetask of regularly delivering our by-monthlynewsletter. Any additional help with this isalways welcome.

It should come as no surprise that some publicensees are up in arms in response to the decision by the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) toreject their and CAMRA’s super complaint overbeer ties. Many have even gone as far as sayingthey will go and buy their beer on the openmarket in defiance to the Pubcos. One nationalnewspaper predicted that if thousands of theselandlords did carry out a threat of this nature,we could see our beer prices tumble! I wait withinterest to see this occur.

Congratulations must be conveyed to our Pubof The Year (POTY) which for the third yearrunning is again in Stamford! Mama Lizs inNorth Street has been nominated with thisyear’s accolade. Votes were cast by our membersand the count was made early in January. Thepub describes itself as a Soul Food Shack thatserves three or more real ales, mainly from localbreweries and holds our current LocAleCertificate. The pub has something for all tastes.I must add that the votes cast were the closestwe have had for many years. That’s about it for now folks.

CheersDavid Murray

www.real-ale.org.uk

Chairman’s Corner | 5

Chairman’s Corner

ARE YOU MISSING OUT?Only the beer-stained copy left?

Get Beer Around Ere delivered to yourdoor! For a year (6 issues) send a £2.10cheque/PO payable to “Peterborough

CAMRA” and your address to:-

Daryl Ling19 Lidgate Close, Orton Longueville

Peterborough PE2 7ZA


So once again we are atthat lean time of theyear, when pubs recov-

ering from a mini-boom over the festive season,must now batten down the hatches and weatherthe storms on their way.

There are many reasons why regular pub goerstend to stay at home during the first few weeksof a new year. The weather is one of them, andwhile snow covered streets and paths may looknice on a card, they are not easy to traversewhen the local authority fails to send out thegritting lorries in time. Some folk are alreadysaving for their holidays; Then there is theannual economy drive, as people realise theywent a bit over the top last month and struggleto make ends meet now that the supermarketshave stopped slashing their prices so much!

But by far the best excuse I hear for abstainingfrom one’s occasional tipple is that old chestnut– the New Year’s Resolution. Maybe one hasput on a few extra pounds, and so shuns thepub in favour of a thrice weekly visit to the gym,I know that come the end of February though,everyone will have reverted to their normalbehaviour and hopefully the pubs will be busyagain, although that is when the next threatrears its ugly head. The breweries will put theirprices up.

The major players, that is the global breweriesand the greedy pub-cos, will not be botheringwith sentiment when they announce increases ofaround 7% by the time you are reading this.They will cite everything from a sharp increasein materials to the cost of gas & electric, andthey will expect the customer to shut up andpay up. Most local pubs it has been noticed,managed to hold their prices the same, evenwith the VAT rate reverting back to 17.5% onNew Year’s Day. Once the cost of beer goes upthough, you can expect the price at the pumpsto go up by another 10-20p a pint.With almost 60 pubs a week now closing, the

majority of them owned by Enterprise or Punch Imight add, you would think that a slightly differentstrategy might have been employed to helpprotect those licensees that are now struggling tomake even the most basic of incomes to exist?

But no, it’s just business as usual for the bigboys, but just what do you expect from thesepeople? They are quite capable of supplying adouble order to the pub just before Christmas,so they don’t need to do deliveries in the weekleading up to New Year, but on all subsequentdeliveries there is never space on the wagon toremove the empty casks from your cellar,despite there being a national cask shortage!You would have thought that somebody in anoffice somewhere might just have realised thisand made provisions when doing the load plan-ning, but no.

When these all too powerful companies arefailing to correct even the most fundamental oftheir operational errors, you quickly realise howout of touch with reality the management ofthese pub-cos are. So, as CAMRA are set toappeal against the OFT’s decision not to lookinto the corrupt tied system there may yet besome respite for the honest punter who prefersvisiting his local instead of drinking at home.

Whatever the outcome of CAMRA’s appeal, itstill needs government action to protect anindustry that has in recent years, been taxed tothe hilt. But as you well know, there will be ageneral election in May, so everyone will now bepromising you the earth in a desperate bid foryour vote. So tell your prospective MP how youfeel, badger and hassle them all you like, younever know, you might just get something to goyour way. Perhaps, but an old cynic like medoubts it very much, and when you considerhow much money the supermarket bosses willbe ‘donating’ to the various parties’ electioncampaign funds......you get the picture. Fancy a pint anyone?Bram

A Winter of Discontent

www.real-ale.org.uk

6 | Editor’s Rant



It’s always good to start off with a bit of anapology I think. In our last issue I may havegiven the impression that the game of Push

Penny is more or less centred around two pubsin Stamford, these being the Jolly Brewer andthe Hit or Miss. I am indebted to Albert, longserving landlord of the St Mary’s Vaults whocompleted my education in this matter. It isknown by local inhabitants (but not apparentlyby your Pubs Officer!) that the ‘Vaults’ has beenhosting the game for more years than anyonecares to remember and locally is considered to bethe ‘home’ of the game. The Vaults is one of twoSam Smith’s pubs in the town and is well wortha visit when in town.

While we’re in Stamford I might as well mentiona few other pubs that have come to my noticerecently, mainly in the pursuit of charity.

The Northfields in Drift Road held their annualfishing competition to raise a few quid for theCystic Fibrosis Trust. There’s always somethingreassuring about people standing around in oldclothes lying about the size of a fish but I’m surenobody perjured themselves at the event whichraised £295. The pub also held a beer festival tokeep the regulars contented and any moneyraised from the accompanying barbeque wasdonated to the British Legion.

A landlord on the up and up is Glenn Hill who,with a few buddies completed the three peakschallenge. Not content just to run the Hurdlerpub he has to go and do something to stretchthe legs and conquer the highest chunks ofNorth Yorkshire. £750 was raised forWheelPower, a charity for wheel chair sport.

Tucked away in Maiden Lane you’ll find theKing’s Head, a pub little in statue but large incharity fundraising circles. Since Graham and

Julie Perkins took over the running of this excellent pub a couple of years ago they haveraised over £3,500 for good causes. MacmillanCancer Support and the Whitefriars care homehave both benefited from the pub’s help. Superbreal ale is always available.

The Millstone is a pub that appears to beoffering a valuable winter service to localpensioners. Pub owner John Conaghan isoffering any OAP a bowl of soup and a roll freeof charge; they don’t even have to buy a drink.Mr Conaghan said ‘we just thought it was a nicegesture for the winter months’. Quite right too.

Other Stamford NewsWe would like to welcome James Smith as thenew landlord of the Bull & Swan who took overin October with his mum Maria. We wish themluck with their new venture.

The Daniel Lambert is now to become a shop.It's a sign of the times and pubs are strugglingas we know, but this ends a piece of history inthe town. Originally called the Three Tuns theplace was originally set up as a direct result ofthe 1830 Beer Act, an act that allowed anyratepayer to open a beerhouse. It changed itsname in 1876 to the Reindeer before becomingthe Daniel Lambert in 1983. There have been

Pub News

www.real-ale.org.uk

8 | Pub News

The Bull and Swan, Stamford


seven pubs in St Leonard’s Street at one time oranother, and now we have none. As many willknow, it wasn’t the first pub in the town to benamed after the big lad from Leicester, an earlierone being close to the Bull & Swan.

The London Inn, Black Bull and the Hole inthe Wall are still closed at the time of writing,the latter two will probably reopen after a shortwhile I suspect. The London Inn is howeverawaiting a massive refurbishment which will takea while. Owned by the same bloke who owns theCentral Night Club, it will have a restaurant, barand probably a night club upstairs but its earlydays yet so plans may still change.

Outside of StamfordThe Oak in Easton on the Hill has beenearmarked for conversion to a private house.There is another very good pub in the villagecalled the Blue Bell and Mick Thurlby iscurrently waving his magic wand around theExeter Arms which has been closed for years.

A Fenland TownThe town of March gets an occasional mentionin these pages mainly due to Eric, our man onthe scene. Our intrepid reporter always saysgood things about the King William IV so I

thought I’d just mention that their Tim Taylor'sLandlord is among the best in the area and ifyou need a nice, good value meal then this is theplace.

The Ship, a Greene King pub on the river in thetown centre has closed again. There aremumblings that it won’t reopen but never saynever as they say. It’s a tiny place but ideallysituated and as a well run free house it could bea winner. The Hammer & Anvil has opened andclosed more times than my wallet on a teenagedaughter’s shopping trip! They tell me now thatthe place has finally been sold and will reopen asa free house. I await further developments withinterest. The Acre just off the High Street has anew lady behind the bar in the form of HeatherFossey, who was previously at the Seven Starsat the far end of town. While in town you shouldcontinue to visit the Rose & Crown where a finepint will be assured as usual.

Werrington's good fortuneThe residents near to the Werrington Centreawait with eager anticipation, for the Tescojuggernaught to descend upon them anddemolish their local store and replace it withsomething unfeasibly large and hideous. But asthe steam roller of progress seems to have hit apot hole in the road and shuddered to a haltthey will have to wait a bit longer. The goodnews here though is that the Ploughman hashad a reprieve. For those of you not ‘in theknow’ allow me to enlighten you as to what is on

www.real-ale.org.uk

Pub News | 9

Continued Overleaf

King William IV in March

London Inn, Stamford



offer in this unassuming boozer. Run by expertlicensees Andy and Stuart Simmonds it is ahaven for the world weary shopper who fanciessome rather good ale. The pub is now free of tieand Andy is a keen enthusiast, and with hisnewly acquired LocAle kit firmly in his hand he’ssupplying exactly what the customer ordered. 3ales are on offer with Oakham featuring promi-nently but not exclusively and with plans to get5 up and running soon it looks like super newsfor those of us who don’t live that far away! As Ispoke to Andy he let it slip that a real cider willbe on offer more often than not, so for peoplewho prefer their tipple to have pips in, it mightbe worth a look. We all like a bit of activity withour beer and Andy is no different so he’d like toinvite prospective darts, dominoes, pool and cribplayers to the pub with the aim of formingteams. The pub has a function room which isavailable at reasonable rates. So, on behalf of thelocal CAMRA branch I’d like to extend our bestwishes to Andy and Stuart and hope they dowell, which I’m sure they will. Contact the pubon 01733 327696

Other Pub StuffThe village of Yaxley has a pub down at thebottom of the hill called the Duck & Drakewhich for sometime has been a bit neglected orso they say. News that local man David Raynerhas bought the place, done a bit of a makeoverand installed 5 real ales is very welcome. At thetime of writing details were a bit thin on theground but it sounds like a bit of good news forthe village.

The Windmill in Orton is now open and doingwell after five weeks of refurbishment. The newowner Steve Haslam has more plans for the pubincluding an adventure playground for thesummer and possibly an outdoor cinema! Realale is on offer but as to what it is or how much itis I have yet to find out.

Pubby SnippetsThe Moorhen in Hampton is 1 year old.

The Cock Inn in Werrington reopens after beingclosed for four months

Steve Burge, previously of the Elmtree Tavern inDogsthorpe has returned to the Bell in Sawtryand is looking for local bands to perform.

The Greyhound in Eye Green is now an Indianrestaurant.

The Verve pub, ex White Lion ex Lion is nowowned by Prezzo and they will be converting itto a Mexican restaurant.

Pub chain Wetherspoons are looking to openmore pubs in and around the city. Whether thevacant and semi derelict George in Whittlesey ispart of their plans is anyone's guess.

Ramsey Forty Foot, a bit out of the way butworth the tripNot so long ago The George at Ramsey FortyFoot was on the very edge of closure. Theowners were looking for a new couple to take itover and no-one seemed to be in the least bitinterested. It appeared that The George wouldgo down in history as just another pub that hadgone to the wall. It reached a stage when it wasno longer a pleasure to use, the beer wasmediocre, there was no atmosphere and thecustomers were there just because they felt ittheir duty - then along came Steve and JanetUpex, and now it would be a challenge to recog-

nise the place! Steve & Janet have transformedit into a vibrant and busy pub that is a pleasureto go into. They have a range of ales thatchanges regularly, and so it’s always worthputting your head around the door to find outwhat's on the pumps. They have developed amenu of good wholesome food which is alsoproving popular, and all of this in such a veryshort time.

www.real-ale.org.uk

Pub News continued | 11

Continued Overleaf

)“The pub is now a popularplace that is alive, warm and inviting as a good localshould be”(


The pub is now a popular place that is alive,warm and inviting as a good local should be,and people who would never have been seen inthe place can be seen beating a path to its door.Give the George a visit when in the area, and ifyou’re not then take a detour.

Oakham in RutlandshireEngland’s smallest county looks to have manythings going for it not least the town ofOakham.

I’d like to thank Jason Faulkner the landlord ofThe Merry Monk in Church Street for lettingus know that we may be missing somethinggood in town. The Monk now has two ales ontap with JHB on permanently. James suggested Ihave a look at their Facebook page which I didand found a pub that has a good local followingwith over 200 people in their particular group.On Thursday you can get a homemade pie anda pint for under £7 but food is served Tuesdaysonwards, lunchtimes and early evenings. Thereis regular live music and I like the idea thatJames describes the place as ‘probably the bestpub in the world’ so those who disagree willhave to visit and prove James otherwise! Have alook on Facebook under the heading of TheMerry Monk, Oakham and see for yourself. Yousee landlords, it’s not difficult to get yourself aweb presence or a mention in these pages, justan email to say hello is a good start.

From the best pub in the world to the best pubin the universe - the Grainstore Brewery - abrewpub situated so close to the railway stationit should have its own ticket office. Most of usknow about their beers and drink them whenthey’re to hand, favourites of mine being theRutland Panther and the Ten Fifty, the latterreminding me of a long gone beer that was madelocally until the 1990’s. What I didn't know wasthat the bar staff like to do their bit for charity.A cutting from the Stamford Mercury showedthat barman Rick Pheonix revealed slightlymore than usual, for a calendar! The ideabehind such things was no doubt inspired bythe WI calendar some years ago which spawned

a film about the idea. So if you like the idea ofthe Rutland & Leicester Calendar Boys 2010 tohang on your kitchen wall then you canpurchase one in the Grainstore. You might needa couple of pints of Ten Fifty to get you over thenakedness perhaps...

A pattern emergesOK, there may be a theme to this part of thepub news but I’d like to give the regulars of theHonest John in Chatteris a mention. In orderto raise money for the town’s Christmas LightsFund the loyal, brave and photogenic customersof the pub bared all for...you’ve guessed it, acalendar. The pub has raised money for theLights Fund in previous years but this was thefirst time they have resorted to disrobement infront of the lens. Well done brave souls.

This idea of stripping off in the name of a goodcause probably has some mileage in it. Is it timethat our CAMRA branch took up the challengeand produced something in a similar vein?Perhaps we could do something for the RNLI atthe beer festival with members of theCommittee draped over an Atlantic Class rescueboat semi clad in wet weather gear! Admittedlysome of the Committee could be mistaken forlife buoys and that soft focus would have to bepretty bloody soft to obscure what father timehas made less palatable to the viewing public!

Your ideas as usual on a postcard or why notjoin my Facebook Peterborough Pubs Groupand leave photos, messages, views and rants!Steve Williams

www.real-ale.org.uk

12 | Pub News continued

Honest John in Chatteris


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Please support our advertisers | 13

The

Pheasant

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Sun 12-11pm

Lunchtime specialsserved Monday to Friday

12-2pm Great food at great prices Also available during Early Bird

Monday to Friday 6-7pm

Winter Warmer - the £5 plate - tasty and filling Monday to Friday lunch and early evening

Saturday food Noon – 9pm

1 Main Road, Etton, Peterborough PE6 7DA Tel 01733 252387Email [email protected] Web www.thegoldenpheasant.net

GOLDEN

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3 Real Ales

What’s On:Valentine’s Party in the Marquee Saturday 13th

Live Music with band ‘NIGHTGAMES’- hot buffet £15 per head -

book ten places get one free!

In the pub - Dinner for two, seated and unplugged guitarist, special menu

St Patrick's Day party in the marquee Saturday 13th March - Please ring for more information

Easter 2010Four Day Beer Festival

Traditional Town Centre Pub with a Warm Welcome!

5 REAL ALES + CIDERIncluding Wherry, Bombardier, Abbot,

London Pride and an ever-changing guest beer

Real Inglenook Fire

Pub games including Crib, Dominoes and Darts

Good sized Car Park. Heated smoking shelter

March 17th - St Patrick’s Day Special drink offers + food

Acoustic music Club every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month – all welcome!

The Jolly Sailor, 43 Great Whyte, Ramsey PE26 1HHTel 01487 813388

Open all day everyday from 11 am


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BEER FESTIVAL Wed 24th March to Sun 28th March

Over 20 Real Ales


20 years agoBoddington sold its brewing operations toWhitbread, well known for taking over and closingbreweries. However the Strangeways Brewerysurvived for another 15 years before InBev, who hadbought Whitbread, pulled the plug.

We were worried that we may not have been able tohold the 13th Peterborough Beer Festival as theWirrina was earmarked for demolition to make wayfor a hotel.

David Murray took over as editor of BAE fromDerek Gibson who had been editor since issue onein 1985.

15 years agoBAE carried articles about the use of swan-neckhandpumps, plastic sparklers, smoothflow beers,“draught” beer in a can, keg fonts made to look likeproper handpulls and a helpful article called “Beerfor Beginners”.

10 years agoTwo local breweries were celebrating. Oakham Aleswere presented with the gold medal in the bitterclass and the silver as overall Champion Beer ofBritain with JHB. Elgoods were presented with thesilver medal for Black Dog in the mild class. BlackDog has also been chosen as overall champion beerat Peterborough Beer Festival for the second time.On the down side, Deeping Ales ceased tradingafter just two years in business.

Greene King decided to close Morland’s AbingdonBrewery, Shepherd Neame subjected King &Barnes to a hostile takeover bid and Punch Taverns decided to close the in-house breweries at24 Firkin Pubs.

BAE Gones

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BAE Gones| 15

GEORGE INNOUNDLE - 01832 272324

COUNTRY PUB ON THE EDGE OF TOWNOffering a selection of real ales, including local ales,fine wines and a good selection of lagers and ciders.

FOOD IS SERVED LUNCHTIMES AND EVENINGS(except Sunday evening and Monday)

All food is cooked fresh to order on the premises usinglocally sourced products.

Sunday lunch is carvery time where there is a slection of 3 roasts and 8 vegetables

Tuesday to Saturday 2 dine for £10

We have a large car park and there is a large decked areawhere you can enjoy al fresco dining, bbqs and live music.

Our speciality is the black rock grill where you cook yoursteaks etc. on a superheated granite rock the way you like it.

We also cater for weddings, Birthdays and otherfunctions so give us a call or pop on down to be

assured of a warm welcome.


Hello readers, and welcome to the firstin a series of special features highlighting all that is good in the

world of real ale in the various parts of ourbranch. These articles are compiled as a jointeffort between the BAE production team ofDan, Chris & Bram and the LocAle officerJohn Rice, along with a few local members forsupport. In each issue we shall visit a differentlocation and call in on a selection of licensees,so if you would like us to come and see youwhen we are in town, please drop us a line.

The wonderful Georgian town of Stamford inthe South-West corner of Lincolnshire is hometo a fantastic selection of pubs, with some-thing to suit everyone’s taste andrequirements, so this seemed like as good aplace to start as any. The main problem is thatStamford has just a few too many decent pubsin such a small town to be able to visit themall, so apologies in advance for those we didn’t

get the chance to call in on during our trip ona very cold snowbound Friday at the beginningof January.

The advance scouting party of Dan & Chrisdecided to check out a few establishments onthe south of town and meet up with the restof us later, so I’ll hand over...

The rear entrance to the George Hotel (whichis the nearest entrance from the station) waslined with christmas trees covered in twinklinglights. Combined with the recent snowfall, thiscenturies-old hotel was a perfect setting tostart a Friday reviewing some of the real alepubs of Stamford.Directly by the back doors there is a comfort-able and covered outdoor seating area withseveral large outdoor heaters, perfect forweather hardened smokers. After entering thehotel we went straight to the pannelled andcosy front bar. This oak-beamed room has alovely real fire and period fixtures and fittingsin keeping with the historical feel of the establishment. Roger the barman had two realales on offer from Adnams and GrainstoreBrewery. Roger told me the regulars enjoy thesetwo breweries range of ales so they rarely change.

Spotlight o

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16 | Stamford Ale review

The Bull and Swan


The next port of call was the Bull and Swan onthe high street, easily found by leaving theGeorge Hotel by the front entrance, turningright and walking up for about 100 yards andcrossing over the road. Taken over inSeptember by mother and son, Marie andJames Smith, the Bull and Swan is a lovelystone building with three separate rooms, eachwith its own fireplace, two of which were lit onarrival creating another lovely warm place toenjoy a leisurely hour or two with a book and apint or two! Although the establishment isPunch owned, Marie had managed to negotiatea free-of-tie arrangement and hopes to bestocking a selection of LocAles shortly. At ourvisit the range consisted of Adnams Bitter (ingood condition), Abbot and Ruddles.

After a swift pint Chris and I moved onthrough the snow walking like Hercule Poirot(why does everyone walking on snow and ice inthis country do this?) to The Otters Pocket onAll Saints Street. Run by a father and sonteam for the past six years. The junior of thefamily, Justin Wilson, balances this with the‘day job’ as a pilot for a civil airline. The pubhas a big following among the sporting frater-nity (the Wilson’s are keen fans of Liverpool FC),and has six handpumps on at all times. On ourvisit the standard fixtures, London Pride, JHB(on good form), Bishops Farewell and BlackSheep were supplemented by guests, CottageBroadgauge and Phipps IPA. Justin has plans toextend the pub with a view to putting on livemusic events in the future.

Here Chris and I join Bram and the rest of thegang, over to you Ed...

What with the price of tickets and the unrelia-bility of the trains during the freezing coldweather, the bulk of the party decided to travelin the convenience of a warm taxi, arriving atthe Green Man pub in Scotgate shortly afternoon. As always, an excellent range of sevenbeers, plus a selection of ciders, perries andbottled beers were on offer. We each managedto sample a few halves while chatting to theguv’nor, Tony Shilling, who was his usual jovialself. We had almost persuaded him to buy around by the time Dan & Tony’s brother Chrisjoined us, but by then time was pressing so wemade our way via the rear entrance and a shortstroll to our next port of call, the Hit or Miss,which we had chosen to be the first victims ofanother new feature ‘Behind Bars’ on page 23.The Hit or Miss is at the top of Foundry

Road, and each year they co-host a beerfestival in October with t’pub at the bottom of the hill and our next port of call, the JollyBrewer. Having won so many awards in recentyears for completely reviving the fortunes of aonce neglected pub, we were all in a hurry to

www.real-ale.org.uk

17

The wonderful Georgian town of Stamford in the

South-West corner ofLincolnshire is home to afantastic selection of pubs(

t on Stamford

Continued overleaf

)Some of the team at the Green Man, Scotgate


4

5

6

7

see mine hosts Dean & Gill once again, whichwas just as well as most of us got in a spot ofrapid skiing practice in navigating the sharpness of the hill !

The first thing that greets you as you enter thepub is the warmth from the coal fire situatedabout twenty feet from the door, and the cold-ness of the British winter is instantly forgotten.Amazing the effect a real fire can have onpeople, as the pub was very busy for alunchtime! Once again, an excellent choice of five ales to salivate over, including Sharp’sDoom Bar Bitter which is one of the twopermanent beers, the other being JHB. Wealso chose to have our food stop here, andmost of us went for the pasta with chicken &peppers at a very reasonable £6 a head. (I hadthe ricotta and spinach crepé and it was very goodfor the vegetarians out there! - Dan).Regrettably, we had to leave our Branch Pubof the Year 2009 and make the short 5 minutewalk to our newly elected 2010 winner, MamaLiz’s Soul Food Shack on North St.

I mentioned in the preamble about Stamfordhaving such a wide variety of good drinkingestablishments, and you would have thoughtby now that every avenue had been exploredand every corner covered – and then alongcomes Mama Liz. Many outlets that sell goodale have diversified over the years toaccommodate either live music, orgood food. In this instance the decisionto open a venue specifically to promotelive music and good wholesome food, inconjunction with selling an excellent selec-tion of locally sourced real ales has reallycaught the imagination. Barely a year oldand already our branch POTY – what anaccolade!We were warmly greeted, and immedi-ately offered refreshments that yourstruly had to decline as I still hadn’tworked off the pasta from a few minutesago! Beers from Oakham; Tydd Steam; NewbyWyke and Digfield are regularly on offer and the latter’s seasonal offering, Merrie Monk, was infine form on our visit.

Continued overleaf

Ales on Offer at Mama Liz’s


1

2

3

7

8

9

10

Key:1 - George Hotel

2 - Bull and Swan

3 - Otters Pocket

4 - Green Man

5 - Hit or Miss

6 - Jolly Brewer

7 - Mama Liz

8 - Dolphin

9 - Tobie Norris

10 - Kings Head


There are several distinct drinking areas atMama’s including a spacious cellar bar wheremost live acts perform, such that otherdrinkers and diners are not forced to experienceloud music at levels uncomfortable enough tomar their enjoyment. An excellent anddeserved winner, and I for one will be visitingon a regular basis.

By now, our hastily scribbled timetable hadbeen consigned to the bin, and with just anhour before our carriage was due to return ushome, we still had three more establishmentsto pay a quick call upon.

The Dolphin is barely a stone’s throw alongNorth St from Mama’s so it would have beenrude not to have called in to say hello. Wellkept Charles Wells ales are the order of theday, and they also offer a decent food menu at very reasonable prices. After a quick half, we navigated the narrow passageways and back streets until we arrived in Maiden Lane, just off High St towards the end of the shopping precinct.

The Kings Head has only recently reopened,and is now another fantastic friendly andwelcoming pub on the circuit. The beers arepredominantly Greene King plus a couple ofguests, and the Woodfordes Wherry I had wasexcellent, even if just a tad pricey. The localsquickly made us feel at home and I can see abig future for this pub, where the customeralways comes first.

Our final stop was at the Tobie Norris, ourbranch 2008 POTY, and at 6pm on a Fridaynight, they were packed in there like sardines.We appreciated how busy they were, so justmanaged to grab a quick drink and say hellobefore we were being whisked away back toPeterborough.

Once again, apologies to all those fantasticestablishments close to the centre we didn’tget a chance to visit this time around, but restassured, you haven’t been forgotten, and wewill be back!

The next edition of BAE willfeature the pubs of Bourne. Ifyou would like the team tocome and visit you on oursurvey trip in March, thenplease get in touch with us byemail.

CheersBram, Dan, Chris & John

www.real-ale.org.uk

20 | Stamford Ale review continued

Dean and Gill of the Jolly Brewer

Kings Head, inside and out


www.real-ale.org.uk


THE GREEN MAN29 Scotgate, Stamford 01780 753598

Established in 1796 as one of the ORIGINAL Stamford AleHouses - Providing Accommodation, Lunch Time Meals,Minimum of SIX Real Ales and SIX Real Ciders

Real Ales from mainly small microbrewers and independents, a range of European beers and twenty Belgian bottled beers.

OPEN ALL DAY EVERY DAYfrom 11am until Midnight (from 12 noon Sunday)

Lunchtime food 12.00 - 2.30pm Monday, Friday, Saturday -

sandwiches available Tuesday to Thursday

EASTER BEER FESTIVALFriday 2nd April – Monday 5th April

FOUR

TEEN YE

ARS I

N

THE G

OOD BEER

GUIDE!

We Support

Home cooked food

Live Football

Live Music Saturday nights

Quiz every Sunday

Milking NookFriendly ‘Home from Home’ pub with well kept Real Ales at sensible prices!

REAL ALES including an Oakham Ale on at alltimes plus a changing Guest Ale JUST £2.40!!

‘Happy Hour’ special prices on Lagers, Cidersand ‘Smooth’ (Mon-Sat 4pm-7pm)

Open:Mon-Fri 4 -11pm; Sat 12 -1am; Sun 12 - 11pmFood: Weds/Thurs/Fri 5pm-8pm;

Sat/Sun 1pm-5pm

Milking Nook, Werrington, Peterborough PE6 7PP

Tel 01733 811953



Darren and Bex havebeen at the Hit orMiss for 3 years

now, taking the pub from anoccasionally trading pub to athriving community local,

offering everything a good pub should.

With over 20 years in the trade between themthey have used their extensive knowledge to raisethe fortunes of the Oldest Pub outside of thetown wall. They now have 5 darts teams a poolteam and a pushpenny team, all of which are thelife blood of ‘The Hit or Miss’. The pub nowoffers a selection of cask ales from Batemans aswell as a regular LocAle from the NBC (Grainstore,Oakham). The reason Darren is in the trade inbecause of his passion for Real Ale and thepeace and quiet that his cellar affords him. Bex isthe pubs chef and offers the town’s onlyspecialist sausage only menu.

Darren and Bex are keen marketers of their puband use all forms of modern media to communi-cate with their customers, having a pub website,myspace and facebook groups as well as an emailmailing list.

Darren came to the industry 10 years ago in amad panic when the pub he called his localclosed down, after a few phone calls toEnterprise and the reassurance from Bex (whohas been in the trade since leaving school) thathe could do it and a big fat cheque to the PubCo, they opened their first pub. A baptism of fireis an understatement, but grit and determinationmade the pub a success. As the Pub Coincreased rents and beer rates it soon becameclear that they needed to move on.

The next move was for them to take over thestewardship of Peterborough Milton Golf Club.After 4 years at Milton the call of the publicbecame to strong and they negotiated a deal withBatemans and took over the Hitter.

Winning the Stamford Mercury’s ‘Pub of the Year’2008 as well as Batemans awards for ‘cellarmanagement’, ‘Beautiful beer’ and ‘best pubwebsite’, Darren and Bex continue to strive forimprovement in the pubs fortunes and have builtup a customer base of loyal locals who cross townto enjoy all that The Hit or Miss has to offer.

Another of the couple’s interests is live music, so you can now see and hear some of the bestlive pub bands in the area every Friday night,with music styles ranging from Folk, Rock ‘n’Roll, Jazz to Classic Rock and Heavy Metal.With a large number of musicians using the pubit is not unusual for Darren’s guitar to be pickedup and a mini jam session begins!

Sometimes known as the UN-PC Landlord,Darren is one for saying at he sees it! Althoughnever offensive he can be quite outspoken, whichmakes for regular light-hearted debate with likeminded customers, some of who have startedthe ‘Hitters Victor Meldrew Appreciation Society’who meet regularly to argue for the sake of it!

Darren also writes the regular Sunday night quiz,which like everything else the couple do is clearlyaimed at having fun, so not to hard but a bloodygood laugh! The regular quiz goers came up withthe pubs T-shirt design for this year, ‘I took mygirlfriend up the Hitter....... and she loved it’. As I said not the most PC pub in town, but agreat place for people who enjoy great beer, ingreat company and who love to laugh!

The Hit or Miss, Stamford

www.real-ale.org.uk

Behind Bars | 23


www.real-ale.org.uk


Incorporating East Restaurant Thai and Pan Asian cuisine

Art and Soul Live Nights (Free Entry)

Saturday 6th February Acoustic music from 9pmfollowed by The Whisky Jaxs and True Beat

Saturday 6th March Acoustic music from 9 pmfollowed by The Rich Hall Band and Siren

Saturday 3rd April Acoustic music from 9pm Bands TBC.

Easter Beer FestivalThursday 1st toMonday 5th April

30+ Real Ales, Ciders & PerriesGreat Selection of bottled Belgian

& Continental Beers

Pan Asian Cuisine

Town Bridge, Peterborough | Tel / Fax: 01733 315700 Email: [email protected] | www.oakhamales.com

The perfect riverside setting to meet, eat, drink and enjoy

SEASONAL ALESThin Ice 4.7% Jan/Feb Old Wagg 4.0% March/April

Double Swan 4.5% May/June Mad Dog 4.4% July/AugBarleymead 4.8% Sept/Oct Old Black Shuck 4.5% NovSnickalmas 5.0% Wenceslas Winter Warmer 7.5% Dec

North Brink Brewery, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire Tel: 01945 583160

Available all year round:

Cambridge Bitter 3.8%Gold Award

Champion Bitter of Britain 2006


For those of you who wonder why The Ostrich gets more coverage in thiscolumn than other venue, the answer’s

quite simple. Jacqui the Landlady alwaysprovides me with a list of bands that she’sputting on and anyone else wanting a mention iswelcome to follow the instructions at the foot ofthe page.

In the meantime, allow me to remind you thatThe Ostrich, North Street has live music everyFriday and Saturday from 8.30 pm. Admission isfree and highlights include; The Lloyd WatsonBand – February 12, Citizen Smith – February27, Dr A’s Blues Consortium – March 6, MightyQuinn – March 26 and a special appearancefrom Chelle Dean on February 6.

If you fancy some mid-week entertainment, thena visit to The Crown Inn, Elton should beenough to satisfy your appetite. They hold Irishmusic nights every second Thursday and anOpen Mic Night the first Monday of the month.Hosted by John Stokes and starting at 8.30pm,participants just need their instrument as thesound equipment is already set up.

With its own brewery, regular blues nights and awelcoming pub that is The Prince of WalesFeathers, Castor has the ethos of this columnin spades. While supping on a pint of SereneNene or Castor Oil, you can take in the delightsof “the Feathers” who host Porky Pig onFebruary 13, Feet to the Fire - February 27 andFrankly My Dear on March 13.

Robert Penn and Dwight Edwards play onFebruary 26 and March 26, respectively - atStamford Arts Centre with more information atwww.stamfordartscentre.com

Talking of Stamford, The Hit or Miss, FoundryRoad has a packed programme for the monthsahead. Live music comes from Shadows tribute

Del Boyd on February 5, Oak – February 19,The Road Crew – February 26, Feet to the Fire– March 5, Skroo Loose – March 6, Laughton’sLast Stand – March 12. Slide to Open – March19, Short Notice – March 20, Twenty4 – March26 and The Dogs on March 27th. For those ofyou who like a little bit of ritual humiliation,there’s also Karaoke on February 12.

Any promoters, venues or bands wanting to befeatured in the April /May edition should sendtheir details to [email protected], beforeFebruary 27.

Simon Stabler

Rhythm & Booze

www.real-ale.org.uk

Rhythm and Booze | 25

NEW HOME OF CASTOR ALES details at:www.princeofwalesfeathers.co.uk

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

Homecooked food served every lunchtime.

BEER FESTIVAL May 7th-11th30+ Beers and Real Ciders plus Live Music

The Prince of Wales Feathers

Castor, Peterborough Tel: 01733 380222

© M

ick Slaug

hter 200

9


Recently, after several years of suspectingbut ignoring the symptoms, I havegone to the doctors and been

diagnosed with Wheat Gluten intolerance.

This is a particular pain in the arse as asidefrom being a lover of all things bready...I alsohappen to be the publisher of dozens ofCAMRA beery based publications. This labourof love inevitably leads to many beer festivalvisits and pub reviews around the UK.

How, I now ask myself, am I to survive! Notonly without my favorite alcoholic beverage inthe entire world but also the ability to mix workand pleasure - its going to be quite hard todiscuss the merits of a selection of pubs in areviewing article, whilst whacked out my mindon several glasses of house plonk which I mustconsume as every other reviewer sups the ale ineach hostelry on the review trip.

After going on several Gluten Intolerant forums I see pub socialising is big issue amongst fellowsufferers, many ex-beer drinkers find it hardwork in a pub environment to avoid their once-favourite tipple so stay away entirely.

It does seem that all is not lost though asseveral micro breweries have seen this gap in themarket and started to produce Gluten FreeAles, many are available in bottled and caskform so hopefully with a bit of persuasion mylocal pubs will start stocking me a gluten freeoffering.

Here are the current findings of my research. As I am tentitively feeling my way in this subject,it would be interesting to know if there are anyfellow ‘GI’s’ out there reading this magazine whoknow of a pub locally which stocks Gluten FreeAle or, who have a particular favourite which Ishould hunt out - let me know, contact detailsare at the end of this article.

Main CAMRA website.www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=glutenfreebeersThis lists a selection of breweries producingWheat Gluten Free beer, the list also includescontact details and tasting notes.

Hambleton Aleswww.hambletonales.co.uk/gfa.htmThis breweries website says they offer two ales -GFA at 4.8% and GFL at 5.2%There is a list of several stockists dotted aroundthe North which isn’t much help here inPeterborough BUT they do have a homeordering facility - might be worth a try and thenask the local to stock it.

Greenswww.glutenfreebeers.co.uk/Producing their beers from pseudo-cerealsSorghum, Millet, Buckwheat and Brown Rice;Greens have distribution world wide in bottleform but I can’t find any reference to a cask

version being available. Bottles are available fromthe web site and larger orders available from theUK distributor 01274 714664 .

St Peters Brewerywww.stpetersbrewery.co.uk/range/BottledBeers.asp?CatID=1G-FreeTM - St Peters Gluten Free Beer - waslaunched in 2007 and seems to be stocked inmany farm shops and pubs throughout Suffolkand Norfolk. It says that Smiths of Oundlecurrently stock it too - can anyone in Oundle letme know if this is the case?

Overcoming intolerance

www.real-ale.org.uk

26 | Gluten Free Beer

(“many ex-beer drinkers find it hard work in a pub environment to avoid theironce- favourite tipple so stayaway entirely” )


Wold Top Brewerywww.woldtopbrewery.co.uk/speciality.htmlThis Yorkshire Coast based micro have startedbrewing ‘Against the Grain’ at 4.5%Voted the most ‘beer like’ by the CAMRA FineAle Club from a selection of Gluten Free ales.Again, this is available through the web site or ata selection of Yorkshire retailers.

Well, after an hour’s browsing on the web it doesseem there is a selection of Gluten Free beersout there, only problems are I will have to go ona bit of a journey to drink one in the pub, or Ineed to order a case and sit at home - which isnot the point is it really?!

For the next issue of BAE I hope review a selection of the available beers and feature a pubin Peterborough which would like to trial a glutenfree beer.

Again, it would be good to hear from any BAEbeer lovers with the same issues, or pubs whichcurrently stock a Gluten Free offering. Contactme at [email protected].

Now, i’m off to bake a rye brick...I mean loaf. If it’s too hard I’ll soak it in wine to soften it up.Bye for now.

Daniel Speed

www.real-ale.org.uk

)

The unanimous winner of the ‘Pub Names forthe Modern Age’ competition we set in BAE149was Jim Martin, examples of his work featured inthe last issue. Jim wins a copy of the 2010 GoodBeer Guide.

In our 150th celebration edition, I compiled ashort story based loosely around the ‘FamousFive’ and challenged you to find the hidden breweries past & present that were hidden in thetext. I purposely inserted 80 different breweriesinto the story but realised there may have beenone or two that I had unintentionally included......Full marks then go to Jon Dewhirst who musthave spent his entire Christmas break ploughingthrough his beer history books to send me a listwith 116 acceptable answers! John Norman ofIpswich was runner-up with 67, and if you twogentlemen would care to get in contact with me I will arrange for your prizes to be despatched toyou. I also received commendable entries fromNigel Halton (62) and Adrian Mellow of BradfordBranch with 45. It’s very nice to know that BeerAround ‘Ere is enjoyed in many distant parts ofthe country.

I will set another competition in the next issue,but in the meantime you may wish to concen-trate your artistic efforts on designing a logo forthe next Peterborough Beer Festival in August?Designs should ideally use no more than 4colours; bearing in mind the final design will beused on glassware; T-shirts and promotionalmaterial. There is a generous cash prize for thewinning logo design.

Competition Winners


www.real-ale.org.uk


01778 347190 48 King Street, West Deeping

Book now for a fantasticValentines Day Dinner

free hand-made chocolates made by our own chef

Food served 7 days a weekPensioners Lunch - £6.00 for two courses

Monday - FridayEarly Bird Menu - £6.00 for a main course

6-7pm Monday to FridaySaturday and Sunday open all day for foodSunday - All DAY ROAST plus an additional

wide menu choice

Live Entertainment DiaryLive Entertainment Every Friday Night and a MeatRaffle / Karoake 1st Saturday in every month

Special Events:Monday 25th January - Burn’s Supper - toast the

Haggis with a free tot of whisky - featuring a Highland Piper Haggis, Tatties and Neeps - book now

for a great evening - starts at 8.00pm till late!

Saturday 30th January - Charity Race Night - FreeBuffet and a chance to win a few bob, some spot

prizes and raise some money for charity.

CAMRA GOLD AWARD WINNERFebruary Ales: Potbelly Crazy Daze

Abbeydale Absolution Newby Wyke 2nd RefitGrainstore Rutland Beast Thornbridge Jaipur

Meet your local Police team at the Red Lion -Monday, 8th Feb 10.00 - 12.00

Open Forum - free refreshments - Your opportunity to find out what your local Beat

Officer can do for you and what you can do for them

The Cambridge Blue

FESTIVAL OF WINTER ALES

WEDNESDAY 24TH TO SATURDAY 27TH FEBRUARY

50+ REAL ALES • HEATED MARQUEE IN THE GARDEN •

COME AND TRY A DARK WINTER WARMER!

Different Real Ales

sold from 17.10.07

1350

NEW Pub Opening HoursSun 12 - 10.30pm

Mon 12 - 2.30pm and 5 - 11pmTues - Sat 12 - 11pm

Food serviceMon - Fri 12 - 2, 6 - 10pmSat 12 - 4 and 6 - 10pmSun 12-4 and 6-9pm

85-87 Gwydir St Cambridge CB4 2BY01223 471680 www.the-Cambridgeblue.co.uk


So 2010 is upon us and the doom and gloompredicted for us all a year ago still lingers, sowhat can lift the spirits then? Well beer of

course and good beer at that, so who better to giveus their angle on what’s good for the year than thegood folk of Oakham Ales.

The four core beers remain but White Dwarf is nolonger an English wheat beer, but an English bitter.The high percentage of wheat in the beer has beenlowered to give the beer more consistency.

The six seasonal ales for 2010 are Tera (Queen ofthe Succubi) 4.2% abv for January & February;Chaos Engine 4.1% abv for March & April; Asylum4.5% abv for May & June; Endless Summer 3.4%abv for July & August; Akhenaten 4.9% abv forSeptember & October and finally Mompesson’sGold 5% abv for November and December.

Four specials will be available at different times ofthe year, Black Hole Porter, Oblivion, Attila and anew beer called Tranquility - a golden hop monsterat 6.5% abv. These beers will often have been agedin cask for several months for what brewer JohnBryan calls his vintage range.

The Oakademy of Excellence, a scheme for pubsthat sell at least one Oakham Ales beer on apermanent basis, and then have to pass a stringentbeer quality test, was set up in early 2009 with theaim of getting over a hundred pubs involved in thescheme. Membership of the scheme then gives thelicensee access to the Oakademy list of beersbrewed on the sparkling mini plant behind thelooking glass at the Brewery Tap.

The Oakademy beers for 2010 are as follows:January - Gravity 5.1%; February - Kaleidoscope4.7%; March - Nelson Sauvin 4.2%; April - 12Monkeys 4.8%; May - Midnight Mild 4%;

June - Chinook 4.2%; July - Beer Monster 4.8%;August - Red Neck 5.2%; September - Amarillo4.2%; October - 3 Witches 4.4%; November - Haka5.7% and December - Simcoe 4.2%. So some oldfavourites joined by 4 new single hop variety beers.

For further information on all the beers mentionedand details of the Oakademy scheme check on thebrewery website at www.oakhamales.com.Cheers, Dave Allett.

This Year’s Beers fromOakham Ales

News from Oakham Ales | 29

www.real-ale.org.uk

Oakham Ales are delighted to announce theappointment of Adrian Posnett to the newlycreated position of Sales and Marketing Director.Adrian brings with him a wealth of experiencehaving spent the last 17 years working as aRegional Director at national drinks distributorWaverleyTBS .

OAKHAM ALES APPOINTS NEW SALES& MARKETING DIRECTOR



www.real-ale.org.uk

The Jolly BrewerPeterborough & District

CAMRA Pub of the year 2009

• 5 real ales• Food served daily12-3pm Monday - Sunday6-9pm Friday & Saturday

t. 01780 755141 w. jollybrewer.com

Foundry Road, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 2PP

Lincolnshire CAMRA Pub Of The Year 2009

Pig n Falcon - St NeotsLIVE MUSICWED, FRI + SAT

3 large heated smoking areas

ALES TO DATE220

FROM 9/4/09

‘Rock and Ale’ every weekend with up to 16 Ales & cidersfrom £1.85 per pint as at January 2010

Open 10am (11am Sunday) til’ late Monday - Sunday!www.PignFalcon.co.uk

Tel 07951 785678 – New St, St Neots – PE19 1AE

Huntingdonshire CAMRA

MOST IMPROVED PUB OF THE YEAR

2010


Back inOctober Imade my

usual visit to work atthe Falmouth BeerFestival. With over 200 beers on offer it was pleasingto see 18 of our local beers on tap. Congratulationsmust go to Nobbys Brewery for winning ChampionBeer of the Festival with their Wild West Ale,although not one of our LocAle beers, it was deliv-ered with our beers. Other Award winners werePotbelly who picked up Gold for Beijing Black;Tydd Steam collected Silver for Barn Ale andDigfield Ales also won Silver for their IPA. Onceagain it was a well organised festival and althoughthere were more beers than before we still ran outbefore 10.00 Saturday night.

While there on Thursday which is Sponsors Night Ipresented Steve Skinner of Skinners Brewery withthe Silver Award for Cornish Knocker won atPeterborough Beer Festival 2009.

John Rice

Brewery Awardsin Falmouth

Terms & Conditions• The coupon is only valid when £25 or more is spent on food. The discount does not apply tospend on drinks. • The coupon is valid for food purchases only and cannot be exchanged forcash. • The coupon is valid until Sunday 28th March 2010 (excluding Dec 13th - Jan 3rd) • No party booking in excess of 8 people • The coupon cannot be used with any other promo-tion.

www.traditionalinns.co.uk


Letter to the Chairman

www.real-ale.org.uk

32 | Right to Reply


Chairman’s reply:

www.real-ale.org.uk


Mr. Morgan, you do not seem to have grasped thepoint of our Locale campaign in support of ourlocal brewers. This clearly states that the pub sellsa beer that is brewed within a thirty mile radiusfrom the pub – hence a locally brewed beer. Tocompare a small area of our region selling what isconsidered a very good local beer; with the ex-Watney empire is a ridiculous comparison. You mention in your letter competition. Whatbetter can you get than a locally brewed beersitting alongside larger regional or even nationallybrewed ale on the bar? It’s an undisputed fact thatall the pubs that have started to sell a locallybrewed beer together with their other brands,report an increase in sales overall in real ale. Surelyfrom a beer drinkers point of view that cannot bea bad result !

As you live in Oundle I suggest you explore therange of beers available within the town’s pubs.You may find to your surprise that they are not allDigfield brewed beers. I can qualify this commentas I’m a regular visitor to the town!David Murray - Branch chairman

Unique Brew Pub

Award winning Cask Ales

Authentic Thai Cuisine

‘Tap Room’ Function Suite available for Private Hire

Winner of the Good Pub Guide 2009‘Own Brew Pub of the Year’ award

Comedy Nights on Tap - Saturday 30th Jan Tickets now on sale - Hurry limited availability

- see our website for further details

80 Westgate, Peterborough Tel: 01733 358500For forthcoming events please visit our website www.oakhamales.com

Enjoy a warm welcome at this lovely traditionalvillage local

Three cask ales including Woodfordes Wherry, GK IPA and a higher gravity Changing Guest.

Good reasonably priced food served Lunch andEvenings Tuesday-Saturday

Traditional Sunday Lunch (12-4pm)Curry Night Tuesday

Home Made Fish & Chips in Beer Batter Friday nights

28-seat restaurant available for functions

Live entertainment Saturday nightsQuiz nights Monday

Open Mon 4.30-11pm, Tues-Thurs 12 noon-3pm and 4.30-11pm, Fri-Sun ALL DAY

Noon-Midnight

402 Eastrea Rd, Eastrea, Whittlesey PE7 2AR

Tel 01733 203333

The Nags Head at Eastrea


FEBRUARYSat 6th Heritage Pubs Trip by train toBeverley, contact Mick Slaughter forfurther details.Tue 16th Branch Committee Meeting,Brewery Tap, Westgate, 8:30pmSat 20th East Anglia Regional BranchMeeting, Brewery tap, Westgate, noon

MARCHMon 29th Branch Committee Meeting, Coal Heaver’s Arms, Park Street, 8:30pm

APRILFri 16th – Sun 18th CAMRA Members’Weekend held at Villa Marina, Isle of Man

Please contact Dave Murray for bookingsor further details, except where statedotherwise NB. The branch does notcurrently have a Social Secretary toorganise events such as brewery visits orcampaigning crawls. If you should like tobe considered for this role, please contactthe chairman.

Diary Dates

www.real-ale.org.uk

34 | Dates for your Diary

Selected Beer Festivals(CAMRA events are shown in bold)FEBRUARYThu 4th – Sat 6th9th Derby Twelfth Night Winter BeerFestival, Darwin Suite, Assembly Rooms,Market Place, Derby. Over 90 ales, checkwww.derbycamra.org.uk for further details

Weds 24th to Sat 27th The Cambridge Blue Festival of WinterAles, 85-87 Gwydir Street CB4 2BY. 50 plus winter warming ales. Check www.the-cabridgeblue.co.uk for furtherdetails.

Fri 26th & Sat 27th1st Chappel Winter Beer Festival, EastAnglian Railway Museum, Chappel &Wales Colne Railway Station, Chappel,about 60 ales. Check www.essex-camra.org.uk for further details

MARCHWed 10th – Sat 13thLeicester Beer Festival, The Charotar

Patidar Samaj, off St. Margaret's Way,Leicester, about 220 ales. Checkwww.camra.org.uk /leicester or the advertin this issue for further details

Thu 18th – Sat 20thBooze on the Ouse, St Neots BeerFestival, Priory Centre, Priory Lane, StNeots, over 50 ales. Checkwww.huntscamra.org.uk for further details

APRILWed 14th – Sat 17th34th Newcastle Beer Festival, StudentUnion, Kings Walk, Newcastle UponTyne, 115 ales. Checkwww.cannybevvy.co.uk for further details

Would any pub or organisation within ourbranch area that is planning a beer festivalduring 2010, please contact Chris Shilling orBram so that it can be added to the branchdiary for future reference. Thanks.


www.real-ale.org.uk


Ales always available

The Plough1 Jekil’s Bank, Holbeach St JohnsSpalding, Lincolnshire PE12 8RE

Tel: 01406 540654

132 Great Whyte, Ramsey PE26 1HS

Serving a selection of Real Ales:Abbot Ale, Wells Bombardier, Woodfordes Wherry and one

ever-changing guest ale.

Live MusicNow With Free WiFiLarge Beer Garden

01487 812597

Find us in the Good Beer Guide 2010


www.real-ale.org.uk

36 | Campaigning

Pub Merit Awards & Gold AwardsThe committee feel that pubs outside of Peterborough are missing out on Gold Awards and so theyhave introduced a new Merit Award for pubs that are continuously outstanding. If you know of a pubin our area that deserves a Merit Award or Gold Award then please complete the following form andsend it to our Secretary.

Pub name:

Pub address/town/village:

Reason for award:

Your name:

Your phone number or e-mail address:

Your membership number:


www.real-ale.org.uk


Freelance Magazine designer requiredTamoko Design has need of an experienced magazine layout artist to assist with several of ourCAMRA publications throughout the year.

Candidates need to be able to offer the following:

• At least one years experience of working withinthe magazine publishing industry

• Full home set up including Apple Mac andbroadband connection, QuarkXpress version 8 orabove, Adobe Acrobat Professional; AdobePhotoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

• Ability to work on their own after initial designbrief and templates are supplied.

In return we are able to offer a competitive pagerate and regular work throughout the year.

All enquiries and work examples to:[email protected]

Closing date for enquiries: March 25th 2010

Do you have Telesales experience and knowledge of the Licenced Trade?Shilling Media Services are looking for anAdvertisement Salesperson to sell space within aportfolio of publications including ‘Beer Around‘Ere’, the Peterborough Beer Festival Programmeand other CAMRA magazines.

If you’re a self starter and can combine a politebut confident telephone manner with an ability tothink quickly and creatively, we would be interested to hear from you.

Contact Chris Shilling on 01778 421550

Job Opportunities


www.real-ale.org.uk

38 | Branch Contacts

Branch CommitteeSecretary: Harry Morten49 St Margarets Road,Peterborough PE2 9EA01733 76429607900 05694008707 620848 (fax)[email protected]

Chairman: David Murray01733 [email protected]

Treasurer: Paul Beecham01733 31198107710 [email protected]

Vice Chair: Paul Brammer07922 [email protected]

Social Sec: Situation [email protected]

Pubs Officer: Steve Williams07802 [email protected]

Press Officer: Situation Vacant [email protected]

Young Members: Alix Botton07806 [email protected]

Membership: Daryl Ling01733 [email protected]

Festival Org: Mike Lane07850 [email protected]

LocAle Officer: John Rice07759 [email protected]

Beer Around ’EreEditor: Paul (Bram) Brammer07922 [email protected]

Distribution: David Murray(see Chairman on the left)

Advertising: Chris Shilling01778 [email protected]

Magazine & AdvertisingProduction: Daniel Speed0845 838 [email protected]

Postal Distr: Daryl Ling01733 235881

Brewery Liaison OfficersBlue Bell: John Hunt01406 330453Castor Ales: Mike Lane07850 334203Digfield: Paul Brammer07922 604988Elgoods: John Rice07759 342702Hopshackle: Noel Ryland07944 869656Melbourn: Lew Clayton01780 765063Oakham Ales: Dave Allett07966 344417Tydd Steam: John Hunt01706 330453Ufford Ales: Matt Mace07809 629241

Trading Standards08545 040506www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

Check out our new website at: www.real-ale.org.ukorwww.peterborough-camra.org.uk

The next issue of BAE will beavailable on: 26th MarchWe must have your stories,news and advertisements by: 5th MarchLate copy cannot be guaranteed entry.

Please contact Chris Shilling01778 421550/07736 635916/[email protected] all of your advertisingneeds.

Steve Williams [email protected] or07802 896641 is always lookingfor pub news.

Please send stories and othercopy to Bram (Paul Brammer) [email protected] 07922 604988

Beer Around ‘Ere is published by Peterborough &District Branch of CAMRA Copyright © 2010, TheCampaign for Real Ale Ltd.

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


A T HOLYOAK

PLUMBING & HEATING

CORGI REGISTERED

01733 208437

OR

07860 569389

192 STONALD ROAD

WHITTLESEY

THE SPINNINGWHEEL

BastonPopular Village Local

ServingTraditional Ales including Charles Wells Bombardier and Changing Guest Ales.

Traditional Food Tues-Sat (lunchtime + eves), Sunday LunchWeds is Pizza Night (eat in or takeaway),

Thurs is Steak & Rib Night

Quiz night every Monday • Poker Night every Wednesday

Open Microphone Night last Sunday of each month,

Six Nations Rugby shown here!Valentines Day Menu available* CALL FOR DETAILS *

4 Church St, Baston, Lincs PE6 9PETel 01778 560395

Email [email protected]


Great venue

for Valentines

weekend (Feb 13th/14th)

And Mother’s Day

(March 14th)


BAE 151

Documents

uk pub market

uk pub sector

camra iscalling

camra ispledging funds

pub market rulingcampaign

camra chief executive

tothe consumers

ofts decision