tippler FREE - Campaign for Real Ale · 2018-03-26 · The magazine of the Gloucestershire Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale contents: ©The Campaign for Real Ale 2018. Opinions

Spring 2018

FREE Please Take One

The magazine of the Gloucestershire Branches of the

Campaign for Real Ale

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The magazine of the Gloucestershire Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale

contents:©The Campaign for Real Ale 2018. Opinions expressed need not represent those of

CAMRA Ltd or its officials

We value feedback and news from around the county, so, if you’ve got something to say, want to make a contribution, compliment or criticise, then get in touch:

The Editor, The Tippler, 23 Theocs Close, Tewkesbury, Glos. GL20 [email protected]

01684 439767

Letters to the Editor page 4The Hunter’s Column page 8 Cheltenham News page 10North Cotswolds News page 14Tewkesbury News page 17Around the county - news page 22Locale - the pubs that count page 28Brewery News page 32

The Plough Inn at Ford page 36New! - Front Cover Competition page 38The Old Spot - 25 years page 40 Dodgy Ticker page 43 Ludlow in May page 45What’s Coming Up? page 48CAMRA contacts page 50Gloucester Prize Wordsearch page 54

www.gloucestershire.camra.org.uk

have you any pub news? More details are posted regularly on the Facebook group 'Gloucestershire Pubs', an ideal forum

to keep other people informed of the latest pub developments in the county.

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CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES:these have now changed to

SECOND FRIDAY OF FEBRUARY, MAY, AUGUST AND NOVEMBER

FRONT COVER: Members enjoying the Gloucester Beer Festival 2017- a perfect example of a front cover for the new Hillside Brewery photography competition.

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LETTERS to the

EDITOR

[email protected]

The Editor, The Tippler, 23 Theocs Close, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. GL20 5TX

Some of us old codgers are still happy to use the services of the Royal Mail, and we actively encourage all forms of (preferably printable!) communication. So get writing letters, sending emails and get your news, views and comments published!

www.gloucestershire.camra.org.uk4

Hi Chris,

My what a lot of correspondence in your last issue! Reminds me of the satirical magazine MAD where somebody wrote in suggesting that whoever wrote the letters should write the rest of the magazine. (You didn't write all those letters, did you?) Anyway, I agree with some of the letters that the Tippler is one of the best. Just for the record, Worcestershire's Pint Taken did have a rest, but is now back to its usual quarterly issue, starting with Winter.

Keep up the good work,

Dave RobsonWorcester

Chris replies:

Many thanks for the email. Amazing isn’t it? I was also a fan of the MAD magazine in the days before mobile phones, personal computers and a general lack of interest in the world except through a smartphone.

LETTERS to the

EDITOR

LETTERS to the EDITOR

www.gloucestershire.camra.org.uk 5

As it happens I didn’t write all those letters, although there are quite a few complimentary ones, including yours, so you could be forgiven for thinking I did. It is always rather pleasing to have correspondence from readers leaping to my defence, I would just say that my egomania isalive and well without help, but is, understandably,always bolstered by a bit of praise. I have seen the latest Pint Taken and it’s good to see its resurrection. Thanks for taking the time and trouble to write in.

Chris,

This is the second time within the past year that I have had to contact you about an inappropriate front cover picture of the Tippler. I believe that the front cover is very important as it draws the passing punter to the magazine. My reasons for this complaint are as follows:

a. It is a still for making gin and vodka and has nothing to do with beer b. The still is part of Ramsbury brewery which is not in Gloucestershire c. It relates to an article on page 27 (same picture used) which took place in 2016. I know, because I was there.

Not good enough. The front cover should always relate to a beer/pub issue in GLOUCESTERSHIRE. This is what I thought that the magazine was primarily about.

Martyn Genner

Chris replies:

Many thanks for the email, once again very constructive criticism, that I am pleased to take on board. I’m glad to see that you are so enthusiastic about the front cover, and I look forward to your contributions of front covers for the next magazine, indeed if you send me several, we could ensure that the quality that you expect is upheld for the benefit of the readership. If you could send me images in portrait format and as high a resolution as you can, I can make

sure that they arefeatured in future magazines. I must say I look forward to your contributions and excellent critical analysis and thank you for taking the time and trouble to write in. May I wish you the very best for the festive season and the new year.

Dear Sir,

Shrinking bladders, associated with advancing years, necessitate the quest for quality over quantity. What joyous times these are with such a wealth of wonderful old established and new real ales. In this world of vacuous politics and unspeakablepublished claptrap your little publication is one of unparalleled worth. May our overstretched medical and social servicesturn their thoughts from bladder extensions to helpingthose neglected ones who have turned, in their ignorance, to the chemical concoctions that squirt out of those tiny rows of little metal nozzles at inordi-nate speeds. Your well researched messages should be handed out on all street corners to help improve the lives of these poor wretches. Keep up the good work.

Adrian TrueCheltenham

Chris replies:

Many thanks for the letter and the excellent complimentary comments, always my favourite. Glad to hear that I am not too hectoring in my opinions, and they are finding favour, even if not medically qualified! We can only hope that the government even-tually comes to its senses and starts to forget Dry January, Stoptober and other silliness and concentrates on local pubs being the heart of communities, particularly in the wonderful rural landscape of Gloucestershireland. That way, fewer cases of isolation, crippling loneliness, anxiety and depression will need tablets! Keep sending the letters, they’re great for my unspeakable egotism.

LETTERS to the EDITORHere’s a letter that we like to think the whole of the county who are old enough can help.

Dear Editor,

My father, Richard Quinn, was an avid home brewer and member of CAMRA Cheltenham in the mid-to-late 70’s. He sadly passed away in December 1978, at the young age of 26, while my mother was pregnant with me. I would love to make contact with any CAMRA member that might remember him. I can be contacted at [email protected]. Thanks,

Russell Quinn

Chris Replies:

Many thanks for your email, that I have passed on to the webmaster for Gloucestershire CAMRA, who may be able to help you with your quest. I certainly hope that we can help you, and if you do get contacted, maybe we can follow the story in the magazine? Good luck, and may I wish you the very best for the festive season and the new year.

John Barrett, Webmaster, replies:

Russell, I was a founder committee member of Gloucestershire CAMRA in 1975, but regret that I do not remember your father. I will, however, ask others who were around at the time, and put a notice on the Gloucestershire website. Chris L – suggest you publish Russell’s letter in next Tippler. Chris M – please could you put a notice on the Cheltenham website.

Hi.

My name is Howard Claridge and I am an active member of the very small Forest of Dean branch of Gloucestershire CAMRA. I refer to the letter in the winter 2017 edition of the Tippler from Mr Burrows of Aberdare and

your response. I may be able to assist you, at least in part, with his queries. Like Mr Burrows, my wife and I are motorhome travellers, when we can find the time and, invariably,we overnight in pub car parks all over the UK. We locate these pubs by being a member of a national organisation called Britstops. They produce an annual yearbook of all participating pubs in the UK. This is updated live every month, so we know where we can stop overnight, almost always free of charge. The voluntary trade off being that we may have a meal there and we always drink there. The vast majority of pubs that we visit keep excellent quality ales with plenty of choice. Now for the difficult bit... As paid up members of Britstops we receive the yearbook annually. This shows all participating pubs and breweries which are numbered in the book and found by an annotated map organised in geographical areas. The ‘arrangement’ is, however, confidential between Britstop members and the pubs. There is no list as suggested by Mr Burrows. I would suggest that you speak to the Britstops yearbook editor, Steve Clark, and see if there is any mileage in some sort of common arrangement. His contacts are:

[email protected]

www.britstops.com

If I can be of any further help, don’t hesitate to contact me on

[email protected]

Chris replies:

Many thanks for the thoughtful and helpful email, that I will be including in the next edition of the magazine. It sounds like a great scheme for those that have an Odyssean outlook and travel this truly wonderful country. Many thanks indeed for taking the time and trouble to write in.


Hello, This is probably too late, but I picked up your brilliant magazine when visiting the Rose and Crown at Nympsfield with our family last Friday lunch time. Nice beer, we all enjoyed the burgers and puds, it was surprisingly busy with a good atmosphere, a real buzz. Why not come on Worcester, there are some nice pubs and microbreweries near where I live on the Worcestershire/Herefordshire border, especially the Unity Brew House next to the ancient Bruff hop processing machine (still working) at Suckley. By the way, my answer to your word search quiz is The Inn at Fosse Bridge Best wishes,

Carol Bradley

Chris Replies:

Many thanks for the complimentary email, I always appreciate those! Not too late at all, in fact the draw for the winners is held in March, when the next magazine comes out. I notice that Worcester CAMRA is once again producing a magazine, so you may want to try and pick up a copy of theirs, it’s called ‘Pint Taken’ and I am sure they would like to get some feedback from interested beer aficionados. So, well done for the answer and good luck in the draw. Once again, many thanks for taking the time and trouble to write in.


To find out about our design, advertising, sales and promotional literature services, and how we can help your local business

call Chris on 01684 [email protected]

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LETTERS to the EDITOR

7

THE

HUNTER’S

COLUMNOur intrepid hero wonders whether or not cleanliness really is next to godliness, or is it all mythological, spiritual and mystical,

here’s his report on...ADAM’’’’S ALE


God made Adam and Adam made ale. He must have made it in vast quantities as it now covers 71% of the earth’s surface. So much so that our planet should really be called Water, which is probably what fish call it. Considering that we all know Adam had an apple, it comes as a bit of a surprise that he is more known for his ale than for his cider. It would have seemed a more obvious choice. Choice and an apple, however, got Adam into big trouble and I mean big, big trouble. It doesn’t come much bigger. He was cursed, punished and then banished. Those Old Testament Gods didn’t mess about. In fact, if Adam hadn’t messed about in the first place, he wouldn’t have got into such a mess. He didn’t intend to. He was going to marry the girl but couldn’t find anybody to do the job and, of course, getting a witness was completely out of the question. They were all out flog-ging the Watchtower. Gods and ales have been linked for millennia, long before Adam was invented. He probably didn’t do the brewing anyway, because brewing was far too an important process to be left to the man of the house. It was considered to be a household task and would have been, historically, a job

for Eve, the first ever brewster. It would have had to have been real ale too; none of this crafty keg. The technology hadn’t been invented then, neither had the word: The Word maybe, but not that word. It doesn’t look as though her brewery still exists, at

least, I couldn’t find it in the ale drinkers’ bible, the Good Beer Guide. I did find a Darwin Brewery in Sunderland. Maybe

she changed the name to keep up with modern thinking. The GBG states that the Darwin Brewery does a range of beers, “some based on analysis of historic recipes”, which could be a cryptic clue to its biblical

origins. It was thanks to an article in the

Shakesbeer (isn’t that the one thing that you shouldn’t do to beer?), the newsletter of the Shakespeare Branch of CAMRA, that was written by Alan Whitbread, “Folk Singer, Concertina Player and Founder Chairman of the Branch”, that got me interested in gods and ale. Goddesses actually, his list were all women, supporting the idea that brewing was a woman’s prerogative. Alan listed seven and didn’t claim to have written an exhaustive list either. One of the oldest was the Mesopotamian Goddess of Beer, Siris, “the patron of beer, who is conceived of as a demon” (Wikipedia). It looks as though the demon drink had a reputation even in those days. Siris herself was the daughter of the goddess Ninkasi, (two styles pictured: ancient and modern) who was once heavily promoted by CAMRA as a short-

skirted, busty, seductress. Gone are those days

The Hunterwww.gloucestershire.camra.org.uk 9

gone are the Sumerians too. They were the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, now Southern Iraq, and are considered to be, along with the Ancient Egyptians and the peoples of the Indus Valley, South Asia, the first civilizations in the world, dating back to 4,500 BCE or Anno Domini as were are talking goddesses here. The first goddess I remember was Bridgette Bardot, but that’s another story. If you are looking for an exhaustive (and possibly exhausting) list of beer deities look no further than the online Brookston Beer Bulletin, Know Your Beer Gods & Goddesses. Compiled by highly respected beer writer, Jay R. Brooks, it lists 117 gods, goddesses and Kings of Beer. Number 42 is Hapi, the Egyptian Goddess of Barley. Hapi had a lot on her plate as she was also the goddess of the Nile, fish, grain, herbs, water, dew, and fertility. Even more bizarrely, the description goes on to state that “He (sic) is typically depicted as a man with a large belly wearing a loincloth, having long hair and having pendulous, female-like breasts.” Now I thought that all of this transgender stuff was new but to quote from the other Bible, Ecclesiastes 1:9, “There is nothing new under the sun”. I just wonder what they used to get up to in their Hapi Hour. This considerable amount of research must have kept Jay out of the pub - or bar, he does live in Northern California - for years. It lists gods that couldn’t have got a mention in any prayer since well before they invented the wagon wheel and long before the Mars bar went into orbit. Check out Aizen Myō’ō, the Japanese God of tavern keepers; musicians; singers; prostitutes and love (what a night that would have been!) or Centzon-Totochtin,

The Aztec Four Hundred Drunken Rabbit Gods. They make Adam and Eve look like your average, suburban couple; a picture of quiet domesticity and respectability. I suspect that the Adam family were teetotal too, given the strength of his ale. Maybe he was unaware (I know he couldn’t see into the future but he knew a man who could) of the words of the German Trinkspruch or toast, which would have been sound brewing advice for him to follow - Water is drunk by the four legged beast, Man prefers it with hops, malts, and yeast. I’ll drink to that.

Original Image: ©Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos

www.cheltenhamcamra.org.uk10

spring spotlight

Spring Spotlight: St. Georges Vaults

This is the first of, hopefully, a series of articles in future Tipplers to highlight some of the interesting and sometimes overlooked pubs in our area, due to them being slightly off the beaten track or a little remote. The first of these features St. Georges Vaults, which could be described as a town centre 'local', and is located just off Clarence Street in St. Georges Place, about half-way between the Bank House (Wetherspoons) and the Bottle of Sauce pubs. The pub is run by Derek ‘Delboy’ Barnes, who is a great, great grandson of Stan Laurel (of Laurel & Hardy fame) and you can see the resemblance, especially when he does his impression. On entering, you cannot miss the life-size effigy of Elvis Presley sitting on a stool in typical pose with his guitar. This, with other memorabilia of 60's music, Americana, Horse Racing and, of course, Laurel & Hardy, adorn the pub. (Elvis is usually hidden away during Race Meetings to create more space, so, if visiting at those times, you could say, 'Elvis

has left the building'). This is also one of a very few pubs in Cheltenham centre with a pub garden, not obvious from the street, but accessed from the pub via the passageway to the toilets. It is a perfect hidden tranquil gem in the centre of town in which to while away an hour or so on a warm summer’s day. The pub dates back to around the mid-eighteenth century, and still has two tiny prison cells in the basement in which prisoners, who were tried and convicted at the nearby courthouse, now the 'Old Courthouse' pub/restaurant, recently Jamie Oliver’s, spent their last night before being transferred to Gloucester gaol to be hanged. As for the beers, currently three are on offer, normally St. Austell Tribute, Old Speckled Hen and Doom Bar, plus a draft cider. It is one of a very few pubs in the area offering Severn Cider on draft, so, if in town, this is an interesting and historical pub, well worth checking out. John Crossley, Cheltenham CAMRA Chair

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NEWS FROM THE CHELTENHAM BRANCH

A charity ‘sing-along’ in aid of the National Star College was held recently at the Brewhouse & Kitchen, in Cheltenham’s Brewery Quarter. The evening was organised by the Cheltenham Branch of CAMRA. “Christmas carols and songs were led by ‘Gren’ on the piano and a Ukulele Band”, said the Social Secretary, Veronica Emary, (below left with John Pickles) of Cheltenham CAMRA. “They played a rousing selection of Christmas favourites with lyric sheets so everyone could join in. “Altogether we raised £271, both from the raffle and from generous donations on the night, which all went to this great cause. We would like to thank everyone who gave their time and money to the event, and especially Brewhouse & Kitchen for their support.” The National Star is an independent specialist further education college near Cheltenham for people

with physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries and associated learning difficulties. Providing personalised, world-class learning and training, which help people with disabilities achieve their goals. A cheque for £200 was also presented to the Severn Freewheelers (aka Blood Bikes), raised at the recent Cheltenham Real Ale Festival at Cheltenham Ladies’ College. The Freewheelers are a group of advanced motorcyclists who provide a free out-of-hours courier service for hospitals in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and North Wiltshire.

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Christmas Sing-AlongCAMRA Christmas Sing-along Aids National Star College

The judging and announcement of Champion Bottled Beer took place at the BBC Good Food Show at the Birmingham NEC at the end of November. To qualify for judging, each beer goes through a series of local member voting rounds and regional judging competitions throughout the year. Judging on the day takes place in two parts. In the first part, bottle conditioned beers are classified according to style: bitters, milds, golden ales, porters and stouts, speciality beers, etc. Each classification then goes to a table to judge that style and select beer to go forward to the Finals table (part two of the day) whose job it is to select the Gold, Silver and Bronze beers. As Chair of the Cheltenham Tasting panel, I receive invitations to judge at national competitions- The Great British Beer Festival, Champion Winter Beer and Champion Bottled Beer of Britain. Previously I have acted as server at championship competitions and sat on first stage selection panels. For this competition, however, I was invited to join the Final table for the first time. The table was headed by national judge Christine Cryne, and included a brewer from Church End, a hop grower and two highly experienced regional tasting chairs – making me the least experienced of those present. The Final table has a difficult job, to judge beers of different styles, not against each other,

but against the CAMRA style guidelines. We are looking for the best beer in its style – a bit like the judges at Crufts having to select a Best in Show from very different dog breeds.Champion Beer The final table consisted of six beers, ranging from a 6% Strong Bitter up to a 10% Imperial Stout, and all very well made beers. So, what do we look for in deciding between such diverse beers? The beers are judged on four criteria.Appearance. Unless the beer is unfined, or contains wheat, we are looking for clarity, a bright beer and good head. Even stouts can be ‘bright’; you just need a torch to check.Aroma. Swirl and sniff. How well-developed are the malt, fruit and hop characteristics, and are they right for the style of beer you are tasting?Taste. Different areas of the tongue detect sweet, sour and different flavours. It is vital to move the beer around your mouth to pick up every nuance of fruit, hop and malt. Again you are looking to judge the beer against its style.Aftertaste. The finish of a beer is very important. This is where flavour can develop, or sometimes fade. The best made beers have layers of flavour that develop and reveal themselves from aroma to

taste and aftertaste. Acting independently, each of

the four factors is given a score from one

to ten.

Judging the CAMRA Champion Bottled Beer of Britain 2017

www.cheltenhamcamra.org.uk 13

Cheltenham vs North Cotswold Skittle Challenge

What is starting to look like an annual event took place this November at the Charlton Kings Club, Cheltenham. As usual North Cotswold brought a large contingent to what is one of the best CAMRA friendly clubs in Gloucestershire. With 14 players a side, playing five legs each for a total of 140 legs, there was quite a logistics problem. Thankfully it was resolved by our captains ‘Middy’ Midwinter and Roger Price – even though the competition did change shape several times during the evening. Cheltenham were always comfortably ahead, running out winners by 39 points (381 to 342). Skipper ‘Middy’ top-scored with 40, with another three Cheltenham players scoring in the 30s. North Cotswold’s best player, Martin, scored 29. Thanks go to the Charlton Kings Club for an excellent buffet, and a good selection of real ales. Thanks also to Dave Gibbons for the organisation and Roger and Middy for keeping everyone organised on the night.

Once a beer has been marked, a group discussion

then takes place before final scores are submitted. The group

discussion is the most interesting phase, as each taster’s palette is different, sensitive, or blind to certain compounds in beer. Having said that, the top three beers were all within a point or two on each score sheet. So, who won? The Champion Bottled Beers of Britain 2017 were: Gold - St Austell Brewery, Big Job Silver - Fullers, Vintage Ale 2016 Bronze - Oakham, Green Devil IPAThere was some comment on social media that these beers were too safe and mainstream. The question was asked, where were the edgier beers – the barrel aged, the sours and unfined beers and increasingly canned beers? In reply, I would say that the Final Table can only judge the beers presented to them. Secondly, the beers that reach judging must be ‘real ale in a bottle’

and this will exclude many beers. The latest CAMRA ‘Accreditation Of Bottled/Canned Beers’ factsheet puts a process in place that should lead to more beers becoming eligible for selection. Hopefully this will lead to more variety making it though to judging from local selection to final judging. For any CAMRA member who would like to learn more, there are courses on Beer Appreciation, Tasting Panel Training and Competition Beer tasting. If anyone is interested in training and joining (or starting) a branch Tasting Panel, then please email [email protected] for details. Tony LucasChair Cheltenham Tasting Panel

NEWS FROM THE CHELTENHAM BRANCH

NEWS FROM NORTH COTSWOLD BRANCH

We have now completed 82 walks around our pubs in the North Cotswold area. Generally 4 or 5 miles easy walking these are held monthly on the first Saturday of the month starting at 10:30 am from the pub car park returning at 12:30 pm for lunch. We

have 86 pubs in the area and each one will eventually figure in the process.

Reports on all walks are available on our website www.northcotswoldcamra.org.uk

together with the route and photographs.

www.northcotswoldcamra.org.uk

The next walks are as follows:- call Roger Price on 01451 810305 or just turn up. Dogs welcome on leads.

3rd March - No 83 Monthly Pub Walk - 10.30 am - White Hart, Winchcombe7th April - No 84 Monthly Pub Walk - 10.30 am - Snowshill Arms, Snowshill

BEER FESTIVALS 2018

10th Ale & Steam Spring Weekend 18th to 20th MayNew Bar at Winchcombe and new station at Broadway

5th Ale & Steam Summer Weekend 10th to 11th August

11th Moreton Beer Festival 7th & 8th September

Santa Festival GWR, 27th and 28th December in Winchcombe new bar

Face Book A link to this site is on our web pagehttps://www.facebook.com/North-Cotswolds-CAMRA-the-Campaign-for-Real-Ale-in-the-North-Cotswolds-1022351584505679/?fref=nf

Real Ale Trails We are continuing the Staggers the rebranded Real Ale Trails. These are pub crawls around our North Cotswold Towns of note. See Facebook and the website.

Weekend Away Destination is the Isle of Wight on 21st to 24th September 2018 based in Shanklin. The weekend is mainly a GBG pub tour plus walks on Saturday and Sunday.

Day Away June 9th. Winchester a City with eight pubs in the Good Beer Guide.

Motor Cycling Section The last run of 2017 was on 12th Oct to the Forest of Dean and Tintern area. The first of 2018 which awaits Spring weather will visit the Stroud Valley and lunch at the Packhorse Inn at Slad on March 15th. Start Northleach Square 1030hrs

Winter Pub of the YearThe Mousetrap Inn, Bourton on the Water

This seasonal award will apply to our branch area’s most improved pub irrespective of whether or not it is in the current GBG guide. See article on the facing page.

MONTHLY PUB WALKS MONTHLY PUB WALKS

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If you have any pub news, views or stories [email protected]


North Cotswold CAMRA seasonal pub winner for this winter is the Mousetrap in Bourton on the Water. Having undergone a major refurbishment last autumn it is under new management but its commitment to good real ale has not diminished. The new management team of Frank Fellows and Robert Tudgey have retained three hand pumps serving a staple form North Cotswold Brewery and then a variety of other local ales. Frank was keen to champion Real Ale, he said: “I love the chance to serve local ale to our customers as we welcome locals, visitors and their families.” The Branch had concerns that a major change at a Good Beer Guide regular could impact on its reputation for real Ale, but did not have to worry as it became clear from the start that the new Mousetrap team were passionate about serving good beer. This we felt should be rewarded with our seasonal award for this winter as they provided an exceptional choice of ale over the Christmas and New Year period.

Pictured are Mousetrap managers Robert Tudgey and Frank Fellows along with owner Mike Gascoine and North Cotswold Pubs Officer, Martin Jones, with the Seasonal Pub of the Year Award for this Winter.

www.northcotswoldcamra.org.uk

The Mousetrap Inn

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10th SPRINGSTEAM & ALE WEEKEND

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North Cotswold CAMRA & GWR

19th & 20th May 2018

10:30 to 1900 (Sat) to 17.00*(Sun)at Winchcombe & Toddington StationsNEW BAR AT WINCHCOMBE36 Beers total–12 at Toddington Hot & Cold Food with Soft DrinksCAMPING near station at WinchcombeCome by Train:Cheltenham Racecourse 1st train leaves at 10:05last return is 1900 (Saturday) 1605hrs (Sunday)Toddington - Winchcombe transfer every 30 minutes.See timetable on GWR Website.A train ticket on the day is requiredor you need a platform ticket for entry.Plenty of car parking at Toddington

*16

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NEWS FROM THE TEWKESBURY BRANCH

So, what do you write about regarding one of the best Winter Ale Festivals in the Country (in my humble opinion)? I decided it would be worth running through what goes into such a successful event and what we get out of it. So, here goes - after some painstaking work filling in and submitting the business plan to HQ and getting approval for the Festival to proceed, the planning stage commenced at our business meeting back in early November 2017. Steve Kisby (our chairman) managed to steer us through a 19-point agenda covering everything from the Charity of the year down to the cloakroom management, oh, and who was ordering the beer of course. I volunteered to source and order local brewery ales and Pete Goodger would source from further afield once I had my list. So that was it, the plan was set. Now to put it into action. Bob Southam approached us via Dave and Lilian Sermon to host the South West perry judging. We thought that would be a feather in our cap so it was taken on board and six perries were sourced Bob wanted to judge and added three ciders too, simples we thought! In mid-November I went out to 41 breweries for

their offerings - our festival has strict entry criteria, the ale must be a winter ale brewed during the winter season, not all year round. Now, you would have thought that all breweries would have an Xmas or winter style ale, but this is not the case, after a lot of work, on the 20th December, I finalised the list of 23 ales ranging from a cheeky 9% Imperial Stout from Gloucester Brewery down to a 4.2% from Prescott. The selection of styles ranged from hoppy to citrus, old style bitter to a rich stout, which was a great start (well I thought so). Then over to Pete Goodger to top up to 80 ales from further afield via beer agents; it all seemed to be going to plan - this had the makings of another great festival I thought to myself. The business meeting in early January covered all the actions still needing our attention in record time. There were 23 topics covered, including, but not limited to, contacting the man with the van to move the racking, contacting the Health & Safety rack loading inspector, sorting out the slide show and have we booked the Band? Yes, we had! Phew, that’s a relief - the Gloucester cyclists ‘Bomber Squadron’ would have been disappointed if we didn’t have the Dambusters’ March performed on Saturday lunch time.

www.tewkesbury.camra.org.uk

The 23rd Tewkesbury

Winter Ale Festival

www.tewkesbury.camra.org.uk18

Have we ordered the ciders and the nominated six perries? Yes, to the ciders, but some of the perries were not available - OK, we had to substitute. Have we got some beer, that might be a good idea! Yes, says Pete, 73 beers have been sourced, 17 at 6% or over. Excellent I thought to myself (I do like the stronger dark ones) and as a founder member of

the infamous Tewkesbury Beer Monsters, I felt it my duty to ensure there were a few that would ‘tickle our fancy’. Food, yes as always Mel had it under control, prices would remain the same as last year, despite a cost increase; 400 pork pies, 700 bread rolls sourcedlocally, various meats for fillings ordered from Kevin Mace, pickles and a selection of Tewkesbury mustards (of course) - all under control. Next we had to look at the beer pricing. Do we go over the £4 for the strong ones? Always an exciting topic, and after much debate Steve Kisby suggested we wait until we had all the beer costs so we could make an informed judgement where to pitch prices, good idea, move on. So, what about the volunteers, yes as always, we had a great response and were covered for all the sessions, including the all-day Friday session which was new for this festival. Advertising in hand, Dave will organise a team to go out and put signs up, glasses ordered, brochure is almost ready for printing, lots of other bits and

pieces were covered but we have a plan, so it’s all systems go! The Ale list was finalised over the next two weeks, we now had 80 ales, 22 of them at 6% or above, excellent that should keep the punters happy as well as the infamous ‘Beer Monsters’. So, next major milestone was delivery day, the

26th January came around quickly, the temporary contraflow traffic lights right out-side the hall presented

a challenge, the drop off point was in the middle of the zone, but we borrowed some cones from the gas men, that worked well, thankfully, we didn’t block Barton Street. During the week Martin had collected the perries and ciders,

four ales had arrived at the White Bear and six at the Royal Hop Pole which meant we had 70 ales arriving on the Friday morning: what could go wrong? To Pete’s and my relief, it all went to plan (well almost) and by lunchtime we had 78 Ales in the bar area, one to come on Saturday and one late arrival on Tuesday. Saturday, the 27th was set up day, and, as always, an army of volunteers turned up and set about the task of racking the 80 Ales, and the perries and ciders, arranging the chairs in the hall etc., and in record time, it was all done. Dave popped in several times in the next week to nurture the ale ready for the grand opening on Thursday the 1st February, it was all systems are go.In the morning the team arrived and completed the final touches, labelled the beers and set the kitchen up for serving food. In the early evening, we did the perry judging, and even though I say it myself, I think the best perry won the day (yes, I was on the judging panel). The results of the tasting panel can be accessed on Tewkesbury Branch’s web site:

The 23rd Tewkesbury Winter Ale Festival

Above: Barrels ready for actionLeft. Flight plans are studied prior to take off

The 23rd Tewkesbury Winter Ale Festivalhttps://tewkesbury.camra.org.uk/viewnode.php?id=57507 as can the winners of the Ale of the Festival and also the Gloucestershire Breweries winner. It was good to see Snowflake come top after all it is a classic winter Ale. The whole festival was really well attended with roughly 1,200 people over the weekend and the compliments on the ale choice and quality were flowing, which is very satisfying for everyone who pulled together to make this event happen.The Tewkesbury Town Band entertained us on Saturday lunchtime supported by Gloucester cyclists ‘Bomber Squadron’ who provided support and props for an excellent performance of the Dambusters’ March. This performance delighted the crowd, some were wearing stick on moustaches and the paper aeroplanes were in full flight. I believe this is one of the highlights of the festival. To finish off, here is a message from a good friend of mine, Brian, who shares my passion of the dark stuff. Brian is partially sighted so his good lady is the beer runner, he commented:“Thank you for a lovely festival. Probably my most

enjoyable ever and I never saw one barrel! My beer monitor with the walking stick wants to thank all of your volunteers for the help and consideration extended to her whilst keeping me supplied with those lovely black Ales. The selection was amazing with old friends like Uley Pigor Mortis and new ones like my new overall favourite, Moor's Old Freddie Walker. Thank you, Brian.” His comments and the many others we received, makes the whole thing worthwhile, long may it continue! Finally, I would like to say thank you to everyone who helped. We could not do it without you, and also to all of you that came and enjoyed our festival. If anyone wants to join the team and volunteer for next year you can contact me, Ian Mence via Email: [email protected] or Steve Kisby: [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.

Ian MenceTewkesbury Branch Secretary (and Beer Monster).

Tewkesbury CAMRA members were in attendance at the Royal British Legion, Church Street, Tewkesbury to celebrate it being voted Club of the Year 2018, for the third consecutive time. Dave Fletcher, the club steward, received the award from Branch Chair Steve Kisby, who said that the certificate is awarded to the club for being the best in the area in continuing to serve a varied selection of real ales in excellent condition. Dave replied: “I would like to thank CAMRA on behalf of myself, my partner Lyn and everyone at the club for this award. We put on two or three changing ales every week throughoutthe year and particularly popular this year have been Ludlow Gold and Froth Blowers Riverside Stout – must be something to do with the Severn and the Avon. The club is open to non-members and all are welcome”.

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The Royal British Legion, Tewkesbury with Dave Fletcher displaying the certificate and Steve Kisby third from the left.


The replacement for our Pub of the Year (POTY) shortlist visit was a trip out west to the Cat & Custard Pot, Shipton Moyne, The Holford Arms, Knockdown, The Royal Oak, Leighterten and the Royal Oak, Tetbury. Sadly, our visit to Leighterten must have coincided with an operating glitch of some sort as the pub was temporarily closed, so the Greyhound in Tetbury was substituted. The Christmas do at the Fleece in Cirencester went well with a good attendance, but many were unable to come due to date clashes. Hopefully we can give longer notice this year. The event managed to just miss the large fall of snow later that same evening, although it did make the return trip to Cirencester to pick up cars the next day quite exciting. The snow sorely limited the extent of the ‘Cirencester Stagger’ a few days later and only a few hardy souls made it to the Drillman’s Arms where they wisely decided to stay put. In a ‘Two for One’ event, Cirencester CAMRA (pictured above) enjoyed an excellent evening’shospitality in January at the Flying Monk Brewery, which included the Castle Combe Brewery at the

same time. Since last July, the two breweries have merged and are now to be found on the same site in Hullavington.Although to all intents and purposes a single brewery, each brewery’s brands are being retained together with their recipes, and marketed from separate websites. The beers provided for us that night were Elmers (named after the 11th century flying (plummeting?) monk, Habit and Birdman, from Flying Monk along with Castle Combe’s Dark Lane Milk Stout. The latter was a wonderfully moreish introduction for the Cirencester drinkers, and will be hoping that it strays into the free trade in our area before too long. The beers were served in rather clever hollow-handled jugs which allowed a server to hold five or six of them in one hand. The spacious premises will allow ample scope for expansion when the time comes. It is obvious that this well run brewery will have a much more successful life than poor old Elmer.

Rob Tough

Around the county - cirencester...



Dursley and District CAMRA pub of the Year Business owners Karen McGeoch and Rod Undy (above) were delighted when their pub The Fleece Inn, Hillesley was chosen as the Dursley and District CAMRA pub of the year in less than 18 months of trading. “We achieved the same accolade in Mumbles, with the first Micro Pub in Wales, so it was almost an unwritten goal to repeat history, although we never thought that we would win,” said Rod. The local villagers bought the building in 2012 and ran it as a Community Pub and although the concept worked initially, the pub soon started to falter and was on a downward spiral.

Karen said: “We were actually about to sign a lease for a new business venture in Swansea when one of the shareholders, who just happens to have a holiday property in Mumbles, told us about The Fleece. As we were in the area the following week we decided to take a look – and here we are today!” The real selling point for the couple was the sense of community, it fitted their remit perfectly and it is what they had originally set out to do. Karen added: “When we looked at the Pub’s existing business plan it had so many ideas that were almost a carbon copy of our own vision and values, and this gave us a strong base to grow the business.” The official presentation took place at The Fleece on Saturday 10th February with music from the Rosellys afterwards.

Around the county - Gloucester... For those of you new to the Tippler, CAMRA, or our local area, CAMRA in Gloucester covers the postcode areas of GL1, 2, 3 and 4. Whilst the news and updates are aimed at the members of this area, CAMRA branches and sub branches are not exclusive, and you are welcome to attend activities in any or our areas or Branches. For most activities you don’t even have to be a member, but of course if you enjoy the experience, we hope you will consider joining.

Pub news... A new micro pub opened in February in Southgate Street, on the Kimbrose Triangle to be precise. The Turks Head is owned by Christine and Peter, their aim is to provide good quality beers on gravity. It has had up to 10 beers on offer along with a good range of cider. If you are in Gloucester it is certainly worth a look!

Pub of the Year... At this time of year the sub branches in Gloucestershire nominate their local Pub of the Year (POTY). Each area pub then goes for consideration for Gloucestershire Pub of the Year. The nomination for Gloucester area was the Pelican Inn, in St Mary’s Street, tucked away between the Cathedral and Kingsholm (home of Gloucester Rugby just in case you are not familiar with the area). Congratulations to Mike Hall and his team, five years on the trot as our local POTY. The Pelican regularly serves 10 cask ales, mainly Wye Valley but often with guest ales available. It was a double celebration as the pub was also nominated as the Gloucester Cider Pub of the Year too.

Social events...Every month on the second Wednesday we hold a social event usually in a pub in Gloucester. If there is a pub you would like to suggest for a social visit please contact Margaret [email protected] An additional trip is organised for either a Friday night or Saturday daytime later on in the month. The social programme is listed in the Tippler and on www.camraingloucester.org.uk Recent events have included a trip Broadway for a Christmas Ale hunt, Angie’s bar in the city centre, Dick Whittington for the Christmas Party, days out on the train with trips to Chepstow, Swindon, and there is one planned for Weston Super Mare. Hope to see you at one of the events soon. Cheers!

6th Gloucester Beer and Cideer Festival...We are pleased to confirm that our 6th festival will take place on 27th/28th April 2018. The historic Blackfriars priory provides the perfect setting for the festival. With

around 100 beers, 30+ ciders, and Glouces-tershire cheeses, what more could one ask for? The festival runs from 11.30 on both days, tickets are available on the

door. Look out for regular updates on twitter and facebook, and the latest news will appear on the Gloucester Beer Festival website www.gloucesterbeerfestival.org.uk Admission is £6 which includes, while stocks last, a festival glass, programme and access to the entertainment. CAMRA members will receive a free pint on production of their current membership card, and for those who decide to join CAMRA at the festival, there will be two free pints!



The great news that the appeal against change of use refusal for the Red Lion Ampney St. Peter was rejected came through just too late to make the new Tippler deadline. This means that the pub can no longer be marketed as a dwelling, as it has been previously, and must now be sold as a commercial property… or so we thought. The latest listing of the property has had the price reduced to £495,000 and the adjacent field is no longer included with the pub. However it is still listed under “Residential” and states that it has “existing consent”. Having checked with Cotswold District Council we found that this is completely misleading. It is difficult to see how they intend to attract buyers for the pub if it is not marketed as such.

Arkells Brewery is not content with the lengthy refurbishment of the Bull at Fairford, and then purchase of the Crown in Cirencester, Arkells have now bought the Priory Inn in Tetbury off a guide price of £1.96m. The Tavern at Kemble has reopened with a new licensee. The Bear in Cirencester has been sold by Brains to Butcombe Brewery. Hopefully the beer choice will feature extensively their excellent range of seasonal ales. The Royal Oak, South Cerney is reported to be reopening run by a consortium of locals, although details are scarce. The Waggon & Horses, Cirencester is for sale freehold for £385,000.

cirencester...

Cider Pub of the Year...On Tuesday 21st February we presented the Rising Sun at Moseley Green with the award for the Forest of Dean Pub of the Year. The picture is Alec Keene of Camra presenting Nikki and Martin Roach of the Rising Sun. Nikki and Martin run a good pub. Nikki looks after the cellar. She ensures the perfect pint is poured.

Cider Pub of the YearOn Saturday 17th February we pre-sented the Bespoke Brewery Tap with the award for the Forest of Dean Cider Pub of the Year. The picture is Clive Southerton of Camra presenting

the Bar Manager, Phil Keene with the award.

Foresters take a round trip to the Globe Inn... The Forest of Dean CAMRA group, on the recommendation of a friend, visited the Globe Inn at Alvington. Forest of Dean is a large area covering 526km and this is towards the southern end and so hadn’t been visited by members from the northern end of the forest for a while. It was well worth the visit. It was refurbished with a light and friendly ambience. The restaurant is at the back and the bar at the front and so welcoming if you are not eating. There was a good selection of Beers, Bath Ales, St Austell and Wye Valley on tap. The next day. I signed in to What Pub to update the entry but nothing came up. I tried the postcode and still nothing. I then widened the search to all pubs and found it listed as having been permanently closed in 2009! Speaking to the Landlord, he informed us that four friends who already knew the pub well, met up for a drink and decided to buy the pub. They formed a company that bought and refurbished the pub and after all the work, reopened it in 2014. I would like to say a well done to the four friends! It just goes to show it is always worth dropping in on different pubs, as they are always changing and you can discover some real gems. This is highly recommended as a real find!


The White Bear, Tewkesbury, has won Tewkesbury CAMRA’s Pub of the Year award for the fourth consecutive year and has also appeared in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, the beer drinkers’ bible, 22 times since 1996. CAMRA members were out in force to see the presentation of the award, which they had voted for, to Alastair Kerr, recent manager, flanked by Debbie Slatter, Bar Supervisor and Licensee Gerry Boazman. Presenting the award Tewkesbury CAMRA Chair, Steve Kisby said: “It gives me great pleasure to again commend the White Bear for the reliable quality and wide variety of its real ales. It is good to see that the great work of the previous manager Darren Matthews, now sadly missed, has been continued throughout the year and that the White Bear shines as a Mecca for real ale drinkers in Tewkesbury – a town becoming known for its abundance of high quality real ale venues.” Alastair Kerr receiving the 2018 certificate from Steve

Kisby with Debbie Slatter and Gerry Boazman “betwixt”.

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Alderton Gardeners ArmsAmberley Amberley Inn Black HorseArlingham The Red LionAshleworth BoatAvening Bell Queen MatildaBarnsley Village PubBlaisdon Red HartBlockley Great Western ArmsBourton-on-the-Hill Horse & GroomBourton-on-the-Water MousetrapBream Rising SunBrimscombe Ship InnBroad Campden Bakers ArmsBroadwell Fox InnBrockhampton Craven ArmsBrockweir Brockweir InnBrookend LammastideChedworth Seven TunsCheltenham Adam & Eve Bank House Beehive Inn Bottle of Sauce Cheltenham Motor Club Exmouth Arms Fire Station Hewlett Arms Jolly Brewmaster Kemble Brewery Inn Moon Under Water Old Courthouse Retreat Royal Union Somerset Arms Spectre St Stephens Club Strand Tivoli

Cheltenham Whittle Taps YatesCharfield Pear TreeCharlton Kings RoyalChipping Campden Eight Bells Noel Arms Churchdown The Old Elm InnCirencester Bees Knees Corinium Hotel Marlborough Arms Twelve Bells Waggon & HorsesClearwell LambClifford’s Mesne Yew TreeCoaley Fox and HoundsCranham Black Horse Royal WilliamDidmarton King’s ArmsDursley Old Spot Ye Old Dursley HotelEastcombe The LambEastington Old BadgerEbrington Ebrington ArmsEdge Edgemoor InnElkstone Highwayman InnElmstone Hardwicke Gloucester Old SpotForthampton Lower Lode Inn Fossebridge The Inn at FossebridgeFrampton Mansell Crown Inn Frampton-on-Severn Three Horseshoes France Lynch Kings Head Gloucester Cross Keys Dick Whittington Fountain New Inn Pelican Water Poet YorkGotherington Shutter Inn

CAMRA LocAle is an initiative that promotes pubs that endeavour to always stock at least one locally brewed real ale, and importantly, kept in a consistently good condition. Our definition of ‘local’ is a beer that is either brewed in the county, or within 30 miles of the pub. Only one of the ales need be local to qualify. If your local isn’t part of the scheme ask the landlord or landlady why not. If they’re interested in joining the scheme, then please get in touch with us and we’ll take it from there. The list below, in order of city, town or village has ongoing updates, new additions are highlighted in magenta.


Great Barrington Fox InnGretton Royal Oak Ham Salutation Inn Hartpury The Royal ExchangeHawkesbury Upton Beaufort ArmsHillesley The Fleece Horsley The Hog Kemble Tavern Inn Thames Head Inn Kempsford George Inn Kineton Halfway House Lechlade Crown Inn Riverside Inn Swan Leighterton Royal OakLeonard Stanley The White Hart Longford The Gala ClubLower Swell The Golden BallMickleton Butchers Arms Minchinhampton Old Lodge Inn Weighbridge Inn Minsterworth Severn BoreMiserden Carpenters Arms Moreton-in-Marsh Bell Inn Black Bear Redesdale Arms White Hart Nailsworth Britannia Tipputs Village Inn Naunton Black Horse Nettleton Bottom Golden Heart Inn Newent Cobblers George Hotel Newmarket George Inn Newnham RailwayNorth Cerney Bathurst ArmsNorth Nibley Black Horse Oddington The Fox InnPoulton FalconRandwick Vine Tree InnRuardean The Malt ShovelSapperton The BellSelsey The BellShipton Moyne Cat & Custard PotShurdington The BellSiddington Greyhound Slad Woolpack Slimbridge Tudor Arms Snowshill Snowshill Arms Somerford Keynes Bakers Arms Inn

South Cerney Old George Inn Stanton MountStaunton The SwanStaverton Cheltenham Regency HotelStonehouse Woolpack Stow on the Wold Queen’s HeadStratton The PloughStroud Ale House Clothiers Arms Crown & Sceptre Golden Fleece Imperial Hotel Prince Albert Queen Victoria The Retreat Tetbury Priory Inn Hotel Royal Oak Snooty Fox The Ormond Tewkesbury Nottingham Arms Olde Black Bear Royal Hop Pole Theoc House Tudor House Hotel White Bear The Bell The Camp Fostons Ash Toddington Pheasant Inn Tormarton Major’s Retreat Twyning Village Inn Uley Old Crown Upper Soudley White HorseWaterley Bottom New InnWestonbirt Hare & Hounds Whiteshill Star Wickwar Buthay Wickwar Social Club Willersey New Inn The BellWinchcombe Rosie’s Bar The Lion White HartWoodchester Ram Inn Royal Oak The Old FleeceWoodmancote New Inn Wotton Under Edge Falcon Inn Royal Oak Star Swan Hotel

More details are posted regularly on the Facebook group 'Gloucestershire Pubs', an ideal forum to keep other people informed of

the latest pub developments in the county.



Pauntley Village Hall Brand Green GL19 3JD

Come along and support the 9th Pauntley Real Ale Festivalhosted by local CAMRA members from this delightful part of

Gloucestershire, the home of Dick Whittington!

Enjoy our selection of :• Real Ales & Lager, Ciders, Perries & Wines

• Pork Roast, BBQ & Vegetarian Foods• Bands & Entertainment in our large marqueeTickets (18yrs+) Advance - £6 On The Door - £8

Includes a programme and commemorative glasswhilst stocks last!

----- Children welcome -----

Advance Ticket Sales & Camping Info:Mark Robinson – 07715 530236 and Patricia Kucharski – 07732 640012

***** All proceeds to our local good causes *****£13,650 donated over the last 8 years Thank you

Website: www.pauntleyrealalefestival.org

PAUNTLEY REAL ALE FESTIVAL


straight from the horse’s mouth...

brewery newsArkell’s Brewery welcomed HRH

The Duchess of Cornwall to Arkell’s Brewery on 30th January to help celebrate the brewery’s 175th anniversary year.

Arkell’s is Swindon’s oldest business, and one of just 29 old family breweries left in the UK. Arkell’s Chairman James Arkell, said: “We were thrilled to welcome The Duchess, who met our family, many of our staff, shareholders and members of the local community. She toured the brewery and helped ‘swing the valentine’.” Swinging the Valentine controls the flow of wort - liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing process - from the mash into the underback. It’s an essential part of the brewing process at Arkell’s, and the Wiltshire brewery is believed to be the only one in the country which still has a swinging valentine (it’s not known why it’s called a swinging valentine). The Duchess toured the brewery, met dozens of Arkell’s staff, many of them local families who have had family members working at the brewery as long as the Arkell’s themselves. She also unveiled a plaque to officially open the brewery’s new shop and heritage centre, The

Grape and Grain. The Duchess Ale, brewed in her honour, has been made using barley (a variety called Plumage Archer) from Prince Charles’ Highgrove Estate near Tetbury. It’s the first time Arkell’s has brewed a beer

using Plumage Archer, which gives a dark malty base to the beer. This is balanced by using tropical, fruity hops from America. The limited edition, bottled beer will have an ABV of 4.2% and will be available at Arkell’s Brewery’s Grape and Grain Warehouse from around the second week of February, priced at around £1.90 a bottle.

32

Brewhouse and Kitchen, Gloucester Quays, has a new head brewer, David Quinn. David has quickly established himself in Gloucester and is developing his own tweaks and styles within the range of beers available in the bar. David also runs beer masterclasses

and brewery experience days. For International Womens Day, David will also be hosting a brewing day in collaboration with a number of local women who all share an interest in beer. Under the banner of Unite, the beer will be specially created for the event and will be on sale a few weeks later.

Corinium Brewery are about to expand once again to a two barrel plant which will be up and running in the Spring. They feel they could expand even more at this stage but are constrained by the access to their new premises and are very reluctant to

move again. 2017 was their best year yet.

Force Brewery are making big changes are afoot at Force but for the moment Charles is playing his cards very close to his chest. He has confirmed that the very popular

brewery tap/shop is to close for the foreseeable future and they will now only be producing bottle conditioned beers in imperial pint bottles, and no draught beer at all. Charles is also offering some used brewing equipment for sale.

Donnington Brewery have two new fantastic tenants. Jesse and Cliff went into the New Inn last month and Ed and Dom Simpson take over the Fox, Broadwell in early

March. They are also brewing a new beer, On The

Nose. This is a delicious ale with strong hop notes that balance the malty sweetness of the munich and caramel malts. Ingredients being: Munich Malt, Maris Otter Malt, Cara Malt, Choc Malt, Wheat Hops: Northern Brewer, Peale, Northdown.

Gloucester Brewery continue to develop their range of beers particularly suitable

for vegans. The Brewery regularly hosts a variety of events, and have a beer festival over Easter weekend. Tickets are available in advance and as a popular event well worth booking early.

Froth Blowers Brewing Co. is a Birmingham based brewery. Will Hunt from Froth Blowers is Miles Hunt’s cousin and also a musician, and whilst on tour together 2017, they came up with the idea of developing a beer to suit the bands’ and the bands’ fans’ needs alike. The Wonder Stuff and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin have teamed up with Froth Blowers Brewery Co. to launch a limited edition ale, ‘Ned’s Wonder’. Ned’s Wonder 4.1% ABV ale will be sold in bottles on all of the tour dates as well as in casks at pubs around the country. For more info and to order a bottle online please visit:

www.frothblowersbrewing.com


straight from the horse’s mouth...brewery news

3533

North Cotswold CAMRAPub of the Year 2017

(runner-up)

.


Martin Jones’ tour of the Donnington pubs of the North Cotswolds finds him at a popular pub with walkers. The Plough Inn is situated in the hamlet of Ford on the B4077, the main road between Stow on the Wold and Tewkesbury in a lovely valley near the source of the River Windrush. The stone built coaching inn has been on the site since the thirteenth century in various guises. Most notable of these was as the as a courthouse, the cellars being used as cells for sheep thieves. If you search the rear lounge you will find you will find remnants of stocks that once held miscreants along with a pull across bar device in the bar that secured the courtroom whilst it was in session. Those who frequent the Plough nowadays are guaranteed a warm welcome. The Pub now has a central bar with four interconnecting rooms for drinking and dining. Your host is Becky Chanin who has been at the Plough since 2002 and has a vast experience of running the pub. I asked Becky about her background was before she started her love affair with the Plough. “I worked with horses in livery yards locally having lived in Northleach along with doing bar work, I have been in and around pubs since I was three.” I asked her what she thought about the pub’s colourful history. “I feel a responsibility to keep the historic character of the pub alive and its unique features can be daunting. The cellar, which is entered from behind the bar, stretches under a large part of the pub and is

quite spooky when the lights flicker down there, although it also surprises customers when we appear from the floor of the bar to serve them!” Horses have a strong influence on the Plough as is sits at the very bottom of the gallops of Jackdaws Castle, one the biggest national hunt racing stables in the country. Owned by the Irish businessman and Racehorse owner, J.P.McManus, it was originally home to local trainer, David Nicholson, it is now run by former top Jockey Jonjo O’Neill. Becky is well aware of the National Hunt tradition with many photos and paintings adorning the walls celebrating local success. She is keen to point out that all her locals are treated the same: “We have a regular crowd aged from eighteen to eighty and they all mix together along with the racing crowd. There are many famous owners and trainers who pop in, we have no airs and graces as we are here for everyone, drinkers, diners and dogs.” This great attitude to customers has been rewarded as the Plough was the winner of the Cotswold Life Magazine Pub of the Year for 2017.Becky explained: “I have been so lucky to have had Julian Davis as our chef since we started, to keep a member of staff for that period means we have built up a great relationship which is reflected in the consistent high standard of our food. Barman Alex Nagy has been here for seven years and he looks after the cellar.” Alex then appears as if by magic from the cellar behind the bar and is busy pouring off and testing the Donnington Ales ready for opening time.


Becky herself has a well earned reputation for going the extra mile for all of her customers. “We have a regular local couple who asked, at short notice, for some dover sole for a special occasion. Having gone to great lengths and expense to get the fish I delivered it in style! I tripped on the way out of the kitchen to serve it, with a great deal of dexterity and balance I fell into the restaurant and rolled over still keeping the plates upright. This garnered me a round of applause from those in the bar and the fish were served unharmed!” I asked if she has had any odd requests whilst running the Plough. She recalled: “A chap asked if he could bring his bird in the bar, expecting a parrott or similar I was taken aback when he came in with a golden eagle! This was somewhat alarming for some customers, but it soon became a talking point for those who were in the bar then and ever since.”

Martin Jones

Below: Horses on Jackdaw’s Gallops

Above: Becky and Alex

37

The Tippler has teamed up with Gloucestershire’s go-ahead, award winning Hillside Brewery. Not only known for its great beers, but it is also a brewery that has stunning views across

the Forest of Dean, as it nestles on the side of the Gloucestershire landmark, May Hill. These views prompted Paul Williamson, Hillside’s boss to contact the Tippler wondering whether or not he could sponsor a reader’s photographic competition.The timing couldn’t have been better, as the images on the front cover are a major talking point in the letters pages. By sponsoring a competition to bring out the best that this wonderfully picturesque county can offer, we both hope that it will give readers even more reason to write in and get involved. With camera technology in mobile phones now being of such high quality, everyone can take part and capture a magic moment for all of us to share. The images can be black and white, or full colour, and be of anything that takes your eye. Preferably beer, pub or brewery related, for example, where I come from in Kent, the ancient hop fields are

always a wonderful sight in the late summer. The images also need to be in portrait format, like the wonderful view across the Ludlow Beer Festival site, below. Now, the technical part, most images in cameras that are made for digital work are set in 72dpi (dots per inch) of colour, which is great for facebook, texts etc. It’s not, however, much use for printing on paper, where you need to use 300dpi. So set your cameras and phones to the biggest number of pixels you can, FHD 1280 x 1080 or WQHD 2560 x 1440 and take your pictures. That’ll give you the best chance of winning and appearing on the Tippler’s front cover.

38 www.gloucestershire.camra.org.uk

HILLSIDE BREWERY FRONT COVER COMPETITION

what you can win

WINNER - 2 x BREWING EXPERIENCE DAYSRUNNER UP - 3 X BREWERY TOUR TICKETS

Send your entries, either email, or old-school prints, to the The Editor at the address below.

NOTE: Judges decisions are final and may not represent venues within the county.

THE HILLSIDE CLASSICS

Hillside Brewery, Holly Bush Farm, Ross Road, Nr. Longhope, Gloucestershire GL17 0NG Call:01452 830 222, Email us on: [email protected]

[email protected]


These are the beers that have stood the test of time. They are ordered time and time again by our customers – for pubs,

bars, retailers and direct sales.

We brew these beers all year so you can enjoy all year round too!

They range from light session beers, ideal for any summer’s afternoon and evening as well porter styles that will

warm every cell in your body.Whatever beer you choose and

whatever journey your taste buds take you on - enjoy!

We urge you to sit down, don’t drink on the hoof, take the weight off your feet. Enjoy that moment as the first drop of

our beer reaches your lips and you enjoy that lovely moment with the simplest

of ‘words’…aaaahhhh!


Chris Arrowsmith visits the Old Spot and looks into the secrets of its longevity in the list of the top pubs in the county...

In the late 1980s, the monopolies and mergers commission, were concerned that over 75% of UK pubs were owned by only five main brewers, who had imposed swingeing beer purchasing conditions on their landlords. So new rules were brought in that meant that any brewers with over 2,000 sites were forced to reduce the number in their control. This meant that Whitbread began to sell off their less profitable pubs. Which all required extensive improvement. On the 16th March 1993, Ric and Ellie Sainty became the owners of the Fox and Hounds situated in May Lane, Dursley. It was a run down pub with a bad reputation, despite this, Ric and Ellie could see its potential. Within a week, the pub was partly opened, the gaming machines and jukebox had been removed, only the main bar was in use, the remainder of the pub was partitioned off for refurbishment. Due to local and friends, they only sold Bass, Worthington Bitter, Uley

Old Spot also a keg cider. Which was a great improvement, as previously only keg beers were sold. Three months later and the pub was fully operatinal with a new name; the Old Spot Innwas born. In the early days the only food availablewas doorstep sandwiches with a choice of three fillings. Now the pub serves a more extensive menu, but only at lunchtimes, as it is primarily a pub for drinkers. The original two up two down building dates to 1776, in its time it has been a farm cottage, a schoolhouse, and finally a pub. The room that leads to the garden and toilets was the previous landlords’sitting room, which was converted to a snug. A bar-billiard table was installed in 1997, and sadly it is no longer there. The old smoke free room was only recently incorporated into the main bar. In the past it had been a spacious gents toilet, which had excellent acoustics, often put to use by Dursley’s

own three tenors, the Mould brothers. Only a couple of pints would have them singing their hearts out in the cavernous space. The pub kitchen was originally a café that served the bus station, which was much busier in those days. Eventually Ric relented to requests by some customers and installed a lager font. Often when someone ordered a lager, Ric would declare in a loud voice: “Quiet please, we have a lager drinker in the house.” In 1998 the Old Spot was awarded CAMRA National Pub of the Year runner up, a great accolade to the efforts of Ric and Ellie. By 2001, due to Ric’s declining health, they decided to retire from hands-on running of the pub. Not wishing to sell the Old Spot, they decided to look for a manager to run the pub. Ted and Trish, who had been stewards ofBrixham Yacht Club were employed to managethe Old Spot, but, after six months, Ted’s business interests meant they had to move on to pastures new. Then, Steve and Belinda Herbert took over the pub, in their tenure the pub finally made the top spot, and gained the accolade of CAMRA National Pub of the Year in 2007. Sadly, Ric has since passed away, but had seen the Spot thrive year after year. It was a pub close to his heart and he spent many

hours in the company of friends and customers in the bar. In 2013, and after much success, Steve and Belinda were ready for another challenge, so they buzzed off from the Old Spot to take over the Beehive in Cheltenham, which they made into a GBG pub. In the meantime, Ellie had created the Old Badger at Eastington, but later returned to run the Old Spot. In 2014, Ellie’s most experienced barman Josh Baily, became Landlord, and he stayed until 2017, when he decided that the long hours of running a pub gave him little time for his other interests. Today finds the Old Spot in its 25th year and as popular as ever. Jo Lewis who had been working behind the bar for four years took over as Landlady and has influenced the pub with her lively personality, the future looks good for the Old Spot. Back in the 1990’s there was a group of old war veterans who sat in a window alcove in the main bar, Derek, Barnet and Wilf were the protagonists. They would become mildly tipsy and then argue with one another, they provided great entertainment to the customers especially when Wilf a snuff user often missed his nose and ended up with a brown face and sneezing fits! Another character was Len ‘the Book’, who

Left: Ellie Sainty (in the dark blue top), Jo Lewis Landlady (in grey top), Tim Ingram Cellar Man (with braces) and Tom Allen bar and cellarman.

The painting pictured right by Lucy

Orchard, is of the infamous Ric

Sainty, his fame spread far and

wide, In the book by Roger Protz "A

Life on the Hop" there is a chapter

on famous landlords, where he

describes Ric as "an imposing

character resembling a Old Testa-

ment prophet with his magnificent

beard.” This shot of his portrait

which captures his character, the

light from the window enhances

his Sainty look, he would describe

himself as a "purveyor of fine

ales".

41www.gloucestershire.camra.org.uk

Ric allowed to sell books on a Sunday lunchtime, he would often display his books on the bar billiard table. When my Son and I came in to play on the table we would move the books, to a less prominent position, much to his chagrin, this was a pantomime that happened most Sunday lunch times. One occasion that sticks in my mind was a New Years Eve in 1998; Ric put a message on the chalk board, that the pub was closing at19.00 so he and Ellie could go out to celebrate.As my family was staying with me we decided to go to the Old Spot for a drink before closing time. Unfortunately Ric had not told me that he changed the closing time to 18.00 and was embarrassed when we arrived at 17.50. He told us to hide in the toilets, and then he cleared the pub of customers. When the pub was empty he said, “Help yourselves with drinks and note what you have had while Ellie and I get ready to go out.” When they came down in their finery, Ric opened bottles of champagne

and we celebrated with them! On another occasion, in the hot Summer, Ric wearing only shorts and sandals, asked that we join him in his cold cellar to quaff a few beers, we had much merriment sitting on Casks. Fortunately, Ric’s substantial beard kept him warm. I could go on with many, many anecdotes, but I have only limited space. In conclusion, the Old Spot is a remarkable pub to a wide spectrum of people, as Ric would say: “MORE BEER!”

Chris ArrowsmithBelow: Ellie Sainty (in the grey top), Jo Lewis Landlady (in green top), Tim Ingram Cellar Man (with braces) and Josh Owen Bar Man (in blue)


43

What sort of beer drinker are you? Do you have a favourite ale that you always go for because you know it’s so good? Do you always head for beers from one or two tried and tested breweries? Will you only drink a pint as long as it’s dark enough to block out the sun or pale enough to see right through? Clearly we are all very different in the way we approach our beer and it always fascinates me when I talk to visitors at festivals about how they make their beer choices. That is what has prompted me to write this article. You see, I’m a collector. That’s the term I use, but you may be more familiar with the term ‘ticker’. I find this word rather demeaning and I have a horrible feeling that it is often used in a derogatory way, hence my preferred term – beer collector – which sums up quite nicely my particular approach to beer. When I explain how my beer collecting works, you may well think it’s completely barmy, but I have a feeling that there are more people like me out there than you may think. When I am faced with an array of handpumps with their colourful pump clips spread along a wooden bar or the sight of a multi-tiered stillage with many barrels cosying up to one another, I get excited. I am sure many of you do too. But whereas you may be thinking “I wonder if my favourite beer is on?” or “Will they have a stout or mild on today?”, my initial thoughts are these:

“Are there any beers I haven’t tried before?”“Are there any beers from breweries that are new

to me?”“Do they serve third pints, so that I can taste as

many as possible?”

If the answer to the first two questions is ‘no’, then I am afraid my excitement very quickly ebbs away – in fact I will often order nothing and go elsewhere. You see, the collection is everything and adding to the collection is the number one priority. This sounds a little obsessive (and perhaps it is), but I see it as a game – the game is ‘What can I add to the collection today?’ For me it is a game with rules and, as I made up the game, I play to my own rules.

So, perhaps I should explain my simple rules:

• I only collect draught beers (so bottles and cans do not count).• Keg beers are included.• Foreign beers are included.• Any beer that is new to the collection is described as a ‘one star’ beer.• The first beer from a brewery that is not in the collection is described as a ‘two star’ beer.• For a beer to count, the minimum allowable amount drunk is one sixth of a pint (I some times go to festivals and share thirds with a friend!).

To keep track of the collection, I write down every draught beer I drink – brewery and beer name. The details are then included in a spreadsheet, which exists somewhere in ‘the cloud’, thus enabling me to access it from my phone wherever I may be. For those who are interested, the collection currently consists of 7,200 beers from 1,500 breweries. This may seem a lot, but bear in mind that I started to record beers in 1993. There is certainly no shortage of new breweries or new beers. My list of breweries, for example, includes many from overseas and many that have since gone out of business, so when I look in the Good Beer Guide, there are still some 600+ breweries listed which are yet to be added to my collection.

Peter Searle

DODGY TICKER? Not a chance! This is the heart warming story of a real beer enthusiast, and a fascinating tale it is. In the first of a two part feature Peter Searle tells us some Tales of a Beer Collector...


If you like beer, live music, cars and great food (and who doesn’t) then Ludlow is the place to be thisMay when their annual Ludlow Spring Festival takes place over the second weekend of the month.Celebrating its 10th Anniversary, it brings together the region’s sublime real ales, eclectic live music,the Marches Transport Festival and more than sixty of the area’s most glorious food producers. The weekend begins on Friday evening at 5pm and continues all day Saturday and Sunday. The‘Festival Pub’ is the very heart of the festival, with more than 200 real ales from 50 independentbreweries across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire,

Worcestershire, Shropshire and Wales available.It’s a fantastic opportunity to try something you

wouldn’t necessarily normally find in your local. Butdon’t forget, there’s a limited quantity of each and when they are gone, they are gone; so, arrive earlyespecially if you want to taste those names as ‘best in class’ at the festival. It’s a truly great atmosphere in the Festival Pub with a full line-up of music across the weekend fromsinger-songwriters to blue and rock. There’ll be plenty of toe tapping and even the odd mass sing-along.While it’s an integral part of the event, the Festival isn’t all about the beer. As you would expect there’s plenty of food on offer throughout the weekend, from superb local vendors ready with tasty snacks or filling lunches, through to the sixty plus exhibitors bringing you the finest food the region has to offer. Of course, no Ludlow Spring Festival would be complete without the Marches Transport Festival, akey part of the event. Whether it’s the sleek curves of a classic or the growling engine of a modifiedracing car, there’s something to suit every taste.This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Land Rover Defender and to mark the occasion we willbe joined by members of The Marches Leafers who will be bringing along with them models fromfour decades of the Defender’s illustrious history.For more information check the Festival’s website:

www.ludlowspringfestival.co.uk

ludlow in may

four great reasons to visit


events: what’s coming up GLOUCESTERSHIRE BRANCH MEETINGS:

7th March 2017 - 8.00pm - The Pelican, Gloucester

Cheltenham Branch - Email: [email protected] on second Wednesday or Thursday of the month at 8.00 pm. Call: Rob Coldwell 07752 740488 For more details see website www.cheltenhamcamra.org.uk

6th March - 8:00pm - Business Meeting - The Beehive, Montpellier8th March - 8:00pm - Social - St George’s Vaults14th March - Coach trip to London Drinker Festival28th March - Ale Amble - Bedminster3rd April - 8:00pm - Business Meeting 2 - St Stephens Club11th April - 8:00pm - Social - Venue TBA24th April - Ale Amble -56 Kidderminster

Cirencester Sub - Branch - Email: [email protected] on second Tuesday of the month at 8.00 pm. Call: Rob Tough on 01285 851194

Dursley Sub - Branch - Email: [email protected] on last Tuesday of the month at 8.00 pm. Call: Symon Ackroyd, secretary 07477 404056 or Peter Corfield, chair, on 01453 844952.

Forest of Dean Sub - Branch - Email: [email protected] every Thursday night for a social at 8.00 pm. Please check on Forest of Dean CAMRA Facebook page. Call: Alec Keene on 01594 780655

Gloucester Sub - Branch - Email: [email protected] on second Wednesday of the month at 8.00 pm. Where bookings are essential or for further details please contact Margaret on 07908 699809 or 01452 551400; by email on:[email protected] or visit the website www.camraingloucester.org.uk

14th March - 8.00pm - Social meeting, the Regal. Don’t forget your vouchers!24th March - 10.00am - Train to Swindon. Meet at 10.00 for the 10.14 train, Gloucester Train Station11th April - 8.00 pm - Social meeting,The Turks Head, Southgate Street.27th/28th April - 11.30 am - Gloucester Beer and Cider Festival, Blackfriars9th May - 8.00 pm - Social meeting, Fountain Inn12th May - tbc - Day out at the seaside. Train trip to Weston Super Mare - details to be confirmed please check website.

48


events: what’s coming up Stroud Sub - Branch - Email: [email protected] on third or fourth Tuesday of the month at 8.00 pm. Call: Andy Burston on 01453 882410Anyone interested in Stroud meetings should contact us by email on [email protected] and ask to be added to our email list.

Tewkesbury Branch - Email: [email protected] on third Thursday of the month at 8.00 pm. For further details please contact Steve on 07583 740986 or Bill by email on: [email protected] or visit the website www.tewkesbury.camra.org.uk

8th March - Lunch and a Pint or Two - Queens Head, Sedgberrow. (Hook Norton) 540 bus leaves Crescent 11.46, The Anchor 11.48, Bredon Surgery 11.57 arrive Sedgberrow 12.23. Return on 15.00 arrive Boots 15.35 8th March - 8:00pm - Business Meeting, Royal British Legion Club, Tewkesbury10th March - Gone for a Burton - Trip to The National Brewery Museum, Burton Upon Trent with Pub History Society. Entrance fee of £11.95 adults, £9.95 OAP/Concessions includes a guided tour and a free pint! Black Bear Leave 9.30 a.m. Arrive back 6.30 p.m. To Book your seat Contact Bill Hunt - [email protected] August - Summer BBQ, Lower Lode Inn, Forthampton. Eating at 1600 but welcome to turn up earlier for a cheeky pint or two, price will be £14 per head usual discount for TWAF helpers, anyone wanting to go contact Steve by E Mail [email protected]

We value feedback and news from around the county, so, if you’ve got something to say, want to make a contribution, compliment or criticise, then get in touch:

The Editor, The Tippler, 23 Theocs Close, Tewkesbury, Glos. GL20 [email protected]

01684 439767

CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES:these have now changed to

SECOND FRIDAY OF FEBRUARY, MAY, AUGUST AND NOVEMBER have you any pub news?

More details are posted regularly on the Facebook group 'Gloucestershire Pubs', an ideal forum to keep other people informed of the latest pub

developments in the county.

49


Gloucestershire BranchElected Committee Members

Position Name, address and contact details

Chairman Chris McHugh 01453 542163 [email protected]

Vice Chairman Margaret Wilkins 01452 551400 [email protected]

Branch Secretary Martin Parker 01242 604114and [email protected]

Branch Contact [email protected]

Treasurer Mark Robinson 01531 822944 [email protected]

Membership Secretary Rob Tough 01285 851194 [email protected]

Webmaster John Barrett 01242 239785 [email protected]

Public Affairs Officer Martin Parker 01242 252085 [email protected]

Young Members Contact Currently vacant

Pubs Officer Andrew Frape 07941 670371 [email protected]

Newsletter Editor Chris Leibbrandt 01684 439767 [email protected]

TRADING STANDARD DEPARTMENTGloucestershire Trading Standards, Hillfield House, Denmark Rd., Gloucester. GL1 3LDTelephone: 01452 426201 email: [email protected]


Position Name, address and contact details

Chairman Chris McHugh 01453 542163 [email protected]

Vice Chairman Margaret Wilkins 01452 551400 [email protected]

Branch Secretary Martin Parker 01242 604114and [email protected]

Branch Contact [email protected]

Treasurer Mark Robinson 01531 822944 [email protected]

Membership Secretary Rob Tough 01285 851194 [email protected]

Webmaster John Barrett 01242 239785 [email protected]

Public Affairs Officer Martin Parker 01242 252085 [email protected]

Young Members Contact Currently vacant

Pubs Officer Andrew Frape 07941 670371 [email protected]

Newsletter Editor Chris Leibbrandt 01684 439767 [email protected]

CHELTENHAM CAMRA Branch

Officers and Committee

Chair: John Crossley

[email protected]

Secretary and Branch Contact:Rob Coldwell - 07752 740488

[email protected]

Treasurer:Chris Chadwick

[email protected]

Membership Secretary: John Pickles

[email protected]

Social Secretary:Veronica Emary

[email protected]

Pubs Officer / Transport Officer:John Crossley

[email protected]

Beer Festival Organiser:Andy Forbes

Clubs Officer:David Midwinter

[email protected]

Press Officer:Tony Lucas

[email protected]

Newsletter:Post Vacant - news@cheltenhamcamra.

org.uk

Webmaster:Chris Martin

[email protected]

Community Pubs Officer:Dave Gibbons

[email protected]

Committee Members:Grant [email protected]

Ian [email protected]

www.cheltenhamcamra.org.uk51

Chairman and Festivals Director:Roger Price6 Greenlake Close, Bourton on the WaterGL54 2PR01451 81030507850 [email protected]

Secretary and Branch Contact:Chris Knight (Mickleton)07890 [email protected]

Treasurer:Dawn Harrison (Hucclecote)07964 [email protected]

Membership Secretary:Garry Hayward (Winchcombe)01242 [email protected]

Pubs Officer, Good Beer Guide Co-ordinator & Moreton Festival Director:Martin Jones (Moreton in Marsh)[email protected]

Media & Beer Festivals Coordinator: Martyn Herbert 07393 534221 [email protected]

Social Secretary and Webmaster:Peter Rowe (Bourton on the Water)

[email protected]

Cider CoordinatorJames Fry (Charlton Kings)[email protected] Social Media OfficerDave Taylor (Moreton in Marsh)07813 [email protected]

BLO Cotswold Brewing Co.:Peter Rowe (Bourton on the Water)[email protected]

BLO Donnington Brewery:Dick Harrison (Huddlecote)01451 [email protected]

BLO Goffs Brewery:John Stocks (Toddington)01242 [email protected]

BLO Stanway Brewery:Garry Hayward (Winchcombe)01242 [email protected]

Young Members Officer:James Long (Moreton in Marsh)[email protected]

NORTH COTSWOLD CAMRA Branch


www.northcotswoldcamra.org.uk52

TEWKESBURY CAMRA Branch


Chair and Branch Contact: Steve Kisby66 Church Street TewkesburyGL20 5RZ07583 [email protected]

Secretary:Ian [email protected]

Treasurer:Christine [email protected]

Membership Secretary: Melanie [email protected]

Social Secretary:Bill [email protected]

Pubs Officer / Transport Officer:-Pete Goodger

[email protected]

Cider RepMartin [email protected]

CellarmanDave [email protected]

Tippler DistributionGeoff [email protected]

Webmaster:Ian [email protected]

NBSS & GBG Co-ordinatorMike [email protected]

www.tewkesbury.camra.org.uk53

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BREWERYTOUR

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BREWERYTOUR

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Find the listed Gloucestershire hostelries in the grid. They can behorizontal, vertical or diagonal, going forward or back. Unused lettersspell out the time and place of a rendezvous.

Send your answer in ASAP to: [email protected]

and win on of FOUR BREWERY TOUR tickets available to lucky winners.

The Tippler is delighted to secure the support of the Gloucester Brewery who have agreed to sponsor our increasingly popular wordsearch. You have a chance to win four brewery tour tickets, a brilliant prize that comes highly recommended. There’s a lot more than you think going on at this truly fascinating brewery set in the heart of the Gloucester Docks.

BeehiveBellBoatButhayCobblersCrownFalconFleeceHogLambMountNew InnOrmond

PelicanPriory Inn Queen VictoriaRam InnRed LionRetreatRoyalStarSwanTipputsTivoliYew TreeYork


tippler FREE - Campaign for Real Ale · 2018-03-26 · The magazine of the Gloucestershire Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale contents: ©The Campaign for Real Ale 2018. Opinions

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