beer arounf 'ere issue 166

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

Also inside Pub News • PBF 2012 GuideGigs Guide • Local Brewery Update and more!

It’s time...Issue 166 | August / September 2012

b a eBeer Around ’Ere

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Idon’t think we need to write an introductionfor this issue of BAE. A great deal of it has allthe information about this year’s annual

Peterborough Beer Festival, held as usual on TheEmbankment in the city.

Visitors please take note! We have changed thelayout back to its original plan, allowing visitors towalk all the way around the site. A slightly smallerlength in the marquees is the result of ourreduced budget but, you will hardly notice thedifference. We have looked at the pricing structureand revised admission prices - downwards!Payment for glass hire is again separate fromadmission payment. These changes are inresponse to the many comments made over thelast two years from our visitors, proving that wedo listen to our customers.

All we need now is for you to come along andsample some of the 350 odd different ales, as wellas ciders, perries, bottled beers and homeproduced wines. Oh and maybe if you could bringa little sunshine or even dry weather with you, we would be eternally grateful.

Now the England football team may not havecome out on top of the Euro championships but,England does top the pile in another aspect. Thisis not a welcome championship that drinkers raveabout. I refer to the highest proportion of tax thatdrinkers in this country pay on their pints, incomparison to the other Euro 2012 competitors.A whopping 55p on every pint is taken in taxhere, with only Sweden (47p) and Ireland (39p)anywhere near our figure. English fans going toUkraine only forked out 4p a pint in tax and, 12pin Poland. These figures don’t take in to accountany additional VAT or any other tax levied on beer.

So whilst enjoying your pint of ale at PBF thisyear, remember that half of the cost of it goes tothe government coffers. We will be asking our visi-tors to sign CAMRA’s E-Petition to get the

government to scrap the Duty Escalator thatautomatically increases duty tax on beer everyBudget. It will be positioned on our Informationand Membership stand. Don’t leave withoutsigning up! It costs you nothing but could saveyou a great deal in years to come.

A note of congratulations must go to our neigh-bouring branch in Rutland who have producedtheir first Newsletter. Named appropriately “TheTiny Pint”, the first issue appeared recently with,hopefully, four seasonal issues planned. TheRutland branch members were, until about fouryears ago, part of our Peterborough and Districtbranch. A few like-minded souls decided it wastime to make a stand for the pubs within thesmallest county in England. A sub-branch wasformed with our blessing, although placed underthe Leicester branch. Last year, at the Rutlandbranch’s first Beer Festival, they were granted fullbranch status. The County of Rutland branchcan now truly live up to the motto Multum-in-Parvo (Much-in-Little).

All the details about PBF 2012 are in this issue.

Hope to see you there! Cheers folks.

David Murray - Branch Chairman.

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

Chairman’s Corner | 3

Chairman’s Corner

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

Get Beer Around Ere delivered to your door!For a year (6 issues) send a £3.30 for second class

or £3.90 for 1st Class cheque/PO payable to“Peterborough CAMRA” and your address to:-

Daryl Ling, 19 Lidgate Close, Orton LonguevillePeterborough PE2 7ZA

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It’s always nice to start with a bit of good news,so congratulations to Bruce and Denise of theLetter B in Whittlesey on being voted

Cambridgeshire Pub of the Year. I’m sure there’llbe a bit of a write up elsewhere in this mag so thisis just a brief thumbs up from Mr Pubs Officer.

In the last issue I mentioned that thePalmerston Arms has a new man behind the bar.Ian Benton has only been in the place a fewmonths and already the place is transformed fromthe barely inhabited boozer, home only to a lonedrinker crying into his Oakham Inferno. It was mypleasure to drag myself, a Texan MembershipSecretary and our long suffering wives downOundle Rd on a recent Bank Holiday to samplethe pub and what it had to offer. Not only ales inabundance in tip top condition and qualitynibbles but also a blues band to add to theatmosphere. Standing room only? I should say so.Music seems to be a common thread here with abit of acoustic Irish music on Sundays to accom-pany your post lunch pint. Alarm bells startedringing however when I noticed a request forukulele players to come and have a practice in thepub. Must be worth a look if you're interestedbut the thought of a pub full of George Formbyimpressionists may be too much for mortal manto take.

Tales from Park Street….While we’re in Woodston an update is in orderregarding the curious world of the scotch egg. Aswe all know the centre of the Universe regardingsaid delicacies is the Coalheaver’s Arms. Notcontent with providing nuts and crisps from wellknown suppliers, Tom the landlord appears to bein league with Lucifer and uses alchemy to createmysterious items in his kitchen. As far as I knowthe scotch egg should contain sausage meat andprobably an egg but Tom is not content with suchpedestrian ingredients so we now have a new

variety almost daily. Having a quick flick throughmy ‘scotch egg’ diary (doesn’t everyone have oneof these?) over the last few months I can see thatTom has offered regulars the following….Saag(spinach, garlic, ginger, cumin and chilli), Tikka,Chilli Con Carne Jumbo eggs, Spicy Satay, HerbyMozzarella, Rogan Josh, Egg Wellington (thehumble egg encased in a layer of pate thenwrapped in Lincolnshire sausage meat), Haggis &Whisky, Cheese and Onion and Springbok &Pesto. All of these exotic recipes have been a merepreamble to the ultimate in scotch eggs...... ’TheFull English’ with added bacon, baked beans,mushroom and a cornflake crust. He’s gonecompletely mad, mad, mad I tell you…

Something not worth whittling aboutThe Whittle Way in Stanground has now beenawarded Cask Marque and has four handpumps ifrequired. Steve, our landlord who’s been here forabout five years, only puts on enough ales to keepthem in good nick so usually about 2 at any onetime but his band of ale drinkers is getting larger.The Tim Taylor Landlord went down extremelywell on my visit and I’ll be back for more some-time soon. So what activities go on at the pubthen? Well, quite a lot it seems. Darts onMonday, Tuesday is poker night, Wednesday isdomino night, and Thursdays can get a bit busywhen the pool team and the ladies darts are bothat home. Steve would also like it known that thepub is on the look out for brave souls (or soles) totake part in a fire walking event in aid of LittleHeroes Children’s Cancer Charity. I can assure allthose who will be worrying about burnt feet andblisters that strolling over hot coals is quite safe. Ispeak with some authority on the subject as I didit a few months ago for the Lee Groome Fund atthe Dragon in Werrington. You can read the fullpainful account in a previous BAE! I have sufferedabsolutely no ill effects from the event although I

Pub News Around ‘Ere

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4 |

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do speed up a bit when passing the charcoalbriquettes in B & Q.

Ploughman Pub safe (for the time being)It would seem that Tesco have called a temporaryhalt to their ambitious plans to demolish theaward winning community pub the Ploughman inWerrington. Landlord Andy Simmonds wasrecently seen sporting a smug grin after having hislease extended for 3 more years. Was it themassive campaign that the pub instigated whichchanged their mind? Who knows, but it’s goodnews anyway. An additional feather in the cap ofthe Simmospoons empire is the news that boththe Dragon and the ‘Mothership’ (thePloughman) have been awarded community gongsfor their good works. All good stuff.

A pub not so lucky is the Royal Oak in Walton.Plans to build houses on the plot had beengranted several years ago and the pub has beenboarded up ever since. It’s only in the last weekthat the bulldozers have finally moved in and flat-tened the place. Inevitable but sad all the same.

I see that the Vine in Coates near Whittleseyhas been put up for sale by Chas Wells. Whetherthis is for sale as a development site or not isunknown at present.

The Stars in March has new tenants direct fromthe Coach House in St Neots and they havealready added a guest beer to the Greene KingIPA & Abbot. As trade increases so will the rangeof real ales and the pub will also return to its orig-inal name of the Seven Stars very soon.

The Crown in Elton has had a bit of amakeover although no full report has been forth-coming. The quality of both the food and ale inhere has always been excellent and I assume thatthis will continue to be paramount.

The Chequers in Orton Wistow is going to be aTesco Express, hurrah! For all those hoping toobject to planning permission, tough luck, it isn’tneeded as you can convert a pub to a super-market without it. It would seem that it’s not only

pubs that bite the dust either. On a recent visit toBournemouth I witnessed a Tesco Express in achurch! What an inspirational idea….keeping thePinot Grigio in the font to keep it cool.

Tesco will now continue to take over the worldand the process should be complete by 2014.

Sporting TypesI’m glad that the recent beer festival atPeterborough Town Sports Club inBretton/Westwood was a massive success.Organiser of the event Mick Daykin summarisedthe gig for me which saves me the effort of typingit myself...

‘We ended up with 22 local real ales including Brewster’sEurogeddon, brewed for the Euro Football plus two WestonCiders. The live music on Friday and Saturday went downwell as did the cricket, hockey, squash and tennis tourna-ments. Over 1,500 pints were sold and £300 was raisedfor Macmillan Nurses through the sale of Festival Glasses.Mick would like to thank individual and team sponsors plus

Pub News| 5

Continued Overleaf

www.real-ale.org.uk

14 Ever-changing Real Alesavailable every week!

For live music and eventsplease see our Facebook page

Opening Times: Mon - Thurs 15.00 - 23.00 Friday - Saturday 12.00 - 00.00 Sunday 12.00 - 22.30

82 Oundle Rd, Peterborough PE2 9PA Tel: 01733 565865

Palmerston Arms

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www.real-ale.org.uk

Friday 10th - Sunday 12th August

BEERS FROM THE SOUTHWEST

8 Real Ales outside and Ciders.

Live Music -

Fri 10th - 9pm High Rollers Duo

Sat 11th - 9pm The Dizzy Miss Lizzys

Sunday 12th - 4.30pm The Jazz Pigeons

29 North Street, Stanground. PE2 8HR.Tel 01733 753544

Friendly village pub with riverside mooring. Large garden • Dogs welcome • Open all day

Food served: Tues to Sun 12.00 until2.30pm, Mon to Sat 6pm to 9pm.

Quiz night Sundays - cash prizes.

ANNUAL CHARITY DAY SUNDAY 12 AUGUST FROM NOONLots of games, stalls, tombolas, raffle,BBQ - in aid of ‘Sailability’ and ‘Free

Kicks’ charities.

TheTraditional Free House

High Street, Maxey, Peterborough PE6 9EE Tel: 01778 348182

Club & special event buffets on requestReal fires in winter, always a friendly welcome!

• CAMRA Gold Award Winners 2005 • CAMRA Pub of the Year 2006 • Cambs Pub of the Year 2007 •

Now with NINE Real Ales includingFullers ESB and London Pride, at least one Oakham Ale

and SIX ever-changing quality guest ales

Blue Bell at Maxey

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the lads for sleeping over for four nights guarding valuablebeer! Anyone interested in providing sponsorship for nextyear please get in touch.’

The right to replyIn the last issue it was suggested by a correspon-dent that the branch had a policy of ignoringpubs which have a restricted entry policy. We inPeterborough don’t have such a policy, althoughthere’s probably something in the head officemaster plan requiring us to omit such pubs frombeer guides and other publications, but we tendto ignore such things anyway. So what has raisedthis issue?

Our correspondent believes that we haveignored the Old John Clare in Paston becausethere is a ‘Members Only’ sign on the door and akey fob entry. I can assure everybody that wehave no issue with Mr Simon King who owns theplace or his policy of denying access to some ofthe pond life who frequented the place in aprevious existence. Thanks to Mr King the realales are superb and he has enough well behavedcustomers to keep 4 handpumps in more or lessconstant use. Entry is of course available to otherdrinkers provided they are house trained and of arespectable appearance. As a final note I havementioned the pub in this mag on at least 3previous occasions. This is probably the fourth.

June 21st, longest day, jobs done and beer inthe Hand & HeartA day off on the longest day should perhaps haveinspired me to great things but life and days offdon’t always fulfil their promises. But a day off is aday off and we have to make the most of thesesmall slivers of freedom away from the coal face.

As it turned out Mrs Pubs Officer, ever vigilantof idle hands, had supplied me with a ‘to do’ listwhich diverted my day somewhat. With uncus-tomary enthusiasm I leapt into action and setabout the offending list at the speed of a racingsnake. By mid afternoon, appointments had beenkept, family members delivered to various places,a bit of hoovering done in a half arsed blokey sort

of way and a sit down with a fluffy coffee andHobnob was called for. So all was progressing welland the idea of a pint in a sunny beer gardencould only be just over the Dogsthorpe horizon.So what about the weather?

On the longest day of the year you would’veexpected the sun to be in evidence. Where wereall the birds that should have been tweetingaround me? I can only assume they were doing itonline through Twitter to keep out of theappalling weather. As is so often the case withcomplex systems, summer had failed to downloadand I was looking at a damp and overcast errormessage. With my spirits under a storm cloudthere was only one thing for it. Go to the pubregardless.

The Hand & Heart is not too distant fromChez Pubs Officer and a 10 minute jaunt on thebike sees me propping up the bar with a goldenbeer in hand.

It’s been a while since I mentioned the Hand &Heart, as was made acutely apparent to me asBram pinned me up against the fruit machinewaving a tightly rolled up copy of the MorningAdvertiser in my face. ’ It just so happens I waswriting a piece about the pub for the beer festivalissue of Beer Around ’Ere’ I offered in a meekand squeaky voice. ’Well make sure you do or it’llbe a hot poker next time’ he quipped as hemotioned us towards the fireplace. So, withoutany prejudice and with the thought of having myexits cauterized being furthest from my mind I’dlike to say a few words about that prince amongmen Mr Paul Brammer and his lovely pub theHand & Heart.

The ’Hand’ has sat in a quiet backwater of thecity since 1938 and now enjoys the dubious titleof the last pub in the quaint little village ofMillfield. It’s easily reached by public transportand is on the Citi 1 route (look for the trafficlights and the massive off licence selling Tyskieand Lech at very competitive prices on the right

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Pub News continued | 7

Continued Overleaf

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and the motorbike shop on the left). There are 6handpumps in use and generally offer small inde-pendent brews in a nice, bright, shiny condition.Mine host Bram can be loosely termed a beerenthusiast and enjoys nothing more than a smallmedicinal half or two with his happy band offollowers who continue to support him and hisbetter half Sue in the many events staged duringthe year. His only other pleasures are dominoesand a small sweet sherry before attendingEvensong. The pub now has a superb beer shedoutside which is fully utilised during beer andmusic festivals and is probably available for privatefunctions if you lead a solitary life and don’t havetoo many friends.

So what else does the ‘Hand’ provide us with?Apart from good beer, an excellent beer gardencomplete with beer shed and beer festivals whatelse is on offer? Well, on the third Thursday of themonth you’ll come across a band of musiciansdoing their utmost to keep you from going home.

So, back to my day off. It just so happenedthat the 21st was the 3rd Thursday of the monthand I positioned myself at the bar with Duncan ofCastor Ales who helped me drink my beer whiletrying to sell me a barrel of Roman Gold. Wechatted, we laughed, we joked and then drankeach others beer by mistake. After a few morebeers we joined in with all the songs we knew thewords to and after a few more beers we joined inwith all the songs we didn't know the words to aswell. The evening finished with more singing andmore beer drinking before all going our separateways.

My evening ended with a bike ride home ofconsiderably more than the ten minutes it took toget me here after which I collapsed and spanround in my swivel chair, ate something Ishouldn’t have and put a few inappropriatecomments on Facebook. The longest day hadbeen a good one with the Guvnor’s ‘to do’ listcompleted, beer drank, songs sang and barrels ofbeer inadvertently purchased. Perhaps I shoulddo this more often (lists and hot pokers permit-ting).

Schmoozing and customer relationsBy the time you read this the Peterborough BeerFestival will be imminent and we’ll all be gettingready for our most sober week of the year (westaff rarely have time for a drink you know). Overthe year I’ve mentioned numerous pubs aroundthe area and the beer fest provides a perfectopportunity for pub landlords to find me and tellme all about themselves. You can find me suitedand booted and awaiting your pleasure during theTrade Session on the Tuesday of the event. Pleasecome and find me (text me, it’s easier to track medown that way) and have a chat. Remember, youdon’t have to be a real ale emporium stocking arange of 20 beers to be of interest to us, we lovepubs that sell one beer in good condition just asmuch as the larger concerns.

Cheers for now

Steve Williams0775 6066 503

Pub News continued| 9

www.real-ale.org.uk

402 Eastrea Rd, Eastrea, WhittleseyPE7 2AR Tel: 01733 203333

3 Real Ales on handpump

Exciting new menu

Open all day every day

(except Monday Lunch)

Entertainmentevery Saturday

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www.real-ale.org.uk

Six Real Ales with four on rotation

3 Ciders • 2 Lagers • Fine Wine & Spiritslarge beer garden • Pool room

Opening Times open from 4pm week days

1pm saturday and 12pm sundays

Tel: 01778 560238 Barholm, Stamford, Lincs PE9 4RA

A Traditional Ale House with an open fire

Matt and Emma welcome you to the

ENTERTAINMENT

7th August Morris Men

12th August One Eyed Cats

and BBQ

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The awards just keep coming for the LetterB in Whittlesey. In less than 10 monthsthe pub has picked up a branch HOP

award, won the Peterborough branch Pub of theYear and has now scooped the CambridgeshirePub of the Year title too.

The award ceremony was held in front of a fullhouse of regulars and local CAMRA memberswho were keen to congratulate landlord coupleBruce and Denise Roan and all the staff. Adelighted Bruce thanked all of his loyal customersand members of CAMRA who had given theirsupport in helping make the pub a success.

Peterborough branch vice-chairman John Huntpresented the award and confirmed that nomina-tions to go into the Pub of the Year for the Easternregion would now be open to the Letter B.

Celebrations were, as usual, complimented by afine selection of beers and a fantastic buffet; all inall a great night and a hat-tip to all at the pub forcontinuing to ensure a successful and thrivingcommunity local.

www.real-ale.org.uk

Campaigning | 11

Letter B wins CambridgeshirePub of the Year 2012!

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Blue Bell BreweryThere is very little change at Blue Bell. Privateparty sales are still growing and bottled beer saleshave also been good. Pub sales are still very staticand Emma is not going to consider any new beersuntil pub sales start growing again.

Hopshackle Brewery – Market DeepingHopshackle’s Peterborough Beer Festival Specialis a golden beer 4.3% abv made with only Englishhops: Challenger, Fuggles and Goldings, most ofthe late hops will be added to the hopback. Twocasks of Restoration 10% abv will also be availableat the Peterborough Beer festival, one of themwas racked in April 2010, the other in 2011.

Restoration is usually only available in a bottle!Also available at the festival this year is Simmarillo3.8% abv, Extra Special Bitter 4.8% abv and BlackMule 7% abv

ElgoodsThe latest Dog decathlon beer is Beach Collieball.Sales have been very good so far. All of theDouble Eagle Stout has now gone. Bottled IndianSummer is definitely going on sale in Sainsburyssupermarkets in September.

Finally, anyone wishing to help out at theElgoods / SIBA beerfest in September shouldcontact Marcus Beecher or John Hunt who canput them in touch with Marcus.

Local Brewery Update

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12 |

Some thirty, thirsty fans of Oakham Ales tookon the onerous task of a visit to the brewery onSaturday 16th June and it proved the perfectantidote to watching England’s efforts in theEuros.

Split into groups of brewing students andwell, just drinkers, the day proved a pleasantway to catch up with the gossip at the brewery.

New head brewer Alex Keane took the reinsand gave a splendid talk on all that goes intomaking the perfect pint in a guided tour of themash tuns and fermenters.

If it was a pint and a chat you wanted threebeers were provided, J.H.B., Citra and ScarletMaCaw and all were in excellent condition.Everyone mellowed by the minute. On such aday as this time just seems to f ly and lo andbehold at the appointed hour of 3 o’clock thelast pint was drained and we had to leave.

Thanks to the four folk of Oakham Ales(pictured) who gave up their time for a pleasantday. Do you know what? We may have to do itall over again sometime.

Dave Allett

Oakham Ales Visit

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Local Brewery Update | 13

New location, new brew plant.The new 15 barrel stainless steel brew plantincluding two fermenters supplied by Malrex ofBurton on Trent was first used on the 19th Juneto brew Fools Nook at their new brewery at LilfordLodge Farm, Barnwell. The liquid waste from thebrewery is dealt with using their own reed bedfilter which was set up by Water-Line Solutions.

Paul, Mike and Fred will continue to supplytheir current portfolio of award winning beers, alsothere are plans to brew a festival special ale for thePeterborough Beer Festival. They currentlysupply pubs within a 30 mile radius of thebrewery mainly in Northamptonshire and becauseof this they support the LocAle initiative,although with their increased capacity they arelooking to expand their supply area.

The old brewery plant has been sold to fledglingBexar County Brewery of Peterborough and thepartners of Digfield wish the new brewers everysuccess with their old kit.

Dave Waller

www.real-ale.org.uk

All Things New at Digfield Ales

Above: View of new brew plant

Top: Paul Waring on left Mike Cohrs on right, stood on reedbed filter

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5 Ever Changing Real Ales, always including a LocAle

Large well appointed beer garden to rear, including stage& 35m2 Beer Shed facility (Uncle Bram’s Cabin)

Open 3-11.30pm Mon - Thur; 11.30am-midnight Fri & Sat and 11am - 11.30pm Sun

Weds - Preview Night in 'Uncle

Bram's Cabin' from 19:00

Thu - Pub opens at noon, as does Beer Shed,

Captain Backwash & The Barley Boy & Girl

Rafter Raisers playing in the bar from 9pm

Fri, Sat & Sun - Pub opens normal, Beer Shed from Noon

Live music on the stage from 7pm Fri, 5pm Sat & 3pm Sun

Up to 15 Bands / Artists ALL performing Beatles Songs as we

celebrate 50 Years of their first single release on 5th Oct 1962!

Sue & Jess's Home Cooked Food available 2pm-8pm

Fri-Sun, Freshly filled rolls & snacks

at other times.

Hand & Heart12 Highbury Street, Millfield

Peterborough PE1 3BE Tel: 01733 564653

CambridgeshirePub of the Year 2010

CAMRA GoldAward 2010

Come and visit the national inventory listed...

Weds 26th toSun 30th September

50+

Real Ales

& ciders,

including many

unique festiva

l specials

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Rain, rain go away!!!Of the twenty three games we should have playedthis season so far, only eleven have beencompleted due to rain. Skipper Nick Bradbury isleading by example having scored over sixhundred runs at an average of 151. New recruitJames Hilton-Robinson is proving a useful addi-tion taking wickets, catches and runs, and alsobeing a lucky omen for Nick who has not beenout whilst James is in the team.

This year’s tour to Oxford was a total wash outwith no games being played, although someplayers did watch the touring Lashings World XIside with Brian Lara starring. The team didhowever go on three brewery trips to GreatOakley, Whittlebury and XT.

Weather permitting the following fixtures are still tobe played:-August

Venue TimeSun 5 Burghley Park A 14:00Thur 9 Orton Park A 18:00Sun 12 Boughton A 14:00Thur 16 Gonads A 18:00Sun 19 Welney Croft A 14:00Sun 26 Orton Park H 13:30

SeptemberSun 2 Leverington H 14:00Sun 9 Wansford A 13:00Sun 16 Wakerley & Barrowden A 13:00Sun 23 Seas End Hall A 12:00Sun 30 Motley Crew H 13:00

If you want a game or just want to watch pleasecontact Matt on 07809629241.

CAMRA Cricket UpdateCAMRA Cricket | 15

s

s.

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As regular readers may know, members ofthe Coalheavers touring party like the oddaway day and are always looking for

different places to go as long as it’s not more thana couple of hours or so away. We’ve been toplaces such as Nottingham, Derby, Norwich,Cambridge, London, Sheffield, York, Durham andHarrogate, all of which have been great. The nexttrip was to be a bit different. Mr Urch was gettingmarried and he rather fancied a couple of days inPrague. After all, it is only 90 minutes away.

With all our trips, a bit of research beforehandis essential and going abroad requires even more.So after a few hours on the net we had details andmaps (Google, unfortunately) of about 8 to 10interesting looking places to visit.

On arrival at the hotel, we quickly threw ourbags into the rooms and headed for the U Flekubeer house. This place from the outside looksquite big but inside it’s huge with 6 or 7 drinkingrooms and a massive courtyard. Only one beer isserved here and it’s a very dark cross between abock lager and a porter. The billing system isgreat, they place a bit of paper on the table andmake a small tick for each beer served and thentotted up at the end. Just round the corner wasanother bar, Pivovarsky Dum. As we were slightlypeckish we had a large meat and cheese platterwhich perfectly complemented the beers, which inthis bar were a bit different. Apart from regularlager type beer, they had wheat, banana, cherry,coffee and nettle beer. All very nice apart from thenettle. The coffee beer was fantastic. I don’tusually like coffee beers, I like coffee and I like

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Tasters at the Beer Musuem

Coalheavers on Tour:

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beer, but not together, but this one was different,rich, smooth and creamy with just the rightamount of coffee. Everybody liked it.

Very fortunately, there was a beer houseabout 30 seconds from the hotel. It was onStupartske Street and that was also the name ofthe beer. A lot of the bars have their own microbrewery on the premises and the beer is oftennamed after the bar or the street where it islocated, and that will probably be the only placeyou will get it. It was an unfiltered and unpas-teurised lager. Very nice and so was the foodhere.

The next bar was the best one we found, butthat doesn’t mean there are not better onesaround. It was called The Beer Museum. Itwasn’t a museum at all, just a very good bar. Itonly had one beer font, but the font contained30 different beer taps. And they do a tastingplatter!! You get 30 thirds for about £13 and

some of them were pretty powerful. Out of the30, at least 20 got a definite thumbs up and eventhe other 10 weren’t too bad. When we left, wehad a very long but relatively cheap bar bill.

While we were there the Prague beer festivalwas on - What a coincidence! I have been beforeand reported on it in last May’s BAE so I won’tdwell on it too much, but it was good, the beerswere about £1.10 for a half litre and the Czechsare now using a lot of new world hops in theirbeers, producing brews tasting very British,almost like real IPA’s. Light, very hoppy and 6%to 8%. The festival is on every May for about 3weeks and I would really recommend a visit. Irecommend a Prague visit full stop. You won’t bedisappointed.

Dave Botton

Coalheavers Arms on Tour | 17

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Choices, Choices - The beer font - Beer Museum, Prague

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Yes, it’s that time of year again, one of themost anticipated events in the Peterboroughcalendar will be appearing on an Embankmentnear you in a few short weeks. On the followingpages you will find all the information you willneed to plan your visit. We have loads offantastic live acts for your entertainment whiletrying one (or three) of the 350 draught real aleson offer, see pages 22-23 for the full line up. Forthose of you yet to be converted to fine ale, wealso have a fantastic range of ciders, perries,wines and soft drinks. Read on and get excited!

What’s new this year?The two main things which we are hoping willattract people to the festival this year are thereduced entry prices and re-introduction of theoriginal style layout. However, these aren’texactly new ideas!

Unfortunately the cost of tickets had to go uplast year to cover overheads such as entertain-ment which had been increasing year on year.However we’re hoping that by bringing it downthis year we will attract more visitors and beersales will increase to make up for it. Entry atlunchtime sessions is only a pound and is freeto CAMRA members (with card proof ofmembership). Afternoon / Evenings (from5.30pm) are £4 or £5 depending on the day andonly £2 for CAMRA members. On Friday andSaturday when we have all day opening it won’tcost you any extra to stay in if you arrivedduring the lunchtime sessions.

There was a lot of demand for the original“horseshoe” style layout to return. We experi-mented over the last two years with alternativeswhich, we hoped, would make facilities jobs a

little easier. In practice there wasn’t muchdifference and the feedback from customerswas they much preferred it when they couldaccess the music stage from both sides ratherthan walk from one end to the other.

Hopefully we will also have some new weatherthis year as we’ve been quite unlucky with therain over the last couple of festivals!

What specialty beers/ciders/wines can welook forward to?The full lists won’t be published until towardsthe end of July however as a festival we sellaround 350+ real ales, 150+ world bottled beers,over 80 different ciders and perries, and 35different English wines each year.

Last year we had some real ale from abrewery based in Normandy, brewed, funnilyenough, by a former Peterborough school-teacher who had emigrated. The ale tastedauthentically English, albeit with Frenchnomenclature. We also had a festival specialmade to an American recipe - Texas Pale Ale -by Hopshackle which was a personal favourite.A lot of the specialty beers are within the

bottled/world beers bar. Here you will find allmanner of ever popular fruit beers such ascherry, strawberry, banana, honey and evenchocolate. There are many styles of bottledbeers here from wheat beer, Trappist, Lambicto more traditional lagers and everything inbetween. Something for every taste!

What’s the line-up in terms of live music?We will be having live music every night of theweek and there will be a wide variety. Theshowstopper is always the Saturday headliner

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 13:35

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which the year is the Fab Beatles. Full detailsof all the bands can be found on the next fewpages or on the website at www.beerfest.org.uk

How important is it for people to supportCAMRA?The beer festival is organized and run byunpaid CAMRA volunteers who all share apassion not just for real ale & ciders, but alsothe pubs where people can socialize and drinkin a responsible and friendly environment. Realale has had something of a revival in recentyears, with a huge number of small micro-brew-eries emerging, giving drinkers the choice andvariety they want. However, this success storyis in contrast to the steep decline in publichouses which have been hit hard for manyyears by repeated hikes in alcohol duty, compe-tition from supermarkets selling below cost andunfair pub company tenancy agreements toname but a few factors. With fewer pubs to sellbrewers’ products, there is a danger that realale could decline again as once they are gone,they are usually lost forever. So, we’re urgingpeople to support CAMRA in their fight tosave the British public house. Anyone who isn’ta member could help simply by filling in theonline petition against the Beer Duty Escalatorhttp://epetitions.direct.gov.uk /petitions/29664

What benefits do people get from joiningCAMRA?As well as reduced or free entry to over 160 UKbeer festivals members also get £20 worth of JDWetherspoon vouchers, an exclusive members’newspaper and a quarterly “Beer” magazine,discounts off top leisure deals and more. Fulldetails can be found athttp://www.camra.org.uk /benefits

Your local branch will more than likely runsocials and brewery trips throughout the yearwhich provide great opportunity to sample newbeers that you just might not encounter thatoften in your local.

Have you found an increase or decrease inmembership?The total UK membership now stands at over141,000 members. That’s 10,000 more than when

I joined CAMRA just over two years ago.Peterborough is one of the largest branches inthe UK with an average membership of around3000. This is partly due to the large geographyof the branch area and also because a lot ofpeople join at the festival for the reduced entryprices. Although we love saving people moneywe’d also like people to use their membershippositively by raising the awareness of what isgoing on in the pub trade in their local areas.

Is real ale becoming trendier amongst young peopleAbsolutely! According to the Cask Ale Reportfor 2011/2012 there are about 1.6 million regularcask ale drinkers under the age of 35 with thenumber under the age of 25 growing year onyear. Far from being the stereotypical “oldman’s drink” it could now be described ashaving an element of “retro-cool” about it. Inaddition out of 7.8 million regular cask aledrinkers 1 in 6 is female. This number hasdoubled in recent years.

NOW SERVING SIX REAL ALESplus Ciders and Perries. Over 30 Malt Whiskies

• Food served daily •12-3pm Monday - Sunday6-9pm Friday & Saturday

• Sky HD and 3D showing Football and Rugby •

t. 01780 755141 w. jollybrewer.comFoundry Road, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 2PP

NOW SERVING SIX REAL ALESplus Ciders and Perries. Over 30 Malt Whiskies

• Food served daily •12-3pm Monday - Sunday6-9pm Friday & Saturday

• Sky HD and 3D showing Football and Rugby •

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:18

BEERSWe will be serving more than 350 draught real alesincluding favourites, beers from very small micros,many from new breweries, some produced speciallyfor the festival and beers from our LocAle breweries.Almost all of the beers will be served by gravity –straight from the cask. Our aim is always to haveevery beer ready and available from the openingsession – we do not hold any beers back. As alwayswe will be serving beers of many styles includingmilds, bitters, porters, stouts, speciality flavouredbeers and a few real lagers.

GLASSESCommemorative half-pint and pint sleeve glassesand half pint tankards bearing the festival logo willbe available and all will be oversized so that we canguarantee that you get a full measure when theglasses are filled to the line. Festival wine and bottleglasses will also be available at the same price.

CIDER & PERRYThe cider bar is with us, as always, serving one ofthe best selections of traditional cider and perryto be found anywhere.

WINE BARThe wine bar will be selling traditional countrywines and still and sparkling grape wines fromEnglish vineyards.

BOTTLED BEERSThe popular bottled beer bar will be selling anextended range of traditionally made bottled beers from around the world.

SOFT DRINKSOur soft drinks bar, the Escape Bar, will be selling arange of soft drinks, non-alcoholic beer, crisps, icecream, sweets and cigarettes. We will also be sellingchildren’s drinks at a mere 50p.

FOODThere will be a wide selection of foods availableincluding German sausages, French crepes, pizza,fish and chips, hog roast, doughnuts, toasties,oriental, biltong, olives, burgers, bacon rolls,pasta, hot dogs, Cornish pasties, pittas, pork pies,waffles, fruit smoothies, tea & coffee.

THE WORKERSThe Festival is organised and run by members ofCAMRA who are all unpaid volunteers. Wealways need more help so why not give us a fewhours of your time if you are a member. See thewebsite for more details on how to register.

CHILDREN AT THE FESTIVALChildren, accompanied by a responsible adult, arefree. Lunchtime or early evening is the ideal timeto bring the family, as there is always an easygoing, friendly atmosphere. You can bring the dog(on a lead), the picnic table, food and soft drinksbut you must not bring your own alcohol.

VENUEThe 35th Peterborough CAMRA Beer Festivalwill be held in massive marquees on the RiverEmbankment, Bishops Road, Peterborough PE11EF. This year we are going back to the originallayout, popular with festival goers for many years.The site is only a few minutes walk from the city

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:18

centre, bus, rail and coach stations. A taxi rank willbe provided to enable you to get home withoutdriving. Beer festivals and cars don’t mix

OTHER STALLSOn site you will find tombola, pub games, ourlunchtime pub quiz, the CAMRA shop, a T-shirtstand, beer and brewing books, glass engraving andthe RNLI will be at the front gate asking for yoursmall change. This year we also host Tipplefair. Ifyou’re interested in beermats, pump clips, glasses,pewter, brewery playing cards or any other memora-bilia related to the ‘Trade’ then come along onSaturday between 12 – 5pm for a pleasant afternoonbrowsing.

DISABLED ACCESSThe site is on one level on grass and disabled toiletsare provided at the front and back of the site.Wheelchairs can be sourced but we do need advancewarning – please call 01733 896555. Taxis and carscarrying disabled passengers are permitted to crossthe Embankment and drop off at the festivalentrance.

CAMRA MEMBERSCAMRA members get FREE entry to the festival forall of the early sessions and reduced entry prices atall evening sessions. There are many other benefits

too including free or reduced entry to over 160 beerfestivals throughout the UK. To find out more or tojoin online visit www.camra.org.uk/benefits

If you’re not a member you can also join or find outmore at our membership and information area orsimply have a chat about what we do, ask aboutbeer, pubs, brewing, etc

CONTACT INFORMATIONGET IN TOUCH:01733 [email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFO:www.beer-fest.org.ukPBF2012

Tuesday 21st August 5.30 - 11pm £4

Wednesday 22nd August 12 - 2.30pm £1 5.30 - 11pm £4

Thursday 23rd August 12 - 2.30pm £1 5.30 - 11pm £5

Friday 24th August 12 - 3pm £1 3 - 11pm £5

Saturday 25th August 12 - 3pm £1 3 - 11pm £5

CAMRA MEMBERS Early sessions FREE, Late sessions £2

Open All Day Friday and Saturday. No additional admission cost if you staybeyond the early session times.

Providing a warm welcome to all our guests,with great beers, fine wines and traditional food in

modern and comfortable surroundings.

FIVE HAND PULLED BEERS (three Everards and two changing Guests)

Traditional Cask Cider also available

We take pride in the quality of our drinks, food andaccommodation. Call in and try us for yourself!

Opening Hours:Monday-Friday 12-3pm and 5-11pm

Saturday 12-11pm Sunday 12-10.30pm

Food served:Mon- Friday 12-2pm and 5.30-9.30pm

Sat 12-3pm and 5pm- 9.30pm Sunday 12-8pm

Comfortable en-suite accommodation available.

87-89 Main Road, Collyweston,Lincolnshire PE9 3PQ Telephone 01780 444288www.collywestonslaterpub.co.uk

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:20

TUESDAY 21ST AUGUST8.45pm to 9.30pm and 9.55pm to 10.40pm

Amplified (Main)This talented bunch of lads has been togethernow for just over a year. In 2011 they started offby playing at the Brewery Tap open mic nightsand since then have performed in and aroundPeterborough. Having built a solid reputation,they have appeared in the local press / maga-zines and recently entered a nationwidecompetition where they competed against10,000 musicians to win a spot at the LondonO2 and managed to reach as far as the semifinals. Playing a range of music from the 50’s tothe present day, they are currently writing theirown material.

WEDNESDAY 22ND AUGUST8.15pm to 9.15pm

Kerry Divine with Kasandra’sMagic Pylon Band (Support)

Peterborough singersongwriter KerryDevine is accompaniedby Kasandra’s MagicPylon Band - Rob White- Bass, NathanWieskowski - Keys and

Jes Kerr - Drums. Having self-released twoEPs - ‘Bare Teeth’ and ‘Biscuit and Buttons’ -Kerry and the band are now working on analbum due to be released in November 2012. “amysterious fusion of disparate musical talents

incorporating free jazz and classical baroqueinto their sound" Boomerang Returns -Promoters - Stamford. “assured, mature and confident, a very

impressive first record. There's more thanenough to impress and more than enough tomake you want me more." Review from "Artand Soul" magazine. www.kerrydevine.org

9.45pm to 10.45pm

Columbian Necktie (Main)“All the stars in heaven began to glow asColumbian Necktie strutted the stage andregaled the audience with as fine a collection ofvibrantly demanding - and yet playful andamusing - musical delights. If you haven't seenColumbian Necktie I urge you - I implore you -to do so at your first opportunity or else leaveyour life bereft of all the joys they have to offer”.

Once upon a time, not too many years ago,you could listen to any band on the UK rockscene and compare them to a band from the60s or 70s...but UK rock has now developed itsown sound and manifested itself in the form ofColumbian Necktie who sound like everythingand nothing that has gone before them.www.myspace.com/columbiannecktie

THURSDAY 23RD AUGUST7.30pm to 9.00pm

The Offshore Rivers (Support)The Offshore Rivers are a four piece bandfrom East Anglia. The band were first formedby two friends over a mutual love of music,many nights spent over a record player

BANDSLIST

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:21

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comparing notes on the likes of The Stones,George Harrison, Gram Parsons, OtisRedding, the Byrds, Captain Beefheart, JimmyCliff, Neil Young, the Band...

It took over a year from the first spark ofinspiration to the actual forming of the band,keen to find the perfect balance of players witha good ear for song and that wide but solid setof inf luences. The resulting sound is of bitter-sweet blues and tender soul laden with countryguitar, the songs heartfelt and melodious withDylan-esque prose, and layered vocalharmonies. The band is currently working ontheir first album which they hope to have outlater this year.

http://www.myspace.com/theoffshorerivers

9.15pm to 10.45pm

Soulweaver (Main)

Formed in Cambridgeshire UK in 2009,Soulweaver are making a name as one of thetightest, hardest working and entertaining live

bands around. With dynamics, quality andintensity, Soulweaver contain the essence ofclassic British rock bands such as LedZeppelin and Cream but with a contemporaryedge that could see them described as theBritish Foo-Fighters. World beating rock fromthe UK that receives regular play on US, UK,European and Internet radio stations. Recentmedia comments include:

“Very Impressive, Cracking Band” (Total Rock Radio)

“Absolutely Outstanding” (USA Radio DJ)

http://www.soulweaverband.co.uk

FRIDAY 24TH AUGUST7.30pm to 9.00pm

The Indigo Kings (Support)

The Indigo Kings was formed in early 2011 bythe band’s bass player and lyrical mastermindCarl, with nothing but a War & Peace sizedcatalogue of scribbled words about heartacheand desire; and an empty barn with a residentpolystyrene alligator. Fast forward to 2012 andthe 7 piece band play 1930’s inspired jazz andirresistible swing rhythms, fused with heartaching blues and a sprinkling of vintage pop.Sweet and saucy harmony vocals meet withgritty lyrics to tell stories of interludes betweenlife and love, whilst smooth sax and classicblues guitar are woven together in the melodichaze with jazz piano to create a foot tappingvintage yet modern sound.

http://www.theindigokings.co.uk

Continued Overleaf

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:21

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

pub atmosphere.

We serve up to six real ales from national breweries and local microbreweries including Tydd Steam, Elgoods, Adnams, Fullers, Wells and The Grainstore Brewery. All changing weekly. Permanently available, exclusive to us John Clare Bitter 4.3% fromthe Grainstore.

Good home cooked food served Tuesday to Sunday. TraditionalSunday roast served from noon and daily 2 course lunchtime specials.

Small parties can be catered for including funerals, christenings,birthdays etc...

Pictures by Michael Slaughter

A

We are in it!

The Bluebell Inn10 Woodgate, Helpston Peterborough, PE6 7ED 01733 252394

BEER and HARVEST FESTIVALFriday September 21st – Sunday September 23rd

(Proceeds to ‘Help for Heroes’)

MINIMUM 15 REAL ALES + CIDEROpen all day each day

Live Music Friday (Paul Lake) and Saturday (The System)

Harvest Supper and Auction on Sunday

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:22

9.15pm to 10.45pm

Motor City Vipers (Main)

There has alwaysbeen a strongsoul-scene withinPeterborough, soit seems particu-larly bizarre thatthe city hasn’tbefore given rise

to a dedicated live soul band… until now!

Motor City Vipers are an electrifying eight-piece band who lovingly recreate some of thegreatest Northern Soul and Motown f loor-fillers from the 60’s and 70’s… from TheTemptations, Wilson Pickett and Dobie Gray,to The Supremes, Jackie Wilson and OtisReading – ‘The Vipers’ do it all !

Formed early-2009, Motor City Vipers havequickly gained themselves a reputation as ahugely exciting soul band that are in highdemand all year round – performing at parties,weddings, corporate events, fundraisers andfestivals across the UK; and we’re very pleasedto welcome them to the 35th PeterboroughBeer Festival.

http://www.MotorCityVipers.co.uk

SATURDAY 25TH AUGUST8.00pm to 9.00pm

The Nuggets (Support)

Sixties tribute bandThe Nuggets havebeen wowing audi-ences with theirwinning blend ofsixties pop, soul andR&B classics formore than sevenyears. The excite-

ment of hearing these much-loved gems playedlive and loud never fails to energise their audi-ence at pubs, clubs and festivals across thecountry.

Fresh from their triumphant appearance atthis year's Willow Festival, The Nuggets aredelighted to be appearing at the CAMRA BeerFestival and hugely looking forward tosupporting The Fab Beatles. www.TheNuggets.co.uk

9.15pm to 10.45pm

The Fab Beatles (Main)

Formed in 1991 they have risen through sheerhard work & dedication to be one of the mostsought-after Beatles tribute bands in the worldtoday, with concerts performed all over theUK, Europe, Middle East & the Americas.

The Fab Beatles show starts with early"Hamburg" material & goes right through all thesingles & album tracks to "Let It Be" & the "break-up", with a repertoire that is second to none!

Chosen by the BBC as "The Best" &commissioned by EMI to promote the "Beatles1" CD. The Fab Beatles pride themselves on

BANDS LIST-CONTINUED

Continued Overleaf

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BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:22

www.real-ale.org.uk

28 | Please support our advertisers

The Cherry Tree9 - 11 Oundle Road,

Peterborough PE2 9PB

Tel: 01733 703495

FOUR Real Ales available including Oakham Inferno,Timothy Tayor Landlord and two

changing guest ales.

OPEN ALL DAY EVERYDAY

Traditional Meals Served Mon - Thurs and Sundays

Private Function room holds up to 40 people

Ideal for small meetings, weddings and parties

Covered Smoking Area • Childrens play area

Live Music Every WeekendSee ‘Rhythm & Booze’ section for full listings

SAT SEPT 2nd – CHARITY MUSIC DAY

AMPLE PARKING • CAMRA GOLD AWARDwww.cherrytree-inn.co.uk

3 Cask Ale pumps with atleast 1 LocAle and others

from far and wide

Food served every day • Sunday CarveryFunction rooms available to hire for all occasions

Karaoke every Friday 8.00pmQuiz Night every Wednesday 8.30pm start

Freehouse

London Street, Whittlesey PE7 1BH Tel: 01733 351001

Hand made in CastorMob: 07828 048 664 www.castorales.co.uk

now only available in Brighton

Melton Mowbray Beer of the festival 2011

SILVERAWARD

Falcon Stout

Falmouth Beer Fest Best Bitter Category 2011

BRONZEAWARDOld Scarlett

Broad Street, Stamford - 01780 763426 A FREE HOUSE

Open all day - every day

Six Real Ales including Fullers London Pride,Abbot Ale and our very popular Doombar.

Food Served Monday - Friday 12 - 2pmSaturday 12 - 2.30pm

Large Beer Garden

All Live Sports on 4 TV’s including our 64 inch big screen

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:22

professionalism & attention to detail & it's welldocumented that the Fab's sound is the closestyou will ever hear to the originals.

The Fab Beatles use only authentic instru-ments & costume & can now boast to have thevery drum-kit Ringo used on The Beatles 1964American tour no less! Without a doubt, TheFab Beatles are the industry's choice &considered the ultimate standard to aspire toby other acts.

See & hear for yourself.......

"The Fab Beatles are truly fab & I knowbecause I saw the other lot."

Michael Parkinson BBC

"I must say, that their presentation of TheBeatles is excellent. In fact, I could quitebelieve that I was actually listening to TheBeatles I am sending a copy to Julia, Johnssister".

Stan Parkes (John Lennon's 1st cousin)http://www.fabbeatles.com

SATURDAY AFTERNOONPBF SUPPORTING LOCAL BANDS

2.00pm - 2.40pm

From The SticksWhen thinking of what to call the band theguys were just shooting in the dark, thinking ofrandom names writing them down, but nothingfelt right to them... until Ricky (vocals) pointedout "Well we’re all from the sticks" bingobongo the rest is history. At the end of the day,the boys love their music and they love to play,giving it everything at every show.

http://www.facebook.com/FromTheSticks

3.00pm - 3.40pm

Phoenix CallingThe Cambridgeshire rock band PhoenixCalling deliver an energetic and polishedperformance of alternative rock. As a new up-coming band with promising reviews they have

already confirmed two radio slots, aresupporting Hawthorne Heights and areworking hard to record their first EP and videowhich is to be released after summer 2012.

4.00pm - 4.40pm

The MistreatedThe Mistreated is a four-piece classic rockcovers band based in Cambridgeshire, UK.Fronted by the powerful vocals of Doc, theypresent well-known rock songs from the '70s,'80s and '90s to the present day. They striveto deliver awesome rock tracks at the higheststandard of musicianship, but with emphasison entertainment.

Come and see them at the beer festival andyou can expect to hear tracks by such diverserock acts as Thin Lizzy, Muse, Led Zeppelin,Ozzy, AC/DC, The Cult and many, manymore.

www.themistreated.co.uk

5.00pm - 5.40pm

Sons of Kal ElSons of Kal-El provide professional liveperformances of refreshing classic hard rockmusic in the UK. Through performing showsconsisting of original songs from their debutalbum, the band is building up anexcellent loyal fan base. Through also having ahuge repertoire of covers, Sons of Kal-El areactive on the function band scene. The band’smusicians have previously been signed toTranscend Records; toured Europe; performedwith Steve Vai; and attained Honour Degreesin Contemporary Music from the worldrenowned Academy of Contemporary Music.

www.sonsofkal-el.com

Look out also for Shake Hands Ericperforming their “unplugged busking set”around the festival site during Saturdaylunchtime from midday to around 2:00 p.m.

Mike Lane

n

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:22


Beautiful traditional stone built oak-beamedpub just 2 miles from Stamford

FIVE Real Ales including Summer Lightning, DraughtBass, Greene King IPA + guests from Oakham Ales

and Abbeydale and a Old Rosie Cider

Open Tues-Thurs 12-2.30pm and 6-11pm (Fridayfrom 5pm) Sat/Sun OPEN ALL DAY from 12 noon

Extensive menu of good value home cooked foodserved at lunchtimes. 12-1.30pm and evenings 6.45-8.45pm – advance booking advisable!

2 course Sunday lunch – just £7.95

Ample Car parking – popular with walkers – park up, pre-order lunch or dinner and enjoy the countryside!

Shepherd’s Walk, Belmesthorpe, Stamford, Lincs PE9 4JG Tel 01780 753081

Beer Festival - 3rd to 5th August15+ good real ales & ciders • Charity Duck Race

Rutland

CAMRA

Pub of the Year

Runner up 201

2

Rutland

CAMRA

Pub of the Seas

on

Winter 2011

The Jolly Sailor, 43 Great Whyte,

Ramsey PE26 1HH

Tel 01487 813388

Traditional Town Centre Pub with real fireFive Real Ales and Stowford

Press CiderIncluding Abbot, Wherry, Bombardier

and two changing guest ales

Good Sized Car Park • Heated Smoking Shelter

Now Serving Freshly prepared foodMonday 12 to 2.30pm

Tuesday to Friday 12 to 2.30pm and 6 to 9pmSaturday 12am to 9pm

Sunday 12 to 4Booking is advisable

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:22

This is not the annual plea for volunteers tocome and help us at this year’s PBF, althoughfrom the headline it would appear to beprecisely that. I find we get a very limitedresponse to our ’begging’ letters. I just want toremind anyone of you brave souls who do havethe courage to volunteer to get your applicationforms in by the deadline.

Friday 10th of August is the closing date forsending in your forms, either by post or bysigning up on-line. (On-line saves me having todo it again). Full details are on our web site, atwww.beer-fest.org.uk or contact our staffing

office on 01733 560453. Remember that this yearwe can only accept pre-registered volunteers onthe Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of thefestival. On Friday and Saturday we can acceptstaff who turn up on those days who have notpre-registered. If you are not a member andhave not worked at the PBF before, you willneed a sponsor who must be a fully paid upmember. Whenever you are able to give us afew hours of your time we do very much appre-ciate your help. Thank you.

Dave MurrayPBF Staffing

PBF NEEDS YOUR HELP!

At this year’s Beer Festival we will be having asingles bar, but before you all get too excited,it`s not the kind of singles bar where you canpossibly meet someone with a view to devel-oping a deep and meaningful relationship, it`seven better than that. There will be a bar withabout 30 one off beers and when they aregone, they are gone. The kind of beers avail-able will vary from 2.5% beers, which maytaste very nice but we might struggle to sell 3firkins of, up to 10% ales which again willprobably taste great but how much of it canwe shift? There will also be one offs thatcertain brewers we have spoken to have foundlurking in their cold stores and are still in datesuch as festival specials from other beer festi-vals or unusual dark f lavoured beers that nopublican is brave enough to buy.

A few examples of what will be available areIndependence from Bristol Beer Factory, a

4.6% super hoppy beer, Glastonbury Thrillerporter, a very rare porter f lavoured with realcoffee beans, Restoration at 10% fromHopshackle, one from 2011 and one from 2012,nothing else to say about those, they are fromHopshackle so you know they will be good.

We also have Firestarter from KelhamIsland, details of which I cannot findanywhere. Also Deco from the Sportsmanbrewery in Huddersfield, ThornbridgeSeaforth and Truefit Ironopolis stout.

That’s just a small sample of what we will beoffering and we hope to find 30. There willonly be 10 to 15 on at any time so you mayhave to visit more than once. The singles barwill be located on Bar 1 on the very first bay.See you there.

Dave Botton

SINGLES BAR 81

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:22

www.real-ale.org.uk


~ Eye ~Blue Boar

46 High Street, Eye, Peterborough PE6 7UY Tel: 01733 222234

Selection of Real Ales includingOakham Ales

Sky Sports • Pool Table • Darts

Regular live music and KaraokeBar snacks available Tuesday to

Saturday lunchtimesHome cooked Sunday LunchesSmall conference room available

(Weddings,Christenings and business facilities)

FREE

ENTERTAINMENTAug 4 Latino SoundAug 11 AthenryAug 17 Little Dave BandAug 18 TallawahAug 25 Tom Wright BandAug 26 Lloyd WatsonSept 8 Rocket 57Sept 14 Betty SwallocksSept 29 Tom Wright BandWeekends: Live Music everyweekend (FREE tomembers, £1 non-members)

Find us at: 7 Burghley Rd, Peterborough PE1 2QATel 01733 896989 theburghleyclub Website: www.theburghleyclub.com

Peterborough’s Oldest Members ClubJust a short walk from Bus and Railway Stations and Queensgate

3 REAL CIDERS including local Jollydale brands

OPEN ALL DAY EVERYDAY DURING PETERBOROUGH BEER FESTIVAL WEEK

Free Entry to CAMRA members during festival week.

JUST £2.50 PER PINT !

5 EVER-CHANGING REAL ALESincluding Hopshackle Brewery -

Normal opening hours: Mon- Thurs 12-2.30pm & 5-11pm

Fri & Sat: 12 – 1am Sun 12 – 11pm

Food: Traditional Sunday Roastsand Weds Curry Night - £5.95 each

or £10 for two!

Membership just £5 until theend of 2012 – payable at the bar

Tuesdays: All Real Ales £2 per pint

Sundays: Quiz nights

120-guest capacity private functionroom available for hire

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:23

www.real-ale.org.uk

Please support our advertisers | 33

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:23


Pub Merit Awards & Gold AwardsThe committee feel that pubs outside of Peterborough are missing out on Gold Awards and so they

have 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

Specialists in niche publishing anddesign solutions for the on-trade.

We are proud to publish this magazine on behalf of Peterborough

and District CAMRA.

Orchard House Media | 01733 211001

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:23

www.real-ale.org.uk

Food & Drink Awards, East Midlands Winners 2011Peterborough CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2010

Three ales served from the likes of Oakham,Digfield, Tydd Steam and Black Sheep

Continental Lagers • American bottled beerOpening Times

12 midday to 11.30pm, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday,

12 midday to 2am Friday and Saturday, closed Tuesday.

9A North St, Stamford Lincs PE9 1EL01780 765888

www.mamaliz.co.uk

Please see website for our wide range of music entertainments for all ages and tastes

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Real traditional ale house in the heart of the city

North Street, behind Westgate House, Peterborough Tel: 01733 746370www.facebook.com/ostrichinn

5 Regularly Rotating AlesOpening Times :- 11am -11pm Monday to Thursday, 11am -1am Friday to

Saturday, 12 - 11pm Sunday,

Live Music Fridays and Saturdays - ring or check facebook for details!

IN THE CAMRAGOOD BEERGUIDE 2012

www.real-ale.org.uk

Saturday 25th August Beer Festival Open 12pm to 11pm

Sunday 26th August Beer Festival Open 12pm to 11pmBBQ from 12pm til 9pmLive music from 8pm with Gone to the Dogs

Monday 27th August Beer Festival from 12pm til Sold Out!BBQ from 12pm to 8pmLive music from 3.30pm with Guido

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27 July – The Limit - Cherry Tree, Woodston27 July 10.30pm - One Eyed Cats - Charters,Peterborough Town Bridge28 July – Indigo - Cherry Tree, Woodston28 - 29 July - Woofstock Music Festival - AngelInn, Yarwell29 July - 3.30pm Groove Cartel - Charters3 Aug -10.30pm - Swamptruck - Charters3rd Aug – Black Rose - Cherry Tree, Woodston4 Aug –Grumpy Old Men - Cherry Tree, Woodston5 Aug - 3.30pm - The Gangsters - Charters5 Aug Oakham Mic Night 9pm Host BandAmplified - Brewery Tap, Peterborough City Centre10 Aug - 10.30pm - Flashback Photograph -Charters, Peterborough Town Bridge10th Aug – Dizzy Miss Lizzies - Cherry Tree,Woodston11 Aug Athenry Burghley Club, P’boro11 Aug Saturday Night Brew 9pm DJ Brian Keith- Brewery Tap, Peterborough City Centre12 August - 3.30pm - Hi Rollers - Charters17 Aug Little Dave Band Burghley Club, P’boro17 Aug - 10.30pm - Marmite & The Pussy Ratz -Charters, Peterborough Town Bridge17 Aug – Beguiled - Cherry Tree, Woodston18 Aug – Lloyd Watson Band - Cherry Tree, Woodston19 Aug - 3.30pm - The Motor City Vipers -Charters, Peterborough Town Bridge24 Aug- 10.30pm - Les Woods Band - Charters24 Aug – Hooker - Cherry Tree, Woodston25 Aug Tom Wright Band Burghley Club, P’boro25 Aug – Undercover - Cherry Tree, Woodston

26 Aug - 3.30pm - The Collaborators - Charters,Peterborough Town Bridge26 Aug Lloyd Watson Burghley Club, P’boro26 Aug - 3pm - Steve Bean Plays Classical Guitar- Woolpack, Stanground30 Aug – Open Mic. Night - Cherry Tree, Woodston31 Aug - 8.30pm - Complete Madness - Bourne CornExchange31 Aug - Live Band - Groove Cartel 10pm - BreweryTap, Peterborough City Centre31 Aug - 10.30 - From The Sticks - Charters,Peterborough Town Bridge31 Aug – Little Dave - Cherry Tree, Woodston2 Sept – MUSIC DAY Charity Event - Cherry Tree,Woodston8 Sept Rocket 57 Burghley Club, P’boro8 Sept – The Limit - Cherry Tree, Woodston8 Sept- 8.30pm - Aladdinsane - Bourne CornExchange9 Sept – Cutting Loose - Cherry Tree, Woodston14 Sept Betty Swallocks - Burghley Club, P’boro14 Sept – Retrolux - Cherry Tree, Woodston15 Sept – Porky Pig - Cherry Tree, Woodston21 Sept – Mind The Gap - Cherry Tree, Woodston29 Sept Tom Wright Band - Burghley Club, P’boro

Please send any details for October / Novembergigs to [email protected] before15th September.

Rhythm and Booze

GIG GUIDE

Gig Guide | 37

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In the past year the Letter B in Whittlesey wereable to raise £886 for MAGPAS Helimedixfrom their fortnightly quiz and the charity bottlefrom the bar. They have been supporting thecharity for 5 years now and raised over £5,000for Magpas.

Bruce said “I am proud to sponsor a localcharity and I am grateful to all our customers forsupporting them genourously”

Magpas get Financial lift fromLetter B Whittlesey

38 | Campaigning

Picture is of Landlord Bruce Roan and Magpas represen-tative Ivor Sanderson recieving the money at one of theirquiz nights.

The Cuckoo at Alwalton, near Peterborough heldits first beer festival over the weekend of 15th-17thJune. On offer were 20 real ales from as far afield asScotland (Broughton Ales), Cumbria (Hawksheadand Coniston), four Yorkshire beers and a range ofsouthern beers ranging from Fuller’s of London toHopback of Salisbury.

Manager Luke Richardson pointed out thatmany of the beers on offer this weekend would befeaturing on the pub’s handpumps throughout thesummer. As with any good beer festival, they alsoaim to raise funds for a worthy cause. Lukeexplained

“We are heavily involved with the Children’sAmazon Ward at Peterborough City hospital andregularly do raffles to raise money for them”.

Nurses from the ward were at the festival on theSaturday. Other events included face-painting, acake stall and a “Meet the Brewer” event withSamantha from Adnam’s brewery. Each eveningthere was live music from local bands. They hopeto do it all again next year.

Cuckoo atAlwalton holdsfirst beer festival

Barman Dominic serves a beer alongside manager LukeRichardson

www.real-ale.org.uk

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:23

R ichard and Kathy Savage threw a partyon Saturday 26th May, to celebrate their25th Anniversary at the Honest John in

Chatteris. As a part of the festivities thecustomers had a chance to sample beer at 1987prices. The bar was filled with happy regulars whoraised a glass to toast the publicans. Richard andKathy are looking forward to many more happyyears in Chatteris.

The average time publicans stay in a single pubis under 18 months, so 25 years is something of ararity these days. Many things have changed inChatteris pubs since 1987; five pubs have closed,the introduction of new licencing laws and asmoking ban, the duty on beer has risen and theprice of a pint has risen from 82p to £3.40. On 23January, IPPR published updated data courtesyof the latest statistics available from GCAStrategy. The latest figures show that the numberof pubs closing rose to 16 per week in the secondhalf of 2011, up from 14 per week between Januaryand June of last year.

The Honest John was converted to a publichouse, from its previous use as a labour exchangein 1977, by Stewart Stacy. The Honest Johnbecame the first free-house in Chatteris.

It acquired its unusual name because of StewartStacy’s father, “Honest John Stacy,” who had thereputation of setting a realistic price at the localauctions. The Savage family have been in resi-dence since 1987, expanding the business toincorporate a restaurant, and now, the studio andart gallery.

Amongst regular activities at the Honest Johnthere is a monthly quiz, with the proceeds goingto charity, and a monthly folk music evening.

“In these days of doom and gloom in the pubindustry, it is wonderful to have something tocelebrate,” said the landlord, Richard Savage, hewent on to say, “Pub life is a vocation and beingin the same place for this length of time is some-thing of an achievement; you have to constantlytry to think up new things to keep people inter-ested. It has been a privilege to meet so manywonderful people here. New people are coming inall the time, which bodes well for the future, wehave no plans to move on, Chatteris and theHonest John is our home.”

Rolling back the years

www.real-ale.org.uk

Campaigning | 39

Richard and Katie Savagepictured left with familyback in 1986 and picturedbelow, on their 26th Yearat the pub

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Diary Dates & Beer FestivalsAugust - Diary Dates11 Aug The Queens Head Trip. Depart theBrewery Tap at 4pm return by 11pm. Cost£10.00

September - Diary Dates15 Sept Mystery Tour. Depart from theBrewery Tap at 12.00am and returning by 8pm.Cost £15.00 to include some refreshments.

17 Sept Branch Committee Meeting atCoalheavers Arms, 8-30 pm.

August - Beer Festivals2 - 3 Aug – Jolly Brewer, StamfordBeer Festival with 40+ Ales, Music and Food

3 - 5 Aug – Blue Bell, BelmesthorpeBeer Festival 15+ Real Ales and Ciders

10 - 12 Aug – Woolpack, StangroundBeer Festival

11 Aug – Duckfest. The Ruddy Duck BeerFestival. 10 Real Ales, Ciders & BBQ. LiveMusic from The One Eyed Cats, DB5 & TheNuggets - all back by popular demand!!

11 Aug - 12 Aug Cock Inn, Werrington.Summer Beer Festival with 14 real ales and livemusic

21 - 25 Aug Peterborough CAMRA BeerFestival350 Real Ales, Loads of Cider, peery, wines andbottled beers. Live Music all week. For moreinfo go to www.beer-fest.org.uk

25 Aug - 27 Aug The Chequered Skipper,Nr Oundle. Beer Festival with 14 real ales andLive Music

29 Aug - 3rd Sept Dove Street Inn, IpswichSummer Beer Festival

September - Beer Festivals6 - 9 Sept Green Man, Stamford - 18thAutumn Beer Festival. Over 60 Real Ales

14 – 15 September – 10th MeltonMowbray Beer Festival. Cattle Market,Scalford Road, Melton Mowbray, LE13 1JY.55+ real ales.See www.meltonmowbrayrealale.co.uk for full details.

14 - 16 Sept - The Windmill, OrtonWaterville, Beer Festival. 10+ Beers availableplus live music

14 - 16 Sept Kings Arms, Polebrook -Annual Beer festival with a Caribbean theme.15 Real Ale, Caribbean street food.

20 - 23 Sept Beer Festival at CoalheaversArms, Park Street, Peterborough

21 - 23 Sept Beer and Harvest Festival atBlue Bell, Helpston

21 - 22 Sept 8th Annual Brigstock BeerFestival. 20 different beers along with ciders,For further details see www.brigstockbeerfes-tival.com

26 - 30 Sept – The Hand and Heart AutumnBeer & Music Fest. 50+ beers, 15+ live bandsALL playing Beatles Songs.

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The next issue of BAE will beavailable on: 28th SeptemberWe must have your stories,news and advertisements by: 9th SeptemberLate copy cannot be guaranteed entry.

Please contact Chris Shilling01778 421550Mobile: 07736 635 916 or Jane Michelson01778 420888Mobile: 07732 [email protected] all of your advertising needs.

Steve Williams [email protected] or 0775 6066 503 isalways looking for pub news.

Please send stories and othercopy to [email protected]

Beer Around ‘Ere is published by Peterborough &District Branch of CAMRA Copyright © 2012, TheCampaign for Real Ale Ltd.

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

46 | Contact Details

Beer Around ’Ere

Editor: Jane [email protected]

Distribution: David Murray(See Chairman on the left)

Advertising: Jane Michelson01778 420888Mobile: 07732 [email protected]

Magazine & AdvertisingProduction: Daniel Speed0845 838 [email protected]

Postal Distr: Daryl Ling01733 235881

Brewery Liaison Officers

Blue Bell: John Hunt07923 489917Castor Ales: Mike Lane07850 334203Digfield: Dave Waller07821 912605Elgoods: John Hunt07923 489917Hopshackle: Noel Ryland07944 869656Melbourn: Lew Clayton01780 765063Nene Valley: Bob Melville07941 246693Oakham Ales: Dave Allett07966 344417Tydd Steam: John Hunt07923 489917

Trading Standards08545 040506www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

Check out our websites at:www.real-ale.org.ukwww.beer-fest.org.uk

Branch Committee

Secretary: Dickie Bird4 Cissbury Ring,WerringtonPeterborough, PE4 6QH01733 574226 (tel & fax)07731 993896 [email protected]

Chairman: David Murray01733 [email protected]

Treasurer: Paul Beecham01733 31198107710 0086930870 7620848 (fax)[email protected]

Vice Chair: John Hunt07923 [email protected]

Social Sec: John Hunt07923 [email protected]

Pubs Officer: Steve Williams07756 [email protected]

Press Officer: Karl Simpson07737 [email protected]

Young Members: Katie Barrett07581 [email protected]

Membership: Steve Saldana07988 [email protected]

Festival Org: Mike Lane07850 [email protected]

LocAle Officer: John Rice07759 [email protected]

Webmaster: Harry [email protected]

Augu

A

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:23

Sky Sports

Happy Hour Mon - Fri, 5-7pm

Weekly Live Entertainment

Karaoke every Sunday with Mighty Mouth Trev

Join our Facebook group The Ploughman

Staniland Way, Werrington centre PE4 6NA Tel: 01733 327696

Your Award Winning local withSEVEN Real Ales available

from £2.00 a pint!

www.savetheploughman.com

Your Award Winning local withSEVEN Real Ales available

from £2.00 a pint!

THE DRAGONTHE DRAGON

Great real ales, quality wines, weekly liveentertainment and always a warm welcome!

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

Coming Events:August 7th Wine Appreciation Night

August 10th - One Eyed Cats

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:23

Agreat welcome awaits you at The Farmers, Yaxley.We are famous for our fresh vegetables and great carverymeats, succulent and served with all the trimmings, thenfinished off with a tantalising hot or cold dessert!

Check out our lunch time grill menu’s and our ever changing specials boards. Put it all together with three fine cask ales and you have the perfect place toenjoy dinner with friends or a family celebration. We have a self contained function suite which is ideal forparties, weddings and all of life’s celebrations.

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

More than just a Carvery!

At Least Three

Real Ales!

200 Broadway, Yaxley Tel: 01733 244885Email: [email protected]

Open Every Day10am - 5.30pm All Day Menu & Coffee

Midday - 2:30pm Carvery & Specials Menu

5:30pm - LATE Carvery & Grill Menu

Sunday Open From 12 Noon - 9pm

All Day Carvery

Big

Breakfas

t

every Sat 8 to 11am

Help yourself from the carvery,

as much as you can eat for

only £5.9

5!

BAE 166 Prog_Layout 1 18/07/2012 14:23

beer arounf 'ere issue 166

Documents

leicester branch

issue of bae

neighbouring branch

therutland branch members

beer everybudget

pint of ale

thetiny pint

david murray branch