mines a pint issue 30
DESCRIPTION
The Summer issue of Reading and Mid Berkshire CAMRA magazine. Bumper news issue!TRANSCRIPT
CAMPAIGN for REAL ALE
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THE CAMRA MAGAZINE FOR READING AND MID BERKSHIREISSUE THIRTY • SUMMER 2014 • FREE - PLEASE TAKE A COPY
IN THIS ISSUEPub & Brewery News Beer Festival ReviewReal Ale in a BottlePubco ReformJoin CAMRA
KEEP FIGHTING
Contact UsUseful contact details for this magazine, CAMRA and other important things…Mine's a Pint Circulation: 2,500.Outlets: Over 70 across the region.
Editor: Phil [email protected] 455 029381 Addison Road, Reading, RG1 8EG
Magazine published on behalf of Readingand Mid Berkshire CAMRA by:
Orchard House Media [email protected]
For advertising enquiries please contact Jane Michelson:01733 211 [email protected]
Reading & Mid Berkshire CAMRAwww.readingcamra.org.uk
Social Secretary: Jon [email protected] 483 334
Contact for all other branch matters:Katrina [email protected] 401 9437
Local Trading StandardsReading Borough Council:www.reading.gov.uk 0118 937 3737
West Berkshire Council:www.westberks.gov.uk 01635 519930
Royal Borough of Windsor &Maidenhead:www.rbwm.gov.uk 01628 683800
Wokingham Borough Council:www.wokingham.gov.uk 0118 9746400
The next issue of Mine’s a Pint will be published in September. Please feel free to submit copy or ideas by 15 August.
The opinions expressed in Mine’s a Pint arenot necessarily those of the editor or theCampaign for Real Ale. © Campaign forReal Ale 2014.
JUNEFri 27: Southall Curry Night. Meet 19.30 onwards fordrinks at the Conservative Club, High Street, Southall, UB13HB, then Nagina Karahi restaurant at 20.45. ContactJohn Robinson on 0118 940 2787 / 0790 434 3187 /[email protected]
JULYThu 3: First Thursday of the Month Social. 20.00 atCrown, The Street, Swallowfield, RG7 1QY
Tue 15: Branch meeting. 20.00 start. Eldon Arms, 19 Eldon Terrace, Reading, RG1 4DX (right hand bar).CAMRA members only, please.
AUGUSTThu 7: First Thursday of the Month Social. 20.00 atGrosvenor, Kidmore Road, Caversham, RG4 7NH.
Thu 14: Branch visit to Great British Beer Festival, LondonOlympia.
Wed 20: Branch meeting. 20.00 start. Sun Inn, 16 CastleStreet, Reading, RG1 7RD. CAMRA members only, please.
SEPTEMBERThu 4: First Thursday of the Month Social. 20.00 at ButchersArms, 9 Lower Armour Road, Reading, RG31 6HH.
See www.readingcamra.org.uk for updates.
For details of an event with no contact listed, to suggest an eventor to receive regular e-mail updates of the branch diary, contactJon Parish: [email protected] / 07977 483 334.
Branch DiaryEvents are open to all unless specified.
Contents From the Editor 4
Pub & Brewery News 5 - 13
Small Beer 14 - 17
Reading Beer Festival Review 19 - 21
Pubco Reform 23
Real Ale in a Bottle 24-25
Good Beer - Good Health 27
Maidenhead Beer Festival 29
Join CAMRA 30
In the last issue I talked about the flourishingreal ale scene in Reading, and the success stories coming out of our town. That all stillholds true. But when putting together thisissue, I was struck by the amount of newsabout pub closures in the area.
What appear to be successful pubs can beclosed on the whim of the owner – like theRed Lion in Theale (see the cover photo),which we were shocked and surprised tofind boarded up recently.
We can’t be complacent about this. Whilesome new pubs do open, the latest CGA-CAMRA Pub Tracker, covering theperiod of April-December 2013, shows thatthe number of net pub closures in the UKhas risen from 26 to 28 per week – showingthat much more needs to be done to protectour pubs and the jobs and communities theyhelp sustain.
Beer supports nearly one million jobs andgenerates over £22 billion in taxes, and sustaining our pubs is a key part of that.That’s why CAMRA earlier this year urgedthe government to:
• Press ahead with plans for a Pubs Watchdogto protect licensees from high rents andbeer prices charged by large pub companies.
• Change planning laws to ensure pubscannot be lost without planning permis-sion being sought.
• Freeze the rate of beer duty in this year’sbudget.
Three months on, and one of those goalshas already been accomplished. In thisyear's budget it was great to see a cut inbeer duty (1p per pint) for an unprecedentedsecond year running, and a freeze in the taxon regular strength cider. One of CAMRA’ skey campaigns is to stop beer tax killingbeer and pubs, with the main aim being toensure a long term freeze in beer duty. When
pubs are taxed out of existence it's not justa building that's lost, it's also a place ofemployment and a social facility for all thecommunity. So we need to keep pushing,keep fighting and keep campaigning.
Of course, what better way to campaignFOR real ale than to showcase it in a posi-tive and fun environment. We did just thatin May, with the Reading Beer and CiderFestival at King’s Meadow. I'm sure thatmany people reading this will have attended,and many will also have volunteered towork to put the show on – thank you toyou all. You can see some photos of our20th anniversary beer festival in this issue.Here’s to the next 20 years!
Cheers.
Phil Gill - [email protected]
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From the Editor
Pub News
BURGHFIELD COMMONThe BANTAM has been closed for somemonths now and owners Arkells have put itup for sale at £350,000. It is an estate pubthat operated successfully for most of the last30 years, except during the tenure of the mostrecent management when trade droppedalmost to zero. Local councillor RoyceLongton has signed up about 70 people whosay they would use the pub if it reopenedagain under the right management, and iskeen to hear from anybody else interested insaving the pub. You can contact Royce [email protected] .
We have written to Arkells to seek their viewson the property and hopefully we couldencourage another local brewer to take itover, as its closure would be another blow fordrinkers in the Burghfield area.
CAVERSHAMAnne-MarieMcCarthy is nolonger running theGRIFFIN onChurch Road. Shehad been in chargefor many years,building up a great reputa-tion for the pub, and had recently overseen its successful refurbishment andreopening following its Christmas Eve fire. A Spirit Pub Company spokeswoman said,“We have a new team in place at TheGriffin.” We’re sorry to see Anne-Marie goand we wish her every success in whatever hernext venture may be.
The GROSVENOR on Kidmore Road offersCAMRA members a discount of 20p off apint. This is a huge roadhouse and the onlypub locally to be part of the Ember Innschain. 4 or 5 real ales are on (with clearlymarked prices – something that many otherpubs would do well to take note of) and, onMondays, all pints are just £2.49. Good valuefood is available all day, every day.
Up to four ales from the Marstons range(Brakspear, Ringwood, Marstons etc.) are usually available at the PRINCE OF WALESat the top of Prospect Street.
David Bragg, who has been cellaring the alesin the BARON CADOGAN over the last fiveyears or so, has retired. We understand thatDavid has been training up his successors sohopefully it'll be a smooth transition. It'sworth noting the Baron's presence in theGood Beer Guide over the last few years –quite an achievement for a Wetherspoons –
which is a testament to David's workand genuine enjoyment of ale.Cadogan’s Gold (Loddon Ferryman’sGold) is still available alongsideRuddles Best and Greene King AbbotAle, with three guest ales.
At the FOX AND HOUNDS onGosbrook Road, Kevin is planning theirfirst beer festival for the end of July.
It will kick off on Wednesday 30 July whenDark Star brewery will be taking over all 8pumps on the bar. The beer festival will feature 20 beers plus 20 ciders and perries,and will run all weekend.
EARLEYGuests ales in good condition have beenreported at the SPORTSMAN on Shinfield
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Griffin
Road, and the pub has Cask Marqueaccreditation. Buses 9 and 144 (soon to be3) stop outside.
A correction to an item in thelast issue – the landlord of theMAIDEN OVER onSilverdale Road is WarwickHeskins, not Warren. Sorry,Warwick! The pub is LocAleaccredited on account of themassive range of local bottledbeers available, which sitalongside up to four draughtcask ales (often local too),cider and food including Pieminister pies.
Warwick is now also taking on theCATHERINE WHEEL in Newbury (formerly the Jack of Newbury). It shouldhave reopened by the time you read this,and there will have been a big revamp, witha change of layout inside and redecorationoutside. Warwick wants to turn round thepub's reputation, as he continues to do withthe Maiden Over, and the new style pub willhave six handpumps serving mostly localales with a chance of a guest national aleand cider. Local bottled beers and ciders willalso feature, including a range of local,national and foreign bottled craft beers,while on the keg side the offer will beMeantime London Pale Ale together withsome mainstream lagers, cider and stout.Pieminister pies will again be the main foodoffer, together with home made Scotcheggs and Brays pork pies.
EMMER GREENIf you want to play skittles in apub locally, the GARDENERSARMS is your only choicenowadays … unless you know differently? Let us know if thereare any other pubs in the areawhere you can have a game.
HARE HATCHThe QUEEN VICTORIA on the A4 hadclosed at the time of writing. If anyone has
any more information, please get intouch. It means that both pubs inthis part of the county (QueenAdelaide and Queen Victoria) appearto be no more.
HURSTFood offers at the ELEPHANT ANDCASTLE off the A321 at WhistleyGreen include children eat free withany main meal order (Monday-Thursday lunchtime) and Over-60s get
two meals for £9.95 Monday-Saturday. Beeris from Greene King and their guest list.
Not to be confused with the CASTLE inHurst village itself, where we’re told there isa one-day beer festival planned for 24August, with extra beer and cider planned.
KNOWL HILLAt the closed SEVEN STARS, there’s a planning application to convert the “coachhouse” (skittle alley) into two dwellings.Permission already exists for change of useto one dwelling so this is likely to be a formality, but it's still a sad end for a proudand historic roadside pub.
PLAYHATCHOn the Henley Road out of Caversham, just
past the Sonning roundaboutand slightly out of our CAMRAbranch area, is the FLOWINGSPRING. Unusually, this pub ison the first floor of the build-ing, with a covered balconyoverlooking the garden. AFullers pub, it serves the fullrange of Fullers real ales plusoften a guest beer is on offer.
It also enjoys a good reputation for homemade food with options for vegetarians,vegans, gluten-free and dairy-free all avail-
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Flowing Spring
able (there's also a “Grubcard” loyalty cardfor food).
Recent events have included comedy nightsand storytelling evenings, and if you're veryquick you may just catch the Summer Aleand Cider Festival (13-15 June) featuring 13real ales and six ciders. Even better news isthat managers Nick and Hazel, who haveworked hard to get the pub into the GoodBeer Guide, have now signed a three yearextension to their contract with Fullers.
READINGAs predicted in the last issue, a planningapplication has been made to convert theclosed WOODLEY ARMS on WaldeckStreet into four flats.
With the freehold nowowned by a development company, thereseems little hope of reopening if the applica-tion is granted. Thus will pass one of thefinest examples of that rarity, the 1970snew-build pub. While it's not a popularperiod in architecture, there are very few ofthem still around and future generationsneed to be reminded of that period in ourhistory.
The ROEBUCK in Auckland Road wasclosed for four weeks this spring for a substantial makeover. Former footballerMick Gooding was guest of honour at thereopening, and the new man in charge is ex-Nottingham Forest player Darren Brett.Darren, who also runs the ROYALALBION on Oxford Road as well as two
other pubs, says that “sport is at the heartof the Roebuck”. He plans regular darts andpool tournaments along with live musicevenings. The pub is part of Greene King'sMeet and Eat brand, so the real ale is fromGK (IPA plus a seasonal) and food is avail-able all day, every day, including a Sundayroast. The former two bars have reportedlybeen knocked into one and, if so, that'sunfortunately another place that we can'thold a CAMRA meeting.
News has reached us that the ROSE ANDTHISTLE in Argyle Road is to close in Junefor a refurbishment and that additionalhandpumps are to be installed, so hopefullywe will see some guest ales in addition tothe usual Greene King range. More aboutthis pub in the next issue.
Magnus Kraken has left the ALEHOUSE onBroad Street after acting as barman for
almost 7 ½ years, and has relocated toCambodia. We wish him all the best. The pub has added two craft keg optionsto the beer menu. Alongside the eight realales (which will stay a permanent feature),several ciders and perries, and foreign bottles, the two new offerings are key kegbeers from microbreweries – key kegs arethe type where the gas doesn't touch thebeer.
Ashleigh Harris is no longer in charge of theGREYFRIAR and is going to run a pub inWimbledon. Thisindependent pub inGreyfriars Road, isnow being run byacting landlordRichard Costa.
The SUN and theHORN, near-neighbours on Castle Street,have both had a facelift andbeen generally smartened up. Let us know
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Open...
...and closed
The Horn
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Call: 01628 826622 / 2781 Email: [email protected] Visit: www.birdinhand.co.uk
The Bird in Hand, Bath Road,Knowl Hill, Twyford,
Berks RG10 9UP
A charming 14th Century Country Inn betweenMaidenhead and Reading. The Inn serves a host
of regularly changing Real Ales.
The beautifully refurbished Restaurant overlooksthe garden and the Inglenook fire provides a
warm and cosy setting.
The Inn has 22 en-suite bedrooms - standard,superior and suites. One room is adapted forthe disabled. Free wifi available throughout.
Join us for ourQuiz Nights
Free Entry. Winning team geta free round of drinks.
No charge just a bit of fun! 8pm start
29th June, 20th July, 10th & 31st August, 21st September.
your thoughtswhen you visit. The Sun is onTwitter@suninn_Readingfor regularupdates on the
ales served and upcomingevents. Brent Guiblin is the new managerthere and two beers are available (WellsBombardier and Caledonian FlyingDutchman on a recent visit).
The old GLO bar in St Mary’s Butts hasbecome a new bar / restaurant calledCoconut, and apparently will specialise inJapanese food. The prospects of having anyreal ale seem slim.
There are concerns over the future of theRED LION in Southampton Street as it hasbeen noted to close early in the evenings andcask beer has not always been available. Wewill keep a watch on this ex-Whitbread(Wethered) pub.
A real ale gain is a bar in the new KennetIsland development off Basingstoke Road,the ISLAND LOUNGE. It’s serving a singlereal ale – Hobgoblin when our reporter visited, possibly served using the Fast Casksystem – and food is available most of theday. It’s great to see a new community having a bar as a focal point. The 52a busstops outside.
There's some confusion at CemeteryJunction, where the GRANBY remainsclosed while various developers come andgo. Kwik Save were interested in convertingit to a supermarket, but were said to havelost interest when Tesco announced theywere opening a store nearby. In the mean-time the pub remains shut, but there's aplanning application to extend the groundfloor so shop use remains the most likelyoutcome.
The RISING SUN (Brakspear) has had amakeover and looks very smart on the out-side. Beer-wise there is Brakspear Bitter andWychwood Hobgoblin though we hopeother beers from the Marston stable will befeatured. This is a music venue, closed on
Sundays.A new loyalty scheme is available from thegroup that runs the MODERATION(Caversham Road), QUEENS HEAD(Christchurch Road) and WARWICK (KingsRoad). After registering you get a card andcollect points for any spending on food inany of the three venues, with offers avail-able when you reach a certain number ofpoints. At the time of writing there was a“£5 off food” voucher just for signing up.
The closed WELLINGTON ARMS onWhitley Street has a planning application tocreate a separate entrance to the upper floorflats. This is usually the first sign that theowners intend the ground floor to become ashop. Our historian John Dearing notes:Wellington Arms, now at 70 Whitley Street,had its origins c.1840 with a beer shop runby Thomas Chesterman which became theGreen Man. By 1859 Mary Chesterman hadtaken over the licence and the pub hadacquired its new name. In the later 19thcentury James Noble was licensee for manyyears, followed by Edward Woodham. The
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present impressive building was built in1897 to the design of William Ravenscroft.Long a Simonds house, it is now part ofEnterprise Inns’ estate.
On a similar theme, the ex-KENNET ARMSon Pell Street (what was previously theCladdagh Ring) has reopened as a conveniencestore and is now officially dead as a pub.
There's encouraging news about the HOOKAND TACKLE in Katesgrove. It’s currentlyclosed and we thought it might have shutforever, but it looks like it will have newowners and will remain as a pub, althoughwe don’t know what kind and what caskbeers (if any) it will offer. More news,
hopefully, in the next issue.After major refurbishment a few monthsago, the PURPLE TURTLE on Gun Street isgaining a reputation for good quality realale. Four handpumps are on the bar and dispense a variety of beers, often includingone from Loddon. There are some interestingbottles in the fridges, too, and beer qualityscores are holding up very well. If you lastvisited years ago then your perception ofthis bar will almost certainly be wrong – sogive it another go, if only for the double-
deck terrace in the garden.In May the NAGS HEAD on Russell Streetsaw the 400th different brewery deliver totheir cellar, and the 3,000th different ale goon sale. This is our Branch Pub of the Yearand, while the number of real ales on sale isnot a major factor in choosing the winner,such a wide range is definitely a plus point.
SHINFIELDThe ROYAL OAK on School Green hasclosed. The move appears to have been pre-planned by Greene King as, literally within afew days of the closure, fully worked upplans were submitted to build houses on thecar park and for works to convert the pubinto a convenience store. In the last issue ofMine's a Pint we reported that over 200pubs had been converted to supermarkets inthe last two years, and sadly the trend con-tinues in this area.
Luckily the BELL AND BOTTLE next dooris still open and serving three ales, so thelocal community hasn't been fully deprivedof a pub. But the reduction in choice isbound to cut the overall amount of pubtrade in the village, so let’s hope that theremaining pubs up their game and benefitfrom this change.
STREATLEYThe licensees at the BULL who have over-seen an increase in beer quality over the lastcouple of years, have left the pub. On a positive note, we understand that the staffmember running the cellar and choosing aleswill by staying on under the new licensees,and that the pub will be staying open.
SULHAMSTEADThe SPRING INN on the A4 is confirmedas closed and to let at the time of writing.This is a “food led pub business” withmasses of passing trade, and we hope that itwill soon be reopen and popular once more.
THEALE
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We were shocked recently to hear that theRED LION on Church Street had suddenlyclosed. This pub in the heart of the villagehad served good ales from Rebellion andXT, alongside national brands like LondonPride, and had one of the few remainingskittle alleys in the area. The future of thepub is unknown but it would be a sad loss ifit was to close for good.
TILEHURSTThe VICTORIA on thecorner of Norcot Roadand Kentwood Hillhas reopened after amakeover and initiallywas selling SharpsDoom Bar andAdnams Bitter. The17 bus stops right
outside.
The 5th FOX AND HOUNDS beer festivalwas held at the City Road pub in May. Upto 11 ales were on offer including BlackSheep and Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, pluslocal breweries were represented byBinghams Twyford Tipple and WestBerkshire Good Old Boy. A marquee in thebeer garden was home to entertainmentincluded a charity race night, music fromOye Santana and a barbecue over the week-end.
Brewery News
COMING SOON BLACKIES BREWERYBreaking cover at the Reading BeerFestival trade session were some testbrews from what should soon becomethe area's newest brewery – Blackies.Kevin Black from Burghfield is hoping tostart up his own brewery and showcasedsome of his recipes in bottled form, whichby all accounts went very well. On offerwere:
Hopping Mad Pale Ale 5.8%Erin’s Mosaic Pale Ale 6%Ginger Blackie - Ginger Stout 6.3%Roast Chestnut Stout 5.2%Winter Warmer Treacle Stout 7.8%
Kevin isn’t sure yet on the timescale forstarting up the brewery but he's looking atvarious options. In the meantime, it's fun toknow that there are now two local brewersthat own a lovely black dog called Stout!
ASCOT ALESThe popular Single Hop IPA 4.6% seriescontinues, and June’s offering is brewedwith Ultra hops – a variety from the USAthat has very fine mild, spicy, floral notes.July will showcase Triskel, a French variety,which is relatively new (2006) and hasstrong floral, fruit and citrus characteristics.
The brewery in Camberley has just had itsfirst open days, which proved very popularwith eight draught beers available to sampleand also beer flavoured sausages.
BINGHAMSThis is the other local brewer with a lovelyblack dog called Stout – a labradoodle whois now immortalised in the Doodle stoutrange – look out for the paw print on thelabel.
Binghams have launched aseries of 4.5% ABV monthlybeers as part of a Craft Hopseries which will all bebrewed with extra paleMaris Otter malt and a sin-gle hop variety. The hopsare sourced from aroundthe world and have beenchosen to provide a variety
of different characters and flavours.The first one is “Dr Rudi” from NewZealand, which gives a big hop flavour with
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lemongrass and a little pine needle aroma too.June and July see the next two beers in the seriesusing Delta and Junga hops which are from theUSA and Poland respectively. Danamite Blonde(brewed using a blend of Dana and Celeia hops)will also be returning in June by populardemand.
Vanilla Stout will be in the final of theChampion Beer of Britain in the Speciality Beercategory to be judged at the Great British BeerFestival – see the Small Beer item inthis issue for more details.
LODDONJune’s Beer of theMonth is SummerSnowflake (4.1%), namedafter the common name ofthe local flower the“Loddon Lily”. It's thefourth year this ale has beenbrewed for June and the tastingnotes say it’s a pale golden ale with abright white head (like the flower after which itis named). Generously additions of Brewers Goldhops give a fruity edge.
From 12-5pm Monday to Friday and 12-3.30pmon a Saturday you can now call in to the brew-ery for a pint of draught beer … in fact until theend of August opening hours are extended onThursday and Friday until 7pm. Now you defi-nitely have an excuse to visit Dunsden Green.
SHERFIELD VILLAGEThe popular Green Bullet (4.3%) is back – this isa single-hop brew, hoppy and floral.
SIREN CRAFTTo celebrate their 100th batch, Siren wanted todo something to highlight one of their favouriteregular beers. So it was that more coffee, addedcacao nibs, a huge helping of vanilla as well asan increase in alcohol to 9.8% took BrokenDream to Shattered Dream. It should be avail-able in keg, a few casks and 330ml bottles, and
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Award-winning, family Cider makers since 2006
Tel: 0118 974 4649or 07836 296996
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800l has gone for ageing in spirit casks, sothere are yet more flavours to come.
The brewery is expanding and as part ofthis, a new bottling line is due to be com-missioned at the end of July.
WEST BERKSHIRE
Go anywhere near a pub this summer andyou won't fail to see that the World Cup ison. Brewers love to get in on the act withspecial beers and West Berkshire are kickingoff their celebrations with IPAnema (4.0%).This is a golden, citrusy and hoppy IPA stylebeer, that should be great to enjoy in thesummer sunshine. Tasting notes are“Slightly spicy with notes of tangerine andcitrus. This hoppy beer is pleasantly bitterwith a mild sweetness.” Watch out for itover the summer.
WINDSOR AND ETONA new beer is coming for the World Cup,brewed in collaboration with a new breweryin Brazil. Henrique and Zezzo visited W&Ein 2013 before completing their own brew-ery in Blumenau, the craft brewing centre ofBrazil. It goes by the odd name of“Container” and they are now brewingthree beers. Both breweries will be brewingthe same blonde beer, using guava and acaifruit which are known to work well in suchbeers in Brazil. Both will also be namedafter stadiums – Container’s beer will becalled Wembley and Webrew’s will benamed Maracana.
ZERODEGREESIt's a warm welcome to Stuart, the newmanager. Our brewster Angela is supple-menting the range of beers brewed on sitewith Summer Bock (6.5%) and a GoldenAle (5%) has also been noted.
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© C
armen Stone
GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVALEnjoyed the Reading Beer and CiderFestival? Want to see what CAMRA’s show-case event in London is like? Then roll up,roll up, to Britain’s Biggest Pub. The GreatBritish Beer Festival is at London Olympiafrom 12-16 August 2014 – and KensingtonOlympia tube (District and Overground) isright next door.
CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival will bebringing a carnival atmosphere to the
Olympia exhibition centre this summer withan extravagant circus theme complete withlive-action circus performers. But fantasticbeer will of course remain the star of theshow, with over 350 different breweriesoffering 900 different real ales, ciders, per-ries and international beers to over 50,000thirsty beer lovers throughout the week-longevent.
The festival will feature 29 bars including11 brewery bars run by the nation’s biggestand best brewers of real ale, plus food andmerchandise stalls as well as a full scheduleof entertainment on the music stage. Theevent is set to be one of the biggest and bestGreat British Beer Festivals ever, so don’tmiss out on your place. You can buy a ticketnow via www.gbbf.org.uk/tickets
Small BeerA roundup of news and information...
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Drinkers enjoying last year's festival
REGIONAL PUB OF THE YEARJudges have been visiting our local Pub ofthe Year winner, the Nags Head, as part ofthe regional round of the competition. TheNags is competing against the winning pubsfrom the other Berkshire CAMRA branches:Rose and Crown, Sandhurst (BerkshireSouth East branch)Carpenters Arms, Windsor (Slough,Windsor & Maidenhead branch)Five Bells, Wickham (West Berkshirebranch)The winner should be announced soon sokeep an eye out and, when you're next inthose parts of the county, call in to thebranch winners and pay them a visit.
UPDATESome updates to the list of LocAle accreditedoutlets in the last issue – Reading Universityhave joined the scheme and their bars atPark House (main Whiteknights campus)and London Road are now accredited. Bothare open to the public, and we were veryimpressed with the Park House bar when weheld our May branch meeting there.
Also new to the Locale scheme is theButchers Arms at Tilehurst, where Markand Chrissie East continue to make the pubmore enticing to real ale drinkers. As ever, if you know of a place where “Real alebrewed within 30 miles of Kings Meadow isordinarily on sale at all times” and is not yetaccredited, please let us know.
RURAS – STUDENT SOCIETY
Still on a university theme, the ReadingUniversity Real Ale Society has held its ownPub of the Year contest and the results are:
1st: Fox and Hounds, Caversham2nd: Nags Head, Reading3rd: Alehouse, Reading
At the recent RURAS AGM there were plen-ty of new faces elected onto the committee,with the key roles being filled by:President: Dom HumphriesSecretary: Adam JessopTreasurer: Jamie Gostlow
Former President Jamie “JD” Duffield isnow in his final year but has stayed on associal secretary / brewing coordinator. Wehave permission to use any of the photosfrom their Facebook page so we thoughtwe’d better choose a nice one. So here is JDat Park House with Pete Cook of SherfieldVillage Brewery, celebrating the launch ofExtra Curricular, the beer brewed by societymembers.
MIKE BENNERAfter ten years as CAMRA’s Chief Executiveand twenty years with CAMRA, MikeBenner has resigned as Chief Executive totake up the new post of Managing Directorof SIBA, the Society of IndependentBrewers.
Colin Valentine, CAMRA Chairman, said:“While Mike will be sorely missed, I amconfident that the staff team he has createdis strong and that, as an organisation, weare in a very strong position to ensure conti-
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nuity in delivering our strategic campaigningobjectives. I’m sure you will all take theopportunity to join me and my colleagueson the National Executive in thanking Mikefor his hard work and commitment over thelast twenty years and in wishing him thevery best for the future.”
Sandie Gill, former Regional Director forCentral Southern, added: “He will be sorelymissed. He has done a great deal of goodfor the campaign.”
HALF PINTS
Half pints are the saviour of the drinker wantingto try several different beers in an evening, ormoderate their alcohol intake. But we knowthat many people still want to use a pint glass,even if they’re drinking halves, because theythink it looks and feels better.
Now here’s a new take on the half pintglass. Online gift site gettingpersonal.co.ukhas come up with a radical new approach ofsplitting the glass lengthways, rather thanshrinking it to be a “mini me” version of apint. Held at the right angle, it looks justlike a regular pint glass. Go to www.getting-personal.co.uk/gifts/half-a-pint.htm to findout more and order.
CIDER NEWSLong Crendon cider waslaunched earlier this year.Produced at LongCrendon Manor inBuckinghamshire, it’savailable through the XT
Brewing Co, also based in the village. Beingwithin 30 miles of Reading, this means wehave a new local cider producer.
This year four varieties are available, in strictlylimited quantities. Each is medium dry, 5.5%,and named after the time of the apple harvest– giving us Late Summer, Early Autumn, MidAutumn and Late Autumn.
Among the celebrations of a second cut inbeer duty in this year's budget, the news ofa freeze on the duty on ordinary cider wasrather overlooked. This means that thehated alcohol duty escalator, which haddone so much to destroy jobs and communi-ties, is now finally gone.
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SMALL BEER - CONTINUED
GBG BELGIUMThe GBG Belgium, byTim Webb and JoeStange, is made up oftwo equally usefulparts. Firstly everyBelgian brewery islisted and described,together with theover 900 beers thatare produced in the
country, each of which isgiven a star rating. Then the book turns towhere to drink them, and lists over 500bars, cafés, bistros and beer shops that arehand-picked by the authors. Organised intoregional listings, each bar entry includes fulladdress information, details of the size andrange of the beer list and the key dos anddon’ts for visitors.
Tim says:“With an increasing audience for handcraft-ed, de-industrialised and non-corporatebeers, Belgian brewing's distinctive blend oftradition, invention and quality will contin-ue to fuel a growing demand for complexand interesting beers far beyond its borders.This book gives people all the advice theyneed to get out there and explore what's onoffer. There's a great chance and challengefor brewers everywhere to get inspired andget creative as a result.”
As a guide for those visiting Belgium for thefirst time it comes highly recommended, andno sensible beer drinker should take theEurostar without it. RRP £14.99, CAMRAmembers £12.99.
BEER SELECT-O-PEDIAThe Beer Select-O-Pediaby Michael Larson usesa “Periodic Table ofBeer Styles” to guidereaders through thevibrant and diverseworld beer scene –from English Golden Ale, throughGerman Doppelbock to the latest Hyperbeers from North America and all points in-between. All the styles are presented along-side full-colour illustrations with an“Atomic Structure” diagram featuring keyfacts about a style’s ingredients, famous pro-ducers, food matches and titbits of trivia.
Roger Protz, Consultant Editor for the booksays:“This book is excellent for anyone interestedin the vast, rich and fascinating world ofbeers - not just the UK's real ales but alsothose brewed around the globe. The bestpart is you can discover and enjoy at yourown pace - no matter how much youalready know about beer - whether you aredipping your toe in for the first time or diving straight in at the deep end.”
The book encourages readers to search out,experience and enjoy these beer styles forthemselves. RRP £12.99, CAMRA members£10.99.
Mine’s a Pint17
SMALL BEER - CONTINUED
New Beer Guides from CAMRACAMRA has published two new beer guides that are worth checking out – the 7th editionof the ever-popular Good Beer Guide Belgium, and the all-new Beer Select-O-Pedia. Bothare available from CAMRA at www.camra.org.uk/shop and in all other good bookshops.
Mine’s a Pint18
2 Broad Street Reading, RG1 2BH
01189 [email protected]
A Community pub in theheart of Reading
Follow us on twitter @AlehouseReading
3 West Berkshire Ales5 Guest Ales
Real Cider, Perry and Mead
Local CAMRA Pub of theYear 2014 Runner Up
Local CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year 2013 & 2014
Pub quiz first Monday of the month
e e
Reading Beer and Cider Festival20 Not Out!
Dave Scott, Festival Organiser, gives us aninsight into what happened and why.
We got a good deal of very favourable mediacoverage over the event again this year. Yetagain the media was presented withfavourable images of people (and lots of fami-lies again this year) consuming good qualitybeers, ciders and perries compared to the neg-ative images of overindulgence, binge drinkingetc. associated with the alcopop and lagerswilling brigade. And I think we can be proudof putting on a successful festival which show-cased real ale, cider and perry, supportedsome of CAMRA’s other campaigns and leftpeople with a very favourable overall impres-sion of the CAMRA “brand” for want of abetter word.
The beer range was stunning as was the rangeof foreign beers on offer which is probablythe best selection I’ve seen at any festival.Once again we hosted the National Cider andPerry Awards and the range on sale wasexemplary as always [the winning cider wasSheppy’s Medium and the winning perry wasOliver’s Perry].
For the firsttime in manyyears we ranout of beer (andwine, and for-eign beer and ... well I’m sure youget the picture) and had to close the festivalearly.
We had planned for the same attendance aslast year. The figures below give the actualattendance this year, last year’s figures and thepercentage change:
Session 2014 2013 ChangeThursday 1,509 1,668 9.5% DropFriday 3,631 3,894 6.8% DropSaturday afternoon 2,872 2,589 10.9% Increase Saturday evening 3,412 2,903 17.5% Increase Sunday 2,426 1,784 36.0% Increase Total 13,850 12,838 7.9% Increase
Unfortunately this pattern meant that wewould have been foolish to order in “bright
Mine’s a Pint19
You came, you saw, youdrank us dry. The 20thReading Beer and CiderFestival was a fitting mile-stone and 13,850 visitorshelped make it one of thebest yet.
CONTINUED OVERLEAF
BEER FESTIVAL REVIEW - CONTINUED
beer” [extra beer delivered late to the festival] as at the time the order would haveneeded to be made we were still below target for customer numbers.
The last volunteer staying on site only left atabout 7 pm on the Wednesday after the fes-tival, someone went back to clear the last ofthe rubbish the next day, and after thatthere was a formal walkround and handoverof the site to the council. That means frommarking out the site to handing the groundback to the council took about 20 days.This is quite a commitment from some ofour volunteers - without whom none of thiswould have been possible.
I would just like to finish by saying a hugethank you for the many, many volunteerswho have worked so hard during the lastweeks (and in some cases months) to makethis all happen. We can be immensely proudthat a bunch of unpaid volunteers can plan,organise and staff an event which puts manyprofessionally organised events firmly in theshade.
Editor’s Notes:Dave explains very well the dilemma anybeer festival organiser has in trying to balance the need to have enough beer forcustomers to drink, against the need to notwaste money by buying in beer that ends up
not being sold. None of us wanted to runout and close early, we acknowledge thatsome people left unhappy about the earlyclosing and we’re sorry about that.
But the fact is that CAMRA have toapprove the budget for the festival and they,quite rightly, expect the festival to make asurplus so as to generate money for cam-paigns (otherwise somebody at CAMRAHQ won’t get paid this month). If admis-sions on Thursday and Friday had been upon budget then we could have ordered inextra beer, but as it was the colder weatheron those days meant numbers were downand any decision to order in extra supplieswould have just been dumb. By the time theweather and numbers picked up, it was toolate.
As it was the weekend weather was fantasticand everybody had a good time. See if youcan spot yourself in any of the pictures here.
And next year? Next year we will trulycome of age with our 21st festival. There’ssome debate about how much of King’sMeadow will be available for events as theintentions of the new owners of the Lido areas yet unknown. But we’re already startingto plan for 2015, so watch this space. I hopeI’ll see you there!
Mine’s a Pint22
The Royal Oak at Knowl Hill, Bershire is a smallHomely family village pub. The locals say “It’s thehub of our village”, ideal for walkers, cyclists andis situated by The Knowl Hill Bridel Path, so it is
also great to hack out to for lunch.
Call 01628 822 010for more information
3 Real AlesOpening Times: 11am to 11pm Mon to Sat,
12pm to 10.30pm Sunday
Food Served: All day Saturday and Sunday
KNOWL HILL COMMON RG10 9YE
On May 14, CAMRA mounted renewedpressure on the Government to act now tosave Britain’s struggling pubs, with a peti-tion delivered to Business Secretary VinceCable calling for vital large pub company(pubco) reform.
The petition gained over 30,000 signaturesin just 5 days and surpassed the 42,000mark ahead of it being delivered to VinceCable. As well as the delivery of the peti-tion, over 100 campaigners, pub-goers andlicensees gathered outside Parliament torally behind Vince Cable’s pledge to end theGreat British Pub Scandal.
CAMRA says it is essential that Vince Cablesticks to his guns and makes an announce-ment in the next few weeks, to allow actionbefore the upcoming General Election.
Colin Valentine, CAMRA Chairman, said:“It is absolutely vital that the Governmentdisarms the ticking time bomb threateningthe nation’s pubs. CAMRA is demandingthe introduction of a Pubs Watchdog to ruleon disputes between licensees and pubcos,plus a guest beer right and a market rentonly option for tied licensees. These meas-ures are essential in order to create a levelplaying field for licensees, ensuring thosetied to the large pubcos are no worse offthan those that are free of tie”.
It is now well over 12 months since theGovernment launched a consultation onpubco reform and, despite several assur-ances of action, including a recent letter toCAMRA from Vince Cable stating that “Weintend very soon to publish the Governmentresponse to our pubs consultation and toannounce the next steps”, the Governmenthas so far failed to make an announcement.
Currently, tied licensees must purchase theirbeer and other products from their pubcompany at an inflated rate, which is oftenat least 50% more expensive than the market rate. As a result 57% of tiedlicensees earn less than £10k a year [PubcoLicensee Survey: report produced forCAMRA by CGA Strategy, June 2013].
Colin Valentine added: “The reformsCAMRA are seeking will enable publicanstied to the large pub companies to make adecent living and invest in their business,protecting thousands of valued pubs and creating a thriving industry. The currentmodel is weighted far too heavily in thefavour of the pub company at the expense ofthe licensee and it is essential the Governmentacts now to redress the balance, before thou-sands more people lose their livelihood”.
Mine’s a Pint23
Pubco campaigners outside Parliament
Pubco Reform
Breaking news: Government announcement on pubco regulation. More in the next issue.
Draught real ale is only available in a pub –that's one of the many things that makes itunique. But sometimes going to the pub isn’tan option. Maybe you're isolated by geography.Perhaps the increasing cost of going to thepub means it's become a rare treat. Or itmight be that you just want to try some alethat’s not available in your local.
Real Ale in a Bottle can help. Just likedraught beer, real ale in a bottle containsyeast that continues to work to give the beercondition after the bottle is sealed. It makesit a living product, just like the real ale youdrink down the pub, and the flavour of thebeer develops as the yeast does its work.
Not all bottled beer is real ale. A lot is pasteurised before bottling so that you endup with a product that's essentially “dead”,albeit it still tastes good and you don’t haveto leave the bottle to settle for a couple ofdays before drinking it.
CAMRA accredits breweries that producereal ale in a bottle and they can use the logoshown to indicate that their product is thereal thing. Only accredited breweries canuse the logo, so watch out for it when younext go shopping.
And where might that shopping be?Waitrose and Morrisons have probably thebest beer range of the major supermarkets inour area, although real ale in a bottle does-n’t usually feature prominently. For that, theindependents are are better bet. Here weshow three local suppliers that are worth alook. Other options are available, of course,and if you have a particular favourite thatisn't listed, please let us know and we’ll takea look.
GREAT BRITISHBEER COMPANYLocal CAMRA membersMark and Jane Haddock
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Real Ale in a Bottle
have taken their love of British beers a stepfurther and launched a new online business –www.greatbritishbeerco.co.uk – sellingBritish bottled beers. They're based in WestBerkshire and are stocking an ever increasingrange of ales, IPAs, lagers, stouts and porters,to give beer enthusiasts not only the opportu-nity to have local beers at home, but also trybeers from much further afield. A panel oflocal real ale lovers taste and score every beer,to ensure only crowd pleasers are stocked.
Every month there’s an opportunity to winone of their cases of beer, by liking theirFacebook page to be entered into a draw.Cases of beer available include “WhateverAles You”, “Mighty Mash-up” and “Dark& Delicious” or you can pick your own.Mine's a Pint readers can get 10% off theirfirst order by using the coupon codeINTRO10%.
GRUMPY GOATAnne-Marie Whitehouseand Charlie Beattyopened the GrumpyGoat in Harris Arcade,Reading, late last year.Since then they’ve built
up a great reputation for beer, with a rangeof over 100 bottled ales available. Localbeers feature prominently alongside thosefrom further afield, and there are monthlyspecials that focus on a particular part ofthe country – to date these have includedLondon, Yorkshire and Scotland. “Meet theBrewer” events are also taking off.
What makes the shop different is that it’sboth a beer and a cheese shop. You mayhave seen their cheese stall at the ReadingBeer Festival, serving excellent rolls andplatters. In the shop they aim to stock aplentiful supply of local cheeses likeBarkham Blue, and complement them withdelights from around the UK and on thecontinent.
A new feature is home delivery for 99pwithin 5 miles of the shop (minimum spendapplies) – visit www.thegrumpygoat.co.ukfor more details.
WESTHOLME STOREJack Patel has run Westholme Store inGoring for many years. One day Jack waswondering how he could make his shop dif-ferent, to compete with the big supermarketchains and offer something they couldn’t do.He hit upon the idea of bottled beer. Soon awhole aisle of this small convenience storewas devoted to a massive range of bottledbeer from all areas of the UK and abroad,and word quickly spread about the delightson offer.
It’s just a few minutes walk north from thestation on Wallingford Road. Outside,there's nothing to suggest it's anything otherthan a normal branch of Londis. But goinside and look to the right, and you’ll findan amazing selection of bottles from localand national breweries, plus beer fromBelgium, Germany and the USA, amongstothers.
The supermarket competition seems to havecome full circle, as the villagers of Goringare currently fighting plans by Tesco to convert the Queens Arms by the station intoa new convenience store. Go towww.stoptescoingoring.org to find outmore, and visit www.beersnale.co.uk fordetails of the beers available in Jack's.
Now is the time to support your local busi-nesses. Just like your local pub, it's a case of“use it or lose it”, and all three of the busi-nesses highlighted here are well worth alook.
Mine’s a Pint25
REAL ALE IN A BOTTLE
Mine’s a Pint26
Elephant & Castle01189 340886Completely refurbished
inside and out.
Serving two permanent ales alongsidetwo changing guests on handpull.
Freshly prepared home made mealsserved all week.
See our website for serving times
Family friendly with patio, deckedarea and children’s garden
Dogs welcome in the bar and gardens
Lodge Road, Hurst, Reading, Berkshire RG10 0EH www.theelephantandcastlepubhurst.co.uk
Steaks, Piri Piri Chicken, Shish Kebabs and more!
OVER 60’S
with any main meal orderMonday to Thurs lunchtimes
2 meals for £9.95Mon - Sat*
*excl Bank Hols
Come and try our new
Serving London Pride permanentlywith weekly changing guest ales
Friday Fish Supperonly £7.50
Bar Food Served Monday - Friday noon until 2pm
Hog Roast SpecialistsRing for details
Regular Jazz NightsThursday 19th June, 10th and 31st JulyMarquee available for events
Arborfield Road,Shinfield,Reading,Berkshire,RG2 9EA
Tel: 0118 9884130
A UNIQUE, TRADITIONAL BAR
Mine’s a Pint27
A poll recently carried out for CAMRA hasshown that people in the UK are five timesmore likely to believe that wine is healthier todrink than beer. A survey of 1,000 peopleshowed that 67% thought wine drinking ismost healthy, compared to only 13% for beer.Unfortunately those 67% are wrong.
Professor Charles Bamforth of the Universityof California, Davis and author of Beer, Healthand Nutrition, said “The myth that wine is insome way healthier than other alcoholic drinksdates back many years to research carried outin France, a predominantly wine drinkingcountry. This suggested that moderate winedrinkers were healthier than non-drinkers. Thecrucial point is that it was a comparison withnon-drinkers. When similar studies were car-ried out in the Czech Republic, a nation ofbeer drinkers, just the same protective effectwas seen with beer. This study showed the low-est risk of heart attacks in men who drank“almost daily or daily” consuming between 7-16 pints of beer a week.”.
“The difficulty of measuring the effect ofdrinking on health is that differences can bemasked by other aspects of lifestyle, such as
smoking, diet and exercise. A paper from theHarvard School of Public Health in the USAreanalysed the results from a large number ofprevious studies from around the world totake these differences into account. Thisresearch showed strong evidence that moder-ate consumption of any alcoholic drink islinked with a lower risk of heart disease andthat most of this protection comes from thealcohol rather than any other component inthe drink. Moderation is the key word. This isequally true whether your favourite tipple isbeer, cider, spirits or wine.”
Colin Valentine, CAMRA Chairman, said“Recently I met a friend who was rathergrumpily nursing a glass of red wine havingbeen told that it was better for him than thereal ale that he loves. It’s good to be able toreassure him that this is nonsense; in modera-tion, beer is just as healthy as wine. As well asthe huge range of flavours and styles availableto suit any palate, the big advantage with beeris that it is low in alcohol. It’s much easier toensure that you don’t overstep the mark andstart to undo the good that a drink can do toyour health. The important thing is to drink aspart of a healthy lifestyle. A brisk walk to thepub for a pint of real ale will do you far moregood than sitting on the sofa at home with abottle of wine.”
References for the research quoted above areavailable at: www.camra.org.uk/article.php?group_id=13555
Good Beer - Good Health
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