Issue 159 | June - July 2011

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

Beer Around ’Ere

IN THIS ISSUE: PUB NEWS | RHYTHM AND BOOZE | MIGHTY MICRO’S

| LOCAL BREWERY UPDATE | VISIT TO FULLERS BREWERY

| PBF11 REPORT | DIARY DATES AND MUCH MORE!

b a eFREE

please take one

Peterborough Beer Festival IV

RNLI lifeboat launched!

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

Hello again. The last few weeks have seena flurry of activities taking place, withlifeboat naming ceremonies, beer festi-

vals and of course the wedding.

Starting with a party of our members heading‘norf’ to Skeggy we participated in the officialnaming ceremony of our fourth life boatPeterborough Beer Festival IV. I won’t go intodetails as a report is in this issue, except to saythat maybe my speech making days should becurtailed a bit to prevent mass walk outs.

As we’re now well into the beer festival seasonand having two four day weekends on the trot,we had many festivals taking place over thatperiod. With eight taking place locally over theEaster weekend, and six on the followingweekend, (at least that we were informed about)a lot of beer was flowing. One irritation that Ialways find on these occasions is the fact thatthe local bus services are always cut down to theminimum. With a revised service having beenintroduced just the week before Easter, the‘Sunday’ service on three days over eachweekend prevented any chance of getting out oftown to some of the festivals. Yes I know busdrivers are entitled to a holiday as well but, I’munwilling to drive miles out of town for one pint!

Plans are now well on for this year’sPeterborough Beer Festival and as I reported inour last issue our Beer Festival committeechairman Mike Lane, has done an update onour current progress. Our annual begging letterwill be on its way to our members before thenext issue of BAE.

A recent trip to Adnams brewery inSouthwold by kind invitation was in aid of there-labelling of their bitter beer. They wish toemphasise that the beer has not been changedor ‘tinkered’ with in any way. Adams were of theopinion that it would be better to identify the

beer actually was brewed in Southold. Hence thereason for changing the labelling back to highlightit as Southwold Bitter. The new labelling will beseen around from June. My grateful thanks tolocally based Adnams rep Barry Yates for trans-porting myself and wife down to Southwold andback.

Yet another brewery trip took place also inbetween the holiday weekends. An invitation byFullers to their brewery in Chiswick WestLondon was taken up by a party of twelve of ourmembers. A report on the visit and generoushospitality is in this issue.

Finally due to his increased involvement withThe Hand and Heart pub in MillfieldPeterborough, our editor of BAE, Bram, hashad to step down from that position. We wishhim well in attempting to keep the pub as a flag-ship real ale outlet. This obviously makes avacant position available to any enthusiasticpotential editor of our major campaigning tool. Iawait the forthcoming flood of applicants!

That’s it folks

David Murray - Branch Chairman.

Chairman’s Corner | 3

Chairman’s Corner

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

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For a year (6 issues) send a £2.46 or £3.06for 1st Class cheque/PO payable to

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Daryl Ling, 19 Lidgate Close, OrtonLongueville Peterborough PE2 7ZA

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Strictly speaking, this is not the editorial aswe don’t have an editor at the moment.Bram has reluctantly had to admit defeat.

As I am sure many of you know, Bram has beenrunning the Hand and Heart on a temporarybasis and has, at times, struggled to deal withBAE editing due to the long hours involved inbeing a publican. Suddenly, things have becomeeven harder for Bram as he has been offered thetenancy of the Hand and Heart by EnterpriseInns. He had hoped to write this final editorialbefore resigning – but clearly the pub and his ownfuture must come first.

We would like to thank Bram for his five and ahalf years as editor (almost a life sentence) and, inparticular, for his hard hitting editorials and wehope that once things settle down with the pub,he will be able to find time to write an article orthree for the magazine.

We also wish Bram every success in his newventure as permanent licensee of the Hand andHeart and hope that the pub goes from strengthto strength under his leadership.

So it’s, “The editor is dead (not literally), long livethe editor (also not literally as we don’t have one)”.What all that nonsense means is that we arelooking for a new editor. The new one will need tobe a CAMRA member, work all hours for nothing,never expect any praise, know all about CAMRApolicies and be abel to spel and rite gud grammer.If that is you then please get in touch – you knowyou want to!

Harry

From theeditor?

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Cheers to Bram for five years!| 5

~ Eye ~

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

Selection of Real Ales including Oakham Ales Sky HD • Regular live music and Karaoke

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Industry News

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6 |

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Beer Sales fall by 3.8%The latest UK Quarterly Beer Barometerrevealed that both the on and off-trade showed adecline of 3.8 per cent for the early months of2011. However, the decline of sales in pubs hasslowed, following an 8.8% fall in the same periodin 2010. This is the lowest first quarter declinesince 2005.

“The above numbers relate to all beer including lager andnitrokeg. Many real ale micro-brewers have indicatedincreasing sales” - Editor.

The British Beer & Pub Association predictsthat the good weather over Easter, and theextended bank holiday season may help thesecond quarter figures.

Brigid Simmonds, BBPA Chief Executive, said,“Taken together, the fall in sales, and the impact of theBudget shows sales in the sector are still fragile. However,the on-trade’s performance relative to the off trade hasimproved - and quarter two will be helped by the bankholiday bonanza and the good weather.

"While it’s a pity that any recovery will be underminedby the huge tax hike, we still must make the most of thebank holiday season, and enjoy a celebratory beer or twoin the nation’s pubs in the coming days”.

It may well only be a beer or two most of uscan afford with the recent budget putting 10p onthe average pint in the pub! The average dutyand VAT on a pub pint will now exceed £1 and ifyou like strong beer watch out as a further taxincrease of 25% on beers over 7.5% is proposed.However there is some good news regarding taxas CAMRA has welcomed plans by the govern-ment to halve taxation on beers at or below 2.8%ABV with Mike Benner, CAMRA ChiefExecutive, saying:

'While it is welcome to see the Government introducingmeasures to recognise the benefits of beer as a low alcoholdrink, we hope the Government will work with the EUand the wider industry to secure a change in EU rules toincrease today's threshold to 3.5% ABV to further benefitBritain's beer drinkers.'

Booming BreweriesThis downward trend of sales figures in the off

and on-trade is held in stark contrast to some ofthe massive growth in sales some of our UKbreweries have had recently. In fact Brewdog, thecontroversial Scottish microbrewer, has seen a400% sales rise since the start of 2011 and hashad to stop selling beer to some national distrib-utors as it struggles to meet demand. A quotefrom the brewery reads, “We are not at all happywith our current level of customer service, whichfalls far below the standards we set for ourselvesin all aspects of our business. It feels like we havealmost reached the tipping point, but have nobeer to tip the bloody thing with. Consequentlywe have decided we can no longer sell to UK on-trade national groups and distributors for thetime being due to capacity constraints. We will,however, look to develop this part of our busi-ness once we get our new brewery”.

BrewDog said it hopes to start building the newbrewery just outside Aberdeen in “late 2011”.

Sharp’s Brewery, the Cornish brewer bought byMolson Coors in February, has announcedrecord sales as 9,088 firkins were sold for theweek ending 8 April 2011, the highest weekly salesvolume since the brewery’s launch in 1994. Headbrewer Stuart Howe said: “We are delighted withthe progress we are making. Sales of Doom Barhave grown by more than 45% this year, and arestill rising.

Daniel Speed

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may make a reappearance as a pub again. Let’shope so.

The Queen’s Head in Bulwick has closedtemporarily but should be open soon. The wordon the underground grapevine is that the newpeople hail from Ashton and have a particularinterest in local ales and produce. We lookforward to the new look.

In our last issue I mentioned that the BlackSwan in Farcet has been saved by a local busi-nessman and that it would reopen as a pub assoon as possible. The good news is that it isnow up and running and the real ales are flowingnicely thanks to David Rayner the owner. Mr Rayner also owns the Duck & Drake innearby Yaxley and the Stilton Country Club inthe ever so slightly further away village of Stilton.The pub is run by Ollie Potkins and he islooking to hold a summer beer festival in thenear future.

For those of you ancient enough to rememberthe Tom Lock in its heyday may be interested toknow of its reopening as a wine bar and restau-rant. Obviously not what might be termed a'proper pub' anymore, if indeed it could havebeen called such during its death throes as aHarvester but it is open. The clientele will nodoubt be different, the prices higher and, hope-fully, the food digestible.

Bourne HappeningsI hear from our rugby playing pub spy in Bournethat the Red Lion now has a real ale on offer. It might only be Adnams but it’s a start. To begin with they’re being sensible and aremaking it available towards the beginning of theweekend, just to see how it goes.

Slightly less encouraging is the news that theJubilee has now removed its last hand pumpwhich was selling an Ufford beer. Is the competi-tion too stiff from Smith’s opposite or do theyhave a different clientele who don’t favour real ale?

Even less encouraging is the news that theMarquis of Granby has closed. If rumours aretrue then it would appear that there was somemisunderstanding about permitted hours.Whether this pub will open again is anyone’sguess but it could definitely thrive under theright management.

After a decade of Greene King IPA only at theAnchor in Eastgate there now appears to bewell kept Woodfordes Wherry on permanently.The pub is the only one in Bourne outside thetown centre and is a real locals’ pub enjoying awealth of darts and pool teams and a pleasantriverside location. Give it a try !

The Five Bells in Edenham which is about 2miles north of Bourne has been reopened byPeter Birch. There are two handpumps in useand the food is popular.

The last pub in the villagePlanning permission has finally been granted toconvert the Windmill in Millfield into a shopand some flats. Probably a welcome moveconsidering the people who live nearby have hadto suffer the blight of a derelict site for far longerthan necessary. This now makes the awardwinning Hand & Heart the last pub in thevillage (if you call Millfield a village and not asuburb). Over the last 20 years we have seen theEight Bells, Baker Perkins Sports & LeisureClub and The Norfolk all close around this area.Further back you would also have had theFitter’s Arms but that closed before I was on

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Pub News | 9

It would appear that my reputation as Angelof Death has now risen to another level ! Justa casual remark about a certain hostelry and

the fact that it’s doing well will promptly ensureits untimely demise. It now seems that it isn’tonly pubs that suffer at the business end of myquill but small inoffensive corner shops too! Inour last issue I scribbled a short missive aboutshifting a few beers on our Brum Trudge andgave mention of the Arthur Robertson pub inPerry Barr and its connections with Robertson’scycle shop in Cowgate. I am happy to say thepub is still thriving but the aforementioned cycleshop has closed down after many years ofserving Peterborian cyclists. Is no business safefrom my meddling? Will my dark menacingshadow envelope other local businesses? Willmy mere uttering of a proprietor’s name confinehis good self to the bankruptcy court where hewill inevitably end his days in the Debtor'sprison secured in chains. On a brighter note Iunderstand Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrisons aredoing well.

Anyway, despite my best efforts to keep theBoy's Head in Oundle Rd closed it hasreopened as a music and comedy venue calledthe Boro Bar. I assume from the colour schemeit may refer to a football team not too far away.It currently has two real ales with a view toextend the range when they’ve found their feet.They tell me that the pub is family friendly andfood is available. On a Saturday evening you willprobably find live music and a big screen willshow a selection of live sport. The beer gardenhas had a bit of a makeover so you could soakup a few rays while soaking up a few beers. Theyalso have a Facebook page where all will berevealed which is a good start. Perhaps theBoy's Head (sorry, Boro Bar) will now make its

mark on the local scene. The previous incum-bents made a move away from live music andthe big screen as other pubs in the area weredoing similar. They settled upon a more tradi-tional atmosphere which obviously failed. Let’shope this new persona will be a success.

Pubs OpeningIt’s excellent news that the Vine in MarketDeeping has reopened as a free house followingits recent closure. New licensee Frank Phillipstells us there will usually be four real ales with

one competitively priced at £1.95. On a recentvisit we noticed a Hopshackle beer as well as aTydd Steam one. It is hoped to add a real ciderand introduce regular beer festivals in the size-able outdoor patio and garden area.

The Dolphin in Stamford has reopened afterits shock closure some weeks ago. The licencehas been taken on by Daniel Sharp, whose dadran the pub previously. Trade looks to have beenbrisk since the doors opened so the localshadn’t wandered off too far.

Whilst we’re in Stamford we can report thatlocal pub and brewery owner, Mick Thurlby, hassold the Black Bull. The new owners areconnected with the nearby Hole in the Wall so it

Pub News

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8 | Pub News

Continued Overleaf

Vine, Market Deeping

Anchor, Bourne

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10 | Please support our advertisers

solid foods. As many will know the area haschanged considerably over the last 20 years whichmay account for pubs in the area not being usedsufficiently by the new incoming residents. Pleasecontinue to use the Hand & Heart. We need it.

About a half hour walk north of Millfield you’llfind the Crown in New England. As you wouldhave read previously this is the second pub refur-bished by Baxter & King, the local builders.Refitted to a very high standard it now serves thelocal community brilliantly thanks to BrianGascoyne the landlord. Brian is a devoted fan ofreal ale and now has three handpumps in regularuse with a fourth one planned in the near future.Brian is very keen to show that real ale is aliveand kicking in New England and the Crown willbe having its 1st beer festival during the secondweek of June. Look out for more details on theirwebsite www.crowntotown.co.uk

Websites and stuffOne of the benefits of the interwebby thingy isthe ease with which businesses can distribute upto date information to prospective customers.The forthcoming happenings in your local pubbeing ideal. So why is it that so many local pubsstill have out of date websites? Let’s hope theykeep more upto date with their VAT returns thanthey do with their web presence.

One pub that keeps its customers right up todate is Ye Olde Dun Cow in Cowbit nearCrowland ( www.yeoldeduncow.com). The websiteis a fairly new one and gives all the information you’ll need to make your visit to thispart of Lincolnshire all the more enjoyable. Thelandlord Dick Morgan also pointed out to methat they have published their beer list online fortheir forthcoming beer fest weekend on 15th-17thJuly. The weekend will also feature BBQ, livemusic, tug of war and a host of other diversions.The pub might be a bugger to get to via publictransport so this is an ideal opportunity to adoptthe ‘reciprocal lift system’. We should all knowhow this works but I'll give you a personalexample just in case it isn't obvious. Myself andMrs Pubs Officer get a lift from the father-in-lawto an out of the way hostelry (or hostelries) on

one day. We then reciprocate my driving him tothe golf club and back or to another of his socialfunctions on another day. This way we can allenjoy the pleasures of real ale in nice pubswithout having to fork out for a taxi or suffer thevagaries of the public transport system. A win winsituation with Ye Olde Dun Cow but a half houraway by Toyota Avensis.

Werrington thingsThe Dragon on the ‘Ear of Werrington’ has nowbeen consumed by the newest Pub Company inthe area. Simmonspoons, the small but progres-sive operation, headed by the Simmonds brothersAndy and Stuart (and assisted by third bro Chris)have now taken on the pub with plans to makeWerrington a destination village when it comes toa night out. As we should all know, the brothershave been in charge of the Ploughman the currentPeterborough CAMRA Pub of the Year for a fewyears now and have transformed the place. Arecent chat with Andy revealed that the grand re-opening of the Dragon brings a selection of 4-6hand pumps which have been moved to pride ofplace in the centre on the bar. A full menu of LiveMusic is planned along with charity events, the firstof which will be a bikers do for the Gurkhas in July.

Pub News shortsThe Hare & Hounds in Greatford is rumoured tohave been bought by a local gentleman who ownsa pub in Market Deeping. Watch this space.

The Blue Bell in Maxey now has an incredible 8handpumps in use. Yes, that’s right EIGHT.Must be worth a visit, surely.

Their is a family fun and real ale day taking placeon Saturday 11th June at Wansford Station. Therewill be rail connections from Peterborough NeneValley Station as well as a bus running from theBrewery Tap in Peterborough with departures at1200, 1400 and 1600. For the children there willbe a Children’s clown, Bouncy wagon, Thomasplaying in the yard and Model Railway.

Steve Williams - Pubs Officer0775 6066503

www.real-ale.org.uk

Pub News continued | 11

4 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!

Real traditional ale house in the heart of the city

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

THE GREEN MAN29 Scotgate, Stamford 01780 753598

FOURTEEN YEARSIN THE GOOD BEER GUIDE!

FOURTEEN YEARSIN THE GOOD BEER GUIDE!

Established in 1796 as one of the ORIGINAL Stamford AleHouses - Providing Accommodation.

Eight Real Ales and Seven Real Ciders

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

Peterborough & District CAMRA has avery successful LocAle scheme withover a hundred pubs signed up to take

beers brewed within 30 miles of the pub.

Saturday 26th March saw a LocAlecampaigning trip with a difference. Sixteenmembers of the branch visited three of the smallmicro- breweries which help to provide such arich source of locally brewed ales.First port of call was Hopshackle Brewery

which is situated on an industrial estate inMarket Deeping. Inside was a very tidy and wellorganised brewing and bottling operation. NigelWright, the owner and brewer at Hopshacklewas on hand to guide the party through thebrewing process after giving an overview of thebrewery’s history. We were then given a demon-stration of the bottling and labelling equipment.Following a group picture, we moved on to theGoat at Frognall where landlord Graham had

ensured that Hopshackle beers were well repre-sented. Shacklers Best and Double Momentumwere enjoyed by the party.

Next port of call was a 30 minute journeyaway. Blue Bell Brewery is situated in a formerpotato store at the rear of the Blue Bell pub inWhaplode St Catherine. It is run by Emma Bellassisted by brewer Pat Sage. We were met byEmma Bell and young son Angus.

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12 | Campaigning

Emma rightly guessed that we all had a reason-able idea of the brewing process and handedsome samples of Old Honesty around straightaway! She then outlined the brewery’s historyand gave an interesting insight into what herplans for the brewery were. Emma proudlyexplained about her new brand image andshowed us some of the new marketing materialsincluding pump clips and beermats. These arevery professional and striking and should help toattract sales across the bar. We then movedacross to the pub for a further selection of beersincluding the unique beer Ingle Dingle brewedonly for the pub and named after loyal customerKenny Ingle who just happened to be in the bartrying his beer!

We then moved on to our final brewery, TyddSteam at Tydd St Giles where we were met byowners Will and Anna Neaverson. The breweryis situated in a refurbished barn adjacent to theirhouse. This is my idea of working at home! Willgave a talk on the brewery and explained thatthe brewery was named after two steam tractionengines that used to be kept in the barn. Willthen showed the party around his brand new 15barrel plant including the two large fermenters

now known by the nickname of Tydd Towers.Anna kept the party’s thirst at bay with aconstant stream of Tydd Steam samples.

Finally after the obligatory group picture wecarried on to the Plough at Holbeach St Johns.This pub acts as the brewery tap for TyddSteam and Ian and Tabitha Irvine are greatsupporters of the brewery in particular and realale in general. Five Tydd beers and a guest wereon in fine form and we also enjoyed a buffet.

The whole idea of the trip was for branchmembers to get to know some of the unsunglocal heroes who put so much effort into brewingcraft ales for local people. I think the trip was agreat success from this point of view. Look outfor Mighty Micro’s 2 later in the year where wewill be visiting breweries in other parts of thebranch area.

John Hunt - Social Secretary

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Campaigning | 13

Mighty Micro’s

The gang inside Blue Bell Brewery

Will Neaverson - Tydd Steam Brewery

Peterborough CAMRA branch Chairman, whenthe lifeboat was requested to launch byYarmouth Coastguard. “Was it something I said”he quipped as most of the audience scattered.

Having cleared the crowds from around theboat, the lifeboat proceeded to launch andheaded north towards Winthorpe where a manhad become separated from his jet ski andappeared to be struggling to get back ashore.However, as the lifeboat arrived on the scene,the man was being assisted back on to the beachand his jet ski had been recovered. The crewreturned to the Skegness station to continue theceremony just before 3-30pm.

Senior Helmsman Tony Kelly said they wereaware of the possibility of being called out, andboth the station lifeboats were on service ifcalled out during the ceremony if required – butnever expected it would actually happen.

David Murray and Mike Lane, Beer FestivalCommittee Chairman, re-started proceedings byexplaining how the funds for the new boat wereraised by festival goers over several years, beforehanding the boat into the care of the RNLI.

The boat was accepted on behalf of the RNLIby David Shepherd, Head of Business Operations,and by Alan Fisher, Lifeboat Operations Manageron behalf of Skegness Station.

Following a brief service of Dedication lead byReverend Ian Banks, a Vote of Thanks wasproposed by Mrs Joan Evison, former secretaryof the Skegness Ladies Lifeboat Guild. Thelifeboat was officially named Peterborough BeerFestival IV by Mike Lane and Mrs JennyBambridge, with Batemans XB beer supplied by

Batemans Brewery poured over the bow of theboat. Mike Lane and David Murray werepresented with a signed photograph of the newboat as a memento of the occasion.

The ceremony ended with a beautiful renditionof ‘Home from the Sea’ sung by the lifeboat crewand station officials and ladies from April’s PianoAcademy, under the direction of April Chapman.The new boat was then toasted by all present

in Bateman XB beer kindly donated by thebrewery. Numerous photo shoots took placebefore our party headed back to Wainfleet for somemore ale to round off a most memorable day.

DM/Russ Matthews RNLI Press Officer

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Naming of RNLI lifeboat

Peterborough Beer Festival IV

Saturday April 16th saw a party of somethirty local branch members board a buswith the destination being Skegness. Now

Skeggy is not renowned these days for a great selec-tion of pubs with real ale on tap, so why there?

We had been invited by the RNLI to attend theofficial naming ceremony of our PeterboroughBeer Festival IV. This as the name implies was thefourth lifeboat that our funds raised at PBF and,was stationed at Skegness.

Actually our first port of call (no pun) wasBatemans Brewery in Wainfleet before we smelledthe sea air at Skegness. The brewery was holding abeer festival that weekend and we are indebted toJacqueline Bateman who very generously put on abuffet lunch for us and, gave a discount to all ourparty on the beers available. After we hadrefreshed ourselves we headed off to the RNLIstation.

The following is a report on the proceedings:The naming ceremony for Skegness new RNLI

inshore lifeboat Peterborough Beer Festival IV wasinterrupted when the new boat and her crew werecalled to help a jet skier.

Divisional Inspector of Lifeboats Andrew Clifthad finished describing the new boat and hercapabilities, and handed the mic to David Murray

)“We had been invited by the

RNLI to attend the official naming ceremony of our

Peterborough Beer Festival IV. This as the name implies was

the fourth lifeboat that our funds raised at PBF ”

(

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Friday night Steak Night - Get a free drink withsteaks or mixed grill from 5pm

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Parade Weekend beer festival June 24th - 26th10 real ales andtwo real ciders.

The Dolphin InnThe Dolphin Inn60 East Street, Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1QD. Tel 01780 755494

Ye Olde Dun Cow InnBarrier Bank, Cowbit, Spalding, Lincs 01406 380543

www.yeoldeduncow.com

Weekend BEER Festival & Tug-of-War

Friday 15th – Sunday 17th July 2011

Friday

Undercover BBQ from 6.00pm9.00pm Live Music With – ‘Brotherhood Roundabout’

Saturday

Beer Festival 12 Noon – 12.00pmUndercover BBQ 12 Noon

9.00pm Live Music With – ‘Retrolux’

Sunday

Beer festival – 12 Noon – till we run outTug-of-War – Start 2.00pm sharp. Teams to be here by 1.30pm PLEASE

Undercover BBQ 12 Noon – 6.00pm aprox• Children’s face painting • Children’s bouncy castle • ‘Children’s(& adults) hair braiding • 4.00pm Live Music With Daffy & the Alien

Phone for details & to book your Tug-of-War team

Blue BellThe future for the brewery will certainly includebottle-conditioned beer. Olde Honesty is aboutto be launched into 70 Lincolnshire Co-Operative stores. Cask sales are now mainlyconfined to the Spalding and Wisbech areas.

ElgoodsBlack Dog in a bottle won Silver Medal at therecent International Brewing Awards. At thebrewery on Thursday April 28th a cheque waspresented to Lindsey Atkin from the NorfolkHospice in Snettisham. The money was raised bydonations at last year’s Beer Festival at the brewery.

On the photo left to right, Belinda Sutton MDElgoods, Lindsey Atkin Norfolk Hospice, NigelElgood, John Rice. Also this year Elgoods havegiven their fleet of delivery vehicles a new livery.

Oakham AlesFans of Oakham Ales increasingly popular beerCitra have some extra treats during the spring &summer months. Due to some extra beer beingavailable from a run of the 4.6% bottled versionsome has been made available in cask form. Itwill be called Citra Export and has an evenbigger hop zing than the regular 4.2% version.This will not be around for long so enjoy it.

An even stronger version will soon be availableat a hefty 6.2% and will be known as Citra I.P.A.According to Head Brewer, John Bryan, it will bevery hoppy. Now there’s a surprise!

The special beer for the Peterborough BeerFestival has been brewed. Its style & strengthare closely guarded at present but will be above5.5% and won’t be a pale beer. Can see thefestival night caps taking some stick then!

Tydd SteamThey are very happy with sales at the momentand the brewery is thriving. The arrival of thenew cask washer is now imminent and this willmake life a lot easier than the present system.They are looking to propagate their own yeast.

Ufford AlesOver the summer Ufford Ales Brewery will bepreparing to move to larger premises on StLeonards Street in Stamford. To reflect thechange of location they will also be changingtheir name to the Stamford Brewing Companyand they will also rename their range of beers. It is hoped production will start at the newbrewery sometime in early autumn2011. Brewing will continue at Ufford until theNew Year giving the brewer time to get used tothe new plant and formulate the new beers.

Local Brewery Update

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Brewery Update | 17

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16 | Please support our advertisers

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

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

atmosphere. The antidote to uncluttered “cool”.

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

Good home cooked food served Tuesday to Sunday. Traditional

Sunday roast served from noon and daily 2 course lunchtime specials.

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

Pict

ures

by

Mich

ael S

laugh

ter

A

Ample customer parking.Also conveniently close to the hourlyPeterborough - Stamford bus route(mon - sat)

8th - 10th July Beer Festival20 + Real Ales & Ciders

Town Bridge, Peterborough PE1 1FPTel: 01733 315700

Web: www.oakhamales.com

Quiz Night every Thursday 8pm

FREE Entry

Summer Sundays

Start Sunday 5th June

Visit www.oakhamales.comfor full details.

Summer Sundays

Start Sunday 5th June

Visit www.oakhamales.comfor full details.

www.real-ale.org.uk

18 | Please support our advertisers

Instruction to your Bank orBuilding Society to pay by Direct Debit

Please fill in the whole form using a ball point pen and send to:Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. 230 Hatfield Road, St.Albans, Herts AL1 4LW

Name and full postal address of your Bank or Building SocietyTo yteicoS gnidliuB ro knaBreganaM eht

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Reference

Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account.

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FOR CAMRA OFFICIAL USE ONLYThis is not part of the instruction to your Bank or Building Society

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Instructions to your Bank or Building SocietyPlease pay Campaign For Real Ale Limited Direct Debits from the accountdetailed on this instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct DebitGuarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with Campaign For RealAle Limited and, if so will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society.

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This Guarantee should be detachedand retained by the payer.

The Direct DebitGuarantee

This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay by Direct Debits.

If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd will notify you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.If you request The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request

If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society

- If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when The Campaign For Real Ale Ltd asks you to

You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society.Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us.

9 2 6 1 2 9

Join CAMRA TodayComplete the Direct Debit form below and you will receive 15 months membership for the price of 12 and a fantastic discount on your membership subscription.

Alternatively you can send a cheque payable to CAMRA Ltd with your completed form, visit www.camra.org.uk/joinus or call 01727 867201. All forms should be addressed to Membership Department, CAMRA, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LW.

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Direct Debit Non DD

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(UK & EU)

Joint Membership £25 £27

(Partner at the same address)

For Young Member and concessionary rates please visitwww.camra.org.uk or call 01727 867201.

I wish to join the Campaign for Real Ale, and agree toabide by the Memorandum and Articles of Association

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Campaigning for Pub Goers& Beer Drinkers

Enjoying Real Ale& Pubs

Complete the Direct Debit form below and you will receive 15 months membership for the price

A Campaign of Two Halves

Join CAMRA today – www.camra.org.uk/joinus

Friday 12th - Sunday 14th August

17 Real Ales & Real CidersMany served from the ‘Duck Beer Shed’

Open Noon to Midnight Fri and Sat Noon -10.30pm Sun

Live Music on Saturday and Sunday from 6pmBBQ tent • Ice cream Van • Kids Bouncy Castle

• Adults Bucking Bronco

For more Info call: 01733 240476

Summer at The

Great main food menu to choose from Daily

(Mon-Fri 12-2pm and 6-9pm, Saturday 12-9pm, Sunday 12-6pm)

Lunchtime specials(Mon–Fri 12-2pm)

‘Early Bird’ menu (Mon-Fri 6-7pm)

1 Main Road, Etton, Peterborough PE6 7DATel 01733 252387 kateshinkins@hotmail.com

Web www.thegoldenpheasant.net

GOLDEN PHEASANT

FOUR real ales!(Batemans XB + 3 Guests)

Open Daily:

Mon – Thurs

12-3pm and 6-11pm

Fri/Sat 12-11pm

Sun 12-11pm

LIVE MUSIC IN THE BAR Ring for dates

WINNER CAMRA GOLD AWARD 2011

The indoor cricket team finished third inthe afternoon league competition andthis was followed by sharing pre-

summer season nets with Orton Park and thenAshton. Playing friendlies at weekends,Peterborough 20/20 league and cup during mid-week, we have 38 fixtures this season. The clubhave also entered into an agreement with OrtonPark to use their ground for a limited number ofhome matches whilst they gain use of ourCaptain Nick Bradbury as coach, SecretaryMatt Mace as umpire, and the possibility ofsharing players when either side are short.

The club have also registered withHuntingdonshire County Cricket for the firsttime. This allows the club to use the EnglishCricket Board’s “Play-Cricket” website to attractnew opposition in the future.

This season has not started well for the clubwith losses to Orton Park (by 8 runs) and OldEastonians (by 4 wickets) with the batting beingvery disappointing, with the exception ofCaptain Nick Bradbury’s 91 not out againstOrton, and “extras” that have contributed 51.

If there are any people wanting to join the teamplease contact Matt Mace on 07809 629241 orregister on the play-cricket website.

Cricket FixturesJUNE2 Pak Azad H5 Rushden A9 Nassington H12 Stonygate A16 Castor A19 Ashton Wold A23 Cup Quarter Final26 Tolethorpe H30 Bharat Sports H

JULY1 Kirkstall Educational Cricket Club2 Bradford Telegraph & Argus XI3 Ledsham7 Perkins 1 H10 Upwood A14 Pak Azad A17 Lord Kings XI A21 Nassington A22 Motley Crew A24 Meerkat Harborough South A31 Ashton Wold A

AUGUST7 Burghley Park A14 Boughton A21 Witham on the Hill A28 Orton Park H

Peterborough CAMRA Cricket Team

www.real-ale.org.uk

CAMRA Cricket | 21

www.real-ale.org.uk

20 | Please support our advertisers

Exotic Thai Food & Handcrafted Beers

Beer of the Month

Beer of the Month

Oakademy of Excellence Oakademy of Excellence

Europe’s Largest Brew Pub80 Westgate, Peterborough PE1 2AA

Tel: 01733 358500 Web: www.oakhamales.com

www.real-ale.org.uk

22 | Please support our advertisers Please support our advertisers| 23

www.real-ale.org.uk

The Cherry Tree9 - 11 Oundle Road,

Peterborough PE2 9PB

Tel: 01733 703495

FIVE Real Ales available including Landlord,Pedigree, White Dwarf plus 2 changing guests.

OPEN ALL DAY EVERYDAY FOOD SERVED LUNCH & EVENINGS

AMPLE PARKING • CAMRA GOLD AWARD

www.cherrytree-inn.co.uk

29th May Charity Music day

Organised by the PLVSC (Peterborough Lambretta and Vespa Scooter Club) to raisefunds for a little boy called Tyler Newton.

8 bands, amusements for children and a realale called “Tylers PLVSC”of which 30p per pint will go to the charity!

One of the many benefits of being aCAMRA member is that you get theopportunity now and again to enjoy

the real-ale experience at source. So on 26thApril a group from Peterborough and Wisbechventured down to the historic Griffin Brewery inChiswick at the personal invitation of Fullers.

Taking an early morning train to Kings Cross itappeared that half of Peterborough must havebooked the whole Bank Holiday week off workas it was remarkably quiet and commuter free.Good start. Next up was a lengthy spell on thePiccadilly line as far as Hammersmith and thena short hop onto the District line before finallyalighting at Turnham Green. After gathering ourbearings we proceeded with the remainder of theroute on foot until we observed the brewerypub, the Mawson Arms, in the distance – awelcome sight after a couple of hours of non-stop travelling.

Upon arrival (and pretty much bang on time)we were greeted by Ron Finch of Fullers. Ronwas a charming bloke and immaculately turnedout. After retirement, following a lifetime in thelicensed trade, he was invited back to work forFullers and had nothing but praise for theachievements of the current owners.

We were immediately made to feel at homeand everyone in the party was offered drinks onthe house before the official tour began.Fortunately for several members of the groupthere was time enough for two!

After refreshments we were handed over to ourtour guide, Jeff, who ensured we were all kittedout with the mandatory “high-viz” jackets.Before we stepped into the brewhouse we weregiven a little overview of the whole setup which Igratefully snapped just in case there was a test later:

On entering the brewhouse the first thing thatgreets you is a large copper coloured roundvessel. This is one of many relics of the Victorianbrewing era situated in the room. Moving up thesteps was the vast “London Copper” boilingvessel. Wall plaques state that this was originallyinstalled in 1823 and was still operational up to1984, the only major change during that periodbeing a conversion from coal-fired to steamheating in 1956.

The dividing lines between old and new arevisually clear. The newer installations like thestriking 40 foot tall hot liquor tanks are metallicsilver as opposed to copper red. The walk tookus past the mash tuns each with a grist capacityof 9000 kilos. These were all viewable from a

A Fulfilling Day Out At Fullers

www.real-ale.org.uk

24 | Fullers Trip

windowed observation room – presumably thehub of the whole brewing operation. Inside theroom an assortment of Fullers bottled beersadorned the desk which made me think I’m inthe wrong job.

As Jeff kept us entertained with anecdotes weheaded towards the laboratory and then to thehop store. The overwhelming aroma was in yourface as soon as the door was opened. Pleasantenough but needless to say the door wasn’tdestined to stay open for too long.As we moved back downstairs we paused to

survey a select array of oak aged barrels simplymarked up in chalk on a blackboard as “BrewersReserve No 3” and dated 23/12/08.

The final part of the tour took us to theracking area where the results of the brewingprocess are either added to cask or bottle. Thisis where you get the feel for the scale of thebrewery as you see the output on the conveyorbelt. I think we all took some pity on the chapwho was employed to tap the barrels as theycame past, although he clearly preferred his iPodas opposed to ear-protectors to drown out thebackground noise.

Sightseeing over, it was now time for a spot oftasting at the underground bar, the Hock Cellar.Our tour-guide Jeff took on new role as barmanand served out drinks from a selection of thehandpumps: London Pride, ESB, Chiswick,Spring Sprinter and HSB.

There was also the opportunity to try thebottled versions of 1845 and Vintage Ale both ofwhich hit the mark. To the shame of myCAMRA colleagues I’m afraid to say I enjoyedthe keg version of the London Porter too.

The inside arches of the cellar bar were deco-rated with past decades of drinking memorabilia,including an edition of “What’s Brewing” from1977. I made a note to self to ask John Rice if he’dappeared in that one!

A few photos’ for posterity followed by a chatwith Jeff about local lad (and Fullers drinker)James May and then it was back to the MawsonArms for lunch. Not just of the liquid varietythough. Honestly, our hosts really went to townon the day and pulled out all the stops to helpPeterborough CAMRA enjoy the experience.Great food and drink, on the house, what morecan you say? Ron – if you are reading – thanksever so, it’s much appreciated.

After partaking of the hospitality at theMawson’s a few of the group decided to pay avisit to the “shop” to invest in some supplies.Not that they’d be needed straightaway however– it was mid afternoon and what better way toenjoy a sunny stroll along the Thames than witha few refreshments along the way?

We stopped first at the Dove, a Fullers pubdown the river at Hammersmith. Inside thisauthentic 17th century inn with the obligatorylow ceilings and wooden panels was a small,square-shaped bar which led out to a biggerroom at the back and then to an outdoor terraceoverlooking the water. Great pub, excellent beer.Might have been two rounds of ESB in here; I’dstopped counting by now.

The walk resumed until we reached the BlueAnchor just down from the HammersmithBridge. All good, until….. our membershipsecretary, Mr Saldana, and I were for some inex-plicable reason singled out to be served beer in

Fullers Trip | 25

Continued Overleaf

Just arrived outside the Mawson Arms Pub

The Brewing Process

Our group in the Hock Cellar

www.real-ale.org.uk

the dreaded plastic glass! Were we dressed infestival clothes or asked if we were drinkingoutside? Err…no. I have no idea why no-one elsewas given this special treatment. Even worse,when we challenged the barman over this hepractically blanked us. Come on guys, the pubtrade is tough enough without scoring an owngoal by ignoring your own customers.

Fortunately we were back in good cheer by thetime we took the tube over to Covent Gardenand descended on the Harp, the new CAMRANational Pub of the Year.

Being early evening this small pub was packedout full of revellers. Nothing however came inthe way of a round of Dark Star American PaleAles served, as nature intended, in a glass.Everyone was back to smiling again. After a pintin the Harp some of group decided it was agood time to depart back to Peterborough so we

wished them a safe return trip. The more incorri-gible ones amongst us decided to make themost of the train fare and enjoy the last drops ofthe London pub experience.

The final pub we (officially) visited was theNags Head in the heart of Covent Garden.

Here McMullen’s was on offer and I settled fora pint of the Cask Ale. It was only a modest3.8% but I daresay a sensible choice after a dayon the stronger stuff and a long trek home to

look forward to. By the time we had finished around in the Nags early evening was starting tomake way for dusk and thoughts were turningtowards the end of a long Bank Holiday weekendand going back to work. I’m not sure if OscarWilde was actually working in Covent Garden atthe time he declared that work is the curse ofthe drinking classes but it seemed appropriateright about now!

All in all though a fantastic and memorable dayout and sincere thanks to the guys at Fullers forhelping to make it so. This was my first “real”CAMRA social and it was much more fun thanjust getting those discounts at Wetherspoons orhaving reduced festival tickets for PBF. Join in ona social, go to an event, meet like-minded andhave fun. I’ll see you there.

Karl Simpson, Press Officer

www.real-ale.org.uk

Fullers Trip continued | 27

Outside the entrance to the Dove at Hammersmith

Outside the entrance to the Harp, CAMRA National Pub of the Year

Outside the entrance to the Nags Head in Covent Garden

Come and check out some

of the Live Musicand

Great Eventsat the

Crown Inn, Lincoln Rd

Every Monday:Free League Poker Registration from 7.00pm Playstarts at 7.30pmFree Pool - from 6.00pm

Every Thursday:Free League PokerRegistration from 7.00pm Playstarts at 7.30pmFree Pool - from 6,00pm

Every Friday: (except when live band isbooked):Karaoke - from 8.30pm

Every Saturdays:Live Band night (See listings)

Every Sunday:Sunday Lunches from 12am to 5pm

For further information on any of ourevents please contact Brian GascoyneTel: 07516 395 905

CROWN MINIBEER FEST

Thursday 9th toSunday 12th June

Live music every night from 8.30pmFri - Frankly My Dear

Sat - Dr A’s Rhythm & GrooveSun - Rockit

Saturday 18th June- from 7pm

Reggae Nightwith "MESSENGER ROOTS"

9A North St, StamfordLincs PE9 1EL01780 765888

www.mamaliz.co.uk

Peterborough CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2010

Sun 28th Aug 3rd Annual Chilli cook off 2pm

Fri 26th - Mon 29th AugBeer & Cider Festival

For all further enquiries call 01780 765888 or mail: voodoolounge@mamaliz.co.uk

28 | Please support our advertisers Please support our advertisers| 29

www.real-ale.org.uk

A superior charming Country Inn

5 rotating cask ales and 2 regular

Full Chef’s Menu 7 Days a weekserved between 12-2pm & 5.30pm - 9pm

Friday, Saturday and Sunday 12-9pm

Sunday Roast 12-2.30pm from £7.95 for 2 courses

Beer Garden with Smoking AreaChildrens Play Area

12 rooms with en-suite accommodation availableFull English Breakfast included

Main Street, Dyke, Nr Bourne PE10 0AFTel: 01778 422970

The Black SwanTraditonal Village Pub

2 permanent Real Alesfrom £2.60

Large Beer garden with heated smoking area

Quiz night Mondays

Killer pool Wednesdays

77 Main Street, Farcet Tel: 01733 243596

blackswanfarcet@hotmail.co.ukTHE VINE

Market Deeping

Telephone: 07501 465 646

Under New ManagementCome and vist your new hosts

Steve & Nikki Thomas

Free House with 4 Real Ales

Enjoy the Summer in our spacious Beer Garden

t. 01780 755141w. jollybrewer.com

Foundry Road, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 2PP

Lincolnshire CAMRA Pub of the Year 2009

Peterborough & District CAMRAPub of the Year 2009

• 5 real ales •plus 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 •

www.real-ale.org.uk

Welcome to another round up of live gigsin a real ale pub or club near you.

Please send any details for July / August eventsto dan@tamoko-design.co.uk before 25th June.

Backroom Music ClubThe Backroom Acoustic Music Club has changedvenue to the Railway Inn, Ramsey with clubnights on every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of themonth. The open mic nights are still on at TheRose, Burghley Rd, Peterborough PE1 2QBevery 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month.

Ye Olde Dun Cow, Nr SpaldingFriday 1st July 8.30pm onwards - Lloyd Watson & His BandThe ‘Blues’ genius has been going for ever -

www.lloydwatsonmusic.co.uk

Friday 15th July 8.30pm onwards - Brotherhood RoundaboutColin Smith, Ken Norman, Chris Allen, SteveDunmore & John Haire

Saturday 16th July 8.30pm onwards - Retroluxplaying The Who, Cream, Led Zeppelin, PinkFloyd, Foo Fighters, Deep Purple and manymore. www.retrolux.co.uk

Sunday 17th July 4.00pm onwards Daffy & the Alien - Two very talented musiciansplaying rock unlike anyone else.

Bourne Beer FestivalThe Bourne Beer Festival is back in early Junewith its usual mix of live acts, great ale and greatatmosphere, here is the current line up:-Friday 3rd June - The Precious 20, Hooker andThe Replica’s

Saturday 4th June - Power Surge, Loose Rocket,The Soul Solution, Retrolux, The Tunnel, TheFlex, The Overdubs, Copyright and Doctor &the Medics.

Sunday 5th June - Circa73, Children of theRevolution, Brotherhoods Roundabout, The Re-entrants, Lime Shark, The Almaboobiesand Greendate. For further information go towww.bournefestival.com

Mama Liz’s Voodoo Lounge - StamfordThursday June 16th - The Lesley Curtis BandLesley Curtis has released three albums of originalmusic, and toured nationally and internationallyin a theatre show tribute to the music of EvaCassidy. Now she presents her 'StatesideSongbird' show together with her band.

The Simmo’ empire grows!The Simmonds brothers have now officially takenover the Dragon, Werrington and are putting on agreat selection of live acts in both their pubs overthe next few months:-

PLOUGHMAN, Werrington Sat 4th June UndercoversSat 11th June The ReturnsFri 17th June Porky PigSat 25th June The Electric Warriors

DRAGON, WerringtonFri 3rd June Porky pig Fri 10th June UndercoversFri 17th June Monkey BoySat 18th June RoundhouseFri 24th June Karaoke Sat 25th June Daffy and the Alien

30 | Rhythm and Booze

www.real-ale.org.uk

| 31

For all you Real ale rockers out there here’s a festival wellworth a visit this Summer!

Complimenting the music will be a good choiceof real ales which in the three times I have been tothe festival have been well kept and at pub, notfestival, prices.

The festival itself is easily accessible from the M11(Junction 12) and the cycleway from CambridgeCity Centre.

For more information and tickets please go towww.cambridgerockfestival.co.uk or call 01353 749749 or 0845 299 0845

Thanks to Julia Roberts, Jacatax, AndrewStawarz and Michael Inns for the photos.

The Cambridge Rock Festival is widelyregarded as one of the friendliest andmost welcoming festivals around.

Arising from the fact that the festival is run byenthusiastic music fans first and foremost.Festival goers come back year after year andhave gotten to know many of the volunteers andcrew almost as an extended family; somethingunheard of at most festivals. As such the atmos-phere is excellent and safe. Many rockers takealong their kids to expose them to some decentmusic instead of the plastic X-factor stuff mostyoungsters are exposed to these days!

Local heroes leadingthe charge on thefestival’s opening nightare the irrepressibleSplit Whiskers, whocan always be reliedupon to light the fuse.The fireworks continueto build driven by ThePure Floyd Show, TheUltimate Eagles, andThe Hamstersperforming one of

their final festival headline slots before sayingHamster la vista, Baby! Friday 5th August sees

the triumphant return of John Otway’s BigBand, bringing their usual slice of slapstickfamily fun to the stage. Whilst the Classic RockSociety and Cambridge buskers stages will addacts from across the country and county to themix. The evening will then be brought to aclimax proved by Eddie and The Hotrods.

The Quireboys, Chantel McGregor and TheBizzarros will be headlining on the Saturdaywhilst The Enid, Caravan and Mostly Autumn,will prog up the Sunday night line up tocomplete the Festival’s long weekend. TheCambridge Rock Festival takes pride in lookingafter their festival goers; by providing two allweather stages to ensure full protection from theelements, as well as flushing toilets and showerswith no queues.

Rock’s best kept secret!

cated requiring continuous site access duringfestival opening times allowing us to ensure thesmooth running of the event. However, we dolisten to your feedback and it is intended toimplement a number of changes to improve thesite in a number of areas.

The main toilet blocks will be increased innumber of units and also be moved closer (adja-cent) to the main entrance so that in the eventof rain there will be no need for a long trekacross the field. The secondary toilet block atthe rear of the site will also remain, but in thesame location as there is no possibility to relocate these due to the position of the mainsservices.

There will be an additional bar in theEntertainment Tent (river end) which will havecask ale, bottled beers, cider and wine availableand it is intended to have this open specificallywhilst entertainment is in progress, so you willbe able to get a top up without the hassle of a“bus trip” from one end to the other end of thefestival and for those of you that are both ciderand music lovers, you will be pleased to know thatthe Cider Bar will be relocated to be more equidis-tant between the entrance and the music tent.

For those of you working behind the scenes,you will be pleased to know that we have reignedin our Staffing Officer to have only ONE StaffOffice this year and this will be adjacent to themain entrance, which we hope will avoid anyconfusion when “reporting for duty”.The one thing we would like to change, but

have little control over, is the unpredictableweather at the end of August. To those whostruggled valiantly to support us last year wethank you for that support and look forward toseeing you later in the year on the RiverEmbankment. But, for certain we mustconsider the worst scenario and assume thatthere will be some rain, but with even more siteimprovements this year it is certain that comerain or shine the Peterborough Beer Festivalremains one of the great events in our fair city,so please do come along and catch up with old

friends, enjoy a pint or two and supportPeterborough CAMRA and help us to keep thisevent very much in the limelight of thePeterborough calendar.

Enjoy the summer and all of us on the FestivalCommittee look forward to seeing you at theend of August.

Cheers

Mike Lane - Chair Festival Committee

For more information and to volunteer check outour website, www.beer-fest.org.uk. Email: info@beer-fest.org.uk Phone: 01733 896555Full details will be in the next issue of BAE

www.real-ale.org.uk

Peterborough Beer Festival | 33

PBF 2011 is rapidly creeping up on usand those of us trying to organise theevent thought it would be interesting to

give you a progress report and update. You maynot be aware, but the organisation of the BeerFestival begins almost immediately at theconclusion of the previous year’s event, so a lotof work is already done.

In 2010 we endured possibly the “hardest” beerfestival that we have ever experienced. Withthree days of rain starting just before opening onthe Tuesday evening and continuing almostnon-stop through to Thursday evening, theEmbankment site was totally waterloggedaround the beer festival site.

Those of you who did make it will recall a bigpuddle between the second bar and the enter-tainment area that took us until Friday tosuccessfully clear; otherwise once inside thefestival marquees the ground was completelydry. This meant that once through the entrancearea the whole of the inside of the marquees wasdry and accessible to all. Problem then wasaccess to the toilets and the food vendors, butthat’s another story.

Comments have been made about the newlayout that was tried for the first time in 2010and I have to say that, had we not changed tothe layout, it is almost certain that the festivalwould not have gone ahead. The old format ofmarquees would not have stood up to thevolume of rain in such a short time that the sitewould have had to be closed for safety reasons. I am afraid that the new layout did not get a fair trial.

Although there has been some criticism of the2010 site layout it is important that we stay withit for 2011. The main consideration is that itwould be extremely difficult to revert to theprevious layout because of the location of theessential services required “behind the scenes”which have become more and more sophisti-

The Peterborough Beer

Festival 2011 is Coming

www.real-ale.org.uk

32 | Peterborough Beer Festival

“I have to say that, had wenot changed the layout, itis almost certain that thefestival would not havegone ahead.” )(

Traditional Town Centre Pub with a Warm Welcome!

5 REAL ALES + CIDERIncluding Wherry, Bombardier, Abbot,

London Pride and an ever-changing guest beer

Pub games including Crib, Dominoes and Darts

Good sized Car Park

Heated smoking shelter

The Jolly Sailor,

43 Great Whyte,

Ramsey PE26 1HH

Tel 01487 813388

Arevived pub in the village of Weldon,Northants, was our recent recipient of aGold Award. Part of the citation on the

award stated ‘a real ale hotspot’. That wascertainly the case when, as part of our Northantspub tour on the 15th of May, we called into thepub to present the award.

The pub had been closed for over a year when alocal businessman decided to invest his moneyand revive the business. He also recruited newlicensees Steve and Tracey who have turned thepub’s fortunes around. By introducing a variablerange of cask ales and making a very precise effortto draw the local community back in less than ayear, The fortunes of the pub have certainly beenimproved.

On the weekend of the presentation a beerfestival was in full swing, with around twenty oddbeers from local brewers and further a field.Uniquely the festival emphasised the communityinvolvement by having three local houses partici-pating in the event selling a beer for the pub intheir gardens.

The nomination had been made by localmember David Fursdon who presented the awardto the couple with our LocAle Officer John Rice.

The Picture shows from left to right LocAleOfficer John Rice, Steve and Tracey and nomi-nator David Fursdon.

Shoulder of Mutton ‘cuts’ The Cake

Campaigning | 35

www.real-ale.org.uk

34 | Pleaase support our advertisers

www.real-ale.org.uk

Photo by Daryl Ling

www.real-ale.org.uk

JUNESat 11th - 11am CAMRA members visit toOakham Ales Brewery, 2 Maxwell Road,Woodston, Peterborough, PE2 7JB from 11amto 3pm. Make your own way there but pleasebook a place with John Hunt first.

Sat 11th - Noon East Midlands RegionalMeeting, Horse & Plough, 25 Long Acre,Bingham, NG13 8AF

Mon 13th - 8.30pm Open Beer FestivalMeeting, Brewery Tap. All invited to comealong and hear what is happening.

Sat 18th - Noon East Anglia Regional Meeting,CAMRA HQ, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans,Herts, AL1 4LW

Sat 18th - Mystery Tour. Depart the Brewerytap at noon and return at 8pm. Cost £12.00.

Wed 29th - 8.30pm Committee Meeting,College Arms, 40 Broadway, Peterborough,PE1 1RS

JULYSat 2nd - 5.00pm Cycle Rally. The regular rallyand treasure hunt will leave from Cathedral Squareat 5pm sharp. All welcome. Be there at 4.30pm tosign in.

Sat 16th - Heritage Pubs Trip to Southend andparts of Essex. Contact Mick Slaughter for details.

Mon 25th - 8.30pm Committee Meeting,Letter B, Whittlesey.

AUGUSTSun 14th - Fence building on the Embankmentready for the Peterborough CAMRA Beer Festival.

Thu 18th - onwards Building the PeterboroughCAMRA Beer Festival.

Mon 22nd - Visit to the Social Club at theRushden Historical Transport Society. Thisclub was National CAMRA Club of the Year2010 and normally has seven real ales available.The trip will also include pubs in

Wellingborough where the three Good BeerGuide pubs normally have 20 real ales betweenthem. Contact Mick Slaughter for details. NBThis trip is only open to Peterborough BeerFestival volunteers.

Tue 23rd to Sat 27th Peterborough CAMRABeer Festival. Sun 28th to Tue 30th Takingthe Peterborough CAMRA Beer Festival apart.

Selected Beer FestivalsJUNEFri 3rd - Sat 4th St Ives Beer Festival,Guildhall, Street an Pol

Fri 3rd - Sun Bourne Beer Festival, Wellhead Park, Bourne

Sat 11th Nene Valley Railway Beer Festival,Wansford Station, Stibbington, PE8 6LR

Fri 17th – Sun 19th Fitzwilliam Arms,Stamford Road, Marholm, PE6 7HX

Thu 23rd - Sun 26th Fenland Beer Festival,Sports & Community Association, Wisbech StMary, PE13 4SS

Thu 23rd - Sun 26th 1st Rutland BeerFestival, Rutland Museum, Oakham

JULYFri 1st – Sun 3rd Ploughman Beer Festival, 1 Staniland Way, Werrington, PE4 6NAThu 7th – Mon 11th Pig & Falcon BirthdayBeer Festival, New St, St Neots, PE19 1AEThursday 7th - Sunday 10th Smiths ofBourne 5th annual Beer Festival. 25 North StFri 8th – Sun 10th Blue Bell Beer Festival, 10 Woodgate, Helpston, PE6 7EDFri 8th – Sun 10th Blue Boar Beer Festival, 46 High Street, Eye, PE6 7UYFri 15th – Sun 17th Olde Dun Cow BeerFestival, 164 Barrier Bank, Cowbit, PE12 6ALFri 22nd – Sat 23rd Deepings Beer Festival,Rugby Club, Deeping St James, PE6 8EPAUGUSTTue 23rd - Sat 27th Peterborough CAMRABeer Festival.

Diary DatesDiary Dates | 37

www.real-ale.org.uk

29 North Street, Stanground PE2 8HR. 01733 753544

Friendly village pub with riverside mooring. Large garden • Dogs welcome • Open all day Food served: Tues to Sun 12.00 until 2.30pm,

Mon to Sat 6pm to 9pm.

Quiz night Sundays - cash prizes.

Charity Day 10th July In Aid Of Air Ambulance/Magpas.

Stalls • Games • Tombola • Raffle • RealAles • Live Music Late Afternoon/Evening.

Fun For All The Family! BREWERY TAP OF CASTOR ALES details at:www.princeofwalesfeathers.co.uk

Award winning village local in historic Castor.

Close to the Nene Valley Railway & Ferry Meadows.

Serves 5 guest ales & real cider. Walker & dog friendly.

Home cooked food every lunchtime and

NOW available midweek evenings too!!

The Prince of Wales Feathers

Castor, Peterborough Tel: 01733 380222

© M

ick S

laughte

r 2009

Sunday RoastsServed all day from 12 noon until 8pm

Six Real Ales• CAMRA Gold AwardLive Saturday Night Entertainment

See our new web site for available beers and entertainment

www.theredlionwestdeeping.co.uk

Become a Red Lion Friend

theredlionwestdeeping@hotmail.com

36 | Pleaase support our advertisers

The next issue of BAE will beavailable on: 21st JulyWe must have your stories,news and advertisements by: 28th JuneLate copy cannot be guaranteed entry.

Please contact Chris Shilling01778 421550/07736 635916 or Steve Whadcock 01778420888 / 07985 240365steve@shillingmedia.co.ukfor all of your advertising needs.

Steve Williams pubs-officer@real-ale.org.uk or07802 896641 is always lookingfor pub news.

Please send stories and othercopy to bae-editor@real-ale.org.uk

Beer Around ‘Ere is published by Peterborough &District Branch of CAMRA Copyright © 2011, TheCampaign for Real Ale Ltd.

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

30 | Contact Details

Sky SportsHappy Hour Mon - Fri, 5-7pmLive Entertainment (See Rythm and Booze section)

Join our Facebook group The Ploughman

Your Award Winning local with FIVE Real Ales available from£2.00 a pint!

1st - 3rd JULY• 30+ ALES!(preview on Thursday 30th June)

THE PLOUGHMANStaniland Way, Werrington centre PE4 6NA Tel: 01733 327696

LIVE MUSICFriday: One Eyed Cats

Saturday: Citizen SmithSunday Afternoon:

The NuggetsSunday Evening: Karaokewith Mighty Mouth Trev

Locally produced Bottled Ales • Ciders • German themed BBQ

Money being raised for the Rudolf Fund Charity

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 new lunch time grill menu’s and our everchanging 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. Wehave 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: thefarmers@btconnect.com

www.thefarmersyaxley.co.uk

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