Newsletter of the Leeds Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale

Campaigning, Promoting andSupping Real Ale for 40 Years!

3

New Full Measure is pro-duced by the Leeds Branchof the Campaign for RealAle. The views expressed arenot necessarily those of the

editor, CAMRA Ltd or its branches.Copyright © Leeds CAMRA 2014. Nopart of this magazine may be repro-duced without express permission.

NFM Towers Address: Leeds CAMRA c/o 46 West GrangeGreen, Leeds LS10 3BB.Email: editor@newfullmeasure.org.ukWeb: www.leeds-camra.com

Twitter @LeedsCAMRA

Subscriptions cost £3 for six issues;payment by cheque made out to "LeedsCAMRA" and sent to the aboveaddress. Back issues are available for£1 an issue by sending a cheque tothe same address. Currently all previ-ous issues are available.

Contributions are welcome from anyCAMRA member, and may be sent tothe above email address, or by post.Contributions may be edited for rea-sons of space, and may be held overfor future issues.4,000 Copies are distributed, free ofcharge, quarterly to outlets in Leedsand the surrounding areas.

Publication Dates:The next issue of NFM (#130) will bepublished on December 4th 2014. NFM #130 copy deadline is 5thNovember 2014.

Advertising:For advertising enquiries contact:Jane Michelson Tel: 01733 211410 Mobile: 07732 393621Email: jane@orchardhousemedia.co.uk

Rates:Colour Rates per insertion (exclusive of VAT)

are: Quarter page £70 Half page £130

Full Page £240 Cover Rates Inside Front /

Inside Back £275 Outside Back Cover £300

Discounts available for series bookings.

Welcome to issue #129 of NewFull Measure, the newsletter for theLeeds Branch of CAMRA. We hopeyou find something interesting andinformative inside.

This year marks the 40th anniver-sary of the establishment of theLeeds Branch. We are lucky to stillhave active members who werethere at the time and inside you’llfind an account of the foundingfrom Mr Barrie Pepper, formerchairman of the British Guild ofBeer Writers and Leeds CAMRAmember from the beginning.

It’s funny to think that with all thecampaigning undertaken byCAMRA and its members over thelast 40 years, it’s one of the origi-nal issues, craft verses keg that isstill such a divisive subjectamongst beer lovers. In this issue,Leeds branch chairman MikeHampshire shares his feelings onthe matter, whilst Dave Ansleydefines just what it is that is caus-ing all the fuss.

Elsewhere we have contributionsfrom Rick Lamb, who visitedShanklin on the Isle of Wight andglobetrotter Warren Yabsley, withhis views on beers on slightly fur-ther afield. Former editor Ian Smithpresents his long awaited DesertIsland Beers and this month’s pubof the moment is the Garden Gatein Hunslet. My thanks to all whocontributed this month.

ContentsPub & Brewery News 5

New Brewery News 6-7

Beer Festival Diary 9

Simon Bolderson 11

Craft Keg 13

Pub of the Moment 15

Desert Island Beers 16-17

Leeds Branch History 18-19

Where’s Warren 20-24

Awards 25

Isle of Wight 26-28

Chairman’s Corner 29

Diary Dates 30

Welcome!

Chairman, MembershipSecretary: Mike HampshireTel: 07763 274454

Branch Contact: Mike Hampshire

Public Affairs Officer: John Rowe

Festival Organiser: David Dixon

LocAle Coordinator: Steve Staindale

Membership Secretary: Mike Hampshire

Newsletter Editor: Anthony Coltman

Press and Publicity Officer: Sam Parker

Pub Database Holder: Dave Ansley

Social Secretary: Charlie Cavaye

Treasurer: Keith Sunderland

Webmaster: Christine Jopling

Public Transport Officer: Philip Mullen

Leeds CAMRA Committee

4

5

Leeds Ale City

Drinking in Leeds City Centre gives you morevariety than most beer festivals. That was thefinding of Leeds CAMRA when, on Thursday 21stAugust, we conducted a census across the 69bars serving real ale in the city centre.

Despite the weather a total of 50 people turnedout including a number of members who had notpreviously been to an event. Leeds Brewery kindlygave us the use of the upstairs room at theBrewery Tap and ensured all participants receiveda free drink. They found that 189 different beerswere available across the 69 bars.

Breweries from Yorkshire were well represented,we also identified a possible 7 new LocAle pubsto add to our number. Just over a third of thebars (25) had at least 6 different real ales.

Top of the list was recent Pub of the Seasonwinner, The Duck & Drake with 15 beers closelyfollowed by Wetherspoon’s Stick or Twist, andTapped on 12 each. The Palace and Whitelocksfollowed on 10 with three others on 9, sevenselling 8 beers, one on 7, and nine more on 6apiece. The most common beer was Leeds Palefound in 15 bars.

Most bars had a carefully selected blend of lightand dark beers of varying strengths, andflavours. The premises themselves ranged fromtraditional pubs to modern gastro and café bars.

There is also a large number of real ale bars inthe Leeds suburbs, and surrounding towns andvillages which were not subject to the survey.

CAMRA have a website Whatpub.com that isopen to everyone to browse, and which high-lights around 36,000 bars across the UK servingreal ale. So there is no excuse for missing out ona great product. With a variety of fruit, chocolate

and other flavours there is something for every-one, and it really is a great time to try real ale ifyou have not done so before.

The census gives us a better understanding of amajor part of our area, and will be a referencepoint for future surveys. Hopefully we will beundertaking a similar survey in 2 years time.Thanks also to fellow members from Bradford,Wakefield, & York who came across to help us out.

Keith Sunderland Leeds CAMRA treasurer & census organiser

Swift Halves

A new beer has been produced by KirkstallBrewery – Kirkstall Fountain. It's a light but tasty3% quaffing pale ale. There are plans to produceit again this year and reintroduce it for summer2015 (May - September). Also, Dissolution Extra,the bottled 6% IPA is now available at HarveyNichols, Leeds and selected Sainsbury’s.

Bar 24, that opened on the site of the formerMillrace Organic Restaurant in Kirkstall, is nowbelieved to have permanently closed.

According to planning applications, the Ringwaypub is to become a children’s day nursery.

The Garden Gate, Hunslet, reopened on the 26thJuly. It’s all looking good, and there are 6 beersnow on the bar.

Northern Monkey (nee The Guildford) on theHeadrow is now to be run by the same team asTyke bar, and will become a real ale bar.

Leeds Brewery is believed to be opening a newpub near the Leeds Minster.

News

Pub & Brewery News

6

BAILDON BREWINGBaildon Brewing took shape in a unit at Tong ParkBusiness Centre (that’s the old Denbirayne mill site atthe bottom of Hollins Hill). The brewery is owned byLeigh Terry and, as well as being head brewster, she isresponsible for promotion, delivery and even makingthe tea - truly a one woman business at the present.

A new 6 barrel kit was supplied by Dave Porter fromPBC (Brewery Installations) Ltd of Bury during April-May2014 and after initial trials, the brewery began produc-tion in mid-May with a launch of its first commercialbeer in Heckmondwike on 13 May. At present Leigh brews once a fortnight – that’s 22-24casks, but further expansion will depend upon demand.

Leigh’s aim is to develop a range of beer styles andas well as cask beer, she intends to have bottled versions available too, possibly for the personalisedmarket (weddings and birthdays, etc.) – a small batchof hand bottled beer has already been produced.

No doubt we will see her beers at local beer festivals– Otley has already planned to have some at OBF14 on14-15 November.

Report by Jeff Utley

Bingley BreweryLocal man Darren Marks is owner and brewer ofthe newly opened Bingley Brewery.

Darren attended and passed two courses atBrewlab in Sunderland. In mid 2013 he began aseries of test brews and cuckoo brewing also atthe Brewlab premises; these were first seen atlocal festivals such as Eldwick in 2013 and againat Ilkley in 2014.

In April 2014, after searching for suitable premises, he gained possession of a new indus-trial unit in Wilsden (that's about 3 miles south ofBingley) and kitted it out with a new 6 barrelplant. Brewing began at the end of June 2014.

With the help of family and a couple of friends hecurrently brews fortnightly to a half-brew extent –that's approx 10-11 casks (firkins), using townwater and malts from Thomas Fawcetts ofCastleford. Note that the company logo is not afern, but a stylised representation of five lockgates – a nod to Bingley's famous five-rise lockson the Leeds-Liverpool canal.

The brewery is located at Unit 2, Old Mill Yard,Shay Lane, Wilsden, BD15 0DRContact details are – Brewery Tel: 01535274285 or email: darren@bingleybrewery.co.uk

Golden Owl Brewery

Golden Owl is a new brewing company based inLeeds, taking advantage of unused capacity inother breweries to bring exciting craft beers tothe market. Using the best quality ingredientsand expertise built up over years of brewing,Golden Owl beer is made by hand in small batches.

They aims to make unique, interesting beerswith big, bold flavours that are inspired by histor-ical British beers and the American craft beerexplosion.

Northern Monk Brew CompanyNorthern Monk Brew Companytake thousands of years ofbrewing heritage and traditionand combine them with thebest of both local and interna-tionally sourced ingredients tomake craft beers to excite, tosavour, to taste and to remember.

They'll brew a broad range of beers from doubleand triple IPA's packed with New World hops andbeers with wild and experimental ingredients andtechniques to lower ABV traditional session ales.They are working closely with local businessessuch as North Star coffee roasters as well asones from further afield like Gateway Brewery inMumbai to create some unique and thought provoking beers.

The first of their beers to be released will beNew World IPA a 6.2% IPA with a range of USand antipodean hop varieties, True North a 3.7%session pale, Chennai a hoppy export porter andMonacus NZ a New Zealand hopped variant oftheir Pale Ale.

7

New Breweries news

CAMRA FestivalsYork Beer & Cider Festival17 – 20 Sep 2014Knavesmire, Tadcaster Road, York, YO24 1DJ Wednesday 5.30pm-11pm, Thursday-SaturdayNoon-11pmOver 400+ real ales and 100+ ciders

Keighley Beer Festival25 – 27 Sep 2014Central Hall, Alice St, Keighley, BD21 3JDThu 3pm-11pm, Fri/Sat 11am-11pm60 cask ales & ciders

Huddersfield Oktoberfest2 – 4 Oct 2014APNA Venue, Spring Grove St, Huddersfield,HD1 2NX Thursday 6pm-10.30pm, Friday Noon-11pm,Saturday 11am-11pmApprox 75 real ales, cider bar

Nottingham Robin Hood Beer Festival8 – 11 Oct 2014Nottingham Castle, NG1 6EB Wed 6pm-11pm, Thu-Sat 11am-11pm1,000+ cask beers, 200+ ciders & perries

Wakefield Beer Festival (CAMRA)6 – 8 Nov 2014The Space, Waldorf Way, Wakefield, WF2 8DH Thu Noon-11pm, Fri 11am-4.30pm & 5.30pm-11pm, Sat 11am-11pm

Non-CAMRA FestivalsSaltaire Brewery Beer Festival, Shipley, West Yorkshire12 – 13 Sep 2014Saltaire Brewery, County Works, Dockfield Road,Shipley, BD17 7AR

Shelley Beer Festival, Huddersfield, West Yorks12 – 13 Sep 2014Shelley Village Hall, Shelley, Huddersfield, WestYorkshire, HD8 8HE

Beverley Real Ale Festival, East Yorkshire3 – 5 Oct 2014The Memorial Hall, 73-75 Lairgate, Beverley,East Yorkshire, HU17 8HN

Otley Beer Festival, West Yorkshire14 – 15 Nov 2014Otley Rugby Club, Cross Green, Otley, WestYorkshire, LS21 1HE

Beer Festival Diary

9

CAMRA Branches across the country hold beer festivals, throughout the year. They are organised andrun by volunteers, who give up their own time to promote Real Ale and Real Cider to the public. Themajority of the beer festivals admit card carrying CAMRA members free of charge or offer discounts.Remember to do your homework and check details before you travel!

10

Real Ales from: Brown Cow, Theakston,Timothy Taylor, John Smiths and now

Leeds Brewery

The Chequers InnLedsham, Leeds LS25 5LP Tel: 01977 683135

Beer Garden • Bar MealsRestaurant • Open Sundays

Food served 12noon - 9.15pm

Leeds CAMRA BranchRural Pub of the Year 2014

Permanent beers in the wood from Ridgeside, Kirkstall, Wall’s, Old Bear, Five Towns and SamuelSmith Old Brewery Bitter. All served from a bankof old Melbourne pumps that have never seen a

pint of Tetleys or John Smiths.

Open Fires • Friendly Atmosphere

Dog friendly • Quiz Night on Wednesday

Only 2 mins from the bus and train station

Live bands most Fridays contact us for details

A warm welcome from Neil and Maureen from The Junction

Tel: 01977 278867 The Junction, Castleford WF10 1EE www.thejunctionpubcastleford.com

NEW OPENING TIMESMonday & Tuesday 2pm to 9pm. Wednesday & Thursday 2pm to 11pm.

Friday to Sunday 12noon to 11pm.

Follow Us on Twitter

Simon Bolderson

The first I heard of Simon was when I was outwriting a piece for this magazine. I was talking toDenzil Vallance of Great Heck brewery and hetold me about a bloke who was having his officialfirst beer launch the following weekend. I can'tremember his exact words but he said that if I couldget down for it, I should, because not only was he agood brewer but he was a really nice bloke.

That really has been the theme of the manytributes paid to Simon over the past few weeks;what a thoroughly decent and pleasant man hewas. Indeed, beer writer and Leeds CAMRA vice-chair, Sam Parker, described him as the “nicestman in brewing”. I don't think many would dis-agree with that. Simon set up his brewery,Ridgeside, only in 2010. It quickly went fromstrength to strength and many awards followed. Iwas fortunate enough to visit the brewery manytimes and to chat with him. He was passionateabout beer and always keen to show his latestprojects to anybody who wanted to know.

He could often be seen in the pubs of the area,and always found time for a chat with anyone,even after he was diagnosed with his illness. Hewasn't going to let it stop him getting out if hecould help it at all, and he kept his infectious,cheeky smile. He didn't want people to be nervous around him, but asked for a jog of thememory if you talked to him as his eyesight andhearing were deteriorating. When he went publicabout his illness he said “I've always had a verystrong character and a sense of humour, andthey're not going to take that from me!”. He eventook up smoking cigars on the grounds that theycouldn't harm him any more.

His sense of humour even followed to the funeral,which was packed and a second room had to beopened up with screens for people paying theirlast respects. He'd obviously had a lot of inputinto how things were to be done and, although Ididn't witness this myself, I'm assured a cask ofale was brought out of the hearse. Another thingthat Simon must have requested was the openingof a bottle of beer during the eulogies. The clos-ing music was Queen's “The Show Must Go On”before we adjourned to the Myrtle Tavern for (yes,it must have been Simon’s idea) a slice of a funeral cake shaped like a cask of ale.

When the news which we’d been dreading finallycame through on Saturday 17th May this year, a small group of us were sitting having a fewdrinks. There was silence for a while, whilst weall reflected and then, eventually, a toast toSimon. That has been repeated many times sinceand I'm sure it will be again, whenever we raise aglass of Ridgeside beer. We were privileged tohave known him.

Simon is survived by his widow, Sally, and theirchildren. Our thoughts are with them and therest of the family at this extremely difficult time.

Ian Smith

11

In the last edition of this magazine, we had just learnt of the passingof Simon Bolderson, founder of Ridgeside Brewery in Meanwood,and there was no time to prepare anything other than a “stop press”notice. Simon passed away in May after an eighteen month battlewith cancer. I’d like to add a few words now.

12

Craft Ales

The “craft keg” controversy has been hotly debatedin CAMRA circles over the last couple of years.Dave Ansley talks us through the issues.

The appearance of “craft keg” beers from somesmall local breweries has started debate in realale drinking circles, so here are some musingson the issue. For the avoidance of doubt theseare in no way meant to be representative of theviews of CAMRA locally or nationally. The firstissue is to try and define what “craft keg” means.

“Keg” is fairly easy, the big difference betweenkeg beer and real ale is that there is no live yeastleft in keg beer when it arrives at the pub. Thismeans that secondary fermentation does nottake place in a keg beer in the same way that itdoes in a real ale to develop additional complexflavours. In order to give keg beer some “life” atank of carbon dioxide, nitrogen or a mixture ofboth is connected to the keg. This not onlyenlivens the beer but also provides a protectivelayer above the beer which prevents air from get-ting to it in the cask.

“Craft” is harder to define and is really a matterof opinion. Some define it based the on size of abrewery, but I think it is more subtle than that. Tome craft indicates that the vast majority of thebrewing process is done manually and not using acomputer-controlled, mainly automatic process ashappens in most large breweries. It is the hands-on element and in fact the possibility of humanerror that makes any process craft. Craft keg is normally produced by exactly the samebrewing process as real ale, but is then chilled andfiltered to stop any secondary fermentation.

The second issue is to ask why breweriesknown for the quality of their real ales would pro-duce craft keg? The basic answer is becausethere is a market for it, in fact several markets.One example is restaurants which often have akeg bitter available. Also nearly all pubs sell akeg stout and one or more keg lagers from largebeer factories many miles away, but some havelocal real ales next to them on the bar and sellfood made with local produce, so why notreplace the national keg brands with local ones?There is also the specialist market, pubs that areknown for their foreign keg beers often like tohave British craft keg alongside them.

We also have to admit that not all pubs, for various reasons, keep real ale well. Perhaps itwould be better for them to reduce their real alerange and have craft keg which is easier to lookafter and has a longer shelf life. Poorly kept realale does the campaign for it no favours. I knowsome will say this is the thin end of the wedgeand bring up the 1970s and the ghost ofWatney’s Red Barrel. I can understand thesefears, however, I think we are in a very differentsituation today with a very strong and varied realale market and it is the survival of the British pubthat should be the major worry.

The reality is that regardless of CAMRA’s cam-paigning efforts, there will always be some beerdrinkers who do not want to drink real ale. It issometimes forgotten that both breweries andpubs are businesses which need to provide whattheir customers want. I am not suggestingCAMRA should campaign for craft keg, but equallyI do not think it is something that it should fear.

13

what is craft?

14

ABBEY INN99 Pollard Lane, Newlay, Leeds, LS13 1EQ

DUCK & DRAKEKirkgate, Leeds, LS2 7DR HUNTERS INN

Harrogate Road, Pool in Wharfedale, LS212PS

NEW HEADINGLEY CLUBSt Micheals Road, Headingley, LS6 3BG

OTLEY TAVERNNewmarket, Otley, LS21 3A

QUEENHigh Street, Tadcaster, LS24 9SA

STATIONHenshaw Lane, Yeadon LS19 7RZSTICK OR TWISTMerrion Way, Leeds, LS2 8PD

THREE HULATS13 Harrogate Road, Leeds, LS7 3NBTROYDALE CLUB

Troydale Lane, Pudsey, Leeds, LS28 9LDWHITE SWAN

High Street, Yeadon, LS19 7TAWOOLPACK

18 New Road, Yeadon, LS19 7SE

pub of the moment

15

“Welcome to The Garden Gate: officially Leeds’most beautiful Public House.”

So states the Garden Gate website and foronce the reality lives up to the hype. Designed byarchitect W Mason Coggill, the Garden Gate wasbuilt by local Leeds firms. The Leeds FireclayCompany provided all the glazed tilling and thebar was fitted by J Claughton, who were alsoresponsible for the woodwork and fixed seating.Completed in 1903, it is considered a fine exam-ple of a late Victorian/early Edwardian buildingand is listed by English Heritage as grade II*.

Having passed through many hands and savedfrom demolition in the late 1960’s by the actionsof local campaigners, the Garden Gate wasbought by Leeds Brewery in 2010. Established in2007 Leeds Brewery is the largest brewery inLeeds and runs several pubs in the city includingthe White Swan which adjoins on to the worldfamous City Varieties.

The Garden Gate re-opened recently, after a six month refurbishment to the upstairs livingaccommodation, and it’s looking as good as

ever. They have three Leeds Brewery beers –Leeds Pale, Leeds Best and Leeds Midnight Bell -as well as three guest beers to choose from. A new food menu is also served daily.

Getting there by bus is easy with services run-ning from Leeds bus station at regular intervals.First buses 74/Middleton and 84/East Ardsleyor Arriva Buses 444/Hall Green and168/Castleford will get you there with only ashort stroll to the pub. Check online for timesand services.

I urge anyone with an interest in pub architec-ture should really take the time to see this won-derful pub and experience its hospitality. Theyjust don’t make them like this anymore.

Garden Gate3 Whitfield Place, Hunslet, Leeds LS10 2QB

The Garden GateThe Garden Gate

Desert Island Beers

As a former editor of this esteemed publication, I had the pleasure of asking quite a few people toselect which beers they would take with them ifthey were stranded on a desert island, and thenwatch as they squirmed to try and get out of it.Sadly, what goes around also comes around andthe current editor put the thumbscrews on meuntil I agreed to make my selections.

One memorable comment from previous con-tributors was Barrie Pepper's statement that hisfavourite beer was always the one in his hand atthe time. Sadly, I'm writing this in the afternoon,and the only glass by me contains nothing morepotent than water. I should also point out thatI'm going to make things doubly hard for myselfby not selecting anything which is brewed inLeeds. I wouldn’t want to show favouritism forany brewery in the city, and as Brewery LiaisonOfficer for one of them, I feel it would be wrongfor me to do so. Right, on with the show, andlet’s assume we have all the equipment neces-sary to look after these beers properly.

First on my list isgoing to beAbingdon Bridge byLoose CannonBrewery. Not sur-

prisingly, it hails from Abingdon in Oxfordshireand is a reliable session bitter coming in at4.1%. There are many similar beers by breweriesup and down the country but, as regular readersmay be aware, I occasionally visit my Aunt Pollydown in that region, and drinking this ale usuallymeans that I'm using the dithering old bat'shome as a base to go out drinking, or some ofthe ale has been sent up to Leeds to remind meof my visits.

Right, that's a session bitterchosen. Next for a strong oneand it’s going to have to bePendle Witches Brew fromMoorhouse’s in Burnley. That'sright, two foreign beers chosen

already! Again, memories are coming into playand I was fortunate enough to be invited toBurnley for the re-launch of the brewery after amassive expansion in 2012. You may have readthe piece I wrote for this rag. Pendle Witches is asmooth, chestnut-coloured ale and, where avail-able, is often my choice of “last beer of the night”.

Right, next one, a mild I think. Forthis one I want to come into thechosen land, Yorkshire. Ruby Mildfrom Rudgate in Tockwith is thechoice for this one, and I’m certainly not the only person tothink so. Indeed, it took theChampion Beer of Britain award atthe Great British Beer Festival in2009, as well as a host of other awards over theyears. A rich and well-balanced beer at 4.4%, itis a fine example of a ruby mild.

Staying with this category, we should remem-ber that not all milds are dark in colour. I’m goingto select Golden Best from Timothy Taylor now.Coming in at just 3.5% this is a refreshingamber light mild. Not the most common style ofale that you could try, but growing in popularity.

Porter next, so I shall choose the beer whichwas Champion Beer of Britain for 2013. It has tobe 1872 Porter from Elland. Also a formerChampion Winter Beer of Britain, this is a power-ful and flavoursome porter coming in at 6.5%.Another option for the last beer of the night.

I’m choosing the beers to suit my palate andI’m going to pick another porter here. I’m going

16

with Thriller in Vanilla by BrownCow at Barlow. Sadly just outsidethe Leeds LocAle scheme, but it’salways a treat to see their ales.Another powerful beer at 5.1%,this was described by one corre-

spondent as, “A scrumptious rich porter brewedwith fresh vanilla pods complementing the com-plex dark malts. A Thriller in Vanilla that packs apunch!”

Staying with the darker beers, my island needsa traditional Northern England dark mild. I’mgoing to choose Malt Shovel Mild fromFernandes in Wakefield, part of the Ossett groupof breweries. At 3.8% this is a fine example of adark chocolatey mild which was jointwinner of the Mild of the Festival atLeeds CAMRA’s 2012 Festival. Alwaysworth a taste when you see it.

Let’s go back to the lighter beersnow, and I’m going to remind myself ofone of the earliest pieces I wrote forthis publication. I had to visit Sheffield,always a pleasurable chore, to visitAbbeydale, home of Moonshine. They make afine range of ales down there, but I’ve selectedthis 4.3% golden ale on the grounds that it's theone our readers are most likely to see at theirlocal. It certainly makes occasional appearancesat the pub nearest to me and is straw in colourwith strong citrus flavours. If this desert island iswarm, it will be the perfect thirst quencher.

Like most of our readers, I have visited manybeer festivals, and I sometimes notice which beeris first to run out. Quite often it is Jaipur byThornbridge of Bakewell, traditional India PaleAle coming in at 5.9%, with heaps of citrusflavour. Always hugely popular.

My final choice of beer is goingto be Dark Side of the Moose

from Purple Moose ofPorthmadog. This is normallyone of the first selections togo onto the beer list for the

Leeds CAMRA annual festival

each March. Sadly, this year it was overlooked onthe order, but I can report that the person whomissed it has been viciously flogged and won’tmake that mistake again. It is a delicious dark alewith malty flavours, and has won more awardsthan you can shake a stick at, including grabbingthe gold award in the “Old Ales” category at the2011 Champion Beer of Wales competition.

So there you have it. The ten beers I want withme should I be marooned. I believe that, when thisformat is followed with records, people also get totake a Bible and the complete works ofShakespeare with them. Neither of these tomes ismuch use to me, so can I please take a dartboard,my arrows and the equipment to hang the board.

With a bit of practice I might be able tohit the target at next year’s darts social.

Until I’m rescued, I shall enjoy theseales, so give it a few weeks before yousend a search party please.

Ian Smith

Desert Island Beers

17

Two permanent ales: Leeds Pale, Tetley Bitter plus FIVE rotating guest ales.

Sky Sports and BT Sports on Four Screens

Beer garden with Plasma Screen and Car Park to therear

Main meals - Two for £9.00We are open Mon-Wed 12noon-11pm

Thurs-Sat 12noon-midnight, Sun 11am -11.30pm

Quiz nights:Monday – General Knowledge Tuesday – Music

Thursday – Entertainment

The Regent

15/17 Regent Street, Chapel Allerton, Leeds LS7 4PETel: 0113 2939395 Email: 6233unit@spiritpubcompany.com

Leeds branchfrom the start

This year the Leeds Camra celebrate our 40thanniversary. Elder-statesman of the branch, BarriePepper, recalls the founding days of the Branch.

I often reflect on how the founder members ofthe West Yorkshire branch came to discoverCAMRA. I know for myself it was a picture in mytrade union magazine showing four young mem-bers from Preston who had joined ‘an interestingnew organisation aiming to save the British brewingindustry’! The exclamation mark is mine. But Iknew one of them and spoke to him and he toldme what I regarded as exciting news.

Of course I joined CAMRA and as I recall I hadmembership number 850. Then I got a phonecall from the late Tommy Thomas, a drinkingmate who later owned Franklin’s brewery, and heasked me to join him at a meeting in a Bradfordpub. We became regulars in the West Yorkshirebranch. Tommy claimed that the only organisa-tion he had ever joined before was the DesperateDan Fan Club.

This was in 1973 andfrom this branchesreflecting theMetropolitan Boroughsof West Yorkshire werecreated including theone for Leeds which

held its inaugural meeting on 3rd September1974 in the Central Station Hotel in WellingtonStreet. The first chair was Ed Anderson, a localgovernment officer, with Eddie Lawler, a lecturerat the Poly, as secretary. Both were in their 30sand neither had a beard or a beer belly.

A gang of about 30 of us attended the annualmeeting in 1975 at Nottingham University andthe branches had decided to nominate me forthe National Executive. Phil Lawler organised the

campaign with leaflets and canvassing and get-ting up the noses of southern members who hadpreviously held sway. I lost by two votes. Twomonths later I was co-opted and held my seat forfive years. Twenty years on and Branch ChairRobin Lacy was elected and served for six years.

Over the years the Branch has developed,organising events including 30-plus beer festi-vals as well as producing guides, magazines anda web site. It now has more than 2,000 mem-bers and it has made its voice known within thecity and throughout the Campaign’s structure. In the beginning our major job was to convertTetley’s. This offshoot of Allied Breweries ownedmore than half of the pubs in the city and campaigning then was to save the hand pumpsand thus retain cask beer. Over a late pint in theSun at Stanningley following a meeting there halfa dozen of us persuaded the tenant not tochange to bright beer – it was the watershed andthe number of real ale outlets started to risefrom then onwards.

That is not to say that Tet’s was the only realale; there was a smattering of Sam Smith’s pubsand occasional spotting of Bass, Webster,Cameron’s and Younger’s. We knew aboutTaylor’s but had to travel west to drink it andthere was an unusual outpost of Boddington’s inKinsley near Hemsworth. There were other battles to fight and the next one was to persuadeJohn Smith’s to recommence brewing cask ale.Three hundred Yorkshire members marchedround Tadcaster and left a coffin at the brewerygates. It still took three years for the resurrectionrather than three days as is the tradition.

Beer Festivals have become a regular event inthe Branch calendar and are currently held atPudsey Civic Hall. They provide a regular outletfor beers from across the country and from

LEEDS CAMRA 40th Anniversary

18

abroad and also ciders and perries. Members ofthe Branch regularly serve as volunteers for theannual Great British Beer Festival.

So 40 years on the Branch celebrates in thepub where it was founded. From the 100 or sowho were at the inaugural meeting about a dozenremain members and they have been invited tothe event and will be presented with a commem-orative tankard.

Barrie Pepper

In 2011 as part of its 40th anniversarycelebrations of the campaign the nationalmembership was asked to vote for the40 members regarded as the ‘Top 40Campaigners’. Two members of theLeeds branch were chosen: branchfounder member Barrie Pepper and localMP Greg Mulholland.

LEEDS CAMRA 40th Anniversary

19

Our intrepid wanderer Warren Yabsley is finallyhome, bringing with him this epic tale of an inter-continental beer crawl. Part one this issue, parttwo to follow…

Arguably the UK produces the best ale in theworld but forgoing this beautiful nectar is theprice you have to pay when travelling as I discov-ered a while ago when exploring between Turkeyand India for six months. Needless to say it was afantastic trip with sights, sounds and experiencesbeyond superlatives but this isn’t a travel maga-zine so I’ll stick (mainly) to beer and cider relatedstories. I’ll also draw on events from anotheradventure in Asia a few years ago from Nepal toRussia.

To put some of the stories into context here’s abrief background. Both trips were with overlandcompanies where you travel on a ‘truck’ that canhold about 20 passengers accompanied by adriver and leader plus sometimes a guide whospeaks the local language. A ‘truck’ consists of alorry chassis with specially designed seating andstorage areas for bags, tents, cooking equip-ment, food and water canisters but no air-condi-tioning or toilet - that’s what windows and bush-es are for so it definitely isn’t a bus. We camped‘wild’ (not in a campsite) for about one-third ofthe nights either cooking on wood fires or gas

stoves, and on other nights stayed in homestays,hostels or hotels. Now might be a good time todust that atlas off because the more recent tripvisited Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan,Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, China, Tibet, Nepal and India and theprevious one included Nepal, India, Pakistan,China, Mongolia, Siberian Russia, Kazakhstan(another visit!) and western Russia.

Having fully appreciated my last pint of ale inWetherspoon’s at Stansted airport I arrived inIstanbul and was soon greeted by a big road signthat said “EyUp…”; it was like I’d never leftYorkshire! Unfortunately, I was miles away fromBosphorus Brewing Company in the capital sodidn’t have chance to visit but thanks for the tipPhil. Turkey has a drinking culture but of tea(chai) rather than beer. In Canakkale, close to theAegean Sea, there are late night cafes positionedbeautifully on the waterfront, a prime location foran evening beer, but tea was the choice drinkeven amongst the lads playing cards thoughheavy smoking was their vice. Efes is the verydominant brand with the standard blue labelproduct occupying most shelf space. Efes Dark,Dark Brown, Unfiltered, Malt and Xtra (7.5%)were also spotted (£1.50-1.80 for 500ml can inshops).

20

Where’s Warren?

Piles of snow were used to keep the beercold when it warmed up in Kyrgyzstan

Thankfully, there was more variety in Georgiawith about half of the brands available nation-wide and half regional products. Beers (£0.65-£0.80) and breweries include Natakhtari (5%and 8%), Kazbegi (4.2%), Zedazani (5%) fromGeorgian Beer Co. and Castel from Castel-Sakartvelo Brewery, which is part of the largefamily-owned Castel Group originating in Francewith the beer being one that I was to becomevery familiar with in west Africa but that’s a futurearticle. All beers were very strong tasting anddivided opinion among the passengers beingpopular with regular beer drinkers but occasionaldrinkers were less impressed. My favourite beer ofthe whole trip was brewed by Taglaura, a smallchain of dumplings restaurants in the capital,Tbilisi. Dark was delightful with coffee and bananaflavours standing out and was well received by allwho tried it; light was also available.

Wine is produced in great quantities throughoutGeorgia, often at local level and quality variedgreatly with the white often tasting like cider. In homestays we’d share a jug but it generallywasn’t favoured by seasoned wine drinkers,though I benefitted from this. My favourite wasone that tasted like Rum Cask from Old MontyCider in Wales. In one small shop in Gori (Stalin’sbirthplace) ‘wine’ was available on tap and youcould take your own bottle or buy one there to fill,which I did for the novelty.

This reminded meof Zhiguli brewery inSamara, Russia(1050 km/650miles south-east ofMoscow) where,from two windowbooths, both withqueues, bottleswere filled from apipe. Bottles couldbe bought from thesmoked fish stallsnearby but one manfilled the boot of hiscar with jerry cansize vessels. Many

locals frequented the park that overlooked theVolga River, to drink the beer afterwards. I expectvodka is still drunk in high quantities at homebut out and about beer is very prominent andeasily accessible. Reports state that it’s thefourth largest beer market in the world withCarlsberg (majority shareholders of Baltika), SUNInBev, Heineken, Efes and SABMiller holdingmore than 80% market share. Supermarketshave aisles of beer, normally in 1.5-2 litre bottlesand lots at 7-9%, but it was the petrol stationsthat surprised me, often with half of the shopdevoted to beer - great when you’re a passenger.

Back to the more recent trip and there was lesschoice of beer in Armenian shops but in a well-heeled cafe on one of the main streets inYerevan, the capital, a draught dark beer, KilikiaDark, from the Yerevan Brewery was delicious.Near the centre was a pleasant park area thathad lots of cafes and bars where the waitersfound it odd that we wanted the local draughtbeer (£1.00) rather than the more prestigiousforeign brands. Unlike Georgia the wine heretasted like wine, which was a mixed blessing forme. As an aside, Ararat brandy is produced in

Where’s Warren?

21

Continued overleaf >

Draft beer in the village shopnear Lake Sevan, Georgia

Top or bottom row. Village shop in Russia

22

Yerevan and was Winston Churchill’s favourite;Mount Ararat was the first land encountered byNoah’s Ark but is now just over the contentiousborder, in Turkey. Heading away from the borderwe camped by the edge of Lake Sevan in the eastof the country and discovered that the one shopin the nearby local village had beer on tap butdue to already being overdue for tea-time we hadto settle for some cans instead.

Passing into Azerbaijan we were unaware of thehatred between the country and Armenia. AllArmenian products were confiscated at the bor-der including 22 cans of beer from the truck’sfridge. In Baku, a surprisingly progressive andupmarket capital due to oil wealth, I found amicrobrewery, The Brewery Pub, but didn’t havetime to visit because a few us were meeting to siton the balcony of the hotel with a beer (£1.00)and admire the beauty of the city lit up at night. I planned to go the next evening, but sailingsacross the Caspian Sea from Baku toTurkmenistan are extremely unpredictable and aboat was found that night that was leaving in afew hours. The total crossing time is also veryunpredictable. Although the sailing time is usually14-22 hours, due to docking berth availabilityand clearing customs, which are somewhat atthe whim of officials, a total time of 55 hoursisn’t unheard of so we were relatively pleased tobe on the road in Turkmenistan in 37 hours.

The beer wasn’t the best tasting on the boatbut it was served cold on what was a hot day andaccompanied one of the most beautiful sunsetsthat I’ve seen. Anyway, we were lucky to have aboat that catered somewhat for passengers asthey are primarily cargo vessels. There were onlysix other passengers but the hold, with its railtracks, was full of wagons that were shunted onand off.

Odd, strange and weird: just some of the wordsthat could describe Turkmenistan. Ashgabat, thefolly capital, primarily consists of palatial, whitemarble government buildings but no shops, barsor eateries for miles around. Where else wouldyou see white lines in the road made of marble

and a 12 m/39 ft gold statue of former presi-dent/dictator Niyazov (who adopted the nameTurkmenbashi: Father of All Turkmen) that rotat-ed with the sun on a 70 m/230 ft plinth? Littlebeer was available but we sourced some cans oflocal Zip 5 (£0.95, 3.2%) at a market.

Thankfully not too many as it was one of theworst of the trip being weak and tastelessdespite it winning gold medals at an internationalcompetition. I can only think that it must havebeen the only entry. Also, the cans were that thina few got pierced in the fridge so those on barduty had to clean up the mess.

Uzbekistan generally wasn’t conducive to beerdrinking because of the extreme heat; it was diffi-cult to find beer cold enough to make it pleasantto drink after five minutes. Tashkent was anexception and on one street we found a fewplaces that served beer though it wasn’t obviousat first glance. One place was primarily an off-licence with draught beer (most popular £1.30per litre) poured into bottles but we stopped offfor a swift one. There was enough room for 3stalls, one of which was occupied by the localdrunk so it appears some things are familiar theworld over. Just along the road was a local barwith a couple of tables and chairs inside where awaitress also supplied glasses of beer (£0.40-0.80) to the eatery next door. At exactly 10 pmthe bar door was shut and within a couple ofminutes everyone had to leave.

Where’s Warren? - continued

23

Continued overleaf >

Enjoying a beer in Kazakhstan

Beer was more available invery friendly Kazakhstan. Inthese Central Asian ‘Stans,Cyrillic alphabets are still commonly used so lotsof letters were unpronounceable. We used to callthe beers according to their logos or can colours;Golden Eagle and Polar Bear were two thatspring to mind (£0.55-0.70). Baltika was alsocommon. Strengths normally ranged from 4.5-6.5% and in one village the bar crew stocked upthe fridge and cleared all the shops of beer.

On my previous visit as well as a beer relatedstory too long to tell here there were a couple ofvodka related ones. Throughout the ‘Stans andMongolia vodka is still popular, a Soviet hangover(the shocking pun was intended!), and is usedfor toasts. A few of us were invited to the eveningdo of a local wedding where toasts were aplentyand on leaving we threw money onto a raisedsheet for the happy couple, which is customaryfor all guests. The next night we camped near theborder and the police came to check we had ourvisas before the Chief invited us to look aroundthe local police station and indulge in a feast pre-pared by his wife. As a gesture I took along abottle of (imported) cherry liqueur that I boughtin Mongolia and it was a lot easier to toast withthan vodka.

The beer in Mongolia, a stunningly beautifuland expansive country with the lowest population

density in the world, was nearly all imported fromSouth Korea surprisingly. It wasn’t the best, noteven the dark beer, and the Hite brand soonacquired a derogatory alternative name!

On the latest trip the next country wasKyrgyzstan, a mountainous paradise, where wecamped in a beautiful valley next to a river sur-rounded by mountains, the homes (yurts) ofnomadic locals and large roaming herds of theircattle and horses. This was one of the most sce-nic places for a drink and the bar crew were ontop form by making a dam to cool the beer.Struggling with the less common Cyrillic lettersI didn’t make a note of the two brands thatdominated the country, both of which wererespectable, with 1.5 litre bottles the mostcommonly available size (£0.80; £0.50 for

500 ml). Having performed a little researchboth and Arpa ring a bell but your guess is asgood as mine to pronounce the former. At ournext camping spot, situated at about3,000 m/10,000 ft and surrounded by moun-tains, we had freak weather with temperatureseasily below -5 degrees centigrade at night and agood few inches of snow despite it being mid-summer. Within 24 hours all of the snowhad melted and it was hot but the bar crew wereone step ahead again having piled up the snow tokeep the beers cold. In the capital, Bishkek, a num-ber of microbreweries have recently opened but itwas a bakery’s logo that reminded me very muchof the intricate ‘K’ symbol used by Kirkstall Brewery.

Crossing the Torugart pass takes you into Chinawith its many rules and regulations for tourists.Taking food and drink into the country is a greyarea with fresh products and firewood both beinga definite no-nos so to avoid another potentialround of confiscation the bar was cleared. Onlong drive days (8-12 hours) quite a few of uswould partake in “beer o’clock” at 4pm but thelocal time as we entered China in the far westwas 2pm though the official Beijing time was4pm so I made use of this anomaly to have thelast beer. Well, I like to help out where I can, andI’ll help out now by shutting up! Further beer andcider tales from China to India will follow in thenext edition.

Beer dam in Kyrgyzstan andright: The Kyrgyzstan versionof Kirkstall Brewery's logo

Where’s warren? - continued

24

Hot on the heels of its Pub ofthe Season award, the BridgeInn Kirkstall, once moreshowed its class by winningthe Pub of the Year for 2014.A well-deserved win forMercedes, Steve and theteam. With such a meteoricrise one wonders is thereanything else left to

achieve? National Pub of the Year? I wouldn’tbet against them.

Continuing to hold its place as the cornerstoneof the community, the Myrtle Tavern took theCommunity Pub of the year award. Whether it’sraising money for local charities, hosting raucousrock and roll bingo nights or pirate themed week-ends for the kids, there’s a real buzz about theMyrtle. Scott and his team are great hosts, youshould go and see what the fuss is about.

The rural pub of the year award was presentedthis year to the Chequers Inn, Ledsham. This isa stunning rural pub in a quaint Yorkshire village.Chris Wraith and his staff run a tight ship, withwell kept ales and great-home-cooked food,

worth a trip out for lunch now that they openSundays.

We joined the good peo-ple of the Wakefieldbranch of CAMRA toaward the Beer of the fes-tival 2014 for BlackVoodoo, to FernandesBrewery. A double cele-bration on that day, asbrewer Steve Hutchinsonrecived his certificate for placingbronze at GBBF 2013 with the excellent MaltShovel Mild. Well done Steve!

Finally this month we awarded the Pub of theSeason for summer 2014 tothe Duck and Drake. Livemusic five nights a week, sixpermanent ales and nine(yes nine!) guest ales, can’tfor the life of me fathomwhy everyone voted forthem…! Congratulations toall this summers winners.

The Leeds Branch of CAMRA regularly recognises achievements by breweries and licensed premisesin the district which are worthy of special mention and, once again, the NFM photographers have…been… Hang on, where’s my bloody photos? It looks like the NFM photo monkeys have gone onholiday. Thanks to those kind souls who thought to take photos and send them in!

25

Myrtle Tavern

Chequers, Ledsham

During the dark days of Winter I decided a shortsummer break in the picturesque town ofShanklin on the southern coast of the Isle ofWight was called for. This character town sitsatop a high cliff and is a mixture of thatched cot-tages and shops in the Old Village and the morefunctional stone building of the Victorian era.Parks, gardens and open grassland are to befound in abundance. At the foot of the cliff,down a serpentine road lies the Esplanade withits mix of hotels, pubs, apartments and kids’amusement playgrounds. The impressive cliffruns from Luccombe, a hamlet to the west ofShanklin, for about three miles to Sandown,Shanklin’s larger neighbour.

As my hotel is on the Esplanade it seems logi-cal to start with pubs on the sea front. About100 yards along the front is the clock tower,

opposite which are two promising-looking pubs.

First is the WATERFRONT INN, a family runhotel, brasserie and bar. This is a modern bar,wooden floored and with a mix of traditionalwooden and modern furniture. Outside is apaved dining and drinking area on three terraces. Itis listed in GBG, a fact the owner is very proud of,and on the bar are Youngs Bitter, Goddards WightSquirrel, Island Nipper and Tring Fanny Ebbs.

Next door is the STEAMER INN, again with abeautiful outdoor terraced area. Inside there is alarge lounge with a nautical theme, with ships’wheels figureheads, oars and lots of wood. Atthe front a huge anchor holds the pubs signageand built into the wall is a gleaming ship’s propeller. Beers; Goddards Ducks Folly and Scrum-diggity, Marsdens Ringwoods 49er and Best.

As there is another hotel and bar next door itwould be rude not to check it out. The AQUAhas, guess what? A three terrace frontage.Inside, it is modern and light with a comfortablelounge with pool table. Only one beer on sale, avery acceptable Yates Shanklin Pale. All three ofthese pubs have panoramic views of Culver cliffsand cargo boats and ferries plying their tradeacross the English Channel.

Shanklin, Isle of Wight

26

Shanklin, Isle Of Wight

“This characterfultown sits atop a highcliff and is a mixtureof thatched cottagesand shops in the OldVillage and the more

functional stonebuilding of theVictorian era.”

Left to Right Aqua,Steamer &Waterfront Inns

Right at the end of the Esplanade, past a collec-tion of beach huts, can be found the FISHER-MAN’S COTTAGE. This historic thatched pub onthe beach, with stone flagged floor and beamedceilings, is dominated by towering sandy cliffs. Itwas built in 1817 and is situated at the foot ofShanklin Chine, a wooded gorge and garden.Outside is a large paved garden, a perfect placeto watch tankers and cargo ships at anchor.Four beers; Yates Yachtsman Ale and VectisVenom, Fullers London Pride and TaylorsLandlord. (Open March - October.)

Heading up some steps tothe left of the pub I take a steeply inclined, wind-ing path by the side of the Chine and around thecorner is the CHINE INN. This is one of the oldestin the town and has good views of the bay, Chinegardens and the beach. It is an old smugglers’pub with stone floor, half-panelled walls, beamedceilings and old wooden furniture. Old photo-graphs are displayed and it has a fine uprightpiano. There is a glass conservatoryextension to the front. Make sure youlook out for one or both of the pub’sghosts - a girl in blue and an old mansitting in the corner. Beers were;Yates Chine bitter and Sunfire bitter,Otter Seville bitter, Taylors Landlordand Sharps Doom Bar. (Two of thebeers are served by gravity.)

Continuing uphill from the Chine Inn, left ontoEverton Lane and a walk through the tree-shadedChine Avenue brings you to Shanklin Old Village.This is the oldest part of Shanklin and you can’tmove for pubs, shops and tearooms with

thatched roofs. Very picturesque but you get abit blasé about it after a while.

The first pub you come to is the CRAB INN,which claims to be the most photographedpub in Britain. Inside, the pub is on twolevels, wood and carpeted throughout,with a varied mix of furniture. Walls arewood panelled and cream painted and thebowed wooden bar resembles a ship’shull. At the rear is a beer garden. Twobeers only; Greene King I.P.A. andGoddards Scrumdiggity.

Opposite is the VILLAGE INN, which, if any-thing, is even more picture-postcard perfect thanthe last. Inside it is a one-roomed lounge with anisland bar. The room is comfortably furnishedwith leather seating, though dimly lit. Localmemorabilia adorn the walls. A large paved beergarden is to the rear. Three beers; Sharps DoomBar, Butcombe Bitter and Wells BombardierBurning Gold.

Diagonally across the road isthe third of the trio of thatchedpubs, KING HARRY’S BAR. This19th century inn has two bars andis multi-roomed. Darkly woodpanelled and dimly lit, it has astone, baronial-hall like functionroom at the rear. Outside there aredecked gardens and lawned beer

gardens and it has its own Chine walk. Also ithas a fine pair of stocks. Beers to choose;Fullers ESB, Thwaites Wainwright, JenningsMarsdens Cocky Blonde and Island Wight Gold.

Shanklin, Isle of Wight

27

Old Village Crab Inn

Continued overleaf >

Above: Fishermans CottageRight: Chine Inn

Back through the Old Village, I pass thethatched Vernon Cottage Hotel, which shouldhave real ale but doesn’t, and go on to the HighStreet. Again, the Mad Cow is advertised as hav-ing one hand pump but doesn’t have any real aleor many customers either. Could there be a con-nection here? Continue down the High Street andleft onto Regent Street, Shanklin’s main shop-ping precinct, to the junction with Falcon CrossRoad and the FALCON.

This is probably the only pub in the town youcould regard as a street-corner local. It is a oneroomed, recently refurbished, comfortable andtraditional locals’ pub. And as such it is quitebusy. At the front is a large wooden-framed fire-place, with solid wooden furniture, carpetedthroughout and with framed brewery pictureshanging from the walls. At the rear is a raisedgames area with darts and pool. Three beers onoffer; Mardens Gales HSB, Sharps Doom Bar andJennings Cumberland.

From here, out of the front door, straight acrossthe road and down to North Road, and after aleft turn and you are in the PIG & WHISTLE.This is a modern stone-built pub with two rooms,furniture and décor being equally modern. A bitsoulless to my mind, mainly a dining establish-ment with a pool room at the back. A choice oftwo beers; Sharps Doom Bar and GoddardsFuggle Dee Dum.

I turned left from here and made my way to thetraffic lights at the crossroads. A brown touristsign made me rethink my walk back to my hoteland I made my way up Arthurs Hill and turnedright onto St Boniface Cliff Road, noting thecarved wooden sculpture of a wizard in a garden.After reaching the Coastal Path I turned right andfound the brown sign’s destination.

Here was the HIDEAWAY BAR, a quirky brickand wood shack of a café bar, with two minuterooms. The larger, with about four tables repletewith tablecloths, was set out for dining; thesmaller had two leather settees and little roomfor anything else. The tiny bar of this microvenue had one pin of Island White Knight ongravity, in good form. At the side is a largelawned and paved beer garden, (at least threetimes the size of the building) which is a glorioussun-trap and has superb views of Sandown Bayand Culver cliffs. There is another small beer garden on the other side. If approaching fromthe Esplanade end it is about 200yards alongthe Coastal Path.

All-in-all a reasonable walk around the town’sdrinking establishments and with a good selec-tion of the island’s breweries’ products, althoughvery little else except nationals and regionals.

Shanklin, Isle of Wight - continued

28

The Falcon

Hideaway Bar

Chairmans CornerIn this edition, I thoughtI’d write about my ownviews on something thatreally stirs the passionsamongst CAMRA’s mem-bership – craft keg.

I frequently read let-ters in What’s Brewingthat put member views

at polar opposites and it was in fact an article inanother branch’s magazine that inspired me totackle this pretty tough topic as my first properarticle as Chairman.

My view is quite simply that I am pro-choice onhow beer is dispensed and as a consumer, nomatter in what market, being able to choosefrom multiple options is a good thing. Before youspit your cask-dispensed beer in disgust, read onas to why I think this!

I completely understand that when CAMRA wasfirst formed, cask ale was under serious threatfrom keg beers. CAMRA’s tireless campaigninghas effectively saved cask ale and now we havemore choice of cask ale than ever before and itcontinues to grow. In Leeds alone, for example,we now have 14 different breweries. For me, theoriginal aims of the campaign have beenachieved. No matter how strong keg beerbecomes (and let’s face it, there’s been an explo-sion in keg beers in recent years), I don’t seecask ale ever becoming the endangered speciesit once was.

The recent explosion in kegged beer, in myview, has actually helped boost further the popu-larity of cask ale, rather than hinder it. I’ve triedmany keg beers, a lot are imports from the USand the ‘New World’ and for me it’s clear to seethese beers have inspired greater variety offlavour in the cask world. Brewers are becomingbrave with their ingredients and it’s a good timeto be a cask ale drinker.

For the UK brewers of kegged beer, it helpsthem add shelf-life to their brews. More oftenthan not though, you’ll also find the same beersstill available as a cask too. Being able to offerthis choice not only supports the breweries inexposing their products to previously unchartedterritory but also enables landlords and pub man-agers to get a range of products in to satisfy theconsumer.

The sentence that inspired me to write this arti-cle was in Sheffield’s ‘Beer Matters’ July editionand said “We should remind ourselves of ouraims, and as we did in the 70’s, discourage ourpubs to sell it”. I’m afraid I cannot agree with thatstatement. CAMRA’s tagline is “Campaigning forreal ale, pubs & drinkers' rights since 1971”; bytaking a stance that will stifle choice, I feel we’renot campaigning for either pubs or drinkers’rights at all.

I’m not suggesting we start singing from therooftops about keg, but there’s no reason to mefor us to be so negative towards it any more. I think if CAMRA is to continue to be successfulwe need to recognise the changes in the drinkingbehaviour of consumers and that landlords andbreweries need choice to be able to survive andthrive. 28 pubs a week are closing across theUK, our aims are best served by saving them,and not wasting effort on telling them theyshouldn’t be using a particular dispense system.For me, sometimes, some attitudes I comeacross make it feel like we are still in the 1970’s– we aren’t. Times have changed, they continueto change and we should adapt what we do tokeep up.

Absolutely we should support and encouragecask ale, but don’t stifle the right to choose!

Mike HampshireLeeds CAMRA Chairman

Words from our chairman

30

Appointment with BeerLeeds CAMRA holds a formalbusiness-style meeting in a closedroom (one with a door, not anarea of a bar) on the first Tuesdayof every month. The meetingstarts at 7:30pm and has anapproximate finishing time of

9:30pm. CAMRA members are advised to check“What’s Brewing” for confirmation of meeting loca-tions and for details of other events. A full listing ofevents is also published at www.leeds-camra.comwhere it is regularly updated. Leeds CAMRA isorganised and run entirely by unpaid volunteers. Allmembers are always welcome at meetings andsocials.

September 2014

Thurs 11th Sept Launch of the Good Beer Guide2015, Veritas, 43 Great George St Leeds, 7.30pm

Tue 16th Sept Joint Most Improved PubPresentation, Woodies Craft Ale House, 104Otley Rd, Headingley, 7.30pm

Thurs 25th Sept Joint Most Improved PubPresentation, Wetherspoons, North Concourse,Leeds City Station, 7.30pm

Sat 27th Sept Social - Sheffield by Train,Meeting on the 11.11am Cross Country train toSheffield, arriving into Sheffield at 11.52 andmeeting in the Sheffield Tap on platform oneshortly afterwards.

October 2014Tue 7th Oct Open branch committee meeting,Garden Gate, Whitfield Place, Hunslet, 7.30pm

Sat 18th Oct Chapel Allerton Social, the Woods,5 Stainbeck Corner, 2pm The Regent, 15-17Regent Street, 4pm

Tues 28th Oct City Centre Wethercrawl, Stick orTwist, 7.30pm, Hedley Verity, 8.30pm &Cuthbert Brodrick, 9.30pmNovember 2014Tues 4th Nov Open Branch Committee Meeting,venue to be confirmed. Check website for details.

diary dates

30

Thank You for Having Us!Thanks to Whitelocks, Briggate, The Packhorse,Woodhouse and The Grove Inn, Holbeck forhosting this month’s Open Branch Meetings.Thanks also to The Owl, Rodley and the GardenGate, Hunslet for inviting us to their newlyreopened venues. It’s much appreciated.

Don’t be a Wazzock! Don’t Drink and Drive.Public transport information for the Leeds areais available from Metro offices and atwymetro.com There really is no excuse.

West Yorkshire TradingStandards Service Tel: 0113 253 0241 PO Box 5, Nepshaw Lane South, Leeds, WestYorkshire, LS27 0QP

Leeds CAMRA Members' NoticeboardFollow @LeedsCAMRA on Twitter or“like” our Leeds-CAMRA Facebook

page for up-to-date informationabout socials, meetings and pubs

info in and around Leeds.

Leeds-CAMRA

@LeedsCAMRA