spring 2015 tippler the free - camra gloucestershire©the campaign for real ale 2015. opinions...

©The Campaign for Real Ale 2015. Opinions expressed need not represent those of CAMRA Ltd or its officials

Spring 2015

FREE Please Take One

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

tipplerthe

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

contents:©The Campaign for Real Ale 2015. Opinions expressed need not represent those of

CAMRA Ltd or its officials

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

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

01684 439767

Letters to the Editor page 4Obituaries page 6Pub News page 8The Hunter’s Column page 10Pubs & Clubs of the Year page 14Cheltenham News page 18 View from the Uley Brewhouse page 19 Bath Taps page 22

More Pubs of the Black Country page 24Festival News Pull-out section page 25View from the Glos. Brewhouse page 33Donnington: 150 years page 34Brewery News page 38CAMRA’s Manifesto page 42 Hook Norton Prize Wordsearch page 48What’s Coming Up? page 52CAMRA contacts page 53

Front cover: The delightful Donnington Brewery

www.gloucestershirecamra.org.uk

CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES: THIRD FRIDAY OF

FEBRUARY, MAY, AUGUST AND NOVEMBER

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

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

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tipplerthe

[email protected]

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

LETTERS to the

EDITOR

for goodness sake jeremy, can’t we just send an email like all those FRIGHTFULLY

modern chaps?

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

Dear Chris, Happy New Year! Having finally had a chance to dip into the latest Tippler we noticed an edit on our article (page 40) that could give the impression something else was meant. The sentence: “We wanted to bring back brewing to the Cotswolds and see if we could encourage UK beer consumers to be a little more adventurous” Should have read:

“We wanted to bring back brewing to the Capital of the Cotswolds and see if we could encourage UK beer consumers to be a little more adventurous” If noticed, I think some of the local Cotswolds microbreweries might raise an eyebrow or two as they were already brewing some excellent tasting beers before we came along. In Cirencester, however, the ‘Capital of the Cotswolds’ there were no micro-breweries at the time; although this is not the case anymore! The final media release I saw had cut out the mention of the Cotswolds altogether and read: “We wanted to see if UK beer consumers could be equally adventurous and challenge their taste-buds more. We’d also like to see

new consumers encouraged to try it”. So not sure quite what has happened. Anyhow perhaps a correction could be made in the next edition that explains we were referring to the Capital of Cotswolds, Cirencester as opposed to the Cotswolds as a whole. Cheers and thank you for all the coverage we have had in the Tippler; it is appreciated and is a great publication. Lucy & Colin

Chris replies:

Many thanks for clearing that up. To save you worrying, and it was a self-effacing letter that was really appreciated, I have had no complaints at all. I guess it’s simply because the brewers in the county are a friendly bunch of people (and who wouldn’t be brewing beer? It could be worse!). On a slightly serious note, sometimes, in order to ensure that the magazine has a ‘flow’ to it, I just can’t fit everything in without a bit of jiggery-pokery and on this occasion, your feature was the recipient of the editor’s blue pencil.

4www.gloucestershirecamra.org.uk


Dear Chris, We'd also like to promote the Forest of Dean (FoD) CAMRA through the Tippler to try and get more people interested in the superb rich heritage of pubs, breweries, ciders and perries that we have in the region. FoD CAMRA is a sub-branch of Gloucestershire CAMRA and are looking for interested partiesto come and enjoy real ale with us in the Forest. We hold regular meetings (known as Jolly's, or is that Jollies?) on the second Thursday of the month at different local ale pubs. We have a lot of socialising to get through and organise trips/pub crawls as well.

Currently, we don't organise a Beer Festival ,but we do support the Littledean Real Ale Festival which is scheduled to take place over the Easter Bank Holiday, 3rd - 6th April, 2015. This is the fifth Littledean Real Ale Festival being held at The Belfry Hotel, from 12.00pm - 12.00am Friday and Saturday and 12.00pm - 11.00pm Sunday and Monday. Amazingly it’s a FREE entry, with no glass to buy and complementary Bread and Cheese for those who are enjoying the Ale. The Monday evening will be FoD CAMRA night and I will be serving the Ale.

CheersAndy.

I’m Andrew Tubb (Andy) and you can contact me @ [email protected] Tel : 01594822381 and also you can find out more on the events page towards the back of theTippler.

Good news as Samuel Smiths Brewery roll-out their programme to serve cask ale in their pubs. Three of our expensively refurbished and maintained pubs will benefit by serving at least on real ale. Gloucester’s Robert Raike’s House and The Old Crown together with The Mill in Withington will benefit and the move will encourage more visitors to these historic buildings. It’s taken a long time for Sam Smiths to make this move, and congratulations are finally due. News of three of our lost pubs. The former Starting Gate at Hardwicke recently opened as a One-Stop convenience store (Tesco owned) taking advantage of the planning loophole whereby pubs can be converted to shops without the need for change of use! CAMRA now campaigns to close this planning loophole and help save community pubs. Meanwhile at Cainscross, Stroud, the well sited former White Horse pub, bought privately from pubco Admiral Taverns in 2010, has just relaunched as the ‘fresh ground’ café. A social enterprise partnership with The Brandon Trust, the café provides work experience for adults with learning

difficulties. The beauty of the café lies in its interior. Expensively refurbished, to all ends it looks like a tastefully fitted out pub with bar, now serving counter, still in place. Accommodation is offered and who knows, one day someone with a vision may once again serve ales at a modern White Horse. The closed King’s Head at Norton has since being bought by New Dawn Developments and had planning permission obtained for houses on part of the car park, and in December on the beer garden. The King’s Head Community Pub Group have been unable to secure pledges enough to purchase the pub and currently New Dawn say they could open it themselves (?) or would like to hear from anyone interested in joining them in a commercial enterprise. News of the historic listed market place Red Lion Inn in Northleach, seemed positive when bought from pubco Punch by the incumbent tenants. However change of use from pub to domestic was quickly applied for. Subsequently rejected by Cotswold District Council in December the pub remained closed in January and no doubt change of use will be sought again with the business quoted as unviable !

pub news in brief. . . Jerry Ward

LETTERS to the EDITOR

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OBITUARY David William Gardner (Scraggy) 1953 - 2014

Not many people knew David by his Christian name; most knew him as Scraggy the chimney sweep. Sadly Scraggy drowned in the Sharpness Canal on the 20th December 2014 at the age of 61. Scraggy was a member of Dursley CAMRA; his membership card had one name on it Scraggy! He was a great character; he would often join in with CAMRA pub-crawls and after a few pints would entertain us by singing local folk songs in his dulcet Gloucestershire tone. His funeral in St Mary’s Church Wotton-Under-Edge on 20th January was very well attended, the large church was packed with people of all walks of life, and such was the influence this wonderful man had on so many people. His eulogy was read by his sister Kay, here follows an edited version of the eulogy: “Many of you here may only have known David in later years as Scraggy the Sweep. Some of you have been lucky to know him much longer. I will attempt to paint a picture of the man as seen through the eyes of his little sister. My adorable, infuriating big brother, with the Beatles haircut, the hippy beard, or the silly hat. “Born 29th January 1953, as soon as David could walk he was off into the Tresham Valley exploring the local countryside and watching the wildlife. Mum and Dad gave him a wooden toy with bells so that they could find him. “By the time I came along my brothers David and Michael were lively boys and a kid sister would be the last thing they wanted to entertain. However, they would spend hours with me, playing music and singing, or pushing me around in a George Hensley grocery box. Later, my brothers would carry me on bicycles and latterly motorbikes. David would often take me on long walks in the valley, when I protested tiredness he would carry me home. “Growing up around David was like being in a Gerald Durrell book, we would find newts, frogs and bring them home in our wellies. I even had to share my pram with an orphan squirrel called Squeak who David brought home before I was due. Squeak survived for some years and would hurtle up the curtains and terrorise the cat. Squeak would also join David and I on walks through the valley in a dray in David’s jersey! “At senior school, the two brothers were separated, Michael went to grammar school, David went to secondary modern, and this was down to character rather than academic ability. David would prefer to spend time in the woods, his first school achievement was to score 99/100 for bird recognition. David wasoffered his dream job at Bristol Zoo, unfortunately the wages were not sufficient to pay for his accommodation in Bristol, so David worked on the farm and picked hops and apples in Herefordshire. “David was restless to see the world and its wildlife, with a fiver in his pocket he set off and ended up in Greece. In Greece, he slept in the goat shed, drinking fresh milk for breakfast, helping the elderly owner whose shoes were made of used car tyres. “Next stop: the Holy Lands, and a job picking oranges in a Kibbutz and befriending Bedouins to explore ancient relics. In the early 1970s when war broke out, he stayed with the people regardless of advice that all Europeans should leave; he spent his time looking after children in air raid shelters. He never lost interest in the Middle East and would often spend time listening to Al Jazeera. “David returned home from this adventure with a Danish Girl, Tove, who spent a happy summer in

““

his love of animals, was only matched by his love of fellow man, he could get on with anyone regardless of age, race, class or religion.


the family home in Tresham. When Tove’s father became ill, he travelled with her to Denmark to help on the family dairy farm. He spent 10 years there becoming fluent in Danish and Swedish, to the extent he had to show his passport to prove his nationality. “During his time in Sweden, he worked with the elderly, some with severe mental health issues. One formidable woman refused to go outdoors for over 20 years, despite her size and protests he got her into a wheelchair and into the fresh air to enjoy the pleasure of nature, she never looked back. “After buying his dream cottage in Hillesley, David had itchy feet and travelled to India and Nepal, where he found himself by the Ganges among beggars, outcasts and lepers, as an act of kindness he would roll them cigarettes. “In Nepal he stayed with the locals, living in their Huts with the yaks and enjoying climbing the Himalayas, enjoying the staggering views despite altitude sickness. “David returned home met and married Ali and a family followed, with them he passed on his knowledge of nature and farming. To support his family ‘Scraggy the Sweep’ was born, he enjoyed the interaction with a wide range of people he met sweeping their chimneys. “Life did not always run smoothly for David, often people would take advantage of his over-generous nature, but he would not bear a grudge. There are not many people who enjoy a drink in Gloucestershire pubs, that did not know David and he knew all the pubs and lots of people. “A truly kind and considerate man, who is greatly missed.”

All CAMRA members who knew him will raise a glass in his memory.

OBITUARY John Edward Barnard 1928-2014

It is with much sadness that we report the passing of John Barnard of the Red Lion at Ampney St Peter. John died peacefully on Sunday 7th December aged 86 years.

Anyone who had the privilege of meeting John at the Red Lion will remember him as a true gentleman who treated all his customers as his friends, no matter how infrequently they visited the pub. Moreover he had the gift of remembering your name so you immediately felt at home in his company. Visiting the Red Lion was one of life's real pleasures. John bought the pub from Whitbread in 1975 and realised that the traditional interior of the roadside inn was something special that was worth preserving, resisting the urge for modernisation that ripped the heart out of so many pubs. The Red Lion deservedly gained an entry into the CAMRA National Inventory of Pub Interiors of Outstanding Historic Interest. John served his customers from behind a wooden bench as, uniquely, the Red Lion had no bar area. Beer was drawnfrom a couple of hand-pumps set against the back wall in the corner of the room. Furniture consisted of one table with benches and a window seat used for seating. Across the central corridor, which had a hatch for service and off sales , was a second room which was used when the main bar was busy. When John celebrated his 80th Birthday on 18th September 2008 a representative from Timothy Taylor's brewery in Keighley came specifically to see John at the Red Lion to commend him on the consistent quality of his 'Landlord' ale which was considered by the brewery to be one of the best kept pints outside of their Yorkshire trading area. John is survived by his wife Sylvia and daughters Caroline and Mary.

pub news This May, the Beaufort Arms, Hawkesbury Upton, South Gloucestershire, will be celebrating an amazing 20 years in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide - without a break. Perhaps uniquely, this has been achieved within two different CAMRA branches and along the way the pub has received several CAMRA awards, culminating in the Gloucestershire CAMRA Pub of the Year accolade in 2004. After all of these years, they’re now going to mount their first mini-Beer Festival. To help commemorate this achievement, all card carrying Bristol and Gloucestershire CAMRA members will be entitled to a discount of 50p a pint during the festival period. Landlord Mark Steeds commented: “To all of our friends past and present, please come along on May 1st, 2nd and 3rd and help make it go with a swing.” We just heard that The Ebrington Arms’ owners, Jim and Claire, have just celebrated their ‘Pub Anniversary’ on January 18th, and are now into their 9th year at the pub. To add to the celebrations, the Ebrington Arms

has maintained its second AA Rosette for food for the fourth consecutive year, showing commendable consistency. To complement the food, owner/brewer, Jim, has tweaked the recipe and is really happy with YPA (Yubby Pale Ale) which joins Yubby bitter and Yawnie, our own craft ales. So happy with the results, they are now wholesaling their beers to pubs (never to supermarkets!). Anyone after information should contact [email protected]. The awards at the ‘Yubby’ are certainly no fluke, as their sister pub, The Killingworth Castle in Wootton by Woodstock, has just won The Oxford Mail’s ‘Pub of the Year’ after last year winning‘Restaurant of the Year’ in the same awards. As you can imagine, owner Claire reckons she is: “Really chuffed to bits.”

The Little Thatch, Quedgeley now offers a host of goodies for real ale enthusiasts with up to three real ales always on tap, with Bath Ales’ Gem and Hook Norton’s Greedy Goose proving particularly popular of late. The pub is concentrating on local


pub news

suppliers and is eager to attract more local brewers to further improve its real-ale credentials. It also offers American craft beer, traditional ciders and a range of spirits. From March they will supplementthe cask offerings by having a bottle menu of specially selected real ales, ciders and lagers from brewers within a short distance from their premises. Along with all of these benefits, they also have a new Sunday menu that will be the perfect partner for your pint, with meals and drinks served either in the restaurant full of old-world charm, or the cosy wood-panelled bar area complete with a warming fire for customers’ comfort. Menus are updated every week depending on the availability of seasonal produce, and always include a number of hot and cold starters, meat, fish and vegetable mains of local provenance and seasonal character. Hot off the press is the news that they have also started a ‘Pie Night’ on Thursdays, serving renowned pies from ‘Plenty - purveyors of delectable pies’. Check out our Facebook page or find out more at www.thelittlethatch.co.uk or drop in at 141 Bristol Road, Quedgeley, Gloucester, GL2 4PQ.

Over the winter, improvement works have been going on apace at the Waggon and Horses, Cirencester. The bar location dated back to a time when the pub was split into snug and lounge, the walls had been removed long ago, more dining space added and the bar location no longer made sense. With the bar right at the doorway, customers having to climb over those already stood at the bar, though there were a few that enjoyed that sort of intimate contact.For those visiting the town on the ale trail the pub’s character B&B rooms are still very popular. For some time Landlord, David Fulcher, has been

wanting to move the bar and he comments on the work: “I am very pleased with the result. It’s a lot more practical behind, and spacious in front, with more traditional character. Regulars have compared it to the 12 Bells in Cirencester when Bob Ashley had it, in layout and atmosphere.

“Ale drinkers were relieved that the six pump Worthside beer engine has been retained, at some cost to my back, as the solid brass and mahogany construction are not light. We still offer some of the best local ales and ciders in town, having served a few hundred varieties over the last few years. Pump clips festoon the ceiling beams. Unlike some recent refits we still have space at the bar for drinkers. “The menu, after four years of Thai chefs changed in 2014 when the head chef returned to Thailand and has been developed into a proper, traditional pub offering, with the help of the late great Justin Ashley.”

The Star Inn, Wotton-under-Edge has new owners. On Monday 26th January, the Wickwar Brewery took ownership of this fantastic traditional free house in the town of Wotton-under-Edge, which is only a few miles away from their brewing site in Wickwar. Lita Ralston is delighted to continue as manager, providing great customer service and well looked after ales. To complement Wickwar’s own excellent ales, the pub will continue to provide Butcombe bitter and guest ales. 9

Our intrepid hero heads off darn the East End (gor blimey guv’nor) to get himself acquainted with the meaning of life, speaking of which, I couldn’t help wondering if he managed to swag himself some right lairy jeckyls to go with the new T-shirt?...

THE

HUNTER’S

COLUMN


The Answer To Everything Let’s face it, sometimes alcohol is the answer. You can try other things – yoga; yogic flying (if it’s good enough for George Harrison); yoghurt; yodelling; yachting; Yugoslavia (too late mate!); yak milk; yakety sax; yakety yak (don’t talk back); yin and even yang. Y not? But nothing else seems to fit. We were at the 31st Pig’s Ear Beer & Cider Festival in the Grade II* listed Round Chapel, off Lower Clapton (no sign of abstinent Eric) Road, Hackney, organised (although nobody actually played the magnificent, piped instrument that dominates the interior) by CAMRA’s East London and City Branch. The festival takes its name from the old cockney rhyming slang for beer – pig’s ear. I must admit I’d seen it advertised in What’s Brewing over the years and thought to myself that one day I’d make the effort. We’ve always been big fans of pork scratchings and were a little surprised that it wasn’t being held in the Black Country, where the best are made. My sister-in-law hails from ‘darn sarf’ and on being introduced to scratchings, managed to pull from the bag a big, hairy nipple. They do say that you can eat everything on a pig except the squeal. It put her off for life. It eventually dawned on me that we’d got the wrong end of the stick, but I still wondered why the festival was so called. Was it named after a local pub or did they make such a mess of organising it that they decided to own up? “Cor blimey Nellie, wiv made a right pig’s ear ou’a that one!” All was revealed on the branch’s website. Pig’s ear is cockney rhyming slang for beer and had been around for a long time. Well so have I, but I’d never heard of it. The phrase does appear in

a book of 1880 by D.W. Barrett, called Life & Work among Navvies, where one of the said navvies goes off for “a tiddley wink of pig’s ear”. I’d never heard “tiddley wink” used for ‘a drink’ either. “Gone for a Burton” was our pitch on it The Punk Pig on the posters and front page of the programme had his ear pierced or tagged maybe; although I didn’t spot any tattoos. He looked like a thing of nightmares (and probably thought the same about me); this boar was from the dark side of the forest and was stood upright, gripping tightly, with his right, front trotter a beer pump, serving “666 The Number Of The Yeast”. 400 beers were advertised, with 230 in casks, accompanied by a large bottled beer section. One in four of the 50+ new breweries in London are located in the east of the city. The festival featured 27 London breweries, who between them supplied 65 ales. Anspach & Hobday of Bermondsey brew The Stout Porter, excellent at 8.5%, with close neighbours, Brew By Numbers, offering two 03/03 Porters, both at 6.9 %. Bullfinch was yet another Bermondsey brewer, although none of them had named a brew after ‘The Bermondsey Boy’ himself, Tommy Steele. By The Horns did a lovely Lambeth Walk 5.1% and East London proved that flattery gets you everywhere by serving up a Pig’s Ear Christmas Ale 4.5% with nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Anybody remember when beer used to taste like beer? How about Hackney’s Calypso/El Dorado 4.6%, a fruity, juicy, tropical Pacific Pale Ale, with melon, lychee, peaches and lime hanging off a medium malt body. I lieth not. I bet that’s the first Pacific Pale Ale that you’ve heard of; it certainly was for me. Laines of Hackney denounced the Bourgeois Scum at 7.0% and prophesied a Red Empire at 5.2%;10

The 'unter

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whilst Hackney-ed London Fields produced 3 Weiss Monkeys, plus “From the gates of hell we bring you Gyle 666, a smoked chipotle, habanero, spiced ale at 6.66%. To be unleashed on all sinners.” Count me in then. Situated directly beneath the “King of Instruments” was my favourite tee shirt company, Smart T’s, who have made me laugh many a time, with their witty slogans, at various beer festivals, including Worcester. Oliver Reed was well represented and, following his sensational, cinematic adventures in the ‘Tipple of Doom’, was declared to be ‘Lost in Action’ or was it all just “Pub Fiction”? “Now, here’s a funny thing”, to slightly misquote local (Brighton actually) comic Max Miller. It turns out that Ernie, the Joint CEO/Stall Holder of Smart T’s (on their website the company name is printed over some coloured sweets, geddit?), not only hailed from nearby Dartford, but was an ex-Dartford Grammar School boy at the same time as our own most venerated and punctilious (How’s My Punctuation? Call 0800- !”*’?) editor. He also confirmed the story that some of the text books at the school still contained the ‘autograph’ of young Michael Jagger, who had attended a few years prior. Both Ernie & Ed were leading lights, during the

school’s mock elections, in the not-to-be-taken-too-seriously Fancy Dress Party, which trounced all opposition on the day. (It went on to contest real council and general elections - Ed.) Warms the cockles of the heart, does it not? My better half and I had had a couple of halves by then; Christmas was coming; a few presents were still required, so we ended up walking away with an armful. My favourite had a completed ‘Hang The Man’ drawing, over the letters ALC_H_L and the slogan, “Sometimes Alcohol IS The Answer”. I’ll drink to that.

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NEWS FROM NORTH COTSWOLD BRANCH SOCIAL DIARY

14th March - Skittles vs Shakespeare Branch Coach & Horses Harvington

20th June – Day out to Swindon GBG pubs.

BUSINESS DIARY

2nd April - AGM Kings Head, Bledington

MONTHLY PUB WALKS

We have continued our programme of monthly pub walks which have been well supported and we plan the following Saturday walks (4 to 5 miles) meet at 10.30 am.

1st March - No 58 Great Western Arms, Blockley 4th April 2015 - No 59 Bugatti Inn Gretton 2nd May 2015 - No 60 Norman Knight Whichford- Joint Camra event

THREE BEER FESTIVALS 2015

16th/17th May - 7th Ale & Steam Spring Weekend - GWR Winchcome/Toddington Stations 8/9th August - 2nd Ale & Steam Summer Weekend - GWR Winchcombe/Toddington Stations 11th/12th Sept. - 8th Moreton Beer Festival - Moreton Cricket Ground.

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SALLY FORTH FIRST HAILTHE CONQUERING HERO

I Huge congratulations to Peter and Claire Tiley at the wonderful Salutation Inn at Ham, who have deservedly won the highest accolade that the Campaign for Real Ale can award; namely,

National Pub of the Year for 2015.

A winning combination of interesting, superbly kept real ales, a growing range of ciders and perries, allied to a refreshing enthusiasm for community-based events and interesting food nights, have all played their part in putting this lovely, lively pub on the map.The ability of their (very supportive) locals to tolerate the constant stream of random strangers and assorted oddballs (some of whom will keep returning), having that odd half of shandy or two, too often, obviously helps. That said, the real fire, well trained, friendly, attentive staff and the tolerance shown to families and pets didn't exactly hinder their chances either. Well done once again. Making it through the judging criteria has been a long process for this lovely hostelry, starting way back in early 2014 when the Dursley Sub-branchof CAMRA made it their POTY. Due to the unique way Gloucestershire CAMRA is structured, this pub then went up against the best pubs from each of the

other sub-branches, winning the accolade of Gloucestershire CAMRA POTY back in the early spring. The next hurdle was going up against the other branch nominations from the northern half of the South West Region; with great pubs from Bath, Bristol, North Cotswolds, Swindon and North West Wiltshire being judged against it. Winning the vote from the Northern region award meant it was then judged against the best candidate from the southern half, the lovely Star Inn at Vogue, Cornwell. Winning this regional CAMRA award was itself a fine and worthy tribute to the hard work that this lovely, dexterous couple, and their wonderful staff, have put into running such a fine establishment. They then went forward to the Super Regional round of judging, where they were up against the best pubs in the Welsh, Central Southern and Wessex CAMRA Regions for the Super Regional title. We were delighted to hear that they triumphed here as well, and a lot of good folk were on tenterhooks for quite a while as the end of January approached. Congratulations once again to all involved, their regular customers and locals included.

Andrew FrapeChairman, Gloucestershire branch of CAMRA.

THE NATIONAL PUB OF THE YEAR (POTY)

Cirencester's Pub of the Year is the Royal Oak in Tetbury, which, following a wonderfully sympathetic restoration, overseen by owners Kate Lewis and Chris York; has gained a reputation as a cracking freehouse and diningroom, serving well-kept regional and guest real ales (and good quality organic food). Fans of wood and stone will relish the decor and design details used. This dog-friendly, family friendly locals pub is a fun and interesting place to visit, although the quiz and party nights can appear rather hectic at first glance. Stroud Tom Long, Bath Gem and a vegan friendly offering from Moor are always available, plus two guest ales and an offering from Severn Cider. The spacious garden hosts several small music festivals over the summer, and their six en suite rooms have helped this lovely pub become the winner of the best pub with rooms award in Sawday's Pubs and Inns of England and Wales.

CIRENCESTER POTY

CHELTENHAM POTY

credit: Ayalem Photography

Sandford Park Alehouse - Pub of the Year

The Cheltenham Pub of the Year award for 2015 goes to the Sandford Park Alehouse. Winner of the Pub of the Year award in 2014, the High Street pub only opened in April 2013. In that time Grant Cook and his team have built a strong reputation for quality and choice – the number of different draught real ales served has just passed 1,000. In addition there are 16 craft keg ales, 80 bottled beers, good food, bar billiards and a beer garden next to the river. Runners-up are the Jolly Brewmaster and the Royal Union. The Jolly Brewmaster is a multiple past winner of this award and is the current Cheltenham Cider & Perry Pub of the Year. The Royal Union, a winner of a Pub of the Season award, continues to impress with a selection of great beers and themed beer festivals, like the week-long Welsh Beer Festival.

Cheltenham Motor Club - Club of the Year

The Cheltenham Club of the Year award for 2015 goes to Cheltenham Motor Club. As 2013 National CAMRA Club of the Year and currently the Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, South West Region, Super Regional and on the shortlist (final four) for the 2015 National Club of the Year, this is not unexpected.CMC club steward, Neil Way, continues to source and serve a range of exciting and unusual beers. The club, in Upper Park Street, is very welcoming to CAMRA members.Our runners-up are the Charlton Kings Club and St. Stephen's Sports & Social Club. Both clubs serve a changing line-up of generally south-west real ales and the Charlton Kings Club hold a popular beer festival every November.

This year Cheltenham CAMRA decided that, instead of simply announcing the winner for Club and Pub of the Year, we would announce the winner and two runners-up. The reason is to give recognition to those pubs, landlords and staff who were close to the top prize, and to encourage everyone to put that little bit more in to get to the top.

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GLOUCESTER POTY

FOREST OF DEANPOTY After much deliberation the Forest of Dean members decided that The Rising Sun at Woolaston Common is their Pub Of The Year for 2015. Emerging victorious from a list of nine candidates with last year’s winner The Red Hart at Blaisdon coming a close second. The pub location is a bit out of the way, but worth the effort when you get there, there is a friendly atmosphere and a warm welcome from Maria, John and their staff, all of whom have a good knowledge of real ale. There are two regularly available and a changing guest ale. The ale prices and ABV are clearly displayed,

and along with the home cooked food, this makes the Rising Sun a really enjoyable experience. To the delight of the more traditional amongst us, the pub has no pool table, darts or jukebox, so with only piped

background music you are encouraged to engage in conversation. (Will that catch on? - Ed.)There's a good garden area with country views and dogs are welcome.

The Pelican Inn - Pub of the Year

Nestled in St Mary’s Street, just behind the Cathedral, sits the Pelican Inn. Landlord Mike Hall has transformed the pub since Wye Valley Brewery opened it in 2012. There is a belief that the pub contains original timbers from the Golden Hind, Drake’s flagship, true or not, the pub has a long history of selling ale in Gloucester. Most of the beers on offer are Wye Valley and Dorothy Goodbody, but there are regular guest appearances from other well known breweries.

Gala Club - Club of the Year

The Gala Club in Fairmile Gardens, was set up as a social club for a number of public sector organisations. Over the years many of those organisations have become privatised but the Gala Club continues. The club has two skittle alleys and a number of organisations use the club for meetings. CAMRA members are

welcome (with card), and the stewards, Neil and Maria Hiley usually have on offer three real ales, recent offerings have included Timothy Taylor Boltmaker and Moorhouses Blond Witch.


STROUDPOTY

TEWKESBURY POTY

The Ale House

Stroud CAMRA members voted The Ale House in Stroud as Pub of the Year for 2015. It was also Pub of the Year last year. This is the first time members have ever chosen the same pub twice, let alone two years running. So that's quite an accolade. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has visited the pub. An ever-changing selection of nine beers on handpull run the gamut of styles, colours and strengths, from regulars like the Dark Star Hophead (3.5%) all the way up to Oakham, The Kraken Wakes (6.8%) - a Black IPA. Local ales from Stroud and Cotswold Lion breweries are always available, supplemented by an adventurous and catholic range of guests from breweries like Brass Castle, Burning Sky, Downton, Mallinsons and Marble (to name just a few). A cider and perry are always available. The Ale House occupies magnificent premises - a grade-II listed building built in 1837 for the Poor Law Guardians. It is far and away the finest pub interior in Stroud and, unusually for a town centre pub, boasts a blazing log fire in winter.

The White Bear - Pub of the Year Situated on the north-western edge of Tewkesbury town centre on the Bredon Road and became famous in 2007 when during the floods it quite literally went under water. The pub has been under the management of Darren Matthews for a little over a year now during in which time he has served anincreasingly varied range of excellently kept beers over five hand-pumps . Regulars are the ubiquitous Doombar and Sadlers Peaky Blinder with three regularly changing guests from smaller and local breweries. Real cider is a big draw here with a range of Thatchers ciders as well as three guest traditional ciders and a perry This is a good-value, family-run pub that attracts a varied and very friendly clientèle.

Royal British Legion - Club of the Year

This year, The Legion is celebrating its 60th birthday in an interesting building formerly known as The Mason’s Arms, The Legion is very comfortable multi-room club with a very well kept snooker table. Wendy and Tony Parry are the current stewards and have worked hard to make Real Ale central their offering and they were instrumental in Moles Brewery brewing “Hoppy Poppy” which bolster the Poppy Fund. The Legion has three pumps with up to two in use at any one time with a constantly changing beer on offer. 17

NEWS FROM THE CHELTENHAM BRANCH

! !!! !!!• Cheltenham CAMRA Pub Of The Year 2014 • 10 Hand-pulled ales and ciders – no nationals! • Over 600 different real ales since April 2013 • 16 taps featuring Belgian & German imports + craft keg • Over 80 superb bottled beers – many BC • Large garden at rear • Stylish and comfortable • Great food at prices you’ll like • CAMRA discount on Mondays • CIDER & CHEESE FESTIVAL AUGUST 15/16 from 5pm Fri.

An independent true free house in central

Cheltenham. 20 High Street, GL50 1DZ.

Tel 01242 574517. www.spalehouse.co.uk

• Cheltenham CAMRA Pub Of The Year 2014

• 10 Hand-pulled ales and ciders – no nationals!

• Over 1,000 different real ales since April 2013

• 16 taps featuring Belgian & German imports + craft keg

• Over 80 superb bottled beers – many BC

• Large garden at the rear

• Stylish and comfortable

• Great food at prices you’ll like

Planning for the first Cheltenham CAMRA Real Ale Festival is well

underway, with Cheltenham Town Hall booked for the

14th and 15th of August 2015. The beer selection panel has started work, aiming to balance beer styles and strengths to come up with a list as varied as the tastes of the eager real ale, cider and perry drinkers. If anyone would like to request any specific beers, then this can be done online at:http://www.cheltenhamcamra.org.uk/craf/beercider.php The panel also hope to persuade brewers to create ‘Festival Specials’ to celebrate the first Cheltenham CAMRA Real Ale Festival. We will feature well over 100 beers, ciders and perries. Grant Cook, licensee of the Sandford Park Alehouse and Chair of the Festival Planning Committee, said: “Cheltenham is a festival town, so we thought it high-time we held an official CAMRA real ale festival. The Town Hall is the ideal venue. The main hall is a lovely space and there are plenty of side rooms for seating and entertainment.

“As it is August we hope to have the terrace and grass area to the side of the Town Hall available as our outdoor area. We expect to attract up to 1,000 people at any one time, and with that number attending we will need a lot of volunteers. If any CAMRA members can help, there is an online and downloadable form on the staffing section of the festival website. We’d love to see you there. “Meanwhile we are strengthening our expertise internally so that we can run the best festival we can. Two members have attended week-long training courses at the Manchester and Derby Beer Festivals, and four more are booked onto a one-day cooling course at St Albans.” Tickets for the festival will cost £6, including a festival glass. Card-carrying CAMRA members will receive £3 worth of beer tokens on the house.There will be three sessions. Friday will be from Noon to 11.00pm, with a quiet session until late afternoon. Saturday will have two sessions, Noon to 4.00pm and 6.00pm to 11.00pm. Advance tickets will be available, for all sessions, online from the festival website in the spring, so keep visiting.


Thoughts on Uley Brewery Heroes. By Chas Wright

I have always loved the feel and the history of old buildings, especially breweries.

Forty years ago I sat in Claude Arkell’s office in Donnington Brewery drinking cups of tea with Paul Theakston. Little did I think that ten years later Mr Arkell would come down to the semi-derelict Prices Brewery in Uley and give very sound advice on how to rebuild it. He even sold me a malt mill for £30, and kept an avuncular eye on our fortunes for many years. “Keep it local”, he said, “don’t deal with wholesalers.” I winced, I’d been responsible for introducing Theakstons into the South West in the Seventies, but the advice was sound. He was the chief of my heroes.

The Brewery We took over the shell of the Old Brewery in the winter of 1984, and made our own vessels ina friend’s fabricating shop in Gloucester. We built a tower brewery, with Tucker’s Malt dropping from

the grist case in the roof into the warm spring water in the mash tun on the first floor. The wort runs into the copper below. It is boiled with Hereford hops and then collected in the FVs, and fermented with a yeast strain given to us by John Payne from

Smiles Brewery nearly thirty years ago. The beer is casked and conditioned in our long low cellars, which were built in the reign of William IV. On March 1st 1985, we brewed our first Uley Bitter. We did a bit of tweaking and fine tuning, and we have been brewing to the same recipe ever since. Another hero was Simon Whitmore at Butcombe Brewery who brewed just the one beer, and brewed

it very well. We intended to do the same with Uley Bitter...However, we were asked to provide a one-off Strong Ale for the 1985 Frocester Beer Festival, which we called Old Spot Ale. Silly name for a beer, some said. We had a few nines left over, so we sent them down to The Great Western Beer Festival in Bristol, where we won First Prize, beating Wadworths and Eldridge Pope. We were pestered by the Press and publicans, and had to re-create this one-off brew, which has now been with us for the last twenty-nine and a half years. Other beers have followed, rods for our own backs! We had to build two

view from the uley brewhouse

In the first of two very different Views from the Brewhouse, Chas Wright, owner, founder and driving force behind Uley Brewery, shares his thoughts on 30 years of beer, brewers, brewing, pubs, paradise and life in general...

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Above: The Prices Brewery in 1844.Right: Chas and Claude Arkell at Donnington

Bavarian style fermenters and enlarge the copper to cope with demand.

The Brewers At Uley we have a life style. Ken Lush relates how when he came to Uley as the Director of the Prema Art Centre in 1993 he discovered Uley Bitter in The Old Crown, and declared, “Et in Arcadia ego!” (for those of us who are not Latin, Greek and classics scholars, Ken wasn’t referring to the seventeenth century painting by Il Guernico, but declaring his delight: “And I am in Arcadia (paradise)!” - Ed.) In 1996 he joined the brewery, and is now Head Brewer, supported by Stu ‘the brew’ Crawshaw and Jody Veale. Ken plays bass and Jody plays harmonica with the legendary blues and rock band Short Elbow. Chas just sits in pubs and plays concertinas.

The PubsWe could brew the best beer in the world, which we do quite often, but it is all cask conditioned and must be looked after by real publicans. We are jealous of our reputation, and we avoid the world of beer tickers’ guest ales and supply only real pubs that look after their beer. It would be ratherinvidious to pick out any of our customers, but we can safely name some of those who have been with us for 20 or 30 years, such as the Edgemoor Inn, Edge; The Fleece at Bretforton; George Inn, Newmarket; Old Crown, Uley; The Old Spot Inn, Dursley; The Portcullis, Tormarton; Tudor Arms, Slimbridge; The Weighbridge, Avening; The Woolpack Inn, Slad; The Woolpack, Stonehouse, to name but a few. Apologies to all our other customers, old

and new, yes, and you at the Red Lion in Arlingham, welcome back to the fold!

The BeersThe beers speak for themselves, without tasting notes, and here is the list:

Uley Bitter 4% Laurie Lee’s Bitter 4.5% Old Spot Prize Strong Ale 5% Pigs Ear Strong Beer 5% Old Ric 4.5%

We have brewed the House Beer of the Old Spot Inn, Dursley for twenty years. It is a fitting memorial to Ric Sainty, the late landlord, a legend in the revival of Real Pubs. The Old Spot Inn was voted Best Pub In Great Britain by CAMRA in 2008. We are hard pressed for brewing capacity, but every Spring Ken celebrates with a brew of Gilt Edge 4.5%, which like our Harvest Special 4.5%, made with green hops in early September, is usually spoken for before it is brewed! Every few years we brew a Pigor Mortis 6.5%, and we’ll probably have one this Christmas. Keep your eyes peeled. There will be a special brew of Severn Boar to celebrate Thirty Years of Uley Beers when we have a chance. Oh for those halcyon days of just one beer!

view from the uley brewhouse


“

Below Left: The mash tun.Centre: The yeast head.Top: Hirsute Ric Sainty and Chas in 1986.

“He discovered Uley Bitter in the Old Crown, and declared, “Et in Arcadia ego!”


On Saturday the 22nd November last year, on a cold, clear day, 15 members of Cheltenham CAMRA rendezvoused at the station to spend a day visiting a selection of pubs in the city of Bath. After an uneventful, but crowded journey, via Bristol Temple Meads, we arrived and headed to our first port of call, Le Coeur de Lion. This cosy little pub is located in a passageway in the city centre surrounded by shops and cafes. Having’ ‘taking over’ the place we enjoyed the ales on offer. I tried XT8, a subtle bitter with a lingering finish, and Oh Mr Porter, a dark smooth ale. They also had Bellringer and Pride too.

We then sauntered over ‘The World Famous Pulteney Bridge’, as you are told MANY times when you have guided tour of the City! (Blimey, I’d never heard of it - Ed.) heading for, coincidentally, The Pultenay Arms! I was disappointed with the selection available...only Otter and Butcombe Gold were worthy of note, but neither were particularly good. Being close to ‘The Rec’, Bath rugby ground it wasn’t surprising that much of the decor was rugby related... pity the ales weren’t ‘Premiership’ quality!

We then moved on to the Star Inn. This was a busy, but cosy pub with a bar area and four small wood panelled rooms. We had a choice of Bellringer, Abbot, Bombardier and Navigation, plus Bass on gravity at the back of the bar. I enjoyed a glass of Navigation.

The latter pub is in a quieter location in the City, but our next hostelry, The Bell, was in a much busier area. On entering you find yourself in a long room with the bar down to your right and the main seating area up some steps to the left. This place had the best selection so far, featuring seven ales:

Butcombe Bitter, Summer Lightning, Gem, Otter, Bellringer plus the two I tried, Stonehenge Danish Dynamite and Celt Experience Brigid Fire. Both were in excellent condition with great flavours.

BATH TAPS...The beautifully preserved John Pickles and some Cheltenham chums indulge in some spa wars as they decide to plumb the depths, immersing themselves in the murky waters that make up Bath’s real ale pubs...

PLUMBING MAD JOHN PICKLES TAKES A TRIP TO CHECK OUT SOME

This is a real ‘community’ pub as the walls are plastered with ad’s and posters promoting local companies, activities and events.

Our fifth destination, The Raven, was right in the centre of the City, amongst all the main shopping streets. It was very busy, but this added to the ambiance of the place. We managed to find seats on both floors...the beers were the same. My choices were Raven’s Gold and Hogfather from the Orchard Pig Brewery. Both were really good, well

kept and tasty. I regretted not waiting to eat until I got here as the food I saw being served looked yummy. Next time! I had to catch a train, so I missed visiting the Bath Brew House. I have it on good authority (cheers Ian!) that there were six ales on, including two from the onsite St James Brewery, Emperor

and Gladiator (there was no sign of Commodus or Maximus!). Obviously a place to include in any itinerary! A most enjoyable day out...good company and a

great selection of ales of varying quality. Very much worth a visit.


As always it was entertaining to read about one of Geoff's forays, particularly the latest one, to the Black Country. Having lived in Birmingham for three years in the 1970s this brought back memories of my own trips to this area to sample the delights of the pubs, bars, beers and the people drinking in them. Fortunately at that time one of my friends was an avid real ale man and was attempting to wean me (and a few others) off the ever present Tartan and Watney’s Red Barrel. I did venture to try a few of Birmingham's other offerings -M&B Brew XI was by far the worst and largely avoided - it might have been brewed for "Men of the Midlands" but it certainly wasn't for a Lancashire lad. Ansells (I passed the brewery at Aston Cross every day) was bearable and the best by far was Davenports and Springfield Bitter not far behind. Visits to the Dudley area usually started with Ma Pardoe’s - not the Old Swan in Netherton, but the White Swan on Holland Street in Dudley. This was their other tied house which did also sell other beers. You had to make a point of asking for the home brew to get Pardoe's Bitter from a tap under the counter. I believe that the pub was sold at some time in the 1980s and became a

Wem house, but was up for auction in February last year. Who knows what it is now. We also got to the Jolly Crispin when it was still a busy Simpkiss House and managed a few pints there before visiting Batham’s Brewery and getting a barrel of bitter for a party later that week. It was a some years later before I returned to the The Vine (Bull and Bladder)

and took a few photos both inside and outside, and the White Swan. I've not been back to Ma Pardoe’s, but for some years now but after reading about Geoff's visit it might just prod me into following the trail he has blazed.

Tim Barber

More PUBS

OF THE

BLACK COUNTRY

FESTIVAL NEWS From Around The County(and a little bit further)your 8 page pull

out guide

7th SPRINGALE & STEAMWEEKEND

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North Cotswold CAMRA & GWR

16th & 17th May 2015

10:30 to 1900 (Sat) to 17.00*(Sun)

at Winchcombe & Toddington Stations32 Beers total–12 at Toddington (Devon)Hot & Cold Food with Soft DrinksCAMPING near station at WinchcombeCome by Train:Cheltenham Racecourse 1st train leaves at 10:55last return is 1900 (Saturday) 1700 (Sunday)Regular trains from Toddington run throughout the day.See timetable on GWR Website.A train ticket on the day is requiredor you need a platform ticket for entry.Plenty of car parking at Toddington

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2nd SummerALE & STEAMWEEKEND

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North Cotswold CAMRA & GWR

8th & 9th AUGUST 2015

10:30 to 1900 (Sat) to 17.00*(Sun)

at Winchcombe & Toddington Stations32 Beers total–12 at Toddington Hot & Cold Food with Soft DrinksCAMPING near station at WinchcombeCome by Train:Cheltenham Racecourse 1st train leaves at 10:55last return is 1900 (Saturday) 1700 (Sunday)Regular trains from Toddington run throughout the day.See timetable on GWR Website.A train ticket on the day is requiredor you need a platform ticket for entry.Plenty of car parking at Toddington

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view from the gloucester brewhouse

A word on ‘craft beer’ (the phrase not the actual beer). You can’t move for ‘craft beer’ these days and not being a legally protected term, anybody can claim their beer as craft. This of course may lead to dilution of the term as conveying any particular set of standards. Plus you have the added complication of some people thinking that this is a flash in the pan term that is pulling us away from the great brewing heritage we have in the U.K. So why you may ask, do we continue to use the term? Well, rather than just giving up and giving it to certain huge international brewing corporations who use it purely as a marketing buzzword, we continue to use it to remind ourselves of why we love our beer and why we want to share it, namely the following reasons: We are a truly independent brewery, there is no one behind us telling us what we should brew.

We brew with our hands, that is to say the extent of automation in the brewery is in the form of a few heating elements and a couple of pumps. We brew in small batches of 40 casks at a time. We are unashamedly embracing the use of new, exciting ingredients to allow us to explore full and complex flavours in our brews. And maybe most importantly of all, everybody who works here brews beer. So, is ‘craft beer’ good or bad? I wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to tell you that you should drink beer just because it says it is craft. However, I would be presumptuous enough to tell you that plenty of small breweries are making fantastic beer that is modern, relevant, interesting and handcrafted and that you should try them. Don’t assume that ‘craft beer’ just means a North American style pale ale with hops, hops and more hops.

Jared BrownOwner, Gloucester Brewery


Thomas Arkell bought the beautiful 13th century Donnington Mill near Stow on the Wold in 1827, which had previously been used for both milling corn and wool manufacture. In 1865 Thomas and his nephew Richard Iles Arkell converted the mill to a brewery. Richard realised that the pure water of the River Dickler was perfect for brewing beer and the mill race and water wheels could provide power to the brewery. Thus, 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the Donnington Brewery. Moreover, after all those years it is still run by the Arkell family. Traditional values have been brought forward into the 21st century but the passage of time has essentially kept the brewery unchanged. Nearly 40 years ago in May 1975 there was an article in 'Cotswold Life' written by Harriet Daniels entitled 'The Old-Fashioned Brewery'. Subtitled "Everyone, it seems, wants to run a Donnington pub", it detailed the history of the brewery up to that date when there were 17 tied pubs. Harriet began the article with the observation: "It would be interesting to know how many breweries there are which are considered so attractive that a picture of the building is used as a beer mat! Enthusiasts for real beer in the Cotswolds

will have no difficulty in identifying one very close to home - at Donnington, sitting in a gentle curve just off the Tewkesbury to Stow road, so that travellers catch a glimpse of the clear blue mill pond formed from the waters that make this local beer." It is interesting that Harriet uses the phrase 'real beer' as this was written in the early days of the Campaign For Real Ale. In fact the 1974 CAMRA Good Beer Guide listed six Donnington pubs - the Coach & Horses, Ganborough; Fox Inn, Great Barrington; Halfway House, Kineton; Merrymouth Inn, Fifield (Oxon); Queens Head, Stow on the Wold and the Plough at Ford. The map in the Good Beer Guide illustrating the location of the real ale pubs in Gloucestershire showed a bias towards of the north east of the county where the Donnington pubs were located. To put things in perspective there were no Good Beer Guide

pubs listed at all in the Cheltenham and Gloucestershire conurbation. Unlike today, where there are around

donnington

150 years: the cotswold way

“ “the passage of time has essentially kept the brewery unchanged

150 years: the cotswold way

20 active breweries in the county, the only serious competition in the early 1970’s came from the Whitbread brewery in Cheltenham with its one solitary real ale - West Country PA. Little wonder then that the Donnington Brewery now enjoys legendary status and their delicious Cotswold ales are held in high esteem by beer drinkers from near and far. In 1952, after his service in the Royal Air Force, Claude Arkell inherited the Donnington Brewery from his father Herbert. Claude ran the brewery for 55 years until he sadly died in June 2007, aged 89. The brewery was bequeathed to cousin Peter Arkell and his son James of the Kingsdown Brewery in Swindon. Peter and Claude were friends in the RAF and shared their love of fishing and brewing. Peter Arkell has since passed away leaving James as owner. James learnt the art of brewing at Donnington in the 1970's so when he took over from Claude he said "it was like coming home!" James Arkell's son, John, has now joined the business and the last

few years has seen the introduction of a new 'core' beer to its portfolio -the delicious 4% ABV Donnington Gold - and even the acquisition of two new pubs. Two of the regular beers, BB and SBA, have their own pedigree having been brewed at the Donnington Brewery for more than fifty years. BB is a pleasant 3.6% amber bitter with a slight hop aroma, a good balance of malt and hops in the mouth and a bitter aftertaste. SBA, a stronger 4.4% premium beer, has malt dominating over bitterness , with a hint of fruit and a dry malty finish. Donnington Gold is described as a golden ale with a citrus flavour followed by a rounded malt finish. Whilst having a spring clean in May 2011 an old brewing book was discovered which detailed the very first brew that Richard Arkell made on May 27th 1865. The replicated beer was called Founders Ale and was very similar to a contemporary golden beer, a 4% brew with a strong Austrian style hop flavour derived from the Willamotte and English Goldings hops. The finest Maris Otter malt was used and the beer was an instant success - the first 'new' ale that Donnington had brewed for a very long time. James said: "Inside the brewery is very similar. We stood on the pretty much the same spot to brew and taste the beer as Richard would have done, probably using some of the same equipment too.

“...the clear blue mill pond formed from the waters that make this local beer."

“ “everyone, it seems,

wants to run a Donnington pub

enquiries@old spot inn.co.uk or visit. www. old spot inn. co. uk

Wide Range of Guest Ales Always Available

CAMRA National Pub of the Year 2007

CAMRA GloucestershirePub of the Year 2013Excellent Home Cooked Food Servedat Lunchtimes

Cosy Log Fires for the Winter. . .Secluded Garden for the Summer

The Old Spot Inn . Hill Road . Dursley . Glos . Gl11 4JQ

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..T.01453 542870

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Pub of the Year 2007

GloucestershirePub of the Year 2013Excellent Home Cooked Food Served

Cosy Log Fires for the Winter. . .Secluded Garden for the Summer

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The best things never change.” Founders Ale proved so popular that it was brewed again. There have been other occasional brews including a luscious stout called Black Swan and last Spring a beer called Life Sentence was brewed which was bittered with Admiral hops. Diamond Queen was bottled in 2012 for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year. A celebratory beer will be brewed for the sesquicentennial year - a beer flavoured with honey is in the planning stages. In 2010 Donnington Brewery was voted 'Best Small Brewery' by the Good Pub Guide. The 21st century has also seen the acquisition of two new pubs - the White Bear at Shipton on Stour in Warwickshire and the Red Lion at Castle Eaton in Wiltshire. These new tied houses bring the total back up to 17 joining the portfolio of pubs that include such well known pubs like the Queens Head at Stow and the New Inn at Willersley that have been in the estate since the brewery was first established 150 years ago. A small number of staff are employed at the Donnington brewery. Phil Janka is the head brewer

and Richard Tonge is the drayman. Andy Driver is the cellarman supported by Michael Pheasey. Roger Dearman has the role of manager. A special mention must be given to nonagenarian Val Teale who still works on a part time basis at the brewery. Val is a true gentleman who started working at the brewery in 1983 after running the Mount Inn at Stanton and ran the administrative side for many years. After 150 years of trading the Donnington Brewery remains true to its core values of tradition and has an enviable reputation when it comes to looking after its tenants in its tied houses. The observation made by Harriet Daniels in 1975 that 'Everyone, it seems, wants to run a Donnington pub' still has relevance today particularly when compared to the less fortunate publicans employed by the larger avaricious Pub Co's. Donnington Brewery are acting as sponsors at the Cotswold Beer Festival at Postlip Hall this year, for which Gloucestershire CAMRA are extremely grateful.

Geoff Sandles

donnington150 years: the cotswold way

The heady days of sophistication used to involve a prawn cocktail, well-done steak with chips and onion rings finished off with Black Forest Gateaux. The sophistication was suitably enhanced when you treated yourself to a classy bottle of Liebfraumilch to accompany the culinary delights. Then, as we grew to realise that this actually tasted rubbish, those of us that wanted beer were often disappointed by the selection. Sadly, it's a trend that's still repeated today. A lot of restaurants, especially the chains, will offer expensive 330ml bottles of ‘premium’ lager with a fancy name that's pretty fizzy and makes you bloated as you tuck into your food. I get really disappointed by this and surprised that in the current golden age of ale and the beer revolution we aren't offered a decent beer alongside the ‘chilled to disguise the taste’ fizzy stuff. Some restaurants are taking the hint, but in my experience they tend to pick cheaper high-volume beers seen in supermarkets which, for me, never cut the mustard. I have beer friends (not that I categorise my friends into groups) who pontificate about how fabulous beer and food matching is. It's a growing trend and one which I can absolute see the point in. So my beef about beer in restaurants is that we should encourage them to be more adventurous. The range of ales and craft beers that could add to the experience of good food is exceptional. It just takes a little work. OK, there is an argument that this is making it all a bit too poncy and thinking too deeply about having a beer, but we should have the same offer when we go to a decent restaurant that we get when we go to a decent pub. A lot of independent and, to their credit, many of the chains promote food miles and their use of local produce. Your steak has only travelled 6 miles from field to plate etc. But there are still those restaurants who then serve imported lager. What about the beer? Even putting he food matching aside just serving up a range of Gloucestershire

beers would be great. It offers diners choice, promotes Gloucestershire and supports the brewers too. It's something that we, as lovers of decent ale, should try and promote more. Maybe there's some campaigning to be done? But at its simplest level, having a chat to the owner of the restaurant you always go to to encourage them to try local beer too. See how it goes. They might be surprised how filling this gap in the market could work for them.

Steve KnibbsSteve is the Gloucestershire reporter for BBC TV’s Points West.

P.S. On a non-food, but beer related note I recently spent a week in Cumbria and several pubs were doing the triple-tasters (see pic). The idea being you can taste a third of a pint of three different beers for the same price as a pint. It's a fantastic idea and I'm sure many Gloucestershire pubs are doing it. Except I haven't found one yet! So let me know, via The Tippler or @knibbsey on Twitter, if you know of one. If you're a landlord and not doing this then why not give it a try?

FOOD FOR THOUGHTCAMRA enthusiast and all round good egg, our eponymous friend Steve Knibbs dips his pen and enters the gastronomic sensual overload that is the world of ‘food matching’...


Well over 400 railway enthusiasts and members of the public journeyed to the past at the Wickwar Brewing Company open day. The event took place on Saturday 24th January

at the Old Brewery, Station road, in Wickwar, where a working scale model showing the Wickwar train station as it would have looked 50 years ago was on display for visitors to enjoy. Crowds of people attended the open day, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the last passenger train leaving the now

closed station. The working ‘N Gauge’ scale model of the station and historic 1860’s brewhouse were a hit with all that saw it. Barry Fortin, from Wickwar Brewing Company, who was responsible for organising the event said: “We had a fantastic turnout at the brewery to support the unveiling of Farnham and District’s Model

Railway, that includes our heritage brewery. It was great to welcome over 400 people of all ages into the brewery to enjoy the model and also learn how we brew our ales.”

Brewers were on hand throughout the day answering questions and


straight from the horse’s mouth...

brewery news

LISTEN CHRIS, I’VE GOT SOME NEWS FOR YOU...

straight from the horse’s mouth...

brewery newseducating the public about the brewing process and history of their site. Wickwar have also produced acommemorative ale called ‘Last Train’ for visitors to sample, or buy during the day. Mr Fortin added: “Due to its success, we are extremely keen to continue holding events such as this at the Brewery in the near future, and urge the local community to keep an eye out for future events.” Wickwar Brewing Companies 25th Anniversary

On a separate note, this year will see Wickwar Brewing Companies 25th Anniversary, since the company started in the Old Cooperage in 1990. There will be a number of offers and events throughout the year, and we will endeavour to inform you of all of them.

Excitement is mounting as it has been confirmed, after a long wait, that Sam Smith is finally going to appear in several Gloucestershire pubs. This is not the young English singer and songwriter, who has had several chart

topping hits during the last few years, but Samuel Smith Old Brewery Bitter (OBB). The reintroduction of real ale into Sam Smith's houses in the county has been achieved after a long and concerted campaign directed towards brewery owner Humphrey Smith who has previously resolutely refused to supply OBB in traditional wooden casks to the area over claims that quality is compromised when the ale travels so far from its Yorkshire heartland. Another reason cited for the non-availability of OBB were delivery schedules from Tadcaster, home of Samuel Smith since 1758. It was claimed thesewere too infrequent to enable the satisfactory rotation of Old Brewery Bitter in the cellar to maintain a consistent quality control. A move to weekly delivery schedules in the local trading area seems to have heralded a welcome change of heart at Yorkshire's Oldest Brewery. OBB

should now be available in their four Gloucestershire pubs - the Mill Inn at Withington, Robert Raikes House and Old Crown in Gloucester, and the Circus Bar in Cheltenham. The 4% ABV Old Brewery Bitter is described in the Good Beer Guide thus: 'Malt dominated the aroma, with an initial burst of malt, hops and fruit in the taste, which is sustained in the aftertaste.' Moreover, it represents excellent value for money and should be around £2.50 a pint! The Summer 2011 edition of the Tippler had a lengthy article lamenting the non-availability of traditional Samuel Smith's ales in their local pubs. It was pointed out that the managerial decision was questionable given the fact that one of their

tied houses in Newport - the Olde Murenger House - had gained an entry in the Good Beer Guide on the strength of the quality of their OBB! However, now that discrepancy has been eradicated with changes to delivery from brewery to pub, we can, at long last, fully appreciate the picturesque Mill Inn at Withington and marvel in the architectural splendour of the Robert Raikes House in Southgate Street, Gloucester. The present delivery schedules may possibly revert back to a less frequent time scale if the sales of cask OBB are not considered to be economically viable. It's been over 20 years since Sam Smith's cask ales were last regularly available in Gloucestershire. Let's hope that they are now here to stay. 39


straight from the horse’s mouth...MORE...

brewery newsI caught up with Bev Booth, Company Secretary of the brewery who are investing

heavily in premises and products. Bev comments: “There a lot going on at Gloucester Brewery this year. So I would like to start with a big thank you to all our customers new and old(er). “We are moving site a few hundred metres into the old malt-house on the Gloucester Docks (how fitting). The building was in a pretty bad state of repair, but we saw the potential and are currently pouring tenderness and love (and a fair bit of cement) into it. It is a fantastic grade II listed building with a sack-full of character, especially the main entrance which will be transformed into a bottle shop and visitor’s centre with plenty of information about us, about brewing and about beer in general. “Don’t worry, our existing brew site will not be abandoned! It will be converted into Gloucester’s first and premier craft beer bar. TANK. There’ll be at least eight hand pumps serving cask conditioned real ales, both our own brews and carefully selected guest beers. Showcasing the best that the U.K. has to offer, keeping us firmly in our roots.

The bar will also have 10 keg lines, all dedicated to exhibiting the finest in real keg conditioned beers. Again our own beers will feature alongside high quality U.K. keg conditioned beers, European lagers and other esteemed world beers, keeping your fingers on the pulse. “Another fantastic aspect of the bar will be the 100 litre nano brew-plant, on which we will regularly be brewing ultra-small batches of one off beers, ranging from established styles to more avant-garde creations. These will be available exclusively from our bar. “We will also be serving a handpicked selection of local cheeses and artisan charcuterie, to complement our beers. “After much debate on how we should fit out the bar we have settled on a modern warm interior design. Do we want to be up to date with the new and future developments to Gloucester and relevant with regards to our location? Of course we do. “So if you would like to drink some modern, relevant, interesting and handcrafted beers then one place you could go would be TANK on the Gloucester Docks, opening Spring 2015.”

Battledown (Cheltenham)01242 693409

Bespoke Brewing (Mitcheldean)01594 546557

Ciren Ales (Cirencester)01285 652230

Corinium Ales (Cirencester)07716 826467

Cotswold (Bourton-on-the-Water)01451 824488

Cotswold Lion (Coberley)01242 870164

Cotswold Spring (Chipping Sodbury)01454 323088

Donnington (Stow-on-the-Wold)01451 830603

Force (Cirencester)07532 097050

Freeminer (Cinderford)01594 827989

Gloucester (Gloucester)01452 690541

Goffs (Winchcombe)01242 603383

Halfpenny (Lechlade)01367 252198

Hillside (Longhope)01452 830222

Nailsworth (Nailsworth)01453 835715

Prescott (Cheltenham)07526 934866

Severn Vale (Cam)01453 547550

Stanway (Stanway)01386 584320

Stroud (Stroud)01453 88712207891 995878

Terrace (Aylburton)01594 84010007942 205947

Uley (Uley)01453 860120

Whittington’s (Newent)01531 890223

Wickwar (Wickwar)01454 292000

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BREWERS... Do your bit for the breweries in the county and support them by asking for their beers, bottles and ales. Here’s a list of the county’s brewers:


Beer and pubs are close to the hearts of many millions of voters. CAMRA is asking General Election candidates to pledge their support for Britain's pub goers and beer drinkers by committing to do the following if elected:

Back action to support well-run community pubs by:

• ensuring pubs are better protected in the planning system• ensuring large pub companies treat publicans fairly

Celebrate and promote Britain's 1,150 real ale breweries by:

• ensuring that beer duty is set at a level that supports UK brewing• retaining discounted duty rates for small brewers

Represent the interests of pub goers and beer drinkers by:

• supporting consumer choice and the rights of consumers to fair treatment

CAMRA has set up a web page where you can read the full Manifesto and see which election candidates have signed up so far. You can also find contact details to lobby candidates in your constituency. Go to:

http://ge2015.camra.org.uk/

In Gloucestershire we have written to as many of the candidates standing in our six constituencies as we were able to find contact details for – 30 in total – and asked them where they stand on the issues raised in the CAMRA Manifesto. We have pressed them to sign up via the above CAMRA website and 10 of them have done so. We also offered all of them the opportunity to make brief statement (of support or otherwise!) which we would publish in full in this magazine. Some candidates told us that their party has rules against them signing ‘pledges’, however all the major parties have candidates who have signed up, if not in Gloucestershire then elsewhere in the country. No-one would claim that this is a binding promise but it is a declaration that the candidate if elected will be sympathetic to the aims of CAMRA and help wherever possible.


43

Here are the results. If a candidate in your constituency is not mentioned then you can assume that, as of going to press, they had neither signed up to the Manifesto nor given us a comment to use. The Manifesto is open for signature right up until the General Election in May so if a candidate you support is missing please feel free to lobby him or her encouraging them to sign.


MANIFESTO FOR PUBSPlanning – Change of Use (England)Hundreds of pubs are being lost as a result of weak planning rules that allow pubs to be converted into convenience stores, estate agents and a range of other uses without any planning application being made. The planning rules affecting pubs need to be strengthened to ensure that planning permission is required before pubs can be converted to any other use.

Planning – Demolition (England)Currently it is possible for developers to demolish freestanding pubs without planning permission provided the pub in question is outside a conservation area and unlisted. The planning rules need to bestrengthened so that planning permission isalways required before a pub can be demolished.

Pubco Reform (England and Wales)The Government is working to establish a much needed Statutory Code and Adjudicator to support tied publicans. CAMRA believes that the proposed Statutory Code should be strengthened to allow publicans tied to large companies guest beer rights and the choice of paying a higher rent in exchange for being free to buy beer on the open market. These changes will help ensure that tied publicans are not squeezed out of business by rents and wholesale beer prices set at artificially high levels. The new Statutory Code should include guest beer and market rent only options for tied publicans.

Licensing Law (England and Wales)Allowing well run pubs to open later than 11pm has given consumers greater freedom and helped support the profitability of pubs. The freedoms of the 2003 Licensing Act should be retained to ensure consumers continue to enjoy greater choice.

Standing up for ConsumersConsumer protection regulations are important to protect consumers. CAMRA would like to see action to ensure an end to the practice of serving short measures and to ensure pricing information is clearly displayed.

MANIFESTO FOR REAL ALEBeer DutyThe decision to scrap the beer duty escalator and to cut beer duty in Budgets 2013 and 2014 has given the beer sector a huge boost. It has helped keep the cost of a pint down creating jobs and increasing other tax revenues. Serious consideration should be given to a beer duty freeze for the whole of the next Parliament.

Small Breweries’ ReliefBritain’s smallest breweries pay 50% less beer duty than large breweries in recognition of the higher costs associated with small scale production. This tax concession has been key to the number of small brewers in the UK trebling to over 1,150 over the last decade. Small Breweries’ Relief should be retained to support the continued growth of small local breweries.

EU Excise Duty DirectiveThe European Union imposes restrictions on how alcohol can be taxed by national Governments. These restrictions mean that beer sold in pubs and supermarkets must be taxed at the same rate and that reduced duty on low strength beers can only be applied to beers at or below 2.8% ABV in alcoholic strength. The UK Government should renegotiate the EU Excise Duty Directive so it is possible to charge a preferential rate of duty on draught beer sold in pubs and enable reduced duty on low strength beers to apply up to 3.5% ABV in strength.

Real CiderCider makers who produce less than 7,000 litres a year are exempt from paying alcohol duty which enables small scale production to flourish. The existing duty exemption for small cider producers must be retained.


Alderton Gardeners ArmsAmberley Amberley Inn Black HorseArlingham The Red LionAshleworth BoatAvening Bell Queen MatildaBarnsley Village PubBlaisdon Red HartBlockley Great Western ArmsBourton-on-the-Hill Horse & GroomBourton-on-the-Water MousetrapBream Rising SunBrimscombe Ship InnBroad Campden Bakers ArmsBroadwell Fox InnBrockhampton Craven ArmsBrookend LammastideCashes Green Prince of WalesCerney Wick CrownCharfield Pear TreeCharlton Kings RoyalCheltenham Adam & Eve Beehive Inn Cheltenham Motor Club Exmouth Arms Hewlett Arms Jolly Brewmaster Kemble Brewery Inn Moon Under Water Old Restoration Retreat Royal Union Slug & Lettuce Somerset Arms St Stephens Club

Chipping Campden Eight Bells Noel Arms Cirencester Bees Knees Corinium Hotel Marlborough Arms Twelve Bells Waggon & HorsesClearwell LambClifford’s Mesne Yew TreeCranham Black Horse Royal WilliamDidmarton King’s ArmsDursley Old SpotEastington Old BadgerEbrington Ebrington ArmsEdge Edgemoor InnElkstone Highwayman InnElmstone Hardwicke Gloucester Old SpotForthampton Lower Lode Inn Frampton Mansell Crown Inn Frampton-on-Severn Three Horseshoes France Lynch Kings Head Gloucester Cross Keys Dick Whittington Fountain New Inn Pelican Water Poet YorkGotherington Shutter Inn Great Barrington Fox InnGretton Royal Oak Guiting Power Hollow BottomHam Salutation Inn Hawkesbury Upton Beaufort ArmsHillesley The Fleece

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


Horsley The Hog Kemble Tavern Inn Thames Head Inn Kempsford George Inn Kineton Halfway House Lechlade Crown Inn Riverside Inn Swan Leighterton Royal OakMickleton Butchers Arms Minchinhampton Old Lodge Inn Weighbridge Inn Minsterworth Severn BoreMiserden Carpenters Arms Moreton-in-Marsh Bell Inn Redsedale Arms Nailsworth Britannia Village Inn Naunton Black Horse Nettleton Bottom Golden Heart Inn Newent Cobblers George Hotel Newmarket George Inn Newnham RailwayNorth Cerney Bathurst ArmsNorth Nibley Black Horse Oddington Horse & GroomPainswick Royal Oak Poulton FalconRandwick Vine Tree InnRuardean The Malt ShovelSapperton The BellShipton Moyne Cat & Custard PotShurdington The BellSiddington Greyhound Slad Woolpack Slimbridge Tudor Arms Snowshill Snowshill Arms Somerford Keynes Bakers Arms Inn South Cerney Old George Inn

Stanton Mount Stonehouse Woolpack Stroud Ale House British Oak Clothiers Arms Crown & Sceptre Imperial Hotel Prince Albert Queen Victoria The Retreat Tetbury Priory Inn Hotel Royal Oak Snooty Fox The Ormond Tewkesbury Nottingham Arms Olde Black Bear Royal Hop Pole Theoc House Tudor House Hotel White Bear The Camp Fostons Ash Toddington Pheasant Inn Todenham Farriers ArmsTormarton Major’s Retreat Twyning Village Inn Uley Old Crown Upper Soudley White HorseWaterley Bottom New InnWestonbirt Hare & Hounds Whiteshill Star Wickwar Buthay Wickwar Social Club Woodchester Ram Inn Royal Oak The Old Fleece Wotton Under Edge Falcon Inn Royal Oak Star Swan Hotel

have you any pub news? More details are posted regularly on the Facebook group

'Gloucestershire Pubs', an ideal forum to keep other people informed of the latest pub developments in the county.

WORDSEARCH

Can you find the breweries and ales listed in the grid, reading across, down, or diagonally, forwards or back?

When you have found all the words, the remaining unused letters spell out an appropriate message.

Get your answers in ASAP to [email protected]

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

AmberArkellsBattledownBespokeCirenCoriniumDonningtonFleeceGoffsGuvnorLibertine

NailsworthOtterPrancerPrescottSharpsStanwayStroudTerraceUleyWicked BrewWickwar

The best things in life are three

HANDCRAFTED BEERS FROM THE COTSWOLD HILLS SINCE 1849The Brewery, Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, OX15 5NY 01608 730384

twitter.com/hookybrewery

facebook.com/hooknortonbrewery

Visitor Centre open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 4.30pm all year roundwww. hooky.co.uk e: [email protected]

Find in the grid breweries and ales from Gloucestershire. Unused letters spell an appropriate message.

N N A I L S W O R T H E Y

O E P B E S P O K E S N E

T R R A W J R O I N L I L

G I E T I E E C A M L T U

N C S T C S C A M B E R S

I T C L K T N E R A K E F

N E O E E A A S E A R B F

N R T D D N R D H L A I O

O R T O B W P O U A F L G

D A E W R A N D N O R S A

V C R N E Y E R E V R P A

L E R A W K C I W A U T S

L M U I N I R O C E S G S

We’re delighted to announce that The Tippler has teamed up with Hook Norton Breweries to provide the prizes to our increasingly popular wordsearch. This issue we have four brewery tour tickets for this fascinating brewery set in the beautiful village of Hook Norton.

The best things in life are three

HANDCRAFTED BEERS FROM THE COTSWOLD HILLS SINCE 1849The Brewery, Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, OX15 5NY 01608 730384

twitter.com/hookybrewery

facebook.com/hooknortonbrewery

Visitor Centre open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 4.30pm all year roundwww. hooky.co.uk e: [email protected]

Fair dealon beertax now! SaveBritain’sPubs!

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

Address

Postcode

Name(s) of Account Holder

Bank or Building Society Account Number Branch Sort Code

Reference

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

Service User Number

FOR CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE LTD OFFICIAL USE ONLYThis is not part of the instruction to your Bank or Building Society

Membership Number

Name Postcode

Instructions to your Bank or Building Society

Signature(s) Date

This Guarantee should be detached and retained by the payer.

The Direct Debit Guarantee

9 2 6 1 2 9

• 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

• 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.

Please pay Campaign For Real Ale Limited Direct Debits from the account detailed on this instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with Campaign For Real Ale Limited and, if so will be passed electronically to my Bank/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

Join CAMRA TodayComplete the Direct Debit form opposite 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 the: Membership Department, CAMRA, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LW.

Your Details

Title Surname

Forename(s)

Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy)

Address

Postcode

Email address

Tel No(s)

Partner’s Details (if Joint Membership)

Title Surname

Forename(s)

Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy)

Direct Debit Non DD

Single Membership £24 £26

(UK & EU)

Joint Membership £29.50 £31.50

(Partner at the same address)

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

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

I enclose a cheque for

Signed Date

Applications will be processed within 21 days

01/15

Campaigning for Pub Goers& Beer Drinkers

Enjoying Real Ale& Pubs

A Campaign of Two Halves

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

Email address (if different from main member)


events: what’s coming up Gloucestershire Branch Committee Meetings

5th May 8.00 pm - Royal Hop Pole, Tewkesbury GL20 5RS

Cheltenham Branch - Email: [email protected] on second Wednesday or Thursday of the month at 8.00 pm. Call: Veronica Emary 01242 244397

16th March 7.30 pm - Business meeting - Quaich8th April 8.00 pm - Social - start Kings Head, Bishops Cleeve13th April 7.30 pm - Business meeting - Royal Union 14th May 6.50 pm - 41 bus to Tewkesbury, social - start Hop Pole26th May 7.30 pm - Business meeting, Plough, Prestbury,

Cirencester Sub - Branch - Email: [email protected] on second Tuesday of the month at 8.00 pm. Call: Rob Tough on 01285 85119410th March 8.00 pm - Bathurst Arms, continuing to the Cheltenham Motor Club, Strand, and Sandford Park Alehouse.14th April 8.00 pm - Mystery bus trip to somewhere starting with a B and ending in ristol.12th May 8.00 pm - Swanning around at the Swan, Bibury, the Swan, Southrop, the Swan, Faringdon and Swan, Swinbrook9th June 8.00 pm - Cycling evening starting at the Royal Oak, Tetbury, Whole Hog Malmesbury, Potting Shed, Crudwell and the Bakers Arms, Somerford Keynes.

Dursley Sub - Branch - Email: [email protected] on last Tuesday of the month at 8.00 pm. Call: Chris Arrowsmith on 01453 548991

Forest of Dean Sub - Branch - Email: [email protected] on second Tuesday of the month at 8.00 pm. Call: Andy Tubb on 01594 82238112th March 8.00 pm - at The George Inn, Aylburton9th April 8.00 pm - at The Globe Inn, Alvington14th May 8.00 pm - at The Malt Shovel, Ruardean1th June 8.00 pm - at Royal Spring Inn, Lydbrook

Gloucester Sub - Branch - Email: [email protected] on second Wednesday of the month at 8.00 pm. Where bookings are essential or for further details please contact Margaret on 01452 551400; by email on [email protected] or visit the website www.camraingloucester.org.uk 11th March 8.00 pm - Social meet at the King Teddy, moving to Greyhound27th March 6.30 pm - Minibus to Worcestershire. Bookings essential.15th April 8.00 pm - Social meeting. Start at the Dick Whittington and see where we end up!24/25th April 11.30 am - 3rd Camra Gloucester Beer and Cider Festival at Blackfriars Priory. 11.30 am - 23.00 pm both days. Tickets on the door, admission £6 to include festival glass. CAMRA members wishing to volunteer will be most welcome.2nd May 12.00 am - Meet at the Bank House Cheltenham, then on the A bus to Prestbury for a wander around the village pubs13th May 8.00 pm - Social meeting. The Imperial and beyond!29th May 6.30 pm - Minibus trip via Wainlodes and out to the Boat. Bookings required6th June TBC - Pauntley Beer Festival by charabanc! Trip in conjunction with the Stroud RE Bus group. Bookings will be essential.10th June 8.00 pm - Social meeting – the Fountain Inn, a nice summer location!26th June TBC - Please check the website for details

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

Tewkesbury Sub - Branch - Email: [email protected] Meetings on third Thursday of the month at 8.00 pm. Call: Steve Kisby on 01684 29546619th March 8.00 pm - Social - Lower Lode, Yew Tree, The Boat 16th April 8.00 pm - Social - The George, Swan at Staunton Cross, Royal Exchange 7th May 8.00 pm - Business - AGM - The Tudor House Hotel 9th May TBC - Trip - Ludlow Spring Festival (SIBA Wales & West Fest) 14th May 8.00 pm - Social - Tewkesbury town walk with Cheltenham CAMRA (Hop Pole, Berkeley, Nottingham, Tudor House, White Bear)

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

Secretary:Jonathan Sankson – (Bourton on the Water)01451 [email protected]

Treasurer:Dawn Harrison (Bourton on the Water)01451 [email protected]

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

Pubs Officer and Good Beer Guide Co-ordinator:Phillip Ellis (Bourton on the Water)01451 [email protected]

Media Officer:Martyn Herbert (Exmouth)07760 [email protected]

Young Members Officer:Nick Avery [email protected]

01451 822602

Social Secretary and Webmaster:Peter Rowe (Bourton on the Water)[email protected]

Beer Festivals Coordinator:Martyn Herbert (Exmouth)

07760 [email protected]

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

BLO Donnington Brewery:Dick Harrison (Bourton on the Water)01451 [email protected]

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

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

North Cotswold CAMRA Branch Officers and Committee

www.northcotswoldcamra.org.uk

Cheltenham CAMRA Branch Officers and CommitteeChairVeronica Emary - 01242 [email protected]

Secretary and Branch ContactRob [email protected]

Social SecretaryRoger [email protected]

TreasurerGrant [email protected]

Pubs OfficerJohn [email protected]

Clubs OfficerAndy [email protected]

Press OfficerTony Lucas

[email protected]

MembershipChris [email protected]

News LetterIan Scott

[email protected]

WebmasterChris [email protected]

Young Members’ ContactAlistair [email protected]

Committee MembersLeigh [email protected]

John [email protected]

www.cheltenhamcamra.org.uk facebook/twitter details: CAMRACheltenham@CheltenhamCAMRA

Gloucestershire BranchElected Committee Members

Position Name, address and contact details

Chairman Andrew Frape Sunnybank, Cheltenham Rd., Bagendon, Cirencester, GL7 7BH 07941 670371 [email protected]

Vice Chairman Mike Bristow [email protected]

Branch Secretary Steve Kisby 01684 295466Branch Contact [email protected] [email protected]

Treasurer Patrick Phair 01242 527068 [email protected]

Membership Secretary Ali Turner 07825 565943 [email protected]

Tasting Panel Chair Trevor Carter 07717 841233 [email protected]

Webmaster John Barrett 01242 239785 [email protected]

Public Affairs Officer Martin Parker 01242 252085 [email protected]

Young Members Contact Currently vacant

Newsletter Editor Chris Leibbrandt 01684 439767 [email protected]


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

SUITABLY dark, stout and

robust, with a commanding

malty fruitiness

ABV 4.6% vol

Cantankerously crisp

and chestnutty with

a subTLe hoppy finish

ABV 4.2% vol

BUXOM, FRAGRANT AND

GOLDEN, BURSTING WITH

STRAW AND SUNSHINE

ABV 4.0% vol

C

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CMY

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0035 Cotswold Advert OL AW.pdf 1 22/11/2013 14:40

WYE’S WORDS No. 2

PINT OF BUTTY AT NIGHT,FESTIVE DELIGHT“ ”

SHARE OUR TASTE FOR REAL LIFE

Winter evenings and Christmas get-togethers are perfect for sharing good times with friends and family. But no festive gathering would be complete without our ‘little friend’ Butty Bach – a smooth, satisfying premium ale brewed using locally grown Fuggles, Goldings and Bramling Cross hops. 4.5% ABV

facebook.com/wyevalleybrewery @wyevalleybrew

Find gifts for real ale-loving friends at www.WyeValleyBrewery.co.uk

spring 2015 tippler the free - camra gloucestershire©the campaign for real ale 2015. opinions...

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