According to a new survey by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), millions will return to the pub after the smoking ban comes in on the first of July. The survey’s key findings indicated that 6.2 million people (17% of all adults in England and Wales) who visit pubs regularly are likely to visit pubs more often. Of that group :
97%
were non-smokers. 840,000 people who currently never go to a pub said they will after the smoking ban. Added to the figure for
people who currently visit regularly, that is a total of 7,040,000 people who will visit pubs more often.
93% of real ale drinkers said they would be more likely to visit pubs more often or that their visiting habits would not be changed by the ban.
68% of regular smokers say it will not change their pub visiting habits at all.
69% of all adults said it would not affect their visits to pubs at all, only 3% said they would not visit pubs at all as a result of the ban.
Smokers are typically lager drinkers (43% of lager drinkers said they smoke while only 25% of real ale drinkers did). CAMRA Chief Executive Mike Benner said: “This survey shows that non-smokers will be attracted to pubs after the ban comes into force, and many of them would like to find a real ale waiting for them when they get there. “The smoking ban will be a difficult transition for licensees, but it is encouraging that only 3% of people surveyed by CAMRA said they would not visit pubs at all as a result of the ban. The key will be to ensure that other factors such as quality of real ale, food, atmosphere and welcome are all superb. If this is the case then the traditional Community Pub will have a bright and healthy future.”
Peter Alexander
They may not be your favourite company, but J D Wetherspoon is pretty important to some microbreweries, and is often the only chance to drink microbrewery beers in many towns. According to an article in the trade paper “The Morning Advertiser”, JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has set his sights on doubling sales of cask ale in his pub estate. Martin believes there is a massive opportunity to increase cask ales if dispense standards can be improved. He said “We’ve got to improve in every area – but the main one is the quality of traditional ale, that’s our main focus as a company now – to have the beers available coming out in good condition and selling in high volumes so the condition is maintained. I think we can double our real-ale volumes. I think it’s a market you have to create. It’s essentially a good product and people acquire a taste for it. It’s unique to pubs and I think it’s a worthwhile goal. It rings the right notes with a lot of people, whether they go to pubs or not.” Martin said he had also noticed customer demand for micro-brewery products. “They brew some excellent and interesting beers. I like the product, they’re usually pretty nice guys and I started as a small business myself.” Good stuff from Timbo, but let’s see a significant improvement in choice in our local JDWs. While Rochdale still leads, (though choice of breweries is getting a bit samey), others, particularly Middleton (awful for cask) and Bury need to buck their ideas up a bit.
A few facts to finish: Wetherspoon’s are selling 33 million pints of cask ale per annum. Cask ale volumes have increased by 5% in the six
months to 28 Jan 2007 Sales of cask beer in Wetherspoon’s is currently 114,000 barrels per year (up by 5,000 barrels). Each Wetherspoon’s
averages 170 barrels of cask beer per year.
Peter Alexander
Welcome to this, our 7th edition of “More Beer”, the newsletter from Rochdale, Oldham & Bury CAMRA Branch (Campaign for Real Ale). Our cover article looks at the iceberg that is the smoking ban and its collision course with the drinks industry, but unlike the iceberg from the Titanic saga this is a berg of opportunity! According to research done by CAMRA, the figures suggest that the drinking public are more likely to visit smoke free pubs than stay away, with some pretty startling statistics coming out from the data. Sometimes a change can be a good thing and with the ban coming into force this summer, change there will be. Here at More Beer there is going to be a change, nothing as radical as a ban but nevertheless a change, hopefully for the good. I will be stepping down as full editor within the period of this edition and a new person is taking the helm of the good ship `More Beer’ so it should be full steam ahead from now on with the new captain, Sue Barker!
Allan Whitehead
(Tuesday Meetings all 8.30pm Unless
Otherwise Stated)
CAN’T ALWAYS GET TO OUR BRANCH MEETINGS?
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MAY
12 13 May Weekend Social, Classic Pubs &
Brewpubs of Shropshire
JUNE
2nd June Coach Social, White Shield Brewery,
Brewery Museum & Pubs in Burton upon Trent
5th June Branch AGM, The Baum, Toad Lane,
Rochdale
JULY
3rd July Branch Meeting, Eagle & Child, Higher
Lane, Whitefield
7th July Coach Campaign, Independents’ Day tour
of Branch area
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Rochdale, Oldham & Bury Contacts/Committee 2007-2008
Chairman: Peter Alexander
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Secretary: Pam Ellis
Email – pam@pamellis.fsnet.co.uk
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The Good Samaritan (Good Sam) on Peel Brow, Ramsbottom – 5 minutes walk from the East Lancs Railway station – will be holding their
3rd Beer Festival over the Bank Holiday weekend Friday 25th to Monday 28th May. Roger promises more than 30 beers over the
weekend, with 15 available at any one time, and a warm welcome guaranteed. Phone 01706 823225 for further details.
The Grey Horse is to close soon for around five weeks, for a total refurbishment. The Mare and Foal will also be fully refurbished, taking about
five weeks. Let’s hope that both projects retain the best of their existing original features.
The Millgate is to have some internal modifications to its layout and will close for one week. There are no firm dates for these works - I guess most will start after the Annual Daisy Nook Easter Fair? Expect to see Smoking Shelters when they re-open.
The Willow Tavern continues to sell three Cask Ales at a time and Neil is now going for Cask Marque Accreditation - a sign of his commitment to quality.
The keg-only Windmill is closed and is halfway through a six-week total re-fit, how about some hand pumps? The drinkers might prefer the real stuff having had to drink elsewhere for weeks.
The Beer Festival organised by the local Round Table in February was hailed a success with most of the beers sold out over the two day event. Beers from Greenfield Brewery were strongly featured and their Black Five (4.0%, ruby coloured) and Celebration (4.0%, light golden beer using cascade hops) were especially popular, together with new beers from three Scottish microbreweries. The festival raised £1,000 which was donated to SOPA, the local outdoor pursuits association, and Saddleworth Museum where the event was held.
Following recent expansion in their business, a fourth fermenter has now been installed by Greenfield Brewery which will raise capacity to 20 barrels per week The GBG-listed Navigation at Dobcross are regular sellers of Dobcross Bitter and also featured the seasonal Pride of England (a 4.2% traditional English bitter) over St George’s Day. Greenfield has introduced another seasonal, Monkey Business (4.0% pale bitter) for the Summer.
As reported in the Winter ’07 edition of More Beer, the lease for The Swan (Top House) at Dobcross has been on the market and was expected to change hands on 1st May. The new licensee is Howard Mellor from the Parkfield House Hotel in Moorside who has taken over in partnership with Simon Turner, the long serving chef from the Parkfield.
The Diggle Hotel held a mini beer festival for two weeks up to Easter in which two regular beers, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and Black Sheep Best Bitter, were supplemented with three other beers on a rotating basis. Beers featured included Millstone’s Three Shires (4.0%), Elland Brewery’s Bargee (3.8%), Roosters’ Special (3.9%), Howard Town’s Bleaklow (3.8%) as well as the popular dark mild, Moorhouses Black Cat (3.4%).
The Waggon in Uppermill is included in the new CAMRA publication, Beer Bed & Breakfast. As well as providing consistently good Robinsons beers the pub has four high quality
en-suite rooms available for £60 per night B&B as a double or £40 for single occupancy.
As usual a number of events will take place in With the increase in their business, Millstone Saddleworth this summer and the Waggon is are debottlenecking the brewery and have involved in many of them including the Whit taken in more 18’s for their bigger outlets Pub & Brewery News Friday Brass Band Contest (Friday 1st June), Beer Walk on the following day and the Folk Festival on the weekend of 21st July.
The Granby nearby has been installing a new kitchen which should be operational as this edition is being distributed. During a recent visit two Greenfield beers, Ice Breaker and Dobcross Bitter were featured, both available via Enterprise Inns’ DDS (Direct Delivery System).
Along the High Street the Hare and Hounds has introduced an over 21’s policy (ID’s required) in an attempt to control under-age drinking especially during the busy weekends. However your local correspondent was surprised to find that his ID was not required during a recent visit………
Some interesting guest beers have been featured at the Royal Oak (Th’heights) in Delph recently including Moorhouses Black Witch
(4.2% - a blend of Black Cat and Pendle Witches Brew), Wye Valley Bitter, Elgood’s Cambridge and Abbeydale Brimstone. Vale Mill
(3.9%), a new Millstone beer, was on the bar in March alongside regulars Black Sheep Best Bitter and the house beer from Moorhouses.
Other developments at Millstone in Mossley are their bottle-conditioned beers, filled by hand, which are being taken by Mossley
Wholefoods shop and Love Saves the Day on Deansgate. Their bottled Tiger Rut has also been awarded First Prize in the Best Beer
category by North West Fine Foods and, bizzarely, now goes forward into their Best Drink competition against teas, coffees and
possibly home-made sarsaparillas! I’m not sure how you balance the merits of a pale, hoppy beer with the delights of a smoky Lapsang
Souchong, but that’s their problem – answers on a postcard please. (NOTE TO BEER TICKERS – Lapsang Souchong is not a new beer) Plans are also in hand to develop 12 themed beers, based on pub names, in conjunction with a wholesaler.
Ken Holt
Contrary to the article in the Winter edition, the beer range on offer at the Albion on Whitworth Road will be every bit as good as in the past.
On our last visit the beer was up to the high standard we have come to expect. Let us hope that this is maintained.
The Healey is now offering the full range of Robinson beers including the new addition OB bitter, a welcome option to the regular Unicorn offering. The price for this probably makes it one of the most expensive pints in the area.
The Merry Monk continues to maintain its high standards of Hydes in addition to at least one guest and it is easy to see why it is a popular watering hole for locals.
The Regal Moon is continuing its support of our local breweries with attractive prices to boot. An extensive refurbishment early in January unfortunately did not materialise and they only managed to fit new beer lines. Good to see Wetherspoons getting their priorities right.
The Flying Horse needs to do better. Recent visits have been disappointing with both the beer range and quality leaving something to be desired.
The Baum on the other hand seems to be going from strength to strength finding favour with many real ale drinkers old and new.
The Wishing Well is possibly living on past glories but it needs to decide if it can support the number of beers currently on offer. Certainly the quality is being affected.
Two pubs coming in under the radar are The Reed on Yorkshire Street offering Jennings beers and the Horse and Farrier in Norden, usually offering three guest beers. At a recent CAMRA gathering, two Sam Smith pubs were mentioned as offering OBB. These are the Eagle and Child and The Yew Tree, both on Oldham Road. Well wortha visit by all accounts.
In Littleborough, the King Bill at Shore is becoming popular, offering two guest ales one of which is usually a Black Sheep offering. The food is not bad either.
The Cask and Feather on Yorkshire Street has reopened after a seven month closure following a fire. Unfortunately, brewing on site has now stopped, and Phoenix beers will form the basis of the beers on offer. An occasional guest beer may appear once the pub has built up the business.
One gained and another lost as the Success to the Plough on Bolton Road is now closed following a fire.
The current seasonal beer is Manchester Rambler a 3.8% pale brown beer. It is, unusually for Lees, dry hopped with fuggles hops. Work is ongoing at the brewery to accommodate the future brewing of Carlsberg lager, with a new lauter tun now installed. The next stage is trial brews to match Northampton brewed Carlsberg. Assuming all goes well, Lees-brewed Carlsberg should be out in trade by the time you read this.
PETER ALEXANDER
On the pubs front there has been a number of changes of licensees. Those coming in are:
Albion Inn, Hollinwood; John Wilde,
Assheton Arms, Middleton; Sabrina Fitzgerald,
Dicken Green, Queensway; Joyce Fletwood & Len Burns,
Rifle Range also Chadderton; Adele Taylor,
Same Yet in Simister; Richard Taylor and
Spinners Arms, Springhead; Deborah Jones.
Tony Introna has relinquished his position at the prestigious Rain Bar in the city to return to his roots at the Millgate in Failsworth.
Stephen Pritchard is leaving the Lancashire Fold (Alkrington) to becomean Area Manager within Lees’ tenanted estate.
At the Bowling Green, Hollinwood, Adrian Parker has relinquished the lease to concentrate on running the Black Swan at Mumps, now re-opened after refurbishment following a recent fire.
The new licensees are Rudolph Wilkes & Beverley Mayall. Still on a fire theme, the Success to the Plough at Sudden is closed after a fire there by Peter Alexander.
The attrition of Langley pubs continues apace. The most recent to be closed and boarded is the Tavern on Wood Street. This follows the
loss of the Mallard, the Cardinal’s Hat, the New Broom, the Sporting Falcon and the Welcome Inn, all of which have closed inrecent years.
The only pubs left now in the immediate Langley area, are the Woodman and the Who’d a Thowt It.
In Middleton a cask ale loss is the Railway on Townley Street. The Pubmaster-owned house, which sold Theakstons Mild and Bank Top Flat
Cap, was seen in early March to be closed, though not yet boarded, so hopefully this is only a temporary problem. Not so temporary
looking is the Barber’s Arms on Manchester Old Road, Rhodes. This former Gartsides Brewery House was closed and boarded at the end of
March. No real ale was sold. Further along the same road the ex-Boddies Gardiner’s Arms is also closed and though not boarded up, it has
been closed for some time, as has the ex-Oldham Brewery Dog and Partridge in Spring Vale which has a “For Sale” sign outside it.
Peter Alexander
Sue Barker
On Saturday 17th March 2007 some 30 ROB Camra members ventured upon their latest social trip. As the coach left the final pick-up point our Social Secretary informed us that unfortunately, as Sheffield were playing at home, the schedule would have to be adjusted to avoid the football crowds & traffic. The overcast & windy skies of Lancashire looked unpromising as we left the area but on arrival in Sheffield we were greeted by bright blue skies and glorious sunshine – so much so that several of us took advantage of pub conservatories and terraces to soak it up.
First call was the Hillsborough Hotel, home to the Crown & Wellington Brewery. The landlord told us that, as well as the 8 handpumps (which included several Irish-themed offerings) at weekend he also served from the cellar which usually took the total of cask ales available to 18. Milestone Golden Paddy proved the most popular with our group. Several framed awards were displayed on the wall for Crown Brewery beers from various Camra branches and beer festivals. A comfortable conservatory and terrace at the back gave an excellent view of the dry ski slope (and the gas holding tank!) and beyond. Meals are also available at 2 for £6. Lunch was at the Rising Sun, (the Abbeydale ‘Brewery Tap’). Here10 beers were on handpump – the majority being from Abbeydale (I sampled a Brimstone which fortunately was neither yellow nor sulphurous!) but also several guest beers including Titanic Spring a Leak. Belgian beers were also available on tap.
The food was adequate but did not live up to the promise of the menu, and it was thought that the portions were small for the price.
Unfortunately, we were disappointed that the five different flavours of mash which were a feature of the menu turned out to be powdered – we do think that this should be pointed out. We found the service was a bit haphazard considering we’d phoned the order through, as requested, an hour before.
Next was the White Lion, a former Tetley Festival Ale House but offering a very nice pint of Taylor’s Landlord, together with Wells’ Bombardier and Caledonian XSA – we’d arrived in time to get the bottom of the barrel of Cally but this was exchanged without problem. Finally we were dropped off in the Northern Quarter with plenty of time to visit the six pubs in close proximity:
Cask & Cutler, with an ever-changing range of usually nine guest beers,
Fat Cat, offering Kelham Island and guests, where at 4 pm we again took advantage of the very pleasant sheltered garden.
Gardener’s Rest, (Brewery Tap for the new Sheffield Brewery) offering 10 beers on handpump.
Kelham Island Tavern, with an assortment of guests, where by now it was getting a bit too chilly to sit out, but again a lovely enclosed garden for those nice summer days to come. Riverside where a warm welcome and three handpumps were waiting – on this occasion all offering Archers beers, which were acceptable but not exceptional. This bar was comparatively empty measured against the others. And a late addition, the Harlequin where, having negotiated the roadworks and construc-tion sites, we found 8 beers and 2 ciders on handpump, an Irish band was warming up in preparation for the festivities, and an excellent pint of Bradfield Farmer’s Blonde was enjoyed.
Class divisions within the ROB branch came to the fore as we set off from Piccadilly early on the morning of Saturday, February 16th. With several members enjoying Indian head massages and yoga in 1st class, the remainder of the group were muddling through the journey in a cacophony of wailing babies and head-phone noise. Fortunately for those in standard class, the journey to Birmingham was short at 1hr 39mins and once we’d found our bearings, the walk tothe 1st pub of the day was brief.
The Wellington :
We found 15 handpumps at the Wellington (37 Bennetts Hill)
which 3 are from the Black Country Ales range, the remainder being
sourced from independent and micro breweries. Since the pub reopened in late 2004, the pub has stocked the best part of 3000 different ales!
There is a very useful ‘live beer board’ giving you up to the minute details of exactly what is available and the beer was in good condition.
I feel it’s fair to say the pub has more of a quality feel to it than I have come to expect of ‘multiple hand-pump’ pubs in Greater
Manchester. The pub welcomes customers to bring their own food – even providing cutlery! The day was off to a great start........
The White Swan (276 Bradford St) was a 20 minute walk from the Wellington and is a GBG stalwart. The choice between Banks’s and Jennings was a bit of a comedown following the Wellington, but both were found to be in good condition. The friendly staff, impressive architecture and original tiling make it a worthwhile place to visit. Just down the road, our stop was the :
Grade II listed Anchor (308 Bradford St). I think the term ‘community local’ was coined for pubs like this - there being a fair smattering of characters! The beer range, at this 3 times winner of the Birmingham Branch pub of the year, was wide and varied and we found good offerings from Potbelly, Highgate and Rainbow. I’d love to see the Anchor in full flow on a Saturday night! We jumped into taxis for the trip to the:
Bartons Arms (144 High St) which worked out The Anchor reasonably well at around £8 between 5 of us. The foursquare clock tower is impressive from the outside and the interior is the epitome of Victorian decorative grandeur. You will find a riot of original features, rich mahogany woodworkings, stained and engraved windows and mirrors, snob-screens, sweeping wrought-iron staircase and what the pub is best known for, it’s wall to wall Minton-Hollins tiles. Unfortunately, this is where the superlatives must end. Our visit coincided with a beer festival, with most beers being brought to the bar in jugs from the cellar. Sadly, the staff were unwilling to sell any of the festival beer because they had “run out of 2 pint jugs”!! Ingenuity and common sense had clearly been thrown out with the last of the 2 pint jugs. We enjoyed the range of Oakham ales, but we were again left disappointed when we were told 20 minutes after ordering some Thai food (a speciality at the Bartons) that they could only cook us chips after all! Verdict – undoubtedly a fantastic pub that promises much but failed to live up to expectations on the day.
The Bull:
A 20 minute walk back towards the city centre brought us to the Bull (1 Price St). The regular beers are Ansells Mild, Adnams Broadside and
Marstons Pedigree, plus a regularly changing guest ale. I thought this friendly little pub had great character and we enjoyed large portions
of home cooked food at very reasonable prices. B&B is available and it would be my first choice when I next crawl Birmingham.
Back into the city proper, we eventually found the far flung Fullers pub, the Old Joint Stock (4 Temple Row West), in a prominent position
next to the Cathedral. Presumably converted from a bank, there is a large island bar in a main room dominated by statuettes and
colonnades. Our first choice of Discovery had just run and we opted for a round of halves of Chiswick Bitter which went down very nicely.
Time was marching on and we still had more to get through……….
Pennyblacks (132-134 Wharfside Street, The Mailbox) was a revelation and made us all feel rather jealous that we don’t have one in Manchester! Good British ale and good quality English food, in contemporary and well designed surroundings in a canalside location.
We drank the Hook Norton Hooky Bitter which was on very good form. If Castlefield hadn’t degenerated into such a scruffy
wasteland, it would be a perfect place for a
similar venture…oh, for what could have been!
We headed back to the Wellington, via a more than reasonable nearby Wetherspoons, to meet up with the stragglers and settle in for a couple
of pints before the return journey.
All in all Birmingham was a great day out with a much wider choice of beers than I had expected. The quality of the beer was very good and the pubs that we visited were all brimming with character. You can expect to do a lot of walking and you should certainly get hold of a map before trying to navigate your way around the city because it’s a bit of a maze – in that respect, Birmingham was just as I expected!
Matthew Parr
The traditional crown stamp on pint glasses is set to vanish,
because of a European Union rule. From now on, only the European CE
mark will be permitted on new pint glasses used across the UK. Jim
Fitzpatrick, a junior trade minister, said “under the Measuring Instruments Directive, which
entered into force on October 20, 2006, the CE mark has replaced the crown stamp to
guarantee the accuracy of pint measures, including pint glasses.” It is not permissible to
have the crown stamp alongside the new CE stamp, but there are no plans to force pubs to
scrap their old glasses. “Pint glasses which were marked with the crown stamp and placed
on the market before that date remain lawful,” the minister also said.
Ever since 1699, successive governments have found it necessary to measure and certify the
pint and half-pint glasses made and used in this Country. The rules, which were intended to assure suspicious beer drinkers that they were not being given short measures, meant a crown
and certification number was printed on each glass. However, the EU is introducing a
standard European-wide system for guaranteeing the size and
safety of glasses.
Consequently, the new glasses now appearing in British pubs and bars carry a CE mark, which
stands for “Conformité Européenne”. The loss of the crown is
further evidence that the EU’s grip
on the nation’s weights and measures is tightening. A wider concern is that the loss of
the crown will be followed by the loss of the pint itself, with British drinkers being required
to switch to continental metric measures.
CAMRA nationally has said the use of the crown stamp has been killed off as a direct
result of the contraction of British manufacturing. The
manufacture of most pint
and half-pint glasses has been shifted to the Czech Republic, where costs are much lower. Consequently, the glasses coming out of these factories automatically get the CE mark, even if
they are an imperial pint. CAMRA is more concerned that beer drinkers have been getting short measures on their pints for many
years, regardless of whether the glasses have a crown stamp, and has revived its full pint campaign. It is fighting
plans by the Department of Trade & Industry to allow publicans to serve 95 per cent liquid and call this a full pint
without being prosecuted. A CAMRA spokesman said: “We don’t think it makes a difference whether it is a European mark or a
crown mark, as long as customers are served a full pint. There are still plenty of crown-stamped pint glasses around, although they are
no longer being produced in any quantity. So once the last one gets broken the crown on the glass will be consigned to history.” Calling the new rules “a needless intrusion” and against the wishes of their customers, a number of Britain’s brewers and pub operators
have however written to the minister asking him to consider negotiating a derogation (exemption) from the directive for the UK.
This would allow the Crown to continue to be printed on pint glasses. Those signing the letter to the minister include Shepherd Neame,
Fullers and nearer home, Robinsons, as well as Punch Taverns and JW Wetherspoon. The last local authority to stamp glasses directly (it was usually done by the manufacturer latterly) was our very own Bury,
with the number “562”. These are still widely available, though you will have to look a lot harder to find a glass with number“70”
(Oldham), or a “734” (Rochdale), as it is many years since these were used.
Peter Alexander
THE GARDENER'S ARMS
18 DUNHAM STREET
WATERHEAD
OLDHAM
OL4 3NH
TEL. 0161-624-0242
The Editor,
C/O 6, Roundthom Road,
Glodwick.
Oldham.
OL2 5RE
24th March 2007
Dear Sir.
Thank you for the article you published in the last copy of your magazine about the six Gardener's Arms in and around OIdham. However the details listed for the Gardener's Arms at Waterhead are somewhat out of date.
The pub was taken over on the 9th of October last year by mum and daughter partners , Christine and Nicola Etchells ably assisted by younger daughter Leanne. The beer offering has been extended to include the recently revived Oldham Bitter and the non-cask OB Smooth ( one of the few pubs offering this beer). The entertainment now includes pool, crib, darts and quiz teams and also live bands on Saturday nights and the regular Sunday afternoon quiz. The pub is soon to get the new Robinson's livery along with an internal spruce-up.
This pub is also known as the first pub in Yorkshire, a fact that some of the regulars are still quite proud. I hope you can find space to include this in your next issue.ln any case please let us have a few copies to give out.
Yours sincerely
David Etchells
(Husband and father)