CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is delighted to announce for the first time in its 38 year history that it has signed up its 100,000th member.
CAMRA is a not for profit, volunteer led consumer organisation that campaigns for real and good community pubs. It was founded in 1971 and by 1974 the membership had risen to 9,000 and the first branches had been formed of which there are over 200 today. The local Rochdale, Oldham and Bury branch was formed in 1975 and currently has a membership of over 700.
The organisation’s membership continued to grow following CAMRA’s success to persuade breweries such as Bateman’s of Lincolnshire not to close, despite some of the family members wanting to sell up, and Fuller’s to reverse their decision to stop brewing real ale. In more recent times CAMRA has been pleased to see responsible adults being given the option to go for a drink at a time that suits them. This decision was made following the campaign’s support for the new licensing laws that now allow pubs to stay open beyond the traditional 11pm closing time and all day on Sundays.
There are now 700 breweries in Britain brewing more than 2500 real ales. Many of the newer breweries that have started since 2002 have benefited from Progressive Beer Duty, which CAMRA campaigned for, giving smaller brewers tax relief to help set up and grow their business. The variety of real ales now available is probably CAMRA’s biggest success enabling beer drinkers country wide to enjoy both local and guest beers of all kinds.
100,000 members is a great achievement and there are plenty more campaigns to win and the 200,000 member milestone is CAMRA’s next aim to give our organisation even more lobbying influence to campaign for beer drinkers rights.
Why don’t you consider joining your local Branch and helping us and yourself to continue to enjoy the delights of even more real ale in more real pubs. A membership form can be found on page 22 of this magazine. Or sign up your partner or a friend, it would make an excellent Christmas present.
Welcome to the final issue of 2009. There were actually a couple of times during the washout of a summer that I actually got to enjoy sitting outside with a beer (although the wasps were a pain), notably at the first beer festival at the Old Hall Inn in Whitehough, near Chinley in Derbyshire. This pub is worth making the effort to find even when there isn’t a festival on. We hope for a repeat event next year.
Errata from July:
Mild Day Crawl on page 10 of the last issue was ascribed incorrectly to Ian Mitchell. We apologise for any problems or confusion that this may have caused and confirm that Ian did not give any report on the event.
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More Beer has reported before that Giles Dennis, Lees Head Brewer from 1981 to 2009 was stepping down, though he would continue as Director of Production. His final retirement came on the 30th June and was celebrated with a luncheon to which leading members of the Rochdale, Oldham and Bury Branch were personally invited. This was a particular honour as the invitation was a personal one from Giles himself. The great and the good of British Brewing were there, along with licensees, brewery colleagues, malt and hops suppliers, beer writers, friends and many others whom Giles had just wanted to be there.
We started off with beer of course. As this was held in the new Crowne Plaza Hotel on Shudehill which Lees supply, a temporary bar was set up with Lees Bitter -reracked that morning -being liberally dispensed. It was good to chat to so many people from around the country, many of them ex brewers with funny tales to tell. If nothing else the brewing industry is full of amusing anecdotes and delightful people. Lunch was – what else? - steak and ale pie, made with Lees' beer. To mark the occasion, Giles was presented with an appropriate special award by ROB CAMRA and I was asked to say a few words on behalf of CAMRA, which despite several pints of bitter, I managed to do. Giles in his response to Richard Lees-Jones’s kind remarks about him included a very positive mention of CAMRA's role which was gratifying. It earned a round of applause from industry people who actually know what they are talking about.
Our table included beer writers Barrie Pepper, Arthur Taylor, and Roy Lownsborough, Lees Head Cellarman and the Head of Technical Services Stuart O’Hanlon, both well known to the branch as those who volunteer to serve on brewery visits and both funny guys. It was a good afternoon in good company.
Peter Alexander
Dyamic new managers Mark and Sarah are very keen on Real Ale and are now providing Marstons Bitter, Jennings Cumberland Ale plus a Guest and have just replaced keg Pedigree with the Real Stuff, there's a new food menu and midnight opening Friday and Saturday too.
Bowling Green Inn, Hollinwood:
Jon now has Lees Bitter, John Willies and Coronation Street Ale.
The Cotton Tree, Failsworth, (which was First Reserve for the 2010 Good Beer Guide) now has Marstons Cask Pedigree, kept in fantastic condition, plus Bitter, Banks' Mild and Cumberland Ale.
The never-ending beer festival continues at The Ashton Arms, Clegg Street. Their quest – to find an excellent variety of brews from local, micro and new breweries. Recently featured beers include those from Bradfield, Green Mill, Derwent and Yorkshire Dales breweries alongside local favourites such as Millstone, Boggart and Pictish. Over the forthcoming festive period favourite brews from the past 12 months will return and there will also be several new brews to tempt you.
At The Bank Top Tavern, J.W.Lees brewery continues to produce a great pint of cask bitter alongside Lees new Coronation Street brew. The premium ale, bearing the name of the famous street was introduced into the Lees estate in May 2009.
The Three Crowns in Manchester Street has changed hands recently. New hosts Phil and Judy are selling regular beers from Marstons and Jennings. A recent visit found Ringwood Best Bitter also available. Phil has now gained his Cask Marque and he has also become a member of CAMRA.
At the other end of town, The Royal Oak at Rhodes Bank is a new entry in the 2010 Good Beer Guide. This pub was acquired by Robinsons in November 1931 and some features from that time remain in place. Dizzy Blonde can often be found on sale here and the recent appearance of Hatters Mild has proved popular.
Slightly out of town is The Bowling Green Inn on Manchester Road. Hosts Derek and Emma Middleton only took over the reins in October of last year but are already making a name for themselves as one of the few pubs to serve real ale in the Hollinwood area. They usually offer at least two real ales from the J.W.Lees beer range in each week. Keen prices are matched by a warm family welcome. Entertainment includes Quiz, Free & Easy and ‘70s Nights to name but a few. Daytime food is available during the week and again is very competitively priced.
Peter Bramwell & Tony Sibson
The Manager, “Keef” Lawrence, has now been in charge for three years and has transformed it from a run down pub well worth missing, into a lively pub, with live music nearly every night of the week, boasting up to five, well kept, hand pumped beers, that is now well worth visiting. The five beers are usually available weekends with three beers on during the week.
His regular suppliers are Phoenix Brewery in Heywood, Sharp’s Brewery at Rock in Cornwall and the “Cask Masters” guest beer range from Coors (Timothy Taylors, Shepherd Neame, Courage, Bass, Everards, Greene King, Hook Norton, Wadworths, to name but a few). Sharp’s had a North West Launch Night in Whittles shortly after the Oldham Beer Festival. I was one of the many who went along and enjoyed several pints of the five beers from their range that were on offer that night, Doom Bar, Eden, Atlantic IPA, Sharps Special and Sharps Own (our first halves of each were even free!). On a later visit, I was pleased to see both Youngs Best Bitter and Youngs Bitter side by side – both are rare in the region, so to be able to try both of them in one visit was excellent. For those of you who like your Rock & Roll as well as your Real Ales, every Sunday there’s a Live Rock Jam Session from 5:00pm, with free bar snacks at about 6:00pm. Recently they were serving Marstons Pedigree, Phoenix Navvy, Greenfield Dobcross, Davenports Kerfuffle and a recent addition to Sharp’s product portfolio, “Honey Wheat Spice”. Not been in recently? It’s well worth a visit!
Mike Robinson
Following on from the launch of the Coronation Street premium ale, J W Lees are launching a billboard campaign across the North West of England from the 5th October until the 1st November 2009. The billboards will feature one of two designs, based on the popular drip mats. The first shows Bet Lynch, recently voted best landlady by Inside Soap magazine and blast from the past, Ena Sharples. Over 100 billboards will be posted around Manchester, Bolton, Bury, Salford, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan so keep your eyes peeled. Following the success of the Wishing Well, in Milnrow, opening as the first ever JW Lees Cask & Carvery pub back in August 2008, Lees has announced the second pub in the chain. The Sheldon Arms, in Ashton-under-Lyne has been completely refurbished and a brand new carvery serving roasted meat and freshly prepared vegetables has been installed. There’s also a new outdoor children’s play area too. The Sheldon Arms was built by JW Lees three years ago, and it was transformed into a Cask & Carvery pub in June 2009. As with the Wishing Well, the Sheldon Arms has dedicated areas for families with children and couples, so couples can dine in peace, whilst the kids can enjoy themselves. Lees current seasonal ale is Cock and Bull, a full bodied pale beer of 4.6%
Peter Alexander
Now available for members of the Branch to purchase are 100% cotton polo shirts in four colours and five sizes. Available from Membership Secretary, Mike Robinson at a price of £10 each in light grey, black, dark blue and forest green in sizes small, medium, large, extra large and extra extra large. Please see a copy of the logo right. Please contact Mike at jmikerobby@aol.com or by post at PO Box 108, Oldham, OL2 5RE stating size and colour required.
Those of you with long memories may recall the day that Joseph Holt brewery decided to donate even more money towards one of their favourite charities. It was on Thursday September 9th 1999. The 9th of the 9th 1999. Holts regularly support Christies Hospital and The Holt Radium Institute but that year they agreed to donate an extra sum of money for every pint of Holts beer sold that day.
Who could resist the challenge of visiting nine Holts Pubs on the 9th of the 9th 1999. And so nine of us did just that (in Whitefield and Prestwich where Holts own many pubs). Well on the 9th of the 9th 2009 we decided it had to be done again, so at 3pm we met at the New Grove on Bury New Road, Whitefield to start our journey. The original starting pub, the Church, had been demolished to make way for a new shopping development, a few years previously.
Thereafter we visited the Eagle and Child (Higher Lane), the Beehive (Bury New Road), not a Holts pub but serving Holts bitter, the Coach and Horses and the Welcome (Bury Old Road), the White Horse, the Foresters and the Red Lion (all Bury New Road) and thereafter any one chosen from the Ostrich or Woodthorpe (Bury Old Road) or one of the Holts pubs in Manchester City centre depending on where you lived.
The beer was excellent throughout and one and all who attended had a good day. Here’s to the 10th of the 10th 2010 !!!!
After being introduced during their last international real ale festival in April, Wetherspoons have now introduced Westons Marcle Hill cider on draught on a permanent basis. It is described as a traditional still cider, made in Herefordshire, medium dry with a smooth mellow finish.
At 5% alcohol by volume and fully matured in old oak vats for up to six months, this is a cider for real ale drinkers to enjoy and to encourage those who enjoy bottled cider to try something different.
The Woodstock Inn Station and Brewery in North Woodstock, New Hampshire, USA began brewing in March 1995. A year later the brewery let its customers join in when the first of the popular Brewer’s Weekends took place. This all inclusive weekend package is a dream come true for craft beer drinkers and home brewers.
The guests arrive on a Friday night to a welcome reception of appetizers and an open bar of the brewery’s eight main brews and one seasonal brew. Early Saturday morning, head brewer Butch Chase begins to brew a batch of beer in the seven barrel brewery. Guests are welcome to join as soon as they like – the brewing starts around 7am.
Once guests join the brewer he starts pulling pints. ‘Old Man Oatmeal Stout and Kane County Maple Porter are more like breakfast beers, so it’s ok to start early on these’ said two time attendee Chris Andrews.
Butch or his assistant brewer field questions from would be brewers and the weekend includes a full sized gourmet breakfast at the inn’s Clement Room Grille on Saturday and Sunday mornings. During the brew day on Saturday everyone breaks for lunch and a beer or two.
On Saturday night, guests gather in the Clement Room for a gourmet dinner paired with beers from Woodstock Inn Brewery and other local microbreweries.
‘It’s a great chance to intimately get to know our customers’, said Butch. ‘They become more like friends, and even family and many return year after year.’
The weekends are held throughout the inn’s off season and routinely sell out. There are 20 Brewers Weekends scheduled over six months on the brewery’s website (www.woodstock- innnh.com). Some guests have been to over ten weekends. Butch enjoys watching the regulars. ‘They take such ownership and almost become hosts themselves’, he said.
‘I wonder whether this might catch on in Britain’ , said CAMRA’s Mike Robinson, who recently visited brew pubs in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York states whilst on holiday in the USA..
Rudgate Ruby Mild from York, North Yorkshire has been voted the best beer in Britain – CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain 2009-after a year of local tasting panels and regional judging culminated in a final judging at the Great British Beer Festival held at Earls Court, London in August.
Ruby Mild, which has an abv of 4.4%, is described in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide as a ‘nutty, rich ruby ale, stronger then usual for a mild’.
The York brewed real ale was chosen as the overall winner from over sixty finalists in seven categories (Best Bitters, Bitters, Golden Ales, Milds, Speciality, Winter Beer and Strong Ales) including beers from tiny micros to major regional brewers.
Roger Protz, chairman of the final judging panel, said: ‘It’s a tremendous boost for the mild category. It’s good to see a classic British traditional beer make a comeback in the age of golden ales and much paler bers in general. The judges were impressed by its rich, fruity character and the fact that it’s quite hoppy for a mild ale. Its victory should invigorate the whole mild ale market’
An elated Craig Lee, Rudgate’s owner, said: ‘It’s an excellent achievement. We’ve come close in previous years, and we are really proud to have won the Champion Beer of Britain. It’s unbelievable and we hope our beer helps popularise the cause of real ale.
In second place came another mild ale, Dark Mild produced by Bank Top of Bolton.
Local drinkers in Rochdale, Oldham and Bury should recall that a few years ago J W Lees Brewer’s Dark was voted Champion Mild of Britain at a previous CAMRA festival. Let’s hope that this year’s win for mild ales will spur local drinkers on, to support Lees and other local brewers who produce excellent and tasty mild ales, by drinking more mild ales.
Recently spotted on sale at the Armsby Abbey, a craft beer bar on Main Street in downtown Worcester (Massachusetts, New England and not Worcestershire, England) was Lees Moonraker and Harvest Ale in bottles. Mind you at $12 and $20 a bottle respectively it was not cheap. You are better off visiting a Lees pub in Rochdale, Oldham or Bury instead.
Also on offer were 22 rotating draught beers including eight from Belgium (I liked the Duvel) and over 140 other bottled beers from around the world, with eighty from Belgium alone. I gave the bottle of Dogfish Head World Wide Stout at 18% abv a wide berth but the Port Hop 15 IPA at a mere 10.5% abv was very enjoyable on draught.
It would have been a pity not to have visited it (twice) with my hotel only being 200 yards away.
Mike Robinson.
Those of you of the J W Lees drinking persuasion might like to know that the brewery recently acquired ten new pubs, mainly in the Cheshire area, from Punch Taverns. This now means that J W Lees now has 173 pubs across the North West.
If you feel like a trip out one day the new pubs are as follows:
The ROB CAMRA Branch Committee has decided to end its practice of spreading its meetings throughout the branch area, as we were simply not attracting enough people to these important events. Instead, as a six month experiment, in order to hopefully attract better attendance, all Branch meetings from November onwards will be held at a central, easy to reach venue, the Baum in Rochdale, a five minute walk away from the bus station. They will all start at the new time of 8pm prompt.
The Baum, in the Toad Lane conservation area, is currently the Rochdale, Oldham and Bury Pub of the Year and an extremely attractive venue, with a separate meeting room and importantly, six ever changing cask beers to enjoy. You will find a warm welcome from the landlord Simon and his friendly staff.
CAMRA members are entitled to a discount on a pint of cask beer Mondays to Thursday, so will be able to enjoy a discounted beer at the
meeting. Please come along and offer the branch some support. The meetings are friendly and sociable and you will be made very welcome. If you are not a member, please come anyway and join up.
Full details of the dates of our meetings and social events can be found elsewhere in this magazine.
The Branch has, with regret, decided to cancel this year’s Bury Beer Festival which was planned to be held 20th and 21st November this year. Given the difficulty of a very labour intensive venue, we were particularly lacking help in the key pre -festival organisation, as well as volunteers to work at the festival itself and in its set up and take down.
Clearly this is a disappointment to us all, but put simply, without volunteers, such cancellations are inevitable. We really do need to attract more active members to ensure that we can run the branch as effectively as possible as most of us active members are getting old! The move to the Baum mentioned above, is a step in that direction.
Peter Alexander
Chairman
In spite of poor weather over the weekend, attendance at the 18th Saddleworth Museum Beer Festival in September was good and most of the beers were sold out by Saturday night. This small festival is one of the main sources of funds for Saddleworth’s local history museum and once again provided a useful source of income.
With the growth of local breweries over the past few years, all the beers offered were from companies within 15 miles of the Museum and provided a very local flavour for the event. This growth in numbers is reflected in the 2010 Good Beer Guide which indicates that 71 new independent brewery operations were established in the past 12 months, bringing the
UK total to 711. This year, the breweries featured were Greenfield, Millstone (Mossley), Shaw’s (Dukinfield), JW Lees (Middleton), Pictish (Rochdale) and Phoenix (Heywood) and, of these, only Lees and Phoenix were around when the festival began in 1992. Then, beers from as far afield as Wolverhampton and Burton-On-Trent were offered at the inaugural festival.
This year, new or “rare” ales such as the 4.1% Summer Daze (Millstone), Greenfield’s Black Five (4.0%), Riwaka (4.2%) from Pictish, JW Lees’s seasonal “Cock & Bull” (4.5%), Hartshead Pike (Shaw’s) at 4.0% and the 4.5% Struggling Monkey from Phoenix were particularly well received and confirm the view that the local area is well served for good interesting ales.
On the local pubs front the great news is that Mike and Sandra Mooney are back at the Top House (Swan) in Dobcross. This quintessential village centre pub has been largely out of favour with local people in the past three or four years, with concerns that it may be closed down for good. Now it seems its immediate future is assured with the return of well-regarded publicans who ran the Top House from 1993 to 2002 when it became a regular Good Beer Guide entry. It is no exaggeration to say that Mike and Sandra transformed an average pub to a very good one, with a sensitive restoration which reflected its character and history. The building was erected in 1765 as a general store for the Wrigley family of chewing gum fame, and parts of it were later used as a police court and cells.
During their previous tenure the Swan was a free house but is now a Jennings/Marston’s tenancy; since their return business has already picked up substantially and there are plans to revamp the bar layout with the emphasis on traditional beer. Cask Jennings Bitter, Cumberland Ale and Cocker Hoop, and Marston’s Pedigree are currently on offer and two more handpumps are being fitted which will offer “guest beers” from the Marston’s portfolio. The overlarge, excessively bright (5 Million Lumens?) wine dispenser, which dominated the bar area and potentially affected the flight path of planes landing at Ringway (allegedly), has been removed. On the food front Mike and Sandra are reverting to the menu from their previous time here, including home made soups, pies and curries, unfortunately not at the same prices as when they began in 1993!
One aspect of life in Saddleworth is the weather and it has to be said that winters on the hills can be pretty bleak and miserable. As an antidote to that there are several excellent pubs which offer a warm welcome when the horizontal rain is battering the windows, what better excuse for a few pints in convivial surroundings? An excellent example of this is the Royal Oak (Th’Heights) on the hills overlooking Delph and Denshaw, which now opens at 5.00pm on Fridays to cater for the “Straight From Work, the Weekend Starts Now” trade. With real fires in each of the three rooms it provides a great ambience in which to sup one of their excellent beers. They now offer a house beer from Copper Dragon, Black Sheep Best Bitter, a beer from the Millstone range and a regularly changing guest-in the recent past these have included Hen Harrier and Devil’s Rock from Bowland. Hornbeam Bitter and Flat Cap, Gold Digger and Bad to the Bone from Bank Top, all well received.
Phoenix Brewery only recently joined SIBA (the Society of Independent Brewers), but this has already been noted by at least two Enterprise Inns pubs in Saddleworth as a means Scheme. Mark and Sue at the Navigation in Dobcross are considering the Phoenix brews available with particular interest in either
Arizona or Thirsty Moon on one of their six pumps, and the Railway in Greenfield have already taken White Monk which has been well received. The Railway is involved with seven others in the Transpennine Real Ale Trail involving a network of pubs adjacent to the rail link between Stalybridge and Dewsbury, details on www.realaletrail.net. Apparently the idea stemmed from the recent BBC programme Oz and James Drink to Britain and has resulted in a lot of interest from the pub-going public. While the Oz and James programme took in three bars -West Riding in Dewsbury, the King’s Head in Huddersfield and the Buffet Bar at Stalybridge -the Transpennine Real Ale Trail has been extended to eight venues. Visiting all eight is quite a logistics exercise under normal conditions but virtually impossible until mid December when a bus-replacement service will be operating for most of the route. Bon Voyage to all our readers!
Licensee changes to report involve the Hanging Gate in Diggle, the Woolpack in Dobcross and the Grotton. At the Hanging Gate the licence agreement between S&N and Yorkshire pubs appears to have broken down with the net result that incumbents Steve Edwards and Tim O’Neal were due to leave the pub as More Beer went to press. They are hoping to move to a Thwaites pub on Blackpool’s North Shore and we wish them well in their new venture. In the meantime a management company (Abbey?) is rumoured to be taking control with the future of the Hanging Gate uncertain.
In addition to running the Swan in Delph , a JW Lees house, Simon and Avril have taken on the Woolpack (owned by Enterprise) in Dobcross and offer Greenfield’s Delph Donkey on handpull.
Danny Parkes has taken over at the Grotton, of buying Phoenix beers via the Direct Delivery as well as the “sister pub” the Dog (and Partridge) in Springhead. At the former pub the tapas menu now available on Wednesday to Sunday nights, with a traditional Sunday lunch also served – Adam Eastwood, from the “Relish” sandwich and snack bar nearby, is the chef for this operation.
The Robinson’s seasonal beer “Wags to Witches”, described as a 4% light oak, premium autumn ale is the next beer up at the Waggon in Uppermill. This particular beer has been given rave reviews by “those in the know”, i.e the Robbies draymen!
Business at Greenfield Brewery is going well and the installation of two new fermenting vessels in October will increase output by one third. These will be located in the brewery’s cold room which will be transferred to a different unit in Tanners Mill. Part of this business growth has taken place at three local Wetherspoons outlets – Up Steps in Oldham, Regal Moon in Rochdale and the Cotton Bale in Hyde. A new beer planned for the end of October is Peggy Well House, named after a defunct well between Denshaw and the relatively new M62. It’s a 4.1% pale beer using Goldings and Fuggles but there is no news yet whether the beer is well hopped....
Ken Holt
M uch is written about Bamberg and its beery attractions and I did most of them again on a recent visit. One thing though I hadn't done much of before was to visit three of Bamberg's loveliest kellers or beer gardens (they are called kellers because originally the beer was stored in caves or tunnels in the hillsides and the beer was served directly from them to a garden in front).
Our first visit was to Spezial, high above the town. This is the earliest opening of the three we visited, up a fairly steep hill. Once you get to the gate of the keller, promptly at 15.00, you walk up another steep gradient to the keller itself where to your surprise the place is already quite busy. How is this? Well there is another gate higher up on the road where the wise can go directly into the keller, thus stealing five minutes on those of us choosing the hill. This keller commands lovely views of the town and has two areas, one with waiter service and one without. We chose the latter and enjoyed -well I did -the slightly smoky kellerbier and hefe weizen. Now I am not the biggest fan of smoked beer, but compared to my partner, I love it. Our visit was therefore relatively short, as she found the beer undrinkable. Nonetheless, for its setting alone, it’s well worth a look and if you like smoky beer, a must.
Passing the famous Schlenkerla Brauerei where the best known of Bamberg's smoky beers is brewed, you walk up another impressively steep hill to the Wilde Rose Keller. Now this former brewery's keller is big and very popular, particularly on a glorious evening. It is all self service which is to my mind, how a keller should be. We got a good seat in the middle to watch the dynamics of it all -a most diverting pastime. First we obtained beer. For me kellerbier, brewery unknown, though it seems to be made for Wilde Rose. Pretty good it was too. For the good lady, hoppy and bitter Keesmann Herren Pils provided a satisfactory drink. To accompany this we had a "kellerplatte" from the food counter. Thick slabs of black pudding with tongue, ham of various sorts, pate, cheese, a touch of salad and thick slices of course rye bread made a veritable feast, though my better half wouldn't touch the black pudding. All for €5. The beer was around €2.00 a half litre or around £1.80 and you always got a good measure.
A lot of people were eating; some from the food counter and many from their own picnics, which is a traditional and acceptable thing to do. This was most interesting. Old ladies all chipping in this and that while supping kellerbier and gossiping heartily, young families with their evening meal, brought to be eaten in the dappled sunlight. A birthday party, with delicious looking (and huge) quantities of food, completed the scene with candles and tablecloths and stunningly pretty women. As the evening went on, the crowd of mostly retired people made way for the after work crowd and families. Later younger people arrived. All (more or less) drank beer. The atmosphere was convivial and jolly. It was delight to watch such a mixed crowd enjoying the outdoors and beer in such a civilised way. There was no horrid and unwanted music, no shouting, no drunkenness and no litter. The crowd was self policing, the children played happily in the play area while parents enjoyed a break. All was well with this Franconian world.
We left with some regret. We had one more keller to visit. It was almost dark by the time we got to the Mahrs Keller and we realised immediately that this smaller, more intimate keller was different to the other two. Good looking food, waitress only service and candles on all the tables, made it seem more like a pub with a garden restaurant. Nonetheless I enjoyed a couple of "Ungespundets" or simply "U" if you want to appear knowledgeable. The lady opted for some Silvaner wine, her favourite when she gets beered out. We stayed until nearly closing time, then wandered back down the hill remarking that it had been a worthwhile and pleasant way to spend an evening. We reflected sadly that such a thing wouldn't work in the UK. Our society, if it ever was, just isn't structured that way any more.
Peter Alexander
A more detailed version of this can be found at www.tandlemanbeerblog.blogspot.com
When I first started drinking in 19..., well, let’s just say it was in the last century, Oldham Brewery was still going strong and they had more than one pub on Oldham High Street. My local was the Colliers Arms on Old Lane Chadderton, an O.B tied house. Now like the kids of today I was lured by the media advertising to one of the most popular drinks of the day, Guinness. The only trouble was for a new drinker like me Guinness is both a little strong and a little heavy, two pints a night was about all I could manage, the only time I managed three pints I never got to take them home with me. Shortly after this a waiter in the pub (yes we had waiters back then) suggested I try brown split with mild. Now O.B mild was only about 3.2 % and their bottles of brown ale about 2.8%, so mixed together made for a very nice session beer. I loved it from the start, it was smooth creamy and sweetish and I could drink them all night. There was even a skill in pouring one. After getting your half of mild in a dimpled pint glass you would quickly and in one movement put the top of the bottle of brown ale down into the bottom of the glass of mild, you would then VERY SLOWLY raise the bottle so the brown ale seeps slowly into the mild - the excess head should end up being drawn into the bottle. But get it wrong and you ended up with a lap full of beer! The more conservative method of pouring would be to tip the glass as far as you can to one side and again very slowly add the brown ale. Can you get brown split with mild now? Well yes, although Oldham Brewery has long gone Holt do a brown ale, Manchester Brown Ale 3.8%, which along with their Mild 3.2% makes a very good brown split. But with the Manchester Brown ale bottle being 50cl don't try the skilled method of pouring, it just won't fit. If you know of any more local brewers that do brown ale write to the magazine and let us know.
Stuart Clarke
Well known beer ticker Gazza Prescott (he’s ticked over 10,000 beers) is putting his money where his mouth is by setting up his own beer company, along with fellow beer ticker Dave Unpronounceable. Steel City Brewing will be based in Sheffield. Unlike most breweries though, SCB will be piggy backing on an existing brewery to produce beer, but the beer will be brewed to their own recipes by Gazza and Dave.
The first brew should have been brewed on 26th September and ready two weeks later. It will be called Hop Manifesto to set out a stall for the new company's philosophy which is "We know what hops are for...". That should give you all a clue. Expect pale and very hoppy and NO crystal malt. The boys say they are inspired by Brewdog among others. Let's hope for great beer without great hype. I wish them all good fortune and hope they'll succeed, but even if they don't, there will surely be some hoppy marvels along the way. Can't wait to try some in one of our local free houses here in Rochdale, Oldham and Bury.
Good News for Hop Lovers (2)
The hop harvest estimates this year show that hop shortages are unlikely. The UK shows an estimated 4.2% drop and the overall world crop will reduce by about 4.6%; not enough to cause problems overall it seems. So brewers, let’s start using them in quantity please!
Peter Alexander
After many Ian Mitchell years of debate it has finally been decided that the Metrolink is to be extended to Oldham & Rochdale. The tram will mainly be using the existing railway route, which is to be closed for up to 3 years while being converted. Of course our resident railway expert, Clive, couldn’t let this event go without a wake. So it was that a small but dedicated group met at Manchester Victoria station one Saturday morning close to the end, the idea being to visit real ale pubs within a few minutes walk from the stations. The line was built in stages, the oldest part dating from 1847, but most of it is from 1863 and 1880.
The first stop on the line is Dean Lane. Here we met another 2 group members before walking the short distance to the Railway. The Bitter and Mild were on good form in this traditional Holts local where we had a smashing time. The timetable soon had us returning to the station for train number 2. As with every other station on the day there were railway enthusiasts taking pictures of everything that moved. We skipped Failsworth and were soon alighting at Hollinwood. The Bowling Green was a bit of a walk but did have two Lees beers, John Willies and Bitter (a better bet). Having not been in the pub since it was revamped I was surprised to find that the bar had moved to the other side of the room.
As recently as 10 years ago we would have had a choice of places to drink at Oldham Werneth. Sadly due to the decline of pubs in the area this is no longer true. Thankfully the Royal Oak close to Oldham Mumps is still selling excellent Robinsons (Hatters, Unicorn & Dizzy Blond). The boozer is a typical example of a town centre local with a keen landlord. The group managed to demolish the supply of pork pies during its stay.
The designated destination in Shaw was to have been Robinsons’ Blue Bell. Unfortunately the 3 hand pumps are no longer in use so it was back to the station (via the bakers), over the footbridge (a train was going to use the level crossing) and up the hill for some Lees at the Morning Star. The pub was rather popular due to the football but we found seats to drink the Bitter, the only real ale on sale.
Newhey used to have a number of real ale outlets. Now both Sam Smith’s hostelries are keg and the Lees outlet shuts in the afternoon. Our penultimate stop was therefore Milnrow. The omens at the Moon Spinners didn’t look good with a single handpump amidst a large number of keg fonts. Thankfully Clive had done his homework well as the Morrissey Fox Blonde was probably the best beer of the day. The Slip Inn up the road was a typical example of a Sam Smith’s house just selling Old Brewery Bitter, but again the beer was on form.
The sixth and last Pacer took us to Rochdale. This was literally the end of the line as the train terminated in the bay platform at the station. Again the selection of places to drink has shrunk due to closures. Although it no longer brews beer The Cask and Feather still sells the real stuff, in this case Phoenix Navvy, Hydes Jeckyll’s Gold and Hornbeam Lemon Blossom, the latter being brewed in Denton, before you ask. After a pint the day was complete, various people taking the train or bus towards home.
Thanks to Clive’s organisational skills we had a rather good day drinking mostly local beers. It also must be pointed out that all the trains ran on time. With pub closures continuing I wonder what the crawl will be when (or is that if) the trams start running.
Ian Mitchell
W W hen a weekend in Bristol came up on the cards and all the reviews on the hotel websites said that ‘weekends tend to be very noisy at night by the Waterfront’ and the indication was for Trendy Bars, I didn’t think I’d be in for a good time beerwise. How wrong I was! Within 10 minutes walk of the city centre in any direction, small clusters of excellent pubs can be found with a full range of beers from Bath, Sharps, Hidden, St Austell, Bristol Beer Company, Butcombe, and plenty of less local guests. Price per pint was usually around the £3 mark.
Had I had time, I could also have visited the Orchard Inn on the far side of the river, Cider & Perry Pub of the Year (those who did manage it found it excellent).
On the river at Hotwells Rd is the Grain Barge, floating ‘brewery tap’ for Bristol Beer. 5 minutes walk back towards town at the junction of Jacob’s Well Rd is the Bag O’Nails, cosy and gaslit.
Close to the centre is Zerodegrees on Colston St, an extremely cool brewpub in the American style, with all the kit on view. The Mango beer cost me £3.60 a pint and was very tasty, being neither as sweet or cloying as expected. Across the road is the Colston Yard, more bar than pub but excellent all the same.
Across town, the King’s Head on Victoria St was narrow and cosy, with a snug at the back reminiscent of a tramcar. Just around the corner on Temple Street, sandwiched between two office blocks is a small mirage by the name of Cornubia, very aptly belonging to Hidden Brewery. Along with the beer, games and tricks were available – I’m afraid we put the whoopee cushion into use for one of our later-arriving friends. It had to be done.
On to Passage St for the Bridge Inn, which was like someone’s front room from the eighties,
music provided by a tower system, with regulars taking turns to get up every so often to change the LP!
All these pubs and their beers were excellent, the welcome was friendly, and some of the interiors and exteriors were amazing. And there were yet another 9 recommended pubs that I could have visited. If you’re thinking of going to Bristol beer festival next year, why not make it a weekend and see for yourself?
Sue Barker
The Government is set to change the law and allow two thirds of an imperial pint to become a legal measure in the UK. The industry believes it will offer greater flexibility for serving draught beer and cider, especially those with a higher alcohol content. “There is no question of replacing the British pint, but introducing the option of a new imperial measure is good news for consumers, providing them with more choice," said Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson.
However, it remains to be seen how enthusiastically pubs and drinkers will take it up as the third pint has been a legal measure for many a year, yet you only tend to see it at CAMRA beer festivals. How it will be applied will determine how it is perceived. If there is a separate brim measure two thirds glass, proportionately priced and widely available, it might well be a success. If it is used as a way to increase prices while giving less measure, it won't be. We'll just have to wait and see.
Nonetheless it’s an interesting one and a side swipe at metrication, as in effect the government is creating a new Imperial measure for the first time since 1824.
NOVEMBER
Tue 3rd Branch Meeting The Baum, Toad
Lane, Rochdale
DECEMBER
Tue 1st Branch Meeting The Baum, Toad Lane, Rochdale
Tues 15th Christmas Social* Hare & Hounds,
Bolton Rd West, Holcombe Brook
Tues 29th Walking Social* ‘Drown the Turkey
Manchester Crawl
JANUARY
Tue 5th Branch Meeting The Baum, Toad
Lane, Rochdale
Sat 16th Social Salford Pub Crawl
Sat 30th 12.00 GBG 2011 selection meeting,
The Baum, Toad Lane, Rochdale (Date TBC)
FEBRUARY
Tue 2nd Branch Meeting The Baum, Toad
Lane, Rochdale
Sat 13th Train social
Huddersfield/Slaithwaite/Marsden
MARCH
Tue 2nd Branch Meeting The Baum, Toad
Lane, Rochdale
Fri 19th/Sat 20th Oldham Beer Festival
Queen Elizabeth Hall Oldham
Sat 27th Coach Social BOF presentation to
Dunham Massey Brewery (inc other pubs)
* Further details of social events are available from branch contact or social secretary. All branch and committee meetings now start at 8.00 unless otherwise indicated or announced. Changes to the diary and other events may be announced at branch meetings or publicised on the website.