Full Pints Volume 15 Issue 3

Ayrshire and Wigtownshire CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE

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Volume 15, Issue 3

Autumn 2013

Inside this BUMPER edition: TROON PREVIEW: 3rd-5th October plus reports from these festivals:

Scottish Real Ale Festival, Edinburgh Prestwick Cricket Club Kilbirnie Garnock Social Club Kildonan House Hotel, Barrhill Kinloch Hotel, Blackwaterfoot Village Inn, Fairlie ...and much more

Photo: 2012 Ayrshire Real Ale Festival, Troon

The FESTIVAL EDITION

World flavoured hops, brewed with a taste of home.

Autumn 2013

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South Street, Houston, Scotland PA6 7EN T: 01505 612620 E: houstonbrewerysales@gmail.com www.houston-brewing.co.uk

www.awcamra.org.uk

Fyne Ales’ Jarl is 2013 Scottish Champion

Ayrshire and Wigtownshire CAMRA Branch

Fyne Ales’ is in fine fettle! Hot off the extremely successful FyneFest at their brewery on the shores of Loch Fyne, Jarl, their 3.8% hoppy blonde session ale, won the prize for ‘Champion Beer of Scotland’ at the Scottish Real Ale Festival, held in Edinburgh in July.

Chairman: Lindsay Grant Email: lindsay.grant4@gmail.com

Brewed at Cairndow, at the head of Loch Fyne, it is the first time that Fyne have won the Scottish award, and the first time in seven years that a mainland Scottish brewery has been named as champion.

Hot on the heels of that award, Jarl came 3rd in the Champion Beer of Britain competition and 1st in the Golden Ales section at the Great British Beer Festival held in London.

Jamie Delap, Managing Director, said “This is a great achievement for the brewery and one which we are very proud of.”

In the Scottish Competition 2nd place went to Cairngorm Black Gold, and in 3rd place was Highland St Magnus - continuing an amazing run of winning beers for the Orkney-based brewery.

In the national Champion Beer of Britain competition, top place went to Elland Brewery’s 1872 Porter.

However, another award also went to the Kelburn brewery, which won a bronze medal for Dark Moor in the Champion Winter Beer of Britain competition. Congratulations to all the winners.

Right: Rob Jenner, Sales Manager, and Tuggy Delap, Owner, of Fyne Ales lift the Dan Kane Memorial Quaich after claiming Champion Beer of Scotland 2013 with Jarl. See page 15 for a review of SRAF.

Secretary: Clare Scott Email: celo1@hotmail.co.uk Minutes of Branch Meetings are available to members from the Secretary.

Editor: Stuart McMahon, 93 Montfode Drive, Ardrossan KA22 7PH Tel: 01294 603848 Email: stuart@md93.co.uk Advertising: Bob Wallace, Tel: 07929 990972 Email: bobwallace.1869@yahoo.co.uk Advertising Rates: Full Page: £50 1/2 Page: £30 Websites: www.awcamra.org.uk www.ayrshirebeerfestival.co.uk @awcamra; @troonbeerfest

Ayrshire & Wigtownshire CAMRA Ayrshire Real Ale Festival Full Pints: Published every 3 months and distributed to all Real Ale outlets in our region.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the editor or of the Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. © Campaign for Real Ale Ltd

The next edition will be of published in early December.

Articles, photos and contributions should be sent to the editor no later than Friday 15th November, 2013.

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Welcoming Family Atmosphere Autumn 2013

Traditional Family Fayre with something for everyone... ...where a great meal doesn’t cost the earth.

Open every day Children welcome until 10pm 3 REAL ALES ALWAYS AVAILABLE AMPLE FREE PARKING

Breakfast served daily from 9am - 11.45am Full Classic Breafast including Tea/Coffee/Juice: £6.95 Home-made Traybakes / Scones available all day 2-Course Menu, Monday - Sunday: £9.99 Available between 12 noon - 2pm, and 5pm - 6.30pm

Ayrshire & Wigtownshire CAMRA Pub of the Year 2012

Best Pub Grub 2013 Scottish Entertainment Awards

WINNER

RUNNER UP

Book Now for Christmas

Festive Menu: Mon 2 Dec – Mon 30 Dec excluding Sat 14th, Fri 20th, Sat 21st and Christmas Day. 3 courses £15.95 / Main course £10.95 Party Nights: 14th, 20th, 21st: 3 course & disco £20pp Christmas Day: 12-5pm, £50pp / under 12’s £15

Evening Dinner Menu served from 5pm LIVE Music every month with 3-course meal, just £20 per head Outside al-fresco dining area / beer garden

UPPER DECK HOLIDAY FLAT For availability see our website: www.holidayflatfairlie.co.uk

FREE

WiFi

Check our website for menus and entertainment programme

46 Bay Street, Fairlie. Tel: 01475 568432 www.villageinnfairlie.co.uk 4

www.awcamra.org.uk

Branch Pub of the Year goes from strength to strength Having been chosen as our Pub of the Year, the Village Inn in Fairlie held it’s 1st Beer Festival from 16-18 August featuring no fewer than 16 beers and 6 ciders, much to the delight of customers. Despite the mixed weather, Mark Maclean, Manager, was able to have a barbecue providing some tasty burgers, hot dogs and cajun chicken.

Originally called “The Village Inn and Mudhook”, Mark took over the running of the village’s only remaining pub and restaurant in 2009 which had been closed for around 2 years, and in the process, renamed it “The Village Inn”.

Having previously worked at Regattas in Largs, Mark was no stranger to the area, and after an extensive refurbishment the Village Inn soon gained a reputation for good quality food at very reasonable prices. All in all, a great success, starting virtually from scratch to running a thriving business employing 24 staff.

It wasn’t long before a handpump was installed to serve real ale and such was the demand for real ale, that Mark now has 3 handpumps installed. In early 2013, the Village Inn signed up to CAMRA’s LocAle scheme and during May and June, Strathaven’s Craigmill Mild was constantly available.

His first attempt at running a beer festival was a huge success, with over 250 people attending over the 3 days.

The first ales to run out were the award-winning Jarl from Fyne Ales, and Alechemy Cairnpapple IPA. Loch Ness MadNess was a popular new ale from this expanding Highland brewery.

By the end of the weekend, 7 casks were fully emptied, 5 had only a few pints left and all the ciders (from Thistly Cross) had sold out.

Mark said “It was a great weekend and I really enjoyed working with the CAMRA volunteers - there was some great banter and conversations over the weekend. The next festival will definitely be bigger and better!”

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Autumn 2013

A&W Brewery of the Year Presentation - Orkney

by Stuart McMahon

At our Branch AGM in April, the Orkney Brewery was chosen as the Ayrshire & Wigtownshire Branch Brewery of the Year 2013. As I was heading to Orkney in July for a holiday it was agreed that I should present the brewery with their certificate. Pictured opposite are Norman Sinclair, Managing Director, Sinclair Breweries Ltd (middle) and Andrew Fulton, Head Brewer (right) receiving the certificate from myself.

Having opened just over a year ago, the Orkney Brewery’s new visitor centre completed a major expansion project at their site at Quoyloo on mainland Orkney. The centre provides tours throughout the day where guests are shown the complete process of producing their awardwinning products from the 30 barrel plant. There is a well stocked shop selling the full range of Orkney and Atlas beers, plus local crafts and gifts, and a fantastic restaurant/tasting hall serving up fresh local produce and up to five cask ales on handpump.

Since buying the brewery in 2006, and merging output from the former Atlas Brewery at Kinlochleven, sales have gone from strength to strength and Norman is delighted with the success of the visitor centre. He was particularly pleased when VisitScotland awarded the Brewery with a 5-star status as a visitor attraction.

Orkney Brewery Tasting Hall 6

As mentioned above, the shop carries virtually the full range of Orkney and Atlas beers, including the new Norseman Pale Ale which was

www.awcamra.org.uk

launched for Shetland’s Up Helly Aa festival. It is currently only available in Orkney and Shetland, but we may manage to get a special cask of it for the Ayrshire Real Ale Festival! Many of the ales are also available in 5l minicasks, including Corncrake, Red McGregor and Dark Island. And it would have been remiss of your author not have come home with the special 750ml bottle of Dark Island Reserve - a 10% version of the popular beer that’s been matured in Old Pulteney Whisky barrels. An online shop is in development for customers to buy their beers direct from the brewery.

But brewing in Orkney doesn’t end with the Orkney Brewery.

There is also the Swannay Brewery owned by the Highland Brewing Company and run by Rob Hill and his sons Lewis and Harvey. On the day I visited, Rob wasn’t present, but Lewis was brewing a batch of the popular and award-winning Scapa Special in their 20 barrel plant. Other beers available from the brewery include Orkney IPA, Orkney Blast, Dark Munro, Duke IPA, St Magnus and, a new one for me, Pale Ale. Most of the main hotels and pubs in Orkney sell at least one of the Orkney beers. The Stromness Hotel is an old building overlooking the harbour with the bar and restaurant located on the 1st floor. The two beers I had here were both rather warm, Scapa Special was a bit hazy, but my first tasting of Highland Pale Ale had promise of an excellent beer despite the heat!

Red McGregor was also available. The Orkney Brewery’s selection of ales at the Visitor Centre were all excellent (the tour gives you 3x 1/3rd pints to taste) - I had Corncrake, Golden Amber and Wayfarer.

Highland Brewery

The Shore in Kirkwall had a top notch Scapa Special, and the Ferry Inn in Stromness also had excellent Scapa Special and Highland Brewery Orkney IPA, in addition to Dark Island and Corncrake. Having our 14 year old daughter in tow and a wife who doesn’t drive restricted the number of ales that I was able to try, but suffice to say the holiday was truly enjoyable, and our accommodation at Scapa Flow Lodges was also excellent. And it would also be remiss not to mention our stopover in Inverness on the way up to Orkney - here I had my first tasting of Windswept Brewery’s APA at the Castle Tavern. This new brewery from Lossiemouth is definitely one to watch out for!

Orkney Brewery

Stromness Hotel

Ferry Inn, Stromness 7

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l in stiva er... e F c i mb Mus epte S y l r ea

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... Fe from aturing beer Had s ria Brew n Borde r ery

www.awcamra.org.uk

The Village Inn, Dunlop

The Village Inn, 2-6 Stewarton Road, KA3 4AA.Dunlop Tel: 01560 483130 2-6 Stewarton Road, KA3 4AA. Tel: facebook 01560 483130 E-mail : villageinn98@live.com/ “Two minute walk from railway station” E-mail : villageinn98@live.com/ facebook

“Two minuteDogs walkWelcome from railway station” Dogs Welcome

• • • • • •

A constantly changing choice of real ales Freshly prepared meals using locally sourced produce Fully decked riverside beer garden Families welcome in our dog friendly pub We also cater for private functions Daily fishing permits available for sale at the bar

Failford Inn, Failford, Near Mauchline, Ayrshire KA5 5TF Tel: 01292 540117 Email: info@failfordinn.com

www.failfordinn.com

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Autumn 2013

The Waterside Bath Street, Largs Tel: 01475 672224

Two ever-changing REAL ALES now available

Fridays - Karaoke Wednesdays - Poker Saturdays - Live Music Sundays - Open Mic Night

Food available every day except Monday

• • • •

Great rooms Fantastic food Ever changing real ales Function suites

• CHRISTMAS BOOKINGS now being taken in our refurbished restaurant

4 DEAN STREET, STEWARTON, KA3 5EQ Tel: 01560 482255

www.millhousehotelayrshire.co.uk

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www.awcamra.org.uk

BRANCH SOCIAL ACTIVITIES Our Branch has Social Groups covering North, South and East Ayrshire, and Wigtownshire.

All CAMRA members are encouraged to attend these informal events, but nonCAMRA members are equally welcome. For more information, please contact the area coordinators listed below: North Ayrshire - meets third Thursday of every month.

Contact Ian Middleditch. Email: ian.middleditch@talk21.com South Ayrshire - meets 1st Thursday of each month.

Contact Graeme Perry. Email: graemejperry@yahoo.co.uk East Ayrshire - meets last Wednesday of every month.

Contact Bob Wallace. Email: bobwallace.1869@yahoo.co.uk Wigtownshire Contact Malcolm McNeil. Email: m.mcneill@tesco.net

2012 Beer of the Festival Presentation Left: Pictured receiving the award from Mick are owner Catherine Maxwell Stuart and brewer Ian Cameron.

The most popular beer at the 2012 Ayrshire Real Ale Festival was Bear Ale from Traquair Brewery in the Scottish Borders. This delicious 5% ABV dark ale is normally only sold in bottles, but is available on draught occasionally for beer festivals etc.

The brewery’s location just outside Innerleithen made presenting the award something of a challenge. Four members of the branch had a trip to the brewery arranged in March, but it had to be called off because of snow! When branch Pubs Officer Mick Lee arranged a holiday in Peebles in July it was agreed that he should present the award while he was in the area.

Which beer will be beer of the festival in 2013? Come along to the festival at Troon Concert Hall 3-5 October 2013 and vote for your favourite.

Enjoying a day out at Strathaven Brewery Additionally, the Branch also holds social outings on a regular basis to places such as Strathaven or Fyne Ale’s breweries - contact social secretary Donald Clark at mound_spotter@yahoo.co.uk for details of these trips.

DATES FOR YOUR AUTUMN DIARY Wed 11 - Sat 14 Sept, Paisley Beer Festival.

Branch Social from 2pm on Friday 13th.

Thur 19 Sept, North Ayrshire Social, Ship Inn, Irvine, 8pm Wed 25 Sept, East Ayrshire Social - Auld Hoose, Dunlop, 7.30pm Thur 3 Oct - Sat 5 Oct, Ayrshire Real Ale Festival, Troon Concert Hall. See p16/17.

Thur 17 Oct, North Ayrshire Social, TBC 8pm Fri 18 / Sat 19 Oct, Alloa Beer Festival Wed 30 Oct, East Ayrshire Social, Brass & Granite, Kilmarnock, 7.30pm Sat 2 Nov, Quiz Night, Geordies Byre, Ayr, 8pm Thur 21 Nov Branch Meeting / Games Night JG Sharps, Largs, 8pm Fri 22 Nov, Copy deadline for next Full Pints Wed 27 Nov, East Ayrshire Social, Millhouse Hotel, Stewarton, 7.30pm Tues 3 Dec, South Ayrshire Social, 8pm 11

Autumn 2013

Serving Good Food and Real Ale – All Day, Every Day Function Room available Book now for Christmas – Party Nights / Festive Menus

The Ship Inn 122 Harbour Street, Irvine KA12 8PZ Tel: 01294 279722 www.theshipinnirvine.co.uk 12

www.awcamra.org.uk

REPORT by Allan Dyson

Kildonan Country House Hotel, Barrhill Real Ale Weekend, 21-23 June Kevan McColm looks after this great country house, and runs a tearoom and the main bar all year round. Alan Pratt is his main barman and a keen ale enthusiast who keeps the facebook site updated with beer availability and some good feedback.

Kevan has plenty friends in the trade and was supported with beer supplies from various sources including Larbert and Liverpool. In all there was a great selection of about 10 beers on offer over the three days including :

Liverpool Organic: William Roscoe Liverpool Stout The beerfest was his first shot at holding this type of event, Tryst: so it was an ambitious move Brockville Pale for a place which is a bit off Carronade IPA the beaten track. The property Sulwath: is about 1 mile outside The Grace Barrhill towards Girvan, and Standing Order Stout (6%) set in fabulous 83 acres of Theakston: woodlands and garden.

Old Peculiar The house is built in Timothy Taylor: Edwardian style and was Landlord designed as a ‘Calendar House’, Courage: having 7 doors, 12 chimneys Directors and 365 windows. It opened Houston: in 1923 and has seen many Creebridge Gold different residents over the

years.

Kevan had two hand pumps at the bar and the ‘Great Hall’ It was used as a war time provided a range of barrel Hospital, Barracks, a Boarding school run by nuns and later a tapped beers, all priced at £2.85. There were bar meals Convent. The current owners served all day and this made it live in the Midlands and the a great venue for families and property offers letting suites beer enthusiasts alike. for groups and some B&B accommodation.

Friday was a steady day and local Newton Stewart band ‘Big Ocajuns’ played in the evening in the Great Hall.

Saturday really took off and the place was buzzing from noon till midnight. This was ‘open mic’ day and some great music was played in the bar (Barstools from Barrhill) and restaurant (Colin Kelly and friends from Newton Stewart).

Sunday was more peaceful; but still a good turnout and Belter Skelter (Glasgow duo of guitar and fiddle) played in the restaurant.

To conclude, this was a real success and well supported by friends, locals and CAMRA members. The friendly and relaxed atmosphere and location were superb. Well done to Kevan, Alan and friends. Watch out for another festival in the autumn.

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Autumn 2013

Kinloch Hotel, Blackwaterfoot – A Taste of Success

Fraser Hendrie

Nearly 400 beer lovers flocked to the first ever Blackwaterfoot Beer Festival on Saturday 20 July 2013 at the BEST WESTERN Kinloch Hotel.

The festival was staged in six marquees which had been erected in the hotel grounds, and the sun shone on Arran as revellers listened to live music and sampled the 14 cask ales on offer.

For wine lovers, Forth Wines from Milnathort in Kinrossshire hosted a wine tasting extravaganza throughout the day and the Isle of Arran Distillery offered nips of whisky for those so inclined.

Four came from Ayr Brewing, Le Peleton came from Brains Craft Brewery in Cardiff, Blonde Bombshell from Old Mill Brewery in Yorkshire, Canterbury Jack from Shepherd Neame in Faversham and an Old Rosie Scrumpy Cider from Westons in Hertfordshire to name but a few!

Hotel Food & Beverage Manager, Fraser Hendrie, was delighted with the response and support from locals and visitors and the support of all involved in the preparation and running of the event.

This year’s success means that the festival will be held again next year and it’s hoped to increase the number of cask ales and ciders available, in addition to the introduction of a seafood fayre.

Garnock Social Club, Kilbirnie, 6-7 July A little bit of quality liquid refreshment came to the Garnock Valley at the start of the summer when CAMRA member Ian Martin, frustrated with the poor offering in his local club, took it upon himself to organise a mini Real Ale festival in Kilbirnie. Quite an undertaking in a long time Real Ale desert but as those who attended will testify a resounding success!

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A dozen ales from local breweries and a couple of Scottish ciders were served in excellent condition to an appreciative audience that included local musicians who happily jammed their way through some sessions.

Let’s hope that now the seeds have been sown, a harvest of interest will follow. Ian is to be congratulated on his initiative

and his lead should be copied by all who want to see real ale more widely available in our area.

Ian Middleditch

www.awcamra.org.uk

Prestwick Beer Festival, Cricket Club, 12-14 July

by Douglas Graham and Donald Clark The first Prestwick Beer Festival, organised by our CAMRA branch and the Cricket Club, had 16 gravity-fed ales available from Ayr, Houston, Kelburn and Strathaven Breweries showcasing the wide and varied selection of quality beers they produce.

The festival opened on the Friday night with a good attendance of CAMRA members, club members and some locals. It was a safe bet the first pint was sold to Roy the bookie (pictured right) enjoying his Festival Ale from the Strathaven Brewery.

Saturday was again another

scorcher, though not as warm as earlier in the week, and with our CAMRA social at the club in the afternoon, the numbers swelled to around 60 and an enjoyable afternoon was had in the beer garden. All the beer was selling well, despite them being a bit warm, with the most popular being Ayr Brewing’s 7.2% Dr Hornbook Blonde Stout. It provided a challenge for the young drinkers and it was indeed the first beer to run out. Ayr’s Scaur o’Doon - a 3.6% golden ale with a hint of raspberry, and Strathaven’s specially prepared 4.5% Festival Ale were also popular. The evening was good with many

locals coming in to try the ales.

With the weather great again on Sunday it was another good day with a few families in the club enjoying the festival. The festival closed with most of the beer sold and over 200 people attending over the three days. It was a good weekend with many new faces drinking real ale – hopefully we’ll see some, if not all of them, at the Ayrshire Real Ale festival in October.

Scottish Real Ale Festival, Edinburgh SRAF returned to Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange in mid July and opened for a fourth day, on the Sunday, for a ‘clear out’ session. SRAF continues to focus on Scottish brewers and this year welcomed no fewer than 48 to supply over 160 of their beers to around 3,500 thirsty customers. The beer cooling system was put under great strain by the heatwave but coped admirably.

11 brewers appeared for the first time, including Beeches and Eden (both Fife), Fallen (Stirlingshire), Windswept (Moray) and Eclipse, Top Out and Natural Selection (all Edinburgh).

The latter was brewed by students from Heriot Watt University and their ‘Origin’ was a 5.5% rye saison beer and may well have been my favourite (it’s so hard to tell after four days).

Highlight of the festival was Fyne Ales adding Jarl’s victory as Champion Beer of Scotland to

the party they were already holding to mark Rob Jenner’s retirement as Sales Manager.

What a last day at work!

Biggest disappointment was the poor standard of catering, provided by the venue not the festival, and it is to be hoped that this can be sorted in time for 2014. My role in the festival went well as we succeeded in signing up another 106 CAMRA members.

Bob Wallace

Right: Colin Valentine, CAMRA Chairman poured the first pints of Loch Ness MadNess to be served outside the brewery.

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AYRSHIRE REAL ALE FESTIVAL 01

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3rd - 5th October Troon Concert Hall Over 120 Real Ales PLUS Cider & Perry Food Available All Sessions Admission (over 18s only): Public: £4, CAMRA: £3

Festival Sponsor:

(includes glass and programme)

Thurs 3rd: 1pm (CAMRA/Trade) 3pm – 11pm (Public) Fri 4th: 11am – 11pm Evening: Music by Wildcard (pop/rock) Sat 5th: 11am – 11pm Afternoon: Music by Troon Blackrock Pipe Band Evening: Music by Andrew Gordon (folk)

www.ayrshirebeerfestival.co.uk 16

www.awcamra.org.uk

PREVIEW: 14th Ayrshire Real Ale Festival,

Troon Concert Hall, 3rd-5th October Ayrshire’s 14th Real Ale festival takes place on 3rd-5th October in Troon Concert Hall, and this year will be the largest one yet.

Doors open for CAMRA members at 1pm on Thursday 3rd October, with public admission from 3pm. Friday and Saturday admission is from 11am – 11pm. The entrance charge is only £3 for CAMRA members and £4 Public, which includes a commemorative glass and comprehensive festival programme. With over 60 real ales from Scotland, and another 60 from the rest of the UK, there will be plenty to tickle those tastebuds.

Additionally, there will be around 15 ciders and perry available, including some Scottish ones for the first time from Waulkmill Cider.

Wine and soft drinks will also be available. As per previous years, our catering will once again be supplied

by Brownings, complete with their famous Killie Pies!

We have a Viking theme this year, in recognition of the 750th Battle of Largs where King Haakon was defeated by the Scots warriors. We are delighted that The Orkney Brewery have agreed to be our main festival sponsor

this year, and in addition to their own Skullsplitter, Dragonhead Stout and Norseman Pale Ale, we have been able to source a number of other Vikingthemed ales for your enjoyment, including several from Rudgate Brewery in Yorkshire.

Full beer lists will appear on the festival website.

Our entertainment this year will be provided by Wildcard on Friday evening. They are a popular group playing a variety of rock and chart hits.

Saturday afternoon once again sees the Troon Blackrock Pipe Band take to the floor, whilst on Saturday evening, we are having Andrew Gordon, a highly talented Scottish Folk Singer.

However, for the festival to run smoothly, we need the help of all CAMRA members.

Whether it be assisting in setting up and taking down the staging, or helping to move the casks around, to

manning the bar, product stall or cloakroom, to collecting entrance money, handing out glasses or stewarding the halls, we would love to see you at Troon. To volunteer at the festival you MUST be a CAMRA member though.

An Application Form is available on the festival website at www. ayrshirebeerfestival.co.uk/ staffing. Volunteers can offer to work for as many or as few hours as they wish to do so, but if you work more than 4 hours then you will be eligible to receive a free festival polo shirt.

Let’s make this festival our best one to date, and hopefully we’ll see lots of new faces.

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Autumn 2013

Wigtownshire CAMRA

Pub of the Year 2013

If you are ever in Stranraer, a visit to The Grapes is one you won’t regret. The Grapes was originally a coaching inn which was erected in 1862. The gantry in the bar is over 100 years old and the bar still has an original working bell-box for the pub.

The present owners, Billy and Sally, are only the 5th in line since the pub was built. The bar has a warm, friendly and welcoming atmosphere and has had visits from people from various parts of the world. Upstairs the pub divides into two rooms - the quiet room which was said to be the first cocktail lounge in Stranraer is now the ladies powder room, and on the other side is a lounge and snug room which has been refurbished with the 1940’s style of the pub.

• Accordion band most Fridays from 5 – 8pm • Real ale on draught • Over 40 malt whiskies - one for each region in Scotland • Occasional Live Music

The Grapes, 4-6 Bridge Street, Stranraer Tel: 01776 703386 www.thegrapesbar.co.uk

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www.awcamra.org.uk

Editorial Hopefully you have all had a good summer – at least the weather improved compared to the cold, wet Spring we had. And in this edition of Full Pints you’ll find reviews of the many festivals that took place over the past few months. All have been a great success and it is encouraging that so many folk and venues now see the benefits of promoting and enjoying real ale and cider. This year, CAMRA celebrates 25 years of campaigning for real cider. However, a look at supermarket shelves these days shows an explosion of so-called ‘ciders’ and their fruity variants.

A recent conversation left me pondering this scenario though: CAMRA’s guidelines state that the most common reasons a cider or perry are not considered to be ‘Real’ are that it is carbonated, pasteurised, micro-filtered, or concentrate juice has been used (which I fully accept in the same manner as keg and non-bottle conditioned beers are not ‘Real’), but also that ciders with any non-apple/pear flavourings, or honey, herbs and spices added are amongst those most commonly confused for being real.

Maybe I’ve misinterpreted the guidelines, but how come so many of our ales are considered ‘Real’ when they have oodles of extra (and sometimes odd) flavourings added to them? We’ve all tried them at some stage – it may be a ‘fruit’ beer, or a special Christmas ale with festive spices added.

But CAMRA says they are ‘Real’. But a natural cider with them apparently is not!

Hmm.....

Kildonan Country House Barrhill, South Ayrshire, KA26 0PS www.kildonancountryhouse.co.uk Tel: 01465 821458

Follow us on

Stuart McMahon, Editor

English restaurant open 11am-4pm Bar open 11am - 11pm Indian restaurant open 6pm-10pm

for details of our guest ales and forthcoming October Ale Festival 19

Autumn 2013

Houston

Largs Millport

Gateside

Lochranza Catacol Arran

Fairlie Beith Ardrossan Kilmaurs

Lugton Dunlop Stewarton Craigie Failford

Prestwick Ayr

Strathaven

Kilmarnock

Saltcoats Brodick Irvine Troon Lamlash

Blackwaterfoot

Kelburn

Sorn

Ayr Stair Mauchline Hollybush Kirkmichael

Girvan

Barrhill Bargrennan Kirkcolm Stranraer

Sulwath

New Luce Glenluce

Portpatrick

Sandhead

Newton Stewart Wigtown Bladnoch

Reproduced from Ordnance Survey map data by permission of the Ordnance Survey Š Crown Copyright 2013

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Drummore

Isle of Whithorn

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AYRSHIRE & WIGTOWNSHIRE REAL ALE OUTLETS ISLE OF ARRAN

SOUTH AYRSHIRE

EAST AYRSHIRE

BLACKWATERFOOT Blackwaterfoot Lodge Kinloch Hotel

AYR Abbotsford Hotel Ayrshire & Galloway Chestnuts Hotel Christina’s Bar Courtyard Bar Geordie’s Byre Glen Park Hotel Harry’s Bar Malt Cross Market Inn Newton Arms Old Racecourse Hotel Tam O’ Shanter* Twa Dugs Wellingtons Bar West Kirk

DUNLOP Auld Hoose Village Inn

BRODICK Brodick Bar Ormidale Hotel Wine Port CATACOL Catacol Bay Hotel LAMLASH Drift Inn LOCHRANZA Lochranza Hotel NORTH AYRSHIRE ARDROSSAN Ardrossan Rugby Club (weekends) Lauriston Hotel BEITH Masonic Arms FAIRLIE Village Inn GATESIDE Gateside Inn IRVINE Ship Inn LARGS Charlie Smith’s J G Sharps Largs Sailing Club (weekends) Lounge MacAulays Waterside LUGTON Canny Man MILLPORT Fraser’s Bar

BARRHILL Kildonan Country House CRAIGIE Craigie Inn FAILFORD Failford Inn GIRVAN Roxy Cafe Bar KIRKMICHAEL Kirkmichael Arms PRESTWICK Eagle Tavern Prestwick Pioneer TROON Bruce’s Well Fullartons Girvans Harbour Bar Lonsdale Bar McKay’s Marr Rugby Club (weekends) South Beach Hotel

SALTCOATS Salt Cot

Do you know of a pub that sells real ale and isn’t listed? Please let us know. * CAMRA members have noted that real ale is not always available at these pubs.

HOLLYBUSH Hollybush Inn KILMARNOCK Brass & Granite Fanny by Gaslight First Edition Wheatsheaf Inn

KILMAURS Weston Tavern MAUCHLINE Poosie Nansies SORN Sorn Inn STAIR Stair Inn STEWARTON Millhouse Hotel

WIGTOWNSHIRE BARGRENNAN House O’ Hill Hotel BLADNOCH Bladnoch Inn DRUMMORE Clashwhannon GLENLUCE Kelvin House Hotel ISLE OF WHITHORN Steam Packet Inn KIRKCOLM Blue Peter Hotel NEW LUCE Kenmuir Arms Hotel

NEWTON STEWART Creebridge House Hotel Galloway Arm Hotel PORTPATRICK Crown Hotel Downshire Arms Harbour House Hotel SANDHEAD Tigh-na-Mara Hotel STRANRAER Grapes WIGTOWN Wigtown Ploughman

CAMRA members can now score beers for any pubs visited at www.whatpub.com. The website will go live to the public in Sept/Oct. Scoring guidelines are:

0 No cask ale available 1 Poor: Beer that is anything from barely drinkable to drinkable with considerable resentment.

2 Average: Competently kept, drinkable pint but doesn’t inspire in any way, not worth moving to another pub but you drink the beer without really noticing.

3 Good: Good beer in good form. You may cancel plans to move to the next pub. You want to stay for another pint and may seek out the beer again.

4 Very Good: Excellent beer in excellent condition.

5 Perfect: Probably the best you are ever likely to find.

A seasoned drinker will award this score very rarely.

21

The summer has passed too quickly but I did manage to attend both the Scottish Real Ale Festival at the Corn Exchange, Edinburgh and the Great British Beer Festival at Olympia in London.

In between times, I had a few days break in the Lake District near Ulverston. Can you guess what it is famous for? If I said I enjoyed a pint of Another Fine Mess from Ulverston Brewery at GBG pub the Engine Inn at Cark would that be a clue?

Yes, it is the birthplace of Stan Laurel.

Unfortunately, the museum The Engine Inn was closed when I was there or I would have been watching Laurel and Hardy films all evening.

We had a day out to Lake Windermere with the grandchildren, the same day as the Queen visited as it turned out so it was mobbed.

Our journey started at Haverthwaite where we boarded the steam train to Lakeside with a family ticket which covered train, boat and parking for £43 which I thought was pretty good value. We had to wait offshore at Bowness while the Queen departed, waving as her launch passed on the way to Ambleside.

On our return, we ate at the station café which offered good priced snacks. I sampled the Cumberland sausages made with local beer and the kid’s meals included a drink and icecream. This venue is well worth a visit if you are in the area and it includes a children’s play area where they can pass the time while you are waiting for the train.

22

P

RAY’S ROUND UP by Ray Turpie

ROUND Y’S U A R

Once the kids had been returned to their parents, we retired to the GBG listed Pheasant Inn, Allithwaite where I settled down to savour a pint of Loweswater Gold from Hawkshead.

Unfortunately, the wi-fi was not working so after my solitary pint we upped sticks and left. I suppose this is a sign of the times and I wonder how long it will be before a symbol is added to the GBG for free wi-fi.

The Pheasant Inn Internet connection was not a problem we had on another summer outing to Skye with Dodds of Troon. I had the pleasure of sampling a pint of both Red and Black Cuillin from Isle of Skye Brewery in Saucy Mary’s Lodge, Kyleakin.

Mrs Roundup could have stayed there all night surfing but I had to drag her away. Our visit also took in Portree but it was too early to visit the Isles Inn and I had to settle for a walk round the harbour instead. Never mind, I might get back some other time.

www.awcamra.org.uk

such as socials, outings and beer festivals to name but a few. We are always looking for new members and fresh ideas, particularly from the younger generation.

Saucy Mary’s The scenery was stunning all the way there and back but there were stops along the way to break the journey. One of these was at Fort William so we had time to nip in to the Great Glen for a pint of Deuchars IPA and a bite of lunch. That got rid of some more ‘Spoons vouchers!

My membership renewal is due so I hope to get some new vouchers soon. If you have not yet done so, this is only one of the reasons to join CAMRA along with the other benefits

Why not come along to one of our local area group socials and make contact. You will be amazed at the fun you can have if you put your mind to it. And you get to try some nice real ale too. Check the branch diary section in “Full Pints” or our website at www.awcamra.org.uk for further details.

Finally, do not forget to visit the 14th Ayrshire Real Ale Festival in Troon Concert Hall from 3rd-5th October. This year we have a Viking theme to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the battle of Largs. You might even see a couple of Vikings or The Guizer Jarl getting stuck in to a pint of Skull Splitter from Orkney Brewery, our main festival sponsor this year. Up Helly Aa!

Launched in SepT / OcT 2013

Over 96% of Britain’s real ale pubs featured

Information updated by thousands of CAMRA volunteers

whatpub.com Featuring over 35,000 real ale pubs

Thousands of pubs at your fingertips!

Created by CAMRA who produce the UK’s best beer & pub guide 23

Autumn 2013

FRASERS BAR Millport

Find us just up the road from the pier

Quality Cask Ales Served All Year Meals Served Every Day 12 noon - 2.30pm / 5.30pm -7.30pm 7 Cardiff Street, Millport, Isle of Cumbrae KA28 0AS Tel: 01475 530518

Great food and local Real Ales from Arran, Houston and Kelburn breweries Sundays – Ceilidh band sessions

Tel: 01505 850510 www.thecannyman.co.uk

Find us on the A736 Irvine to Barrhead Road, at Lugton 24

www.awcamra.org.uk

Just for Fun

1. Which brewery creates beers called Holy Cow, Dark Horse, Game Bird and Love Bird?

2. Which brewing giant owns the Caledonian Brewing Company, producing Deuchars IPA? 3. In which town is Moorhouses Brewery?

4. Black Sheep Brewery was formed after a split from which other brewery?

5. Which of these is a famous Wadworth’s beer Aviator, Bishops Finger, 6X, or Stonehenge?

6. Which brewery produces Simmer Dim? 7. Kelham Island Brewery is in which city?

8. What is the most southerly brewery in Scotland?

9. How many years has the Great British Beer Festival been running?

10. What is this year’s Champion Beer of Scotland?

Sudoku Each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.

9

2

7 8

1

6

9

2

6

5

1

6 4

5

4

3

3

4 1

5

3

8

1

1 7

There are 25 new British Breweries hidden in the Wordsearch.

Can you find them all?

MHR O T T UME S E S L K I OC R WO S E L U I CN ROK DX L B I G E S S ANH RHC DR A T C L T OO

OW E A D C C A F F L E R C I ANG L OC A A I E ON S A P N I D S P E E O E Y E O GDC R I E L OR S NN L C RO L O U A MOW T HAND F S DOHXD E H L KDX U T I GNO L Z Z U B Y B A R E RUO I CUN L E

S E OG RW I C I H S E O I R I A S E E B T G I H L GN A I A E RNDC T G E E H K E A I I RD L T HR L E T F R L MR Y DR A E I DN CHOO

D K H K S A E E L K R R X F R H H L

RN I L L C BD C E E B L K A E BD E A S DR A I B E E AMT F S H T N P S A T F S H S L L D I O T A E I OMG R S L O L OO F R B I E C Y NA

BadSeed Beeches BigHand BlackFlag Bluestone Buzzard Caffle Fell FoolHardy GasDog Hamelsworde Harthill HoppyCollie Lacons Lerwick LongItch MadHatter Mercian Mouslow Nomad SixDegreesNorth SixOClock ThreeDaggers WeirdBeard WhistlingKite

Solutions on Page 29 25

Autumn 2013

Family run village inn located on the harbour in the picturesque fishing village of Isle of Whithorn

BAR OPEN:

Friday to Monday 11am – 11pm Tuesday to Thursday 11am– 2.30pm & 6pm – 11pm Timothy Taylor Landlord plus four guest ales Outside seating area on the harbourside All food freshly prepared on the premises.

Daily changing chefs specials using the finest fresh produce and local seafood.

Lunches 12-2pm. Evening Meals 6.30-9pm.

Sunday Carvery 3 Courses £12 Thursday Steak Night – Rump or Sirloin £10 Friday Curry Night £7.95 Children and Dogs Welcome

ACCOMMODATION

Comfortable en suite accommodation overlooking the harbour From £30 pppn B&B. Special accommodation offers to CAMRA members.

For bookings, call Alastair on 01988 500334 or e-mail steampacketinn@btconnect.com

26

www.steampacketinn.biz

www.awcamra.org.uk

Wigtownshire Bus Ale Trail Sat 25th May, 2013

by Malcolm McNeill

On Saturday 25th May, at noon and in brilliant sunshine, a small number of members and a couple of guests met in The Grapes, Stranraer prior to embarking on a tour of Machars pubs using public transport – i.e. buses!

Fortified by complimentary pakoras and chicken bites, washed down by a couple of pints of Acorn Brewery’s excellent Barnsley Gold, we headed off to The Steam Packet Inn, Isle of Whithorn, where we were joined by members who had joined us from Newton Stewart and Sorbie.

Timetables allowed us about 90 minutes in this quayside pub where the beers on offer were Orkney Dark Island, Stewart`s Copper Cascade, Risky Blonde from Fool Hardy Brewery, Chester and of course, Timothy Taylor Landlord. All the beers were in great condition and Alastair Scoular kindly provided us with home made soup and sandwiches on arrival.

The next leg of our trip took us to the Wigtown Ploughman, on the 415 service where we spent a pleasant hour in their sunny Beer Garden enjoying Houston Killellan Bitter and friendly “craic” with a few locals and a group of German Bikers from Dortmund who were staying overnight en route to Belfast. They were also looking forward to watching the all-German Champion’s League Final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich and were adamant that although their team might not prevail against the might of Munich (which they didn’t!), their beer was definitely superior than the weak offerings from the City of the Oktoberfest!

Incidentally, the Bladnoch Inn is now serving Real Ale and is also well worth a visit as an alternative to the Ploughman with its outside seating and riverside location.

Picking up the 415 service again we alighted in Dashwood Square where we strolled down to the Galloway Arms Hotel but found the bar/ restaurant very busy with evening diners, so

we repaired to the Highland Railway-themed modern public bar (photo above). It was nice to see that the local Sulwath Galloway Gold and Criffel Ale from Castle Douglas were on offer and again were in good condition.

After a pleasant hour or so, we left the pub and had a leisurely stroll over the River Cree into Minigaff for the Creebridge House Hotel where we found Creebridge Gold, Timothy Taylor Landlord and once again, Galloway Gold all available and in good condition. We were very grateful, also for the excellent complimentary finger buffet kindly provided by the management. We finally said our goodbyes to the contingent from Newton Stewart and caught the 500 service back to Stranraer.

It was the intention to call in at The Kelvin House Hotel, Glenluce, but by that time while the spirits were willing,the flesh was most definitely weak!

A hugely enjoyable day was had by all, the beer was good in all outlets, the sun shone and the buses ran to time. Thanks to Billy and Sally at The Grapes, to Alastair at The Steam Packet and Stephen at Creebridge for the generous provision of food which sustained us throughout the day.

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Autumn 2013

• Real Food • Real Beer • Real Atmosphere 27 Main Street, Kilmaurs, KA3 2RQ Tel: 01563 538805 www.westontavern.co.uk

REAL ALES SERVED HERE Meals Served Daily 12-2pm and 6-9pm Traditional Roast Served every Sunday Extensive Bar Menu Award-winning Table D’Hôte and À La Carte Dining Available

Telephone: 01671 402121 Fax: 01671 403258

www.creebridge.co.uk Email: info@creebridge.co.uk

Creebridge House Hotel, Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire DG8 6NP 28

www.awcamra.org.uk

MARKET RESEARCH, HE CALLS IT!

The following article first appeared in Tayside CAMRA branch’s newsletter.

A couple of nights away as a treat to mark our wedding anniversary (which, after all these years, is as much a relief as a celebration...) and the forecast was good so it was also an excuse to give our wee car an airing before putting it away for the winter months. There’s not a lot of storage space in a Caterham, and Jim insists on travelling with the roof off at every opportunity so, for both these reasons I was well wrapped up, wearing everything I’d taken with me, looking much like the Michelin man.

We headed south to Jim’s old stamping ground of Galloway, and thanks to our CAMRA membership, were able to enjoy a two-nights-for-theprice-of-one deal at the family run Steam Packet Inn, Isle of Whithorn. It’s quite a bit off the beaten track, but more than worth the effort.

The Inn sits in an idyllic position overlooking the quiet harbour and Alastair, the owner, is very knowledgeable & enthusiastic about his ales, providing at least five different ones on a regular basis throughout the year.

While we were there we could choose from Timothy Taylor Landlord & Ram Tam; Kelburn

Pivo Estivo; Fyne Ales’ Avalanche; Scottish Borders Foxy Blonde and my particular favourite, Houston Tartan Terror.

They serve enormous platefuls of well-cooked locally-sourced food. It’s good, hearty pub-grub and the main bar & the dining room were both full each night we were there. There are two bars which were bustling with contented customers, both visitors and locals alike, and the staff couldn’t have been friendlier or more welcoming.

A gem of a place indeed.

OUTLETS UPDATE

Congratulations

to Marie and Michael Anderson on their recent wedding.

Marie, daughter of branch chairman Lindsay Grant, met Other news Glen Park Hotel, Ayr: reopened at the Troon Beer Festival and it was with 4 handpumps selling Ayr love at first sight Brewing ales Golf Inn, Prestwick: hoping to over a pint of real ale! have real ale in approx 2 months. We wish them both Goldberry Arms, Kilmarnock: a long and happy marriage. possible future outlet Wellingtons, Ayr: contrary to rumours this popular outlet is not up for sale Losses Royal Hotel, Girvan Ruddicot Hotel, Stranraer: no longer selling real ale

Quiz Page Solutions MHR O T T UME S E S L K I OC R WO S E L U I CN ROK DX L B I G E S S ANH RHC DR A T C L T OO

OW E A D C C A F F L E R C I ANG L OC A A I E ON S A P N I D S P E E O E Y E O GDC R I E L OR S NN L C RO L O U A MOW T HAND F S DOHXD E H L KDX U T I GNO L Z Z U B Y B A R E RUO I CUN L E

S E OG RW I C I H S E O I R I A S E E B T G I H L GN A I A E RNDC T G E E H K E A I I RD L T HR L E T F R L MR Y DR A E I DN CHOO

D K H K S A E E L K R R X F R H H L

RN I L L C BD C E E B L K A E BD E A S DR A I B E E AMT F S H T N P S A T F S H S L L D I O T A E I OMG R S L O L OO F R B I E C Y NA

BadSeed Beeches BigHand BlackFlag Bluestone Buzzard Caffle Fell FoolHardy GasDog Hamelsworde Harthill HoppyCollie Lacons Lerwick LongItch MadHatter Mercian Mouslow Nomad SixDegreesNorth SixOClock ThreeDaggers WeirdBeard WhistlingKite

9

1

4

5

6

7

1

8

7

4

3

2

8

6

2

9

5

3

3 8 2 6 9 5 1 7 4

6 3 1 7 2 8 5 4 9

5 2 4 9 6 1 3 8 7

7 9 8 3 5 4 2 6 1

4 1 9 2 3 6 7 5 8

2 7 3 5 8 9 4 1 6

8 6 5 4 1 7 9 3 2

QUIZ: 1. Scottish Borders 2. Heineken 3. Burnley 4. Theakstons 5. 6X 6.

Valhalla 7. Sheffield 8. Sulwath 9. 36 years 10. Fyne Ales’ Jarl

The following outlets have added real ale since the last edition of .

Christina’s Bar, Ayr: Caledonian Deuchars IPA Ship Inn, Irvine: Caledonian Deuchars IPA and/or a guest ale Downshire Arms, Portpatrick: Beer range varies Bladnoch Inn, Wigtown: Belhaven IPA Fanny by Gaslight, Kilmarnock: Beer range varies

Perfect weather meant that Galloway was looking stunning in the glorious autumn sunshine and we toured a lot of the area, visiting the Wigtown Book Festival; Port William; Galloway Forest Park & Kirkcudbright, before reluctantly leaving it all behind to return home.

We’ll be back!

Sue Hughan

29

Autumn 2013

30

‘What’s Brewing’, informing you on beer ■ The chance to join CAMRA / Brewery and pub news and detailing events and Complimentary Clubs that are exclusive beer festivals around the country. to CAMRA members. These clubs offer a

www.awcamra.org.uk

variety of promotions including free pint ■ Reduced entry to over 160 national, vouchers, brewery trips, competitions, regional and local beer festivals. and merchandise offers.

■ Socials and brewery trips, with national, ■ Discounts on all CAMRA books including regional and local groups. the Good Beer Guide.

■ The opportunity to campaign to save pubs and breweries under threat of closure.

CAMRA Membership Benefits

Costing from just £23 a year, that’s less than a pint a month, you can join Plus these amazing discounts...

■ The chance to join CAMRA / Brewery CAMRA using the form printed opposite, or online at www.camra.org.uk, Complimentary Clubs that are exclusive and enjoy the following benefits: to CAMRA members. These clubs offer a • • • • • • • • •

variety of promotions including free pint

£20 worth of JD

Quarterly copy of the excellent ‘BEER’ magazine Wetherspoon Real Ale vouchers, brewery trips, competitions, Vouchers.** and merchandise offers.

Monthly ‘What’s Brewing’ newspaper Reduced entry to over 160 national, regionalonand local books including ■ Discounts all CAMRA 10% savings at the Good Beer Guide. beer festivals Cotswold Outdoor.

Social Groups and brewery trips An opportunity to campaign to save and amazing breweries discounts...

Pluspubs these 10% discount on booking with cottages4you. under threat of closure The chance to join CAMRA / Brewery Complimentary Clubs 15% discount with £20 worth of JD offering a range of promotions For more on yourNational CAMRA Membership Benefits pleas Express coach Wetherspoon Real Ale * This price is based on the Direct Debit discount. ** Joint CAMRA services.

Vouchers.** Discounts on all CAMRA books including the Good Beer withdraw any offer at any time without warning and members shoul Guide 15% off boat hire with start savingsale at £20 of Wetherspoons’ Vouchers for use against10% real locations form Falkirk to Cotswold Outdoor.

Hilperton. purchases.

PLUS a huge range of discounts from various national discount on booking 10% discount on booking retailers, some of which are shown opposite. 10% with cottages4you. with Hoseasons. ...plus many more

For more on your CAMRA Membership Benefits please visit www.camra.org.uk/benefits

* This price is based on the Direct Debit discount. ** Joint CAMRA memberships will receive one set of vouchers to share withdraw any offer at any time without warning and members should check CAMRA website for updated and details of cur

31

Autumn 2013

32

www.awcamra.org.uk

GETTING AROUND

Listed below are some useful contact details for transport providers in our Branch area.

Stagecoach West Scotland - www.stagecoachbus.com Tel: 01292 613500 / 01294 607007 / Disability Helpdesk 07736 892253

James King Bus Services (Stranraer Area) www.kingscoachhire.com Tel: 01671 830284 ScotRail - www.scotrail.co.uk Tel: 0845 601 5929

Caledonian MacBrayne - www.calmac.co.uk Tel: 0800 066 5000

Traveline Scotland - www.travelinescotland.com nd E a IRE SHIRNSH W AYR TO WIG

ALE TRAILS In the last edition of we highlighted our series of guides showing some Ale Trails that are possible within our Branch area using trains, or on foot in Ayr. The guides have proven to be very popular, and we have now produced a further 3 Guides for trails using public bus services in Ayrshire and Wigtownshire.

The guides are available, while stocks last, in all real ale outlets along with other hotels and public facilities such as libraries and community centres.

The guides are also available to download from www.awcamra.org.uk.

WIGTOW

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Wigtownshir e Bus Ale Trails

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Rail Ale

Useful Numbers:

Trading Standards Offices for issues such as consistent short measures or no visible price lists Ayr: 01292 616060 Irvine: 01294 324900 Kilmarnock: 01563 521502 Stranraer: 01776 703260 Email addresses can be found on your local authority website.

I recently travelled to Glasgow by train to attend a ‘Meet the Brewer’ evening in Blackfriars where the guest brewers were from Alechemy Brewing, Livingston.

For just £10 a fantastic buffet was provided, along with five ½ pints of Alechemy’s beers

4 includes details of This is one pubs in Stranrae of a serie r, Barrhill s of ale trails covering and Girv the Ayrs by public an. hire & Wigt transport trails cove ownshire r North and Branch area and on foot East Ayrs trails are . Two othe hire, and downloada r bus South and ble from more deta East Ayrs the bran ils of the ch webs hire. All pubs. ite, whic This guide h also gives is produced Real Ale by the Ayrs (CAMRA) www hire .awcamra & Wigtowns © CAMRA correct at .org.uk hire Bran 2013. The the time ch of the informatio of going Campaign to press. n is, as far for We take as we are no responsib aware, ility for any inaccurac ies.

Tra The Rhilin3 s& The M achars

If you have a smartphone, then free apps are available to let you scan the QR Code shown opposite, which will take you to our website, where you can download all the Trails.

and an engraved pint glass given to each of the attendees.

And as for the brewers – well, they had questions thrown at them from all corners, ranging from questions about the beers, the types of hops and yeasts used, keg vs cask, advice for starting up a brewery, plans for the

future – and the answers were very open and upfront. An excellent night.

If you get the chance to attend a ‘Meet the Brewer’ session elsewhere then I highly recommend it – the bar has been set high by Alechemy, will others exceed it?

Ed 33

Autumn 2013

Available after September 12th

www.awcamra.org.uk

Beer & Music Festival Beer Crêpes The House o’ Hill Hotel at Bargrennan is holding a ‘Rock the Hoose’ beer and music festival from Fri 13 - Sun 15 September.

Serves 12. 3 eggs, lightly beaten, 250ml milk, 250ml Orkney Raven Ale 225g plain flour, 1 pinch salt 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 30g butter

There will be up to 20 ales and local cider. Lots of Live Music is promised including The Yahs, The Little Green Frogs, The Razorbills, Zoe Bestel, The Barstools, Darcy Da Silva, Danielle Glover, Lewis Fergusson, Hairy the Piper & WoodBeagles.

Heat a 25cm non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Brush with butter, and when it’s hot but not smoking, pour some batter into the centre of the pan, and rotate it so the batter covers the bottom of the pan in a thin layer, pouring out any excess batter.

Cook the crepe until it is just golden on one side, 1 to 2 minutes, turn it and cook until it is golden on the other side, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate, and keep warm by covering with aluminium foil.

Whisk together eggs, milk and beer.

Gradually whisk in flour. Add salt and oil, then whisk the batter vigorously for 3 to 5 minutes, so all is thoroughly incorporated.

Let the batter sit for 1 hour.

For sustenance there will be a Hog Roast and other hot food available. Weekend Pass costs £4 with FREE customised glass. Charity donations are in aid of Riverside Day Centre. Local camping is available nearby.

BEST WESTERN

Isle of Arran

Disco ver Arran

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BEST WESTERN Kinloch Hotel • 37 bedrooms • 7 self catering apartments • swimming pool

• sauna • squash court • personal fitness room

best service, best value, best short break BEST WESTERN Kinloch Hotel, Blackwaterfoot, The Isle of Arran Tel: 01770 860444 www.bw-kinlochhotel.co.uk 35

Autumn 2013

Did you know that a wide range of clothing, books and collectables can be ordered online in the CAMRA shop? shop.camra.org.uk

Ye Olde

*NEW*

Pomona T

£11

2014 Good Beer Guide

£11

Heritage Pubs

£4.99 Year of BEER T

Hoodie

£18

£12

*NEW*

8th Edition Bottled Beer Guide

£12

.99

36

Apple T

£11

www.awcamra.org.uk

CAMRA DISCOVERS 25 YEAR OLD APPLE by Mick Lewis In 1988, the world of real cider was completely different to the situation we have today. It was mainly looked on as an obscure drink that the majority of the drinking public never saw. It was usually found in the West Country, and if you didn’t know which pubs sold it, you had to go direct to a cider maker to buy it.

The same applied to other cider making areas as well, for example Kent. It was, of course, found at most CAMRA festivals, but often in very small quantities. In fact, real cider was in a similar position to that of real ale when CAMRA was formed in 1971.

There was clearly a market for, it, but finding it could be a real problem.

CAMRA had, by this time, published its first Good Cider Guide, but there was no official group within CAMRA to collate all of the knowledge that was floating about amongst its members, and certainly nobody to actually promote it. So I decided to do something about it, and in 1988, at CAMRA’s AGM, I proposed a motion to get a national cider committee formed so that cider had a real voice within CAMRA. And 25 years later APPLE, as the committee is known is still going strong.

One of the first things that we did was to formulate a definition of what real cider is, compared to the fizzy concoctions still found in most

pubs. We have modified this definition over the years, but we still have one and it can be found on CAMRA’s website.

We started CAMRA’s annual cider trip each October, where members visit two or three producers and see how it is made. These have become so successful that they are often sold out within weeks. It was only the very first one that didn’t do too well financially.

The organiser (who I won’t name) forgot about the VAT when doing the figures. And what’s his profession? An accountant! We also held four national cider festivals in London, all of which generated a lot of publicity as they were real novelties at the time, which is where we started the Cider and Perry of the Year awards, voted for by the staff and the customers.

These competitions continue to this day at regional competitions with judging panels, culminating in the Finals which are held at Reading Beer and Cider Festival in May each year.

producers, compiled a database of all known producers, published several cider guides, introduced a window sticker scheme for pubs who sell real cider, run cider training courses for members, liaised with both cider associations and Members of Parliament, appointed regional cider co-ordinators for the whole of the UK, advised and helped CAMRA festivals, run cider bars at outside events, have a National Cider Pub of the Year competition, and use October as the month for promoting real cider and perry.

And a whole lot more that I can’t think of at the moment.

Oh, and drunk quite a lot of it as well! So when you see or hear CAMRA banging on about real cider and perry, don’t think that we’ve taken the organisation away from real ale because we haven’t.

CAMRA will always be about beer, but cider and perry as well. There may not be many of us on APPLE, but we make a bloody loud noise!

Over the years, we have supported and advised 37

Autumn 2013

Our range of Real Ales includes:

Hand Crafted, Award Winning, Traditional Cask Conditioned Ale Brewed in the Heart of Burns Country All ales are available in Firkins (72 Pints), Pins (36 Pints) and Mini Casks (8.8 Pints) Ayr Brewing Company, 5 Racecourse Road, Ayr KA7 2DG Telephone: 01292 263891 Fax: 01292 830450 Mobile: 07834 922142 www.ayrbrewingcompany.com 38

www.awcamra.org.uk

KEN MORE – the in the know!

man

This year we have a Viking theme at the Ayrshire Real Ale Festival. So that got me thinking: what was Viking beer actually like?

It seems no recipes survive from the Dark Ages but there is no doubt that Vikings and other peoples of the time consumed beer aplenty.

Two words: öl and björr (ale and beer) are used almost interchangeably in English translations Viking literature. While in old English ale and beer meant different things, it seems the Norse made on such distinction, which my go some way to explaining how the two words came to mean the same thing in modern English.

The old English term ale was used for unhopped beverages and beer was hopped. Most viking brews were unhopped, although hops are known to have been grown in Viking era Denmark.

So how did the Vikings flavour their beer?

The beers were, like ours today, made principally from barley, although without modern temperature control the colour of the beer would vary significantly and would almost certainly be darker than modern golden ales.

Yeast too would be different. Today’s yeasts are carefully cultivated from one or two strains; the Vikings are unlikely to have been as exacting.

Hops produce bitterness and act as a preservative in beer.

When not using hops, the Dark Ages brewers would use hedgerow and pasture land plants and herbs to produce similar effects. Myrtle, horehound and yarrow are all known to have been used. Honey too would provide flavour.

The end result was beer thicker and sweeter than we are used to now. Alcoholic strength varied: ale was a staple drink, clean water being rare, and ‘small beer’ of low ABV would be made for children and full strength beers would be drank by adults.

All this suggests that drinking beer was important in Viking culture and it clearly was.

We can all picture images of warriors feasting in great dining halls washing down hearty suppers with gallons of ale.

However the Viking religion, as religion often does, counselled against the evils of drink.

In the text “Sayings from the High One”, the god Odin said: “A better burden no man can bear On the way than his mother’s wit And no worse provision Can he carry with him Than too deep a draught of ale” Wise words indeed. There are many more verses along the same lines.

So let us head to Ayrshire Real Ale Festival, raise a glass to the brewers and drinkers of the Dark Ages and thank them for their contribution to the world of beer.

But let us not carry with us too deep a draught of ale.

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At Sulwath Brewers we give you the chance to see the craft of brewing in action, and to taste our speciality ales at our fully licensed brewery tap visitor centre.

Open Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm Off-sales also available

The Brewery, King Street Castle Douglas, DG7 1DT www.sulwathbrewers.co.uk

Telephone: 01556 504525