FULL PINTS Inside AYRSHIRE AND WIGTOWNSHIRE CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE
Full Pints 14 Issue 3 4 Winter 2011 Volume 13
Winter 2012 FREE FREE
Island breweries to merge Inside
ARRAN and Isle of Skye breweries are to merge writes Eric Niven. Arran has announced bold expansion plans to increase its market share comprising a new brewery on the island, a bottling plant on the mainland, the opening of a chain of pubs - and now the merger with Skye. The merger should formalised early in the new year and will increase the number of experienced brewers, some with 18 years experience, within the group. Angus MacRuary who co-founded Skye will join the board of the new organisation, which will continue to trade as Arran Brewery. Arran Brewery owner Gerald Michaluk is leading a multimillion pound fundraising initiative to upgrade capacity from 500,000 to 16 million litres per annum to supply Europe and the USA. Arran has also just agreed its first export deal to Japan. *Arran Dark won both Europe’s best dark Brown and world beers best dark brown ale at the recent International Beer Challenge in London. 1
News P3 Branch Diary P8 Carlisle Beer Festival P10 Ray’s Round Up P12 Map P16 Strathaven Brewery Visit P18 Festive Crawl Details P21 Real Ale on the Costa Del Sol P22 Join CAMRA P28 Ken More P30
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FULL PINTS Ayrshire and Wigtownshire CAMRA branch reaches 400 - then - 450 members OVER 60 people joined CAMRA at the recent Ayrshire Real Ale Festival, making the Ayrshire and Wigtownshire branch the third largest CAMRA branch in Scotland behind Edinburgh and Glasgow. Peter Simpson (far right) from Kilwinning took us over the 400 mark and Stuart Traquair (right) from Troon became the 450th member. Both were presented with a complimentary copy of the Good Beer Guide 2013 by membership secretary Bob Wallace. MINUTES OF MEETINGS are available from the branch secretary Ray Turpie: rturpie@hotmail.co.uk (members only)
Join CAMRA Pages 28 and 29
Contact Editorial: Graeme Watt meatgriller@gmail.com 07535 990531
Advertising: Bob Wallace
DISCLAIMER bobwallace.1869@yahoo.co.uk The views expressed in this 07929 990972 publication are those of the TRADING STANDARDS individual contributors and do OFFICES not necessarily reflect the view Ayr 01292 616060 and policies of the editor or of the Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. Irvine - 01294 324900 Kilmarnock - 01563 521502 Š Campaign for Real Ale Ltd Stranraer - 01776 703260 3
FULL PINTS Woolpack is Scotland and Northern Ireland Pub of the Year THE Woolpack in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire is CAMRA’s Scotland and Northern Ireland Pub of the Year for 2012. At the time of winning, the Belhaven owned pub was operated by Dean Staniforth, who has since CAMRA Scotland and Northern Ireland moved on. director Lindsay Grant presents the Pub All 11 Scotland and Northern of the Year certificate to Dean Staniforth Ireland CAMRA branches Also worthy of mentioning are the nominated a pub. The final three in the competition were the Woolpack, the Cobbles Inn, Kelso and the Drum & Fox and Hounds in Houston, Monkey, Glasgow, which were edged Renfrewshire and the Benleva Hotel in out by the Woolpack in the central region heats. Drumnadrochit, near Inverness.
Great rooms *** Fantastic food *** Ever changing real ales *** Function suites
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FULL PINTS Galloway Arms Hotel to triple real ale availability THE Galloway Arms Hotel in Newton Stewart is to close for a day in January for a mini refurbishment which will include the addition of two more handpumps. Owner Gordon Andrews said: “We are sure this will give our existing and future customers a new dimension as we enter our 15th year of owning and operating possibly the oldest hotel in Wigtownshire and we believe the only one Deuchars, Belhaven IPA, Bitter & Twisted and Belhaven Golden Bay - but we now built by the Earl of Galloway. “Currently we have one handpump for plan to have three handpumps. quality cask ale for all year delivery -
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FRASERS BAR - MILLPORT QUALITY CASK ALES SERVED ALL YEAR MEALS SERVED12-2.30 & 5.30 - 7.30 EVERY DAY FULL PINTS
7 CARDIFF STREET - ISLE OF CUMBRAE - KA28 0DS
On the A736 Irvine to Barrhead Road, at Lugton Manager, Frazer Dunn, invites you to visit for great food and local real ales from Arran, Houston and Kelburn breweries Tel:01505 850510 www.thecannyman.co.uk 6
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FULL PINTS Monday, November 26
Committee meeting. Geordie's Byre, Ayr 8pm
Wednesday, November 28
East Ayrshire social. Millhouse Hotel, Stewarton 7.30pm
Thursday, December 13
Wigtownshire Christmas Dinner. Grapes, Stranraer 7pm
Saturday, December 15
Branch Christmas dinner. Stair Inn, Stair 7pm for 7.30pm
Friday, December 28
Festive crawl. Meet at South Beach Hotel, South Beach Troon 1pm
Sunday, December 31
Branch Pub of the Year nomination deadline
Thursday, January 17
North Ayrshire social.To be confirmed
Tuesday, January 8
Branch meeting and Good Beer Guide Selection. Salt Cot, Saltcoats. Time tbc.
Saturday, January 19
East Ayrshire social dinner. Weston Tavern, Kilmaurs 7pm for 7.30pm
Saturday, January 26
Scotland and Northern Ireland branches social crawl. Meet at Abbotsford Hotel, Corsehill Road, Ayr 2pm
Monday, January 28
Beer festival planning meeting. Geordies’s Byre, Ayr 8pm
Wednesday, January 30
East Ayrshire Social. Wheatsheaf, Kilmarnock 7.30pm
Any member wishing more information about social events or to book a place on trips is encouraged to contact the branch social secretary Donald Clark at mound_spotter@yahoo.co.uk TROON SOCIAL GROUP CAMRA has over 80 members in Troon and it has been suggested that a Troon social group be formed. Anyone who would like to be a part for this, please get in touch with Bob Wallace or Graeme Watt using the contact details on page 3.
www.ayrshireandwigtownshirecamra.org.uk 8
FULL PINTS STEAM PACKET INN. ISLE OF WHITHORN Family run village inn located on the harbour in the picturesque fishing village of Isle of Whithorn. BAR OPEN Friday to Monday 11 AM – 11PM Tuesday to Thursday 11 AM – 2.30 PM & 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 Children and Dogs Welcome. ACCOMODATION From £30 pppn B&B Special accommodation offers to CAMRA members Bookings Call Alastair on 01988500334 OR e-mail steampacketinn@btconnect.com CAMRA Membership is the perfect gift for any beer lover! Gift membership includes £20 worth of JD Wetherspoon real ale vouchers, a copy of our new quarterly magazine BEER and monthly newspaper What’s Brewing, reduced or free entry to beer festivals, discounts on all CAMRA books, and more! How the CAMRA Gift Membership works 1. Order the Gift Membership Online (We can send the pack to you or to the recipient. Amend the delivery address accordingly). 2. The initial pack will contain the full membership pack, plus any books additional items if ordered, plus a covering letter containing a unique voucher code to activate the membership. 3. The choice is yours. Take delivery and present it to the recipient or have it sent straight to them. 4. The recipient will then be able to go online and activate their membership with the unique code supplied and their Membership card will be sent to the member.
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FULL PINTS By Mick Lee
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hose of you who know me will have heard me say that I don't really like beer festivals (our own wonderful festival excepted of course), but I do get tempted to try one every once in a while. So when a friend suggested a visit to the Carlisle beer festival in November I decided to give it a go. Three of us met at Glasgow Central and boarded a Virgin Pendolino which travelled non-stop to Carlisle. We decided to visit a few pubs first, we had spotted one in the Good Beer Guide: Linton Holme, about a mile from the station. Despite the pouring rain we decided to walk there. Unfortunately we hadn’t spotted the opening hours and we discovered it didn't open until 4pm. There was nothing for it but to walk back to the city centre and get even more soaked. Our refuge there was the Howard Arms, which is not in the GBG, although we thought it probably should be. It is an unspoilt former Carlisle State Management Scheme pub divided into several rooms. On tap were Theakston's Best Bitter and Thwaites Wainwright, both in good nick, and the very good value lunches were good too. We also called in at the GBG listed King's Head for a pint of Yates Bitter. At last it was time to visit the festival, which was held in the ballroom of the Hallmark Hotel, which is right next to the station. A smaller venue than Troon Concert Hall, it had a bar along one end wall and tables and chairs throughout. The first surprise, on offering the £1 entry fee quoted for CAMRA members in What's Brewing, was to be asked for £3. The extra £2 was a deposit for a glass, and the second surprise was that there weren't
dedicated festival glasses, just a mixture of old glasses. On asking why I was asked in return “Do you know the price of glasses?”, which I do, but apparently a lack of sponsorship was the main problem. Fortunately the type of glass doesn't affect the taste, and we got stuck in. There were 50 real ales available, mostly from Cumbria, but a few from further afield, including Scotland. Tokens at £1.40 per half pint were used. I tasted a variety, and amongst my favourites were Hawkshead Cumbrian 5 Hop, Watermill Windermere Blonde and Yorkshire Dales Pikedaw. I also managed a third of a pint of the Champion Beer of Britain, Coniston No. 9. I still won't attend many beer festivals, but I did enjoy the visit.
Getting Around Buses: Stagecoach West Scotland Customer Services 01292 613500 Disability Helpdesk 07736 892253
Trains: Scotrail Customer Services 0845 601 5929
Ferries: Caledonian MacBrayne Enquiries 0800 066 5000
All: Traveline Scotland www.travelinescotland.com
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FULL PINTS By Ray Turpie
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old part called Poultney, contains the harbour which was designed by well known civil engineer, Thomas Telford. Overlooking the harbour is what I believe to be the most northerly Wetherspoon’s, the Alexander Bain, named after a local clock and instrument maker. There is a wonderful floral clock tribute to him in the garden of the BBC studio on the main street. I managed a visit before I left and enjoyed a pint of Deuchars, although I was a bit disappointed that they did not have any local beers on tap. There were beers on tap aplenty, however, at our 13th Beer Festival in Troon, which proved very successful again this year. Approximately 2,500 customers enjoyed almost 12,000 pints. The first cask to empty was Cromarty Happy Chappy on Thursday night, which bodes well for the future of the recently opened brewery. My favourite was Trawlerboys BB from Green Jack, but the Beer of The Festival (BOTF) was voted as Traquair Bear Ale from Innerleithen. If
n the last issue, I mentioned my bucket list and a trip to Orkney in the autumn. I am glad to report that I had the pleasure of enjoying a pint of Scapa Special from Highland Brewing Company in the Albert Hotel’s Bothy Bar, Kirkwall. Our day trip from John O’Groats included an hour in the island’s capital before heading back to the ferry. I found the pub with just fifteen minutes to spare but what a memorable visit. Historically, Orkney is fascinating with Scara Brae settlement still recognisable as a village and the Ring of Brodgar predating Stonehenge by almost one thousand years. In more modern times, the importance of Scapa Flow to the Second World War effort cannot be underestimated and the Italian Chapel for the prisoners who built the Churchill barriers for the British fleet protection is a remarkable work of art and enterprise. On our visit to the north, we took in Thurso and Wick, both interesting places with Viking influences. We stayed in McKay’s Hotel in the latter; a real ale outlet which boasts the gable end is the shortest street in the world, Ebenezer Place, at only 6ft 9in long. Wick itself is a very interesting place. The The Alexander Bain, Wick 12
FULL PINTS you fancy a trip to the Borders in the New Year for the certificate presentation, keep your eye on the events programme. Talking about trips, we had a very successful branch social in Wigtownshire at the beginning of September. This fitted in well with one of our campaigning targets for this year to visit pubs using public transport and gave the rail link to Stranraer some support. We started in the Grapes and then took the bus to Portpatrick to visit the Crown Hotel and the Harbour House Hotel. Some of us managed a visit to the Ruddicot Hotel before heading home. My favourite pint of the day, much to my surprise I should add, was Abbot Ale in the Harbour House.. Another trip a few of us managed recently was to Tillicoultry for the Scottish pub of the year presentation to the
Woolpack. This was another surprise in some respects as the current management team have only been in post for a short time and are now moving on. Also, they serve mainly Greene King/Belhaven beers. They were somewhat overcome by the recognition for their great efforts over the year but I enjoyed the St Edmund’s Ale and the congenial atmosphere created by the local customers at this event. There are plenty events coming up over the winter for our members to support their local pubs. Besides the area socials, there are pub crawls in Troon on December 28 and Ayr on January 26. Hope to see you there And remember to vote for your branch pub of the year (BPOTY) by contacting the Social Group Organiser or Branch Secretary by the end of December.
The Village Inn Dunlop
Only a two minute walk from Dunlop railway station. Raymond and Carol will be delighted to welcome you at The Village Inn. Located at Dunlop Cross they are pleased to offer real ale from The Houston Brewery and other Scottish Breweries. Tel 01560 483130 13
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The Grapes was originally a coaching inn, which was built 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, on the other side is the lounge and snug room which has been refurbished with the 1940's style of the pub. • Accordian band most Fridays from 5 – 8pm • Real ale on draught • Over 40 malt whiskies - one for each region in Scotland • Occasional Blue Grass bands. Look out for The Old Tire Slingers from California in late January 2013. So if you are ever in Stranraer give The Grapes a visit it is one you won't regret. Tel: 01776 703386 15
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*CAMRA members have noted that real ale is not always available at these pubs. 16
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FULL PINTS By Mick Lee
J
ust a week after this year's Ayrshire Real Ale Festival closed its doors after another very successful event about half the staff who had helped make it such a success took up the offer to experience the hospitality of Strathaven Brewery. I joined the bus laid on by the festival at Kilwinning Station after earlier pick-ups in Ayr, Prestwick and Troon. After further pick-ups in Kilmarnock and Darvel the bus headed up the Irvine Valley and over into the Avon Valley in Lanarkshire. On arrival at the brewery, which has a beautiful setting by the River Avon just outside Strathaven, we were each offered a pint from the choice of four on offer. I started with the rather fine Craigmill Mild (3.5% ABV). There were tables and chairs set out in the bar area, plus a few more outside by the river, under a gazebo, and the socialising soon began. After a short time we were told that the barbecue food was ready. We lined up to choose from rolls with venison burgers, beef burgers, sausages and chicken pieces, with salad, pasta and coleslaw accompaniments. A selection of cheeses and biscuits was available to follow. The whole spread was delicious. Once everyone had finished eating a visit to the brewery upstairs was available for those interested. Brewer Craig Buchanan gave us an
interesting talk on the brewing process and the future plans for the brewery, which include bigger brewery premises to allow the capacity to be increased, plus a bottling facility. He then answered some questions from those present. After that there remained the difficult task of sampling the beers. All were more unusual ones than those seen regularly in pubs, being in addition to the mild already mentioned, Duchess Anne (3.9%), Lord Kelvin (4.7%) and Fiery Cauldron (4.4%). The latter two had hints of ginger and cinnamon respectively, and although I enjoyed both my favourites were the more straightforward flavours of the mild and Duchess Anne. The sun was shining by this time, and although it was a little chilly I spent most of the rest of the visit enjoying the company and the views outside. Despite learning that my football team had scored seven goals in my absence this afternoon I couldn't have been happier with the whole experience. All too soon it was time to leave. Four of the party decided to be dropped off in Strathaven to continue to enjoy the ales on offer at the Weavers, while the rest of us stayed on to be dropped off at our starting
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FULL PINTS points. I would like to record my thanks, on behalf of all those on the trip, to Strathaven Brewery for their hospitality and fine beers, and for contributing to a day out that will live long in the memory.
CROWN HOTEL 9 NORTH CRESCENT PORTPATRICK WIGTOWNSHIRE DG9 8SX TEL 01776 810261 wwwcrownportpatrick.com crownportpatrick@btconnect.c For the last nine months we have been serving real ale in our hotel bar. Two different ales are available daily with 5 or 6 different ales appearing weekly. Please pop in the next time you find yourselves in Portpatrick. The Crown offers bar meals all day from 12-9 and our restaurant menu is available from 6pm daily.
Seafood is our speciality (AA awarded seafood pub of Scotland past winner).
We also offer daily specials alongside our extensive menus. We offer bed and breakfast and dinner packages with 5 of our 12 en-suite rooms offering sea views. Bed and breakfast is available from ÂŁ40 per person. 19
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FULL PINTS Catacol Bay Hotel, Catacol, Isle of Arran
Owned and run by the same family for over 30 years, the Catacol Bay Hotel is a small, friendly, licensed hotel nestling in the Arran hills 1.5 miles from the Lochranza ferry terminal and approximately 16 miles from Brodick The hotel boasts stunning views across the Kibrannan Sound. We serve an extensive range of real ales, draught beers, wines, meals and snacks in the bar daily from 12 noon to 10pm, or enjoy our famous Sunday buffet served 12 noon to 4pm throughout the year. Outside there is a large beer garden with children's play area, the perfect place to watch the sun go down.
01770 830231 www.catacol.co.uk
The Waterside Bath Street, Largs Tel: 01475 672224
Two ever-changing REAL ALES now available Live Music Saturdays Poker Wednesdays
Karaoke Fridays
Open Mike night Sundays
Food available every day, except Monday 20
FULL PINTS By Lindsay Grant
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his year it is the turn of Troon to host the annual Christmas/New Year Crawl on Friday, December
28. Festivities will begin at 1pm. in the South Beach Hotel. Two beers, usually a mix of local and national brands, are on offer. We will then move onto Fullartons in Portland Street at 1.45pm. Which has] four ales, including Cairngorm Wildcat and some guests. Across the road to the Lonsdale for 2.30 pm. Caledonian Deuchars IPA is the usual beer. A fair walk along Templehill takes us to the Harbour Bar at 3.15pm. One or two beers here, usually from local micros. Back into town to return to Portland Street and the town’s real ale institution McKay’s at 4 p.m. After some years in the doldrums beer-wise, recent reports suggest that this pub may be returning to its former glory. Hopefully, a decent range of beers will be available for our visit. Further along Portland Street and we reach our final port of call Bruce’s Well at 4.45pm. Caledonian Deuchars IPA and a guest beer are the usual offerings in this pub. All are welcome, indeed encouraged, to join us for all or part of the crawl. Whilst we do our best to adhere to the published times, it is the nature of this sort of event that timings can vary - especially towards the end. If you want to join the crawl at any particular time then you can call Lindsay Grant on 07767 888756 to find out exactly where we are.
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Festive Crawl 2012 Troon n1300 South Beach Hotel, South Beach n1345 Fullartons, 10 Portland Street n1430 Lonsdale, 15 Portland Street n1515 Harbour Bar, 169 Templehill n1600 Dan McKay’s, 69 Portland Street n1645 Bruce’s Well, 91 Portland Street All are welcome, indeed encouraged, to join us for all or part of the crawl. As the timings of an event like this become “flexible” (especially towards the end of the crawl) call Lindsay Grant on 07767 888756 to meet up with the group at any point.
FULL PINTS By Lindsay Grant y wife Karen and I are regular visitors to Benalmadena, near Malaga, on Spain’s Costa del Sol. Famed for its guaranteed sun and cheap wine this is not one of the world’s beer Meccas and, over the years, the best one could expect would be keg Old Speckled Hen or the odd bottle of Belgian beer. However, this July saw a change for the better. Only a five minute walk from our accommodation, the Lounge Bar on Avenida Bonanza was advertising real ale. I must admit I approached with some caution, verging on disbelief, only to find a hand-pump serving Saxon Bitter on the bar and a Cask Marque accreditation plaque on the wall. On asking for a pint I was immediately engaged in conversation by landlord David who, with his wife Shirley, has run the bar since September 2011. David explained that the beer was brewed fairly locally, was selling well (1 firkin about every 3 days) and that they were the first bar in Spain to achieve Cask Marque status. A tour of his cellar followed. The beer itself, whist served in good condition, was OK but nothing particularly special and had a rather odd sweetish aftertaste. The bar, whilst billed as a sports bar with six large screen TVs both inside and out, has a community feel and attracts a mix of locals, ex-pats and tourists. It is home to the “Guiri Army”, Malaga C.F.’s British Supporters Club and buses are run to all home and selected away
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games. As we made this visit towards the end of our holiday, our busy schedule meant we did not return until our next holiday in late October. We called in on the Monday evening but were disappointed to be told by Shirley that the real ale wasn’t on. She apologised, explaining that they had unprecedented demand for it and had gone through 3 firkins over the weekend. On returning on the Thursday the beer was available, in fine form and much improved from earlier in the year. David again sought my opinion and agreed with my thoughts on its improvement. The bar had even more of a community feel and fewer tourists during this visit. For example, I would suggest there are not many bars anywhere where the clientele are exhorted to sing happy birthday to one, rather embarrassed, lady regular. The beer is brewed by the Saxon microbrewery (El Anglosajon S.L) in Almeria. Their main product is the aforementioned Saxon Bitter at 4.6% but other regular brews are Saxon Temptress, brewed with Andalucian honey, also at 4.6% and Saxon Porter at 5.4%. Other bars on the Costa del Sol, all Cask
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Marque accredited, which offer Saxon beers are Dibleys and the Garden Bar in Mijas Costa; Bar Eden and Bar Rouge in Estepona; Hemmingways in Puerto de La Duquesa and the K Bar in Benahavis.
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CAMRA
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Rugby £22
Ladies T £11
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Order online at https://shop.camra.org.uk/
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FULL PINTS By Bob Wallace
“I
’ve joined CAMRA. Now what is expected of me?”This is a question that crops up regularly when I speak with members and nonmembers alike. My answer is always to simply point out that the only expectation should be that he, or she, support the aims of the organisation and, whenever possible, drinks real ale. CAMRA, like any other voluntary organisation, completes its work mainly through the contribution of many unpaid individuals. Let’s have a look at some ways members get involved. Starting with the easy stuff. Branch socials: within our area these are held monthly in both North and East Ayrshire and, occasionally in South Ayrshire & Wigtownshire. All that you have to do is come for a pint, bring your friends and talk. Branch brewery visits: in addition to our recent trip to Strathaven Ales, which was a thank you to the beer festival workers, trips have been arranged to Fyne Ales (Cairndow), Houston brewery (near Paisley), Sulwath brewery (Castle Douglas) and Tin Pot brewery (Bridge of Allan) in recent times. If you haven’t been on one of these outings you are really missing out. Our next one will be to Traquair brewery, near Peebles, to present the Beer of the Festival award. Branch pub crawls: a great way to take part in a CAMRA event as you can pick and choose whether to visit one or two pubs or take in the whole course. Why not come along to our annual ‘Festive Crawl’ which will be held in Troon on December 28, from 1pm. Branch meetings: held around the area, 28
at least bi-monthly, these meetings are the means to report to members on the committee’s work and plans. Branch committee: chairman Lindsay Grant is supported by a dozen members. who do all the tasks required to support real ale and the pubs that sell it. Five of the current office bearers joined CAMRA in recent years. We need the support of all our members, however involved you decide to be. I try to speak to many of our members each year at the beer festival and know that you all have other interests and commitments on your time.
Ayrshire and Wigtownshire CAMRA
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He’s the man in the know!
F
or the last few months, CAMRA has been supporting a campaign started by London brewers Fuller’s to persuade the government scrap the beer duty escalator - a policy where duty on beer automatically rises by two percentage points above inflation every year. The campaign took the form of an online petition. When the online petitions reach 100,000 signatures, parliament is obliged to debate the issue. The 100,000 signature target was reached well within the allotted time limit, thanks in no small part to the legwork of CAMRA volunteers up and down the country. The debate was held on Thursday, November 1. Every MP in the Ayrshire and Wigtownshire branch area (all Labour) was contacted and asked to attend the debate and vote in favour of the motion. Replies were received from three: Brian Donohoe (Central Ayrshire), Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) and Cathy Jamieson (Kilmanock and Loudoun) confirming they would do so. Cathy Jamieson, in her capacity as shadow economic secretary to the Treasury, led the debate for the opposition. Despite a packed chamber in which every MP spoke in favour of the motion there were none who spoke in its favour 30
treasury minister Sajid Javid refused to review government policy. So does that mean we have lost or that the the campaign was a failure? Absolutely not. We do not consider the fight to be over and we will continue to try to persuade Mr Javid and his boss, George Osborne, that the damage the beer duty escalator does to the pub industry far outweighs the benefits of any revenue it raises. And due continuing pub closures it is raising very little. Also, a lot of backbench politicians from all parties are now on our side, and the Labour party, which introduced the policy when Alistair Darling was chancellor, has reversed its position and agrees that the policy should now be scrapped. CAMRA is aware of course that the beer duty escalator is not the only reason pubs are closing at an alarming rate. Factors such as the economy, people’s changing social habits and the questionable practices of some pub companies towards their tenants are all harming the trade. However the government must help where it can. Legislation can prevent unscrupulous pub companies exploiting tenants, a re-balancing of alcohol duty would see the discrepancy between the price of drinks between the on an off trade narrowed and a guest beer law would open up restricted markets for small brewers. One thing that did become clear from the parliamentary debate was that many politicians now accept what CAMRA has been saying all along about responsible drinking and antisocial behaviour: the supervised environment of the pub is part of the solution, not the problem.
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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 until 5pm Off-sales also available
The Brewery, King Street Castle Douglas DG7 1DT www.sulwathbrewers.co.uk
Telephone: 01556 504525 32