QUARTS AND THOUGHTS I should thank my employers, M & J International Freight Ltd of Corby, for allowing me to store several thousand copies of BAE 212 free of charge in their warehouse (it helps when the boss is a CAMRA Life Member). Incidentally, people occasionally express surprise that a lorry driver can edit a magazine – or that an editor can drive a lorry! Here’s the proof…. Tina and I had a lovely ten days or so in Suffolk in July, initially in Aldeburgh where some old haunts were enjoyed, including the town’s White Hart and Mill as well as the remote Eel’s Foot at Eastbridge. Moving up the coast, we stayed in Bungay, where we luxuriated in the Green Dragon’s own Mild and Bitter and where we dined royally at the Fleece (ales from Green Jack and St. Peter’s). We also spent an evening at the Racehorse in nearby Westhall, where we were entertained by a number of musical acts who were raising money for a worthy cause - Race For The Racehorse as the local community aims to buy the pub and save it from closure. Green Jack Trawlerboys was my tasty ale of choice on the night.
and was very pleasantly surprised to be offered two ales from Kings Cliffe Brewery, dispensed by gravity. A pint each of 5C and No. 10 set me up nicely for the rest of the day! Was enjoying a pint of Rooster’s Yorkshire Pale Ale in Stamford’s King’s Head when I was introduced to Rupert Gibson, whose Drum and Monkey brewery is based at his house on the site of the former pub of that name on Stamford’s Casterton Road. Rupert’s products are available in the King’s Head and I enjoyed sampling It’s A Bromance and Ohhh My Gooseness, a 6.7% gooseberry sour ale. Steve Alcock, entrepreneurial landlord of the King’s Head (who launched Stamford Beers Direct during the first lockdown) is offering 10% off ales on a Sunday evening if you take a board game into the pub. It is possible he has a monopoly on the scheme……. Al
Whilst in Bungay, a chance conversation with an elderly resident led to us visiting a brewery (Stow Fen) tucked away on the town’s outskirts. The brewer, known locally as “Cabbage” (I didn’t like to ask) showed us around and the tour – like the ales that followed it – was a very pleasant diversion! The first weekend in September saw me in Beer Festival mode at the Crown in Great Casterton. This is a pub with a burgeoning reputation for its ale – their Bass is exceptional – and twenty ales were available in a busy atmosphere. I chose not to drink anything too strong on the day, although I finished with a Thornbridge Jaipur to complement preceding pints from Digfield, King’s Cliffe, Round Corner, Dark Star, Rudgate and Titanic. Sometimes it’s the unexpected ale that gives the most pleasure, and that proved to be the case as I strolled round the Diversity Festival on Stamford’s Recreation Ground on August Bank Holiday Monday. Feeling the need for refreshment, I approached the bar not sure what to expect,
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021
BEER AROUND ‘ERE
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