Pub News 6

Over in Barholm, Matt and Emma of the Five Horseshoes, whose service during lockdown included offering enough local produce to feed a small village, as well as a (very) wide range of ales and other beverages, had the honour of providing the bar at the Maxey Classic Car Show in August.

The Shoulder of Mutton in Weldon closed its doors in April, and local information had it that it wouldn’t reopen as a pub. Builders were in, bar had been gutted and so on. Not so – although Bogdan Vujnovic and Rada Dordevic and their family, and Mad Max the dog (after whom one of Weldon Brewery’s ales is named) have moved out (Bogdan will continue to work for the brewery). But the last I heard was that the pub has been reprieved and will open after intensive refurbishment. Here’s hoping….

And there’s more good news from that part of the Branch area. The 17th century White Swan at Harringworth, closed for about three years, is in the process of being restored to its former glory by local entrepreneur Tim Wilson and couple Patrice Lardon (originally from Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France) and Monika Peleckaite. The emphasis is to be on British food – “more black pudding than cordon bleu” – apparently, and locals are said to be happy that the “Mucky Duck” is to be a village pub again, with “nice beers, pie and mash, and a good atmosphere”. Nice beers eh – let’s hope so….

Tribute should be paid to three of the area’s Wetherspoon pubs and their customers who donated food and PPE to a local care home, hospice and food bank during the pandemic. Well done the Draper’s Arms, the College Arms and the Stamford Post!

“Theme” pubs of course are nothing new, but Richard and Vicky of the Nag’s Head, Eastrea, took the genre to a new level in the summer by turning the pub and its outbuildings into an Only Fools And Horses tribute. Both are fans of the legendary series and features include the inevitable yellow Reliant Regal van (not Robin as many people think) as well as a unit called Nelson Mandela House and a marquee named Peckham Place! Mangetout, mangetout………..

Planning permission has been granted in Market Deeping for the town’s first micropub, rumoured to be called the Thirsty Giraffe. Is this the next step towards Williams brothers global domination? Time will tell, but the brothers (who brought us the Frothblowers, Werrington and the Wonky Donkey, Fletton) were waiting for a licence as we went to press.

Brewery News

BEXAR COUNTY

www.bexarcountybrewery.com

BLUE BELL

www.thebluebell.net

CASTOR ALES

www.castorales.co.uk

Loyal readers of BAE will no doubt be aware that we don’t take ourselves too seriously at Castor Ales, but the pandemic has had such an impact on the lives and livelihoods of so many people that our immediate thoughts are with them, and a return to our pre-pandemic irreverence will take at least another paragraph. Or maybe not. The enforced hibernation of lockdown provided the perfect opportunity to think about the future, which did include – if the truth be known – the brewers hanging up their hydrometers. But such was the demand for our beer during lockdown that retirement just wasn’t an option. Production was obviously scaled back dramatically, allowing the brewers more leisure time. There was even talk of a brewery upgrade, replacing the ageing brew kit with a brand spanking new state of the art kit, assessing and re-designing all marketing and point of sale material. Instead, in a surprise move and armed with more leisure time, we invested in paddle boards and we are exploring opportunities of delivering beer by paddle board once the art of staying upright has been mastered. As ever, ahead of the curve and safeguarding the brewery against future (and current) shortages of HGV and delivery drivers. In a farsighted move to avoid the inevitable shortage of isinglass post-Brexit, Castor Ales has taken the decision to stop fining our beers. So, the next time you have a pint of Hopping Toad - and it doesn’t look like a mass-produced lager – the landlord will be telling the truth if he says “it’s meant to be like that”. It is important to acknowledge that the impact of the pandemic on Castor Ales has been far less than for many other brewers and publicans (and, most importantly, the imbubers). After all, this not our “day job”. Having said that, our thoughts are very much with everyone who has been affected during these dreadful times. Thanks to the Branch for their award to Castor Ales for supplying beer, during the lockdown, to pubs for takeaways and other customers. Thank you for your continued support and here’s to better times in the near future. Cheers!

Duncan Vessey

DIGFIELD ALES

www.digfield-ales.co.uk

After the difficult time of Covid lockdown and the extended period of hospitality closure, Digfield Ales are back in full production and recently had beers at one of the major beer festivals in the area - at Northampton. Also, during this time, they have revamped their website.

Dave Waller

ELGOOD’S

www.elgoods-brewery.co.uk

Elgood’s Brewery is currently only fully staffed for three days a week. They are only brewing Cambridge, Black Dog and Lighter Shade of Ale, and Greyhound from August for three months. The current state of the cask beer market means Elgood’s cannot plan any more seasonal beers, but they are brewing keg Black Dog and keg Cambridge.

Jonathan Boyall

HOPSHACKLE

www.hopshacklebrewery.co.uk

Well, that was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, and it hasn’t stopped yet so we can get off! I was in New Zealand when it became apparent that things were going

to get really bad with Coronavirus. Exited New Zealand just after they’d closed their borders to all non-residents and arrived back in the UK mid-March. My daughter, who was travelling independently, followed a few days later and was on the last scheduled flight out and subsequently had armed guards escort them out on the last flight from Dubai airport before they shut it and locked it up! The first lockdown was particularly tough, with beer delivered to pubs previously being collected – when it was permitted – and brought back to the brewery. With special dispensation allowed by HMRC, this was disposed of down the drain, not an easy thing for a “tight” Yorkshireman to do at all! Things soon improved though, with the website being updated (including an online shop) and the bottles soon started going out rapidly, particularly with the trend to “Bring the Pub into your Home” with a selection of beers, bar snacks and a glass. Bottled beer sales remained steady as the lockdown continued, reaching a frantic pace as Christmas approached and then the New Year celebrations, which again were mostly spent at home. Things have gradually got better recently with the removal of lockdown and pubs and bars opening again. Cask sales have steadily picked up, and combined with the continued bottle sales the future looks promising. Let’s hope that this year we can all celebrate Christmas in the way we fondly remember it before the pandemic.

Nigel Wright

KINGS CLIFFE

www.kcbales.co.uk

Kings Cliffe beers are now available in local pubs, and four beers were available at the recent Northampton County Beer Festival. During lockdown, the brewery sold beers directly and online.

Don Rudd

MELBOURN

www.allsaintsbrewery.co.uk www.miletreebrewery.co.uk

We would like to thank everyone who has continued to support us through an extremely difficult trading period over the last 18 months. Since the end of lockdown, Mile Tree Brewery has increased the production of cask and bottled beers. This is due to the support of local pubs and retailers who have stocked our beers, the increase in bottle sales and the opening of the Potting Shed bar and beer garden at the Secret Garden Touring Park, Wisbech. The opening of the Potting Shed bar has been really successful and has drawn in both on-site campers and local residents. They have regular Friday and Saturday night entertainment and street food vendors. Mile Tree Brewery beers are always available on draught as well as guest beers, which are sourced by Mile Tree, including those from Tydd Steam, Xtreme Ales, Three Blind Mice, Potbelly Brewery and others. We have recently invested in a new six head bottle filler, pneumatic crown capper and two head bottle rinser, all of which will help to increase bottle production and product consistency. We plan to produce a range of special one-off beers in 330ml bottles, some of which will be available this Christmas either through events or direct from the brewery. The middle of September saw us take delivery of a new 1000l unitank from Gravity Systems, Orton Southgate. This vessel will allow us to produce an unfiltered pilsner which will be available at the Secret Garden Touring Park and a few other local outlets in the New Year. Our 1000l pilot brewery has been used extensively to brew experimental test brews over the last 18 months, and from these test brews we have developed two new beers which we intend to release early next year. We wish our customers all the best for a brighter future!

Richard and Karen Matthews

NENE VALLEY

www.nenevalleybrewery.co.uk

The brewery has been very busy since pubs reopened earlier in the year and we have invested in a new fermenting vessel to help keep up with demand. We have just brewed two old favourites : Bang Goes String Theory and Supersonic, and in early September we went to Worcestershire and picked up fresh Pilgrim hops which had been harvested that day. We brewed with them that evening when we got back. This green hopped beer will be 4.2%. The shop has also been very busy with sales of cans, bottles, 5L mini casks and 4 pint refills, and we take pre-