beerlines the magazine of the North Hampshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
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ISSUE 1 APRIL-JUNE 2013
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I n Th i s I s s u e . . . • Watercress Line 14-16 • The Armchair Activist 5 • Pub Portrait • An Old Favourite • Beer Scoring System • WhatPub?
22 13 8 9
• CAMRA Beer Tasting 18-19 • Pub Walk 12 • Reading Beer Festival 11 • Brewery News
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WWW.CA M R AHANTSNO RTH.O R G .UK
beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
VISIT FULLER’S London’s only remaining family brewery
Beer has been brewed on Fuller's Chiswick site for over 350 years - as far back as the era of Oliver Cromwell. The Griffin brewery is a working site, brewing award-winning beers including London Pride, ESB and London Porter as well as some fantastic bottled beers such as our Vintage Ale ranges.
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
We run 20 tours per week, Tours last approx 1¾ hour Monday – Friday, 11am-3pm, Tickets £10 per person
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Our excellent guides will explain about the brewing process and ingredients, show you the old and new parts of the brewery, and finish with the highlight of any tour - the tasting!
Bookings must be made in advance, so please contact the brewery.
Call Adam on 0208 996 2175 email: tours@fullers.co.uk
w w w.fullers.co.uk
beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
Chairman’s Letter
Branch Contacts Editor and Branch Secretary Jonathan Pain e: beerlines@hotmail.co.uk Branch Chairman Derek Craze e: chairman@camrahantsnorth.org.uk All officers can be contacted securely through our website (see below): Pubs and Clubs Officer - Andy Wootten Membership Secretary - Brenda Cross Branch Contact / Festival Organiser - Phil Myatt Social Secretary - Dave Newman Branch Treasurer - Doug Cross
Web: www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk Twitter: @CamRAHantsNorth Facebook: ‘North Hampshire CAMRA’ The Editor reserves the right to amend or shorten contributions for publication. All editorial copyright © North Hampshire CAMRA 2013 Disclaimer: Views expressed in this publication are those of their individual authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Editor, branch committee or the Campaign for Real Ale nationally. North Hampshire CAMRA accepts no liability in relation to the accuracy of advertisements; readers must rely on their own enquiries. It should also be noted that acceptance of an advertisement in this publication should not be deemed an endorsement of quality by North Hampshire CAMRA.
Trading Standards (Hampshire) Montgomery House, Monarch Way, Winchester SO22 5PW t: 01962 833620 e: tsadvice@hants.gov.uk www.hants.gov.uk Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. 230 Hatfield Road, St. Albans, Herts, AL1 4LW t: 01727 867 201 e: camra@camra.org.uk www.camra.org.uk
PUBLISHED BY
© 2013 Capital Media Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted, reproduced, recorded, photocopied or otherwise without the express written permission of the copyright holder.
I
’m so pleased to be writing an introduction to this edition of ‘Beer Lines’ – the magazine of the North Hampshire Branch of Campaign for Real Ale. It’s been some years since the last edition appeared and, in partnership with Capital Media Group, we’re delighted to launch this new attractive publication. Every three months there will be a new edition and we plan to make the magazine, informative, lively and readable. CAMRA has been campaigning for real ale, community pubs and consumer rights since 1971. As part of an organisation which now boasts more than 145,000 members our Branch aims to: - hold welcome events for new members and encourage involvement in campaigning and Branch activities; - support the national campaign to ‘save your pint’; and ‘stop the beer tax escalator’; and - encourage more pubs to offer discounts to CAMRA members and promote beer scoring, leading to an improved annual ‘Good Beer Guide’. We encourage you to let us know what you think of the magazine and its content and look forward to hearing your ideas for future articles. Cheers! Derek Craze
(Branch Chairman, North Hampshire CAMRA)
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
Capital Media Group 2 Halifax Court, Fernwood Business Park Cross Lane, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, NG24 3JP t: 01636 302 302 e: beerlines@thisiscapital.com www.thisiscapital.com
A warm welcome to you
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beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
the
Coach & Horses - r otherwick -
An authentic village alehouse boasting a lovely South-facing f garden overlooking tranquil farmland. Our classic pub meals are home cooked, using ingredients from small local producers where possible - including meat from the Sherfield village shop. Come and experience the atmosphere of a proper village pub as it used to be. Bright, fresh Hall and Woodhouse Ales are always available on tap, featuring a changing Seasonal Ale. www.coachandhorses-rotherwick.co.uk
The Street, Rotherwick, Basingstoke, RG27 9BG t: 01256 768976
G t food, great ale rea unpretentiouinsaatcomsyosand A true gem. phere,
The Queens Arms Find us in the Good Beer Guide & the Good Pub Guide
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
Great ale, good homemade food and welcoming atmosphere, what more could you want?
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Beer Festival 7th – 9th June 2013 Please contact us for further details Bunnian Place | Basingstoke | RG21 7JE Call (01256) 465488 Email: nickallen2303@googlemail.com
beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
The Armchair Activist What you can do for CAMRA Become A Member • Sign up through the website or complete the form included within this magazine www. camra.org.uk/join
• Suggest any items that you would like to see included in future issues • Help distribute the magazine to your local pubs and/or clubs
Help With The Campaign
Meet Up With Like-Minded People
• Submit beer scores, add or update pub information on WhatPub whatpub.com/ beerscoring
• Visit us at a social event, beer festival or branch meeting (please see the branch website)
• Read and support CAMRA’s campaigns www.camra.org.uk/campaigns • Lobby your MP about pub issues that affect your local area www.theyworkforyou.com • Sign the e-petition to ‘Stop the Beer Tax Escalator’ saveyourpint.co.uk
• Arrange your own local sub-group (contact our
membership and/or branch secretary who will try to assist in contacting other members within your area)
Jonathan Pain
(Branch Secretary & Newsletter Editor, North Hampshire CAMRA)
Visit Our Branch Website www. camrahantsnorth.org.uk
Quick Quiz
• Vote for your local branch Pub and/or Club of the year
Solve the 6 double clues, take the first letters of your answers and mix them to find the name of an ale and an animal.
• Submit pub news • Find out what is happening within the branch area, including selected beer festivals
• Join us on Twitter: @CamRAHantsNorth • Join us on Facebook (North Hampshire CAMRA) www.facebook.com/ groups/80312484117
Contribute To Our New Publication • Contact the editor with any letters/news from your local area
Queen’s radio and a Lady?
2.
Mixed up Premier Manager’s alcohol measure?
3.
Man slang for shilling?
4.
A bit of a line of seeds?
5.
The best spreadsheet at a venue in London?
6.
Souped up little vicar
Brenda Cross For answers see page 13
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
• Sign up to our Yahoo! mailing list groups yahoo.com/group/camrahantsnorth
1.
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beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
Brewery News Your local brewery update Andwell Brewing Company
Sherfield Village Brewery
01256 761044 www.andwells.com
07906 060429 www.sherfieldvillagebrewery.co.uk
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
Alongside the regular portfolio of beers, Andwell’s seasonal brews continue to impress with Sovereign, Porter no.2 and Golden IPA, being popular last year. Crouch, Hold & Engage, a new rich malty amber ale, starts the year to be followed by Spring Twist; hopefully May’s Mild will make a welcome return for Camra’s Mild Month in May. The shop and brewery tours continue to be popular.
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As well as traditional British bitters and stouts, Sherfield make extensive use of New World hop varieties like Motueka, Pacific Jade, Nelson Sauvin and Riwaka. Mellivora (the Honey Badger) is a new 5.4% dark ruby honey beer that was available from early 2013, and the five hop Hoppy Harrington is available for spring. The brewery is not open to the public, but special events advertised on the website do take place at the nearby Village Hall.
Longdog Brewery
Wild Weather Ales
01256 324286 www.longdogbrewery.co.uk
0118 970 1837 www.wildweatherales.com
Bunny Chaser and Brindle Bitter continue to be the most popular at the bar amongst the pub trade and Lamplight Porter continues to win awards at beer festivals, adding Southampton and Ascot to the list in 2012. Golden Poacher is still available and Tinkers Tinsel that was launched at Christmas has been tweaked and renamed a less seasonal Tinkers Tipple. Fingers crossed that Hare of the Dog Mild will be available again in May. Off Sales at the Brewery are available Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.
A new brewery based in Easter Park, just north of Silchester. Brewing started in December 2012, with Stormbringer, a 4.5% deep amber copper coloured ale available in 9gln casks and 500ml bottles. Two further beers, Little Wind and Black Night are available from the end of February and March respectively. by Phil Myatt and Robin Wilson
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North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
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National Beer Scoring System whatpub.com/beerscoring
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he National Beer Scoring System (NBSS) is a five-point scale (see below for further explanation) for judging beer quality in pubs. It is an easy to use system that has been designed to assist CAMRA branches in selecting pubs for the Good Beer Guide and also monitor beer quality by encouraging CAMRA members from any part of the world to report beer quality on any pub in the UK. If you are a CAMRA member, we want you to tell us about the quality of beer in the pubs you visit. To submit your scores please visit whatpub. com/beerscoring. Or you can click on a link in on the North Hants website www.camrahants.org. uk. You can also download handy NBSS cards to take with you to the pub to record the information.
What do I need to record? -
Your name & membership number The date that you visited the pub The name of the pub and where it is located A score out of 5 The name of the beer (optional)
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
What do the scores mean?
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0 = There was no cask ale available when you visited. 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; beer in good form. You might 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.
How often should I complete a card or submit an entry? This is down to personal preference. You may choose to score per beer or per pub, averaging your score for each pub visit. In the latter case, the beer name (unless you’ve only been drinking a single beer) can be left blank.
How is the information being collated? Once you have submitted your scores online, your Branch GBG Co-ordinators can contact HQ so that they can see scores for their area. For more information on the National Beer Scoring System, please email brett.laniosh@camra.org.uk. North Hants CAMRA values every survey submitted as the more data submitted the better the quality of the average scores. Remember, you are not judging the beer, you are judging the quality in which the beer is served. Andy Wootten
(Pubs Officer, North Hampshire CAMRA)
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North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
WhatPub www.whatpub.com
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hatPub is CAMRA’s national online pub database. It is currently only open to CAMRA members and gives details for most pubs and clubs nationwide, with photos and maps. You can enter beer scores here and submit updated information. In the near future, this will be made available to the public and will include a facility to generate routes for multi-pub visits. The pub profiles are generated from data collected and entered by branch volunteers. This data must be kept accurate for the guide to be successful. The amount of data required is similar to the survey data used to create Good Beer Guide entries plus a digital photograph or two. So, if you are visiting a pub, why not check out www.whatpub.com first and print out the entry. Take it with you to the pub and check for any incorrect or out-of-date information whilst there and then click the ‘Edit’ button to send
Diary Dates Saturday 6th April – POTY presentation please see website for details Friday 12th April – COTY presentation please see website for details
updates when you get home. You can also score the condition of the beer at the same time. Whatpub.com is a great way of searching out new pubs to visit, anywhere in the UK. If you are visiting, out for a walk, cycle, lunch or dinner, you can help make sure that details like opening times or beer selection are up to date for all users. Phil Myatt
Ian, Christine & the Team welcome you to the
CARPENTERS ARMS Close to Highclere Castle, the home of Downton Abbey, and with views over Watership Down, settings don’t come much better than this.
Friday 19th to Sunday 21st April Members’ Weekend & AGM, Norwich Tuesday 23rd April – Branch Meeting at The Sun Inn, Dummer, 8pm Tuesday 28th May – Branch AGM at Basingstoke Sports & Social Club, 8pm Tuesday 25th June – Branch Meeting at The Maidenhead Inn (Wetherspoons), 8pm
Enjoy a warm, friendly welcome and excellent home cooked food in our comfortable bar or conservatory.
For more information about branch social and campaigning events, please see the website
We also have 6 character rooms in our B&B so why not park up the car and stay the night?
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
T: 01635 278251 • e:thecarps@hotmail.co.uk
www.carpentersarms-burghclere.co.uk
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
(NB please bring your membership card)
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www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
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North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
19th Reading Beer Festival Thurs 2nd - Sun 5th May 2013
F
or the last four years, I have attended and worked at Reading Beer Festival. It is one of the largest in the country and boasts a choice of about 500 different beers. The event is held in a marquee on Kings Meadow just ten minutes walk from Reading railway station (for most of the day three trains an hour connect Reading and Basingstoke). The atmosphere has always been convivial and I look forward to renewing long standing friendships whilst meeting many new faces. The venue is in a field adjacent to the River Thames so the vagaries of the English climate are exaggerated - suitable clothing can easily be different every single day. A large number of
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volunteers are needed to run such an event and the organisers are always seeking new recruits. My friend Dave, an aficionado of Belgian beers, works on the Foreign Beer Bar which is usually well stocked with interesting imports. LocAle is showcased on a dedicated bar with Andwell, Flowerpots, Itchen Valley, Longdog, Sherfield Village, and possibly other new breweries, representing North Hampshire. This year the format of the event is being tweaked slightly. There will be early and late sessions on Friday and Saturday with a break of an hour and a half between them. The popularity of this festival has often resulted in lengthy (and frustrating) queues forming so advanced tickets sales are being introduced. Live music on Friday and Saturday evenings, food and various sales stands contribute to the experience. So why not come along and join the fun, even better why not get involved and join the volunteers? It is not too demanding but is definitely a rewarding experience. For further details visit the website at www.readingbeerfestival.org.uk or to volunteer, e: staffing@readingbeerfestival. org.uk Doug Cross
Peter, Fran and the team welcome you to The Fur & Feathers. A Victorian pub situated in the Hampshire countryside. You can while away the hours over a great pint complemented by some delicious home made food. For a pub lunch, restaurant dinner or a quiet pint or two, The Fur & Feathers is just the place. Relax in our beautiful pub garden. • Sharps Doom Bar 4% • Itchen Valley's Fagin 4.1% (LocAle) • Palmers Copper Ale 3.7% • Bowman Ales Warbler 4% (LocAle) • Sharp's Orchard Cider • Becks Vier • Stella Artois • Peroni • Guinness
Opening Times Tues - Thurs: 12 noon - 3pm & 5pm - 11pm Fri & Sat: 12 noon - 11pm Sun: 12 noon - 6pm
Food Service times Tues - Sat: 12 noon - 2:30pm & 6.30pm - 9pm Sun: 12 noon - 3pm
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
HERRIARD, BASINGSTOKE, HAMPSHIRE, RG25 2PN • 01256 384170 • www.thefurandfeathers.co.uk
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North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
Pub Walk Start: North Warnborough OS Ref SU 732515; Post Code: RG29 1EA Total distance: 2 miles. Take the route 10 bus from Basingstoke, alighting at Priors Corner. If travelling by car, park opposite the bus stop in Queens Road. At the roundabout, turn left into The Street and continue until you reach The Anchor (the real ales on the day we visited were Courage Best & Sharps Doombar). Please note that this pub is not open Mon-Sat lunchtime. On leaving the pub, turn right and, after 150yds, take the footpath right opposite Cypress Cottage. Cross the stile and continue down the right-hand side of two horse paddocks (crossing two more stiles). Turn left and follow the hedge, then take the path that bears slightly right across a field. Leave field through a gap in the hedge
and continue along the wide path to the road. Turn right and walk along the road as far as the T-junction. Turn left for The Fox & Goose, Greywell (the real ales on our visit were Sharps Doombar, DBC Jurassic & Timothy Taylor’s Landlord). Leave the pub and take Deptford Lane opposite. Then, take the footpath on the left over the canal tunnel, continue along the tow-path for approx. 1 mile passing the remains of Odiham Castle and swing bridge. At the road bridge, turn left and take the steps up to the road. Turn right and walk 300yds back to the bus stop. Geoff King
THE GOLDEN POT
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
In a rural setting, The Golden Pot is a warm and welcoming meeting place to enjoy good food and quality cask ales
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• Offering 3 cask ales from a range of 13 breweries (7 Locale) • Freshly prepared home cooked fine food • Free House, 10 years under the same owner • Music on Monday evenings Dogs welcome too Reading Road, Eversley, RG27 0NB 0118 973 2104
www.golden-pot.co.uk
beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
In praise of an old favourite Courage Best
B
Courage Best is now a very palatable bitter with a good hop balance. Mild disappeared years ago but Directors is still around and is worth seeking out. Many pubs in and around Basingstoke still sell Courage Best. I have heard it said that Courage Best drinkers are a very loyal bunch and indeed they must be, to have put up with the pillar-topost treatment of their favourite brew over the years. Thankfully, now, the beer has found a permanent home and the quality is back up there where it should be. So the next time you wander into a strange pub that only has Courage Best on the bar, don’t walk out. Try a pint. You may be pleasantly surprised. Jim Turner
Name that Pub Puzzle
Answers to Quick Quiz [on page 5] 1. Gaga, 2. ABV/ABV, 3. Bob, 4. Drill, 5. Excel 6. Rev, Hidden word: BADGER
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
ack in the mid 1970s, much of the real ale available in the Basingstoke area was brewed by Courage in Reading. No, I don’t mean the Worton Grange mega keg brewery just off the M4 which closed recently, but the original Courage brewery (formerly Simmonds) in Reading itself. Its real ales were Courage Mild (a particular favourite of mine) and Courage Best. There was also Directors Bitter which at that time I believe came from the Alton Brewery and was known as Alton Directors Bitter. In fact, to this day the letters ADB still appear on casks of Directors Bitter even though Alton Brewery long ago gave up brewing real ale. When Courage closed the Reading town centre brewery in the late 1970s, production of cask ales moved to George’s Brewery, Bristol, also owned by Courage. The taste of Courage Best changed, despite Courage assuring drinkers that the taste would be matched exactly. It was less hoppy and more fragrant than the Reading brew but I continued to drink it from time to time but only when nothing else was available. Some years later, Courage closed George’s Brewery and poor old Courage Best and others had to up sticks once more, this time to John Smith’s in Tadcaster. Once again, the taste changed and I stopped drinking it altogether. Production was beset with quality problems but despite all this, Courage still marketed the beer as a taste of tradition despite it bearing no resemblance to the Best I had known in the Seventies. Fast forward to the twenty-first century… The Courage real ales are now being contract-brewed by Wells & Youngs brewery in Bedford. The brewery has expressed their commitment to cask ales and so far they are living up to their promise.
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beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
Watercress Line The real ale train
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
T
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here seems to be a natural romance between the age of steam and handcrafted, British beers and nowhere, perhaps, is this happy love affair better illustrated than by the Mid Hants Railway, better known as the Watercress Line. Their Real Ale Train Saturday evening specials, affectionately dubbed the RAT, have proved so popular they are usually booked up several months ahead. The line now goes the full ten miles from Alresford to Alton, where there is a direct connection with mainline South West Trains. Many years of hard work by volunteers eventually saw the link between the two market towns finally restored in 1985. Alton was once a major ale brewing town, with famous names such as Bass and Courage, whilst the long since vanished Crowley Brewery even had its own private rail link. Times have changed and today Molson Coors are the only big players, with the Triple fff Brewery based at Four Marks just a few miles down the line, not only flying the flag for craft brewing but also the owners of our first port of call, the green-painted and Good Beer Guide (GBG) listed Railway Arms, complete with its own dinky steam loco protruding from above the door. Step inside to discover lots of panelling, high back settles, a games room to the rear and a railway themed, raised terrace beyond for smokers. As for the beer, a fine bank of handpumps offers a
choice of four Triple fff beers plus a guest ale. Continue towards the centre of town and turn left on the corner of High Street, where the cream and maroon painted Crown Hotel is worth a quick visit if you have the time. Follow the road round past the parish church into Church Street to find the Eight Bells (GBG) dating from 1640, its pale cream exterior concealing a single room with dark beams and copper-topped tables. Behind the pub is a secluded beer-garden and a listed smoking shelter complete with its own 17th century well, whilst refreshments on offer include Sharp’s Doom Bar, beers from both the local Ballards and Bowman breweries along with two guest ales. Return to the High Street and continue downhill to the White Horse, although you may care to pop in the Baker’s Arms on the way, its diminutive exterior giving little clue to its actual size. This is not the case at the White Horse,
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North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Continued on next page
Come and visit our traditional village pub with its open fires, oak beams and warm, friendly welcome. Try our delicious home-cooked food, which uses fresh quality ingredients and is renowned for its excellence. • Child friendly & dog friendly • Selection of real ales from local breweries plus guest ales • Extensive choice of fine wines at affordable prices • Freshly ground coffee • Enclosed beer garden • Open every day from midday
MONDAY NIGHT SPECIAL Two steaks or fish dishes plus bottle of selected wine £30
The George Inn Vernham Dean, SP11 0JY t: 01264 737279 e: georgeinn@rocketmail.com
www.thegeorge atvernhamdean.co.uk
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
where the open plan interior, adorned with some nice old prints, accommodates diners to the left and drinkers to the right. Pool and darts players are also catered for, whilst those in search of a pint have a choice between Ringwood Best and Courage Bitter, plus a guest beer if you’re lucky! A little further on, High Street becomes Butts Road where the George (GBG) stands on the left. Refurbished in a more contemporary style in 2008, the interior offers some unusual touches, such as three birdhouses and a large clock, along with an eclectic array of furniture. The beers comprise Sharp’s Doom Bar and St Austell Tribute together with a couple of guests, which can be enjoyed in the neat, grassy beer-garden when the weather permits. Retracing our steps to the High Street, turn left to discover the Market Place, where all three pubs are worthy of investigation if you can fit them in. On the left as you enter is the Wheatsheaf, with tables arranged under the trees outside its Georgian frontage. However, the modernised interior is altogether another matter and certainly not helped by an abundance of flat screen TVs. Meanwhile in the adjacent Market, bare board floors and eclectic lighting ranging from chandeliers to modern spots impart a pleasant bistro feel. Finally in Alton is the King’s Head just across the way on Market Street, a splendid example of the sort of two-roomed town centre boozer it is all too hard to find nowadays. There is a small beergarden of sorts to the rear, while handpumps on the bar dispense Courage Bitter alongside two guests, one of which today is a fine drop of Irving Frigate. The first stop down the line is Medstead combined with Four Marks, where the Windmill Inn, a redbrick roadhouse, stands beside the A31 just a five minute stroll from the station. A spacious lounge wraps itself around the serving area and extends into a conservatory at one end, while the real ales to be found here are Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Fuller’s London Pride together with HSB and, hopefully, a guest ale. Back on the train and time for a swift half before Ropley, a beautifully tended station and not far from the Anchor, a rather forlorn looking establishment on the far side of the same A31, its exterior cream and black paintwork carried through to the single room within. Well-kept beers from Triple fff and Stonehenge Brewery feature regularly and you may find an additional guest on tap.
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Watercress Line Continued... Between here and the terminus at New Alresford is the village of Bishop’s Sutton and the Ship Inn, the only problem being there is no station. However, it is barely a 20 minute walk from the end of the line back towards Alton along the B3047, in order to enjoy a jar or two of Palmer’s Copper Ale or any of the regularly changing guest ales. This is a welcoming free house and restaurant with a collection of tankards, horse brasses and nautical prints adorning the split-level interior. Leaving the station car park, the Swan is only three minutes away on the corner of West Street, a small hotel built in the Georgian style that typifies New Alresford. Cask beers are usually Courage Bitter and Sharp’s Doom Bar, sometimes supplemented by a single guest. Directly across the street is the Bell dating from 1767, its frontage festooned with flower baskets and potted firs. Comfortable seating, scrubbedtop tables and an array of antlers, prints, hops and barley all help to create a sense of friendly relaxation, helped along by beers from the likes of Otter, Andwell and Hambledon Bitter and Pure Gold from Itchen Valley Brewery. There is also a
A selection of draught and bottled real ales Ideal for parties, weddings and functions
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
Visit our brewery shop - week days 8-4
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Free local home delivery! Online orders and payment (See our website for details)
The Old Sawmill, Nyewood, Nr Petersfield, hants GU31 5HA Telephone: 01730 821 362 www.ballards-brewery.co.uk
cobbled outside drinking area surrounded by so much greenery it feels like a secret garden. Wander down Pound Hill to reach the Running Horse and don’t be put off by the Greene King signage - the house beer may be Tolly English Ale from Bury St Edmunds but the three other handpumps normally support local brewers such as Itchen Valley and Flowerpots. You can also play bar billiards here, something of a rarity these days. Return uphill past the Bell where the tidy, lowslung, timbered façade of the Horse & Groom will be facing you, complete with bay windows and a splendid, wrought iron nameplate. Faux ‘olde worlde’ décor gives way to a cavernous space behind used for darts and discos. Perhaps saving the best for last, carry on down Broad Street to where it narrows and bends to the right. Here stands the Globe, its low frontage hiding a warren of interlinked drinking and dining spaces, although the emphasis is firmly on the latter, with flagstone floors, scrubbed-top tables and a charming little snug to the rear. Best of all, however, is to be found outside, where a delightful beer-garden slopes down to the edge of Old Alresford Pond, where otters can sometimes be spotted. If the weather allows, it’s a lovely spot to unwind over a meal or just with a pint of Sharp’s Doom Bar, Otter Bitter (very appropriate), or one of the two guest beers, which are usually sourced locally. And if you have kids in tow, it’s a great place for them to do as the trains do and let off some steam. John Westlake, Nottingham CAMRA
[previously published in Nottingham Drinker, used by permission]
beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
This is the 2nd gastro-pub that the Wells family have turned from 'Boozer' to 'Foodie' and the total refurbishment has left us with hardwood flooring and a 'raw-hide' feel on the soft furnishings.
• Constantly changing range of real ales
• 23 years in Good Beer Guide • Home cooked food & comfortable rooms White Hart Lane | Charter Alley | Tadley | RG26 5QA
www.whitehartcharteralley.com Tel. Basingstoke (01256) 850048
37 High Street, Overton Hampshire, RG25 3HQ
The
T: 01256 773363
www.redlion-overton.co.uk
White
Hart
Inn Visit our popular 'gastro-pub' not far from the River Test, offering alfresco dining in the beer garden or on the heated, covered patio. In the summer, the garden is a blaze of floral colour. Our contemporary food is full of flair and represents great value for money. Private bar and skittle alley available to hire for birthdays, parties, weddings etc. for which we can provide catering. • FINE WINES • TWO LOCAL REAL ALES • • BEER GARDEN & COVERED, HEATED PATIO • • PRIVATE BAR/FUNCTION ROOM • SKITTLE ALLEY •
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
See website for current beers on sale
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beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
CAMRA Beer Tasting Join a CAMRA beer tasting panel
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
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o you ever look through the breweries section of your new Good Beer Guide and wonder who comes up with those Jilly Goulden-esque beer descriptions? Well, the answer is the local CAMRA Beer Tasting Panel, so if you would like to find out more and maybe get involved, read on. You don’t need a degree in chemistry to appreciate good beer, indeed a non-technical background helps to provide a true drinker’s perspective, which can be an advantage. It’s possible to go on about the types of different flavours in beers and talk about ethyl hexanoates or phenolic acids and bore everyone stupid. However, in simple terms, there are 4 basic tastes that we all experience; bitter, salt, sour and sweet. You’re unlikely to taste much salt in beer, but the other three can all be found to different extents. When tasting beer, you will tend to find most sweet flavours on the tip of the tongue with sourness at the sides and bitter right at the back. The good thing about bitterness being at the back to the mouth is that you need to swallow beer to experience the full flavour, so unlike wine tasting it is not recommended that you spit beer out when tasting it! The flavours in beer principally come from four ingredients. If you have been on a brewery tour sometime, chances are that the brewer will have handed around samples of malt to taste and hops to rub in your hand and sniff, to give you an idea of the flavour. MALT – provides a range of different flavours, primarily based on the length of time the malt is roasted for. So, in your pint, chocolate, nutty, bready, digestive biscuits,
coffee and cereal characteristics will all derive from malt. HOPS – offer floral, citrus, grassy and spicy flavours. If your beer tastes of cheese, chances are old hops have been used in the process. WATER – can have a significant impact on the flavour of beer, depending if it is hard or soft. Some brewers pride themselves on their well water; others use water straight from tap. Many brewers in hard water areas will add salt, such as gypsum, to soften the water as it is generally agreed that softer waters are best for brewing. This is one reason why historically Burton-on-Trent has been so popular with brewers. YEAST – allows fermentation to create the alcohol on beer, but can also provide a range of flavours such as pineapple, sulphur, bananas, fruity and carbonation. Brewers guard their yeasts closely and often leave a signature to a beer, so that whatever beer you are drinking from a particular brewery you can tell which brewery it is - Harveys is one example.
beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
There are three parts to tasting beer and all are important to fully appreciate what you are drinking. AROMA – obviously this is the smell and the best way to appreciate this is to taste ½ pint in a pint glass, as you’re then able to swill around and stick your nose in and get a good waft! TASTE – MOST OBVIOUS – the key thing to remember is to taste with your whole mouth as sweetness will be picked up mostly at the side of your mouth and bitterness right at the back of the throat. AFTERTASTE – these are the flavours that you experience in your mouth. You may well find that these change after five seconds, 20 seconds or even several minutes after tasting a beer. It’s also worth remembering that the character and flavours change over time as you drink a beer. In our area, there is a Hampshire Tasting Panel and throughout the year members of the tasting panel sample local beers and give marks to the different types of flavours found in the beers. We record key features of the beer such as the colour, style and temperature; we sample the aroma first, then note the taste during drinking and finally record the aftertaste, that occurs in the mouth after the beer is swallowed. Each taste is given a score out of 4 (undetectable to intense) plus an overall score (0-10) for style. If you would like to get involved, please get in touch with me at tasting@camrasurrey.org.uk Kevin Travers, Chairman (Hampshire Tasting Panel)
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
THE
SWAN HOTEL
KINGSCLERE • A.D.1449
Beer Festival
3rd - 6th of May 2013 A wide selection of ales & ciders with food and music In the Good Beer Guide since 1991
www.swankingsclere.co.uk
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beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
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beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
RECIPE: Warming Steak & Ale Pie with Stilton Pastry FILLING INGREDIENTS: 500g Stewing/braising steak, cut into chunks 4 Red onions, cut into wedges 8 Chestnut mushrooms, cut into quarters 1 pint Dark Ale (HC recommends Longdog Lamplight Porter) 2 tablespoon Plain Flour 1 teaspoon Mustard Salt & Pepper Beef stock cube Vegetable oil for frying
PASTRY INGREDIENTS: 200g Plain flour 50g Butter/trex 60g Stilton, crumbled Pepper 1 Egg, beaten
Filling (can be made a day in advance; also makes a comforting beef dish with mash and greens): Coat the beef in seasoned flour and fry, a little at a time, until browned. Put meat into oven dish. Fry onions and mushrooms in meat pan. Add these to oven dish. Crumble stock cube and pepper into pan and add ½ the beer to ‘deglaze’ (scrape yummy bits off the bottom of the pan). Pour the liquid over the meat and onions and add the rest of the beer so that the beef is just covered (add water if necessary). Cover with greaseproof paper (touching the liquid) and foil and cook for 3 hours at 180°C. Pastry: Blitz flour, butter, pepper and stilton in a food processor (or rub in by hand) until breadcrumb like. Add ½ the beaten egg and pull together into a ball. Wrap in cling film and rest in fridge until needed. Assembly: If made in advance, place filling into pie dish. Roll out pastry between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper or cling film then remove the top sheet, slide your hand under bottom sheet and use the greaseproof paper to flip the pastry on top of the dish. Peel off the other sheet and trim the pastry with a knife. Brush the top with beaten egg. Bake at 200°C for 40 mins or until the crust has turned golden. ENJOY! Helen Casson
The
CRICKETERS ARMS An old Drover’s pub with a cosy atmosphere, built in the 16th century and set in beautiful countryside. • Good Quality Home Made Traditional English Food • Cask Beers • Inglenook Fireplace & Wood Burning Stoves • Seperate Dining Room & Bar • Function Room • Scandinavian Timber Style En-Suite Chalets Available Closed Lunchtime, Monday to Thursday
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
Clarke's Ln, Tangley, Andover, SP11 0SH
01264 730283 • www.thecricketers.eu
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beerlines
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Pub Portrait The Bounty Inn, Basingstoke
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
In the mid-1990s The Bounty Inn was promoted as ‘The Village Local in the Town’; a description that still holds true today. Located off one corner of the Basingstoke cricket ground, at the confluence of Bounty Road, Council Road and Victoria Street, the Bounty is one of the town’s few remaining historic pubs. Built in the 1830s, it was originally called the Cattle Market and served the drovers and dealers who frequented the market situated on the land to the east of the cricket field wall. The pub changed its name to the Bounty in the 1950s, acknowledging local brewer Colonel John May’s generous gift of the cricket ground to the people of Basingstoke in 1880. When I first started using the pub in the mid1970s, the real ales were Courage Best, Mild and Directors Bitter. Years later the pub became linked to Ushers of Trowbridge and is currently a Punch Taverns pub. There are usually three to
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Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
four real ales on offer including Triple fff Alton’s Pride and Sharp’s Doombar. Guest beers appear frequently, including those from local brewer Longdog (based on the Moniton Industrial Estate). As a consequence of the regular appearances of local beers, the Bounty has been awarded CAMRA LocAle accreditation. The current licensee, Sue Condron, has a passion for pub beer festivals, live music from local artistes and pub quiz nights (every Tuesday). Food is a growing attraction and the pub is fast gaining a reputation for serving the best Sunday lunch in the town. I can vouch for that! The term ‘community pub’ is one that is often bandied around but, in the case of the Bounty, I think it is justified, attracting a wide cross-section of local people as well as visitors. With three bars and a garden, popular in decent weather, the Bounty Inn is definitely worth visiting. Jim Turner
beerlines
THE
North Hampshire Branch of CAMRA
Issue 1 | SPRING 2013
• UP TO 7 REAL ALES AVAILABLE DAILY DURING THE SUMMER
BOUNTY INN
• WATCH OUT FOR OUR NEXT BEER FESTIVAL
BASINGSTOKE
• HOMEMADE PUB FOOD WITH WEEKLY SPECIALS
A warm welcome awaits you at THE BOUNTY INN a traditional pub in the heart of Basingstoke Quiz Night
every Tuesday at 8.30pm
Sunday Lunch £7.95
Free Pint of Real Ale on presentation of this coupon and your valid CAMRA membership card
T&C’s: Limit one coupon per person. Coupon must be presented on ordering. Cannot be combined with any other offers coupons or specials.
• WI-FI AVAILABLE • REAL FIRE • DOGS WELCOME • REGULAR MUSIC EVENTS • OPEN ALL DAY • FOOD AVAILABLE MON - FRI: 12-2.30pm SAT: 12-5.30pm & SUN: 12-4pm
www.camrahantsnorth.org.uk
HAVE YOUR FIRST PINT ON ME!
• BEER GARDEN WITH COVERED AREA
Bounty Rd Basingstoke Hampshire RG21 3BZ t: 01256 320071 e: sueleecondron@googlemail.com
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