NORTH NOTTS
drInker
the magazine of the North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale ISSUE 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
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pleas take a e copy
KEEPAND CALM DRINK REAL ALE IN THIS ISSUE
NOTTS PUB OF THE YEAR
THE MALLARD, WORKSOP WINS
MASTER BREWER ONCE AGAIN HAT-TRICK FOR SHED BREWERY
LIST YOUR LOCAL
ASSETS OF COMMUNITY VALUE PLUS MUCH MORE...
W W W . N N O T T S CA M R A . O R G . U K
North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
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Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
Branch Contacts Chairman - Steve Bownes Editor - Dave Brown Email: editor@nnottscamra.co.uk Secretary / Press & Publicity - John Bowden Email: secretary@nnottscamra.co.uk Social Secretary - David French Email: socialsecretary@nnottscamra.co.uk Membership - Claire Brown Email: membership@nnottscamra.co.uk Clubs Officer - Terry Johnson Email: clubs@nnottscamra.co.uk WhatPub? Contact - Steve Bownes Email: steve.bownes@talktalk.net Web:
www.nnottscamra.org.uk
Twitter:
@NorthNottsCAMRA
Facebook: NorthNottsCAMRA The Editor reserves the right to amend or shorten contributions for publication. All editorial copyright © 2015 North Nottinghamshire CAMRA . 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 Nottinghamshire 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 Nottinghamshire CAMRA.
Trading Standards (Nottinghamshire) County House, 100 Chesterfield Road South Dale Close, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire NG19 7AQ | t: 01623 452005 e: trading.standards@nottscc.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
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FROM THE CHAIRMAN A WARM WELCOME TO YOU
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elcome to this issue of the North Notts Drinker. Since the last publication, we have had several changes on the branch committee. John Bowden has taken over as the branch secretary and contact as well as press and publicity officer. Clare Brown is now the membership secretary, Terry Johnson has become the clubs officer and David Brown the editor of the North Notts Drinker. Finally David French is now Social Secretary. I am sure that everyone will give them their full support. However the biggest news for the Branch is that The Mallard in Worksop has won Pub of The Year for Nottinghamshire. It was a hard fought contest decided in the end by only one point! They will now go forward for the East Midlands regional completion and we both congratulate them and wish them luck! You can read more about the competition inside the magazine.
Steve Bownes Chairman North Notts CAMRA Branch
branch meetings 1st July 5th August 2nd September 7th October 4th November 2nd December
Grey Horses, Carlton in Lindrick Bees Knees, Laneham Red Hart, Blyth Kings Arms, Clarborough Gate Inn, Sutton Cum Lound Mallard, Worksop
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DIARY DATES If you are interested in joining one of the organized trips you can contact the Social Secretary via email : SocialSecretary@ northnottscamra.org.uk, any of the committee members or leave a note behind the bar at Beerhedz or The Mallard to let us know you’d like to come along.
SATURDAY July 11th Grafton Beer Festival The Grafton Hotel, Gateford Road, Worksop. Festival celebrating 150 years since the pub opened. 12:30 onwards.
FRIDAY August 14th The Worksop walk A stroll through Worksop visiting some of the many real ale pubs in the town. 19:30 at the White Lion, Park Street, Worksop.
SATURDAY August 29th Retford Pub Hunt A light hearted quiz around Retford pubs and the town centre. Teams of up to 4 people welcome. 14:00 at Beerheadz, Townhall Yard, Retford.
SATURDAY September 5th York & the Slip/Swan Summer Beer Festival A visit to some of the fine York city pubs. Also calling at the Slip Inn and the Swan joint beer festival (50 beers). 10:53 train from Retford to York. Return 20:30.
FRIDAY October 9th Nottingham Beer Festival Friday early bird session at a festival with over 1000 cask ales. 09:38 train from Worksop or meet at the Festival. Return by own arrangement.
FRIDAY October 16th Gainsborough Beer Festival Friday afternoon/evening session, in the historic Gainsborough Old Hall. 16:14 train from Worksop or meet at the festival. Return by own arrangement.
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Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR YOUR BRANCH, YOUR MAGAZINE
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he North Notts. Drinker is the magazine for the North Nottinghamshire branch of CAMRA. If you are a member of the Branch then this is YOUR magazine. If you are not a member, but you are reading this in one of our pubs, then this magazine is hopefully your introduction to CAMRA and the Branch. We want this magazine to be the public face of CAMRA in North Nottinghamshire, but that means we also need your help. We need you to send us News, comments, articles; letters or anything else that you think would be of benefit or interest to be included. We can’t promise to publish everything, we only have so much space, but we will certainly try. Provided it is original, relevant and timely it has a good chance of going in. If you have found something elsewhere, for example a website or magazine article in another publication that you want to share, then do let us know. We can’t simply reprint it due to copyright laws, but we can publish links to the original. Of special importance in this issue is the CAMRA campaign to gets Pubs registered as Assets of Community Value (ACV’s). This involves letting the Council know that a pub has value to its local community and should be protected. Pubs that are given ACV status gain extra protection from redevelopment and planners will have to take this into account when a pub is put up for sale to be turned into flats or other property. This is an important campaign for CAMRA and you can read all the details behind it elsewhere in the magazine.
Dave Brown Editor, North Notts Drinker
North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
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North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
SMALL BEER SAFER THAN WATER?
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he term small beer has long been used to denote something of little importance or value. Authors from Shakespeare to Graham Greene and Robert Louis Stephenson have used it but none of them take the time to explain why it has come to have this meaning. Possibly the most famous use of the phrase can be found on a tombstone in the graveyard of Winchester cathedral which reads: In Memory of Thomas Thetcher a Grenadier in the North Reg. of Hants Militia, who died of a violent Fever contracted by drinking Small Beer when hot the 12 May 1764. Aged 26 Years. In grateful remembrance of whose universal good will towards his Comrades, this Stone is placed here at their expence, as a small testimony of their regard and concern. Here sleeps in peace a Hampshire Grenadier, Who caught his death by drinking cold small Beer, Soldiers be wise from his untimely fall, And when ye’re hot drink Strong or none at all. This memorial being decay’d was restor’d by the Officers of the Garrison A.D. 1781. An Honest Soldier never is forgot Whether he die by Musket or by Pot. The Stone was replaced by the North Hants Militia when disembodied at Winchester, on 26 April 1802, in consequence of the original Stone being destroyed. And again replaced by The Royal Hampshire Regiment 1966.
But what was, or is “Small Beer”. Before the days of modern sanitation diseases such as Cholera were readily transmitted in polluted drinking water and the water itself was often undrinkable. A side effect of the brewing of beer was that it acted as a means of cleaning that water, both because the process of boiling the Wort killed any bacteria or other germs in it and the settling of the sediment in the barrel or cask afterwards would help clear any other contaminants. This meant that in many circumstances it was safer to 6
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drink the beer than the water. The downside of this was that drinking nothing but beer all day was not something conducive to a productive workforce! To get around this issue, brewers began deliberately producing “Small Beer”, that is, beer with an extremely low alcohol content. This may have been done either by limiting the fermentation or by brewing it from the second run of sparging water from a stronger brew, as it would contain less sugar to be converted to alcohol. The resulting ale could then be drunk safely and in large quantities by those wishing to slake their thirst during manual labour or by children and servants in richer households. There are reports of workers such as Navvies drinking more than 10 pints a day of Small Beer while working and Small Beer may well have been the “morning draught” referred to by Samuel Peyps in his diary. Quite how the consumption of Small Beer lead to Thomas Thetchers untimely demise we will probably never know, but it seems sensible not to argue with the final exhortation from his grave stone “… drink Strong or none at all.”
North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
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Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
QUEENS H O T E L
Serving a wide selection of Real Ales, including Everards Tiger, Everards Beacon, Everards Sunchaser, plus 2 guest ales Food served all day Monday Steak Night • Sunday Lunches
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North Notts CAMRA Pub of the Year 2013 The only pub to have won the award twice! CAMRA AWARD WINNER | FOOD SERVED ALL DAY
High Street, East Markham, Newark Nottinghamshire, NG22 0RE 01777 870288
www.queenshoteleastmarkham.co.uk
ROMAN’S REST
20% OFF A PINT OF REAL ALE - with this advert We are a family friendly pub with a childrens indoor play area, a large beer garden and live music at the end of the month • • • •
Sky & BT Sports 6 Real Ales: including Greene King IPA Food served everyday: 12pm - 9pm Opening Times: Sun-Thur: 11am - 11pm, Fri & Sat: 11am - Midnight
Roman’s Rest, Celtic Point, Gateford, S81 7AZ. tel: 01909 476707
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Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
DO IT YOURSELF BAR SNACKS HOMEMADE PORK SCRATCHINGS
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here is a long tradition of home brewing in the UK, and what better to accompany a pint of your own beer (or failing that somebody else’s) than some home made traditional bar snacks. In this case, Pork Scratchings. You will need: • The skin from a joint of pork. Belly pork is probably the easiest, but leg and shoulder work well too. You can either remove it from a joint yourself if you are cooking something that doesn’t lend itself to crackling, or try asking your butcher if they have some, as it is very often removed when dicing the meat to make sausages. Either way you want a good layer of fat left on it. • A sharp knife • Vegetable oil for frying, either in a deep fat fryer or a high-sided frying pan. Method: • Pre-heat the oven to it’s lowest setting. We don’t want it too hot, it is just to dry the Scratchings, not cook them. • Once you have the skin removed from the joint use a sharp knife to slice it into bite sized strips. They don’t have to be perfect, roughly a fingers width wide and as long as
you want to make them. • Put the strips into a saucepan and pour over enough boiling water to cover them and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. The skin should go translucent and be soft when squeezed between thumb and forefinger. Drain and empty onto a kitchen towel to dry. • Once dry place them on baking tray and put them in the oven for at least 8 hours, ideally over night, until the skin is tough and hard. • Once they are dried take them out of the oven and allow to cool. • Put your fryer on the hottest setting if you are using it, or heat the oil in a high sided frying pan until very hot. • Fry the scratchings in small batches so as not to over crowd the pan or fryer until they have puffed and gone crispy. They only take about 30 seconds! • Empty onto kitchen towel to absorb any excess oil, sprinkle with salt to taste and enjoy with a pint! If you want you can let them cool and then fry a second time to get a lighter, crispier snack, or even a third time after that to get something really light and puffy similar to the Spanish and Mexican pork snacks, Chicharrones.
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
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e’ve got a lot planned for the next few months in the branch and it’s important that we are able to let people know what’s going on. We will be making greater use of email and the internet to do this however we have come across a problem where members email addresses are either out of date, or are marking emails from the branch as spam and rejecting them. Could we please ask all our members to make sure their email address is up to date on the CAMRA membership website and also to check your spam folders for emails from @nnottscamra.org.uk and mark them as “not spam”. We appreciate that not everyone has or wants and email address, and we will be putting things in place to make sure that we sent copies of the information via the post for those members who have not provided email contact details.
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North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
PASS IT ON GENERATION TO GENERATION
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rom mother to daughter, father to son, teacher to pupil; passing on knowledge and the joy of learning and is one of the many unique aspects of being human. There are many age-old crafts and skills, which are rarely taught to our children now, be that baking, cheese making, pottery or woodwork skills. Here at Welbeck, there is community focused around rekindling the passion for these crafts and passing on the skills and knowledge from Masters to the younger generation. Brewing, like baking, is one of these ancient crafts enjoying a well-deserved renaissance. Although we are a commercial brewery, making up to 18,000 pints a week, we also work closely with local schools and charities to teach a little about brewing. During Sheffield Science week, we worked with Sheffield Hallam University and Doncaster CAMRA to host 21 adults of all ages from Sheffield and the surrounding area to explore the science behind beer and brewing. We looked at the way in which brewers need to extract fermentable sugars from malted barley and then made our own hydrometers for testing the sugar content in a mystery solution of beer. We also explored what exactly makes hops smell the way they do, and malt taste the way it does. The University-grade microscopes came out too, giving all the budding scientists a look at live yeast taken from the brewery not an hour beforehand.
A question and answer session followed the brewery tour and practical experiments, and we were pleased to be able to answer questions on not only the practical and scientific elements of brewing, but also the complexities of setting up a business and dealing with the logistical side of delivering. Not only have we hosted a number of adults on a science-focused evening, we also hosted 36 year 11 top set science students studying for their GCSEs. The students from Beaumont Leys were brought to the brewery by three teachers to learn about enzyme activity, fermentation and process engineering. Whilst I’m sure the teacher who thought up the plan may have had an ulterior motive, actually the science of brewing turns out to be bang on Y11 curriculum! There is often a very romantic image surrounding brewing, quite probably similar to that of an artisan baker or pottery. The reality, however, is that running a brewery requires not only passion and enthusiasm for the craft, but a vast breadth and depth of scientific knowledge dosed with a hearty helping of hard graft and business sense. That said, we all love working in the brewery and sharing that passion. Needing to bring in science, hard work, and decent business acumen makes learning and working in this artisan industry exciting, varied and ultimately a joy.
Clare Monk, Welbeck Brewery 10
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North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
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North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
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LIST YOUR LOCAL ASSETS OF COMMUNITY VALUE
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f you love your local pub and think it adds value to your community, you can apply for it to be registered as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) to give it extra protection from developers . Without ACV status developers can convert local pubs to a wide range of retail uses or even demolish them without applying for planning permission, denying local people a say. CAMRA want to make sure your voice is heard by supporting local people nominating their local pub as an ACV. WHY NOMINATE MY LOCAL? Nominating a pub and securing support from the community demonstrates that it is important to the local area. In addition: • ACV status means planning permission will be required for the pub to be converted to any other use or demolished. • A sale of an ACV pub to a developer can be delayed for up to six months while the community explore options to keep the pub open. • Property developers who want to avoid a contentious planning application may be dissuaded from buying an ACV listed pub. HOW DO I NOMINATE A PUB? To nominate your local as an Asset of Community Value, all you need to do is follow these simple steps: • Decide who you are nominating on behalf of. You can either nominate as an unincorporated group of 21 local people, as a Parish Council, or in connection with a local group including CAMRA Branches. • Go to your Council website and look up the section on Assets of Community Value or Right to Bid. Download a nomination form (or if there isn’t one available CAMRA provides a template) • Fill in the form with as much detail as you can on why the pub should be classified as a community asset.
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• If nominating as an Unincorporated Group, demonstrate that at least 21 people from the local community support the listing of the pub. • Check your local Council website to see where the nomination needs to be submitted. Many Councils have produced guidance explaining how they are accepting nominations. • Request a receipt from the Council to acknowledge they have received the form as planning protection will be granted at the point of nomination. GETTING 21 PEOPLE TOGETHER – IT’S EASIER THAN YOU MIGHT THINK! Here are a few ideas on getting to that magic number of 21: • Visit the pub you hope to list and ask the regulars to add their name. • Visit a local beer festival and collect signatures. • Ask your family and friends. • Engage your local CAMRA branch or with other local groups in the area. • Launch a petition to list your local using 38 Degrees and gather signatures online: http://tinyurl.com/savepubs. You will only need to gather support from 21 people if nominating as an Unincorporated Body.
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North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
WHAT HAPPENS IF A REGISTERED PUB IS UP FOR SALE? As well as protecting your local pub from demolition or change of use without a planning application, ACV registration provides the opportunity for the community to bid for the pub. If the owner of a registered pub wishes to sell to a property developer, a six-week interim moratorium period kicks in and the Council will
tell you. If during this time your local community group decides it would like to consider bidding to take the pub on, you can trigger a full moratorium period of six months – which will give you time to raise finance, develop a business plan and make a bid to buy the asset on the open market. It’s important to stress that if you put your name to listing a pub, you will be under absolutely no obligation to bid to buy the pub in the future.
CAMRA PUB OF THE SEASON voting
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e are looking at ways to make voting for your favorite pub for the CAMRA Pub of the Season awards quicker and easier. We will shortly have a web page up and running where you will be able to register your vote online. We hope to have this ready for the Summer Season competition which will run in August, so look out for details in your email or on the website.
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North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE PUB OF THE YEAR THE MALLARD, WORKSOP WINS!
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he Mallard in Worksop has just been announced as the winner of the Nottinghamshire CAMRA Pub of the Year, the first pub from North Notts CAMRA to receive this prestigious award. The Mallard beat off some excellent opposition including The Final Whistle from Southwell and The Robin Hood & Little John in Arnold. Owner & Landlord Wayne Cadman’s reaction to the news ‘’we are delighted to be recognized by CAMRA for our efforts. This is as much an award to our customers who help create the pubs uniquely warm & welcoming atmosphere’’ The award is justly deserved for not only fitting the criteria but as reward for the hard work & effort put in by Wayne, Mel & staff over the 14 years since purchasing the Mallard. The Mallard is also home to Double Top Brewery which is situated close to the pub where Wayne is also the Brewer, producing beers such as Bad Boy, Old Stoneface & the award winning Nelson Mild. The Mallard is situated on Worksop railway station, in what was the old waiting room. If you enter the pub from the railway car park the first thing you notice is the chalkboard by the entrance door which politely states ‘No Mobile Phones’, So no annoying ring tones here then! The theme
continues inside with no music or gaming machines, there is a TV above the entrance door but the sound is muted, so you can engage in pleasant conversation while having an excellent beer. Once inside you will realize you are in what is probably the second smallest pub in Nottinghamshire, The Beehive in Maplebeck is reputed to be the smallest. On the bar there are always 4 hand pulls, which include a Double Top beer & guests from a wide area of the country. A real Cider is always available as well as a (Whisper it - Craft Beer), behind the bar you will find a selection of continental bottled beers’ Oh! And 3 Lager fonts for the more discerning drinker!! The walls are adorned by photographs of the Mallard... The 126 m.p.h. locomotive not the feathered variety that accompanies orange sauce. Downstairs is a larger area with bar that is only used for meetings, social events & Beer festivals. The Mallard hosts 4 festivals a year normally with 20 beers available, the next festival being The Summer Beer Festival which runs from Thursday 23rd July until Sunday 26th July. So the next time you are on Worksop Station or in Worksop allow time to call in & have a drink, you won’t be disappointed. From all at North Notts CAMRA a very well deserved pat on the back & congratulations to all at the Mallard, well done.
Brain George 14
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North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
WHAT HAVE THE ROMANS EVER DONE FOR US? A ROMAN STYLE BEER
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e have an exciting new partnership on our hands! The Roman Southwell Archaeology Community Project was established in January 2014 and since then has quickly gathered pace. They have not only conducted field walking and aerial surveys, but are now well on their way to conducting an excavation. To help raise awareness of this project, and perhaps a little cash too, we are teaming up to brew a Roman-style beer. The community group have researched the style of beer which would have been brewed back then, and we have formulated a recipe. We will be brewing a 3.8% NORTH NOTTS CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2015
THE MALLARD PUB & DOUBLE TOP BREWERY WORKSOP • ON THE STATION
The Mallard Brewery Tap on Worksop Railway Station Offers everyone a warm welcome with a selection of exceptional Real Ales from our own Double Top Brewery, plus 3 rotating guest beers on the bar there will always be a beer to suit everyone.
‘Ale’oween Beer FestivaL 16 Real Ales & 4 Real Ciders
Free Entr y
Thursday 29th October Sunday 1st November 2015 Open: Thurs to Sat 11am – 11pm & Sun 12 noon – 10.30pm
Snacks Available at All Sessions
For F or mo more information on The Mallard Th ll d or Double Top Brewery call 07973 521 824
British barley focused pale ale using the aptly named British Boadicea hops. The beer is to be called ‘Roman Southwell Gladiator’. These hops are named after the famous Queen of the Iceni tribe, who led a rebellion against the Romans in the 1st century AD. They have a distinctively fresh British meadow aroma of herb and fresh grass - a truly Romano-British beer! The beer was brewed on Monday 8th June at Welbeck with the help of the volunteer archaeologists. They were able to measure out all the raw ingredients and add them to the brewing process, just as our ancestors have done for centuries. We will be launching this beer at the Hearty Goodfellow in Southwell on Thursday 25th June at 7pm. Please join us on the day for a taster and to meet the group. The beer will be available to purchase in most of the Southwell pubs after this date. If you miss it on cask, or would like to try the bottled version, the group will be retailing the beer at all their events from the start of July. For further details about the project please contact Matt Beresford (matt@mbarchaeology. co.uk)
BEER BANTER - QI TRIVIA Did you know, in Russia beer was not considered alcohol until 2013? This could explain some things… In Argentina each Political party has their own brand of beer. I wonder what our political Ales would be called? www.nnottscamra.ORG.uk
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North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
BREWERY NEWS JOIN YOUR LOCAL CAMRA BRANCH
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nfortunately for our branch area the Copthorne Brewery has closed down and as been sold off. It would appear the kit as gone to the Vale of Belvoir area. If anyone has any more information about this please let us know. All other breweries in our area our doing well. There are links to all the local breweries on the North Notts website. www.nnottscamra.org.uk
DOUBLE TOP The brewery has enjoyed unprecedented demand since being awarded Champion Mild of the East Midlands by CAMRA. So much so that the brewery is now in deep negotiations to buy a 6 barrel brew plant with additional fermenting to quadruple capacity. It is hoped negotiations will be finalised 7th June and that the kit will be installed and commissioned for brewing w/c 15th June. As part of the expansion the brewery is rebranding the core range. This will involve a new pump clip design, web site and point of sale. This will occur in a staggered launch during the summer. As Mild season slows, we will see the return of The Ringer - a 5.0% American Pale. This will be available throughout June.
HALES Things are going very well, dealing with quite a few wholesalers which are repeating business. The ‘Punk Collection’ of beers for 2015 has been received as an excellent idea and ideas are now being considered for a theme for the 2016 collection. The beers have been selling very well and the brewery is now looking into ways of making the Hale’s brand even more accessible via bottling and party kegs. Cold call trade has also increased and it is really pleasing in the way that it is growing and increasing the demand for Hale’s beers.
GRAFTON Grafton Brewing Company won SIBA National GOLD at Beer X, Sheffield with Apricot Jungle. Things are going well with brewery. They have recently been accepted to supply beer via a company to the Isle of Man and through them 16
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chain of pubs throughout the North-West. Have started to craft keg some of the beers. The first ones to be tried and tested are: Blondie and the next one will be Apricot Jungle. Have purchased a bottling kit from Italy to start producing the fruit beers in bottles. They have also purchased ‘Party Keg’s to sell through the pub to customers as there has been a surge in demand from customers keen on off sales. Also this allows them to have stock of a product which may not be available at the time they wish it to be. Have brewed an new fruit beer called Pasha, Pasha. It’s a pale beer brewed with passion fruit. Also gained another award for Apricot Jungle at the recent Rail Ale Festival, where they gained a BRONZE in the Higher Mid Gravity Section. The Grafton brewing Company are hosting the 1st Independent Bassetlaw Beer Festival on the 10th, 11th and 12th of July 2015 at the Grafton Hotel on Gateford Road, in Worksop.
IDLE All well at the Idle brewery. Idle Bee is now being brewed for the summer season. Beer sales are going well at the White Hart with the remaining beers sold to regular customers.
IDLE VALLEY BREWING Plans have made plans to continue with production of the core range of 5 beers together with looking to start working on seasonal beers and to begin experimenting. It is expected expect that over the coming months, you will begin to see many new beers leave the brewery and head out to local venues such as BeerheadZ. The plans for the expansion of the brewery are still in place but may take many twists and turns before any new plant installation is finally seen. Currently brewing 3 days a week looking to move to 5 in the next month or two.
PHEASANTRY Sales continue to improve so much so that they are looking at adding additional equipment to meet the needs. Mark is also looking at the possibility of investing in a new bottling line. The May Mild was the Mikado mild which proved very popular. The Pheasantry is to hold a Beer Festival 26th-28th June which is free entry to all CAMRA Members on production of a CAMRA membership card. Full details of opening times etc. are available on their web site.
North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
They are currently producing an artisan beer each month with the one for June being a cask Pilsner (again for a full list visit the website).
SPRINGHEAD Last seasonal beer, Willys wheat beer was so successful the brewery had to do a second brew. The new seasonal beer is Bees Knees a light golden beer of 3.9%, which is made with the finest local wild honey. Recently the Nottingham Post produced a feature article about the brewery featuring MD Helen Teasdale, celebrating the brewery’s silver anniversary of producing craft beers in the heart of Robin Hood country. This month the brewery was happy to receive their second silver medal for Leveller, in the ales up to 5% at the EN OL AND WHISKY MASSAS OLTAVLING competition in Sweden. A full list of forthcoming events are listed on the brewery web site.
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with lager malt and Dana hops from Slovakia for a dry finish • St. Simon 4.0% English Pale Ale. Making a reappearance this year after great success in the last two. This is a classic English pale ale which makes the most of home-grown malted barley and hops, giving a delightfully balanced pint • Kaiser 4.1% Lager style pale. Crisp, dry, biscuity lager malt flavours are perfectly balanced with sweet, honey like floral hops from Germany
BEER BANTER - QI TRIVIA Egyptian Pyramid workers were paid in beer! 1 gallon per day was the going rate. It’s safe to say they must have been a little drunk and yet look at what they managed to build!
WELBECK ABBEY If you’re planning on popping to your local pub over the next few weeks, they may have the next specials available: • Slovak Paradise 4.5% Pilsner-style. This pilsner-like blonde is brewed
At any given time, 0.7% of the world is drunk. So 50 million people are drunk right now, some while they are reading (or writing) this!
LETTER TO THE EDITOR In April we received an email regarding an article in the last edition of the North Notts. Drinker about the Shipstone brewery. The article appears in the North Nottinghamshire Branch publication at page 9. I must say that I am surprised that a CAMRA publication should lack an important detail that the public ought to be made aware of – in the interests of provenance. The detail is of course – where are Shipstone beers now brewed? Their website doesn’t tell anyone and they appear to be content to let the public believe that they have a brewery. We at CAMRA should be publishing the facts. Regards, Brian
We contacted Richard Neale at Shipstone’s letting him know I’d we would be publishing this Letter and offering him the right of reply. He came back with the following:
I’m very pleased to be able to work with Colin Brown at Belvoir Brewery and under no circumstances intend to mislead where Shipstone’s Beers are brewed. I’m very proud to work with a former Shipstone’s Brewer and together we hav e worked hard to protect and preserv e such a historic name in bre wing. Belvoir Brewery is a fantasti c brewery and on both our pump clips and bottled beer labe ls we proudly show where it is hand crafted, on our website we also show where the brewer y is on the ‘contact us’ page and on the ‘about us’ page ded icate a section to Colin Brown and Belvoir Brewery. My business is still in its infa ncy and I still do pretty muc h everything myself apart from the brewing and from now and in the future have always wan ted Colin to be a part of the project. I’m passionate about ale, I’m passionate about the region’ s brewing heritage and I’m passionate about Shipston e’s. Richard, Shipstone’s Brew ery
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North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
MAST ER BREWER - ONCE AGAIN HAT-TRICK FOR THE SHED BREWERY
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e are delighted to announce that amateur brewer Colin Tweed, an active member and leading sponsor for North Notts CAMRA since 2008, has triumphed once again, winning The Wilf Newsom Trophy as The National Master Brewer for the third year running. His outstanding achievement is truly unprecedented in the world of amateur brewing. Colin who is now highly regarded as our very own champion within the amateur brewing fraternity, initially became a member of The National Association of Wine & Beer Makers many years ago. He also joined The National Guild of Wine & Beer Judges, and has been a fully qualified Wine judge for 10 years and a fully qualified Beer judge for 2 years. At this year’s competition in Hull he entered beer in 14 categories, the result being 12 prizes including 4 firsts and 2 seconds; the most notable awards being for his Stout, Porters, Best Bitter and Light Ale. At last Years celebrations fellow branch members challenged him to “make it three in a row” and he did not disappoint. In fact he has now become something of a tradition. Colin now intends to retire undefeated from frontline competitions and will concentrate on specialty brewing, experimenting with new recipes as well as less familiar favorites. Colin continues to brew at least every fortnight in the traditional style, using the finest ingredients available. He buys whole grain malt and crushes this immediately before brewing, together with an ever increasing variety of hops. As you can imagine his trophy cabinet is busting at the seams with regular additions. He now records a total award of no less than 6 major trophies, and many Rosettes (see inset for the most recent additions) Clearly his judging ability has proved to be hugely beneficial in his pursuit to become “The Very Best” within his chosen field of expertise. If you fancy trying one of Colins’ brews then come down to the next branch meeting and
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take a chance on the raffle to win a bottle of his award winning beer. Colin has been providing beers for the branch to raffle for many years now and is a stalwart of our fundraising efforts. As a qualified practitioner Colin is always available to offer sample tasting sessions as well as providing small batch brews for various charities. He can be contacted by email at colintweed8@aol.com Colin we congratulate and salute you once again, well done.
North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
POSITIONS VACANT JOIN YOUR LOCAL CAMRA BRANCH
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here are currently a number of vacancies for volunteers within the branch. If you require more details please contact membership@nnottscamra.org.uk or ask any committee member. Any reasonable expenses incurred whilst campaigning will be reimbursed by your branch.
Magazine Contributors We require articles for the branch magazine, blog and website. This can be about anything Real Ale, real Cider or Real Perry related, or even local Pubs and Breweries. It could be about a local beer festival, charity event in your local pub, anything all. Even beer food recipes! Use your imagination. The work must be original, pictures are welcomed. All credit will be given to the author.
Magazine Deliveries We require volunteers to deliver the branch magazine to local pubs. We currently have 112 Pubs which require the magazine and 352 members, that isn’t even one pub per member, please help! if you only deliver to one pub that is a big help.
Brewery Liaison Officer (Dukeries) As BLO you would be expected to build a report with your designated brewery and provide monthly reports on what is happening. It is your job to ensure that your brewery gets as much support as required. Perhaps writing articles for the magazine regarding your brewery, putting forward suggestions for social events involving it and keeping Website, Social Media and magazine editors aware of all events so that they may publicise where possible.
Cider Representative Encouraging, promoting, and campaigning for real cider and perry at branch level (and beyond if inclined). Keep up-to-date records on cider pubs, cider makers, and distributors in your Branch area. Report relevant information and news to your Branch and to your Regional Cider Coordinator (RCC). Encourage pubs that don’t stock real cider or perry to do so. Take the lead in deciding your Branch’s Cider Pub of
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
the Year (or encouraging your Branch to award a Branch Cider Pub of the Year). Encourage or organise cider related activities and promotions (including events for CAMRA’s October Cider & Perry Month). To act as the Branch expert on cider and perry related issues and campaigns. This might include providing explanations and ideas to your Branch and to your RCC, or to the APPLE Committee.
LocAle Coordinator To administer the LocAle scheme in accordance with national policy and local Branch requirements. To encourage take up of the scheme by local publicans and breweries. To keep records of LocAle outlets; this may be through cooperation with the Branch webmaster. To ensure that LocAle outlets remain true to the scheme’s aims. To maintain a stock of LocAle literature. To ensure that pump crowns and other publicity material is available to local outlets. Responsibilities may be undertaken through the coordination of other volunteer members. Report back to Branch meetings on the penetration of the Scheme.
Pub Protection Officer To gather intelligence and information on any likely threats to pubs within the Branch area. To assit local campaigns to protect pubs within the Branch area from closure or unwanted changes. Where necessary, to initiate and coordinate Branch campaigns to protect pubs under threat. To be aware of local Council policies which concern pubs e.g. on planning, conservation and assets of community vale. To work with the Public Affairs Officer to lobby local Councils to adopt planning and other policies which give greater protection to pubs. To identify pubs which could benefit from Asset of Community Value status and then coordinate the application process. To be aware of local pubs with interiors of heritage interest and take necessary steps both to protect and promote interest in these pubs.
BEER BANTER - QI TRIVIA George Washington had his own Brewery which was situated in the grounds of Mount Vernon could this explain some of the more “unusual” laws in the US? www.nnottscamra.ORG.uk
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North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW! £905 WORTH OF HAIR!
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he St Georges Beer Festival at the Mallard in Worksop is well past now and was an absolutely cracking event. The Ales were plenty and various, the atmosphere lively and happy. However, things were afoot! The first thing of note was the absence of Carol Wade behind the bar. She couldn’t be ill. I don’t think Carol has time for illness so just tells it to bugger off. So where was she? A short exploration, well, not exactly exploration, this is the Mallard, a short walk down the steps to the cellar revealed all... A while before the St Georges Festival, Carol had been debating having her hair cut. Just throwing so much hair in the bin seemed wrong. I believe most Ladies will appreciate that. It takes us a long time to grow our hair, so it means something! So, after chatting with a couple friends and asking them what they thought, they both came up with the same suggestion – The children’s cancer charity, Little Princess Trust. Little Princess Trust is a charity that creates and provides wigs for children who have lost their hair following treatment for cancer. After a little Googling and reading online, there was really no question about it. This would be the right thing! The next step was to approach Wayne Cadman, Landlord of the Mallard. Local Champion Homebrewer, Colin Tweed of Shed brewery had donated a pin of beer (36 pints) to be sold at the Beer festival and the proceeds donated to charity - had a charity been selected yet? It turned out it hadn’t so Carol told him about the idea and asked about perhaps her having her hair cut during the festival. Thus the plan was born. At 17:30pm on Saturday April the 18th the plan was put into action. Sponsorship forms were printed and the word was out. By last orders £165 had been pledged or donated!
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“Customers were coming up to me and giving me money without having to ask them.” By the end of the festival, the amount donated amounted to a staggering £790! Added to this the sale of the Shed Brewery beer had raised another £115. The generosity of the patrons of the Mallard, staff and friends is simply wonderful and so heartening to see, raising over £900 pounds in total in one evening. When asked why she did all of this, all Carol said was: “If you can make someone smile, it’s well worth it. It’s always good to smile, as others will smile back at you x x x” £905 worth of hair! Well done to Carol and everyone who donated! For more details of the Little Princess Trust visit their website: www.littleprincesses.org.uk
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
YOUR BRANCH NEEDS YOU... TO GO TO THE PUB!
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art of what CAMRA as an organization, and the local branches by extension, does is to keep track of the local pubs in each area and maintain a central database of information on them available to anyone who wants to use it. This database is called WhatPub? and is freely available on the Internet for all to use. In order to keep this information up to date we need members to go to their local pubs and drink beer. Doesn’t sound too hard now does it? You’ll need a pen!
Here’s how it works - You go to the pub. Doesn’t matter which one, it can be your local or one you’ve never been to before. You order a pint. Once you have your pint you have a couple of options. You can either: fill in the form below and bring it to the next branch meeting (details in the front of the magazine), or you can take it home with you and fill in the details online at www.whatpub.com
Pub Name Owner / Pub Co. Landlord / Manager Address Tel. No. Email
Website
Twitter Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Opening Hours Food Times Cask Marque ( yes / no )
Real Cider Available ( yes / no )
Beer Prices (Average)
Real Ales Available ( yes / no ) - Please circle then list Real Ales below Brewery
Beer
Hand pull / Gravity / Other
Please tick if any of the below apply:
Real Fire Disabled Access
Smoking Area
Garden
Car Park
Accomodation
Railway Station Nearby
Bus Stop Nearby
Family Friendly Beer Festivals
Dog Friendly
Quiet Pub
Pub Games
CAMRA Awards
CAMRA Discount
Live Music
Brief Description of Pub
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North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
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Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
North Nottinghamshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale
Issue 9 | JUL-SEP 2015
www.nnottscamra.ORG.uk
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