West Lancs Branch
Issue 92 Spring ‘11
50p
This is in addition to the £20 Wetherspoons real ale vouchers for joining CAMRA and the chance to win 3 members gallons of Wetherspoons real ale for encouraging The Greyfriar on Friargate is offering a 50p a pint reduction a friend to join. You’d be mad not to join!!! for real ale from Mondays to Thursdays on production of a See application form inside back cover. current CAMRA membership card.
off to CAMRA
Continental wins George Lee Trophy
The Continental on South Meadow Lane in Preston has joined an elite group of pubs that have won the West Lancashire branch’s prestigious award for services to real ale, the George Lee Memorial Shield, twice on the run. It is voted for by local members and came top again. Members have been impressed by the quality of the real ale on sale and by the steps taken by the pub to spread the word on real ale to members of the public.(cont p2) Alan&Paul present trophy to Jeremy, Gary & Lisa.
Contents: pg2 Editorial, Pg3 South Ribble Scene, Pg4 Peter Pieman,
Pg 5 Preston Parade, Pg 6 Test Match Treats, AGM Photos, Cuerden Beer Fest, Pg 7 Dear Ed, Pg 8 Quiz, Pg 9 Samlesbury, Pg10 Chorley Chatter, Pg 14 Riley’s Rambles-Chester, Pg17 Locale, Pg19 Whitstable, Pg21 Prospect Brewery Trip, Pg 22 Old Pub Adverts, Pg24 Pubs Register, Pg26 AGM, Pg28 Beer & Music, Pg30 Contacts, Pg31 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM and much more
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on Sunday afternoon. It is still very much work in progress with the upstairs Bistro not yet ready.
GEORGE LEE TROPHY (continued)
Editorial
CONGRATULATIONS
Besides regular beer festivals at the pub, in December the Continental staged a beer festival in a marquee I had planned a vitriolic editorial attacking on Preston Flag Market that, for some entrants, might Chorley Council and other Authorities for have been the first time they have tasted real ale and their role in the closure of the Swan with Two now are hooked on this superior product. Add to that all the functions that go on down at the pub, such as Necks but it looks like that will have to wait live bands, theatre productions, cinema screenings because this Easter it reopened (quite appropriate for the time of year). and book readings among others, it was felt that it had done most in the last year for the cause of real ale. I can only hope that Chorley Council decides You can keep up with what’s on at the pub by having to live up to its motto and genuinely tries to a newsletter emailed to you every week by contacting put a SMILE on the faces of their constitumailing@newcontinental.net. Their next beer festival takes place from Thurs 12th May – Sat 14th May. ents who, like the rest of the country are fac The presentation took place recently at the ing harsh economic times.They can do this pub where Jeremy and Lisa Rowlands who own the by helping our beleagured pub industry - an pub and Gary Culshaw who looks after the beer were industry who’s purpose is to make people proud to receive the award. Gary is especially proud SMILE . Why not give them as much support of his cellar and loves looking after real ale. Winning as possible do their job rather than nit-picking the trophy automatically makes the Continental our using the vindictiveness we saw in 2010. Pub of the Year and puts them in the frame for the Lancashire Pub of the Year. No doubt they will be Putting thoughts of a childish bureaucracy to one side it is good to see real ale emerging as pulling out all the stops to try and win this too. How can you tell an ex-licensee or former bar staff a winner as pubs fight for custom. The Rose when you visit a pub? and Crown, the Bretherton, the Railway, They are ones Trader Jacks, The White Bull all increasing taking their own and other their number of handpumps and new kids on people’s glasses the block - the reopened Parkers Arms and back to the bar. Kinetic doing so well with their handpumped It amuses me ale. when I am part of a queue waiting to be served (and I hear this quite a lot at Wetherspoons) ‘no wonder we can’t get served - half the bar staff are wandering round collecting glasses’ ............................ Rose and Crown Bretherton Why’s that I wonder??? Royston It was a momentous occasion for our branch
Coming Soon........
when we had a resolution accepted for discussion at CAMRA’s AGM and Conference. Nearly 200 pubs now selling real ale in our area is welcome news but that has to be placed in the context of escallating pub closures
Peter Pieman on his pie and pints jaunts in search of the perfect pie. Beer Police - The article promised in the last issue which is not ready yet. Under 26 or over 60 Will we still be the West Lancs Branch You’d be mad not to join CAMRA or will we be the Heart of Lancs From £14 to join: £20 real ale vouchers, 15 Branch??? results in the next issue months membership for the price of 12 and 50p a pint off mid-week in Greyfriars Entrapment - unacceptable abuse of power
South Ribble Scene
Starting with Leyland, it has been announced that the new Wetherspoons pub is to be called the LEYLAND LION, the name coming from the pioneering type of bus that was produced nearby at the old Leyland Motors works on Hough Lane. At this time no date has been given for the Leyland Lion's opening. Checking the JD Wetherspoon website the pub is not yet included on the 'coming soon' list (although Wetherspoon pub collectors may be interested to know that they do have another pub opening in Blackpool in July). The ROSE & CROWN at Farington has had a third handpump installed. The two regular beers remain Theakstons Mild and Theakstons Black Bull, but with the addition of another handpump the landlord is now able to offer customers a changing guest beer. A number of Beer Festivals are taking place in the area in the coming weeks. Unfortunately this Ale Cry is probably just too late to give publicity to the second LEYLAND BEER FESTIVAL which is being held at the British Commercial Vehicle Museum over the Easter weekend - hopefully this event will have been a success. Adjoining the South Ribble boundary is Cuerden Valley Park, where the first CUERDEN VALLEY BEER FESTIVAL is taking place from May 6th to 8th. Finally, on a smaller scale, but just as welcome is the latest of the twice yearly Beer Festivals that are hosted by the ANCHOR at Lostock Hall, the next taking place over the Spring Bank Holiday Weekend,
A new real ale outlet in the area is the WALMER BRIDGE VILLAGE HALL. The licence has been taken by Richard Moon the landlord of the Walmer Bridge Inn, who has had a handpump installed to provide some decent beer for patrons when there is a special event taking place at this enterprising community village hall. Beers available have recently included Wychwood Hobgoblin, Marstons EPA, and Marstons Pedigree. Also in Walmer Bridge, theLONGTON ARMS is now selling two beers from
Robinsons Brewery, which on my most recent visit were Unicorn and Dizzy Blonde. All pubs in Longton are now selling real ale. The GOLDEN BALL was the most recent convert, and is now well worth a visit with it selling Caledonian Deuchars IPA plus a changing guest beer. In the last Ale Cry it was reported that the DOLPHIN was facing extinction. Thankfully the pub is very much alive and kicking, and on a recent visit had five real ales and two real ciders available (see the LocAle feature elsewhere in this newsletter). At the time of writing the BRIDGE at Penwortham is again closed. This once very popular pub has struggled in recent times, and in the Lancashire Evening Post there has been much written about it being one of the last pubs in the area to still have its own bowling green. It is several years since the Bridge last sold real ale. Another pub which has recently had a period of closure is the FOX & LION at Leyland. A third pub, the SMITHY INN at Much Hoole,
was also closed for several weeks early in 2011. The pub has since re-opened, but indications are that it may no longer be selling real ale. Hopefully there will be better news to report on all these pubs in the next issue of Ale Cry. Gordon Small
Good Beer Guide 2011
Peter Pieman
- Malt and Hops Pints and Pies Fest
PRESTON PARADE Street, where he plans to get a more interesting variety of beers on the bar. Jenni, the manager at The Anderton Arms up Longsands, has also left. No detriment to the variety and range has occurred, with their changing range of cask ales and 3 x 1/3 pint sampler trays still available. We have a new licensee at the Withy Trees on Garstang Road, Lisa Gosling who took over recently and wants to give the pub a higher profile for its real ale. Three handpumps have been installed. Lancaster Brewery beers have been prominent lately and she has recently had a beer festival, where twelve beers were on sale from a stillage in the bar. Speaking of beer festivals, by the time you read this you will also have missed the latest beer festival at the Bitter Suite, but you should be able to catch the latest Continental one, their sixth, from 14-16 May, with again over 100 beers and ciders on sale with free entrance to all. Another upcoming festival is the third one at the Corporation Arms in Longridge. On from 27 to 30 May there will be fifty ales (half of them on handpump) cooled to cellar temperature, plus speciality ciders and lagers. Entrance will be free to all card carrying members of CAMRA at all sessions. The Golden Cross on Lancaster Road is now officially the Brewery Tap for Arkwright’s Brewery of Lovat Road. It has two hanpumps and you can usually find at least one of their beers on sale and often a beer from Hereford Brewery. The beer is checked every three days by the brewer and if there is any problem it is taken off and replaced with another. Quality of the beer is thus ensured.
Church Street is often thought of as a no go area for real ale drinkers, but it is getting more interesting these days. Joining the real ale fold is the Academy, near Preston Minster (parish church). After several years without, it has had three handpumps installed and is selling a range of beers based on the Marstons range. On the last visit there was Marstons Pedigree, Jennings Cocker Hoop and Wells Bombardier, all at very reasonable prices. Next door at the Old Bull as previously reported Moorhouses Blond Witch and Premier Bitter can be found. Next comes Yates’s where you can often find two real ales on sale, Wells Bombardier and Yates’s Best Bitter a 4.0% beer brewed for them by Wells. If you go further down Church Street of course, you will come to The Old Blue Bell, where Samuel Smiths Bitter sells at just £1.60 making it a veritable bargain
Academy and Old Bull Yates’s
Ye Olde Blue Bell
The Wellington If you add on a trip to the Stanley Arms at the top of Lancaster Rd,where up to four real ales from an ever changing list can be had, and The Wellington down Glovers Court with its differing range of three ales from Marstons, this area of Preston is worth a little pub crawl all of its own. By the time you read this there
Black Horse Stanley will have been a few changes of faces at some of your favourite pubs.Alex at the Black Horse, the Robinsons Pub on Friargate is leaving. We have no information on who will be the new tenant, but we expect a temporary manager will be installed to keep the pub open. Meanwhile, Steve Holt from the Black Horse is now in charge of run ning the bar and cellar at the New Britannia on Heatley
Continental
Golden Cross
Other brewery news is that Hart Brewery of Preston has introduced a new beer called Lancashire Best Bitter. Made from pale and amber malts and hopped with a mixture of four varieties throughout the boil, at 3.9%, it is a good session beer. Brewer John Smith is now concentrating on this beer, the recently introduced Golden Guild plus Dishy Debbie and Ice Maiden as his core beers. He is also having the beers bottled for him and is offering free local delivery on two cases and his cask beers. He is getting in more pins (36 pint casks) so that he can supply more parties and barbies in the hopefully upcoming gorgeous summer we are going to have. Paul Riley
TEST MATCH TREATS The Old Black Bull in Friargate has announced its themes for its programme of mini beer festivals during the summer. They are being tied in with the forthcoming series of test matches involving England and will feature microbreweries from the area of the host test ground. Thus beers from the Cardiff area will feature from May 26-30 to tie in the test match there. Similarly June 3-7 will see beers from inside the M25 appear to tie in with the Lords test match. June 16-20 will feature Hampshire beers, the Third test against Sri Lanka being at The Rose Bowl.The series against India starts at Lords, the first test running from July 21-25 and another selection of London beers will feature at the Bull. Next up willbe a range of Nottinghamshire beers from July 29-Aug 2 during the Trent Bridge test. The third test is at Edgbaston Aug10-14, so beers from Warwickshire will be the order that week. The series finishes at the Oval Aug 18-22 when a final selection of beers from inside the M25 corridor will make an appearance. Here’s looking forward to a good summer.
AGM
Photo’s from Sheffield
The Bessemer
Bath Hotel
Bear (Sam Smiths) Fancy a brownie and ice cream cone Branch member John Singleton
The Duncan Gilmore
Red Deer
Kelham Island, beer Garden and barrels
Lined glasses at the Ship and the Kelham Island
University Arms
Cuerden Beer Festival Cuerden Valley Park Trust will be holding its first beer festival over the weekend of the 6th – 8th May in its restored Walled Orchard. The Park is a popular destination for families and dog walkers alike enjoying a bit of the countryside on their doorstep. Unlike most parks it is however owned by a small charity rather than the local authority and must raise most of the running costs itself. All profits from the event will be ploughed back into the Park to keep it open for future generations. The event will focus on local beers from local breweries so expect to see all your favourites from breweries like Prospect and Bank Top as well as a few from more far flung areas. There is music available from a local band each evening and food from local caterers. With a bit of luck the sun will shine but if not there will be plenty of canvas to shelter under and who cares if it’s a bit wet as long as there is plenty of good beer to be supped.
Dear Ed.
The
Having read Melodious Mick’s articles Beer and Music I wonder if you could bring your readers’ attention to our Folk and Ale Festival. I’m sure they would have a great time here.i Sincerely Liam Chambers Ed’s reply: I am pleased to do so and wish you every success. I know Dumfries to be a lovely place and Melodious Mick is disappointed that he won’t be able to go due to prior commitments I’m sure our advertisers will be pleased to note how far afield Ale Cry is being read
Let’s Have more readers letters please Ed
Bamber Bridge Football Club QED Stadium Irongate Off Brownedge Road
Tel: 01772 909695 Friendly Sports Club -Open Daily 7pm until 11pm - weekdays Noon until late - weekends Up to 4 Guest Ales - visitors welcome
Local CAMRA club of the year Regular events Extended function room available for hire For Private Parties and Business Events Competitive Rates
Walmer Bridge 63 Liverpool Old Road, Walmer Bridge, Preston, PR4 5QE. Telephone - 01772 612296.
Bingo - Mondays. Darts - Wednesdays. Quiz Night - Thursdays. Entertainment most Saturdays. Five handpumps:
Robinsons Unicorn plus up to three guest beers always available. Holder of Cask Marque and ACE Award certificates.
kinetic
At the heart of Chorley’s night life Open Sun - Wed: 12 - 12 Thur: 12 - 2am Fri - Sat - 12 - 3am 3 Handpumps serving real ales from local breweries from £1.90 a pint Live DJs Thurs - Sat Sky Sports 3D Live Music Downstairs bar available soon for private functions
Pubs-Not advertising with us Why not???
Other than word of mouth you won’t find a better way to get your message across - Just ask our current advertisers. Current Prices: Full Page £175 Half Page £95 Quarter £55 Eighth £35 See Page 22 for contact details
Social Secretary Found
Th'Alps been replaced as Social Sec., by......... The Alp and the First trip is to George Wright brewery (see P30).
Webmaster needed ....again
Many thanks to Dave Suckling for running the web site for the last few months and playing a major part in producing the last Ale Cry. Unfortunately from our point of view he’s returned to the Isle of Man and we wish him all the best. If you fancy the job please get in touch (see P26)You will be welcomed with open arms Ed
Live music every Saturday. Quiz Night on Mondays The only pub in Leyland selling cask mild A Preston North End Supporters Pub Big Screen TV - Free wi fi Room available for booking free of charge Theakstons Black Bull and Traditional Mild 11am - 11pm Weekdays 11am - 12am Fri/Sat Noon - 11pm Sun
59 Stanifield Lane Farington Tel: 01772 465908
Open From 9am Selling Tea, Coffee and Snacks
The Lancashire Walks Ale Cry Quiz No 5 Quiz set by John Griffiths and Bob Clare. Many of the answers can be found on www.lancashirewalks.com website. 1.
What is the longest river to flow entirely through Lancashire?
2.
Where was the stage and screen actor Sir Ian McKellan born?
3.
Where did King James I knight a side of beef Sir Loin”?
4.
Between the M6 and its estuary how many bridges span the River Ribble?
5.
What was Nelson called before it was named Nelson?
6.
When did Lancashire last win the county cricket championship outright? 1924 1934 1954
7.
What caused the Lancashire Cotton Famine of the 1860s?
8.
What pub was voted the Lancashire Dotcom Walkers pub of 2010?
9. What two Lancashire football teams have been champions of the four divisions of the league (Pre-Premiership)? 10. What pub in the Chorley destrict has stained glass windows depicting the Battle of Brunanburh which took place in 937?
The Red Herring
MILL LANE, COPPULL, CHORLEY, LANCS. Tel: (01257) 470130 Ste & Mary welcome you to Coppull’s only freehouse: An oasis in a beer desert. Guest Ales include: Moorhouses, 3Bs and many more Good Beer
Guide -Sat night entertainment, we’re in it. Sun night quiz Ring Mill function room for hire Monday to Thursday open from 3pm Friday to Sunday open from 12pm
ALE CRY VISITS SAMLESBURY
We haven’t visited the Samlesbury area for some time so as a chef and his partner Stella, who managed the pub severa mini bus visit was long overdue. Leaving the bus staal years ago. Obviously food has its place at this pub, but it tion, our first destination was the Myerscough at Balder- is also a real ale drinker’s pub with six handpulls. It is an Enstone, opposite Samlesbury Aerodrome on the A59. It has terprise Inn, but Rob is on the SIBA direct delivery scheme recently been taken over by landlady Lesley Clarke, who and so can get an interesting range of beers on. Whilst we used to be at the Nabs Head(which we were to visit later). were there, besides Hobgoblin and Spitfire, we could choose She has subtly renovated the pub and it is now a very from Cottage Brewery Jack at the Movies(4.3%)Bowland warm and comfortable country inn. The much loved oak Brewery Sawley Tempted(3.7) and Dragon(4.2) and Copper panelling has been retained and the standard of decoration Dragon Golden Pippin. Rob has refurbished the pub himis very high, especially in the side room as you go in. It is self, completely redecorating and reupholstering it. The pub now very food orientated but the beer does not suffer and is open 12-11 Sun-Wed and 12-12 Thurs-Sat with food on we were warmly welcomed by the friendly staff. There 12-2, 5.30-8.30 Mon-Thurs, Then 12-2, 6-9 Fri Sat and 12were three Robinsons beers on sale (it is a Robinsons 7.30 Sundays. Besides a comprehensive menu, Rob is now tied house), these being Old Stockport, Dizzy Blonde and offering a three course meal for £9.95 and soup and a sandUnicorn. All were found to be in good condition and it was wich. The pub can be reached quite quickly from junction a fine start to our night. Lesley’s plans for the pub include 31 of the motorway, so is a convenient stopping place for refurbishing the letting accommodation fairly soon and she people on the move.( tel 01772 877942) hopes to make more use of the extensive beer garden. Continuing our trip, we carried on along Cuerdale The pub opens at 12 till 10.30 Sun/Mon, 11.15 pm Lane to come out at Chorley Rd corner in Walton –LeTues-Thu and 11.30 Fri/Sat with quality home cooked food Dale. Here you will find the White Bull ably managed by available 12-2, 5-8.30(9 Fri) midweek, all day Sat till 9 Steve, who informed us that it was completely free of tie. and till 7.30 Sun. On sale we found Draught Bass, Fuzzy Duck Cunning Two people were despatched to the Boddingtons Stunt (4.3%) and Boddingtons Bitter(appropriate as this Arms next door, but returned with the info that there was is an ex-Boddingtons pub). Steve told us that they had a no real ale so we got back on the minibus and headed for cask suggestion box so that if anyone found a beer they the aforementioned Nabs Head at Samlesbury Bottoms. liked, he would try to get it on. Between us all we tried them all, some of us renewing our taste for the Bass. It was quite busy for a Monday night, it being Bingo night and on other nights they have live entertainment as well including a singer on a Sunday. An over 25 policy ensures that the pub can be enjoyed by all who qualify. Sandwiches are available during the day. It is open 12-11 Sun-Thurs, and 12-12 Fri-Sat. The pub, along with the nearby Sir Robert Peel, does a lot of work for Help for Heroes and a charity calendar was on sale behind the bar. Steve told us proudly that the pub had won three awards in the last 12 months, a This is a Thwaites tied house and has great views over the Best Bar None award, the Alcohol Certificate in Excellence Ribble valley from the car park. It was taken over by Mar- (ACA) award for best pub in South Ribble, and a similar tin in November after a short closure and he has started a award for best pub in the southern division. It was a fitting refurbishment program of light restoration in this tradition- place to end our tour and we all got on our minibus to get ally laid out pub with a central bar. On sale we found two back to the bus station for our last buses home( Why not beers, Thwaites Original and Wainwrights. The Original join us on our trips? The next one is round Horwich) ran out during our visit. Both were in good condition. Mar- Paul Riley. tin hopes to add a further handpump as business builds up.
Attention young lasses.
He is also building up the food side of things, using fresh local produce including Aberdeen Angus beef from local Greenhurst farm. He has different offers on through the week and gourmet evenings at weekends. He is especially proud of his real chips. Food is available 12-3, 5-9 MonFri, all day Sat till 9 and till 7 pm on Sunday. The pub is open 12-3, 5-12 Mon-Fri, 12-12 Sat and 12-11 Sun. They can be reached on 01254 851416. Next for us was the New Hall Tavern on Cuerdale Lane, near the old Whitbread brewery. It has been run since June 2009 by Rob Povell who has had had 24 years experience
The number of young women drinking real ale has soared. You see them at beer festivals almost outnumbering the men. It’s a natural, often organic, healthy product. Try it for a month and you won’t go back to your ‘Zombeers’ or alcopops. If it works for you get in touch with me. Sue Riley (women’s officer)
First an apology to Mark and Ciara Morris who run TRADER JACKS on the corner of Hollinshead Street. In The Winter edition of Ale Cry it was stated that the pub did not have real ale, but we were a little premature in this claim. I can confirm that there are three handpumps on the bar, two serving contract brewed ale from Grays Wholesalers and the other one serving an ever changing guest from breweries such as Copper Dragon, Dent, and Otter. This traditional style pub is always worth a visit, even more so now with a range of cask ales on offer. More good news from Chorley. The PARKERS ARMS has re-opened after a period of closure and real ale has been re-intro duced. On our recent visit the beers were Courage Directors and Jennings Cumberland Ale.
Chorley
Another pub closed for a number of years, the Tut’n’Shive (originally one of Lancashire’s finest pubs - The Royal Oak) has reopened as the KINETIC BAR serving beers from the Prospect Brewery in Standish , Moorhouses &Thwaites Wainwright Moorhouses delivering to Kinetic Finally we have to report the sad news of the death of Eric Hargreaves, landlord of the ROYAL OAK at Riley Green, Hoghton. Eric, who was always a good friend of CAMRA, had run the Royal Oak with wife Trish for over 15 years and had been responsible for the pub being an entry in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide since 1998. They had previously run the Higher Buck in Waddington near Clitheroe which had also been a Good Beer Guide entry. We understand that the pub will now be run by Trish and her excellent staff. We would like to offer our condolences to all Eric’s family and friends on behalf of CAMRA. Alan Thompson
THE SHAWES ARMS London Road Preston Opening Times: MON-THURS - 12 - 11 FRI-SAT - 12 - 12 SUN -12 - 10.30
3 Guest Ales and Ciders Bar Snacks Sky Sports TV Large rear garden overlooking River Ribble Families and Dogs welcome Pool Table, Dart Boards, Table Football Quiz night and play your cards right - Thursday Fortnightly DJ Karaoke
C
Chatter
There is much to be pleased about. When we started writing this the Swan with Two Necks had closed. It’s great to see you back Denise and Nick after your break from the plonkers in authority who went out of their way to make your life a misery. I hope your reduced opening hours works in you favour . The reopening of the Parkers Arms is welcome. The internal transformation has been rapid and at the time of writing the external work which must be deterring many potential customers is now well underway as is the creation of the beer garden. It is a warm and friendly local serving excellent food. If current external works are putting some people off that is a shame because the inside is unchanged structurally and is really comfortable. The menu from the kitchen run by former ‘Orient Express’ chef Nathan is excellent. Congratulations on the work in progress. As demand for real ale continues to increase I’m sure it won’t be long before the Parkers become a real ale success story. Talking of success stories the growth from four to six handpumps at the Railway speaks for itself and the increased sales at Trader Jacks and the newly opened Kinetic is pleasing. The Rose and Crown goes from strength to strength and the White Hart in spite of being a lager pub continues to sell locales.
The Original
FARMERS ARMS
Bar and Restaurant • Up to 6 CASK ales at a time. • A varying selection of real ales • from local micro breweries • Bar open all day until 12pm • A large selection of freshly made bar snacks • from sandwiches to T-bones & Ostrich served all day. • Special offers on beers all day everyday. • Excellent bed and breakfast accommodation. • with en-suite facilities available • Single room from £20 (en-suite from £25) • Double room from £25 (en-suite from £30)
TOWNGATE ECCLESTON NR CHORLEY PR7 5QS TELEPHONE 01257 451594
I was wrongly informed that Last Orders has recommenced selling real ale.Let’s see if we can persuade the gaffer to do so and also see if he can follow other Last Orders pubs in changing the name back to‘The Joiners.’ On Pall Mall the Plough continues to thrive and Holt’s bitter continues to do well in the Black Horse. On ‘The Lane’ (Eaves Lane and Cowling) what used to be a beer desert with only the Prince of Wales and Spinners the oases, is now worth a pub crawl with the Brethy now up to three hand pumps and the Sheps always boasting at least two, with a notice outside the pub telling you what’s in store The Wetherspoons latest beer fest went down well as did the beers . No more news form Adlington as Ebeneezer is still on the slow road to recovery. We wish him well as no doubt does all Adlington. Lord Mountain, Melodious Mick, Royston, Toad
Dog and Partridge 44 Friargate Preston Tel: 01772 252217
House Casks Include: Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Joseph Holt’s Best Bitter Tetley Mild plus: Weekly Guests From The Punch Finest Cask Range and SIBA Direct Delivery
Smokey-o-Joes 32-Seater Smoking Area Good Value Lunches Including: ‘The’ Curry Fridays The Big Quiz Thursday Night Rock DJ Sunday
The Old Vic
Also known as the Vic and Station
Tel.No.
Find us
Fishergate Preston
Opposite Preston Railway Station CAMRA Recommended Good Beer Guide 2011 7 Handpumps in action Normally 20 different real ales available during the course of a week Two 3D screens - 4 Sky Boxes Showing: Football, Rugby Cricket, Horse Racing, Darts, Athletics, Tennis, Golf and other major events Traditional pub with traditional lunchtime bar meals Buffets can be arranged
Golden Lion
Blackburn Road New Front Extension Higher Wheelton (opened November 2010 Chorley Quiz Night Wednesday 9.30 01254 830855 FREE Pie Supper Large Jackpot stuart>swanton@btinternet.com www.sugarvine/goldenlionwheelton.co.uk -
Tuesday and Thursday Steak Night 2 Steaks and Free bottle of Wine £13.95 Sunday Roasts 2 for £9.95
5 handpumps: 4 Thwaites + 1 exclusive to Thwaites ‘1807 Club’ GLC Outside Caterers Monday - Free Pool Sky and ESPN Sports Channels
Come down and receive a warm welcome from our friendly staff
CAMRA Pub of The Season Spring 2011
Riley’s Rambles... Chester For our Christmas excursion this year, we decided to visit Chester. Most people would just get on a mainline train at Preston, change at Warrington and arrive duly in Chester. That would cost you (at today’s prices) £20.40 return. The way we went takes a little bit longer, but is more interesting and saves you a lot of money. We travelled via Ormskirk(£5.70 return) and rebooked there with a Merseyrail Day Saver which costs only £4.50 and off peak(after 9.30) you can travel anywhere on the Merseyrail system which includes Chester. It involves another change of trains at either Liverpool Central or Moorfields, but trains are now every 15 minutes to Chester from there. Our journey on the day wasn’t as easy, due to the bad weather over Christmas and we nearly despaired when they kept cancelling our connection, but we eventually got there 40 minutes late and met up with our friend Peter from Leeds who had been patiently waiting for us. We caught the 10.07 from Preston, rebooked and got the 10.50 to Liverpool. You should now be able to get the 11.30 from there and arrive in Chester for 12.11. With us being late, we were gasping for a drink and so went into the Union Vaults on Egerton St. full of characterful locals. Mick James bought the first round and was so carried away with the event that he bought an extra pint. The only beers available on our visit were Everards Tiger and Tetley’s Northern Cracker, a 4% seasonal. Wanting more variety we walked the short distance to the Mill Hotel on Milton Street and variety is exactly what we got there. Eleven beers and a cider were available including Weetwood Best bitter at £1.95 up to Moorhouses Pendle Witch at £3.05 by way of beers brewed by Osset and Coachhouse among others. You could also get three different thirds of a pint and some nuts for £2.75, which is very good if you want to try some different beers. (The Anderton Arms in Preston has a similar scheme).The Mill is a residential hotel at the canalside and the bar is on the right as you enter. It can get busy with TV sport very popular, but there are ample bar staff. Walking towards the centre, we intended going in the Marlborough Arms on St. John Street as Stonehouse beers were supposed to be on sale, but it was shut so we walked on to the multi award
winning Albion Arms on Park Street. There were only Adnams Bitter and Black Sheep bitter on sale but the classic atmosphere of conversation and a mature clientele, real fire and the artefacts made for a pleasant stay in this three roomed pub. Next was The Bear and Billet on Lower Bridge Street, an Okell Brewery owned pub in a stunning Tudor fronted 17th Century former town house. Again there was a nice real fire, but unfortunately no Okells beers were available when we went, the beers being Oakham JHB, Salopian Oracle,Titanic Plum Porter and Sadlers Thin Ice, so there was something for everyone. Walking back up the hill we came to the best pub of the day, The Brewery Tap, belonging to Spitting Feathers. Up a very steep flight of stairs you enter what looks like a baronial hall complete with wall tapestry.
As befits a CAMRA 2010 regional pub of the year winner a very good selection of seven beers in excellent condition were available including their own Wavertown stout at 4.4%. I had Brimstage Brewery’s Trappist Hat Bitter at 3.8% a refreshing hoppy beer. Walking back through the centre we went up Northgate St, and after buying some sustenance at a takeaway we entered the old historic coaching inn The Pied Bull, with its abundance of wooden beams. There were also four real ales on sale, Hornbeam Black Coral Stout(4.3%), Solar Power, brewed by Isle of Purbeck(4.3%), Brewdog Punk IPA(6%) and Frodsham Lammastide wheatbeer at 5%. Whilst we were there, a funny thing happened. Those of you who remember last years trip will re call that when we were in a pub in Leeds, I had a phone call to tell me that my team, Preston North
End, had sacked their manager Alan Irvine. Well, a couple of people came in the pub with PNE tops. I wished them well and they asked if we had sacked our manager yet. I replied that as far as I knew, no, not yet. At that very moment, Preston were sacking Darren Ferguson and incurring the wrath of Sir Alex. I just hope that next Christmas doesn’t prove a hat trick. Just up the road and up an alleyway before you get to the wall is Rufus Court where you can find Alexanders, a modern music/comedy bar which has a guest beer. We called in to se what it was and finding a Weetwood ale on sale, we stayed for one. It was quiet when we were there but it obviously fills up, for after 9pm there is an admission fee. We just had time for one more drink before catching our train homewards and decided on a pleasant community pub, the Ship Victory on George Street near the ring road on the way back to the station.
Golden Ball
Besides having Tetley bitter on there was Weetwood Eastgate Ale(4.2%) on. We had some pleasant conversation with the locals and headed back to the station, catching the 6 o’ clock train back to Liverpool, arriving at quarter to seven. This gave us an hour there before moving on to Ormskirk. I could go into details of the pubs we went to( I’ll leave that for another time). Suffice to say, we did three( halves only),namely Rigby’s, the Hole in the Wall and the Lion, all close to the station. We caught the 19.43 to Ormskirk which arrives in time to catch the train on into Preston. It had been a long day, but another highly enjoyable one. I wonder where we will go this year? You can download a list of real ale pubs with a map from the Chester branch website (or Google Chester + real ale pubs). It lists 39 pubs with a good description of what you can expect. (there were some GBG listed pubs we didn’t visit) It will prove invaluable. Paul Riley.
Open 7 Days a Week Food Served Tuesday to Sunday Lunchtimes and Early Evenings 150 Liverpool Road Live Music Saturdays Longton Quiz Night Wednesdays PRESTON Selection of handpumped beers always available PR4 5AU Heated outdoor patio area tel: 01772 61352750 Live Premiership football coverage
CAMRA West Lancashire branch originally launched a LocAle initiative in the Spring 2009 issue of Ale Cry. However in recent months it has been recognised that the branch's commitment to the scheme was perhaps no longer quite as strong as it could be. The good news is that from this issue of Ale Cry CAMRA West Lancashire branch are re-launching the LocAle initiative. Simply speaking we are saying that we will actively support those licensees in our area who are selling at least one beer that has been brewed within 30 miles of their pub premises. The re-launch has been made with the 28 pubs (plus one club) listed below being identified as those that are eligible to take part in the scheme. Hopefully over time we will see an increase in these numbers. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Bridge, Adlington. Saddle, Bartle. Sitting Goose, Bartle. Tillotsons Arms, Chipping. Black Horse, Chorley. Kinetic, Chorley Malt'n'Hops, Chorley. Potters Arms, Chorley. White Bull, Chorley. Horns, Goosnargh. Boatyard, Heapey. Smiths Arms, Lea. Wagon & Horses, Leyland. Bull & Royal, Longridge. Dolphin, Longton. Golden Cross, Preston. Lamb & Packet, Preston. Moorbrook, Preston. New Welcome, Preston. Old Bull, Preston. Old Vic, Preston. The Canal viewed from inside The Bridge in Adlington Sun, Preston. Preston Grasshoppers Rugby Club. Royal Oak, Riley Green. Nabs Head, Samlesbury. New Hall Tavern, Samlesbury. Golden Lion, Wheelton. Red Lion, Wheelton. Dog, Whittle-le-Woods.
Red Lion Wheelton
It is the intention that West Lancs CAMRA members will regularly check all these LocAle accredited outlets, and if any are found to have stopped selling a local beer then they will be removed from the list. (Continued on next page)
Locale (cont.) Since LocAle was first launched in 2009, the local brewery situation has improved significantly. After long being one of the few CAMRA branches without a brewery, CAMRA West Lancashire is now able to boast two breweries within its boundaries. Both located in Preston, ARKWRIGHT’S BREWERY is based at the Real Ale Shop on Lovat Road, while HART BREWERY is based on the Oxheys Industrial Estate. Hopefully it will not be too long before the branch has a third micro-brewery, with the HORNS INN at Goosnargh due to have a brewery operating on site within the next few months.
OLD VIC, PRESTON. In recent years the Old Vic has been selling beers from a wide selection of local breweries. On a midweek lunchtime in March, there were six real ales on offer including four LocAle beers from four different breweries - Lancaster Blonde, Moorhouses Witches Cauldron, Prospect Hop Vine Bitter, and Three B's Blonde Bee. SUN, PRESTON. The Sun is a Thwaites tied house which has kept the flag flying for the Blackburn brewery by continually selling real ale in the centre of Preston over the years. Recently the pub had a third handpump installed, and on a visit in March the three beers on offer were Thwaites Original, Thwaites LanLooking outside the branch boundaries there are many caster Bomber, and Thwaites Black Magic (the latest other breweries which are close enough to qualify seasonal beer). pubs in the CAMRA West Lancs area for them to be able to participate in the LocAle scheme. As well as giants like Moorhouses and Thwaites, there are nearby breweries like Bank Top, Brysons, Fuzzy Duck, Hop Star, Lancaster, Lytham, Prospect, Southport, and Three B's which can often be found on the bars of local pubs. Like in Preston, the situation is continuing to improve and most recently a new brewery, the Burscough Brewing Company, has been set up at the Hop Vine in Burscough. In each Ale Cry we will feature a selection of pubs that are selling LocAle beers. DOLPHIN, LONGTON. The Dolphin has long been a supporter of locally brewed beers. It is also notable that it always has a real mild among the range of beers on offer. On a recent visit three of the five real ales on sale were from local breweries, with the beers available being Cottage Viking Bitter, Moorhouses Black Cat, and Moorhouses Pride Of Pendle
Look out for pubs and clubs in the West Lancashire branch area that are displaying LocAle promotional material. These establishments are to be recommended if you wish to support those licensees who are doing their bit for local breweries (and for the environment). Gordon Small
Real Ale - Organic healthy, with limitless flavours. A living product unlike
phoney Zombeers
drink Real Ale Mother nature’s choice Old Vic
A Visit to the Garden .....Kent.........The Garden of England. Whitstable, Canterbury and Faversham to be precise. . In the last issue I wrote an article on my trips abroad to visit my daughter in Yorkshire. This time I have travelled even further afield to dump myself on my brother in Whitstable. Shepherd Neame land. The oldest brewery in the UK. is located in nearby Faversham. Whitstable is a seaside resort famous for its seafood and oysters in particular. My brother was foolish enough to invite me over for a few days, so I cadged a lift from a friend who worked at nearby Gatwick and we met up with brother Ian in a pub on Whitstable beach called The Old Neptune which served decent ale from the Shepherd Neame range. From there we we moved to the Coach and Horses which again was a Shepherd Neame tied house. I called in a couple of times later in my visit for their delicious ham, egg and chips. . .
Coach and Horses - Whitstable From there it was off to my brother’s local the Smack. The trouble was that to get there I had make my way through ‘Squeeze Gut Alley’ Why is it called Squeeze Gut Alley?
Once there I could easily understand why it was Ian’s local. The warm atmosphere and friendly locals made the pub. Top quality blues made open mic night enjoyable and the beer range was appetising.
Melodious Mick
Stolen From Wetherspoons 2 ENTRAPMENT Entrapment is a subject we’ll be discussing in the next issue.
In the meantime I’d like your views on the subject via letter or email. This is what Wetherspoons Chairman Tim Martin had to say in the last issue of Wetherspoons News
:: Trader Jacks :::
::
Hollinshead Street Chorley Mark and Ciara would like to welcome you to our traditional 5 room pub with 3 cask ales available, newly fully licensed function room, large beer garden at the rear of the pub and regular entertainment. Also the home of the ‘Chorley Wildhartz’
Prospect is Good Recently our branch had the pleasure of visiting the Prospect Brewery, which is now based on the Bradley Hall Industrial Estate in Standish. Our happy bunch arrived in a minibus one very frosty Thursday night and were welcomed at the door of the brewery by owner and brewer Patsy Slevin and her husband John. The frost was soon forgotten with the warmth of the welcome inside. Without further ado we were offered a pint from a selection of three beers, Silver Tally at 3.7%, Blinding Light 4.2% and Big John, a magnificent stout of 4.8%. Patsy explained a little bit of the history of the brewery while we enjoyed the fruits of her labour. Having become fed up of her old job, she and John decided that working for oneself was the way to go, and having always been interested in real ale, what better way than to start your own brewery. Having undergone a training course and bought a 5 barrel plant from Bank Top, Prospect brewery was set up in mother’s garage on Prospect hill, hence the name. All the beers are thus named having a mining theme. Having won a lot of awards for the quality of the beers, the brewery’s profile was given a wonderful boost when it was featured in a TV programme with Oz Clarke and James May. The brewery went from strength to strength, outstripping supply and forcing the move to Standish and the purchase of a twelve barrel plant to keep up with demand. Such is the popularity of their beers that Patsy told us that they had to double brew twice in the previous week to keep up with demand. Some new fermenters had been bought so capacity had gone up by a third. The unit they are in was once a munitions factory, then The Heinz No 1 Pudding Factory (hence the white tiles on the wall) and it gives them room to expand when necessary. We were invited to fill our glasses up anytime we wanted (mad rush to the bar, which incidentally came from the Dog and Partridge in Standish) while Patsy gave us a very entertaining and informative explanation of the brewing process and a tour of the brewery. Some interesting points are that the water used is Burtonised; they receive their grain ready crushed; Silver Tally is made from mostly pale ale malt with bits of crystal and a touch of torriefied for head retention. Other grains used in their beers are chocolate malt and roast barley for taste and colour. No sugar is used in their beers. The spent grains are given to local farmers. After extracting the fermentables from the malt in the mash tun, the wort is boiled with the hops in the copper. They use whole hops, mostly English for flavour but also foreign Cascade hops are used for aroma. After passing the hopped wort through heat exchangers, it goes into their fermentation vessels for pitching with their yeast, and the sugars from the malt are turned into that wonderful thing called beer.
Most of their output is sold in cask form, mostly firkins, but some of it is bottled for sale in supermarkets (or at the brewery). They have two vans, so do their own deliveries to the local area (up to as far as Garstang so far) and are on the SIBA direct delivery list. Their beers appear often in our local pubs, with more than 150 supplied direct, so keep a lookout for them on sale. After the tour, whilst helping ourselves to more beer, there was a very entertaining informal question and answer session, where Patsy’s infectious laughter and funny anecdotes had us in stitches. We also had a hotpot supper there before we went, which was very tasty. There is a charge for the brewery visit and supper, but it is worth every penny, and so popular are they, that they are fully booked up till at least July. All too soon it was time for us to go, so we thanked them profusely for the evening, and said our goodbyes.
It was not the end of the evening for us, for we repaired to the nearby Crown Hotel at Worthington, which besides being a brewery tap for Prospect, serves up to 10 cask beers. It was a national Pub of the Year runner up in 2009 and needless to say the beer range and quality was top class. As the weather was getting colder and colder, we shortly decided to set off back home, and on the journey there was to be one more thing happen to make the night memorable. Safely dropping people off in Chorley and Leyland, when we got to Penwortham, one of our crew slipped on the hard frost on the ground. Me, being the only one with a phone, had to call an ambulance, which arrived within 10 minutes( thank goodness for the National Health Service).The two paramedics did not blink an eye when it was explained we had just returned from a brewery visit and quickly took our friend to the hospital, allowing the rest of us to proceed home. We later found out that he had torn ligaments in his knee, but he is fully fit now, thankfully.
We will certainly remember the night we went to Prospect Brewery. For more information on Prospect Brewery, go to their website prospectbrewery.org.uk or phone 01257 421329 Paul Riley
CAMRA WEST LANCS BRANCH AND............. Ale Cry is always interested in pub advertisements. In fact elsewhere in this newsletter you will be able to find details of the competitive rates that are available to licensees who would like to see their own pub brought to the public's attention by means of an Ale Cry advert. However for this article I am not looking at current pub adverts, but am more interested in pub adverts that are from a bygone age. In the last issue of Ale Cry I looked at current pubs that are featured on old postcard. This time it is some of the many pubs that have been featured in adverts that were placed in local publications in the early 1900s. I have selected six adverts that I have found to be particularly amusing. The GOLDEN CROSS in Preston has in recent years been a pub very much in the news. It was closed for several years, then re-opened only to be closed down by the police for agricultural transgressions. It is now notable to local real ale drinkers as being the pub which is effectively the tap for Preston's Arkwrights Brewery. As you can see in the early 1900s it billed itself as 'Caterer to the North End FC' and interestingly made the claim that it offered 'Special Provision for Cyclists, Pic-Nic & Wagonette Parties'. The MARKET in Preston is now well established as a real ale drinkers pub, with three interesting beers usually available at any one time. One hundred years ago it was going under the name 'Ye Olde Market Inn' and was described as 'The Artists Home From Home'. This was not a reference to the pub being particularly attractive to Preston's local community of painters and sculptors, but was considered appropriate because of its close proximity to a number of Preston's many theatres, most notably the celebrated Royal Hippodrome (which was located where the Wilkinson store now stands).
The OLDE DOG & PARTRIDGE in Preston is a pub that is one of the branch's longest standing Good Beer Guide entries. These days renowned for a good choice of changing guest beers, it has recently started selling Holts Bitter as a permanent beer. In 1903, as well as offering 'Good Stabling' (perhaps for the predecessors of the many biking enthusiasts who would later frequent the pub), it was the place to go for a glass of Home-Brewed Beer.
The UNICORN in Preston is one of those pubs that continues to sell a good pint of real ale, but perhaps unfairly tends to get overlooked by many local CAMRA members. In 1913 it was strangely described as 'The Old Football House', perhaps to attract more custom from passing Preston North End supporters. It was selling 'Whittle Springs Noted Ales & Stout', then a company with several pubs in the Preston and Chorley areas. Like many other pubs of the day it was keen to stress that it wanted to attract smokers, with of course only the best cigars being available.
..........................OLD PUB ADVERTS The BRIDGE at Walton-le-Dale is a pub that has not had much publicity from Ale Cry in recent years. The reason for this is quite simple - it is one of the few pubs in the branch area that does not serve real ale, even though it has long had a disused handpump on the bar. In the early 1900s it was another of the many pubs in the Preston area that were selling Home-Brewed Ales, and curiously the landlord advertised his sideline as a 'Gravel Dealer'. I am assuming that the present landlord has not carried on this tradition.
Finally one pub which is no longer in existence. The ALBION in Chorley closed down a couple of years ago, but in 1913 it was probably a booming concern with a local celebrity in charge of things. At the time the Albion was selling Airey's Fine Sparkling Ales (which were brewed in Wigan), and it must have been one of the first pubs in the area to have had a telephone installed (Tel. 37). The pub was run by an ex-footballer Tom Wilson, who in the advert interestingly provided a pen-picture of his past achievements in the game. I have reproduced just a small selection of the many adverts that can be found in old publications. I came across the above adverts in various publications
related to Preston North End, but anyone visiting Preston Reference Library can find similar adverts in the town directories that were produced in the late 1800s and early 1900s to list out and publicise local businesses........................Now where can I go for that pint of Home-Brewed Beer? Gordon Small
Over 700 branch members but only a couple of dozen active. If you are one of the inactive majority don’t you fancy doing a bit to help fight the cause? Any help would be appreciated so why not get in touch (see P30) Ed
A warm friendly welcome awaits you from Gillian
Wellington
124 Tulketh Road - Ashton on Ribble - PR2 1AR Tel: 01772 726641 3 different cask ales available - changed weekly Open mic nights 2nd and 4th Monday Live artiste Saturday Karaoke Friday and Sunday nights Quiz Sunday
See our Facebook page for details of upcoming events Wellington Pub - Preston www.thewelly.co.uk
Since the last edition of Ale Cry there have again been several changes to the list of pubs in the CAMRA West Lancashire branch area that are understood to be currently selling real ale. Overall it is still good news, with there being eleven additional pubs that are known to be selling real ale, as opposed to seven less pubs that are understood to have stopped selling real ale since the last edition of Ale Cry was produced. These are the eleven pubs new to the list:• POACHERS, Bamber Bridge. • KINETIC BAR, Chorley. • PIG & WHISTLE, Lea. • ELDON, Preston.
BLACK HORSE, Chorley. HARTWOOD, Chorley. LAST ORDERS, Chorley. PARKERS ARMS, Chorley. GOLDEN BALL, Longton. ACADEMY, Preston. GOLDEN CROSS, Preston.
These are the seven pubs that have been deleted from the list:• BODDINGTON ARMS, Balderstone. DOG & PARTRIDGE, Charnock Richard. • CROWN, Croston. COTTY BROOK, Lea. • SMITHY, Much Hoole QUEEN VIC, Preston. • WHEATSHEAF, Woodplumpton. Hopefully those pubs new to the list will stay there permanently, and hopefully some of those pubs that have been deleted from the list will be able to make a quick return. As you will see from the accompanying table there are now 199 pubs in the CAMRA West Lancashire branch area that are currently believed to be selling at least one real ale. This compares to 195 pubs that were listed in the Winter 2010 edition of Ale Cry, and 190 pubs that were listed in the Autumn 2010 edition of Ale Cry. For those interested the 199 pubs can be further broken down as 80 pubs in the Chorley Borough area, 54 pubs in the Preston borough area, 50 pubs in the South Ribble borough area, and 15 pubs in the Ribble Valley borough area. It is pleasing to report that we are again able to record a small rise in the number of pubs in the branch area that are selling real ale. As things stand we are not too far short of having 200 real ale pubs, which would equate to there being more than 75% of the total number of pubs in the branch area selling real ale. Whether we ever reach that milestone figure remains to be seen, particularly with the current economic climate continuing to see pubs being forced to close down at an alarming rate. In fact barely four months into 2011 and already there have been six pub closures in the CAMRA West Lancashire branch area, although hopefully some of these will prove to be only temporary closures. As stated in previous Ale Cry's the branch's Real Ale Pubs Register must be considered a work-in-progress as it will almost certainly be out-of-date by the time you actually see it in print. In compiling the Register CAMRA West Lancashire branch are using the best information that they have available and it is produced with the best of intentions. It is hoped that there are no serious errors or omissions, but if you think that there is a pub missing from the list, or that there is a pub on the list which should not be there, then you are welcome to contact the Ale Cry Editor with your information. One last thing, we would like to apologise to all licensees of those pubs located in Walton-le-Dale, Wheelton, Whitestake, Whittle-le-Woods, Withnell, and Woodplumpton as they were missed off the Real Ale Pub List that appeared in the Winter 2010 Ale Cry. All being well the list has been printed in a complete form in this issue of Ale Cry, and real ale drinkers will not get too confused when looking for somewhere to go to find a pub after they have been to Walmer Bridge. Gordon Small
WEST LANCASHIRE REAL ALE PUB LIST (199 PUBS)
ADLINGTON. Bridge; Cardwell Arms; Elephant & Castle; Spinners Arms (Bottom); Spinners Arms (Top); Waggon & Horses; White Bear. ALSTON. White Bull. ASHTON. Lane Ends; Ribble Pilot; Wellington; Wheatsheaf. BALDERSTONE. Myerscough. BAMBER BRIDGE. Hospital; Olde Hob; Olde Original Withy Trees; Pear Tree; The Peters Bar; Poachers; Top House; Walton Fox; White Bull. BARTLE. Saddle; Sitting Goose. BARTON. Boars Head. BISPHAM GREEN. Eagle & Child; Farmers Arms. BRETHERTON. Blue Anchor. Talbot BRINDLE. Cavendish Arms. Euxton BUCKSHAW VILLAGE. Bobbin Mill. CHARNOCK RICHARD. Bowling Green; Hinds Head. CHIPPING. Dog & Partridge; Sun; Tillotsons Arms. CHORLEY. Black Horse; Bretherton Arms; Fieldfare; Gillibrand Arms; Hartwood; Kinetic Bar; Last Orders; Lock & Quay; Malt'n'Hops; Millers; Minstrel, Parkers Arms; Plough; Potters Arms; Prince Of Wales (Market Street); Prince Of Wales (Cowling Brow); Railway; Rose & Crown; Shepherds Arms; Sir Henry Tate; Spinners Arms; Swan With Two Necks; Trader Jacks; White Bull; White Hart. CLAYTON-LE-WOODS. Beaumont; Halfway House; Hayrick; Ley Inn; Lord Nelson. COPPULL. Red Herring. COTTAM. Ancient Oak. CROSTON. Black Horse; Grapes; Highfield; Lord Nelson; Wheatsheaf. ECCLESTON. Brown Cow; Original Farmers Arms; Windmill. EUXTON. Bay Horse; Euxton Mills; Plough; Railway; Talbot; Travellers Rest. FARINGTON. Rose & Crown. FULWOOD. Anderton Arms; Black Bull; Cattle Market; Sumners; Withy Trees. GOOSNARGH. Grapes; Horns; Stags Head. GRIMSARGH. Plough. HEATH CHARNOCK. Bay Horse. HESKIN. Brook House; Farmers Arms. HIGHER WALTON. Mill Tavern. HOGHTON. Black Horse; Boars Head; Boatyard; Old Oak; Royal Oak; Sirloin. HUTTON. Anchor. INGLEWHITE. Green Man. INGOL. Guild Merchant. LEA. Lea Gate; Pig & Whistle.. LEA TOWN. Smiths Arms. LEYLAND. Barristers; Black Bull; Broadfield Arms; Dunkirk Hall; Eagle & Child; Gables; Midge Hall; Railway At Leyland; Roebuck; Wagon & Horses; Wheatsheaf. LIMBRICK. Black Horse LONGRIDGE. Alston Arms; Bull & Royal; Corporation Arms; Duke William; Durham Ox; Forrest Arms; Old Oak; Townley Arms; Weavers Arms; White Bull. LONGTON. Black Bull; Dolphin; Golden Ball; Rams Head; Red Lion. LOSTOCK HALL. Anchor; Pleasant Retreat; Victoria. MAWDESLEY. Black Bull; Red Lion; Robin Hood. PENWORTHAM. Black Bull; Fleece; Pear Tree; Sir Tom Finney. PRESTON. Academy; Angel; Bitter Suite; Black Horse; Continental; Eldon; Fox & Grapes (Fox Street); Golden Cross; Greyfriar; Guild; Hartleys; Lamb & Packet; Market Tavern; Moorbrook; New Britannia; New Welcome; Old Black Bull; Old Bull; Old Dog; Old Vic; Olde Blue Bell; Olde Dog & Partridge; Princess Alice; Shawes Arms; Ship; Stanley Arms; Station; Sun; Unicorn; Wellington; Yates's.
WEST LANCASHIRE REAL ALE PUB LIST (199 PUBS) RIBBLETON. Ribble Lodge. SAMLESBURY. Nabs Head; New Hall Tavern. THORNLEY. Derby Arms. ULNES WALTON. Rose & Crown. WALMER BRIDGE. Fox Cub; Longton Arms; Walmer Bridge. WALTON-LE-DALE. Sir Robert Peel; Welcome; White Bull; Yew Tree. WHEELTON. Dressers Arms; Golden Lion; Malthouse Farm; Red Lion; Top Lock. WHITESTAKE. Farmers Arms. WHITTLE-LE-WOODS. Dog; Roebuck, Royal Oak; Sea View. WITHNELL. Hoghton Arms.
Off to Sheffield - members weekend and our resolution - Preconceptions
For the first time the West Lancashire Branch has submit- refused and the motion went straight to the vote which was ted a resolution for consideration at our AGM / National surprisingly defeated. If I’d been given the right of reply I Conference / Members Weekend. It is self explanatory: believe we’d have won the vote. By E-mail Motion for the 2011 National Members’ It was a very important conference with many important Weekend and AGM issues considered that I haven’t space to do justice to here. I will cover these in greater detail in the next issue of ‘Ale Cry’ and if we get it sorted, on our web site. The motion submitted by you on behalf of West LanBranch members: Gordon Small, Dave Marsden and John cashire branch has been amended and subsequently accepted by Conference Procedures Committee. It will be Singleton also attended but they couldn’t stay until Sunday. Lord Mountain included, as below, on the order paper as Motion 4. MOTION 13 This Conference believes in the beneficial health effects of real ale and believes that other ale products with chemical and gas additives can have a detrimental effect on public health. Conference believes that the differences between the two are significant and measurable, but acknowledges that research on this area has so far been minimal. Conference therefore resolves that CAMRA shall work with other interested parties to quantify the differences in health terms between real ale and other ale products. Proposed by West Lancashire Branch Yours sincerely Mike Benner Chief Executive As someone who has attended, spoken and moved resolutions at many national conferences (Labour Party and Trade Union) I was interested to see how CAMRA compared and I’m sorry, disappointed and furious to say - abysmally. I’d already come to the conclusion, from my failed attempts to even elicit a reply when writing to ‘What’s Brewing’ that CAMRA was a centrally dominated body but until that weekend I didn’t realise just how bad the situation was. Resolutions are a way individual branches can change CAMRA policy. Saturday morning was the scheduled start for consideration of resolutions. By Sunday morning about a quarter had been discussed. The rest were shoved over to Sunday and even then they were treated as an unwanted inconvenience. By noon there was one resolution to be heard before ours so we expected to be ok even though business closed at 12.30. So imagine our surprise and annoyance when they then devoted 20 minutes discussing the move of the GBBF to a different area of London. At 12.30 it looked like we weren’t going to get our chance but someone moved a 10 minute extension to complete business. I moved the motion, someone from the NEC asked for it to be remitted to the NEC and then spoke against it. When I refused remission and asked for the right of reply that was
PARKERS ARMS Park Road Chorley 01257 261999
Opening hours: Monday - Thursday: 11am - 12pm Friday - Saturday: 11am - 1pm Sunday: 11am - 12pm Real Ales from £2.40 per pint: Jennings’ Cumberland + guest Fresh food served 11am - 8pm all week Daily Specials 3 Course Sunday Lunch £8.95 Wednesday Lunch OAP Special - 25% off
The Railway Inn 20 Steeley Lane, Chorley, Lancs. PR6 0RD
Chorley’s Premier Music Venue Live music every Saturday night Look out for the Friday night showcases with up 4 bands Plus Music Festivals each season with up to 8 bands The Summer Music Festival will be held on Saturday 2nd July. Music starts about 4pm. Monthly music quizes The Railway Jam session / open mic night is held every Sunday. Musicians of all ages and abilities are welcome and we have a full band set up so come and play in a great easy going musical atmosphere.
REAL ALES
Jennings Cumberland Ale, Marstons Pedigree Plus 3 other guest pumps featuring the finest ales from Ringwood, Brakspear, Wychwood A CAMRA Pub of the Season. Cask Marque award for excellent real ales Free pool every Monday – Free jukebox every Tuesday – Darts and Dominoes
Tel: 01257 411449 email: railwaysounds @yahoo.co.uk
Beer
and
I promised Steve from the Railway that where as in previous issues I have concentrated on festivals around the uk I would spend some time reporting on beer and music in our area starting with their Spring Festival. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it so he kindly agreed to report on how the event went and what the bands were like The five beers on the pumps changed during the busy event but included: Hobgoblin, Cumberland, Boondoggle, Melodious Mick The report follows........................................
Music ...... Shoks. A real crowd puller! We have heard these guys get better and better over the last 4 years because they used to practice in our cellar. They have played at the Railway a number of times and this set was the best I’ve heard them.
The Railway Inn Spring Festival 2011 Medicine for Madmen. 3 piece Indie rock. Self penned and brilliant songs that come across with strength and energy. An inspiring performance to open the spring festival. These lads are surely destined to do a lot more and we are already looking at future dates here at the Railway. Blitz. 3 piece. These lads are only 16 and have been playing for a couple of years now and have gone down really well at the Railway before. Good solid bass and drums from the two Jordan’s, with acoustic guitar and exceptional vocals from front man Chris. Brian Hobbs. Acoustic guitar and an awesome voice that seems to get better and louder each time he plays. Formerly front man for Taken Liberties and No Vacancy he is now doing his solo set to a much appreciative audience. Meet the Folkers. Guitar, Banjo, Penny whistle, Bass and accordion. What an entertaining mix of folk songs. They never fail to get people going and their harmonies are something else. This band liven up any party. Taser Puppets. A very unique, original and eclectic band fronted by singer, guitarist, songwriter and poet Shaun Maxwell. Backed by Terry O’Niell (drums) and Jason Hurley (bass). Formed 2008, Taser Puppets are 3 people who play vocal driven music with vigour tightly laced with dark humour. A stripped to the bone sound where there's no place for guitar ego & the song is king. Watch out for these guys.
To use a quote from a previous review that someone wrote after they supported Ian Brown in London... “a furious mixture of stooges/pistols/nirvana noisesurge” this does them justice and they produced again at the festival. Good band! Datura. Met these guys about a year ago and they were without a drummer but we kept in touch and had to get them on at this festival when I heard the band was complete and rehearsed and they delivered a heady mix of punk and rock that went down a storm at the Railway. A real good band to get the old punks off their seats! Juall. (Formerly called Wild Faith) What an awesome way to finish the festival. These guys have blown us all away a few times now over the last couple of years and they certainly did it again on Saturday night. This is how they came about. In 2008, a chance meeting brought together these four young musicians, all of them influenced by music's finest rock, blues and soul artists, yet, each with their own distinct musical personality. With all of the guys on the same wavelength, the musical connection grew from strength to strength to eventually form the fresh, young energetic band, “Juall”. The four members that make up Juall are: Antony Ellis (Ant) Lead vocals, Garry Bibby (Bib) Bass guitar, Gareth Beaumont (Gaz) Lead guitar and Jonathan (Jonny) Gleave Drums. These are four people, who are focused and in love with music. They live to play and write music. They are an amazingly talented bunch with each member of the band an accomplished songwriter.
. Every member of Juall brings to the table their own songs, with their own distinct and yet complimentary vocals. With the ability to combine their own distinct individual style to enhance each other’s songs, this fusion has enabled the band to create great songs, with strong hooks and lyrics which resonate with the listener. Juall songs and arrangements feature powerful vocal harmony together with driving bass and drums, inspirational guitar and soulful vocals, to produce a contemporary rock style, which makes for compelling listening and an equally magnetic live stage show that you will have go a long way to see the like again. I was really happy when I eventually secured this line up for the Spring festival and all the bands did above and beyond what I expected of them and the people who were here and the bands, made one of the best nights of music and togetherness at one of the best attended festivals that I have ever been fortunate enough to witness. Thanks to all. Stephen Barker and Ian Lester – Sound, lights and general running about. Thanks to all management and staff of the Railway for doing such a fantastic job of handling such a busy and exceptional night. Steve
Beer and Music Festivals 2011
Which festivals I will find time to visit this year is uncertain. Amongst others it could be: 6-8 May: Holmfirth, 27-30 May: Chester (at Kelsall) 17-19 June: Middlewich or Beverley (Middlewich is nearer and in nice weather the canal boat element of the festival is well worth a visit), 23-26 June: Dent wich clashes with rival nearby Sedbergh (24-26), 1-3 July: Cleckheaton or Newcastleton (one of my favourites), 29 July-5 Aug: SIDMOUTH, 11-14 Aug: Bideford, 20-26 Aug: Whitby Folk Week, 2-4 Sept: Fylde (Fleetwood - a good local one to sample if you’ve never been to one), 9-11 Sept: Bromyard and 15-18 Sept: Otley (a great one to finish with).
I am often asked why I don’t mention certain festivals. My criteria is that festivals constrained in a field don’t appeal - something has to be happening in most of the areas pubs Middlewich. If you want to check some out yourself google the ‘Spiral Earth website. Melodious Mick
Hart of Preston Your local brewery
5 Oxheys Industrial Estate Greenbank Street PRESTON PR1 7PH Tel:01772 437651, 07865 249091 Bottled beer now on sale Party and Gift Packs 12 bottle mix packs 36 pint pins for your barbi Free local delivery on two boxes and all cask beer Now Permanently on sale at The Black Bull Great Eccleston
Branch Details:
In The Good Beer Guide 2011 Your Hosts: Keith and Alma Burgess Beautiful Beer Cask Force Gold Award 2008 Cellar Diploma 2009 Jennings beers and guest ales Thai Cuisine Every saturday Quiz = Wednesday 9.30pm
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Thurs 14th July - Hart Brewery Trip, Preston - 8pm at the brewery
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28/08/11
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