Ale Cry 122 - Spring 2019

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Ale

FIGHTING FOR DRINKERS’ RIGHTS IN THE HEART OF LANCASHIRE SINCE 1973

Cry

issue 122, Spring 2019 03 05 07 08

Pub of the Season: Tap and Vine @ 69 George Lee Memorial Trophy Chorley Chatter Riley’s Rambles: Colne

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Micropub – Hero or Villain?

Preston Parade Historic Preston Pubs: Part 5 South Ribble Scene

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Ale Cry Visits… Horwich Looking Back The Plau Anatomy of a Pint: Part 3

CENTRAL LANCASHIRE BRANCH

Branch Contacts Chairman DAVE BELL t: 07900 565281 e: chairman@centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Membership Secretary JOHN SINGLETON t: 07456 914048 e: membership@centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Treasurer DAVE WOOLCOCK e: treasurer@centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Secretary & Webmaster GORDON SMALL t: 01772 746118 e: secretary@centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Pubs Officer RICHARD LANGFORD t: 07974 799224 e: pubsofficer@centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Pub Protection Officer DAVE LINLEY t: 07981 518506 e: pubprotection@centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Cider Officer POST VACANT e: cider@centrallancs.camra.org.uk

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Chairman’s Welcome

elcome to our Spring 2019 edition of Ale Cry. By now, you will be enjoying lighter evenings, longer days and hopefully, some better weather. A great time of year to support your favourite pub(s) by getting down there to enjoy a few pints and, if it’s warm enough, a beer garden.

If anyone needs any encouragement to visit a pub and enjoy some real ale, then please read on. CAMRA has commissioned research from Oxford University which found that people who have a local pub are happier and have more friends. CAMRA works to promote the good that pubs do for society, whether that’s benefiting personal well-being, providing important services to the local communities, or helping tackle loneliness and isolation.

People who regularly use a ‘local’ pub: • have more close friends on whom they can call for support.

• are happier and more trusting of others.

• feel more engaged with their wider community.

Tim Page, chief executive of CAMRA, said: ‘We are delighted that such robust research highlights some of the many benefits of visiting a pub. Pubs offer a social environment to enjoy a drink with friends in a responsible, supervised community setting. Nothing is more significant for individuals, the social

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groupings to which they belong and the country as a whole as our personal and collective well-being.

The role of community pubs in ensuring that well-being cannot be overstated. For that reason, we all need to do what we can to ensure that everyone has a ‘local’ near to where they live or work.’ So, there you have it, what many of us may have suspected all along, it’s now official. Going to the pub is good for you.

As ever, if you have any thoughts, comments or feedback, please get in touch with us via email, you will find a contact list in this magazine, or better still, come along to one of our forthcoming meetings or events. Please also remember to visit our website www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk for all the latest information and local news and if you are on Facebook, please search for CAMRA Central Lancs and like our page. In addition, you can now follow us on Twitter, search for CAMRA Central Lancs.

We also produce a monthly newsletter which is emailed to Branch members on the 1st of each month. If you are not receiving this, it will be because we do not have an up to date email address for you. Please get in touch and let us have your email address and we will add you to our list of recipients.

Kind Regards DAV E B E L L

Branch Chairman

Social Media Officer STEWART GRIEVE e: socialmedia@centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Ale Cry Editor ADRIAN SMITH t: 07495 448555 e: editor@centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Social Secretary SIMON CROWE t: 07852 165024 e: social@centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Young Members CATHERINE BEVAN e: youngmembers@centrallancs.camra.org.uk www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk @CAMRA_CentLancs CAMRA Central Lancashire Branch All material copyright © Central Lancs CAMRA No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this magazine are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Editor, Branch Committee or CAMRA nationally. Central Lancs CAMRA accepts no liability in relation to any advertisement or article and recommends the reader make their own enquiries. It should also be noted that inclusion of an advertisement in this magazine should not be deemed an endorsement of quality by Central Lancs CAMRA. Design & Layout: Stewart Grieve Design Ltd e: stew@stewartgrieve.co.uk www.stewartgrieve.co.uk Printed by: Printplus, Cocker Avenue, Poulton-le-Fylde, FY6 8JU t: 01253 299620 www.printplusgroup.com

of Pub the season

SPRING 2019

Tap and vine Penwortham

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t was over two years ago when there was last a Pub of the Season from the South Ribble area, and you have to go back almost 13 years to find one chosen from Penwortham. With this most unsatisfactory situation badly in need of rectification we are pleased to announce that the CAMRA Central Lancashire branch Pub of the Season for Spring 2019 is the TAP AND VINE on Liverpool Road in Penwortham.

The Tap And Vine is a micropub that has been open just one year (it actually opened on Good Friday in 2018). It is housed in a former Arts & Craft Shop, the premises previously having been occupied for many years by Swinton Insurance. The micropub is owned and run by Debbie and Jason Colles, neither of whom had previously been involved in the pub trade. Debbie was formerly a teacher, while Jason continues to work full time. Actually running a pub seems to have become a family occupation, with Debbie’s sister also running a pub (the nearby Sir Tom Finney).

The Tap And Vine is a quiet micropub which since opening has been successful in attracting a good mix of customers of all ages.

The main room has the bar to the right with surrounding seating and standing areas, while to the rear there is a separate more secluded room with comfortable seating. In warmer weather there is also some seating provided outside at the front of the pub.

There are four handpumps and since opening the pub has been selling an interesting range of beers from a great number of different breweries. Local breweries whose beers have been featured include Beer Brothers, Bowland, Prospect, and Withnells, while a little further afield Bowness Bay beers have also made regular appearances. On the

day of my visit for this article there was a beer from the Parker Brewery of Southport, as well as beers from three different breweries in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne area.

Perhaps a little tongue in cheek, the Liverpool Road area of Penwortham has been described as the ‘new Lytham’, and it has certainly changed quite a lot in recent years with the appearance of a growing number of upmarket coffee shops and eating establishments.

The Tap And Vine has contributed much in making the area more appealing, and it has given local real ale drinkers a more intimate option in contrast to the already popular Fleece Inn just up the road.

Unlike many micropubs the Tap And Vine does not take a day off and it is open seven days a week. Opening hours are 4pm to 11pm Monday and Tuesday; 11am to 11pm Wednesday to Friday; 11am to 12midnight Saturday; and 12noon to 10.30pm Sunday. Local food suppliers are strongly supported, with snacks and sharing platters being available until 8pm on weekdays, and until 7pm at weekends.

There will be a CAMRA Central Lancashire branch social at the Tap And Vine on Thursday March 28th, with the presentation of the Spring 2019 Pub of the Season certificate taking place at about 9pm.

We are hoping for a good turnout on the night, and space permitting it would be great to see some new faces present as we formally recognise this excellent new real ale outlet.

GORDON SMALL

CAMRA GOOD BEER GUIDE 2019

www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

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ST T E R E SA’S PENWORTHAM

BT SPORTS FREE WI FI POOL / SNOOKER LARGE FUNCTION ROOM LAGERS

REAL ALE CIDERS BIG SCREEN TV SKY SPORTS

SPIRITS WINE GIN BAR SOFT DRINKS

OPEN MON–THUR 7–11 • FRI 7–12 • SAT 4–12 • SUN 4–11

34 QUEENSWAY PENWORTHAM PRESTON PR1 0DS

St Teresa’s Parish Centre, Penwortham @TeresaCentre

TEL 01772 743523

@stteresasparish

Masons Arms Most Improved Pub of the Year 2018

· · · ·

4 rooms 2 bars 6 rotating cask ales Gin and wine bar

98 HARPERS LANE, CHORLEY PR6 0HU

· · · ·

Ciders, lagers and spirits Fresh snacks daily Open everyday Free wifi

LIVE MUSIC 4

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Sky, BT & Racing Dog friendly Family friendly Monday night quiz

GEORGE LEE MEMORIAL TROPHY

T

he George Lee Memorial Trophy is the branch’s premier award, being given annually to the pub, individual or organisation that has done the most for real ale over the previous 12 months. As is our custom, voting took place at the branch Christmas social, which this year was held at PR1 in Preston. There were 5 candidates, with Gary Quinn & Jane Briscoe (GUILD ALE HOUSE/ ORCHARD), Jeremy Rowlands (CONTINENTAL/FERRET/PLAU), Nick Reid (MASONS ARMS) and the OLD VIC being the unlucky candidates. We are delighted to announce that the comfortable winners were Haydn & Angela Williams of CRANKSHAFT BREWERY and CANN BRIDGE ALE HOUSE. Crankshaft Brewery started in 2016 after several years of home brewing. Having won a couple of prizes at the Welsh National home brew competition, they bought a 100 litre kit and set up in their garage. This kit allowed them to make 150 bottles or two casks and their first commercial brew was launched at the Taste of Leyland event in August 2016. They took 200 bottles (expecting to sell one or two) and sold out in a couple of hours. Their first bottle customer was Barrica Wines and their first cask ale appeared in the Market Ale House, in Leyland. Haydn describes this as a quite emotional event and appreciates the support they have received from Jack & Adam Godwin, who have stocked their beers regularly ever since.

With growing demand, it became obvious that they couldn’t cope any more in the garage and more permanent premises were required. As the beer is ‘Engineered in Leyland’’, the new site had to be in the town and with support from South Ribble Borough Council, they managed to secure a unit on Boxer Place. The new brewing plant was a 2.5 brewers barrel kit with 3 x 500 litre fermenters. The brew kettle is 700 litre, so there is a bit of room for expansion.

Both Haydn and Angela were still working full time – plus brewing, bottling, casking, delivering, selling and standing out in the freezing cold at markets. However they knew that Angela was going to be made redundant at some point. The next step was to look for their own outlet, both to increase the output of the brewery and give them a platform to sell their beer, as well as to provide employment for Angela.

They wanted somewhere with a bit of character, and whilst Leyland was an option as it was their home, there wasn’t anything really on offer, plus there are a number of established places already and it felt like a crowded market. Also they didn’t want anywhere really big that was difficult to manage. The old café in Higher Walton was a blank canvas, in a beautiful building with a bit of history and the village looked like a great location. After a few months of planning wrangling, they finally had permission to create Cann Bridge Ale House. Angela had already spent many months trawling small ads for bits and pieces of furniture, infrastructure, lights, doors, cellar equipment etc. All of it was in storage and needed a permanent home. They did a lot of work themselves – Haydn built the bar and the cooled cask cabinet, and their joiners fixed the mistakes and hand made the trims for the bar and cask cabinet, plus built a new set of front doors.

Although previously a café, the building was formerly Taberners, a hardware shop for over 50 years run by the Taberner family. Some of the family still live in the locality and one of them provided many photographs of the building and its surroundings which

were turned into wallpaper by a local company.

After much hard work, the doors finally opened on 31st August 2018. The potential of the building has been realised and the finished pub is both comfortable and cosy, as well as selling a great range of beers and ciders. Since then an eager band of local people have chosen it as their new local pub and meeting place and to drink Crankshaft beers and guests from independent breweries far and wide. On Sunday nights, this usually quiet venue hosts live music with artists showcasing a wide range of musical styles.

The pub gives Haydn & Angela the opportunity to swap beers with other breweries, enabling them to increase the geographical spread of their beers as well as give a wider range of products to their customers. While Angela runs the pub and helps out around the brewery, Haydn is still working full time. It’s hard work but this quote sums it up well:

“My evenings and weekends are spent either brewing, packaging beer or helping out behind the bar. Its extremely hard work, very tiring, but even when you are having a busy stressful day, a conversation or two with our customers never fails to put a smile on your face and a spring in your step” Having paused and drawn breath following a rather hectic 2018, there are more plans in the pipeline. An additional unit adjacent to the brewery will allow them to develop a brewery tap that will open initially on Friday and Saturday nights. Later in the year they hope to add brewery open days and tours to the schedule. On the beer front there is something new being developed and a big launch is anticipated in March.

So far they have only produced cask and bottled beers, but are looking to develop some keg products as well.

So there you have it, the reasons why Haydn & Angela have been chosen as the recipients of the George Lee Memorial Trophy for 2019. The presentation was made in a packed pub on 21st February and by the time you read this, the shield should be proudly on display behind the bar. Higher Walton is served by two bus routes; 113 Preston – Wigan and 152 Preston – Burnley, and the buses stop outside the door. There is limited on street parking in the area, but a free car park behind the Mill Tavern opposite is very handy. Why not pay them a visit and see for yourself why they have won our most prestigious award.

ADRIAN SMITH www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

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Cann Bridge Ale House

We are a microbrewery based in Leyland creating traditional ales inspired by Leyland and its engineering heritage.

A new micropub in Higher Walton

Available to customers direct from the brewery shop Bespoke beers available for special events and corporate gifts

4 handpulls serving an ever rotating selection of the finest cask ales 2 draught ciders plus house Bavarian Lager

Available to the trade in bottle and cask

Winners of George Lee Memorial Trophy 2019

Call or email to order or for our current cask and bottle availability.

20+ gins

07827 289200

Wines and Spirits

enquiries@crankshaftbrewery.co.uk

Dog friendly

CRANKSHAFT BREWERY

47 Cann Bridge Street, Higher Walton PR5 4DJ Cann Bridge Ale House

CannBridgeAleHs

Beer made and bottled in small batches in Leyland Crankshaft Brewery

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Leyland, Lancashire PR26 7QL | www.crankshaftbrewery.co.uk

@crankshaftbrew

Chorley Chatter

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e start this issue’s round up of news from the Chorley area with a surprise change of ownership at the town’s first micropub, SHEPHERDS HALL ALE HOUSE. It opened in August 2015, and was owned by brothers Tom, Graham and Stuart Hardyman and paved the way for a significant revival of the town as a real ale destination. Tom had been in charge of day to day operation and with him wanting to do something different, the business was sold.

The new owner is Greg Crabtree with Will Hart taking the role of manager. There are a number of possible changes in the pipeline, but already a number of small improvements have been noticed. A sixth handpump has been installed and this will be used for cider with a second cider served from a box

behind the bar. There will still be 5 changing beers and each pump will feature it’s own style – meaning there should be something for everybody. A ‘coming soon’ beers list has been made available in the pub, so drinkers can plan return visits to sample specific beers.

Beer paddles offering three third of a pint glasses allow easy sampling and there is a loyalty card for regulars – buy 9 pints get one free. Opening hours have been altered, with the pub opening at noon every day (except Monday), which will be appreciated by the lunchtime drinkers as few of the micropubs in town open early. We wish the new team well and take this opportunity to thank Tom and his team for their contribution to the real ale scene in the branch.

A couple of years ago, the Hartwood Hall changed it’s name to Goodwins Bar & Kitchen. It was announced recently that it

had been bought by Greene King and the name has reverted to HARTWOOD HALL, trading under the Pub & Grill banner.

However, despite quality cask ales being promoted on the website, there are none available and when asked, the manager didn’t know what real ale was. Just about says it all for Greene King doesn’t it?

Up on Eaves Lane, it looks as if the SHEPHERDS ARMS has been converted into flats. The for sale sign is still up, but there has been a good deal of internal building work and the multiple bell push by the front door seems to signify that it has closed for good.

In issue 120, we reported that RED LION in Wheelton had a new tenant in Tara Palin.

When one of the leading real ale outlets in the branch changes hands, it is always a concern, but this proved unfounded as the beer quality has remained excellent and if anything the selection has been slightly improved.

Certainly there seems to have been more support from the people living in the village in recent months. Sadly, Tara has had to give up the lease due to ‘family commitments’.

A new micropub opened in Adlington on Saturday December 15th at the bottom of Babylon Lane near the crossroads in what was the Grubber sweet shop. Called PRIDE OF AGGI it is a reasonable size with seating for about 30 people and the finish is to a good standard. Landlords Darren and Steve are planning on opening every day from about 2pm. They currently have 4 handpumps, 5 keg taps for mainstream beers and a further 4 for some more exotic lagers. They plan to rotate the ales but started with Robinsons Dizzy Blonde, Trooper, Cumbrian Way and a

festive one called Scrooge. It is unusual for a micropub to go for beers from a mainstream brewery but we understand that this is due to Robinsons installing the cellar equipment.

Adlington’s second micropub opened at the start of February, this time at the lower end of the village. JR’S ALE HOUSE is on Church Street, on the opposite side of the road to the ‘Bottom Spinners’ and is the sister outlet to the one of the same name in Horwich. The pub is split over 3 levels and is open daily from 10am, except Tuesday when it is closed. The cellar fitting was done by Marstons, so 2 of the pumps are tied to their

beers. The other 3 are free of tie and will feature mainly local beers – Prospect and Wily Fox were on sale on the opening night.

In Euxton, EUXTON MILLS has been taken over by son and dad team Leam and Lee Moffitt and it has undergone an external refurbishment and looks much smarter. The former Marstons and now New River Retail owned pub was granted Asset of Community value status by Chorley Council which lasts at least until December 2020 and now the management team are hoping to secure the freehold of the pub.

In Croston, GRAPES closed in November, which came as a bit of a surprise. Jon Lilley, who also has the Wheatsheaf in Croston and the Red Lion in Mawdesley had taken it on and it seemed to be steadily improving under his stewardship. It turns out that the problem was not how the pub was trading, but a significant rate increase had been applied (we understand about 75%), and even when reduced on appeal, the new figure was still over £50,000! The pub is now being offered ‘free of tie’ and we have heard that someone is taking it on, and assuming this is true, we will report further in the next issue.

At the start of February, a serious fire caused major damage to SIRLOIN at Hoghton. The 17th Century former coaching inn only had a major refurbishment in 2016 and it seems that it will be closed for another significant period. We’ve had a run of serious fires in this part of the branch area of late with no sign of rebuilding work at either the nearby GRILL & GRAIN AT THE BOATYARD or GEORGE in Chorley.

Last year the branch produced a Chorley Ale Trail, providing details of the (then) 22 real ale pubs in the centre of the town. 5,000 copies were produced and they have proved extremely popular, and supplies are now exhausted. There have been a number of changes since then and we plan to update and reissue the trail later this year.

ADRIAN SMITH

www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

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RILEY’S RAMBLES: COLNE

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go to the Pendle Beer festival in Colne every February. It is an enjoyable day out and the venue, in the Muni Theatre, is a superb location. The beer range available is so good, that I never have the inclination to go round the pubs of Colne after leaving the festival. This is a shame, because Colne has some excellent pubs and bars that deserve a visit all to themselves.

Thus, for our Christmas season day out this year, it was decided that we should go to Colne and sample these delights.

Alighting at Colne railway station, it is but a short walk uphill to the first pub;

the CROWN. A large limestone built pub, operated by Star Inns, it is split into two completely separate bars. The entrance on the right leads to a saloon bar and games room with comfortable seating and

4. 7% P R ES TON

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it includes a stage and outdoor drinking area. The left hand door opens onto a relaxed restaurant and a bar area with a slight American theme. We chose the right entrance, and we had a choice of beers from the range of Moorhouse’s Pride of Pendle or Blonde Witch (£3.20/pint) or Marston’s seasonal beer Bah Humbug (4.3%). These beers do change from time to time. The pub is open throughout the day from 12–11 (11.30–12pm Fri/Sat) The next bar up on the right, VENUE, is listed on Whatpub as selling real ale, but does not appear to. Confusingly the bar on the left, TUBBS, was not on Whatpub but does sell real ale. (Now updated: Ed) Admittedly more of an eating establishment, there is a drinking area to the right. Its two handpulls were dispensing Moorhouse’s White Witch and Pride of Pendle (£3.60). Talking to owner Steve, he told us that he welcomes real ale drinkers and he often changed the range of beers, but they would always be beers from local breweries.

He was very knowledgeable about the real ale scene, having worked at one time for Bass. He is open Mon/Tue 9–5, Wed onwards 9am–11pm. We then continued up the hill

where we found another anomaly.

12 BAR, listed on Whatpub as opening at 9am (and having two real ales) was shut, whereas RILEY’S BAR (with a name like that a must for me) opposite is not on Whatpub but does sell two or three real ales, including Worsthorne. It was just getting ready to open up as we arrived (2pm), but they told us from the New Year they would be opening earlier. We decided to come back later. Continuing uphill, past the Municipal building where the beer fest is held, you

will come to New Market St. on your left, where three micropubs are situated all next to one another. As these three have various opening times, we continued up to visit the more traditional public houses first, to come back when all three micros would be open.

Just uphill, you come to the local Wetherspoon pub, WALLACE HARTLEY, named after the famous bandmaster who continued to play his violin as the Titanic sank after hitting the iceberg. Having all the features you have come to expect from the brand, it is a warm and relaxed, yet busy, wood panelled pub split into various areas. Maybe it was because it was Christmas time, but it did suffer from one trait that happens in some Wetherspoon pubs, namely there appeared to be only two staff behind the bar and it took forever to get served. However, there were six guest ales to choose from, ranging from Goose Eye Bitter (3.9% at £2.09) up to Buckley Grand Cru (5.2%) – although mostly the beers were at the top of the ABV range.

Just up the road is the DUKE OF LANCASTER, formerly the Shepherd’s Arms. Recently renovated, it is now a large open plan sports bar with comfortable seats.

Three Marston’s beers were on sale, these being EPA (3.6% at £2.12), 61 Deep (3.8%) and Hobgoblin. These three do change. It opens at 10am and is open throughout.

pub, RED LION. The oldest pub in Colne, it has strong ties with Sam Smiths Brewery and the only real ale is their Old Brewery Bitter, (only £2.00 a pint, the cheapest of the day) but it is a must on a visit to Colne.

Multi-roomed and comfortable, its wood panelling, stained glass windows, real fire, and no TV or music makes talking the order of the day, and it was really relaxing to sit down in a convivial atmosphere for a while.

It opens from 11am–11pm (12–10.30 Sun).

It was time to go back to the micros, but we had a quick look in COMMERCIAL, listed as selling three changing real ales, but only Marston’s 61 Deep when we looked in, so we did not stay.

Walking back down to New Market Street, the first micro is CASK ‘N’ KEG. It is closed Mon and Tue, but opens other days at 1pm till 12. It has a mix of modern and Hollywood decor and up to four real ales are on sale. On the day we could choose from just the two, Richmond Gun Dog and a Reedley Hallows beer, both at 3.8% and £3.00 a pint.

Just next door is the original micro of Colne, BOYCE’S BARREL. Serving up to five real ales that are constantly changing and majoring on non-local breweries, there should be something to suit all tastes, as a mild and porter or stout are always included in the beer range. We could choose from Summerskills Start Point (3.7% and £2.70),

Next up is MARKET STREET TAVERN, on the same side of the road, a smallish local’s pub with a warming real fire in the main area plus other small rooms off.

Also showing sports, it is open from 11am throughout. Usually serving three real ales, on our visit there was only one, but it was interesting, being Worsthorne Chestnut Mare, a 4% dark beer at £2.20 a pint.

One minutes walk further along on the other side of the road is a classic traditional

Old Spot Citralicious and Itchen Valley Hampshire Rose, both 4.2%, plus Brentwood Toblerone, a 4.5% stout at £3.10. Decor includes tall polished wooden sleeper tables.

It has a more restricted opening regime in that it is closed on Monday and only opens at 4pm–9pm other days except Saturday when it opens at 1pm.

The final micro next door is TAPSTER’S PROMISE, the newest addition to this group of three. This one is also closed on Monday but is open 4–9 Tue/Wed, 4–11 Thurs, 2–12 Fri, 1–12 Sat and 2–11 Sun. Basic decor inside, with three real ales on when we were there. These were Wishbone Brewery’s Bleep (3.5%) and Eclipse (4%) plus

Brew York Tonko Stout (4.3%) averaging £3.00/pint. We had an amusing discussion with a couple of locals in this bar.

With one more pub to visit, the renowned ADMIRAL LORD RODNEY, it was felt that some sustenance was needed.

Luckily, I knew that there was a rather good fish and chip shop just back down the main street. Look out for Hall St. on the other side of the road and you will find it just there. They are delicious and you can eat them there and then. The pub is at the bottom of a very steep hill, which is why we left it until the last, (it only opened at 4pm too) as going downhill is easier than going there first and walking up to the other pubs. On coming out of the chip shop, we went left and followed the road round Boundary St. where you can either go along to Exchange St. and turn right to continue down or cut down Duke St. and turn left.

This makes use of what can be a very slippery footpath, so take care if you use this route. One of our gang, Mick James, came a cropper here, but fortunately he wasn’t hurt.

Reaching the bottom, you should be able to see the Admiral Lord Rodney to the left.

A classic community local which serves up to nine changing guest beers, it is an example to all of what can be done with a pub that is slightly off the beaten track. All are made welcome in this much loved pub and at 6pm it was by far the busiest pub of the day. There are three rooms featuring among other things, mosaic and flagged floors, beautiful tiles and open fires plus local history and art displays.

The nine beers available ranged from Goose Eye Spring Wells (£2.60 for the 3.6%) up to Marston’s Owd Rodger (a hefty 7.4% at only £3.50) with everything in between to suit all tastes. It was a great end to our day out in Colne. All we had to do was make it back to the railway station (approx half a mile.) To do this without climbing back up the hill to only go downhill again, go right along the bottom road, keeping right up Shaw St. where the road splits and follow the road up to Bridge Street, where turning right, then left, brings you immediately to the station.

Trains from Preston leave at 57 minutes past the hour generally, with return trains leaving Colne at 11 minutes past the hour (except for the last two which are 21.26 and 22.24). The fare currently is £9.90 return off peak.

PAU L R I L E Y www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

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Central Lancs Community Pub of the Year 2018

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A warm and friendly atmosphere with great beers, wines & spirits, welcoming customers and a beautiful beer garden awaits you at…

THE BLACK BULL INN

of Penwortham

In CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2012–19

Enjoy a wide range of drinks

The ONLY Penwortham pub in the GBG 2019

• Cask Ale — Two permanent house ales (Theakston’s Best

& Robinsons’ Dizzy Blonde), a rotating CAMRA LocAle Lancashire guest ale, plus two national guest ales • Lagers — Birra Moretti, Kronenbourg 1664, and Fosters • Ciders — Strongbow, Dark Fruit, and Cloudy Apple • Guinness • Extensive range of gins, vodkas, and malt whiskys • Range of wines and prosecco • Low/non-alcoholic drinks available • Tea, coffee, and hot chocolate

Enjoy all the big sporting occasions, as well as the horses, on the 3 large HD screens indoors, and a garden screen in good weather

FREE

Dogs are welcome!

… but no children - sorry

On Stagecoach route No 3 – Pope Lane

Opening times Monday–Thursday 12–11 • Friday 12–Midnight Saturday 11–11.30 • Sunday 12–11 20p off a pint for CAMRA card carrying members

@BlackBullPenwor black.bull.penwortham

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Telephone 01772 752953 mail@blackbull-penwortham.co.uk

83 Pope Lane, Penwortham, Preston PR1 9BA www.blackbull-penwortham.co.uk

MICROPUB – HERO OR VILLAIN?

T

he country’s first micropub was the Butchers Arms in Herne, Kent and it opened in November 2005. Since then over 400 have sprung up across the country, with new ones joining them every week. So what is a micropub? The Micropub Association defines one as “a small freehouse which listens to its customers, mainly serves cask ales, promotes conversation, shuns all forms of electronic entertainment and dabbles in traditional pub snacks”.

There are many variations on the basic theme. Some like the BOB INN in Chorley are really tiny, while others like Preston’s GUILD ALE HOUSE are actually bigger than some of our smaller conventional pubs. Some remain as traditional ale houses, selling cask ales, real cider and a few bottled beers while others sell keg beers and sometimes a full range of drinks. The growth of these type of establishments reflects their popularity with a section of the drinking public, but they are not always well received by licensees

at ‘conventional’ pubs.

There is a feeling among some of them that micropubs are unfair competition and that they are overly supported by CAMRA to the detriment of the larger pubs. So let’s examine the argument for and against the micropub and where CAMRA stands on the subject.

The first complaint levelled at micropubs seems to be that there isn’t a level playing field when it comes to overheads. Most micropubs are in converted shop units and the tenants will be charged the ‘market rent’ for such a property. Pub rents tend to be calculated by the pubcos that own most of them on a completely unrealistic basis – essentially the rent for a given pub being a ratio of the gross profit generated by the business. In other words, the more successful the pub, the more they pay. Additionally, many of the small micropubs do not pay business rates, so it is clear that there is a significant financial advantage for the micros.

Most of the pub stock in this country was built in a different era, when pub going was the norm and urban pubs were filled with the working masses swilling down vast quantities of ale. With changing social trends, many of these are now simply too big and except on busy nights can seem empty and soulless. Yet the licensee still has to worry about upkeep, heating, cleaning etc., and pay for it. Micropubs are of course free of tie and apart from the improved choice there comes the added bonus of being able to negotiate deals and pay realistic prices rather than paying through the nose for a limited selection of mainstream products as is the lot of the pubco tenant.

When a new tenant moves into a conventional pub, they inherit in part the history of those who have gone before. Many of the pubs have had unsympathetic structural changes and makeovers and it may often be difficult for a new landlord to imprint their own personality on the environment. The owner of a micropub starts with a blank canvas – often just bare walls so every aspect of the internal layout is down to them, from the position of the bar down to the furnishings and décor.

Looking at these points it would be very easy to assume that the odds are stacked firmly in favour of the micropub. We spoke to a few local micropub owners to get their slant on the situation, and it quickly became apparent that while there are obvious advantages to the micropub model, it’s not as clear cut as it might at first seem.

The first issue is that micropubs are small (yes, I know, the clue is in the name). This limits what can actually be offered, both in terms of drinks and also other facilities and attractions. For example: • only room on the bar for (say) 5 pumps • limited cellar space (if there is even a cellar) • limited room for customers (how often do you find a conventional pub truly full?)

• no catering kitchen – so no option to serve food • no sports TV • no pub games – so no pub teams to boost the coffers • limited toilet facilities • no garden/outside drinking area • no accommodation attached, so a separate house is needed, with all the costs involved.

While operating a pubco outlet has drawbacks, at least ordering stock is relatively simple as it is done through a central point. The free house has to balance the advantages of freedom of choice with the vast amount of time it takes up – dealing with different suppliers, multiple beer deliveries and accounts, being chased by sales reps from the growing number of independent breweries and so on.

This tends to have a knock on effect with opening hours. Most of the new breed of micropub are effectively ‘one man (or woman)’ operations and there are only so many hours in a day. It seems that most micropub owners do a lot of the bar shifts as well as all the admin work, so while opening hours might be restricted, the working day isn’t any shorter.

The licensee at most brewery or pubco owned pubs will normally have some form of technical back up as part of his package. If anything goes wrong they have someone on call.

The micropub owner has to source all his services privately, and because he is the ‘little man’, may well not get the same level of service/speed of call out as a result.

By their very nature a micropub is a niche market.

Most have nailed their colours very firmly to the mast labelled Real Ale, and the lack of facilities mentioned above tends to limit the type of people who come in. As we discovered in the recent series of articles on beer pricing, cask ale has the lowest margins www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Ale Cry

11

of any product a pub sells (and also involves the most time and effort), so the rewards for running this sort of establishment are further restricted.

Setting up a micropub is a leap of faith. When someone takes over an existing pub, however poorly it has been run previously there are always some regulars looking to continue drinking there and local people to be attracted back. A micropub is a start up and new drinkers have to be found.

Trying to decide who has got the better deal is a difficult one and at the end of the day must come down to personal choice. Whether a licensee is willing to put in the additional work needed to run a truly independent (but small) free house is very much down to the individual. Similarly if you want to provide a wider offering to your customers, then the conventional route is probably the way to go.

So where does CAMRA stand on this? Is it true that we support the micropub more than we do the more conventional and traditional outlets? The answer to this is a categoric no. We support all pubs – even those not serving real ale at the moment (as we hope that one day they might do). When it comes to things like awards and inclusion in the Good Beer Guide, the quality of the beer is always a highly significant factor. It cannot be denied that most micropubs are real ale led and normally run by real ale enthusiasts who drink the stuff themselves. Consequently it tends to follow that beer quality is consistently good and this is likely to attract our members.

Certainly three of the last four George Lee Memorial Trophy awards

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have gone to micropubs (or people who run one) – but as this award is for services to real ale in the past twelve months, a new outlet that helps to revitalise the beer scene in a town is always going to be a strong contender.

Micropubs provide vital outlets for local breweries who struggle with the stranglehold that the pubcos have on the supply chain to conventional pubs. Some of the more enterprising licensees manage to obtain a truly astounding selection of beers, both in terms of breweries and beer styles and they are to be applauded for the efforts they make to achieve this. However not all of them are particularly adventurous in this respect, and there are some that despite calling themselves ‘micropubs’ offer little that cannot be obtained in the more traditional pubs in the same area.

The other aspect of micropub operation that causes concern is the opening hours. Many of them operate rather limited hours, due to personal preference, licence or operating restrictions and perceived demand. Chorley has 6 micropubs, but due to the complexity of their opening hours, there are only 12 hours each week when all of them are open – which makes doing a pubcrawl a bit of a challenge.

There is also a tendency for these type of outlets to adjust the hours regularly, making it even more difficult to know exactly when anyone is open.

Good as they are, the micropub is not the answer to all the pub goers needs, but I’m sure that most of us would agree that they are a welcome addition to the scene.

ADRIAN SMITH

Hoppy Days M I C R O P U B

L O N G R I D G E

• 5 Rotating, Hand-Pulled Real Ales • 3 Natural Still Ciders • Bottled Beers • Wines + Spirits • Juices, Sodas + Snacks Open Hours: Monday : 4-8pm Wednesday : 4-9pm Thursday : 4-9pm Friday : 4-10pm Saturday : 1-10pm Sunday : 1-8pm

www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Ale Cry

13

PRESTON PARADE

T

hree months is a long time between issues of Ale Cry and, with our online newsletter service for our branch members going out monthly, some of the ‘news’ you read here may seem old hat, but this magazine has a wide readership beyond our branch boundaries.

So, local readers, bear with me if some of this article seems familiar, but for many of our readers, this is news.

The long awaited PLAU on Friargate did open in November and in its first week it got through 18 different cask ales. Niall is the bar manager there and is responsible for ordering all the beer. He has four ever changing real ales on sale and is very knowledgeable, but he is open to suggestions on what beers to order. A special feature on the Plau appears elsewhere in this issue.

We had just got used to calling it ‘Mad Hatters’ when some unfortunate news hit us. Landlord Alan Chester was taken ill in November and the pub was closed for a short period. Local brewery, Beer Brothers stepped in to reopen the pub on a short term lease and christened it PR1 BAR @ MAD HATTERS. Alan has left hospital and is on the road to recovery, but whether he will ever be fit enough to run the pub again is in doubt. Talks are taking place that will hopefully lead to Beer Bros taking over Alan’s lease on a permanent basis.

The good news is that real ale is still the order of the day and you should find four different ales from the Beer Brothers range plus three ever changing guest ales on sale at all times, plus two real ciders on draught.

There should be pale and dark beers (milds,

porters, stouts) of all varieties, ranging from weak to strong on sale. It is open 12–12 all days with occasional live music (Silver Bell Jazz band every alternate Thursday, open mic night on Monday and live acts once a month on Sunday lunch) OTTER’S POCKET duly opened on Winckley St. in November and as promised,

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it has three ever changing real ales on sale.

These have proved popular and casual drinkers are made welcome. It is a good addition to the real ale scene. The pies are reported to be exceptionally tasty, and well worth the visit just for them. Another bar next door to the Otter’s, in a former jewellers, is due to open soon, but this will be mainly a cocktail bar, with no real ale.

It has been agreed by both parties that the Otter’s will not sell cocktails while next door will not sell real ale, thus not diluting their individual customer base and therefore complementing each other.

Another welcome addition to the real ale scene is the HESKETH’S ARMS, on the corner of New Hall Lane and Blackpool Road. It has been acquired by Marston’s and they have spent £250,000 on a refit.

A large stone built building; it is now a comfortable, family friendly pub, open plan, with a central bar and four separate seating areas off, including a games area. There is an outdoor drinking area and car park to the rear. The manager is Rebecca and she ensures there is a warm welcome from staff.

She has three handpumps and has a policy of changing the offering on a week to week basis and it could be anything from the Marston’s range, including seasonal beers.

On my visit, there was 61Deep (3.6%), Banks’s Sunbeam (4.2%) and Wychwood Bah Humbug (4.3%). The pub is open from 11–11 (1am Fri/ Sat) with food being sold from 11am–10pm.

There is karaoke on Fri/Sat nights and live music bi-monthly. My only regret on this is the thought “what if Marstons had acquired the Sumners in Fulwood?” Now that would have been something else.

By the time you read this, our latest addition to the real ale scene should be open.

BAKER STREET, on Avenham St. is set to open in February.

Completely rebuilt

from what was Gaston’s, once the home of the Little Avenham Brewery, it has been redeveloped by the Holt Pubco, owners of several pubs in our area, including Th’ Owd Smithy at Much Hoole. We can expect a slick turn of the century look, with homemade food and live music every week. All Holt pubs are privately owned freehouses and they usually support local brewers and suppliers. It will be interesting to see what real ales will be on sale. I will let you know in the next issue.

The DOG & PARTRIDGE on Friargate is to have another change of management, and it is rumoured that this refurb will see it become a sports bar. A blackboard espied inside the pub proclaims new lower prices, live bands, and a great atmosphere. Just to have it open regularly and selling an interesting range of real ales at reasonable prices would be my wish; as it was when Ronnie Fitzpatrick was landlord.

Another pub to have a makeover is what was once the Fox and Grapes and lately known as the Beachcomber. It is now known as BARCADIUM and its selling point is that it is a bar where you can play all sorts of iconic arcade games such as Street Fighter II while drinking cans of ‘craft’ ale. I will be giving it a miss. It does not give you much confidence in the management there if they can’t even spell the name of their own pub correctly on their hanging sign, which proclaims Barcaduim.

(See photo). Why can’t somebody take it over and reopen it as a traditional pub selling a wide range of differing cask beers? I suppose that kind of thing is not fashionable these days!

Finally, a lot of people know that I prefer to drink beers whose strength does not exceed 4%. Too many pubs and bars major on strong ales, leaving little for the likes of me to choose from. For instance, in many Wetherspoons pubs all the guest beers are strong, and if I am in company, Ruddles bitter is my only choice (I refuse to drink Doom Bar as it is not the beer it was). Dan, the landlord at the BLACK HORSE in Preston, noticed me one day coming in, perusing the choice and leaving when there was no guest of lowish gravity. The next time we met, he told me that this would not happen again as he would instigate what he would call the Paul Riley pump and ensure that there was always a beer of 4% or less on sale, thus, there would always be something for me to try. If you are after such a beer, just ask ‘what’s on the Paul Riley pump’ and they will direct you to a lower gravity beer.

PAU L R I L E Y

TRADES HALL CLUB Bamber Bridge 3 Handpumps for real ale Other drinks at bargain prices inc. San Miguel and Warsteiner.

CAMRA members welcome.

(Discounted prices on production of valid membership card)

Membership available all year round.

154c Station Road, Bamber Bridge, Preston, Lancs. PR5 6TP http://www.trades-hall.co.uk

Acts on every Saturday.

Bingo every Wednesday and Saturday.

www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Ale Cry

15

HISTORIC PRESTON PUBS

PART 5 PLUNGINGTON ROAD

I

n the latest instalment of our look back at some of Preston’s long closed pubs, we focus on the area between Plungington Road and Brook Street. Particular thanks are due to Dave Linley for his recollections of these pubs.

The PLUNGINGTON TAVERN on the corner of Plungington Road and Ripon Street, was owned by the Cornbrook Brewery of Old Trafford, which was taken over by Charrington United (which of course later became part of Bass) in 1961. In the 1990s this pub enjoyed a spell under a very keen real ale landlord. It was in the Good Beer Guide from 1996 to 1999, and the 3rd winner of the branch’s Pub of the Season award, for Spring

1997. The attractive brick frontage is still there although the building now appears to be used as student accommodation. The internal layout was odd. The two doors under a single arch on the Ripon Street side near the front were not in use in later years. The main front entrance led to a large lounge and a small snug on the corner, but the door at the rear of the Ripon Street side led to a completely separate public bar. The pub closed in 2014.

Further down Plungington Road, on the same side was the GENERAL HAVELOCK, on the corner of Havelock Street. A former Matthew Brown house, it served real ale in the

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early 1980’s, but had not done so for many years when it finally closed.

The pub was named after General Sir Henry Havelock who was killed at the siege of Lucknow in India in 1857. A number of pubs across the country were named after him (which is ironic considering he was a teetotaller!). During the early 2000s, landlord Andy Taylor introduced live rock music at weekends. In March 2006, after numerous complaints from elderly neighbours, Preston Council threatened him with a £20,000 fine for playing live music too loud. Sound proofing was very costly and totally impracticable so the music nights ceased.

Business never recovered and the Havelock closed its doors for the last time in Summer 2007 and is now an estate agents.

Heading into town on the other side of the road on the corner of Ellen Street stood the ROYAL OAK. Long and narrow with a central passage, it was a typical basic but extremely popular and busy Boddingtons pub, and known for serving large quantities of their bitter. It closed in 2007 and is now a Pizza Hut. Plungington Road finishes at Aqueduct Street and the name changes to Adelphi Street. Just over the junction on the corner of Springfield Street stood the TANNERS ARMS. This was a former Tetley Walker outlet, later owned by Burtonwood. Although only serving keg for many years, real ale was introduced around 1990 for a few years, although it didn’t last long. The

pub closed in 2012, becoming student accommodation.

A short walk east along Aqueduct Street brings us to the next and most recent casualty in this issue’s round up. The NEW WELCOME on Cambridge Walk was a Thwaites house that soldiered on until 2017 although in later years it had not always served

real ale. It is understood that the property has been sold by the brewery and will be converted into private residential use.

Heading west along Aqueduct Street and just west of the Brook Street junction was the PRINCE CONSORT. This modern pub probably dates from the 1960s having replaced the original much smaller pub. Originally a Chester’s house, it had not sold real ale for many years.

In later years it had a reputation for all sorts of things including under age drinking, drugs and violence, so it was probably no great loss when it closed in 1996. For some time the ground floor stood empty although the living accommodation was used, with the whole building now being derelict.

Heading back towards town, on the corner of Hawkins Street and Emmanuel Street stood the NORTH STAR. This former Thwaites pub was a survivor from the Council’s

slum clearance programme of the 1960s. Members recall it being particularly busy even though it was tucked away in a back street among modern Council housing. It was one of the Thwaites pubs transferred to Mitchells and remained selling real ale for quite a few years.

The pub closed in 2001 and on the site is now Mason House, which is student accommodation. While the building looks completely modern, the main, left hand, part of the building is the same shape as the old building and may contain the shell of the old pub.

Further down Brook Street on the corner of Gordon Street stood the HORNBY CASTLE. This was another Matthew Brown pub that closed in 2007 and was converted to

student accommodation.

While these 8 pubs are featured as we have colour photographs of them, Dave Linley also recalls that the area between Aqueduct Street and Ripon Street had a tremendous number of back street pubs, at least 5 more have closed during the life of the branch in addition to the ones in the main article. These include the DROVERS ARMS on Brook Street which was a Lion pub with an ornate tiled frontage like the Princess Alice and the Limekiln. The KEYSTONE served real Matthew Brown and was the subject of the (then) West Lancashire branch’s first Pub Protection Campaign. It was part of a compulsory purchase order made

by Central Lancashire Development Corporation and CAMRA submitted

an objection to the public inquiry, presented I think by our then chairman, Henry Peacock. The objection was unsuccessful, perhaps inevitably as Matthew Brown were not opposing the CPO. The BRITISH STANDARD served keg Whitbread, it had ornate etched windows claiming Home Brewed Ales, despite not having brewed its own beer for at least 25 years when it closed. The DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE, opposite the Princess Alice, and MOOR HALL, both of which served keg Matthew Brown. All five of these pubs closed between 1980 and 1982 and have been demolished.

ADRIAN SMITH

All the excellent photographs used to illustrate this series of articles come from the Jim Holderness collection, and we gratefully acknowledge this and being able to use them. In part 6 we will be looking at the area around the BAC factory at the top end of Strand Road. www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Ale Cry

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Branch Pub of the Season Summer 2017

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SOUTH RIBBLE SCENE

T

he last few South Ribble Scene articles seem to have been dominated by news about new micropubs and news about possible new micropubs. This time round there is again something to report about micropubs, but in addition there is also news of a club being converted into a pub, and there is news of two temporarily closed pubs that have recently re-opened with new names.

First news comes from Chapel Brow in Leyland, once a major thoroughfare, but for many years now a street with an odd assortment of interesting shops and businesses. The way things are going it is also an area that is becoming much more of interest to local real ale drinkers. At the top of the brow the Queens has long been a busy pub selling real ale, and things improved three years ago when the Golden Tap Ale House opened opposite to become Leyland’s second micropub.

About 50 yards down Chapel Brow, passing the Leyland Home Brew shop, is Fleetwood Street where the former Knights of St Columba Club is located. This was a Samuel Smiths outlet for many years, but did not sell any real ale as far as we are aware. The club closed last August, and was subsequently taken over by Danny Hindle, a former landlord of the nearby Railway pub, and the owner of the Market Ale House when it first opened in 2013. Following on from his arrival the club premises have been completely refurbished, and in December the place re-opened as INDIGO, a pub providing live music and sports TV entertainment.

The good news is that the new bar has been selling two handpumped beers.

Continue to the bottom of Chapel Brow and set back from the roundabout you have ‘The Town Barber’, a traditional barbershop now vacant that previously housed the ‘Cut And Dried’ hairdressing salon. In January an application was submitted that this building be converted into a micropub. Having been approved, this will become Leyland’s third micropub, and as a location it will be in a great position to attract people walking

towards the town centre from the direction of the railway station.

With the possibility that Leyland may be getting a third micropub, there have also been developments that Bamber Bridge may also be getting its third micropub later this year. The Withy Arms Group people have appealed the refusal of planning permission to establish a micropub in the former ‘Gone Fishing’ premises on Spinners Square, just off Station Road. Things have now progressed, with them having obtained a premises licence and planning consent for outside signage. Neighbours views are now being sought on the planning appeal and a decision is expected later this year.

Preparatory work goes on in the hope that the appeal for the WEAVERS ARMS will be granted.

In the last Ale Cry it was reported that Bamber Bridge pub the Pear Tree had closed, with indications being that the likelihood was that it would be converted into a restaurant. Embarrassingly, by the time that the Winter 2018 Ale Cry was being distributed in local pubs, this information was already out of date, and only partially correct. In November the establishment reopened as the BĒAM & BRYCG, a pub with strong food connections, and a pub with a rather obscure name obtained from the Old English derivation of Bamber Bridge.

Visitors to the Bēam & Brycg, while no doubt puzzling on how the pub name should actually be pronounced, have a choice of three handpumped beers, with Beer

Brothers IPA and Black Sheep Best Bitter being two of the beers initially available.

Another pub which was looking to have an uncertain future a few months back was the former Old Oak at Hoghton. Two years ago the pub closed only to re-open in August 2017 as the San Lorenzo Trattoria, an Italian restaurant which had thoughtfully retained a separate real ale bar. In the event this incarnation was to last just one year before there was another closure with the windows being boarded up. Last December came the next chapter in this pub’s recent colourful history (remember not too long ago the locals were up in arms at a plan to re-name it the Oliver Cromwell). For some reason playing down its age, it is once again a pub and has been re-named THE OAK, a community pub which continues to place a strong emphasis on the food side. The Oak is selling three handpumped beers, with Wainwrights looking to be a regular on the bar.

GORDON SMALL

Stop Press

Penwortham may soon be getting its second micropub. There has been a licence application for the Serenni & Co Tanning & Beauty Bar premises on Leyland Road, with the applicants looking to convert the building into a micropub to be called the ‘BARREL & BEAN’.

www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Ale Cry

19

ALE CRY Visits… HORWICH

I

t is eight years since we last had an official organised trip to Horwich, and a lot can change in that period. Several micros and new bars have opened in that time, so it seemed an ideal place to go on our quarterly trips to foreign fields. Horwich is just south of our branch area and comes under Bolton CAMRA but is readily accessible by bus from either Preston or Chorley.

We started at the BANK TOP BREWERY ALE HOUSE, opposite the Parish Church on Church Street. A showcase for Bank Top, it has eight handpumps dispensing the full range of their beers including seasonal ones, plus always one non Bank Top guest. On this occasion it was from the Peerless Brewery of the Wirral. Formerly the Brown Cow, Bank Top opened it in 2014 as a traditional yet modern pub and it now attracts both locals and visitors alike to its comfortable surroundings. Opening at noon–11pm (11.30 Fri, Sat), it has a small beer garden to the rear.

Turn left on leaving and walk down the road until you see SADDLE up ahead. This is an Amber Inns pub selling up to three real ales, often including Bank Top. So as not to overcrowd these pubs with 16 people all pouring in at once, we had split up into smaller groups and four of us took a left turn before we reached the Saddle and went down Winter Hey Lane. After five minutes or so, we reached Chorley New Road and there before us on the right was our first Micro pub, JR’S ALE HOUSE. Small in size, yet light and airy, it has five handpumps fed from an upstairs cellar, dispensing an ever changing range of guest ales. There were two from Beer Brothers, Moorhouse’s Premier, which you don’t see too often, Oakham Citra (4.2%) and Northern Monkey Popcorn Stout at 6%. Open from 10am to 10pm, with last orders are around 9.40.

Turning left on exit, cross over and go along and up Mottram St. on the right. Rejoining Lee Lane, turn left and you come to VICTORIA & ALBERT, a lively local with four pumps. Two Holts beers and Tetley Bitter were on offer. Open from 2 (12 Sat/Sun) till midnight, live music and DJs at weekends attracts the younger set.

Further up the road is another pub that, on this Thursday night (Quiz night) proved to be very popular with the young set: TAILS & ALE. Very lively, with the music maybe a little too loud for us older

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lot, it has live music at weekends which is also popular. Formerly the Bay Horse, it is too big to be described as a micro, yet its modern decor has that feel to it. Three ever changing real ales were on sale: Ossett Nelson Sauvin (4%), Blackedge Blonde (4.5%) and Avid Chocolate Orange (5.5%). It opens at 5pm (3pm Thurs) Mon–Wed, noon other days and closes at 11pm except Fri and Sat when it is midnight.

Just up from here you come to the BOWLING GREEN, a community local that has many interesting historic fittings and tilework and mosaic floors worth a look at. Unfortunately the only real ale on the night was Hobgoblin Gold and Wainwrights. There can be a changing guest beer on sale. It opens 2–12 Mon Thurs, noon –1am Fri–Sat and 12–12 Sun. Just up from here is our next Micro, TAP & CORK. Small yet comfortable, it can be a little bit cramped at times, something it is hoped that can be cured with the opening of an upstairs drinking area. What it lacks in size is made up by the ambience,

it being run by a friendly and knowledgeable landlady, Jacqueline.

Two beers (usually three) were available, Vocation Bread and Butter (3.9%), which was widely held to be everybody’s favourite beer of the night and Rivington Fruity Plays (5.3%). There is also a good selection of craft beers, both on tap and in cans. Unfortunately closed Mon–Wed, it is open 4–11 Thurs, 2–12 Fri–Sat and 2–10 Sunday.

Continuing along you come to the OLD ORIGINAL BAY HORSE, a Craft Union pub, as is the New Brit in Preston, and similarly sells Bradfield Farmer’s Blonde and, in this case, Jennings Cumberland.

There is supposed to be a guest beer, but none was in sight.

We repaired to the penultimate bar of the night, the BREWERY BAR, which is down the side of the previous pub on the left. This is the home of Blackedge Brewery which can be seen on the ground floor as you go upstairs. The bar is a showcase for Blackedge with seven of their beers on sale on handpump, selected from their core range supplemented by seasonal and specials and always consists of a dark beer among the changing range. There are also a number of craft beers available. The local branch Cider Pub of the Year, there

are 6 or so changing ciders, either served on handpump or from boxes in the cooler behind the bar. There should be something to please everybody. It has a large drinking area around the bar, with ample seating, from formal tables and stools to comfortable settees.

Closed Mon and Tue, it opens from 4–11 Wed–Thur, 12–11.30 Fri–Sat and 12–9 Sun. Our final pub is a superb example of what a traditional pub should be. A Joseph Holt pub, the CROWN has won an award for being the oldest building in the area that is still standing and retains its original purpose. It has been in the Good Beer Guide continuously for twenty years and is one of a few Holt’s Pubs that serves not only four of their own beers, including their hard to find Mild, but also four ever changing guest beers. These four, on our visit, were Hophurst Quench (3.8%), Blackedge NYZ (3.9%), Bootleg Fools Gold (3.9%) and Prospect Helles Bells (4.5%).

Refurbished in 2015 with new seating and furniture, it retained its room configuration and is a spacious and comfortable pub with lounge, vault and games areas. There is entertainment on Sunday evenings, a quiz on Wednesdays with darts and dominoes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is open 11–11 Mon–Thurs, 11– midnight Fri–Sat and 12–11.30 Sun. It was a good place for us all

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to congregate after a good night out in Horwich and catch our minibus back to Chorley and Preston.

Ours was an evening trip out and was thus a bit of a rush to get round all these pubs in the two hours allotted to us. You could easily spend a day in Horwich, allowing you to take your time and give these pubs the attention they deserve.

As I said before, Horwich is easily reached from both Preston and Chorley by Stagecoach service 125 and you can get out at the Crown end or Bank Top end of the trip. Leaving Preston and Chorley very regularly during the day, it takes about 1 hour 10 min from Preston and a mere 16 min from Chorley. Half hourly in the evenings, the last bus (from the Crown) to get you to Preston in time for buses home is 21.45 arriving at 22.44. Last bus to Chorley is 23.15 arriving at 23.30.

PAU L R I L E Y (Thanks to Bolton CAMRA for the external photos in this article.)

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24 AUGUST

Street Food - BBQ - Free Parking

Advanced Ticket £5 On the Door £6

Doors Open At 6.30pm

Tickets Also Available at Action Records, Church Street Preston

www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Ale Cry

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CAMRA CENTRAL LANCS BRANCH AND ...

LOOKING BACK

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lot of magazines include a Looking Back feature which provides the reader with information on news items and activities that have taken place at specific intervals in previous years. As you may expect there have been suggestions that Ale Cry should include just such a feature, but until now this has been resisted. However rather than introduce it as a regular article, here is a one-off look at what was happening in the CAMRA West Lancashire branch area (as we then were) at 10 year intervals going back to the branch’s formation in the 1970s.

at the Mitre in Preston, and a branch meeting at the Black-A-Moor in Preston. Local News reported at the BlackA-Moor meeting included a statement that the Old England at Ribbleton was about to be demolished (another building that is still standing in 2019). There was also a hint of supernatural goings on at the New Britannia in Preston, with it being revealed that the branch’s George Lee Memorial Trophy shield had fallen off the wall in the middle of the night for no apparent reason.

10 YEARS AGO This may not seem too long ago, but it’s surprising how things change. The Spring 2009 Ale Cry was actually the first edition of the magazine to include colour, although this was just on the cover pages and was predominantly for the advertisers. The headline news was that ‘Real Ale Bucks The Recession’, this being a reference to the fact that real ale sales were down but that they were not down as much as other beer sales. The front page also informed readers that the Tithebarn pub in Preston would be demolished by February 2010 (the building is still standing in 2019).

Inside this Ale Cry there was a write-up of a branch trip to Lancaster Brewery. In the article brewer Matt Jackson informed the branch that Lancaster Brewery were interested in getting a pub in the Preston area. However he also admitted that they had definitely dodged a bullet when choosing at the last minute not to take on the former Guild Tavern pub in the town. The Spring 2009 Pub of the Season was the Black Horse in Preston (this was actually the 50th winner of this award), and the same pub was also host to the March 2009 branch meeting, while that month’s committee meeting took place at the Swan With Two Necks in Chorley. News items at the time included – that the Real Ale Shop in Preston was about to re-open after an apparent arson attack; that Bamber Bridge Football Club were looking forward to holding their fourth Beer Festival; and that the Golden Cross in Preston was to sell four handpumped beers including two beers from Timothy Taylor’s.

20 YEARS AGO The Spring 1999 Ale Cry was headlined ‘Banks’s Grab Marston’s’, with the accompanying write-up telling the story that Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries had succeeded in their long and bitter battle to take over Marston’s of Burton-upon-Trent. As readers will be well aware, this certainly wasn’t the end of Marston’s, with numerous take-overs taking place in the next few years, before in 2007 the Wolverhampton & Dudley name was dropped to be replaced by …

Marston’s.

This edition of Ale Cry had a write-up on a branch trip to the Marble Brewery in Manchester, while the Spring 1999 Pub of the Season was revealed to be the Red Herring at Coppull. In March 1999 CAMRA West Lancashire branch had a committee meeting

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30 YEARS AGO There was no Ale Cry in Spring 1989, with the magazine at that time going through a lengthy period of hibernation. After the production of the Autumn 1986 edition the next to appear was a so called ‘revitalised’ edition in Spring 1991.

Despite there being no Ale Cry, CAMRA West Lancashire branch business carried on as normal. In March 1989 there was a committee meeting held at the Victoria at Lostock Hall, and a branch meeting held at the Frenchwood in Preston. In the minutes handed out at the Frenchwood meeting there was some concern that branch membership had dropped as low as 89, having previously been as high as 140 just 18 months earlier.

How things change, with branch membership in 2019 now being about 1550. There were no brewery trips that month, but planned for May 1989 was a trip to the Matthew Brown Brewery in Blackburn and a trip to Ward’s Brewery in Sheffield.

Available at the two March 1989 meetings were copies of the recently produced ‘Real Ale In Preston’, a CAMRA local guide compiled by the branch and priced at 45p. The publication was described as ‘a concise guide to the Real Ale outlets in the town’, and it listed an impressive 72 pubs that were at that time selling real ale. On the back page there was an advert for Matthew Brown complete with inserts indicating that the brewery was now part of Scottish & Newcastle – the brewery would close just two years later.

40 YEARS AGO Ale Cry in 1979 was a single sheet publication appearing bi-monthly.

The February/March 1979 edition had the headline ‘Happy Returns For Wilsons’ and gave the information that Wilsons Mild and Bitter could now be obtained at the recently re-opened Bull & Royal pub in Preston. The April/May 1979 edition had ‘Walkers Step Into Line’ as

the main headline, and informed readers that the Balmoral in Preston would soon be selling handpumped Walkers Mild and Bitter. The Balmoral was described as a ‘typical town centre pub, with a colourful clientele’. This was the ‘winter of discontent’, and the delay in the two Walker’s beers being introduced at the pub was down to industrial action at Tetley Walker which had been going on for three months.

There were two CAMRA meetings in Preston in March 1979, a committee meeting at the Ribbleside on Broadgate, and a branch meeting at the Paviors on Fylde Road. Both these pubs were Matthew Brown houses and both these pubs now no longer exist.

That same month the branch also had a trip to Robinson’s Brewery in Stockport. In the minutes handed out at the Paviors meeting it was stated that ‘Preston was now an excellent place for real ale’ with it being indicated that you ‘could get Boddington’s, Lion’s, Thwaites’s, Robinson’s, Greenall’s, Wilson’s, Theakston’s, Vaux, Bass, Whitbread, and Tetley’s beers in the town’. In 2019 few of these brewery names actually survive, but you can still get Robinson’s beers in the same pub (the Black Horse on Friargate), although the likelihood of you finding a Thwaites beer has been diminished somewhat (now just at the Sun on Friargate).

GORDON SMALL

FULWOOD & BROUGHTON CRICKET CLUB Tel: 01772 863003

Cordially invite you to

BEER FESTIVAL VIII Quality local and regional cask ales and ciders, and continental lagers. Gin and Prosecco bar.

SESSIONS FRIDAY

3 MAY

6.00 – 11.00PM

SATURDAY

4 MAY

1.00 – 11.00PM

SUNDAY

5 MAY

1.00 – 10.30PM

FREE ENTRY

Enjoy your great beer, delicious food, excellent choice of gin, chilled prosecco, exciting cricket and the sunshine.

SATURDAY: F&BCC v LONGRIDGE CC SUNDAY: LCB WOMENS PROSECCO CRICKET Junction of Garstang Road & Lightfoot Lane MANY THANKS TO ALL OUR SPONSORS AND BEER FESTIVAL SPONSOR

Stanways of Lytham PRESTON ROAD, LYTHAM ST. ANNES, LANCASHIRE. FY8 5BG T: 01253 794700

THE WHEATSHEAF Spendmore Lane, Coppull, Nr Chorley, Lancashire

PR7 4NY

3 ever changing Cask Ales – including Prospect, Bank Top, Blackedge, Martland Mill & Coach House

www.stanways-of-lytham.co.uk

FREE HOU SE

• Free entertainment: Jukebox — Monday Pool — Monday –Thursday Quiz — Wednesday 9:30pm • Friday/Saturday night live music • Sunday — Chase the Ace 12noon–5.45pm • Beer garden • Dogs & muddy boots welcome • Carling Premier & Strongbow Dark Fruits now being served.

OPENING TIMES

Monday – Thursday from 3pm

Friday from 2pm

Saturday & Sunday from 12pm

www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

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The Plau

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n recent years there has been much press coverage regarding pub closures.

The sad fact is that once a pub has closed and its use has changed, it is unlikely to reopen as a pub again. For this to happen at all is newsworthy; for it to happen after a gap of 105 years is quite astonishing. Yet that is exactly what has happened in Preston, as we welcome the (re)opening of the PLAU. Originally named the Plough Inn, it is situated on Friargate, which formed part of the medieval town of Preston. It’s proximity is adjacent to the site of one of the three town gates and the ancient and formally important junction of Friargate and Fryars Lane (now Marsh Lane).

The building was constructed by the Chorley family in 1668 on the site of a previous unknown building. They were butchers and haberdashers by trade and it is thought that the building started life as a butchers shop. At some time during the next 100 years the building became a public house.

The first written records of its existence are the bribes paid in The Plough Inn during the 1795 election to elect Lord Derby.

During canvassing for the Preston Election, held March 26, 1795, agents of the successful candidate, the Earl of Derby, spent £187 – 0 – 6d bribing the locals in the Plough to vote for Derby.

This was a great deal of money in those days, which suggests the Plough Inn was well established by this point. The Plough Inn continued to trade throughout the 19th Century and had a varied and colourful history, gaining a reputation as an unruly house. Part of this reputation came from the attached Dram Shop or Spirit Vault. It’s name was changed to the Hotel National in the 1890s and then finally closed as a pub in 1913. Since 1913, the portion of the ground floor which fronts Friargate has been used as a shop.

In 2015, the structure was bought by Jeremy Rowlands – well known to us as the owner of the Continental and Ferret pubs and a driving force behind the rescue and revitalisation of the Moorbrook. The initial plan was to open a micropub in the shop portion, but once investigation of the building started, it became apparent that there was a wealth of history in the building.

The front part of the cellar has been identified by a specialised historian as containing the remains of a small Gin Distillery. There is a mash pit for pulping the grain and horse-shoe shaped shelving, with water run offs, which held Gin Stills. Small scale Gin production had been largely outlawed by the last part of the 18th Century and the construction is too permanent to be an illegal Still, so the likelihood is this dates from the “Gin Craze” days of the first part of the 18th Century, when gin production was liberalised to encourage domestic spirit production.

There is documented evidence of The Plough Inn having a Dram Shop. The entrance to the Dram Shop will have almost certainly

www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

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been completely separate to that of the Inn and is likely to have been situated off Plough Passage an ancient road that ran between Friargate and Back Lane (now Market Street West). The “Spirit Vault” was listed again in the sale particulars of 1854 for The Plough Inn. However, with the growing public health concerns and the rise of the temperance movement, The Dram Shop was legislated out of business around this time. During the renovations, The Vaults were uncovered, filled to the brim with 50 tons of rubble and bricked up.

After the clearance of the Vaults, as part of the repairs, the decision was taken to remove what remained of the brick floor and to dig down to help try and make the cellars watertight. Water ingress was a big problem in there at that point, however one area of the floor was unusual. When the rain water came in, it never puddled – it drained away here as fast as it came into the cellars.

Excavation on the site revealed stone below the brick and over a few months a stone well was uncovered, with excavations eventually going below the water table to a depth of 43 feet. The well is of exceptional quality, constructed of uniform Ashlar Sandstone blocks, and clearly predates the building which is of brick construction. The well has subsequently been dated to the medieval period, making it one of the oldest man made structures to be found in Preston – a significant find indeed.

The unexpected excavations certainly delayed the reopening of the pub. It was decided that better use could be made of the space than just using the former shop area and ambitious plans were made to use the whole building. Some four years after the start of the project, the Plau finally opened. The name was found on some old documents and reflects on alternate ‘old English’ spelling of the word.

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The former shop portion forms the main bar area, which is on a split level. With bare wood floors, dark timber panelling on the walls and a marble topped bar, it is hard to imagine that 12 months ago this was an empty shell. A doorway at the rear of the raised area leads through to a secluded room with bare brick walls and comfortable booths. Going deeper into the premises, a stairway leads to the upper floors which house a comfortable dining room with open roof trusses and boarded roof lining. However the highlight of this astonishing restoration has to be the cellar bar. A partly hidden set of stairs from the rear of the pub lead down to the Vaults. Here is a second small bar, with heringbone brick patterned floor, bare brick walls and brick vaulted ceiling. In the centre of the floor is the well, with a glass cover; allowing visitors to peer down into the depths at the water below. Lighting here is kept to a minimum, with dim wall lights and candles, providing a unique drinking environment.

In common with Jeremy’s other ventures, quality ale is to the forefront. There are four changing cask ales available from the main bar. These are normally selected from smaller breweries and often feature unusual beers for the area.

In addition to this, there are a further 5 craft lines on the main bar and 3 more in the cellar bar. In keeping with the pubs origins, there are over 50 gins and a full range of other drinks. There is also a wide ranging tapas style food menu. Plans are in place for a roof terrace/ orangery, and this should open during summer 2019.

This restoration shows just what can be done with an old building and the Plau seems destined to become one of the city’s foremost drinking and dining attractions. The Plau is open daily from 10am (11am on Sunday). These words and pictures really cannot do it justice – so why not pay a visit when next in Preston.

ADRIAN SMITH

THE POTTERS ARMS BROOK STREET, CHORLEY

Three Bs Doff Cocker Black Sheep Best Bitter + Guest ales from local breweries

Don’t miss Tuesday All cask ales £1.99 A real pub with darts, dominoes, pool, and a real fire

Stephen and Denise have been glad to welcome good beer lovers for over 25 years at the POTTERS.

FREE

  

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www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

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ANATOMY OF A PINT

PART 3

IN THE CELLAR

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n the first two parts of this series of articles we have looked at how beer is brewed and what goes on converting the bulk product into casks and kegs. In the final part we will look at what goes on in the pub cellar, and what is needed to serve the perfect pint.

Talk to any publican who specialises in real ale and they will probably tell you that cask ale is not difficult to look after, but you need to pay attention to detail. There are some licensees who have been serving poor quality beer for years, and newcomers to the scene who manage to keep it in great condition.

CAMRA’s publication – Cellarmanship by Patrick O’Neill runs to 148 pages, so in this article it is only possible to cover a bit of the basics. It cannot be stressed just how important good cellarmanship is – no matter how great the beer is when it leaves the brewery, it can be ruined by failure to stick to some fairly simple rules.

Let’s start with something that should be obvious. It applies to all beer, but particularly to real ale which is a living product. Cellar cleanliness and hygiene is vital – not just the equipment, but walls, floors and drains. Cleaning up of spillages and keeping vermin out is vital. Strong smelling chemicals, food and rubbish should not be stored in cellars as this can taint the beer. Real ale should be kept at the correct temperature (generally held to be 11–13°C) and this should be checked daily.

Once the beer has arrived in the cellar, ideally the barrels should be stillaged where they are to be served from. Available space does not always allow this to happen, but the longer a cask of real ale is at rest, the more chance there is that the suspended matter in the beer will fully settle. Real ale will be supplied with an expiry date and these need to be borne in mind and stock rotated and made ready for serving in the right order. Some beers are good to serve as soon as they arrive while others will benefit from being kept longer.

One such beer is Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, which if served young (or green) is simply not the same beer. One regular stockist of this ale tends to leave it until it is near to it’s expiry date before putting it on – and the result is a fine pint.

When the cask leaves the brewery, it contains sugar and yeast. The yeast ferments the sugar into alcohol, with carbon dioxide as a by-product.

Some carbon dioxide that remains in the solution gives the beer its bubbles and frothy head, also known as ‘condition’. During the conditioning process, the hops, malt and yeast in the beer mature, and develop into subtle flavours that characterise a perfect cask beer. The process of conditioning (also known as ‘secondary fermentation’) lasts between three and seven days. Cask ale must be vented in order that it can be ‘conditioned’. Venting is a simple process and involves knocking a peg into the spile in the keystone and putting in a soft (porous) peg. This allows the carbon dioxide to escape, and once the gas has stopped coming out, the beer is ready to be served and the soft peg is replaced with a hard (non porous) peg.

A beer should be tapped 24 hours before it is to be served and this is done by knocking a tap through the centre of the keystone.

The beer should then be sampled to check clarity, aroma and taste before the beer line is connected to the tap. Then the beer should be drawn off at the pump and sampled again, and if everything is in order, then the beer can be served.

Once a barrel is finished, then the beer needs to be changed. At this point, the line should be cleaned, particularly if a different beer is being put on the pump. This is to prevent the new beer

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being ‘contaminated’ by what went before and making sure the customer gets the best possible pint. The process is simple, but time consuming. The barrel needs to be disconnected and the beer line attached to a container filled with water. This is then pulled through the pump until all the beer residue has been washed out and the water is clear. Then cleaning solution is pulled into the line, then more water to clean the line thoroughly. Only when the line is fully clean should the new barrel be connected, the beer drawn through and sampled prior to sale. This process can take anything up to half an hour, and will involve several trips to the cellar – and in a busy pub with perhaps only one person on the bar, this can cause problems. Often a licensee will make do with pulling water through to save time. Pubs that regularly sell the same beers will often dispense with cleaning between barrels and do a weekly line clean.

The final part of the process is stock control and rotation. A fresh barrel on the bar should be in perfect condition, but as the beer is pulled off and oxygen fills the head space in the barrel, the quality will start to deteriorate. It is frequently stated that cask beer should be sold within three days, although many licensees will keep beers on for longer than this. This may be down to having too many beers on the bar for the level of custom or sometimes one beer will simply not sell, perhaps due to a couple of interesting or unusual beers

being available. A canny licensee may well turn the pump clip round on one of the popular ones for a short while to encourage people to drink something else. Smaller casks may well be the answer, but few breweries make beer available in pins (4.5 gallon barrels). There is also a need to keep an eye on expiry dates, making sure the oldest beer is used first. Where a pub tries to keep a variety of styles on the bar, it calls for great care to ensure that the mix remains and that there isn’t a preponderance of similar beers on at the same time.

It’s not rocket science, but it takes a lot of attention to detail to get it right. There are a good number of pubs out there where great beer quality is pretty much guaranteed. Sadly there are still too many pubs where it is a bit of a lottery – and while this won’t deter the dedicated cask drinker, anyone trying real ale for the first time could well be put off for life by a dodgy pint. An article in the Morning Advertiser (Publicans Trade Magazine) last December said that a survey had revealed that nearly a third of the beer being sold was through unclean lines and almost a quarter of pubs were serving it at the wrong temperature. Despite the wider availability of real ale, it seems there is still a long way to go when it comes to quality.

A D R I A N S M I T H (Thanks to John Isles for his photo of an immaculate cellar, Black Bull, Penwortham.)

THE

OLD VIC SUNDAY NIGHT QUIZ WITH CASH JACKPOT

Serving breakfasts, lunchtime specials and all traditional pub food. Also sandwiches, salads and delicious home made pies.

Parties catered for.

• 7 Handpumps revolving up to 25 cask ales including many local brewers each week • 50p Wetherspoons vouchers now redeemed

• New enlarged outdoor area with large screen TV

• Included in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide

• Outside area now covered and heated

• Upto 20 gins on our new gin menu

• Live music all summer

• Live train arrival and departure times shown

• Sky/BT showing all major sporting events

Fishergate, Preston Opposite Preston Railway Station 01772 828519

www.centrallancs.camra.org.uk

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Branch Diary Monday 11th March Committee Meeting at Malt ‘n’ Hops, Chorley (7.30) Saturday 23rd March Trip to Skipton including visit to Beer Monkey Brewery Minibus from Preston (9.15am), Chorley (9.40am).

Thursday 28th March Social & Pub of the Season Presentation at Tap & Vine @ 69, Penwortham

Discount Pubs All over the country, hundreds of pubs are offering a discount to card carrying CAMRA members. These pubs deserve your support and listed below are the ones in our branch area that we believe are offering a discount.

Adelphi, Preston

10%

Ancient Oak, Cottam

20p per pint, except Mon when discount is for all customers

Anderton Arms, Fulwood

20p per pint, except Mon when discount is for all customers

Bamber Bridge Football Club

20p per pint

Bay Horse, Euxton

10%

Black Bull, Fulwood

20p per pint, except Mon when discount is for all customers

Monday 13th May Committee Meeting at Golden Tap, Leyland (7.30)

Black Bull, Penwortham

20p per pint

Bob Inn, Chorley

20p per pint

Thursday 30th May Branch Social - Pub Crawl Starts at Ale Station, Chorley (7.30)

Broughton Inn, Broughton

20p per pint

Fleece, Penwortham

10%

Grey Friar, Preston

50p per pint using a Wetherspoon’s token

Guild (Fylde Rd), Preston

25p per pint

Lane Ends, Ashton

10%

Leyland Lion, Leyland

50p per pint using a Wetherspoon’s token

Market Tap, Preston

10%

Mill Tavern, Higher Walton

20%

Nabs Head, Samlesbury

20p per pint

Old Vic, Preston

50p per pint using a Wetherspoon’s token except Thu when real ale is discounted for all customers

Pear Tree, Penwortham

20p per pint

Plough, Grimsargh

20p per pint, 10p per half pint

Plungington Hotel, Preston

20p per pint

Poachers, Bamber Bridge

10%

Preston Grasshoppers RFC

10%

Prince of Wales, Cowling Brow, Chorley

10%

Prince Of Wales New Market Street, Chorley

10%

Roper Hall, Preston

10%

Sir Henry Tate, Chorley

50p per pint using a Wetherspoon’s token

Smiths Arms, Lea Town

20p per pint, 10p per half pint

Tap & Vine @ 69, Penwortham

10%

Trades Hall Club & Institute, Bamber Bridge

10%

Twelve Tellers, Preston

50p per pint using a Wetherspoon’s token

Walton Fox, Bamber Bridge

20p per pint

Wellington, Ashton

Up to 25p per pint

Monday 8th April Committee meeting at Black Horse, Preston Thursday 25th April Branch Social & Pub of the Year Presentation.

Venue TBA

Monday 10th June Committee Meeting at Brig ‘n’ Barrel, Bamber Bridge (7.30) All meetings start at 8pm unless shown.

Trips For further details and to book, contact Simon Crowe on 07852 165024 or email simonpdcrowe@gmail.com

Advertising

With a print run of 6,000 and magazines available in pubs and clubs across the area and beyond, an advert in Ale Cry is probably the best value targeted advertising around.

Advert prices Quarter page: £55 Half page: £95 Full page: £175 Back page: £195 (not currently available) For further details contact: editor@centrallancs.camra.org.uk

Publication Dates

The next issue of Ale Cry will be published on 1 June 2019.

Deadline for copy and advert submission is 1st May 2019.

Trading Standards

st

For complaints about issues such as short measures, contact: Lancashire County Council Trading Standards County Hall, Pitt Street Preston, PR1 0LD. T: 0345 404 0506

30

CAMRA

Ale Cry

Wellington (Glovers Ct.), Preston 10% Wings & Beer Co., Preston

10%

Yates, Preston

10%

If you know of a pub offering a discount that is not listed here, or one is listed that no longer offers a discount, please let us know.

If you are a licensee and are interested in joining the scheme then please contact editor@centrallancs.camra.org.uk ISSUE 122 SPRING 2019

Join up, join in, join the campaign From as little as

£25†

a year. That’s less than a pint a month!

Or enter your details and complete the Direct Debit form below and you will receive 15 months membership for the price of 12 and save £2 on your membership subscription

✂

Protect the traditions of great British pubs and everything that goes with them by joining today at www.camra.org.uk/joinup

Alternatively you can send a cheque payable to CAMRA Ltd with your completed form, visit www.camra.org.uk/joinus, or call 01727 798440.* All forms should be addressed to Membership Department, CAMRA, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4LW.

Your details:

Direct Debit

Title ................................ Surname ........................................................................................ Single Membership

Non DD

£25

£27

£30.50

£32.50

Forename(s) ........................................................................................................................... (UK & EU) Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy) ............................................................................................... Joint Membership

Address ................................................................................................................................... (Partner at the same address) ....................................................................................................................................................

For concessionary rates please visit www.camra.org.uk .................................................................................. Postcode .............................................. or call 01727 798440.

Email address .........................................................................................................................

I wish to join the Campaign for Real Ale, and agree to Daytime Tel ............................................................................................................................ abide by the Memorandum and Articles of Association which can be found on our website.

Partner’s Details (if Joint Membership)

Title ................................ Surname ...............................................................................

Signed ......................................................................................

Forename(s) ..................................................................................................................

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Applications will be processed within 21 days.

Instruction to your Bank or Building Society to pay by Direct Debit Please fill in the whole form using a ball point pen and send to: Campaign for Real Ale Ltd. 230 Hatfield Road St. Albans, Herts AL1 4LW

Name and full postal address of your Bank or Building Society To the Manager

Bank or Building Society

This Guarantee should be detached and retained by the payer.

The Direct Debit Guarantee

Service User Number

9

2

6

Address

1

2

9

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This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay by Direct Debits

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If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd will notify you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request

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If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by The Campaign for Real Ale Ltd or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society

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If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when The Campaign Real Ale Ltd asks you to

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You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us.

FOR CAMRA OFFICIAL USE ONLY This is not part of the instruction to your Bank or Building Society Membership Number Postcode

Name(s) of Account Holder

Name Postcode

Instructions to your Bank or Building Society Bank or Building Society Account Number

Branch Sort Code

Please pay Campaign For Real Ale Limited Direct Debits from the account detailed on this instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with Campaign For Real Ale Limited and, if so, will be passed electronically to my Bank/ Building Society.

Signature(s)

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Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit Instructions for some types of account.

†Price of single membership when paying by Direct Debit. *Calls from landlines charged at local rates, cost may vary from mobile phones.