Full Measure issue 129

Campaigning, Promoting and Supping Real Ale for 40 Years!

Newsletter of the Leeds Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale

Welcome!

Welcome to issue #129 of New Full Measure, the newsletter for the Leeds Branch of CAMRA. We hope you find something interesting and informative inside.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Leeds Branch. We are lucky to still have active members who were there at the time and inside you’ll find an account of the founding from Mr Barrie Pepper, former chairman of the British Guild of Beer Writers and Leeds CAMRA member from the beginning.

It’s funny to think that with all the campaigning undertaken by CAMRA and its members over the last 40 years, it’s one of the original issues, craft verses keg that is still such a divisive subject amongst beer lovers. In this issue, Leeds branch chairman Mike Hampshire shares his feelings on the matter, whilst Dave Ansley defines just what it is that is causing all the fuss.

Elsewhere we have contributions from Rick Lamb, who visited Shanklin on the Isle of Wight and globetrotter Warren Yabsley, with his views on beers on slightly further afield. Former editor Ian Smith presents his long awaited Desert Island Beers and this month’s pub of the moment is the Garden Gate in Hunslet. My thanks to all who contributed this month.

Contents Pub & Brewery News

5

New Brewery News

6-7

Beer Festival Diary

9

Simon Bolderson

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Craft Keg

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Branch Contact: Mike Hampshire Public Affairs Officer: John Rowe Festival Organiser: David Dixon

NFM Towers Address: Leeds CAMRA c/o 46 West Grange Green, Leeds LS10 3BB. Email: editor@newfullmeasure.org.uk Web: www.leeds-camra.com Twitter @LeedsCAMRA Subscriptions cost £3 for six issues; payment by cheque made out to "Leeds CAMRA" and sent to the above address. Back issues are available for £1 an issue by sending a cheque to the same address. Currently all previous issues are available.

Contributions are welcome from any CAMRA member, and may be sent to the above email address, or by post.

Contributions may be edited for reasons of space, and may be held over for future issues.

4,000 Copies are distributed, free of charge, quarterly to outlets in Leeds and the surrounding areas.

Pub of the Moment

15

Desert Island Beers

16-17

Leeds Branch History

18-19

Where’s Warren

20-24

Awards

25

Isle of Wight

26-28

Chairman’s Corner

29

Publication Dates:

Diary Dates

30

The next issue of NFM (#130) will be published on December 4th 2014.

NFM #130 copy deadline is 5th November 2014.

Leeds CAMRA Committee Chairman, Membership Secretary: Mike Hampshire Tel: 07763 274454

New Full Measure is produced by the Leeds Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the editor, CAMRA Ltd or its branches.

Copyright © Leeds CAMRA 2014. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without express permission.

Newsletter Editor: Anthony Coltman Press and Publicity Officer: Sam Parker Pub Database Holder: Dave Ansley

LocAle Coordinator: Steve Staindale

Social Secretary: Charlie Cavaye

Membership Secretary: Mike Hampshire

Webmaster: Christine Jopling

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Treasurer: Keith Sunderland Public Transport Officer: Philip Mullen

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4

News

Pub & Brewery News Leeds Ale City Drinking in Leeds City Centre gives you more variety than most beer festivals. That was the finding of Leeds CAMRA when, on Thursday 21st August, we conducted a census across the 69 bars serving real ale in the city centre.

Despite the weather a total of 50 people turned out including a number of members who had not previously been to an event. Leeds Brewery kindly gave us the use of the upstairs room at the Brewery Tap and ensured all participants received a free drink. They found that 189 different beers were available across the 69 bars.

Breweries from Yorkshire were well represented, we also identified a possible 7 new LocAle pubs to add to our number. Just over a third of the bars (25) had at least 6 different real ales.

Top of the list was recent Pub of the Season winner, The Duck & Drake with 15 beers closely followed by Wetherspoon’s Stick or Twist, and Tapped on 12 each. The Palace and Whitelocks followed on 10 with three others on 9, seven selling 8 beers, one on 7, and nine more on 6 apiece. The most common beer was Leeds Pale found in 15 bars.

and other flavours there is something for everyone, and it really is a great time to try real ale if you have not done so before.

The census gives us a better understanding of a major part of our area, and will be a reference point for future surveys. Hopefully we will be undertaking a similar survey in 2 years time.

Thanks also to fellow members from Bradford, Wakefield, & York who came across to help us out.

Keith Sunderland Leeds CAMRA treasurer & census organiser

Swift Halves A new beer has been produced by Kirkstall Brewery – Kirkstall Fountain. It's a light but tasty 3% quaffing pale ale. There are plans to produce it again this year and reintroduce it for summer 2015 (May - September). Also, Dissolution Extra, the bottled 6% IPA is now available at Harvey Nichols, Leeds and selected Sainsbury’s.

Bar 24, that opened on the site of the former Millrace Organic Restaurant in Kirkstall, is now believed to have permanently closed.

According to planning applications, the Ringway pub is to become a children’s day nursery.

Most bars had a carefully selected blend of light and dark beers of varying strengths, and flavours. The premises themselves ranged from traditional pubs to modern gastro and café bars.

The Garden Gate, Hunslet, reopened on the 26th July. It’s all looking good, and there are 6 beers now on the bar.

There is also a large number of real ale bars in the Leeds suburbs, and surrounding towns and villages which were not subject to the survey.

Northern Monkey (nee The Guildford) on the Headrow is now to be run by the same team as Tyke bar, and will become a real ale bar.

CAMRA have a website Whatpub.com that is open to everyone to browse, and which highlights around 36,000 bars across the UK serving real ale. So there is no excuse for missing out on a great product. With a variety of fruit, chocolate

Leeds Brewery is believed to be opening a new pub near the Leeds Minster.

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BAILDON BREWING Baildon Brewing took shape in a unit at Tong Park Business Centre (that’s the old Denbirayne mill site at the bottom of Hollins Hill). The brewery is owned by Leigh Terry and, as well as being head brewster, she is responsible for promotion, delivery and even making the tea - truly a one woman business at the present.

A new 6 barrel kit was supplied by Dave Porter from PBC (Brewery Installations) Ltd of Bury during April-May 2014 and after initial trials, the brewery began production in mid-May with a launch of its first commercial beer in Heckmondwike on 13 May. At present Leigh brews once a fortnight – that’s 22-24 casks, but further expansion will depend upon demand.

Leigh’s aim is to develop a range of beer styles and as well as cask beer, she intends to have bottled versions available too, possibly for the personalised market (weddings and birthdays, etc.) – a small batch of hand bottled beer has already been produced.

No doubt we will see her beers at local beer festivals – Otley has already planned to have some at OBF14 on 14-15 November.

Report by Jeff Utley

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New Breweries news Golden Owl Brewery

Golden Owl is a new brewing company based in Leeds, taking advantage of unused capacity in other breweries to bring exciting craft beers to the market. Using the best quality ingredients and expertise built up over years of brewing, Golden Owl beer is made by hand in small batches.

Bingley Brewery Local man Darren Marks is owner and brewer of the newly opened Bingley Brewery.

Darren attended and passed two courses at Brewlab in Sunderland. In mid 2013 he began a series of test brews and cuckoo brewing also at the Brewlab premises; these were first seen at local festivals such as Eldwick in 2013 and again at Ilkley in 2014.

In April 2014, after searching for suitable premises, he gained possession of a new industrial unit in Wilsden (that's about 3 miles south of Bingley) and kitted it out with a new 6 barrel plant. Brewing began at the end of June 2014.

With the help of family and a couple of friends he currently brews fortnightly to a half-brew extent – that's approx 10-11 casks (firkins), using town water and malts from Thomas Fawcetts of Castleford. Note that the company logo is not a fern, but a stylised representation of five lock gates – a nod to Bingley's famous five-rise locks on the Leeds-Liverpool canal.

The brewery is located at Unit 2, Old Mill Yard, Shay Lane, Wilsden, BD15 0DR Contact details are – Brewery Tel: 01535 274285 or email: darren@bingleybrewery.co.uk

They aims to make unique, interesting beers with big, bold flavours that are inspired by historical British beers and the American craft beer explosion.

Northern Monk Brew Company Northern Monk Brew Company take thousands of years of brewing heritage and tradition and combine them with the best of both local and internationally sourced ingredients to make craft beers to excite, to savour, to taste and to remember.

They'll brew a broad range of beers from double and triple IPA's packed with New World hops and beers with wild and experimental ingredients and techniques to lower ABV traditional session ales.

They are working closely with local businesses such as North Star coffee roasters as well as ones from further afield like Gateway Brewery in Mumbai to create some unique and thought provoking beers.

The first of their beers to be released will be New World IPA a 6.2% IPA with a range of US and antipodean hop varieties, True North a 3.7% session pale, Chennai a hoppy export porter and Monacus NZ a New Zealand hopped variant of their Pale Ale.

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Beer Festival Diary CAMRA Branches across the country hold beer festivals, throughout the year. They are organised and run by volunteers, who give up their own time to promote Real Ale and Real Cider to the public. The majority of the beer festivals admit card carrying CAMRA members free of charge or offer discounts.

Remember to do your homework and check details before you travel!

CAMRA Festivals York Beer & Cider Festival 17 – 20 Sep 2014 Knavesmire, Tadcaster Road, York, YO24 1DJ Wednesday 5.30pm-11pm, Thursday-Saturday Noon-11pm Over 400+ real ales and 100+ ciders Keighley Beer Festival 25 – 27 Sep 2014 Central Hall, Alice St, Keighley, BD21 3JD Thu 3pm-11pm, Fri/Sat 11am-11pm 60 cask ales & ciders Huddersfield Oktoberfest 2 – 4 Oct 2014 APNA Venue, Spring Grove St, Huddersfield, HD1 2NX Thursday 6pm-10.30pm, Friday Noon-11pm, Saturday 11am-11pm Approx 75 real ales, cider bar

Shelley Beer Festival, Huddersfield, West Yorks 12 – 13 Sep 2014 Shelley Village Hall, Shelley, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD8 8HE Beverley Real Ale Festival, East Yorkshire 3 – 5 Oct 2014 The Memorial Hall, 73-75 Lairgate, Beverley, East Yorkshire, HU17 8HN Otley Beer Festival, West Yorkshire 14 – 15 Nov 2014 Otley Rugby Club, Cross Green, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 1HE

Nottingham Robin Hood Beer Festival 8 – 11 Oct 2014 Nottingham Castle, NG1 6EB Wed 6pm-11pm, Thu-Sat 11am-11pm 1,000+ cask beers, 200+ ciders & perries Wakefield Beer Festival (CAMRA) 6 – 8 Nov 2014 The Space, Waldorf Way, Wakefield, WF2 8DH Thu Noon-11pm, Fri 11am-4.30pm & 5.30pm11pm, Sat 11am-11pm

Non-CAMRA Festivals Saltaire Brewery Beer Festival, Shipley, West Yorkshire 12 – 13 Sep 2014 Saltaire Brewery, County Works, Dockfield Road, Shipley, BD17 7AR

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The Chequers Inn Ledsham, Leeds LS25 5LP Tel: 01977 683135

Leeds CAMR A Branch Rural Pub of the Year 2014 Beer Garden • Bar Meals Restaurant • Open Sundays Food served 12noon - 9.15pm Real Ales from: Brown Cow, Theakston, Timothy Taylor, John Smiths and now Leeds Brewery

A warm welcome from Neil and Maureen from The Junction Permanent beers in the wood from Ridgeside, Kirkstall, Wall’s, Old Bear, Five Towns and Samuel Smith Old Brewery Bitter. All served from a bank of old Melbourne pumps that have never seen a pint of Tetleys or John Smiths.

Open Fires • Friendly Atmosphere Dog friendly • Quiz Night on Wednesday Only 2 mins from the bus and train station

Live bands most Fridays contact us for details NEW OPENING TIMES Monday & Tuesday 2pm to 9pm. Wednesday & Thursday 2pm to 11pm.

Friday to Sunday 12noon to 11pm.

Follow Us on Twitter 10

Tel: 01977 278867 The Junction, Castleford WF10 1EE www.thejunctionpubcastleford.com

Simon Bolderson In the last edition of this magazine, we had just learnt of the passing of Simon Bolderson, founder of Ridgeside Brewery in Meanwood, and there was no time to prepare anything other than a “stop press” notice. Simon passed away in May after an eighteen month battle with cancer. I’d like to add a few words now.

The first I heard of Simon was when I was out writing a piece for this magazine. I was talking to Denzil Vallance of Great Heck brewery and he told me about a bloke who was having his official first beer launch the following weekend. I can't remember his exact words but he said that if I could get down for it, I should, because not only was he a good brewer but he was a really nice bloke.

That really has been the theme of the many tributes paid to Simon over the past few weeks; what a thoroughly decent and pleasant man he was. Indeed, beer writer and Leeds CAMRA vicechair, Sam Parker, described him as the “nicest man in brewing”. I don't think many would disagree with that. Simon set up his brewery, Ridgeside, only in 2010. It quickly went from strength to strength and many awards followed. I was fortunate enough to visit the brewery many times and to chat with him. He was passionate about beer and always keen to show his latest projects to anybody who wanted to know.

He could often be seen in the pubs of the area, and always found time for a chat with anyone, even after he was diagnosed with his illness. He wasn't going to let it stop him getting out if he could help it at all, and he kept his infectious, cheeky smile. He didn't want people to be nervous around him, but asked for a jog of the memory if you talked to him as his eyesight and hearing were deteriorating. When he went public about his illness he said “I've always had a very strong character and a sense of humour, and they're not going to take that from me!”. He even took up smoking cigars on the grounds that they couldn't harm him any more.

His sense of humour even followed to the funeral, which was packed and a second room had to be opened up with screens for people paying their last respects. He'd obviously had a lot of input into how things were to be done and, although I didn't witness this myself, I'm assured a cask of ale was brought out of the hearse. Another thing that Simon must have requested was the opening of a bottle of beer during the eulogies. The closing music was Queen's “The Show Must Go On” before we adjourned to the Myrtle Tavern for (yes, it must have been Simon’s idea) a slice of a funeral cake shaped like a cask of ale.

When the news which we’d been dreading finally came through on Saturday 17th May this year, a small group of us were sitting having a few drinks. There was silence for a while, whilst we all reflected and then, eventually, a toast to Simon. That has been repeated many times since and I'm sure it will be again, whenever we raise a glass of Ridgeside beer. We were privileged to have known him.

Simon is survived by his widow, Sally, and their children. Our thoughts are with them and the rest of the family at this extremely difficult time.

Ian Smith

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what is craft?

Craft Ales

The “craft keg” controversy has been hotly debated in CAMRA circles over the last couple of years.

Dave Ansley talks us through the issues.

The appearance of “craft keg” beers from some small local breweries has started debate in real ale drinking circles, so here are some musings on the issue. For the avoidance of doubt these are in no way meant to be representative of the views of CAMRA locally or nationally. The first issue is to try and define what “craft keg” means.

“Keg” is fairly easy, the big difference between keg beer and real ale is that there is no live yeast left in keg beer when it arrives at the pub. This means that secondary fermentation does not take place in a keg beer in the same way that it does in a real ale to develop additional complex flavours. In order to give keg beer some “life” a tank of carbon dioxide, nitrogen or a mixture of both is connected to the keg. This not only enlivens the beer but also provides a protective layer above the beer which prevents air from getting to it in the cask.

“Craft” is harder to define and is really a matter of opinion. Some define it based the on size of a brewery, but I think it is more subtle than that. To me craft indicates that the vast majority of the brewing process is done manually and not using a computer-controlled, mainly automatic process as happens in most large breweries. It is the handson element and in fact the possibility of human error that makes any process craft.

Craft keg is normally produced by exactly the same brewing process as real ale, but is then chilled and filtered to stop any secondary fermentation.

The second issue is to ask why breweries known for the quality of their real ales would produce craft keg? The basic answer is because there is a market for it, in fact several markets.

One example is restaurants which often have a keg bitter available. Also nearly all pubs sell a keg stout and one or more keg lagers from large beer factories many miles away, but some have local real ales next to them on the bar and sell food made with local produce, so why not replace the national keg brands with local ones?

There is also the specialist market, pubs that are known for their foreign keg beers often like to have British craft keg alongside them.

We also have to admit that not all pubs, for various reasons, keep real ale well. Perhaps it would be better for them to reduce their real ale range and have craft keg which is easier to look after and has a longer shelf life. Poorly kept real ale does the campaign for it no favours. I know some will say this is the thin end of the wedge and bring up the 1970s and the ghost of Watney’s Red Barrel. I can understand these fears, however, I think we are in a very different situation today with a very strong and varied real ale market and it is the survival of the British pub that should be the major worry.

The reality is that regardless of CAMRA’s campaigning efforts, there will always be some beer drinkers who do not want to drink real ale. It is sometimes forgotten that both breweries and pubs are businesses which need to provide what their customers want. I am not suggesting CAMRA should campaign for craft keg, but equally I do not think it is something that it should fear.

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ABBEY INN 99 Pollard Lane, Newlay, Leeds, LS13 1EQ DUCK & DRAKE Kirkgate, Leeds, LS2 7DR HUNTERS INN Harrogate Road, Pool in Wharfedale, LS21 2PS NEW HEADINGLEY CLUB St Micheals Road, Headingley, LS6 3BG

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OTLEY TAVERN Newmarket, Otley, LS21 3A QUEEN High Street, Tadcaster, LS24 9SA STATION Henshaw Lane, Yeadon LS19 7RZ STICK OR TWIST Merrion Way, Leeds, LS2 8PD

THREE HULATS 13 Harrogate Road, Leeds, LS7 3NB TROYDALE CLUB Troydale Lane, Pudsey, Leeds, LS28 9LD WHITE SWAN High Street, Yeadon, LS19 7TA WOOLPACK 18 New Road, Yeadon, LS19 7SE

pub of the moment

The Garden Gate

“Welcome to The Garden Gate: officially Leeds’ most beautiful Public House.”

So states the Garden Gate website and for once the reality lives up to the hype. Designed by architect W Mason Coggill, the Garden Gate was built by local Leeds firms. The Leeds Fireclay Company provided all the glazed tilling and the bar was fitted by J Claughton, who were also responsible for the woodwork and fixed seating.

Completed in 1903, it is considered a fine example of a late Victorian/early Edwardian building and is listed by English Heritage as grade II*.

Having passed through many hands and saved from demolition in the late 1960’s by the actions of local campaigners, the Garden Gate was bought by Leeds Brewery in 2010. Established in 2007 Leeds Brewery is the largest brewery in Leeds and runs several pubs in the city including the White Swan which adjoins on to the world famous City Varieties.

The Garden Gate re-opened recently, after a six month refurbishment to the upstairs living accommodation, and it’s looking as good as

ever. They have three Leeds Brewery beers – Leeds Pale, Leeds Best and Leeds Midnight Bell as well as three guest beers to choose from.

A new food menu is also served daily.

Getting there by bus is easy with services running from Leeds bus station at regular intervals.

First buses 74/Middleton and 84/East Ardsley or Arriva Buses 444/Hall Green and 168/Castleford will get you there with only a short stroll to the pub. Check online for times and services.

I urge anyone with an interest in pub architecture should really take the time to see this wonderful pub and experience its hospitality. They just don’t make them like this anymore.

Garden Gate 3 Whitfield Place, Hunslet, Leeds LS10 2QB

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Desert Island Beers As a former editor of this esteemed publication, I had the pleasure of asking quite a few people to select which beers they would take with them if they were stranded on a desert island, and then watch as they squirmed to try and get out of it.

Sadly, what goes around also comes around and the current editor put the thumbscrews on me until I agreed to make my selections.

One memorable comment from previous contributors was Barrie Pepper's statement that his favourite beer was always the one in his hand at the time. Sadly, I'm writing this in the afternoon, and the only glass by me contains nothing more potent than water. I should also point out that I'm going to make things doubly hard for myself by not selecting anything which is brewed in Leeds. I wouldn’t want to show favouritism for any brewery in the city, and as Brewery Liaison Officer for one of them, I feel it would be wrong for me to do so. Right, on with the show, and let’s assume we have all the equipment necessary to look after these beers properly.

First on my list is going to be Abingdon Bridge by Loose Cannon Brewery. Not surprisingly, it hails from Abingdon in Oxfordshire and is a reliable session bitter coming in at 4.1%. There are many similar beers by breweries up and down the country but, as regular readers may be aware, I occasionally visit my Aunt Polly down in that region, and drinking this ale usually means that I'm using the dithering old bat's home as a base to go out drinking, or some of the ale has been sent up to Leeds to remind me of my visits.

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Right, that's a session bitter chosen. Next for a strong one and it’s going to have to be Pendle Witches Brew from Moorhouse’s in Burnley. That's right, two foreign beers chosen already! Again, memories are coming into play and I was fortunate enough to be invited to Burnley for the re-launch of the brewery after a massive expansion in 2012. You may have read the piece I wrote for this rag. Pendle Witches is a smooth, chestnut-coloured ale and, where available, is often my choice of “last beer of the night”.

Right, next one, a mild I think. For this one I want to come into the chosen land, Yorkshire. Ruby Mild from Rudgate in Tockwith is the choice for this one, and I’m certainly not the only person to think so. Indeed, it took the Champion Beer of Britain award at the Great British Beer Festival in 2009, as well as a host of other awards over the years. A rich and well-balanced beer at 4.4%, it is a fine example of a ruby mild.

Staying with this category, we should remember that not all milds are dark in colour. I’m going to select Golden Best from Timothy Taylor now.

Coming in at just 3.5% this is a refreshing amber light mild. Not the most common style of ale that you could try, but growing in popularity.

Porter next, so I shall choose the beer which was Champion Beer of Britain for 2013. It has to be 1872 Porter from Elland. Also a former Champion Winter Beer of Britain, this is a powerful and flavoursome porter coming in at 6.5%.

Another option for the last beer of the night.

I’m choosing the beers to suit my palate and I’m going to pick another porter here. I’m going

Desert Island Beers with Thriller in Vanilla by Brown Cow at Barlow. Sadly just outside the Leeds LocAle scheme, but it’s always a treat to see their ales.

Another powerful beer at 5.1%, this was described by one correspondent as, “A scrumptious rich porter brewed with fresh vanilla pods complementing the complex dark malts. A Thriller in Vanilla that packs a punch!”

Staying with the darker beers, my island needs a traditional Northern England dark mild. I’m going to choose Malt Shovel Mild from Fernandes in Wakefield, part of the Ossett group of breweries. At 3.8% this is a fine example of a dark chocolatey mild which was joint winner of the Mild of the Festival at Leeds CAMRA’s 2012 Festival. Always worth a taste when you see it.

Let’s go back to the lighter beers now, and I’m going to remind myself of one of the earliest pieces I wrote for this publication. I had to visit Sheffield, always a pleasurable chore, to visit Abbeydale, home of Moonshine. They make a fine range of ales down there, but I’ve selected this 4.3% golden ale on the grounds that it's the one our readers are most likely to see at their local. It certainly makes occasional appearances at the pub nearest to me and is straw in colour with strong citrus flavours. If this desert island is warm, it will be the perfect thirst quencher.

Like most of our readers, I have visited many beer festivals, and I sometimes notice which beer is first to run out. Quite often it is Jaipur by Thornbridge of Bakewell, traditional India Pale Ale coming in at 5.9%, with heaps of citrus flavour. Always hugely popular.

My final choice of beer is going to be Dark Side of the Moose from Purple Moose of Porthmadog. This is normally one of the first selections to go onto the beer list for the Leeds CAMRA annual festival

each March. Sadly, this year it was overlooked on the order, but I can report that the person who missed it has been viciously flogged and won’t make that mistake again. It is a delicious dark ale with malty flavours, and has won more awards than you can shake a stick at, including grabbing the gold award in the “Old Ales” category at the 2011 Champion Beer of Wales competition.

So there you have it. The ten beers I want with me should I be marooned. I believe that, when this format is followed with records, people also get to take a Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare with them. Neither of these tomes is much use to me, so can I please take a dartboard, my arrows and the equipment to hang the board.

With a bit of practice I might be able to hit the target at next year’s darts social.

Until I’m rescued, I shall enjoy these ales, so give it a few weeks before you send a search party please.

Ian Smith

The Regent Two permanent ales: Leeds Pale, Tetley Bitter plus FIVE rotating guest ales.

Sky Sports and BT Sports on Four Screens Beer garden with Plasma Screen and Car Park to the rear

Main meals - Two for £9.00 We are open Mon-Wed 12noon-11pm Thurs-Sat 12noon-midnight, Sun 11am -11.30pm Quiz nights: Monday – General Knowledge Tuesday – Music Thursday – Entertainment 15/17 Regent Street, Chapel Allerton, Leeds LS7 4PE Tel: 0113 2939395 Email: 6233unit@spiritpubcompany.com

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LEEDS CAMRA 40th Anniversary

Leeds branch from the start This year the Leeds Camra celebrate our 40th anniversary. Elder-statesman of the branch, Barrie Pepper, recalls the founding days of the Branch.

I often reflect on how the founder members of the West Yorkshire branch came to discover CAMRA. I know for myself it was a picture in my trade union magazine showing four young members from Preston who had joined ‘an interesting new organisation aiming to save the British brewing industry’! The exclamation mark is mine. But I knew one of them and spoke to him and he told me what I regarded as exciting news.

campaign with leaflets and canvassing and getting up the noses of southern members who had previously held sway. I lost by two votes. Two months later I was co-opted and held my seat for five years. Twenty years on and Branch Chair Robin Lacy was elected and served for six years.

Of course I joined CAMRA and as I recall I had membership number 850. Then I got a phone call from the late Tommy Thomas, a drinking mate who later owned Franklin’s brewery, and he asked me to join him at a meeting in a Bradford pub. We became regulars in the West Yorkshire branch. Tommy claimed that the only organisation he had ever joined before was the Desperate Dan Fan Club.

Over the years the Branch has developed, organising events including 30-plus beer festivals as well as producing guides, magazines and a web site. It now has more than 2,000 members and it has made its voice known within the city and throughout the Campaign’s structure.

In the beginning our major job was to convert Tetley’s. This offshoot of Allied Breweries owned more than half of the pubs in the city and campaigning then was to save the hand pumps and thus retain cask beer. Over a late pint in the Sun at Stanningley following a meeting there half a dozen of us persuaded the tenant not to change to bright beer – it was the watershed and the number of real ale outlets started to rise from then onwards.

This was in 1973 and from this branches reflecting the Metropolitan Boroughs of West Yorkshire were created including the one for Leeds which held its inaugural meeting on 3rd September 1974 in the Central Station Hotel in Wellington Street. The first chair was Ed Anderson, a local government officer, with Eddie Lawler, a lecturer at the Poly, as secretary. Both were in their 30s and neither had a beard or a beer belly.

That is not to say that Tet’s was the only real ale; there was a smattering of Sam Smith’s pubs and occasional spotting of Bass, Webster, Cameron’s and Younger’s. We knew about Taylor’s but had to travel west to drink it and there was an unusual outpost of Boddington’s in Kinsley near Hemsworth. There were other battles to fight and the next one was to persuade John Smith’s to recommence brewing cask ale.

Three hundred Yorkshire members marched round Tadcaster and left a coffin at the brewery gates. It still took three years for the resurrection rather than three days as is the tradition.

A gang of about 30 of us attended the annual meeting in 1975 at Nottingham University and the branches had decided to nominate me for the National Executive. Phil Lawler organised the

Beer Festivals have become a regular event in the Branch calendar and are currently held at Pudsey Civic Hall. They provide a regular outlet for beers from across the country and from

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LEEDS CAMRA 40th Anniversary abroad and also ciders and perries. Members of the Branch regularly serve as volunteers for the annual Great British Beer Festival.

So 40 years on the Branch celebrates in the pub where it was founded. From the 100 or so who were at the inaugural meeting about a dozen remain members and they have been invited to the event and will be presented with a commemorative tankard.

Barrie Pepper

In 2011 as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations of the campaign the national membership was asked to vote for the 40 members regarded as the ‘Top 40 Campaigners’. Two members of the Leeds branch were chosen: branch founder member Barrie Pepper and local MP Greg Mulholland.

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Where’s Warren?

Piles of snow were used to keep the beer cold when it warmed up in Kyrgyzstan Our intrepid wanderer Warren Yabsley is finally home, bringing with him this epic tale of an intercontinental beer crawl. Part one this issue, part two to follow…

Arguably the UK produces the best ale in the world but forgoing this beautiful nectar is the price you have to pay when travelling as I discovered a while ago when exploring between Turkey and India for six months. Needless to say it was a fantastic trip with sights, sounds and experiences beyond superlatives but this isn’t a travel magazine so I’ll stick (mainly) to beer and cider related stories. I’ll also draw on events from another adventure in Asia a few years ago from Nepal to Russia.

To put some of the stories into context here’s a brief background. Both trips were with overland companies where you travel on a ‘truck’ that can hold about 20 passengers accompanied by a driver and leader plus sometimes a guide who speaks the local language. A ‘truck’ consists of a lorry chassis with specially designed seating and storage areas for bags, tents, cooking equipment, food and water canisters but no air-conditioning or toilet - that’s what windows and bushes are for so it definitely isn’t a bus. We camped ‘wild’ (not in a campsite) for about one-third of the nights either cooking on wood fires or gas

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stoves, and on other nights stayed in homestays, hostels or hotels. Now might be a good time to dust that atlas off because the more recent trip visited Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tibet, Nepal and India and the previous one included Nepal, India, Pakistan, China, Mongolia, Siberian Russia, Kazakhstan (another visit!) and western Russia.

Having fully appreciated my last pint of ale in Wetherspoon’s at Stansted airport I arrived in Istanbul and was soon greeted by a big road sign that said “EyUp…”; it was like I’d never left Yorkshire! Unfortunately, I was miles away from Bosphorus Brewing Company in the capital so didn’t have chance to visit but thanks for the tip Phil. Turkey has a drinking culture but of tea (chai) rather than beer. In Canakkale, close to the Aegean Sea, there are late night cafes positioned beautifully on the waterfront, a prime location for an evening beer, but tea was the choice drink even amongst the lads playing cards though heavy smoking was their vice. Efes is the very dominant brand with the standard blue label product occupying most shelf space. Efes Dark, Dark Brown, Unfiltered, Malt and Xtra (7.5%) were also spotted (£1.50-1.80 for 500ml can in shops).

Where’s Warren?

Thankfully, there was more variety in Georgia with about half of the brands available nationwide and half regional products. Beers (£0.65£0.80) and breweries include Natakhtari (5% and 8%), Kazbegi (4.2%), Zedazani (5%) from Georgian Beer Co. and Castel from CastelSakartvelo Brewery, which is part of the large family-owned Castel Group originating in France with the beer being one that I was to become very familiar with in west Africa but that’s a future article. All beers were very strong tasting and divided opinion among the passengers being popular with regular beer drinkers but occasional drinkers were less impressed. My favourite beer of the whole trip was brewed by Taglaura, a small chain of dumplings restaurants in the capital, Tbilisi. Dark was delightful with coffee and banana flavours standing out and was well received by all who tried it; light was also available.

Wine is produced in great quantities throughout Georgia, often at local level and quality varied greatly with the white often tasting like cider.

In homestays we’d share a jug but it generally wasn’t favoured by seasoned wine drinkers, though I benefitted from this. My favourite was one that tasted like Rum Cask from Old Monty Cider in Wales. In one small shop in Gori (Stalin’s birthplace) ‘wine’ was available on tap and you could take your own bottle or buy one there to fill, which I did for the novelty.

This reminded me of Zhiguli brewery in Samara, Russia (1050 km/650 miles south-east of Moscow) where, from two window booths, both with queues, bottles were filled from a pipe. Bottles could be bought from the smoked fish stalls nearby but one man filled the boot of his Draft beer in the village shop car with jerry can near Lake Sevan, Georgia size vessels. Many

Top or bottom row. Village shop in Russia

locals frequented the park that overlooked the Volga River, to drink the beer afterwards. I expect vodka is still drunk in high quantities at home but out and about beer is very prominent and easily accessible. Reports state that it’s the fourth largest beer market in the world with Carlsberg (majority shareholders of Baltika), SUN InBev, Heineken, Efes and SABMiller holding more than 80% market share. Supermarkets have aisles of beer, normally in 1.5-2 litre bottles and lots at 7-9%, but it was the petrol stations that surprised me, often with half of the shop devoted to beer - great when you’re a passenger.

Back to the more recent trip and there was less choice of beer in Armenian shops but in a wellheeled cafe on one of the main streets in Yerevan, the capital, a draught dark beer, Kilikia Dark, from the Yerevan Brewery was delicious.

Near the centre was a pleasant park area that had lots of cafes and bars where the waiters found it odd that we wanted the local draught beer (£1.00) rather than the more prestigious foreign brands. Unlike Georgia the wine here tasted like wine, which was a mixed blessing for me. As an aside, Ararat brandy is produced in Continued overleaf >

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Where’s Warren? - continued Yerevan and was Winston Churchill’s favourite; Mount Ararat was the first land encountered by Noah’s Ark but is now just over the contentious border, in Turkey. Heading away from the border we camped by the edge of Lake Sevan in the east of the country and discovered that the one shop in the nearby local village had beer on tap but due to already being overdue for tea-time we had to settle for some cans instead.

Passing into Azerbaijan we were unaware of the hatred between the country and Armenia. All Armenian products were confiscated at the border including 22 cans of beer from the truck’s fridge. In Baku, a surprisingly progressive and upmarket capital due to oil wealth, I found a microbrewery, The Brewery Pub, but didn’t have time to visit because a few us were meeting to sit on the balcony of the hotel with a beer (£1.00) and admire the beauty of the city lit up at night.

I planned to go the next evening, but sailings across the Caspian Sea from Baku to Turkmenistan are extremely unpredictable and a boat was found that night that was leaving in a few hours. The total crossing time is also very unpredictable. Although the sailing time is usually 14-22 hours, due to docking berth availability and clearing customs, which are somewhat at the whim of officials, a total time of 55 hours isn’t unheard of so we were relatively pleased to be on the road in Turkmenistan in 37 hours.

The beer wasn’t the best tasting on the boat but it was served cold on what was a hot day and accompanied one of the most beautiful sunsets that I’ve seen. Anyway, we were lucky to have a boat that catered somewhat for passengers as they are primarily cargo vessels. There were only six other passengers but the hold, with its rail tracks, was full of wagons that were shunted on and off.

Odd, strange and weird: just some of the words that could describe Turkmenistan. Ashgabat, the folly capital, primarily consists of palatial, white marble government buildings but no shops, bars or eateries for miles around. Where else would you see white lines in the road made of marble

Enjoying a beer in Kazakhstan

and a 12 m/39 ft gold statue of former president/dictator Niyazov (who adopted the name Turkmenbashi: Father of All Turkmen) that rotated with the sun on a 70 m/230 ft plinth? Little beer was available but we sourced some cans of local Zip 5 (£0.95, 3.2%) at a market.

Thankfully not too many as it was one of the worst of the trip being weak and tasteless despite it winning gold medals at an international competition. I can only think that it must have been the only entry. Also, the cans were that thin a few got pierced in the fridge so those on bar duty had to clean up the mess.

Uzbekistan generally wasn’t conducive to beer drinking because of the extreme heat; it was difficult to find beer cold enough to make it pleasant to drink after five minutes. Tashkent was an exception and on one street we found a few places that served beer though it wasn’t obvious at first glance. One place was primarily an offlicence with draught beer (most popular £1.30 per litre) poured into bottles but we stopped off for a swift one. There was enough room for 3 stalls, one of which was occupied by the local drunk so it appears some things are familiar the world over. Just along the road was a local bar with a couple of tables and chairs inside where a waitress also supplied glasses of beer (£0.400.80) to the eatery next door. At exactly 10 pm the bar door was shut and within a couple of minutes everyone had to leave.

Continued overleaf >

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Where’s warren? - continued density in the world, was nearly all imported from South Korea surprisingly. It wasn’t the best, not even the dark beer, and the Hite brand soon acquired a derogatory alternative name!

Beer dam in Kyrgyzstan and right: The Kyrgyzstan version of Kirkstall Brewery's logo

Beer was more available in very friendly Kazakhstan. In these Central Asian ‘Stans, Cyrillic alphabets are still commonly used so lots of letters were unpronounceable. We used to call the beers according to their logos or can colours; Golden Eagle and Polar Bear were two that spring to mind (£0.55-0.70). Baltika was also common. Strengths normally ranged from 4.56.5% and in one village the bar crew stocked up the fridge and cleared all the shops of beer.

On my previous visit as well as a beer related story too long to tell here there were a couple of vodka related ones. Throughout the ‘Stans and Mongolia vodka is still popular, a Soviet hangover (the shocking pun was intended!), and is used for toasts. A few of us were invited to the evening do of a local wedding where toasts were aplenty and on leaving we threw money onto a raised sheet for the happy couple, which is customary for all guests. The next night we camped near the border and the police came to check we had our visas before the Chief invited us to look around the local police station and indulge in a feast prepared by his wife. As a gesture I took along a bottle of (imported) cherry liqueur that I bought in Mongolia and it was a lot easier to toast with than vodka.

The beer in Mongolia, a stunningly beautiful and expansive country with the lowest population

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On the latest trip the next country was Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous paradise, where we camped in a beautiful valley next to a river surrounded by mountains, the homes (yurts) of nomadic locals and large roaming herds of their cattle and horses. This was one of the most scenic places for a drink and the bar crew were on top form by making a dam to cool the beer.

Struggling with the less common Cyrillic letters I didn’t make a note of the two brands that dominated the country, both of which were respectable, with 1.5 litre bottles the most commonly available size (£0.80; £0.50 for 500 ml). Having performed a little research both and Arpa ring a bell but your guess is as good as mine to pronounce the former. At our next camping spot, situated at about 3,000 m/10,000 ft and surrounded by mountains, we had freak weather with temperatures easily below -5 degrees centigrade at night and a good few inches of snow despite it being mid-summer. Within 24 hours all of the snow had melted and it was hot but the bar crew were one step ahead again having piled up the snow to keep the beers cold. In the capital, Bishkek, a number of microbreweries have recently opened but it was a bakery’s logo that reminded me very much of the intricate ‘K’ symbol used by Kirkstall Brewery.

Crossing the Torugart pass takes you into China with its many rules and regulations for tourists.

Taking food and drink into the country is a grey area with fresh products and firewood both being a definite no-nos so to avoid another potential round of confiscation the bar was cleared. On long drive days (8-12 hours) quite a few of us would partake in “beer o’clock” at 4pm but the local time as we entered China in the far west was 2pm though the official Beijing time was 4pm so I made use of this anomaly to have the last beer. Well, I like to help out where I can, and I’ll help out now by shutting up! Further beer and cider tales from China to India will follow in the next edition.

The Leeds Branch of CAMRA regularly recognises achievements by breweries and licensed premises in the district which are worthy of special mention and, once again, the NFM photographers have… been… Hang on, where’s my bloody photos? It looks like the NFM photo monkeys have gone on holiday. Thanks to those kind souls who thought to take photos and send them in!

Hot on the heels of its Pub of the Season award, the Bridge Inn Kirkstall, once more showed its class by winning the Pub of the Year for 2014.

A well-deserved win for Mercedes, Steve and the team. With such a meteoric rise one wonders is there anything else left to achieve? National Pub of the Year? I wouldn’t bet against them.

Myrtle Tavern Continuing to hold its place as the cornerstone of the community, the Myrtle Tavern took the Community Pub of the year award. Whether it’s raising money for local charities, hosting raucous rock and roll bingo nights or pirate themed weekends for the kids, there’s a real buzz about the Myrtle. Scott and his team are great hosts, you should go and see what the fuss is about.

The rural pub of the year award was presented this year to the Chequers Inn, Ledsham. This is a stunning rural pub in a quaint Yorkshire village.

Chris Wraith and his staff run a tight ship, with well kept ales and great-home-cooked food,

Chequers, Ledsham worth a trip out for lunch now that they open Sundays.

We joined the good people of the Wakefield branch of CAMRA to award the Beer of the festival 2014 for Black Voodoo, to Fernandes Brewery. A double celebration on that day, as brewer Steve Hutchinson recived his certificate for placing bronze at GBBF 2013 with the excellent Malt Shovel Mild. Well done Steve!

Finally this month we awarded the Pub of the Season for summer 2014 to the Duck and Drake. Live music five nights a week, six permanent ales and nine (yes nine!) guest ales, can’t for the life of me fathom why everyone voted for them…! Congratulations to all this summers winners.

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Shanklin, Isle of Wight

“This characterful town sits atop a high cliff and is a mixture of thatched cottages and shops in the Old Village and the more functional stone building of the Victorian era.”

Shanklin, Isle Of Wight During the dark days of Winter I decided a short summer break in the picturesque town of Shanklin on the southern coast of the Isle of Wight was called for. This character town sits atop a high cliff and is a mixture of thatched cottages and shops in the Old Village and the more functional stone building of the Victorian era.

Parks, gardens and open grassland are to be found in abundance. At the foot of the cliff, down a serpentine road lies the Esplanade with its mix of hotels, pubs, apartments and kids’ amusement playgrounds. The impressive cliff runs from Luccombe, a hamlet to the west of Shanklin, for about three miles to Sandown, Shanklin’s larger neighbour.

Left to Right Aqua, Steamer & Waterfront Inns

As my hotel is on the Esplanade it seems logical to start with pubs on the sea front. About 100 yards along the front is the clock tower,

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opposite which are two promising-looking pubs.

First is the WATERFRONT INN, a family run hotel, brasserie and bar. This is a modern bar, wooden floored and with a mix of traditional wooden and modern furniture. Outside is a paved dining and drinking area on three terraces. It is listed in GBG, a fact the owner is very proud of, and on the bar are Youngs Bitter, Goddards Wight Squirrel, Island Nipper and Tring Fanny Ebbs.

Next door is the STEAMER INN, again with a beautiful outdoor terraced area. Inside there is a large lounge with a nautical theme, with ships’ wheels figureheads, oars and lots of wood. At the front a huge anchor holds the pubs signage and built into the wall is a gleaming ship’s propeller. Beers; Goddards Ducks Folly and Scrumdiggity, Marsdens Ringwoods 49er and Best.

As there is another hotel and bar next door it would be rude not to check it out. The AQUA has, guess what? A three terrace frontage.

Inside, it is modern and light with a comfortable lounge with pool table. Only one beer on sale, a very acceptable Yates Shanklin Pale. All three of these pubs have panoramic views of Culver cliffs and cargo boats and ferries plying their trade across the English Channel.

Shanklin, Isle of Wight Right at the end of the Esplanade, past a collection of beach huts, can be found the FISHERMAN’S COTTAGE. This historic thatched pub on the beach, with stone flagged floor and beamed ceilings, is dominated by towering sandy cliffs. It was built in 1817 and is situated at the foot of Shanklin Chine, a wooded gorge and garden.

Outside is a large paved garden, a perfect place to watch tankers and cargo ships at anchor.

Four beers; Yates Yachtsman Ale and Vectis Venom, Fullers London Pride and Taylors Landlord. (Open March - October.)

Above: Fishermans Cottage Right: Chine Inn Heading up some steps to the left of the pub I take a steeply inclined, winding path by the side of the Chine and around the corner is the CHINE INN. This is one of the oldest in the town and has good views of the bay, Chine gardens and the beach. It is an old smugglers’ pub with stone floor, half-panelled walls, beamed ceilings and old wooden furniture. Old photographs are displayed and it has a fine upright piano. There is a glass conservatory extension to the front. Make sure you look out for one or both of the pub’s ghosts - a girl in blue and an old man sitting in the corner. Beers were; Yates Chine bitter and Sunfire bitter, Otter Seville bitter, Taylors Landlord and Sharps Doom Bar. (Two of the beers are served by gravity.)

Continuing uphill from the Chine Inn, left onto Everton Lane and a walk through the tree-shaded Chine Avenue brings you to Shanklin Old Village.

This is the oldest part of Shanklin and you can’t move for pubs, shops and tearooms with

Old Village Crab Inn thatched roofs. Very picturesque but you get a bit blasé about it after a while.

The first pub you come to is the CRAB INN, which claims to be the most photographed pub in Britain. Inside, the pub is on two levels, wood and carpeted throughout, with a varied mix of furniture. Walls are wood panelled and cream painted and the bowed wooden bar resembles a ship’s hull. At the rear is a beer garden. Two beers only; Greene King I.P.A. and Goddards Scrumdiggity.

Opposite is the VILLAGE INN, which, if anything, is even more picture-postcard perfect than the last. Inside it is a one-roomed lounge with an island bar. The room is comfortably furnished with leather seating, though dimly lit. Local memorabilia adorn the walls. A large paved beer garden is to the rear. Three beers; Sharps Doom Bar, Butcombe Bitter and Wells Bombardier Burning Gold.

Diagonally across the road is the third of the trio of thatched pubs, KING HARRY’S BAR. This 19th century inn has two bars and is multi-roomed. Darkly wood panelled and dimly lit, it has a stone, baronial-hall like function room at the rear. Outside there are decked gardens and lawned beer gardens and it has its own Chine walk. Also it has a fine pair of stocks. Beers to choose; Fullers ESB, Thwaites Wainwright, Jennings Marsdens Cocky Blonde and Island Wight Gold.

Continued overleaf >

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Shanklin, Isle of Wight - continued I turned left from here and made my way to the traffic lights at the crossroads. A brown tourist sign made me rethink my walk back to my hotel and I made my way up Arthurs Hill and turned right onto St Boniface Cliff Road, noting the carved wooden sculpture of a wizard in a garden.

After reaching the Coastal Path I turned right and found the brown sign’s destination.

The Falcon Back through the Old Village, I pass the thatched Vernon Cottage Hotel, which should have real ale but doesn’t, and go on to the High Street. Again, the Mad Cow is advertised as having one hand pump but doesn’t have any real ale or many customers either. Could there be a connection here? Continue down the High Street and left onto Regent Street, Shanklin’s main shopping precinct, to the junction with Falcon Cross Road and the FALCON. This is probably the only pub in the town you could regard as a street-corner local. It is a one roomed, recently refurbished, comfortable and traditional locals’ pub. And as such it is quite busy. At the front is a large wooden-framed fireplace, with solid wooden furniture, carpeted throughout and with framed brewery pictures hanging from the walls. At the rear is a raised games area with darts and pool. Three beers on offer; Mardens Gales HSB, Sharps Doom Bar and Jennings Cumberland.

From here, out of the front door, straight across the road and down to North Road, and after a left turn and you are in the PIG & WHISTLE. This is a modern stone-built pub with two rooms, furniture and décor being equally modern. A bit soulless to my mind, mainly a dining establishment with a pool room at the back. A choice of two beers; Sharps Doom Bar and Goddards Fuggle Dee Dum.

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Hideaway Bar Here was the HIDEAWAY BAR, a quirky brick and wood shack of a café bar, with two minute rooms. The larger, with about four tables replete with tablecloths, was set out for dining; the smaller had two leather settees and little room for anything else. The tiny bar of this micro venue had one pin of Island White Knight on gravity, in good form. At the side is a large lawned and paved beer garden, (at least three times the size of the building) which is a glorious sun-trap and has superb views of Sandown Bay and Culver cliffs. There is another small beer garden on the other side. If approaching from the Esplanade end it is about 200yards along the Coastal Path.

All-in-all a reasonable walk around the town’s drinking establishments and with a good selection of the island’s breweries’ products, although very little else except nationals and regionals.

Words from our chairman

Chairmans Corner In this edition, I thought I’d write about my own views on something that really stirs the passions amongst CAMRA’s membership – craft keg.

I frequently read letters in What’s Brewing that put member views at polar opposites and it was in fact an article in another branch’s magazine that inspired me to tackle this pretty tough topic as my first proper article as Chairman.

My view is quite simply that I am pro-choice on how beer is dispensed and as a consumer, no matter in what market, being able to choose from multiple options is a good thing. Before you spit your cask-dispensed beer in disgust, read on as to why I think this!

I completely understand that when CAMRA was first formed, cask ale was under serious threat from keg beers. CAMRA’s tireless campaigning has effectively saved cask ale and now we have more choice of cask ale than ever before and it continues to grow. In Leeds alone, for example, we now have 14 different breweries. For me, the original aims of the campaign have been achieved. No matter how strong keg beer becomes (and let’s face it, there’s been an explosion in keg beers in recent years), I don’t see cask ale ever becoming the endangered species it once was.

The recent explosion in kegged beer, in my view, has actually helped boost further the popularity of cask ale, rather than hinder it. I’ve tried many keg beers, a lot are imports from the US and the ‘New World’ and for me it’s clear to see these beers have inspired greater variety of flavour in the cask world. Brewers are becoming brave with their ingredients and it’s a good time to be a cask ale drinker.

For the UK brewers of kegged beer, it helps them add shelf-life to their brews. More often than not though, you’ll also find the same beers still available as a cask too. Being able to offer this choice not only supports the breweries in exposing their products to previously uncharted territory but also enables landlords and pub managers to get a range of products in to satisfy the consumer.

The sentence that inspired me to write this article was in Sheffield’s ‘Beer Matters’ July edition and said “We should remind ourselves of our aims, and as we did in the 70’s, discourage our pubs to sell it”. I’m afraid I cannot agree with that statement. CAMRA’s tagline is “Campaigning for real ale, pubs & drinkers' rights since 1971”; by taking a stance that will stifle choice, I feel we’re not campaigning for either pubs or drinkers’ rights at all.

I’m not suggesting we start singing from the rooftops about keg, but there’s no reason to me for us to be so negative towards it any more.

I think if CAMRA is to continue to be successful we need to recognise the changes in the drinking behaviour of consumers and that landlords and breweries need choice to be able to survive and thrive. 28 pubs a week are closing across the UK, our aims are best served by saving them, and not wasting effort on telling them they shouldn’t be using a particular dispense system.

For me, sometimes, some attitudes I come across make it feel like we are still in the 1970’s – we aren’t. Times have changed, they continue to change and we should adapt what we do to keep up.

Absolutely we should support and encourage cask ale, but don’t stifle the right to choose!

Mike Hampshire Leeds CAMRA Chairman

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diary dates

Appointment with Beer Leeds CAMRA holds a formal business-style meeting in a closed room (one with a door, not an area of a bar) on the first Tuesday of every month. The meeting starts at 7:30pm and has an approximate finishing time of 9:30pm. CAMRA members are advised to check “What’s Brewing” for confirmation of meeting locations and for details of other events. A full listing of events is also published at www.leeds-camra.com where it is regularly updated. Leeds CAMRA is organised and run entirely by unpaid volunteers. All members are always welcome at meetings and socials.

Thank You for Having Us! Thanks to Whitelocks, Briggate, The Packhorse, Woodhouse and The Grove Inn, Holbeck for hosting this month’s Open Branch Meetings.

Thanks also to The Owl, Rodley and the Garden Gate, Hunslet for inviting us to their newly reopened venues. It’s much appreciated.

Don’t be a Wazzock!

Don’t Drink and Drive.

Public transport information for the Leeds area is available from Metro offices and at wymetro.com There really is no excuse.

September 2014 Thurs 11th Sept Launch of the Good Beer Guide 2015, Veritas, 43 Great George St Leeds, 7.30pm Tue 16th Sept Joint Most Improved Pub Presentation, Woodies Craft Ale House, 104 Otley Rd, Headingley, 7.30pm

West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service Tel: 0113 253 0241 PO Box 5, Nepshaw Lane South, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS27 0QP

Thurs 25th Sept Joint Most Improved Pub Presentation, Wetherspoons, North Concourse, Leeds City Station, 7.30pm Sat 27th Sept Social - Sheffield by Train, Meeting on the 11.11am Cross Country train to Sheffield, arriving into Sheffield at 11.52 and meeting in the Sheffield Tap on platform one shortly afterwards.

October 2014 Tue 7th Oct Open branch committee meeting, Garden Gate, Whitfield Place, Hunslet, 7.30pm Sat 18th Oct Chapel Allerton Social, the Woods, 5 Stainbeck Corner, 2pm The Regent, 15-17 Regent Street, 4pm Tues 28th Oct City Centre Wethercrawl, Stick or Twist, 7.30pm, Hedley Verity, 8.30pm & Cuthbert Brodrick, 9.30pm

November 2014 Tues 4th Nov Open Branch Committee Meeting, venue to be confirmed. Check website for details.

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