Ale and Hearty: Autumn 2012

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SOUTHPORT & WEST LANCS CAMRA MAGAZINE

Ale & Hearty ISSUE 62 AUTUMN 2012

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Home Cooked Food Served Daily Mon - Sat Lunchtimes 12 noon - 2.00pm Evenings 6.00pm - 8.30pm Sunday all day 12 noon - 8.00pm QUIZ NIGHT - Tuesday 9.00pm LIVE MUSIC EVERY FRI & SAT SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR DETAILS

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13th SANGROUNDER BEER FESTIVAL ❖ Interview With Southport Brewery ❖ ❖ Beer Festivals ❖ Pubs Of The Year ❖ ❖ Local Pub News ❖ Classic Pub ❖ ❖ Social Trips & Meetings ❖

www.southportcamra.org.uk

alehearty@aol.com

The Last Word – What Is Craft Beer?

Definition of craft from the Cambridge Dictionary: “(a job or activity needing) skill and experience, especially in relation to making objects.”

Most beer drinkers won’t have noticed because they’ve got better things to do, but in the extremes of the beer drinking world, there are snooty, superior beings who consider they are discerning iconoclasts: they drink craft beer. What is craft beer? Basically, posh keg.

My view is that people can drink whatever they like, but that’s not good enough; they demand on beer blogs that CAMRA embrace these new keg styles or, they tell us, it will be left behind, and become outdated and irrelevant. Some write about this in a “more in sorrow than in anger” manner, while others shower unrestrained abuse upon CAMRA members. You’d think they were all devil worshippers sacrificing virgins - in beards, sandals and Arran sweaters, of course rather than just ordinary people with only one thing in common: they like real ale.

What’s the definition of craft keg? There isn’t one, which makes it hard to rally to this particular cause: “What do we want?” “Not quite sure.” Individual craft drinkers have their own, different ideas.

In recent years, some new breweries have decided to follow the American example and brew quality beer for kegs. The main reason why American brewers do this is because they lost their real ale traditions when the Prohibition wiped out most old American beer styles; they didn’t deliberately reject real ale. Scottish brewery BrewDog produce only keg beer now, and Hardknott, Meantime and Thornbridge are some of the breweries producing the new keg beer alongside real ale. The beer is often sold in modern bars at inflated prices, but craft drinkers love to pay over the odds to show how discerning they are.

Then you get another “debate” as to whether real ale can be craft, with opinions going 34

both ways. Applying the definition of craft at the top of the page, it’s clear that real ale can’t be excluded. Some craft drinkers argue that the term should apply to small, artisanal breweries, which ignores the fact that the term “craft brewer” was coined by the American Brewers Association, who define it as a brewery producing up to 6 million barrels of beer per year!

Craft drinkers want a definition, ignoring the fact that, with no broad agreement, if anyone dreamt one up, loads of dissenters would cry “sell-out”. Real ale has a definition both in the dictionary and in law, but there can’t be one for craft beer when there are so many different ideas what it is. To be fair, though, I’d bet most people who drink craft beer couldn’t care less about a definition, don’t ever go near a beer blog, and never give a thought to CAMRA policies or what real ale drinkers prefer. It is, after all, a beer style, not a movement, but you’d never know that from the way some people write about it.

What about their predictions, such as CAMRA going into decline? Membership is increasing year after year; a lot of organisations would welcome that type of decline. They say craft is the beer of the future? Real ale is the only sector of the beer market showing any increase in market share, and it now outsells keg, craft or otherwise.

I don’t have a problem with the existence of craft beer, including keg, and wouldn’t refuse to try it, if I knew where to buy it – nowhere local, as far as I know. It annoys me when craft drinkers start telling the Campaign for Real Ale (clue in the name, chaps) that it should embrace a style that most of its members don’t want, proved by repeated votes at CAMRA’s AGM. Either form your own organisation - CAMRA began with just four men in a pub - or join CAMRA, get active and try to change the system from within. But, for heaven’s sake, just stop whingeing on blogs.

The 13th Sandgrounder Beer Festival ~ 25 to 27 October Summer was a bit of a washout, wasn’t it?

Not good for CAMRA Southport and West Lancs Branch. The tourist and agriculture businesses in our area have taken a serious hit in general, and when the local economy is affected, so are our pubs. Southport pubs rely on trippers and holidaymakers to boost their trade in summer, and our West Lancs country pubs need the good weather to drag us townies out to visit.

afternoon, which will be an unamplified acoustic music and song session, plus – we hope - Morris and Longsword dancing by the Argarmeles Clog and the Southport Swords.

But although we haven’t had a summer worth the name, we in CAMRA are doing our best to brighten up autumn with the 13th Sandgrounder Beer Festival. It’s a month later this year and it’s in a new venue: Thursday 25 to Saturday 27 October at St John’s Hall, Wright Street, Southport (near Southport railway station and just around the corner from the Albert Hotel).

£3 admission to each daily session, but FREE to card carrying CAMRA members.

St Johns Hall is our third venue. The festival was held in the Arts Centre for the first ten years, until the council closed the building down for major rebuilding. The Scarisbrick Hotel on Lord Street stepped in and offered us a venue, but after our first festival there, it was taken over by a national hotel chain, which honoured the booking for the second festival, but as they had decided to convert the function rooms that we had used, we had to move again.

We’ll be selling more than 50 varied real ales, plus ciders, perries and fruit wines.

Unlike last year, food will be readily available at the festival, supplied by the Lancashire Bakehouse of Burscough. The only entertainment planned is on the Saturday

Opening times: Thursday 25th: 6pm to 11 pm Friday 26th: midday to 11pm Saturday 27th: midday to 11pm.

Price:

If you want to join, turn to page 35.

-----------------------------------------------------Have you signed the Beer Tax Petition?

An e-petition to the Government against the beer duty escalator has reached 100,000 signatures, which means that the matter now has to be debated in Parliament. As I’m sure most Ale & Hearty readers will know, the beer tax escalator increases the tax on beer by 2% above the rate of inflation, and is a significant reason why beer has gone up in our local pubs so drastically in recent years, and - in my opinion - why pubs have been closing down in such numbers in recent years.

I have written previously about this issue so I will just remind you of one fact: the UK pays 40% of the beer tax in the EU, with the 26 other countries paying the remaining 60%.

We can’t blame Brussels for that - we in the UK created this all by ourselves. To clear up one misconception, the e-petition doesn’t call for a tax cut, just for the end of above inflation tax rises. With at least one third of the price of a pint going to the Exchequer, beer drinkers are doing more than their fair share for the economy.

It’s not too late to sign, and more signatures will give the petition even more clout. The e-petition is at this website address: http://tinyurl.com/7yo5ocy Neville Grundy 3

CAMRA Southport Branch Diary: October 2012 to February 2013 DATE - 2012 Wed 10th October Sat 13th October Sat 20th October Thur-Sat 25-27th Oct Wed 14th November Sat 17th November Sat 24th November Sun 2nd December Sun 9th December Wed 12th December Sat 15th December

VENUE Bold Arms, Churchtown Park Tavern Macclesfield Southport Town St John’s Ambulance Hall, Southport Guest House, Southport Coronation Hall, Ulverston Westhead/Ormskirk Pubs Freshfield Hotel, Formby West Lancs Pubs Formby Conservative Club Liverpool Pubs

2013 Sat 12th January Black Horse, Preston Sat 19th January West Lancs Pubs Sat 26th January Wed 20th February Southport & Birkdale Sports Club

PURPOSE Open Branch Meeting M & C Regional Meeting Cider Month Trail 13th Southport Sandgrounder Beerfest Open Branch Meeting West Pennines Regional Meeting Branch Social 375 bus Branch Social & Buffet Branch Social by Coach Open Branch Meeting Branch Social by Train M & C Regional Meeting Lancashire Branches Meeting Branch Social by Coach AGM/New Committee 2013

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Fiddler’s Lancashire Crisps are produced on a local farm in Rufford, West Lancashire from own grown quality potatoes and are now appearing in many pubs, clubs, bars, shops, etc, in the Lancashire, Cumbria, Manchester and Cheshire area. John and Judith Fiddler work on their family farm with five other members of their family and do everything themselves, from planting, frying, packaging and delivering to wholesalers. The Lancashire Hotpots, a folk band who devote their songs to the county, endorse the crisps at their concerts. They throw sample packets of the various flavours into the crowd and have had people come up at the end of gigs to get their packets signed by the band. This family-run business, which was highly commended by the Countryside Alliance, has spent the last year trying to break into the market and are always on the look out for new stockists. If you would like to try a sample pack of the five different flavours contact www.fiddlerslancashirecrisps.co.uk Jeff Carter, Southport, Lancashire.

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Just a note to inform CAMRA members that the Stocks Tavern, Alder Lane, Parbold are currently offering a 50p discount per pint of cask ale to card carrying members. On a recent visit there were five real ales on offer including Bank Top, Dunscar Bridge and Prospect all served in excellent condition with a warm welcome.

Although the Stocks is just outside our branch the scenic village of Parbold is easily reached with a twenty minute ride from Southport on the Wig-anne roller coaster and enjoys four real ale pubs the Railway, Windmill, Stocks Tavern and Wayfarer all within easy staggering distance and ideal for a leisurely crawl.

Jeff Carter, Southport, Lancashire.

Editor’s note: Thanks Jeff for both letters.

Proof that membership has its privileges. If you are interested in joining CAMRA and getting perks as Jeff describes, plus Wetherspoon’s vouchers worth £20, free or reduced entry into CAMRA beer festivals and belonging to the most successful consumer campaign in the UK, you will find an application form on page 35.

ANOTHER DAY IN THE BROAD ACRES In the previous issue I wrote about a day out in Hebden Bridge which two of our distinguished members recently explored on an extremely wet but they claim still enjoyable day out in April courtesy of local coach company, TV Travel.

On a recent visit myself on a Saturday I took the York train from Preston and the carriage was full of West Ham football fans travelling to Burnley for an important championship fixture against the Clarets, I was subjected to numerous renditions of “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles2 with bubbles floating around the carriage, but it was all in extremely good humour.

On arrival in Hebden 50 minutes later I caught the No E bus service from the railway station to the New Delight, which is the home of Bridestones brewery. The New Delight is situated in a rugged remote location called Blackshaw Head, high up between Burnley and Hebden Bridge, and is very popular with walkers and those who appreciate good ale, good food and good views. Two Bridestones beers and two guests were on offer. Catching the hourly bus service back towards Hebden which stops right outside the pub in both directions I dropped off in the delightful hilltop old weaving village of Heptonstall, which now boasts two excellent free houses: the Cross

Inn and White Lion. These are two proper pubs with plenty of character and characters which offer a warm and friendly welcome, with a good selection of beers and food. Both pubs can be found on the narrow cobbled street named Towngate which I understand has changed very little in the last 200 years in this wonderfully preserved Pennine village built on a hill.

Heptonstall has two ancient churches both in the same churchyard one in ruins and one very much still in use, and there are many snickets and places of interest to explore with many stunning views overlooking Hebden Bridge. This village is one of West Yorkshire’s best-kept secrets and is well worth seeking out. Retuning to Hebden Bridge there was just time for a quick call in The Trades Club, Railway and Moyles Bar before the obligatory visit to the excellent Crown Fisheries for some snap. Hebden Bridge is only four stops from Preston on the hourly York service with trains departing at 55 minutes to the hour usually from platform 2 and the buses depart right outside the station to various locations.

Jeff Carter, Southport, Lancashire.

“More Women Drinking Beer” - Sainsbury In 2002, Gordon Brown introduced Progressive Beer Duty, which allowed smaller breweries to pay less tax on their products. It is generally credited with being a significant factor in the huge increase in the number of microbreweries. According to Sainsbury’s, it has led to another interesting and unforeseen effect, that more women are drinking beer because, with more breweries, there are more varieties that appeal to women.

Sainsbury’s beer buyer Nicky Millington said, ‘There has definitely been a rise in women trying beers as there are a whole load of new tastes such as espresso, mocha, lemon, ginger and honey which appeal to them more

than the traditional brown ales.’ She added that there were also more women working in brewing.

I find this interesting, although she does seem to be suggesting that the way to get women drinking beer is via novelty ales. But if beer is not seen as a monoculture, if the perception is that there is a variety of different flavours to be had, that must be a good thing. Flavoured beers aren’t going to displace the more conventional ales that many of us usually drink. But even I enjoyed a pint of honey beer at the Ship Beer, Pie and Sausage Festival in Lathom recently.

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NEW POLICY WILL HELP SAVE PUBS The National Planning Policy Framework – not words likely to get anyone’s pulse racing are they? Yet this new document is a powerful weapon in the battle to protect our beleaguered pubs.

Over recent years, we’ve lost huge numbers of pubs through conversion to housing and other uses needing planning permission.

When Councils consider planning applications, they must take into account not only their detailed local policies but also the broader national policies. Until March 2012, those national policies occupied a legion of documents totalling over 1000 pages. Some policies were vaguely helpful to pubs, albeit mainly rural ones.

The new Framework sweeps away this complex set of rules, replacing them with just 52 pages of policy guidance. Thanks to intensive lobbying by CAMRA, this new guidance includes national policies which are potentially very helpful to community facilities like pubs. Most importantly, Councils are told to “guard against the unnecessary loss of valued facilities and services” which specifically includes community pubs. What’s also crucial is that these rules apply to all pubs, urban and rural.

Councils must have in place, by March 2013, local planning policies consistent with the Framework; in the meantime, Framework policies should generally be applied.

So what does all this mean if your local is threatened by an unwanted planning application? You should object to the Council, of course, but when doing so, make sure to refer to the relevant policies in the Framework.

If you can show that loss of the pub would reduce the local community’s ability to meet its day-to-day needs, then the Council should refuse the application. CAMRA has produced an advice note on the best wording to use and this can be found, along with much other information on planning issues, at www.camra. org.uk/nppf or if you would like any of these 32

documents posted to you then please phone CAMRA’s Campaigns Officer Claire Cain on 01727 798 454.

The Framework is already making an impact.

Councils in Cambridge and the Fylde have used it to refuse planning applications to convert pubs to houses. In those cases, the applicants have appealed against the refusal and, in each case, the Government inspector, considering the appeal, has dismissed it largely because approval would run counter to Framework policies.

Sadly, not every development adversely affecting pubs needs planning consent – conversion to a restaurant or a shop for instance. CAMRA is campaigning hard to get planning law changed in these areas. In the meantime, the new Framework is very much a step in the right direction.

If you have any issues regarding a campaign to save a local pub in your area please contact CAMRA’s Local Planning Policy Advisor Paul Ainsworth on paul.ainsworth@camra.org.uk or go to camra.org.uk/nppf CAMRA campaigns against pub closures, and locally our Branch has done so recently in relation to the Becconsall in Hesketh Bank and the Railway in Hoscar. This article shows how individuals as well as organisations can take on the system. – Ed. ALE & HEARTY TEAM Editor Neville Grundy Tel: 01704 532230 E-mail: alehearty@aol.com Finance Doug Macadam Tel: 07714 265096 E-mail: dougmacadam@hotmail.com Branch Contact: Mike Perkins Tel: 01704 573768 E-mail: mikepcamra@gmail.com All items for inclusion to Editor at 1 Melling Road, Southport, PR9 9DU or e-mail alehearty@aol.com

PUB NEWS The Railway in Hoscar was closed and it looks uncertain at present about its status as West Lancashire Council recently approved a planning application for housing conversion, despite our branch objection submission. This follows on from the loss of the Blue Bell in Barton and the Becconsall in Hesketh Bank.

What they all have in common is that they are all rural or village pubs. Sad. Both the two Southport Wetherspoon pubs, the Segrave and the Willow Grove continue a varying range of beers at good prices, and a beer festival is scheduled for 24 October to 11 November (Halloween period) further enhancing the range at both pubs. A new Wetherspoons opened recently in nearby Maghull, the Frank Hornby, the building that originally housed the Everest pub.

Farmers’ Arms in Burscough was offering Tetley Dark Mild and Bitter, plus Bass and Moorhouse Pride of Pendle.

The excellent Inn Beer Shop in Lord Street usually has a Southport Brewery beer on tap, with a fantastic range of bottled beers from all over the world, this bar now features in next year’s CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

The Windmill Inn in Southport often has S & N and Theakston beers on offer, whilst the nearby Bold Hotel, with a very pleasant atmosphere, offers beers from the Marston range.

The tiny Lakeside Inn, still claims to be the smallest pub, and usually has on sale London Pride and Spitfire beers, both from the southeast.

The Imperial near Hesketh Park offers the Manchester Holt’s beers, with a varying seasonable brew on offer.

The Coronation, Falstaff and George in Southport, Blundell Arms in Birkdale, the Railway at Ainsdale, Plough in Crossens, Red Squirrel and Weld Blundell at Ince Blundell are all sadly still offering no cask

conditioned beers. The Up Steps in Birkdale remains closed.

The Park in Birkdale, now also in next year’s CAMRA GBG, sells Black Sheep, Wainwright and Jennings Cumberland. The pub has a good value food menu. Elsewhere in Birkdale the Fishermen’s Rest is vastly popular with a good range of beers, and is also in the next Good Beer Guide, and the Tea Rooms on Liverpool Road have been selling beer from the Liverpool Organic Brewery range. The Sands in Ainsdale usually has a Moorhouse beer on offer.

The Pheasant in Hightown had an unusual and nice Adnam Topaz Gold on tap, and the nearby Hightown Hotel had a range of 9 real ales, including Lancaster Blonde and the now rare Bass and John Smith’s Cask beers.

In West Lancashire the Bridge in Burscough had Courage Directors and Wychwood Hobgoblin for sale. The nearby Hop Vine had its usual fantastic range of beers from its own brewery and also those from Black Jack and Mayflower on sale. The Ring O’ Bells in Lathom (now newly in next year’s GBG) often has an interesting range from Prospect, Liverpool Organic, Thwaites and Copper Dragon. Sometimes cider such as Saxon Silver Cloud is also available. The Heaton’s Bridge, a largely unspoilt pub, had Moorhouse Black Cat, Jennings Cumberland, and an interesting Tetley’s House beer: Heaton’s Bridge Inn Cask Ale on the bar.

The Cheshire Lines in King Street, Southport, has recently been reopened after a tasteful refurbishment that highlights the old Cheshire Lines railway after which the pub is named. It will still be serving food, but the big news here is that this formerly Tetley’s-only house is now serving changing guest beers.

Recently they had Marston’s EPA, Marston’s Pedigree Thwaite’s Original and Tetley Bitter, and the licensee intends to approach local microbrewers. All welcome developments in this picturesque pub.

Continued on page 6

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PUB NEWS Cont’d from page 5 The Arion pub in Kenilworth Road, Ainsdale, was recently selling Marston’s EPA, Marston’s Pedigree, Banks’ Mild and Old Hooky. It’s an attractively decorated modern pub that is well known for its food. Large car park if you’re taking the family for Sunday lunch.

The Railway in Duke Street, Formby, had six different real ales during a recent midweek visit: Thwaites Original, Itchen Valley Junga, Sunny Republic Huna Red, Liverpool Organic 24 Carat, Thwaite’s Original, and Downton Chocolate Orange Delight. They usually have nine on at weekends. Good food selection.

Right next door to Formby railway station.

The Guest House in Union Street, Southport, was very recently selling Last Leaf, Thwaite’s Wainwright, Everard’s Tiger, Deuchars IPA, Oakwell Mild, Theakston’s Old Peculier, Autumn Red, Mellow Yellow, Adnams Southwold, and Bombardier. They always have one beer for £2.50, usually from Phoenix or Southport. There are acoustic music sessions on the first and third Mondays of the month.

The Volunteer in Eastbank Street, Southport, was serving a nice pint of Thwaite’s Wainwright recently. They also quite regularly have live music.

The Mount Pleasant in Manchester Road, Southport, has recently taken the interesting step of showing films in the pub. They also have live bands every Saturday, have a good food menu, and serve well-kept Tetley cask bitter.

The Ship in Haskayne at time of going to press was preparing for its beer festival 11 – 14 October. Recently it was serving Burscough Mere Blonde, Coastal Hop Monster (from Cornwall), Greene King IPA Gold, and Holts Bitter.

The Sandgrounder Bar on Lord Street was opened earlier this year. It is a sports bar, so the big screens will be active when there is a big sporting event. On two recent visits when no major event was on, the screens were on but silent. They sell Sandgrounder Bitter from Southport Brewery all the time and recently also had Burscough Thoroughgood (5.1%) in good condition. On an earlier visit, it was Southport Golden Sands.

The Greyhound, an unspoilt multi-roomed pub on Aughton Street in Ormskirk was recently selling Pennine Real Blonde, Prospect Tiger Eye, Jennings Lakeland and Tetley Bitter.

This is a former Walkers pub and the mosaic floor as you enter shows the intertwined initials WC, which probably stands for Walker Cain.

The Mason’s Arms, Anchor Street, Southport, was serving a nice pint of Robinson’s Dizzy Blonde recently instead of the usual Unicorn.

The acoustic music and song sessions on the first and third Wednesdays of the month recently began again.

The Albert on London Street, Southport (by the station) was selling real Hobgoblin when the Branch held a meeting there recently

The Ship in Lathom held it’s second annual Beer, Pie and Sausage Festival in September with 35 handpulled beers and 15 ciders in a beer tent erected just for the festival. There were also specially prepared pies and local sausages, and a performance by Dave Sharp, guitarist with The Alarm. The beers were excellent when members of the Branch visited.

The Hesketh Arms in Churchtown put on small beer festival with live music over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Don’t forget the Sandgrounder Beer Festival, Southport Wed 25 to Fri 27 October ~ full details on page 3 6

RUCK & MAUL Continued from page 30 3. have a loose-head whilst propping up the bar at the Tea Rooms, another supporter of the club; 2. and a tight-head whilst propping up the bar at The Crown, the nearest pub to the club with an association going back to the non-licensed clubhouse days pre-1952.

And finally a stroll down Arundel Road gets you to Waterloo Road, the fourth and the much loved home of the club where 1. a hooker or four await your company... and a pint of ‘Ruck of Maul’.

Seriously the club will welcome all CAMRA members on match days to sample ‘Ruck & Maul’ and the ambience of grass roots rugby as it should be; a club run by volunteers supporting a game played by amateurs. With seventeen teams from u6 to Seniors, including a new Ladies team the club house is buzzing on a Saturday afternoon and evenings,

and on Sunday lunchtimes throughout the season. Check out the Southport Visiter for the fixtures or the SRFC web site www. southportrfc.com If you cant make it down to Waterloo road please support the hostelries and off licences that support the club. And when it comes to ‘Ruck & Maul’ remember to Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage…and Enjoy! (actually that’s to do with scrummaging but who cares?)

Graham Ellis SRFC Club Historian and Beer Monster.

Editor’s note: Thanks for that offer, Graham; I’ve had the Ruck & Maul and it’s an excellent pint. I used to play rugby (badly) a very long time ago, but there’s been far too much beer under the bridge since then to restart my career!

See our Branch Website at

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All advertising enquiries to the editor ☎ 01704 532230 or email us on alehearty@aol.com Ale & Hearty is the CAMRA Southport & District Branch’s local magazine, published three times a year and distributed free of charge to pubs, clubs, beer festivals, tourist offices and other outlets within and beyond our branch area of North Sefton and West Lancashire. 4,500 issues are printed, supported by advertisers, and each copy is usually read by several people, mostly beer drinkers.

www.southportcamra.org.uk 31

RUCK & MAUL On 29th November this year it will be 140 years since the gentlemen of Southport Rugby Football Club first decided to indulge themselves in the so-called game for hooligans. In recognition this momentous milestone the club has joined forces with The Southport Brewery Company to celebrate the anniversary season with its own special brew.

The 140 Committee unanimously decided to go for the generically understood name ‘Ruck & Maul’ to educate imbibers in some of the finer but often misunderstood facets of the game. In simple terms for the uninitiated the laws of rugby state that a ruck occurs when a player (or players) from each side make contact with each other over the ball, which is on the ground and a maul is created when the player handling the ball is held up (but not tackled) by an opposing player, and at least one team-mate of the player in possession of the ball binds to the ball-holder. Simples!

Of more interest to CAMRA aficionadoes, and indeed to most SRFC players, is that the 4.0% beer is traditionally handcrafted using the finest Maris otter and Crystal malted barley, together with a blend of English Boadicea and Pioneer hops. It is light bronze in colour with a subtle bitterness leading to a pleasant lemon and grapefruit flavour.

‘Ruck & Maul’ will be available on draught and in bottles throughout the season in the main bar at the home of the rugby club on Waterloo Road, Hillside and at various establishments in the town, many of which have been favoured watering holes for players and members over the years.

Southport Brewery Speaks to Ale & Hearty

14. left wing one at The Masons Arms, another supporter of the club; 13. one outside centre of The Guest House; 12. one inside centre of the Inn Beer Shop, again one of the club sponsors; 11. right wing one at The Rabbit; 10. a fly half at The Mount Pleasant; Then just after Manchester Road becomes Roe Lane pass the site of the first ground.

This was a field adjoining the established Alexandra Cricket Club, but is now covered by houses on Melling and Irton Roads.

Continue and turn up Norwood Road towards Blowick and have a 9. scrum half at The Thatched Bar & Grill, the site of The Blowick. In December 1984 a Southport Presidents XV played a Blowick Select XV in memory of Dave Williamson; 8. sink number eight at The Grandstand Bar, home of the Sandgrounders and successor to the original rugby club (Southport RFC was originally Southport FC); 7. pull a blind-side flanker at The Richmond Then return to the town centre along Scarisbrick New Road and opposite the demolished former General Infirmary pass by the site of the clubs second home the former Mornington Ground now covered by houses on Falkland Road. Head for Lord Street and 6. pull an open-side Sandgrounder;

flanker

at

The

5. lock forward at the front of the Cheshire Lines, a favourite haunt of Southport players in years gone by;

Indeed why not challenge yourself to undertake to seek out ‘Ruck & Maul’ in the Southport RFC 140 Thirst XV Challenge, whilst supporting advertisers in ‘Ale & Hearty’ at the same time taking in each of the four grounds in the town that the club has played:

Then walk along Rotten Row past Victoria Park the clubs third home, Ho Lee Chows being the building where the players changed but without washing facilities then

15. full back the first pint at The Barons Bar, a long time supporter of the club;

4. lock forward in the middle of the line at The Fishermen’s Rest;

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Continued on page 31

Southport Brewery is a source of great pride for Southport beer drinkers. It was founded in 2004 by Paul Barsdley and the beers have been winning awards ever since, most notably at the Great British Beer festival in 2009. Here Paul discusses his passion for real ale in an exclusive interview with Ale & Hearty.

Brewing and drinking real ale have been a passion of mine (Paul Bardsley), and my brothers (John and Peter) for years. On joining Southport CAMRA I wanted to get involved and help with the campaign. For 3 years I was the Social Secretary and Treasurer of Southport CAMRA and arranged several real ale tours to many towns pubs and breweries. Seeing, tasting and experiencing the fun and pleasure of this craft ignited a desire in me to brew my own beer. I began collecting tasting notes and flavours, building up knowledge about brewing beer that I now use in my pursuit of quality real ale.

After a period of time as a home brewer I became commercially involved in brewing beer in 2004. What a leap of faith that was. It is one thing to be brewing for fun, experimenting with different malts and hop to being responsible for producing beers that have to be consistently of good quality and flavour while being liked by a most discerning group of drinkers. A decision not to be made carelessly.

When the business was in its infancy I worked alone, doing all the tasks of running a business as well as brewing the beer and delivering it.

Eventually the growth of the business dictated that support was needed and I appointed a part time member of staff, Ian Rogers to help with the deliveries. Ian has now retired and I have a full time member of staff, my stepson Jason Barton who assists with the brewing, deliveries and running of the business.

While I was enjoying the learning experience of drinking beer and home brewing I worked in several local firms in the horticultural industry.

My last job in this area was at J A Jones of Churchtown, who I represented for 17 years as a site supervisor.

Our brewery business is established around a core range of 5 beers, but without a doubt our most successful beer is Golden Sands. This citrus packed Golden Ale was voted, SIBA Northern Champion and then Champion best bitter of Britain at the Great British Beer Festival (2009). To put this award in perspective, it is an industry benchmark of high regard, voted by the drinking public throughout the country at regional and local beer festivals. It’s equivalent to winning the FA Cup. Our five core beers range in strength from a good session beer of 3.8% up to a not overly strong 4.3% ABV, varying in colour from golden through amber and copper to our speciality dark beers (Old Shrimper (5.5%) and Dark Night). All our beers are brewed in a traditional method, ‘mashed’ and managed by hand. We brew in Southport, so each beer is named after a local feature or event in the area. You’ll see names like Sandgrounder, Natterjack, Carousel and Cyclone along side Golden Sands and High Tide. Through the year we celebrate certain events with seasonal specials such as Dark Night, Santa’s Brew, National Hero and Old Shrimper. As it is Olympic Year, we are releasing a limited edition Olympic ale.

A complimentary question we often get asked by people is where can we find your beers?

The best answer we can give is locally in Southport and within a 30mile radius of the town, to be within keeping with the CAMRA local ale campaign. Some of the places in Southport to find our cask beers regularly are the Guest House (recently voted CAMRA pub of Southport), The Inn Beer Shop, Scarisbrick Hotel and Southport Football Club on match days. While our bottle beers and gift packs can be bought at Lancashire Heroes, Portland Wines, The Inn Beer Shop and the Drink Cellar.

There are other places in the region but we can’t list all of the places due to limited space.

We also find that part of the fun of real ale drinking is seeking out those places that sell quality real ales. Just ask a CAMRA member they are in the know. We apologise to those Continued on page 8

7

Southport Brewery Speaks to Ale & Hearty Cont’d from page 7 publicans whom we don’t mention and hope you understand.

• release of the grip the beer tie has on certain publicans and for

Outside of this 30mile radius we use national wholesale distributors to transport our beers like Flying Firkin and Boggart, who have sent our beers to all four corners of England and even Wales and Scotland.

• supermarkets to charge a fair and proper price for alcohol in general. This later point is receiving national attention as supermarkets sell cheap alcohol, but don’t have any of the social responsibilities that a publican has if people become drunk, unruly or aggressive on their premises. Not to mention creating a false expectation that beer or alcohol is cheap to produce.

I would like to use this opportunity to thank some people who have been supportive and helpful in the success of Southport Brewery.

Firstly Southport CAMRA has been great, not only in drinking my beer and supporting the ‘cause’ of real ale and pubs in Southport, but for also setting Golden Sands on its way to success. For several years running Golden Sands and Cyclone were voted as the Beers of the Festival at the Southport Beer Festival.

In addition there are many customers and suppliers who I would like to thank, but the list is long, space is limited and I don’t wont to bore you or your pint may go flat while you read through them all. I must however thank my wife, Elaine, who gave me the support and confidence to pursue my dream to become a brewer and create this family business.

Right now the real ale industry is under going a renaissance of growth. We hear of new breweries opening up on a monthly basis and both CAMRA and SIBA talk of over 800 microbreweries being established nationally.

The number of different beers available is staggering. This journey began 30years ago, but gathered real momentum in the last decade. What a success when you consider the rate of pub closures and a decline in overall beers sales/consumption. Real ale is bucking the trend by providing a good quality product, in a friendly, responsible environment, with knowledgeable staff, that is associated to the people and place it’s brewed in. However before we go off to the pub to celebrate victory there are some areas for concern. What would really help the small microbrewer would be • a reduction in the rate of beer duty we pay, • an additional decline on the rate of VAT on beer (currently 20%), 8

Happy Birthday Good Beer Guide This year CAMRA is 40 years old, and on the 13th of September it was The Good Beer Guide’s 40th Birthday. We were fortunate to be in the Isle of Man on that day and got invited

by Angela the Isle of Man branch rep to a fun quiz night which turned out to be a birthday party with sandwiches and of course a cake for the Good Beer Guide.

4. Who stared in Vander Valk?

5. If cider is made from apples what is perry made from?

I have probably taxed your brain enough by now. My group was called Southport Team Ale and came 2nd, so we all won Good Beer Guide 2012. The winners got a brand new 2013 edition

• Knowledgeable bar and cellar staff who understand that real ale is not to be treated like keg beer, needing time to settle and condition before serving.

• Finally the appearance of cheap, poor quality beer not only harms the microbreweries business, it also damages the reputation of real ale, giving beer in general a bad name.

I am fortunate that the running of the microbrewery keeps me busy during the day and into the evening. Sadly I rarely get a regular chance for a pint after work, as there is still paper work to do after a day brewing beer. When I do get the chance to enjoy a pint I love drinking my own beers as well as those of other brewers. I like all styles of real ale, be they stouts, porters, best bitters, mild, or blonde, all very refreshing. What is most satisfying is to drink a good quality beer, brewed locally to the area I am drinking in, by brewers who care for the beer, the publican and the customer.

Many real ale drinkers are members of CAMRA, the campaign for real ale. Who, if it were not for their determination and foresight we would probably not be here today drinking such fine, handcrafted real ales. The explosion in small breweries would not have happened and beer would not be an item on the public agenda, had CAMRA not fought against the spread of keg beer. A lot needs to be said of those tireless drinkers, for it is a demanding art, that promoted the virtues of the wholesome pint and traditional pub.

Cont’d on page 11

We sang happy birthday and drank its good health - as you do to a book?? Then we divided up into 4 groups for the quiz We had questions on 1972, Pubs in IOM or The Good Beer Guide. For instance: 1. How many pages in the 1st edition of the Good Beer Guide?

2. How much did the 1st edition cost?

3. Beer is renowned for making men rotund but what percentage of beer is fat?

Can you see the concentration?

After the quiz we went up the road to the Prospect Pub were Angela decided she wanted to learn how to pull a pint on a hand pump. Apparently to do it properly is quite an art so I couldn’t resist a photo opportunity Big thanks to Angela for her hospitality P.H.

Success at last

Southport & District CAMRA Branch Website www.southportcamra.org.uk For up to date news between issues of Ale & Hearty, have a look at our Branch Website www. southportcamra.org.uk when you have a chance. We’re always striving to improve it and introduce as many interesting items as possible 29

The Inn Beer Shop Try Our Bottled Beers

657 Lord Street Southport PR9 0AW Tel: 01704 533054

300 Plus

Golden Sands - Cyclone Carousel - Old Shrimper

Bottled Beers

Available at all of our usual outlets

Great Choice of over 300 British, German and Belgian Beers

TEL: PAUL on 07748 387 652

Lancashire Heroes Off-Licence

(including bottle conditioned) to take away or drink in on the premises in our continental-style café, our cosy snug, or, when the weather permis, our pavement café area.

We also serve wine, tea and coffee.

Party Barrels of Real Ale available Large range of British & Foreign Bottled Beers NEW - Southport Brewery Beers available in Polypins and Mini Casks

Southport Brewery Hand Pumped Cask Ale Ideal gifts, such as beer packs, glasses & vouchers.

Open 8am to 10pm - 7 days a week

82 Shakespeare Street, Southport Tel. 01704 540217 www.beerandgiftsdirect.co.uk

Sunday to Thursday 12 noon to 10.30pm Friday and Saturday 11.00am to 10.30pm End of Lord Street shops opposite Farm Foods roundabout

11 Handpumps with ever changing Guest Beers Hot and Cold Snacks Available 11.30 - 2.30 Every Day

THE GUEST HOUSE 16 Union Street, Southport PR9 0QE Tel: 01704 537660 Community

ar

Pub of the Ye 2011

Awarded CAMRA Pub of The Year 2001, 2004, 2007, 2009 & 2010 Best Winter Pub Award 2003, 2004 Licensee of Excellence Award 2005 -2012 In the CAMRA uide Good Beer G 2012 Cask Marque Accredited

28

Opening Hours: 11.30am - 11.00pm Mon - Thurs Fri & Sat 11.30am - 11.30pm, Sunday 12 noon - 10.30pm Secluded Beer Garden to the Rear 9

10

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CLASSIC PUBS OF THE UK Originally the pub was called the Dove Coffeehouse and later the Doves. Coffee houses were all the rage in the 18th century and patronised by scientists, philosophers, wits, politicians, artists and others who came to drink coffee, chocolate, wine and ale, and to gossip, read newspapers and transact business.

Another regular customer was the Scottish poet James Thomson, who is best known for a collection of poems called The Seasons and for writing the words to Rule Britannia in 1740. Thomson lived in Kew, and, according to the Oxford English Dictionary of National Biography he was “a keen and practised drinker” who used the “Doves Inn at Hammersmith as his customary watering hole”.

At the time, the Dove was a bigger establishment that included the private house next door at 17 Upper Mall. The two buildings were originally one structure.

The James Thomson connection led to the neighbouring house being popularly known as The Seasons. The theory is also that Thomson wrote Rule Britannia in a room above at the Dove, but this unconfirmed.

The present day Dove has a cosy real fire, wooden settles, and half-timbered ceilings, and vies with our very own Lakeside Inn in

Cont’d from page 25

Southport as having the smallest bar-room in Britain. Coincidentally, it also sells Fullers London Pride, as the London brewery Fuller, Smith & Turner of Chiswick has been the proud owner of the Dove since the company was founded in 1845. It is one of the most popular riverside pubs in London, with a magnificent view across the Thames.

It sells fine ales, excellent food, and, with a nod to its origins, very good coffee.

I left after an excellent pint of Gales Spring Sprinter at just £3.65 (not the dearest pint I had that day in case that made you twitch!), this time taking the pleasant walk down Upper Mall along the river towards the Great West Road, otherwise known as the A4. Following the signs this took me to Hammersmith tube station, where the District line took me to Embankment/ Charing Cross. A transfer over to the Northern line tube then took me straight back to Euston in time for a train just after 20.00 and I was back in Liverpool by 20.30 and Southport after 11.00 p.m.

It had been a long day, but the detour to the Dove had been worth the effort to find my latest Classic Pub of the UK. Cheers, David Williams

Useful Contacts: Sefton Trading Standards (Environmental Protection Dept.)

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, Environmental Protection Department, 1st Floor, Magdalen House, Stanley Precinct, Trinity Road, Bootle, Merseyside. L20 3QZ. (0151) 934 2089 Fax: (0151) 934 2106 Email: consumer.advice@sefton.gov.uk Sefton Licensing Authority Sefton MBC, The Licensing Authority, Magdalen House, 30 Trinity Road, Bootle, L20 3NJ. Tel: 0151 934 4015 Fax: 0151 934 4276

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☎

West Lancashire Licensing Service West Lancashire Borough Council - Licensing Service, Robert Hodge Centre, Stanley way, Skelmersdale, West Lancashire, WN8 8EE. 01695 577177 Fax: 01695 585126 Email: licensing.enquiries@westlancs.gov.uk

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Lancashire Trading Standards Trading Standards Service, County Hall, Fishergate Hill, Preston, PR1 8XB. 01772 533569 (General Enquiries) E-mail: tsgeneralmail@lancashire.gov.uk

Southport Brewery Speaks to Ale & Hearty Cont’d from page 8 An interesting request for our beers came from our local MP, a real ale drinker, John Pugh. I took a call from his Secretary asking would we supply the House of Commons bar, ‘Strangers’ with some of our beer. Yes was our reply and within a few weeks our beer was sent to London, where it was drunk by both MP’s and their guests within a record time of 2 days for four barrels (we even have a certificate to prove it). Now we won’t comment on the legislative debates that took place that week but we hope you agree that we have something in common with our MPs, a taste for great beer.

We have also helped promote the resort of Southport and Sefton at a recent hotel and tourism conference in London. Using our beers as a ‘taste of Southport’ to promote the names and events linked with the resort. Time for a refill, don’t you think.

More can be found out about Southport Brewery by contacting Paul or Jason on 07748 387 652, email southportbrewery@ fsmail.net or by viewing our website at www. southportbrewery.co.uk.

Beer of the Festival 2011 Award – Boggart Brewery trip Earlier this year, Southport & West Lancs CAMRA ran a coach trip to the brewery that won the Beer of the Festival at the Southport beer festival in September 2011: Rum Porter from Boggart Brewery of Newton Heath, North Manchester.

Boggart Brewery is situated in Wilson’s Park, an industrial estate on the site of the long-gone Wilson’s Brewery; the brewery is actually in some of the former Wilson’s buildings that have survived the bulldozer.

The owner Mark Dade was our host, and invited us to help ourselves to two small casks of beer: a golden ale and the multiaward winning Rum Porter. The latter is made as a classic porter in the usual way but with a full bottle of dark rum poured into each cask. He also offered us a chance to taste the rum porter without the rum. Both beers were excellent, and we were urged to drink up both casks, as anything left would be poured down the drain. We conscientiously

prevented that tragedy occurring. Mark chatted about a number of subjects, such as the brewing process, the origin of the brewery’s name and the problems in getting empty casks back. Then Doug presented the certificate on behalf of the branch to our applause, after which Mark told us it was the 19th award the brewery had received in the last 18 months.

Afterwards our coach took us to Rochdale Road to visit two great Manchester pubs: the Angel and the Marble Arch, both of which had a good range of beers, and the Marble Arch with its own brewery. I found the beer good in both pubs. The weather being glorious, quite a few of us sat outside for the first time this year in the Angel’s beer garden, admiring the traffic and the block of flats opposite.

The pictures show Mark Dade receiving his award from Branch Chair, Doug Macadam, and CAMRA members outside the brewery in Manchester (Mark is centre front).

11

Fly boy.

A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking a round with a fly-swat.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Hunting flies,” He responded.

“Oh, killing any?” She asked.

“Yep, three males and two females” he replied.

Intrigued, she asked, “How can you tell?”

HowDaftest Beer Names... Ever! Vol 99!

How about this one! “Jimmy Riddle”! This joins Cripple Dick, Dog’s Bollocks, Oil of Uley, Hairy helmet, Blow Job, Ginger Minge, Fat God’s Best Bitter, No Balls, Goblin Waitress, Shaftbender, Piddle in the Snow, Love Muscle, Old Tosspot, Blanket Lifter, Splash Back, Sheepshagger, Erect Willie, Little Willie, Village Bike, Old Legover, Royal Piddle, Fireman’s Chopper, Hairy Mary, Friggin’ in the Riggin’, Wet and Windy, Spit or Swallow, Poachers Dick, Old Slapper, Crafty Shag, Horny Ale, Golden Balls, Knocker up, Old Groyne, Deepdale Hooker, Granny Wouldn’t Like It! Dick. Spanker, Piddle, Bucking Fastard, Jock’s Trap, Old Engine and Sally Decker. Look out for Vol. 7.

George Bernard Shaw “The power of accurate observation is often called cynicism by those that do not have it.”

Norm Woody: “How’s it going Mr. Peterson?”

Norm: “Poor.”

Woody: “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Norm: “No, I mean pour.”

Blotto Draw numbers This week’s winning numbers are; 16, 18, 23, 25, 32 & 44 The Bogus Ball Number was 13.

Don’t forget that if you DO or DON’T have the Bogus Ball number...You’ve not won.

Kevin Keeghanisms “The Germans only have one player under 22, and he’s 23!”

Quote “Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don’t have a good partner, you’d better have a good hand.”

12

He responded, “Three were on a beer can, two were on the phone!”

It Pays to advertise…

When General Motors introduced their new car the Nova to Central and South America, they didn’t realise that No Va in Spanish meant “No go!”

Coors put its slogan, “Turn It Loose,” into Spanish, where it was read as “Suffer From Diarrhoea.”

Frank Perdue’s chicken slogan, “It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken” was translated into Spanish as “it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate.”

Groucho!

“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.”

Health Matters [Bloomsburg News Service] A terrible diet and a room with no ventilation are being blamed for the death of a man who was killed by his own gas! There was no mark on his body but an autopsy showed large amounts of methane gas in his system.

His diet had consisted primarily of beans and cabbage (and a couple of other things). It was just the right combination of foods. It appears that the man died in his sleep from breathing the poisonous cloud that was hanging over his bed. Had he been outside, or had his windows been opened, it wouldn’t have been fatal. But the man was shut up in his near airtight bedroom. According to the article, “He was a big man with a huge capacity for creating “this deadly gas.” Three of the rescuers got sick and one was hospitalized.

Cont’d on page 13

News from the Back Bar Cont’d from page 24 Guide fame points out that since beer is made from the same ingredients as cereals, it is hardly surprising that it contains many of the good things that bread contains.

As a footnote, the European Courts have decided that both the US Anheuser-Busch InBev, brewer of the obnoxious Budweiser beer, and the Czech Budvar, brewer of the rather tasty Budweiser Budvar beer, may both

trade under the name of Budweiser. This is of course a victory for the original Czech brewer against the heavyweight American bully, but I recommend you always ask for a Budvar if you don’t want a mouthful of something altogether less pleasant. Not all beer is good for you.

Mike Hoey

CLASSIC PUBS OF THE UK THE DOVE, HAMMERSMITH, LONDON W6 On my way back to Euston station from a business trip to Barking at the end of May, I decided to quench my thirst in one or two London pubs, including the Harp in Covent Garden, winner of CAMRA’s national Pub of the Year competition in 2011. However, perhaps I will feature that pub in a future edition of Ale & Hearty.

Anyway, after a cultural whistle-stop visit to the British Museum, I had a dilemma.

Do I head back towards Euston and visit a couple of good pubs near the station in order to do a bit of Good Beer Guide ticking, or do I go somewhere special.

I thought I might regret making the latter decision, but I decided to make a detour via the District tube line and to alight at Ravenscourt Park, somewhere West London.

Asking another commuter at random, I was directed left out of the station and under a subway beneath a busy main road. I emerged at the other end on a suburban street, where I was advised to keep walking towards the river and to turn left.

Avoiding several joggers and cyclists going along the riverside walkway, I soon came to another tunnel. At the other end was a little gem of a pub tucked alongside the River Thames, and, still lugging a briefcase and

laptop I made my way to the bar.

I was in Upper Mall, Hammersmith, a rather exclusive part of London which I later realised was quite familiar, as it is not far from Fulham’s football ground Craven Cottage which I had been to several years earlier.

The pub gave me the best of both worlds.

Apart from being listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, it was, quite remarkably, also featured in a book I bought some years ago entitled “Britain’s Most Amazing Places”, published by Reader’s Digest.

It is hard to believe now, but when the Dove was built in the early 18th century, Hammersmith was largely rural with open fields and orchards. Even then Upper Mall was an up market address with large private houses, some of them home to aristocrats, including Queen Catherine. The widow of Charles II spent several summers from 1686 in a nearby house when her brotherin-law, King James II would visit her.

Frederick, Duke of Sussex and sixth son of King George III was a regular at the house next to the Dove and William Morris, arts and crafts pioneer and social reformer, lived at 26 Upper Mall from 1878 and the Dove at 19 Upper Mall was his local.

In the 20th century, writers and actors such as Dylan Thomas, Alec Guinness and Ernest Hemingway all propped up the bar of the Dove.

Cont’d on page 26 25

News from the Back Bar Wetherspoons had a 11% drop in profits at the end of last year. Apparently they pay a horrific £10 tax for every £1 profit made. That means that for every 11 pints you drink you are paying Wetherspoons for one of them and the taxman gets the rest. Presumably it’s no different in any other pub.

Bad weather last winter and this summer won’t have helped with Wetherspoon’s profits either, but I know of some people who sniff at Wetherspoons, though I don’t know why, at least in Southport. It is ages since I had anything other than an excellent pint in Sir Henry Segrave and friends report equally high quality in the Willow Grove (Lloyds No 1 Bars are Wetherspoon-owned too). There is also always an interesting range of smaller breweries’ wares on offer. So do your bit to keep Wetherspoons buoyant and enjoy a firstclass beer at the same time! (Just try not to let thoughts of the taxman put you off your drink).

Wetherspoons are not in trouble, but Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns both are. They are spending a fortune a year just servicing their debts, not unlike what used to be the case with some departed and unlamented football club owners from America that I could mention. Punch had a sharp drop in sales as a result of all the rain in the spring (and one would guess the summer as well) and plans to sell off over 500 pubs this year, with a further 2000 to go over the next five years. It looks as if the pubco is no longer the future. Interestingly, though, Greene King reported a rise in annual sales of over 9% in the year up to April – perhaps it doesn’t rain in East Anglia.

Enterprise Inns are going down viciously, though. In many places they are deliberately selling off their pubs in such a way that they cannot continue as pubs. The Herald on Portland Street was a local victim – not a real ale pub, admittedly, but popular with many locals, who deserved better than to turn up one day to find it permanently shut.

The number of breweries grows daily. Pubs may be closing at an alarming rate but breweries 24

A.L. GUZZLER... Cont’d from page 12

are increasing in number. As of this time last year, there were 767 breweries operating in the UK, a net increase of 56 compared with the previous year. None of them advertise but they tend to taste very good.

The beers tend to taste better, too, if locally sourced. This appears to be the message from the success of the LocAle scheme; pubs enrolled on the scheme are reporting increased sales.

Of course, if you were to believe the papers, you would want to drink less. According to all the reports, we are all drinking ourselves into early graves. Now, excessive drinking is dangerous to the drinker and to anyone that he or she comes into contact with, and there can be no condoning it, but the reality is that as a population we’re actually drinking less, not more – there is no drink crisis as government would have you believe. The only reason the rate of drinking appears to have risen is that the way that units were counted in glasses of wine was changed about five years ago. And that comes from an authoritative source – the organisation ‘Straight Statistics’ dedicated to identifying the ways that people misuse figures to suit their own ends.

Despite this, some doctors are calling for graphic health warnings on bottles of alcohol.

(That should drive people back to pubs.) I’m all in favour, as long, of course, as burgers are also sold with pictures of hideously obese people on the polystyrene boxes and cars are sold with large pictures of the victims of car crashes imprinted on their doors.

Of course if you believe the experts at Oxford, you can only drink 2 pints a week (or 3 glasses of wine a week) before your life expectancy drops. I’m with Kingsley Amis on this one – there are no pleasures in life worth giving up for the sake of four extra years in a nursing home.

Also, according to researchers at the University of California, barley-based beer (sorry, Hoegaarten) is a source of silicon, which reduces your chances of getting osteoporosis. Roger Protz of Good Beer Cont’d on page 25

Sporting Classics “He dribbles a lot and the opposition don’t like it - you can see it all over their faces.”

(Ron Atkinson) Norm!

Sam: “What’s going on, Normie?”

Norm: “My birthday, Sammy. Give me a beer, stick a candle in it, and I’ll blow out my liver.”

How to impress a Woman…

Compliment her, cuddle her, kiss her, caress her, love her, stroke her, comfort her, protect her, hug her, wine and dine her, buy gifts for her, listen to her, respect her, stand by her, support her, go to the ends of the earth for her.

How to impress a Man...

Arrive naked, with beer.

Oscar Wilde “In married life, three is company and two is none.”

Sporting Classics 2 “I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.”

(Greg Norman) Quote…George W Bush “Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”

What the Papers Say A young girl who was blown out to sea on a set of inflatable teeth was rescued by a man on an inflatable lobster. A coast guard spokesman commented, “This sort of thing is all too common”. (The Times) Marriage lines When a man decides to marry, it may be the last decision he’ll ever make.

Get it off yer chest!

You can write to Guzzler via my e-mail address, which is a.l.guzzler@supanet.com But don’t forget you can always use “snail mail” via the editor – address elsewhere.

Final Thought I tried to calm my angry wife by lighting some joss sticks.

She only became more incensed.

-----------------------------------------------------A.L.Guzzler’s Quiz Question.

Q: Finish the beer name: Draught …. ?

Answers to alehearty@aol.com or by post (address elsewhere)

Waterloo Beer Festival - review One Saturday afternoon, I had arranged to meet an old school friend at the Waterloo Beer Festival, organised by Liverpool Organic Brewery and held in the Old Christ Church on Waterloo Road. It is a deconsecrated old Victorian church, complete with stained glass windows in need of a bit of care and attention, but much better being used for the good of the community rather than being demolished. It’s about 10 minutes’ walk from Waterloo Station.

The festival offered 200 real ales, 50+ ciders and perries and a range of exotic continental beers, and was run along the same lines that CAMRA festivals are run, with the added bonus of lots of seating. I tried only beers that I’d never had before and liked them all. I was

amused to see a brewery called Mr Grundy’s Brewery, so I had to try their beers: 1914 was a 5% dark stout, and a pale bitter 4% called Golden Dawn which was more to my taste. I think my favourite of the day was from Great Heck brewery of Yorkshire called Heaven and Heck - 5%, pale, hoppy and full of flavour.

All in all a great festival with well-kept beers.

Plus, I met several old friends there, including from work, from Wigan CAMRA, from the Southport folk scene, as well as my old school friend, who has already decided to pencil the next Waterloo Beer Festival (22 - 25 November) in his diary.

Neville Grundy 13

CAMRA Visits Thwaite’s Brewery The latest Lancashire AGM was held at Thwaites Brewery, and my partner fancied going, as there was a chance we could be shown part of the brewery. We arranged to go with another five people from Southport, which is how I ended up on a bus with 5 blokes wondering what I was doing going to a meeting on my day off.

Two buses later we arrived in Blackburn, a short walk found us at the Brewery where we entered into a visitors room with a museum and most importantly a bar. We ordered a couple of beers and I decided I fancied the dark bottled Tavern Porter. Really nice as I tend to like dark beers.

Half way through my beer they announced we had to go upstairs for the meeting, we could go back down again to re-fill our glasses but was warned that the meeting would not stop if we wanted a second, no one seemed too bothered about this, as my partner went down for another. It was only then that I found out that the bar was free, Oh wow another pint please.

The meeting lasted about an hour which I won’t go into as it will probably be published somewhere else. After the meeting the CEO of Thwaites came to give us a talk but decided he would do it down stairs so we could get ourselves another beer as if we needed any 14

encouragement. He made it short and sweet and just welcomed us and said that we would be shown around the small brewery they have for brewing trial beers or small amounts. We drank up and eagerly went with them for a look at the brewery, which was really interesting.

We walked back to the bar to find a great spread of sandwiches and chips on offer and more free beer, just what you need to soak up the beer. Obviously we got another beer and helped ourselves to the food. They announced that for £20 we could obtain a book the History of Thwaites. My partner is very interested in breweries so he put his name down and paid the £20 which I must add came three days later in the post.

Sadly two – thee pints later they called last orders so we had to drink up and go and find a bus back to Southport or maybe another pub as some of them went to. As a final surprise each of us were given a 3 bottle pack of their beers to take home We went and got the bus home having had a really enjoyable day.

I would just like to add a big thank you to Thwaite’s as their hospitality was second to none P.H.

PAST ALE & HEARTY Cont’d from page 22 The recent 8th Sandgrounder Beer Festival was reviewed, the Champion Beer being from our local brewery – Southport Cyclone (commemorating the then recently demolished fairground ride). The Classic Pub review by Dave Williams (visited on August Bank Holiday Sunday) was the Victoria Hotel in Durham City, where he sampled some local beers from Wylam, Mordue and Big Lamp.

There was an article similar to this one, celebrating the 50th edition of the newsletter (now promoted to magazine!) with a clip from the 25th edition as well. It bemoaned the disappearance of pubs such as the Steamboat, Two Brewers and the Blowick Hotel, the latter since reincarnated as the Thatched House – or has it changed its name again?

Finally in The Last Word, Dave Williams also bemoaned the situation regarding pub closures and the takeover by property owning Pub Companies – he wished that more independent free houses could be

established, with proper competition and greater choices of interesting beers – nothing much has changed, or has it? - as some such free houses are doing well in our West Lancashire rural area.

There were some 26 advertisers in this 50th issue of Ale & Hearty (now mainly in colour).

Well, that’s it – we hope you like a bit of CAMRA nostalgia, if you’ve got any constructive comments about its content, please let me know. Contact me if you’ve got any queries from past issues, as I’ve got a full set of these publications back to the first one.

Also - we are constantly struggling, trying to seek advertisers, so that we can maintain the “free” status of the magazine. This has caused the long delay in the appearance of this issue. If you can help at all by visiting your nearby pubs please let Neville the Editor know.

Mike Perkins

best bar none Jenni Eckersley aged 19 is one of the attractive team of friendly barmaids who work at our West Lancs Pub of the Year, The Hop Vine, Liverpool Road, Burscough. Jenni who hails from Ormskirk has worked at the Hop Vine for over two years and enjoys meeting the customers, serving a perfect pint of real ale and the social side with her friends and colleagues.

When not behind the bar she enjoys a Chinese meal, listening to her favourite singer Adele, a wee drop of Southern Comfort and holidaying in Turkey.

Jenni is a very accomplished solo singer who often entertains at the Hop Vine and various other local venues building a reputation and following with her personality and varied mixture of songs. When relaxing Jenni enjoys watching Home and Away on the T V or the film Dirty Dancing starring her favourite film

star Patrick Swayze. Why not pop down to the Hop Vine for a drink or a meal and meet Jenni who will be pleased to serve you.

Editors note: We aim to make this a regular feature so if you would like to nominate someone (male or female) please contact Ale & Hearty at ale&hearty@aol.com 23

PAST ALE & HEARTY Cont’d from page 21

Around the World in an Ale-y Daze: Boxing Clever in Shanghai

22 people had a great day out - perhaps some more of these trips soon?

5 Years Ago Ale & Hearty 50 (Nov 2007-Jan 2008)

Classic Pub was the Eagle Inn at Skeyne, near Driffield, East Yorkshire, by David Williams.

The pub as then unaltered, but one wonders what it is like now?

The 40 page full colour publication had now transformed into a colour magazine (in full from issue 43, February 2006) and Michael Hoey was the editor. In his editorial he mentioned that landlords were complaining because of the recent smoking ban in pubs, some are still doing so. In his Ale-y Daze item he covered a visit to Poland and mentioned their equivalent to CAMRA – Bractawa Piwnego and he saw interesting beers at Bar Dom Piwa in Lodz, including bottles of Wychwood beers!

A reader’s letter, “Formidable” from Formby bemoaned the loss of traditional pub layouts, such as the refurbishing of the once excellent Bay Horse, and other changes at the Pinewoods and the Cross House. AL Guzzler now had a section of cynical and humorous articles, which continue to this day. The Barons Bar highlighted its famous 6 am May Day Beerfest (and beers), which has continued, but for how long, one wonders?

CAMRA annual membership was then £14, it’s not gone up too much in 11 years.

The Up Steps had won our Pub of the Year Award and pictured was Stuart making the presentation to David Rowan, the licensee.

The local featured pub was the Crown in Birkdale by Dave Williams, with photos of the licensees and staff. We also had a regular international article by Michael Hoey, and in this issue “Around the World in an Ale-y Daze” covered his visit to New Zealand, when he visited the Shakespeare microbrewery in Auckland, amongst other venues in his efforts to track down some good beers.

The number of advertisers had increased to 23, including the Freshfield Formby, Lancashire Heroes, Up Steps, Berkeley Arms, Crown Birkdale, J D Wetherspoons (now renamed Sir Henry Segrave), Masons Arms, Thatch & Thistle, Falstaff, London Hotel, Zetland, Arion and Sands in Ainsdale, Legh Arms in Mere Brow, Red Lion at Newburgh, Eagle & Child at Bispham Green, Blue Bell at Barton, Ship in Lathom, Ship and Kings Arms in Haskayne, Wheatsheaf and Black Horse in Croston and the King William IV near Millom (!),

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On 11th August Doug Macadam had arranged an interesting public transport trip firstly by train to Rainford (the Junction), with an interestingly named All Gates beer was Smoking and They Bandit (gerrit?) then bus to the isolated Colliers Arms at Kings Moss on the Merseyside/Greater Manchester border, where were beers from Mordue, Copper Dragon and Saltaire. Then bus to the Railway at Garswood (Saltaire and Copper Dragon again), and afterwards via train to St Helens to the well-known Beechams Bar former brew pub (now sadly closed), for Tom Woods and Everards, amongst others, then to the Turks Head with a fantastic range, some being from Sharps, All Gates, Mayflower and Coach House. Then by bus out to the suburban Black Horse at Moss Bank for some Phoenix, George Wright, Copper Dragon, plus draft cider and perry. Finally into Liverpool via St Helens to the Globe (Merseyside CAMRA birthplace 1974), where several beers were on offer, including Titanic White Star) – and finally homeward bound after a very cleverly compiled trip by Doug.

The new 2008 Good Beer Guide was reviewed, containing many pubs still in appearing, but since then, the demise of three, Ainsdale Conservative Club and the Berkeley Arms in Southport, and the Blue Bell at Barton.

Cont’d on page 23

Shanghai is a place of extremes. Many of the buildings seem to have been modelled on sets from Star Wars. The local trains travel at over 200 miles an hour. Everything about it is recordbreaking, including Sue’s shopping sprees.

(She bought me so many ties for Christmas and my birthday that I could start a new chain of Tie Racks and still wear a different tie every day for the rest of my life – which admittedly is unlikely to be long when she sees this article).

But the beer is less exceptional. Tsingtao is everywhere available and is in fact, by the standards of mass-produced beers, unusually acceptable. But for anyone for whom beer is a reason for drinking rather than the stuff you happen to drink when you meet someone, Tsingtao can wear thin (and the recently introduced light Tsingtao at 2.5% starts that way). Fortunately for the aficionado of good beers, there is the Boxing Cat Brewery.

The Boxing Cat Brewery hides in a leafy street in the French Concession quarter and no taxis seem to know it, on three separate visits dropping Sue and me instead at a pleasant little café, known as Boxha Café, 200 yards away on the other side of the road. Once found, though, (and a short walk along the road soon finds it) the Boxing Cat Brewery is never forgotten. There is good outside seating and a pleasant couple of rooms inside. The food is excellent pub grub, though not for the most part Chinese.

In a microbrewery, though, it is the beer that counts and here the Boxing Cat punches above its weight (sorry). I am not a wheat beer fan on the whole; I find that wheat beers tend to be rather samey. Not so the Boxing Cat’s Honey Wheat, quite possibly the best wheat beer I have ever tasted. It was as rich as the famous

Belgian beer Hoegaarten but with a sharpness that prevented the honey overtones from cloying. Put another way, it went down a treat.

I’d have been happy to have stuck with Honey Wheat but my unwavering commitment to the cause of exploring the brewery’s full beer menu demanded that I try another beer (well, three others, actually). For my next beer I plumped for a pilsner that went under the slightly odd name of Standing 8 Pilsner.

Generally speaking, pilsners, like wheat beers, have become the very definition of dull, but once more the Boxing Cat version is a knockout (sorry, again). It’s hardly a matter of complaint that the only pilsners I’ve preferred to the Standing 8 Pilsner were drunk in the Czech Republic 10 years ago.

Near perfection for the first two beers, then.

Could they keep it up? Well, not quite, but though neither of the next two beers could quite match the standard set by the Boxing Cat’s wheat beer and pilsner, they were still heavyweights (I’m going to have to stop doing this). The toffee-ish Belgium Ale was a beer to buy in small quantities – but definitely one to buy, nevertheless. The TKO India Pale Ale, the final beer on my taste itinerary, was a hoppy ale which, like the Wheat beer and the Pilsner, would stand up for any number of rounds (I expect this is getting annoying.) All I’ll add is that Sue and I went back to our hotel after an evening of fine drink and excellent food positively punch-drunk (OK, I’ll stop there.)

Michael Hoey You pulled no punches in your article, so it’s obvious that, after several rounds, you were quite knocked out by the beer. – Editor.

Local CAMRA Beer Festivals 25 - 27 October: 26 - 27 October: 23 - 26 January: 31 Jan - 2 Feb: 21 - 23 February: 28 Feb - 2 Mar:

Southport Chester Winter Ales Bent & Bongs Liverpool Wigan

St Johns Hall, Wright Street, Southport.

Guild Hall, Watergate Street, Chester.

Sheridan Suite, Oldham Rd, Manchester.

Formby Hall, Alder Street, Atherton.

RC Cathedral crypt, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool.

Robin Park Sports Centre, Loire Drive, Wigan 15

Branch Pubs and Club of the Year Pub and Club of the Year are the highest awards that CAMRA Southport and West Lancs can give to licensees. There is usually a great deal of debate within the Branch about who should be awarded them, and the decision is decided by a vote which all members are entitled to take part in. These awards are not given lightly.

Pub of the Year (Merseyside) was awarded to the Guest House, Union Street, Southport.

The picture shows the staff of the Guest House with the award on 22 May.

Guest House, Southport Club of the Year was awarded to the Farmers Club, Burscough Street, Ormskirk. The licensee, Elaine Gore, is pictured receiving her award from Doug Macadam, on 11 May. Hop Vine, Burscough Pub of the Year (Lancashire) was awarded to the Hop Vine, Liverpool Road, Burscough.

The picture shows licensees Julie & Mike McCoombe being presented their award by Doug Macadam, Branch Chair (right) on 1st May.

Farmers Club, Ormskirk

COUNTRY PUBS LOCATION The secretary poses the question: if you are travelling through the countryside and looking for refreshment where would you normally find a country pub? ANSWER: probably near to a church with a steeple. Now where does that originate? Well, the next time you are in the countryside look for a church with a steeple and you will probably find a country pub/inn nearby. Why is that? Well, it’s all to do with horse racing or steeplechases to be exact.

In the 18th and 19th centuries point to point horse races were originally called steeple chasers. Church steeples were normally used as prominent landmarks as they could be seen over great distances and steeple 16

chasers normally ended near them. Races evolved from one steeple to another, over hedges and ditches in their paths.

Steeplechase racing evolved by members of the hunting community wanting to keep their horses fit. Because riders and their followers wanted refreshment during and after the races, pubs and inns naturally evolved nearby to churches with steeples. Is this a rumour or true! Why don’t you check it out?

Kelvin Pye Organiser Mere Brow Farmers Market

PAST ALE & HEARTY Back to the past: 17 Years Ago Ale & Hearty No.2 (Vol 1) Aug-Oct ’95 Front page news was the takeover of Courage

by S&N at £425m referred to the Monopolies & Mergers commission, and the worries that the newcomer would control 30% of our brewing industry. The loss of independent brewers was considered, but then was not quite yet the era of microbreweries.

Whitbread still existed and were trying to buy into parts of the Carlsberg-Tetley empire, and doomed beers might be Websters of Halifax, Home Ales in Nottingham and quite e few others in Scotland, Plymouth and Wolverhampton. It was thought that Tetleys in Warrington and Leeds might be safe, but look what happened!

A beer price survey had taken place, resulting in a 5.4% increase over twelve months, but Holts had just passed the £1 per pint mark!

The North West was the cheapest region for beers in the UK, however. Peter O’Connor had done a Classic Pub report about the Blue Anchor pub and brewery in Helston in Cornwall – both still there and going strong I believe.

Dave Williams reported on an evening coach trip to the Fylde on 23rd June that year and pubs visited were the Windmill in Clifton, Smiths Arms in Lea Town, Running Pump in Catforth, Stanley Arms in Wesham and the Queens Arms in Kirkham- there was then a quick late dash for pie chips and gravy at a local chippie and the excursion finished at 12.30 am – not bad for an evening trip! No fame claimed but I organised the vehicle hire.

The featured local pub was written by Dave Williams and covered the Up Steps in Birkdale, which was then run by an excellent licensee, David Rowan and his wife Mary – the pub has been up and down lately and is presently closed.

Advertisers in the 12 page one-colour printed

paper newsletter included the Cheshire Lines, Berkeley Hotel, Up Steps, Zetland, Barons Bar, Heaton’s Bridge Inn, Ship Haskayne and the Martin Inn near Burscough.

11 Years Ago Ale & Hearty No.25 (May-July 2001) Front page spread of the now larger 28 page newsletter (still not a glossy mag!) was advertising our second Sandgrounder Beer Festival on 10-12th May 2001 announcing over 60 real ales and live entertainment on two evenings. The Branch Chairman was then Stuart Elliott, and he praised our advent into beer festivals and his depressing visit to St Helens on his first visit to the Turk’s Head, which was closed! He also mused about whether it was time for Southport to have its own brewer, little did he know that it was only three years to go (April 2004) for the birth of our now popular Southport Brewery, run by Paul Bardsley, of the famed local family of beer and pub supporters.

Dave Williams, one of our most consistent reporters, covered another social trip on the 3rd March in the form of a visit to Wentworth Brewery in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, which was (I believe) an award winner at our last festival. The coach, organised by Ian Rogers the Social Secretary, left at 11.15 am eventually arriving at the brewery by 2.30 pm.

Dave sampled both the WPA and Rampant Gryphon, which both still exist today (a good testament for them!). Other pubs visited included the Rockingham Arms and George and Dragon in Wentworth, the latter supplying food and a pint of Wentworth Black Zac (also still around) and Needles Eye. The coach then visited the Commercial in Chapeltown where another still extant Wentworths was Oatmeal Stout.

Final visit was the Woodman in Rotherham, where we met the local CAMRA branch members and Stuart musically(?) rendered some of “Ilkley Moor Baht ‘At” – how many know what that means in Yorkshire lingo?

Cont’d on page 22

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The Ship Inn

6 Rosemary Lane, Haskayne L39 7JP Tel: 01704 840077

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Fishermen’s Rest 2 Weld Road, Birkdale, Southport, PR8 2AZ Tel: 01704 569986

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