Issue 148 of Norfolk Nips & Cask Force

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E E R F & CA SK FO RC E No.148

Spring 2009

BIGGER AND BETTER! NORFOLK’S TRUE HERITAGE PUBS PUBS ON THE NORTH NORFOLK COAST BEEKEEPING BIRTH OF A BEER WITH HUMPTY DUMPTY BREWERY PLUS NEWS AND REVIEWS FROM YOUR AREA

Newsletter of the Norfolk Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale

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Chris and Glynis invite you to the

Trafford Arms

Cask Ale, Good Food and Great Customers.

61 Grove Road, Norwich 01603 628466 www.traffordarms.co.uk

email: mail@traffordarms.co.uk

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NORFOLK NIPS | Chairman’s Letter

Chairman’s Bit ver the past few years Mild has undergone resurgence as a style, culminating in Hobson’s Mild recently winning the Champion beer at the Great British Beer Festival. The simple question has to be why? The answer may be summed up in one word, quality. In living memory, Adnams Mild outsold its famous Bitter, a story repeated in breweries across the land.

But suddenly, it all turned bad, and in every sense of the word.

O

Mild was a major part of British drinking tradition up until the 1960’s, when declining alcoholic strength and dubious brewing practice of brewing a thin bitter and adding caramel (our old friend the brewery finance director in evidence again) turned it into a thin pastiche of the full flavoured smooth brew it had been.

Unsurprisingly, this watereddown liquid didn’t keep either, and the practices of some pub landlords in attempting to delay it from ‘the corruption it so richly deserved’ largely sealed its fate as a beer. By the 1990’s few brewers even bothered producing mild, and it seemed destined to be no more than a footnote in the history books.

Microbrewers had other ideas however, and going back to

old brewing recipes they have created a new generation of high quality products, using dark roasted malts and traditional hop varieties. Light milds have also been reborn as a brewing style. Alcohol has been restored to the product, with strengths varying from 3.2 up to 5% - and the results have been outstanding.

A few regional brewers have kept the faith. (You may wish to sit down at this point as I’m going to say something nice about Greene King.) Elgoods, Batemans and Greene King Milds are all well worth investigating. The former, ‘Black Dog’, has won numerous brewing awards, as has Batemans Dark, and if you can find it the more’ish Greene King Mild is arguably the best beer that the brewery regularly produces.

Sadly however Adnams no longer brew their excellent Mild, except on special occasions.

In the West Midlands Mild never went away, and the Norwich Beer Festival sells large quantities every year from that part of the world. If you only try one mild at this year’s festival then try and get hold of some Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild (6%), brewed to the same recipe since the 1920’s. Malt, Fruit, Hops, Toffee, Nut flavours - I promise you’ll never see ‘Mild’ quite the same way again!

Des O'Brien

Norwich & Norfolk Branch Chairman: Des O’Brien Tel: 01603 270588 Email: chairman@norwichcamra.org.uk Secretary: Graham Freeman Tel: 07800 690048 Email: secretary@norwichcamra.org.uk Social Secretary: Tim MacDonald Tel. 01603 865505 Email: socialsecretary@norwichcamra.org.uk

West Norfolk Branch Chairman: Tim Spitzer Secretary: Ian Bailey Contact: Bruce Ward Tel: 01485 609107

Branch websites: www.norwichcamra.org.uk www.camra.org.uk/wnorfolk

Branch mailing list web page: groups.yahoo.com/group/CAMRA_N orwich Published every 3 months by the Norwich, Norfolk & West Norfolk branches of the Campaign for Real Ale © N&N CAMRA 2009 Norfolk Nips is produced and distributed by members of the branch in their own time.

Edited by: Andrea Kirkby Tel 0794 856 9652 Fax 0871 661 6367 Email: norfolknips@yahoo.co.uk Chris Lucas Email: chris-stig@tiscali.co.uk Views expressed in Norfolk Nips are not necessarily those of the editor or of CAMRA Advertising: For advertising enquiries please contact Chris Shilling on: Tel: 01778 4215050 Mobile: 07736635916 Rates: Colour Rates (exclusive of VAT) are: Quarter page 1 insertion £70 Half page 1 insertion £130 Full Page 1 insertion £230 Reduced rates for series bookings

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NORFOLK NIPS | West Norfolk Chairman’s Letter

View From The West Norfolk Chair his “View From The Chair’ charts a new course, and an exciting one, as “Cask Force” combines with our sister magazine, “Norfolk Nips”. Sad in a way that we are losing a respected magazine in “Cask Force”, but a good move because now that our two magazines are together as one, hopefully reaching a wider audience in covering the whole of the county. I must thank Chris ‘Stig’ Lucas for his efforts in coordinating our stuff with the Norwich branch.

T

Brewery in the pub of the same name, it’s changed a lot over the years (as I have), thankfully The Reindeer survives despite a rollercoaster ride. Norwich has been known as a top class city for real ale pubs for a long time, a superb drinking city in fact, highlighted by the fact that the Fat Cat has been CAMRA’s national Pub Of The Year twice, no mean achievement. And despite its fair share of pub losses, which affects us all, Norwich continues to fly the flag for a beer style we all love.

Many of us in the West Norfolk branch know Norwich very well, I’ve been drinking in the city’s pubs for a good many years (since about 1980 in my case!), we all know and attend the successful annual beer festival in St Andrews and Blackfriars Halls, I’m proud of not missing the event since my first foray there in 1986.

My first festival ale was Bateman’s Victory, sunk in quick time, I was a tad merry for a while! In those early ale days I also remember Wolf starting the Reindeer

I have also gained many friends from within the Norwich branch over time, particularly that one man supping machine Pete Wells (Hi Pete! Hello Sue!), and look forward to making more. I’m sure this collaboration of out two magazines will benefit both branches, and introduce us to a wider public, not just CAMRA people. Cheers!!!

Tim Spitzer - West Norfolk Chair

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Pub News

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Pub News The Kings Head in North Lopham that was reported closed in NIPS 146 opened its doors again just before Christmas.

Early this New Year in Norwich there has been unwelcome bad news in that The Rosary and Woolpack (Golden Ball Street) have both closed.

The reasons for closure of The Rosary are unclear as yet but in the case of The Woolpack, media reports suggest that the pub itself was doing very well and had a very successful Christmas and New Year period but the pubco owners have gone into administration.

(According to a report in the Morning Advertiser, this was a Spirit pub, sold to Tattershall Castle Group, then to Free Spirit , then to the Good Time Pub Company, which went into administration, and then to the Norwich Pub Company.

That’s the way the pub business works – or doesn't work - these days...)

STOP PRESS!! - the Rosary is to be reopened by Enterprise Inns on 16th March. Let's hope its new tenant has the same commitment to real ale that we've seen in the past from this lovely pub.

The Cross Keys in Wymondham also closed just after Christmas.

It is understood to be owned by the same pubco as The Woolpack in Norwich.

The Bridge at Lenwade has 6

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closed as from February, as has The Parson Woodforde in Weston Longville. Two Broadland pubs, Coldham Hall in Surlingham and The Maltsters Inn in Ranworth, have also recently closed.

Worst hit for closures has been Fakenham, as The Star closed in February and it has been reported that The Crown Hotel, on the Market Place is due to close in March.

There is a report that The Constitution on Constitution Hill is to close briefly for a short period for refurbishment and then re-open as a “real ale friendly “ pub.

Good news for real ale drinkers in Gorleston. They now have a new outlet- The Compass on Middleton Road has been taken over by the owners of The Mariners in Great Yarmouth, and has been re-named “The Mariners Compass” selling a good range of cask beers.

An application has been submitted to Great Yarmouth Planning Dept to demolish The Admiral Seymour pub and build houses on the site.

It has been reported in the Morning Advertiser that Greene King is to sell off 100 pubs from its estate. However, it is not currently known which pubs might be sold. Watch this space!

The Horse and Dray in Ber Street has been organising a series of fundraising events to assist survivors of the Australian bush fires, including a raffle and special quiz nights. This Adnams pub is well known to Aussies in Norwich and has so far raised nearly 800 dollars (Aussie) for the Australian Red Cross.

A Planning Application has been submitted to Broadland Council to convert The Kings Head at Horsham St Faiths into a “residential dwelling”.

One more Broadland pub has apparently recently closedThe Ferry on the banks of the river Bure at Stokesby.

BREWERY NEWS FROM AROUND EAST ANGLIA Adnams is bringing back its classic Adnams Extra Special Bitter – a previous Champion Beer of Britain – to celebrate Cask Ale Week 6-13 April.

Adnams will also be supporting Cask Ale Week with activities at many of its pubs.

Greene King may not be CAMRA members' favourite brewery but it is doing some things right. It has just been awarded the Red Tractor logo for its entire range of beers, witness to its support of East Anglian barley producers. It is

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NORFOLK NIPS | Pub News the first brewery to win Red Tractor accreditation across its entire range of beers.

Batemans Dark Lord has won best beer in the 2008 International Beer Challenge porter/stout category. (Republicans rejoice, it's named after Parliamentary commander Thomas Fairfax.)

Suffolk brewer Mauldons won CAMRA Supreme Champion Beer of East Anglia with its Black Adder. But Norfolk brewer Wolf won the silver with its Woild Moild. That's a remarkable one-two for the dark beers with Black Adder winning the porter/stout category and Woild Moild, for those of you who haven’t guessed or don’t speak fluent Norfolk, winning the Mild class. Milton’s Marcus Aurelius came in third (a Cambridgeshire beer available at the White Lion in Oak Street, Norwich) – yet another dark beer, an ‘Imperial Roman Stout’ of truly Imperial strength (7.5%).

Most of us think January sales only happen on the High Street, but Wolf had its own January’sAle (geddit?) provided to landlords at a discount price.

Pubs that took part in the promotion included the Duke of Wellington, Eaton Cottage, White Horse at Upton, and Shoulder of Mutton in Strumpshaw.

Reedham brewer Humpty Dumpty is working on a new Easter beer to be called Bad Egg, a best bitter that’s on the dark side. (Doctor Who fans may be tempted to ask when we are going to get the chance to drink a pint of Bad Wolf...)

Brewer Stephen George has written an article for us on how the beer was created – and includes the recipe.

OTHER NEWS

Norwich Evening News is running a ‘Love your local’ campaign to promote our local pubs. It's very well worth reading – CAMRA members will recognise some of our much loved publicans including Colin Keatley of the Fat Cat and Chris Higgins of the Trafford Arms in the series of articles. Find them on

the Evening News website at www.eveningnews24.co.uk.

Recession busters JD Wetherspoon made headlines with its 99p pint of Greene King. Other pubs, too, are helping drinkers make their money go further. Recession busting pub grub is available at The Townhouse carvery; weekday carvery meals are £3.50, with Greene King IPA, Fullers, and a guest beer available to wash down your food.

The Townhouse Hotel is at 18-22 Yarmouth Road, Thorpe St Andrew, Norwich.

At the Queen’s Head, Thurlton, one CAMRA member has reported all real ales at £2.00 a pint on Wednesdays.

Members have reported other good deals around Norfolk: St John’s Head, North Quay, Great Yarmouth is selling Elgood's Cambridge at £1.90 a pint.

The Garden House at Hales is selling Woodfordes Wherry and Norfolk Nog at £2.00 a pint – in good condition according to our informant.

The Ox & Plough, Old Buckenham has been serving Ox Ale (Warrington's) at £2.20.

Mariner’s Compass, Gorleston has Greek IPA in very good condition for £1.50 and filled rolls for 99p. A bargain!

Filled rolls at the Fat Cat are still 60p.

Continued Overleaf

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Pub News continued

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NEWS FROM THE WEST There is a lot of doom and gloom around on the pub front in West Norfolk at the moment with a whole host of pubs reported to be on the market or struggling along with temporary landlords. However there has been enough bad news recently, so lets concentrate on the positives. Up on the coast, the Jolly Sailors at Brancaster has been taken over and although the brewery has gone it has been refurbished by the new owners, and opened again at the end of last year. It is now part of a group of pubs, which include the nearby White Horse, and the Fox at Willian in Hertfordshire, both excellent pubs and so should be well worth a visit.

Another pub up near the coast, which is being refurbished and extended, is the King William at Sedgeford. The works include a new restaurant, reception area, disabled toilet & further 5 double bedrooms and is due to be completed on April 6th.

When I first moved down to Kings Lynn almost 30 years ago, one of the few places for a good pint was the Bank House on Kings Staithe Square. Almost 20 years ago I remember an excellent evening when we wound up the old Seven Sisters Social club and spent the remaining funds on a meal in their excellent restaurant. It was a great loss to the town when it became solicitor’s 8

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offices a few years ago. Well – mourn no longer. The Bank House is back! It is now a Town House Hotel with 10 bedrooms, but has also a Brasserie, Wine Bar and Coffee House. If you don’t know the place it is worth a visit just to see this fine early Georgian grade II listed building in the heart of Lynn’s historic waterfront area (which doubled as New York in the long forgotten film Revolution). We called in the other night and were disappointed to find that the handpumps seemed to be out of use. We were told that both beers had been delivered that day and were probably not ready, but I was offered a sample of London Pride. As it turned out it was excellent.

During the winter you may find that they only offer Adnams, but if the demand is there they will run two beers. Lets see what we can do...

It’s all change along the riverside with the departure of Ron Bone from the Ouse Amateur Sailing Club.

Ron has been looking after the beer there ever since I joined, many, many years ago and he was good enough to win the title of CAMRA national club of the year, and will be a hard act to follow. Thanks for many great pints! Almost next door, we hear that Roger at the Crown and Mitre is finally about to install the brewery that has been promised for many years. Be warned that he is not ever so keen on CAMRA (especially that ‘Scottish woman’, whoever that is), so don’t go in the stained tee shirt and sandals!

Another pub that was one of the must visit places in West Norfolk 30 years ago was the Woolpack at Walpole Cross Keys. Since then it had fallen on hard times but it is good to report that it is up and running again. West Norfolk Branch had a rather cold and wet walk and Sunday lunch in January and we were greeted with a warm welcome and an excellent carvery. Tuesday night is steak night, and they have an excellent chef – who will even cook you a meal to take home.

If you do visit, and you should, look out for the vintage table football machine – ask about the history of it!

Down at Downham Market we hear that there is a new bar on the station platform. It was due to open as I write these lines so I can’t give a first hand report, but I do know someone who has peered through the window and excitedly reports the presence of handpumps.

Another great station bar in the tradition of Stalybridge, Kidderminster and Bridgenorth?.... and Worksop, Bury, Portmadoc......is there something about Real Ale and Trains?

Other places that have impressed recently include the Rose and Crown at Snettisham, which is the sister hotel to the Bank House. We visited early on a Sunday evening when it was very quiet, dark and cold outside.

The welcome was warm and there were roaring fires throughout the many rooms.

Somehow it made winter more bearable.

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NORFOLK NIPS | Pub News continued Not far away is the Kings Head at Great Bircham.

This was our branch pub of the year a couple of years ago, and it is still serving an absolutely excellent pint of Adnams.

Recently they have had jazz in the bar and are running a series of race evenings over the next few months.

Not far away is the Neptune in Old Hunstanton. Things have changed since Henry ran it, and it is now one of the very few places in Norfolk to boast a Michelin Star award for the quality of their food.

Congratulations to the new owners, Kevin and Jacki Mangeolles, who have transformed the place with a New England theme. I have not visited the pub for a while

and would be interested to know if there is any decent beer to go with the excellent food.

Jeff The Real Ale Shop, Branthill Farm - is celebrating winning the OLN Independent Beer Retailer of the Year award, following up on a recent CAMRA Independent Beer Online Retailer award. The OLN award was received at the Dorchester Hotel.

Vojtech Ludvik (Roy) Levin 1921 - 2009 We were all saddened to hear of the death of the man we all knew as Roy Levin. Roy was born in a small town outside Prague in the then Czechoslovakia in 1921 and sent to

England by his parents in 1938 as things there got worse. Roy served in the Czech army during the war and won the MM for saving the life of a comrade in combat after DDay. Unable to return to his homeland, he made a life here, working in textiles and at the age of 40 retraining as a computer programmer. In 1960 he married Jill and both were regular attendees at West Norfolk CAMRA meetings. Roy was a very intelligent man with a wicked sense of humour and had , being a Czech, beer in the blood. I knew him in his later years when illness had weakened his voice, but he was always worth listening to.

Our thoughts go out to Jill and the family. Cheers, Roy, we’ll miss you.

Chris Lucas

Hill House Inn - Happisburgh For 2009: FIVE DAYS

Thursday 18th June to Monday 22nd June inclusive At least 80 Beers & Ciders (and the odd perry) from far and wide, at competitive pub prices.

LIVE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT inc. Rock, Traditional Jazz, Skiffle, Folk and much more.

Family Friendly CAMPING AVAILABLE One Off Entry payment of ÂŁ4.00 valid for the whole weekend. (Numbered wristband - numbers entered into a Grand Prize Draw).

FREE PRINTED FESTIVAL GLASS AND TASTING NOTES. Food served all day.

Festival T-Shirts available

Come and join us at the independent festival by the sea.

For more details contact:Clive and Sue Stockton, The Hill House Inn, Happisburgh, Norfolk NR12 OPW Tel/Fax 01692 650004 SPRING 2009 | 9

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riners a M e h T Ale and Cider House ‘Cornish Beer Festival’ Good Friday Apr 10th to Easter Monday Apr 13th 20+ Cornish Beers ; Cornish Pasties ; Scones and Clotted Cream!

Tel: (01493) 332299

E-Mail: Shaun@themarinersalehouse.co.uk

69 Howard Street South, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. NR30 1LN

Now Open in Gorleston: The Mariners Compass

21 Middleton Rd, Gorleston 8 Real Ales plus a selection of Ciders Tel: 01493 659494

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NORFOLK NIPS | Pub Post Its

Pub Post-its We have more post-its this month from our correspondents. Keep them coming! All opinions in the Post-its are of course the personal opinions of our correspondents - not of CAMRA. Victoria – Hockering Single bar pub just off the A47. The Landlord is a real ale enthusiast and this shows in the beer choice. The two pumps are constantly changing with beers from all over the country. Unusually for a rural pub wet sales dominate with the only food being light snacks. Draught Perry is also available. Worth a visit when you’re in the area.

Angel – Swanton Morley An excellent country pub at the southern end of Swanton Morley. Good for a choice of beers, plus it normally has Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde Mild on. Genuinely friendly and welcoming, it is one of the few pubs I know of that actually offers a good choice of hot food on a Sunday rather that stick to the ubiquitous Hobson’s choice of roast dinner.

Queens Head – Thurlton Very quiet when I visited on a Tuesday in February but the weather was not up to much and the temporary closure of the Reedham ferry meant that passing trade was virtually non-existent. It is a large modernised single bar pub with two real ales at least one of which will be from Humpty Dumpty or Blackfriars breweries.

Gull – Framingham Pigot Very much a food pub with an interesting mix of English and Continental dishes, but that said the real ales are all on gravity, always the best way to serve beer in my opinion. The regulars are Abbot and Wherry but the third beer is ever changing and was from Oakham when I called in.

Golden Star – Norwich I think that the front bar of this pub is the most unspoilt within the city walls, a possible candidate for CAMRA’s Regional Inventory of Pub Interiors. The bar back is especially noteworthy.

The only drawback is the regular choice of beer, I am not a fan of the products of a certain brewery in Bury St Edmunds. This is a pub

where I peer through the window before venturing in. I was in luck this time as the guest was from Holdens - Golden Glow, and very good it was too.

Gatehouse – Norwich Just of the ring road on the Dereham Road this pub is pub is an architectural gem both externally and internally. A roaring fire on a cold Saturday afternoon made it even better. All the real ale here is served by gravity and currently the house special is Grain Oak at £2 per pint.

A must visit on every count.

Cock - Barford Visited on a January evening in the course of surveying pubs for the next GBG, which was not an onerous task as it is my personal favourite pub in South Norfolk.

The main bar with its open fire and pine furniture is always welcoming especially on a cold night. The Blue Moon beers are now brewed by Winters, rather than on site, and are just as good as before. Easy Life and Sea of Tranquillity are the regular beers but my personal recommendation would be the winter beer Hingham High, served on gravity and very tasty indeed.

Ugly Bug Inn – Colton A pub that truly deserves the much used term “off the beaten track”, and proves the worth of purchasing the CAMRA GBG file for your Tom Tom. I hadn’t visited the pub for some time and I found it much improved, especially in the heating department. The regular beer is Worth the Wait from the Beeston brewery, and the guest was Black Dog from Elgoods. The pub is noted both for its food and for regular live jazz.

If you are tempted to visit the Landlord reckons the best approach is from the new roundabout at Honingham on the A47.

Continued Overleaf

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Pub Post Its continued

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Crown, Burston Comfortable rural pub well worth seeking out.

Sofas round an open fire in the main bar, good food served in the separate dining room, Adnams and Abbot on gravity and local beers including Elmtree on hand pump. I can safely say that it ticks all my boxes.

Cock, Diss An excellent town pub on the outskirts of Diss.

We went in early on a Tuesday evening and it was busy, nice to see in these troubled times for the pub trade. The four drinking areas are comfortably furnished and the large central bar gives plenty of opportunities to get served, unlike some places where the bar huggers make each pint a challenge.

Fighting Cocks,Winfarthing I must confess I only get to visit this pub once a year when I am doing GBG surveys, but each time it gets better. New, more comfortable furniture has been purchased and the whole pub feels neater and warmer than before.

There was a large shooting party being fed and watered when we walked in and the food certainly smelt good. The choice of Adnams Bitter by hand pump or gravity from the same cask is an unusual feature.

Kings Head,New Buckenham Proper village pub slap bang in the middle of this orthogonal medieval grid pattern former market town. The owners have spent a lot of time and money renovating the interior and the back room really shows the fruits of their labours. The brick and tile floor, the pine tables and chairs and the log burning stove give it the air of a pub of yesteryear, enhanced by the venerable locals found drinking there most lunchtimes.

Mariners Compass, Lowestoft Rd. Gorleston Opened last Friday. 4 ales, could only try the Adnams Old, in excellent condition.Large traditional main road pub, two bars, one with a pool table, and a real ale bar with a roaring fire.

Up to 8 beers, mostly from local breweries, and 12

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on the day I went, the landlord's first batch of his own Cider was on sale - excellent and also high strength, 9%! Fortunately no Guardian.

King’s Arms, Blakeney I went to the Kings Arms on Dec 28th with 4 friends. They had Adnams best, Wherry, Black Sheep and Pedigree. Between us we covered all of them and were all of good condition. Can’t quite recall prices but believe an average of £2.70 a pint. It was lunchtime and busy with diners but we found room near the bar. Very comfortable pub and would recommend The Ship, South Walsham Now open as a restaurant / bar, serving Adnams & Wherry. The Adnams I had was in good condition.

Kings Arms, Acle A large genuine pub, with that rare thing, two separate defined bars, both with lots of character. GK IPA and Speckled Hen, and Adnams Bitter. Hen and Adnams in very good condition, didn't bother with the IPA. Warm welcome, and an interesting looking menu too. Worth a detour off the A47.

King William, Sedgeford Currently undergoing refurbishment, expected to re-open in April.

Neptune, Hunstanston Chef, Kevin Mangeolles has recently been awarded a Michelin star.

Bull, Litcham Has re-opened.

New Inn, South Wootton Difficult to tell what’s going on, opening seems sporadic.

Ostrich, Castle Acre Re-opened last Saturday after refurbishment.

Now under the same management as The Duke’s, Rudham & Crown, Wells.

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NORFOLK NIPS | Pub Post Its continued King William, Sedgeford Recent reports in Lynn News over local resident’s disquiet over new ventilation outlets (planning permission already granted).

Crown & Mitre, Lynn Six handpumps, two in use but one ran out during the visit. Beers drinkable but nothing special. The “interesting character” behind the bar used increasingly “interesting” language, all negative toward a variety of targets. The pub’s new brewery, due to open soon is expected to be called Anchor Brewery. Remarks were made regarding rhyming slang and the pub’s owner.

No explanation was made.

White Hart, Foulden Contrary to rumours circulating, this continues to trade as previously.

Neptune, Old Hunstanton Recently awarded a Michelin Star for its food.

Lattice House Appeared not to have heard of CAMRA. Feathers, Dersingham (Punch) Adnams, Bass & guests OK, little change, Stables Bar Re-opened.

Coach & Horses, Dersingham Thriving, various beers on.

Bank House, Lynn Beware, still no pump clips to be seen. London Pride excellent, Adnams good.

Lodge, Feltwell Being refurbished, due to reopen soon.

Old White Bell, Southery Bikers’ night, last Sunday each month.

Union Jack, Roydon Following Mark Riches’ attendance at our recent meeting there, they have stocked three Beeston beers. Interest shown in other Norfolk beers.

Do not be surprised to get a request for LocAle Accreditation.

Comfort Inn, Northwold Now closed in the wake of the owning company going into administration.

Michael Croxford, Des O'Brien, Mark Fulcher, Andrea Kirkby

We have really stimulated debate with our Post-Its – for which I make no apologies.

Everyone is different, and it's important that we provide an unvarnished view of our Norfolk pubs. I think most readers would agree that the fact that most of our reviews are positive reflects the excellence of our Norfolk pubs!

This month we've had plenty of feedback from other CAMRA members and from landlords – please do keep the letters coming.

Michael Cullup writes: I was very surprised to read the approving note about THE CHAMPION in the current 'Norfolk Nips'. Several weeks ago, this pub changed hands and the new managers have, in my opinion, provided an appalling service. On two occasions, I've found their mild practically undrinkable, and no food has been available since the previous tenants left. Of course, this may have changed since I was last in the pub near the beginning of December.

This used to be an excellent little pub and, after a couple or so duds, a brilliant manager took over and the service was friendly and lively, and there was always food available.

I'll check the pub out shortly - but I'd be surprised to see a change for the better. The advert on page 34 of 'Norfolk Nips' is quite misleading. It's also such a pity that this pub is in the current '2009 Good Beer Guide' at the expense of, say, a really good Norwich pub like 'The Ribs of Beef', which has long deserved an entry.

Warren Wordsworth commented: I was a little disappointed at these comments made on the Champion. The problem is I think that the new Continued Overleaf

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He should have gone to the Norwich’s oldest alehouse

Four Real Ales

EATON COTTAGE, UNTHANK RD, NORWICH 01603 453048

Aspells Cider & over 50 Malt Whiskies.

Food served from 12noon-7pm Monday to Saturday. 12noon-5pm Sunday

Fine Real Ales,lagers,wines and spirits All Sky Sports • A traditional pub Good covered outside areas • Doggies welcome 17 Bishopgate, Norwich NR3 1RZ 01603 667423

“a festival of beers every day”

Angel Gardens Free House

Under same ownership for 21 years

Six reasonably priced Real Ales including three guest ales Home Cooked Food Live Music on Saturdays Beer Garden with heated smoking shelter

2 Bars (with one for Private Hire) Ample Car Parking 96 Angel Rd, Norwich NR3 3HT 01603 427490 email: ikwarren-angel@tiscali.co.uk www.norwichinns.com 14

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NORFOLK NIPS | Pub Post Its continued landlord is not a particularly outgoing sort of a person and this has been misconstrued as unfriendly. Living quite close I visit the place a bit and have found once you get to him he is very friendly but agree strangers visiting may not find him so as appeared to be the case on the Christmas crawl.

As far as beer range and quality are concerned I've had no problems. He has increased his beer range to include Bateman's seasonal beers as well as the usual XB XXXB, Woodforde's Wherry and Nelson's Revenge.

Warren Dear Andrea I was disappointed you printed the second letter on page 17 of last issue "White Lion reopening".

The amount of column inches the Nips uses bemoaning the closing of pubs! Why when a much loved old friend reopens do you need to use such a letter, which could harm their chances of success? For the Milton Brewery to have made such a brave move - and no small investment in these troubled times - should be given every bit of support we can offer. After all you might expect the smell of paint when a pub is refurbished!I would also have expected that drinking in the street is generally not allowed.

The welcome I received on my first visit could not have been nicer, they had 6 hand pumps and the beer is well looked after and presented.

All any CAMRA member could ask for. I notice the correspondent was anonymous. Love Nips otherwise - keep up the good work.

Regards Colin Allen Andrea Kirkby comments: We did try to provide a balance of views by commissioning a second article from another CAMRA member who had a more positive experience of the White Lion. As always it's horses for courses – I must admit I love the dark Milton beers like Marcus Aurelius and have found it a super little pub (including the landlord's special cough mixture when I was under the weather!), so as always I'd encourage readers to go and make up their own minds!

White Horse at Chedgrave As the landlord of the White Horse at Chedgrave, I would like to reply to your “pub post it’s” article in issue no 147.

The White Horse Chedgrave is tied to Punch Taverns. I am the lessee, having acquired the residual lease with 22 years left - very much a long term investment. Since taking on the pub in March 2008, I have organised two beer festivals, one around St George's Day and one around Remembrance Sunday. Being a Norfolk boy, I like to “do different”. Our events so far have included: Last night of the proms, Burns Night, Bastille Day (French Food and musical entertainment) And we are preparing for our 1st year anniversary when we will have a free barbecue for all our customers (old and new!) on April Fool’s Day. We are in the 2009 Good Beer Guide, we have Cask Marque and Beautiful Beer Gold accreditations, the latter of which passed at 96%.

The pub has excellent support with Timothy Taylor Landlord our best selling real ale. I would like to state that I have never sold a stale pint of Landlord. Our turnover is such that this would be impossible! Also, we have never refused to exchange a pint - customers of real ale are offered tasters before they buy. With regards to having Bass as a guest ale, “Dangerous Brian” likes Bass and so do many more of my locals.

As mentioned before, we are tied to a PubCo so are restricted as to the beers we can sell - so can't always offer locally produced ales as much as we'd like to.

Alternatively, your post-it contributor could attend our next beer festival : Wednesday 22nd to Sunday 26th April, during which there will be over 20 real ales and ciders available to try.

Also, they could take part in our pro-am bowls contest, enjoy “the Kemps Men” dancing or appreciate the live music on offer. All of these things aimed and helping he/she “cheer themselves up!”.

Simon Peck Continued Overleaf

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The ROSE SAUSAGE & BEER FESTIVAL

EASTERFEST! FRIDAY 10th – SUNDAY 19th ARPIL BEERS FROM WALES & NORFOLK & LOTS OF SAUSAGES! THE ROSE INDEPENDENT FREEHOUSE 235 QUEENS RD, NORWICH NR1 3AE Tel: 01603 767713

The KETTS TAVERN New Managers KEV and DORRY invite you to experience the food, fine ales and fantastic atmosphere of The KETTS 4 Beer Festivals A Year Buffys Norwich Terrier £2.20 Food served 12 -2.30pm and 6 -9pm Bacon Baps served all day!

The Conservatory Coffee Shop Large Car Park A Very Warm Welcome!

THE KETTS TAVERN INDEPENDENT FREEHOUSE 29 Ketts Hill, Norwich NR1 4EX Tel: 01603 449654

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NORFOLK NIPS | Pub Post Its continued WOULD YOU ADAM ‘N’ EVE IT? As the proud landlady of the oldest pub in Norwich – with a history spanning back to when masonry craftsmen were building Norwich Cathedral and unloading huge stone pieces at Pulls Ferry – I can clearly see why both my own pub, The Adam and Eve, and the Ribs of Beef and Mad Moose Arms gained favourable reviews in the AA’s 2008 Pub Guide.

Notwithstanding the Adam and Eve’s fascinating history and the fact we are perceived as a significant tourist attraction and wonderful watering hole to quench one’s thirst and enjoy good food in one of the most hospitable of Norwich pubs, I also happen to be selling FOUR quality real ales…including Adnams Best Bitter, Old Peculier, Bombardier and Moletrap!

I didn’t go lobbying the AA Pub Guide’s journalist who wrote the review, including the cherry picked plaudit, “The perfect pub every time…” (or choose the criteria for being featured) but like the owners of the Mad Moose Arms and Ribs of Beef, I’m justifiably proud to be included in the AA’s 2008 Pub Guide and any other respected publication where my support of Real Ale and reputation for selling quality food, wines, spirits and beer at value-for-money prices is recognised by professional journalists, visiting tourists, day trippers, and Norwich and Norfolk residents who know a good Real Ale when they drink one (or four)!

Cheers!

Rita McCluskey Landlady of the Adam and Eve in Norwich

This was sent in response to the 2008 AA Pub Guide article in issue 147 on page 5

Short Measure?

If you are unhappy about the service you get in a pub, i.e. short measures, lack of a price list, or misleading listing of products, contact: Norfolk County Council Trading Standards Department at County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2UD. Tel: 01603 222177

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National Inventory Pubs

| NORFOLK NIPS

Norfolk’s True Heritage Pubs

he National Inventory of Pubs with Interiors of Outstanding Historic Interest is CAMRA’s pioneering effort to identify and help protect the most important historic pub interiors in the country.

It has been part of the Campaign’s mission for the past 35 years to save Britain’s rich heritage of pubs as well as promote real ale.

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A guide book subtitled “Britain’s True Heritage Pubs’ was issued in 2003 and the current list of pubs can be viewed on www.heritagepubs/org.uk.

It includes 200 Part One entries - pubs whose interiors have remained largely unaltered since before World War Two; and Part Two Part Two which lists 80 pub interiors that, although altered, have exceptional rooms or features of national historic importance.

CAMRA’s next step has been to develop a second tier of inventories, each covering a particular part of the UK. East Anglia’s True Heritage Pubs will shortly be visible on the CAMRA heritage pubs website. Surveying has identified a number of such pubs in 18

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Norfolk and this is the first of a series of articles to bring these special and rare pub interiors to the attention of Norfolk Nips readers. We aim to point out the reasons for inclusion and hope you will visit them and see for yourselves the features we highlight.

The focus is entirely on interiors and what is authentically old. To be included the pub should retain a reasonable amount of genuinely historic internal fabric and / or sufficient of the layout for the historic plan-form to be appreciated and understood.

The emphasis is on pre-1939 interiors, although post-war examples might occasionally be considered if they have particular merit / quality fittings. The interior should be little altered in the past 40 years.

popular with the higher quality built pubs of the 1930s the interior is panelled throughout.

The main Baronial Hall-style bar retains the original counter, bar back with old till drawer, and a cigar cabinet with leaded windows. The original brick fireplace remains; in the mid 1980s panels were removed from either side of it to make access to the room easier.

wall - this was the original ladies which was relocated to the rear of the pub in the 1970s and this involved shortening the original counter to what now looks like a small but disused hatch. The games room retains its original Tudor arch stone and brick fireplace.

Another item of note is the decorative frieze of hops and acanthus leaves situated above

Gate House, Norwich This issue we are featuring the Gate House, 391 Dereham Road, Norwich NR5 8QJ. It is situated just off the outer ring road. It was re-built by Morgans Brewery in 1934 in a distinct Mock Tudor style with a round tower-like section on the left. Look for the stone

Exterior of the Gate House, with its distictive tower-like section.

mullioned windows featuring stained glass roundels, with various symbols relating to the Bayeaux Tapestry. As was

Above: The ‘Baronial Hall-like’ main bar of the Gate House, Norwich Opposite: The 1930s fireplace and decorative frieze.

Originally on the right there was a panelled passageway from the front door leading to the small counter which was the original off-sales. In the 1970s the wall separating the off-sales and the snug on the right was removed.

To the left of the main bar a wall was removed, also in the early 1970s, to link it with what is now a games room in the splendid circular tower-like section on the left of the building – look for its original entrance to the room on the left side. You will notice a small alcove just past the dividing

the panelling in all the rooms.

The back door leads to an external staircase, and at the bottom there is a loggia (a covered patio) and extensive gardens down to the banks of the River Wensum. There is a Garden Bar, added in the 1990s, which can be brought into use. All the alterations have been handled in a sympathetic manner – even the porch on the front of the pub that was added in the 1970s is in the style of the original building.

Continued Overleaf

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NORFOLK NIPS | National Inventory Pubs continued The Gate House has been owned for the past 12 years by John Gates and he sells Grain Oak, Woodforde’s Wherry, Greene King IPA and Abbot.

Opening hours are 12 to 11 (midnight Fri, Sat). No hot food is served. Live music every Fri and Sat evenings from 8.30pm. 01603 620340.

Earle Arms, Heydon A contrast to the Gate House, which is very much a drinker's pub, is the Earle Arms in the estate village of Heydon, where the original main bar has been converted into the dining room. Only one access road leads to this unspoilt village

Exterior of the Earle Arms, Heydon still with its 1970s Watneys inn sign

and this 18th-century pub is opposite the green. Now a freehouse, it was leased to Bullards and has a distinctive Watney Mann inn sign dating from the 1970s. It claim to fame is that it appeared as the `Winterman Arms' in the situation comedy ‘Up Rising’, filmed during July 1999. The large entrance lobby has an old panelled dado and to the right is the former public bar, now a dining room – note the figure '1' on the door, which was a requirement of the licensing magistrates – every public room and the cellar would have a number. This small

The ‘Baronial Hall-like’ main bar of the Gate House, Norwich

room has an old panelled dado, a wood surround and brick fireplace with a fine set of curious old cupboards, two on each side. The bar counter is more of a hatch than a bar the handpumps serving local beers being situated adjacent to the bar back shelving, which may be at least 50 years old.

To the left of the entrance lobby is the current bar, formerly the lounge, with a number '2' on the dado. It has a Norfolk pammet floor and an old brick fireplace with a log fire. Up to the early 1970s it had a tiny quarter circle bar, which was then replaced by a larger wooden counter, subsequently removed in 2006; now it has a modern brick bar. On the right there is a further public room, which has been brought into pub use, and has a 1950s tiled fireplace and bench seating. Further back there is a small conservatory.

The pub has been run by Andrew Harrison-Taylor for 10 years and he sells Woodforde’s

Wherry, Adnams Best Bitter and a guest beer, often from a local brewery such as Yetman’s.

Opening Hours are from 12 to 3; and 6 to 11 Tuesday to Saturday (pub closed all day on Mondays); 12 to 10.30 Sundays. Food is served lunchtimes and evenings.

01263 587376. The post code is NR11 6AD. Text and photographs by Mick Slaughter of CAMRA’s Pub Heritage Group

The hatch at the Earle Arms, Heydon – note the handpumps are attached to the bar back

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Mild

| NORFOLK NIPS

Mild Child (?) of Marston's Merrie Monk, which used to be a regular rather than an occasional guest brew, as it seems to be today.

Yet, sadly, that seems to be the norm rather than the exception for many breweries.

hen I first started drinking in pubs (more years ago than I'd rather remember) the choices you had about what to drink were relatively simple, especially if you could find one of those rare pubs that served proper cask ale. I grew up in the North West Midlands, around Stoke-on-Trent; the local area was awash with Ansells and Whitbread, served full of gas. Even back then, my preference was for the Robinsons, Burtonwood and Marstons pubs, where the beer served was something different.

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Even in those wonderful drinking establishments, the choices were pretty limited. If you were lucky, there'd be a bitter and best bitter – in really special cases perhaps even a choice of three! But almost every pub I frequented also had at least one mild, sometimes two – something that became a rarity for many a year. I've many a fond memory 22

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Milds have become an occasional or seasonal brew – and I think we, the drinking public, have our options sadly reduced because of that. When was the last time you saw a bottled mild in a supermarket? A very rare sight indeed.

Whilst there was an element of “old man's drink” about it, there was also the opposite end of the drinking spectrum – the young drinker, still to develop a liking for the taste of bitters. It makes you wonder if, instead of hurtling headlong down the “we have to have lager-look-alike real ales for the youngster” route, perhaps the idea of mild as an introduction to real ale is something to be looked at again. As a “mildly hopped” beer, it could be the ideal introduction, especially where body and flavour combine to give a very palatable drink.

There should be a hint of sweetness and a good caramel flavour, combined with a good body of taste. Yes, sometimes the body can be a little thin, but that's often the case with many low-gravity beers, bitters included. Mind you, there are some brewers who can

manage to squeeze a very full body into their lower gravity milds (as anyone who's enjoyed a pint of Dark Fantastic will tell you).

And before the cry of “but mild is a dark beer and we only like lighter ones” even starts to rise, there were (and still are) both dark and light milds.

Taylor's Golden Best is a good example of the latter, but there are others worth finding – there's usually a couple at the Beer Festival come October.

So, to any brewers out there, why not explore this sadly overlooked part of our brewing heritage? And congratulations to those local brewers who already do – there are many fine examples of local brewed offerings.

The first thing to do is to find one though! Not that long ago finding a mild wasn't easy.

Happily, there are a number of our city pubs now that regularly carry at least one: the Free Houses like The Kings Head, Trafford Arms and Duke of Wellington spring to mind.

Whilst both Elgoods Black Dog and Batemans Dark Mild are easy to find (being regularly carried in the brewery outlets in the city) and are both very palatable, a number of our smaller, local, brewers' offerings are also worth finding out. To single out just a few....

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I've already mentioned Dark Fantastic from Spectrum (3.8%), which is definitely worth finding, and it won't surprise those who know me that it's a favourite of mine.

A very dark red colour with a good, classic mild-malt taste that I find lingers very nicely right through to the finish. One of these days I'll find it at the same time as the Light fantastic, and try a “pint of mixed”, just to see, and reminisce about the days of my youth!

Another one with a full body is Tipple’s The Hanged Monk (3.8%). Plenty of malt in the aroma and taste of this one too, which gives it a smooth, sweet flavour that's so typical of a good mild. It's another one where I find the taste lasts, and there's bags of chocolate taste that stays right through to the finish. If you're in the area, drop in to the brewery shop on Elm Hill and acquire one or two bottles (like I did recently).

Winter's Mild (3.6%) is another where I find the flavour of roasted malt really comes through in the taste. The GBG description of “a good, solid flavour” can't, I think, be beaten for its accuracy.

Certainly another one to savour when you can find it.

No article on milds in Norfolk would be complete, though, without a reference to Woodforde's Mardler's Mild (3.5%). A deep, dark colour (“looks like a pint of cola” someone commented to me as I was drinking one recently).

A good roast malt taste with, it has to be said, chocolate overtones, and a slight sweetness (and, dare I say, a slightly nutty aftertaste?), all of which stay through to the finish.

Every now and again, though, you get someone who just has to be different - and Wolf Brewery's “Wolf in Sheep's Clothing” is exactly that.

Yes, it's a mild, with all the usual mild characteristics, but it comes with a strength of hop which I find gives a surprising bitterness that you don't usually get in a mild. I'd say this is probably my favourite of the Wolf beers, but, unfortunately, like many milds, it tends to be a seasonal offering. I wish I could find it all year round (hint, hint).

cover a piece of drinking heritage that's worth finding and keeping! And here's to a good selection of milds being available all year round!

A selection of milds from our local brewers (apologies for those I’ve missed): Blackfriars Mild 3.4% ABV Buffy’s Mild 4.2% ABV Chalk Hill Flintknappers 5.0% ABV Elmtree Nightlight 5.7% ABV Spectrum Dark Fantastic 3.8% ABV Tipples The Hanged Monk 3.8% ABV Winter’s Mild 3.6% ABV Wolf Wolf in Sheeps Clothing 3.7% ABV Woild Moild 4.8% ABV Woodforde’s Mardler's Mild 3.5% ABV

Of course, way back in the past, mild wasn't the low gravity beer we know today.

Up until WW1 it would've been difficult to find one with a strength less than 4.5%, whereas today finding one at that or higher is very rare indeed. But they do exist.

Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby (6.0%) is perhaps the best known (and can sometimes be found in The Trafford and the Duke of Wellington), but the locally brewed offerings of Elmtree Nightlight Mild (Beer of the Festival at the 2008 Norwich Beer Festival) at 5.7% and Wolf Brewery's Woild Moild (at 4.8%) are good examples. I intend to find both of those as soon as I can!!

Note from the editor – Keith suggests that mild might be more attractive to younger drinkers than 'lager-alike' beers.

Certainly evidence from the tasting sessions that CAMRA held with local brewers at the NorJam international scouting event in 2006 suggested that this was the case, with Headcracker and Mardlers being nominated as favourite beers of the Woodforde's led session well ahead of any of the bitters!

So, as the cry of “Make May Mild Month” rises again, why not do exactly that, and redis-

May is CAMRA’s National Mild Month

Keith Gerrard

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NORFOLK NIPS | West Norfolk GBG survey

A Surveying we will go! t’s “Good Beer Guide” survey time again, how quickly it comes around, time for some good honest research, I think you know what I’m talking about here.

Such fun always! Over a chilly winter week-end myself and Nige ventured forth (and came fifth!), he drove Saturday, and I returned the favour Sunday.

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Saturday, first stop the Green Man at Methwold Hythe, a pleasant pub just off the back road between Feltwell and Methwold, we caught the last day of their January sale, the Elgoods Thin Ice was 2 quid a pint, the friendly hosts quickly assisted us to do the survey. We decided to check out a couple of extras, first being the Bedingfeld Arms at Oxborough (next to Oxborough Hall,

a National Trust property), superb Adnams Bitter, and Nige reported the food was good too. Next into Downham Market and the Crown Hotel, the bar was busy, and four ales to choose from, I had Cottage The Lion, The Witch and The Whippet (great name!). back to surveying, and the Old White Bell at Southery, a couple pints of Tom Woods Mill Tavern relaxed me to almost comatose, and I thrashed my driver 8-2 at pool! He dropped me home after that, half-time for us.

Sunday, my turn behind the wheel, Nige had enjoyed sunny driving conditions, unfortunately I got the blizzards! Hey ho, we began at the Swan at Hilborough, nice Nethergate Three Point Nine, despite being busy they were more than

helpful doing the survey.

A quick trip to the Windmill Inn at Great Cressingham, where the pub’s owner gave us hand with the form , had a nice chat, and even bought us a drink (J20 for me), Nige said the TT Landlord was superb, I forget the other one he had, this pub was also busy with Sunday lunches. Through the snowy icy wastes to our final stop, the White Hart at Foulden, a former branch POTY, we had a late lunch here, and some fine Buffy’s ales, a really friendly pub.

If you have a suggestion for a pub we should look at, don’t be backwards in coming forwards, we’re always looking for new places to go.

Lewis Hamilton’s left foot (aka Tim)

National Cask Ale Week 5th-13th April AMRA research shows that a staggering 65% of adults have never even tried real ale - yet of those that do try it, 40% of them are converted to making it a regular tipple.

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Mike Benner, CAMRA's Chief Executive, calls Cask Ale Week “a celebration of our national drink”.

So make National Cask Ale Week your chance to convert your lager-drinking or wine-drinking friends. Take them to one

of our excellent pubs and introduce them to the delights of real ale!

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DUKE of WELLINGTON TRADITIONAL REAL ALE HOUSE 14 REAL ALES GRAVITY SERVED available all year round from our glass fronted tap room

6 MORE ALES ON HAND PUMP CAMRA Good Beer Guide Listed CAMRA Norfolk Pub of the Year 2003 Open Monday to Saturday 12noon to 11pm Sundays 12noon to 10.30pm

Come and enjoy our Tap Room with a selection of Belgian bottled beers, Schneider Weiss, Erdinger and Dunkel.

k e s wa l t u n i 5m Jus t 1 C i t y C e n t re f rom

91 - 93 WATERLOO ROAD | NORWICH | 01603 441182

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The Fur & Feather, Woodbastwick, Norfolk NR13 6HQ Tel: 01603 720003 www.thefurandfeatherinn.co.uk Our loyal band of customers already know how good the beer & food is at the Fur and Feather, now you can try it at The Ingham Swan too. We have all the Woodforde's beers on offer, either from cask or bottle, and should you have a drop too much we have five cosy en suite rooms in which to stay!

k The Swan, Swan Corner, Ingham, Norfolk NR12 9AB Tel: 01692 581099 www.theinghamswan.com

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Beer & Music

| NORFOLK NIPS

Music & Real Ale TRADITIONAL JAZZ Acle Recreation Centre, Bridewell Lane, Acle Real Ales include Adnams Bitter, Theakstons and Tipples Redhead Tuesday 24th March – Rod Mason and his Hot Five (including former local favourite – Sean Moyses - on Banjo) Tickets/enquiries – Brian Davis 01493 701880 The Quality Hotel (Filby Suite), Bowthorpe, Norwich (off Dereham Road) Fat Cat Bitter is being laid on specially for the jazz sessions.

Tuesday 10th March Ken Colyer Legacy New Orleans Jazz Band Tuesday 12th May Brian Carrick’s Algiers Stompers Tickets/enquiries – Rod Playford 01362 688269 King’s Arms, Market Place, Reepham Adnams Bitter, Elgoods Cambridge Bitter, Timothy Taylor Landlord, Woodforde’s Wherry and Abbot Ale. Every Sunday lunchtime from 10th May to mid September in the courtyard at the rear of pub (weather permitting), the bands alternating through the summer will be Nene Valley Jazzmen, Climax Jazz Band, Vintage Hot Orchestra, Norfolk 28

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Jazz (who include several former members of Just Jazz Good Time Jazz Band) and Simon Nelson’s Dixie Mix. In addition, there will be lunchtime sessions on Bank Holiday Mondays 4th May, 25th May and 31st August.

(Phone King’s Arms for more details - 01603 870345) King’s Head Hotel, Beccles, Suffolk Selection of Adnams beers plus Humpty Dumpty Bitter Every Sunday evening - Red Beans ‘n’ Rice New Orleans Jazz Band Feathers Hotel, Market Place, Holt Greene King Abbot Ale and IPA First Friday every month – Lumiere Rouge Ragtime Band Marsham Arms, nr Hevingham (B1149 Norwich-Holt Road) Adnams Bitter, plus alternating guests including Adnams Broadside and Woodforde’s Wherry Third Friday every month – Lumiere Rouge Ragtime Band Tally Ho, Mettingham (nr Bungay), Suffolk Following the sudden closure of this pub a few weeks ago, the Sole Bay Jazz Band have had to find a new home after playing at this venue for well over 20 years. Fortunately they have found a new venue just a

few miles up the road from the Tally Ho at Flixton Buck.

The Buck Inn, The Street, Flixton, Suffolk Woofordes Mardler’s, Morland Original and Adnams Bitter are the regulars at present, but in addition there are guest beers, and an increased selection in the summer months Every Thursday Sole Bay Jazz Band Ingleside Hotel, Mundesley Following the folding of Just Jazz Good Time Jazz Band, regular jazz sessions have ceased at this long running jazz venue, but it is hoped that things will get under way in some way or other in the near future (Watch press for details).

Waterside Bar, Beach Terrace Road, Hunstanton Adnams Bitter and Greene King Old Speckled Hen Sunday 22nd March (5.00 – 8.00 pm) – Chris Wigley’s Dixieland Jazz Quartet (led by former Just Jazz trombonist Chris Wigley) Sunday 21st June (9.00 – 11.00 pm) Chris Wigley’s Dixieland Jazz Quartet.

It is good to be able to report on a new venue in West Norfolk, following the widening of the distribution area of Norfolk Nips. (If anyone knows of any

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NORFOLK NIPS | Beer & Music more jazz venues in West Norfolk, please let me know).

Queen’s Hall, Watton No news of the beer at this venue, but this date features another comparatively new band in the area:Friday 13th March – Simon Nelson’s Dixie Mix Toftwood Social Club (Nr East Dereham) Saturday 21st March – Dixie Jazz Bandits with Mary Lou Lambert Dereham Jazz Society, Lakeside Country Club, Quarry Lane, Lyng (nr Dereham) Adnams beers plus guest beers on handpump Wednesday 1st April – Simon Nelson’s Dixie Mix Limes Hotel, High Street, Needham Market, Suffolk Real Ales available First Sunday evening every month. Also, third Sunday lunchtime monthly in Bugs Bar – Bands vary

MAINSTREAM /MODERN JAZZ Green Man, Wroxham Road, Rackheath Woodforde’s Wherry, Adnams Bitter and Broadside plus guests Every Tuesday – Full programme consisting of various bands and musicians.

For further details, phone Barbara Capocci on 01603 413443, or e-mail b.capocci123@ntlworld.com

Dereham Jazz Society, Lakeside Country Club, Quarry Lane, Lyng (nr Dereham) Adnams beers plus guest beers on handpump Every Wednesday – Full programme consisting of various bands and musicians, which usually includes one ‘traditional’ session each month (see above).

For further details phone 01328 863511 or 01362 696741 or visit website www.lakeside-jazz-club.co.uk Holiday Inn, Cromer Road, Norwich (near Airport) Real Ales available Sat 2nd May to Monday 4th May – Norwich Jazz Party.

Following on from highly successful events in the last two years, this year will again feature a huge international line-up of top class bands and musicians.

Tickets/information from Jerry Brown (Jazz ‘n’ Blues Records) – 01603 467777 Keith Chettleburgh

FOLK IN THE EAST ‘A’ is for Alby and a new, to these pages, music venue at the Horse Shoes on the Cromer Road, a local singers & musicians session on the last Thursday of the month from 20.30. Tel: 01263 761378 I could mention that they have a good selection of well kept ales but that would be advertising.

Also, staying in North Norfolk, the Sheringham Folk club meet at the Burlington Hotel bar

on the second Wednesday of the month, also from 20.30, all welcome especially musicians.

Geldeston Locks in the wilds of the Waveney valley continue their regular music slots, wind, wave and high tide permitting! Murphy’s Lore appear on the 22nd of March (Sunday) and host an open mike session on the Thursday 26th while in April between the 9th & Sunday 12th an Easter Beer & Music Festival draws them back again for a folky Friday. Buskers and sundry acoustic acts are interspersed with Ska, Country & Blues over the next two days with (on Sunday) The Henry Bros (Gospel, Blues and murder ballads) before the Rum Brothers contribute their own Irish country & folk.www.geldestonlocks.co.uk for more details.

Over in the west of the county the former Castle Acre Folk Club has made a change of venue from the Ostrich Inn to the Red Lion on the Market Place in Swaffham, the sessions start at 20.00 on the last Wednesday of the month.

Norwich Folk club meet at the White Horse Inn at Trowse from 20.30 to 23.30 every Friday mostly singarounds and local musician sessions they have guests on 13th March, 17th April, and 15th May updates on www.norwichfolkclub.net Another city venue that had slipped under my radar in the past is the York Tavern on Continued Overleaf

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6 High Street, Ringstead, Norfolk PE36 5JU

NORWICH

Real Ales

Live Music 7 Nights A Week

Cindy and Steve would like to welcome you to The Gin Trap Inn, a traditional 17th century coaching inn with luxury B&B rooms on the Peddars Way and near the lovely North Norfolk coast.

Adnams Bitter and Woodforde’s Wherry are always available along with rotating guest beers and award winning food.

Two Floors Available for Private Daytime Bookings 7 Days A Week Parking, Smoking Area Enquiries for daytime and evening bookings please ring Karen on 07974 512 434 or www.myspace.com/thequeencharlotte

Tel: 01485 525264

BARRELIEF

MANAGEMENT Woods End Bramerton

Situated on the River Yare three miles from Norwich.

5 real Ales, Good Pub Food.

Children and Pet Friendly Martin and the Crew look forward to welcoming you.

Tel: 01508 538899 30

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Your local Bar Relief to cover for your Holidays or Sickness.

Personal Licence Holder.

Food Hygiene Certificated.

Please Call Brian Mayhew on 01603 301356 or 07714657752 to discuss your requirements email: brmpubservices@aol.com www.brmpubservices.co.uk

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NORFOLK NIPS | Beer & Music Leicester Street who host a weekly Friday night session from 20.30 for acoustic music and sing-arounds. The usual Irish sessions continue on Wednesdays at The Shed on Sprowston Road while, for the Nelson on Nelson Street, Thursday & Sunday are the nights to look out for. And, of the regular city sessions the Duke of Wellington on Waterloo Road continues to host the von Krapp Family on Tuesday evenings.

Although not strictly folk a mainly acoustic session has now started at the Wild Man on Bedford Street Norwich, no other details at the moment.

In addition to the headlines on the death of the English pub much was made in the national press, at the start of the year, of the forthcoming demise of that, much derided, English tradition of morris dancing. Now, I’m no dancer, and come complete with a fully working set of left feet but the City has two fully functioning (morris) sides in the form of Kemps Men & Golden Star Morris. It is easy to mock but before you write off morris as hanky waving for the mentally middle aged check out a side, on good form, for an energetic and entertaining experience.

Star haven’t publicised their dance-out dates at the time of writing but catch Kemps at the Chedgrave White Horse lunchtime on 25th April, Poringland Royal Oak on Wednesday 27th May at 19.45, Hethersett Queen’s Head

on June 3rd (19.45) and Wymondham Feathers on the 10th also at 19.45. www.goldenstarmorris.org.uk & www.kempsmen.org.uk for more details.

The Sunday night, Meet in the Hedge sessions (The Feathers Inn Town Green Wymondham) for all sorts of acoustic music (and poetry) will be on the 29th of March, 26th April, 31st May and 28th June check for details on www.meetinthehedge.co.uk And finally, the usual appeal for information, especially in West Norfolk if you are running folk or acoustic sessions in your local pass the details on via the editor’s e-mail address unless you really want to keep it quiet!

ROCK IN THE QUEEN CHARLOTTE Gig listings for March, April, May for the Queen Charlotte Norwich March 20 Guns 2 Roses - guns and roses tribute band 21 Vegas Fame index 23 Fullwater + Collider 24 Hair Traffic Control 26 Metal night 27 Dance 4 tibet + Slackbanta and Friends 28 Milo b+mr moon+bispatial+vista - a night of electro 29 The Relays + the pressure + mum locked in a castle 30 Shitmat 31 This Wonderful Creation presents the queen charlotte

under 18 live music night April 03 Trepidation base 04 Power up promotions present day one of the 1up fest 05 Power up promotions present day two of the 1up fest 06 Cocos Lovers 07 Good friday at the queen charlotte with indelible sound 08 Amen-tal sound system 13 Easter Monday at the queen charlotte with denounce + hero kills heroine - a thrashing bank holiday of metal 16 Power Up Promotions Presents Catch 22 17 Killer Hurts + Snowblind 18 Arcadia Lake + Friends In Aid Of The Rspb 21 The Queen Charlotte Quirky Quiz -Free Entry, Selected Real Ales £1.99 A Pint All Night, £40.00 In Prize Money Up For Grabs Plus Drinks Round 22 Alaska Pipeline + Hair Traffic Control + Tbc 23 Celebrating St Georges Day With The Best Of Punk Featuring The Culprits, The Transmission, Kill Youth Culture And Very Special Guests Tbc 26 Russell Can’t Drive + Downtown Crashers 28 Under 18 Live Music Night May 01 Disco Biscuit Presents At The Queen Charlotte 02 Amen-Tal 08 Slackbanta Sound System 15 Concrete Roots Sound System 16 Steel Noise Promotions Presents All Day Metal Fest Myspace.Com/Steelnoisepromotions.

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West Norfolk Branch

| NORFOLK NIPS

Christmas Pub Crawl

ur branch’s annual Xmas pub crawl in Norwich started out of the city center, at the DUKE OF CONNAUGHT, our host kindly opened up early at 11 for us, a good group of 13 gathered to start the day with a bang (myself and Nige were quickly into a game of pool!), my first pint was a lovely drop of Winters Bitter. Around the corner and up the street (slightly to the left of the Rishi Maze!), was the NELSON, a few more joined us here, I had one of my fave ales, Deuchars IPA, knocks that Greene King stuff into a cocked hat. Along to pub 3, the excellent FAT CAT, busy as always, more people here bringing our numbers up to 25, I tried a couple of Scottish ales in Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted and Orkney Red McGregor.

Onto a great backstreet boozer,

O

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the ALEXANDRA, where the landlord was so impressed by the numbers he gave me a very nice Alex t-shirt, cheers! A UK versus USA pool match took place, and we whipped them good, reckon the Americans are used to bigger balls!!!

Ahem! Drinks-wise, it was CHB for me. Down the road and across the busy junction, around the bend (aren’t we all?!), to MICAWBERS. We ran into some ‘Molly Dancers’, cousins of Morris Dancers I suppose, but basically blokes in dresses and garish make-up, pity I’d left my dress and highheels at home! Umm, moving swiftly along! Oh, Nelson’s Revenge was my poison here.

Next up was the RUMSEY WELLS (formerly the St Andrews Tavern), I sank a manly ale of Adnams Old, I was amused by the selection of sweet jars behind the bar, which included Bon Bons and Flying Saucers. It’s a dogs’ life, so onto the DOG HOUSE (ex-Red Lion), gravity ales on tap, the Spitfire I has was superb, eyes turns to the Sky Sports TV screen to check the footie scores, and a vital 1-0 home win for Norwich City over Charlton. Followed that with a visit to the OLD WHITE LION, which had re-opened in Autumn last year, good to see the pub back in business, now owned by the Milton Brewery, my ale was Dionysus.

Onwards ever onwards, and

the KINGS HEAD, like to have a game of bar billiards whenever I pop in here, and enjoyed a nice drop of Buffy’s Hop leaf.

Now then, at this point myself and Stig decided a curry would be good, so popped across the road, my chicken Madras was delicious. But Stig quickly regretted his decision to have curried crab, as it turned out to be very fiddly (Fiddler Crab?!), and we ran out of time to try the remaining pubs on the list as we had to catch our train. But Nige informed me the rest of the group carried on and went in the GLASSHOUSE and TAKE 5, and both were good. In fact Nige dragged a few diehards along to TWO more pubs, this man doesn’t know when to quit! They went in the Rosary Tavern and the Coach & Horses ( they must have bottomless stomachs!). So ends another Xmas crawl, can’t wait ‘til this year when we get to do it all again, cheers me dears!!!!!

Tim “Alice” Spitzer.

I was back in Norwich in the middle of January, taking a group of mainly Americans on a crawl, it was someone’s “going away’. I followed some of the Xmas crawl route such as the ALEXANDRA, FAT CAT, RUMSEY WELLS, DOG HOUSE , and KINGS HEAD. Also took them in the REINDEER, RIBS OF BEEF, GLASSHOUSE, EDITH CAVELL, and finally, COMPLEAT ANGLER (nice Norfolk Nog!).

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June Beer Festival Friday June 12th - Sunday June 14th See website for details 6 Real Ales always available Large Beer Garden and Car Park Music: Folk every Sunday and Thursday Regular Live Bands Sunday night Pub Quiz Sky Sports and Setanta Watch City in the Championship - Find us in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2009 -

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Cambridge Bitter 3.8%

Gold Award Champion Bitter of Britain 2006 Available all year round:

SEASONAL ALES Thin Ice 4.7% Jan/Feb Old Wagg 4.0% March/April Double Swan 4.5% May/June Mad Dog 4.4% July/Aug Barleymead 4.8% Sept/Oct Old Black Shuck 4.5% Nov Snickalmas 5.0% Wenceslas Winter Warmer 7.5% Dec

North Brink Brewery, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire 34

| SPRING 2009

Tel: 01945 583160

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Crown Inn Sheringham East Cliff, Sheringham NR26 8BQ Tel: 01263 823213

Four Real Ales London Pride, GK Abbot, GK IPA and Woodfordes Werry

Large Beer Garden overlooking the sea Live bands all year on Wednesday

Home Cooked Food available 12noon - 9pm, 7 days a week 15 Chef Specials on the board

£1.00 Meal Deal Purchase any two meals at the same time from either menu and the cheaper will cost only £1!

• SALTHOUSE •

“THE COUNTRY PUB” Comfortable atmosphere Real ales and open fire Home cooked food Superb bar snacks served every day, 12noon until 9pm

24th to 26th April 2009

Parties and function catered for Sheltered courtyard and garden En-suite accommodation

A celebration of Norfolk’s Ales. Five of the finest Norfolk breweries to celebrate the best of Norfolk.

Norfolk Ales • Norfolk Food • Norfolk Singers

’T DON IT! MISS Coast Rd, Salthouse, Norfolk NR25 7XA

Tel: 01263 740467

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North West Norfolk Pub Scene

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NORFOLK NIPS | Norfolk Coastal Feature

n surveying for the 2010 CAMRA National Good Beer Guide and judging for our Branch Pub of the Year I have made a few trips to the north west part of Norfolk to sample some of the pubs in this all too infrequently visited part of our Branch area. Here are my comments on a few of them, not in any particular order.

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A small group of us visited the charming north Norfolk coastal village of Blakeney. There are four real ale outlets to choose from, two hotels that have non residents bars, The Blakeney Hotel and The Manor Hotel, and two pubs, The White Horse selling mainly Adnams and The Kings Arms. We visited The Kings Arms as although the others all offer good real ale, the Kings Arms offers the widest choice. Here in this old white flint washed walled building with the date 1760 inscribed on the roof tiles were a range of beers form Adnams, Marston’s Theakstons, Woodforde’s and Greene King which are dispensed both by handpump and by gravity.

A short journey east along the A149 coast road is the small village of Salthouse, a popular destination for birdwatchers and ornithologists. It also has one pub, The Dun Cow, situated on a small hill with great

views overlooking Salthouse Marshes. Another fine range of beers are available that include, Adnams Bitter, Tim Taylor Landlord, Greene King Abbot and Woodforde’s Wherry.

We also visited Stiffkey, a small village between Blakeney and Wells. This village once boasted three pubs but now only The Red Lion survives. This is a fairly food orientated pub with an extensive menu selling real ales from Adnams and Woodforde’s Moving slightly inland from the coast road there are some other little gems worth visiting.

One of better known villages is Binham famous for its medieval Priory. The village pub The Chequers has also gained some notoriety over recent years as it is home of one of North Norfolk’s small micro breweries Front Street. The pub sells beers from its own brewery such as Callums Ale, Binham Cheer, Unity Strong plus some guests. There is also a wide range of premium Belgian and German beers available. The pub also offers good quality home cooked food.

A little further along the road is The Three Horseshoes in Warham. Visiting this pub that is listed in CAMRA’s National Continued Overleaf

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Locks I n o t s e ld Locks Lane, Geldeston nn e G NR34 0HW Tel: 01508 518414 www.geldestonlocks.co.uk (also have myspace and facebook)

Summer Hours Noon to close every day Food 12-2.30pm & 6-8.30pm every day (except sunday evenings) Friday Nights: Famous curries of the world voted best music venue on the Broads!

EASTER BEER, CIDER & MUSIC FESTIVAL

Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th April 30+ ales and ciders, live folk, ska, country, blues, bluegrass and more.

THE TRIANGLE TAVERN 29 ST PETERS ST. LOWESTOFT NR32 1QA www.thetriangletavern.co.uk

EASTER BEER FESTIVAL - Sunday 5th April The Triangle’s 2009 Easter I.P.A. Festival begins on Sunday 5th April and will run over the Easter weekend while stocks last. Guest Ales from across the U.K.I.P.A.s Stout, Mild and Best Bitters.

Plus your favourite Green Jack Ales including RIPPER (Supreme Champion Winter Ale 2007)

Live music on Thursday 9th, Friday 10th, and DJs on Saturday 11th We look forward to welcoming you to the spiritual home of the multi-award winning Green Jack Brewing Co

Green Jack - Ales & Stout Brewed in Lowestoft

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NORFOLK NIPS | Norfolk Coastal Feature - continued Inventory is like stepping into a time warp back to the late 19th or early 20th centuries as all the rooms are fitted and furnished in period style. There are usually two to beers available. Greene King IPA and Woodforde’s Wherry plus maybe a guest in summer.

Also in the area is The Bluebell at Langham. It is located a little off the usual tourist route and probably less well known than the other pubs listed here but it is nevertheless still worth a visit.

This is a very unpretentious village local that offers visitors a warm friendly welcome. There is a range of two beers available Greene King IPA plus a rotating guest. Home cooked meals are served both lunch and evenings.

Our trips to the North Norfolk coast also took in Wells. We stopped near The Buttlands, a green in the centre of town surrounded by trees and fine Georgian buildings. Here there are two pubs to choose from, The Globe and The Crown Hotel. The Globe was, until recently a Greene King pub but it has now been taken over and internally refurbished by the owners of The Holkham Estate.

On the night we visited it there were four real ales available, Adnams Bitter and Broadside, Woodforde’s Wherry and Nelson’s Revenge. The Crown situated at the far end of the green offered a choice of Adnams Bitter and Old plus Woodforde’s Wherry.

We later headed down to the

quayside to visit one of Norfolk’s most unusual hostelries The Albatros. As mentioned in last NIPS, The Albatros is a North Sea clipper sailing ship built in 1899 and is the last commercial sailing boat of this type in the UK. It has been based in Wells harbour since 2001. The cargo hold has been converted into a bar/dining area with many navigation

charts and other nautical memorabilia adorning the walls. Between two or three beers from Woodforde’s are available served straight from the cask. Fine food is available; pancakes with both sweet and savoury fillings their speciality.

An absolute must to visit on you next trip to Wells!

Warren Wordsworth

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Town Green, Wymondham Telephone: (01953) 605675

Freehouse listed in The Good Beer Guide Pub food 7 days a week served lunchtimes and evenings.

Function Room for parties or meetings.

Large Car Park A warm welcome awaits you!

Heath House Norwich

The Gatehouse Pub 391 Dereham Road, Norwich NR5 8QJ 01603 620340

Traditional Family Pub

Beer Festival Monday 22nd to Sunday 28th June Ales from near and far Crone’s Organic Cider (7.4% ABV) Live music from ‘Beyond Duplication’ on Friday ‘Just Kevin’ on Saturday Pub Food Served Wednesday to Saturday 6pm to 9pm (12noon to 5pm on Sun)

Just 1 0m the Cid ins from er She d

The Heath House, 99 Gertrude Rd, Norwich, Norfolk NR3 4SG Tel: 01603 406417 40

| SPRING 2009

FOUR REAL ALES Live Music, Friday & Saturday Large garden overlooking the River Wensum OPEN Mon - Thurs 12-11 Fri & Sat 12-12 • Sunday 12-11

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The Kings Arms 22 Hall Rd Norwich NR1 3HQ Tel: 01603 766361

13 Real Ales always served from Batemans, Adnams and Wolf breweries plus many other local and national beers.

Always serving a mild plus a stout, porter or old and real cider.

A range of Belgian Ales and Fruit beers now available!

R GU A ID GO W E OD e 2 in ar 00 BE it! e 9 ER

Quiz Night! - The last Wednesday in every month!

CA M

Come and try our lunchtime bar menu or have a night out with friends and order in your favourite take-away!

Now serving Roasts every Sunday !

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The Mermaid Inn Church Street, Elsing Dereham,NR20 3EA Tel: 01362637640 Email: the.mermaid@zen.co.uk

Great Pub Food Menu Try our famous Steak and Kidney Roly Poly with thick beer gravy. We cook our own Ham in real ale, we can't cook it quick enough!

INFLATION BUSTER MON - FRI ONLY £4.95!

Freehouse, Freehouse, Real Real Ales, Ales, Real Real Food, Food, Real Real Welcome!

Welcome!

Look us up in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2009 or the CAMRA Good Pub Food Guide.

Just off the A47 east of Kings Lynn Ever-changing range of real ales (minimum 3) CAMRA West Norfolk Pub of the Year 2005 Popular with CAMRA members and walkers

• Beer Garden • Monthly Quizzes OPENING HOURS Monday closed, Tues - Thurs 12noon-3pm, 6.30pm - 11pm Friday Open all day Saturday & Sunday 12noon - 3pm and 6.30pm - 9.00pm FOOD SERVED 12 - 2pm and 6.30pm - 9.00pm

Beer Festivalay

Sund Friday to 10th May 8th in 20+ Beers ee the marqu

Low Rd, West Acre, Kings Lynn PE32 1TR

We have internet café facilities!

Tel: 01760 755395

The White Hart Inn

The King’s Head at Brooke

7 White Hart Street, Foulden, Thetford, Norfolk IP26 5AW Tel: 01366 328638

6 Norwich Road, Brooke 01508 550335

19th Century traditional pub with accomodation in the heart of Foulden, just outside Thetford.

With Thetford Forest right on the doorstep, this is a great base for discovering the wildlife and outdoor pleasures of The Brecks.

Real ale pub serving value for money pub meals with music and quiz nights. for full details of whats on email:- hartpub@yahoo.co.uk

Child Friendly and dogs welcome.

En suite rooms with private entrance available.

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Real Ales Extensive Wine List Home Cooked Food Bar Snacks and A la Carte Menu BBQ in the summer Cream Teas • Afternoon Tea Log Fires in the winter A traditional pub/restaurant serving home made traditional British food with a modern slant.

All food is prepared in our own kitchens.

We only use local fresh produce where possible.

Free Range local Pork • Local Game Local Free Range Lamb • Wild Venison Aged Local Beef • Free Range Chickens and Eggs Homemade Bread • Homemade Desserts No MSG • No Colourings • No Preservatives No GM Modified Foods

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NORFOLK NIPS | Beekeeping

Cider, Orchards, Bees and Mead t’s all about magic. Avalon, the mystical island of Arthurian legend is an isle of apple trees.

Old orchards are enchanted places with the old types of apples that Worcester Pearmain which supermarkets reject for being the wrong shape (as the name suggests, pear shaped).

Without bees there would be none of this, no apples, no cider, no modern Avalon and no honey so no mead.

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Norfolk Beekeepers Association are holding a beginners day where you can have a peep into the magical world of a bee hive Sunday 26th April from 9.30 till lunch time at Easton College, just past the showground off the old A47. The workshop is free of charge but please do ring Graham Ford on 01508 493 430 so he knows how many veils to bring.

If you can’t make the day why not have a chat with the NBKA at the Norfolk Show?

April 1st 6pm - Everyone welcome Free "Thank You" Barbecue to all customers (past, present and future!)

Spring St George’s Beer Festival Wednesday 22nd to Sunday 26th April over 20 real ales and ciders on offer plus live music/morris dancing

Great selection of real ales and wines, along with fine dining and excellent company.

New guest ale every Friday. www.whitehorsechedgrave.co.uk SPRING 2009 | 43

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Whin Cider Visit

| NORFOLK NIPS

Whin Hill Cider t was a miserable September day. Rain sheeted in from the sea, and water sprayed up from the road as I pushed my motorbike against the wind.

North Norfolk was not showing its prettier side today. Grey sky, grey mist, everything was grey.

i

In the orchard at Stanhoe, though, the apples blazed with colour – red, pink, bright green. Under some of the trees they lay thick like a windfall carpet.

I'd come to visit Whin Hill Cider, one of East Anglia’s largest cider makers, at the beginning of their harvest season.

The orchard is impressive – 13 acres of apple trees, marching in their rows across the slope of the hill. All are pruned northsouth ‘up and down’ the rows, so that the branches run along the alleys, making it easier to harvest the apples. There are a few rows of taller trees, too – perry pears; in fact perry has been doing so well that another 80 trees have been planted, more than doubling the number, but it will take 6-7 years till these are producing fruit.

Whin Hill isn’t just a cider maker. Out of the 2,000 trees, about 1,400 are cider apple trees, the remainder being mainly dessert apples for juicing. There are eight dessert varieties, including Discovery, Greensleeves, James Grieve, Cox, Bramley and Russet.

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Then there are another 8 varieties of cider apple. Although the tradition in East Anglia was always to make cider from eating varieties, Whin Hill prefers to use cider apple varieties such as Dabinett, Michelin, Ashton bitter, White Jersey, Major, Ellis bitter, Browns, and Kingston Black.

The harvest and pressing of the apples begins in August and runs right the way through to mid November – alas, clashing with Norwich Beer Festival so we rarely see the cidermakers trying their own products in St Andrews Hall.

The apples are broken and pressed in a barn on the

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NORFOLK NIPS | Whin Cider Visit orchard site, but the juice is then taken to Wells for further processing. The waste pomace is recycled in the orchard, spread out around the bottom of the trees as fertiliser.

2008 wasn't a vintage year; the weather was miserable, and cider apples need sun. without it, the juice is relatively weak, and so the cider will come out lower in alcohol than in a sunnier year – perhaps at 6% instead of 7%. (In a really good year, like 2006, all the ciders will come out at 8%, but the last two years have been disappointing weather-wise.)

However, cidermakers have a dilemma when it comes to alcoholic strength, because of the way duty is calculated.

Over 7.2%, a higher rate of duty becomes payable.

Blending gets round this problem – a smart cidermaker can blend cider from different varieties of apple to get the overall strength below this level. Of course if all the varieties are above 7.2% they have a poser – whether to water it down, or whether to sell more and take the duty hit.

I was interested to find out that my favourite variety, Dabinett, is the apple that always produces the highest strength cider!

To see the rest of the process, we decamped to the shop in Wells-next-the-Sea. The shop forms one side of a charming little courtyard, with the fermentation tanks and bottling plant filling the

remaining buildings. It didn't look particularly inviting on this grey and rainy day, but with a vine pergola and little fountain it must be a delightful place to come and taste the cider in summer.

The ten huge fermentation tanks (2500 litres each) stand in the darkness of an ancient barn. They come from a manufacturer that is more used to supplying winemakers – indeed cidermaking is far more similar to winemaking than it is to brewing. (Whin Hill uses a wine yeast, too – having started with natural fermentation, they found it was too unreliable and moved to using a general purpose wine yeast in order to get a more consistent product.)

Here the cider gradually ferments over the whole winter; the juice I saw going into the tanks in September won't be bottled till March.

Seven months of silent chemistry...

Almost all of Whin Hill's cider is bottled, and the vast majority of it is sold through the shop.

It's only served from the barrel at beer festivals, and at the Three Horseshoes in Warham.

That's a business decision – supplying the trade is a low margin business for a cidermaker, says Jim Ferguson.

an extra dry cider available which is naturally bottle conditioned – and extremely tasty. In terms of the ingredients, Whin Hill is purist – no juice or apples are bought in for the cider; it all comes from the one orchard, so it's a true local product.

The shop closes down for the winter – but reopens at Easter.

It sells the apple juice and cider, and I was told that there is perry too (but you have to ask for it - everyone seems to want it and it sells out too quickly if it's openly advertised). There are dessert apples, too, from August onwards – Whin Hill makes no money from selling these, but you're invited to make a donation to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution if you want to take some away.

Whin Hill Cider whinhillcider.co.uk The Stables, Stearman's Yard, Wells next the Sea, Norfolk, NR23 1BW Tel: (01328) 711033 Andrea Kirkby

Because most of the bottled ciders are pasteurised, and some are carbonated, they don't strictly meet the 'real cider' CAMRA guidelines. (The barrels provided to beer festivals are not pasteurised, so this is real cider.) However there is

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The King’s Head KEG FREE HOUSE

Open 12.00noon - 11.00pm Monday to Saturday 12.00noon - 10.30pm Sunday Run by enthusiastic drinkers and CAMRA members.

Keg Free Zone 14 Hand Pumps Norfolk Ales and Cider Mild always available Worldwide Bottled Beers Belgian Beers Bar Billiards Television-free

rfolk o N A R M A C ar e Y e h t f o b Pu 8 2006 & 200 Dating from the 14th century, the pub has been restored to a Victorian style.

The Kings Head, 42 Magdalen Street, Norwich NR3 1JE Telephone: 01603 620468

www.kingsheadnorwich.com

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NORFOLK NIPS | Travelling in Oz

A Beer (or two) at the Wig and Pen

’d heard that the new season summer ales were on tap at the Wig and Pen, so I was keen to try them. However, this was December and this only makes sense if you have travelled to the other side of the world, to Canberra to be precise.

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We had been travelling all over Oz, from brew pub to brew pub, and, in general, we were pleased what we found, even though all the beers were served ice cold.

But Canberra is a ‘new’ city, a planned city, a soulless city, so I had low expectations of this pub which I had Googled! But the Wig and Pen was the real thing. Some five ales on hand pump, at cellar temperature, and brewed on the premises.

We met a Local. He became my best friend. Everyone becomes my best friend after a few beers. I tell him we have a Wig and Pen where we live.

He tells me he has been there. It turns out his Wig and Pen is in London, mine is in Norwich.

I only had a $50 note, which I left on the bar for all the drinks that we would surely be consuming during the evening. Then disaster. The bar girl said the pub closed at 8pm.

This is Australia, this must be a mistake! But, apparently there is so little demand in the Capital on

COACH & HORSES DERSINGHAM

Sundays that the pub closes at 8.00pm! My New Best Friend came to the rescue. He is the designer of the pump badges, beer mats etc.

He has influence. ‘Try a sample’, he says. ‘The bar is closed’, I say. ‘Try a sample’, he repeats. The barmaid (is that PC?) is happy to give me a sample, but not sell me beer.

We have several samples.

At 9.00pm, we are finally thrown out! But what a night to remember: excellent beer and good company.

The Wig and Pen (Canberra) has a web site www.wigandpen.com.au.

Here is a selection of some of the pump badges my NBF had designed. His name is Peter Rogers.

David Bunting

Award Winning Beers From Grain Brewery

77 Manor Road, Dersingham

01485 540391 sheilaroythorne@tiscali.co.uk Serving homecooked food in a warm friendly atmosphere Come and Play Petanque! (free instruction) Call for details

Here’s how to order…

Meals Wed-Sat 12-2.30pm & 6-8.30pm Sunday 12-3pm & 6-8.30pm En Suite Rooms From £39

email info@grainbrewery.co.uk phone 01986 788884 order online www.grainbrewery.co.uk

LIVE MUSIC NOW EVERY FRIDAY!

www.grainbrewery.co.uk

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New Real Ale shop opened in Blofield.

Visit the shop at Blofield Leisure Centre, 58 Yarmouth Road, Blofield, Norfolk, NR13 4LQ Or Visit our brewery shop at 7 Estcourt Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 4JQ

Tel: 01493 854484 email: beer@norfolksquarebrewery.co.uk www.norfolksquarebrewery.co.uk

Real ales, sweet spirits and delicious wines Gaming lounge and garden • Function Room Live music on Thursdays The Shindig on Saturdays The Sunday social....well on Sundays (Formerley the St Andrews Tavern) 4 St Andrews Street, Norwich NR2 4AF

01603 614858 Open Midday Till Midnight

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COAST ROAD, WALCOTT, NORFOLK NR12 OPE Telephone

(01692) 650371 FREE HOUSE

Proprietor since 1989: STEVE BULLIMORE

OPEN FOR FOOD & DRINKS ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, 11am - 11pm Food available all day until 10.30 10% off food and drink on production of CAMRA membership card

FOUR REAL ALES & CIDER www.lighthouseinn.co.uk

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Freehouse Beer Festival Fri-Sun July 3rd-5th. Up to 20 Beers New Opening Hours Mon 5-11, Tuesday 12-11, Wednesday 12-11, Thursday 12-11, Friday 12-12, Saturday 12-12, Sunday 12-11 New Lunchtime Menu Available 6 Real Ales On Handpump

Pool Room, Darts And Quiz Machine Function Room Available For Hire Beer Garden And New Sheltered Smoking Area Free Wi Fi

The Beehive, Leopold Road, Norwich NR4 7PJ Tel: 01603 451628 Email: thebeehive@live.com

The Real Ale Shop Branthill Farm, Wells-next-the-Sea, NORFOLK NR23 1SB ON THE B1105 FAKENHAM- WELLS RD

Over 50 bottle conditioned real ales from 15 Norfolk brewers who all use Branthill Farms famous malted barley.

TEL: 01328 710810

www.therealaleshop.co.uk 50

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NORFOLK NIPS | Chairman’s Letter

Real Ale Walks in Norfolk

Easy peasy lemon squeezy 1. Worth two in the bush 2. Will he ever change his spots?

3. He had ten thousand men 4. Commoners can't eat this bird as it's owned by the crown but there's one with two necks in Gt Yarmouth 5. The first Monday after twelfth night is _________ Monday 6. Patron saint of Scotland 7. Hey diddle diddle, ________________, the cow jumped over the moon 8. Son of Mary, Queen of Scots 9. Famous actress, more famous for being mistress to the then Prince of Wales, she made one silent film 10. English folk hero, usually found in Sherwood Forest Fiona 10. Robin Hood 9. Lilly Langtry 7. Cat and Fiddle 6. St Andrew 5. Plough 4. White swan 3. Duke of York 1. Bird in Hand (Wreningham)

Price only ÂŁ5.99. See branch website from 8th April for mail order details.

2. Leopard (Norwich)

R

photograph and description of each pub. The book also contains a comprehensive brewery section covering breweries in Norfolk and around East Anglia.

8. James I

eal Ale walks in Norfolk will be published on April 8th.

The book which is in full colour consists of 128 pages in A5 format. It contains 18 pub walks, of which 7 are in Norwich and 11 in various County towns around Norfolk.

Each pub walk features a colour map of the route, a colour

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Traditional and local provenance at The Ship Inn, Weybourne

S

ea bass purchased on the beach, lobster and crabs caught by the Isabella Kathleen boat crew working out of the harbour at Wells-next-the-Sea are just two of many reasons why visitors should go and join the locals at the The Ship Inn at Weybourne on North Norfolk’s beautiful coast.

Local provenance and food and beer miles are extremely important to Landlord Terry Rayner and his team. The recently refurbished restaurant features a menu that changes with the seasonal availability of local produce; when in season game is shot in the nearby woods and this character inn prides itself that its meat is now butchered on site.

In the warm and welcoming bar, which features a roaring fire on a cold winter’s day, three Norfolk beers are on always available and on Monday and Thursday evenings traditional pub games, including poker, dice and shove-halfpenny, attract a keen following.

Why not sample the charm of the Ship Inn yourself?

You will be made exceptionally welcome.

IDEAL FOR NORTH NORFOLK STEAM RAILWAY

The Street, Weybourne near Holt, Norfolk NR25 7SZ Situated on the A149 coast road, in the centre of Weybourne

Tel: 01263 588721 Email: terry@shipinnweybourne.co.uk website: www.shipinnweybourne.co.uk

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NORFOLK NIPS | Branch Pubs of the Year

Branch Pub of The Year he Norwich and Norfolk Campaign For Real Ale is proud to announce that their branch pub of the year is the Artichoke at Broome.

t

The Artichoke is situated in the Waveney valley, a stone’s throw from the Suffolk border, in the small village of Broome.

It was the original home of the long gone Crowfoot brewery, the Arichoke is now run by John and Nikki Craft who are no strangers in the licensed trade, having run the St Andrews Tavern and King’s Arms in Norwich.

John and Nikki were flabbergasted on hearing that they had won, “In these difficult

times, it's nice to see a country pub has been given the award”. “We are very pleased, especially with the current economic climate that CAMRA has recognised the hard work that goes into running this pub".

The pub has flagstone and wood floors, wooden settles, and a real fire, which enhances the rural ambience of a pint from a choice of up to eight predominately local ales. Home cooked food is also served in a separate dining area.

The pub will now go on to the County competition, where is will be judged against the winner of West Norfolk CAMRA’s Pub of the Year.

West Norfolk POTY The West Norfolk branch are pleased to announce that our Pub of the Year for 2009 is The Union Jack in Roydon near King’s Lynn.

The Union Jack is run and owned by Trevor and Mandy Barlow, who were delighted to have won this award. On hearing of their success they said “It is a great achievement and an honour to receive this award. We would like to thank our local and loyal customers for their support over the years and our staff who are a real credit to us. The four beers on offer change frequently and are chosen in consultation with the regulars.

Mark & Marie offer you a warm welcome to the

Fox and Hounds 22 Station Rd, Heacham, Norfolk PE31 7EX

We are a free house specialising in real ales. The first pub in Heacham to be in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

Regular Quiz and Music nights.

EASTER BEER FESTIVAL 35+ BEERS AND LIVE MUSIC April 10th Egypt (Rock Blues) April 11th Tipitina (Swing / Jazz) April 12th Hillbilly Rats

Tel: 01485 570345 OPEN ALL DAY 7 DAYS A WEEK SPRING 2009 | 53

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NORFOLK NIPS | Birth of a Beer

The Birth of a New Beer: Hatching “Bad Egg”

by Stephen George, Humpty Dumpty Brewery

ur Head Brewer, Craig Fermoy, and I have had a long-running discussion about our flagship "Humpty Dumpty Ale" at 4.1% - a beer we inherited when we took over the brewery in 2006. On the one hand, we are sensitive to the fact that it is quite light in colour - we call it "amber" but it is well on its way to gold. We think it makes sense for a brewery's best bitter to be a more traditional nut-brown colour. But on the other hand, it's hard not to give the market what it wants, and "Humpty" sells well. There's no denying that golden ales do well in the marketplace today.

O

So, I'm giving Craig a story about reformulating Humpty to something a little darker and Craig says, "No." Guess who wins...?

This was really the germ of the idea for our new beer.

We wanted to make a darker beer at best bitter strength - 4.1%abv, with a stronger hop profile than our flagship. We would call it "Bad Egg" - a name and concept we've wanted to develop for some time. While the name has whiffy connotations in some respects, that's not what we had in mind for this beer.

"Bad Egg" would be a "bad" biker egg - an “over-easy rider” - a leather-clad cousin of our monocled, hail-fellow-well-met Humpty mascot.

He would be more brash, more "in your face" than our usual pump clips. And it wouldn't hurt to bring him to market at Easter. If he's well received, he can always stay in rotation. Apart from the egg, there's nothing particularly Eastery about an ovoid biker in leathers - and if anyone can market egg-based themes that are slightly "off the wall", it must be Humpty Dumpty.

The Pumpclip It can take a fair while to bring a beer to market,

and the marketing can be a bit of an afterthought. But in this case, we made an early start on the artwork. Without the right artwork, the concept would be pretty weak at the handpump.

For Bad Egg, we wanted something different from our main branding themes of classic trains and Norfolk Broads life. We thought we would try out a different artist for a change - something a little grittier.

Searching the web, I came across an illustrator called "Doodling Jim" Browne (http://www.doodlingjim.com/). Jim had an image on his site that wasn’t a world away from where I thought we wanted to be - a full-on view of a rather scary looking face.

I had a look through the rest of his portfolio and liked the edginess of some of his work.

Jim and I went a few rounds, starting from a description of what we had in mind through "roughs" as Bad Egg moved from something quite scary and not very egglike through to his final form, which we feel is a much better fit with the brand.

Continued Overleaf

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Birth of a Beer - continued

| NORFOLK NIPS them. Beautiful touch! We love the way he overhangs the edge of the pump clip, too. This one is big and pretty hard to ignore.

Jim is a fast worker who warmed quickly to our concept. This only took us a week or so to finalise. So now we had our branding - we just had to design the beer.

The Beer Despite what the marketing folks say, you don’t drink with your eyes. Maybe the pump clip raises a chuckle and gets the first pint in someone's hand, but after that they won't come back if the beer's not worth drinking. We set out from the beginning to make sure Bad Egg was a worthy pint.

Jim's master stroke from my perspective was the tattooed knuckles with the beer name on

We know from experience pretty well how to make a 4.1% bitter. Mostly pale malt, some darker malts for colour and complexity, medium hoppiness. So we had a pretty good starting point for recipe formulation. We do our recipe development on a 5-gallon all-grain homebrew

The Lobster

& Stables Restaurant

The pub with no bar, ales direct from cask.

Watch www.nelsonslocal.co.uk for cask ale week guests.

New Italian menu: not just pizza and pasta. Sunday lunch still available.

Live music every Thursday from 8.45pm. All details on the website.

Real fires. Huge garden.

Come & visit Nelson’s local.

Walsingham Road, Burnham Thorpe Norfolk PE31 8HN

01328 738241 56

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FRESH FOOD SERVED DAILY n Vegetarian and Vega le ilab ava ns tio op

OPENING HOURS Monday to Thursday 10am to 11pm Friday to Saturday 10am to 1.30am Sunday 12 noon to 12pm

BEER FESTIVALS ON BANK HOLIDAYS 10 Real Ales • Fine Wines • Childrens Menu Baby Changing • Disabled Facilities Large Beer Gardens • Dogs are welcome 13 High Street, Sheringham, Norfolk, NR26 8JP Tel: 01263 822716 www.the-lobster.com

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NORFOLK NIPS | Birth of a Beer - continued set-up that mirrors our production plant, so it was primarily a matter of selecting the mash components and the hops and giving it a first go. We did this in mid-December.

The first beer was 94.5% pale malt, 3% crystal malt, 2% caramalt and half a percent of chocolate malt. We decided to target about 33 bittering units (fairly bitter for the style and gravity) and a strong late addition of hops to bring up the aroma. We planned a hot mash to leave some unfermentables and a bit of residual body. After that, you really have to wait and see what you get.

A Recipe for Homebrewers As Bad Egg came off our homebrew set-up, we have agreed to share our recipe at homebrew scale for anyone who might be interested to try this one at home.

HUMPTY DUMPTY “BAD EGG” - Homebrew Recipe For all-grain homebrewers, we assume a 75% apparent efficiency and 20% extraction utilisation of hop flowers. You will need to adjust this recipe to your own brewhouse values. All values are for a 23-litre (ca. 5 gallon) batch Grain Bill 4124g Pale Malt 196g Crystal 150 Malt 164g Caramalt 50g Chocolate Malt Water treated to Burton-on-Trent equivalent Mash 68C 1 hour Boil 60 minutes 33 EBU Hopping for 23 litres

What we got was, well, not what we wanted.

It was both lighter in colour and more bitter than we were targeting (though the bitterness mellowed with time). But it served as a basis for us to dial in to the final recipe. First, an increase in colouring malts to deepen the colour. Then two tweaks of the finishing hops to reach a more palatable balance - first too low, then right where we wanted it. We decided to keep the hopping 100% East Kent Goldings.

90g Goldings Hops (ours are 4.2% alpha acid at boil – you will need to adjust quantity for different alpha acid content) 54g Goldings Hops at end of boil (let stand for 20 minutes before cooling) Ferment with English Ale Yeast OG 1044 FG ~1012 (it should finish on the high side due to non-fermentables) ABV 4.1%

It took us four trial brews in all. By midFebruary, we had agreed on the release candidate. From here, we just have to scale it up and we’re ready to go. We’ll be brewing this in early March with a release to market around March 30th. Keep an eye out for Bad Egg in your local pub from early April.

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The Railway Freehouse

The White Hart The Street, Rockland All Saints

Station Rd, North Elmham

01362 668300 In the current Good Beer Guide, CAMRA members and supporters of local microbrewers

REAL ALES • REAL FOOD REAL PUB Colin & Julie Smith look forward to seeing you!

Sally Ann & Binz bid you a warm welcome where our aim is to make your visit as pleasurable as possible with good food, fine drink and a friendly atmosphere!

Open Tuesday - Sunday 11am - 3pm & 6pm - 11pm Food Served Tuesday - Sunday 12pm - 2pm & 6.30pm - 9pm ECIAL SUNDAY LUNCH SP

1 course £7.95 & dessert) £10.95 2 courses (main Special Menu £6 h Midweek Lunc

01953 483361

LOST! SURLINGHAM OPENING HOURS ALL DAY, ALL YEAR, EVERY DAY FROM 11am-CLOSE FOOD AVAILABLE ALL DAY, FROM 12 TILL 9pm Picturesque riverside walks, RSPB reserve, On Norwich’s doorstep. Moorings available. Open Fire, Real Ales.

Good traditional Home Cooked Food,

The Saracen’s Head with rooms Robert Dawson-Smith Wolterton, nr. Aylsham

01263 768909 www.saracenshead-norfolk.co.uk 58

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Main meals from £6.95 All Functions catered for. Live Music, Quiz Nights.

Small Children and Dog friendly.

You will receive a Warm and Friendly Welcome from Sonia, Andy and All at the Staff at The Ferry Ferry Road, Surlingham, Norwich, Norfolk. NR14 7AR Tel: 01508 538659 Email: surlinghamferry@googlemail.com

Website: www.surlinghamferryhouse.co.uk

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NORFOLK NIPS | Beer Festivals

Beer Festival Diary 6-15 March – Springfest at the Ketts Tavern, Ketts Hill, Norwich(01603 628520) 7-8 March – Whitwell and Reepham Station mini beer festival, noon till late 10-13 April - Union Jack, Roydon.

18-23 May – CAMRA Cambridge Beer Festival, Jesus Green, Cambridge. Cambridgecamra.org.uk May Bank Holiday Weekend (23-25 May) beer festival at the Greyhound, Tibenham. Live music will include Them Harvey Boys (well known to Norwich Beer Festival attendees!).

10-13 April - Fox & Hounds, Heacham.

18-20 March – CAMRA London Drinker beer and cider festival at the Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London WC1H 9AU. Wed/ Thu 12-3pm (free), 5pm-10.30pm (?3, ?1.50 CAMRA membs); Fri 12-10.30pm (?3, ?1.50 CAMRA membs) 26-29 March – White Lion Beer Festival at the White Lion, Oak Street, Norwich.

10-19 April – Easterfest at the Rose Tavern, 235 Queens Road, Norwich (01603 767713) 10-13 April – Mersea Island Brewery Festival, Mersea Island Brewery, Rewsalls Lane, East Mersea.

26-30 May – CAMRA Colchester Beer Festival.

More info at Colchestercamra.org.uk 13-14 June. Bedingfeld Arms.

12-13 June – CAMRA Elysian Beer Festival, Ely City Football Club, Downham Road, Ely. Elybeerfestival@tiscali.co.uk 18- 21 June – CAMRA Beer Festival at the Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket.

19-21 Jun The Kings Head at Filby, 1st anniversary Beer Festival on the weekend of featuring local beers.

24-26 July – Crusaders RUFC beer festival at Beckhithe, Little Melton, near Hethersett. This is a beer festival with camping (tents and caravans welcome) and English breakfast available!

15-18 April – CAMRA Maldon Beer Festival – see dengiecamra.org.uk. 1600 to 2330hrs. Weds, 1100 to 2330 Thurs, 1100 to 2330 Fri, 1100 to 2330 Sat. 22-25 April – CAMRA Bury St Edmunds Beer Festival.Corn Exchange, Bury St Edmunds.

22-26 April – beer festival at the White Horse, Chedgrave.

8 May-10th May Stag, WestAcre.

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01603 625891 www.thewigandpen.com

6 St Martins Palace Plain, Norwich NR3 1RN

This warm and friendly 17th century Freehouse is to the north side of Norwich cathedral. Owned by Craig & Lynne McLaren since 1993. ‘The Wig’ as its affectionately known, has built a reputation for fresh, fast, affordable British cuisine.

• Good Ale • Good Food • Heated smoking area Sky & Setanta Sports TV • Late Night Opening • Real Fire Look out for our Cask Marque Plaque.

This guarantees beer quality in the Wig & Pen and the opportunity to TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.

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For the 12th successive year, the Wig & Pen has been included in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide. We are very proud of this achievement.

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THE RED LION – FREEHOUSE – East Church Street, Kenninghall, Norfolk, NR16 2EP 01953 887849 Email: theredlionltd@aol.com OPENING TIMES Mon-Thurs 12noon-3pm, 5.30pm-11 pm Open all day Friday, Sat urday and Sunday from 12noon .

MUSIC AND REAL ALE Sunday 8th March Acoustic Jam Session Thursday 12th March Credit Munch - Fish & Chi ps Sunday 15th March St Paddy’s Party with live music Sunday 22nd March Mother’s Day Friday 27th March ‘Fawlty Towers’ themed nigh t

A traditional country pub with real ales and excellent home-cooked food.

Restaurant open lunch and evening.

Regular live music events.

Open for Bed & Breakfast every night of the week.

Featured in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide Greene King’s Free Trade National Community Pub of the Year (2007) Greene King’s East Anglian Pub of the Year (2006)

www.redlionkenninghall.co.uk

Norwich & Norfolk Branch Diary Dates

25 June – beer festival planning meeting

6 March – First Friday Five. Starts at 8pmat the Mustard Pot, going on to the Coach & Horses (Thorpe Road), Rosary(if open), Bridge House and Ketts Tavern.

For up to date information on all trips the Norwich CAMRA calendar is available at norwichcamra.org.uk.

17 March – Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA AGM. York Tavern, Leicester Street.

27 March - Campaign Trip. Usual coach pick-up points.

3 Apr – First Friday Five. Route to be confirmed.

6 April- 13 April – National Cask Ales week 8 April - 'Pub Walks' Launch in the Forum. Norwich CAMRA's book of pub walks in Norwich and Norfolk will be launched at this event.

17-19 April - CAMRA AGM and members' weekend, Eastbourne.

21 April - Branch Meeting. 8pm Fat Cat, West End Street, Norwich.

24 April - Campaign Trip Usual coach pick-up points.

26 April – beer store clean-up and tidy. Please contact Martin Ward (macros_the_black@ntlworld.com) if you can help – keeping our equipment and its home spick and span in between festivals is vital for the success of our next beer festival!

1 May – First Friday Five. Itinerary to be confirmed.

19 May - Branch Meeting. Venue to be confirmed.

29 May - Campaign Trip. Usual coach pick-up points.

30 April – beer festival planning meeting, venue tbc 31 May – second store tidy up – please contact Martin Ward, as above.

6 June - Summer Outing, to be confirmed.

Coach pick-ups: 6.47pm junc.

Southwell Rd/Grove Rd; 6.55pm junc. Old Palace Rd/West End St; 7.02pm junc. Mile Cross La/Eversley Rd; 7.06pm Sprowston Fire Stn; 7.10pm Heartsease (Plumstead Rd. bus stop); 7.15pm Norwich Railway Stn. (Thorpe Rd bus stops).

West Norfolk Branch Diary Dates 7 April - Windmill, Great Cressingham ( One Week Earlier Than Normal) 12 May - Bedingfeld Arms, Oxborough 9 June - Lord Nelson, Burnham Thorpe

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73 Oak Street, Norwich NR3 3AQ 01603 632333

FIRST ANNUAL BEER FESTIVAL

MARCH 25th - 28th 30 plus beers from Micro Breweries et’s Oak Stre g ainin only rem ned! pe pub re-o

Rotating selection of 8 real ales from Milton Brewery and other British micro breweries.

Great choice of fine wines and malt whiskies.

A Selection of Belgian bottled beers. www.individualpubs.co.uk/whitelion/

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The Royal Oak at Poringland EASTER BEER FESTIVAL Fri 10th April - Friday 17th April We Don’t Have a Big Screen TV, Food Or a Juke Box We do have 17 handpumps, with Real Ale from far and wide, 2 Real Ciders and 2 Real Ales From gravity, a large car park, large beer garden With heated smoking shelter, darts, pool, quizzes And crib.

We hold two beer festivals each year.

The Royal Oak lies at the heart of the community and new customers are always welcome. Come along and get a real welcome from a real pub selling real ale!!!!!!

Nick, Delia And The Team would love to see you soon.

Norwich And Norfolk Pub Of The Year 2007 Norfolk Pub Of The Year 2007 Good Beer Guide Listed A dream of a pub situated in the village of Poringland on the B1332 road to Bungay. The main bus route from Norwich stops right outside.

Contact us on

01508 493734 royaloak@poringland14.fsnet.co.uk

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FREEMOUSE 49 West End Street, Norwich NR2 4NA 01603 624364

TWO TIMES CAMRA NATIONAL PUB OF THE YEAR (1998 (1998 & & 2004) 2004) Up to 30 real ales available all year round 80 bottled beers from around the world featuring 25 countries, from Mexico to Mongolia, Jamaica to Japan and China to the Czech Republic

15

Draught continental beers including 5 fruit beers

S PIN !

Y L .uk R O o R A P c p E U .

0 Y O & IN R! pub LL L6 TS t I A L a I W P c E NO ST YEA TAP LABL .fat S H w L I T L 19 ww RO AVA

Fat Cat Brewery at the Cidershed, Norwich 98-100 Lawson Rd, Norwich NR3 4LF 01603 624364 UP TO 15 REAL ALES INCLUDING THE FAT CAT RANGE:

LIVE MUSIC & ARTS VENUE

01603 788508 www.cidershednorwich.net

Fat Cat Bitter Honey Ale Top Cat Pale Ale Marmalade Cat Stout Cat

3.8% 4.3% 4.8% 5.5% 4.6%