Issue 173 of Norfolk Nips & Cask Force

E F RE No.173

Summer 2015

The Beehive wins City and Branch Pub of the Year 2015 Read more on page 5!

The Railway Arms wins Cider Pub of the Year 2015 See Page 57 Magazine of the Norfolk Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale

Norfolk Nips | Campaigning

In this issue:

Let’s get behind the beer industry CAMRA members vote for a more inclusive campaign Members of CAMRA, Europe’s largest beer consumer group, have reinforced the organisation’s positive approach to campaigning for beer and pubs by passing a series of progressive motions at its annual conference.

More than 1,200 CAMRA members attended the conference in Nottingham between 18-19 April and debated and voted on 20 motions about issues affecting the beer and pub industry, as well as CAMRA’s future campaigning.

Decisions were taken to support the practice of serving real ale from ‘key-kegs’ and to recognise cider with whole fruit and spices as ‘real’ were passed, whereas motions that advocated CAMRA distancing itself from wider beer industry initiatives were rejected.

Members clearly voted in support of an inclusive approach to the beer industry, reaffirming that the Campaign

is about the promotion and championing of real ale, and providing a choice for drinkers, rather than outright opposition to other types of beer.

Get behind the beer industry

3

Norwich & Norfolk POTY

5

Stig’s Words

6

The Ed’lines

7

Pub and Brewery News

8-12

Bar Man - How Much??

15

Beer Sommelier

16

Cider POTY

17

Black Horse Rampant

19

The Albion - End of an Era

20

In Memory of Wolfe

22-23

Correspondence

23

CAMRA chief executive Tim Page said: “It was clear from the debate in the hall that the majority of members think that criticising drinkers for not choosing real ale is counterproductive.

Green Dragon wins the Rural!

25

From the Archives

27

Key Keg debate

29

The Rant

32

CAMRA’s inclusive and supportive attitude to the beer and pub industry was also shown when members clearly voted to continue support for wider beer industry campaigns such as Cyclops and “There’s a beer for that”.

Bar Man - Philosophy of

CAMRA will also help promote beer in non-traditional venues and pubs and bars unable to serve cask, with members agreeing two measures to refocus CAMRA’s Real Ale in a Bottle scheme: the continued promotion of “high quality Continued Overleaf

Going to Gorleston

Norfolk’s champion beers

34-37 39 42-43

LocAle

45

Great British Beer Festival

46

A truly Norfolk ale

48

CAMRA Discounts

51

CAMRA Beer Festivals

53

Join CAMRA

58

Last Orders

59

CAMRA Branch Calendar Contact Details

60-61 62

Norfolk Nips | City Pub of the Year

Norwich & Norfolk Branch Pub of the Year We are pleased to announce that the well deserved winner of the City Pub of the Year and the overall Branch Pub of the Year 2015 is The Beehive on Leopold Road in Norwich.

Of course no pub is a great pub, as in this case, without its colourful customers, a great landlady in Alex Kerridge and of course very knowledgeable and friendly staff.

Alex comes from a background of brewing and real ale where this all started off in her early career at the Reindeer on Dereham Road in Norwich.

Alex runs a great house now at the Beehive which has been a pub since 1922. Prior to that the pub was a local shop on the corner of two Victorian Terraces.

For the 7 years, Alex has been landlady she has worked to transform this real community pub into the award winning excellent venue it is today. Why has it won? Well, 7 hand pumps with a strong focus on smaller local breweries goes a long way to guarantee that 75% of the beers are local.

From there you can understand why there will always be a good choice of real ale, be it from the two regular house beers or the 5 guest ales!

Of course when the Beehive puts on its beer festivals the number goes up and with a Beer Festival looming in July (2nd to 5th) you can be sure of

many more being on cask from the outside bar / garden area.

The other things that make this pub special are its regular Saturday BBQs that help local charities, Monday night Folk night, the extremely popular Wednesday Quiz Nights, the community sport and social groups that use the bars and the upstairs function room and its great lunchtime food menu.

Oh and of course the recently introduced Pie Day Friday! On occasions you can catch sport on TV, but it’s not in your face and you can still enjoy the great experience this pub gives you.

So there is not much to stop you checking out this great Norwich pub then. Say hello to Alex and her staff, enjoy the ambiance and retro style of the pub and chat to the locals!

A warm and friendly welcome assured, oh and of course fantastic beer!

Rob Whitmore Branch Secretary

Let’s get behind the beer industry continued bottle-conditioned beers” and the mounting of a campaign to encourage pubs to "identify and market bottle-conditioned ales and bottled real cider and perry clearly.”

On cider and perry, CAMRA members decided that the Campaign needed to recognise changes in the cider market and the growth in popularity of authentic flavoured ciders and perries.

The Conference voted to adopt a motion changing CAMRA’s definition of real cider and perry to remove the criteria that “no added flavourings to be used” and to allow “pure fruits, vegetables, honey, hops, herbs and spices, but no concentrates, cordials or essences” to be added.

Summer 2015 | 5

Stig’s Words The leaves are on the trees the birds are singing, but the wind is still bloomin’ freezing! This could be a description of an English spring or a pessimistic out look on life in general.

luck in the next (regional) stage! We have also presented our Pub of the year award to the Coach and Horses at Dersingham for the second year running! A great achievement against excellent opposition. Congratulations to Sheila and her team. The Coach and Horses will now compete with the Norwich branch choice for the county POTY 2015.

Although the economy is picking up the situation in the pub world, especially for smaller pubs is not that good. Some rely on tourist business to keep them afloat, some on the number of people using a town centre and some on the sheer confidence of the local community. We have examples of the effect of these factors all over Norfolk. In this issue I have found both ends of the stick in one town, so read inside…

Narborough Social club has been awarded our Club of the year award for its beer range and quality not to mention its downright friendliness, just show your CAMRA membership card and you’ll be welcome (Another good reason to join us).

On a lighter note some of our west Norfolk establishments have been getting awards.

Whin Hill Cider in Wells is just outside our area but are long term friends of the branch so congratulations go to them for winning the East Anglian Perry award.

The season of beer festivals is starting to roll inexorably down hill to land on summer greens all over East Anglia, so hopefully I’ll see some of you sitting in the sun enjoying the light reflecting through a well crafted pint, assuming of course it stays in the glass long enough!

The Railway at Downham Market has won both our branch and Norfolk Cider pub of the year good

Cheers

Stig

Norfolk Nips | From the Editors

The Ed’lines Five years ago, I agreed to become the Editor of this wonderful magazine, on the understanding that I would do it for a fixed term of five years.

The time has now come and so this is my last issue.

It has been a wonderful experience, and one of the best jobs that I have ever had. Norfolk NIPS and Cask Force is a well-loved and much respected magazine which is read the world over, since the digital version has been available.

I have visited many fine pubs and breweries and met some wonderful people. It would appear that I am not alone in announcing my

retirement – Dougie and Bernie from the Duke of Wellington and Chris and Glynis from the Trafford Arms are also looking for pastures new.

Good luck to them.

I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to everyone who contributed, offered tips and suggestions, and even criticised. You are holding the result in your hands, a magazine of which I am immensely proud.

Good luck to the new Editor, Graham Freeman, who incidentally gave me the job all those years ago.

Please give him your wholehearted support and copy and photos and letters and suggestions...Time for a beer.

Cheers!

Mike Baldwin able to include them in our future editions.

As Summer approaches please go out into our many Norfolk Pubs and have an enjoyable experience. However don’t forget to tell us about it.

The face and name are the same but my job is not the same. Yes I'm back. For some reason I have decided to be re-activated and wanted to help out as the new joint Editor with Stig. I hope he will be gentle with me.

I take this opportunity to thank Mike Baldwin for his many years of service and his help in making Norfolk Nips & Cask Force one of the best newsletters around. Well what comes next? I do feel we should concentrate more on local issues as we do need to remember our focus is to promote Real Ale & Cider in Norfolk. This is where I would like your help. I'm looking for any items you would like to see in the Nips.

Please send us your ideas and we will give them our consideration and hopefully will be

Graham Freeman

Subscriptions We have a growing number of postal subscribers to Norfolk Nips and Cask Force, and I would like to send my thanks for the kind comments and best wishes from those who have renewed their subscriptions recently.

If you would like to join them in receiving the next 4 issues by post, send 10 first class stamps or £6.50 cheque payable to West Norfolk CAMRA, 91 Tennyson Road, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 5NG.

Summer 2015 | 7

Pub and Brewery News | Norfolk Nips

Pub and Brewery News News from Norwich & Norfolk Lots of news this edition, some good, some bad, and quite a lot of it happening in Norwich.

But first, I’d like to mention a pub well outside our area, Carlton Tavern, in Maida Vale, London. Ninety-four years old, and the only building in the street to survive WWII bombing, the pub was summarily demolished by it’s owners, shortly after they’d been denied planning permission to convert it to flats, and days before it was to be listed as a building of historical interest. It wasn’t failing, it was just more valuable to the owners as flats than as a pub.

Conversion required planning permission for change of use, but as the law stands, once a pub is demolished, there is no ‘use’ to change, and therefore no planning permission required!*

rant, without planning permission. This is in addition to the existing protection an ACV listing gives, preventing sale without giving the local community a chance to bid.

And what’smore, a recent legal judgement means that CAMRA branches can submit ACV nominations in their own right, without the need to collect 21 local signatures!

In response to this change, the CAMRA intend to step up massively their activity in this area. Norwich & Norfolk Branch have an objective to list 100 pubs this year, and WE NEED YOUR HELP to identify the pubs most in danger, and those which would be most sorely missed. Typically, but not exclusively, these will fall into one or more of the following categories: the last pub in the village, area or suburb pubs in ‘sought after’ locations which make them worth more as flats

*Beyond that required to build on any empty site.

have gardens / car parks / open space which could be developed

This disgraceful behaviour is fortunately rare, but highlights the need for better protection of pubs - a major campaigning issue for CAMRA in recent years, which has resulted in an important change in the law: from now on, any pub which is listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) can not be demolished, and can not be converted to a shop or restau-

owned by pub companies / large breweries

8 | Summer 2015

So if you know of such pubs, please let me know at pubsofficer@norwichcamra.org.uk, or write to the Editor.

A couple of important points: Don’t wait until the pub is for sale (or worse!) - it will be too late!

It doesn’t matter if the pub sells real ale or not - we’re happy to list any pub at risk Just because a pub is a bit run down, doesn’t mean it deserves to close or be converted - there are plenty of examples of pubs ‘coming back from the dead’ under new management We don’t expect you to do anything more than tell us about the pub (unless you want to of course!). We will do all the leg-work.

Back to the usual subject of this column, and starting with news from Norwich.

We have probably lost the Bread & Cheese, Adelaide St to housing. The planning application was due to be heard at the start of May, with objections from residents based on the size of the development and its effect on parking, but not on the loss of the pub, which was believed to be trading adequately prior to closure in January. I have to say it is disappointing to see that the Norwich Society “welcome” the conversion of the pub, despite it being on their Local List of important buildings due to, among other things, its importance to the community “for over 150 years”.

Nearby, the Perseverance, also on Adelaide St, closed again only a few months after re-opening. However at time of writing it is believed to have

Norfolk Nips | Pub and Brewery News been sold for continued use as a pub - watch this space.

Several other pubs have changed hands, with the Lord Rosebery, on Rosebery Road sold to Redwell Brewery (although the B&B accommodation is retained), and the Trafford Arms, Grove Rd, sold by long-time landlord, and ex-Sheriff of Norwich Chris Higgins, to Nick De’Ath, owner of the Unthank Arms and partowner of the Lawyer.

The Cottage, Silver Road, has been bought by Grain Brewery and given a very stylish makeover, including a new copper-topped bar on the right as you enter, with lots more space, expensive wood panelling, exposed brickwork, brand new solid wood floors oh and six handpumps dispensing mainly Grain beers, and an array of taps on the back bar for other craft beers.

Greene King have opened a new Hungry Horse outlet, the Fieldfare, on the Broadland Business Park in Postwick.

Interestingly the premises licence application was spelled “Hungary” Horse, although having opened there’s no goulash or other East-European dishes on their extensive menu!

Work is still progressing at what we can now stop calling “ex-Delaney’s” - the St Andrews Brewhouse, in St Andrews Street. which we expect to open very soon, with planning consent for an on-site micro-brewery. It seems

Brewdog are serious about a new bar in Norwich - adverts for staff have been spotted, but we’re still not sure where, although Hideout on Queen St has ‘Let’ signs up and wouldn’t need an awful lot of work, or any serious planning consent.

Outside the city, celebrity chef Marco-Pierre White’s four Norfolk pubs have all been put up for sale. The Chequers and the Lifeboat, both at Thornham; the Wayford Bridge Inn, Wayford Bridge; and the Acle Bridge Inn, Acle Bridge, were in the hands of administrators following the companies which owned them failing last year.

From the northern and southern extremes of our area, news of two previous Branch Pubs of the Year. In the south, the iconic Geldeston Locks Inn is no longer owned by Green Jack Brewery. However award-winning landlord Colin Smith is staying on, and will maintain a wide range of beers, featuring several from Grain.

And up on the north coast, the Windham Arms, Sheringham has been taken over by the people who have the Robin Hood in the same town.

Along the coast, the White Horse, East Runton, has been renamed the Dozy Dormouse - apparently in affectionate tribute to the landlord’s wife! - and has been refurbished in the modern style. And the White Horse, on Blakeney’s High St has had a major refurb by owners Adnams.

Three new outlets for real ale have been discovered by my informants! Dereham has a new build Marston’s pub, the Greenstone, opening ‘soon’.

The Lawns Hotel, Holt now has two ales usually available a Moongazer from Norfolk Brewhouse and an Adnams beer at my correspondent’s visit. And the Fritton Arms, Fritton on the Somerleyton estate now also stocks beers from Greene King and local breweries.

Following a very pleasant visit to the Golden Triangle brewery in Barford, where we were treated to an energetic re-enactment of a brew day by owner and brewer Kevin Tweedy, we crossed the road to the Cock, which has been transformed in the last couple of years by owner Marvin Shalders, and is now a lovely traditional pub, with light walls and dark wood and a real fire, plus three handpumps - and is no longer painted orange!

The Erpingham Arms, Erpingham, re-opened in late April, the White Lodge, Attleborough re-opened in March, and we hear that the Dog, Swardeston, may also have re-opened.

However, on the debit side of the account, we believe the Feathers at North Walsham is closed and for sale, Greens / The Forge at Aylsham is closed and to let; the Mill, Newton Flotman has been sold, and the Fox & Hounds, Continued Overleaf Summer 2015 | 9

Pub and Brewery News - continued | Norfolk Nips Great Moulton, is closed and for sale by auction.

In April Tacey and David Moore celebrated 2 years at the Railway Tavern Framingham Earl. The focus is serving great value quality pub food, national and locally sourced cask ales, lagers, wines, spirits and soft drinks in a friendly environment. The Railway Tavern is also building an enviable reputation as a life music venue. Sky Sports has been recently added.

For more information about pubs in the Branch, please visit www.whatpub.com/nor, where you can also report any errors, omissions and update directly to me via the ‘Submit Update’ option.

News from the West Good news from Ringstead where the Gin Trap has reopened after being taken over by local resident Annelli Taylor, who has had the pub completely refurbished, including three letting rooms.

The locally sourced food is proving popular. The Gin Trap was one of our key advertisers when we launched the West Norfolk CAMRA magazine Cask Force around 25 years ago.

Unfortunately this was also the time when a motion was put forward to the national AGM seeking to ban pubs from the Good Beer Guide which in any way supported hunting, 10 | Summer 2015

such as hand pumps painted with hunting scenes. The Gin Trap had a display of man traps hung from the ceiling which would probably fallen foul of the new regulations if the motion had been passed, and it took a bit of persuasion the satisfy the landlord, Brian, noted for his outspoken and uncompromising views, that it was not a serious proposal.

Brian built the place into a fantastic pub, and we look forward to it returning to its former glory once again, although one correspondent writes to tell be that he called in at 7.25pm one evening attracted by the sign promising food all day. After ordering his drinks and asking for a menu he was then told that they were not doing food, so although he was impressed by the range of four cask beers, he will not be in a hurry to return.

Another pub that has reopened is the former Ostrich at South Creake, now called the Plume of Feathers. Punch Taverns are reported to have helped with the £100,000 refurbishment and are working alongside the new operator, Paul Vials. The grade II listed building has been repaired and redecorated and there are three letting rooms. It is hoped that the attached barn will soon be available to host events.

The Marshland Arms out on the Smeeth, near Wisbech was closed for refurbishment when we swung by in March, but according to the website

and the notices it is being refurbished and may well be reopen by the time you read this. Also being refurbished is the Dray and Horses at Tottenhill, though I have heard various rumours as to what the final outcome may be, and it is possible that this will not reopen as a pub.

Up for sale after the owning company had financial problems are the Lifeboat and its sister pub, the Chequers at Thornham. A colour supplement favourite, the Lifeboat is one of the best known pubs in the area, so should create some interest. The Chequers was, for many years named the Old Coach House and used as a kind of overspill for people staying in the Lifeboat, but more recently has been promoted in its own right, reverting back to its original name. Hopefully there will be enough trade for three pubs to survive in the village, given that it is popular with tourists. The difficulty may be attracting enough custom out of the summer season when the second home owners make fewer visits. Both are listed as ‘offers invited’.

In Terrington St John, there is a mysterious planning application in for the Woolpack, to construct three 4 bed dwellings with attached garages, however I cannot discover if this means that the pub itself is under threat as the West Norfolk Planning Site gives me Continued Overleaf

Spring 2015 | 11

Pub and Brewery News - continued | Norfolk Nips an error message when I attempt a search.

We hear that the Dolphin in Thetford is currently closed and indeed it is being advertised on the Enterprise Inns website if you fancy taking it over, so the intention seems to be for it to continue as a pub (Currently being run by the landlady of the green Dragon. ED), unlike the Bridge in Thetford which is now reported to be Zaks American Diner. Two more pubs advertised on the Enterprise site are the Swan in East Harling and the Flintknappers in Brandon, which as far as I know are still trading.

I have been asked to give a mention to a couple of beer festivals coming up. The Kings Arms at Shouldham, have a festival on the weekend of 4th – 6th September and the Chequers at Wimbotsham are in action on 28th -30th August, where there is anticipated to be an appearance by the classic motor cycle club.

As reported in the last issue, Wetherspoons have submitted a planning application to turn the White Hart in Downham into one of their outlets. Objections have been lodged, and we await the decision of the committee.

Up at Snettisham the Compasses has been empty for several years since the murder of the landlady. The Coop has submitted plans to turn it into a store, which I 12 | Summer 2015

guess is a satisfactory solution for the building. I recently came across a channel 5 television programme about the tragic events at the pub which did not make for comfortable viewing. I also wonder about the accuracy of the programme when the makers use stock footage of the Norfolk Broads to illustrate a West Norfolk village.

Jeff

Just In! The Jolly Brewers pub and restaurant in Shouldham Thorpe has a new owner in Julie Wales who has over 20 years experience in the business and is the owner of the nearby Foldgate Inn at Stradsett. Food will be served every day and there will be a live music night once a month.

No news on the beer, yet but food and produce is being sourced from named local suppliers, so lets hope that the same attention to detail and quality is reflected on the bar.

The grand opening was scheduled for 15th May, so it should have settled down by now and be well worth a look.

Went past the Dray and Horses Tottenhill on Friday and it looks like it is now some kind of restaurant, but have not been able to find any details.

May not yet be open.

Pub Preservation After sounding opinion amongst West Norfolk committee members I have applied in the name of the branch for an ACV for the Winch in West Winch. This pub has been chosen as a test case because it is the only remaining pub in the village and I have heard rumours from a local resident that it is shortly to close and be demolished.

Coach & Horses Celebrate Summer Coach and Horses at Dersingham have announced a Summer solstice Cider festival to be held Sunday 21st June, 2015. Music all day and Kings Morris men at 2.00 pm.

Also a beer festival 16th - 18th October, 15 - 20 beers.

Refurbished restaurant

The ONLY Thai Restaurant for Norwich in THE GOOD FOOD GUIDE!

Good Beer Guide 2015 listed pub

Families welcome

Open Monday to Saturday

City Centre Location

Thai Food lunchtimes & evenings

Well Kept real ales

Our offers and events...

Curry and a Pint for £10 Monday to Thursday 5-7pm Come and enjoy a great Thai curry and a pint of real ale for only a tenner!

We are in the Good Beer Guide 2015

Quiz Nights First Tuesday of the Month Starts 7.30pm. £10 a Ticket Includes curry and a pint of ale or small glass of wine £20 voucher to winner!

Please book tickets in advance.

Thai Steak & Chips only £10 Marinated with Thai herbs and red wine and served with sweet chilli sauce. Monday evenings only.

Norfolk Nips | Bar Man

How much???

If a pint of beer in a pub costs £3, then a half would cost £1.50, right? Well no, actually.

Many pubs charge over half the price of a pint when purchasing a half measure. Is this fair? It was a topic of discussion at the recent CAMRA AGM in Nottingham and opinion was divided.

Some felt that it is obvious that you should pay half as much for half the quantity, and to charge more than this is both sharp practice and an encouragement to drink larger measures which is probably a bad thing, especially in Scotland where the drink drive limits have been cut from 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood to 50 milligrams.

Others hold that the price you pay for a pint is not just for the drink, and if you buy a half you expect the same effort for the serving staff as if you were buying a pint. A half pint glass cost just as much to wash, you are occupying a chair and want the same heating and lighting and entertainment, such as the football on TV as those who buy a pint. If you go to a supermarket, the unit price of almost everything is greater if you buy in smaller amounts, so why should beer be different?

The consensus seemed to be that it was OK to pay a little more, for instance to round the price up to a sensible number so the customer was not charged £1.57 for example, but big differences were unacceptable, such as some London pubs quoted which charge 50 or 60p extra for a half. Anyway, if you are that worried it is always possible to check the price list before making a decision. Except that it isn’t.

Unfair Trading Regulations 2008’. This resulted in the repeal of the Price Marking (Food and Drink Services) Order, which specifically covered price lists and their display. Now there is ‘a general obligation to give sufficient information to customers at the point of sale, so that they are not misled on prices.’ Clearly the best way to do this is to display a price list, but you could argue that if the prices are in line with what would be generally expected in the area, it would be very difficult to bring any kind of action against a publican for failing to display prices. On the other hand, if you bought a pint for £4, what would be the reasonable expectation for a half a pint? £2.20 might be OK, but what if it was £2.60? Some might argue (and indeed did in Nottingham) that this is not reasonable. This is covered by a section of the act detailing ‘misleading omissions’. This is when a trader leaves out important information to mislead you into buying something that you may not have bought if you had been given all the facts. I can find a case of an oil firm being prosecuted for delivering oil to homes without a quote and then charging higher than expected prices, but none of a pub being prosecuted.

I doubt that Trading Standards would have the time or inclination to take on a case of overcharging by a few pence in these straightened times. Maybe the requirement to display a price list should have been spared from the bonfire of red tape. bar.man@btinternet.com First published in the Lynn News

I was under the impression that all pubs have to display a price list, but this is no longer the case. It certainly used to be, but the law was changed by the ‘The Consumer Protection from Summer 2015 | 15

Beer experts gain accreditation Norwich and Norfolk CAMRA are pleased that two of their long standing members have been awarded Beer Sommelier accreditation by the Beer Academy. Mark and Cheryl Cade have long had an interest in beer and hope that this award will enable them to pursue their new careers in the industry organising tours, tutored tastings and other beers related events in Norfolk and beyond.

Cheryl and Mark will also continue their work at the Norwich Beer Festival with Cheryl comanaging the Foreign and Bottled Beer Bar alongside Keith Loney. They will also be organising the tutored beer tastings at the Norwich Beer Festival and hope to continue the good work that Ian Stamp has begun.

Cheryl (a committee member) is part of a group of women in the area championing the image of ladies enjoying the delicious tipple of beer.

So what is a Beer Sommelier? A Beer Sommelier specialises in the service and knowledge of beer. This knowledge includes an understanding of styles, brewing, ingredients, history of beer and brewing, glassware, beer service, draught systems, beer tasting and food pairings. Cheryl and Mark were assessed on their beer knowledge and sat a one to one exam that involved blind tasting a number of beers (yes it was hard work!) to evaluate styles and flavours and to indentify a number of faults that can occur in beer.

If you would like more information about what they do and how they promote local and international beers take a look at their website www.thirstconsultants.com or find them on Facebook and Twitter. They are always happy to chat about beer.

16 | Summer 2015

Norfolk Nips | Norwich & Norfolk branch Cider Pub of the Year 2015

Result! Four in a row for The White Lion For the fourth consecutive year, the members of the Norwich & Norfolk branch of CAMRA have selected The White Lion pub, on Oak Street in Norwich, as the Cider Pub of the Year.

Pubs within the branch providing the best real cider and perry had been nominated by members and the final voting took place at the recent branch AGM. Although the White Lion has won the award since the Cider Pub of the Year was introduced in 2012, it is the first time that Landlord Alex Waters has received the Norwich & Norfolk branch’s title although he has worked there for a number of years. Mr Waters said after beinggiven the good news “We are thrilled to hear that The White Lion has been awarded the Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year. Since taking over from Ben and Becky Ackers in August 2014, we have continued to specialise in providing a diverse range of quality real ciders from all parts of the country, with an emphasis on Norfolk cider. ” He continued “We sell ciders from Jonty’s, Crone’s, East Norfolk, Harleston, Burnard's, the Norfolk Cider Company and Whin Hill, as well as 10-15 ciders from the West Country, Wales, Essex and elsewhere. We also sell lots of good real ale and home cooked, locally sourced seasonal British food. We are passionate about what we do here and would like to thank the Norfolk and Norwich branch CAMRA members for voting for us and continuing to drink at The White Lion.”

The White Lion now goes head-to-head with the West Norfolk branch’s winner, The Railway Tavern in Downham Market and also the Wortwell Bell which was Mid Anglia’s winner, with the overall Norfolk victor progressing to the Regional level of the competition.

Warren Wordsworth, the Norwich and Norfolk Branch Chairman said “I would like to congratulate The White Lion for winning Norwich & Norfolk Branch’s Cider Pub of the Year for an impressive fourth year in a row. The White Lion is a great pub, which actually was closed for quite a number of years but reopened in September 2008, and now has an excellent choice of ciders and perries which has helped raise awareness of local producers and the variety of these traditional, natural drinks available at pubs. I wish The White Lion and Mr Waters good luck in the future rounds of the competition”.

Norwich Beer Festival We are promised some changes for the 38th Beer Festival this year. Worry ye not, it will still be in The Halls and will be held during the October Half Term week. More will be revealed in the next issue, but there is an important change regarding the facilities.

In St Andrew’s Hall, the Ladies will be the Gents and the Gents will be the Ladies.

Doors will be blocked off and new walls and partitions built – you have been warned!

Please check the Branch website, or speak to a Committee Member if you wish to volunteer.

Summer 2015 | 17

Norfolk Nips | West Norfolk

Black Horse Rampant The Black Horse in Thetford was for several years a regular in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, and then due to various factors, including a change of management, it dropped out.

In 2014 Terry and Pam Gillman were looking to move from the Green Dragon to a pub that had more potential to be shaped to their ideas.

The owners of the Black Horse approached them and after some initial doubts they decided to arrive at a deal.

The pub was from personal memory a bit dark inside and the food side had slowed significantly, to be fair the beer was fine. As well as writing for and editing the west Norfolk part of this magazine, I also help to distribute it locally. So when I dropped in to deliver NIPS after the takeover I was immediately impressed by the change, heavy curtains had gone and light allowed into the bars, the atmosphere was much lighter as well with obvious chatter between hosts and customers. Terry and Pam had already begun to make the Horse their own.

Red Lion (Wetherspoon) with clashing beers.

The atmosphere is helped by the fact that all sectors of the local community use the black Horse, and all ages, including old Thetfordians.

Terry has introduced a number of traditional board and dice games which have proven a big hit with customers, “Shut the box” anyone?

There are occasional live music sessions and a quiz night on the last Wednesday in a month.

On the community theme the pub has 5 darts and 2 crib teams and kit sponsors Thetford Rovers. The beer garden is also a very pleasant feature, some people don’t realise it is for visitors use as it looks almost too nice!

I know Terry and Pam are in the Black Horse for the long run and wish them continued success.

The beer quality had gone up a notch, still served through the three pumps they inherited with the pub. This was only the beginning; a varying menu of good honest home made food was (and still is) on offer, all excellent in my opinion. Considering the fact that the Wetherspoons is very close by with its mass feeding at low prices, you would think Terry and Pam had taken on a challenge but the food is in great demand and the eating area is often pretty full. To give another reason for the foods popularity regular Dan Bailey describes it as “bangin’” nuff said!

This is a beer magazine so back to the real ales, Terry has installed five handpumps now and uses all of them beers range from the regular IPA, Wherry and St Austel Tribute to Mauldons and Bellhaven all turned over quickly and in superb condition. Terry has an arrangement with Woodfordes that they don’t supply the Horse and the

Summer 2015 | 19

End of an Era | Norfolk Nips

The Albion Thetford, end of an era There are always pubs that seem as if they will go on forever, it would be hard to find a better example than the Albion.

Run by the same family since 1969 originally

by John and Eunice Middlebrook and for the last 20 years by their daughter Amanda, the Albion has always been essentially the same, a proper small town local surviving on wet sales and a strong sense of community. When you visited there were some real characters, I remember a chap named Richard who always sat in the same place in the bar, with plenty of tales of local personalities from the surrounding villages, he was a contemporary of and knew my own recently departed next door neighbour Rose and between them they knew pretty much everyone in the area! Both gone now, they don’t really make people like them anymore.

The Albion never offered more than a cheese toastie but you could bring in food from elsewhere. Prior to the arrival of Wetherspoon in Thetford the Albion always had the cheapest beer in the town yet featured in the Good Beer Guide for many years without a break. The pub was in the Greene King portfolio and served their range to a very high standard.

A refurbishment was carried out a few years ago, with an extension to the length of the bar and a refit of the drinking area which resulted in the loss of what had been Richards traditional position. One difficulty with this refurb was that the cost of fixtures and fittings fell to Amanda, who was after all on a rolling three year lease!

20 | Summer 2015

The arrival of the Wetherspoon Red Lion with attendant cut price beer shortly afterwards did not help Amanda’s situation as she was tied to GK’s wholesale prices and although many regulars said they would continue to support her they slowly moved to the Red Lion. She told me she was having a hard time two years ago, then a visit during last year she revealed that a group of builders from a holiday project had helped to keep the Albion afloat through that winter.

So I was taken aback to discover that GK had sold the Albion last June to Hawthorn Leisure and that due to beer supply problems and late invoicing for lease payments Amanda had decided to give up the lease as of this September! She told me that no help had been offered with her payments and that bad beer supply continues today.

Amanda has spent most of her life in and around the pub and although she is putting a brave face on it, the prospect of leaving must really hurt. If you are any good as a publican you have to invest quite a bit of yourself in a pub but the Albion is much more than just a pub to Amanda its her life history.

I know she will miss the community spirit, banter and company of her regulars, but maybe not the 24-7 commitment. I believe there are plans to break free and travel in the future, sounds like a great idea. Whoever takes on the Albion will have a hard act to follow.

Bon voyage Amanda, you’ll be missed!

In Memory | Norfolk Nips

Wolfe Witham I've had the privilege of knowing Wolfe Witham for the past 30 years, There’s more to him than beer and brewing and being 6ft 8. Wolfe was a family man, with his partner Sonja by his side, Alex Kerridge, his step daughter and his stepson Paul, who brewed the beers, both worked for Wolfe in the Reindeer, went on to produce the many award winning ales at Wolf brewery. He made a point of visiting every pub he sold Wolf ales to, pop in for a drink with the landlord/lady and a chat, He believed in the personal approach, and he could get suggestions from his clients too. Also in this way he became very well known in the Norwich pubs.

He was a stickler for detail, I recall him telling me that once in the Reindeer, an elderly woman came up to him, the week he opened the restaurant there, and told him she never went to pubs, but as she came past the pub each morning on the bus and saw him regularly watering the hanging baskets, she thought if he cared so much about the outside of his pub, he must take the same care inside, with the food and drink. So she had brought her husband in for the first time. He often mentioned that, when discussing people's perception of a business, keep it personable, its a people centred business. I think many pub owners could do well to heed that advice instead of putting faceless managers behind their bars, who have no real vested interest.

Socially he would hold centre stage, a storyteller. Wolfe told me in his own inimitable animated manner of one time, he moved house for the Bonzo Dog Dooda Band front man Viv Stanshal, Laden with furniture, and piano, they drove down Bayswater Road in an flatback truck.

Wolfe heard the honky tonk of the piano, looked in the mirror and there was Viv Stanshall sitting at the piano, naked. He loved peoples reactions to his tales.

Before the brewing trade, Wolfe was in a 22 | Summer 2015

theatre company which performed amongst others “three men in a boat”, at an event at Mannington Hall, Wherein Wolfe, and two others, appeared in a canoe like boat, with no bottom, which they wore strapped over their shoulders. Intending to walk around the lawn pretending to be on water. Lord Walpole, came along and said, why don’t you use the moat, its only four feet deep so they duly did, after about ten minutes into the play, and safely walking along the moat. They didn’t see a hidden sinkhole and suddenly there were only two men in the boat.

In the Reindeer pub, he still managed to keep up his love of theatre. He was encouraging of local theatre company, “Great Escape”, and hosted a week of theatrical events for Comic Relief . It was a typically generous offer.

Some of you may have noticed that Wolfe had very long strong fingernails on one hand, this was because he was a proficient self taught classic flamenco guitarist, and needed long nails,

However Sonja his partner pointed out to me that they were fake fingernails stuck on with superglue which was often all over the kitchen table. I can recall a few occasions when He played in public, not long after Alex Kerridge took over the Beehive. Wolfe, myself and others had been cooking, and brought pies and sausage rolls. Wolfe, brought a Spanish tortilla, which incidentally he was pretty good at cooking, and once won a blind tasting of Spanish tortillas against a Spanish friend.

Encouraged by beer and food, Wolfe brought in his classical guitar, and wearing a ridiculously silly hat sporting a stuffed cloth Seagull played flamenco to an astounded group of regulars, who had no idea he could play. Alex, had a look of consternation on her face, saying “ I don’t think I’ve got a license for music yet” suffice to say a good time was had by all.

Always creative, he had poems published in the EDP , and even wrote a novel once.

Wolfe's humour was eccentric and surreal, much of it influenced by the goon shows, he was recently writing a play intended for radio, which featured a group of people, who appeared to be trapped in a strange place.. it turned out that they had been turned into chickens. He was a member of the Mardlers radio theatre company, and played a curmudgeonly old man , called Wolfy, who sat in the snug and moaned about the corrupt politicians, the rising price and declining quality of food, restrictive pub legislation and the decline of standards. This was of course a fictional character…and nothing like the Wolfe we knew.

He was generous, sociable, and spontaneous, I recall one evening bemoaning the end of the Mussel season, he suggested we drive to Calais, for lunch the next day, where mussels were still in season. So we were up at 4.30am, passports at the ready, and drove to Dover, crossed the channel, ate delicious Mussels in Boulogne, and drove back the same day. He was always game for an adventure.

Wolfe of course was a character, A larger than life character a loving family man, at the same time, irascible, supportive, grumpy, likeable, exasperating, amusing, funny, sage, erudite, and

worldly wise. but wholly human.. you remembered him, many respected him, everyone looked up to him, You had no option. He always managed to be noticed besides his height, his inimitable conversational manner, laced with wit, and jocularity made him a person people would go over to talk to, someone they enjoyed being with.

I miss him very much, as I am sure many readers who know him will also do, so lets raise a pint and to use Wolfe's old tag line “drink more beer! Cheers.”

Correspondence Dear Editor, I read with interest the article on soft drinks in pubs in the last issue. Do I want to pay an inflated price for a cheap sweet fizzy drink? NO! What I really want is something that I can enjoy, something with a bit of flavour that Is satisfying.

Peter Tinniswood in his books about the Brandon family from up North refers to Temperance Bars who would dispense “foaming pints of Sarsaparilla.” That’s more like it. A pint pulled from a handpump. Pour that into a jug with a handle and I would be well pleased.

I have to admit that I would rather drink a filter coffee than endure some of the fizzy offerings. Fentiman’s is one company that produces decent alternatives, but in tiny bottles.

A pint of Fentiman’s Dandelion and Burdock from that redundant handpump in the middle, anyone?

Yours, Disgruntled of Dereham

Summer 2015 | 23

Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA Rural Pub of the Year 2015 | Norfolk Nips

The Green Dragon wins again!

If that does not show you why the award has been won then also check out the great Bank Holiday weekends (May 22-25th and August 28th-31st) when they hold the ever growing and popular Ale, Cider, and Music festivals. They put on lots of great beers and ciders and an atmosphere that's hard to beat.

The winner of the Norwich and Norfolk Branch Rural Pub of the Year 2015 is located in the heart of Wymondham. The Green Dragon is a medieval public house dating back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest pubs in the country with a rich history that lives on every day.

The bursting awards cabinet is down to “a lot of things”. Ales, nice, friendly staff home cooked food and desserts, and the history of the building has been kept too. Justin has more plans for the Green Dragon to become even better, check it out to watch the improvements being made made! So if you are wondering where to go – then we definitely recommend our Rural Pub of the Year, the Green Dragon in Church Street Wymondham. See you there!

Cheers!

Rob Whitmore

It is the third time in six years that this popular 14th century tavern has picked up this accolade, with a further five wins in the South Norfolk Community Pub of the Year competition as well.

Many community and charity events pour out of Green Dragon now and are all well supported.

Landlord Justin Harvey said: “It’s great - it’s really nice for us to get recognition for what we do and it’s good for the town and bringing extra people in.”

Apart from great real ale, local and national, a lovely customer environment, the Green Dragon with historic roots, still meets and exceeds customer needs today! It’s great on a quieter day and also when its bustling, which it often is!

But you will always find space in the labyrinth of rooms and outdoor space. Food is available of course so whether you are looking to wash down great ales with some honest British pub grub, a light bite, or something more adventurous, the Green Dragon has the answer.

EATON COTTAGE UNTHANK RD, NORWICH Tel: 01603 453048

Fine Real Ales, lagers, wines and spirits

All Sky & BT Sports • A traditional pub Good covered outside areas Doggies welcome

“A festival of beers every day” Summer 2015 | 25

Norfolk Nips | From the archives

From the Archives Another trawl through our files looking at the burning issues of the day

Issue No.152 Spring 2010 A5 72 pages, full colour throughout on gloss white coated paper.

Editors – Warren Wordsworth/ Mike Baldwin.

It was Pub of the Year time again and it was announced that the two Branch pubs which would go head to head to decide the overall Norfolk Pub of the Year were The Mariners Tavern in Great Yarmouth and The Angel, Larling.

The previous edition had sported a photo of Graham Freeman wearing a Humpty Dumpty Brewery t-shirt at the Acropolis in Athens. In response, reader Richard Dixon submitted a photo of himself and two Barmen wearing Woodfordes t-shirts in a bar in Baja California in Mexico. No real ale though.

In Pub News, it was reported that The Constitution, The Woodside, The Walnut Tree Shades and The Cross Keys in Dilham had all closed.

However, The Cottage, The Reindeer and The Mermaid in Hedenham had all reopened. The Ferry Boat in King Street, Norwich, which had been shut for three years had been purchased from Greene King by Deepdale Backpackers& Camping of North Norfolk, who planned to open it as a hostel.

The weather featured heavily in this issue, there had apparently been some stuff called snow. One correspondent reported on the delights of delivering NIPS in blizzard conditions and a visit to the Beeston Brewery was followed by a swift retreat to warmth of The Bull at Litcham, where Mark Riches had arranged for more Beeston Brewery beer to be available.

Worth the Wait, apparently.

Andrea Kirkby described a North Norwich Pub Crawl. A few years previously this had been a barren wasteland, but that had all changed thanks to the Wig and Pen, King’s Head, White Lion, Cottage, Cider Shed, Whalebone and The Duke of Wellington.

Our first regular Competition asked readers to name ten pub signs from photos supplied by Maurice Bobbitt.

And finally, tribute was paid to Nicholas Frank Stimpson who had recently passed away.

Open from Midday Everyday Fresh home cooked food to be found on our bar and specials menus Ever changing selection of local ales and fifty whiskies to be sampled Upcoming Events Real Ale, Cider, and Music Festivals during the summer bank holidays, May 22nd till the 25th and August 28th till the 31st, Pub Quiz every Thursday, DragonFest open mic nights, and much more!

Check our website and Facebook page to stay updated through the summer.

Norfolk Nips | Beer Debate

Criteria for Key Kegs Motion 15 This Conference instructs the National Executive to investigate a labelling scheme for naturally conditioned Key Keg beer which would allow customers to identify which beers, at the point of sale, conform with the CAMRA criteria for real ale.

One of the most interesting Motions at the AGM concerned the use of Key Kegs, or Cask Kegs, which is the version used for beer.

beer is squeezed out. Care has to be taken to ensure that the beer is not frothy and has the right amount of head on it, but this is controllable.

Basically, it’s beer in a bag. Ah, I hear you say, we’ve been there before, Panther Brewery have been doing it. It’s a great way to get real ale into an establishment that struggles with it because they do not get the turnover. The Beer lasts longer because it is not contaminated with air.

The Cask Kegs are non-returnable, so the Brewery does not have to worry about missing casks and the bowls have gone to be used as – goldfish bowls! The debate at the AGM was getting somewhat heated, with the main point of contention being – is this real ale?

So how does it work? The brewery fills the bag with beer and puts it into a goldfish bowl shaped container, which is then enclosed.

CAMRA has looked into these and says that it is real ale and that should be good enough. True, the method of dispense could be confusing and, yes, there may have to be a label saying “CAMRA says this is real ale”. But if it gets real ale into new places and attracts new fans, then isn’t it worth it?

In order to serve the beer, air or gas is introduced into the bowl, but not into the beer! It goes between the bowl and the bag, so that the

Under New Ownership and newly decorated inside

Live Bands, Quiz and Poker Nights Check our website and Facebook page to stay updated Open Mon - Thurs 11-11, Fri -Sat 11-11:30 Sun 12-10:30.

Mini Beer Festival Every Day! We’re in it!

with over a dozen real ales and ciders Fresh rolls served daily or bring in your favourite take-away

Free Wi-Fi • Dog friendly Summer 2015 | 31

The Rant | Norfolk Nips

Getting Fruity!

In Germany they have this Purity Law, which basically says that only barley, hops, yeast and water can go into the making of a beer. To the uninitiated, this would mean that all German beers look and taste alike. But we know that this is not so. Depending on the variety of hops and what you do with the barley, you can get a myriad of different tastes and beer styles.

But what about apples? The quality of the crop varies from year to year according to growing conditions and so will the taste of any cider or perry. Little wonder that the major producers of commercial ciders add chemicals to ensure a consistent, if not bland product. The latest notion has been to introduce other fruits into the mix to produce flavoured ciders. And this is not just the main brands, smaller producers are doing it as well as the CAMRA AGM in Nottingham heard.

And for beer? Her indoors still raves about the Cherry Bomb ale that was at the Norwich Beer Festival a few years ago.

Not my cup of tea I have to admit, but one of my all-time favourites comes from a wellknown East Anglian Brewery. It’s a porter, a style that I love, but at the end of the process, concentrated blackberry juice is added. Pure nectar, in my opinion.

Flavoured ciders, flavoured beers – is this just pandering to the Nation’s sweet tooth? I know someone who says that all beers taste the same, though admittedly they only drink Bitter and that is what they ask for in the pub. You would be hard pushed to find someone who thinks that Woodforde’s Wherry and Cherry Bomb, for example, taste the same.

(Editor’s Note: Other beers are avail32 | Summer 2015

able). In Nottingham, I ordered Root Beer from a local Brewery. Root Beer is my drink of choice when driving on the other side of the pond.

Sadly, it tasted nothing like Root Beer.

In France, I discovered Picon, an orange flavoured aperitif that you add to beer. It certainly adds colour and flavour to your everyday lager.

But what I really love is the chocolate and coffee flavoured beers.

Anybody know if there is a Bournville Porter?

Norfolk Nips | Please support our advertisers

Summer 2015 | 33

Ice Cream, De Did you know that Gorleston has the second largest population in Norfolk. Only Norwich has more people living there. Welcome to the seaside! That is one of the pleasant things about Norfolk, you are never far from it. Gorleston has a superb beach and wonderful views out to the North Sea. Welcome to the Gorleston Cluster There are six pubs all very close together around the harbour's mouth. They can provide between them a range of priced food, accommodation, characterful pub decor, superb views and all with great Real Ale. Almost all buses that run through Gorleston stop at the town centre. From there leaving the Library on your right go down Baker Street and follow the road around, another 400 yards and there you are. Look out for the three local breweries ales (Green Jack from Lowestoft, Lacons and Tombstone from Yarmouth).

You are sure to find them represented here.

“The Country Pub On The Edge of Town�

Bacton Road, North Walsham NR28 0RA FREE

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OPEN ALL DAY FIVE REAL ALES Meals Served

12noon to 2.30pm and in the evening 6.30 to 9.30pm

Bookings 01692 404800 34 | Summer 2015

Lets start at the NEW ENTERTAINER (NR31 6PG) on Pier Plain. Although this is deceiving in that it's not new and it's no where near the pier, it is closer to the town centre. But its been in the Good Beer Guide 10 of the last 11 years. Averages 5-8 Real Ales plus 5 draught ciders. The range tends to be varied including some dark beers. A quaint, odd, thin triangle wedge shape of a place. Frequented by

Norfolk Nips | Going to Gorleston

ckchairs, Prom and Beer! a wide variety of customers. Originally named the Suffolk Hotel but that was before Gorleston moved to Norfolk. The door is at what appears to be the back. Take care coming out, traffic comes from both sides.

Leaving there go right then right again or left then left again. Either will bring you facing No 1 (NR31 6DA) . This used to be Peggotty's and before that The Ship. Good food served (5 stars on Trip Advisor) and 4 Real Ales from various breweries. This was a Killet's Brewery House before 1792 when it was taken over by the Gorleston based Bells Brewery ending up with S&P some evidence of which you will see outside.

Leave there and you are faced with a big decision. In front of you is a five finger junction.

Turn right or far right and you will be back at the Entertainer, not a bad choice. But lets be adventurous and go either left or straight on up the hill. I toss a coin and its left towards the river.

About 100 yards down there on the right was the LIFEBOAT TAVERN. You can see which building it was and I dare say the boys from the RNLI (around the corner left) might just have paused there on their way home to refresh themselves. Good for them. It closed on my 17th birthday so I dont apologise for not having been there. It’s still shut now and so our haven is the KING WILLIAM IV (NR31 6PH) unsurprisingly known around here, as the King Willy) which is another 100 yards on. They are keen to bring Real Ale into their pub and deserve to be supported. Usually a local brew or two. This was a Bullard’s house back in 1839. Inexpensive, straight forward food provided. Nice beer garden and over the road great views of the harbour's mouth.

Leaving there and turning right you can walk alongside the river and around the bend of the harbour's mouth. As you go look at the level of the river as it is now and consider what it was

Green circles are pubs, Red stars are food like one cold night in December 2013 during the tidal surge. I was here then and leant over the concrete wall to your left and could touch the water which was running fast inland looking like cold black oil. Now turn and look behind you at all the houses that would have been under water but for that most necessary wall.

Look too at the quay on the opposite side. I saw lorries axle-deep standing next to the silos.

See if you can spot the port traffic lights that tell ships in the harbour that it is safe to leave. If they are on green then go to the next pub but be on the look out for a ship going out. If they are on red then be on the look out for a ship coming in. Either way dont miss the old Victorian lighthouse positioned right opposite the harbour's mouth which was once a life saver for local fishermen. Carry on past the sadly closed Continued Overleaf Summer 2015 | 35

Please support our advertisers | Norfolk Nips

The California Tavern California Road, California, Great Yarmouth NR29 3QW

Free House, Restaurant and Live Music venue Great ales by Woodfordes, Greene King, Elgoods and Mauldons available Excellent Food, very popular Sunday Carvery, you will need to book!

Live music every Friday and Saturday Whatever your preference, you will not witness finer bands for free.

Function room • Kids adventure trail

Have you been to California? www.californiatavern.co.uk

email: californiatavern@btconnect.com Tel: 01493 730340

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36 | Summer 2015

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Norfolk Nips | Going to Gorleston - continued BELLE VUE to arrive at the PUB ON THE PIER (NR31 6PL). This is a gastro pub/hotel which provides a wide range of food and a couple or three Real Ales. Nothing exciting but well kept. Fine views north and south from different bars.

From the main entrance turn left and follow the road around until you are looking at the glorious sands and you see a row of small shops.

Here will be found chips, bingo, slot machines, buckets and spades, kiss-me-quick hats and REALLY excellent ice-cream. Refresh yourself here before you take on the steps to the top of the cliff. With the shops at your back go right and right again or, if your inclination goes that way left and left again. Either way it's a climb. This will be rewarded by a drink or meal in the CLIFF HOTEL (NR31 6DH). This is a busy place which has regular specialty evenings and you can often get special offers to stay. But strictly speaking you dont want to actually linger at the bar no matter how pleasant it is. The great thing about the Cliff is to be sat outside on the terrace. It has wonderful views of the river and the beach. The best to be had in any pub this side of Norfolk.

Again the choice of beer is uninspiring but it is reasonably well kept.

Leaving by the main entrance and turning right you walk gently down hill. More views of the harbour's mouth to your right. Houses built on the cliff side. Gardens on the other side of the road. About half way down is the ODDFELLOWS ARMS (NR31 6DG). Oddies is a well set out and comfortable pub with two bars, a pleasant rear patio that faces west and always four rotating real ales that are bitters between 3.5-4.5% ABV. It's in this years GBG. No food but real music.

Carry on down the hill and you are back at No1 and the Entertainer. It’s tempting to start again! However within easy staggering distance are further three pubs all selling Real Ale for your pleasure. The Albion on Lowestoft Road (NR31 6SH), the Mariners Compass on Middleton Road (NR31 7AJ) and the Dock Tavern on Dock Tavern Lane. (NR31 6PY). If you feel more energetic then The Short Blue, The Three Tuns or best of all the Ferry Boat Inn await further up river.

It’s grim in Gorleston, but I must not weaken Now where next ......

Summer 2015 | 37

Please support our advertisers | Norfolk Nips

on Locks Inn Geldest Locks Lane, Geldeston NR34 0HW Tel: 01508 518414

e Locks Inn are pleased to annouce we are now a Waveney Valley Freehouse so expect an even better range of beers & cider e Locks Inn is one of the county’s best loved pubs. Perfectly situated on the banks of the river Waveney at Geldeston near Beccles on the Norfolk / Suffolk border. A pub full of character, one of our biggest attractions is our large expansive garden area, where children can play and you can relax.

We serve a range of traditional gastro pub dishes daily.

SATURDAY JUNE 13th - LOCKSTOCK All day folk, folk-rock and roots music festival noon to 1am

Go to www.geldestonlocks.co.uk for more information on our events, parties and music line-up

38 | Summer 2015

Norfolk Nips | Bar Man

The philosophy of advertising A recent philosophy night down at the Kings Arms in Shouldham (last Tuesday of each month) took consumerism as its theme. Do we buy too much stuff, and is advertising partly to blame? The assembled crowd seemed to feel that they only ever buy what they need and were adamant that they were impervious to advertising, but on reflection I am not so sure.

Ask yourself these questions. Do you ever buy stuff to replace things that are not broken or worn out, and if so why? Secondly, given a choice, why do you not always buy the cheapest available? When you buy a beer, what influences your choice? Do you go for the one with the gold foil round the top of the bottle which makes it look a bit classier? Perhaps you consciously or subconsciously remember an advertising slogan, ‘the pint that thinks it’s a quart’, ‘probably the best lager in the world’, ‘refreshes the parts that other beers cannot reach’. All empty words which either have no real meaning or are demonstrably false.

Maybe you think that your choice is better quality, and are willing to pay more for it, soothed by the thought of it being ‘reassuringly expensive’, but would you trust your taste buds enough to put them to a test in a blind tasting?

Even top wine experts are fooled by the £2.99 bottle of plonk slipped into the test, or perhaps there is no story to report when they do pick it out.

We would be naïve to think that the way that advertising works is that we watch something on TV and then rush out to buy it. I think it is a lot more subtle than that. Imagine that you walk into a pub and see six hand pumps on the bar all selling bitter, which is what you fancy. One of them is Greene King IPA, so will you choose it?

Some people do. I have spoken to several landlords who keep it as a regular beer because the customers buy it. Is it the best on the bar? Probably not, so why pick it? Maybe you have seen it advertised on TV, or associate it with the England rugby team. Perhaps it’s on the beermats and bar towels in the pub or are you attracted by what they call their new ‘branding stem’ (the chrome coloured hand pumps introduced into many of their pubs). Perhaps the name is on the front of your replica football shirt or they sponsor the stadium where your team plays or the league they play in. One way or another it is likely to be familiar, and especially if you are a stranger to the pub or a newcomer to buying bitter, you won’t make a fool of yourself by ordering it.

Why did James Bond suddenly acquire a taste for Heineken in Skyfall’? Did the reported $45 million payment have something to do with it?

Immune to advertising? None of us are, and it’s not just beer. Try doing a little research on how supermarkets maximise their sales. The smell of fresh baked bread, enhanced lighting near the veg to make it look bright and clean, sweets at child height by the checkout, cold air circulating near the chiller cabinets. See if you can find out how much they charge companies to display their products at eye level. Lots of questions and as Olivia always says at the Kings Arms, there are no right answers. Hopefully though, there is something for you to think about, preferably down the pub over a beer. bar.man@btinternet.com First published in the Lynn News.

Summer 2015 | 39

Please support our advertisers | Norfolk Nips

COAST ROAD, WALCOTT, NORFOLK NR12 OPE

FREE HOUSE

Telephone

(01692) 650371

Proprietor since 1989: STEVE BULLIMORE

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

FOUR REAL ALES & CIDER www.lighthouseinn.co.uk 40 | Summer 2015

Norfolk Nips | Please support our advertisers

r a i n M e h T GREAT YARMOUTH ers Under new ownership

Shaun Underdown is back at the helm of the Mariners, Shaun is no stranger to success having won Norwich & Norfolk’s Branch Pub of the Year 2010.

The pub has undergone a refurbishment and is now back on the map with 10 ales and 5 ciders on offer. The pub is backed by Waveney Ales and Cider to give the most diverse choice of ales. Local brews, national brews, regional large and small expect to amazed with the variety and choice. If you like real ale, and visiting Great Yarmouth, you should visit the Mariners Tavern.

Beer Festival

Waveney Ales

Starts Tuesday 1st September and will last 7 days

will be interested in supplying equipment and beer for any beer festival. please call Darren on 07733797976 for more information.

50 ales and 10 Ciders Food, music and lots more!

Summer 2015 | 41

Champion Beer of Norfolk | Norfolk Nips

Kett’s Rebellion succeeds as Top Norfolk Beer for 2015 Woodforde's Brewery has claimed the top prize in the Norwich and Norfolk Campaign for Real Ale's (CAMRA) Taste Panel. The trained tasters have sampled 44 different beers, hailing from 14 breweries all over Norfolk, and submitted a total of 2014 taste cards from the tastings held at various pubs over the last year.

Alan Edwards, Chair of the Tasting panel described the winning beer as having “decent depth of flavour, well balanced and malty on the palate with a lovely sweetness coming through.

Subtle hops are there to provide contrast”.

He also said that “it is pleasing that the awards cover a variety of our 30-plus Norfolk breweries.

Our largest producer can be proud that two beers, including the flagship Wherry Best Bitter, took the top awards in their categories before

42 | Summer 2015

scooping the overall top places . In contrast our smaller concerns are well represented by the Golden Triangle, Lacon's and Grain Breweries.

We can rightly be proud of the number of the breweries and beers they produce. There is something for everyone in the brews they offer”.

Neil Bain of Woodforde’s Brewery said he was ‘absolutely delighted’ upon hearing the news from Mr Edwards. The Woodbastwick based brewery, which is Norfolk’s largest, also claimed the Bitter award with its Wherry. Great Yarmouth based Lacon's Brewery’s Affinity won the Golden Ale category. The Speciality category was topped by Blonde Ash from Grain Brewery from Alburgh, South Norfolk and the Golden Triangle brewery from Barford took the Strong Bitter award with Hop Lobster.

Mr Edwards continued “however, what is of concern is that these beers are not as widely available as either the brewers or CAMRA would like. With more breweries starting every year, continual pub closures and domination by pub chains, large and small, the opportunity for a brewer to sell their beer at a realistic price is increasingly restricted. The panel is charged with tasting as many local brews as possible. However only 14 breweries products were sampled as, despite visiting many local hostelries, many remained disappointingly elusive. Brewer and Landlord need to work together to ensure theirmutual survival in the face of the voracious national and international conglomerates. We at CAMRA are willing and able to continue to further our relationships with, and efforts in support of, our dynamic local industries.”

Full Results are: Best Bitter & Champion Woodforde’s, Woodbastwick Kett’s Rebellion Tel: 01603 720353 Bitter & runner up Woodforde’s, Woodbastwick Wherry Tel: 01603 720353 Strong Bitter & third Golden Triangle, Barford Hop Lobster Tel: 01603 757763 Golden Ale Lacon's Brewery, Yarmouth Great Affinity Tel: 01493 850578 Speciality Beer Grain Brewery, Alburgh Blonde Ash Tel: 01986 788884 Porter & Stout Grain Brewery, Alburgh Porter Tel: 01986 788884

Angel Gardens Free House

This independently run freehouse has been under the ownership of Ian Warren since 1988 and is situated on the north of the city near to Waterloo Park.

Homecooked and speciality meals Sunday roasts from 12-8pm Prepared by Ian - a qualified chef with years of experience.

Up to NINE reasonably priced Real Ales and SIX real ciders

Live Music on Saturdays Now showing Sky Sports Taking part in the Woodfordes Ale Trail June to Sept

96 Angel Rd, Norwich NR3 3HT

01603 427490

www.norwichinns.com

email: ikwarren-angel@tiscali.co.uk Spring 2015 | 43

Please support our advertisers | Norfolk Nips

Brewers of award winning East Anglian ales stouts and porters Our range of Permanent Ales

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Our beers are available throughout East Anglia and also at our brewery shop in Debenham (Unit 1A Meadow Works Business Park Kenton Road Debenham IP14 6RP) For further details contact us on 01728 861213 www.cliffquay.co.uk or www.earlsohambrewery.co.uk

CROWN FREE HOUSE THE BANNINGHAM

We are in it!

Traditional Country Pub and Restaurant •5 Real Ales•Great Food• •Sheltered Gardens•

01263 733534

Colby Road, Banningham, Aylsham, NR11 7DY

www.banninghamcrown.co.uk 44 | Summer 2015

Here is a current list of all the pubs in Norfolk which are part of the CAMRA LocAle scheme. New entries are in Bold.

Horseshoes, Alby Black Boys, Aldborough London Tavern, Attleborough Crown Inn, Banningham Chequers Inn, Binham Cock Inn, Barford Kings Head, Brooke Artichoke, Broome Green Gate, Caister-on-Sea Reedcutter, Cantley Crown Inn, Catfield George Hotel, Cley-next-the-Sea Three Swallows, Cley-next-the-Sea Victory, Clenchwarton Muskett Arms, Clippesby Red Lion, Coltishall Ugly Bug Inn, Colton Albion, Cromer Cottage, Cromer Red Lion Hotel, Cromer Royal Standard, Dereham Bob Carter Centre, Drayton Railway, Downham Market Royal Standard, East Dereham Queens Head, Emneth Erpingham Arms, Erpingham Bull, Fakenham Wellington, Feltwell Kings Head, Filby Rampant Horse, Freethorpe Locks Inn, Geldeston Wherry, Geldeston Dock Tavern, Gorleston Mariners Compass, Gorleston Dabbling Duck, Great Massingham Barking Smack, Great Yarmouth Mariners, Great Yarmouth Oliver Twist, Great Yarmouth Red Herring, Great Yarmouth St. Johns Head, Great Yarmouth Fox & Hounds, Heacham

Kings Head, Hethersett Greyhound Inn, Hickling Pleasure Boat Inn, Hickling Victoria, Hockering Swan, Hilborough Eagle, Hockham Buck, Honingham White Hart, Hopton Nelson Head, Horsey Brickmakers, Horsford Elm Farm Country House, Horsham St. Faith Live and Let Live, Kings Lynn Star Inn, Lessingham Swan Inn, Loddon Dog Inn, Ludham Fox and Hounds, Lyng Anchor Inn, Morston White Horse, Neatishead Relish Restaurant & Bar, Newton Flotman Railway Hotel, North Elmham Orchard Gardens, North Walsham Adam and Eve, Norwich Angel Gardens, Norwich Beehive (Leopold Rd), Norwich Bell Hotel, Norwich Cellar House, Norwich Champion, Norwich Cottage (Silver Road), Norwich Duke of Wellington, Norwich Earlham Arms, Norwich Eaton Cottage, Norwich Fat Cat and Canary, Norwich Fat Cat Tap, Norwich Fat Cat, Norwich Garden House, Norwich Jubilee, Norwich Ketts Tavern, Norwich Kings Head, Norwich Leopard, Norwich Lollards Pit, Norwich

Lord Rosebery, Norwich Maids Head Hotel, Norwich Murderers, Norwich Plasterers Arms, Norwich Red Lion (Bishopgate), Norwich Reindeer, Norwich Ribs of Beef, Norwich Rose, Norwich Sir Garnet, Norwich Take 5, Norwich Temple Bar, Norwich Trafford Arms, Norwich Vine, Norwich Wig and Pen, Norwich Royal Oak, Poringland Ferry Inn, Reedham Ship, Reedham Kings Arms, Reepham Swan, Ringland Three Horseshoes, Roydon Lobster, Sheringham Windham Arms, Sheringham Chalk and Cheese, Shouldham Kings Arms, Shouldham Goat, Skeyton Peddars Inn, Sporle Sprowston Manor Hotel & Country Club, Sprowston Ferry House, Surlingham Lynn Arms, Syderstone Red Lion, Swaffham Pelican Inn, Tacolneston Red Lion, Thetford Gunton Arms, Thorpe Market Queens Head, Thurlton White Horse, Upton Cherry Tree, Wicklewood Willow House, Watton Stag, West Acre Bell, Wiveton White Lady, Worstead Green Dragon, Wymondham The Mill, Yaxham Summer 2015 | 45

Norfolk Nips | Please support our advertisers

Tel: 01362 638466

Saturday 4th July Live music acts, Real ales, curry bar, cakes & free children’s bouncy castle. Headlining band Against All Odds. Raising funds for Myeloma UK

Cut out and bring for a FREE pint over the weekend!

Sunday 5th July CHARITY FIREWALK, live music with LEE VANN & real ales. If you fancy a fire walk you must be registered by 2pm and donate a minimum of ÂŁ25 to charity. Raising funds for Little Heroes charity

Tickets available from the Fox at Lyng & The Tuddenham Lodge Main Road, North Tuddenham NR20 3DJ www.thelodge-tuddenham.co.uk

Summer 2015 | 47

A Special Brew | Norfolk Nips

Creating a truly Norfolk ale for City of Ale Norfolk is world renowned as one of the top regions for growing malting barley, but two local brewers have created a one-off celebratory ale to truly promote Norfolk in a glass – and introduce some other iconic Norfolk ingredients on top of the barley.

Moon Gazer Norfolk Harvest ale is a collaboration between The Norfolk Brewhouse, based in Hindringham and Cromer’s Poppyland Brewery. The beer appeared at the fifth anniversary City of Ale festival.

David Holliday of The Norfolk Brewhouse explained the importance to involving local growers in the project: “We wanted to brew a beer which would allow us to feature the people involved in the whole chain of the brewing industry from grower to brewer – to show the personalities involved, and in so doing highlight how important beer and agriculture is to the rural economy of Norfolk.”

“The fact that people have already gone the extra mile to help make this possible demonstrates what a great community there is out there.”

The extra mile which Holliday refers to is that of local Maltster Crisp Malting – one of the country’s foremost producers of malted barley who distribute malt all over the world and batch produce malt in serious quantities – usually 200 tonnes at a time (that’s enough to make 2.78million pints of beer).

This celebratory ale required a batch size for just 3,000 pints, but the need to name the precise farm on which the barley was grown meant a way had to be found to isolate malt from just one field.

Step in, Euan Macpherson, Crisp’s Managing 48 | Summer 2015

Director who was only too happy to oblige: “When David calls you from the Norfolk Brewhouse and opens with; ‘you can say no if you want’ you know he is hatching a plan which normally is hard to say no to.”

“We take great pride in working with so many Norfolk growers and brewers that the opportunity to be part of an ale which presents the people behind the beer was an opportunity not to miss.”

“We knew we had some excellent Maris Otter malt coming in from Church Farm, in Heacham (which is owned by G W Harrrold and Partners) and it was a case of corralling that delivery and using only that barley in our separate pilot plant. It certainly wasn’t an everyday occurrence but was great to be part of.”

As to the other Norfolk ingredients these include Norfolk mint and honey.

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50 | Summer 2015

Grab a CAMRA Discount at your local!

The following local businesses offer a discount for CAMRA members (usually on presentation of a Membership Card, discounts are on real ale only unless stated). Full details of all pubs can be found at WhatPub.com The Woolpack, Norwich: 10% off Grange Hotel, Ormesby St. Margaret, Norwich: 10% off all real ales Lighthouse Inn, Walcott: 10% off all real ales London Tavern, Attleborough: 20p off a pint of real ale

The Bell, Norwich: 20% off all food. 50p off a pint (with your CAMRA vouchers)

Cherry Tree, Wicklewood: 30p off a pint of Buffy’s

Green Gate, Caister-on-Sea: 20p off a pint of real ale

Compleat Angler, Norwich: 10% off all real ales

If your pub or business offers a discount to CAMRA, but isn't on this list, please contact pubsofficer@norwichcamra.org .uk and let us know the details (including any restrictions).

Albion, Cromer: 10% off real ales, draught and bottled

Glasshouse, Norwich: 20% off all food. 50p off a pint (with your CAMRA vouchers)

Red Lion, Drayton: 10% off of real ale

The Leopard, Norwich: 10% off

Oliver Twist, Great Yarmouth: 10% off across the board - please show card before ordering

Lollards Pit, Norwich: 10% off

Brickmakers, Horsford: 10p off a half, 20p off a pint of real ale Railway, North Elmham: 10% off B&B and camping

The Pig & Whistle, Norwich: 10% off

Please note: We believe the discounts listed are offered at the time of going to press, however pubs may of course withdraw or change offers at any time!

Plasterers, Cowgate, Norwich: 10% off all real ales (available to all customers on Mondays) The Whiffler, Norwich: 50p off a pint (with your CAMRA vouchers)

Summer 51 WINTER2015 2014 || 51

Please support our advertisers | Norfolk Nips

A popular pub with locals and holidaymakers alike, the Crown Inn is perched right on the clifftop overlooking the beautiful sandy beaches of Sheringham in Norfolk.

Enjoy a meal or snack from our extensive and popular menu.

Five Real Ales always available Every Saturday - Live Local Bands

Monday nights - Pub Quiz with prizes, refreshments and free entry Tel: 01263 823213 crownsheringham@hotmail.co.uk www.crown-sheringham.co.uk Lifeboat Plain, East Cliff Sheringham NR26 8BQ

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

FOUR REAL ALES Wednesday Irish Folk Music ursday Folk & Singing Music Friday & Saturday Live Music Sunday Folk Music

Large garden overlooking the River Wensum OPEN: Mon - urs 12-11 Fri & Sat 12-12 • Sunday 12-11 52 | Summer 2015

Norfolk Nips | CAMRA Beer Festivals

CAMRA Beer Festivals Calendar So many Beer Festivals, so little time. For further information, please see What’s Brewing, the CAMRA website, or contact the relevant Branches.

JUNE 2-6 Thurrock Beer Festival JUNE 11-13 Braintree Real Ale Festival North West Essex Branch Hitchin Beer & Cider Festival North Hertfordshire Branch Ipswich Beer Festival Ipswich and East Suffolk Branch www.suffolkcamra.co.uk/ipswich/beerfestival

JULY 9-12 Festival of Beer & Brewing Stowmarket, Ipswich and East Suffolk Branch JULY 23-25 Bishop’s Stortford Beer Festival Herts and Essex Borders Branch AUGUST 11-15 Great British Beer Festival London, UK

JUNE 13-14 Beer In The Gibberd Garden Herts and Essex Borders Branch

AUGUST 25-29 Peterborough Beer Festival Peterborough and District Branch

JULY 7-11 Chelmsford Summer Beer & Cider Festival Chelmsford and Mid-Essex Branch

AUGUST 26-29 Clacton-on-Sea Real Ale & Cider Festival Tendring Branch

West Norfolk CAMRA Cambridge Pub Tour - Saturday 4th July 1100

Kingston Arms (Kingston Street)

1615

Elm Tree (Orchard Street)

1200

Geldart (Ainsworth Street)

1700

Hopbine (Fair Street)

1250

Devonsire Arms (Devonshire Road)

1745

Saint Radegund (King Street)

1330

Live & Let Live (Mawson Road)

1830

Maypole (Portugal Place)

1430

Cambridge Blue (Gwydir Street)

1930

The Regal (Regent Street)

1530

Free Press (Prospect Row)

1915

Flying Pig (Hills Road)

Join Us! For details contact: Tim Spitzer (07950) 823270.

Summer 2015 | 53

Please support our advertisers | Norfolk Nips

54 | Summer 2015

IT AIN’T HALF HOT MUM so try our range of local and regional ales, imported lagers and great freshly prepared food

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2 Chapelfield, Freethorpe NR13 3LY Tel: 01493 700103 www.rampanthorse.net Summer 2015 | 55

Please support our advertisers | Norfolk Nips

56 | Summer 2015

Norfolk Nips | West Norfolk ed

Cider apple blossoms in Norfolk With spring upon us and everything starting to come to life the blossom which will become next year's cider and Perry is appearing. It is also the time when the juice that was pressed last autumn is ready to drink and starts to appear in our pubs and at our beer festivals.

It therefore seemed an ideal time to present the East Anglia Perry award, which was judged at Norwich Beer Festival last October, to Whin Hill Cider at Wells-next-the-Sea. Chris Rouse, the East Anglia Regional Cider Co-ordination joined local branch members on a sunny Sunday to help Mike and Lisa Jarvis celebrate their success (pictured opposite).

Of course, producers need somewhere to sell their produce. We are seeing an increase in pubs selling real cider and Perry and the Cider Pub of the Year competition is a good way recognising pubs which are doing this and promoting the product. This year all three branches that cover Norfolk entered a pub into the Norfolk Cider Pub of the year competition and judges visited the Bell at

Wortwell, the White Lion in Norwich, and the Railway Arms at Downham Market. As always there were some tough decisions as they were all very good pubs but there has to be a winner and the Railway Arms, a previous winner of the national competition, was judged to be this year’s Norfolk Cider Pub of the Year.

The Railway Arms tries to promote local products where possible and it is currently one of the few outlets for ciders from one of Norfolk newest producers, the Downham Cider Company, which is run by Stephen Manton. Their cider is called Downham Tickle, a name which was an idea from the owner’s daughter and Ian Pinches, the landlord of the Railway Arms.

Why not take the opportunity to visit some of the pubs selling real cider and perry and give it a try.

Summer 2015 | 57

58 | Summer 2015

Norfolk Nips | Last orders

Warren’s Words Norfolk is one of the largest counties in England and although largely rural many of its inhabitants live in urban areas. I am reliably informed that it contains over six hundred villages of various sizes and character. A century or so ago most people living in these many villages lived and worked mainly in agricultural employment in their own village and seldom ventured far beyond their villages or homes.

In those days most of these communities had their own church, school, post office, shop and last but certainly not least their own village local pub. How different nowadays.

Although we still have our six hundred plus villages there is little work to be had in these communities and most people living in them now commute to urban areas to work. Many of these villages have lost most of their amenities which also in some cases also includes their village local pub.

Now summer is close at hand and there is little more tempting than to-go-a-visiting our lovely country side. What can be more relaxing than to leave the hustle and bustle of urban life and take to the roads and lanes and find a picturesque village with a gem of a pub?

How lovely it is to sit outside of a long summer’s evening and sup a pint of real ale. How nice to be with friends and family. And as a bonus most pubs serve anything from a snack to a full dinner.

Nominations for pubs (in Norwich & Norfolk Branch) to be included in CAMRA’s National Good Beer Guide (GBG) 2017 are now open by logging onto http://www.norwichcamra.org.uk/gbg/, so also while you are visiting these pubs please remember if you really like them then nominate them for possible inclusion in the next GBG and please score the quality of your beer you drink via CAMRA’s ‘What Pub’ website.

Warren Wordsworth Norwich and Norfolk Branch Chair

Steve’s Words As announced in the last edition of NIPS our Pub of the Year is the Coach & Horses at Dersingham. They have won this award for the second year in succession; it was a closely fought contest, with a small number of votes between all five contenders. It was really pleasing to see that Shelia the Landlady was as enthusiastic as ever to receive the award. The picture in the Lynn News & Advertiser featured Shelia and her team and yours truly presenting the award.

Once again, the Railway Arms has won Norfolk Cider Pub of the year. It is heartening to see that a venue that has won the award several times still keeps up the high standards required to compete in following years. Good luck in the Area competition.

Narborough Sports and Social Club have been awarded the Norfolk Club of the Year; let me tell you a bit about the club. When the new Village Hall was built in the Village, it was decided to build an extension to house the Social Club as well. They always have two real ales on tap from local and national breweries.

They have been keen supporters of our branch for some time. Anyone who is passing Narborough on the A47 is more than welcome to call in, just show your Membership Card and you will be afforded a warm welcome.

The recent news is the Election results. I hope that the present Government will continue the good work of reducing the Beer Duty. We await with interest any other development, so please continue to lobby your MP to support any reforms. One pleasing aspect of the election is that Greg Mulholland the Liberal Democrat MP has been re-elected, for many years he has supported CAMRA and promoted many campaigns.

Enjoy the summer.

Cheers Steve Barker W.N. Chairman Summer 2015 | 59

CAMRA Branch Calendar

Norwich and North Norfolk Branch Friday 5 June First Friday Five - Rushcutters, Buck, Rivergarden, Town House and Fat Cat and Canary Wednesday 10 June Beer Tasting Panel - Ribs of Beef, 8pm Tuesday 16 June Branch Meeting - Locks Inn, Geldeston, 8pm

The Harte Old Costessey, Norwich, NR8 5BS Tel: 01603 742755

Saturday 20 June Summer Social - Bermondsey Mile, visit 6 microbreweries within 1 mile of each other Thursday 25 June Beer Festival Planning Meeting - Take 5, 8pm Friday 26 June Campaign Trip - Sheringham / Cromer - trip by train

FREE

ACCESS

Privately owned freehouse and restaurant with a wide selection of real ales, lagers and ciders.

Freshly cooked locally sourced food.

Child friendly, large beer garden, pool table, easy access from A47, ample parking and on 23A bus route from the city centre.

Visit www.thehartenorwich.co.uk to check out the menu and opening times 60 | Summer 2015

Friday 3 July First Friday Four - Rose Tavern, Mulberry, Eaton Cottage, Beehive (Beer Festival) start 7.30pm (30 minutes earlier) Saturday 11 July Provisional Date for Beer Festival Summer Barbecue Friday 17 to Sunday 19 July North Norfolk Railway Beer Festival - no official trip planned.

Norfolk Nips | Dates for your Diary Tuesday 21 July Branch Meeting - Wicklewood Cherry Tree, 8pm Friday 31 July Campaign Trip - pubs to the north west of Norwich Friday 7 August First Friday Five - Quebec, William IV, Jubilee, Lollards Pit and Virtuoso Tuesday 18 August Branch Meeting - venue tbc Thursday 27 August Beer Festival Planning Meeting - Take 5, 8pm Friday 28 August Campaign Trip - pubs to the south of Norwich Friday 4 September First Friday Five - Coach & Horses Thorpe Road, Compleat Angler, Prince of Wales, Edith Cavell, Wig and Pen

West Norfolk Branch Tuesday 9th June Willow House, Watton Sat 4th July from 11.00am Cambridge, tour of pubs.

Starts 1100 Kingston Arms See separate details in this issue.

Tuesday 14th July Anmer Social Club Sunday 26th July Red Lion, Hockwold Walk at 11 Lunch at 12.30.

Tuesday 11th August Red Lion, Swaffham Note: all Tuesday meetings start 8pm and normally include a social

Tuesday 15 September Branch Meeting - Humpty Dumpty Brewery, 8pm Friday 2 October Ascot Races and Beer Festival - travel by train, depart Norwich 08.30 return Liverpool Street 20.30 If anyone has any other suggestions for trips and social events in 2015 or to book seats please contact Michael Phillips on socialsecretary@norwichcamra.org.uk

The pub with no bar, ales direct from cask.

Watch www.nelsonslocal.co.uk for forthcoming events.

Tongue twizzling food, and great value.

Huge garden and children’s play area.

Shooting parties, lunch & dinner menus available

Victory Barn Function Room for Weddings and Parties Come & visit Nelson’s local.

Walsingham Road, Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk PE31 8HN

01328 738241

Branch contacts

| NORFOLK NIPS

Contact Details Norwich & Norfolk Branch Chairman: Warren Wordsworth Tel: 01603 665557 Email: chairman@norwichcamra.org.uk Secretary: Rob Whitmore Email: secretary@norwichcamra.org.uk Social Secretary: Michael Philips Email: socialsecretary@norwichcamra.org.uk Pubs Officer: Ian Stamp Email: pubsofficer@norwichcamra.org.uk West Norfolk Branch Chairman: Steve Barker email: steve.barker495@btinternet.com Secretary: Ian Bailey Contact: Ian Bailey Tel: 01553 766904 Branch websites: www.norwichcamra.org.uk www.camra.org.uk/wnorfolk Branch mailing list web page: groups.yahoo.com/group/ CAMRA_Norwich Published every 3 months by the Norwich and Norfolk & West Norfolk branches of the Campaign for Real Ale Š N&N CAMRA 2014 Norfolk Nips is produced and distributed by members of the branch in their own time. Views expressed in Norfolk Nips are not necessarily those of the editor or of CAMRA.

62 | Spring 2015

Edited by: Mike Baldwin Email: michaelbaldwin8@gmail.com Graham Freeman Email: freem_kwak@yahoo.co.uk Chris Lucas Email: chris-stig@tiscali.co.uk Design & Production: Daniel Speed - Orchard House Media 01778 382758 Email: info@orchardhousemedia.co.uk Advertising: For advertising enquiries please contact Jane Michelson on: 07732 393 621 01778 382718 jane@orchardhousemedia.co.uk Distribution: 12,000 copies / four times a year Norwich and Norfolk District: Adrian Simpson West Norfolk District : Ros Harre r.harre@btinternet.com