APRIL1986 CIRCULATION5OOO NUMBER92

A DECADEAT THE BARLEY 11O'CLOCK OPENING MOW

March 1Othwas a significantdate in the calendar for North .The licensingjustices granted an extension of permitted hours on After ten years at the Barley Mow, Tyttenhanger John and Betty Monday to Thursdayfrom 10.30p.m. to 11.00 Blackwellhave decidedto hang up their Pump clips. During their p.m.which brought the Stevenagelicensing area yearsthey havealways been renownedfor their RealAle selection into line with surroundingareas of Hitchinand and quality,so much so thatthey haveappeared in everyGood Beer Guide.On the Pubgrub front they havebeen prominent in the Local East Herts which already enjoy the extra half Council'shighly commendedcategory for their kitchen.John and hour.The North HertsBranch of CAMRAassisted Betty have always been keen supporters of CAMRA and helped us LicenseeAlec Reeve of the Bucks Head, Little out at BeerFestivals and in sellingBeer Guides. Also their advertin in the application; petitions were every Newslettersince 1980 has helpedin keepingdown the costof it to the localbranches. They havealso allowed us to use the small organisedand the branch and members wrote barfor many committeemeetings even if it has meantthat some of lettersin supportof the application.Alec himself us havehad to staybehind to helpwith stocktakingI organised a petition with over six hundred It was pleasingto see so many of their friendsand regularsturn up signaturesand this obviously helped persuade on their lastday to wish them well even if there was a shortageof that the time to activeCAMRA members due to latewinter holidays. the magistrates Finallyon behalfof the Newsletterwe wish John and Bettsall good changewas due and that local demand wasthere. wishes in their future and if it is anotherPub somewherethey can Stevenagelicencees can now trade on equal relyon our support. termswith their localcounterparts. EricSim Peter Clarke

THEBARLEY MOW d N' ffiJq tagtls strett olb berttor!

Nowunder newownershiP TYTTENHANGERGREEN Widestse/ection of real ales in Hertfordwith manyguestbeers TOALL OURFRIENDS AND CU allseruedon gravity JOHN& BETTS Largeopenlogfire WOULDLIKE TO THANK YOU ALL FORMAKING OUR YEARS AT THE Homecookediood at all times Sundaylunch a specialitY BARLEYMOW HAPPY AND MEMORABLE LABELCORNER PUBAND BEERNEWS

Newsletterreaders who regularydrink in freehouseswill appreciate that it is impossiblefor this columnto chronicleall the changesof beersin these pubs - they are too many and too frequent.lt is, however,worth notingsome of the beersavailable generally in the freetrade, particularly recently some from theSouth West. You will be famililarwith the productsof Gibbs Mew, particularly piglro.O'sTipple (1066), and Hall& Woodhouse,sBadgei Best Bitter (1041)and Tanglefoot(1048). Now, thanksto an ent6rprisinobeer agencyin thatpart of the country,other beers, mainlyfrom thetmall brewers,are appearingon the handpumpsof Hertforshirefree_ houses.Amongst others, look outfor BatesBitter (1045)from Devon. ButcomeBitter (1039) from Avon,Cotleigh Tawny Bitter (1040)from Somersetand Sm iles Best Bitter (1040) from Bristol. Also appearingmore in the free trade are the beersof Scottish& Newcastle.Younger's Scotch Bitter (1036.5) and lpA (1042)are now on handpumpalongside the Adnams in the newlyrefurbishedand re-openedFox and Duck, .Another free house that has changedbeers under a n-ewowner is the Countryman,Chipping which now has CourageEest Bitter and DirectorsBitter besideth6 Ruddle'sCountv. Belatedgreetings to Mick and DeniseBruce who moved into the Duck at Burnham Green .just before Christmas.This leasehold McMullenshouse is now a realale pub serving both AK andCountrv on handpumpsinstalled by Mickhimself. Mick hopes to encourage traditionalpub games and to convert the pink Manhattanstyle restaurantInto more traditionalEnglish Fayre. We wish the Bruces allthebest in their newventure. The New Inn, Holwell now has GreeneKing lpA and Abbot on handpump,a welcomeconversion. Apologiesare due to Our Mutuat Friend,Stevenage New Town whichsells Wethereds Bitter and not FlowersOrioinal.

In my last article I described the Fordham'slabel as being of 'classical' design,and the same appliesto the labelshown here, although they may not appear at all similar at first glance.The Nicholls'label is a directderivation of the originaldesign for Bass DRINKING AROUND labels,which was the first trade mark ever registered,thekey elementsbeing the companytrade mark in the centreof the top half of the label,and the companysignature across the middle,on a colouredsecu rity background. Situated the Nichollswas typical of manysmall breweries of daysgone by, in so on 84505roughly halfway between and perhaps far as they brewed bottled beers, despite not having many tied Chesham,Bovingdon is betterknown f or itsf ormer RAF houses or other outlets for their beer. Nowadaysthe trend is airfieldand the fact thatthe world'sfastest produclion camera was completelythe oppositewith manybrewers, of far greatersize than built in the village.The airfieldclosed in 1969and after beingused Nicholls,having closed down their bottlinglines and takingbottled forvariousfilms, including 633 Squadron, is now thesite of a orison. productsfrom one ol the nationalbrewers. Only seven different The camera was built by John Hadland (pl) Ltd., who were labelsare knownto havebeen issuedby W.H.& G. Nichollsduring mentionedin the Guinness Book of Recordsfor theirfeat. the entirehistory of the company,which was broughtto a close in All pubs.inthe villagesell Real Ale, and all are ownedby,Big Six' 1966when the brewerywas compulsorily purchased by the County Companies.First stop is the HatfwayHouse in HempsteadRoad, a Councilin orderto buildthe town'sring road. All that remainsis the two barpub with BenskinsBitter, Ind Coope Bitter and Burton Ale on old brewer'shouse in West Street, which is a listedbuilding, and the offer.The pub hasrecently been re-decorated inside and out, notice WhiteHorse pub inCastle Street which was the brewerytap. Among the tropicalfish tank and the CAMRAmirror in the saloonbar. percv the other survivorsof the Nicholls'tied estate,which at one stage Throwerrecently made a visitas judge for the Benskinsfloral and gardening comprisedf ive publichouses, but onlythree at the time of closure, competition,the pub having been nominatedfor the are the Two Brewersand the WarrenHouse pubs in .Does competitionfinals for itsexterior floral display. anyoneamong the readersof this article know which other pubs Crossthe roadand enterthe High Street,pass the schooland the wereowned by Nicholls'Brewery, and what became of them? villagehall, the Bell isat the bottomof thestreet on the left.This 200 Anotherfascinating aspect of the illustratedlabel is the description year old pub is now one bar on two levelswith a seperategames of the beer.What was a Light DinnerAle? Was it the same as our roomat the rear,Benskins Biflerand Friary Meux Bitterare available presentday LightAle? My personalguess is that it wasnot the same, on handpump. Directly opposite is the Wheatsheaf,the only non but ratherequated our presentday light milds, like McMullen's AK or Alliedpub in the village,owned by Whitbread. Notice the interesting Greene King'sKK, because it was also a descriptiongiven to many sewingmachine tables as you drinkyour WetheredsBitter in thii draughtbeers by othercompanies. Whatever the true answerLight attractiveone bar pub. DinnerAle wasone of the typesof beer,of whichthere were many, Cross the road again and enter the Bull, run by former which havedisappeared from the rangeof drinksoffered torsale by footballerMartin Patching, Ind Coope Bitter,Taylor Walker Bitter brewers.They form an inte'estingsubject for a separatearticle, and BurtonAle are availableon handpump.The pub wasfeatured in whichlshall follow uo ata larerdate. newspapersearlier in the year,when to the surpriseof localsand GrahamTubb historiansalike, a transmitteranda newspapercutting dating back to EditorLabologists Society, 1939.were foundby workmenremoving a chimneyslack. The small public 66,High Street, Puckeridge. bar has a large bottle collectionand thb removal of the f ireplacein the saloon has increased the drinkingarea. The finalpub, The RoyalOak,is situated at BovingdonGreen. To get there, cross the road and walk (or drive) up Green Lane until y-ou reachthe Green,turn leftand the pub will appearin front of vou.A two bar buildingbuilt in the 1950sto replacean older pub which Foalingabout once slood in front of the site of the presentpub. A comfortable Thelicensie of theWaggoners, Ayot Green will not beselling copies saloonbar contrasts with a livelypublic which containsa pooltable. of the 1986Good BeerGuide because the commentabout the pub dartboardand juke box. 'Bovo' read:"Landlady has a lovelyass." As furiousKathy Pearce explains, That concludesthe roundup of pubs, five varied buildings mentioned she has kepta donkeyfor years,but it has neverbeen offeringthe full rangeof Alliedbeers available in the area.lf vou aie before. still thirsty,the White Hart at WhelpleyHill is not far away,but tfrafs anotherstory, and anotherCounty. RoyHumphrey. WELL,I LIKEBENSKINS JOINCAMRANOW!

By the time you readthiq all Benskinshouseeshould be sellingbeer brewedin Burton on Trent.CAMRA have always found faultwith Benskinsbitter as brewedby Allied Breweries,but mostmembers Membershipform admitethat when a landlordcared for his beer,Benskinswas a good drink. However,now that the beer is to be brewed in Burton,the lAffewish to becomea member/membersof opportunityhas beentaken by the companyto changetheflavour the Campaignfor Real Ale Limited andendeavourto get a betterproduct. IAA/eagree to abideby the Memorandumand A test market was carried out in January in some fifteen large turnover pubs. Publicanswere given two or three kils of the new Articlesof Association of theCampaign bitter and askedto try it out on their regularcustomers and note the reaction.The beer was deliberatelyleft at the depot, Hunton Bridge, for a week in order to try and create normal conditions.I tried the I enclose t7 (€10 overseas)for a yea/s full mernbership ! beer in five differentpubs around the Watford area:- We enclose e7 for a yea/s joint full membership ! The Pennantnext to Watford Station:a new barrelwas put on for me and was very good; the bar staff ssid the beer was being well received. The Roseand Crown, WoodcockHill, Rickmansworth:the beer was FULL POSTALADDRESS being servedusing a sparkler,another Benskins experiment, and tastedsofter, not so hoppy,but stillgood. The Feathers,Rickmansworth: yet another differentflavour - much more fruity - probably due to the fact that it was being kept backfor specialcustomers. A visit later in the week found the beer in good hoppyform. ;"q;"; ;;il ;; ;;;; ;;;;;; ;;;p?lr'i;;;;;i ;" ii,ii"l Send toMembership,CAMRA, 34Alma Road,St. Albans, The Two Bridges,near Croxley Station:the beer was hoppy and in Herts ALl 3BW goodform. TheKings Head, Hunton Bridge: an excellentpint with, once again, a tasteof hops.The landlordcould seeno reasonto changethe beer andwas supportedby hiscustomers, which goes to provethat if the old brewwas lookedafter it was popular. Mv initialreaction, and that of most otherCAMRA members I have spokento was that the test batchwas good, ;nd if the production beer is as good we will be very happy.However, it dependson the Ouarterof free housesbreak the law publican. One in four free houses in a CAMRA national survey were found to be operating in breach of the law by not displaying a price list. Haveyou triedit yet? Some 26 per cent of pubs surveyed did not have a list on display - in direct J.H. flagration of the law, which states that each pub must display a clear and legible price list. And out of those which did have a list, onlv 77 per cent were thought by branches to be legible enough for the customer standing at the bar. Complaints such as "list obscured by pillars" and "too far behind bar to read" were often repeated by branches throughout the country. Taking both sets of offenders togther, the survey reckons that some 43 per cent of pubs surveyed were acting outside the law - meaning that just over ha lf, 57 per cent, were up to scratch.

PUB OFTHE MONTH

North Herts Jolly Waggoner, The parishof Ardeleyonce boasted five pubs; regretablyonly one survives.Set in the heartof this smallvillage stands the 300year old Jolly Waggonerrun by Lesand BarbaraRoberts. This is their first pub but they havecontinued the traditionof excellentale which has seenthe pub appearin the nationalGood Beer Guide. The pub isthe focal point of the villageand has a fine reputationfor charityfund raisingto helpthe localschool and church,as well as sendingthe pensronerson anannual outing. Worth_notingis the fact that food is availableseven days a week, lunchtimesand evenings.You can watch your GreeneKing bitter being drawn from the stillagebehind the bar which houies an impressivedisplay of sevenbarrels of traditionallpA and Abbot.an uncommonsight in Hertfordshirethese days. Thursday 24th April is the date set for the North Hertspub of the month social;whv not comealong? P.C.

South Herts Winnersof theJanuary Pub of the Monthaward were Tim and Carol of the Garibaldi,St. Albans,who have been at the pub since last August when Fullerstook over. In that time they have built uo an enthusiasticfollowing for their good home cooking(such as sieak and ESBpie) and for the excellenceof thier beers,London pride and ESB. The Garibaldiwill be closingshortly for renovationwork which we hopewill be sympathetic to the traditiona|.natu re of this backstreet local.On behalfof the branchmay I thank Tim and Carolfor their hospitalityon the presentationevening and wish them everv successforthe re-openingofthe Garibaldi. G.A, BRANCHDIARY WHAT'SON ATYOUR PUB

HERTFORDSHIRENORTH BRANCH 4th April : The Crown, 8p.m. Singaround at TuesdaylstApril HoddesdonFolkClub. Darts match againstSouth Herts at the WaterfordArms, Waterford, 6th April Ware: BreweryTap, 8p.m. The KipperFamily at Ware Folk 8p.m. Club. Thursday1Oth April 1lth April StansteadAbbotts: The Crown, 8p.m. Dick Miles at Branchmeeting at the Motte& Bailey,Pirton, 8p.m. HoddesdonFolkClub. Thursday 24th April I 3th BreweryTap, 8p.m. KathrynTickell at Ware Folk Pubof theMonth social atthe JollyWaggoner, Ardeley,8p.m. Club. Thursday1st May 18thAprilStanstead Abbotts:The Crown,8p.m. Chris Pitt and Gavin Socialatthe Fox, , Sp.m. Atkinat HoddesdonFolk Club. ThursdaySthMay 20thAprilWare: BreweryTap,8p.m. Singaround atWare Folk Club. ,8p.m. Socialat the Three Horseshoes, 25th April StsnsteadAbbofts: The Crown, 8p.m. Jill and Bernard APOLOGY Blackwellat HoddesdonFolk Club. The at the GreenMan, Great Wymondley in Marchwas can- Social 27thAprilWare: BeweryTap,8p.m. Miles Wooton atWare FolkClub. celledby the licensee.North HertsBranch apologise to any mem- 2nd May StansteadAbbotts: The Crown, 8p.m. Singaround at berswhoturneduo. HoddesdonFolk Club ContactPeter Clarke t Stevenage65957 Listingin the What's On column is FREE.Send detailsto Nadine Fvnn,78Old NorthRoad, Royston by 1stMay for the Juneedition.

HERTFORDSHIRESOUTH BRANCH Tuesdav1 st April Dartsmatch against North Herts at the WaterfordArms, Waterford, 8o.m. Monday 7th April SituationsVacant ll so' Committeemeeting atthe Barley Mow, Tyttenhanger, Sp.m. Do you live in North Hertsand enjoy readingth-eNewslettef lf you can Tuesday1sth April ;;"; y"; consideredbecoming a Newsletterdistributof to a Branchmeeting at the Sun, Northaw,8p.m. coupleof hoursonce a monthto deliverthe Newsletter $"t"'; you' me a Thursday24thApril of pubs in your area I would like to hear from Give Dartsmatch against Enfield & Barnetbranch at the Hope& Anchor, "!upfirg'on " St""unage6se57and let me know the pubs vou;:x|:#'rl" WelhamGreen, 8p. m. All welcome ! Tuesday29th April Pubof theMonth social atthe Woodman, Wildhill, Sp.m. ContactAdrian Jolliffe t St. Albans69675 BEERQUALITY

MID-CHITTERNSBRANCH pubs in Herttordshire TuesdaylstApril In the bad old days, when less than 100 provided tacitlytolerate sub-standard beer Socialatthe Crown. Little Missenden, 8.30p.m. real ale, I would often with TuesdaySthApril ratherthan travel several miles to the next outlet.Nowadays, I have no compunction Socialat the Oueens Head. Chesham. 8.30o. m. availabilityincreased by a factor of eight, Tuesday15th April about expressingmy disaPProval. particular housenearby after several Socialat the Plough,Jockey End, 8.30p. m., then on to the chequers, I had givenup usingone tree GaddesdenRow. consecutivevisits had failed to produceone exampleof anything Monday21st April approachinga perfect pint. However, I was pleased to hear from Socialatthe Rose and Crown, ,8.30p.m. local members that a recent change of ownership had brought Monday2SthApril about a significantimprovement, so I dropped in againwith hopes Socialat the Kings Arms, , 8.30p.m. high. My first choice of beer came up noticeablyopaque, and I Tuesday6th May quietlymentioned to the server (l am unawarewhether it was the SocialattheRoyal Oak, West Hyde,8.30p.m. landlordor one of his staff)that I was not impressed.The response ContactKen Smith a Watford 31226 was"Well, that beer's dry-hopped".I had previouslyconsidered that dry-hoppingmade nol oneiot of differenceto the clarityof the beer and persisted with my disinclination to sample it. lt was then WATFORD& DISTRICTBRANCH suggested that I was one of those who drinks with his eyes rather ContactTony King rt Garston672587 thanby taste.I pleadedentirely guilty. I had had enoughcloudy beer in my time to know that even if the barrel is new and not perlectly settled, the presence of a heavyconcentration of yeast in the glass Peter& LesleyReynoldswelcomeyou to causesthe beer to assumea markedlydifferent palate than when in the peakof condition.ll I requesta pintof a certainbeer I thinkI have the right to expect it to tasteas it should, especially,as prevailedat thispub, if the priceis 1 5-20% higher than the normalf or the area. The second-choicebeer, grudginglyprovided, was also not 100o/o butI consideredfurther protest futile. I thought the days had gone when landlordscame up with fatuous @"l":ilHil)@ comments in response to legitimate quality queries and always €rssumedthemselves to possessmore knowledge about the beer RaymentsBBA* GreeneKing KK & Abbot thantheir customer.Obviously I was wrong. Needless to say, I shan't be retuming to this pub again and I shall ensurethat my drinkingcolleagues know the reasonwhy. GOODHOIIE COOKEDFOOD Local Drlnker MONDAYTO SATURDAY t Brent Pelham227

t he HerttordshireNewsletter is producedby the H€rtfordshireNorth, Hertfordshire South, Watlord & Districtand MiGohiltems branches of the Campaignfor RealAle Ltd. The views expressed are not necessarily thce of theEditor, CAMRA Ltd or its branches,The Editor gratefully receives articlesor lettersfor publication.Send to NadlneFynn,78 Old North Ro.d, Royrton,Hcrtlordrhln. Subrcrfptfom:E2.25tor12issues. Send toaddressabove. Chequss payable to CAMRAHerts Campalning Fund.. AdverdCng:€8 per2.5cm column Artworkcan be madeup at extracost. Contract Erlc Slm c lldcld 006|7 tor details COPYDATE FOR JUNE EDITION : MAY I st;FOR JULY EDITION: MAY 24th. Printedandlilm set byD&SGraphics,61 163 HighStre6t, Ware, Hertfordshire.