Fun at Ealing Beer Festival (See Page 30)
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D ON ON L Oct Vol 32 Nov No 5 2010 Fun at Ealing Beer Festival (see page 30) Editorial London Drinker is published by Mike Hammersley on behalf of the London Branches of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real NDO Ale Limited, and edited by Geoff O N Strawbridge. L Material for publication should preferably be sent by e-mail to [email protected]. Correspondents unable to send letters to the editor electronically may post them to Brian Sheridan at 4, Arundel House, Heathfield Road, Croydon CR0 1EZ. Press releases should be sent by email via [email protected] Changes to pubs or beers should be reported to Capital Pubcheck, 2 Sandtoft Road, London SE7 7LR or by e-mail to [email protected]. For publication in December 2010, please The price of beer send electronic documents to the Editor no later than Wednesday 10th November. hairing a recent meeting of a at an acceptable price. In the last SUBSCRIPTIONS: £4.00 for mailing of 6 Cnational CAMRA committee six years, the volume of beer sales editions or £8.00 for 12 should be sent to Stan Tompkins, 52 Rabbs Mill House, in a London pub, a CAMRA in pubs has dropped by 31%, Chiltern View Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex, member from out of town was according to statistics recently UB8 2PD (cheques payable to CAMRA surprised to be charged £3.40 for a published in the Guardian . For London). ADVERTISING: John Galpin pint of ordinary bitter. His off the pubs and cask ale to thrive, I’d like Tel: 020 3287 2966. cuff response, ‘I’m not buying the to see session beers priced nearer to Printed by Cliffe Enterprise, pub!’ did not go down well with £2 than £3 a pint. They could be, Eastbourne, BN22 8TR the licensee, who would have if taxes were lower and pub Views expressed in this publication are those found CAMRA itself charging a companies less greedy. of their individual authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Editor or the ‘tourist price’ of £4 for some, So I was perplexed to read Campaign for Real Ale Limited. admittedly stronger, cask beers at recently in the trade press that a Advertise in the next the Great British Beer Festival. ‘strategy director’ at a large LONDON DRINKER But can regular drinkers afford brewery was reportedly arguing Our advertising rates are as follows: such prices? I suggest not. Across that pubs should raise the prices of Whole page £300 (colour) £240 (mono) the country, Wetherspoon’s pubs their cask ales to match those of Half page £180 (colour), £135 (mono) are popular and increasing in their ‘premium’ lagers. What is his Quarter page £95 (colour), £70 (mono) Phone John Galpin now on number while many pubs strategy? Charge more for real ale 020 3287 2966, Mobile 07508 036835 belonging to other people are in your pub, then fewer people will [email protected] struggling and closing. In my part drink it and those who do will of London, for example, more than drink less. You’ll lose customers to In this issue a third of the pubs in SW20, Wetherspoon’s while your unsold 2011 Good Beer Guide 4 Morden and Mitcham have closed beer goes stale and attracts even over the last four years. Morden, fewer drinkers. So you stop selling The Duke of Hamilton 6 where Wetherspoon’s sold their it. The customers decide to buy News round-up 8 premises to a supermarket, is left their lagers at the supermarket to Brewery awards 24 with only three pubs that serve any drink at home at a quarter of the cask ale. Up in Roehampton, pub price, and so you close the pub. Celebrating pubs 26 SW15, only one pub remains open Where do you then sell your cask Beer festivals 27 but at least it sells Young’s. ales? Why bother to brew them? Letters 31 A year ago, busy beer writer and The alternative strategy of marketing man Pete Brown was making real ale in pubs more Pub of the Year 39 telling publicans in his annual affordable might also go some way Branch diaries 40 ‘Cask Report ’ that real ale drinkers to combat the popularity of less German beer pubs 44 tended to be more affluent than social and often antisocial drinking, others. CAMRA’s London I suggest, although banning the Capital Pubcheck 48 Regional Director, Kim Martin mass media advertising of alcohol Membership form 49 observed that they might just would go a great deal further Book reviews 61 spend more of their income on towards achieving that national beer. There are certainly a lot of us policy objective. By contrast, Brewing in London 63 who can afford to drink socially simply making supermarket Idle Moments 64 only in Wetherspoon’s pubs. In alcohol more expensive cannot do Crossword 66 other pubs, nowadays, I often buy a anything at all to help pubs survive half whereas I’d have bought a pint if on-trade beer prices remain, per 3 Editorial unit, more expensive still. And without unfairly penalising Beer Drinkers and Pub Goers for that matter Wetherspoon’s responsible drinkers, pubs and Charter which received support won’t tempt many new important local industries. from 670 candidates at the last customers to try locally brewed CAMRA encourages drinkers election, 150 of whom were beers by promoting Carling at the to petition their constituency elected; welcomes the genuine same time at only £1.25 a pint! MPs via http://bit.ly/edm210 to cross party consensus on the need Drinkers can argue that support an Early Day Motion, to support and protect well run cutting the tax on beer might EDM 210, worded as follows: community pubs; and so urges make it cheaper to drink in pubs, ‘That this House recognises the Government to implement a but tenant licensees will hardly the social, economic and cultural package of policies which will campaign for tax reductions if importance of well run help secure the future of viable they know that their pub community pubs, which provide and well run community pubs.’ companies will take all the a safe and sociable environment More affordable cask ale savings and charge them as much for the consumption of alcohol needs to be a central part of that as before. The Government has among friends and are an package. at least pledged a review of essential community meeting alcohol taxation and pricing to place; notes the ideas put forward LD ensure it tackles binge drinking in the Campaign for Real Ale’s Geoff Strawbridge BUY YOUR 2011 GOOD BEER GUIDE FROM CAMRA NOW The 2011 edition of the Good Beer Guide, £15.99), plus postage £1.50 plus £1 per book. describing some 4,500 pubs and more than Orders are normally dispatched within 10 750 cask ale breweries in the UK, was working days. This could extend to 15 days in published on 16 September. Until the end of peak periods. November, copies are available from CAMRA Buy directly from CAMRA rather than other Headquarters at only £10 for CAMRA retailers, in order to support our campaign members or £12.99 for non-members (RRP: for real ale, community pubs and drinkers’ rights. 4 WE’RE BIGGER DOWN BELOW THAN YOU MIGHT THINK OLD MONK BEER FESTIVAL Monday 11th - Saturday 16th October u Over 50 ales from around the country u Minimum 10 ales on at all times u Monday 11th 7-9pm: Meet the Brewer u Tuesday 12th England v Montenegro u Friday 15th Live Jazz in the evening Strutton Ground, 61-71 Victoria St London SW1H 0HW Tel 020 7233 2248 [email protected] Campaigning The Duke - slowly does it! he campaign to prevent the Duke of Hamilton, A remarkable turn-around and a testament to the THampstead being converted into residential strength of feeling which this proposed accommodation gained strength during the summer development attracted. with two significant developments. At the time of going to press the negotiations Local residents and concerned pub goers were between the Woodersons and the pub company encouraged to write to Camden Council and object were still on-going and so there are still a few steps to the planning application. Well that was a great to get over, but it is all looking a lot more promising success and it is believed that over 300 objections than it did a few months ago. were lodged – a tremendous achievement! The The campaign to save the Duke brought good news is that the Planning Department took together a formidable group of campaigners notice of these objections and, before the date of including local residents, CAMRA, people from the hearing, informed Wellington that their outside of the area who knew and loved the Duke, application was likely to fail. Accordingly, local councillors, the local MP and local resident seemingly not wishing formally to lose an and committed pub regular, David Bedford, Race application, Wellington withdrew. Director of the London Marathon. At the end even Subsequently news broke in the Hampstead and Ken Livingstone threw his hat in the supporters’ Highgate Express that Wellington had approached ring. incumbent licensees Mary and Michael Wooderson The Ham & High suggests local campaigners will and offered them a new lease for the pub. If this be popping the champagne corks if the pub’s were to go forward, then the future of the pub continuance should finally be confirmed. This would be on much firmer ground. Quoted in the campaigner will be raising a pint of London Pride, newspaper, Michael said, “ [it appears] they now have hopefully on the front terrace of the Duke! no plans to develop and have offered me a new lease .” John Cryne Go beer chasing around Austria with John Stant on the Travel Pages at www.londondrinker.org.uk 6 The Bree Louise 69 Cobourg St.