75+ Beers & Ciders Souvenir Glass, Hot & Cold Meals
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SWALE ALE SPRING 2016 THE FREE MAGAZINE OF SWALE CAMRA The Signs Are Bad The unsavoury history of our favourite pub names Clun... “Where?” Getting to know the Clun Valley Beer Festival Wake up and use our loaves A new and novel way to brew beer CHEERS FOR 40 YEARS! CONTEMPORARY PUB AND EATING HOUSE With log fires, comfy arm chairs, restaurant & private dining room, courtyard & garden. Set in Conyer which is part of the fabulous Swale walking area with the Saxon Shore Way and Swale Heritage Trail. Dogs & children welcome. Great Cuisine from our light lunch menu to dining à la Carte with a wide selection of dishes prepared by our chef from locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. Always ask if you have any special diet requirements. Awarded 5 stars for food hygiene. Food served daily ~ see our website for times, menus, Special set menu days, jazz & blues evenings, etc Weekend breakfast menu ~ served 10am to 12:30pm FREE HOUSE with good range of cask ales, lagers & wines including Adnams, Masterbrew, Old Dairy Red Top, Guest Ales Read about us in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. CASK MARQUE www.shipinnconyer.co.uk The Ship Inn Conyer email [email protected] Conyer Quay, Teynham TABLE BOOKINGS t 01795 520881 Kent ME9 9HR CHAIRMAN’S CHOW Welcome to the latest edition of Swale Ale. enormously – who hasn’t had a lifeless pint This year is a very special one for Swale or one which has been served too cold? CAMRA as we celebrate our 40th Anniversary. And pubs are still closing, most recently in We kicked off our celebrations at the Fountain Swale the Railway Tavern in Teynham and in Sittingbourne where a recent open branch The Summoner in Sittingbourne. meeting took place 40 years to the day of the group’s formation. It was great to see so many CAMRA is currently embarking on a familiar faces; including one of our founder “Revitalisation” project and a number of members and one of our newest members. events are being held across the country to engage members. It’s an opportunity to shape Now would be an appropriate time to take the future direction of CAMRA. Keep an eye stock of what CAMRA has achieved and its on our website, Twitter and Facebook sites relevance. With over 176,000 members; nearly for more details and also more information of 1,500 breweries and successful campaigning the event that will be planned for this year to on tax and pub preservation; some have said celebrate 40 years of CAMRA in Swale and that the campaign has achieved its objectives. look forward to the next 40. It strikes me that although a lot has been achieved, there is still much to do. For whilst Cheers! many pubs have real ale, the quality varies Paul Irving KEEP IN TOUCH Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to be sure that you don’t miss any of the latest news, events and goings-on in Swale. CAMRAswale Swale Ale © Spring 2016 Published by the Swale Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale Ltd (CAMRA). Circulation: 2000 Any opinions expressed within these pages Editorial Committee and Contributors: Les are those of the individual authors only and Bailey, Mike Harris, Gary Holness, Bob Gates, do not represent those of CAMRA or any of Paul Irving, Matt Deller, Steve Bennion, Andy its officials. The existence of this publication Kitney, Alex Earl in a particular outlet does not imply an endorsement of it by Swale CAMRA. Advertising: Matt Deller Design & Layout: Ascent Creative All correspondence to: Printed by: Abbey Print, Faversham Les Bailey, 58 Wallers Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 7PL Branch Details Chairman: Paul Irving Email: [email protected] Secretary: Linda Gates www.camra-swale.org.uk Social Secretary: Howard Gates www.issuu.com/swaleale Treasurer: Les Bailey Twitter: @CAMRAswale Press and Publicity Officer: Matt Deller Facebook: CAMRAswale Pubs Officer: Harvey Melia Telephone: 01795 538824 Membership Officer: Alex Earl SWALE BREWERY NEWS SHEPHERD NEAME In Spring Shepherd Neame will relaunch some a balanced, yet of its seasonal ales. uncompromising brew. Early Bird (4.3% ABV) takes its name from the Early Bird variety of Shepherd Neame’s In addition to signature East Kent Goldings hops, grown in these there is hop gardens near the Faversham brewery. A an exciting new refreshing pale golden beer with floral aroma, limited edition American-style beer available it is a superb accompaniment for salads and on draught nationwide from March 1 for one fish dishes. month only. Created to commemorate St George’s Day, Hog Island East Coast Pale Ale (4.8% ABV) Dragonfire (4.5% ABV) combines barley, oats, eschews Shepherd Neame’s tradition for rye and wheat with two English hop varieties using Kentish hops, by opting for some of the – Goldings and First Gold – in addition to a most in-vogue hops from across the pond: fiery secret ingredient. Conceived in Shepherd Boadicea, Amarillo and Cascade. These have Neame’s pilot brewery, the gutsy seasonal ale been combined with pale ale and crystal is full bodied and rich with mellow mahogany malts to create a deep golden beer boasting hue. citrus, pine and fruit aromas melded with light caramel notes and a robust bitterness. India Pale Ale (4.5% ABV) hails from the tradition of 18th Century IPAs, which relied on Head brewer Richard Frost said: “Hog Island generous hopping to protect exports during is a really exciting addition to the No.18 Yard arduous journeys overseas. This modern Brewhouse collection. It is a refreshing, zesty incarnation retains the strength, body and beer which retains the malty character of the strong hop character which is synonymous typical East Coast pale ale.” with this beer’s provenance. India Pale Ale delivers potent bitterness, offset with The branch Brewery liaison Officer is generous amounts of pale ale malt to deliver Bob Thompson. MADCAT HOPDAEMON The brewery is currently Hopdaemon continues undergoing a re-brand to brew to capacity. They and hope to unveil their continue to brew their new look soon, more to core range of ales. A follow in our summer recent addition, Raeven issue. We are also pleased Black IPA (4.8% ABV), to hear that the brewery has re-signed was available for a limited another three year lease at Brogdale. period of time and spotted in the Paper Mill, Sittingbourne and A new special will be released each the Elephant, Faversham. More new beers will month from February and bottling will appear throughout 2016. recommence around Easter although we are told this part of the process will The branch Brewery Liasion Officer is be contracted out. Sales of their Mild Howard Gates. are going very well. Members have recently noted that the White Horse, Sittingbourne has started serving their beers. The branch Brewery Liasion Officer is Doris Munday. 4 www.camra-swale.org.uk [email protected] CAMRAswale Good Pub Guide Awards 2016 WORLD’S WORLD’S BEST BEST MILD ALE BROWN ALE World Beer World Beer Awards 2015 Awards 2015 CHAMPION BOTTLE CONDITIONED BEER CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain Competition, Olympia 2015 BEER OF BEER OF THE THE FESTIVAL FESTIVAL Eastbourne Beer Pendle Beer Festival 2015 Festival 2015 BEER OF SUSSEX THE BEER FESTIVAL OF THE South Downs Beer FESTIVAL & Cider Festival 2015 Worthing Beer Festival 2015 Award Winning Beers Handmade in Lewes Tel: 01273 840 509 • www.harveys.org.uk A5AwardsAd.indd 1 30/11/2015 16:17 Good Pub Guide Awards 2016 CAMRA NEWS CAMRA in call for further beer tax reduction to help protect pubs The number of pubs closing every week and beer industry and the Government is has fallen slightly to 27, but the industry taking effect and arresting the decline in the still needs help so the “fragile recovery” number of pubs being lost every week. can continue, a new report says. However, it’s a fragile recovery which could The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) called very quickly be reversed if the Government on the Government to cut beer tax, despite fails to build on this positive development and WORLD’S WORLD’S the reduction in pub closures in the last six misses the chance to support the British pub BEST BEST months of 2015 from a weekly figure of 29. and beer industry by reducing tax again. MILD ALE BROWN ALE The group said that more than 1,000 pubs It’s pleasing to see that our campaigning to World Beer World Beer would have closed and 26,000 jobs lost if protect community pubs is having an effect, Awards 2015 Awards 2015 beer tax had not been cut in 2014. with closure numbers reducing. Ministers were urged to continue cutting tax As well as reducing tax, the Government to help keep beer affordable and slow the can continue to support these pubs by number of pub closures. strengthening national planning regulations and supporting local groups seeking to list Tim Page, Chief Executive of CAMRA, said: pubs as Assets of Community Value.” “The latest figures show that the work of campaigners across CAMRA, the wider pub The closure figures for the second half of 2015 compare to the total for the previous six months. A Treasury spokesman said: “The Government FESTIVALS & continues to support the pub and beer CHAMPION BOTTLE industry across the UK. That’s why we took PUB EVENTS action at Budget 2015 to cut the tax on a CONDITIONED BEER typical pint of beer by a penny for the third CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain Sussex Beer Festival - 17–19 March year in a row, to cut duties on spirits and most Competition, Olympia 2015 Brighton Corn Exchange, Church Street, ciders by 2%, and to freeze duty on wine.” Brighton, BN1 1UE.