Join up, join in, join the campaign TASTING NOTES Autumn Racing Weekend & Ascot Beer Festival Discover why we joined. From camra.org.uk/ as little as members £25* a year. That’s less than a pint a month! Join us, and together we can protect the traditions of great British pubs and everything that goes with them. Become part of the CAMRA community today – enjoy discounted entry to beer festivals and exclusive member offers. Learn about brewing and beer and join like-minded people supporting our campaigns to save pubs, clubs, your pint and more. Join the campaign today at www.camra.org.uk/joinup FREE *Price for paying by Direct Debit and correct at Jan 2018. Under 26 concessionary rates available. Please visit camra.org.uk/membership-rates CAMRA Recruitment A5 Adverts final.indd 1 23/01/2018 12:19 INTRODUCTION By Tony Springall Press and Publicity Officer, CAMRA Berkshire South East FESTIVAL SPECIALS We are extremely pleased to offer you a number of beers which have been brewed especially On behalf of everyone involved I would like to welcome you to the 12th for the festival. Ascot Racecourse Beer Festival held in association with the Berkshire Look out for the following: South East branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). • Ascot Brewing – Steward’s Enquiry (Fruit infused sour IPA with pineapple) • Bond Brews – Red Rum (Rum Porter) The festival has grown significantly from its first event in 2007 (thanks to the efforts of the late • New Wharf – Winners Enclosure (Dried fruit Pale Ale) Colin Langham) when 6,500 pints were sold from 56 casks of beer and 7 ciders to now stocking in excess of 200 casks and 40 ciders. The festival would not take place without a huge team Please don’t forget to vote for your favourite Beer of the Festival using the voting form in this effort and whilst it would be insidious to pick and choose names, special mention must be made programme. This is a prestigious award for any brewer to win and the more people who take of Mike Smith who stepped in as Festival Organiser on that very first festival and has carried part, the better. the torch ever since. This year is a special one for the branch as one of our local breweries, Siren Craft in REAL ALE AND PUBS Finchampstead was awarded the ultimate accolade at this years Great British Beer Festival by Nowhere does real ale taste as good as in having their Broken Dream Breakfast Stout named as the Supreme Champion Beer of Britain. your local pub or club. With pubs closing at a This award is the pinnacle for any brewer and extra special as the brewery was only founded in rate of 18 per week I would urge you to make 2012, a terrific achievement in such a short time. a habit of visiting them to ensure their long Pride of place at the bar will be Maggs’ Magnificent Mild from the West Berkshire Brewery in term survival and your support will make Yattendon who were voted by you as the Beer of the Festival last year. Whilst over at the Cider Bar them a viable business going forward. you will find Crazy Dave’s Berkshire Medium, our current festival cider champion. Lastly, I would like to thank you for supporting us in this 12th year of the festival and please enjoy the beers and drink in a responsible manner. Terry Burrows (Awards Co-ordinator) and Chris Mistygacz (Duty Manager) The Old Manor, Bracknell: South East Berkshire Pub Griff Maggs and Mike Smith (Festival Organiser) ‘Crazy’ Dave Snowden and Mike Lee (Cider Rep) of the Year 2018 West Berkshire Brewery, Yattendon, Berkshire Crazy Dave’s Cider, Holyport, Berkshire 2 3 ABOUT CAMRA BEER STYLES CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is an REAL ALE independent voluntary organisation that promotes Real ale is a fresh, natural product brewed using traditional ingredients and left to mature in real ale and the pubs in which it is sold. With the cask from which it is served in the pub, through a process called secondary fermentation. It is this process which makes real ale unique amongst beers and develops the wonderful over 190,000 members across the country, the tastes and aromas which processed beers can never provide. It is served without the addition campaign acts as the consumer’s champion in of extraneous carbon dioxide and is also known as cask-conditioned or naturally-conditioned relation to the UK and European drinks industry. beer. The fundamental distinction between real ale and other beer is that live yeast is present in the container from which it is served, although it settles at the bottom and is not poured into Our key campaigns are: your glass. Real ale is a very diverse product and with more than 1,600 breweries across the 1. Stop tax killing beer and pubs. UK there is a beer out there to suit everyone’s palate. 2. Secure an effective government support package for pubs. Here is an explanation of the most common beer styles: 3. Encourage more people to try a range of real ales, ciders and perries. 4. To raise the profile of pub-going and increase the number of people MILD GOLDEN ALE using pubs regularly. Mild is one of the most traditional beer Pale, Amber, Gold or Straw coloured ales styles and is enjoying a revival in today’s real that are hoppy and refreshing. This style ale market. Usually dark brown/black in has become very popular in recent years as YOUR LOCAL BRANCH OF CAMRA colour, due to the use of well-roasted malts brewers seek to entice lager drinkers and a If you enjoy real ale or real cider, why not join CAMRA. You will have an opportunity at the or barley, it is less hopped than bitters and younger clientele. festival and your support helps maintain the traditions of good beer in a convivial atmosphere often has a chocolatey character with nutty and whilst we take campaigning very seriously, we believe the best way of doing this is to go out and burnt flavours. Milds tend to have an STOUT/PORTER and enjoy good beer and cider. Alcohol by Volume (ABV) content in the 3% Porters are dark, hoppy beers made with the to 3.5% range. addition of roasted barley and tending to have Berkshire South East branch of CAMRA is very active with a campaigning and social calendar a slight sweetness. This style originated in which includes pub and brewery visits, production of a fantastic local magazine in the Mad STANDARD BITTER London around 1730 and by the end of the Cow as well as selection of pubs for the “Good Beer Guide”. Bitters are highly-hopped ales. Standard 18th Century was the most popular beer style bitters or ‘session’ bitters fall in the ABV in England. Stouts are a stronger version of Why not come and join us where range of 3% to 4% and generally have a lighter Porter, originally called “Extra Porter” or you will be made very welcome. colour. “Stout Porter”. They are usually dark, heavy Website: seberkscamra.org.uk and well-hopped with a creamy head and dry Facebook: Berkshire South-East BEST BITTER grainy taste from the dark roasted barley malt CAMRA. Bitters that are over 4% ABV. The most used in the mash. If you would like to find out more common style of real ale found today with SPECIALITY ALE information about joining the great variance in colour and taste within Campaign, please come and talk the style. This beer style captures the flair of the to us at the CAMRA bar or visit brewer as he has experimented to bring out a STRONG BITTER camra.org.uk new unique flavour and aroma. Beers in this Bitters that are over 4.6% ABV and best category may include the addition of wheat, sampled with appreciation rather than to oats or other natural products to provide quench a thirst. something out of the ordinary to the beer drinker. CAMRA Beer Festival Volunteers 4 5 VOTE FOR YOUR BEER COPPER/RUBY ALE SOUR BEER & CIDER OF THE FESTIVAL Beers made with some more highly roasted Intentionally brewed with a high level malts to give a red or copper colour to the of acidity to give a “tart” or “sour” taste. beer. Usually not as well-hopped as a bitter Commonly produced with the introduction We would be grateful if you would take the time to vote for your Beer of the Festival. All voting and often only available in the autumn. of a naturally occurring strain of wild yeast forms will be entered into a draw to win a Polypin (36 pints) of your favoured ale. during fermentation or by barrel-aging in a OLD ALE wooden cask. An acquired taste and rapidly Beer of the Festival Vote Cider of the Festival Vote Typically black or dark brown, but can be paler. becoming more fashionable. Old Ales are full bodied with a malty richness. Ascot Brewing – Steward’s Enquiry Biddenden - Strong Medium Fermentation characters such as fruity estery WHEAT BEER Bond Brews - Red Rum Ciderniks - Freebird flavours should contribute to the flavour Malted or unmalted wheat added to the grist Elusive - Sphere of Destiny Crazy Dave’s - Berkshire Rebel profile but considerable variation can occur imparting a clean, subtle flavour. Long Dog - Red Runner Mr Whitehead’s - Cirrus Minor within the style. Usually between 4.3% and The higher protein content often produces Malt the Brewery - Voyager Tutts Clump - Royal Berkshire 6% A BV.