Derby CAMRA Pub of the Year Awards 2015
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Camra 161_Layout 1 17/04/2015 11:26 Page 1 FREE IssueCovering 161 Derby, Ashbourne, Amber Valley, Erewash & MatlockMay/June Camra Areas 2015 Issue 161 May/June 2015 “Cheers!” Derby CAMRA Pub of the Year Awards 2015 City Pub of the Year – Alexandra Hotel Country Pub of the Year – Royal Oak, Ockbrook City Pub Runner-Up - Furnace Inn Country Runner-Up - Royal Oak, Wirksworth Mild In May and Summer Ale Trail details inside Camra 161_Layout 1 17/04/2015 11:26 Page 2 2 DerbyDRINKER May/June 2015 Camra 161_Layout 1 17/04/2015 11:26 Page 3 Derby CAMRA City Charter BEER FESTIVAL lans for the Derby CAMRA City On St Patrick's Day the festival 2015 PCharter Beer Festival are going committee presented the Mayor of well. After the announcement of the Derby with a generous donation planned demolishment of The towards his chosen charities. These are; Assembly Rooms we can confirm that the location is still intended to be on The British Heart Foundation, Dementia the Market Place in a giant marquee. Care & The Midland Doctors Association. Last year this proved to be a really As the festival holds 'City Charter' status popular location, being in the heart of they are very proud to support these the city with public transportation causes. Naturally there was beer on access very easy. Beer orders are now hand and a generous turn out of being planned and it is hoped that these volunteers to greet the Mayor. will include LocAle and Scottish beers which will feature alongside the vast The festival will be open from array of ales that will be on offer. Cider, 8th-12th July 2015. Festival Chairman, Russ Gilbert with the Mayor mead and continental beer will also be available. Cheers Carla Twells. Joseph Paxton commemorated at this year’s Beer Festival hat have bananas, the tallest top. This gave him the idea of using cast Wgravity-fed fountain in the world, iron radial supports to support the and the Crystal Palace have in glass for an oversize greenhouse. The common? great conservatory at Chatsworth was They were all designed by Joseph the first cast iron and glass structure of Paxton, the noted 19th century such a great size, and with continued gardener of Chatsworth House, who is experimentation, Paxton went on to to be commemorated in this year’s design the Crystal Palace for the Great Derby Summer Beer Festival. Exhibition in 1851. Although Paxton not a native of Derby, While still working for the duke, he many of his most clever inventions became very interested in the newly were carried out while he was developing form of transport, the train, employed by the 6th duke of becoming one of the directors of the Devonshire to develop the gardens at Midland Railway. He published several Chatsworth. and edited several horticultural He was born in 1803 to a farming family magazines. He designed cemeteries for in Bedfordshire, and starting his the growing new urban centres and working life as a garden boy for the public parks, including the acclaimed improbably-named Sir Gregory Page- Birkenhead Public Park. Somehow, he Turner. He first came to the attention of also managed to find the time to serve the duke of Devonshire when working as a Liberal MP for Coventry from 1854 at the new Horticultural Society until his death in 1865. Gardens in Chiswick. In need of a new And the bananas? Being a notoriously head gardener at Chatsworth, the duke difficult fruit to propagate, Paxton offered Paxton the job, although he was worked hard to develop a fruiting only 23. variety, Musa Cavendishii or the dwarf Paxton soon settled in, married the Cavendish banana, which was hardy housekeeper’s niece, Sarah Brown and and suitable for growing in newly became heavily involved in more than developing plantations around the just the garden. He took over world. Today the 140 million bananas responsibility for the forestry, the estate eaten in the UK and all the millions of roads and eventually he took on the other bananas grown worldwide are role of the duke’s agent at Chatsworth. likely to be descended from Paxton’s He was an ingenious problem-solver original plant. and designer. In 1844, he designed the So set aside some time to raise a glass world’s highest gravity-fed fountain, to Sir Joseph Paxton, gardener, The Emperor Fountain at Chatsworth, inventor, writer, businessman and standing twice as tall as Nelson’s politician. Join us at the Derby City Column and still operational toady. On Charter Beer festival running from observing the structure of a giant water Wednesday 8th July to Sunday 12th lily he realised that the radial supports July, 11:00am – 11:00pm on the Derby underneath gave the leaf the strength Market Place. to grow to an enormous size, which he tested by siting his young daughter on Jane Whitaker 3 www.derbycamra.org.uk Camra 161_Layout 1 17/04/2015 11:26 Page 4 4 DerbyDRINKER May/June 2015 Camra 161_Layout 1 17/04/2015 11:26 Page 5 Derby Drinkers raise a glass as the City’s Real Ale Capital status is confirmed once again recent edition of the Lonely Plant Arms (15), Five Lamps (14), Furnace (9), offering the CAMRA discount on pints and AGuide described Derby as the “Best Greyhound (9), Mr Grundy’s (9), Olde Dolphin half’s. The dearest pint of the night was found place to drink Real Ale in the World” and (9), Peacock (9) and Standing Order (9). to be a whopping £3.80 at the Old Silk Mill for who are we to disagree as the results of Marstons Pedigree is still the most dominant Springhead Roaring Meg (which was £3.50 at the City’s Annual Beer Census undertaken brand in the City available in 32 pubs with the Old Bell which you would still class as by members of The Derby Branch of the Sharp’s Doom Bar coming up fast on the rails expensive). The honours for the cheapest pint Campaign for Real Ale have confirmed in 23 pubs and Bass in 14 pubs. But local ales went to the Abbey at Darley Abbey where Derby’s status as Real Ale Capital of are well represented with beers from 12 of Sam Smiths Old Brewery Bitter was £1.80 a Britain per population head for yet the City’s breweries widely available - pint (a whole £2 less than the dearest pint !!) another year. Brunswick, Dancing Duck, Derby, Derventio, So there you have it, a few stats to bear in Falstaff, Frontier, Hartshorns, Mr Grundy’s, The census took place in February and mind while crawling around Beer City once Rowditch, Shiny, Titan and Wentwell. Beers involved 8 different pub crawls around the again proving that per population head from other breweries around the area were City which saw a record number of Real Ales Derby has more Real Ales available than any available on any one given night. 329 were also well represented - Blue Monkey, Black other City. counted (up 4 on last year) with 200 different Hole, Black Iris, Burton Bridge, Castle Rock, ones available (up 5 on last year) and these Leatherbritches, Magpie, and Thornbridge to Derby CAMRA Beer Census Coordinator, came from just 73 pubs averaging 4.5 Real name a few. Gareth Stead said “For Real Ale enthusiasts Ales per pub. The average price of a pint was found to be Derby is probably the best place to drink in In total 77 pubs were visited, 2 were shut and £2.97 (3p up on last year). However in reality a Britain, if not the World as the Lonely Planet 2 had no real ale. 10 pubs had 9 or more Real lot of pubs were way above the £3 a pint Guide states. People come from far and wide Ales on and leading the way was the mark with some now regularly topping £3.10. to sample the City’s delights as its pubs truly Brunswick (16), Flowerpot (16), Babington But it was pleasing to see a lot more pubs provide a Beer Festival every day of the year”. Derby CAMRA Awards 2015 Derby CAMRA Pubs of the Year Derby CAMRA Club of the Year The Derby CAMRA City & Country Pubs of the The Village Club in Spondon has been crowned Year and runners-up have now been presented Derby CAMRA Club of the Year 2015 which with their awards (see front page photos). Full follows on from its runner-up award last year details were in the last edition of Derby Drinker. making it a notable double for the club. Derby CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year The Jubilee Club in Chaddesden and the in Alvaston have been declared The Brunswick Inn, Derby has been crowned Nunsfield Club Derby CAMRA’s Cider Pub of the Year 2015 which is joint runners-up in the competition. The Jubilee a tremendous achievement for the pub and Club has made tremendous strides on the Real follows hard on the heels of reaching the Final in Ale front and is planning to hold a Beer Festival the Derby CAMRA City Pub of the Year June 11th to 14th to celebrate its 80th competition. The Award is very much deserved as Anniversary and is conveniently situated near to the Brunswick serves 16 Real Ciders/Perries the new Steamin Billy pub, the Wilmot which alongside 16 Real Ales and recently held a makes it 2 good reasons to visit the area. successful Cider & Sausage Festival at the pub. They The Nunsfield is no stranger to Derby CAMRA will be presented with their Award on Thursday 7th club awards and has been a consistently good May and will go forward into the regional Cider club over many years.