Opening Times 134 Spring 2008 3
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opening times Huntingdonshire Branch of CAMRA Issue 134 the Campaign for Real Ale SPRING 2008 HUNTINGDONSHIRE BREWS AGAIN Also inside: Community Pubs Week Going Out Live Fenland Brewery Visits Local pub news Winter Beer of Britain Half Pints A look back in time Booze on the Ouse, St Ives Beer Festival, Thu 11—Sat 13 Sep 2008 2 Support your local pub - don’t give them an excuse to close it! HUNTINGDONSHIRE BREWS AGAIN Another brewery, Payn, produced real ale in Ramsey, just outside the branch area, for around 2 years from June 1999, and was an amalgamation of the Nene Valley, Leyland and Nix Wincott breweries. At Little Gransden the Chequers has been in the Mitchell family for 57 years and was run by Bob’s father, Sid, before him. Several house-brewed beers have been sampled at the Chequers , including Driv- ers’ Delight (3% abv), Roofer’s Revenge, Builder’s Brew, a highly hopped IPA of around 3.6-3.7% and The Wonder of Woo, a sweetish, grainy and full-bodied 4.6% brew with a dry, hoppy finish. Son of Sid beer was also expected to be on sale at CAMRA’s Cambridge Winter Ales festival in January. West Norfolk brewery Iceni have been Opening Times can finally report the providing ingredients and Iceni’s Brendan opening of a new Huntingdonshire brew- Moore has been providing advice for the ery. new brewery. The Son of Sid brewery, operated by Bob Opening Times congratulates Bob on this Mitchell at the Chequers in Little Grans- exciting venture that has been eagerly den is the first commercial brewery within awaited since it saw the light of day as a the area covered by Huntingdonshire future project in his plans for the Che- CAMRA since the closure of Paines in St quers. Neots just over 20 years ago, after its takeover by Tolly Cobbold in 1987. OPENING TIMES 134 SPRING 2008 3 THE CHEQUERS THE SWAN 71 Main Road Little Gransden Main Street, Old Weston Tel: 01767 677348 Tel: 01832 293400 REAL ALES and REAL FOOD HUNTS CAMRA Pub of the Year 2007 Adnams Southwold Bitter Bob and Wendy Mitchell Adnams Broadside invite you to try their unique Greene King Abbot + Guests unspoilt village local with its Hunts CAMRA Pub of the Year 2004 own special atmosphere Fish & Chips Wednesday Evening Restaurant open Friday & Saturday Different Real Ale each week evenings & Sunday lunchtimes THE OLIVER CROMWELL Wellington Street, St. Ives, Cambs. Tel: 01480 465601 Serving six real ales: Adnams Bitter plus regularly changing guest beers No smoking bar Enjoy a good pint of traditional ale in traditional surroundings. Reasonably priced lunchtime bar snacks available Mon to Sat Huntingdonshire CAMRA Pub of the Year 2006 4 Support your local pub - don’t give them an excuse to close it! COMMUNITY PUBS WEEK Adopt Your Local Pub Anyone concerned over the threat to Brit- ish pubs is being encouraged to “Adopt their local pub”. Members of the public who want to support their local can do so by ordering a free Community Pubs Week pack from CAMRA by calling 01727 867201 or visiting www.pubsweek.org and delivering it to the licensee of the pub and encouraging them to participate in this event. CAMRA Chief Executive Mike Benner CAMRA research has shown that 56 pubs said: “Many people are concerned about are closing in Britain each month, and the potential loss of community pubs but thousands more face an uncertain future. don’t know what they can do to help. By The majority of these pubs are not high adopting their local pub in Community street chain bars or theme pubs, but com- Pubs Week they can help to boost trade munity pubs, recognised as important at this difficult time of year for the licensed amenities for local people. The local pub, trade and put pubs at the heart of the after all, is often the heart of the commu- community where they belong.” nity. Community Pubs Week website - After four years of running National Pubs www.pubsweek.org, includes:– Week, in 2007 CAMRA changed the focus of the event to reflect the need to retain a. On-line form for pubs to order Commu- pubs that serve the community. Nothing nity Pubs Week Pack can match the British pub for its service b. Information on how a pub-goer can and atmosphere. Yet pressures from deep Adopt a Pub discounting of alcohol in supermarkets, c. Press Area that includes press releases massive levels of tax on beer in the UK, and images and skyrocketing property prices, have d. Events happening across Britain during seen the traditional British pub under Community Pubs Week more threat than ever before. Huntingdonshire CAMRA are organising a CAMRA is issuing a call to action for all coach tour around the village community those who want to secure a future for their pubs east of St Ives on Saturday 23rd of local. By rallying behind your community February, in the afternoon and early eve- pub between February 16th – 23rd, you ning. The coach will make pickups in St will be showing your support for the irre- Neots, Little Paxton, Buckden, Brampton, placeable backbone of British life. Huntingdon and St Ives, and will visit pubs In 2008 Community Pubs Week will com- in Pidley, Somersham, Earith, Bluntisham, plement a range of CAMRA-led initiatives, and Needingworth. The trip is free to and celebrate and promote all community CAMRA members, and £5 to non- pubs – not just village locals, but urban members. See page 22 for contact details gems too. to book your place. OPENING TIMES 134 SPRING 2008 5 A LOOK BACK IN TIME 25 YEARS AGO Senior CAMRA officers were ‘furious’ at say is that all our production facilities are news that a new EEC rule would, from continually under review’. July 1983, ban pubs from being tied to a Cask milds were struggling even in 1983. supplier for any drinks – except beer. Devenish XXX, brewed at Redruth, and CAMRA’s Neil Harris, in a letter to the Elgoods Mild brewed at Wisbech, were European Commission and UK office of both discontinued. Elgoods said that they Fair Trading, said ‘. a rigid brewery tie had been telegraphing warnings for five system does not result in many of the years about sales of their 1030 og cask purported benefits to consumers. Compe- mild. ‘It was only the bottled brown ale tition is virtually stifled by networks of that was keeping it agreements. New entrants find it almost going’, said head impossible to break into the market’. brewer John Holder. Sadly, in 2008, despite the retreat of the Thankfully in 2008 big brewers from pubs, this situation has Elgoods have a suc- changed little from the viewpoint of the cessful cask mild of consumer and the microbrewer. real character and CAMRA’s St Neots branch held meetings distinctiveness in at the Green Man at Colne, the Royal Oak their ‘Black Dog’, og at Hail Weston and the White Swan at 1036.8. Bluntisham. A National Opinion Poll showed that 65% The branch of beer drinkers like a head on their beer, AGM was at but want it to be on top of their pint, not Charles Wells included as a part of the pint, the legal pub the Can- position as adjudged by a High Court rul- non in St ing the previous year. In 2008 this issue Neots, now White Swan, Bluntisham remains as a minefield for beer consum- White Swan, Bluntisham the Hyde ers. Despite Government promises of a Park, and a social was held at Litlington fair pint over the years, the brewing trade Crown. recommendation that a pint of beer means Whitbread’s Portsmouth no more than 19 fluid ounces of liquid brewery, the former Brick- (95% of a pint) holds sway. woods plant, was the latest Birmingham brewer Davenports rejected a closure victim of the na- £21 million takeover bid from neighbours tional brewing giant, follow- Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries. ing its closure of six brewer- Davenports would ies since 1981, in Hamp- eventually fall victim to shire, Kent, Devon, South takeover by Warring- Wales, Liverpool and ton brewer Greenall Leeds. Whitbread blamed falling beers Whitley – by 2008 sales, and provided no comfort for merely a brewing CAMRA in a statement: ‘. in terms of the name from the past. future of our other breweries, all we can 6 Support your local pub - don’t give them an excuse to close it! A LOOK BACK IN TIME 10 YEARS AGO A village action group Worthington White Shield in Reach, Cambridge- was saved following a cam- shire was clubbing paign by CAMRA as Bass together to buy their dropped plans to axe the village pub, the King’s. beer and signed up Sussex Owners and licensees brewer King and Barnes to Dotty and William Les- produce it. In 2008, King Pig & Abbot, Abington Pigotts ter had applied for and Barnes are sadly no longer with us, planning permission but White Shield is back home in Burton, for the pub to be converted to housing. brewed by Coors Brewers of Colorado in The group sought advice from nearby a pilot scale brewery on their UK brewing Abington Pigotts, where a co-operative site bought from Bass. had bought the Pig and Abbot under simi- CAMRA’s St Neots branch held meetings lar circumstances following guidance from at the White Hart in St Ives and the CAMRA. Happily, both of these pubs sur- George in Huntingdon. There was a Bel- vive in 2008 as Good Beer Guide listed gian beer tasting evening at St Neots pubs, with the Reach pub being the home Town Football Club and a walk around St of the Devil’s Dyke brewery.