Beer Lines 9 (October 1986)
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I GREATER MANCHESTER OGTOBER, 1986 EE]IIUS IS$UE ]IUMBER 9 FESTIUATS, TESTIUATS AND YET MORE FESTIUATS BURY BEER FESTIUAT GETS ASBESTOSIS! BURy Beer Festival was postponed until February last rnonth. During a check at the Derby Hall Council officials discovered asbestos in the roof. Now the hall will be closed for a period in November while the asbbstos is removed and replaced with safer material. The new dates for the North West's most popular Beer Festival are Friday 13th and Saturday 14th February 1987' More details later. YORKSHIRE BEER FESTIUATS OGTOBER/NOUEIIIIBER OVER the Pennines the Beer Festival season is in full swing. lf you haven't been paying attention, you've probably missed Sheffield, Keighley and Holmfirth (all the same weekehd at the end of September). However, gird your loins and other drinking mrs.i.t for two further Yorkshire real ale extravaQanzis! Thursday 16th (evening only), Friday 17th and Saturday 18th October' CalderdaleBeerFestival attheDrill'Hall Halifax. l'msorrybutthat'sall theinformationlhavebutl'msurethatitwill be enjoyable, as well as giving you the chance to visit TFC's Woodcock on Gibbet Street. Fridav 2Bth and Saturday 29th November. Bradford Beer Festival at the Oueens Hall, Bradford (just up the road from the Alhambra). Without doubt the best of the ior[rr..1ii. Festivals, with a promised 90 real ales on oifer this year. lf you would like to visit there is the traditional R.o.B. tri, that you could sign up ior. Rochdale, Oldham and Bury branch will be visiting Bradford on Saturday 29th November for CAtVlRA,s version of the Krypton Factor Assault Course: lunchtime at the Beer Festival; a curry; evening pub crawl around the City Centre; another curiy and then home! Think you can stand the pace? Anyone who is interested should contact me at the usual BEER LINES address or contact a cAMBA member. Full details next month. cost is expected to be f5-f6 per person for coach fare and entry to the Beer Festival' BRIGHTON BONANZA STILL on the subject of Beer Festivals. the GBBF at Brighton this year was a huge success. with 30,000 people suppingan estimated 90,000 pints. Apparently this GBBF was so successful that the beer ran out on the Saturday night! lt looks like Brighton will be hosting next year's Festival after this year's excellent performance. Manchester Beer Festival Gancelled lT WAS announced at the last regional meeting of FINCH CAI\4RA that there will now be no Manchester Beer Festival this year. This is because regional organiser Ken FLIES BAGK Birch failed to come to an agreement with the students union at UMIST over dates. THE hottest news in Greater Manchester at the moment It is still hoped to run a festival in the near future, concerns the Gamecbck, TFC's ale house in Ashton' but a new, more dependable venue will be needed. under-Lyne. Due to a slump in trade and beer quality Anyone any ideas? since Simon Finch was movdd to the Fighting Cock ROB CARDER -lt(Bradford, W.Yorks.) in May, but now changes are afoot. is understood that a change of landlord is imminent, with young Finch returning to train and introduce the new man to Greater Manchester beer keeping and FALCON UPDATE drinkers. Simon is expected to return for a period of NO definite further developments.on the fate of the two to four weeks starting early October. Falcon on Kay Street Bolton,'(see BEER LINES July/ The Managing Director of TFC, Mr. Jim Wright, has August) although rumour has itJ'hat'the nearby Peel on appealed to Greater lVlanchester beer drinkers to renew Higher Bridge Street, closed down and put up for sale their support for his extremely enterprising free house. by Greenall Whitley over a year ago, has been bought by Developments are awaited with great interest. Welcome Bolton council who intend to knock it down as part of back Simon! More news next month. the Topp Way scheme. ROB CABDER DES NOGALSKI BOLTON NEWS THWAITES have spent a considerable sum refurbishing the Toll Bar on Chorley New Road, Horwich. and very nice it is too. The bar has been moved slightly and has been decorated with handles to pull the more enthusiastic imbibers off the floor. These apparently came from a demolished church in Worsley. Perhaps Thwaites could t4akoan do some equally tasteful jobs on some of their other pubs in Bolton. Meanwhile their only remaining keg pub in Bolton, the Starkie Arms, Tonge Moor Road, is rumoured to be a future conversion to real ale. The Sunnyside on Adelaide Street reopened at the EXCURSIoN... end of August. Boddington's Bitter is the only cask beer on offer. ', /, Burtonwood's premium bitter JBA is now on sale at the Swan Hotel's Buttery Bar on Bradshawgate, and also ,4, at the Alexandra on the Bolton/Wigan border at Hindley Green. Unfortunately, though, low sales have forced it out of the Alma on Bradshawgate. Jennings- bitter has gone from the Clifton Arms, Newport Stieet and The Ouill and Pen, Great Moor Street. At the Ouill and Pen Jennings has been replaced a-! by Walker's Best Bitter while the Clifton is still working on a replacement. One addition is the Beehive, Chorley New Road, Horwich, which also sells cask Tetley Mild and Bitter for the f irst time in years. B rltE sxrkri g, Rumours have it that Bolton could be having its first beer festival in over three years next spring if all goes well. DES NOGALSKI c A Real Alternative for Woodley ,__< THE White Hart, Stockport Road, Woodley, formerly an ail keg Bass establishment has recently been re-vamped and now serves Bass Light and Stones Bitter through handpumps. The refurbishment is in true "Sir Terence Conran" style with a Pergola entrance. TIM JONES Failsworth Fiasco REALATES WH ILST pondering over the Inexactitudes of Sam ilNER Smiths publicity policy, my chauffeuse and I decided to "research" all the pubs on the main road back to central Failsworth. On the face of it not a bad proposition, as all our pubs reputedly sell traditional beers. Here is a summary + of our Saturday evening's finding - CLOGGERS - Greenalls bitter on electric pumps. ARMS Depressing two room characterless lay- ). out. Surely things can only get better. t GARDEN WEAVERS - Wilsons mild and bitter on electric oa oa o(D aao pumps -- I think. Couldn't see the bar for dense smoke. Suspected an electrical LUNCHEONS fire in the keg lager chiller. Landlady Ty our hot nrcaL\ & super dd huflbt. criticizes CAMRA for not including her -.sandwtches, sottp, pubs in the GoodsBeer Guide and says that she never sees any CAMRA mem- bers. l'm not surprised with all that smoke! HALFWAY _ Another Greenalls pub, but both mild HOUSE and bitter on handpumps. The past presence of tom cats was very much in G{RISTFO{S evidence. Joined here by two friends who couldn't believe that we were doing THIS GUESTS this voluntarily. GUIDO A recent convert to real ale. John Smiths bland bitter on handpump. Beer 1 not as bad as expected, pub small I[i ril but THE attractively furnished. Had a few here. BLACK Unique "Rothwells Ales" exterior tile- HORSE work leads to a cosy interior. Marstons mild and bitter on handpumps. Moved 2 WARRINGTON ST., ASHTON.U-LYNE 061-330 6776 no fu rther! HIGH SPEED GAS BEER FESTIVAL REPORT 1. Why does CAMRA organise beer festivals? 2. What attracts the average member of the drinking public to attend beer festivals? My examination this month will answer question number 1 above. By the time I have finished, you will note that CAMRA needs answers to question 2. As CAMRA members are not 'average members of the drinking public'they cannot themselves answer the question. Please, therefore, write in to Beer Lines and tell us what you like, dislike, or would like to change/add to your local beer festivals. CAMRA organises beer festivals for two major reasons. Firstly, festivals are an important feature of campaigningto pro- mote the public awareness of CAMRA and its aims. Secondly, festivals serve to raise much-needed funds which may be utilised to finance further campaigning activities. CAMRA's basic aim is to ensure that the traditional beer drinker is able to continue to have easy access to a range of real ales, brewed and dispensed in a variety of different styles, served at their best in convivial surroundings. ln order to pursue this aim it is necessary to fight to ensure that choice is not diminished by the continued growth of the national combines, which take over small local breweries, and frequently either (1) close them down altogether (e.9. the recent loss of Simpkiss when taken over by Greenall Whitley); (2) change the recipe of the brew (e.g. the production of Shipstones Local Bitter by - guess who - Greenall Whitley, after takeover; and the change of taste of Border Beers with the closure of the Wrexham plant and the move to brewing the beer at Marston's in Burton-on-Trent) and (3) lead to a loss of one or more of a brewery's products (e.g. the recent loss of Theakston Milds now that Matthew Brown have been allowed to consolidate and get their act together!). At Saddleworth Beer Festival in May of this year R/O/B chose, therefore, to promote beers from many small and home-brew companies - Thurlstone. Linfit and Old Mill to name but a few. Additionally, brews 'at risk'were promoted - Oldham Mild and Bitter were on sale at 50p and 54p per pint respectively, and a petition was completed to show Bodding- tons that the Oldham drinker wishes to retain his local brewery; plus "in the balance" Bateman's were represented - mild and XXXB.