Tippler the Magazine of the Gloucestershire Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale
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Spring 2015 the FREE Please Take One tippler The magazine of the Gloucestershire Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale ©The Campaign for Real Ale 2015. Opinions expressed need not represent those of CAMRA Ltd or its officials tipplerthe The magazine of the Gloucestershire Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale ©The Campaign for Real Ale 2015. Opinions expressed need not represent those of CAMRA Ltd or its officials More Pubs of the Black Country page 24 contents: Festival News Pull-out section page 25 Letters to the Editor page 4 View from the Glos. Brewhouse page 33 Obituaries page 6 Donnington: 150 years page 34 Pub News page 8 Brewery News page 38 The Hunter’s Column page 10 CAMRA’s Manifesto page 42 Pubs & Clubs of the Year page 14 Hook Norton Prize Wordsearch page 48 Cheltenham News page 18 What’s Coming Up? page 52 View from the Uley Brewhouse page 19 CAMRA contacts page 53 Bath Taps page 22 Front cover: The delightful Donnington Brewery CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES: THIRD FRIDAY OF FEBRUARY, MAY, AUGUST AND NOVEMBER have you any pub news? More details are posted regularly on the Facebook group 'Gloucestershire Pubs', an ideal forum to keep other people informed of the latest pub developments in the county. We value feedback and news from around the county, so, if you’ve got something to say, want to make a contribution, compliment or criticise, then get in touch: The Editor, The Tippler, 23 Theocs Close, Tewkesbury, Glos. GL20 5TX [email protected] 01684 439767 3 www.gloucestershirecamra.org.uk for goodness LETTERS sake jeremy, can’t we just send an email like to the all those FRIGHTFULLY modern chaps? EDITOR Some of us old codgers are still happy to use the services of the Royal Mail, and we actively encourage all forms of (preferably printable!) communication. So get writing and get your news, views and comments published! [email protected] The Editor, The Tippler, 23 Theocs Close, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. GL20 5TX Dear Chris, new consumers encouraged to try it”. So not sure quite what has happened. Happy New Year! Anyhow perhaps a correction could be made in the next edition that explains we were referring to Having finally had a chance to dip into the latest the Capital of Cotswolds, Cirencester as opposed to Tippler we noticed an edit on our article (page 40) the Cotswolds as a whole. that could give the impression something else was meant. Cheers and thank you for all the coverage we The sentence: “We wanted to bring back brewing have had in the Tippler; it is appreciated and is a to the Cotswolds and see if we could encourage UK great publication. beer consumers to be a little more adventurous” Should have read: Lucy & Colin “We wanted to bring back brewing to the Capital of the Cotswolds and see if we could encourage UK Chris replies: beer consumers to be a little more adventurous” Many thanks for clearing that up. To save you If noticed, I think some of the local Cotswolds worrying, and it was a self-effacing letter that microbreweries might raise an eyebrow or two as was really appreciated, I have had no complaints they were already brewing some excellent tasting at all. beers before we came along. In Cirencester, however, I guess it’s simply because the brewers in the the ‘Capital of the Cotswolds’ there were no micro- county are a friendly bunch of people (and who breweries at the time; although this is not the case wouldn’t be brewing beer? It could be worse!). anymore! On a slightly serious note, sometimes, in The final media release I saw had cut out the order to ensure that the magazine has a ‘flow’ mention of the Cotswolds altogether and read: “We to it, I just can’t fit everything in without a bit of wanted to see if UK beer consumers could be equally adventurous and challenge jiggery-pokery and on this occasion, your feature their taste-buds more. We’d also like to see was the recipient of the editor’s blue pencil. 4 www.gloucestershirecamra.org.uk LETTERS Currently, we don't organise a Beer Festival ,but we do support the Littledean Real Ale Festival which is scheduled to take place over the Easter Bank to the Holiday, 3rd - 6th April, 2015. This is the fifth Littledean Real Ale Festival being held at The Belfry Hotel, from 12.00pm - 12.00am Friday and EDITOR Saturday and 12.00pm - 11.00pm Sunday and Dear Chris, Monday. Amazingly it’s a FREE entry, with no glass to buy and complementary Bread and Cheese We'd also like to promote the Forest of Dean for those who are enjoying the Ale. The Monday (FoD) CAMRA through the Tippler to try and get evening will be FoD CAMRA night and I will be more people interested in the superb rich heritage of serving the Ale. pubs, breweries, ciders and perries that we have in the region. Cheers FoD CAMRA is a sub-branch of Gloucestershire Andy. CAMRA and are looking for interested parties to come and enjoy real ale with us in the Forest. We I’m Andrew Tubb (Andy) and you can contact me hold regular meetings (known as Jolly's, or is that @ [email protected] Jollies?) on the second Thursday of the month at or Tel : 01594822381 and also you can find out more different local ale pubs. We have a lot of socialising on the events page towards the back of the to get through and organise trips/pub crawls as well. Tippler. pub news in brief. Jerry Ward Good news as Samuel Smiths Brewery roll-out difficulties. The beauty of the café lies in its interior. their programme to serve cask ale in their pubs. Expensively refurbished, to all ends it looks like a Three of our expensively refurbished and maintained tastefully fitted out pub with bar, now serving counter, pubs will benefit by serving at least on real ale. still in place. Accommodation is offered and who Gloucester’s Robert Raike’s House and The Old knows, one day someone with a vision may once Crown together with The Mill in Withington will again serve ales at a modern White Horse. benefit and the move will encourage more visitors The closed King’s Head at Norton has since to these historic buildings. It’s taken a long time for being bought by New Dawn Developments and had Sam Smiths to make this move, and congratulations planning permission obtained for houses on part of are finally due. the car park, and in December on the beer garden. News of three of our lost pubs. The former The King’s Head Community Pub Group have been Starting Gate at Hardwicke recently opened as a unable to secure pledges enough to purchase the One-Stop convenience store (Tesco owned) taking pub and currently New Dawn say they could open advantage of the planning loophole whereby pubs it themselves (?) or would like to hear from anyone can be converted to shops without the need for interested in joining them in a commercial enterprise. change of use! CAMRA now campaigns to close News of the historic listed market place Red Lion this planning loophole and help save community Inn in Northleach, seemed positive when bought pubs. from pubco Punch by the incumbent tenants. However Meanwhile at Cainscross, Stroud, the well sited change of use from pub to domestic was quickly former White Horse pub, bought privately from applied for. Subsequently rejected by Cotswold pubco Admiral Taverns in 2010, has just relaunched District Council in December the pub remained as the ‘fresh ground’ café. A social enterprise closed in January and no doubt change of partnership with The Brandon Trust, the café use will be sought again with the business provides work experience for adults with learning quoted as unviable ! 5 www.gloucestershirecamra.org.uk OBITUARY David William Gardner (Scraggy) 1953 - 2014 Not many people knew David by his Christian name; most knew him as Scraggy the chimney sweep. Sadly Scraggy drowned in the Sharpness Canal on the 20th December 2014 at the age of 61. Scraggy was a member of Dursley CAMRA; his membership card had one name on it Scraggy! He was a great character; he would often join in with CAMRA pub-crawls and after a few pints would entertain us by singing local folk songs in his dulcet Gloucestershire tone. His funeral in St Mary’s Church Wotton-Under-Edge on 20th January was very well attended, the large church was packed with people of all walks of life, and such was the influence this wonderful man had on so many people. His eulogy was read by his sister Kay, here follows an edited version of the eulogy: “Many of you here may only have known David in later years as Scraggy the Sweep. Some of you have been lucky to know him much longer. I will attempt to paint a picture of the man as seen through the eyes of his little sister. My adorable, infuriating big brother, with the Beatles haircut, the hippy beard, or the silly hat. “Born 29th January 1953, as soon as David could walk he was off into the Tresham Valley exploring the local countryside and watching the wildlife. Mum and Dad gave him a wooden toy with bells so that they could find him. “By the time I came along my brothers David and Michael were lively boys and a kid sister would be the last thing they wanted to entertain.