AWARD-WINNING No. 86 Summer 2010 www.camrabristol.org.uk INTS WES Multi-award-winning magazine of the Bristol & District Branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale P (incorporating the Bath & Borders Branch) T So many pubs closed! PINTS WEST Bristol Beer Festival and LocAle go down well he 13th annual Bristol Beer Festival was held in Brunel’s Old It is interesting that, despite Station at Temple Meads Bristol on 19th and 20th March 2010. the mixed nature of the mem- TThis event was a great success with tickets selling out in advance bers of the judging panel, dark for all sessions. We have received very positive customer feedback from beers seemed to consistently people telling us they thought it was the best festival yet. out-score lighter beers. This Our new pint glasses, sponsored by Cheddar Ales this year and may be because the palate of marked for third and half pint measures, proved very popular with today’s ale drinker is becom- customers and gave maximum flexibility as to how much of a particular ing more educated towards rich and satisfying dark beers. Or maybe the beer, cider or perry they wanted to taste. seasonal aspect played a part, with judges warming to the more hearty Not only did the festival start off with a huge range of beer, but beers after the dismal winter we have experienced! when it closed at the end of the final session on Saturday night there was So our congratulations go to Arbor Ales and their Old Knobbley. still a great range of 73 beers still on, so there was plenty of choice right For the rest of the beers, our usual ‘Beer of the Festival’ customer up until the end. vote was held and the results of this were Cairngorm Trade Winds the This year the Bristol Beer Festival made a real feature of our locally winner and Boggarts Rum Porter the runner-up. brewed real ales by putting them all together on our new ‘LocAle’ bar. Cider/perry of the festival, judged by a tasting panel, was first We also held a special ‘LocAle of the Festival’ competition. The judging Bollhayes Medium Dry, second Rich’s Medium and third Rathays of 27 ‘LocAle’ beers was carried out by a panel of twelve tasters. In Old Goat ‘Viberie’. Richard Brooks addition to seven trained members of the Bristol & District CAMRA tasting panel, we had guest judges which included people from the pub trade and local councillors Kevin Quartley (Conservative) and Sean Beer Festival Glasses and T-Shirts Emmett (Liberal Democrat). Unfortunately the Labour candidate lost his deposit as he did not show up! The top three scores were all achieved by dark beers. The winner was Arbor Ales Old Knobbley (4.5% ABV), a classic dark best bitter more akin to an ‘old ale’. This impressed the judges with its complex taste, full rounded smoothness and satisfying long finish. The runner-up was the ever-popular Wickwar Station Porter (6.1%). This previously won CAMRA Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2008. Third place went to Box Steam Funnel Blower (4.5% ABV), formerly known as Vanilla Porter. ARE you missing a Bristol Beer Festival glass or two from your collec- tion? Over the years the branch has built up a stock of glasses from our beer festival and we are now putting them on sale in the Seven Stars, Thomas Lane, Redcliffe, Bristol. The price is just 50p for a half-pint glass and £1 for the 2010 pint glasses. The range of glasses available is from the following years (with sponsor logo as shown): m 2004 Butcombe m 2005 Bath Ales m 2006 RCH m 2007 Fuller’s ESB m 2008 Bristol Beer Factory m 2009 Arbor Ales m 2010 Cheddar Ales Richard Brooks presenting the LocAle of the Festival certificate to Namaya We also have a few T-shirts left from the 2010 Bristol Beer Festival Reynolds, business partner of Jon and Meg at Arbor Ales and landlord of available at just £5 each. Please email [email protected] if the Old Stillage. (photo by Tony Durbin) interested and indicate what size you would like. A selection of contents Queen’s Head, Willsbridge Page 33 News from the city of Bath Page 21 New CAMRA sub-branch: Severn Vale Page 8 Club of the Year Page 31 CAMRA Membership form Page 34 Prize crossword Page 9 Pub of the Year: Bristol & District Page 3 Branch diaries Page 35 Watering Holes in the Desert (WsM) Page 10 Bath & Borders Page 30 And much more besides A Round with Robin Page 12 Bath & Borders (City) Page 32 Readers’ letters Page 24 Beer Drinker’s and Pub Goer’s Charter Page 30 ADVERTISE IN PINTS WEST Beery travels: Warrington Page 26 Brewery news: RCH Page 31 Newcastle Page 28 Butcombe Page 31 10,000 copies printed quarterly and Colorado Page 29 Bath Ales Page 9 distributed to hundreds of pubs Inn and around Portishead Page 22 Bristol Beer Factory Page 23 throughout the region Phoenix and Rummer to reopen? Page 7 Cotswold Spring Page 23 Plight of pubs in South East Bristol Page 5 Arbor Ales Page 23 Also available to read on-line at BADRAG and Mild Trails Page 14 Cheddar Page 12 www.bristolcamra.org.uk Forthcoming beer festivals Page 36 Dawkins Page 25 Wickwar’s Downend Tavern Page 33 Moor Page 4 Contact the editor, Steve Plumridge Shine goes off the rails (pubs by train) Page 16 Bath & Borders Branch news Page 18 Email [email protected] Page 2 PINTS WEST Branch Pub of the Year 2010 he winner of the Bristol & District CAMRA branch Pub of the Year 2010 is the Seven Stars in Thomas Lane, Redcliffe and the Trunner-up is the Portcullis in Wellington Terrace, Clifton. The picture shows branch chairman Richard Brooks presenting the certificate to Paul Wratten of the Seven Stars (front right), supported by CAMRA branch members and pub regulars in the background. Paul Wratten said he was properly chuffed that the Seven Stars had won and that he puts its popularity down to his range of eight guest real ales. And his pickled eggs! The Seven Stars was runner-up in the competition last year and when the previous licensees subsequently left people had feared that the pub might lose its real ale focus. However, Paul has clearly succeeded in taking the pub to beery new heights. Paul is so enthused with the success of real ale in the Seven Stars that he is planning to start holding a regional ale mini-festival (around 20 beers) on the first Monday to Wednesday of every month. The branch Pub of the Year competition is run in two stages. Firstly, Ned Clarke said he was delighted for the Portcullis to be recognised members get to vote for their favourite pub and this is turned into a short as runner-up Pub of the Year, and we hope to have a picture of Ned list of finalists. Volunteer judges from the branch then visit all of these receiving his certificate at the Portcullis in the next edition of PintsWest pubs and compare them to each other, considering a variety of factors, (the official presentation not yet having taken place as Pints West went such as the service and welcome, and not just the range or quality of the to press). beer. The results of this judging stage are then collated to arrive at the We should also give an honourable mention to the Annexe Inn, winner, which is then submitted for inclusion in the regional Pub of the Neville Road, Bishopston, Bristol as this came a very close third in the Year competition. competition this year. Richard Brooks (photo by Tony Durbin) Bristol Beer Festival needs you! e have around 4,000 people who come to the Bristol Beer Festival help out at Bristol Beer Festival 2011, then get in touch with me (email Weach year. As you’re reading this you might be one of them. But [email protected] or telephone 07890 779 182). have you ever thought about volunteering to help out? There are over Don’t worry, you won’t be committing to anything at this stage (we 160 people who appreciate that spare time to March 2011 is plan, organise a long way off) and run the fes- but it would tival. Some of really help us our volunteers to know if you commit many are interested. hours to the If you’d like running of the to be involved festival, some in planning the come along for beer festival a few hours to then also get in help during set touch. up, many come Helen Featherstone back year after Photos R. Brooks year because It’s all great fun at the Bristol Beer (and cider) Festival they enjoy it so much. You might want to consider volunteering if you enjoy Bristol Beer Festival for any of the following reasons: m Being with people who share an interest in beer; Seven Stars m Tasting a wide variety of well kept beers; Thomas Lane, Redcliffe, Bristol BS1 6JG m Helping friends choose their next beer; m Supporting CAMRA; m Having fun. These are all reasons why people help out at the Beer Festival. 8 Real Ales There are other perks too: discounted food, free trip to Great British from far and wide Beer Festival or one other festival (this year we’re off to Minehead Beer Festival), and you might also find yourself with a refreshing ale in your hand too.