D ON ON L June Vol 34 July No 3 2012 Local preservation campaigners triumph - but is the Ivy House saved? (see page 44) EST 1721 23-25 NEW END • HAMPSTEAD VILLAGE • NW3 1JD 1st Annual Cotswolds Beer Festival A taste of the countryside comes to London Thursday 21st to Sunday 24th June 2012 • Over 30 fabulous ales from the Cotswolds region • Delicious food and West Country delicacies • Live music and entertainment throughout the weekend • Meet the Brewer and other special events Don’t forget the Hampstead Summer Festival on the 24th June! See our website for up to date beer list and event information Best Tel: 020 7794 0258 London Pub of the Year 2011 twitter: @dukeofhamilton Fancy a Pint Reviewers www.thedukeofhamilton.com Awards 5 PINT RATED PUB All ales £2.70 a pint Mondays and Tuesdays. See website for ales on tap. Editorial London Drinker is published by Mike Hammersley on behalf of the London NDO Branches of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real O N Ale Limited, and edited jointly by L Sarah Bleksley and Mark Davies. Tel: 07747 494840. Material for publication should preferably be sent by e-mail to [email protected]. Correspondents unable to send letters to the editors electronically may post them to Brian Sheridan at 4, Arundel House, Heathfield Road, Croydon CR0 1EZ. Press releases should be sent by email to [email protected] Changes to pubs or beers should be reported to Capital Pubcheck, 2 Sandtoft Road, London SE7 7LR or by e-mail to [email protected]. Poor show, Lord Coe! For publication in August 2012, please send electronic documents to the editors no later than ver since the news of London’s ing rights’ at Olympic events. These Monday 9 July. Ewinning bid to host this summer’s rights include being able to sell just SUBSCRIPTIONS: £7.00 for mailing of six Olympic Games was announced, two other brands in its portfolio, John editions should be sent to Stan Tompkins, 52 Rabbs Mill House, Chiltern View Road, those in charge have sought to engen - Smith’s Smoothflow and Strong - Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 2PD der an enhanced regional and nation - bow cider, but neither of those can (cheques payable to CAMRA London). al civic pride in recognition of all of be named. John Smith’s will be la - ADVERTISING: John Galpin Tel: 020 3287 2966. the opportunities and benefits that belled ‘British Bitter’ and Strongbow Printed by Cliffe Enterprise, they would surely bring. will be called just ‘Cider’, a lesser in - Eastbourne, BN22 8TR Not least of the things for every - sult, perhaps, to British cask cider pro - Views expressed in this publication are those one to celebrate at this time, we ducers. of their individual authors and are not might have been led to assume, At Lord’s cricket ground, necessarily endorsed by the Editor or the Campaign for Real Ale Limited. would be the best of British food and Marston’s has the beer concession to drink. As real ale drinkers, we might sell Pedigree Bitter and is the official Advertise in the next LONDON DRINKER have expected to find not only beers sponsor of the England cricket team. Our advertising rates are as follows: like Fuller’s London Pride, Young’s While the Olympic archery compe - Whole page £325 (colour) £260 (mono) London Gold and Greene King Lon - tition takes place there, the hand - Half page £195 (colour), £145 (mono) don Glory promoted in and around pumps will be removed and portraits Quarter page £105 (colour), £80 (mono) the venues but also the chance for of cricketer Matthew Hoggard, Phone John Galpin now on 020 3287 2966, Mobile 07508 036835 visitors to discover and enjoy the Marston’s ‘beer ambassador’, will [email protected] range of beers now available from be covered up. Instead, to quote London’s twenty and more micro - Roger again, “ Visitors to the world- breweries: Brodies, East London, famous cricket ground, with its long In this issue London Fields, Redchurch and Re - tradition of ale drinking, will be of - News round-up 6 demption, for example, to name fered Dutch lager and anonymous just those I can think of nearest to keg bitter and cider ”. Moncada Brewery 28 Stratford. Now I am not having a rant Beer festivals 31 Sadly, however, global corpo - against Heineken. As Fred from rate commercial sponsorship has Dorset commented online, “Could Awards 38 been allowed to hijack London’s have been worse could have been Campaigns 42 Olympiad. Health campaigners have budweiser or miller”. Some people protested about McDonalds and say that the Dutch-brewed Heineken Pub preservation 44 Coca Cola (how indeed can we is not a bad lager; I wouldn’t know. Breweries to visit 46 stomach their exclusive association But I am sorry if the London Com - with health and fitness?) and, as far mittee of the Olympic Games, and Letters 49 as real ale goes, well, the Olympic for that matter the people who Branch diaries 52 venues themselves will have none of drafted the legislation that set up that Capital Pubcheck 54 it. In the words of Roger Protz, writ - cabal, cannot appreciate the popular ing in the Publican’s Morning Adver - disillusion and reputational damage Membership form 55 tiser , “ The 2012 Olympics, a show - for themselves and indeed for Idle Moments 64 case for London and the rest of Heineken that the award of such dra - Britain, will be dominated by one conian sponsorship rights may yet LocAle pubs 65 beer brand – Heineken lager brewed achieve. Crossword 66 in the Netherlands ”. For its ‘tier three’ sponsorship Heineken has bought ‘sole pour - package, Heineken reportedly paid 3 Editorial £10 million. That sum represents but one two hun - dred and fiftieth of Tesco’s latest (reduced!) annual profit. Is there a billionaire philanthropist out there who would be willing to pay Heineken, McDonalds and Coca Cola enough to go away in order to restore some national pride of association into our Olympic Games this summer? Time is running short. LD Geoff Strawbridge Advertise in the next LONDON DRINKER. Our advertising rates are as follows: Whole page £325 (colour), £260 (mono); Half page £195 (colour), £145 (mono); Quarter page £105 (colour), £80 (mono). Phone John Galpin now on 020 3287 2966 Mobile 07508 036835 Email: [email protected] or Twitter@LDads or on Facebook: London Drinker Ads THE FINAL COPY DATE FOR ADVERTISING IN OUR NEXT ISSUE (AUGUST/SEPTEMBER) IS THE FIRST OF JULY 4 News round-up No surprises Back in February, ten Unit pricing back on the Brakspears pubs around Henley- agenda ur last issue went to print be - on-Thames staged a ‘Tax Free Ofore the budget but there Beer Day’ and sold beer at a price ome say that it was an attempt were no surprises for beer drinkers. reduced by the Duty and VAT Sto deflect attention from the so- In an almost too carefully worded element which brought the price called ‘granny tax’ while others say point, the Chancellor confirmed of a pint of bitter down from that it is a genuine reaction to the that the ‘inflation plus 2%’ duty es - £3.30 to £1.30. It certainly latest figures on liver disease but the calator would still take effect but makes the point and a good day unit pricing of alcohol is back on he put the blame – not unreason - was had by all with many signa - the Government’s agenda for Eng - ably – on his predecessor. The in - tures being added to petitions land. It is being championed by the crease was 5% in total. CAMRA’s calling for reductions in Duty and Prime Minister whilst Health Sec - Chief Executive, Mike Benner, VAT. retary Andrew Lansley is reported - called the increase “ a shadow cast It isn’t just Duty that does ly siding with the drinks trade to over the beer drinker, depriving peo - the damage however. Another oppose it. The Chancellor presum - ple of an affordable night down their measure that will not help pubs is ably is happy with anything that in - local .” That is about it; I’ve never a change in taxation on gambling creases his VAT take. liked Greggs pasties anyway. machines or to give them their The debate as to whether unit Do remember that the e-peti - proper name, ‘AWPs’ – amuse - pricing is a good move in terms of tion in favour of stopping this es - ments with prizes. public health is far from settled and calator arrangement is still open and Other consequences to think it says a lot when the Health Sec - could well have an effect on next about are the growth of smug - retary comes out on the opposite year’s budget. If you haven’t gling and the production of illicit side to the health lobby. Maybe signed it, please give it some alcohol. The government gets unit pricing would help reduce thought. You can access it on-line nothing from these operations ‘problem’ drinking but it will pri - at the HM Government e-petitions and the latter is also a serious marily hit those on low incomes website: health risk. I will try to pick up and who says that problem drinkers http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk . on these points in a later edition. come exclusively from the ranks of The Star Ye Olde Mitre 17 Church Street, Godalming, Surrey Tel: 01483 417717 Ely Court, between Ely Place and Hatton Garden London EC1N 6SJ 020 7405 4751 CAMRA GOOD BEER GUIDE 2012 East London & City Pub of the Year 2006, 2008 and 2010 Historic and traditional Ale-House London Pride, Adnams Broadside, Deuchars IPA, Gales Seafarers and 4 guest ales every week plus a real cider You've probably wondered Many thanks for your support for the where we've gone? Milds in May Campaign.