ONLINE ONLY EDITION THE MAGAZINE OF WEST BERKSHIRE CAMRA SUMMER 2020 www.westberkscamra.org.uk @WBCAMRA @WBCAMRAcider @UllageBeer @WBCAMRA Pulling Together to keep real ale and cider flowing CAMRA partnered with the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) and Crowdfunder to help cidermakers, breweries, taprooms, pubs and clubs during the coronavirus pandemic. The #PullingTogether campaign features practical ways to keep these businesses viable. The camra.org.uk/pullingtogether webpage has three links: 10 great reasons ■ submit your businesses to join CAMRA ■ get involved (for members and public) CAMPAIGN Become a 1 2 BEER EXPERT ■ resource hub (for pubs and taprooms) for great beer, cider and perry The latest #PullingTogether initiative is Enjoy CAMRA There are three blue buttons for the public 3 BEER FESTIVALS GET INVOLVED 4 a n d m a k e n e w f r i e n d s Brew2You, an app from CAMRA in i n f r o n t o f o r b e h i n d t h e b a r to find takeaway and delivery services so that Find the partnership with SIBA, Cask Marque and the Save BEST PUBS 5 YOUR LOCAL 6 they can support the businesses with orders: British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) that IN BRITAIN Get great ■ pub and club services (WhatPub) VALUE FOR DISCOVER allows the public to order beer, cider and 7 8 pub heritage and the ■ brewery services (clickable map & list) M O N E Y great outdoors meals from pubs and producers using a shared Enjoy great ■ cider services (clickable map) 9 HEALTH BENEFITS 10 HAVE YOUR SAY platform. A website brew2you.co.uk allows (really!) Further interesting links from the page are businesses to join and the Brew2You app can also provided: be downloaded from the App Store (iOS) or What’s yours? ■ Pubs. Pints. People. (podcasts) Discover your reason Google Play (Android). The first producer to and join the campaign today: ■ Pulling Together (Facebook group) join from West Berkshire is Ciderniks of www.camra.org.uk/10reasons ■ The Red (On)Lion (social video platform) Kintbury. ■ Pay It Forward (fee-free crowdfunding) See page 2 for more details of CAMRA’s virtual pub – The Red (On)Lion and some of the subjects covered by the weekly CAMRA Two CAMRA awards in Hungerford podcasts. There was a major refurbishment at the See page 7 for details of breweries and cider John O’Gaunt when Mark Genders took over producers in West Berkshire supplying direct. in 2013. The repositioned bar at the freehouse CAMRA’s national chairman Nik Antona said: now offers eight cask ales together with a range ‘We all have to pull together to help keep the of ciders, craft and Belgian beers. The range UK’s producers and pubs afloat. We want to includes exclusive INNformal beers, like INN connect people with pubs as well as beer and Alcatraz West Coast IPA, from the brewery cider producers in their area so that they can now located in purchase great beer or a hot meal locally, rather Charnham Street. than relying on the supermarket.’ Hungerford Club During the The 2020 West Berkshire CAMRA Pub of the coronavirus ON OTHER PAGES Year is the John O’Gaunt Inn, Hungerford and restrictions, local Chairman’s notes, Editor’s letter 2 the Club of the Year is the Hungerford Club. customers were Swift Halves - Pub, brewery & cider news 3-5 Presentation of these awards has been relieved to find that Richard Goss - Compton Brewery Tap 6 delayed until pubs and clubs are allowed to pizzas, meals and Pub & Cider profiles, Direct supplies 7 fully reopen. draught beer could Hikes & trips via pubs 8 The Hungerford Club enjoys a secluded still be ordered for Packaged beer, Hermitage brewery 9 setting overlooking the Croft green. Popular collection or delivery Blogs, Cellarmanship, Double-Barrelled 10 with tennis, bowls, darts, snooker and billiards from Thursday WhatPub for gardens 11 players, CAMRA members are also welcome at to Sunday. CAMRA Membership form 12 the club. The club’s annual real ale festival Tel 01488 683535. Boak & Bailey, Curmudgeon columns 13 usually held over the August Bank Holiday Please visit whatpub.com for more details CAMRA Contacts, Diary dates 14 weekend is open to all. Tel 01488 682357. of both award winners. Ullage June - September 2020 1 Letter from the Editor Ale Amble ends at Dundas Arms, Kintbury - 27 July 2019 Welcome to the first online-only Ullage. If you prefer reading a physical magazine it can be downloaded as a pdf file and printed. However, this online version provides easy access to linked websites and media identified by clickable text in blue. Instead of a new pub or cider profile there are links to previous profiles that you may have missed (page 7). Similarly, the pub hike feature (page 8) includes links to trips, with a map to highlight pubs visited. Thanks to Richard Lock for Ullage design and production, Andy Pinkard for Chairman’s notes (adjacent), Richard Goss for writing about his ‘pub in a shed’ (page 6), Jeff Evans for his Packaged Beer article (page 9), Richard Marshall for news of Hermitage Brewery's Sarah Rigby, Richard Lock, Mike Avery, Tim Thomas (Editor), Tony Girling & Andy Pinkard (Chairman) beers (page 9) and Paul Rayner for his Double- Barrelled Applause beer story (page 10). The regular columns from Curmudgeon Chairman’s notes and Boak & Bailey can be found on page 13. In the words of Joni Mitchell’s (1970) song Big Their Bombay 3000 ‘English’ IPA (7% ABV) was The main focus of this issue is to highlight Yellow Taxi: the standout beer for me from the session. some of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Don’t it always seem to go ‘English’ is my addition in line with CAMRA’s initiatives to support pubs, breweries, That you don’t know what you’ve got classification (the brewer refers to it as a Real cidermakers and members during these ‘Til it’s gone IPA). Either way, this is a classic India Pale Ale strange days. There are so many things that we take for using traditional English (Golding) hops. From ■ The Red (On)Lion is CAMRA’s online granted and as we emerge from this pandemic, the other end of the country, my ‘go to’ bottle meeting place and events hub which is also it is a great opportunity to value and celebrate conditioned New World IPA is Proper Job from open to non-members. them. Since I am writing this as chairman of St Austell Brewery. ■ The Pulling Together campaign (with SIBA the local Branch, I’ll constrain myself to all Bottle conditioned beers are all well and and Crowdfunder) supports local beer, pubs things beer. good, but a quality pint of cask conditioned beer and cider during the crisis. The overnight collapse of pub trade caused is something very different, and this is where many of the smaller breweries to establish or our rich mixture of local Breweries have stepped ■ Brew2You is a new app for ordering from enhance their online presence. This has allowed up to facilitate, either working with publicans to pubs, breweries and cidermakers that is me to ‘travel the country’ without leaving home support their take away initiatives or delivering especially beneficial for smaller businesses and to provide much needed trade to these containers of ‘bright’ beer (with no yeast without their own online shop. breweries. The costs are not dissimilar to remaining) direct. Draught ale at home can taste For consistency, advertisements have been normal pub retail prices when shipping is taken great, but we know the experience would be included, although please note that into account. Direct orders also ensure that even better at the pub! I am hopeful that our advertisement details shown may not apply more of the margin is retained by the brewery enforced absence from these very British during pandemic restrictions. than with supermarket purchases. institutions will remind everyone of the crucial Finally, the Branch is looking for someone My first foray resulted from a tutored role that pubs play in our society. I am fearful to manage advertising for Ullage and anyone tasting, hosted by Christine Cryne at CAMRA’s that not all will survive this pandemic, but the wanting to write features or the opportunity to Red (On)Lion virtual pub. This required a pubs that do must be supported in the way that become guest editor would also be most sample case of bottled conditioned beers from, matters most - by using them! welcome. Cheers! the family run, Durham Brewery. Andy Pinkard Tim Thomas [email protected] The Red (On)Lion is a video platform where anyone can join the public bar for a lively chat over a beer or book a table to set up video conferencing for up to four participants. The virtual pub is the social arm of CAMRA’s #PullingTogether campaign, launched to support the brewing and pub industry in this difficult time. Pub participants are encouraged to share what beer they’re sampling during every visit. CAMRA members enter the pub by clicking Pubs. Pints. People. is a weekly CAMRA podcast on the black CAMRA member login button while on Apple Podcast and Spotify that that can be non-members can register with an email address accessed from the Pulling Together webpage. and set a password. Listen to hosts Katie Wiles, Ant Fiorillo and Once inside the Red (On)Lion, details of Matt Bundy chatting to guests about beer and CAMRA has created a virtual pub for beer future events can be found on the left of the cider topics, including: drinkers and pub-goers to get together for a screen eg Celebrate Beer Day Britain with Jane 2: Beer writing - with Pete Brown & Roger Protz beer and tackle the loneliness and social Peyton on Monday 15 June at 6.15pm.