No. 119 Autumn 2018 INTS WES P Multi-award-winning magazine of the Bristol & District and T Bath & Borders branches of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale Contents Page 44 BAD Ladies Bath’s 3rd Page 34 BADRAG (rare ales group) Page 18 Bath & Borders news Page 27 Beer festivals Page 36 Beer meets food in Bristol Page 28 Bristol Pubs Group Winter Ales Page 9 Butcher’s Hook, Thornbury INTS WES Page 51 CAMRA diaries & contacts Page 15 Champion Beer of Britain P T Page 39 Fleece, Hillesley The multi-award-winning magazine of the Bristol & District Festival Page 47 Going for a beer in Porto branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, plus the Bath Page 38 Good Beer Guide Organised by the Bath & Borders branch of & Borders branch Page 24 Shine on Redcliffe Brought to you entirely by unpaid volunteers Page 43 Siren’s Calling, Portishead CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale Ten thousand copies of Pints West are distributed free to Page 30 Weston-super-Mare news hundreds of pubs in and around the cities of Bristol and Bath Page 46 WhatPub, beer scoring and GBG his year’s festival will be the third to be held at ... and beyond Brewery news: the Widcombe Social Club, which is a five-minute Also available on-line at www.bristolcamra.org.uk Page 7 Arbor Ales Twalk from Bath Spa railway station at the bottom Page 6 Bath Ales of Widcombe Hill. We are returning to this friendly and Published by the Bristol & District Branch of CAMRA, the Campaign Page 22 Brewhouse & Kitchen welcoming venue to offer a wide range of at least 30 cask for Real Ale, August 2018 © Page 5 Bristol Beer Factory ales plus cider and an improved food menu, and other Editor: Steve Plumridge ([email protected]) Page 30 Cosmic attractions to be announced in the coming months. The Design & Layout by: Steve Plumridge Page 10 Croft Ales festival is being held earlier this year to avoid travel Next edition: end of November 2018 (probably) Page 17 Dawkins Ales congestion associated with the Bath Christmas Market. Printed by: JamPrint Page 32 Epic Beers (Pitchfork Ales and 3D Beer) If you are staying in Bath overnight our advice is to book Page 23 Good Chemistry accommodation as soon as possible. Subscriptions: to be put on a mailing list to receive Pints Wests (for Page 12 GWB Bath UK addresses) send ten standard (not large) 1st class stamps to the Page 4 Incredible The club opened its doors on 1st April 2016 to reveal splendid editor Page 20 Kettlesmith new premises designed by local architects Stride Treglowan. It has two large open floors with a bar at each level and, although CAMRA CAMRA Good Beer Guide: suggestions for future entries, and Page 35 Left Handed Giant comments on existing ones, can be made to our GBG co-ordinator, the club is free of tie, two beers from Bath Ales are currently on Page 35 Moor Beer draught. Martin Gray: [email protected] Page 23 New Bristol If you have any pub updates: please enter them via whatpub.com or Page 11 Three Engineers For the festival, stillage will be located on the upper floor where email details to [email protected] Page 19 Twisted there is capacity for 150 seated, or more standing. Access will Further information on all aspects of CAMRA can be had from Ray be available to the lower floor which is open to the public at all Page 41 Wiper & True club opening times. Widcombe Social Club’s committee is keen Holmes on 0117 9605357 (home) Page 10 Zerodegrees Trading Standards Officers: contact for problems such as consistent to attract new club members, who pay a modest annual fee, and much, much more... enjoy discounts on drinks (10%) and food, and can join sports short measures, no price lists... teams and attend members’ events. Bristol: 0117 9223444 / S. Glos: 01454 624000 Glos: 01452 426201 / N. Somerset: 01934 888802 The festival will be the Bath & Borders branch’s 40th event B.A.N.E.S: 01225 396755 Got any news? and the third Winter Ale Festival. There will be at least 30 cask rd or visit www.tradingstandards.gov.uk ales on offer, ranging from lower-gravity ales to high-strength Do you have some specific news that you want to share winter ales, plus cider, perry and food. 3 Winter Ales Festival LETTERS: please email correspondence to the editor at with the local CAMRA branch? [email protected] The venue can be accessed from Bath Spa station and the Bath or post it to Pints West Editor, Steve Plumridge, Do you represent a pub that is holding a beer festival or a bus station via the Halfpenny Bridge over the River Avon, from 2018 Garden Flat, 6 Royal York Villas, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4JR brewery that is launching a new beer? where a short stroll down Widcombe High Street takes you to the club, slightly up the hill from the My Local corner store. Friday 9th November, 6pm to 11pm Are you a member that has heard about a pub opening or ADVERTISE: to find out about advertising in Pints West, please email closing or a change of licensee? Widcombe Social Club and Bath & Borders CAMRA look Saturday 10th November, 11am to 7pm [email protected] forward to welcoming you to the festival in this exciting venue To let us know about any such news items please send an which enjoys magnificent views across Bath. CONTACTS: for further contact details and diaries see inside back page email to: Widcombe Social Club [email protected] Views expressed in Pints West are those of the individual near the bottom of Widcombe Hill, authors and not necessarily supported by CAMRA Bath, BA2 6AA Inclusion of an advertisement does not imply endorsement by CAMRA Featuring at least 30 cask beers and Thanks to this issue’s contributors: around half a dozen ciders and perries Andy Burt Martin Gray Roy Sanders Bianca Ambrose Marty Cummins Stephen Edmonds Admission: £8 for each session. Bridget Andrews Michael Bertagne Steve Comer This includes £2 worth of beer tokens to all customers. A further Dave Graham Mike Jackson Steve Hunt £2 worth of beer tokens to card-carrying CAMRA members are Dave Weir Neil Ravenscroft Steve Plumridge Duncan Shine Niall Hoskin Tim Webb available at each session, but please note that these are claimed Eddie Taberner Paul Wratten Tom Chapman at the event itself – the full price must be paid when ordering Henry Davies Pete Bridle Tom Conneely tickets in advance. Keith Morey Pete Taberner Trevor Cromie Laurie Gibney Phil Cummings Vince Murray Advance tickets: can be ordered online from Laurie Jackson Richard Brooks Will George www.bathandborderscamra.org.uk Liz Brady Roger Protz Tickets also available from the Old Green Tree, Green Street, Bath The Bridge Inn or from Widcombe Social Club. See page 24 2 PINTS WEST PINTS WEST 3 News from the Bristol Beer Factory he Bristol Beer Factory is bringing out four unique and diverse beers that together form the Artemis Series – named after the Tgoddess of the hunt. The brewery see their legacy as “pioneering diverse beers with condition, flavour and balance”. With this series they say they are pushing their brewers “to hunt down new brews and shine a spotlight on cask beer through innovation”. First in the series, Hawaii Juice-O is described as being a tropical, fruity explosion at 4.8% brewed using passion fruit, mango and pineapple as a “fifth ingredient”. The beer (and indeed the series) was launched on a July evening at the Arnolfini with the sun shining, beers flowing and pineapples galore! Further inspiration apparently struck during a night of Bristol Beer Factory pictured in the run-up to Upfest (Urban Paint Festival) cocktail drinking and ended in the second that is Factoberfest” at the Tobacco Factory (7th to 9th). It starts on cocktail-themed beer the Friday night and runs until Sunday with 70+ cask and keg beers of 2018 (after Espresso (including a few exclusive specials for the event). This they say is their Martini coffee milk absolute favourite event of the year. stout). Negroni, a Incredible Brewing 4.6% pale pink cocktail The team at Bristol Beer Factory will then be on hand with their pale ale (“perhaps the own area at Bristol Craft Beer Festival from September 14th to 16th, he culmination of another few Incredible months happened months. Stephen’s also expanding the Incredible keg range, which has most out-there beer serving all weekend. They will take their place among highly-regarded at Olympia, London in mid-August, with the appearance of so far proved popular, so watch out for single-hop pales of Ekuanot, of the series”) is given European breweries (Amundsen, Northern Monk, Dugges, Mikkeller, TIncredible Brewing Company’s Saison, Nettle, and Coriander and Citra and Mosaic, as well as the best-selling 5.6% grapefruit IPA and a all the flavours and Wylam) with what they claim will be “an epic line-up and high spirits”. Lime ales at CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival for the first time. This 6.6% IPA. colour of the classic was the last chance for people to enjoy Coriander and Lime for the cocktail by being Although they do say how great cask ale is, the Bristol Beer Factory year, as its popularity meant the year’s brew had otherwise sold out With the increased demand Incredible is seeing, Stephen is looking for brewed with juniper think they have made their best ever beer on keg.