July 2008 Archives

If you're looking to share a dippy holiday day out with a spooky blond ... let the train take the strain.

First Transpennine Express have launched a special 'Real Ale Trail' deal linking journeys to nine inviting real ale pubs in easy walking distance from their Lakes Line stations.

And, as a special bonus for rail travellers, there are special discounts vouchers on food and beers at some of the Lake District's finest scenic venues.

The rail operator has linked with the Westmorland branch of the Campaign for Real Ale to share the delights of key pubs and a chance to visit other attractions - without using the car.

And they guarantee the pubs - with one exception - are not further than five minutes' staggering distance from stations which include Windermere, Staveley, Burneside, Kendal and Oxenholme.

For example, you could sample a pint of Blond Witch at the Station Inn, Oxenholme, or try a feisty pint of Lakeland Gold at Kendal's Riverside Hotel.

The Greys Inn, Windermere, promises a wide range of beers with regularly-changing guest ales and The Eagle & Child in Staveley serves up a sparkling range of northern micro-breweries.

A First Rail spokesperson said: "The idea is already proving extremely popular with holidaymakers who are looking for a really different day out.

"The close proximity of the pubs and other attractions to the rail stations themselves makes this a very attractive day out or short break option."

A free Real Ale Trail brochure listing all the pubs, opening times and facilities, is available from most railway stations in Northern England but for more information, prices, and to book tickets, visit: www.tpexpress.co.uk

There's a well-known scene in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, wherein the eponymous heroine downs the contents of a small bottle and begins to shrink.

Fantasy, of course. In the real world, it's the drinks themselves which are getting smaller.

With an intriguing lack of fanfare, Belgian-owned Inbev UK has begun to phase out 500ml cans of its popular "strong lager", Tennent's Super, in favour of 440ml cans. The company claims this will reduce each can (which remain 9% ABV) from the previous 4.5 alcohol units to the recommended daily intake for male drinkers, four units.

My immediate response to that argument doesn't belong on the website of a family newspaper.

I can't immediately think of anyone in my circle of friends who goes into an off-licence and purchases just one can of lager, bitter or cider. Indeed, if you go into a supermarket, you have no choice: they're sold in four-packs.

Further, the four-unit recommendation is only a guideline. Other factors apply: age, height-weight ratio, general health.

Finally, it's an average. No one - even the most rabid health nanny - would suggest that exceeding four units on one occasion is guaranteed to result in anything more serious than inappropriate giggling and a hangover the following day, any more than the occasional cigarette will shut down your arteries and cause limbs to drop off.

Alcohol's a poison. So's nicotine. Foolishly, I thought that once you had more years under your belt than teeth in your head, you had the freedom to make your own choices. Guess I missed the memo when those rights were flushed down the toilet.

Still, at least anyone buying one of these ensmalled cans is going to notice more change in their pocket, right? Wrong. Inbev has not reduced the cost by a single penny, which I calculate to be a stealth price increase of 13.6 per cent.

Health campaign? Don't make me laugh.

Cheers!

It's heartening to so many councils recognising the great tourist opportunities presented by beer festivals and collaborating with their local CAMRA branches. One such is Eastbourne, where tickets have gone on sale for their own event at the town's Winter Garden on 9-11 October.

Last year's festival, the fifth, attracted 3500 visitors and tickets were completely sold out on the Friday and Saturday evenings. As a further incentive to book early this time, a two-for-one ticket offer has been set up via the August edition of Waitrose Food Illustratrated. Bookings can also be made on 01323 412000.

Sponsors include the family brewers Harvey's, which has been producing beer in nearby Lewes since the 18th Century and currently owns more than 40 "tied" pubs.

Eastbourne Borough Council's Emma Wilkinson told us: "Festival goers can look forward to more than 100 real ales with the chance to sample the likes of a Fruit Bat, Kamikaze and Ginger Tom. Good old pub grub will be on the menu throughout the event and the festival opens each evening, with a special afternoon family session on the Saturday rounding up in a huge pub quiz.

"Thursday evening will see the return of the popular jazz night session, with local musicians turning up to entertain crowds on the Beer Festival stage, plus the Oompah band will be back with more foot stomping beer kellar fun."

Can't think of a better excuse to head down to the seaside in October.

Cheers!

Television soaps come under a lot of fire for their hyperbolical slant on modern life - all sex, drugs and punch-ups - but there's one area where I actually wish life would imitate art.

Whenever the cast of Emmerdale, Coronation Street or Eastenders pop into their local pub (and there's only ever one, just as no one's allowed to move to any location where there isn't an existing set), they always ask for a pint of their local beer.

The Woolpack has Ephraim Monk on tap, the Rover's Return serves Newton & Ridley with Betty's hot pot and you'll probably earn yourself a "Walford kiss" from one of the Mitchell brothers if you ask for anything other than Churchills in the Queen Vic.

Even the longest-running soap in history - Radio 4's The Archers - has Shires Bitter for the folk of Ambridge to drown their sorrows down at the Bull.

But go into most real-life pubs and you'll be lucky to see anything beyond the national blands - sorry, brands - dished out in every other corner of the land.

This country has a fine brewing tradition stretching back several thousand years, hardly surprising when you consider the dangers posed by drinking the water back in the days when urban sanitation comprised of a bucket and an open window.

So next time you drop into an unfamiliar pub and spot a guest beer or cider behind the bar, look a little closer. If it tickles your tastebuds, all the better. I've began plenty of my happiest relationships with regional ales that very same way.

According to tonight's edition of the Birmingham Evening Mail, West Bromwich currently boasts the cheapest pint in the region.

Over at the Marksman public house on the town's high street, owner Belal Hussain is reportedly charging a mere 89p for bitter, lager and cider (although the article offers no clue as to which specific brands are on tap).

I was most taken with one regular, quoted as saying how nice it is to buy two or three pints and "have change from a tenner". I'd be fascinated to know which pub in West Bromwich is currently charging between £3.34 and £5.00 for a pint.

But is the Mail correct? Is this the cheapest pub in the Midlands? Are customers merely getting what they pay for? Do let me know.

I'm mildly unsettled by the Bromsgrove Beer Festival's decision to base the logo for its 2008 incarnation upon the 1960s telefantasy series The Prisoner, which older readers will recall was set in a mysterious village from which no one could escape.

Still, if the local pub offered as many real ales as will be on tap across the country this weekend, maybe no one wanted to do a bunk.

Anyway, here are a few dates for your social calendar (If you know of any other events we should be listing here, just drop me a line):

Till Saturday: Chelmsford Beer Festival, Admirals Park, Rainsford Road, Cheltenham; Bromsgrove Beer Festival, Bromsgrove Rugby Football Club, Finstall Park, Finstall, Bromsgrove; Plymouth Beer Festival, Plymouth Pavilions, Millbay Road, Plymouth.

Till Sunday: Derby Beer Festival, Assembly Rooms, Market Place, Derby; Woodcote Festival of Ales, off A4047, Woodcote, Oxfordshire.

Next weekend: Greenwich Beer & Jazz Festival, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich; Kent Beer Festival, Merton Farm, Merton Lane, Canterbury; Boxmoor Beer Festival, Camelot Rugby Club, Chaulden Lane, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead.

Cheers!

I've just heard from Solihull CAMRA's Bob Jackson that there are still a couple of spaces left on the branch's excursion to Liverpool over the long weekend of 11-14 September.

The headquarters this year is the Premier Inn at Albert Dock, which is offering an attractive £195 three-night package for twin or double rooms.

The full itinerary will be published shortly at the branch website, but I'd really recommend getting in touch a.s.a.p. if you fancy joining what's certain to be a magical mystery tour of Merseyside's top alehouses.

Cheers!

It takes a lot to dampen the spirits of real ale enthusiasts, but last summer's appalling weather and widespread flooding left many a CAMRA member drowning their sorrows as pubs were shut down and events cancelled throughout the country.

One such casualty was the popular Worcester Beer Festival, called off when its venue - the city's famous racecourse - disappeared under several feet of water.

Twelve months on, however, the organisers are determined their ninth festival (14-16 August) will be the biggest yet. More than 10,000 visitors are expected to sample more than 200 ales, as well as 100 ciders and perries.

And appropriately for a racecourse, festival chairman Bill Ottaway and his team are hedging their bets by arranging back-up sites should the weather take a turn for the worse. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that they aren't needed.

Meanwhile, Solihull CAMRA has launched full steam ahead with plans for our tenth beer festival, to be held on 3-4 October at the Royal British Legion in Union Road.

Last year's event, which coincided with the branch's silver jubilee, proved such a huge success that we managed to drink the event dry a full two hours ahead of schedule.

As well as the 35 ales we've lined up, there'll be entertainment on tap as well: the White Hart Morris Dancers will be waving their hankies and bells about on Saturday lunchtime, with the laidback foursome Blues Basement slipping into a mellow groove on Saturday evening.

You can read all about this and other local activities at our award-winning website.

Can't wait that long?

Well, you could always hop along to the Finstall Park football ground this weekend, for the sixth Bromsgrove Beer Festival. The organisers are promising "no amplified music", so you'll be able to enjoy your pick from 100 real ales and two dozen ciders in relative peace and quiet.

Cheers!

When former Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey recently referred - none too seriously - to "men with sparrows in their beards", he was dusting off one of the more tired cliches about members of the Campaign for Real Ale. True, as the photograph alongside clearly shows, I am of the unshaven persuasion, but I can't recall spotting Bill Oddie peering at me through his binoculars whilst shooting the latest season of BBC's Springwatch.

Anyway, I'm happy to cut Neil a little slack, since he's about to realise one of the dreams of any true real ale enthusiast. Together with his business partner, TV chef Richard Fox, the pair now own a pub in North Yorkshire and plan to brew their own beer. You'll be able to catch up with their progress in a forthcoming reality show called Perfect Pint. I wish them luck: the more, the merrier, so far as I'm concerned.

Of course, the range of ales in this country is already fairly mind-boggling. This year's Great British Beer Festival (to be held at London's Earls Court over 5-9 August) will have a staggering 750 different brews on tap, 450 of them British.

Even Solihull CAMRA's much smaller event managed to include 30 beers and ciders last year, including two created by our own members in collaboration with local breweries Church End and Tunnel. We're hoping our tenth festival (3-4 October at the Royal British Legion, Union Road, Solihull) will prove an even bigger hit.

Just like the quintessential British bar, I'm hoping this new blog will feature a heavy amount of interaction. I'd like to hear your own recommendations for interesting ales and pubs of distinction. If you're organising a beer festival, let me know. The only way many of these events and independent breweries stand a chance against the massive advertising budgets of the big players is by pure word of mouth.

Look forward to hearing from you. Meantime, I'm off for a quiet pint whilst double-checking for those pesky sparrows.

Cheers!