Issue 154 of Norfolk Nips & Cask Force

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& CASK FORCE& CASK FORCE& CASK FORCE

Newsletter of the Norfolk Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale

No.154 Autumn 2010

STEAMED UP OVER REAL ALE

Also inside:BEER FESTIVAL DIARYNORFOLK’S TRUE HERITAGE PUBS part 7PUB AND TRADE NEWS

FREE

Keighley and WorthValley Railway article inside!

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Trafford Arms

18th Valentine Beer Festival

‘The Meaning of Life!’14th – 20th FEB 2011

Raising funds for Downs Syndrome Research

Chris and Glynis invite you to the Trafford Arms -

61 Grove Road, Norwich 01603 628466www.traffordarms.co.uk email: [email protected]

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Steve O’Shea cares – about hispub, his customers, and the localcommunity. That much wasevident at the InformationMeeting he called at The Nelson,Nelson Road, Norwich onTuesday 24th August 2010.

Steve is also a worried man,concerned for the future of TheNelson. The lease from EnterpriseInns is due for renewal on 15thOctober. Steve informed themthat he would like to renew thelease on 15th March, but hasheard nothing since. The signs arenot positive. Currently, there arearound seventy pubs a weekclosing for good.

Steve acknowledges that, unlikeThe Canary, there are severalalternative pubs within walkingdistance and that a corner pubwith it’s own car park andoutbuildings is ripe for develop-ment – you could get around 24flats on the site.

The Nelson, however, is verymuch a community pub. It hasmusic nights and there are 12clubs including the Pigeon Cluband a Drama Group who regularlyuse the premises. Sunday Lunchis enjoyed by Senior Citizensfrom nearby.

All of whom would need to findan alternative if the Nelson wasshut. The Pubco, Enterprise Inns,have about 7,000 pubs Nation-wide and being a PLC, they haveobligations to their shareholders,but Steve knows that they haveobligations to their tenants too.

The purchase of Draught andbottled beers is tied. Enterprisedid offer a small discount on beerprices, but only if spirits and softdrinks were tied too. The pub isin need of refurbishment, butalthough the Licensees and Breweries have invested over

£21,000 since May 2006, Enterprisehas not invested a single penny.

Steve is not asking for much. As he told the well attendedmeeting, all he is asking for is aFair Deal. He wants the leaserenewed, for at least five years, ifnot ten, with fair pricing on tiedproducts and some investmentto improve the infrastructure –more comfortable surroundings,as Steve put it. “Don’t mess withus - Time to put terms on the table”.

The meeting heard that Stevehad plans for the future. He wantedto introduce themed food/beverage nights, and bring backthe full Nelson Food Menu. The Nelson Music Club would beset up and a Pub Council formed,so that the regulars could havetheir say. None of this will happenunless the lease is renewed.

Steve has the backing of hislocal Member of Parliament,Simon Wright MP, who visitedthe pub the day before themeeting and Greg MullhollandMP, Chairman of the All PartyParliamentary Save the PubGroup, will visit in the next twoor three weeks.

The mood of the meetingclearly showed that the Nelson’sregulars are behind Steve andwill do what they can to securethe pub’s future.

A Fair Deal? They and Stevedeserve nothing less. The closureof The Nelson would indeed be asad loss to he community.

Mike Baldwin

STOP PRESS:Enterprise have sinceconfirmed that they havemade Steve an offer andthat they have no plans toclose the pub.

Nelson Prepares for Battle!Norwich & Norfolk BranchChairman: Graham FreemanTel: 01603 687495Email: [email protected]: Warren WordsworthTel: 01603 665557Email: [email protected] Secretary: Tim MacDonaldTel. 01603 865505Email: [email protected] Officer: Mark StimpsonEmail: [email protected] Norfolk BranchChairman: Phil BuffhamSecretary: Ian BaileyContact: Bruce WardTel: 01485 609107 Branch websites:www.norwichcamra.org.ukwww.camra.org.uk/wnorfolk

Branch mailing list web page:groups.yahoo.com/group/CAMRA_Norwich

Published every 3 monthsby the Norwich, Norfolk & WestNorfolk branches of the Campaignfor Real Ale © N&N CAMRA 2009Norfolk Nips is produced anddistributed by members of thebranch in their own time.

Edited by:Mike BaldwinEmail: [email protected]

Chris LucasEmail: [email protected]

Views expressed in NorfolkNips are not necessarily thoseof the editor or of CAMRA

Design & Production:Daniel Speed - Tamoko DesignEmail: [email protected]

Distribution:Norwich and Norfolk District: Tony Miles [email protected] Norfolk District : Ros Harre [email protected]

Advertising:For advertising enquiries pleasecontact Chris Shilling on:Tel: 01778 421 550Mobile: 07736 635916Email: [email protected]

Steve WhadcockTel:01778 420888 / 421550Mobile: 07736 [email protected]

AUTUMN 2010 | 3

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Just 15 minutes walk

from City Centre

CAMRA Good BeerGuide Listed

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OpenMonday to Saturday12noon to 11pm

Sundays12noon to 10.30pm

14 REAL ALES GRAVITY SERVEDavailable all year round fromour glass fronted tap room

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Come and enjoy our Tap Room witha selection of Belgian bottled beers,Schneider Weiss, Erdinger, Dunkel

and Riegele all on Draught.

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Are you like me, still waiting for theSummer to start? Wanting to goout into the sunshine to visit a pubor beer festival and sitting outsidewith a beer or cider in your hand.Well where has it gone? The Pubsand Beer Festivals are still there butwe now seem to be losing oursummertime and it'll soon beAutumn. They say we have globalwarming but beers with summersounding names will be a thing ofthe past unless we get more sun.How can I exist without SummerLightning?

In the interests of research I’verecently visited numerous pubs andbeer festivals and it’s been good tosee that there is still a demand for

Real Ale & Ciders. How can wekeep the momentum going? Wellone way is to come and join us atthe 33rd Norwich Beer Festival inSt Andrews & Blackfriars Halls from25th to 30th October. This is agreat opportunity to try new beersand ciders and not forgetting someold favourites. Please consider volun-teering and see how enjoyable it isto work behind the scenes and meetnew friends.

I was encouraged in the last fewweeks by the media interest in ourCampaigning Strategies. Ourthanks go to Mike Spivey, PubsPreservation Officer and MarkStimpson, Pubs Officer who havemade it clear that our Branch is

quite prepared to oppose Pubclosures and the ruthless actions ofcertain Pubcos. The idea of refusingan offer from the Trade to reopen aPub and then accepting a loweroffer from a builder so they can pullit down for houses is abhorrent. Pleasekeep the information coming in as itall helps when we object to the Plan-ning Applications.

And to those people whothought my previous Nipscomments about England winningthe World Cup was due to mebeing a saturated receptor. Wellyou were correct.

CheersGraham Freeman

Chairman Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA

NORFOLK NIPS | Chairman’s Letters

Summertime Blues

AUTUMN 2010 | 5

Whilst getting wet inside at severalBeer Festivals, I got wet movingfrom Pub to Pub at times.

Flitcham Social Club had theirmini Beer Festival which I visited onthe Friday. 10 Ales from aroundNorfolk, and a quiz night to gowith it. Very Pleasant and sociable.

Saturday took me to King’s Lynnand the Crown & Mitre,29 Ales onall at £2.50 a Pint ,nice view up theRiver from the conservatory,barbecue on the Saturday and ahog roast on the Sunday. Unfortu-nately the weather was awful with itpouring down all night Saturday anda Gale force wind on the Sunday.

Having been to the Angel atLarling to present Andrew withWest Norfolk branch pub of theYear Award, I was delighted toreturn to present him with theNorfolk CAMRA P.O.T Y. Award.

On the first night of the AngelBeer Festival there were 66 Ales and

4 Ciders. A wonderful beer selectionat West Norfolk’s biggest Festival.

The Fox &Hounds at Heachamhad the biggest of his 3 Festivals inJuly with 30 Ales in the back barand 6 in the pub. Some goodnorthern Ales among them.

August and I am struggling to fiteverything in so my friend gave areport on the Dabbling Duck atMassingham which had a goodselection of 20 Ales all at £2.50 a pint. I failed to make the StuartHouse but I understand 40 Real Aleswere soon consumed and by theSaturday night they were runningout. A Good Festival for them.

Into Norwich Area and a visit toLongham White Horse proved tobe worth the trip, a nice selectionof 20 Ales, all at £2.60 a Pint, goodmusic and company, looking forwardto my hat-trick there next year.

I have just come back from a visitto the Victoria at Hockering nowunder the wing of Pete & Avrilfrom the Angel at Swanton Morley,another good night, 16 Ales, 2Ciders and a Barbecue.

Since the last edition of Nips wehave completed 2 Pub crawls, thefirst round Kings Lynn (a day onthe town) which covered 8different watering holes, andsecondly at trip to Ely, with thanksto Tim, which was a very enjoyableday, and the sun shone on us.

With all these events going onplus Branch Meetings (including avery good night at Whin Hill Ciderplus charity barbecue. With thanks tothe lads and Fred.) Its been difficultto fit much else in, but we did justmanage to squeeze a Brewery trip inand visited Elgood’s brewery onTuesday 17th of August. Thanks aredue to Andrea for sorting that one out.

BuffChairman Of West Norfolk CAMRA

Wet, Inside and Out!

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The summer is drawing to aclose; winter waits in ambushbehind a vale of autumn leaves.

Went the summer well?This is something on whicheveryone will have a personalview but mine is the only one Iam really sure of.

I would say from a beer enthu-siast’s perspective it was mostlyvery good, at least on thesurface, many superb beerfestivals have passed success-fully with our local eventsbeing amongst the best of the

year, I won’t go into detail asthere are plenty of reportscontained in this issue.

The Angel Larling put on itsusual triumph with Andrewgetting the Norfolk CAMRAPub of the Year certificate tojoin his West Norfolk one.A number of branch eventshave been popular and wellattended, with a greatbarbecue at Whin Hill Cider inaid of the East Anglian AirAmbulance.

Chairman Buff seems to betrying to support the EastAnglian pub trade singlehanded as you will read.

The GBBF was most enjoyablewith many young beer enthusi-asts in attendance who willhopefully contribute toCAMRA’s future some of thecostumes were superb, greatfun all round.

However, as might be gatheredfrom my opening I’m a bit of aglass half empty man myself

6 | AUTUMN 2010

The Words of Stig

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AUTUMN 2010 | 7

and can’t help thinking that weare all fiddling while Romeburns.

Pubs are closing at alarmingrate despite CAMRA’s valiantefforts, the number of localpubs in my area has halved inthe last twelve months.When asked recently where togo locally for a good pint I hadto think hard to find anythingwithin ten miles to recommend.Just recently I’ve noticed atrend when pubs are criticisedby their customers, threats oflegal action tend to be bandiedabout, perhaps the thing to do

would be for them to use thefeedback positively andimprove performance in theareas mentioned.After all large customer servicebased businesses spendmillions to get this type ofinformation.

Isn’t it better to hear whatcustomers thought was wrongrather than never see themagain?

After Christmas the VATincrease raises the spectre of£3-50 a pint. It is going to takea really good atmosphere in

your local to combat that!All this gloom is verydepressing, so do what I do, goto the pub with your matesand have a really good laughand who knows the pub maywell prosper and survive theonslaught of doom unscathed.

Maybe that glass is half fullafter all……

Barman, top it up please!

Welcome to the autumnedition. Ah, autumn, accordingto John Keats - the “season ofmists and mellow fruitfulness”–according to CAMRA members,The Norwich Beer Festival.

We are now printing anddistributing 12,000 copies ofthis newsletter, which makes usthe second largest in the UK,and it’s still free!

From this issue, the musicpages are being extended toinclude all types of music, notjust jazz and folk and listingsfor future issues would be verymuch welcomed.

Norfolk is a beautiful county,but it is easy to take things for

granted. Do we truly appre-ciate what is on our owndoorstep? The views of holidaymakers make interestingreading and on page 27 CliveTaylor, Social Secretary for theKingston and Leatherheadgives an account of his twoweeks in and aroundHunstanton. It also raises theinteresting question, “Is this aPub or a Restaurant?” What’sthe difference? Some wouldsay 50p per pint. My own viewis to ask which is longer, thebeer list or the menu.

Also, Warren and Graham givean account of their visit to theKeighley and Worth ValleyRailway and report on theirnovel solution to serving realale on the trains (How come I didn’t get an invite?).

As always, many thanks to allour Contributors, withoutwhom this publication wouldnot exist, and the Distributorswithout whom nobody wouldbe able to read it!

The next issue will be edited bythe Cask Force Team, as we willbe recovering from the BeerFestival. Good luck, Chris.

And finally, if you spot me atthe Beer Festival, please tell mewhat you like or don’t likeabout Norfolk NIPS, feedback isalways appreciated.

Cheers!

Mike BaldwinEditor – Norwich & Norfolk

Branch

The Ed’lines

NORFOLK NIPS | Words from the Editors

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8 | AUTUMN 2010

Ramblings from the Snug

It's a sad day when a pubcloses for business, it's evensadder when a pub is demol-ished or redeveloped forhousing.Unfortunately thisseems to becoming a regularevent in Norwich.

I recently sat in on one ofNorwich City Council's plan-ning meetings where the fateof a pub was being decided.While there was some supportamong the councilers to retainthe community pub and a 500name petition from the localcommunity to save the pub,the council saw fit to approvethe application to demolish itand build housing on the site.Councilors commented on it'sdeclining business and theirattitude was that the commu-nity should “Use it or Lose it”.

The pub in question was theCanary. Ok not a great pub Ihear you say. I'm sure thatgiven the right landlord andfree from it's tie with Enterpriseit could have been a good puband an asset to the localcommunity.

So its days are numbered and acommunity asset will be lostforever. A final token gesturefrom the Council was that anynew road build as a result ofthe development should benamed after the pub. Soexpect to see Canary Way orCanary Chase appearing on themap.

Already this year both theWoodside and James 1 havebeen demolished. The James 1was demolished even before aplanning application to convertit to housing was approved.

Other pubs currently underthreat are the Rosary andSpread Eagle on Sussex Street.Both have had planning appli-cations for change of use tohousing. The future of theMagpie is also uncertain. Earlierin the year it was purchased byan anonomous bidder atauction. Since then, apart fromrailings being erected along thefront there hasn't been anydevelopment.

Norwich City Council has a listof historic public houses thatare safeguarded under [City ofNorwich Replacement LocalPlan] Policy SHO21. Unfortu-nately the Canary wasn’ t onthe list but the Rosary is.

For those that don't know,policy SHO21 seeks to protecthistoric pubs whereverpossible. However it appears tohave very little power to stopdevelopers applying for achange of use.

For a change of use to beconsidered acceptable, all anapplicant would be required todo is demonstrate that a pub isno longer a viable business,there has been unsuccessfulattempts to attract additionalbusiness or unsuccessfulattempts to attract a buyer to

keep the pub as a licensedpremises.

On a brighter note, the FerryBoat on King Street looks like itwill be turned in to a back-packers hotel. I have spoken tothe new owners who are keento keep a real ale bar within thebuilding. While a session pubdosn't appear to be viableoption, it is good that real alemay sold once again at theFerry Boat.

Changing the subjectcompletely, once again theLocAle scheme will bepromoted during the tradesession at this years NorwichBeer Festival. Any publicanwanting more information orwould like to sign up to thescheme please feel free tocome and have a chat at thefestival.

And finally, don't forget to sendme your nominations for the2012 CAMRA National GoodBeer Guide. Nominations can be submittedby email [email protected] by post to Mark Stimpson(Pubs Officer), 8 Pond Road,Horsford, Norwich NR10 3SW.

I look forward to hearing fromyou.

Mark Stimpson

Pub News | NORFOLK NIPS

Pub News

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News from the West

Many years ago I made thebig mistake of listening to analbum by the obscure northManchester band called theFall. I don’t recommend this.There is a 99% chance you willabsolutely hate it and thereforehave wasted an hour, or thatyou will become obsessed bythem to the exclusion of allother music. I am in the lattercategory and it may explainwhy, in the summer, as thewhole world made trackstowards Kings Lynn for the freemusic festival in the Tuesdaymarket place, we headed outof town.

First stop was the Victory atClenchwarton. Only CambridgeBitter on offer, but it was ongood form and the pub waslooking in good shape withspecial food evenings. It was a bit early to eat so wewent on to Terrington StClement to try the Wildfowler,the pub where I made mycompetitive dominoes debutabout 30 years ago but haverarely visited since. GreeneKing IPA and Abbot were onoffer, but despite it beingbefore 8pm and there being agood looking food menu ondisplay there were no meals.The landlady explained thateveryone had eaten early andgone off to Lynn to see Lemar.They are clearly in the 99%.Not to be beaten we set off forthe Coach and Horses buttook a wrong turn on the Fenand ended up heading back toLynn. Hungry by now westopped at the Freebridge

Farm and had a reasonablepriced meal along with achoice of Adnams and Wherry.Its a busy formula pub muchthe same as many of the road-side establishments next tobudget hotels, but with foodand real ale on offer, you coulddo a lot worse.

The week before, the carneeded some minor repairs upby the coast so we took advan-tage of the hot weather for anearly evening wander aroundHunstanton. First stop was theWaterfront Bar (formerlythe Three in One), which hadexpensive Adnams and a superview out over the sea. After avery pleasant stroll around wehad fish and chips in the OldMarine bar, run, I think, bythe same company. Moreexpensive Adnams, but reason-able food and friendly locals,though I dare say some had, inthe words of Benjamin Franklin,‘seen the French king’. We caught the bus back toLynn and alighted by the Woolpack. Seduced by thesign offering ‘traditional ales’we popped in, only to find theIPA was off because ‘theweather was too hot’.

It is usually about this stage inmy round up that I bemoanthe fact that the New Inn inLynn is still closed, but by thetime you read this, it should beopen again. It is in the samegroup as the Deer’s Leap inThetford and may well changeits name. Up in Stanhoe, theCrown is under new ownershipand is called the Duck Inn. I haven’t been in yet, but it is

looking good from the outsideand should be worth a visit.

On our travels we havenoticed that the Sportsmanat West Winch is still closed,although there was a viewingday for interested parties inJune. Also closed is theCompasses in Snettisham. If you don’t know about thereason for this, try googling itfor all the lurid details. Betternews for the residents ofShouldham where we hear thatthe Kings Arms is again openafter a long closure. Also openagain is the ‘South GatesBar’, in Lynn, formerly O’Toolsand before that the Prince ofWales. It was looking very bluewhen we came past and hadbouncers on the door. I feltthat they were probably notplaying music by the Fall andcarried on past.

Over at Grimston the Bellseems to be open on a regularbasis. The landlord is keen onreal ale and has had a cooledcellar fitted so that there will behand pumped beer rather thanpolypins. He is selling Wherryinitially, but there may be guestbeer in the future.

I have always associated theJenyns Arms at Denver Sluicewith discos and tepid draughtBass, but it is nearly 30 yearssince my visit, so I was verypleased to see crowds ofpeople enjoying Sunday lunchby the river and having achoice of 4 beers when I madea return trip. The beers camefrom Greene King and Adnams

NORFOLK NIPS | Pub News from the West

AUTUMN 2010 | 9

Continued Overleaf

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w al O

co W th Ju to m w be es no en ch Be st m Ad al oa

m th cl re N is lo w re go lo as

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It ag at of w w g El

THAI TAPASfrom Monday to

Thursday 5 - 6.30 pm

WinterBeer Festival

January 25th- 30th 2011

The ONLY Thai Restaurant in Norwich in THE GOOD FOOD GUIDE 2011

We are in it!We are in it!

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NORFOLK NIPS | Pub News from the West continued

AUTUMN 2010 | 11

with the addition of a guestale from the Isle of Man –Okells wheat beer.

Finally a few places I havecome across on my travels.We were down in London atthe Queen’s garden party inJune and were lucky enoughto miss the train home by twominutes. I say lucky because itwas a swelteringly hot day tobe dressed in a smart suit,especially as Her majesty doesnot have a beer tent. Theenforced delay gave uschance to pop into theBetjeman Arms on St Pancrasstation for an excellent andmuch needed pint ofAdnam’s. Its upstairs andalong near the statue – a realoasis for thirsty travellers.Regular users of the A17

may well have noticed thatthe Ship at Fosdyke Bridgeclosed recently. It is nowreopen and painted in NorthNorfolk national colours, butis really good value. It is nolonger Bateman’s – Adnamswas on sale when we called –really good value as well asgood quality. The foodlooked cheap and interestingas well.

Lightning strikes again

It happened at Adnams yearsago and now it has happenedat Elgood's. I went on a tourof the brewery and a brand Iwas not that keen on is nowwonderful. Here is my officialguide to five reasons whyElgoods is great1) The brewery is a magnifi-

cent example of a traditionaltower brewery. Although it hasbeen updated recently (helpingthe beer to be consistentlygood) much of the old equip-ment is still there to see,especially the giant open coppercooling trays.

2) Not only can you see thebrewery, but the gardens arespectacular. I think that theycompare favourably with thoseof the nearby National Trustproperty of Peckover House.The newts in the pond gavetheir name to one of their beers.(Go on – guess!)

3) It is a family owned firm.Unlike the faceless conglomer-ates such as Scottish andNewcastle, Elgood’s is now in thehands of the 5th and 6th genera-tion of the Elgoods family.

4) They sponsor football. Lastweek we went to see Ketteringplay Darlington. (It was 0-0, buta good game. Nice to see PaulFurlong still turning out andplaying well at his age. Thegame was played at the ElgoodsBrewery Arena and I believe thatthey sell cask beer in thesupporters club.

5) Black Dog Mild. I don’tknow anyone who has tried itand not loved it.

We were so impressed that weare off to their beer festival inSeptember. There you are.Elgoods has the official seal ofapproval from Jeff.

Further News

Work is currently going on atthe Compasses in Snettisham.The Duck Inn in Stanhoe hasbeen painted in North Norfolkcolours and much extended. Itis selling interesting lookingfood and the full range ofElgood’s beers on gravity from aglass-fronted cellar. There is alarge glass topped table with adisplay of flint tools, which iswell worth a look. Nearby is theLynn Arms at Syderstone,which has been refurbished witha nice outdoor drinking areasince our last visit. It now sellscask beers from Greene King.There were three on offer whenwe called, but over the Augustbank holiday weekend therewas a beer festival, whichfeatured the full, range ofGreene King beers and nothingelse. Over in Great Massingham, theBeeston beer ‘Worth the Wait’was as good as ever when wewent to arrange our Novemberbranch meeting. They also hada White Horse beer called‘Village Idiot’. This is thebitterest beer I have ever tasted,even more so than the classicJoseph Holt’s bitter of the 80’s. I love it.In Lynn one of the few

surviving North End pubs, theRetreat has been taken over byBrendan Flynn and VictorWatling from Essex. Look outfor regular gigs in support ofdifferent charities.Down in Swaffham, the KingsArms is closed and the WhiteHart is looking a bit sad and isup to let. This is a town cryingour for a good real ale pub.

011

in it!

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12 | AUTUMN 2010

Bull Close Road, Norwich

01603 623505

Batemans Beers and Guest Ales Very much a real local pub

Cribbage, Darts and Pool Teams. Patio Garden with smoking area.

Live music every Saturday • Real Fire • Great atmosphereAlways a warm welcome from Sue and Steve

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Earle ArmsHeydon

Traditional Norfolkfreehouse and restaurant

3 Real Ales always available

Woodfordes Wherry, AdnamsBitter and Black Sheep

01263 587376Satnav: NR11 6AD(Just off B1149 Holt -

Norwich Rd)

FOUR REAL ALESLive Music, Friday & SaturdayLarge garden overlooking the

River Wensum

OPENMon - Thurs 12-11

Fri & Sat 12-12 • Sunday 12-11

The Gatehouse Pub 391 Dereham Road, Norwich NR5 8QJ

01603 620340

The Lobster& Stables Restaurant

10 Real Ales • Fine Wines • Childrens MenuBaby Changing • Disabled Facilities

Large Beer Gardens • Dogs are welcome

13 High Street, Sheringham, Norfolk, NR26 8JPTel: 01263 822716 www.the-lobster.com

OPENING HOURSMonday to Thursday 10am to 11pmFriday to Saturday 10am to 1.30am

Sunday 12 noon to 12pm

BEER FESTIVALS ON BANK HOLIDAYS

FRESH FOOD

SERVED DAILY

Vegetarian and Vegan

options available

AUTUMN 2010 | 13

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The King’s HeadOpen 12.00noon - 11.00pm Monday to Saturday

12.00noon - 10.30pm Sunday

Run by enthusiastic drinkers and CAMRA members.

Keg Free Zone 14 Hand PumpsNorfolk Ales and CiderMild always availableWorldwide Bottled BeersBelgian BeersTelevision-freeBar Billiardswww.norwichbarbilliards.co.uk

KEG FREE HOUSE

The Kings Head, 42 Magdalen Street, Norwich NR3 1JEwww.kingsheadnorwich.com

Dating from the 14th century, the pub has

been restored to a Victorian style.

CAMRA Norfolk

Pub of the Year

2006 & 2008

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NORFOLK NIPS | West Norfolk POTY

AUTUMN 2010 | 15

Hill House, HappisburghSome pubs have bus stops named after them,some have areas of towns and cities taking theirname but Norfolk has to go one better and havea pub giving its name to a time frame, locationand occupation level some 80,000 years BP.

Now on the beach, the site, discovered in2000, was once on the banks of an early versionof the Thames; it is too old for radiocarbondating but is in the range 0.75 & 1 million yearsand may have been the location of Homo ante-cessor activity. It is now known as the Hill HouseFormation after the pub some 200m from the site.

Fakenham Sports Centre

Fakenham Sports Centre calls itself “Fakenham’shidden treasure” and it certainly is, as I foundout when I visited. Although the address isHempton Road, you turn off after The WensumLodge and head towards the Racecourse. TheSports Centre is on the left just before the Race-course entrance. If you are walking, take thedelightful path beside the river.

The Centre offers Golf, Indoor Bowls, Squash,Racketball and Tennis,but Social membershipsare available for the less sporty minded.

Food is available from an excellent menu andthey also do bar snacks. Two real ales are alwayson tap, Woodfordes Wherry and Davenports TheStory Teller were both in excellent condition onmy visit.

The Chequers, HainfordLarge, pretty thatched country pub with a wellkept garden. Inside is mostly given over to food,including on a Sunday evening when all indoortables were taken. However, there were a few atthe bar not eating. The staff were good as wasthe beer choice, on our visit - Wherry, BroadsidePedigree and Crouch Vale's Brewers Gold. Foodgood too.

White Horse, East RuntonBusy by early evening with holiday makers andpeople eating, busy later on with peopleenjoying the live music and karaoke. There is anoutdoor seating area too and a wide range ofpub grub. Beers were good and includedAdnams, Morlands Original and one or twoothers. Has the Cask Marque.

Marlingford BellCountry pub where the one bar is adorned withclassic album covers. The three handpumps hadWoodfordes Wherry and Revenge, and BeestonWorth the Wait, all at £3 mark. Outside was apleasant seating area where our summery visitwas enhanced by quixotic folk dance frolics.

Pub Post-itsAs always, remember that these post-its are subjective and reflect the personal experience ofour correspondents. Please feel free to email your post-its in to [email protected] - andif you really like the pub, why not nominate it for next year’s CAMRA Good Beer Guide?

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Norwich and NorthNorfolk Branch

Tuesday 21st SeptemberBranch Meeting – HumptyDumpty Brewery, Reedham,NR13 3TZ20.00 –22.00

Friday 24th SeptemberCampaign Coach Trip Visitingseveral pubs in Norfolk

Thursday 30th September5th Beer Festival PlanningMeeting - The White Lion, OakStreet, Norwich 20.00 –22.00

Friday 1st OctoberFirst Friday Five - Visiting fivepubs in Norwich, starting atThe Gibraltar Gardens at 8pm.Then The Nelson, The Breadand Cheese, The Perseveranceand finally, The Fat Cat.

Sunday 17th OctoberFinal Beer Festival PlanningMeeting The White Lion, OakStreet, Norwich 19.30 – 21.30

Friday 22nd OctoberPre-Beer Festival Staff GetTogether - The Cottage, SilverRoad, NorwichFor anyone intending to

volunteer their time working atthe 33rd Norwich Beer Festival.Come and meet the Key Staff

and other volunteers.

Saturday 23rd OctoberThe Beer Store - Loading ofvehicles at The Beer Store and

transfer of equipment to theHalls 09.00 – 13.00

Sunday 24th OctoberSt Andrews and Blackfriars HallsSet up of stillages, casks andother facilities 09.00 – 17.00

Monday 25th OctoberThe 33rd Norwich Beer Festivalopens: First session 17.30 -23.00 - St Andrews and Blackfriars Halls

Saturday 30th OctoberThe 33rd Norwich Beer Festivalcloses. Last session 18.00 – 23.00

Sunday 31st OctoberSt Andrews and Blackfriars Halls09.00 – 14.00: Help is neededto dismantle and clear equip-ment from the halls

Friday 5th NovemberFirst Friday FiveVisiting five pubs close to theCity centre. Venues TBA

Friday 12th November Beer Festival Volunteers StaffParty at the Scout Hut,Rowington Road, Norwich

Tuesday 16th NovemberBranch MeetingThe Bannigham Crown

Friday 3rd DecemberFirst Friday Five - Venues TBA

You do not have to be amember to attend any of theseevents, but if you do and youenjoy it, you are more thanwelcome to join. Just come along!

However, for coach trips,please contact Tim McDonaldto book your seat on the coachand let us know where youwant to be picked up.Pick up points: 6.47pm junc-

tion of Southwell Road/GroveRoad, 6.55pm junction of OldPalace Road/ West End Street,7.10pm Heartsease Round-about (Harvey Lane side)7.15pm Railway Station(Thorpe Road Bus Stops).For more details and updates,

please check the full calendaron www.norwichcamra.org.ukNEW – Updates on the First

Friday Fives can also be foundat Firstfridayfives.blogspot.com

West Norfolk Branch

Tuesday 14th SeptemberAngel, Larling. 8pm

Tuesday 12th October AGM, Red Cat, North Wootton

Friday 9th November Branch Meeting - DabblingDuck, Great Massingham, 8pm

NORFOLK NIPS | Norfolk CAMRA Branch Calendar

CAMRA Calendar

AUTUMN 2010 | 17

Got a short pint? If you believe that you have beentreated unfairly in a pub, club orbar, you should contact theTrading Standards service bywriting to them at Norfolk TradingStandards Service, County Hall,Martineau Lane, Norwich, NR12UD or faxing them on 01603222999.

A wide range of consumer infor-mation and advice is also availableonline from the Consumer Directwebsite atwww.consumerdirect.gov.uk

NN#154:Layout 1 14/09/2010 11:15 Page 17

18 | AUTUMN 2010

Norfolk’s True Heritage Pubs 7 | NORFOLK NIPS

Three Horseshoes, Warham

This series of articles highlight the pubs whose interiors have been little altered in the past 40 yearsor so. This issue features firstly a pub that is very instructive in the way it has grown over time andexpanded into adjacent buildings; and secondly one of the most unusual pub buildings in Norfolk.

The Three Horseshoes,Warham All Saints is a nine-teenth-century building withthree rooms but prior to theearly 1960s the pub onlyconsisted of the current publicbar and a snug, which is nowthe servery. If you look behindthe bar you will see a fireplaceas this was a public room witha nickname of 'The Sentry

Box' in view of its size.The cupboards

within the

servery area are genuinely old,but the shelving was added inthe mid 1980s. The smallhatch/counter was created inthe 1960s when a hole was cutin the wall between the barand the snug. On the stub ofa partition note the number '2'and also the number '3' overthe door to the original cellar –a requirement of licensing

magistrates in the past. Thepublic bar is barely altered inmany years with its Norfolkpamment floor, dado panellingand scrubbed benches. Lookfor the rare metal grilles in thewindows with the name of theformer Norwich brewers,Steward & Patteson, and oneof the few remaining NorfolkTwister pub games on theceiling. On the left of thepublic bar is a room created inthe mid 1960s when the arch(visible outside and in theroom itself) was filled in – notethe old photograph on the

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wall. To the left was originally ageneral store which closedmany years ago. The slidingdoor situated between thepresent third room and thepassage to the toilets wasmoved here from the snug.Although they are bothcreations, the second and thirdrooms do look authentic beingcrammed with various items ofmemorabilia including breweryand distillers' posters, an oldjuke box and one-armedbandits, farming implementsetc. - even the two doors with'Billiards' and 'Room' etchedglass panels on them havebeen imported.

Three Horseshoes, BridgeStreet, Warham All SaintsNR23 1NL is open from 12

noon to 2.30; and 6pm to11pm . Meals are served from12 noon to 1.45; and 6pm to8pm. Accommodation is avail-able in the Old Post Office,now part of the property -

there are 3 Double Rooms (1En-suite) and 2 Single Rooms.The real ales on sale are Wood-fordes Wherry, usually GreeneKing IPA and a guest beer.Phone 01328 710547.

NORFOLK NIPS |

AUTUMN 2010 | 19

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The original public bar of the Three Horseshoes, Warham All Saints

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Never Turn Back, CaisterThe Never Turn Back, Caister isa remarkable Art Deco-stylebeach-front extravaganza builtby Lacons of Yarmouth in1957. It replaced the ManorHouse Hotel built in 1793which, due to coastal erosion,fell to the beach in ruins in1941. The main entrance is in asquare two-storey toweradorned with curious panelsinlaid with abstract patterns offlint, brick and stone. To oneside is a tall, slim, oval turretwith the Lacons falcon perchedon top. The single storey flatroof bars are to the right andleft, each with a verandasupported by brick pillars. Thecounter in the public bar onthe left is especially fine with abrick and pebble inlay.

However, in the lounge bothbar counter front and panellingon the walls are new (havingreplaced green plastic panels!),and the fixed seating in bothbars has also been replaced.Rolling shutters separated therear section of the right hand

bar until they were removed in2007 to make the room largerfor its music events; somethingsimilar was carried out tocreate the rear darts area in thepublic bar . Note the two small

Continued Overleaf

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shutters covering hatches tothe servery. The lobby retains itsoriginal slatted benches whichare used by children to sit andeat crisps while their parentsdrank in the bar! The gents’toilets retain their three originalbig urinals. The pub nameremembers the Caister Lifeboatdisaster of 1901, which, it is

said, was because “Caister MenNever Turn Back”.

The Never Turn Back,Manor Road, Caister NR305HG is open from 12 noon to11pm (12 midnight Fri, Sat).Meals are served from 5 to9pm (not Mon) and Sundaylunches from 12 to 5. Livemusic (2-3 piece bands) 5pmto 7pm Sundays. Phonenumber of licensee Tim Gongois 07731 145534. Unfortu-nately, no real ale is on sale.Hopefully, for 2011 seasoncamping and caravanning sitewill be available.

NORFOLK NIPS | Heritage Pubs continued

AUTUMN 2010 | 21

If you require photographs ofyour pub interior / exterioryou can contact Mick on01733 390598 or [email protected] discuss your requirements.

Alby HorseshoesAldborough Black BoysAttleborough London TavernClippesby Muskett ArmsCromer The CottageDrayton Bob Carter Leisure CentreEarsham Queens HeadFilby The Kings HeadGorleston Dock TavernGorleston Mariners CompassGt Yarmouth MarinersGt Yarmouth Red HerringGt Yarmouth St Johns HeadHopton White HartKenninghall Red LionLyng Fox & HoundsNorth Elmham RailwayNorth Walsham Orchard GardensNorwich BeehiveNorwich Champion

Norwich Cottage (Silver Road)Norwich Gardeners/MurderersNorwich JubileeNorwich Ketts TavernNorwich Kings HeadNorwich LeopardNorwich RoseNorwich Take 5Norwich Trafford ArmsNorwich VineNorwich York TavernReedham FerryReedham Lord NelsonReedham ShipTacolneston PelicanSheringham Windham ArmsSwardeston Lakenham/Hewitt Rugby ClubWroxham Brewery TapWymondham Cross KeysWymondham Green Dragon

Update Here is a current list of all the pubs in the areawhich are part of the CAMRA LocAle scheme.New entries are in Bold.

The public bar at the Never TurnBack, Caister

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22 | AUTUMN 2010

The CottageC R OM E R

Traditional Norfolk Free House

Four Real Ales always availableincluding Woodfordes Wherry, Greene King

IPA and two ever-changing guest ales

Sandwiches always availableFunction rooms for hire

Open daily 11am-2.30pm & 5.30pm - 11pm

Bingo Friday nightsLine dancing Sunday NightsCribbage on Monday Nights

8 Louden Rd, Cromer NR27 9EF(Just 3 mins walk from the Sea)

Tel: 01603 721141 www.salhousebell.co.uk

Offering four LOCAL realales and excellent food.

17th Century timber beamed pub.

From Norwich & Acle head to Salhouseand at the mini roundabout follow the signto Wroxham, we are 200yds on the right.

Open all day every day, food is served:-12-2 & 6-9 Tuesday to Sunday

12-3 Sunday for plated home cooked Sunday luncheswith homemade Yorkshire puddings and fresh

vegetables. Booking advised if dining.

Quiz Nights every Wednesday from 8.30pm

A meat raffle is held every Sunday at 4:30pmfollwed by ‘Play Your Cards Right’ for cash!

‘Andy Russell finds plenty of appeal with a family outing toa 17th century pub’ - EDP Eating out October 2009

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Latitude is in it’s 5th year at Henham Park nearSouthwold and is now widely established asEast Anglia’s Glastonbury. The festival has 4music stages and 13 other stages, and hoststhe best in Theatre, Comedy, Literary, Comedy,Cabaret and many other arts in just one place.The Music stages have a reputation of showingoff up and coming artists and those that aremore leftfield or eclectic in taste. The festival issupposedly a “middle class” festival but reallyall festivals these days are “middle class” suchis the moderate expense.

At Latitude this year 2 very nice real ales wereavailable straight from the barrel: a very drink-able golden hoppy ale in Hektors Pure 3.7%£3.40 and a stronger slightly darker but stillhoppy Hektors Scarecrow 4.8% £3.90. Bothare made by the affable Green Jack Breweryfrom Oulton Broad near Lowestoft so the beerhas a local slant and not so many food milesinvolved. It seems that the even closerAdnams are either not interested or were notasked as they are almost a national brand thesedays and would possible demand a lot ofadvertisement in the way of sponsorship!! Thisis good as I would not want to go a festivalheavily endorsed with name brands everywhich way you turn – keep it local, tasty andhelp the smaller brewer.

Nige

Festivalsand Real Ale

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24 | AUTUMN 2010

THE ARTICHOKE FREEHOUSEat Broome

162 Yarmouth Road, Broome, BungayNR35 2NZ Tel: 01986 893325

On the 580 and 588 Anglia Bus routes

Up to 8 Real Ales (4 on gravity)3 Belgian Fruit BeersOutstanding selection of Scottishmalt & Irish Whisky

Opening Hours12pm to 11pm weekdays & Sunday12pm to 12am Friday & SaturdayClosed Mondays(Except Bank Holidays)

Lunchtime Meals12pm to 2.30pm weekdays12pm to 4pm Sundays

Evening Meals6.30pm to 9pm Tuesday to Saturday(Booking is advisable)

Beer garden and ample parkingNORFOLK CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2009

The Real Ale ShopBranthill Farm, Wells-next-the-Sea,NORFOLK NR23 1SB

ON THE B1105 FAKENHAM- WELLS RD

Over 50bottle conditioned realales from 15 Norfolkbrewers who all use

Branthill Farms famous malted barley.

TEL: 01328 710810www.therealaleshop.co.uk

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Sunday 6th June was our pub crawl round King’sLynn. The sun was shining; Bruce and I caughtthe 10:30 bus to Lynn, giving us time for break-fast at 11:15 in The Lattice House. Washeddown with a pint before meeting the others at12:00, obviously to be sociable we then had tohave another pint with them. At £1.99 a pintand a choice of 10 ales we were off to a goodstart.

Next it was round to the Crown and Mitrewhere the previous weekend Roger had a beerfestival with 29 ales on, some beer was left fromthis and six pumps were on at £2 a pint, we allenjoyed our ale on the Balcony Conservatory orout on the decking in the sun so much so thatwe stayed for another. Then it was off to theGlobe next door. Here I had a pint of mildwhich was very cold, and the general opinionwas that all their real ales were too cold. If thishadn’t put a dampener on things it did whenwe stepped out into the rain. The idea of just at-shirt now didn’t seem to me to be such a goodone. So at a fairly rapid pace we headed for theBank House where we had ½ pt Adnams bitter.

Before quickly moving on up the quay toBradley’s where we had a half of Broadsidebefore they ran out of Beer. Next stop was theCrossways for a pint of Abbot; the pub wasfairly busy then across London road to Windsorroad and the Live and Let Live. Here I ran intoseveral people I knew with three ales on at£2.20 a Pint. I had a pint from Brains Brewerybefore deciding to stay for a pint of Black DogMild. Whilst some of our company left us andsome moved on to the Bar Red. Having had avery sociable 2 pints in the Livvy. I headed upLondon road into the Chip Shop, scampi andchips were soon dispatched to join the beerunder the porch of the town police station as itwas still raining. Then on to Bar Red, meeting upwith Heidi the manager from the Lattice. I had apint of Directors not one of my favorite Beers.Then back to the Lattice to meet up with some

what inebriated Bruce who enquired as to whereI’d been, or words to that effect.

Having seen Bruce struggling to ring his Wifeto come and pick us up my entertainment forthe day was complete. When she arrived andcalled to inform us, Bruce took five attempts toanswer the phone and when we got in the car Iwondered whether his furry friend on the backseat or him were going to be in the dog housefor the night. A good day on the Town, with agood choice of well priced ales. Our apologies ifwe missed your pub out. And if anyone wouldlike their pub added to the list for next yearplease let us know.

BUFF

NORFOLK NIPS | King’s Lynn Crawl

A Day On The Town

AUTUMN 2010 | 25

REAL ALE SHOP BLOFIELDVisit the shop at

Blofield Camping and Leisure Centre,

58 Yarmouth Road, Blofield, Norfolk, NR13 4LQ

Stocking a selection of local RealAles, Wines and Ciders

Tel: 01493 751975email: [email protected]

www.norfolksquarebrewery.co.uk

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My name is Clive Taylor, social secfor Kingston & Leatherhead area.Just last week I returned from acouple of weeks holiday staying atHunstanton, and needless to say Imanaged to visit a few pubs inyour area.

Sat 10th July 10 ; Arrived atKings Lynn on the train, picked upour hire car and headed outtowards Hunstanton. My wife doesthe driving, while I do the navi-gating, and the drinking. Since weweren’t allowed into our flat untiltwo thirty I picked out a suitablestopping off watering hole to kickoff the holiday. The village of Dersingham seemed quite good,just off the main road and with twoGood Beer Guide pubs as well. Thefirst one we came to was theFeathers so this would do, an oldhotel made of the local carr stone, asI was later to find out what it is called.

We went along an old corridorwith several doors off it, one to aside bar but no one was in it so wecarried on to the end to find themain bar that also led out to thegarden. The bar was all suitably inkeeping with brown carpet, highwood wall panelling, stone fire-places and upholstered benchesaround the walls. Unfortunately atthe bar the beer range was a littledisappointing, ie Bass, OSH andAdnams, I went for the Adnamswhich was only fair in quality.

We carried on our journey to findour flat in Hunstanton, settled inand then I took myself out to havea look around. A walk along thevery busy front and back where Ifound Hunstantons Good BeerGuide pub, or to be more precise,hotel, or going back in time the

station hotel as the railway stationwas right opposite, but now it’scalled the Wash And Tope. It’s atypical seaside bar, quite long andcomfortable, but with only onebeer on pump, which was Elgood’sGolden Newt, a bit more of a resultbut it was only fair also. A bit disap-pointing for a Good Beer Guide.pub.

Sun 11th Not to far away wasopen gardens day at Holme NextThe Sea, so more for my wife’sbenefit we visited some of them,but rather conveniently the WhiteHorse was close by, even thoughthere was tea being served in thechurch hall. The White Horse laysside on to the village road, whitewith red tiles. All very nice insidewith low ceilings, old style but witha slightly modern feel about it, butat the bar just two beers on,Adnams and OSH. I tried theAdnams and it wasn’t bad at all at£3.10.

On The way back we went viaRingstead and the Gin Trap Inn,another white fronted pub with redtiles set back from the road. All veryold inside with low beams and redtiled floors, and at the bar threebeers - Adnams, Spitfire andWherry. I had a pint of the Wherrywhich was just fair as we satoutside in front of the pub.The following weekend we cameback here to have a meal, it wasn’tcheap so when I spoke to the ‘land-lord’ about the pricing and some ofthe portions, and mentioning thequote about ‘pubs that think them-selves restaurants’, it seems that Iwas wrong in thinking this was a pub,I was informed it was in fact arestaurant!This evening we drove the other

way to Heacham and called at theFox And Hounds, initially to have ameal but on first observations itdidn’t seem a suitable pub foreating so I just had a pint of one oftheir own brews, the brewery is justoutside. Not having come acrossFox beers before I thought I’d gofor the best bitter and I wasn’tdisappointed, the best pint so far, itwas good. To be fair to the pub,before I left I discovered a separateeating area to the rear and itlooked quite pleasant, so thefollowing weekend we did comeback and have a good meal thatdidn’t break the bank, and somemore of the Fox beers.

We carried on a little bit furtherto the West Norfolk Inn, a seem-ingly decent locals pub doing fourbeers, GK IPA, Hobgoblin, OSH andCWB. I didn’t have a beer as wehad a meal, but it had the feel of awell run pub with its Pullman stylebar and various other railway arte-facts about, quite suitably as theold railway station used to be justoutside many years ago.

Mon 12th Went to Sandringhamso on the way we drove throughSnettisham calling at the Rose AndCrown for a midday drink. Aregional inventory pub and GoodBeer Guide entry, all very old withits large inglenook fireplaces, redtiled floors, but rather unfortu-nately most of the woodwork hadbeen painted a light gastro green.Seems a rather prevalent thing inthis area to paint the woodwork Inoticed. At the bar was Wherry,Adnams Bitter and Broadside andone from Purity which I went for.Rather disappointing, I didn’t thinkit had been pulled through.

NORFOLK NIPS |Hunstanton and Beyond

What I did on my HolidaysPart one by Clive Taylor

Continued Overleaf

AUTUMN 2010 | 27

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28 | AUTUMN 2010

The following week we called hereagain as it was a good old pub, butI’m afraid I was let done again, thistime there was Everards GoldenZest. Not so much golden butalmost transparent, very thintasting and not particularly good,so we had to adjourn to the FoxAnd Hounds.

After our damp afternoon atSandringham we stopped of at theCoach And Horses at Dersingham,a more basic locals pub butseemed run well enough. Threebeers were available, GK Back OfThe Net, Caledonian Nectar andWherry, having drunk the first tworecently in my own area I went forthe Wherry (£2.95) and it wasgood, so worth the stop.

That evening I started discoveringHunstanton, ‘might not take toolong’ you may think, but all thesame I ventured up to the GoldenLion Hotel. As my wife pointed outthe statue of a lion on the front ofthe pub actually looked more silver,but I’ve yet to hear of a Silver Lionpub. It’s a large stone buildingoverlooking the green so it looksquite impressive. Inside there is asimple modern bar with a moretraditional wood panelled room tothe rear. On my first visit I only sawGK IPA on so no choice, but afterordering I noticed a note pinned tothe bar advertising Brains SA, ohtoo late! Seems they didn’t have apump clip for it. But over my twoweeks I did come back here severaltimes and the beer was good, eventhough at £3.25 for the Brains. Theguest beer did change severaltimes and each time it was good.

Moving up around the corner Ifound the Old Marine Hotel with alower bar, just one area but allrather cosy and comfortable.Always just the one beer on andthat being Adnams (£3.10), buthaving said that it was always goodand I did return several times.

Tues 13th Today we travelled on

down to Narborough to visit thehall there, on the way we called atGayton and visited the Crown. Agood old two bar pub owned byGreene King, with as one wouldexpect serving GK IPA, OSH, BackOf The Net and fortunately alsotheir mild which I partook of and itwas good. A very nice old pub,popular and well run.

Later on that afternoon we got toCastle Acre, and after having a walkaround the ruins of the castle wewent in to the Ostrich, anotherGreene King pub. Also quiteunspoiled and traditional with awood floor, inglenook fireplacesand old style gold pattern wall-paper. There was the usual GKrange except this time the StEdmunds (£3) was on, and since Ihadn’t really tried this one I went forit and it was actually quite refreshing.

Leaving the Ostrich we headedback north and to break up thejourney we stopped off at GreatBircham and the Kings Head, I hadread the description so was notcompletely taken aback to find thistotally modernised bar, which wasdoing GK IPA and Wherry.

That evening I ventured the walkover to Old Hunstanton and to theLodge Hotel, a fairly large oldbuilding on the main road. Theactual bar runs along the side ofthe hotel going back to the rear,unfortunately it was all verymodern in style, almost barren withits wood floor and very plain walls.On at the bar was the standard GKIPA, Abbot and Wherry, I went forthe Wherry for £2.80 and perhapssurprisingly is wasn’t bad either. Idid come back here a couple oftimes more and they had Wood-fords Game On for £3.10 and thatwas actually quite good as well.

Cutting down the side roadopposite I came to the AncientMariner, an old flint built pubincorporated with the adjoiningBest Western Hotel. One long bar

with a jumble of various seatingareas in an old traditional style, allvery commercial but seeminglyrather popular, I suppose thecompetition is not to fierce aroundhere. At the bar was Adnams Bitterand Broadside, Wherry (£3.15) andDoombar. I went for the Broadside,it again wasn’t bad, but at £3.40 itshouldn’t be. Likewise I came backhere several times and found a beerfrom Holts called Loose Cannon andthat was rather good, also there wasWaggle Dance from Youngs.

Wed 14th Drove down to have aride on the Mid Norfolk Railway atDereham, on the way we called inat the Railway at North Elmham. Arather locals pub but with a bit of abohemian feel about it with itsvaried seating, railway picturesand other things about. The beerrange was interesting with ElmtreeBurston Cuckoo, Cottage GreatBear, Buffy’s Best Bitter, Spectrum43 and St Peters Best Bitter. I tried a pint of the Elmtree as wesat outside in the sun.

After our train trip we had a walkaround Dereham and found theGeorge Hotel with its dark oldwood panelled bar, all quite smartand comfortable. At the bar wasAdnams Bitter and Broadside, andWoodfords Wherry and Sundew. Iwent for the Sundew (£2.95)which was in a fair condition.

On our way back we went viaBrancaster Staithe and stopped offat the White Horse, a plain lookingpub with the pub sign showing thefront and rear end of the whitehorse on either side. Inside it wasall very light and bright with a frontbar area and going back to the rearat one side. Lots of old framedphotos of the area were on thewalls. At the bar was AdnamsExplorer, Wherry and two beers fromthe local brewery Brancaster, the Bestand Oyster Catcher. I had the Bestand it was good, the best today.

To be continued in the December issue ofNorfolk Nips and Cask Force

Hunstanton and Beyond | NORFOLK NIPS

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Rule 1: This is a beer festivalthat provides musical enter-tainment at most sessionsnot the other way round.

Rule 2: You cannot pleaseall the people all the timeand it is foolish to try.

There you go; Simples! That isall you need to need to knowto organise the music atNorwich Beer Festival,however, as the esteemededitor asked for a few lines onthe subject I suppose I had betterexpand on those statements!

Norwich Beer Festival hasbeen based at the Hallscomplex from its modestbeginnings in 1977 but, inrecent years, following on froma court case, the Halls havebeen subject to considerablerestrictions on the use of ampli-fied music and that nowdictates what is provided andwhen it is provided. In short agroup of buildings that havebeen used for public gatheringsand entertainment and plentyof other activities since thesixteenth century cannot beused in the way manyremember from just a few yearsago. To put the situation intocontext we can book and heara brass/silver band, never thequietest of musical outpouringsbut cannot entertain a folk 2piece with a mini amp forfiddle and mando, chello orwhatever after 20.00, end ofsermon!

However within these restric-tions we plough steadily onand like the other aspects ofthe festival planning starts earlyin the year. A blank spreadsheetbecomes a planning form for 5lunchtime sessions, 4 earlyevening and 5 mid-eveningslots with additional space(s)for the St.Andrews organ (avery temperamental piece ofkit) and for the provision ofstage sound as we bring in ourown sound engineer who isfamiliar with the challengesthat the combination of happychatty people plus the soaringvault of St A’s provide. Some slots almost fill them-

selves; most years we book alunchtime session for a stringquartet and a couple of slotsfor a jazz quartet, one brassband has been a fixture sincethe early days and is allocatedtwo main evening bookings.Then there are last year’sperformers, did anyone reallystand out and are they avail-able for this year, perhaps thereis a band we booked a fewyears ago and should go downwell again if they are available?Of course there is the converse

side, a band composed ofexcellent musicians with a leadsinger and musician who couldhold an audience by readingout the Yarmouth telephonedirectory let alone by singingand who enjoyed playing thefestival but who decide to call ita day, ahh well, some you winetc.etc. In addition to the usualfaces we try to introduce acouple of new bands every yearto provide variety; some will gowell, some of these willbecome festival favourites,some just don’t work in thechallenging environment thatis the N&N Beer fest and justonce in a while there will be acomplete train crash when theband and audience stage anacrimonious musical divorcedespite the gig you saw a fewmonths ago when they wentdown a storm with a similarcrowd; learn and move on!With any luck the slots will be

filled, hopefully with a reserveoption to allow for accidents,sickness, double booking,bereavement etc and byAugust-September the confir-

NORFOLK NIPS | Norwich Beer Festival

Music at Norwich Beer Fest

AUTUMN 2010 | 29

Continued Overleaf

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Large beer garden, traditional games, lunchtime menu and a good selection of real ale, spirits and soft drinks

Listed in the Good Beer Guide every year since 2000.

Queen’s Head and Waveney Brewing Company

Traditional Village Pub with a breweryproducing permanent and seasonal

ales on site

Station Road, Earsham, Norfolk

Tel: (01986) 892623

30 | AUTUMN 2010

9 Cask Ales - 6 Lagers and Local CiderGlobal Bottled Beers - Award winning Wines

Brand new look and hi tech cellarRiverside seating and smoking area • Delicious home cooked lunches

Wensum Street, Norwich NR3 1HYTel: 01603 619517 www.ribsofbeef.co.uk

Quiz Monday evenings - Blues Nights 1st Sunday of each monthSunday Roasts 12 noon- 5pm

Book a table for four or more people for Sunday Roasts & receive a Complimentary bottle of house wine.

The City’s favourite local

The RibsA GENUINE FREE HOUSE

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mation letters will go out, thestage plans requested, thesound requirements sorted, willband members be arrivingstraight from work, will theyneed a snack? And then therewill be the late panics, laughablelater but at the time a hassle youcould live without, the guitaristthat tries to amputate a fingerwith a razor edged string, thebooking lost in the Post, theentry to the programme thatwent astray; but then finally allthe fee’s are agreed and theweb-site master has the finalrunning order, the prog editorhas all the write-ups and what todo but to wait for the set-upweekend........

The week itself passes in a blurof hurried meals, too little sleep,tie wraps and gaffer tape,arrangements made on thehoof, with hopefully the odd ½pint of something new to keepus all going until suddenly it isSaturday night the Halls are fulland it is time for that last call onthe PA of ‘That is Time ladiesand gentleman please’ andthere is nothing left to do butdismantle the whole edifice, saygoodbye to the faces you some-times only encounter within theFestival week and wait for theshakedown meeting when, afterwe have put the world to rights,buried the odd hatchets in theguilty, someone will alwayscome up and ask ‘are you doingit again next year?’

Well what do you think?

Jon KnightBuyer

NORFOLK NIPS | Norwich Backpackers Letter

AUTUMN 2010 | 31

Dear Norwich CAMRA,I thought I should drop you anote, as I’m not sure who hasseen my letter of a few monthsago about our plans forNorwich Backpackers at theFerry Boat Inn.

As you know, the pub hasbeen shut for a few years now,closed down primarily due tonoise complaints by the localflats. As a pub, it isn’t viablewithout the live music, and thecontinual development of landaround site isn’t likely to makelive music a reality again.

Much of the existingbuilding is pretty muchderelict. We bought it inJanuary and have already donesome work, re-roofed the main part of thebuilding, which houses thefront bar and the tenants flat.The back bar and music roombuildings are in a terrible stateand basically have to comedown and be rebuilt.

Our plans for the site are torebuild the back areas of theexisting buildings, creating aliving room/kitchen for thebackpackers hostel, a cyclehire/canoe hire barn and acafé. Over the car park weplan to build a new warehousestyle building to house theaccommodation for back-packers and then a receptionbuilding linking the old andnew buildings.

The front bar of the existingbuilding would then become areal ale appreciation shop/bar.The space for the shop/barwon’t be big enough to createa real ale session pub like theFat Cat, but would be bigenough to be an amazingintroduction bar for real ale.The excellent cellar would stillbe available, so the shop/barcould have a few beers on tap,while selling an excellent rangeof bottled beers.

We are very keen to haveCAMRA involved and I’d bevery happy to meet up withthe branch to talk about ourplans further.

A few CAMRA membershave been in touch aboutbecoming tenants of the newshop/bar, which is veryexciting.

The planning application isnow live on the Norwich CityCouncils website at:

http://planning.norwich.gov.uk/online-applications/applica-tionDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=L6MWMSLX0J300

RegardsJason Borthwick

Norwich Backpackersat The Ferry Boat Inn

Continuedfrom page 29

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32 | AUTUMN 2010

On Monday 5th July we starteda crawl at the White Horseby the Bure Bridge atYarmouth. Well when I saystarted there that is not entirelyaccurate. We’d actuallystopped first at the SuspensionBridge on the other side of theriver but it was shut (this wasabout 8pm). It did not lookpermanently closed but thereyou are. We can take a hint andso we did. The Adnams Bitterat the White Horse was notcheap at £1.50 a half but wewere both pleasantly surprisedby its quality. In fact so muchso that we were encouraged tohave another. However thistime I made a mistake and hada half of Wherry. Althoughslightly cloudy it was not off, itwas just … just that it did nottaste of anything. We discussedtastings of the beer that wehad had over the last fewmonths and came to theconclusion that the account-ants had got hold of the recipefor Wherry over the years andnow it was but a shadow of itsformer self. I don’t know if thisis true but I can say that what I drank then was not the samebeer that won all those medalsyears ago. Having tried theentire range of two beers avail-

able we pushed off to TheCrystal on Fullers Hill.

Now I remember the Crystalwhen John & Joyce had it inthe late 60’s and 70’s. It wasthen one of only two pubs inYarmouth to keep real alealong with Allen’s Bar behindthe Town Hall. Many is thehour that I have sat outside thesnug with me bottle of Vimtoand bag of Nibbits while Dadhad his regulation 3 pints of“E”. They had an unusual tradition that when youentered the pub you boughtyourself a pint and everybodyelse a half. This of courseensured that the new drinkerhad enough to slake his thirstquickly but also that everybodyelse had something withoutbreaking the buyer’s bank. The result was, apart from afriendly banter from all, thatthose present drank morequickly than is normal becauseyou tend to drink 2 halvesquicker than you do a pint. Try it, it’s true. However thatwas then and this is now. Thereis no real ale in the Crystalhowever there is very loudthump, thump music andmany cold lagers. As my UncleReg would say “I would not goin there to pee in the bog”. We pass on but not without asigh for lost glories.

The Gallon Pot on the MarketPlace was next, Adnams againin good nick. I decided I hadsuffered enough for the cause

for the moment and ignoredthe Wherry this time. It wasquieter than I had seen itbefore but then I rememberedthat this was a lunchtime pub.Then over the market to ….

The Coachmakers was busybut the temptation to drink GKIPA from the only hand pumpwas resisted. People sayCAMRA members have no willpower but just how little dothey know us! However as wewent down the road towardsSainsbury’s and over the trafficlights Des became all excited.He reckoned that the whole ofthe car park in front of youcovers a plague pit. This iswhere 7,000 Yarmouth resi-dents (out of a population of10,000) were dumped in the1340’s during the Black Death.He has lots of old informationlike that. I expect he saw someof it happen.

Our heads went briefly into theTudor Tavern but seeingnothing on the hand pumpsand not being into masochismwe left. During the days whenSir Bobby Robson wascollecting silverware with

Yarmouth Visit | NORFOLK NIPS

Central Yarmouth Pub Scene

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Ipswich I had played on thewing for the team based here.That was when it was known asthe St Nicholas Tavern. Ouronly claim to fame was that ourmanager was the landlady. We got onto TV for that. I don’t remember a time whenwe were not bottom of what-ever league we were in. Ha, ha.But they were happy times andwe drank a lot of beer. Passingthe old Silk Mills (now aChinese Restaurant) we divedin at The Oliver Twist .

This corner pub had a modestrange of Blackfriars beers andtwo draft ciders. We had ourfirst friendly welcome of thenight. My Twos was a bit of ashock but once I got used to itquite pleasant. I did try to getDes to order “A half ‘o half an’half”. But he did not fall forthat one. Unfortunately he wasless impressed with his selec-tion and most of it was still inhis glass when we left.

We walked back to NorthgateStreet, past St Nicholas church

and on to the Kings Head. We had left this one until thelast because during ourprevious two visits we hadbeen deeply impressed by thequality of the beers presentedto us. So it was with muchdisappointment we found thatthe place was shut. Perhaps itwas because it was a Mondayperhaps this is the way that itis. Whatever, we still had bothcapacity and time. So wepushed on down NorthgateStreet to the Coach &Horses.

It was a home match on poolnight and it was heaving. Again a small corner local butretaining a lot of character.Even a small snug such as EnaSharples and Mini Caldwellused to use in The RoversReturn It was filled with therequisite older (even by ourstandards) generation butwithout the Milk Stout. For achange Des bought the roundand presented me with anunknown beer which was sohighly hopped it had to beBatemans. He was smiling allover his face for if there is onething that he loves nearly asmuch as his wife & children it’sa hop. We were bothimpressed. It seemed cheaptoo (£2.30 a pint). When werealised that we were deeplyimpressed. No selection, therewas only one (probably two onother nights) but well kept anda good atmosphere. Spotlesspub too. Without doubt thefind of the night.

I hope the licensees that we

asked “Do you have any realale ?” Who then answered“No” took the hint as wepromptly left.Further I hope that those whofound glasses left with beer stillin them wonder why. It wasnot because they were off. Had that been the case theywould have been taken back, itwas because they were just notvery good.

Too many publicans think thatthe keeping of vast number ofdifferent beers is the wayforward but I disagree. I wouldrather have a choice of one ortwo beers kept in very goodorder than 5-8 indifferent ones.A good night, some good beer,some reminiscing, somewalking, some local history butmainly an appreciation of beerand a realisation how farCAMRA has come, in 30 oddyears.

Patrick Smith, Des O’Brien

NORFOLK NIPS |

AUTUMN 2010 | 33

Norfolk NipsOnlineDid you know that youcan also read NorfolkNIPS on line?

Just go to www.NorwichCamra.co.ukand click on the BranchNewsletter link

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The CottageFREEHOUSE

• Up to Ten Cask Ales •Real Cider

A selection of Malt Whisky and Gins

9 Silver Road, Norwich, NR3 4TB. Tel: 01603 665535 www.thecottagenorwich.co.uk

Opening Hours Mon - Sun 12 noon - 11.00pm

Quiz Night Every MondayLive Music Every Friday Night and Sunday Afternoon

Tapas is the first Thursday of the monthSunday Lunch 12-3pm

Hot snacks are available all day everyday

Meet the Brewer NightThursday 21st October

A tasting session with Mauldon’s Breweryfollowed by a fish and chip supper.

Places must be booked in advance asnumbers are limited.

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Many people know ofCAMRA’s activities supportingreal ale and pubs. Somethingwhich is less well known aboutis its support for real cider andperry.

By real cider and perry wedon’t mean the chilled fizzycider products that you gener-ally find in pubs. The productswe support are drinks that arenot pasteurised and not artifi-cially carbonated. This allowsthe flavour of the fruit to comethrough in the final product.Unfortunately these productsare rarely seen in pubs but anincreasing number of publicansare discovering the advantageof selling real cider.

As part of lest year’s OctoberCider and Perry promotion ,CAMRA launched our “RealCider Sold Here” stickers topromote pubs which sell cider

and/or perry all year round anddespite real cider and perrybeing a rare sight in most pubswe have now signed up over400 pubs. Pubs in Norfolkwhich are already part of thescheme are:-

Lattice HouseChapel Street, King's Lynn,Norfolk, PE30 1EG, Tel: 01553769585

Live & Let Live18 Windsor Road, Kings Lynn,Norfolk, PE30 5PL, Tel: 01553764990

Railway ArmsDownham Market Station,Downham Market, PE38 9EN

White HartBridge Street, DownhamMarket, PE38 9DH, Tel: 01366387720

A full list of pubs with stickerscan be found on CAMRA’snational website under theAbout Cider section. Also inthis section you will find infor-mation on how to nominate aneligible pub which is notalready on the list.

Andrea Briers

NORFOLK NIPS | Real Cider

Real Cider Sold Here

AUTUMN 2010 | 35

Adnams orGreene KingDuring my travels around thepubs in West Norfolk it wouldappear that the vast majority ofgenuine free houses still onlyoffer a choice of Adnams orGreene King beers. If you add tothis the pubco’s and the tiedhouse pubs the choice of alesseems very limited.

With around 30 breweries justin Nofolk alone it would make arefreshing change for theconsumer “tourist and localsalike” to sample some of thebootifull beers produced at microbeweries around Norfolk.Some landlords have signed upto CAMRA’S locAle scheme whichguarantees the beer to be brewedwithin a 30 mile radius from thepoint of dispense (ie the pub).

To encourage the more adven-turous / enterprising landlords Ihave listed a selection of brewersand contact numbers in the hopethat they might give a widerchoice to pub goers. Many microbrewers will deliver direct.

LOCAL BREWERIESWolf BreweryBeesthorpe 01953 457775Elmtree Brewery Nr.Snetterton 01953 887065Fox BreweryHeacham 01485 570345Front Street BreweryBinham 01328 830297Humpty Dumpty Brewery Reedham 01493 701818Iceni BreweryIckburgh 01842 878922Grain Brewery Harleston 01986 788884Green Jack Brewery lowestoft 01502 582711

Many thanks to those landlordsthat already serve a varied selec-tion of Real Ales.

Bruce

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Packed full of Norfolk’s FinestReal Ales Brewed and bottled on the premises,Local Cheeses, Chutneys, Glazed Hams, and

Local Crafts. Ideal for CHRISMAS GIFTS!!

Sunday Lunches • Brewery Tours Beer Festivals • Folk Nights

If you like Beer and Food - we’re the place to try

The Hop and Hog, No 1 The High Street, Downham Market, Norfolk PE38 9DA

01366 502149 or Mobile: 07722 [email protected]

www.norfolkfoodanddrink.co.uk

THE VEGETABLE SHOP1d HIGH STREET DOWNHAM MARKET

Come to the ONLY shop in Downhamdedicated to providing REAL ORGANICFRUIT & VEGETABLES plus a range of Organic Wholefoods, Bread and Eggs.

It’s a UNIQUE EXPERIENCE!Shop: 01366 385523 Mobile: 07967 346551

Ring Ian for details of our forthcomingVegetarian Feast Nights with music,

ciders and beer made with local organic barley!

For ALL your homebrew needs buy DIRECT from the ICENI BREWERY

At 3 Foulden Rd, Ickburgh, Thetford IP26 5HB

Tel 01842 878922 / 07949 488113

Or email [email protected] for details

THE ICENI BREWERY

HOME

BREWING

ADVICE

AND SUPPLIES

BRAND NEW ALES AVAILABLE FROM OCTOBER

NN#154:Layout 1 14/09/2010 11:16 Page 36

Many are the legends of a pubthat wouldn’t die. One suchwas the Transylvania Arms onlyopen after dark it was rumouredthe whole staff were (or indeedare) undead…

In the GBG* every year since1342 it was said the landlordmade a deal with the devil.They also say he was a realCount.

It didn’t have a jukebox just anorgan which would only playToccata & fugue all on it’s own.

The door made a horriblescreeching noise no matterhow much it was oiled andonce inside there were no exits.

Well, not into this world.No one could remember howlong the barmaid had beenthere and no one dared ask.It was rumoured she kept thebeer cool on warm nights byhanging above the casks in thecrypt/ cellar fanning them withher wings.

No one seemed to notice the“Give Blood” sticker on thewindow, and God help anyonewho mentioned stake night.Its range of Gothic handpumps served a chilling rangeof ales, Old Ruby Night Porter,Blood speckled Hen, OldPhlegm Lovely and worst of allGreene King IPA… Horrible!The range of bar snacks wasequally challenging, Pickledeyeballs, Rat on a Stick and

Dork scratchings. Even after thesmoking ban the place stillsmelled faintly of brimstone,although some say this wassimply the effect of eating thesnacks.

You tend to wake up after anight in most pubs with ahangover, here it was usuallyanaemia, but you had to waittill nightfall for the hair of thedog (well I did say she’d beenthere for ever!)

The Arms did attempt to movewith the times, two importedlagers were introducedNosferatu and Vampyr plus OldCrones Cider made from thebest shiny red apples 100%deadly, and endorsed by SnowWhite.

Unhappy hour was not popularas every thing was cut. In the end the pub changedhands after an unfortunateseries of incidents whichincluded the accidental deliveryof a kilo of garlic and the finalstraw when a truck load ofcrucifixes crashed through thefront window in brightsunlight.

But the old Tranny still hasn’tdied, it’s a club called“Suckers” now and I’m sure Irecognise the barmaid, butworst of all the deathly cold IPAis £4.00 a pint ARRRGHHH!

Stig (Some say they know thispub, do you?) Happy Halloween!

*Good Blood Guide.

The Transylvanian Arms

AUTUMN 2010 | 37

G

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COACH & HORSESDERSINGHAM

STEAK NIGHT FRIDAYS FROM £7.45

2 MEALS FOR £12 WEDNESDAY - SATURDAY LUNCH SPECIAL

FULL MENU & SPECIALS ALSO AVAILABLE

Serving homecooked food in a warm friendly atmosphere

Meals Wed-Sat 12-2.30pm & 6-8.30pm, Sunday 12-3pm & 5-8pmEn Suite Rooms From £39

4th ANNUAL BEER FESTIVALFRIDAY 8th - Sunday 10th OCTOBER 2010

REAL ALES & CIDERS LIVE MUSIC EVERYDAY

77 Manor Road, Dersingham 01485 [email protected]

A TRADITIONAL

VILLAGE PUBGood Food, Great Beer Accomodation& Large

Beer Garden

Situated between King’s Lynn &Hunstanton one mile from theRoyal Sandringham Estate

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Our August Campaigning Tripwas well attended even thoughit was in the middle of theholiday season. Our first stopwas The Fox & Hounds,Lyng. The Woodfordes Wherryand Landlord were on goodform but we all praised theexcellence of the SummerLightning. The Pub was slowlybeing filled by customers whichis always a good sign of a wellsupported village local. Thenext visit was to TheMermaid, Elsing. Awelcoming community Pubwith a mixed clientèle. TheWherry, Wolf Golden Jackal,Broadside were served ongravity and were well receivedby our party. One of us eventried a Cider but I can'tremember it's name as 3 wereon offer. Onward to Darbys,Swanton Morley. This Pubdisplays details of it's historyand the construction from anold barn. Also, there was infor-mation on the “use your local”scheme. The customers wereable to enjoy the large selec-tion of Wherry, BeestonAfternoon Delight, AdnamsBitter, Broadside and Light-house. The feedback was theBeeston came out on top. Nexton to The Angel, SwantonMorley. The beer choice wasWherry, Newby Wyke WhiteSquall, Summer Lightning, andMighty Oak Oscar Wilde. It wasgood to see a mild on offer andwe nearly emptied the barrel. A short trip to The QueensHead, Foulsham where we

sampled again Wherry, andAdnams Bitter. The Bombardierwas at the end of the barreland was changed withoutcomplaint. I noticed some people buyingsausages made from saddle-back pigs that were reared atthe back of the Pub on the oldbowling green. I went outsidebut couldn't see them? Thefinal destination was The OldWork House, Bawdeswellwhere we had the choice ofAdnams Bitter and Broadsidewhich were in good condition.Overall it was anothersuccessful Campaigning Tripand if you are interested injoining us next time then checkout the details on our website. Imight even buy you a pint.

Graham Freeman

NORFOLK NIPS | Chairman’s Letter

August Campaigning

AUTUMN 2010 | 39

GOING POTTYTony G & I attended thePotty Morris festival at Sher-ingham on the 3rd July thisyear. This is the 17th year ofthis festival and we have beenenjoying this event for anumber of years.

This year there were 25different dance groups fromYorkshire, Essex, Cambs.Suffolk, Notts, Kent, Leics,Lincs, Northants, and ofcourse Norfolk. There waseven a group from Utrecht inHolland! The Sheringhamshantymen also appearedduring the lunch break.

The main street is closed totraffic allowing the dancers toperform at various locationsaround the town. (mainlyoutside the local pubs). All thepubs are open all day and twoin particular are worth amention. The Lobster Pot hasa beer festival with around 20ales straight from the barrel andThe Windham Arms has 7 alesmostly from Norfolk brewers.

Potty day falls on the firstweekend of July every year! soif you like traditional musicand dancing, great individual shops, a market or a steam

railway this is the place to be.The event is free and usuallythe weather is fab.See you next year!

Bruce (W. Norfolk branch contact).

Norfolk Nips 155The Winter edition ofNorfolk NIPS will bepublished on Friday 3rd December.

Copy for inclusion mustbe received byWednesday 17thNovember

NN#154:Layout 1 14/09/2010 11:16 Page 39

40 | AUTUMN 2010

6 Real Ales On Handpump • Belgian Bottled Beers

Lunchtime Menu

Quiz night every Wendesday

Mark & Marie offer you a warm welcome to the

Fox and HoundsHeacham

Home of The Fox BreweryWe are a free housespecialising in real ales.

The first pub in Heacham to be inthe CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

Live Music every Tuesday

Quiz Night Thursday

www.foxbrewery.com

Tel: 01485 57034522 Station Rd, Heacham, Norfolk PE31 7EX

OPEN ALL DAY 7 DAYS A WEEK

NN#154:Layout 1 14/09/2010 11:16 Page 40

NORFOLK NIPS |

“A pint of Ever SavouredBrilliance, please!”

AUTUMN 2010 | 41

People drink the advertising.It’s an old adage I know, butone that came back to merecently as I waited to served inmy local yesterday.

The reason for the wait wasthat, in front of me, a group ofyoung ‘uns had decided thatfor their Friday night entertain-ment, they were going to drinkbeers from around the world.

Ignoring the handpumps totheir right, they were concen-trating on the shiny chromeofferings in front of them.Where to start, that was theproblem.

By now, the Landlord haddropped his cheery “What canI get you lads?” personnae, andwas now contemplating what Ihoped was only his navel.

Should they start with theblack stuff from across the IrishSea, which they knew wasworth the wait, as sure as“tick” followed “torque”? Orthe cider product that is appar-ently endorsed by a Guild ofmodern day craftsmen? Ormaybe the reassuringly expen-sive Belgian beer that Priestsskating on thin ice would sendout for? No, not that one as itis now obviously a lady’s drink.

In the end, the settled for theone that is 25% Australian and

now runs an Agony AuntService. Australia? That’ll beReading then.

As I settled in the corner withmy pint of LocAle, I pridedmyself that I would never letadvertising decide what Iwould drink, and then I realisedthat I had.

Christmas Eve – 19, whatever.As a first year apprentice Ifound myself in the BasingstokeWorking Mens Club with therest of the Litho Dept as theUnion Rep had promised thefirst round. But what to drink?My first drink on Licensedpremises. Keen observationshowed that no one was actu-ally ordering beer, it was pintsof “two’s” or “black and tans”,etc. Judging by the commentsreceived, a half pint of bittershandy or a lager and limeshould be avoided at all costs.Having a sweet tooth, I didn’tlike the idea of Bitter, but Mild

may be OK. As it got nearer tomy turn, my eyes strayed fromthe bar to the row of bottlesbehind. As I looked at the labels, one inparticular caught my eye and adeep West Country voicesomewhere in my subconscioussaid “Looks good, tastes goodand by golly – it does yougood!” So, I confidentlyordered a bottle of Mackesonand to my relief, it met withapproval. (Thank you, SirBernard Miles!) So much sothat someone who by now wason his second pint told me thathe had always wanted to try it.It was a long session and Iended up drinking bottledGuinness, which someone elsepointed out was a good choice,because it was actually brewedin Dublin, unlike the draughtvariety. How daft, I thought.

Being an apprentice meantdays out at The Berkshire

Continued Overleaf

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42 | AUTUMN 2010

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College of Art in Reading, with many cornerlocals scattered around. Courage Best becamemy tipple of choice and since the Brewery waslocal it was readily available. But times werechanging, and as we all know, not for the best.Courage Best and my other favourite beersdisappeared with the handpumps to be replacedby new colourful plastic offerings.

What to drink when faced with bland tastelessbrands, which went as flat as a pancake after tenminutes or so? I still find it hard to believe thatsome Brewers thought that K*g was their finestacheivement, but in order to help us poor soulsdecide that their brand was the one, advertisingwent into overdrive.

We were assured that a Double Diamond“worked wonders”. Courage Tavern was “whatmy right arm was for” – what did left handedpeople drink?

And a certain Brewery (Whose name I cannottype here as it is not good for my blood pressure) said that one of it’s “beers” was“special, and always would be”. Yeah, right.In those dark days, I found that anything mixedwith Guinness would have to do.

But, thanks to CAMRA, times were changingagain. On a blazing hot summer’s evening inthe70’s, I drove to a pub in Dummer (laterknown as a watering hole of a now latelamented Princess). The reason was that theywere advertising that Real Ale was back, so comeand try. The Beer, from Wadsworths, I believe,was in a wooden cask, propped up behind thebar. Eagerly I ordered a pint and took it outside.Sadly, it was too warm, I’ve drunk tea colder thanthat, but there was something about it, some-thing that had been missing – flavour. Real Ale maybe back, but there is a long way to go, I thought.

Moving up to Norfolk and discovering theNorwich Beer Festival finally convinced me thatall was well with the world and Real Ale wasback, hopefully to stay.

But in these current troubled times there is a

problem. Scanning through the pages of What’sBrewing and similar publications, it is apparentthat the Major Brewers are cutting back onadvertising at a time when demand for Real Aleis growing. And if the Big Guns are cutting back,what of the Micro Breweries abundant inNorfolk and elsewhere? Not having much, if anyin the way of Marketing Budgets, how can theyconvince you that their beer is the one that youwant to order now, as you stand at the bar.Getting it in there as a Guest Beer would seemto be the hardest part, but would the design ofthe pump clip be sufficient to tempt you to partwith your hard earned cash? It may of coursehave a LocAle attachment, there may be tastingnotes available and of course, you could alwaysask the Landlord for information, or even a taster.

But why not just buy a half? If you like it you canalways have another.

And you never know, it might do you good, itcould work wonders for you, it could even bewhat your right (or left) arm was created for.

Arthur Pint

NORFOLK NIPS |

AUTUMN 2010 | 43

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44 | AUTUMN 2010

The food served here at The NewInn is a combination of Thai, Chinese and Traditional British

cuisines. It is always fresh, cooked to order and servedin the traditional manner.

All of the produce served at The New Inn is locally purchased, and there is a full vegetarian and special dietary requirements menu too. There are also manydifferent spirits, wines and real ales to choose from.

For your enjoyment and comfort we have a large, air-conditioned restaurant, which can seat large groupsor parties, as well as couples or individuals.

New Inn at RoughtonPub & Restaurant where East meets West

Norwich Road, Roughton, Norfolk NR11 8SJ

Telephone: 01263 761389 www.thenewinnroughton.com

The Mermaid InnChurch Street, Elsing Dereham,NR20 3EA

Tel: 01362637640 Email: [email protected]

Look us up in the CAMRA GoodBeer Guide 2010 or the CAMRA

Good Pub Food Guide.We have internet café facilities!

COME TO THE MERMAID AND EATPUDDINGS OR PIE,

A CHOICE OF CURRY’S BOTH INDIANAND THAI,

TRY A HUGE VARIETY OF BEERS,CIDERS AND WINE,

BRING ALONG KIDS, DOGS AND FAMILIES TO DINE!

Th

NN#154:Layout 1 14/09/2010 11:16 Page 44

Beer styles, ABV and tasting notes

1. 5% BitterDark reddish brown in colour, with a smokey malt taste

2. 3.8% BitterAmber coloured fruity bitter, last years Beer of the Festival

3. 4.2% BitterOne of last years award winners, Colin - can you put any ofthis on yer toast?

4. 5.8% BitterDeep dark strong ale, with a long malty finish, named aftera ghostly going on.

5. 4% Dark MildA dark reddish brown mild with a hint of spice

6. 4.5% WheatAward winning wheat beer with hints of grapefruit andlemon amongst the slight bitterness

7. 5.5% BitterNice amber orange coloured IPA, with a hint of citrus to theflavour

8. 4.1% Golden AlePale golden beer, very drinkable, with a slight honey andvanilla taste

9. 4.6% Golden AleMalty golden ale

10. 5% StoutStrikingly different stout

Breweries and Beer names

A. Jack’s Revenge - Tipples

B. Tamarind IPA - Grain Brewery

C. Norfolk Nectar - Humpty Dumpty

D. On the Huh - Beeston

E. Dark Horse Stout - Elmtree

F. Sundew - Woodfordes

G. Yarmouth Bitter - Blackfriars Brewery

H. Straw Dog - Wolf Brewery

I. Marmalade Cat - Fat Cat Brewery

J. Pack Lane - Uncle Stuarts Brewhouse

The winning entry will be drawn at the committeemeeting on Tuesday 2nd November.

NORFOLK NIPS | Competition

What am I drinking?

AUTUMN 2010 | 45

The winner of the Competition in issue 153 was Tony Sadler of Norwich, congratulations!

First an apology for the error that crept intolast issue's competition.

Many spotted that Lowestoft was printedtwice and some realised that there are twoNarboroughs, one near Leicester, which wasthe correct one. Narborough or Leicester wereaccepted as correct answers.

With The 33rd Norwich Beer Festivalapproaching, here is a little taster.The descriptions below are the tasting notes

for Beers that were scheduled to be availablefor the 32nd Beer Festival.

All you have to do is match the beer and thebrewery from the accompanying list.

Please send completed entries to NIPS FestivalBeers Quiz c/o 201 Kingswood Avenue,Taverham, Norwich NR8 6GJ or e-mail to:[email protected] mystery prize awaits the winner Note: All Breweries are in Norfolk

NN#154:Layout 1 14/09/2010 11:16 Page 45

46 | AUTUMN 2010

Bridge Innthe

Open All Day Every Day Full Menu available 12-9pm Light Bites served 12-5pm

Dogs & children welcome. Wheelchair access/outdoor smoking area.

Moorings outside & nearby for 40 boats with some electric hookup available. Open all year round.

Now taking party bookings over Christmas and New Year Open on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve

The Norfolk Broads.OrgAwards 2009Best Pub Grub

Best Broadland Pint Most Child Friendly Pub

Broads Quality CharterGold Star Award

Old Road, Acle, NR13 3AS Tel: 01493 750288 www.maypolehotels.com

24th Nov -29th Nov 20106th Anniversary Beer Festival

Seewww.kingsarmsnorwich.co.uk

for detailsOr join us on Facebook!

Everchanging 13 Real Ales, Cider and Mild.

Popular Quiz Night last Wednesday of every month

Food served every lunchtime 12 - 3pm

Michaela and Toni welcome you to

The Kings Arms 22 Hall Rd Norwich NR1 3HQ Tel: 01603 766361

NN#154:Layout 1 14/09/2010 11:16 Page 46

The August First Friday Five included three citycentre pubs that reopened this year, the first,second and last on our list.

We started at the Edith Cavell, on Tombland.In its last incarnation as "Coles at the EdithCavell" it had struggled to keep even one real alebut now boasts four regular cask conditionedales.

Although the range, including Fullers LondonPrice and Woodforde's Wherry doesn't changetoo much, it's good to see what is still clearly abit of a weekend “circuit” pub trying to satisfythe increasing real ale market.We had a bit of a trek then to The Woolie,

formerly The Woolpack, on Muspole Street.Surprisingly almost empty (possibly because20,000+ Norfolk people were at Carrow Roadfor the start of the Championship season!), wemanaged to fill the pub with our crowd ofaround 20 ale drinkers, although the range waslimited to two Greene King offerings - IPA andSt. Edmund.

The new owners have presumably taken a loanfrom Greene King to help with the pub’s refur-bishment, so explaining the beer selection. It does,however, limit its interest for serious beerdrinkers.Onwards, just around the corner, and more

Greene King beer at a very busy Golden Star.This is a tied house but usually manages to haveat least one interesting guest beer available.

A lot of people were in the pub that nightbecause they had a live rock band (waiting toperform as we drank our beer), but we leftbefore they started. Quite a few of our followersdecided to avoid our next pub, the Hog InArmour, possibly because they perceived it as abit bright and noisy. However, it usually has acouple of real ales on offer and did this night -Woodforde’s Sundew and Adnams Bitter.The Hog was the only that night that had

Norwich City’s game on the TV and we were

able to watch the end of what turned out to be adefeat for City.

We finished the evening at the Plough, on St.Benedict Street. Now owned by Grain Brewery,it reopened in Spring this year and provedinstantly popular, and has continued in thatfashion ever since.There’s usually three or four very good quality

Grain beers available, alongside two guest beers(usually from East Anglian breweries), and theretends to be a quick turnover of beers on particu-larly busy evenings like this one, which meantthat only two Grain beers were available by thetime we got there (the Oak was very good!).So, a varied selection of beers and pub styles,

making for an entertaining evening out.Adrian Hennessy

You can now find First Friday Five reports on theweb via a new blog - firstfridayfives.blogspot.com

NORFOLK NIPS | First Friday Five Report

August First Friday Five

AUTUMN 2010 | 47

WHEELWRIGHTS ARMS FREEHOUSE

INTRODUCING REAL ALESIPA (DRAUGHT) £2.40, ABBOT ALE £2.50,

OLD SPECKLED HEN £2.50

• CARLING, CARLSBERG, FOSTERS £2.70 •• JOHN SMITHS £2.50•GUINNESS £2.90 ••STELLA £2.90 •STRONGBOW £2.80 •

• MILD £2.40 • BOTTLE BEERS FROM £2.70 (MAGNERS £3.00)

SPIRITS FROM £2.00

FULL SKY ULTIMATE PACKAGE & ESPN FREE WIRELESS INTERNET CONNECTION

Don't forget we also serve Tea, Coffee and Cappaccino all day

Parties catered for • 24 hour licenceSorry but children under the age of 14

are not permitted on the premises after 8pm

01493 663705Beccles Road, Gorleston

Great Yarmouth Norfolk, NR31 0PS

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48 | AUTUMN 2010

The Shoulder of Mutton ~ Strumpshaw ~

Fine ales and good food served in a friendly atmosphere

Real ales includeAdnams Bitter andBroadside plusTWO guest ale(mainly from local

breweries)

Food served 12-2pm and 7-9pm (Mon-Sat), 12-2pm Sundays

Pub games include Darts, Pool, Crib and Petanque!

Ian and Jenny look forward to welcoming you..

Norwich Rd, Strumpshaw, Norwich NR13 4NT

Tel 01603 712274

The RailwayFreehouseStation Rd, North Elmham

01362 668300In the current Good Beer Guide,CAMRA members and supporters

of local microbrewers

Colin & JulieSmith look forward to seeing you!

REAL ALES • REAL FOOD • REAL PUB

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AUTUMN 2010 | 49

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50 | AUTUMN 2010

The Sole & HeelRackheath

Newly refurbished Pub & Restaurantwith recently extended Beer Garden

Minimum of 5 changing Real Ales on gravity

Restaurant open daily with A la Carte menu in the evenings.All produce locally sourced where available.

Fortnightly Sunday Quiz

Bar open: Mon 4.30-11pm, Tues 12-2.30 and 4.30-11pm, Weds-Sat 12-11pm, Sun12-10.30pm Restaurant open: Tues –Sat 12-2.30 and 6-9pm, Sunday Roast 12-4pm

2 Salhouse Rd, Rackheath, Norwich NR13 6QHTel 01603 720146 Web: www.soleandheel.bravehost.com

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AUTUMN 2010 | 51

September 2010

23rd – 25th19th Letchworth Garden City Beer &Cider Festival

29th – 2nd OctSt Albans Beer Festival

October 2010

6th – 9th - Ipswich Beer Festival

6th – 9th - Bedford Beer Festival

7th –9th - Louth & District Beer Festival

8th - 10th Coach and Horses, Dersingham4th Annual Beer Festival

14th – 17th - Nottingham (Robin Hood) Beer & Cider Festival

14 – 16th - Quorn Octoberfest

14 – 17th - 2nd Gainsborough Beer &Folk Festival

15th – 16th - Cambridge Octoberfest

21st – 24th - 2nd Beer Festival GreenGate, Caister10 Real Ales and Cider, Live music every day

22nd - 31st OctoberThe Murderers, Timber Hill, NorwichBeer Festival with 25+ ales from each of thecounties of England25th – 30th - 33rd Norwich Beer Festival

27th – 30th - Concrete Pint (MiltonKeynes) Beer Festival

29th Oct - 1st Nov Royal Oak, Poringland Autumn Beer Festival Range of 31 Beers and Ciders availableLive Music on Friday 29th with Jigsaw andSaturday 30th with Tosh and Nick.

November

23rd - 27th - 31st Rochford Beer Festival

24th - 29th - Kings Arms Norwich6th Anniversary Beer Festival

24th - 28th Dove Street Inn, Ipswich60+ beers, ciders and milds

Full details of the above CAMRA Beer Festivals can be found at www.camra.org.uk.

NORFOLK NIPS | Dates for your Diary

Beer Festival Diary

Alby Horse Shoes InnFreehouse

Situated on the A140 Norwich/Cromer RoadUp to 5 Real Ales including Wherry & Mardlers

Home cooked Food - locally sourced

SPECIAL STEAK AND ALE NIGHTSLAST FRIDAYS DURING WINTER MONTHS

10% OFF MEALS BOOKED BY CAMRA MEMBERS

Margaret & Richard Rushmer look forward to meeting you

01263 761378 www.albyhorseshoes.co.ukWe are In it!

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52 | AUTUMN 2010

Real ale has been available atmany of our heritage steamrailways for many years. Somerailways such as the BluebellRailway have real ale buffetbars at their Sheffield Park andHorsted Keynes stations andthere is the famous GBG listed“Trackside” pub on the plat-form of Bury station on the EastLancs Railway. Other railwaysfrequently sell bottled condi-tioned beer in their railwaybuffet cars. However, it is veryunusual to be able to purchasecask ales actually on your train.

The Keighley & Worth ValleyRailway situated on the edge ofthe Pennines in West Yorkshireis one of few examples. Thiswell established heritage

railway probably more famousfor being the location of theclassic 1970 film “The RailwayChildren” and has the Brontefamily museum and home atHaworth, which is withinwalking distance of the station.However on selected weekdaysand virtually every weekendthis railway opens its famous“Real Ale” buffet cars whichserve traditional ale drawnfrom the cask.

You may wonder how this ispossible. Earlier this summerGraham Freeman and myselftravelled the Keighley andWorth valley railway and werelucky to meet with their barmanager Paul Rigg who wentthrough the whole process and

showed us how their beer wasserved in such good condition

After enjoying a refreshingpint of local ‘Goose EyeChinook Blonde’ (4.2% abv)we arrived at Oxenhope at thefar end of the line to Keighley

Real ale on RailsSteam and Ale | NORFOLK NIPS

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and were introduced to thespecial temperature controlled‘cellar’, which is a room at thestation where the casks arestored at cellar temperature.Each morning and at varioustimes throughout the day Paulracks off beer directly frombarrels stored in the cellar intospecially insulated stainlesssteel containers which are thenbrought onto the train’s buffetcar and attached to the hand-pumps so they can be serveddirect to the customers onboard the train. The beer is ofcourse ‘bright’ but as it comesfresh each morning direct fromthe ‘cellar’ and stored in insu-lated containers it is alwaysfresh and at cellar temperatureso it is served in as good acondition as cask ale you will

purchase in our best real alepubs.

We continued on the train fora couple of return trips tosample the other beers thatwere available that day, YorkConstantine (3.9% abv) andSalamander Barracuda(4.2%abv). Most beerssupplied on this line are fromlocal brewers such as Timothy

Taylor and Copper Dragonfrom Skipton.

For more information on theKeighley & Worth ValleyRailway seewww.kwvr.co.uk/index.htmand for information about thelocal CAMRA Branch, Keighleyand Craven seehttp://www.keighleyand-cravencamra.org.uk/ which ifyou wish to combine your tripwith a pub crawl aroundKeighley has an excellent townmap (and maps of other townsin their branch area) you candownload showing the loca-tions of all the real ale pubs.

Warren Wordsworth & Graham Freeman

NORFOLK NIPS | Steam and Ale

AUTUMN 2010 | 53

Back by Popular Demand

Thursday 21st - Sunday 24th OctoberA selection of 10 real ales and ciderLive music Every Day

All ales at £2.50Full menu being served as well as a selection of hot and cold snacks throughout the Beer Festival

To book or for more information call Colin or Debbie on 01493 720228

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54 | AUTUMN 2010

96 Angel Rd, Norwich NR3 3HT

01603 427490email: [email protected]

www.norwichinns.com

Angel Gardens Free House

Under same ownership for 22 years

Up to 7 reasonably priced RealAles including three guest ales

Home Cooked Food • Monthly Quiz &Darts • Live Music on Saturdays

Beer Garden with heated smoking shelter

2 Bars (with one for Private Hire)Ample Car Parking

This warm and friendly 17th century Freehouse is to thenorth side of Norwich cathedral. Owned by Craig & LynneMcLaren since 1993. ‘The Wig’ as its affectionately known,has built a reputation for fresh, fast, affordable British cuisine.

6 St Martins Palace Plain,

Norwich NR3 1RN

01603 625891

www.thewigandpen.com

Look out for our Cask Marque Plaque. This guarantees beer qualityin the Wig & Pen and theopportunity to TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.

For the 13th successiveyear, the Wig & Pen hasbeen included inCAMRA’s Good BeerGuide. We are very proudof this achievement.

• Good Ale • Good Food • Heated smoking area • Comprehensive Outdoor Dining Area

Sky & ESPN Sports TV • Late Night Opening

• Good Ale • Good Food • Heated smoking area • Comprehensive Outdoor Dining Area

Sky & ESPN Sports TV • Late Night Opening

Simon and Karen welcome youall to their traditional family pub.

Great selection of real ales and wines, along with fine dining

and excellent company.

NOW TAKING CHRISTMAS PARTY

BOOKINGS FOR OUR RESTAURANT

www.whitehorsechedgrave.co.uk

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AUTUMN 2010 | 55

NORFOLK NIPS | Beer & Music

TRADITIONAL JAZZ

Brook Hotel (FormerlyQuality Hotel), Bowthorpe,Norwich (off Dereham Road)It is hoped that Real Ale will beavailableTHURSDAY 16th September -Colin Kingwell’s Jazz Bandits

TUESDAY 16th November -Sammy Rimington’s International Band

Tickets/Enquiries – Rod Playford01362 667811

Acle Recreation Centre,Bridewell Lane, AcleReal Ales include AdnamsBitter, Theakstons and TipplesRedheadFriday 3rd December - GambitJazzmen

Enquiries – Brian Davis 01493701880

King’s Head Hotel, Beccles,SuffolkFollowing the sale of the pubto Wetherspoons, jazz sessionshave now ceased at this venue(See following notes re FisherTheatre)

Fisher Theatre, BroadStreet, Bungay, SuffolkAdnams Bitter on handpumpFollowing a very successfulspell lasting several years at theKings Head in Beccles, jazzsessions have now transferredto the Fisher Theatre in Bungay.Every Sunday evening -

Red Beans ‘n’ Rice New OrleansJazz Band

The Diplomat, OrmesbyRoad, Ex RAF Coltishall site(Nr Coltishall) NR10 5JZ Real Ales include house beer ‘SixSquadron’ and a guest beer.First Sunday of every month(1.00 – 3.30 pm) – NorfolkDixieland Jazz Band.Admission free, but lunchbookings advisable on 01603738866.

NB. The session on Sunday 3rdOctober will be from 7.30 –10.00 pm

Red Hart, Bodham (Nr Holt)Adnams Bitter and BroadsideFirst Friday every month –Lumiere Rouge Ragtime Band

Marsham Arms, nrHevingham (B1149Norwich-Holt Road)Following a serious fire at thesepremises, jazz sessions haveunfortunately been suspendedfor the time being

Crown Inn, Banningham(Nr Aylsham)Adnams Broadside, GreeneKing IPA and Abbot AleSunday 24th October (1.30 –4.30 pm) - Norfolk DixielandJazz BandAdmission free, but phone 01263733534 for lunch reservations

Dereham Jazz Society, Lake-side Country Club, QuarryLane, Lyng (nr Dereham)Greene King IPA or Woodforde’s

Wherry and Old Speckled HenWednesday 10th November –Simon Nelson's Dixie Mix

George and Dragon,Newton by Castle AcreElgoods Cambridge plus localguest beersSecond Tuesday every month –Black Bowler Hat Jazz BandThird Friday every month –Swing Jazz Quartet(Also folk music on firstThursday every month)

Northrepps CottageCountry Hotel, Nut Lane,Northrepps (Nr Cromer)Greene King Abbot Ale and IPASecond Sunday every month(Jazz Carvery from 12.00 –3.00 pm) – Chris Wigley’sPhoenix Jazz Quartet.(Phone 01263 579202 forfurther details)

The Buck Inn, The Street,Flixton, SuffolkWoodforde’s Mardler’s,Morland Original and AdnamsBitter are the regulars atpresent, but in addition thereare guest beers, and anincreased selection in thesummer monthsEvery Thursday -Sole Bay Jazz Band

MAINSTREAM/MODERN JAZZ

Green Man, WroxhamRoad, RackheathWoodforde’s Wherry, Adnams

Music & Real Ale

Continued Overleaf

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56 | AUTUMN 2010

Great real ales, fine wines and spirits.The London Tavern

Traditional food served daily, pre-booked eveningmeals, Childrens menu. Bar rolls only £1.00!

Meals for large parties up to 30 catered for inour funtion room, choice of set menu’s.

Bookings only.

Parking, Disabled Facilities, Baby Changing,Smokers Sheltered Garden and Beer Garden.

Well behaved dogs on leads welcome.Christenings, Funerals,

Intimate Weddings / Civil Ceremonies catered for

IN THE

GOOD BEER

GUIDE

2010

London Tavern Free House Church St, Attleborough Tel :01953 457415

South Norfolk’s Best Kept Secret

The Pelican InnTacolneston

01508 489 521

WINNER OF THE SOUTHNORFOLK ‘PUB OF THEYEAR AWARD’ 2009 /2010.

Four Local Real Ales on Hand Pump

Bottled Norfolk Real Ales In our New ‘Real Ale Shoppe’

Taking bookings NOW for

Christmas Hampers

Special Discounts to CAMRA Members

With THREE Beer Festivals a Year

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Bitter, Fuller’s London Prideplus guestsEvery Tuesday – Full programmeconsisting of various bands andmusicians.For further details, phoneBarbara Capocci on 01603413443, or [email protected]

Dereham Jazz Society,Lakeside Country Club,Quarry Lane, Lyng (nrDereham)Greene King IPA or Wood-forde’s Wherry and OldSpeckled HenEvery Wednesday – Fullprogramme consisting ofvarious bands and musicians invaried styles, which usuallyincludes one ‘traditional’ sessioneach month (See above).NB. Sessions resume afterSummer break on 29th

September with the MattWates Sextet.For further details phone01328 863511 or 01362696741 or visit websitewww.lakeside-jazz-club.co.uk

Keith Chettleburgh

Other Music Dates

The Cottage, 9 SilverRoad, Norwich, NR3 4TB. Fri 24th September The DogDays of Summer (Bluegrass)Sun 26th Crumbs for Comfort(A bit Folky and chilled out!)Fi 1st October “Hard Rain” Bit ofDillon & Bit folkySun 3rd Focsle (Folk)Fri 8th Sun of CashSun 10th The VagabandSun 17th Murphy's Lore (Folk)Fri 22nd Them Harvey Boys

(Bluegrass)Sun 24th Dog Days of Summer(Bluegrass)Fri 29th Hayley Moyses and TheBluegrass ForumSun 31st The Rum BrothersFri 12th November WoodyCreek Bluegrass

Calling all Real AlePubs and Clubs!If you have any Rock, Folk, Jazz,Blues or Alternative music datesthroughout November -February please email them [email protected] we will list them here!

NORFOLK NIPS | Beer and Music continued

AUTUMN 2010 | 57

He should have gone to theEATON COTTAGE, UNTHANK RD,NORWICH 01603 453048

Fine Real Ales,lagers,wines and spiritsAll Sky Sports • A traditional pub

Good covered outside areas • Doggies welcome

“a festival of beers every day”

NORFOLK ALE SHOPREAL ALE

REALISTIC PRICES

OVER 80 ALES ON SALE

FIND US INSTORE ATTHE GENERAL STORE

41, HIGH STREET, RINGSTEAD.PE36 5JU. NEAR HUNSTANTON.

Telephone; 01485 525270Email. [email protected].

OPEN SEVEN DAYS8am -5.30pm.

EXCEPT TUES/WED/SATCLOSING AT 1pm.

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58 | AUTUMN 2010

Dereham is famous for St With-burga who laid the foundationsfor a church and convent inAD654. When her remainswere stolen and removed to Elya spring sprouted at her tombthat still provides water for thewell in the churchyard to thisday. But I had a thirst of adifferent kind and armed with aNorfolk real ale guide from1994 decided to investigatehow the “Heart of Norfolk”was faring beerwise 14 yearson. In 1994 thirteen pubs werelisted as selling real ale. And inJuly 2010?

The Railway Tavern mustcount as a significant successstory. After a chequered historyit is now thriving, the pub onthe right and the fish and chipshop on the left. On my visit arecent mini-beer fest yielded sixbeers from the cask and apermanent ale will be on offersoon. Another interesting placewith delicious Elgoods from theone handpump was thePlough and Farrow, unusu-ally situated beneath thecinema on the market square.

Moving on the Kings Headhad four beers on (and onehandpump off), two GreeneKing and two guests fromoutside the Anglian region. TheCherry Tree had two pumps,Spitfire and one clip turnedround. The pumpclips on theRed Lion’s two pumps wereboth turned round. The Bulland the Royal Standard both

offered Greene King beers. TheCoachmakers had Adnams.To continue the trawl through

the old guide the Phoenix isstill boarded up thoughWetherspoons now own it. The Wellington Sports barwas locked up, Cocos appar-ently burnt down, The Crownis now a Chinese restaurantand the site of the Fox andHounds is covered by newhousing. I did not manage tovisit the three remaining pubsin the ‘94 guide but I hope thatthe George, the Gemini andthe Cock will still be there onmy next visit.

What of the state of the realale in the other pubs? Not asingle Norfolk beer was onoffer and a significant numberof handpumps on the differentbars were not being used.

Now, surely the town thatconsiders itself the heart ofNorfolk should be able tosustain a local beer trade?Perhaps we need to enlist thehelp of St Withburga, a Norfolkwoman whose Saints Day is theseventeenth of March. She ismuch in evidence in Dereham,in the beautiful church andyard and on the gantry townsign. Surely she wouldwelcome Norfolk revellers –particularly female – lifting aglass of Norfolk ale to her,rather than the fizzy alienblackstuff that with endlessadvertising has become associ-ated with 17 March. St Withburga’s Day is aThursday next year. Let’s keepit local. Is it time for apilgrimage?

Mont

Dereham Visit | NORFOLK NIPS

Saint’s Day 17th March

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Hello again, with only a few weeksto go to the 33rd Norwich BeerFestival, the pace of events iscertainly hotting up. The last fewweeks have been a blur of activityon all levels, with meetings, corre-spondence and feedback frommany of those involved.

I wrote last year about develop-ments pertaining to the future ofthe festival at it's current venue, StAndrews & Blackfriars Halls. I ampleased to announce that due tolack of funding, the managementteam has informed me that we areOK up to 2013, we even haveprovisionally placed bookings up to2015 .

This year on the beer front will seea continuation of our efforts towiden the range of beers at thefestival, we hope to bring some

different brewers this year based onfeedback from yourselves and theorganising committee. We did verywell with the shift to a wider rangeof styles and types, for those whoare “dark” beer fans we will stillhave a good amount of stouts andporters to try.

We are also experimenting with“thirds of a pint” which you willsee on the commemorative glass,we haven't gone so far as third pintglasses, but a limited edition glasswill be available from the productsstore.

Not quite last is our new bars for StAndrews and Blackfrairs, these havebeen talked about and discussed fora few years, hopefully this year, theywill make an appearance, I wouldlike to thank those involved (Steve C,and Alex) for getting it going.

This brings me round to the eternalplea for more volunteer's to help! .We have over 2000 members inour local branch, of which I suspecta fair number actually come alongand support us. But why stopthere, how about giving up a smallamount of the time you spend onone side of the bar to actually seewhat it is like on the other side! Ifyou fancy being a steward, barperson, driver, or general all roundgood guy/gal, please get in touchwith our staffing officer MarkStimpson at [email protected], orcheck out our web site, www.norwichcamra.org.uk/festivalwhere you can download furtherdetails.

Thanks for readingMartin Ward

Beer Festival Organiser 2010

33rd Norwich Beer Festival | NORFOLK NIPS

Only a few weeks to go!

THE ANGEL INNFREEHOUSE

Now Overall NORFOLK CAMRAPUB OF THE YEAR!

Open all day every day

Excellent home cooked meals available from our award

winning kitchen

Large Beer Garden with play area

En-suite accommodation

Camping and Caravanning available

Larling, Norfolk, NR16 2QU (17th Century former coaching inn)

Tel: 01953 717963

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AUTUMN 2010 | 61

The pub with no bar, alesdirect from cask.

Watch www.nelsonslocal.co.uk for forthcoming events.

Tongue twizzling food, and great value.

New menus, Nelson commemorationevents, Christmas Day and New Year’sEve - all on the website. See you there!

Real fires Victory Barn Function RoomCome & visit Nelson’s local.

Walsingham Road, Burnham Thorpe Norfolk PE31 8HN

01328 738241

The MarinersLOWESTOFT

THE MARINERS RESTMinimum SIX

Real Ales + CidersStunning Beer garden!

Rotterdam Rd, Lowestoft NR32 7ESTel 01502 538813

GORLESTONTHE MARINERS COMPASS

8 Real Ales plus a selection of Ciders21 Middleton Rd, Gorleston NR31 7AJ

Tel 01493 659494

GREAT YARMOUTHThe MARINERS

NORWICH & NORFOLK 2010 PUB OF THE YEAR!

EIGHT Real Ales + Real Ciders always available

Welcoming Open Fire in Winter

69 Howard St South, Great Yarmouth NR30 1LN

Tel 01493 332299

Ale and Cider HousesNow at:

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62 | AUTUMN 2010

COAST ROAD, WALCOTT,

NORFOLK NR12 OPE

Telephone

(01692) 650371

Proprietor since 1989: STEVE BULLIMOREFREE HOUSE

OPEN FOR FOOD & DRINKS ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, 11am - 11pm

Food available all day until 10.30pm10% off food and drink on production of CAMRA membership card

www.lighthouseinn.co.uk

FOUR REAL ALES & CIDER

26 St Leonards RoadNorwich NR1 4BL

01603 618734

A real gem,well worth a visit.

Eight real ales to choose from, two ofwhich change regularly.

Two pooltables upstairs.

Pork pies and other light snacksavailable all day.

Hog roast available sundays.

Lovely enclosed beer garden withlarge sheltered smoking area.

Only a ten minute walk from thetrain station and city centre.

Open all day from 12 noon everyday.

Sky Sports and ESPN

Great place to watch great sport with some great ale!

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We Don’t Have a Big Screen TV, Food Or a Juke BoxWe do have 17 handpumps, with Real Ale from far and wide,

2 Real Ciders and 2 Real Ales From gravity, a large car park, large beer garden With heatedsmoking shelter, darts, pool, quizzes And crib.

We now serve morning coffee from 10am, children are welcome.

The Royal Oak lies at the heart of the community and new customers are always welcome. Come along and get a real

welcome from a real pub selling real ale!!!!!! Nick, Delia And The Team would love to see you soon.

The Royal Oakat Poringland

A dream of a pub situated in the village of Poringland on the B1332 road to Bungay. The main bus route from

Norwich stops right outside.

Contact us on

01508 493734 New email: [email protected]

Norwich And Norfolk Pub Of The Year 2007

Norfolk Pub Of The Year 2007

13 years in the Good Beer Guide!

Autumn Beer Festival Friday 29th Oct - Monday 1st Nov

Range of 31 Beers and Ciders availableLive Music on Friday 29th with Jigsaw and Saturday 30th with Tosh and Nick.

Giant Pumpkin Raffle for East Anglia Childrens Hospice on Sunday 31st followed by a comedy afternoon from 1pm!

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Issue 154 of Norfolk Nips & Cask Force

Documents

Transcript of Issue 154 of Norfolk Nips & Cask Force